Our Journey...

"God doesn't always take us on the shortest route on our journey."

~ My friend, Honey ~

Amen, Amen Amen....

But God...

There seems to be so many Christians that I know that are going through really hard times. For some, the heartache is unbearable. But God...

He sustains them.

He encourages them.

He fills them with strength.

He provides.

He restores.

He gives HOPE.

He carries them.

He holds them.

He goes before them.

He listens.

He wipes away their tears.

He gives JOY in the midst of their circumstances.

He comforts.

He loves unconditionally...

But God....Who but God could do these things and more, for hurting people?

But God...

Dear Lord...

"Dear Lord, Thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out every body's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest, Lord, that I must have a few friends at the end."

~ Ruth Bell Graham ~

What Matters...

"The God who created names and numbers and the stars in the heavens also numbers the hairs of my head.....

He pays attention to the very big things and to the small ones.

What matters to me matters to Him, and that changes my life."

~ Elisabeth Elliot ~

What matters to me matters to God, no matter how big or small a thing is. Like any parent, when I think of my children and grandchildren it is the same thing...if it matters to them, it matters to me. Makes it easier to comprehend when I think about it that way.

There are things I am trying to change in my life and because they align with what God's Word says for me....my life will change because I matter to God. It is hard to comprehend that the God who created the universe would care about the little things in my life. But he does! What a personal God we serve and love. I can just imagine God saying, "If it matters to you, then it matters to me." Now, that's love!

"The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;

Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands."

Psalm 138:8

~~~~

"I will cry to God Most High,

To God who accomplishes all things for me."
Psalm 57:2

God's Curriculum...

"God's curriculum for all who sincerely want to know Him and do His will, always includes lessons we wish we could skip...With intimate understanding of our deepest needs and individual capacities, He chooses our curriculum."

~ Elisabeth Elliot ~

We have all experienced things in life that we wish we could skip right over. Maybe you are in that place right now. When I look back over the difficult things that have happened in my life, those very things I thought would kill me, actually made me stronger. I never realized it at the time that I was growing stronger, but when the next trial came a long..I was stronger and it was then, that I saw the growth in me.

God has a curriculum written for each one of us. He alone knows what it will take to do that deeper work in us and to be an example to others. If all we do is grumble at how hard life is, we will be missing those deeper things He wants to teach us.

Part of the curriculum that God has chosen for me is living with several chronic illnesses. I can't even list all the things that He has taught me the last 16 years as I have made the journey through illness and pain. I have been discouraged more times than I can remember. God has always faithfully picked me up and and encouraged me in one way or another. He's been faithful at every turn and every trial. The trial or illness didn't always go away, but He was faithful to give me the strength to press on and press through each and every time. If you think about it, what choice do we have? We can either go through the things in our life with God or without Him. We can choose to grow closer to Him or to be mad at Him.

I only want to go deeper with the Lord. Things are difficult enough in this life... I don't want to go through things more than once to learn the same lesson all over again because I missed it the first time. I have done that before. Things were almost more painful the second time around. My prayer is, "Lord, don't let me miss what it is you are trying to teach me. Pleassssseeeeeee I don't want to have to do this again." (:

God loves us so much that He writes individual curriculum for each one of us...pretty cool when you think about it!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

Godly Character...

Godly character...to react to people NOT according to how they act towards me.

~ Pastor Greg Laurie ~

Slow Down...

The holidays are over, do you feel like you need to slow down and concentrate and focus on tending to things around your home? I do. I have shared many times that I love a simple life. I don't do well when I am busy all the time. My home doesn't do well, my health doesn't do well..nothing seems right when I am on the go all the time.

I can't help but think that God does not want that fast paced life for any of us, well, me for sure. When I'm busy, my mind is busy thinking of the next thing that I have to. When I get up in the morning and my feet hit the floor running, my quiet time is the thing that gets neglected. Or how about...when I get up in the morning and the first thing I do after I have said good bye to my husband... I turn on the computer. I have decided that I will not turn on the computer until I have a quiet time and my bed is made.

When I am too busy to hear when God whispers to me, it's time to slow down. Even children don't have to be as busy as they are these days. Most kids are run from one activity to another. They don't have time to slow down and be a kid. A lot of kids don't know how to entertain themselves without the TV or DVDs or someone entertaining them all the time. I love it when I see my granddaughters play with dolls or dress up. Kids need to slow down too..how will they learn to be still before God when they are older, if all they know how to do is be on the go when they are young?

Nurturing takes stillness, both physically and spiritually. We have to be still before God at times to be nurtured by the Holy Spirit. We have to slow down to hear the direction God wants us to take. People get sick with colds and flu because they are so tired and run down from being so busy. People have to work, it's all the added busyness that we need to re-examine to see if we need to slow down.

My Grandma told me once, "If the devil can't get you with idleness, he'll get you with busyness." That is so true! It's subtle too...we don't even recognize that some of our busyness is a distraction from the enemy himself, to keep us from the things of God. I know I have found that true in my own life from time to time.

So many people have said that they want peace. The only true peace is a relationship with Jesus Christ. For those that do know Christ and still cry for peace, maybe they are just too busy to recognize that they already have it. I am slowing down, how about you? Selah....

I read this book a few months ago. I am not very good at book reviews, so I won't try and give you an overview of what this book is about. I will step out and say that I personally will not recommend to it anyone. I read it out of curiosity and to have an opinion of my own, if anyone asked me about it. Many of my friends have read it and have felt their lives were changed by reading it. I personally didn't feel that way and forced myself to finish it. The argument ~for~ this book is that it is only fiction. I don't feel that way, but that is what people have said.

I am all for Christian fiction. I read a lot of fiction and have my favorite authors. When I read Christian fiction I want the the Trinity.... the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, portrayed with reverence and accurately to what the Bible has recorded. A book can really stretch my imagination, but don't mess with what I know to be Holy. That's where I draw the line.

It's only fiction....a new believer or a nonbeliever would definitely not get the correct information about our Heavenly Father, our Savior Jesus Christ and our Beloved Holy Spirit. So, maybe somehow this book can lead someone to the Lord. But who would they be led to? The black woman that this book refers to as Papa?? (She is the Heavenly Father portrayed in this book.)

Oh my...we live in such perilous times. The enemy Satan will try any way he can to water down the Word, distort Who our Heavenly Father is, Who Jesus Christ is and the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and Who He is. He may even use a book that millions of people are reading.

With so much out there that is untrue..New Age..the Emerging Church...one of the most important things that we can pray for, is spiritual discernment. We have to know right from wrong, watered down as watered down and untrue to be untrue. We can only do that with discernment that comes from God.

I had to write my thoughts on this, they have been burning in my heart for months. It would not be my intention to insult you in anyway if you liked this book. I have always tried to write my heart on this blog and that's what I have done here today.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

2 Timothy 4: 3-4

Our 39th Anniversary!....

Today is our 39th wedding anniversary. Once again, I'll say it.."Where does time go?" We we were both grocery checkers when we met. Love at first sight..almost. Six weeks later we were engaged and six weeks later..married. We really sent our parents into a head spin a week after Christmas. It still sets our heads spinning when our anniversary comes so close to the holidays. Some anniversaries it just feels good to stay all cozy at home rather than do much after the hustle and bustle of the busy holidays. Whatever we do today, we will do it together and be thankful that God has blessed us with another year of loving each other and being together.

Happy Anniversary, my Love!

Over Our Heads...

Girlfriends, Jesus is so worthy of our trust no matter what has taken us by surprise. Picture that, when the enemy asks for a little extra access to you, the only reason why God may have given him permission is because He knew you'd prove faithful. Do the thing. In the unseen realm, angels are cheering and demons are jeering. You are in the stadium and the bleachers are full. (Hebrews 12:1) Take one for the team if you have to. Be strong and courageous. Be willing to show people how it's done. Don't look for a leader. You are the leader. People are looking to you. Be deliberate. Make sure they see Jesus. We're not here all that long and then there's BLISS. Forever bliss. Till then, we're over our heads. But we can dang-well decide what kind of over-our-heads we're gonna be.

~ Beth Moore~