Unrelenting Weeds

Oh boy, did I let my vegetable garden get out of control with weeds this year! It all started out so beautifully when I tilled the soil in the spring and planted all my veggies in perfect rows. Not easy work but the results are so rewarding. We brought out our two torquoise garden chairs that we love and our small wire table with the silver platter as a top and sat there to admire our hard work. With a craft beer for my husband and a chilled glass of wine for me, all we could do was bask in the beauty of it all. Then came the rains and more rain until about a month later our garden was invaded by a million tiny weeds!

My husband and his brother went at it and weeded the raised beds along with the pathways. It looks so tended and loved within those gates when they were done. Then again, the rains came and the weeds grew. We went up there and weeded the raised beds but didn't do the pathways. Our intentions were to spray the paths with weed killer but we never did it. So, weeks later the tiny weeds became tall weeds and a few weeks later the tall weeds became amazon weeds. We couldn't keep up and it all seemed so overwhelming that we surrendered to them. We handed over our garden territory to the enemy and as a result the weeds choked out our fruits. Every glance toward our once beautiful garden covered us with shame.

How often do we let this scenario play out in our minds, hearts or lives? Where there once was a joyful song in our heart, we let the negativity take over as life's trials watered it. Where we once had a nice roll going of being in God's Word daily turned into busyness and our spirit life shriveled. Weeds are inevidable and so are the ups and downs of life but one thing I've learned is that whether you're tending a garden, a heart, a mind or your life...it needs to be tended daily! My saying is, "It's better to do something small than nothing at all." Yet, I did not live that out in my garden scenario. I didn't FEEL like going out there daily (I'm more of an indoor person) and that choice, that neglect, allowed my enemy to take over that territory. My garden bore no fruit.

Let's not allow this to happen to our minds and hearts though. The garden is just the example of when we get lazy what happens. Next year can be a new start with lessons learned. No great great loss. But, loosing precious territory in our mind or heart IS a big deal! That territory is God's and at ALL cost we are to defend and protect it! There is no margin for error when it comes to our spiritual lives. We are to plant God's Word daily, water it with the Holy Spirit daily, tend it with perserverence, weed it with truth, till it with love every day. We are to share the fruits daily, feeding and nourishing others. I'm sad and a bit ashamed at what I allowed my garden to turn into. But, as it went unattended I was busy going to bible studies, worshipping God through song, going to church, sharing the gospel, reading and studying my bible... and the garden of my mind and heart were producing the fruits of the Spirit!

Children of God, maybe we can't do it all and maybe there are some of you who can but at the cost of some precious moments. One thing I do know is that NOTHING should ever come before tending the Spiritual garden of our hearts DAILY. And don't allow the enemy of our souls to deceive you that it is a joyless task for it is not. Take joy in it! Sing along to worship songs, read your bible out loud, smile as you serve, talk with God all day and focus more on thanking Him. There's SO MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR. Act out these joyful tasks and He will bless your heart's garden with all the fruit of His Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God's Spirit is the best organic weed killer. Your heart's garden will display His glory for His glory.

Psalm 68:19, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who DAILY bears our burdens." (If God bears our burdens daily then surely we can praise Him daily.)

Matthew 6:11, "Give us this day our DAILY bread..."

Luke 9:23, "Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross DAILY and follow Me."

Hebrews 3:13, "Encourage one another DAILY..."

Knots

I've admitted that I'm not a multitasker and when too many things get on my plate I get overwhelmed easily. So often I am amazed at how others handle so many major issues at one time along with the multitude of small things happening in between. This morning as I was doing some sewing I was praying and asking God to guard my mind with His helmet of salvation in regards to some things that are coming up. As I was praying the spool of thread dropped and I ended up with a handful of string that was in knots. It didn't upset me too much because for some reason I love to unknot things! I think because it keeps me focused on one task and it clears my mind of other issues. It relaxes me and in that state of mindlessness I'm able to hear God in  ways I otherwise could not.

As I began to unknot the string the Lord spoke to me regarding how I need to let life unfold in His terms and not mine. I looked down and in my hands were so many knots and I had to just start at one end and one at a time along with patience and joy (I had Christian music on) take one knot out at a time. I couldn't focus on the knots ahead and I had to stay intent on the one knot that was on my attention. One knot at a time. As I worked on it the Lord kept revealing to me that that is exactly how He wants me to handle my upcoming issues. God works along with us to unravel the circumstances and trials of our lives. We are never alone, we never have to be all-knowing, we never have to get ahead of ourselves. The All-Mighty God of the universe who designed us before the foundations of the earth handles our knots. In His timing all things work together for good!

All God wants from us is trust and obedience. When we surrender to His timing and trust in His grace we are free from anxiety, worry and control. Relinquishing control to our unseen God is probably one of our hardest tasks and only reveals a seed of unbelief in our mind and heart. So many times we want to take the machete from Him, tell Him to get behind us and just start chopping our own path through the jungle before us. We often do that and it just leaves us exhausted and lost, laying there praying to Him to help us. Let's try a new way! Let's surrender to Him and trust Him to make a way before us that is best for us. One knot, one mess at a time.

Isaiah 25:1, O Lord, You are my God, I will praise You. I will give thanks to Your name. For You have been faithful to do great things, plans You made long ago.

Psalm 9:10, Those who know your name will put their trust in You. For You O Lord, have never left alone those who look for You.

Isaiah 46:11, "I have spoken, and I will make it happen. I have planned it, and I will do it, says the Lord."

Deut 7:9, "Know then that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He keeps His promise and shows His loving-kindness to those who love Him and keep His laws, even for a thousand generations."

Filled and Pouring Out

One of the bible studies I'm currently doing is on The Armor of God by Pricilla Shirer. The insight that God has given her has been blessing so many of us women. Yesterday she taught on the Shield of Faith and so many things became clear to me about how I handle being overwhelmed. She explained that in ancient times the warriors had wooden shields that they would raise above their head when the enemy was shooting flaming arrows at them. I always thought about it from the perspective of protecting themselves but never really expanded the reasoning of why the opponents set the arrows on fire. The reasoning was that the flaming arrows would set the wooden shields on fire thus making the warriors that were being attacked have to break their turtle shell formation rendering them vulnerable and distracted by having to put out the flames!

Pricilla went on to explain that that is exactly what satan's demons do to us daily and that the Shield of Faith that God calls us to take up will extinguish those fires instantly. The fires are not to kill us but they are intended to distract us, discombobulate us, overwhelm us and to get our focus off God and onto our problems! This hit me so profoundly and I could see clearly for the first time how satan's army did this to me repeatedly throughout my life! I spent most of my energy focused on all the situations and the feelings that they evoked rather than seeing this offensive strategy.

I have been applying the truths that I've been learning throughout this study along with the teachings of my other study which is on Joy. The empowerment and insight are like a covering of peace that I've never fully experienced before. I just want to encourage you to draw near to God (James 4:8) because He promises that if we do that He will draw near to us! You wouldn't bake without a recipe or try to fix something without tools so why would you try to live your life apart from the ONE who loves you most. He has the tools and the recipe for living a life filled with wisdom, discernment, joy, soundness of mind, ...

If I didn't join bible studies throughout the years then I would not have all this information that is changing my life from one of ineffectiveness to one of power. All through these studies God used me in my sister's life to help her get through some horrible times. If I wasn't armed with these learned truths then I would have been ineffective in that mission but God knew what I needed. I committed to drawing near to Him through study and He equipped me with knowledge and wisdom that not only changed me but encouraged and changed my sister! God wants to make your life remarkable! He wants it to be a life saturated and flowing over with His power, His love and the soundness of mind that only He can give (2 Timothy 1:7). It only takes a simply step of faith toward Him, then, abundance in Him can be yours and yours to share!

Ephesians 3:17-19, I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love. I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how deep His love is. I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything that we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God himself.

Child of God, A brick of red hot coal soon goes out when it is removed from the source of fire. 

New Attitude

I have friends coming to visit from California and I'm really excited about seeing them. Yet, as I stand here in the middle of my house I have this feeling that I'm not on top of things but that things are on top of me. I have some sewing to do, projects, laundry, cleaning, and I have two Bible studies that I need to finish for the week. The old me would go crawl in bed and feel overwhelmed but because of all the growing I've done through God I can stand here now and simply ask the Lord to unfold my tasks while making my day joyous. Everything will work out and I will enjoy the journey. I love the new me that I have allowed God to make me! Instead of life overwhelming me I let God overwhelm me with his joy instead! My husband always says, "How do you eat an elephant?" And he makes me say back to him, "One bite at a time." So, I'm going to go put some Christian music on and enjoy my day!

2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

A Poem

Happy Day by Dee Hartmann

Oh, to be young and wear a tulle skirt with sneakers. A flower wreath in my hair, without a care. Swinging, laughing, being honest with my body and heart! Living my part. To feel so deeply that weeping and rejoicing are friends along with my dear, true friends, my really friends. The burst of spring, shedding of fall, winters rest and summers call, all in my eyes as I twirl my tulle skirt with hands to the sky.

Ashamed?

If we try to walk in our own worthiness our shame smothers God's flame of freedom. Choices we've made, unbridled words, actions that caused pain to others are just some of the behaviors that have dropped seeds of shame in our minds and hearts. We suffer with grieving thoughts and heavy guilt from our past and it's as if we are living life with a load of bricks that we drag around behind us. Does God want us to live like that? Can our mind ever be free from the past? Yes, there is freedom and I can assure you that God DOES NOT want us to carry those burdens.

Proverbs 14:30 states, "A heart that has peace is life to the body, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." The condition of our heart determines the life we have in our physical state. How we talk to ourselves and to God sets the trjectory for our life. Beginning each day by acknowledging God's majesty in all things sets us up for joy no matter what our circumstances are. Confessing our sins and then confirming His forgiveness and love toward us sets a platform of freedom under our feet. Giving thanks and knowing that He is in control of everything brings us peace. Surrendering our needs and concerns to Him gives us hope! Joy, freedom, peace and hope are what our hearts need. Yet ever so often we choose to begin our days with regret, sorrow and anger. Who has the better way, God or us? It is in His worthiness not ours where we should hunger and thirst to be.

Proverbs 17:22, "A glad heart is good medicine!

Psalm 42:11, "Why are you sad, oh my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my help and my God!"

Each day begins with a choice of either regret or joy, forgiveness or anger, depression or hope. You may have busied yourself to a point where you don't conciously think about it but there is a river that runs through your soul and hard times or times of illness will reveal its properties of either being bitter or fresh. Ask God to reveal you in His worthiness and not yours.

Safest Place

Whatever you are going through right now, good or bad, is happening right in the palm of God's hand! You are safe and loved.

Floodlight or Laser Pointer?

I awoke this morning from a dream that would not let me go. As I struggled with it and finally pulled my senses together I began to see how the dream was a reflection of fragments of my life right now. I was searching for someone that I loved but could not find them in the crowds. My anxiety and frustration mounted until I woke from it, yet, it kept trying to pull me back in.

As I layed there trying to process all of it I realized that I was looking at each issue with a laser pointer. Focused with an unconscious inner frenzy as to how to deal with each one. As I pondered and prayed, God began to unfold truths to my mind and I began to deal with the issues from a new perspective. In line with how God works in His wondrous ways, He had given me a visual experience earlier this week that He applied to my morning dilemma. When issues begin to surround us it is imperative not to give each one the mounting attention it does NOT deserve! God deserves our attention NOT "worrying".

Last week as My husband and I stood outside our home and looked at all the weeds that had consumed our property, we were overwhelmed! We are new to upstate NY and moved here from California a couple years ago. Things are done very differently here because of the four seasons, the amount of rain and the size of the properties. We went from a neighborhood to a seven acre home where 3/4ths of it needs to be maintained! Each year we've toiled to get this project manageable and we're getting closer but it is taking not only labor but a new mind-set to get on top of it.

As I was driving home last week I was talking to God and telling Him that we need a gardener/landscaper to help us. I asked Him to just let me see a crew working so I could pull over and get their information. It wasn't more that a minute after I said that and there was a crew and I pulled over. Two days later the owner showed up at our house to go over what needed to be done. Brian and I were expressing our feelings regarding weed encroachment and as we spoke you could see the frustration and anxiety rising in both of us. The landscaper began to talk and there was a peaceful, knowledgeable, quiet commanding way about him. He intelligently and systematically layed out a plan to get everything taken care of and told us what to do between his work days. He ended  by saying, "Everything will be okay and it will all work out." After he left, Brian and I just looked at each other and said the same thing, "Wow! That guy was awesome! He just made us feel so at peace!"

We continued our discussion on the porch and my husband and I were amazed how someone who has knowledge and experience can settle the hearts of the anxious. Then, instantly (being the kind of person I am) my mind began to see all the metaphors in the situation and how God has a floodlight view of our lives. He sees all, while we tend to focus like a laser on encroaching problems and injustices. We get overwhelmed and frightened, while God is sure, just and all knowing!

 The weeds in our yard are just one area in our life right now that feel out of control. There are some loved ones that are struggling and suffering with their own personal issues and our hearts are breaking for them. We are holding them up in intercessory prayer and on our knees fighting in Christ's name for their spiritual recovery. God gave us the weeds and the gardener to show us metaphorically how He is so intimately involved in our lives. We focus on the problems while God has a broad view of the solutions. If we look close enough, we can see Him in control and confident regarding our problems and needs.

The weeds represent the relational issues and problems in our lives. The gardener revealed God's character of wisdom, peace, trouble shooting skills, concern and love for His garden of souls. God speaks to us, "All will be well. I have a process. Rest in my promises." I could feel God telling me, just as the gardener did, to keep busy, pull weeds and work methodically while He does the heavy work of not just pulling weeds but making it so they can't take over again! (Weed cloth and thick mulch).

My dear friends, this is a sinful and tainted world where we must realize that there are vermin, pests and weeds that are relentless but we have a Master Gardener who they can not hide from. His Floodlight exposes them and He uses them to teach us lessons about many things. We must stop letting the enemy get us laser focused on the attacks as we stand in the shadow of despair and rather choose to be flooded by God's light and wisdom! God offers a broad view to us through scripture and communication through His Holy Spirit so that we can live in confidence and security that He is in control. We are to look at the One who calms the storms not the one who stirs up dissension!

May your weeds be few, your lessons many and may you choose to walk in God's warm light rather than the shadows of worry.

Psalm 27:1-3, The Lord is my light and the One who saves me! Whom should I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life! Of whom should I be afraid?

Fight, Flight or Love

There have been some issues happening in my life lately that have been making me take a closer look at my heart. Not just my heart but the hearts of others too. These thoughts began coming together yesterday as I viewed a video on Facebook of an out of control woman who freaked out because she couldn't get her chicken McNuggets! Her reaction to the failed request was to fight! Yet, the cashiers response was to protect herself and the managers reaction was to call for assistance. The entire scene made me see so clearly that each of us, depending on the conditions and the posture of our hearts, can be stirred to some level of disturbance and reaction.

What is the condition of our heart? When attacked verbally do we fight back, flee or love? Fighting back is a figurative punch to the opponent to defend our self and to gain the upper hand. We shoot our attacks and feelings of injustice like bullets at their heart. Most likely they are shooting back in order to obtain some control in the confrontation. The heat of the moment becomes a battlefield where all bets are off. Every unspoken feeling is now ammunition in the fight for power. Both have taken the gloves off and damage is the only result!

In another battle strategy, there will be the fighter and then the one who flees. The more aggressive of the two is usually the one being driven by angry or insecure emotions. They will overpower with aggressive gestures that make them look larger. Their voice will take on a tone of mean-spirited sarcasm and they will hurl accusations of blame. They roar so that their victim will cower and be rendered unable to protect themselves. Their sentences begin with words like, "My!", "Mine!", "I, I, I...", "You did...", "You said..." This technique is like a bull kicking up dust, the bullish person creates such a confusing dust storm that they do all the lambasting and then abruptly exit the encounter so as to not have to hear any criticisms of them self.

Passive aggressiveness is another battle plan where someone will punish others with non-aggressive techniques. These actions cause discomfort or pain to their target but allows the agitator to say things such as, "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything." They reap a sadistic pleasure from toying with their enemy. They believe they can escape any accountability with false naivety. They control those around them with an invisible switch and it's a most effective tool because it keeps the affected one quite confused.

Another tactic is the fight of the co-dependant. They have an internal delight that someone even cares enough for them to engage them in their life and drama. They live for the attention so they feed the negative behavior. Their fight is usually one of appeasement and they will keep the nonsense going just so they have a purpose.

The fifth example is the drama king or queen. They carry a legacy as far back as childhood as being the squeaky wheel in the family. They turn everything into drama and discord which in turn puts all energy and attention on them. Not good energy but negative, destructive and exhausting energy that saps the entire family. These people become indignant that anyone could have the audacity to challenge their demands and feelings! They seem to have this rebellion in their DNA and bring it along as their companion through life. It affects every relationship and situation with unrelenting issues of how others are to blame for everything bad in their life. No one can ever please them and they are not happy until they have stirred the pot with their entitlement.

Then, there is the rarest of all opponents which is the one who loves their enemies. That is the hardest of positions to take because it requires humility and surrender to the God that must work His love through them. This person takes very seriously the command from God, to love their neighbor as them self. This is not a doormat  type of person. In a mature state, this type of person sees the pain and hurt in their accuser and chooses to love their brokenness and see them for who they could be. The one who loves has maturity, boundaries, patience, humility and wisdom. They still feel the pain of the attack but they are not ruled by their emotions. They feel for the accuser and desire better for them. There is a sincere plea and intercession put before God for them and their healing.

No one enjoys criticism because it's painful and exposing. It requires humility, change and growth which are things most people run from. I have been all of these types throughout my life. In retrospect I see the times when I was an aggressive fighter as periods in my life when I was frightened and trying to protect my vulnerable heart. Praise God for people who were lovers that cared for me, were honest with me, prayed for me and had the patience to teach me new ways! I took their honest assessment of some of my behaviors and surrendered that pain and truth before God and He changed me. It hurt and it was hard at first but I would not change that process.

The years I fled from attacks were years when I was so broken that any harsh gesture would have crush me into a million pieces! Although fleeing isn't the answer either, it was better than being aggressive and mean. It gave me a new perspective and I was able to see this whole issue from many other vantage points. Perspective and insight coupled with humility and God's love gave me the fighting chance I needed to become less of the old me and more of the new me! I'm growing from the weak mindset of being a victim into a new paradigm of being a woman of God!

My friends, whatever we speak and act like is an over-flow from our hearts. It is a heart change that we need in order to grow and only a willing and teachable heart can facilitate that. We will all flow in and out of our different reactions throughout our life but our goal should be to grow in a desire to be more Christ-like. How beautiful His character is and His expressions of love toward us even when we're acting ugly. Changing something little and small is better than not changing anything at all. Each repentance, forgiveness, act of love makes us more like Him. My goal has always been to do my old behaviors less and with less intensity. God has been very faithful to take my old character when I offer it to Him and replace it with His character of love. We will never be perfect, that's why we need grace and mercy and most importantly LOVE.

Romans 12:9-10, Be sure your love is true love. Hate what is sinful. Hold on to whatever is good. Love each other as Christian brothers and sisters. Show respect for each other.

1 John 4:7-8, Dear friends, let us love each other because love comes from God. Those who love are God's children and they know God. Those who do not love do not know God because God is love.

1 John 4:11, If God loved us that much, then we should love each other.

Psalm 139:23-24, Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Lord Jesus, Reveal to our hearts, YOU, and the deep love that happened at the cross. Only that revelation can make us see how silly we are at times. Change us, reveal, heal and redeem us! Give us hearts to love and wisdom to deal. Amen.

Daughter of the King

Poetry by Dee Armes- Hartmann

Wings Hang Low

Oh, little psalm angel, sitting in my garden faire, always reminding me, how much our Father cares! Tho, there are times when sorrow rains down and the clouds gather dark, our Father never leaves us, for He is in our heart! We have learned to cry, yet then rejoice, just as the Psalmist did in past, knowing that our storm will not last. That's the secret we daughters must know, that He is still with us, even when our wings hang low.


Daughter of the King


I took my eyes off Heaven, fell and broke my wing, trapped inside a thorney bush, the lies began to sting.


You're of no use anymore with that broken wing. Who could bear to look at you or need you for anything.


Tears burned my cheeks as my soul became cold. The One who loved me would never say such things so I sang till my prayers were bold!


His heart revealed like lighting, brought forth to me the proof. He said, "There's nothing here distorted, except the lack of truth!


The vines of lies reached up, an attempt to pull me back. But, Heavens song annointed me, lying vines had lost their grip.


In my mind epiphany, God's Spirit brought to me. Even with a broken wing, I'm still the Daughter of the King!

Puzzle

When you have the One True God, your life is never falling apart, it's falling into place.

If You Got It, He Gave It

John 15:13, There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend.

Proverbs 17:17, A friend loves at all times...

The theme that God has been revealing in my life lately is, remembrance. Laying upon my heart to recall His goodness, faithfulness, kindness... Along side this is also the thoughts of how blessed I've been with wonderful friends. From my husband to the stranger who prayed over me when I was sick to my long-time dear friends and including my new-found kindred spirits! What a blessing it is to be loved, thought-of and cared for!

Friendship is not an entity to itself, it's a reflection in every aspect. Without God's love which is ever-present there would be no fruits of love in any one's life. Many people who are unbelievers think that their goodness, thoughtfulness and love is enough. yet, they don't realize that any love or fruit of love they have is a gift from our Father in Heaven. It comes not from their hearts but flow from His. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit in this world that blesses us with God's grace and mercy. Apart from the heart of God, none of us would even know love.

I saw a bumper sticker once that read, "If you have it, then a truck brought it." The more I thought about it I was profoundly hit how true that is! Products are shipped all over the world but it is the trucks that bring EVERYTHING to the stores! The same goes for love, "If you have it, then God brought it to you." The book of John says, "In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. (The Word is Jesus). Through Him God made all things; not one thing in creation was made without Him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to humanity. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out." That scripture confirms that whatever love we have to give comes from God.

Can there be good friends who do not know God as their Savior? Of course people can love and serve with beautiful hearts while not knowing Christ as their Savior. They are gracious, generous, loving people that God uses in this world to serve others in need. The only difference between a secular servant and an anointed servant is that one has eternal salvation and the other hasn't recognized Christ as their life-flow and Savior. One knows where their source of love comes from and the other believes they are the source. One gives all the glory to God and the other coddles the recognition.

I know no other joy as over-whelming as someone who cares for and serves someone in need! Praise be to God for these precious souls that express tenderness and put their love into action. They share their time, resources, energy and talents in acts of sacrificial service. My old pastor used to call them "Jesus with skin on." What a beautiful thought! That we can surrender our selfish desires and let the God of all creation move us to love and serve as He did when He walked the earth!

I have had the extreme privilege to have become a part of a group of women recently that are the epitome of Christ's love in action! I am overwhelmed by their commitments to let God flow freely through them in all area's of their lives! I also have the honor of having a couple women in my life that are tremendous friends who love with an unwavering grace! Their unconditional love has touched me and I can't imagine life without them. Imagine a world with no love, no tenderness or kindness. Being loved is a gift that each of us should shout praise for daily!

Being moved to remembrance not only fills our spirit, soul, body and mind with reminders and memories of love that was shown to us. It gives us hope in lonely times, courage when we are unable and strength to go on. Recalling the kindnesses of servant-hearted people warms our hearts, comforts our minds, settles our souls and lifts our spirits! Knowing that God sent us such sweet souls to comfort and help us in our times of need reminds us that He will send them again. He knows when we need arms to hold us, eyes to understand and hands to serve and His grace will always provide!

I encourage you to remember a few times in your life when God's grace overwhelmed you because He sent His love to you through a friend. Then smile and give God thanks.

Luke 10:27, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself."

Psalm 77:11, I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago!

Seek and You Will Find

I am so grateful for the sweet souls that seek out God's messages through my writings. The bible tells us to ask, knock and seek (Matthew 7:7), and if we do, we will find Him! I can't help but be joyful in knowing that you are being blessed in so many ways because you stayed attached to the Vine, which is Christ our Lord! The days I don't seek Him out, I later look back on as days I didn't receive the gifts He wanted me to have! What a terrible loss. So, blessings and peace to you who follow Him closely and receive all His goodness! Remain in Him and He shall remain in you! Read the Gospel of John 15:1-17. He is the Vine, we are the branches, apart from Him we can do nothing.

In line with today's title, I would like to ask, "Where are my lemons Lord!" Last December I was decorating my back porch and as I put out the Christmas decorations I took these twenty or so fake lemons out of a wire basket and put them somewhere till I needed them for Spring. Well, Spring is here and I cannot for the life of me find those lemons! I feel like I've looked everywhere! I know God is talking about seeking "Him" in the above scripture but I am convinced that He knows where those lemons are! If He knows the number of hairs on my head (Luke 12:7), then He certainly is aware of their hiding place. My focus today has been on lemons, yet, the truth is, I need to focus on God!

There have been many times that God has blessed me with His gestures of love by revealing some lost item, sending a beautiful bird to my window sill, the phone rings and it's a dear friend or maybe a rainbow shoots across the sky when life felt stormy. The true lesson here is this, if we seek Him first then, we have all we need. Jesus is all we need. He promised that if we seek Him first He will take care of the rest. So, instead of looking around for some thing in our life, let's look unto Him, The Author and Perfecter of our faith! (Hebrews 12:2). The enemy wants us focused on anything but God and whatever we as people choose to focus on, there will always be a result to that choice. Choose material things or earthly circumstances and most likely frustration will be there to accompany them. Something will break or get lost, we'll be put on hold to long or we may bump another car ( which happened to me yesterday). Choose to focus on Jesus and I can promise  you will have a heart and mind filled with hope! You will begin to see Him in everything and you will begin to choose him over busyness which will lead to more peace. Putting this into action is not easy but it's neccessary in order to have joy.

Matthew 6:21, But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So often we get distracted and obsessed by things of this world. The enemy loves when he gets our eyes off Jesus! Christ calls us to come to Him and while we either slumber in His lap or keep busy in His service, He works everything out (Romans 8:28) in His perfect timing. I know this because EVERY TIME I choose Jesus, the frustration disipates and His peace covers and fills me! (I'm smiling right now :) Thank you Lord.

Don't let the enemy get your eyes off Jesus. Why look for lemons when you can find your Lord.

Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added to you." 

Too Full to Fill

Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and then all those other things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

Before delving into God's Word I need to be sure that it's going to be about Him and not me. So, I first begin by worshipping Him and giving Him praise for who He is! Then, I ask Him to examine my heart as I confess to Him matters of my thoughts and actions. After believing that I have repented for known sins, I go on to thank Him for everything which puts my heart in a posture of gratitude. In closing my prayer I place my petitions before Him, interceding for others and myself. The crowning glory to the prayer is the AMEN, which means, Let it be, the proclamation of hope!

PRAYER is the process of emptying ourselves for God to fill.

While doing my bible study on Psalm 77 this morning, I clearly saw that Asaph, the author of the Psalm, was so full of his own self-pity and doubt that there was no room for God's hope and joy. Asaph whined with discouragement as his thoughts had overtaken his whole being. Ever been there? I have on many occasions. So full of me, me, me that there was no room for Him, Him, Him! I can recall such severe pity-parties that I dug my feet in and refused to believe He loved me until He actually stopped my pain. Unfortunately, it took years of temper tantrums and conversations with my Master to realize that my pain was magnified because of my bad attitude and doubt. The inflammation that my mind, body, soul and spirit were battling was like a wound that was being defended and healed by an immune system. God was using every situation to heal me, but I fought Him by doubting Him for so long. So, I remained weak and ineffective with hopelessness as my thorn.

But, praise be to God that His pursuing love captured my heart! I surrendered my will to Him and accepted His tender love, finally believing that I had tremendous worth to Him! As He swept over my life and filled it with Himself, I became less inflamed and the fruits of His Spirit began to grow in my life! His love had allowed me to become so sick of my own stink from wallowing in my own childish, immature behavior that I was overwhelmed that He stayed with me through that. What God sits with sin? What kind of love is that? He let me have my childish ways until my desires changed by simply being touched by His presence. All I wanted was to draw near to Him after that. My heart belonged to Him.

Drawing near to God can come in many shapes. We can crawl because we have exhausted ourselves in our own efforts. We can come in a posture of worthlessness as if He will let us around but not near Him. There are those who shimmy up with intentions of wanting something or someone and they are imploring God to give them what they want. Others draw near in sweetness, desiring to lay their head upon the Saviors breast. I was the unworthy one who just wanted to be behind a curtain somewhere yet, still close to Him. I loved Him but didn't believe He loved me. It took years of counseling, being in the Word, having Christian friends...but it was the times I surrendered to Him where I truly learned how much He loved me! His love changed me and my life!

Surrendering is the act of laying down our will, our weapons, our plans, our pride, our time, our resources ... and submitting to His love and His will. Not surrendering comes with many masks such as, avoidance, busyness, laziness, mindlessness, extreme socializing, shopping, distractions, sports, television, chatter... One leads to a purposeful life which is rich in blessings and the other offers a deep sense of loneliness, anxiety, hopelessness and a gnawing inner feeling similar to that of putting something off too long that you need to do.

Asaph also got sick of his attitude and in verse 10 he says, "But then, I thought, I will purposefully and intentionally seek Gods right hand of power and authority, I will REMEMBER the Lord's good deeds and miracles! I will consider those deeds and meditate on those miracles!" He then goes on in a new spirit, a Spirit of remembrance and praise! Recalling God's miracles and goodness and then closing by now calling God his Shepard. Asaph went from a pity-party to The Glory Celebration of God! His speech went from despair to praise because he made the choice to empty himself and let God fill his mind instead!

Are you full of your own selfish needs, desires and wants? Or maybe your heart is filled with anger, resentment and bitterness? Do you believe God is unfair? Do you think He would allow some kind of pain in your life that you couldn't bear? Have you blamed God for something that happened or someone you lost? (That was mine. I was so angry at God for taking my mom.). We either carry our baggage or we let God carry us. Like Asaph, we can go through life with a self-centered heart or a heart that purposes itself to see God for who He truly is. I remember the day when I realized that I was blaming God for all the evil in the world when in reality it was Satan who was the destroyer! God is the Healer and Comforter! What a day of liberation that was for me!

I could go on and on about this topic but let me close with this thought. When you don't believe in God, He still believes in you. When you turn your back on Him, He's got your back. Faith can be a  dichotomy of self or God, doubt or hope, negative or positive. Our minds can be filled with either. Which will you choose?

Just so you know, I don't just write about these topics without living them. Let me tell you about this morning. I woke up and it was dreary outside, the cold weather returned and my battle with depression was looming over me. I got up and I couldn't shake it off. I thought of Asaph and decided to challenge myself. Instead of letting my negative thoughts determine my day, I rose my hands to the sky and started praising God. I asked Him to bring to my mind memories of His goodness and times of joy from my life and in His faithfulness He did just that. The state of my mind changed from sadness to joy and I ended up having a day filled with accomplishments and creativity! God is good, He is faithful and worthy to be praised! So, again I ask you, "What will you choose to fill your mind with this day? Yourself and your power or God and His power.

God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind! 2 Timothy 1:7

Where My Soul Breathes

Where My Soul Breathes
by Dee Hartmann (For Penny and Abe)


My soul is alive and here,
wrapped in it all that is dear.
Much to lose, more to embrace,
It seeks a peaceful place.


Apart from You my source of life,
Succulent fruits fall of strife.
The brittle branch can not reach out,
remaining leaves of troubled doubt.


Infuse my spirit's fruit
with your spices, My Vine.
Bow my limbs to You in desire,
Within the earth, Your love divine.


Let no child find your sweet
offerings amiss,
but gathering as they pass,
The fruit of life in their laps.


Once gone to where the soul breathes,
what's left are only seeds.
Gather them and tend them,
unlike shadows who disappear from view,
Let them cling with desperate cries,
looking deeply in Your eyes, only unto You.

Spring

I want to see the color green, to hear the birds begin to sing; to see a bulb push through the ground, and gaze upon my God's profound.
Unleash the Spring my Mighty King! Draw the sun closer to my face and change this place! Lay with me upon the grass as we watch the clouds pass. Unleash the Spring!

By Dee Hartmann