A New Year

Each of our voices are a sweet anointing, if they carry the song of God's hope. Dee

There are weary travelers my friends, that need to hear the voices of the faithful in the darkness. Let us not let each other down when we ourselves are feeling down. The faintest whisper in the dark can be all one of us needs to carry on! The road may be dark in this lifetime but if we all remain full of His hope and growing in faith then the sound of our voices will lead each other exactly where God wants us to be. It may not be where we want to be but it will be where we need to be, and we have to find peace with that.

So, as my devotional read for this, the last day of the year, "Let us call out to one another through the darkness until the night becomes alive with the sound of many voices, encouraging God's weary travelers. And may the echos grow into a storm of hallelujahs, that will break in thundering waves around His sapphire throne!'

To: Jesus, From:

Another new tradition for Christmas would be to have you and your family (or just you :) write down blessings, answered prayers, miracles....... separately on small pieces of paper and put them in a box, wrap it and make a tag out, To: Jesus, From: (  ), and write, Thank you Lord. Then, when Christmas comes around the next year you can open it and recall all those blessings!
Make it a yearly project to include your Savior in your Christmas by taking time out to acknowledge His wonders and gifts! Remembering what He has done for you, will remind you of what He will do for you! For all the gifts we have received, give one back to Him who deserves our praise! Merry Christmas dear ones.

The Three Trees

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.  They were discussing their hopes & dreams  when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be  a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver & precious gems. I could be decorated  with intricate carvings and everyone  would see the beauty." Then the second tree said, "Someday I will  be a mighty ship. I will take kings & queens  across the waters and sail to the corners of the world.  Everyone will feel safe in me because of the  strength of my hull." Finally the third tree said. "I want to grow to be the  tallest and straightest tree in the forest.  People will see me on top of the hill & look   up to my branches and think of the heavens  and God and how close to them I am reaching.  I will be the greatest tree of all time  and people will always remember me." After a few years of praying that their dreams  would come true, a group of woodsmen  came upon the trees, When one came to the  first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree,  I think I should be able to sell the wood to a   carpenter." He then began cutting it down.  The tree was happy, because he knew that the  carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.   At the second tree another woodsman said, "This  looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it  to the shipyard." The second tree was happy  because he knew he was on his way to becoming a  mighty ship. When yet another woodsman came  upon the third tree, the tree became frightened  because he knew that if they cut him down his  dream would not come true. The woodsman  said, "I really don't need anything special  from the tree, but I'll take this one anyway."  He then began to cut it down. When the first tree arrived at the carpenters,  he was made into a feed box for animals. He  was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This  was not at all what he had prayed for. The second  tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His  dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings  and queens had come to an end. The third tree was  cut into large pieces & left alone in a pile. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their  dreams. Then one day, a man and woman came to  the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in  the hay in the feed box that was made from the  first tree. The man wished that he could have made a  crib for the baby, but this manger would have to  do. The tree could feel the importance of this event  and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got into the fishing boat  made from the second tree. One of the men grew  tired and fell asleep. While they were out on the water,  a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was  strong enough to keep the men afloat and safe. The  fishermen woke the sleeping man, and he stood   and said, "peace" and the storm calmed. At this time,  the tree knew that it had carried the King of kings  in it's boat. Finally, someone had come for the large pieces of the  third tree. It was carried through the streets as  spectators that lined the path, cursed and mocked the  man who carried it. When they came to a stop,  the man was nailed to the tree, and for all to see, was  raised in the air and mounted atop the hill  where the man would die. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was  strong enough to stand at the top of the hill   and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus,  the Son of God, had been crucified on it. *The moral of this story is: When things don't seem to be  going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts.  Each of the trees got what they wanted........ .............just not in the way they imagined. Merry Christmas dear ones. May your New Year be bright with Christ!

Change or Remain

My husband and I were talking the other day about how 90% of our marriage is nice, filled with respect and love in action. But, there is a 10% cloud that passes by and with it comes a storm of demands from me and a tornado of denial and escape tricks from him! That 10% has nothing funny about it, it is no parody or Saturday Night Live skit, it is where the rubber meets the road in relationships. Like a retreating tsunami pulling all the facades away and our carefully hidden secrets are exposed! Secrets like......you are not perfect! Nor is your spouse! Or your children! These unresolved expectations of perfection can burn a hole right through a persons gut. There will always be times of immense displeasure with our loved ones and those times can stir up the unresolved corpses that lie hidden beneath the surface of our perfectly groomed lives. It's okay to not be perfect or have the perfect life but it's not okay to bury issues that are still alive! Those issues fight for healing, so try to start your new year by sitting down with your loved one(s) and being honest. Or write down your feelings of dismay, fear, contempt...... and get it all out, exposing it. Then re-write it over and over till you refine it down to pure truth, where you can clearly see all sides of it in a truthful light. Then, go to those involved with a heart of love and truth, not to get it all fixed right then but to simply plant a seed of safety to let them know that when they are ready to talk, you will not attack them but you will listen, absorb, and take it to God in prayer. Learn how to speak without being offensive and to listen without being defensive. Getting root problems resolved is scary for all involved because although you think it's only the "other" person who needs to change, if you are honest with yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to shine in your hidden closets, you will see that you also have a wall of fear surrounding you. We all do......that's what being human is, so stop trying to be perfect, stop trying to make your family appear perfect and stop burying the issues that cause so much pain. You will find that people will feel safe around you when you become softer and the changes you desire around you will just come naturally because you will no longer be a scary place to run from but a safe place to run to. The older and more humble I become, I see so clearly that the things others do that aggravate me.......are things that I do too! Mercy and grace are such sweet balms.

These are some thoughts I wrote when I saw some infuriating injustices, not only in my life but in the lives of some of my loved ones:

Rejection or unresolved issues and offences. One, like a sharp knife to the heart that never gets pulled out, the other a burning fire that never relents. They are the most stinging and heart-breaking of all the assaults because of their haunting and unrelenting presence. There's nothing quite like them, whether they clawed you at a young age or recently, the sting remains like an open wound that won't heal. It seems to infect you with a myriad of viruses, from anger (silent screaming), to weeping (deep sorrow), to seeping (short bursts of grief that have built up to the point where it spills over and out), to a dead feeling that melts over you. It can squeeze your being till it's dry of any joy and void of hope, and it's residue remains like a filthy film of despair who's cloud never moves on through your soul.

Any fool can reject you and cause a pain that will prove to possibly be manageable at some point in your life. But, rejection from someone you love and trust is a puncture wound that aches and throbs in your inner recesses. Like a small dose of poison, just enough to make you miserable but not enough to mercifully put you out of your misery. You just eek on and on through each day with your mind and gut wrenching from the infraction and the worse pain is caused by the loved ones refusal to admit, acknowledge or repent for the pain they caused or are causing. Yet, there is another unbearable suffering they can inflict and it's the empty comments of, "That's just the way I am.", "I don't know how to change." and "You're just crazy." There's also the silent, empty, distant stares that burn a hole in the floor because they will not look up until you storm out of the room angry or crying, which is exactly what they wanted! They, like a child, can divert and dodge the issue like a pro by creating an emotional dust storm by just pressing a few of the right buttons to set you off! Then, while you are all discombobulated they escape unscathed and once again the issue is never resolved but put off till the next round. They seem to go on their way unburdened, unaware or unwilling to offer repose. How can someone who claims they love you watch you suffer from their lack of effort? Surely, such offenses can crush you, but so can the constant, daily, moment by moment refusals to make things better or right......stubborn refusals that wear away at the victims spirit.

Where do you go when there is no way out? When each desperate attempt to save yourself or them only takes you deeper into the abyss. Your prayers seem bound by cob-webs and your pleas are covered with layers of dust. You kick and fight till you're exhausted and the waves of hopelessness are unrelenting, until you finally collapse and curl into a ball of despair (literally or emotionally). Then shame covers you because you feel demeaned and sometimes you wish you had a bruise just so you could show someone the pain you are feeling. Once that low has been achieved the only place you feel you have left to go is to spiral down the black hole and hope you can distance yourself from the reality. You become what they have made you rather than who you really are. All you want is for them to care enough about you that they would challenge themselves to grow and change in the areas that are causing so much pain. You just want them to care but their apathy has become their slothful partner and you have become "the enemy". They actually flip the mirror onto you and you begin to say things like, "Who could possibly love me in this condition!? "I must not be worth changing for."  How can their lack of trying turn us into such sniveling wrecks that blame ourselves for the problem. Probably because it's easier  to condemn ourselves than to argue with someone who will never see or admit what their doing is manipulative! We end up contemptuous, dispirited or live with waves of both crashing over us.

What do you do? Where can you go?

You take your battered soul and crawl up into the arms of Jesus, laying your weary head upon His breast and weep, again and again. That's what you do. You determine in your heart and mind that each time the sorrow comes......you go to God, not to the pit of doubt. It's not God's fault that someone won't change and it's not His fault that your heart is deflated with sorrow. Jesus is our only hope and no matter how many times you are overwrought with deep discouragement, He will always be there to comfort and console you. His faithfulness endures forever and although the tides of darkness role in, He walks upon the water to come to you with fresh love and hope to sustain you and keep you afloat. If your persecutor is evil, then Psalm 35:1 says, "Contend O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me." (Note: Do not stay in a dangerous relationship but seek help and refuge.) Yet, if your source of heart-pain is coming from a loved one who won't change their emotionally immature, harmful or hurtful behavior and that refusal to address their own issues causes nothing but sorrow, Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

Into the presence of God's Word is where we should not only run but it's where we should stay. Psalm 34:10b, "Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." He is an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1), He rescues the poor from those to strong for them (Psalm 35:10b). All the pain that life can throw at you has no hope of destroying you if you dwell in His word. His love is all you need, because all you need will never be found in this world no matter where you look for it. Your peace and purpose lie not in others but in Christ. If someone deprives you of love then Praise God that we have "The" God of love, who longs to fill us to overflowing if only we would sit in His presence and absorb it. The only perfect love you will ever have is from Jesus, no human being can fill you to contentment. Psalm 36:5-9, "Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep. O Lord, You preserve both man and beast. How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from the river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light!

When times of sorrow run through your veins and drug you with hopelessness, journal those deep menacing thoughts and lay them out before God. He already knew what was in your heart but until we confess we cannot be set free. A psalm pours out lamentations from deep within someones soul to the Man of Sorrows (Jesus), yet it always ends with praise to our God of Hope! There is nothing too ugly that we cannot go to Him and release because His blood can wash us white as snow (Isaiah 1:18, Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow, says the Lord.") Those who cause pain can find cleansing from God as well as those of us that hold resentment toward them. We are all sinners and in need of forgiveness and love. My sorrow will raise it's sinister head time and again but each time I must remember not to entertain it but to take it to the throne of God and lay it down, deciding there and then to rather pick up His heavenly love instead. We all have a choice of what we are going to wallow in....sin or love, victim-hood or victorious living, contempt and despair or forgiveness and hope. Through this process of going to the throne of grace I actually began to see that I was not the only one hurting. When there are unresolved issues, there is more than just you who is wounded. Hurt people hurt people.

There are those who desire more in life and the freedom from getting resolution of their fears gives them the wings they need to live life more enjoyably. That resolution does not have to come from who you blame for your unhappiness, it should come from your relationship with God. Then, there are those who try to make it through life without having to deal with their fears and they remain imprisoned in a constant defense mode because they won't go to God and ask for healing. When both remain stubborn, selfish and too afraid to face their own demons, you will see a trail of dreams left by the wayside and everyone suffers. Every reminder of the "buried alive issues" brings one person to a state of resentment and the other to shame, but both will show anger toward each other rather than love. One person spends their life bringing those around them down to their level rather than rising to a higher standard by taking responsibility for their own fears. While the other slowly chips away at the relationship with blows of bitterness from their resentful heart, when really all they want is to walk side by side and have a little peace and joy!  Until one of them decides to be kind and approachable, displaying a heart filled with love, they will never be free of the vicious cycle of blame and pride. So much can be gained by realizing that the only surrender is to God. There are no winners or losers just people that will be blessed.

We all feel as though the 10% times are never going to end or change, but they will when one of the people involved steps out of the craziness and lets God speak to them. The more we surrender to God the more freedom we will receive and freedom's only goal is to reach more lives. Apart from God's love, people are always "self" centered rather than "God" centered. By removing yourself from the throne of your life and allowing God to reign there, you will  find that life will become more about loving others and caring about their needs than loving yourself and having to have your needs met. You may think that you put others first all the time but in truth we are getting something out of it. Someone may say that they are ALWAYS tending to someone else's needs but in actuality they may just be co-dependent. Or, someone may be self-deprecating yet by being that way they get all kinds of affirmations from those around them. There is always a self-need, it's only human, and unless it sneaks into a realm that is out of the normal, don't feel bad about not being perfectly perfect. Having a teachable heart will keep you from extremes, that's the beauty of humility.

Next time you feel trapped, robbed, insulted, demeaned or discouraged, remember that Jesus felt ALL of those things yet He still died for EVERYONE. And, the person hurling those insults or torturing you with silence was most likely a victim of the same medicine that they are giving out! We learn so much from what we see growing up but the best gift we can give ourselves is to not let injustices make us bitter, or repeat them for our children to see. For the offering of bitter water can never heal and the angry or taciturn will never draw the frightened near.  We are all victims of fear and in search of a safe and loving place to go for respite or to just hide. (As I said earlier, if your situation is dangerous, then get out and get to a safe place, pray for the guidance and help of Christ Himself and your angels, your deliverance will come. A way will open up for you.) People are just vulnerable souls that have been wounded. They wander the earth either hiding or searching and it is only God's love that can give them the healing and joy that they so desperately need. Yet, they continue to go and seek it out from another imperfect soul and try to change that person into Jesus! It's not our job to change people, we are only called to love them.


The journey of life has percentages of good and bad times....life is a path that is sometimes bumpy or smooth, uphill or downhill, still or racing, but one constant is that there will be no constant except the Lord. Life is a roller coaster, people are only human and nothing will be perfect or finished as long as we have breath. When you're filled with anger, entitlement, disappointment....... pray for a grateful and content heart. If your partner is stubborn or broken, pray for God to give you patience while you intercede for them in prayer. And, don't forget to say a prayer for yourself too, because if one of your loved ones decides to be as rough on you as you have been on them or others, well, you're gonna need a lot of mercy, grace and love. Also, should you ever find yourself getting the change that you have been complaining about and it's not all that you expected, maybe you will realize that it's not a good idea to get ahead of God. Believe it or not, He does know better than you do what each heart needs and at what pace it needs it. Or, if you discover that their changing has now put you in a position where you have to start facing your own demons, well, that may not be a comfortable thing but it will be a good thing.

Our complaining and judging of others often shines an exposing light on them and allows us to hide in the shadows and escape the criticisms of our own behaviors. When the other person changes, we find that our flaws are now more visable, which then puts us in the position of having to grow up and change ourselves. If we will just stop and be honest, we will see that arguing is just a tactic that both people use so neither has to face their fears and faults! You see, if someone were to jump out of the argument and take responsibility then there would be no place for either one to hide anymore. Arguing is a protection strategy that humans use so that they won't have to face the truth and then be required to change. The truth stings really bad at first and then it presents the mature option of having to change!  Not many are up for that type of vulnerability and challenge, it's just too scary, so the circle of anger and blaming continues.

At some point in life we can either find all we need from God and share that fullness and mercy with others or we can remain in our bunker of fear, shooting at anyone who tries to get close. God is waiting for you to exercise your free will.................which will you choose?

A Prayer for us all:

Change my paradigm Lord by starting a change inside of me first before I even think of demanding change from another! Fill me with Your goodness and make my trees blossom again so I can rest under the shade of their leaves and be nourished by their fruits. Show me that perfection is only "in You" and just an unachievable fantasy for mere humans to attain. Make me start acting like a flesh and blood person who sees everyone through You, rather than through my own lenses of judgement and personal needs. Help me to stop hurting those who are already hurting and teach me to be a safe place for them. Take my desires and change them from ones that condemn those I love, demanding that they change first, to ones that are grateful for the 90% of wonderful that you have blessed me with! Forgive me for harboring contempt toward someone that doesn't know how to change yet. You spoke from the cross and said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." I understand now why some won't change and how fear can keep us from finding freedom. You know the hearts of all people and I pray that You would help us all to be free and teach us how to love like You do. Our prisons holds more than just ourselves and I cry out to you that Your Light would shine on a pathway that will lead everyone out to a higher level of honesty and love. Comfort me in my sorrows and comfort those who I love in theirs. Be our Shepard so that we will have no wants except You, and instead of feeling lost, lead us to follow where You go so we will feel safe. Fill us with Your love and let that love cover our sins of apathy and soften our indignant hearts. Despising someone rather than having a righteous plea will never bring freedom......only love will. Help me Lord, to love unconditionally and set my needs down at the foot of the cross. Bring humility, clarity, wisdom and a willingness to grow to all who are afraid. I desire Lord, for the recalcitrant to put their anger away and let them allow those who care for them to love them . Humble us all so Your great love can flow. Heal what is sick, straighten what is crooked and light up what is dark. Teach us how to love each other by realizing that every one's prison is built of fear and it's only by becoming a safe place rather than a place of condemnation that all will find healing. Encourage us to be faithful in prayer, not only toward those who please us, but give us hearts that pray for our offenders and even our enemies. Make us more merciful and slower to judgement as if we were dealing with ourselves. Matthew 10:8 says, "Freely you have received (mercy), so freely give."  And Lord.....who ever reads this and falls to their knees with a need.....take care of them as I know You will. Amen

Try thinking about how much worse your life could be rather than how much better you think it should be.

Hand your control over to God not to other people.

Trade your high expectations of perfection, for a life of freedom and joy.

Living a life of gratitude is what we should be striving for, not perfection. Only God is perfect.

If you're not audacious enough to tell the pilot of a major airline that you are going to fly the plane today, why then, do you assume that you can say that to the God of all creation everyday! God is in control.


John 8:32  The truth will set you free.

Truth is a two edged sword and it cuts both ways, so remember, if you are going to be truthful with someone then be prepared to also hear the truth.

Mercy is not getting what we deserve and grace is getting what we don't deserve. Do everything in love.

Save Me!

No one likes to need, but when did
we become so stubborn, prideful and
arrogant that needing became a fear?
A need is just an opportunity for God
to be glorified and for us and others to grow.
Be grateful for your needs
and watch for His hand at work in them.

People don't cry out to be rescued when they feel safe, they beg for help only if they are in a desperate circumstance. Someone strolling down the beach has no need for being saved, but, put that same person fifteen feet out into the ocean with a rip tide and they will be screaming for a savior!

That is why God allows and works intimately in difficult situations in our lives. Hard times drive us to God, it's up to us if we will choose to stay with Him after the danger light goes out. If something challenging or disturbing is happening in your life right now, the Savior Jesus, hears your cries for help. He will not get you over it but through it and He hopes that His love will convince you to stay.

Stop blaming God for trials, for the trials are a gift. He knows our human nature and is not fooled by our empty promises and child-like conniving. When God allows or uses a hard time to get your attention, give it to Him and let Him love you as He works it out, then stick around to get to know Him, that's the whole purpose of the hardship. His love will wrap you up and fill you.....making your heart feel grateful that He rescued you when you were desperate with fear. You will then, hopefully acknowledge that you not only need a Savior but you have a Savior!

God cares not just about your life but about your eternal life too. Every person has a soul and that soul leaves when the body passes on. Souls do not die, they live on. Where do you want your soul to live, in communion with God or separated from Him? Pray therefore, that whoever is lost will wander into a Godly supervised riptide where they will find a frantic need to be saved. Then, continue to pray that while they are in that state of thankfulness after the rescue, that they will fall in love with their Savior and never desire to be out of His presence again.

So often we pray that our loved ones would be saved but the truth is, Christ already saved them, they just don't seem to "need it" at that moment. Pray that they would be put in a position where a deep sense of deliverance would be desired or that the Holy Spirit would convict them about a sin and plant a seed of Godly sorrow in them. Pray that they would turn to God for His gift of salvation and that no weapon formed against them would prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Salvation emerges from a need to be saved, not from someone who is a victim of being made comfortable! Don't look at a trial from your human point of view as a devouring vortex but see it from a heavenly view, as an opportunity for a lost soul to cry out to be saved.

When my father laid on his death bed, speaking his last words, his frail human body had deteriorated to the point where it could not sustain itself anymore. My two sisters and my brother all said our good byes, cried our tears and got our last looks of his blue eyes that still sparkled with life. After he passed, and we all stood around his bed, I remember how awestruck we were that his shell of a body was lying in front of us but, ALL THAT HE WAS, IN HIS MIND, HEART AND SOUL, WAS NOW WITH THE LORD. What kind of impassive heart can imagine that all of life, all of a person, all of the lessons learned and the talents poured out......just disintegrate and blow away by the winds of indifference.

Your life, what you do with it, how you live it, how you share and receive, love and serve, is all a part of your eternal soul. You mean something to God, you're not forgettable, replaceable, common or discardable, you are the crown of His creation and you have a definite purpose on this earth and in the life to come. Remember, it is a historical fact not a fairy tale, that Jesus died upon that cross at Calvary. It's up to you to accept or decline if it was meaningless and void of love or did He go silently as a sacrificial lamb because He loved you?

Matthew 16:15  Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?". Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."

God says in Isaiah 35:10 that "everlasting joy will crown your head". Those who deny that there is a loving God say, "You live, you die, and that's all there is to it." You must decide what and who you believe, for once your soul departs from your body, the time for choosing is over.

 Joshua 24:15  Decide this day whom you shall serve.

Jesus In You

This post is dedicated to my dear, best friend Gloria, who celebrated her birthday yesterday! You are a jewel in God's crown of lovely people that reflect Him and the love He desires to show through us! Thank you for being an ever-present help, comfort and joy in my life! I'm grateful for you and wish you blessings beyond your imagination! Happy birthday girlfriend.




True friends make us better friends. Dee


What is a best friend? It's such a touchy subject since it implies that someone else does not hold that title. I have many friends around the country that I can say our my dear friends, and by dear friends I mean they are fused to me in a way that we are one in matters of the heart. I think "best friends" are just people who hold that same affection and bond but they are physically close in proximity and are intimately involved in each others lives. Sure, it's easier to manage a friendship when you're not around one another constantly, and of course distance doesn't diminish the depth of a relationship but it can protect the fragile harmony that needs to be at its core. But, to be interwoven in a friends life on a daily basis, working and playing closely, well, that's a balancing act that deserves respect and a special title. I have a best friend who lives right around the corner from me and our friendship has gone into the sacred ground of sisterhood. I share this sisterhood with few others and it is a bond that can not be broken. When you become sisters, all the non-sense is no longer applicable because forgiveness and mercy reign above it all. There no longer remains an option for separation because you are now family, and I grew up that no matter what, family always forgives, loves, tolerates if necessary and stays connected. It is a blessing that I consider an honor and a privilege and I believe that not many are blessed with such a treasure.

I know that if I needed one of my dear friends they would come and be by my side in an instant. One of my dear friends knew of a need with one of her sisters and off she went to be a blessing to her. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it, she ran to comfort and serve. I had a dear friend that when we were younger, she would get to my house no matter what, rain, snow, sleet or shine (before we had our driver's license or own car), to be at my side and I know she would do it again for me now. Jesus is my dear friend, and He has been with me in Spirit through thick and thin. My Pastor once said that kind people are "Jesus with skin on" and that is so true. Our purpose is to show and share God's love to the weak, the suffering, the lonely, the sick and those in need.  My daughter-in-law brought warm fluffy socks straight from the dryer and put them on my feet one time when I was ill and my sister-in-law in New York, called a grocery store near my house in California and placed an order for food and necessities to be delivered to me. Those are examples of being the hands and feet of Christ!

Another time, a kind woman comforted me and prayed over me as I was waiting for a prescription. I was so sick with fever yet she asserted herself to be "Jesus with skin on" to care for a stranger. Was she a dear friend or a best friend? At that moment she was and in my memories she is. My best friend has been there for me through acts of service and love. She has run errands for me, ran errands with me, brought me soup, treats and thoughtful gifts. She has crawled into bed with me when I was curled up in a ball of pain, sat with me and kept me company, made me laugh, held me when I cried, listened when I needed to vent and spoke truthfully to me when I needed an attitude adjustment. She has taken care of my house, my dogs, fluffed my pillows and massaged my hands when they were spasming. We have worked together, brain-stormed, dreamed and traveled. We also have vowed and kept the vow that we would always go to each other with complaints about the other one rather than talk behind each others backs. We argue like sisters and pick on each other but never feel threatened that it will destroy our bond because sisters don't break up.

I have these same compliments toward my son, who was always there for me when he was growing up. He would come to my bedside and tell me stories that would make me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry. He would bring me his "famous" breakfast and sit and listen to me when I was lonely, open my curtains and encourage me to get up and move a little. And then there's my husband who is amazing with all his acts of service and thoughtful gestures. He works in the gap that I can't fill at times and keeps everything going. I also have my sister that actually feels the pain and sorrow of those hurting around her. She checks in on me constantly and truly cares about how I'm doing. She drives an hour to come up here and spend the night or day with me when my loneliness becomes too unbearable and I need a sister-friend. There are dear ones that send me cards (which I love) and remind me that I'm thought about and loved and also other precious friends that I know are willing and able to help me if I called, yet, they respect that I need a lot of rest and they trust me that I will reach out to them if I'm in need.

I can look upon my life and recall hundreds of times when dear friends blessed me. God brought certain ones at just the right times so their special gifts were exactly what I needed in that particular season of my life. My old neighbor would bring me dinners when my husband worked out of town for awhile and she would hold me like a mom would when I needed a mommies touch (even though she wasn't old enough to be my mom :). My friend who rented our guest house was "Jesus with skin on" for me when she came at a time where her wisdom was the greatest blessing and she also became a sister to my son through her stay. Jesus came to me with skin on through a friend years ago, who was my sons daycare owner and her tenacity and strong faith put up with me and my anger and doubts toward God as she relentlessly reminded me that God loved me and I was just blind to it right then. And the time my other sister simply laid next to me quietly after my surgery.

It goes on and on to the heavens and back of all the dear friends and their acts of love and service toward me. They all brought a part of themselves that became a part of me, until I finally became a reflection of God's love and was able to go and be a blessing to others. Every act of kindness I extend is something I learned from one of my "dear friends." We are born with certain personalities, temperaments and gifts but the refining of them is from God, and He works many times through other peoples actions. We learn how we want to be and many times what we don't want to be from the way people behave. We are all students and teachers who through teachable hearts can make profound differences in the lives of others. So, whether they be your husband, son, daughter, sister, brother, friend, mom, stranger, acquaintance.......they are Jesus with skin on, and so are you.  Live and love accordingly....... because someone is always learning something from the way you live your life.



This is for all my family and friends that don't live just around the corner.

Laying It All Down Part 2

When our heads bow and our eyes close, it is only then when precious communion is at its purest. During those moments, nothing exists except His love and our need of it.

As we lay our presents down at the foot of the tree on Christmas Eve this year, let us start a new tradition. Stay there, upon your knees, closing your eyes, and lay your burdens down at the foot of the cross. Denounce the sin of busyness and let your body melt into a state of full trust and confidence that God is in control and He loves you. He loves you so much that He died FOR YOU! Where ever you have been He has been there with you and where ever you will go, He will be in it with you all the way.

This year as you kneel, let the Holy Spirit begin to empty you, and as the transfer of your anxieties pass to the King of love, begin to feel His peace as it begins to permeate your mind and heart, finally finding it's true home......your soul. The Spirit will bring light and lightness where only heaviness and darkness dwelt before. Give Him the past years, the present moments and the future and all it holds. Give Him your heart and welcome Him in. Be the dwelling place of the only God that has lived among His people and sacrificed for them.

Lay it all down and begin your New Year with a free mind and a peaceful heart. Forgive your offenders and hand them over to God, realize that sickness and death are not what God intended but are just results of this sinfully stained world. One day, in the blink of an eye, all that is wrong will be right and where sorrow clouded our heart, light will break through! Yes, kneel at the tree of life and surrender all the anger, doubt and pride. Then, as you rise, purpose it in your heart to battle old thoughts with the sword of the Spirit (God's Holy Word), and discipline yourself to replace negative and untrue thoughts with true and positive inner language that will transform you!

Give it up to the One who can carry those heavy burdens. We were never meant to carry such weighty things, and that's why we break under the load. Our bodies bend, our minds grow weary and our hearts break because in our stubbornness and guilt we become martyrs, trying to share Calvary with our Savior and that is a sin. Christ wants us free, light, joyful in our sorrows and most of all empty of pride and self martyrdom. This year dear brothers and sisters, begin your new tradition, alone or invite others to kneel with you as you lay it all down before the man of sorrows and the King of Kings. Know freedom by stopping your busyness and resting in the everlasting arms.

Why are you so intent on not letting go?
Why does silence and stillness scare you so?

Why won't you leave your comfortable hell?
Why so much pity in the stories you tell?

The door to freedom has two sides,
and both of those forces often collide;
fear facing you, to scare you away;
joy on the flip side to show you the way.

Open the door, it's not what it seems,
You just need faith and a heart that believes;
Truth and love await you, arms open wide,
to embrace and carry you to the other side.

All this time you've had a choice,
but you chose to stay:
Come with Me this year,
For I am the Truth, the Light and the Way.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Laying It All Down

1 Peter 5:6,7  Cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you.

Well, I am sure of one thing.....I have no continuity with my health. I had a few great days and then back to a few more painful and exhausting ones. This round and the last few ones have been so different because, as I've said, God has broken my wild spirit and given me one of peace now, and I've come to treasure this peace. I probably will never have continuity in my health but I am so happy that I no longer drag around that bitterness and resentment anymore! I no longer curl up in a ball of pain and cry to God about how frightened, sad and angry my heart feels because now, He has given me a spirit of gratitude that overpowers my anger. I have never known peace and it now surprises me in retrospect how stubborn my spirit was to release my anger all those years.

Some of you reading this may be thinking that you aren't like that but with closer examination of your heart, through the sacrifice of stillness, you may find a spirit deep inside you that has grown into indifference, sarcasm, masked contempt, sadness, robotic service, deliberate distracting service or a gnawing feeling of abandonment underneath your smiles. It may feel as though no one seems to understand or they are impatient with your need to talk and resolve some issues that are bothering you. You are going through your life in a constant yet unrecognizable state of grieving for losses not so apparent to the eye! Losses such as, loosing intimacy or communication with your mate, a heart full of love but no one wants it, a mind that longs to share and interact but no one to listen, the loss of freedom in certain areas, the loss of energy, sight, movement, a sharp mind or even the loss of not being able to physically look into the eyes of someone you hold dear. Loss has so many faces, loss of childhood, feelings of safety, a content heart or something as small as grieving the loss of a toy that comforted you when you were young.

The human mind is a strange and mysterious thing that could hold in it's recesses a profound memory of a simple touch that brought a feeling of safety and love, yet forget even their dearest loved ones names altogether. Kirk Douglas, the actor, wrote a book entitled, The Rag Man's Son, and even though Mr. Douglas had a renowned career and innumerable successes, he always thought of himself as simply, the rag man's son. What we need, desire or crave most in life is always something we never got from a loved one but we must come to see that all we need can be found in our Savior. I have lived a life consumed by loss and grieving and it has reeked havoc on my mind and physical health. I've carried my sorrows around like signs that read, please love me, please comfort me, please help me, yet nothing filled the holes in my soul till I came to the full realization that Jesus is my only source of everything and His love is sufficient for all my needs!

We can go through life putting different covers over our pain and losses but it doesn't matter how we cover them, they will grow silently underneath, plunging their roots to the depth of our souls. Like roots on a tree, they will inevitably begin to bulge upward and destroy the fake foundations that we worked so hard on, to cover them up! The human mind is not designed to be a graveyard and if there are issues that remain unresolved in a person life, they will not be silenced by mental burial. God made us so that if something harmful enters the body, our system will work to push it out! And, so goes with the conscience and heart issues, they will eat at us until they cause the body to disease if we don't still ourselves before the Redeemer. He waits every day all day and all night for us to come to Him and lay our burdens down so we can be free! Through my years of illness and pain, I never saw Him as loving but as an enigma that punishes us and that's why He kept me where I was, so that I wouldn't go too far and let my angry spirit destroy me. He loves me so much that He will never give up on me. I see it now, God isn't punishing me, He's protecting me and for the first time.....I have peace.

As this year comes to a close I pray that anyone who has shackles of anger, pain, sadness, illness, loss, grief or any other thing that holds them prisoner in their minds, hearts or souls, will find peace and freedom in Christ. During this season of His birth, may everyone who seeks Him find new birth within themselves. Where old ghosts reside, may they be forever replaced with angels of God and His purifying light! Jesus longs to fill you but He can't until we voluntarily empty ourselves. My circumstances have not changed but God changed me, and I would not have it any other way. I smile now with gratitude, knowing that I am safe with Him and that all my losses are in His loving hands. I offer up thanks to Him for never leaving me, for comforting me and for the hope that lies ahead of an eternity with Him filled with health, joy, peace, abundance, laughter, purpose and ability! Go to Him, lay it down, lay down the hurts, the losses, the anger, the pain, the sorrow.......just lay it all down....and find peace.

A Great View!

I have been out the last few days enjoying life and I can't believe I'm even saying this because I have been in such a funk for so long that I truly, in my heart thought I forgot how to be joyful. But something happened to me last week that was wonderful, God opened my eyes and I finally surrendered my spirit of entitlement and adopted a grateful heart! All last week, scenarios kept presenting themselves before me that were so profound and personally challenging. I saw a clear distinction between my suffering and how, even though it is challenging and severe to me, could be much, much worse! My blessings became more prominent and my heart began to expand with thankfulness! It says in the Psalms that a cheerful heart is good medicine and I have seen that proven true in the last few days. I chose good and grateful thoughts over whiny, complaining ones and my body reacted with a desire to go forth rather than to withdraw from life. I've been wanting this for so long but I just wouldn't let go of what I considered injustices in life. Now, I accept my crosses that were chosen precisely for me and offer praise and thanks to God as a sweet sacrifice (I still have my self-pity moments but I'm working on them :). I'm acknowledging that, compared to His cross and the suffering of so many others in this world, I can live with the pain in my body and certain circumstances because I now choose to be grateful for what I have AND even more so, what I do not have!

Even though much of my soul has been revealed in this blog, there are things in my life that run deep and are only dealt with between God and myself. I'm sure many of you have deep painful trenches in your lives that prove to be overwhelming at times. Broken marriages, the loss of a child, death of a spouse, health problems, ill loved-ones, fractured or strenuous relationships.......No one makes it through this life unscathed, and everyone can realize that there is someone out there whose difficulties far surpass their own. I may be far behind the curve on this, but I do know that from the beginning of time (Adam and Eve, the Israelite's,....), complaining has been an entrenched sin in the human nature and all the while God prods His people to have grateful and thankful hearts and that should always start with self. One thing I have learned is that most people don't like to be lectured on positive, optimistic thinking! When someone is suffering or feeling down, the best way to influence anyone is to just be kind, empathetic and display a grateful and thankful heart in your actions more than words. Kindness is such a soothing balm and even though I've been pretty isolated lately, God's kindness was always there for me....it just took having to change my attitude to see it.

The Christmas season can be a difficult time with families that are scattered around the world and expectations being set by the media and pretty much everything around us. So, this should be a year where we look inside rather than outside. We should compare our circumstances against the Bethlehem manger rather than the standards set by this world. Christ had no neo-natal care unit, no nursery painted in pastels with stuffed animals or even a soft clean bed. He had no luxuries throughout His life, no place to lay His head, no friends that stayed when He asked them to and no one with Him when He died on the cross at Calvary. Look at your life from that angle this year and you will feel so blessed, as I said, not just for what you have BUT for what you do not have. For things could always be worse.

Be kind, be thankful, forgive, give praise and love.

"Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' " Isaiah 58:9

No matter how lonely you may feel, He is always with you and no matter how dark our circumstances are or feel, we have His light, that needs only to be turned on by a heart of gratitude.



   

O, Be Silly!

Silly comes from the old English word "selig," and it's literal definition is "to be blessed, happy, healthy and prosperous." I was silly yesterday evening and for the first time in a longtime, I had fun! I had purposed it in my heart earlier in the day that I wanted to go out to dinner with my husband and I wanted to feel healthy, laugh a lot, be happy and have fun! That's exactly what we did and after having been ill for such a long time it felt WONDERFUL to feel light and silly!

Feel blessed, happy, healthy and prosperous! All those things start in the soul so they are never out of reach. Stop feeling downcast or acting grumpy and take a break from it. Go be silly and let it refresh your soul! See how many people you can give your smile to today!

Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always!

Praise and Thanksgiving

As I wrote this post it felt like the wind was in my face the whole time! My research was frustrating, my mind felt empty, yet my fingers kept typing and my computer kept messing with me. It seemed as though nothing was coalescing and I just wanted to erase all of it and try something different on another day. BUT, I believe God wrote and edited this through me for His purposes, so I'm posting it and I'm trusting God to use these words to bless whoever they are meant for.

Psalm 100:4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!

Did you hear that!? We can enter into the presence of God with just a heart of thanksgiving and praise! Don't you think your prayers would be much more powerful if you prayed them in the presence of the Almighty! Of course they would, and having a thankful heart is not just something you express when life is going well. We are to have a grateful and thankful heart in ALL things and I have arrived at the entrance of this truth just this week. Sure, I thanked God my whole life and I was grateful for all the blessings but it isn't until now that I am thanking Him for things I don't find pleasant or fair.

God has had me in a very tight corner and I have fought many of the lessons, like a furious fish flipping and writhing as the Great Fisher of men tried to reel me in for my own good! All the while, my inner voice screaming, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! It's not fair!... I'm mad! I'm mad! I'm mad at you God! How could You allow this? Where are You! BUT, it wasn't until I quieted my heart and mind (actually I wore myself out) that I was able to hear the quiet, loving voice of God, and what He had to say was beautiful, comforting, peaceful and assuring. He showed me how my heart had turned more angry and how I was destroying myself with self-pity. God knew that I needed a heart full of praise and thanksgiving in order for my mind, body and soul to heal. God loves us so much that He will allow hard times just to get our attention back on Him...where we can be healed and find peace.

God has not left you (Matthew 28:20, I will never leave you or forsake you) nor has He a cold heart toward your suffering (Psalm 103:17, The loving-kindness of the Lord is forever), He is an ever present help in trouble (2 Corinthians 2:14, He leads me in triumph.). Thanksgiving began in my heart last week in the truest sense of the word. My circumstances have been very confining and unnerving but God allowed them because He knew that I would exhaust myself and then finally fall at His feet, only to find true and pure grace, which is really what all of us really want. The road of surrender of self is as long as we make it, just as the Israelites made an eleven day trip across the desert from Egypt to Canaan last forty years! Their stubborn, ungrateful hearts kept them prisoner, not God. God's desire was that they would appreciate and remember His goodness and pass on the stories of His faithfulness to generations to come. But, they complained, whined, argued, blamed, wanted more and never recalled one of God's blessings! Blessings such as feeding millions of them in a desert, giving them water from a rock, food from heaven (manna), leading them with a cloud by day and a fire by night so they would always have direction....But no....they rejected their God. Until we can thank Him for EVERYTHING we will never know the fullness of His grace and love. 

Praise, unlike thanksgiving, is connected with God's character and attributes rather than His works. He is: Love, Light, Our Father, Our Joy, The Great Miracle Worker, Compassionate, Our Rock, Our Shield, Our Fortress, Friend and Counselor, Our Comforter, Great Communicator, Savior and Deliverer. He is Merciful, Perfect, The Way, the Truth and the Light. He is Our Intercessor, Our Victor and Our Hope. God is also Supreme (highest power and authority), Sovereign (controls everything/reigning), Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (infinite in knowledge), Omnipresent (ever present), Immutable (unchangeable), Faithful, Holy, Just, Wise, Eternal, Good and The Creator of All Things! Pick any one of these characteristics or attributes and just spend time praising Him for what He is and soon a heart of gratitude will rise within you. You will begin thanking Him for being all those things, because He has been them all to you!

My heart and mind are singing again, and I know my body will begin to heal because His word says,"A happy heart makes the face cheerful." (Prov 15:13), "The cheerful heart has a continual feast" (Prov 15:15), "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." (Prov 15:30), and "A cheerful heart is good medicine." (Prov 17:22). I lost my cheerful heart along the way and I want it back. My pain and depression have made my body sick, but I am adopting a cheerful heart again and God's Word promises good things will be the result! I had a deep stain in my heart and I blamed God for everything I didn't like. But, He was not about to let His precious daughter live with that lie and all the repercussions of it. Life is not fair nor is it always pleasant but why would we deserve that, when The Father didn't even give it to His son Jesus when He walked this earth? We are not entitled and when we finally get that, we will begin to understand what thanksgiving and praise is all about. I fought Him and complained...just like the Israelite's and that's why my journey was directed through a desert and lasted so long. I lived a life of being a Christian on the outside but an angry and bitter child on the inside. God's love for me does not allow room for hypocrisy and whenever I speak unbecomingly or act inappropriately I can feel the Holy Spirit within me grieving. If the truth sets us free then a double-mind or a double-life will hold us prisoner! He will allow us to self-destruct if we are hell-bent on it, He will not infringe on our stubborn self-will. If you seek Him though, rather than selfish endeavors, He will reveal Himself to you and rescue you from yourself. He wants us to be set free with His truth, so that we can share His love with others, with pure and honest hearts. Galatians 5:6b says, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

God's work is far from done in me, but I am confident that as I learn to still myself before Him and listen to His whispers of wisdom and truth, He will mature me into the woman that His love always intended me to be. It will be through a renewed heart of thanksgiving and praise that The Light (Jesus), will begin to shine brightly again within me, and that Light will guide my way. I'm tired of harboring a heart full of self-pity, victim-hood and resentment toward God and others. I've let the world and it's attitudes make me into a cynical person and it's only gotten me a complaining and indifferent heart that is of no use to God. I have recommitted to finding my power from the only source that puts out pure energy and light....Jesus himself. If I stay connected to Him then I can shine, and His light will chase the darkness away. God's desire is that other people will see Him in our hearts and witness His character in us so that they will want that for themselves. I struggle with that because I often have a wrestling match going on inside of me with my old self and the new one that I desire to be. The Apostle Paul...Author of the bibles epistles wrote about this same struggle that was within him, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do!" It is human nature to have this struggle, and God's Holy Spirit working within us is the only hope we have to progress in the right way. We will never be perfect so stop wearing yourself out with self-imposed pressures to be what only God can be. Try trading your right to beat yourself up for your right to praise God and give thanks! The bible is the Holy Word of God that encourages, directs and prods us on to want to be more like Jesus. Our failed attempts are always going to occur but let each confession and lesson-learned be another lit candle in your heart that chases the darkness away. We are to desire to be Godly, not to be God. Worship the Creator not the created and you will find real power and reason to rejoice. May His grace and mercy be with you all the days of your life and may you never want to be less than His child.

 A heart full of thanksgiving and praise will take you into His presence! Isn't that where we long to be especially when times of disaster or trouble comes. You must remember that we are not praising God for the disaster,the pain, the sorrow but we will praise Him for being The Great Comforter to those affected. We will also praise Him "in" our circumstance because He will provide everything we will need to get through it and survive after it. Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise." A sacrifice of praise is an act of putting our faith in God before our human feelings. It is believing that God knows best and has a plan even though we do not see it. When a person comes to a point where they can praise God in their toughest hour....it will be in that hour that they will be closest to the King of Kings and lover of our souls.

Supporting scriptures:

Ephesians 2:4,5, Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesian 4:1-3, As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesian 4:29-32, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

Philippians 1:27, Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Philippians 2:14-16a, Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life...

Colossians 3:12-14, Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And, over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Hebrews 12:1-3, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and loose heart.

Don't beat yourself up....just be a relentless pursuer of the foot of the cross and God will change you. Pray on....

The Greatest Gift

When Jesus hung on that cross it was like no other death and we will never comprehend it's entirety because it was holy, set apart and beyond our human ability to empathize with. Christ's love for us is so pure and unconditional that we can't even conceive it's depth. And, when He hung on that cross something happened that has never, nor will ever happen again...Jesus' Father had to look away from Him because of "our" sin. Jesus had never known a moment in His life without His Father and because of His sacrifice for us He suffered more than the beatings, humiliation and torture on the cross...He was utterly alone with "our" sin. No one on this earth knows what being separated from the Father feels like because we are privileged to have a God that lets the sun shine on the good and the bad, a God who's presence and love are with us and around us constantly. We have no concept of utter darkness or hopelessness because the Father is with us always! Jesus is the only man who ever lived and experienced separation from the Father. Man will not know that horror unless he refuses to repent, for that is what hell is...separation from God. Only Jesus, the son of our Heavenly Father knows that darkness and the only reason He does, is because He volunteered to die for His children. He did it for us, for me, for you, all because of His love for us. He is the only God who laid down His life for His children.

Don't diss Him anymore, grab on to Him and ask Him to forgive you for your sins and make you a child of God for eternity! And, if you already know Christ as your Savior then click on the icons below to either post this article on your Facebook page or e-mail it out. Please, before it's too late, step out in faith and challenge not only yourself but your loved one's, friends, acquaintances and whoever God moves you to tell. Share the good news and fear not, it is the great commission for us to go and tell. It's not up to us to change hearts, that's God's work. If a truck pulled up in your neighborhood and the doors opened up to a truckload of new tools, purses, jewelry, tickets to sporting events, electronics....and all of it was free! Wouldn't you tell everyone about the truck full of free stuff that just stopped and opened it's doors! WHY THEN, DO WE NOT TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE FREE GIFT OF LOVE AND ETERNAL LIFE OFFERED BY GOD?

John 3:16 For God so loved (your name here) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but but have eternal life! For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

If you have ever felt unworthy, unloved, abandoned, broken, alone, afraid, weary from sadness, weary from life, angry, rejected, tormented, tortured, overwhelmed with grief.....then, Jesus knows exactly how you feel. As long as we are on this earth we will, just as Jesus did, experience all these things. He suffered and died so that you would never have to say, "God doesn't understand! or Why is God allowing this all to happen!" Whatever you are going through, Jesus has experienced the pain and emotions of your trial AND He is going through your current circumstance with you right now. Stop doubting, stop being angry, Jesus loves YOU and He promised to never leave you or forsake you. Start believing that. Ask Him to heal you of the pain from the past and the worry of the future and begin to trust Him with your current moments. That's all the strength we are given from God, just enough for today...moment by moment with Him. He says, He will be the strength in our weakness and our portion forever! If you want to blame someone for all the sin, crime, pain, sickness....then get angry at Satan and start rebuking him IN Jesus name! God never delights in pain, loss or grieving, He's the One that will sit with you through it all and comfort you with the truth that He knows exactly how you feel. God is omnipresent which means that He is everywhere, all the time. No one is alone with their situation, Jesus is there and each one of us has 100% of Him and His love at all times. You are not alone.

To ask Him into your heart, simply say this prayer....Lord Jesus, I cannot earn my way to heaven, I can only ask you into my heart so that my sins are covered by your spilt blood on the cross. It is by Your grace through faith that I can be saved and I ask you now to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. I'm sorry for my sins and I ask you to forgive me. I accept your free gift of love and salvation. Amen

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame." Roman 10:9-11

Godly Sorrow

How many times in your life have you put someone else's feelings before your own or put yours before someone else's? It's not admirable to let someone walk all over you and it's not respectable to go around manipulating another person's time or life. Having the wisdom to know what to do and when and for what reasons is what's important. Maturing in Christ should be every one's first mission in life because without doing that, we can go through life causing a lot of damage through our immaturity and lack of humility! I know people who have no boundaries and they don't understand when to differentiate between self-protection and self-respect or humility, kindness or thoughtfulness. Being a Christian doesn't mean you don't have boundaries. Let me offer a few examples....I grew up in a post-world war II mentality, with all my aunts, uncles, family and friends swearing like sailors. The bad words weren't used for evil, they were used for emphasis, and they were used for 80% of the conversation or story. Anyway, as I grew up I used these words and not just for emphasis, but to express anger, hate and to hurt when necessary. One account was when I flippantly used the F-bomb repeatedly with a friend and she called me on it! She asked if I would not say those words around her because she found them offensive and if I could restrain from saying them around our Pastor then she would like the same respect. WOW! I was shocked, embarrassed and convicted, not to mention my pride raised it back hairs like a mad cat!

After she left I had a couple hours of, "Who does she think she is!" and "I'm never going to speak to her again!", I went on and on trying to justify by behavior with all kinds of reasoning until God's Holy Spirit softened my heart to the point where I could hear the truth and I realized that, she was right. Sure, I had to wrestle my pride as I accepted this truth but the fact was, she was right and I was wrong. Her ability to respect herself made me a better person and a more mature one that could take my teachable heart and use it in all my life experiences. Her honesty and clear boundaries made me a better person because I let it. On the other hand, there are people that will go to their grave with stubborn unteachable hearts and most of their life will be spent offending others and defending themselves. That is so sad.

Another example was when a past friend offended me and I had to self-protect for one of the first times in my life. In this case, I was the one who used boundaries and it set a new standard for my life where I began to respect myself and it felt wonderful to just be honest and let the other person have the conviction to deal with. My friends husband had grabbed me and kissed me in front of her. She just laughed but I felt extremely uncomfortable and not just for myself but for her trying to act like it was no problem. I also laughed and joked to make the whole situation not so awkward for everyone. I didn't want to embarrass him or her by being honest, but I went away feeling sick. As a couple days past I couldn't stop thinking about how I put their feelings before my own. I had done that my whole life but I thank God He finally made me see it so clearly that everyone has to deal with their own actions and it wasn't my job to deflect pain from them. I decided to write a letter and express honestly how that whole thing made me feel. The letter had opened up a bee's nest in their relationship which led to confessions and finally repentance. A year later her husband showed up at my door and asked if I would forgive him. I said there was no need for that but he insisted that there was a need for it, and he was right. I accepted his forgiveness and saw how honesty and truth really does set people free!

These experiences happened years ago but my point in sharing them is to shine some light on this topic. My whole life I surrounded myself with people who had no boundaries or convictions regarding their behaviors and because I made those choices I lived most of my life surrounded with chaos and drama! It took me years to clean house and to learn which people are safe to let in and what people I needed to distance myself from (Read, The Pit and the Gate under blog archives). I had always protected other people from embarrassment by using my sense of humor and covering for them, even if the offense was toward me. I was so used to letting people make me uncomfortable and thinking that their feelings were more important than mine. The  negative result of that immature thought process always ended with me feeling worse and worse about myself and others! Self-loathing and resentment were the by-products of not having healthy boundaries and it showed in all my relationships. When I was younger I saw myself as worthless so I didn't put much worth on my relationships, but as I grew in my relationship with Christ and was influenced by godly people I changed into the mind-set of the fact, that I am a daughter of the King! I am worth being respected, listened to and honored as a mother, wife, friend, fellow human being....

I started a study years ago in a book titled, A Step Farther and Higher by Gail MacDonald and I'm still working on it to this day. It starts by writing a mission statement for your life and it can be anywhere from book length to just one word. After much thought and prayer I wrote mine and it was simply two words, "Be Aware." Be aware of other peoples situations and vulnerabilities, be aware of your own, be aware of danger, false humor, harmful intentions...be aware of what the nasty person you just crossed paths with might be going through, be aware of what you eat, say, do.....Be aware of holding yourself accountable to godly standards and to encourage those around you to respect God....Be aware of your children's behavior, their needs and disappointments....Be aware of why someone may want to hurt you, why you may want  to hurt someone....Be aware of the need to forgive someone or show an enemy kindness, Be aware that everyone sees a problem from their own perspective....Be aware that you may need to see something from someone else's perspective...Be aware that just a smile or kind word can save someone and watch for those kindnesses around you when your eyes are blinded with tears, your heart encrusted with pain and your mind darkened with thoughts of entitlements. Be aware of your words and deeds and be aware of how Jesus would want you to deal with something....

No matter what the infraction or situation, God wants to work it ALL out for good (Romans 8:28). Honesty, truth, consideration of others, self respect....these are the foundations of real change and healing. Stop being afraid to take responsibility! Stop blaming others for your situation! Stop letting others manipulate you and disrespect you! Take the few truthful hits, whether from God, yourself or someone else, then allow yourself to be broken in areas that God knows are holding you prisoner. The sting only lasts a short time, just like antiseptic on a cut, but then let God heal it so you can be free from all the non-sense inside and around you! Your scar will remain as a marker of God's love for you but your wound will heal. Your life will change in so many positive ways and your joy will be made full! Desire freedom at any cost because it's worth it and so are you. Whether you are infringed upon by someone else's lack of boundaries or you go around hurting others because you have none, stop it now by asking God to give you a teachable heart. Pray for one, desire one, cry out for one...because it is so worth it to step to the other side of life, where honesty and truth rule with love at their core. No one can make you feel or be anything that isn't already inside of YOU. Learn to do everything you do, whether for yourself or for others....do it all in love. Freedom comes with sacrifice and that sacrifice is always self. Desire God's character in your heart more than your own.

Suggested reading: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend, There's Hope for the Hurting by Richard Lee, Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, Breaking Free by Beth Moore

PRIDE
Matthew 18:4  Whoever is without pride as this little child, is the greatest in the holy nation of heaven. Psalm 10:17  O Lord, You have heard the prayers of those who have no pride. You will give strength to their heart, and You will listen to them. Matthew 23:12  The person who thinks he is important will find out how little he is worth. The person who is not trying to honor himself will be made important. Job 22:29  For God puts down the man who is filled with pride. But He saves the one who is not proud. James 4:6  God works against the proud but gives loving favor to those who have no pride. Proverbs 22:4  The reward for not having pride and having the fear of the Lord is riches, honor and life. Proverbs 15:33  The fear of the Lord is the teaching for wisdom. 1 Peter 5:6  So, put away all pride from yourselves. You are standing under the powerful hand of God. At the right time He will lift you up. Psalm 149:4  For the Lord is happy with His people. He saves those who have no pride and makes them beautiful. Psalm 25:9  He leads those without pride into what is right, and teaches them His way.


CONTENTMENT
Proverbs 17:22  A glad heart is good medicine, but a broken or crushed spirit dries up the bones. Hebrews 13:5  Keep your lives free of the love of money. Be happy with what you have. God has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Proverbs 15:15  All the days of the suffering are hard, but a glad heart has a special treat all the time. 1 Timothy 6:6  A God-like life gives us much when we are happy for what we have.

GOD'S CORRECTION
Job 5:17,18  See, happy is the person to whom God speaks strong words. So do not hate the strong teaching of the All Powerful when you sin. For though He wounds, He binds up and heals again. He will deliver you again and again, so that no evil can touch you. Psalm 94:12  Happy is the person who is chastened until he gives up sin. 2 Corinthians 4:16,17  This is the reason we do not give up. Our human body is wearing out, but our spirits are getting stronger every day. The troubles we suffer now for a short time are making us ready for the great things God is going to give us forever! Psalm 37:28  For the Lord loves what is fair and right. He does not leave the people alone that belong to Him. They are kept forever. But the children of the sinful will be cut off. 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17  Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever. May He give your heart comfort and strength to say and do every good thing.


Love covers a multitude of sins.  1 Peter 4:8  There is nothing that you have done to God, yourself or to someone else, that God will not forgive you for, if you repent with a heart of contrition. Don't let pride keep you a prisoner (Read, Pride under blog archives). Walking through life with a prideful unrepentant heart causes much more suffering than if you were to go before your God and confess, asking Him to forgive you and to use you from then on in the light of His truth to go and help set the other prisoners free. I promise you that the only scary part is the fear of doing it, other than that...you will be washed over by the love of God and you will have a new life that you will love Him for.


Forgive yourself, others and tell God you are sorry you doubted Him. Your prayers will begin to blossom!

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, God is faithful

2 Corinthians 7:10  Godly sorrow brings repentance, that leads to salvation, and leaves no regret.

But worldly sorrow brings death.