Blog Article – Page 112

October 6, 2008

Wanting To Be A Better Person

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My husband and I just shared our 12^th anniversary together and wow has it just zipped by. It amazes me at how much I like being married. I am giggling out loud because had you heard me a few years before I met my perspective husband, marriage was the last thing on my mind. I was a true believer of “independence” since no one could let me down but me, myself and I.

I didn’t really have a close walk with my heavenly Father either. I merely believed Him to exist and lived in fear I’d miss out on a fun life if I had to follow those rules I’d heard about here and there called the “10 commandments”.

My husband never preached at me nor did he really speak much about his deep faith in our early years together. No, he was much more subtle. He loved me “no matter” and unconditionally. I used to tell people, “he makes me want to be a better person.” I had no idea why.

Now as I look back at our years together I am so intrigued by the wise way my heavenly Father drew me to Him. It was to send a man without a bible in his hand but complete and total love in his heart. My husband’s non-hypocritical walk with the Lord has always been simple. Treat everyone with respect, love people even when you don’t want to and help those in need even if they don’t deserve it. These actions were what finally made me realize it wasn’t the man who made me want to be a better person, it was Jesus in the man.

Ecc 4:19 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work

October 5, 2008

Maturity And Stitches To Weave Love

Maturity comes with time and our eagerness to get there does nothing to help us. Maturity comes at its own pace and often times only experience can bring it about. I am awed by the persons who just seem to be born with maturity. Mine was born of experiences, some good, some bad. I think about this when I try and process my relationships. My family was so splintered by the negative impact of an enemy we couldn’t really see with our natural eyes. This enemy would try to destroy us all and was quite creative but also repetitious in how it came at us.

I have had some wonderful conversations recently with friends and family. It’s funny how these relationships ebb and flow with seasons. I liken them to waves of the ocean. When we are near, the spray and sound is wonderful and fulfilling. When we are away we can still hear the sounds in the distance and our memories keep the heart stirred up, longing to be together again soon.

I look at my once splintered family and now with eyes opened beyond the natural sight, I begin to see the strands of love weaving us back together. With each stitch there is a tightening in our fabric of love, making us stronger. I love these stitches…..the phone call, the taking someone where they need to go, the sharing of funds, sharing our time, sharing our homes.

Weave us Father into the tapestry of each other’s lives, together as we were meant to be. Keep us in the place of absolute Love.

October 3, 2008

Spiders & Snakes

As a child I can recall watching some entertainment show where a singer had a catchy tune with the phrase “I don’t like spiders and snakes and that ain’t what it takes to love me like I want to be loved by you.” Yeah, I’m shaking my own head at why such a lyric stayed with me all these years. Good advertising for why we should be so careful about what we ourselves allow to be poured into our own “impressionable” sponge brained children. Imagine all those adults later in life who will be belting out to their grandchildren and beyond, “who let the dogs out!”

My husband found a rather intimidating (to us anyway) spider at our doorway today and decided to replant it elsewhere. I won’t say how the replant went as it’s much more rewarding to any reader to let his own mind go where it may. Something made me wonder however about why some creatures cause us anxiety. Now the snake I get since it’s been written into our own history but why spiders? Why do most of us naturally react with unease at arachnids?

I don’t often have answers but I am full of questions. What if our reaction is a natural response to something deeper than our own understanding? Just curious!

October 2, 2008

Light Swallowing Darkness

We are pushing forward aren’t we folks? No hanging back in that place called fear? Good. I ache inside every time I am on the receiving end of a conversation where someone is giving their words over to confirm fears rather than hopes. I try with all that I am to steer the conversation in positive directions but there are times when all I can do is pray silently against the darkness trying to swallow the other person.

I once read something I have never been able to forget and yet it was such a simple teaching. If one has a window of light open into the night, the darkness does not come in but rather the light goes out to swallow the darkness.

Luke 11:35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness

October 1, 2008

Birds Of A Feather

“Birds of a feather stick together.” I have heard that phrase many times throughout my life and yet I have never stopped to give it much thought. In these changing times with so many people under duress I have come to understand how important it is for me to be under the right feathered wing.

Psalm 91:4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler

September 28, 2008

Shaky Ladders & Cornerstones

Where are we to go?

Well I’m not sure.

What are we supposed to live on?

We will figure it out.

I wonder how many of us have stepped onto such shaky ladders in our lives, merely hoping for the best yet assured of nothing. We need to step first upon the cornerstone.

Job 38:6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone

Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone

September 27, 2008

Not Yet Revealed What We Shall Be

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

I live out the exchanged life of continually giving my degradations to my Father and He in turn gives me mercy, compassion, forgiveness and love. I can’t always see the changes in myself because I am too close to who I still am. I can still feel the pangs of selfishness, envy, lusts and other multitudes of my soul nature. In the agony of still knowing how far I have yet to go I am humbled.

This is when my heavenly Father will send someone to me to bring clarity for how He sees me. Out of the blue someone will share with me how “beautiful” I am. I know this is not about my outer appearance but it’s a deeper word meant to describe the inner heart I am being given. Such timely words keep me encouraged. I long to hear more of them but my heavenly Father knows well not to tempt me with too much praise. He is wise.

What will I be when I truly am like Him? Such beauty is beyond my imagination.

September 26, 2008

Remember The Poor

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Let’s talk about the economy. How many people do you know who are terrified in this moment about what will happen next? I was watching BBC News America yesterday and they had a small blip about the “newly homeless” fallout of the recent economic trends. I have to say it was ironic to hear them speak about, “I can’t believe this is happening to me.” I found myself wondering about the other homeless poor who we have been ignoring for years because they didn’t look like our “middle class” selves. Why has no one been down to the park with a microphone in hand to find out why they are sleeping in their cars?

We really need to adjust our thinking as a nation. We need to see all the poor and I mean really see them. What would it take for the wealthiest nation on earth to open her charitable hearts up? Do we really need a wake-up call from above in order to shake us out of our complacency? How comfortable can you really be if you have six coats in your closet and one of the poor has none? How many pairs of shoes do we need in our closet when there is someone who has none?

It’s a sobering reality check to look around our homes and really take inventory. What if everyone who has plenty shared even a small portion of what they had with someone who had nothing? How many lives could be changed? Hope doesn’t necessarily mean putting a bible in someone’s hand, sometimes hope is feeding someone who has been praying to God for a meal because they are so weak and tired. In that meal, they would know there is a God who answers pray and you were the one he used.

I truly love the power in prayer but every now and again I am reminded to get off my knees and go be someone’s answer to prayer. Soon I hope it won’t just be now and again but that it would be a consistent way of life and not just for me, but for all the saints.

Gal 2:10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do

September 25, 2008

Who Are You Working For?

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Recently I found myself saying to someone “this is not my life, it’s just my day job.” Later when I thought those words over I realized I was only living half my life to the full abundance promised me. Since I spend 8-10 hours a day attending to my job needs, that’s a pretty good chunk of my available time. Let’s be honest, my job isn’t one many would want to have as it can really wear you down with lack of creativity or real challenge. I must remember though, it’s a job my Father put me in and there is a blessing here I am stopping because my attitude has become complacent. It’s time I refocused again on the word that tells me to rejoice in each day because the Lord has made it.

Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men

September 24, 2008

Kindred Spirits

I met a girl a couple nights ago whose heart was burning with a flame so bright I couldn’t help but notice. I asked her name and hugged her. I have never talked with her before nor do I know anything about her on a personal level. Yet standing there spending time in her presence we spoke of things which inspired us; our Lord and all that He was doing in our lives.

I still marvel at meeting kindred spirits in Christ. They feel closer than even family and you just recognize them whenever you meet them. I have come to know there is so much more to this world than what we see on the surface of things. I love looking for my brothers and sisters, especially those who have yet to recognize themselves in Christ. These hearts of goodness are just bursting at the seams with curiosity to know and find Jesus. It’s a real treat each time we are allowed to cross their paths and encourage them in their journey.

1 Thes 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.