Are you just using God when life gets tough or do you strive to have a real and intimate ‘secret place’ relationship as you worship Him?
Month: February 2020
Impressioning: My Mother
I was rummaging through old cards and letters I didn’t even realize my parents still had. I came upon a letter I had written to Mother on her birthday. I really don’t remember writing this letter. I do however, remember being single and a college student at the time.
I have read and reread this letter over the last couple days. I’ve shed many tears, tears being released by all the memories which are coming back to me. And I wanted to share what I wrote to her with you. Many of you are blessed to have such a mother. Many of you may not be. Please remember though, we all have the potential to be this type of mother. It may not be to our own children even, but there is someone out there who surely is in need of your mothering, your unconditional love. Enjoy!
Dear Mother, There aren’t enough opportunities to express the thoughts that occur in the passing of my day. But as I struggle to mature into the person whom you, Dad, and God desire me, I find myself ‘impressioning’ a very beautiful person-that person is you. When you were my age, I was only occurring. Being a mother is very special and my ultimate goal is to be a good mother and wife and I know that I will look back at the manner in which you and Dad reared us. For now though, the Lord is leading me elsewhere, I only pray that I am interpreting his will correctly. His will is all I desire. My life is so confusing, I become frightened, and goof thing up. I wonder how and WHY God would use me-or even want to use me!! But I look at Moses, for one and how doubtful he was. God certainly used him. Life is difficult to understand, but having a Christian home and family is something I am thankful for and do find a security in. Never change, just keep getting better! And pray for me. I know you don’t always agree with the ways I do things, but take those things with a grain of salt. Mother, I just want to wish you a very Happy Birthday and thank you for being someone whom I can impression myself after. Love you always.
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There Is Nothing To Fear,…
“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else” Oswald Chambers.
“Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!”
~~~Psalm 31:19 (KJV)~~~
There is nothing to fear unless we forget what the Lord has done.
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Blessings!
True Forgiveness His Way
True forgiveness is only possible when we choose to see others through the eyes of God.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
~~~Colossians 3:12-13 (ESV)~~~
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Blessings!
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Faith, Do You Believe?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
~~~John 3:16 (KJV)~~~
The Sinner’s Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
p.s. It is my earnest desire for you, my dear reader, to come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and to grow as a Christian.
Blessings!
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Accountability
Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
God
Just because you don’t think you see God moving, doesn’t mean He isn’t.
My Husband: Smitten By His Voice
At our first meeting I recall my future husband being very quiet, not saying too much. As our encounters continued I was taken by his deep voice, though I really don’t recall actually being aware of its charm until a few weeks later. We had both been invited by the same person; an older man now deceased to listen to a guest speaker at the local junior college. Neither of us was aware this older man was a mutual friend. Had he invited us both hoping we would meet at this lecture? Possibly.
I had had to stay late at the fabric store where I was working and as a result the lecture had already started by the time I arrived. Assuming no one was noticing my entrance I quickly took a seat at the front of the room. I do recall the name of the guest speaker, but I will admit I remember very little about what he had to say. At the conclusion of his lecture, the guest speaker took questions from the audience.
Being in the front row I could not always see the person asking the question. While I don’t recall what he asked, I do recall recognizing his voice! Near the back of the room a deep and smooth voice very quickly got my attention. He later admitted he noticed me when I found a front row seat. Well, actually he confessed he noticed my “backside” to be exact.
I have always loved the sound of my husband’s voice. True, it sometimes gets a bit high sounding, like whenever he is letting himself go or whenever he is frustrated or irritated. And I may not always like what he has to say, but I do love to hear his deep and smooth voice just the same. I love having conversations with him, and maybe even more so enjoyable when over the phone because I can really focus on listening to his voice.
After the lecture, I invited him to a party at my apartment. I really didn’t give much thought as to whether or not he would come. Our gatherings were quite often very casual, just a group of college friends enjoying being together. I guess I figured if he was interested he would stop by some time during the evening. Truth be told I was a bit surprised when the next morning my roommate handed me the phone and said Darrin was on the line. Taking the phone I responded to my roommate by saying “Darrin, Darrin who?”
Now, before you decide I was a bit cold or worse, I must confess I was still sleeping when he called. And I really don’t remember why he called or what we talked about that morning. I do know he did come to the party and I do know I enjoyed listening to him talk. No, I really didn’t just enjoy listening to him talk, I was smitten by his voice and I still am.
p.s. My husband’s name has been changed to protect his innocence.
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Wisdom
Being a mother of young adult sons brings many opportunities to share wisdom gathered over the years. I recall my mother-in-law often pointing out how one doesn’t change the management. Our son is now in a managerial position. With this position has come more responsibility as well as frustration. And with this he has come to remember his own dreams and aspirations, none of which have anything to do with being in a managerial position. He is an extremely talented young artist with the gift of creativity. How did I encourage him?
“…do your research and give more thought to developing your ideas, your business plan so to speak. Don’t burn any bridges, lay low, don’t make waves, bide your time while you focus on you and your goals. Let your experience and time spent while in this managerial position serve its purposes for you. No experience in life is ever wasted and will serve a purpose in your future, guaranteed! This is how one acquires wisdom. Focusing on your passions guides you in discovering your God-given purposes.”
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:13-18 (ESV).
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Waiting For God
I realize there is a dry humored and extremely funny British sitcom called “Waiting For God” which aired in the early nineties. Of course it is about those who are in their retirement years, making the best of it as they wait for God to grant them their final rest. Recently I have discovered we need to wait for God, but in another way.
Our world is bent on taking advantage of every second of every hour, filling it with what we consider to be productive activities. Our goal seems to be somewhat like a race. This race we gradually entered as teens, then college preparation, then hitting it hard climbing the ladder of success. Success being a nice home and other acquired possessions, marriage and family, position in our choice of career,…and of course the financial means necessary to have all of this and more. How do we do this? By what we consider to be productive activities.
At the end of this race we hope to have acquired everything and more. At the end of this race we enter the retirement years. At the end of this race we celebrate this monumental milestone, but only for a moment. We very quickly begin to reflect. Where did time go? Was it all worth it? What about the regrets, the sacrifices and fallout, the wrong decisions,…the emptiness.
Not for one second am I saying we should not be productive and have proof of our productivity. Each and every one of us has specific God-given purposes and have been given specific gifts and passions with which to fulfill our purposes in life. But maybe, just maybe we should slow down a bit, pace ourselves throughout this race, and wait for God to guide us along the way. And maybe, just maybe, during those quiet contemplative moments with God we come to realize what’s really important. In doing so we still are able to attain the good life we desired, but without the need to fill every second of every hour with ‘productive activity’ followed by making peace with our past regrets.
Instead we slow down, “smell the roses”, we take the time to look up and grasp the awesomeness of God’s creation. We notice the twinkle in our child’s eye for the first time in a long time. We really feel the love of our spouse and our heart begins to swell. And then we begin to relax a bit. We begin to desire subtle changes in how we think and how we behave. We promise ourselves to not waste another second of our time on empty and hollow pursuits. We come to realize relationships with those closest to us have now become our priority once and for all. And we relish our quiet moments of waiting for God.
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