Healer of your heart

This morning I sat with a lovely young lady of about 11, her name is Claire. What I noticed as time went on was the smile that never seemed to leave her face.Every thing she spoke of ,she seemed excited about and there it was again that smile.I have known her since she was small.But never really had the opportunity to sit across from her and really watch her.

Sure we can all say, well shes 11,what in the world does she have to worry about.You would smile too if you were that age and all you had to worry about was what you were going to wear that day,or if anyone would notice you had braces.

Oh to be that age again.When times were simple,when you knew of the world around you,but for some reason you didn't notice all the horrible things.Life was like living in a happy little bubble.Until one day the bubble breaks.All of a sudden life isn't as simple as we thought it would always be.Some days it is so different than what we ever imagined.Oh,how we long to be 11 again.Before the world stepped in and changed us forever.When things took place that we would never want anyone to experience.

And now we are left so different from what we were before.The smile that was once always there.Has slowly faded away.It shows itself here and there.But some days it is forced.We long to go back to the time when we were whole,when we woke with excitement and joy.When a smile was something we didn't even have to think about,it just was there.

We are left now with scars,and holes,we have turned into someone we never wanted to be.We long to return to where it was safe and familiar,but too much has taken place and we realize we can never go back.Its too late....

Or is it?
Jesus says "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

The Thief( Satan) can and will try to destroy us.He main mission in life is to cause pain,and
,heartache.He does not want us to have the life that Jesus wants us to have.And that is abundant life.One of wholeness,and hope,joy,peace,and purpose.

When we go through painful things in our life.We are left with gaping holes in our heart.Sometimes you might not even recognize yourself.Where joy once resided there is now pain. We have been deceived, changed forever in our thoughts, in our mind and in our heart.

You may feel that you did something to deserve what has happened to you and that you will never ever be healed again.Or you feel that you are unworthy to accept the possibility that He can heal your heart. But the good news is that Jesus, He can heal your mind.He can undo all the damage that was done.No matter how much.He can fill in the holes in your heart.He can put that smile back on your face permanently.All you need to do is ask Him. ask him and believe He will do it.He will turn into good what others meant for harm.Nothing is impossible for him.Nothing

Matthew 19:26

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

We need to realize that we all will go through trials,that there will be battle scars,at times the wounds may seem too deep to ever heal.But we have the assurance from the Lord that He will heal our wounds.He can do it all.All we need to do is ask.Ask and believe.He can perform surgeries that no surgeon can.He can fix your heart,and your mind .He can restore what the locusts have eaten. And he will put that smile back where it belongs.

I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten.” (Joel 2:25 KJV)

And while I think of Claire.I know that as she grows older.She will go through things that she had not planned on.But she knows the One who will carry her through,and the One who will keep that smile on her face no matter what life has in store for her.

Believe that He will heal you.Ask him and he will do what we think is impossible.And He will give you plenty to smile about.

(Psalms 30:2 ) O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.

Psalms 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Blessings
Dee

Are you wandering in the desert

This morning one of my customers was telling about his wife and how she had ,had a seizure one day,since then they have placed her on several medications and have taken away her drivers license,most likely for good.She has never had another and the cause is really unknown,but the fear of having another one has robbed her of her life,her joy,and most of all her peace.

My heart broke for this woman who I have never met.And I could hear the frustration and pain in her husbands heart. She has refused his and everyones help,he was at his wits end.The woman he loves, is no longer the same woman he knew.She is fearful,angry and depressed.She is constantly fearful of going anywhere,even sleeping at night.How sad I thought, that one incident has taken everything away from this woman.I realized the cause of it all was not the seizure but it was fear.Fear had grabbed a hold of her and was not letting go.

How many times have we let fear come in? As children we fear the dark,maybe dogs or monsters.We are small and fears are normal.But as we grow older our fears seem to grow with us.We begin to worry about everything.Especially those things we cannot seem to control. When I think of the word fear I think of the desert.It is dry and acrid,not a nice place to be most of the time,especially if we are wandering aimlessly throught it.It is hot and so dry,there is no cool water.Once in a while a mirage will appear.We run to the water and realize it is a lie,that it is not really there.We trudge on,the sun is blazing,We long to be in the shade,out of the sun that is beating intensely on our skin.We become disoriented,we have lost our way,All the dry cracked earth looks the same.We start to lose our focus,we are out of breath and we begin to slow down,each step becoming more difficult than the last.We so want to get out of the desert but we are stuck here unless someone finds us and takes us out of here.

Perhaps we have an illness.maybe we lost our job,our child is doing drugs,our marriage is on the rocks,There are so many things that start with just a small thought.If not caught, the thought begins to grow,Slowly but surely we begin to wander in the desert.At first we don't even notice where we are.The air starts to thin,the sun begins to blaze and before we know it we are right smack in the middle of it.We can't think straight,all we want is to sit in the shade with a cool drink,but we have walked so far that we can't find our way out.Fear has brought us here.

There is only one way to get ourselves out of the desert.And it is Jesus.He is that tree that provides the shade that we can sit under.He is that cool drink of water when we are parched and sun scorched.We don't ever need to enter the desert.If you feel your self being drawn into the desert,call on Him and he will rescue you.

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58: 11

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV


The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 KJV

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4 New International Version Bible

Blessings
Dee

Sticks and Stones

I live in an old house,with old wooden floors.Splinters in your feet are a way of life here.At this moment I have 2 of them in the same foot.I cannot get them out.So day after day,each step I take I am reminded they are there. I have soaked,picked,poked ,Ive done it all except let someone take them out by slicing open my skin.So ,I just wait and hope that one day they work their way out of my foot.

My splinters remind me of people in my life.One day your walking around just going about your day and ouch,now you have a painful annoying splinter stuck in your skin.You were just fine until they came along.Perhaps you have had a splinter in your foot for years, its there,some days you forget its even there ,other days it causes a lot of pain with each step.

We all have those type of people in our lives.The ones who rub us the wrong way,everything in their lives is a mess.They tell you every single detail of how unfair their life is,or all that has gone wrong....this week. Or maybe they are big mouthed and arrogant know it alls.Who we are forced to be around way too much. Each one of us has at least several of them in our lives. Face it, if everyone was as pleasant,kind and loving as us, life would just be hunky dory,a bed of roses,why it would be wonderful wouldn't it? But the fact is, we are always going to have these type of people in our lives ,as long as we draw breath and chose to surround ourselves with other human beings.Not what you wanted to hear was it?

A woman I know once compared us to rocks in a rock tumbler.Now if your child has ever owned one of these annoying things,you know how they work.You put ugly dirty rocks into the tumbler,you turn it on.the rocks tumble for days. They roll around banging into each other continuously.

You open it to check.their not done yet, so you add some water ,remove some of the goop at the bottom and turn it back on. Meanwhile the rocks are being thrown around,banging into the walls,into each other.It all sounds quiet painful to me.Finally one day you open the tumbler, take out the rocks.rinse them off and you are amazed at the shiny beautiful things in your hand.Could these be those ugly,dirty pieces of rock that you had placed in there just a short while ago?.They are now the most beautiful things you have seen.

Those rocks are us.If we didn't have annoying people, or trials in our life,we would remain those ugly , dirty rocks.Throw us in a job situation with someone we don't like,someone who grates on our last nerve.We have the choice,let the rock tumbler,tumble us around for a while.We will maybe try to love this person even though its the last thing we want to do. Regardless of how they treat us. We think what would Jesus do.

After a while we will start to shine a little more than we used to.We will soon see a pretty color or two emerging from underneath the gray, dusty surface.If we choose to stay in the tumbler we will eventually come out brand new and shiny, a different type of rock.

If we chose to climb out of the tumbler before we are finished,We will still be just a plain old run of the mill rock. When we need a little smoothing out,some sanding of the rough edges,a little perfecting, Rock tumblers and splinters would not be one of our choices as one of the ways to get the job done.We prefer light sanding, or gentle nudgings.

But as we all know these things do not get the job done that is needed.So if you feel like your life is one big tumble in the rock tumbler or that both of your feet are full of splinters. Each step may be a little painful for awhile.Or it may be a little uncomfortable as your tumbled about,but just think of how you will shine when the dirt and dust are wiped away.

Isaiah 64:8 O Lord,you are our father, we are the clay and You are the potter, and we all are the work of Your Hand.

James 1:3 For when you faith is tested,your endurance has a chance to grow.

Blessings
Dee

Be still and Know that I am God

Psalm 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God. (NIV)

Be still.How many of us have a hard time just being still.We are constantly on the move,on the phone,there is noise all around us, lists of things to do that are growing by the minute.We are like the hamster on the wheel.Running as fast as we can but not really getting anywhere.I always wonder if the hamster realizes he is not getting anywhere.Would he stop running and walk away from the wheel? Do we ever realize that we need to walk away from the wheel?

Jesus is saying to us through out our day,Be still,be still and know that I am God.Come sit and talk to me,rest your weary body and mind and come and listen to what I have to say.But we continue to ignore him most of the time and continue to run at breakneck speed.

Did you ever try to have a conversation with someone while you were jogging? Most of the time is spent not really hearing the entire conversation,it comes to us in dribs and drabs,if the other person is ahead of us,we are constantly straining to hear what they are saying.But if we sit down next to someone and look them in the face and truly listen to what they have to say,we will hear each word.The conversation will flow as each person speaks and then listens.That is how it is with Jesus.We can't hear what he is trying to tell us when we are running ahead of him,or when our thoughts are on our lists of things to do.It is only when we sit ourselves down and truly quiet ourselves ,then we can hear him.


How many times are we going through something,we worry,we are fearful of the outcome,that is all we think about, how we are going to fix it.It is only when we sit at the feet of Jesus and bring our worries to him ,that we will hear what he has to say.We then realize that He will give us the answers and the direction that we need.It is only then we will realize that He has got it.He will take care of the situation.He already has.

He will bring you to that place of peace,the place of knowing that it will be alright.And that all the running and fretting will never change the situation or help in anyway.We need to walk away from the wheel and walk to the feet of Jesus.Be still he whispers ,be still and know that I am God.And I will give you what you need.I will give you peace in all circumstances,Strength to get through your day ,and all you have to do is listen.

Blessings
Dee

Where are your eyes?

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace. ... written by Helen H.Lemmel 1918

The lyric's to this song are so true,If we keep our eyes on Him we won't be so caught up in the ways of the world.But we, including myself have what is called wandering eyes.When something shiny and new or more interesting comes along we lose our focus and long to follow the new.

Look at most peoples lives.They are killing themselves to have the so called American dream.If this is a dream I would hate to see a nightmare.Every day people are moving into bigger homes with bigger mortgages, shopping till they drop,our children are in every activity and sport running endlessly on a treadmill that they probably want to get off of ,but the parents won't pull the plug.Its all about prestige who has what,who's children excel in what sport.

People are moving from church to church in search of the perfect one,with all the right people in it,everything just perfect to meet our needs ,why even the color of the carpet is pleasing to us. When something arises that we don't like we decide to move on.We are on a endless quest to have it all,do it all,and in search for perfection that does not exist, and we are going no where fast.

Sure we can have nice homes and cars,Our children can be involved in sports,we can leave a church if the Lord has prompted us to go elsewhere.But the problem is we become like the fish the barracuda who is attracted to shiny objects and wherever it sees that flash or shine it darts in that direction. And sometimes that shine has a fish hook attached to it.Its days of following the shiny objects are over.

I find that the days I keep my eyes on Jesus,I am more thankful for everything I have.
Even though my home has spiders the size of your palm,walking through my dining room.When there is a mouse living in my computer desk drawer with its small children.When The wind blows so hard through the cracks and crevices of this old house ,that the tinsel on the Christmas tree is moving and the windows and doors aren't even open.

I can still choose to be thankful.Or I can choose to be like the fish chasing the shiny object.I can demand that we move out of these woods,and out of this old home that really has some awesome things about it.It has spectacular sunsets ,it is nestled away in over 100 acres of woods away from the noise and the world.There is abundant nature all around it,even though some of it does take up residence inside once in awhile.

I can demand that we move to a new home complete with spider free rooms,another bathroom or 2 or 3.And with it will come the bigger mortgage and then slowly we will start to look for more shiny things.Maybe a bigger car,maybe a different church with new exciting people,and so starts our journey ,the endless journey that never ends.Like the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years.We are in the desert of uncontentment.It is only when we put our focus back on Jesus ,do we realize where we are, and he will show us the way out.

We need to thank Him each morning for what he has provided for us.Though at times we would like more. If we look at our surroundings with eyes of gratitude we will begin to look at things differently.We will reside in green pastures,not the desert.We will not become the fish chasing the shiny objects that now sits on someones dinner plate,no longer able to enjoy his life at sea.Swim away from the flash and shine with the hook hidden under it,and turn your eyes upon Jesus,and let the things of this earth grow strangely dim.You will be thankful that you did.

Philippians 4:12-13
I know what it is to be in need,and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned that the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want, I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Blessings
Dee

Is your pond freezing over?

Usually around this time of year the weather has grown colder and my little pond freezes over. In it live several small feeder fish and one bullfrog who is growing larger each spring.This year we got to hear his loud and deep croaking each night.

During the winter months the water freezes over,the frog goes to the bottom of the pond to hibernate and the fish become frozen in the ice. I was looking at them this morning and thought what a way to spend the winter.Do they breathe? Do they realize they are trapped in a chunk of ice? How do their bodies withstand it and is it gradual freeze or instant? One day they are just swimming around and all of a sudden boom they are frozen solid?

I think that it is a gradual process.They are just minding their own business cruising around, the water gets colder their bodies and their swimming starts to slow down,they might not even realize this is even happening.Until one day they are suspended in the ice,they are in a twilight slumber.Not too sure of whats going on around them but one thing is for sure they are stuck there until the spring,when the ice begins to melt.

This reminds me of what sin is like.We are minding our own business just going about our day,it is subtle,it slowly sneaks up on us Without us even being aware that it is there.We may encounter it each day.We see it , its no big deal, slowly but surely we start to become accustom to it. Its is familiar it seems ok not a big deal.Then before we know it it has a hold of us,We are frozen in the ice so to speak.Trapped like the unsuspecting little fish.One day they were just cruising the pond ,the next stuck until spring.

It may be the TV we watch,the books we read.The images we see on the computer.It may be that friendship with the married co worker who is just a friend, It may be the friends we hang out with who aren't living their lives right,but that doesn't have any influence on us, we think.
It is the one drink that is turning into 2 drinks then 3 drinks. Or we start to miss church,a day here, a day there, slowly but surely we stop going,why we don't even miss it.We don't even know how it happened.Our lives are not like they used to be,something is missing.Something doesn't feel right.But we can't seem to put our finger on what it is.

There are so many things in the world today to tempt us and the longer we are around them,the more we become desensitized to them.No longer do they raise a red flag to us. What is happening is we are slowly freezing to death in the pond,but we don't even know it.One day we will wake up like the frozen little fish.

We need to constantly be alert and aware of what we are surrounding ourselves with. Are you becoming less and less bothered by what is going on around you? Did you wake up one day and realize you are now frozen in the pond? Why wait until spring.Go to the one who can rescue you from the freezing water.The one who can Renew your mind. Go to him in confession and he will pick you up out of the stagnant pond water. clean you off and set you free to swim again.No longer trapped under the ice.

Mark 14:38 Keep awake and watch and pray
that you may not enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing,but the flesh is weak.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.so that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Blessings
Dee

Are you weary and burdened

A few weeks ago I had written about Seasons.My entire family had been sick with the virus for what seemed like an eternity.The season slowly came to an end or so I thought....Too my dismay it is continuing and it is taking different family members hostage each day.The sickness has once again reared its ugly head in my home.I feel like I am in a battle against these unseen little buggers ,that come out of no where and cause illness at a moments notice.Just when I think they have retreated,they show up again and again and again.I try the standard methods of airing out the house, spraying lysol,overdosing them on vitamin C, you name it ,its been done.But they keep coming.This home has been prayed over and sprayed over too many times to count and its getting tiresome.

Does you life seem like this at times? We keep going dealing the same things over and over.We pray about them,whine about them,pray some more and we wish we could find a spray like lysol that would destroy anything that wasn't what we wanted or liked or felt like dealing with. Our day starts out well but soon we have something else to deal with.

With a cold or virus most of the time we cannot do anything for it.It must run it course and before we know it ,it is over.Its all about the timing.They can run from 7 to 10 days usually.And its usually way too long for us right? But each time we recover our immune system has strengthened a little.Maybe next time we won't catch something quiet as fast.

The trials in our life are the same.while we feel lousy and are weary at times.We are being strengthened.Gods timing is not like ours.I always picture him never wearing a watch.While we constantly are checking ours every minute of the day. Like the rabbit in Alice and wonderland.Sound familiar? We expect things to go our way, we want them to not be painful , and to be over as quickly as possible.

But unfortunately sometimes they are with us for a very long time.Or a new one crops up every time we turn around.But we most not grow weary. We can't . Think of your sick child ,if you throw up your hands and give up,who will take care of them? If your marriage is tiresome and you grow weary and walk away, isn't someone going to suffer? It may not be you, but someone will pay the price.In everything we do,if we throw in the towel so to speak.We will let someone down, someone will suffer because we have grown weary and have chosen to give up.

If we grow weary in our walk with the Lord,who will suffer here? We will.
Maybe we will not notice it right away.We are doing just fine on our own.Until those unseen little buggers start to show up, they are called weariness, boredom,defeat,lack of direction,lack of self esteem the list is endless.We become a little more impatient, we lose a little more joy each day, we are losing our focus and forget where we were once heading.

We become weary, tired, sick and cold.Our immune system is not what it once was and it weakens by the day.Until one day we forget what it was once like to be healthy and happy.We long to be back to our old selves.The only way to restore our health is to go to the ultimate physician,Jesus.He can restore our health, He can take you from that place of bone tired weariness.He can bring you back to what you once were.No spray, pill or wishing it away will restore you back to health.The only prescription is Jesus.


Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Isaiah 40;8-20 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Matthew 11:27-9 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Jeremiah 31:24-26 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

psalm 41:2-4 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.

Jeremiah 33:5-7 Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

Blessings
Dee

Jesus take the wheel

In 45 days my little blue eyed baby boy will be behind the wheel of a 2 ton vehicle...alone. Even though he is no longer the little toddler who loved Barney the dinosaur and his Blankie. He is almost 17 and the day is approaching quickly,too quickly ,that he will be soon driving without me.

If you are a mother.Your main goal in life is to protect your children,provide for them.love them.At times we want to move to a remote island that is safe,where we can protect them from the evils of the world.And the last thing we want them to do is drive.

While it does free up our schedule and we are no longer the taxi service we once were.The fact is we are not going to be there to protect them as they drive,as they begin to venture places that we do not know of.That we must again begin to let go of them as they grow and mature and venture further out into the world.

A world that is no longer like the show Leave it to Beaver or Father knows Best.There is no longer a Mayberry RFD that exists. In our eyes it is a world of danger and strangers lurking around every corner.Life was much easier when our greatest fear was that they would never be potty trained or they wouldn't adjust to preschool.

And so as we begin to loosen our grip on our beloved little children we have two choices to make.The first is to let fear creep in,and take the wheel.We become increasing fearful each time they venture out.Our minds begin to wander ,the what ifs take residence in our thoughts.The peace we once had is replaced with an uneasiness or dread.

Or we can give them over to the Lord. We all know they are ours for awhile.That those he has entrusted in our care are ultimately His.The Lord gives us our children to love, care for and to enrich our lives.We need to remember that He is in charge ,and he will protect our precious little babies.

We can choose to live in fear or we can choose to cover them in prayer each morning and know that He is watching over them.Only then can we have our peace restored.We need to trust Him with our beloved possessions and with everything that concerns us .And so as your precious little baby begins to drive,or goes off to college or is just starting preschool.Remember that He loves them more than we ever could,and He is watching over them.Let Jesus take the wheel,not fear.

Psalm 34:6
I cried out to the Lord in my suffering,and he heard me.He set me free from all my fears.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

Blessings Dee

Have no fear Jesus is here

Joshua 1:9 Have a I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.Do not be terrified,do not be discouraged,for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

I like thunder.The window rattling,earth shaking type.The kind that is usually accompanied by the cracks of lightening that light up the sky for miles and make your hair stand on end that end in that sharp crack that makes your heart pound. We live on the water so the storms are intense and sometimes a little frightening. But exciting at the same time.But I only like this type of weather if I am safe in my house or in a car.If I am outside, or on the water or anywhere near an open field.Well, thats a different story!

When I was small and there was a storm,I remember being afraid because you were always told to stay away from windows and doors.I always thought that if i tried to run by a window or door,that a bolt of lightening who come through and get me as I was running by.I also remember at times being in my bed with the covers over my head.Sweating half to death but afraid to uncover my head. believing that my covers would shield me from a lightening bolt. Who came up with that method of protection? I can assure you it won't work.

As an adult I have learned quite a bit about storms.How to tell the distance of the storm.How they work and the safety measures one must use during one. Whether I chose to follow these directions is entirely up to me.These storms remind me of life.

When a storm enters our life.And they will,Perhaps you are in the middle of one right now.We have the choice we can cover our heads and pretend they aren't happening.We can stay away from windows and doors hiding in the dark.

Or we can choose to stand up and walk with courage in the midst of it all.We can remember that Jesus is the one who can offer us protection in the midst of our storm.He is right in the middle of it all. Though at times we cannot see him working.He is there.Don't be afraid and pull the covers over your head.Remember who is with you and walk with the assurance that He will lead you to shelter.That he will prove his strength when the odds are the greatest and hope is the smallest.He will protect you no matter where you are.

If your under the shelter of Jesus,the wind may howl and the windows can shake,but you will be safe and warm and dry until that storm ends and the skies clear.

Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place,you will protect from trouble.and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Blessings
Dee

How grateful art thou?

How grateful are you this morning? Some of us may be praising the Lord for the beautiful weather,our family, Wawa coffee, If your focus is right and your in a good mood.You will be thankful for pretty much everything.even the smallest things.

But start your day with stress , gray weather,fighting kids at the breakfast table and we become a little less thankful.The traffic is driving too slow,our coffee is lukewarm,my house is too small,look at the neighbors new car,why do I drive this one? The list goes on.and on and on.....

There are times in our lives that we are just plain annoyed with everything.Nothing is how we want it,We dislike our home,our family,our job,our hair, even the warm sunny weather,because it brings bugs and we forgot our sunglasses so it hurts our eyes.

Have you ever listened to yourself in a whining state? I have thought to myself at times, ugh,I don't like how I'm sounding right now,who would want to be around me?.But then sometimes I continue to complain and whine anyway, until someone points it out or I am convicted and ask for forgiveness and try to change my mindset.

Most of our complaining is because we don't receive what we think we deserve.We are constantly looking at what others have.It is usually about the "stuff". Wanting things is our downfall.If we think about it, God is providing us with "stuff".

If you woke up this morning and you are breathing.If you slept in a bed and in a house last night,If you ate breakfast,and had a husband or child to say good morning too.If you got into your car and drove to work in the traffic with cold coffee and received a paycheck,you have enough" stuff".

Somewhere there is someone who didn't wake up this morning. Somewhere there is a family,that didn't sleep in a bed in a house.There are people who have no one to say good morning too.Children who haven't eaten in days.But all the while we are concerned with not having what we wanted.So we walk around grumbling and complaining and not noticing what He has provided for us.

The most important thing we need to give thanks for is Jesus's love for us.Who loves us more than He? There is no one on this earth and there will never be.
He loves us so much he gave his son to die on a cross for us.Would you do that? I'm sorry to say that I would not give my child's life for a bunch of strangers.But he did just for us.Hows that for Love? What about hope and eternal life? Where do you find that in the world? You can't, it only comes from him.

He also forgives us.Think of all the not so great things that you have done in your life. If you have asked for his forgiveness,the slate is wiped clean,you are forgiven,that simple.Think of the dumb things we do over and over again.Most of our friends and family would have a limit on how long they would continue to forgive someone. Or how about those who hold grudges until the day they die.But our Lord forgives over and over again.So while we may not be receiving all the" stuff"that we long for.If you know Jesus, you have already received enough "stuff".

Psalm 107:21 Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds.

1 Corinthians 15:57 Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessings
Dee

Do not grow weary

Tonight the sunset here was a blazing mix of brilliant orange and pink. Behind the black outline of the tree line, the sunset looked like a forest fire.For some reason when the weather turns colder the sky become more brilliant.I do not know the reason why. But it is probably the only reason I look forward to colder weather.Winter time brings all kinds of unexpected things here in the woods.Spectacular sunsets,huge flocks of birds that swoop in like a black cloud.Numerous stray animals looking for food or shelter.

While outside I noticed one of the stray cats who just showed up a month or so ago.We feed him daily.We watch him from a distance. He runs every time he sees us.We have yet to get him to come anywhere near us.How ungrateful he is .Here he is, most likely dropped off by someone who didn't want a cat any longer. He is in the middle of woods,so unless he catches a bird or mouse.He is going hungry unless we feed him.And that is what we do every day. And this is the thanks we get.

How many times have we helped others.Gone out of our way to help the hurting friend,perhaps more than once.Once they are feeling better,we get thrown to the side so to speak.They don't need us anymore ,until the next crisis.

How many times have your good deeds gone unnoticed.Probably more than once.Probably more than you feel like counting.You wonder does anyone notice at all?

Perhaps you have witnessed to people too many times to count.The response is the same each time.You become discouraged , why in the world do we bother.You want to give up.No one wants to hear you .You are just wasting your breath.

The one thing we need to remember is that Jesus sees it all. He is there when we think no one else is looking. He is watching and he is pleased when you help others.He is waiting to reward you one day.

So if you feel invisible some days and think that you aren't accomplishing much.Remember he knows every encouraging note you have written, every kind word you have spoken,every single unnoticed deed. It will be worth it all one day.

Revelation 22:12
So I am coming soon and my reward is with me to repay all according to their deeds.

Galatians 6;9
Let us not become weary in doing good.
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Blessings
Dee

are you going against the flow?

The weather was beautiful today.and once again I was out on the marsh looking over the water.I saw a turkey vulture riding the air currents. While these birds are not pretty to look at and they are scavengers. I was watching it thinking.

They have the right idea.When they need to get to where ever they are going they flap their wings a few times, then ride the air currents.Kind of like when you were a kid and you rode your bike down a hill.you took your feet off the pedals and coasted all the way down.You get to where you need to be,with energy left spare.
Now you can pedal a little further than you had planned.

While the vulture was swooping and riding the current.I watched its speed.At times it picked up a lot of speed ,other times it floated softly.All the while on its way to its destination.Most likely enjoying his day, looking over the land below.

On the other side of me I noticed a small black and white bird, flapping its wings furiously but it seemed to be suspended in mid air,for a moment or two it would move a bit, but it still looked like it was suspended.
All the while chirping loudly,finally it flew to the left a bit, and there it did the same thing. Beating its wings again but not making any head way.Finally the small bird flew away from the wind , following the air current and it disappeared.

At times we are like the small bird, beating its wings and going no where. trying to fight the wind.We continue to fight and become worn out. We could have reached our destination a lot sooner if we had just turned slightly and followed the current.The flight most likely would have been an enjoyable one.

Jesus wants us to be like the turkey vulture.We need to relax and follow him,If we do we will reach our destination with energy left to spare. Following the Lords will for our lives is so much easier if we let him lead,and don't try to do it on our own.

You know at times without a doubt what he wants you to do.But we are stubborn,we want things our way , in our time.Maybe he's not moving fast enough for us,we wanted the problem fixed last week. He is coming in loud and clear and we are ignoring him.

Perhaps he wants you to make a change with something in your life.You know what it is, but you don't feel like it right now.So we become the little bird, trying to fly into the wind.Flapping our wings furiously in vain.Wearing ourselves out and not making any head way.

Isaiah 40;29-31 God gives strength to the weary and increases the power to the weak.Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall.but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles,they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.

Jesus can renew our strength and he knows whats best for us.Why be that little bird who wears itself out and gets no where.Let him lead and soon you will be soaring.


Blessings Dee

His peace

Early last spring one night as the sun was setting,I had taken a walk out onto the marsh,we have a wooden walkway out to the first creek.As you walk you are surrounded by the high marsh grass.Usually at this time the birds are starting to come out of the high grass and head for their nights roost.The sun is setting.It is so quiet that at times you can hear yourself breathe.I had come to sit by the water, where I go to pray at times, feeling closer to God when I am surrounded by nature.

At this particular time my mother had been battling lung cancer.In the fall she had part of her lung removed and had endured weeks of chemo.After all of this we had found out that the cancer was still there.After months of trusting the Lord and having peace.It had disappeared in an instant.You know the feeling.Where, before there was a calmness,then came thoughts,the what if's.The fear of the unknown.And it began to grow.When fear sets in,its starts out small.A fleeting thought perhaps at first.If we don't get a handle on it,it starts to grow,slowly at first ,it then increases picking up speed until it becomes out of control ,growing by leaps and bounds and we are frozen.Where peace and a calm once resided, it is now replaced by fear and uncertainty.

I stood out on the marsh looking out over the sunset,watching the birds flying out of the grasses,and praying that the peace would return.The air was calm,not a piece of grass blowing.A gust of wind came up and seemed to smack me in the face,when it did , instantly tears came to my eyes and I heard in my spirit, why do you fear? Do you not see the birds? I provide for them.I will never leave you.I am in the wind,I am in the water. I will never leave you ,I will never forsake you.Do not fear. Do not fear.He kept repeating it as though he was making sure I had heard him clearly.

I knew at that instant that he was there.He had created everything around me.He had made the beautiful sunset, the birds,the fish in the creek.None of them ever worried about what they would eat,where they would sleep,they had no worries.And he would provide for their every need.So why should I doubt that he would take care of my mother? That he would be with us through this ordeal.And he has taken care of her.He was with us through it all.My peace was restored and he healed my mother of her cancer.We need to believe his word. He will give you peace in all circumstances,all we need to do is ask.

Matthew 6;26 Look at the birds of the air,they do not sow or reap or store away in barns.and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not much more valuable than they?

Deuteronomy 31;8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you,he will never leave you nor forsake you.Do not be afraid,do not be discouraged.

Hope in a jar

This Christmas I received Hope in a Jar.I'm not kidding really I did.It is a rejuvenating skin cream by the company Philosophy. This is one of those new miracle creams, you apply at bedtime and when you wake up, you hope that it removed all those wrinkles, lines,and whatever else is there that shouldn't be.

.But unfortunately we can only hope it does what it says.I always seem to wake up looking the same as when I went to sleep.Oh well ,so much for my hope in a jar.What I hope is that I don't spend anymore money on things that seem to perform miracles.We all know if its seems too good to be true, it usually is. And it almost all of the time it has a big price tag that goes with it.

I started to think about hope.Wouldn't it be great if there was hope in a jar? A big problem arises, go get that hope in a jar! A Friend calls with sad news.I'll be right over I've got hope in a jar! Break out that miracle cream and all is well in the world again.Oh, if it were that easy.

There have been times I have watched people who don't know the Lord , in the midst of a crisis or illness. They do not know what to do, or where to turn.The fear that overtakes them is overwhelming. They have no hope.How do you go on without it? You don't. You become paralyzed.If you want to see despair and lack of hope. Watch the news tonight.Suicide rates have doubled.Crime is on the rise.People are becoming more violent then ever.

I have attended funerals of those who did not know him.The grief and pain felt in that room is crushing.The sadness in those left behind sometimes never leaves.You have seen them visiting the grave of a loved one every single day for years on end.They merely exist,no joy, no hope of ever shedding their grief and pain.Look into someones eyes who have no hope,there is no sparkle,it is flat and lifeless.

We have watched our friends ,and loved ones go through these things. Oh how we wish we had that jar of hope.We could go to them, open our little jar and take care of all of their problems.Why we would buy them jars of it for Christmas and birthdays.We would buy cases of the stuff.If we had enough money we could drive down the street throwing jars of it out into the crowds.Flooding the world with hope.

Too bad there is no such cream,but we do have a solution to everything,Its called Jesus.He is our "jar of hope".Too many of us,we wish we had that jar, rather than risk telling them about our"hope"

.What if they don't want to be our friend anymore,they might think we're crazy,one of those Jesus freaks. So we let them suffer and go through their lives merely just existing.We have hope. So we are ok....right?

If you found the cure for cancer,wouldn't you shout it from the rooftops? You would call everyone you knew ,you would stop complete strangers on the street.You would tell the world.
But most likely we would still sit back and watch those around us suffer lack of hope.

Each one of us struggle in this area.Its just part of being human.We struggle when we have to go out of our comfort zone.But think about it.Wasn't there someone who shared their "hope in a jar" with you? Aren't you glad they did? We can choose to wait for that miracle cure all cream that will save the world or we can share a little of our hope,Jesus.

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
Psalm 1:24

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose
hope is in his unfailing love,
Psalm 33:18

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. John 16:22

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16.33

Blessings
Dee

Mary or Martha who will you be?

This morning we learned about sitting at the feet of Jesus.We all know the story of Mary and Martha .Jesus came to the home of a woman named Martha.While Martha probably prepared a gourmet meal that would make Rachel Ray proud, she set the table with her finest dishes,all color coordinated,with matching napkins and such. She probably went out and picked some flowers for an outstanding centerpiece to give her table pizazz.

Then she spent the next hour or so cleaning ,fluffing,making a homemade pie from the berries she just picked an hour ago, that she walked 5 miles to find.All the while she was probably huffing and puffing and grumbling because in the other room was her lazy(or so she thought) sister Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus doing absolutely nothing.

If your like me, one who is capable of multi tasking on top of multi tasking,I think some days Martha Stewart would be proud to have me as a daughter or at least on her employee list.The following people tend to get on our creative ,multitasking nerves,they are the ones who sit while we are cleaning up or running ministries.While they get to enjoy just showing up,then when its over they pick up their coat and leave.
The ones who get to enjoy conversations with others while those like me.... get to spend the next 2 hours cleaning up,washing dishes,all the while we are grumbling,complaining and thinking not so heavenly thoughts.

When people like myself actually sit still for a minute, well lets say half a minute, theres too much to do, and think about it,why are we not the ones sitting down? Why are we not the ones ,enjoying ourselves like them?Picking up our coats and just leaving?

Partly because some of us do enjoy making things nice, being creative,its just our nature to help when there is a need.The problem starts when we start to grumble and complain,thats usually a good indicator we need to slow down.We also need to realize that we can't expect everyone to be a Martha, some are Mary's and some have other names.Look in a name your baby book.there are more names than those two.

It is also because we are taught in todays world to be the Martha. Martha Stewart most likely makes billions a year teaching us how to do it all. If you happen to be a Mary, you are considered lazy ,you are not accomplishing anything.We need to be busy busy busy every second of the day.

But what are we left with after all the running? We are worn out, miserable, lazy people hating, multi tasking women.Talk to any husband or child of a Martha and I think they would rather have a Mary.Is Martha Stewart still married? If you don't know the answer its a No.Get my point?

I'm sure Mary was probably in a better mood.I bet she didn't tell her children hurry up while they were trying to tell her a story. When Jesus spoke to Mary her eyes were focused on him,listening to him like a child hearing a story for the first time. I bet he didn't have to follow her room to room as she straighted up,grumbled,and maybe threw him an annoyed glance every few minutes.She sat at his feet.She had chosen what was better.

We need to chose what is better. You will be a lot better off if you chose to just sit.He can't speak to you when you are not listening.We all need rest,its essential to our health,mental.physical and spiritual.So who are you going to be today? Mary, who will be remembered by Jesus as the one who loved him so,sat at his feet, and hung on his every word.Or Martha the one who could bake an extraordinary pie, scrub a kitchen floor spotless ,the woman who didn't hear a thing he spoke of, and never gave him the time of day?We have a choice, who will you listen to? The world? Or Jesus?

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way,
He came to a village where a woman,named Martha opened her home to him.
She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said.
But Martha who was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to Jesus and said"Lord,don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work?Tell her to help me!"
Martha,Martha, the Lord said,you are worried and upset about many things,but only one things is needed.
Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.Luke 10:38-42

Blessings Dee

Psalm 139;1-12

Psalm 139: 1-12
O, Lord you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise,you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down,you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely O Lord.
You hem me in-behind and before,you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty,for me to attain.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens,you are there.
If I make my bed in the depths you are there.
If I rise on the wings of dawn,If I settle on the far sides of the sea.
even there your hand will guide me,your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say " Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me"
even the darkness will not be dark to you.
the night will shine like day,
for darkness is as light to you.