Being Real

Some people may find it difficult to train their mind to think on lovely things.  Seeing, hearing and speaking all of the difficult, dark, terrible, ugly and even impossible things is what we are prone to do, as this is the nature of our flesh; especially in a day when those things seem to dominate everything.  Drama, darkness, fear, doom and gloom are the stars of the day.  But this is what God's Word tells us to do:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippeans 4:8

It is important to train our mind to think and our lips to speak according to this verse, and though not always an easy thing to do, in doing it, we are the victors of the dark and difficult days.    We do not need to succumb to a dark prognosis, instead we need to trust our Father and the promises of His word.  We are to be  known as "Believers", not "Unbelievers"  Our answer is in Him, and he gives us permission and even an admonition to think on those things… the positive things, the beautiful things, the hopeful things, the best things.  Miracles happen as a result of our belief; our faith and our trust in Him.  We shouldn't be advertisers for the enemies plans; we should be a light that shines in the darkness; and stand strong in our Savior in all circumstances.

I felt a strong desire to write this today.  I began by posting some of the lovely moments of February that I have had.  But this scripture has  been on my mind the last few days, and I have felt compelled to write about it.  Do you ever feel as if you are bombarded with negative reports, negative discussions, negative news, negative expectations by those around you?  It can have an effect on your own outlook.  I sometimes even feel as if others are annoyed with my insistence on seeing things in a positive light, and that I should learn to be "real; as if believing and trusting in the goodness of God isn't real.  There is a subtle message in our day, and I often hear it in media and in social media, that "if people  express negative, hopeless, faithless,  rude, gossipy, or even angry feelings, they are somehow noble; because they are being real".  I'm sure you've heard this statement before "let me just be real"… it usually prefaces a negative statement, a negative thought.

I long to refresh you today; I want to encourage and remind you to think about what it is lovely. Remember all of the Lord's promises in your life and hold onto them; they are real.  He is real.  His Word is real.  Believe in His promises, and think about what is good, express your faith and "be real" in Him.

I'll catch up with you again soon, with some of my "lovely" moments in February.  I would love to hear from you and what is lovely in your life.

Mary Moments

Sometimes you can get overwhelmed with good things.  At least,  I know  I can.  There are things that "have" to be done, and things I am "wanting" to get done, and things  "others are wanting" me to do, and all of them can be good.  But when I start feeling, frustrated and annoyed,  I realize that too many "good things are overwhelming and I am becoming just like Martha.  I understand  Martha.  I mean,  think about it; there she was, serving the Lord, and trying to do what needed to be done, she was preparing food for  Jesus and the disciples.... what better thing  could someone be doing?   Well, apparently there was something better, and Mary had chosen it.  Martha's tasks brought her into the state where she was overwhelmed, frustrated and annoyed.  Jesus used the words "...worried and bothered (or upset) about many things." to describe her.   I realize how easy it is to become that way.  We think it is right, even righteous to "be busy"... involved in this, taking care of that,  serving here, cleaning there... it is all very important isn't it?   "Who am I anyway, if not the sum of all these things". When those thoughts want to pop into my head, or I find myself saying "I have to", "I need to", "I ought to" or "I wish I had...", and start feeling that pressure, guilt,  failure  and annoyance rising up, I realize I am in a "Martha Rut".

As homemakers, sometimes, we can find our identity in conflict.  The enemy can assail us with Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 and we get stuck between the desire to live according to Titus 2 ..."be busy at home", and Luke 10:38   "... only a few things are needed and indeed only one,  Mary has chosen it and it will not be taken away from her."  So,  in as much as I understand Martha, and as much as I agree with Paul saying "be busy at home",  my greatest desire,  is to hear Jesus affirm me like He did Mary.  In my heart I am Mary... I love to sit at His feet, be with Him, listen to Him, realize who He is, realize that He loves me very much (more than I can really comprehend), realize that He loves all people, realize that He enjoys my company, realize that He even sticks up for me when someone speaks unjustly of me.  He is awesome.

So I shake it off.  I shake off the "push, push, push" to do so many things with the wrong motivation.  I stop.  I find rest and peace with Jesus.  A real relationship of love and friendship with my own precious Savior.  What is it that He is saying to me?  What is the next step He wants me to take?  Clear all those other things away and listen.  Listen to Him. Let His love well up inside, let it overflow.  Move in His Spirit and none other.  His answer is always love.  To love and be loved by Him, first, and then to love others... everything else flows from that.  He said it Himself didn't He?  The greatest commandments are summed up in two. Love the Father, Love others.  If we don't have that... it is all meaningless.  Perhaps Martha's motivation in this instance wasn't love, perhaps it was duty, pride, a need to be important,  a need to be affirmed by people's praise, I'm sure there may even have been jealousy at work; perhaps she could see Mary enjoying  the Lord's presence, and here she was doing all this work and getting no credit for it;  then came self pity because she couldn't  get anyone to pay attention to her sacrifice and she is overwhelmed.

Families must be fed, dishes and laundry must be washed.   I don't believe that Jesus  meant that we were to refrain from taking care of our families, or doing tasks, of creating cozy homes and "doing" all that must be done.  But when I choose those things over being in His presence, and I find that I am doing those things in a spirit other than His, when I find that my work is not motivated by love, then I need to stop; pull the plug, regroup, have a Mary Moment with Him.

Today after I started feeling that "overwhelmed" feeling with a dozen things I needed to do, and a dozen things I wanted to do, and an imagination bursting with ideas of a dozen thing I could possibly do later, I decided  to stop, put the tea kettle on and get quiet with Him.  Oh such peace.  I felt order restore.  I felt peace take over.  I have had a hard time all week getting things done.  I think because I hadn't been well, and was a little slow to get my energy back.  But I have felt restful and peaceful in it until today;  today I felt strong, so I was going to catch up and then some.   I think the Lord is teaching me to go about things differently.  What in the world is all the rush for any way?  Am I in a race with someone?  I don't need to affirm myself with good works, I want to affirm myself by loving Him.  All the rest will work itself out, because "....only a few things are necessary, and really only one..."

Afterwards, I  put together a couple of lists;  A " To Do"  List, and a "Get to do List".  I can tackle them in a Spirit of peace; one by one or two by two... however He gives me the strength, the delight, the instruction or the provision to do it.   I  can brain storm, write down ideas, and tuck them away for the right time, and I can carry on.  No need to wrestle, no need to struggle, He will take me where I need to go if I just stop to take a hold of His hand.  He gave me gifts.  I get to use them.  He gave me blessings, I get to enjoy them; Even in my work,
I can take pleasure;
but I don't want any of it without Him.  I want to be like Mary.

Luke 10:38

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  

Gentleness

Gentleness is a precious quality that soothes us when we are in the presence of it.  It is a quiet word that sometimes gets forgotten, but it is an important feature of the Spirit of God, and the more time we spend with Him the more we are transformed into His image and it becomes a fruit in our own lives and a part of our personality.   That's not to say that we can't be  full of joy and fun and strength and laughter, only that it is a beautiful added element to the other qualities of our perosnality.  This has been the word for my word study the last couple of days, and I felt like sharing it with you this morning, maybe it will bless you, and encourage you to find rest in Him, and as you do, His sweet, peaceful, quiet, gentle presence will refresh you.

I like to make scripture cards and little scrapbook creations that include scripture.  It is part of the way I  take a hold of and memorize it.  I am starting a prayer journal, scripture and art journal, and am having fun finding nuggets of inspiration.  I found several on-line scrapbook sites and some of them free.  So I tried this one out today for my little scripture memory exercise  I thought you might like the  link.   You do have to pay for certain elements of it but other elements are free.  Have a blessed day everyone.

Note: now here is a test for any of you to see how well you have memorized your scripture:  I made a mistake on one of these, and just saw it.... see if you can tell which one it is.  I am so glad that patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and evidently I need to work on self control.... my mind wanders ha ha.... luckily I haven't printed this, and perhaps I will go back and edit it and reload but for now... it is a brain teaser for you.

Passover

I have been longing to host a Passover meal at our house the last few years, but it hasn't worked out.  We don't quite have the space to host very many people along with our family.  If we could be certain of the weather, we could do it outside but... well you know how the weather is in Colorado...unpredictable.   Many years ago, we participated in a Passover meal, and we thought it was very special.  It taught us the connection of Jesus as the "Lamb of God" and Jesus the "Messiah" and  what the "blood of Jesus"is all about.  I think it would be wonderful if we began our celebration of the Resurrection with the celebration of the Passover every year.

Some good friends of ours gave us a DVD in December, that we just recently watched.  It was very good.  It is the testimony of a man named Tom Cantor.  He is a Jewish man, a scientist, who developed  the "First Response Pregnancy Test" (among other things) and established a Creation Museum in San Diego Californian. His testimony is wonderful.  In it, he tells a very interesting story of his life, and explains about "The Lamb of God" from his youthful search for God as a young Jewish man. It is timely for passover and I thought it might bless you.  Its not short, but well worth the time to listen.

Many Blessings to you all as you celebrate the Passover and Resurrection 

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and he said "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world".

John 1:29

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the music so you can hear this.

The Unseen Army

picture curtesy of google images The Unseen Army Here is a word for you from the Word Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. NIV     Do you believe in angels? I want to tell you that I do. I believe there are myriads and myriads of good angels who are given charge over God’s people.  Another passage says that God will give His angels charge over us to guard us in all our ways. I tell you, I believe we need the guardianship, the protection and the support of angels. I’m glad to know that wherever I go there’s an angel of God that encamps around about me and he delivers me.  There was a prophet in the Old Testament, the prophet Elisha. At a certain time he was in a city besieged by a large alien army that was there to take him, to capture him. His servant went up on the roof and pointed out to him the tremendous numbers of the opposing army, but Elisha prayed for that young servant and said, “Lord, open this young man’s eyes.” And when He opened his eyes he saw the armies of God around about the prophet, far greater in number and infinitely greater in power than those invading alien armies. And I believe that if God could open our eyes we’d see it’s true today. Those that be with us are more than those that be with them. We have a great unseen army on our side.  Let’s be encouraged, let’s take heart, let’s reckon with the presence of the Lord’s angels encamping round about us to deliver us. - Derek Prince From Derek Prince Ministries... Weekly Devotional When I got this devotional in my e-mail, I  wanted to share it as an encouragement  today.  There is so much going on in the world around us these days, that a spirit of fear often seems louder than the Spirit of the Lord, but His word is a reminder that He cares for us and that He watches over us and that He sends His angels to help us.  I think that is amazing... do we really believe it I wonder... I do, but sometimes I forget.  Nice to remember.

Light in the Darkness Part Two: Joy in the Ordinary

"Joy in the Ordinary" has been something Lord has cultivated in me over the years, and He often reminds me; "He is not in the wind, or the fire, or the earthquake but in the "still small voice".  His presence is sweet; it strengthens us, but we usually find it in those quiet days, in those ordinary moments, when we pause and take stock of all that we have and worship Him in gratitude  for those everyday ordinary blessings.  The old expression "count your blessings" is good advice, for in taking stock of every sweet thing we have been given, we find that "abundance" is in our very midst,and are overwhelmed by His goodness.  I think if we fail to do this, we most likely are missing out on some of the most wonderful miracles the Lord has ever given us.

Light in the Darkness

We have wind outside of our house that is raging in gusts up to 75 mph.  It is hammering like a hurricane against our windows and roof right now.  It picked up our glass patio table and shattered it last night some time in the "wee hours".  It is a wearisome contrast to the peaceful day of The Lord's Resurrection that we had yesterday.  That brief moment of peace was like the "still waters" that David talked about.

Steve called from Nevada before bed last night; sick as a dog. He thought maybe it was food poisoning.  It just kills me to think of him sick and not here.  He has to fly out this afternoon, and that will be no picnic, considering how badly he feels, not to mention the havoc the wind may create on that flight.  Uggg.

Doesn't it feel as if the battle is raging constantly these days?  The world just seems dark. I feel the "Last Days" in our midst; it correlates with the wars and rumors of wars; earthquakes and famines in various places; every week, it seems like there is another earthquake.  And now this one near the Mexico/California border: 7.5 whewie! that's another big one, ( I have taken 2 1/2 days to actually write this post and since then there has been a report of another earthquake in Indonesia of about the same magnitude)  We feel it all don't we?  Even if we are not in the midst of some of those disasters, we feel the groaning, struggling earth, and we are groaning and struggling with it.  Sometimes you can't even  put your finger specifically on one thing and say this or that is going wrong, its just  the sense that "constant struggle and doom will not abate". Frustrating difficult things, that come one after the other; chaos, sickness, financial burdens,  many pressures, so much housework, school work, weariness with the kids, and of course that wind.

As I was talking to Marie ( 1 of 3 precious daughters) and my friend Roxy the other night,
the Lord quickened the following again to my heart as an answer and defense to the raging wind (metaphorically speaking) and the struggle of the battle of our days:


1.  Love, Encourage and Comfort one another.
Philemon1:7   Your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you, brother have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Isaiah 49:13...for the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones
IICorinth 1:4 ...Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
I John 4:12  No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.

I always love how Roxy,(living from glory to glory ) senses when someone she cares about needs a call from her.  I know of many times she will call me or another friend and say "is everything ok? do you need me to pray with you about something?"  The Lord has given her insight in the Spirit, and she always seems to know when she's needed.  It is a wonderful gift; one that I am praying will manifest more often inside of me.  Even without this discernment, we can always just check in with each other. I have found that love and encourgement gets me many miles farther down the road, and it restores strength and hope to a withering spirit.

Two are better than one,  because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,  his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Eccle: 4:9

2. Cease striving
Marie and I were talking about a post that another blogger had posted about walking in the "calmness of Jesus".  It reminded me of another word I had heard once which went something like this: "Jesus never rushed or hurried anywhere.  He was not stressed.  He had the confidence of what the will of the Father was and that is what He did".    Busy-ness is not a form of godliness, but quite often I think there is a voice out there that tells us it is.  The voice is that of  a task master that chides us and rushes us here and there, guilt and condemnation are its companions, we must recognize it for what it is; a tyrant; it must  not become our Lord.

There is something so refreshing about remembering what Jesus said of Mary and Martha: "Martha, Martha,... there are only a few things that are necessary and really only one.  Mary has chosen it, and it will not be taken away from her".   Luke 10:41

While Martha hustled and stressed out to get a meal ready for Jesus (what task could seem more worthy? I could see myself doing the same thing) Mary had learned how to sit at the Lord's feet and have fellowship with Him and learn from Him.  We need to quiet the world's onslaught.  We need to practice the peace and presence of the Lord. The better thing is not so much in the "doing" for Him, but rather in the "being" with Him, and those we love.  Let the world rage.  Let it insist that you must do this or that in order to somehow prove your  significance, but don't listen.  If we can learn to hear and discern the will of the Lord we will not be flustered and chaotic.  There may be God given times of busy-ness, and we will definitely be occupying ourselves with what must be done, but we should remember who our "Master" truly is, and for whom we work.  When we work under the presence of the Holy Spirit, we work in peace.

What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
Eccle: 2: 21-23


In quietness and trust shall be your strength. 
Isaiah 30:15


3. Take Joy in the ordinary: To be continued.....

Fighting the "Good Fight"

"Overcast and snow......."  We have heard that weather report often lately.  Colorado's usually abundant sunshine (even in winter), has gone missing quite often this year And with the over- cast days have come more snow and from there more mud! (At least out where we live)  You can't have it all can you? country life comes with all its ups and downs, and we certainly can always use the moisture, but needless to say overcast, snowy, muddy winter days, sometimes leave me wrestling with cabin fever and what I call the "winter blues".  Do  you ever feel that way? Or perhaps you might struggle in other ways. It may be with something you have heard; you turn on the news and of course its always bad or maybe someone has said something about you and it really gets to you. I wrestle with those things.  I may struggle with being over-whelmed with too much on my plate and I feel at a loss as to where to even begin, and feel completely  inadequate to begin it.  I've come to the conclusion that all these things are part of the battle that we are to fight while here on this earth and all these things have a common thread and a common voice.

I was reading the story of David and Goliath again the other day, and when I was reading what Goliath said to the army of Israel and to David, I thought I recognized his voice.  I had been hearing things just like that.  I realized it was nothing more than the voice of Satan.  He says the same things over and over again just like he has been since he first started talking to Eve. He taunts and he mocks and he bates  you and tries to get you to either freeze up in fear, or over react and blow your testimony.

But I love how David reacts to him and this very same feeling rises up in me when I finally get a clue as to who is speaking to my mind; "righteous indignation".  Is the world telling you you are worthless, you are foolish, you are a failure, you ought to have something more to show for yourself.   Or perhaps in spite of all you  have offered or accomplished, you are being criticized and condemned. You can know it is nothing more than Goliath/Satan speaking. 

When I was going to bed the night I had read this story, I kept hearing; "Five Smooth Stones" in my head.  It intrigued me.  I have been rolling it around for the last couple of days.  David of course picked up 5 smooth stones from the river and placed them in his pouch (I Sam 17:40).

It appears that he only needed one of them to kill Goliath, but he had five.  I was thinking his one stone and his Faith in God and his action upon those two things were what brought that enemy down.  

I have a little recipe that I resort to that helps me rid myself of the "Winter Blues" Or the onslaught of any kind of oppresson; I think I will call them my "five smooth stones".  It is what I do and it always works.  Maybe it will inspire some one else.

1.  Encourage yourself in the Lord

David went through times of depression, but he encouraged himself in the Lord and fought his way out by speaking to his downcast spirit saying: "why are you downcast oh my  soul....." "hope in God, for I shall again praise Him"  Psalm 42:11, Psalm 43:5

2.  Speak, proclaim, and pray the word of God

Ephesians 6:10-18  Teaches us that we don't wrestle with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces of  wickedness; we are to put on the full armor of God; our offensive weapon in that list of armor is the "Sword of the Spirit", which is the Word of God.  I think too often we are not aware of the true power of coming into agreement with what our Lord has said through His word and in faith taking a hold of those promises.  When we, as redeemed Christians, speak them in response to oppression, we have taken authority over that oppression and it will leave. We shut the door to the negative thoughts and feelings and open the door to the positive power of God.

3. Pray the blood of Jesus over your mind and body

In Exodus, the blood of the lamb was sprinkled over the door posts of the house to protect the children of Israel from the curse that was about to befall Egypt. The blood of the lamb  was also sprinkled as  an offering for atonement for sins.  The blood of our Lord Jesus was given on our behalf, as an offering for our sins and as an offering against the curse of a fallen earth. Revelation 12:11 tells us that in the last days those who over came, overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.  Often times Steve and I will have communion together when we are experiencing a struggle(We do this for other reasons as well). Corinthians  tells us when we take communion we proclaim the Lords death (his blood his resurrection) and the power of it until He comes.  This is a testimony of the authority our Lord has given us over darkness, and is a battle He won for us at the price of His life and blood.

4. Resist

James 4:7 says to resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Quite often when I have discouraging thoughts or am bombarded with feelings of fear, rejection or insignificance, I simply say "Satan I resist you in the name of Jesus" and those things will lift.

5. Stand Firm....on the promises of God

Ephesians 6 says..." after having done everything to stand, stand... " I have had times in my life when I have prayed and fought in some very, very difficult battles, and at that moment it didn't appear as if the Lord had heard; everything seemed to get worse; but I remember encouraging myself in the Lord and saying even though I can't understand what is going on, I know the Lord is faithful.  I continued to stand and speak of the Lords faithfulness. He loves when we do that, and in those moments, our faith is released and the power of God is released also.  I can look back on those times now and be in awe at how faithful our Father is.  Those moments when I could have allowed myself to think that I had been forsaken, or forgotten by God were moments  He was actually at work, but the fruit of it had not manifested yet.  In  His time we have always been able to see the victory and joy He has for us.

Thanksgiving and the presence of those we love

The Thanksgiving Holiday is upon us again.  How quickly another year has gone by.   The older I get the more treasured the Thanksgiving Holiday is to me.  Life has brought many struggles to my family and I, but none of which are uncommon to us all. I have come to realize the struggles of life act as a purifying fire, that refines us like gold, removing the dross, and leaving behind the beauty.  As each year passes, the beauty of all that the Lord has done for us becomes brighter and brighter; while sorrow and struggle though often in our midst, fades.    How can I not wake up each day with gratitude that the Lord has richly blessed me.  As the Holiday approaches, I am more consciously filled with the Thankfulness that wells up in my heart.

Last week, four treasures came home for a visit;  Nathan, Himilce, Elon and Asher. As all the hopes and dreams of life come and go, nothing compares to having your children and grandchildren in your midst.  We had our own "Thanksgiving" the Saturday night after they got in, and delighted all week in their presence with us; their coming and going was dear, because even though they were sometimes visiting friends or re-exploring home, their presence was with us.  This makes me think of my relationship with the Lord.  How He loves when we seek to be in His presence; we don't have to be "eye to eye" or "one on one" every second of the day to appreciate  being in each other's presence constantly.  I remember my Mom telling me once that even if we didn't talk on the phone or see each other every day, she felt me "there".  Our houses are close to each other, and we feel each other's presence.  Now she lives half the year in Las Vegas near my brother Dave, and  half the year here I miss her presence when she's away. Of course we still talk on the phone, but there is something more about being in the presence of those you love.

Let us come before His presence with Thanksgiving.... Psalm 95:2