Plug in, Inflate and SHINE!

It’s that time of year when we pull out and battle untangling the lights, hanging them on our house, decorating the tree and the yards and we put so much work into doing this…. As I was driving around the neighborhood I noticed many homes, including mine have the yard inflatables set out for everyone to look at. The only problem is, most times during the day we do not have them plugged in and inflated for people to see, we only choose to put them up at night, when most people will be in their homes already. A friend of mine told me tonight that she has driven by more than once but hasn’t gotten to see what my inflatables even were. How often in our lives do we work so hard to pull out things that we feel will enhance us, yet we forget to plug them in so they then lie there flat and unrecognizable to those who pass by ? God has blessed us with the gift of inflatability if we would just choose to plug in to HIS source of power day and night. Sometimes it’s easier to keep them unplugged all week long and only plug them in on Sunday morning or Wednesday night to show what we “have” to our friends and neighbors on those specific days. I challenge myself and each of you to be thankful for the abilities God has given us and the strength and wisdom through Him to untangle the chords and present our talents and gifts to each and every being He brings into our lives, not just when it’s convenient, but ALL the time. If we let the thought of, “what is this going to cost me energy wise, time wise and investment wise to keep plugged in all the time” be a reason we stay deflated, then what good is having the decorations to begin with? This Christmas, be reminded that Jesus already paid the price so we don’t have to. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let our light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Let yourself air up and be a shining light so that people will stop and ask “Where did you get that at…I want what you have.” This, my friends is the REASON FOR THE SEASON.

Cherish the Gifts and the Giftgivers!

Each gift we are given in life is something to be cherished and thankful to the one who gave it. Birthdays, Christmas, Graduations, Baby Showers, Wedding showers, etc…we get gifts…We then send out Thank You notes letting those who gave the gift know we are thankful for their thoughtfulness. How often do we write God a thank you note for the children he has gifted us with? Children are such a precious blessing and one of the greatest gifts God can give. In Psalms 127:3 it says, “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” When we deliver a child we often think, “wow, I went 9 months and now this child is finally here and is ALL MINE. What we often forget is that, although the child is ours, without God, there would be no child, nor would we be here. He is the divine creator and giver of blessings day to day. Have you ever played the game at Christmas time where you draw a number and pick a gift and then the next player can take your gift or choose another one if they want? You may end up losing the initial gift you got, but there is another one sitting there waiting to be opened. If we sit and get upset that the thing we opened was taken away and we never reach down to open the next one we will not see what other things there are to be blessed with. I have a friend whose family member’s son had been drinking and was hit by a train the other night and died. What we, as parents often forget is that even in our fleshly mistakes God still loves us and ultimately our children our HIS because He gifted us with them to begin with, so our time here on earth is not something we should take advantage of or feel we are privy to longer life, etc...Something I constantly am teaching the boys and I too have learned is that we may not be given one more day, so we need to live each and every day as if it's our last and we are put here on this Earth to be a blessing to others and shine a light for the darkness around us...we often get lost in the dark and lose our flashlight or ability to go pick it up and turn it on...People begin pointing fingers at God, "how could you do this terrible thing..." When what they forget is that we, (as in America/the world in a whole) has tried so hard to remove God from everywhere, schools, constitution, etc...and then when tragedies occur it is then that we ask WHERE WERE YOU GOD? We dont' turn to God until something bad has happened, when in actuality, we need to be daily turning to Him and letting him lead and then we will be in accordance with his will and we will know more of what his plans are for our lives and it won't be as hard to cope with when things happen. We will have a stronger relationship with Him built up knowing we can rest in Him for the strength to pull us through the rough waters. I am asking for prayer for this friend, and the parents of this boy who was killed. They need an extra comfort and strength right now that only God can give. I pray that we all cherish our children each and every day and do what we can to keep them safe and teach them right from wrong, but stand beside them if they do make a mistake. Encourage them, pray for them and with them. Thank God on a daily basis for them and remember that they belong to Him , just as we do. We are all His children if we have accepted Him as our Savior. He loves us and when tragedies occur we don’t’ always have a “why” but we know there is a HOW with His help and his healing. He always has a reason and a divine plan. In Jeremiah 29:11 (I love this verse) it says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future.”
Lord, I come before you asking for healing for this family. I thank you for the gift of children and for the years they were given with their son . I pray that they will cherish each of the memories they have and will not grow cold hearted towards you, but will rather cling tightly in this time of hurting. Let them know your arms are there to rest in Father. Guide them and bring people into their lives who can be a support and strength as well. Take this earthly tragedy and use it for your glory. We love you Lord and praise you for your salvation you give, your strength, the air we breathe, and everything we have. It is yours God, not ours..Thank you for letting us borrow it while we are residing here on Earth temporarily. May we store up heavenly treasures and be a light to all those who need shined upon. Be with each of us and all of my friends and their families, and keep them safe as they go through their days. May they always look to you in the good and the “bad.” May we all see that often you let things occur to show us a greater purpose that we were not aware of. I love you Lord and give you all the praise. I ask this in your name, Amen.

It's OK to be over that line!

One of my favorite books is by, Bonnie Keen, GOD LOVES MESSY PEOPLE and as I was staring at a sheet of notebook paper tonight I thought, "we put so much emphasis on our children to 'stay inbetween the lines', Use your fork and spoon so you don't make a mess on your hands. When maybe we should just be teaching them to do THEIR best and let them know that in Romans 3:10 it says, "There is none righteous, no note one." And, if they go out of the lines a little or get something on their fingers they are still loved and in turn we can instill a principle of how to go about cleaning up the mess with the use of a rag (God's word for our lives), and show them that pencils have erasers for a reason, because no one is perfect, except for God, and if their very best after erasing and trying to draw the letters again is still over the blue line then congratulate them for their work, ask them to continue writing so they can finish the "message" instead of just giving up on one letter, and build them up instead of causing them frustration that they may feel they can never achieve that computer printed teacher's manual version of the answers and how it's "supposed" to look. How often as women do we paint our own nails and slip up and go onto our skin a bit? I usually just polish remover it off with a qtip and move on to the next nail. If we stay stuck on the first letter or first nail or attempt to not spill anything at all or get it on our hands we may never get to write a whole word or story, paint all the nails or finish eating our meal and drinking our drink because we are now afraid we will mess up again! This does not mean we should scribble down some chicken scratches, gobble our food down like pigs, or dump the polish on our fingers just because God Loves Messy People. God loves us despite our mistakes and what He loves even more is our willingness to get back up and keep going and do better the next time, He doesn't ask for perfection the next time, just our BEST! If we groomed our children and ourselves to live up to perfection standards we are setting both up for immense heartbreak when the pencil slips across the paper, the polish is clumpy or we are served finger foods! Let's delight in how God created us to be UNIQUE and leave the perfection up to HIM! :)

What STATE are you in?

Checked out a book at the library yesterday for the boys called, THE SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA. It’s a story about the 50 states and how NEBRASKA is upset because he is in the middle and never gets to go anywhere or see anything else and is tired of all the other states around him and the scenery never changing. He calls up his friend, Kansas (who is incredibly kind) and says, “I enjoy having you as a neighbor, BUT, I’m wanting a change, I really am tired of this area!” So, the two of them decide to call all the other states and they plan a party. At this party Virginia and Idaho get up on the stage and announce that they have decided they are going to switch places and wondered if everyone else wanted to do the same so they could get away from where they were at in life. They all agreed this was the greatest idea ever, so they went home to pack their bags and they began their travels to their new destinations. Things were going great the first day or two and then Florida began getting extremely cold up in Minnesota and Minnesota had gotten sunburnt down in Florida and Alabama, New York and Indiana (all whom had taken California’s place) were getting annoyed by the rumbling that kept them up all night. Arizona was getting frustrated with her South Carolina location because the waves kept messing up her hair and Alaska was in pain from Oklahoma’s handle jabbing into his left side and Michigan’s thumb tickling his right. Nebraska, who was the initiator of all of this was out in the ocean in Hawaii’s spot and was singing the blues about being homesick and lonely and seasick. Everyone was very uncontent except for Nevada and Mississippi who had fallen in love (“Do you want to become MRS.issippi?)
Phone calls were made soon after and it was pretty unanimous that they wanted their places back, so they jumped in their cars, taxis, buses, planes and bikes and trekked back to their homes. Once there they spent the evenings sharing their tales with their friends/states around them and went to bed with a new found contentment for where they were at. In Philippians 4:11 it says, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever STATE I am, therewith to be content.”
How often do we fuss and complain about where we are at in life and where God has put us. We dislike our job, the people around us, our neighbors are too loud, the kids are driving us nuts, etc…If these things that we were frustrated with were suddenly not there anymore would it truly make us happier or would we in turn find something new to complain about? God has called each and every one of us to the specific places we are at for a divine purpose and instead of spending time being upset about it, we ought to be praying and asking God for a new joy for what we have and where we are at and asking Him to show us what He wants us to do right here, right now. I am always telling the boys to be thankful for what they have instead of wanting more. We often get that very thing that we thought would make us so perfectly happy and content and then it is in a pile, a closet or on a shelf days later not being used or touched and we soon are looking for something else new instead. I believe we should take Nevada and Mississippi’s attitudes and make the best of the situations and things we have and find a way to be happy with whom we come in contact with and what we are given. When we are feeling we need to run away from things or place new things in our lives just to be happy, we need to remember that ONLY GOD can fill that gap, and material items will all become dust and rubbish one day, but our actions, thoughts, ways we reach out to others, prayers of thankfulness and what we do with what God is teaching us day to day will be taken with us for eternity! I intend on being in a GOD STATE of mind/heart, no matter where I get placed on the map!!

Need an Alignment?

"It’ll get better” “I don’t need to seek out help” are things I have been saying the past few days with this terrible neck pain I am battling. In Matthew 5:39 it says, “Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also.” Right now, I fear I would not be able to obey that command as I can not turn it in the other direction. Just as our physical bodies need to be taken care of and checked on with dr.’s and chiropractors from time to time so that we can stay in ALIGNMENT and work to our full capacities; our hearts and minds need to be daily seeking out help for SPIRITUAL ALIGNMENT from God’s word. If we go through our lives thinking, “It’ll get better” without actually asking for help to make it better the problems typically seem to get worse. So it is in our spiritual lives. I sinned/messed up today but it wasn’t that big of a deal, it’ll be fine and will work out it’s kinks in time. One wrong that goes by without being taken care of by our Heavenly Physician can end us in a pile up of unfortunate pain that takes a long time to recover from. We ought to be going for a daily physical to God’s office as He is always there 24/7 (holidays as well), and ask Him to align us for that specific day!! John 14:13 says, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." When we faithfully stay in line with God and His word it becomes easier and easier and more of a desire and full ableness to obey Him each time! I imagine if I were to go to a chiropractor and have him fix my neck I would be able to function better physically, avoid this problem erupting into a bigger one and be able to then obey the “turning my other cheek” verse! I’m just praying that if I do make an appt. tomorrow and am then able to turn my neck completely that it doesn’t set me up for being slapped in the face!!

Low on ink?

Having full access to our printer/copy machine at home often causes me to take for granted the luxury I have at the very touch of a button. I expect it to copy when I push the copy button and print when I hit print. That is its’ job, but today when I began to make a copy I was given a notification saying, “ink cartridge is low, please refill”. I ignored it and just kept pushing the button crossing my fingers it would display the words dark enough to get by with. After a few times of doing this and papers shooting out less and less more readable I decided to just quit what I was doing and go on to something else instead of reaching over in the cabinet, picking up the new cartridge and replacing it. In my mind, it wasn’t “bad enough” yet to reach out for help. Surely I can STILL get a few more papers the next time I use it. How often is it that we are encountered with situations where we need to be producing better communication or presentation of God’s word with someone and we find that our ink cartridge is running on low? We may even look over on the shelf and notice the BIBLE sitting right there, easily accessible and we ignore the pricking to pick it up and use it to refill our souls and help us be a better friend, spouse, parent, testimony, and communicator. I often try to get by with just saying enough to where someone can still hear and or see what I am trying to relay, but there is not enough “ink” to back it up and make a real impact and difference in the quality of what is being shared. Why is it that we wait until we have wasted too much time trying our own way and come up with barely readable printouts to open the Bible or that ink cartridge and use what is right in front of us to help solve the problem? In Psalm 46:1 it says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”. We have the great benefit of having God right at our fingertips for the extra strength and refill we often need, but what good is it if we do not reach out and take hold of it and do something with it? By leaving the Bible where it is at, or the ink unopened still sitting on the shelf we deny ourselves of the blessing that would come from utilizing what we have been given! We find ourselves settling for less than best, and end up with more problems down the road. Imagine if you waited to fill up your gas tank in your car EVERY time until it completely ran out of gas and had you stalled on the side of the road? We would not be able to use the excuse of, “well, there just wasn’t any gas available to refill with”. On almost every corner we pass gas stations with tons of gas just sitting there waiting to be put to use, but once again, does us no good if we aren’t pulling in and filling up! I pray that I do not neglect to change out my cartridge and keep my tank filled throughout life’s journey, so that in turn the end result is clearly able to be comprehended and the vehicle can continue to function properly! The next time you feel God pushing your print button or stepping his foot on the acceleration pedal of your life, be sure your printer is stocked with ink and car is on FULL so you can better glorify God with the pages produced and not be stranded on the highway instead of being at the destination He was sending you to. No more “just getting by”, rather, let’s “Reach way up high”. Don’t let yourself believe that “it isn’t bad enough yet”, because if you do then you may never experience the blessing that “this is the BEST yet” can offer you!

"To Tee Off" or not to...

Balancing, in our human concept of what that term means is not always the easiest task to achieve, but I have been inspired by God's "burning bush" enlightment in my backyard in the past 2 days as I have encountered and watched the progress of what began as a "golf ball on a tee" (mushroom beginning to form) flourish into an umbrella shaped creation. When I first noticed it I wanted to go grab a club and swing at it to see how far I could make it fly out of my yard, but something stopped me as I looked around and noticed it was THE ONLY mushroom/golf ball growing out there. As I stared at it today in full bloom form and contemplated on what it originally was 2 days ago in my mind I realized that I often am "myself" wanting to swing the club for immediate self gratification, thus, eliminating the potential for growth and an "umbrella" shelter for others that God can mold us into becoming over time. In James 5:7-8 it says, "Be PATIENT, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its' valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. " The "umbrella" mushroom is currently still balancing on the stem in my yard, only because it was given the opportunity to continue its' growth and it now serves as a reminder to me that in my life I may often feel like I am a mere golfball balancing upon life's demands awaiting a club to come along and knock me off course and eventually putt me into the hole, but because of God's patience with me and ability to see the potential of who and what I am to be in this life and His decision to let me progressively bloom to be a shelter for the people and "blades of grass" underneath me/around me I am able to not feel so alone in this backyard of ONLY grass blades, being the "only" mushroom standing. For where one is planted and grown, many more will sprout! As we go through life sometimes feeling like golfballs that need IMMEDIATE hits upon the head to take us to a random spot on the course, let us stop instead, pray and ask for patience that we can remain balanced upon the "tee"/stem of God's grace and timing in our lives and that He will indeed amaze us by directing us, more often in nonround golfball shapes, so to show his Awesome Power, to the HOLE IN ONE!

HOP TO IT!!

The question (to my friends' 7 yr old son today) was simple. The answer, GIGANTIC.
"WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN SCHOOL TODAY?" "About the golden toad." THE GOLDEN TOAD?? TOADS ARE SLIMY AND STINKY... WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?" "down deep in the water somewhere but there aren't many of them." "THAT'S AWESOME, WHAT ELSE DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THEM?" "we have to get 6 checks in class for being good before we get to learn another thing about them, so we are all working hard to get the checks because we WANT to learn more." "YOU MEAN YOU DON'T GET A PRIZE OR STICKER OR CANDY IF YOU ACCUMULATE 6 GOOD MARKS?" "nope, we get to learn more."
How often do we actually do what's right so we can be taught something in addition to what we already know causing us to become wiser?? How many times have we done the right thing JUST so that we can get a reward from the prize box?
In I Peter 2:2 it says, "Like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." I know the bible speaks about grey hairs being a sign of wisdom, but I truly believe God speaks volumes through children of all ages and all hair colors!!! :)
I knew nothing about a golden toad and more then likely would never have researched it this evening, let alone EVER if this child had not brought such significance to it. His answer caused me to WANT TO LEARN MORE about this cool toad and now I have more factual knowledge in my head "hopping" around! Before that all I knew about toads were that they were slimy, bumpy and one had peed on me when I was a kid!
Just as my friend's son is striving to follow what is right so he can in turn become even brighter then he already is, so we all ought to be purposing daily to walk in Jesus' footsteps and do what is right, not so that we can rack up points or "good jobs" from those around us, but so that in our obedience we can be molded and taught more and more lessons along life's journey. I have a feeling that even the world's smartest GOLDEN TOAD scientist STILL does not know EVERY LITTLE INTRICATE LAST THING about the golden toad, namely because God created each species and thing on this earth with such detail that it would take forever to truly know everything that God knows about it. Not to mention they are a very rare species that if they are still around have been hard to locate in recent years and some have even stated they believe them to be extinct. But, just because we will never be frog/toad experts on this earth and until we enter Heaven will NOT fully understand God in his fullness and be made "perfect/like new" does not mean we should not be staying quiet in the hallways, raising our hands before talking, showing respect to our teachers/friends, finishing our homework when it is given to us, not shoving or pushing in line, reading our Bible and asking God to show us new things, Praying for those around us, keeping a close eye on what things we let into and out of our lives and Following each of God's commands so that we can (get our checks) and in the process continue to learn more and more and be given more joy each time we do what's right! Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
As we hop around day to day doing thing to thing trying to learn from books, professors, friends and the news stay alert to the SIMPLE words that you hear from your children or someone else's. They are the future and although as adults we are training them, they too have much to teach us along our path. I am greatful that God spoke to me through such a young heart. It opened my eyes to be aware that not only "do I hop around like a frog way to often not stopping for a moment to take in a breath and receive peace or insight", but, I also have way too often found myself doing what is right so I can simply just dig dig dig in that treasure box for a prize instead of learn learn learn what I need to be taught!!!! So, stop digging so hard and start obeying more....If we dig too deep we may become buried way far under ground and become "extinct!" And, honestly, THAT'S A SLIMY STINKY PLACE TO BE...

FREE Glue for me and you

Last year about this same time Cade's teacher sent home a note asking for glue stick donations. For whatever reason at the time I felt compelled to go out and buy 60 of them. I mean, I wiped the shelves clean, I was very determined to supply this need she was asking for. How often do we rush to meet a need for someone but we do it with the pretense of hoping to get a thank you or some sort of recognition? Fast forward an entire year and we are in a new grade, new school, new teacher and I get the very same note three days ago requesting glue sticks. I thought, "perhaps this is my calling since I do not go in and volunteer for stuffing friday folders and am not ever able to chaperone fieldtrips, etc..." I'll STICK to getting the glue. har har. So there I am standing in the school supply aisle staring at a massive pile of 3 sticks for a dollar thinking this is an amazing deal and I begin loading them into my basket. It wasn't until I got down ON MY KNEES and saw at the very bottom of the bin there were packs of 4 for a dollar. Funnily enough I actually sat there for a good 5 minutes hesitating whether to get the 4 pack as they were a more generic brand and the labels weren't as appealing as the three pack colorful ones. At that moment, I wasn't concerned about the product or whether it would be as efficient, indeed I was worried about the appearance of my purchase. Ironically I was in the dollar store not the fancy school supply store with the name brand ones to begin with, so I literally was having a moment of pride making a decision of which generic brand the teacher would think more highly of me for getting instead of considering the quantity and realization that she wasn't looking for a pretty label or a fancy name, her overall goal was to supply her students with the tools necessary to complete their projects, thus causing them to advance their learning in her class with the hands on cutting and glueing activities. I began to think of my own life as a "project" per say that God was/is working on and each day I spend more time with Him I can feel his scissors cutting the unneccessary edges off. I honestly believe that at times I have picked up the scissors myself and not only cut uneven jaggedy edges, but have chopped things in half and then been left to feel like there could never be enough glue sticks to piece it all back together. I was in walmart last night and just happened to be in the school supply aisle and I knew I had not gone there to get glue but Cade has asked many times at home if I would replace our home supply of it as we have been out of the liquid bottle kind for months now. I have put it off so many times and just walked past it. There again I found myself standing there for over 5 minutes contemplating if I should get the bigger bottle that was an extra 57 cents more or the regular sized one? I picked up the big one, put it in the cart, then looked back and noticed a 6 pack of glue sticks for 2 dollars! I started to throw those in the cart too and quickly changed my mind about the bigger bottle and got the cheaper one instead. Erica, why are you going on and on about glue and what kind you bought/didn't buy??? It's as if at the moment when I was deciding whether to get it or not I once again was pridefully thinking about myself. Not with the appearance of the label but in my cart I had also picked up 2 tops off the clearance rack and somehow I justified to myself that I needed that 7 dollar jacket and 4 dollar shirt more then I needed the bigger bottle of glue. When, in actuality the clothing is an appearance thing and will probably end up at the bottom of a drawer or back of a closet, whereas art projects the kids could do with extra glue would be much more memorable in the long run. In I Samuel 16:7 it says that "man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart." Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
I was given the privilege/blessing to attend a Beth Moore event today and wouldn't ya know it, GLUE came up in her message (not sure if anyone else heard it, but God was definitely speaking it to me). Why is it that we can daily go about our business with torn pieces hanging off of us as we are 24/7 standing in the BIGGEST school supply aisle and yet we still hesitate to reach out to God the Ultimate Sealer and Mender of our rips and tears? We get distracted by the pretty colors and the clearance racks of uneccessary items that we load into our cart and we miss out on receiving a fuller blessing in the process. God is a neverending supply of glue that in Proverbs 18:24 says he STICKETH closer then a brother. If we are not ON OUR KNEES searching below the surface and using his adhesive then we will soon discover that the HUGE WONDERFUL PACK OF 4 we are trying to last us on our own will soon dry out or be gone and we are left standing there unfinished projects that are clinging to selfishness, pride and the inability to allow Him to complete a work that He has to do in each of us. Just as Cade's teacher sees the end result of the art she has planned for her class and admitted her need for glue so God Himself sees the work of art that we are and can continue to become if we stop hesitating to squeeze from his abundant tube of stickiness!~ It's not only overly abundant and neverending it's FREE.
I had intended on purchasing 10 packs of glue for his class but because I let pride set in and appearance take over I ended up only getting 6 packs and bought a nice gift bag, teacher note pad and well done sticker pad to throw in with the GENERIC UGLY LABELED glue sticks in hopes that she would overlook that they weren't the fancy ones when I could have supplied her with 4 more packs of glue thus enabling her to accomplish the goal she had set out to do. Gift bags, ribbon and pretty labels are nice and thoughtful but just as she did not require them God also does not. He just wants us to be humbled before Him with or without a pretty label and lay aside the tissue paper and extra frillies that are hindering us from fully becoming His Masterpiece. What is it that is taking up space in your bag that you could remove and replace with something more substantial? How much longer will we walk around with slices hanging off of us refusing to let him glue us back together? Each of us are only given certain amounts of time on earth and if we waste it or do not make the best out of what we have been given for strength and help then we may never find ourselves hanging on God's refrigerator and hearing Him say to us, "Well done thou good and faithful servant."
Lord, I praise you for designing us each uniquely and seeing a future plan for us all. I pray that we would look to you for all of our needs and that we will each allow you to continue working on us so that the plan you have for us can indeed be played out in our lives and glory can be brought to your name through our willingness to Stick close to you and remove the items that we are using to fill a gap. Take our pride and selfishness and replace it with a daily contentment and joy in you Father God. May we always be reminded that you are not only an adhesive for us but a writing utensil to place our thoughts down, paper to write it onto, an eraser and whiteout for when we make mistakes and a measureless ruler of love that we can use on a daily basis as we continue to learn from you, the greatest Teacher/Ruler of all times. May our ears be open to hear when you are speaking even in things we may deem insignificant, Lord I fully believe you can teach us so much through the smallest things and we often overlook seeing or hearing something you are asking us to do or showing us to see because we let ourselves get in the way...remove the obstacles even if we ourself are one and replace them and our fleshly thoughts and desires with you, you, you... May we not keep this knowledge of your abundant supply of goodness and help to ourselves but rather would we share it with others so that they too can become God's Masterpieces. I ask these things in your name, Amen.

Free of Debris

There lay a few crumbled chips, a leftover sausage from last night's pizza, a few specks of dried up crusted bread and chocolate speckled remains from a brownie. This table would look so much more presentable if those things were not there causing a mess. It's so easy to just brush them onto the floor underneath the table and chairs and think, "Oh, I'll get em later with the vacuum." Often what happens though is we forget to sweep and remove it all right away thus causing buildup down below. Over time if it's left there it can get embedded into the tile/carpet from walking on it, kicking it aside with a foot or moving the chair on top of it so it isn't as noticeable. It's not until we get down on our knees and assess the real issue at floor eye level that we see how much more work we have caused ourselves now. Not only do we now have to spend extra labor and time moving each chair and scooting the whole table over to sweep up the crumbs we may notice stains that weren't there before. Perhaps if we had wiped the table crumbs off into our hand or rag and thrown them out when we first noticed them our mess wouldn't be so difficult to clean up. How often do we brush our crumbs off our own tables in our lives hoping no one will get down and see what lurks beneath the surface? Often we can fool those around us by presenting a surface free of clutter and crumbs but God has xray vision and sees through to the underneath side. In Psalms 32:5 it says, "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to HIDE my guilt; I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD, And you forgave me, all my guilt is gone." In the moment we decide to stop trying to hide the crumbs on the floor or under a rug God can come in and sweep them away and his suction power is far greater then A DYSON and his power to remove embedded stains far outweighs RESOLVE STAIN SPRAY. Once we are cleaned below the surface it is then that we can start again with daily washing of the table after each meal and immediately throwing the crumbs away as opposed to letting them stick around. Just as we need to get on our knees to see the mess if/when it accumulates, Jesus speaks to us us in Ephesians 3:14-21 and says, "For this cause I BOW MY KNEES unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. that he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by the spirit in his inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length and depth and height. And to know the love of Christ which passeth all knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. Amen. "
wipe the crumbs and heartaches off the tables into Jesus' hands so in turn we can avoid having to call upon Him for an overwhelming mess that needs a deeper cleaning. Let's strive to keep our carpets and our tiles free of debris!

Removing the bubble

I pulled it out of the middle console and brushed off the dust that had settled on it and plugged it in and proceeded to turn it on and had confident assurance that I could tell it to TAKE ME HOME and as it has in the past it would do again today. As I went to push the button on the screen it did not take me to the next step where I could choose what direction I wanted to go. It was then I noticed there was a water bubble floating back and forth inside the screen which had thrown it's system out of wack and it was incapable of doing it's job for me. Even after being aware of this I continued to push it harder thinking if I just push it a certain way it will activate for me and indeed get me to my destination. After countless tries I took it down and put it away and sat behind the wheel in a parking lot not having started out yet on my drive home. Thoughts invaded me of, "I'm in an unfamiliar area, I hate being lost, esp without a working navigation system and if I dont' get home soon I will miss picking up the kids and will be driving around in circles wasting gas and eventually get stuck in friday rush hour traffic. I decided to pick up the phone and call my friend and share with her that I needed her to guide me back to the main road. If I had not called her I would probably still be driving in circles around the Univ of MD campus or possibly taken a wrong exit onto a toll road (which would of been not good since I used all my quarters in the parking meter!).
I got to thinking, how often is it in life that we rely or depend on a man made product or other people's advice to direct our way and give us assurance to feel safe and capable of finding where we are supposed to be going? If we sit in the drivers' seat of life on our own and aren't willing to scoot over and give God the wheel we often attempt to navigate where to turn, what choice to make, and contemplate how we will get "there" and sometimes we do not even know where "there" is and instead we find ourselves in the middle of NOWHERE. We begin seeking help from broken maps and worldly advice that results in us driving in circles and losing valuable gas and energy in the process. In Psalm 32:8 it says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will counsel you and watch over you."
We can rest assured there are no water bubbles or malfunctions in God's navigational device he has created for us (THE BIBLE), we simply need to "turn it on/open it up and read it". Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths." This is not to say we can not take instruction or advice from someone, because God indeed does place certain people in our paths to sometimes redirect us or hand us a flashlight when we are lost in the dark. We just need to check that what they are saying to us is truly from God and not from just them. In Proverbs 12:26 it says, "A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." I've had my Garmin/gps system in full working condition before and it still took me on a wild goose chase doing uturns, going in circles and taking me out of the way to get me to my destination. I've learned to hand write out directions to most places I am going now because I am aware that placing trust in something/someone that "seems trustworthy" is not always as helpful as the box, sales person or friend giving advice is assuring you of.
Just as I have been writing out bible verses and sticking them on the front door as reminders and I have a notepad of a few verses on it so that when I get into situations where I'm not sure which way to "turn" I can read one of them and trust that what it is saying is indeed helpful and something I can be assured of because it is from God and not man. The more we read God's map and scroll through his gps system that He so freely offers us we become more aware of where His THERE for our lives is and whose directions/advice we can accept and whose have bubbles in them. God has a plan/destination/purpose for each of us and is even willing to drive us there Himself if we are willing to scoot over, hand over the wheel, take him out from the middle console that we have been keeping him in, clean off the dust we let accumulate and push the button on the screen that says, "Location: Wherever you take me Lord." It might not be a 5 minute drive to get there but if we follow his route/let Him guide us through our life we will be able to more easily avoid potholes, traffic jams and the fear of being alone and lost in unfamiliar territory. Next time you find yourself on a road or in a parking lot not even sure of how to start out and unaware of what direction you are going simply call up to God's 24 hour roadside assistance and let Him debubble YOUR system so you can get where He is wanting you to be.
I am happy to say that because I sought out directions today from someone whom God placed in my mind to call and ask that I made it safely home in time to get the kids and I avoided traffic and top of everything else learned a new route to a place I had never been before. Stay alert to God's voice, road signs and lessons he is going to continue to teach us as we follow him on the path He has set out for us. Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Lord, give me the heart of Jackson

Ever met a dog who is so perfectly loyal and obedient on your very command? A dog who is cuddly, sweet and attentive and understands what you say when you speak to him? How about when you understand his language too and you feel you can have a conversation with this pet and it's as if HE GETS IT and YOU GET HIM. For me this is Jackson. Erica, are you telling me you are writing a blog about a dog and somehow going to tell me that I would benefit from taking lessons from him? I can't tell you what to take from any lessons you learn in life but he's the most beautiful dog I've ever seen and has taught me respect for small things, thinking outside the box and taught me about immediate obedience. There are days I wish I had his heart and his devotion to his master.
God demands obedience to Him and how often do we hear him calling us to come here or go there and we just lay dormant on the rug on the floor? In Acts 5:29 it says, "we ought to obey God rather than man". For an actual dog his job is to obey man and be loyal to him but as christians we are to obey GOD not man. "Jackson, come here buddy".....immediately he is in front of me. GOD:"Erica, come here daughter"........dragging feet at times, asking why? standing around trying to decide if going there is worth the trip....by the time I finally get to God's side I've missed out on a lot of blessings and things he wanted to teach me. If God were to call me and I responded as Jackson does with an immediate movement to His side how much greater the rewards, treats, and blessings would be. I would not only be showing God that I trusted him enough to act immediately without questioning why; it would show me that with the heart of Jackson nothing is more important to me then to get up from what I was doing (which lots of times is nothing) and "pounce" immediately on my Master and be ready to listen fully to what He has to say, and in turn I would have a more confident and strengthened heart as well as realizing that the nothing I was doing that I thought was possibly something (a nice nap perhaps)was simply waiting and listening for that still small voice to call so that when it did I was ready to take off and approach His side. If we could train our children to obey like Jackson we wouldn't find ourselves hollering repeatedly, "come here, get down, come back, stop doing that NOW", they would come at the first call and thus possibly save themselves from a tragedy of not listening sometime down the road. In Psalms 128:4 it says, "A man who obeys the Lord will surely be blessed." does this mean a man who doens't obey will be cursed??? I'd rather not be the one to not obey and find out. I am choosing to obey and listen to his calling regardless of how off the wall it may seem. The other day God told me to get in the car and go to the dollar tree, not walmart or target, but the dollar tree. I didn't really know what I was going there to get but I went anyways. Got in the store and after having a conversation with an elderly woman about aging and wisdom that comes from that I proceeded up and down the aisles in prayer asking God to tell me what it was I was supposed to be getting. First was a card. Picked one out and then kept walking....OH God, you want me to go over there?? to that aisle? there's nothing in that aisle I could possibly need....Ok I will go. standing in front of the bubble baths and soaps and lotions I noticed many different scents to choose from but this one stood out at me and was the last one on the shelf and I picked it up and it said HEALING WATERS on it. I said, "are you sure God? " Yes Erica, put it in your basket. ok ok...done. now Erica you need to get that 5 pack of sponges down there and put it in your stuff too. hmmm...OK Lord. done. now what? next aisle please....stopped and prayed in the candy/food aisle not even knowing what I was doing in that one....I looked up and saw FIDDLE FADDLE popcorn and though oh how goofy, you want me to do what? yes...put it in your cart. hmmmm...OK Lord I will obey you. next aisle there was a note pad that said thoughts on it and at this point I knew it was what God wanted me to pick so I said, "I'm a step ahead here Lord it's already in the cart" what I didn't know was there was still something missing...but i had no idea what it was. I came around the corner and there was a whole shelf of plaques. I perused through each one thinking, Oh this one is nice, how abou tthis one Lord? NO PUT IT DOWN....ok ok Yes Sir....last one I picked up was a decorative hang on the wall plaque that said Faith can bring inspiration. It was confirmed once again after a prayer that this was the one . Now Lord, I do need something to put all this stuff in....oh, party aisle....which bag Lord? there are only two to choose from . this one is really cool God....hey God...this one right here...God??? where'd ya go. oh, you are over there ...THAT ONE? YOU SURE?? put my stuff in it to see if it fits properly. to a teee. Well done God. So can I now go pa for this stuff for these people I do not even know?? Go. pay. after I got it home I took the card out and said, "Lord you are going to have to give my the words to say in this card to let these people know what these items are and why it was so important we purchased those specific ones. I began my card speaking about restoration of a trial and burdensome time and how if she were to take this HEALING WATERS bubblle bath and soak in the Love of Jesus while spreading the soap on yourself with the new sponges you would feel a peace of embrace from God himself. Fiddle faddle t hough??? hm...ok, so sure Lord I 'll write that Satan is the fiddling faddling meddling being in the midst of all this good and the notes Lord?? are those for her to write her thoughts out on so she can more easily tear them out and then throw the at your feet? I will take my yoke upon you. so after she writes out her thoughts and journals them so to say shd wil feel a peace having done that. Packaged it all up as commanded and took it to church on sunday not knowing for sure if this woman I had never met was even going to be there. Wow God, there she is..sitting right behind us. Hi Brenda, I'm Erica nice to meet you. God told me I was to get this gift for you and you can open it at any time you deem fit! I am praying for you and your family and keep us posted if you need any other items or services rendered. ended up having a nice 30 minute chat with this complete stranger whom I had gotten those gifts and card for and after she opened it she began crying and saying what a blessed young woman who chose to obey God made such a different of hope and faith in their families life that night. I wasn't looking for a pat on the back just was happy to be able to give it to her and help meet some needs. Now, lets say I had been like that child who just kept standing there before leaving for the store and said, "whatever, I 'll do it later, I'm not in the mood right now. .the blessing of having God in my presence would have subsided if I had chosen not to LISTEN AND OBEY at that very moment. but, because I listened immediately not only did she and her family feel fully blessed by just a few little things but my heart was feeling ten times bigger after helping them out and allowing God to use me to be a witness/tool to them. We can't fix everyone's problems as we do have our own to stay focused on but when God tells you to COME HERE NOW or we telle Jackson to get up and get over here now we expect immediate response. We may never know when we are going to miss out on something so importantly vital if we choose to not listen to God or your master or your parent. God is the ultimate healer of all of our problems. no MAN or WOMAN can heal us completely. We live in a high tech fast paced world where we don't always have time to just sit on rugs like Jackson does but if we could carry his heart with us in the palces of hustle and bustle that we need to attend to we could make world of difference in so many hearts and lives as well as our own. OBEDIENCE IS THE VERY BEST WAY TO SHOW THAT YOU BELIEVE, DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE LORD COMMANDS DOING IT HAPPILY :) ACTION IS THE KEY DO IT IMMEDIATELY, JOY YOU WILL RECEIVE, OBEDIENCE IS THE VERY BEST WAY TO SHOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE....LETS SPEL IT...O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe!!!
So next time you hear someone telling you to do something that sounds like God's voice then do not pass up that opportunity for anything. Let the loyal obedient trustworthy heart of Jackson be in you to drive you to listen and follow leading after leading. Just as you do one nice thing that God has you do does not always mean you are done. Often he will just ask us to plant a seed with a deed of kindness and then walk away, other time we do require follow up visits/calls, etc....anywhere you go from now on be watching with God's eyes and listening with his ears for His calling you to do something for someone. YOu will not be dissapointed. In fact, you will get many treats and rewards in teh end! ruff ruff!!

Firmly planted

A simple prayer that God would show me tonight what he wanted me to learn from His word. I even told Him that I was going to randomly open the Bible so if he wanted me to grasp tight to something it needed to be on those pages! :) Wouldn't you know it I turned right to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn (a big one)in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakenss Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. that is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in INSULTS, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." can I get an Amen? :)
When we are in battles some are easier then others to walk away from or remove from our lives never to be seen again. We develop red flag warnings even to prepare ourself for when those moments might be on their way so we can divert away from them and use Eph 6:11 Put on the armor of God....I am looking at the previous verse of delighting in weakness, insults, hardships, etc...in a very peaceful manner right now. I know that Satan is attacking me through someone I know very well because I kicked off a lot of the bad and he saw his moment to come in and find a weak spot for me thinking he could pull me back down. I REFUSE TO GO DOWN AGAIN...My feet are planted firmly on this rock/ground/solid foundation in Christ. And the more I grow and learn the harder it is for Satan to get through and make his goofy points make sense. I've learned to use Proverbs 15:1 all the time. "A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stirs up anger" took a trip to Eph and got my helmet and sword and breastplate so that I can be fully armored for this one. If someone loves someone sooo much shouldn't they be wanting to know that person more and more as opposed to degrading and putting down every word that comes out of my mouth? I was very hurt today by my spouse and the disgusting derogatory words he chose (I say satan chose em for him)to say to me instead of taking that opportunity to say, "wow, honey, that's awesome that you got free tickets you were created with such a personality that can walk up to anyone and just talk and they will hand you the world....." but, no I didn't get that...am I looking for recognition? absolutely NOT. I'm begging though to be trusted enough to be heard...and that if I want to run an errand I can simply go run it and not get a lecture about how it's gonna cost gas, etc...So you can only imagine how confused I was when the next line was, "hey, I'm going to the mall to buy fishing poles" My response:"Ok honey, have fun but remember it's getting late too and we wanted to watch a movie tonight" long story short He ended up going today instead of yesterday and took my friends husband with him. While the wives took the kids on playday. Not once though did I put him down or give him heck for running an errand last night after he told me I couldn't. God has NOT given us a spirit of fear. At one time in my life I had that fear from control and it no longer reigns in my body. I am a beautiful creation of God placed here on this earth to share what he Has to say to me and others through me. I am growing daily and it's just sad that some peple do not delight in repentance and change. as if it is easier to communicate when there are problems in my life for him to fix. He was raised fixing lots of peoples problems and this is how he has learned over time...problem=immediate solution...and for some proud reason He feels He is the one with the solution and there is no chance that I could have a thought regarding the situation.....I mean, God did purposefully place me as his wife in his life and he my husband for a reason and I believe we ought to be listening to what God is telling us through the other person... AS I have been handing my issues to Jesus he is restoring my soul and bringing me a new joy and love for everyone around me including those who choose to use me to point blame on when things go "wrong". I get asked what direction we should go, so I answer and explain why I think it would be a quicker route and then we immediately take a completely off the wall out of the way route to get somewhere and when it took longer I ended up with the blame put on me. Ok Lord, I can deal with this, not gonna let it ignite a fuel in me that retaliates...made a comment or two ...but what hurts most that he does not see or get is by doing that you directly tell me "your way is absolutely wrong and the way I wanted to go would of been way better" What I feel God leading me to say was, "God places people in our lives to be helpmates/friends and to speak messages to one another and I believe and feel strongly that you need to start listening to me because on top of gaining trust and respect you will be giving it back to me and then in turn it will come back to you. but, if you are constantly pushing my buttons looking for anything you can to attack/ignite good luck because you aren't gonna find it anymore. This overwhelming peace God has given me is what I am soaking in and feeling more and more confident about what I know and how I know it and I do not need to be corrected on every little miniscule thing, nor do my friends need that either. Music is a big thing for me...I listen to only christian music so when I hear anything else I leave the room....not out of judgement, but because I know it's something that can hinder me from being where I need to be and want to be with God. So, I was attacked with this awful music this morning and this hideous tv show last night that I just simply said, "I'm going in the other room, sorry" I am praying constantly before I respond to any words, because it is no longer me but it is Jesus who gets to speak through me and oh what awesome things I've been learning from letting him do that! I hold tight to this verse of sufficient grace and power made perfect in weakness. I love him so much and saw such goodness in him when he was letting God work in his heart. It's just so sad and upsetting that Satan the weasle is hitting me through hubby. He's trying to crush me to the ground in my spirit and I am praying Satan out of him and for a change of heart for him and to continue to change my own heart! I want my husband back and I'm not sure where he went to.
not sure if he can comunicate with me if I am not in a pit witha problem that he feels he needs to solve. I am literallly standing here saying, "go ahead push my buttons, but it's not worth it to me and I have no anger pent up or retaliation in me. I've been so blessed lately and more joyful the past week or two and I have a hard time getting angry at anyone. And I am not angry at him now either, just sad that it's happening again and I don't know if he sees it or not but God completely revealed it to me and I'm seeing it left and right. I want to be what I need to be for him but I refuse to listen to him belittle me with a disgusting comment. I will just walk out of the room and pray about a response before going back in.

this has probably not been helpful blog for anyone but me...just keep in mind that when you start letting go of things and giving them over to God Satan finds other places to come in and hit you with and people to use to do that whether they believe it or not. So always be on guard and be well prepared! Be confident in Christ, know who you are in Him and know what you know and that you truly know it! ya know! :)

I'm going to end this with a simple prayer as I stated at the beginning of this blog.

Lord, as the bombs are going off I feel a peace being in your defensive attire and knowing you are always there for me and you are the great healer of hurts and the one who can cause confusion to be unconfused within seconds! I praise you for this. Thank you for all you've been showing me and are going to show me about life and who you designed me to be.
I ask that you would kick Satan out of this relationship because he's really starting to get on my nerves coming around in different ways trying his lil games.
Lord, bless my husband and work in his heart to allow him to desire to be closer to you and remove his pride that he has carried for so long...take it from him Dear Father. He is such a wonderful blessing that you created but he lugs a lot extra and is starting to get worn down from it and needs you to rest upon. Help him to see he does not have to be right on EVERYTHING and cause people to feel utterly dumb in his presence, very hurt or more sad after the fact. REveal to him what you have for him in life and the talents you have given him to be used for YOU not to glorify others and get pats on the back for a job well done. Help me to be the wife I would love to be to him in the midst of this struggle Lord. Keep my prayers non gossipy and non badmouthing. show me Lord what I can be/do to interact better with him so we can get off this degrading hill he's trying to build. Continue to give me the words, strength and joy and blessings that come from doing what I know is right and listening to what I know is your word speaking to me. Help me to not stumble and to not be a stumblingblock to someone else or to my spouse. It takes 3 Lord to make this work and without you in the center it's not gonna work. I give you center reign, and I pray that my husband can also be ok with that and that you would give him a true peace that he has never had before. Bring some good christian friends into his life as you have brought me into mine to be a support and help in times when you just need to chat.....and you don't want to chat with someone who is going to make worse of the situation. Bring us both the proper people Lord. I'm not giving up this easily but Satan sure would like to see me fall, that's for certain. I'm worn out Lord from the past week or two of this so I ask now that you would give me some good rest tonight and would allow me to wake up refreshed and ready to learn something new at church tomorrow. Thank you for a husband and two beautiful children. Bless them as they sleep and open their hearts as well tomorrow to hear what you would have for them all. thank you for your bible passages and what they mean to me.
I pray all this in your name, Amen.

Possible Impossibilities!

One dark day in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight, back to back they faced each other drew their swords and shot each other a deaf policeman heard the noise and came and shot the two dead boys, if you dont' believe this lie is true, ask the blindman he saw it too!

Who are we to not believe the impossible? You mean to tell me that God somehow made a huge body of water split down the middle so that a ton of people could just walk across on dry land while the water was standing up on both sides around them? Are you sure that Jesus raised a man from the dead? So you are saying that he just picked this guys' ear up after it had been sliced off and He put it back on and it did not require surgery and hospitilazation and pain meds and weeks of recovery from the pain?? To us these seem like impossibilities..but as Christians we have faith that these stories did occur and that Jesus performed many miracles and still does to this day that we can not explain..
Now, tell me though how can two dead boys get up to begin with let alone fight??? If they are back to back how are they capable of facing one another? How did they shoot with swords? If the policeman was deaf how did he hear anything? And why did he shoot the boys if they were dead to begin with? Why on earth would we want to ask someone who has no ability to see to depict this story to us?
Sometimes things that people tell us seem farfetched but in actuality how often do we find ourselves listening to these backwards statements? I can honestly say that I have not only listened to one, but have fallen into a pit because I let Satan convince me that the lie was indeed true! Go ahead, eat the fruit, you won't get into trouble. We all know that was far from the truth yet two people so easily believed it and acted upon a lie being told to them and in turn caused a lifetime of hurt and pain for many.
So, how do we differentiate between believing a true impossibility and laying to rest a false one? CONSIDER THE SOURCE it is coming from. If God himself were telling this story in the bible about the dead boys and saying it truly did happen then I would firmly believe it did occur just as it says it happened....WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE... But I have yet to find this particular story anywhere in scripture.... When we are saturated in His word and spending time daily with Him we begin to learn more and more about ourselves and God and something I have learned is that He will not tell me to do something or believe something that is contrary to His word. If we are not aware of what His word states then how are we to be alert enough to decipher whether or not we should listen to what is being told to us? To me this whole thought is frightening in that it shows how easily Satan can sneak in and if we aren't 100% certain in our belief that God said DO NOT EAT THIS FRUIT OR YOU WILL SURELY DIE then having someone say, "oh pish posh, that doesn't make any sense at all you have eaten lots of fruit and never died before, what makes you think this one is gonna be any different?" Seems like a reasonable statment that makes sense enough to believe it. I think of Noah and how God specifically told him to BUILD AN ARK THERE IS GOING TO BE A FLOOD. Satan came after him trying to cause him to not believe what he had been told was TRUTH. If he had not been grounded in his faith and so in tune with God and listening to what was being said from THE RIGHT SOURCE then his own thinking would have easily led him to believe what THE WRONG SOURCE was indeed trying to put into his head..."flood? what in the world...why am I wasting my time building this big boat when we havne't seen a drop of rain in forever...this makes no sense..." Just think if Noah had not listened to God in this instance....???? So how do we make sure that we are hearing possible impossibilities from the Lord himself???? THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MINE HEART.....
In James 4:8 it says, "Come near to God and He will come near to you." In Hosea 10:12 it states, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to SEEK THE LORD until he comes and showers righteousness on you." Isaiah 55:6-8 "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD." We need to be planting our minds and hearts in the Bible because nothing can take the place of it and if we aren't firmly grounded we are more able to sink. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. "
Once we have sought the Lord , submitted to HIM, and we understand it is HIM telling us something then we will be able to resist the devil and see him flee from us just as James 4:7 tells us.
Do not be blinded to see what God is revealing to you or asking you to step out in faith and believe. Also, do not be mute to where you can not hear when He is telling you that something is not of His will. If you are not soaking Jesus in, then you may just find yourself walking aimlessly around on a dark day in the middle of the night asking blind guys how long until it's daylight again and asking directions from a deaf man who can't hear what you are saying to begin with.
Lord, I ask that you give us all your eyes to see with and your ears to hear and implant in each of us a desire to know you more then we already do so that our hearts can be in tune with you and what you are calling us to do with our lives. Speak to us in those moments when we aren't completely certain of an answer or what to believe. Be our light in this dark world and help us to take that light that you give us and shine it onto others who still remain in the dark. Give us peace and clarity of thought and mind as we step out in faith and trust in you. I ask this in your name, Amen.

Making a trip to the Great Eye Dr.

A thousand times I've failed but your mercy endures should I stumble again but I'm caught in your grace...everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades, neverending your glory goes beyond all things. your will above all else my purpose remains, the art of losing myself in bringing you praise, everlasting yoru light will shine when all else fades, neverending your glory goes beyond all things. my heart and my soul I give you control. consume me from THE INSIDE OUT...LORD...Let justice and praise become my embrace, to love you from the INSIDE OUT...your will above all else my purpose remains the art of losing myself in bringing you praise everlasting your light will shine when all else fails neverending your glory goes beyond all things...my heart and my soul I give you control, consume me from the INSIDE OUT LORD....let justice and praise, become my embrace to love you from the inside out, everlasting...your light will shine when all else fades, neverending your glory goes beyond all things and the cry of my heart is to bring you praise from the INSIDE OUT Lord my soul cries out.............and my heart and my soul I give you control, consume me from the inside out Lord, let justice and praise become my embraceeeeee to love you from the INSIDE OUT .. everlasting your light will shine when all else fades, neverending your glory goes beyond all things and the cry of my heart is to bring your praise from the INSIDE OUT Lord my soul cries out....Ephesians 5:1-2 "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

How lovely is your dwelling place...O Lord almighty. My soul longs and even faints for you. Oh hear my heart is satisfied within your presence I see beneath the shadow of your wings. Better is one day in your courts better is one day in your house better is one day in your courts then thousands elsewhere better is one day in your courts, better is one day in your house, better is one day in your courts then thousands elsewhere. One thing I ask and I would seek, to see your beauty. To find you in the place your glory lives. One thing I ask and I would seek, to see your beauty...to find you in the place your glory dwells...........Better is one day in yoru courts better is one day in your house, better is one day in your courts then thousands elsewhere, better is one day in your courts, better is one day in your house , better is one day in your courts then thousands elsewhere.....My heart and flesh cry out, to you the living God your spirits water to my soul...I've tasted and I've seen come once again to me, I will draw near to you, I will draw near to you.....Lord, it is so true that it is so much better for just one day in your house then thousands anywhere else. Thank you for being a God who loves when we sing praises to you and a God who gives us the hearts to worship to you and the joy that you hand out from praising you. I pray that my joy would be full and others would not only see this joy but would want to have it in their own lives Lord. I could sing of your love forever Lord and am so thankful that you have brought me back into a relationship with you once again as I was wandering on my own for awhile with noone to direct my paths. May my life reflect you and the decisions I make be honoring to your name. I ask this in your precious name, Amen.

Ever been getting ready to write something and you just start singing instead? It happens to me all the time as it did here tonight. Music is such a wonderful way to connect to God, people and yourself and a way to find joy and peace while singing. I was outside the other day and a woman walked by and I heard her singing a praise song and although I did not know this woman it still made me smile to hear her voice singing while walking her dog. You dont' have to be in church to sing and make a joyful noise, you can do it anywhere. And God is not looking for only people with wonderful voices he just wants us to lift what voices we do have up to Him and sing from our hearts. It's like the woman in Mark 12:41-44 "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on. " It should be this way with singing as well...even if we are poor in "voice" if we put all we have into lifting our voice to him in praise He will reward you with a blessing and more joy from doing that as opposed to someone who has a wonderful voice who is singing for someone to just hear their gorgeous voice....or is singing for wrong reasons in general. I've sang for wrong reasons before, but I've learned that God just wants our hearts in it and He will bless us far beyond we can imagine. So next time you are in church and they are singing songs don't merely sing the song with just your mouth but sing it with your ENTIRE heart and being of who you are and as if it were just you and Jesus in the room and you were sharing with him through song how you feel about Him. I've even sang my prayers before. Don't just sing a song to make a check mark on a page ... "yup, came to church today, sang the songs, listened to the message, now what's for lunch?" you m ight as well not be there if you are merely there to put in your time or make an appearance so others can see you singing or doing offering , etc....Next time you have offering be sure your heart is not grudgingly giving that money, and next time you sing a song don't be thinking of a million other things, imagine yourself in His presence just simply worshipping to him. You will be more blessed all around when you do things wholeheartedly and not whole headedly. :) Don't just listen to the messages preached, take what is said and apply them to your lives and pray and ask God what it is He wanted YOU to learn from being in that service on that day hearing that particular message. I read some passages the other night and then had my friend read them then I read them again and each time we read them we came across something else we hadn't learned the other times. Constantly keep your eyes and your hearts available to be seeing opportunities to be a blessing to those around you as well. If we could see people the way Jesus sees them (the adulterous woman in John 8)...the people were going to stone her and Jesus comes in and writes on the ground "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." After no one threw a stone Jesus says, "neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin." If we could look at people who are hurting and who do have real problems and although they might not be dressed the best or go to church or be living the right lifestyle but if we can see them as Jesus sees them what a difference we could make in their lives. So, next time you see someone who you normally maybe wouldn't talk to because of appearance or because someone has told you their history and it's filled with a mess of wrongdoings why not be the one who reaches out and shows Christ to them....or at least pray for them and while praying for them pray for yourself that God would show you the words to say when in those situations. Lay judgment to the side and love like Jesus loves. You will find a joy through doing t his just as the joy you get from praising Him in song or true offering/giving....You might be the only person in that persons life that is going to be able to be used as a tool by God to help them see Jesus and if you walk past and ignore then how sad that you not only missed out on a blessing but they possibly missed out on a chance to get to know Jesus in a personal way. I challenge myself and you to throw selfishness and pride out and just be the you that God created you to be and truly think WHAT WOULD JESUS DO ? and then GO DO IT.... :)
I started this by singing one of my favorite worship songs FROM THE INSIDE OUT .... If we can be that shining light when all else fades to someone to bring their insides to the outside and help them see their need for a Savior in their life then the cry of your heart will be to bring Him praise and we will be more consumed from the inside out as well.
gonna end with one more song..,Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you, I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you, I want to see you. To see you high and lifted up shining in the light of your glory, pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy. OPen the eyes of my heart Lord open the eyes of my heart I want to see you (and others around me) I want to see you...Holy HOly YOU ARE holy holy holy....Holy, holy, holy, I want to see you!!! Now, the question is..do you really want to SEE God ? Because if you do then it starts by seeing the way he sees. Ask him today for a new pair of eyes if yours have been failing you. He's the Great Physician and the best eye doctor I've ever been to!! And it's covered under the ASSURANCE policy that if we have accepted Him in our hearts then we are INSURED a place in his Kingdom...and I'd rather spend one day there then thousands elsewhere...how about you? :)

Positive Monkey Wrenches

White beard and dirty clothes he sits there almost every day outside the local grocery store in our town. The first time I noticed him I initially thought, "Oh, I need to walk with my head down so as to not let him get my attention and beg for money." The next few times I noticed him I felt convicted to go talk to him but had no money on me at the time to offer to him or to go buy him a meal with so I let this be my excuse not to stop. It's been two weeks now and I haven't seen him up there at all. I was given a challenge a few weeks back at our church to take $5 that was given to us and give it to someone in need. I immediately thought of this man who always had a look of sadness yet a smile coming through it somehow. I went up there to try to see if he was there to give him this money and possibly start up a conversation with him but could not find him. I wonder how often we walk past people and do not even notice them or we do notice them but we choose to ignore them because they obviously just "want something from us" if we were to reach out?! What if Jesus walked past us everytime we were struggling or weren't presented in our best attire? What if he just ignored us and didn't talk to us or give us the opportunity to talk to Him? I have begun to pray for this man whose name I do not know and am praying that God will place him outside that store again soon so I can go talk to him and offer to buy him a meal or give him the money. What if by me walking past I was his only chance at hearing the gospel and by me ignoring the calling he is no longer here and I could of done something to at least plant a seed within him or handed him a tract or just an act of kindness to bring some joy to his life. In Matthew 7:2 it says, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. " As christians it is our job to love people not to condone them for improper choices made or prejudge them just because of their appearance. Matthew 9:10-12 it states, "while Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11)When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectos and sinners?" 12) ON hearing this Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor , but the sick. 13) but go and learn what this means; I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners. " 2 Corinthians 5:20 "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us, We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might becom ethe righteousness of God. " So I step back and ask myself, "What would Jesus of done? Who would Jesus of rejected? The answer is pretty clear....Jesus would not have walked past without stopping and speaking with this man. If we are christians we are to be becoming more like Him daily, right? So, then why is it so difficult to walk up to someone we do not know and just speak with them? As we enter this Easter Season we must remember the sacrifice that was given so that we could have eternal life. Wouldn't it be awesome if I went to the store tomorrow and that guy was sitting there on his bench and I could finally go up to him and not only have a regular conversation with him about his life, where is he from, how is he doing, etc...but could open up a door to talk about Easter and find out if he has any plans and if he realizes the true meaning of Easter and then proceed to share it with him. These are the moments I want to kick myself for not having done this already, but I believe that God knows I wanted to say something so I am going to pray that He allows me one more chance to see this man. And then of course He is going to have to give me the right words to share with him but I feel very strongly about this and just wish I had done it sooner. But our timing is not always God's timing. This was just a burden on my heart/mind for some time now and wanted to share it with whomever wanted to read about it. I think it should cause us to all pay better attention to those around us and try to see people through Jesus' eyes instead of our own. Ours will fail us more times then none but His eyes and word are never failing!!! My gut tells me that I will soon be meeting this guy and I need to jump on the opportunity that is given again to reach out to Him in a way that maybe no one else ever has. One kind word can change an entire person's day,life, thought process. We should all want to be the ones who deliver those kind words. I know I am wanting to be one of those. I just get stuck behind myself so often that it's hard to see anything else going on around me. I challenge myself and you to find one person this week who looks loney, hurt or in despair and dont' just chuck change at em try to find time for a meaningful conversation and even offer some food if they are hungry. In December I was given the opportunity to ride on a bus with some homeless people and I was able to speak with them about their lives and find out where they had come from and where they were headed and as I sat and listened I found myself more and more thankful for the house over my head, the jobs we have and the stability of a marriage does for me. I also heard sadness in their voices and hurt and anger, at themselves, the world, anything they could blame it on. Yet they had potentially moldable hearts ready to listen and take in anything I had to say. I do not know if anything that I said stayed with them but I will never forget them that's for sure! Any one of us can end up in a situation like that and we would want someone to reach out to us if we were that desolate, so why we do not think this when approaching others is beyond me. We get too caught up in our own lives and hustle and bustle and just disregard anyone who isn't in the plans for that day. Just remember that Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." so, sometimes monkey wrenches get thrown into our daily activities but instead of looking at them in a negative way why not see it in a positive manner as a sign from God to slow down, take a step back and go, confront and see what not only others will learn but you too will learn from taking that first step of obedience. Our lives will still be there hustling and bustling after we spend a few moments with a stranger. We may miss our show on tv cuz we stopped to help but I would rather miss that then the chance to see one more of God's creations come to know HIm in a personal way. Food for thought:If you are hungry, you eat, if you are hurting, you go to the dr. or talk with someone who can help. What if you did not have that available to you or felt you did not have it available? Having someone approach you with the answers and the help would definitely fix your problem you were having at the time and may cause you to become more hungry for more of what they have to say. We just never know what ONE single act of kindness can do and how far it can spread. Try it this week....You'll be amazed after you do. I've decided to call my "friend" Bob until I can discover what his actual name is! I'll keep you posted on if/when I am able to locate him and talk to him and how our conversation goes.
When God is telling us to do something we ought to listen at that moment or else that moment may just fly by and it's so much harder to get it back after its' gone. And then like me, we carry the regret around with us and let me tell you it's not a light load to bear! Blessings to you all as we seek to reach out and touch someone!!! Make a difference in their lives as well as your own!