Wake Up World, Jesus Is Coming Back!

It has been a long time since I wrote anything here. Life getting in the way is a sad excuse but it’s the only one I have. However, I woke up one day to the realization that this world has changed and not for the better. I feel the urgency to make it my priority to express the things God has laid on my heart. Changes sometimes come so gradually you barely notice. That’s how Satan works. He has used little changes over centuries. Some came gently in the form of traditions. These traditions were seemingly innocent little things from pagan traditions and ceremonies. Over time the meanings of these traditions and ceremonies were forgotten by most. Many of them focused on the children. Each generation passed them down to their children who never even realized they had accepted pagan traditions. As time passed no one paid attention. We were all Christians, right? Oh, there were the hidden things, the occult, witches. No one really paid attention. After all these people were on the fringe of society. The were not mainstream. They were crazy, right? Then in the 1960’s Satan came out of hiding and went mainstream right into the hippy movement. We saw an age of war protests, race protests, a time which promoted sex without marriage, abortion, and gay rights. The Church of Satan was an actual church now. In California of all places, and Satan's minions were very busy getting converts and causing havac. Fast forward to today. What was bad then is worse now. Only now, the world calls this normal and good. It has slowly gone from tolerance to acceptance. Now if you don’t accept their alternative life style and sin, what are the costs? They will take you to court for not using their choice of pronoun, when you don’t know how "they" want to be addressed because you have no clue what “they” are! This is just the tip of the iceberg. Our world has turned upside down, inside out, and absolutely gone crazy. But Satan better beware because Jesus is coming back!

Thanksgiving, No Changes Needed!

I love Thanksgiving! I love the fall crisp air as we drive through the country to meet with family and friends to share this day. It brings back so many memories of past Thanksgivings. Have you ever thought what it would be like without Thanksgiving? It would be just another day without any special purpose or meaning. We have purpose in this special holiday. It reminds us of the Pilgrims who went through tough and brutal times to establish a life with freedom of religion to birth a nation of people who loved God. When they celebrated with the Indians and thanked God, they truly felt grateful to a loving God for bringing them together. The Indians had helped them and taught them many ways to survive and flourish in a harsh environment. The Pilgrims were not prepared for what they had to go through, but God had provided. The formal establishment years later of a formal holiday of giving thanks to God had a purpose. It serves to remind us that all good things come from God, and we are to be thankful to Him. I have become aware of a new trend of calling the Thanksgiving gathering as Friends Giving. When I see this, it makes me aware of something that is missing. That something is God. We can be thankful for friends. But ultimately who are we thankful to? God. In everything be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thanksgiving was a day to give thanks to God. When you change that celebration to Friends Giving it leaves God out of the meaning and purpose of the holiday. If you want to celebrate your friends feel free to create a day to do it after all we have Boss’s Day, Grand Parents Day, National Pizza Day, and a plethora of others but leave Thanksgiving alone. Years ago, the trend was to remove God from Christmas and just say Happy Holiday. Friends Giving does not and should not replace Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has always been celebrated with family, friends or even strangers. I’m thankful for my God, my family and friends and my country. I am only thankful to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17) So today, Lord, I’m thankful for Thanksgiving and the reason we celebrate it. No changes needed.

A Place Of Peace And Safety

Peace and safety.  How we take these things for granted sometimes.  When I was a little girl I never though about peace or safety.  I had them and didn't even realize it.  I felt secure.  My family was my safety net.  My parents nurtured me and made me feel safe.  I was raised to know that  family was important.  Mom and Dad were always there for me.  I had an older sister I could rely on.  My parents came from large families in the south where family reunions are common.  My world branched out to aunts, uncles, cousins.  We were family. 

My dad was in the military so I experienced life in many areas of the country and the world.  All under the safety of my family.  My parents had good friends and my safety net grew.  I played with their children who became my friends.  Family, friends, neighbors were an ever growing safety net. 
Always peaceful and secure.

Even when I became an adult and went through two failed marriges I always felt an underlying security of my family and friends.  Then the unthinkable happened.  The basis for my feelings of security unraveled.  My uncle caused a family rift.  The rift extendend out through our family like a pebble hitting a windshield causing a crack that continued to spread and grow.  Like a spreading cancer it spread to a cousin who sued my father over a property line.  It was sad to watch my parents suffer through this in the last years of their life when all they wanted was peace.  My father prayed for peace between him and his brother who had caused the misunderstanding. 

When my parents past away.  I inherited the land dispute.  My life was anything but peaceful and secure.  My sister sent me the scripture in Isaiah 32:18 which says "My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest."  My sister and I prayed in agreement that this would be God's promise to me. 

God's promise did come to pass.  This past year the lawsuit ended.  My cousin sold her land which broders our property to my son.  We are still family; still cracked and broken.  Let the healing begin.  I do know that my sense of peace and safety no longer center around friends and family but solely on the Lord. 

God can move mountains, he can heal, he can cause peace beyond all understanding, he can protect, and he is real.  Believe in him with all your heart, mind, and soul.  He is there for you, and he will send a safety net of angels to stand by you in your time of need.  He will provide a place of peace and safety for you. 

When Love Hurts

Ouch!  Sometimes Love hurts  like when I  read this scripture.  Luke 6:27-28 says "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

When someone at work is mean I would like to get even, but God says he doesn't like that.  When someone curses me I would love to blast them right back.  When someone lies about me or mistreats me I would like to see the same thing happen to them.  Yes those thoughts fly through my mind before I can capture them and remind myself who is in charge of my life.  Yes.  God tells me to love my enemies, He tells me to be good to them when they are bad to me. 

Not easy things to do but necessary.  Why do I say it is necessary?  Because if I want God's mercy and goodness shown to me I need to show mercy and goodness to others including those who hate me and mistreat me.  It is not easy but it is the right thing to do.  Love your enemies.

 

Prayer Life A Little Slow?

I can truthfully say that I am not the perfect Christian.  Yes I have a long way to go.  I tend to pray consistently for a while and then life takes over and time slips away.  I go to bed tired and forget to pray.  I wake up late and have to rush to get ready for work and forget to pray. 

To get my focus back I have made myself some prayer lists.  The main one is on a piece of paper in my Bible.  The next one is on the night stand by my bed.  I have put another in my car so when I see it I can be reminded to pray as I drive to work.  I have one at my desk that I can access on break or lunch. 

Even though I have given myself these daily reminders I am still not where I want to be in my prayer life.  I don't want to be lukewarm.  I want to be like we are admonished in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing.   

Hurricane Sandy

Just watching the news and I am shocked at the magnitude of the damage Hurricane Sandy is doing.  I know what we went through during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  We did not have electricity for 2 and a half weeks, no phone for a week, no water for a week and a half to two weeks.  We lived through it but we did not see the news coverage until much later when we saw reruns.  I live in a rural area so it was not as bad as living in a congested city and having to go through it.

It seems surreal now to watch the tremendous flooding and wind damage happening in the northeast. The sheer size of the cities in the path of this massive storm system bare witness to the many millions of people it will affect. Although it brings back memories it also brings the knowledge that when these people who are being affected by this storm system wake up tomorrow morning their lives will be changed in some way. 

They won't wake up and just start their day as if nothing happened.  Businesses will be closed due to massive power outages or damage and continued flooding.  There will be massive cleanup to do.  There will be boiled water alerts.  Power companies, police, fire departments, hospitals, ambulances, disaster relief agencies and the National Guard will all be overwhelmed and their limits tested. 

Let us all pray for their safety.  The coming storm is here!  May God grant them peace and comfort in this stressful time. 

 

Prelude to Thanksgiving

As we look forward to Thanksgiving we can be thankful for the bountiful blessings God provides us.  So many times we take for granted even the simplest of blessings because we expext them instead of being grateful for them. 

Since we have another month until Thanksgiving I want to start now by preparing my heart for being thankful.  I want to become thankful for even the tiniest of things in my life. 

When I drink a glass of water I want to be thankful I have that glass of water.  I want to be thankful that I didn't have to go to a well, or across town, or for miles to get that glass of water.  And then I want to pray for all the people who are not able to turn on the faucet and have clear, clean running water. 

When I am hungry I want to be thankful I can go to my pantry or refrigerator and satisfy that very basic need.  Then I want to pray for all the people around the world who can't do that.  There are too many to count who go without basic needs every day. 

When it is cold outside I want to be thankful I can be warm inside.  For everyday I wake up I want to be thankful.  For everyday I am not sick or in pain I want to be thankful.  For a loving family I want to be thankful.  May we never take each other for granted. 

I hope if you are reading this you are thankful.  Start your own mental list of what you are thankful for. And, next month when Thanksgiving comes around I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

 

Help My Brain Is Frozen

When I have had a hard day or a hard week at work I can often feel somewhat empty.  Anyone who has ever had writer’s block knows what I mean.  Whether it is writer’s block or just brain freeze it is the same feeling.  You try to write something or think something and there is nothing.   You think, Lord help me, give me the thoughts and the words to speak or write.  Again nothing, just silence.  You think at least give me a feeling, just something that can grow into a thought or story.

The harder you try the less comes out.  This sometimes translates over to my prayer life.  I promise myself to be faithful.  I promise I will pray every day regardless of how my day went or how busy I am.  I remember having a conversation with my friend, Gina, a few years ago where she confided she had gone though a spiritually dry period in her life too.  We all go through it at one time or another.  I will never forget the words of wisdom she imparted that day. 

She told me she started small.  Even though she didn’t feel anything and didn’t know what to pray for she would start praying the Lord’s Prayer.  The more she did this and made it a habit the more she started to feel that God was working to free her from the emptiness she felt.   She told me that after a time she noticed she no longer was just going through the motions but that the relationship she had with father God was back.  She felt renewed and strengthened.  She felt that regardless of what was going on in her life that she could feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 

Even if we don’t mean what we pray when we pray it.  If we are faithful to do what he wants us to do, God will bless our effort.  He will bless us, and eventually he will bless others through us.  He can take the emptiness and make it beautiful and perfect as he heals our wounded dry spirit.

The prayer as it occurs in Matthew 6:9–13 (ESV)

 

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil."

 

Thank you for listening to the words we speak and the feeling behind them.  Thank you for the times when we don’t have the feelings but say the words anyway knowing that you can take that small effort and turn it into much more then we could ever think or ask. 

Love Is the Greatest Gift

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 Love never fails. I Corinthians 13

Yes the greatest of these gifts of the spirit is Love.  Love of mankind in general, love of an animal, love of God, Love of family, yes, Love is the greatest gift.  When we lose someone we love it causes great emotional pain.  It creates a deep sense of loss within us and creates emptiness.  In the end love must endure all.   

Clark just lost his Grandmother; Gail and Carla and their sisters lost their Mother. I lost my Parents four years ago and although it doesn’t ever go away it does get easier.  Our family recently lost a family pet that had been a part of our family for years.  Today we buried one of the newest members of our family, Patton, Hilary and Andrew’s puppy who was killed by a vicious attack from a pit bull.

We grieve, we continue on, we heal, we love.  And the greatest of these is love.  I am thankful I serve a God who loves us and will never leave us regardless of what we go through.  He is there to help us to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.  He gives us faith. 

Lord, help us today to realize the extent of your love for us as we examine the extent of the love we have for others, both human and animal, in our lives.  Help us to understand how much greater your love is for us then we could ever imagine.  Thank you for giving us the capacity to love even a fraction of how you love us. 

Have You Lost Something Lately?

We have all lost things.  I regularly lose my keys, my phone, and my channel changer just to name a few of those things.   I could probably make a career out of losing things. 

But, I was struck by a scripture I read this morning from Psalm 12:8 which says “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men”.  Wow.  I had to just pause and think how far a society has to come when they would honor something God considers vile. 

I only have to turn on the TV or a movie to find that the world has lost it’s values and civility but has excepted brutality and hate as the norm.  We are exposed continually to outrageous public behavior, both immoral and violent, that every generation before us would be shocked by.  There are no longer any rules of decorum.  We as a society have lost are ability and right to have a code of rules to define what is good or bad behavior. 

Decorum is defined as breeding, civility, conduct,  convention, correctness, decency, dignity, etiquette, form, habits, order, orderliness, politeness, being proper, propriety, protocol, respectability.  Therefore the absence of decorum is bad behavior, bad manners, impoliteness, indecency, rudeness.

Yes, we have lost our decorum.  A word we rarely use anymore, that we no longer understand the meaning of.  How sad.  It is not only sad for us, but for generations to come. 

Lord, I pray today that we as Christians find our decorum.  We have lost it and we want it back.  I pray that the change it makes in us would radiate to a world that desperately needs rules of decorum.  I pray they find it.

Looking for help?  Recommended reading:  The Bible

Fear Not

We all fear something. We fear success and we fear failure.  We fear the changing world around us.  We fear other people or maybe loneliness.  We fear the world situation because we have no control to change it.  We fear the people who would come against us. 

In this uncertain time it is hard to control the fears that grip us.  But, we must take control of those thoughts and know that God is with us.  He is by our side every step of the way.  He knows what will happen and when it will happen.  The Bible says to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  2 Corinthians 10:4-6

As we capture thoughts of fear today trust the Lord to take care of each situation you find yourself in for he assures us in His word…

"Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God."

—Deuteronomy 7:21

Peace be with you today!

 

Perfect Imperfection

We are Imperfect people in an imperfect world.  We strive toward perfection but in our own power we cannot achieve it.  It is only through God’s eyes that we are perfected.  God sees us as he wants us to be.  He see’s us as being washed in the blood of His son Jesus who died for our sins. 

As we live each day we can rest in the knowledge that God loves us and wants us to grow in His love to be the people He wants us to be.  Today I am going to give him the Glory because I know that he is the only one that can change my life from imperfection to perfection. 

‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
Ezekiel 28:11-13

Lord, let me be sealed today in your perfection, full of wisdom and perfect beauty.

Peace Be With You

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.  2 Thessalonians 3:16 

Lord grant us peace in this troubled time.  So many people are out of work, so many countries on the brink of bankruptcy.  We only have to examine the signs of the times to know it is getting close.  I don’t know about you but when I get stressed and anxious I have a tendency to over react, circle the wagons and protect myself.  I get defensive. 

I have to ask the Lord daily to help me be open to other people and not close them out.  I am not always an open person. I guess we all look out for number one first.  But, will we be called upon to look out for others during the tough times?  Probably!  So today I ask that the Lord would prepare my heart to do just that.   Make me compassionate toward others.  Give me peace so I can see through the trouble and strife to behold and fulfill your purpose in my life.  Help me to look out for others who need you and need help. 

Peace be with you.  Share the peace of God.

When Everything Goes Wrong, or (As Sliver Refined)

I call it the  “Why Me!“ syndrome.  Poor me, nothing ever goes right for me!  Why is it always me?  Why can’t it be someone else for a change?  WHY, WHY, WHY?

Yes, even when we are trying our best, when we have done nothing wrong, bad things happen.   You wake up and nothing goes right.  Maybe the clock didn’t go off, or your hot water heater quit working, you’re going to be late for work.  Yesterday the project you were working on hit a snag and will be over budget.   The doctor you have had for years decides to move and now you have to find a new one. 

I know this syndrome all too well.  Things didn’t go right this morning.  During my frustration I even kicked one of my shoes across the room.  These are the times when I am glad to be alone and no one sees me acting like that.  Ah, except God.  Yep, He saw me.  He saw my anger, my frustration, my emotional pain, and my heart, my reasoning or lack thereof, yes He saw everything. 

While I was getting ready the phone rang.  It was one of my daughters.  She was very perceptive.  “Something wrong?”   she said as she heard the stressed tone in my voice.  I briefly shared my feelings and she said to try to put on a happy face it would all be okay.

 Jennifer is a teacher and deals with the antics of small children.  I am sure I had probably been acting like one so I told her I would try.  I even told her that when her older sister was little we used to discipline her by sending her to her room and telling her she could only come out when she put on a happy face. 

It worked so well that even as an adult if her sister gets mad she will leave the room and the next time we see her, she acts like nothing ever happened. 

As God’s very imperfect child I sometimes feel these times of trial are meant more to agitate me or persecute me then to perfect me but deep inside I know they’re not.  God wants me to grow from it.  This year I have adopted the song  “This Is The Stuff” by Francesca Battistelli as my theme song. 

Anyone that has lost their keys, or has had to call their cell phone to find it can relate.  The pressures of life can take its toll if we let it.  Or we can put on a happy face, smile or even sing along knowing that He knows exactly what he is doing.  God is refining me.  Malachi 3:3: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy!

Growing up I remember the blue laws.  Some of you may not know what the blue laws were.  They were laws that reflected our religious standards.  They kept retailers from opening stores and even selling certain items on Sunday.  Your employer didn’t expect you to work on Sunday.  Sunday was a day of rest.  Other countries that have these laws are Israel in which Saturday is the day of rest.  Canada has The Lord’s Day Act and most Muslim countries have laws that set aside certain months or times of prayer that require stores to close. 

Slowly over the years these laws and our religious standards have gone by the wayside.  People are forgetting to honor the God who created them and the beautiful planet they inhabit.  People are forgetting that the day of rest is a gift.  It is for our physical and mental health. 

Instead we suffer burnout, physical fatigue, emotional stress, and become spiritually empty. 

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

Yes, rest is a gift! Next time you think it is just another command to honor God, remember that he was really thinking about us. 

Thank you Lord for knowing what we need and when we need it.  Thank you for thinking about what is good for us as your creation and knowing that we need this rest to be able to be all you want us to be.  Thank you for setting the example by showing us that although you worked to create , you also rested to enjoy it.  May we always honor you by obeying your commands.

Amen

What Do You Believe?

Josh was interviewing for a job.  One question he was asked in the interview was "What do you believe?"  A simple question, but strikingly vague considering he was applying for a job.  What did he believe about what?  It was so general.  As his mind searched  for an answer  he realized he stated every Sunday what he believed. He then started reciting the Apostles Creed . 

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into Heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic (Universal) Church,
the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen. 

Well Josh got the job.  He also was a witness to what he believed.  The question gives us pause to ask ourselves, What Do We Believe.  Would we know how to address this issue in a secular situation?  Or would we be afraid to give a testimony of our faith?  It is a question we will all have to answer one day.