“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor.14:33)
The hardest pill to swallow this year was realizing I meant so little to some people that meant the most to me. That kind of truth hits different! It will definitely humble you, it will also hurt you and teach you all at once. It’s called a wake-up call in my book, knowing that not everyone loves with the same kind of heart as you do. Some people only value you for what you can do for them or when it’s convenient for them. And the moment you stop pouring into them, you see their real intentions or you don’t see them at all, they have a way of diappearing altogether. Unfortunately for them and myself I have had to make some tough love decisions, by walking away from some relationships just so I could have mental clarity and peace. The blessing in the lesson in all of this is clarity. I hate being blindsided. I need communication and I need clarity that’s just how I roll. Be honest with me and don’t use my heart, because there are people out there that really need it and I am willing to give it. God promises to heal the brokenhearted and for that I am grateful. I confess right now I am the healed of the Lord!
I will not be anxious about anything, but in all things, every situation I will present my requests to God. And the peace of God …will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus, that’s a promise for me to stand on. (Philippians 4:6-7).
I also will not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but I will be transformed by the renewing of my mind, so then I will be able to test and approve what God’s will is (Romans 12:2). Through much prayer for direction regarding this wake-up call the Lord has opened doors through therapy and an amazing nerosurgeon Dr. Lee Warren who is teaching me ways to have a better understanding on how the brain actually works through the renewing or rewiring of our thought process.
I am so grateful that God kows what and who we need to speaking into our life at the just the right time.
“The joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Last night there was a beautiful sky that continued on into the morning. I took pictures of it both in the evening and the morning. I made a post on social media describing how God makes everything beautiful. I felt wonderful at that moment and looking forward to a great day and then … “little fox” came along and changed everything.
27 years ago we bought our first home here in Arkansas, it wasn’t everything we would have wanted, but it became my home for the next 19 years. Coming from a background of inconsistency in having a permanent home, both as a child and as an adult, this meant more than I can explain. I use to keep track of every place I ever lived. I remembered every address, what the houses looked like, the phone numbers, I had a good memory, but that was all those places were, was memories. Eight years ago, we sold that home of 19 years and I have struggled with it this whole time. The house we bought to take the place of my home was my mother-in-laws home, her memories and my husbands memories and everyone around us their memories, five generations of memories, but not mine. I have struggled to try to make this my home because of fear of taking away their memories. But I continue to try.
Back to the “little fox.” As I was posting my daily blog I thought I should check my emails, I was expecting a response from a company I had emailed earlier in the week, when I came across a listing of my former home for sale. Suddenly looking through the 17 plus, photos of the place I began to cry. I felt as though I had just been punched in my stomach, the aching of never being able to go back to that place I once called home was literally taking my breath away. I began to see all the things I had lost since the move. My community, neighbors, my job was there, but in the move I decided I would settle for early retirement. My family was moving off, others were not coming as often as they used to and we were not making the trips we did in the past either. My grandkids once made comments about this didn’t feel like our home, it felt like Granny’s, because it was. They to grew up with memories of this place, memories of going to Granny’s. Our home was Mimi & PawPaw’s and it was at a different location than here. Pets were dying and disappearing, my husband lost his job that was suppose to take us into retirement, now we were living a very different kind of life and I no longer had my support system around me. I felt very alone, lonely was more like it. I had shingles right after we moved here for the first time, then covid hit, had that twice and nearly died the first time, ended up with breathing problems since. Brought family here from another state then the relationship fell apart. Brought a former foster of ours that was still family that was battling Leukemia, he passed after two years of trying to get to a bone marrow transplant. I went through a litter of 15 pups all by myself and did well until 6 weeks in I took them to the vet for their first series of vaccines where they contracted parvo and I lost 4 to that. My husband stayed home from work for a week and we worked day and night to keep these guys alive. My husband took another week off work to go through hospice with me and our boy before laying him to rest. I could go on for another several pages of things I lost since I made the move, but I say all this to say, “Little foxes.”
I had recently relinquished all of this loss over to the Lord when the little foxes appeared and tried to steal my joy, my hope and my peace by bringing this back up. Please hear me when I say, it’s all little foxes in the spiritual realm of life. Yes, I have lost many people and things over the years and will continue to until I make it to my final home. For me and you, if you are a believer in the One True God, Jesus Christ our Savior, then you know EVERYTHING will one day vanish.
I don’t know what my future holds, but I do know who holds my future and though the little fox from this morning that decided to cause havoc in my mind and heart, he doesn’t get to stay here.
I am learning to give things over to God a whole lot quicker than I have in the past. One scripture that really stands out to me this morning is: (Psalms 30:5b) Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Will the sadness of my former home be gone completely? No, but I can have joy in knowing that God still has great plans for my life in the here and now.
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? (Mark 2:9)
It’s easier to say the words, “Your sins are forgiven,” because that’s something invisible and impossible to disprove. But it’s harder to say, “Take up your bed and walk” because, if the man does not get up, then the one who said the words would look like he didn’t have any power or authority to heal. On a deeper level, it is harder to forgive sins, because only God can forgive sins-at the cost of Christ’s death on the cross. So the logic here is that, since Jesus can do the visible miracle (heal the paralytic), this is evidence that he also has the power to do the invisible miracle (forgive sins).
Mark 2:10-12 goes on to say, But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins-he said to the paralytic- “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose immediately picked up his bed and went before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Jesus’ healing of the paralytic verifies that he also has divine authority to forgive sins.
Which is what brings me to this part. The salvation message, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life in heaven, an eternity with Christ Jesus and our Father God. We can’t see Jesus with our natural eye, the Holy Spirit is (the invisible) active force that convicts us of our sin, reveals Jesus, and draws us into salvation. It begins with him convicting us, making us aware of our sin and our need for a Savior, opening our eyes to the reality of Jesus. He gives us understanding, allowing us to comprehend and believe the truth of the Gospel, our hearts become pliable, instead of being hard. Then He seals and secures us the moment we receive salvation. He takes up residence in our lives as a “seal” or guarantee of eternal relationship with God. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven “like a dove” and rested on Jesus when he was baptized by John the baptist. (Matt. 3:16) The Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on the followers of Jesus as a rushing wind and tongues of fire. (Acts 2:1-4) Also read (Acts 16:5-15).
If reading this has caused a tugging in your heart knowing there is a need for change in your life, that is evidence of the Holy Spirit speaking directly to you and there is a prayer you can say to assure your eternal relationship with God.
Jesus, I am a sinner in need of a savior. I believe in my heart that you are the Son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead that I may be forgiven of my sins and have eternal life with you. I turn from my sins and invite you into my life, I confess You as Lord and Savior. Thank you for convicting me, saving me and giving me eternal life, In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37)
There is a song I really feel fits this topic by Jessy Dixon; Fill My Cup, Lord. The lyrics go like this: Like the woman at the well I was seeking for things that could not satisfy and then I heard my Savior speaking “Draw from My well that never shall run dry” Fill my cup, Lord I lift it up, Lord … Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven, feed me ’til I want no more …Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole. There are millions in this world who are craving the pleasures, earthly things of gold, but none can match the wondrous treasure that I find in Jesus Christ my Lord. Fill my cup, Lord I lift it up, Lord …come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven, feed me ’til i want no more. Fill my cup, Lord fill it up and make me whole. Here’s my cup, fill it up and make me whole.
Sometimes we need to have our cup filled back up. We find ourselves going along day by day pouring out of our cup and then suddenly one day we realize that our cup it empty. Maybe your running on empty or life just hit you with some news that requires a big drink from that cup, but when you reach for it there is nothing left. Have you ever been dehydrated? Completely depleted? You know that feeling? I do. In the summer especially when outdoors working in the heat, if I am not replenishing what I am using I will become dehydrated I will soon have a headache and become weak in my body. When we are spiritually dehydrated we also become weak. Weak in our minds forgetting what the Word of God says, how we are mighty warriors, we are more than conquerors, we are overcomers. We don’t have the ability to continue being those things because we need His strength, we cannot do these things in our own strength, it only comes from being filled with the living water, Jesus Christ.
If you are feeling weak, depleted, thirty and cannot go any further you need to ask, fill my cup, Lord. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He promises that anyone who believes in Him will have “rivers of living water” flowing from within.
Only Jesus can quench your spiritual thirst. If you have been thirsting after something, yet find yourself never satisfied can I suggest to you right now to ask Jesus to give you the life-giving water (Jn.4:10) this is not water for your physical body, this water will cause you to never thirst again, it is life-giving water that will give you eternal life. (Jn. 4:13-14). If you will pray this prayer, you can have this living water.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us if we acknowledge our sins, believing in the resurrection, and surrendering to Jesus by confession of our mouths we will be saved from spiritual death.
Jesus, I am a sinner in need of a savior. I believe in my heart that you are the son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead that I may be forgiven of my sins and have eternal life with you. I turn from my sins and invite You into my life, I confess You as Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life, In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
The word that stands out to me more than anything at the moment is: “IF”. If my people will humble themselves, seek, pray, and turn. This requires some heartfelt repentance here. This means there is going to be some deliverance, healing, restoration and going home. Most importantly a right relationship with the Lord.
We have got to be a people that acknowledges our weaknesses and submits to God’s authority. Take time to talk to God asking for his intervention. Desiring His presence and will, not just asking for His blessings. We need to stay in an active place of repentance, we have to consciously make a decision to stop sinning and start being obedient. We as parents don’t just keep blessing our children when they are doing the wrong thing, we make them earn it through respecting our authority over them, God does the same thing. We are trying raise obedient children and so is God.
God’s Promise, (“Then”) That’s when we receive the promise of His grace over judgment “when” His people return to Him. I know this promise was made to the ancient nation of Israel, but the principles apply to believers today to. God’s ultimate desire is restoration and forgiveness rather than permanent punishment. If we can do that we can have peace on earth.
Remember “IF” & “When” two very important words. If and when we will do it His way.
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
Do you have a friend that will stick by you even in your worst times? That’s the kind of friend this scripture is talking about. Proverbs 18:23-19:4, talks about friends & companions. How some, the majority rather only stay close by as long as your fortune is good; in bad times, they disappear. I’ve experienced both as I am sure you have to. I believe that is just life. Take the good with the bad. Though I am very pleased to say, I do have a few select friends that resemble this verse above, I am blessed.
The Bible describes true friendship as a steadfast, loving covenant. Loyalty, speaking truth in love, and offering mutual support in times of hardship. True friendship is NOT a one-way street. Friends should encourage one another, be uplifting when your down, helping us keep our character in tact, when we are losing our whole mind and about to make a huge mistake. Boy, the times I can thank a friend for that one. A loyal friend will love you at all times, no facade needed, they know you and they love you, that simple. They stand by you and have your back when others are attacking you from behind. They are there no matter what the season is that you are in. Of course I personally have not experienced this one, but I hear it on the news a lot, the friend that will lay down his life for you. Give it up to our men and women in blue that every day go out and put their lives on the line for each of us. That is the ultimate example of friendship, laying down one’s life for others, as modeled by Jesus Himself. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We have a friend in Jesus, unlike any other friend out there. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 talks about his personal relationship with Christ Jesus, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. You can have that same relationship that Paul speaks of by saying this simple prayer.
I believe that you Jesus died on the cross for me and rose from the dead. I ask you right now to come into my life and to forgive me of my sins. Help me Lord to live a life pleasing to you. Thank you Jesus, for laying down your life for mine. Amen
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil.3:13-14)
Paul could not get the past out of his mind, but he refused to let his past keep him from his progress toward his goal. He wanted to forget his self-righteous past (vv.4-7). He indicates that it was an ongoing process. His goal was to have his eyes so fixed on Jesus that all he could see was the prize, the victory. He wasn’t working for his salvation but rather for a reward. When we get right with Jesus there is a reward that no man can achieve on his own. We need to leave our past in the past. Too many people including myself are or have been walking around fully clothed in regrets. Maybe there was an outcome that didn’t turn out the way you expected and then suddenly you find yourself in regret, because it was caused by your decision or action. Maybe you regret actions you never took that you should have, that is one I tend to fall into these days. Sometimes I think about something good I could have done and didn’t. Regret leads to self-blame and even guilt. We need to be more like Paul, forgetting those past mistakes, move forward, quit allowing regrets to keep us from going for the prize that God has set before us. I realize in this scripture the prize is Jesus Christ, but God also has earthly prizes if I may say, blessings he wants to bestow upon us, if we will keep our eyes on Him. Shame and regret rob us from our blessings. January 1 of this year I made a commitment to stand on this one word “Intentional.” Well can I say, I haven’t been as faithful as I intended to be to that word in a couple areas of my life. See I set a pretty big goal for myself, I wanted to be intentional about EVERY area in my life. When I began to realize I wasn’t doing very well at it guilt, shame and regret for setting such a standard for myself set in. Fortunately, God allows for repentance and do-overs. He allows us to leave our failures in the past and press-on toward the prize. For me I hold myself to a higher standard than some, so it takes me a minute to get back in the race, but I have determination and I will persevere. Paul’s life was purposeful and he was constant. I have learned many things from Paul over the years, I’ve seen myself as the old Paul and the new Paul. My goal now is to remain steadfast, no regrets, just pressing on. I would also like to give credit to a dear friend of ours from our home Church in Texas for drawing this picture and gifting it to us 30 years ago, thank you Dori.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:15-17)
Believers we have got to be careful how we live, making the most out of every opportunity, which sometimes is going to require us saying, “NO” so that we may be able to focus on what matters most. In the Bible “No” is considered as a vital part of stewardship, self-discipline, and healthy relationships. It is far from being a selfish act, it is often presented as a necessary boundary to protect our character, avoid burn-out, and make room to pursue God’s specific calling in our life. We need to use simple, direct, straightforward and honest communication with people. No need to over explain or try to make empty promises. Jesus said in (Matt. 5:37) “let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” We should have such integrity that our words are enough.
So here goes the transparency, I have failed once again in an area, this time in not saying NO when I should have. I saw a situation that was not good and along with my husband being in agreement with me, we made a decision to do something about it. Well naturally it must have been the right thing to do since we both agreed, right? BIG “NO” it was NOT. Now because of our “word,” that integrity thing, it has turned into a very unwise decision on our part. We were careless in our decision making and we were interfering in something we had no business in, well at least that’s what the Word of God says in Proverbs 26:17, we didn’t go looking for that scripture either. God is good at pointing things out to you when you are somewhere you shouldn’t be. Through heartfelt repentance for not seeking God first on the matter, I know He is going to provide a way for this to end well. He takes bad and turns it to good, for those who love Him. I love Him alright, I just make mistakes sometimes, good-hearted one in this case, but still the wrong one. A little more transparency into my life of not saying NO when I should. I was sick Saturday night and Sunday, I couldn’t go to church so I stayed home and watched online, double portion just because I could and God knew I needed a double that day. I was sick because I had been overdoing it. I wasn’t allowing my body to rest like it needed, I wasn’t eating properly, being on the go non stop. I wasn’t saying NO to things I was being asked to do or assumed by some that I would just be there to do it. I never want to disappoint anyone if they are counting on me and there were people counting on me. Well when you get to many people at one time counting on you, there is no rest for the weary. I became really weary and sick. Now I am having to recoup and the older you get it seems it takes longer to get back up once you get down. There is a solution to all of this; it’s saying, NO. Again no lengthy excuses why, just simply, No, sorry not this time. Sometimes I need a break, I need to focus on me or something that really matters in my life that I am continually putting off because I am to busy being a YES girl.
If you are anything like me, first let me pray for you, it’s hard being me. Seriously though, you can approach people in honesty and decline without making any elaborate excuses. Like me, I worry to much what others think, and not enough about my own well being and what the cost will be if I say yes every time. Saying NO is healthy. It takes the pressure off us, allows us to retreat to pray and refocus. I have gone as far as stepping away from my calling before simply due to the fact I couldn’t or wouldn’t say no. Say “NO’ to protect your values to. Stay away from negative influences, ungodliness, temptations, those things erode our character. Proverbs 4:23 teaches to “guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Being a “YES” girl has turned in to a poor habit that I am working to break. Yes is good when it is right, but No is good when it is the wrong thing to be doing. Phil. 4:6-7 is such good advice. Before we say or do anything we should PRAY and thank God and in turn we can have God’s peace. Y’all feel free to pray for me in this area of being able to say NO when necessary. Thanks in advance.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
Understand, there are NO perfect people, EVERYONE has sin or has sinned and we are all in need of a Savior!
God looks at sin differently than we do. We have a tendency to see sin as; big sin, small sin, Not that bad, really bad. I just told a little white lie at least I’m not like So & So, God will forgive me. God sees sin as a serious transgression that separates us from Him, disobedience and not holding up to the standard He set before us, sin is sin and that’s that. Sin separates us from God, because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin because it destroys the lives of His creation/us, this is a spiritual death. He loves us so much even in our worst of worst kind of sin He still gives us a way to be redeemed from the destruction of our sins. He says, “If we will confess our sins, turn away from them, and accept Christ, He promises that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
It’s time we quit letting sin dominate our lives, it is possible to live a holy life. Will we ever be perfect? No, but why not do what you can to be the best you can? If God is willing to provide us a way out through faith in Jesus, why not take it? It’s a free gift, who doesn’t like gifts? Underserved gifts at that. I know I don’t deserve what Jesus did for me on that cross, but He did it and that is my gift from Him. Have you ever tried to give a gift to someone and they refused it? Maybe they were hesitant about receiving it because they didn’t feel they deserved it. Do you remember how that made you feel, the giver of the gift? Maybe you didn’t have the extra cash to get the gift so you sacrificed something else so you could afford it. Maybe you made this person something, it came straight from your heart. When I think about all that Jesus went through, so that I could receive His gift, it literally tore me up inside when I realized one day that I wasn’t receiving it because I didn’t think I was worthy of it and how that had to make him feel. Like He didn’t do enough, maybe He should have suffered a little more, then I would have felt worthy of the gift. Seriously y’all? Get rid of the pride. Again, I didn’t deserve it, you don’t deserve it, but guess what? He wants you and I to have it, and though it doesn’t cost us a thing, it cost Him everything He had. I get that we have a sin nature, but we also have saving grace. I feel like I know that better than anyone. My sins have been more than I could bear so I am grateful for the gift and you should be to. I honestly don’t know what this new thing is God is doing in me, there seems to be new boldness rising up in me that I never had before. Maybe it’s because we are getting closer to Jesus returning or maybe it’s just me getting closer to going to be with Him. Whatever the reason, there seems to be an urgency within me to get the message across to everyone I can, that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Y’all whatever your sin is, it’s not worth it, let it go, let Jesus redeem you from it, take the gift.
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13)
I’m still thinking about yesterday’s writing and how I shared a little more about my past sins and how being transparent is so important. I have been struggling lately with peoples hidden agendas, dishonesty, insincerity, trust in general. A real eye-opener for me has been, if someone will lie to you, they will lie about you. As I stated several times now, I am doing my best in being transparent in sharing my life do’s and don’ts with y’all, so in saying all of this I admit I have been guilty of what I am sharing about today. I decided it would be good to look up the topic of transparency in my Bible and see just what it has to say about it. I never want to fall into that trap again and prayerfully this will help you from falling into it as well.
We find that NOTHING is hidden from God as in the scripture above. Honesty is necessary for a restored relationship and cleansing with Him. We are encouraged to invite God to search our hearts, as in Ps. 139:23-24. So my first bit of advice is if you have been dishonest with anyone, now is the time to come clean, cleanse yourself from all unrighteousness. I know that might be scary, because some things we would like to pretend never happened or were never said and we feel shame. If you can’t do that right now then take it to God first, remember He already knows. Repent, ask Him to help you reveal the truth, He will I promise, remember I’m being transparent which also means I have been in this place before. In Ephesians 4:2: put away falsehood and speak truthfully to each other. James 5:16: encourages confessing sins to one another and praying for each other to bring about healing. So it’s more than just confession, through prayer and support from the one you bring it to, you can be healed of the hurt or the wrong doing. On a side note; can I just say, “making excuses for what you did or said or trying to justify the why, is NOT true confession”.
Transparency means walking in the light and not having secret, sinful lives (Eph. 5:8-13). Godly sincerity or walking in truth (2 cor. 1:12). This life can be hard enough at times without having the sin of lies to carry around to. For me personally, I know I am not perfect and I am transparent in letting that be known, but at the same time I carry baggage of sorts around with me that are extremely heavy and I have to drop to my feet time and time again at let Jesus have it, He is the One equipped to carry my sins, not me. Once left at the feet of Jesus I am FREE, free from whatever was hidden, oppression, guilt and shame. Don’t let the weight of these things keep you from living a life of freedom.
1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us ….”
What are you waiting for? There is Freedom and Power in being transparent.
Bread and Water 