I had my morning all planned out yesterday. After asking the Lord to direct my steps, I began my day. My morning was running like a well-oiled machine, scratching off errands from my 'To Do List' when my husband called. His folks needed help with something that couldn't wait. What to do? I needed to specifically be somewhere by ten, and no matter how I rearranged everything in my head, it just was not going to work with this added 'To Do' on my list. So I immediately called my ten o clock appointment to let them know I would still be there but probably thirty minutes later than originally planned. No problem.
So off I go.
Along the way, I met with road construction and ridicules long-lasting red lights. By now I was about 45 minutes behind schedule.
Detours.
Webster's Dictionary defines Detour as this:
A deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure.
Yes-my intended direct course for my morning was definitely deviated!
How did I handle my deviation?
Remember? Before I began my day, I asked God to direct my steps. So I realized that I was where I was suppose to be when God wanted me to be there.
We don't always know why this happens, but yesterday God showed me why He altered my original course.
As I was driving back into my little town in which I reside, I was stopped by a horrible car crash. The ambulance had already left, but the mangled car was loaded on the tow truck, and police were busy cleaning up the mess. A drunk driver had driven into town and struck a tree, approximately 45 minutes prior to my arrival back home.
Coincidence?
I don't think so.
Proverbs 16:9 says, A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
I believe with all my heart that God protected me from that drunk driver yesterday by allowing detours to keep me safe from harm.
So what about you? When a detour throws a glitch in your well-planned day, how do you react? Does it put you in a foul mood? Do you complain? Are you out of kilter for the rest of the day because things didn't go like you wanted them to? Or do you rest in the fact that God is in control?
I don't know about you, but I will thank God that He is directing my steps!
But.....that's just me!
Friday, July 17, 2020
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Fireflies
Sometimes it's hard to see in the dark.
Images that are familiar in the light take on different forms when left to our imaginations.
And other times, you can't see your hand in front of your face.
Life can be that way.
Tragedy strikes out of the blue. No warning. Your plans and dreams have suddenly been ripped away. Pain, heartache, loss. Your familiar surroundings are now distorted. You no longer see the light.
Everything is dark.
It seems like that, doesn't it? It's what the devil would want you to believe.
The circumstance you find yourself in hasn't allowed your eyes to adjust to the darkness....
yet.
You are still in the phase of asking, 'Why God?'
I remember one time while camping, I was in the middle of a field. Complete darkness. When I walked into this field, it was so dark I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I was alone. Or so I thought. But as my eyes began to adjust to the dark, I began to see them.
Fireflies! Hundreds of them!
God reminded me that sometimes, His beauty is most evident in the dark.
Isaiah 61:3 says: To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
That verse is the answer to our 'why.' So that God may be glorified. In. All. Things.
You may not think you see God in the dark, but He is there.
Og Mandino once said, "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."
The next time I find myself in a dark place, I'm going to look for the fireflies!
But that's just me!
Images that are familiar in the light take on different forms when left to our imaginations.
And other times, you can't see your hand in front of your face.
Life can be that way.
Tragedy strikes out of the blue. No warning. Your plans and dreams have suddenly been ripped away. Pain, heartache, loss. Your familiar surroundings are now distorted. You no longer see the light.
Everything is dark.
It seems like that, doesn't it? It's what the devil would want you to believe.
The circumstance you find yourself in hasn't allowed your eyes to adjust to the darkness....
yet.
You are still in the phase of asking, 'Why God?'
I remember one time while camping, I was in the middle of a field. Complete darkness. When I walked into this field, it was so dark I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I was alone. Or so I thought. But as my eyes began to adjust to the dark, I began to see them.
Fireflies! Hundreds of them!
God reminded me that sometimes, His beauty is most evident in the dark.
Isaiah 61:3 says: To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
That verse is the answer to our 'why.' So that God may be glorified. In. All. Things.
You may not think you see God in the dark, but He is there.
Og Mandino once said, "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."
The next time I find myself in a dark place, I'm going to look for the fireflies!
But that's just me!
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Church
A funny thing happens every Sunday morning at our house. My husband and I watch the clock to see when it's time to dress and prepare ourselves to go to Church.
We always seem to dress early, and then we stand around like goof-balls watching the clock to see when we can finally get in our car to drive over for the Service.
And we are always early for that to! The doors have barely been unlocked for entry when we find ourselves over at Church.
Why are we so excited to go to Church?
Because there was a time when we didn't go to Church.
That was our time of being in the Wilderness.
But that time is finally over and now we go to Church!
We are excited to go to Church, because that's where we Worship the One Who saved us!
We are excited to go to Church to hear the Preaching and Teaching of Sound Doctrine from the Word of God!
We are excited to go to Church to sing praises to the One Who is Worthy of praise!
We are excited to go Church to fellowship with other Believer's in Christ!
We are excited to go to Church to Serve the Lord, and to serve each other!
We are excited to go to Church!
Are you?
And if not, why not?
Is going to Church just something you do? Is it habit? A routine? Mechanics?
Psalm 122:1 says, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
Today is Wednesday. Guess what? It's time for the mid-week Bible Study and Prayer Service. I already know that my husband and I will get dressed too early for church, and again we will stand around like goof-balls watching the clock to see when we can finally head over to Church.
I can't wait!
But, that's just me!
We always seem to dress early, and then we stand around like goof-balls watching the clock to see when we can finally get in our car to drive over for the Service.
And we are always early for that to! The doors have barely been unlocked for entry when we find ourselves over at Church.
Why are we so excited to go to Church?
Because there was a time when we didn't go to Church.
That was our time of being in the Wilderness.
But that time is finally over and now we go to Church!
We are excited to go to Church, because that's where we Worship the One Who saved us!
We are excited to go to Church to hear the Preaching and Teaching of Sound Doctrine from the Word of God!
We are excited to go to Church to sing praises to the One Who is Worthy of praise!
We are excited to go Church to fellowship with other Believer's in Christ!
We are excited to go to Church to Serve the Lord, and to serve each other!
We are excited to go to Church!
Are you?
And if not, why not?
Is going to Church just something you do? Is it habit? A routine? Mechanics?
Psalm 122:1 says, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
Today is Wednesday. Guess what? It's time for the mid-week Bible Study and Prayer Service. I already know that my husband and I will get dressed too early for church, and again we will stand around like goof-balls watching the clock to see when we can finally head over to Church.
I can't wait!
But, that's just me!
Monday, July 13, 2020
Left Wondering
Do you live your life in such a way that those around you know exactly where you stand in Christ, and what you believe?
Or do you leave people wondering?
If you claim to know Christ as your Saviour, do you have to let other's know you are a Christian, or is it obvious?
Do you tell other's you're saved by your words, or by your actions?
Exactly how are you living, and for Who?
Are you sold out for Christ, or are you just going with the flow?
Do you serve Christ daily, read your Bible every day, or just on Sunday's?
Do people really know the real you? Or are they left wondering?
Keith Green wrote a song many years ago and one verse says:
"To obey is better than sacrifice,
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights,
Cause if you can't come to Me every day,
Then don't bother coming at all."
You may think that is pretty harsh. One might even consider it a 'hard saying.'
But if Jesus gave His all for us, shouldn't we give our all to Jesus?
Revelation 3: 15-16 says,
I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
You will either be on fire for the Lord, or you're not. There is no middle ground. There is no invisible fence you can sit on.
So let me ask you again: When other's come in contact with you, are they left wondering?
I don't know about you, but I want to mirror my Saviour in such a way, that those around me are not left wondering, they will know Who I serve.
But.....that's just me.
Or do you leave people wondering?
If you claim to know Christ as your Saviour, do you have to let other's know you are a Christian, or is it obvious?
Do you tell other's you're saved by your words, or by your actions?
Exactly how are you living, and for Who?
Are you sold out for Christ, or are you just going with the flow?
Do you serve Christ daily, read your Bible every day, or just on Sunday's?
Do people really know the real you? Or are they left wondering?
Keith Green wrote a song many years ago and one verse says:
"To obey is better than sacrifice,
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights,
Cause if you can't come to Me every day,
Then don't bother coming at all."
You may think that is pretty harsh. One might even consider it a 'hard saying.'
But if Jesus gave His all for us, shouldn't we give our all to Jesus?
Revelation 3: 15-16 says,
I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
You will either be on fire for the Lord, or you're not. There is no middle ground. There is no invisible fence you can sit on.
So let me ask you again: When other's come in contact with you, are they left wondering?
I don't know about you, but I want to mirror my Saviour in such a way, that those around me are not left wondering, they will know Who I serve.
But.....that's just me.
Friday, July 10, 2020
Below the Surface
Have you ever shared something that happened to you to someone else only to find out that the same thing happened to them? You could be talking to one other person or a whole group, and nine times out of ten, everyone has had the same story to share. Different versions, but the story remains the same. It makes for an amusing conversation-one that leaves us with laughter, smiles and warm feelings. We are reassured that those around us experience the same things.
But have you ever noticed that when it comes to hurts, fears, anxiety, illness, burdens, sin, or just needing a helping hand, that we remain quiet?
Why is that?
Pride? Fear of what someone else might think of us? Our pretense will be discovered?
The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
In Christ, we have a solid foundation to build 'under-the-surface' relationships.
We can talk about more than the weather, sports, and the News.
Maybe if we are brave enough to share our hurts, trials and struggles, we will realize that those around us have gone through the same thing.
And maybe, just maybe, if we let others see us for who we truly are, and not who we pretend to be, we will learn that by doing so, not only will we be able to help someone else, but we will be helping ourselves as well.
But then.....that's just me.
But have you ever noticed that when it comes to hurts, fears, anxiety, illness, burdens, sin, or just needing a helping hand, that we remain quiet?
Why is that?
Pride? Fear of what someone else might think of us? Our pretense will be discovered?
The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
In Christ, we have a solid foundation to build 'under-the-surface' relationships.
We can talk about more than the weather, sports, and the News.
Maybe if we are brave enough to share our hurts, trials and struggles, we will realize that those around us have gone through the same thing.
And maybe, just maybe, if we let others see us for who we truly are, and not who we pretend to be, we will learn that by doing so, not only will we be able to help someone else, but we will be helping ourselves as well.
But then.....that's just me.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Used Or Used?
Webster's Dictionary defines used as:
1- Employed in accomplishing something.
2-That has endured use.
I'd like to introduce you to a woman who understood both definitions.
You will find her in John Chapter 4.
She was a woman who had a past that her whole community was aware of. She was married and divorced 5 times, and was currently living with a man who she was not married to.
She was a woman scorned, and a woman shunned.
But then she met the Saviour.
In fact, in verse 4 of John Chapter 4, the Bible tells us that 'he, (meaning Jesus) must needs go through Samaria.'
Jesus sought out this woman. A woman who others purposely avoided. A woman who was mistreated so badly, she chose to go to the well in the middle of the afternoon instead of in the coolness of the morning.
The people in her town were well aware of her past, and her present lifestyle, and chose to avoid her. Her community condemned her because of her multiple relationships with men. Maybe they thought that a woman used, is a useless woman?
Jesus didn't think so.
When you first read her interaction with Jesus, there is a hardness about her. I've learned that the hardness in a person is sometimes the result of being hurt deeply. I'm sure she was surprised to see a man sitting by the well, because she purposely went to the well while others were not there. She is surprised that this man is even willing to speak to her, let alone make a request of her. She asks him why a person like him, would be speaking to a person like her? But Jesus is about to show her a love she has never known. And the beautiful picture of this Scripture is that Jesus reveals Who He is to this woman. God, manifested in flesh, reveals to her, a used-up, sinful woman, that He is the Messiah!
The boundaries that chained this woman in her community suddenly fell to the ground. It no longer mattered to her what other's thought of her, she was going to tell everyone in town Who she just met!
The 'used' woman became a woman used by God to bring other's to Him.
And because she was willing to be used by God, many believed on Christ.
An encounter with Jesus will change your life.
Don't let others define you by your past.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says-Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
There were a lot of assumptions made about the Samaritan woman by those who knew her. They condemned her.
I like to view her as a woman who desperately wanted to be loved. And she found that love in Christ.
-But that's just me.
1- Employed in accomplishing something.
2-That has endured use.
I'd like to introduce you to a woman who understood both definitions.
You will find her in John Chapter 4.
She was a woman who had a past that her whole community was aware of. She was married and divorced 5 times, and was currently living with a man who she was not married to.
She was a woman scorned, and a woman shunned.
But then she met the Saviour.
In fact, in verse 4 of John Chapter 4, the Bible tells us that 'he, (meaning Jesus) must needs go through Samaria.'
Jesus sought out this woman. A woman who others purposely avoided. A woman who was mistreated so badly, she chose to go to the well in the middle of the afternoon instead of in the coolness of the morning.
The people in her town were well aware of her past, and her present lifestyle, and chose to avoid her. Her community condemned her because of her multiple relationships with men. Maybe they thought that a woman used, is a useless woman?
Jesus didn't think so.
When you first read her interaction with Jesus, there is a hardness about her. I've learned that the hardness in a person is sometimes the result of being hurt deeply. I'm sure she was surprised to see a man sitting by the well, because she purposely went to the well while others were not there. She is surprised that this man is even willing to speak to her, let alone make a request of her. She asks him why a person like him, would be speaking to a person like her? But Jesus is about to show her a love she has never known. And the beautiful picture of this Scripture is that Jesus reveals Who He is to this woman. God, manifested in flesh, reveals to her, a used-up, sinful woman, that He is the Messiah!
The boundaries that chained this woman in her community suddenly fell to the ground. It no longer mattered to her what other's thought of her, she was going to tell everyone in town Who she just met!
The 'used' woman became a woman used by God to bring other's to Him.
And because she was willing to be used by God, many believed on Christ.
An encounter with Jesus will change your life.
Don't let others define you by your past.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says-Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
There were a lot of assumptions made about the Samaritan woman by those who knew her. They condemned her.
I like to view her as a woman who desperately wanted to be loved. And she found that love in Christ.
-But that's just me.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Lost Packages
Since Covid-19 has adjusted our shopping habits, I have found myself shopping on line more and more. Some say it's even more convenient than actually shopping, and most of my friends even prefer to shop on-line.
Not me.
I actually find it quite frustrating.
The shape of my body cries out, 'Please try on the clothes BEFORE you purchase!' So shopping for clothes on line generally never happens.
Books, accessories, trinkets and Do-Dads are the extent of my on-line shopping.
But even that is becoming more and more frustrating.
Why? Lost packages.
I ordered something three weeks ago, that was promised to be delivered in three to five business days. I was even guaranteed a sure-win-for-delivery-tracking-number. However, I have learned that tracking numbers do not always guarantee a delivery, and for that I am quite puzzled.
24 hours after ordering, I receive a shipping email! A tracking number! Excitement and anticipation begins to build! My to-die-for-item is on it's way!!!
Day two, I open my email, hit the tracking number, and I'm shown where my package is, and the
date it should be delivered. Day three, I open my email, hit the tracking number, and I'm shown where my package is....but wait a minute. My package is in the same City it was in yesterday? How can that be? Day four, the same thing. My package seems to have entered a City that it cannot leave! Day five, the day I was suppose to get my item.....it's still sitting in that same City! So, I walk up to my local Post Office, give my tracking number to the Post Master to look up to see where my package truly might be. She shrugs her shoulders and explains that sometimes packages get lost in transit and that they could really be anywhere. I stand there thinking, "How can this be? It has a tracking number. It's identified! It's been handled, scanned, transported and then, just suddenly lost?" The Post Master smiles and says, "I can keep looking up the number, but there is really nothing I can do."
Lost packages. Let downs. Re-orders. Waiting, wondering if the new order will get lost as well.
The world will lose it's packages, but I'm reminded time and time again, that the One who holds the Universe is the One who is holding me.
As a child of God, I will never be lost again. My salvation is eternal through Jesus Christ my Lord. He holds me in the palm of His hands. My name is graven there. His eye is ever upon me.
Isaiah 49:16a, "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;"
Ephesians 1:13b, "in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"
Genesis 28:15 tells me that God is with me wherever I go.
I am not a lost package. My destination is heaven, and I am secure in the Hand that will take me there. No tracking number needed.
"In a world of uncertainties, one thing is certain: God loves us. And that one fact can make all the difference." Laura Story
I'm thankful that in Christ, I will never be lost.....
but that's just me!
Not me.
I actually find it quite frustrating.
The shape of my body cries out, 'Please try on the clothes BEFORE you purchase!' So shopping for clothes on line generally never happens.
Books, accessories, trinkets and Do-Dads are the extent of my on-line shopping.
But even that is becoming more and more frustrating.
Why? Lost packages.
I ordered something three weeks ago, that was promised to be delivered in three to five business days. I was even guaranteed a sure-win-for-delivery-tracking-number. However, I have learned that tracking numbers do not always guarantee a delivery, and for that I am quite puzzled.
24 hours after ordering, I receive a shipping email! A tracking number! Excitement and anticipation begins to build! My to-die-for-item is on it's way!!!
Day two, I open my email, hit the tracking number, and I'm shown where my package is, and the
date it should be delivered. Day three, I open my email, hit the tracking number, and I'm shown where my package is....but wait a minute. My package is in the same City it was in yesterday? How can that be? Day four, the same thing. My package seems to have entered a City that it cannot leave! Day five, the day I was suppose to get my item.....it's still sitting in that same City! So, I walk up to my local Post Office, give my tracking number to the Post Master to look up to see where my package truly might be. She shrugs her shoulders and explains that sometimes packages get lost in transit and that they could really be anywhere. I stand there thinking, "How can this be? It has a tracking number. It's identified! It's been handled, scanned, transported and then, just suddenly lost?" The Post Master smiles and says, "I can keep looking up the number, but there is really nothing I can do."
Lost packages. Let downs. Re-orders. Waiting, wondering if the new order will get lost as well.
The world will lose it's packages, but I'm reminded time and time again, that the One who holds the Universe is the One who is holding me.
As a child of God, I will never be lost again. My salvation is eternal through Jesus Christ my Lord. He holds me in the palm of His hands. My name is graven there. His eye is ever upon me.
Isaiah 49:16a, "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;"
Ephesians 1:13b, "in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"
Genesis 28:15 tells me that God is with me wherever I go.
I am not a lost package. My destination is heaven, and I am secure in the Hand that will take me there. No tracking number needed.
"In a world of uncertainties, one thing is certain: God loves us. And that one fact can make all the difference." Laura Story
I'm thankful that in Christ, I will never be lost.....
but that's just me!
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