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“The Best Gift”

Gifts!

Christmas is just a day away!  It is hard to believe it has been another year.  Thinking back over the years what has been the gift that meant the most to you?  I definitely remember mine.  It is amazing how so many Christmases can pass but at least one or two really stick out.

I especially remember the year I was probably around 10.  My brother bought me a gift he was so excited about.  I remember getting the catalogs that had all the Christmas ideas in them.  You that are older all remember them, right?  There were the Sears, JCPenny, Montgomery Wards catalogs and probably some others that I don’t remember.  We would pour over those catalogs dreaming of having the gifts there.  They had all these wonderful things for you to use with your dolls and I loved to dream about them.

Then that wonderful Christmas came.  Even to this day, I don’t remember what else I got, I just remember that one special gift my brother got me and I still have it today.  It was a baby highchair.  It was made out of wood with a cushioned seat and a cushioned back that was removable.  I used that chair so much and got so much joy out of it.  As I recall it was a real sacrifice.  My brother paid $10 for it.  That seems inexpensive to us today but at that time when you paid around $0.65 for a gallon of gas, you had to work really hard to earn $10.  Now that my brother is gone it is even more precious to me.

Giving

Now that I am older what I love most about Christmas is not the gifts I receive as much as giving.  It is so fun to see the expressions of joy on the face of a child when they receive a gift.  Our children loved to get clothes even before they hit their teenage years.  They were responsible to buy their clothes so if they didn’t have to buy clothes it was a great thing.

I have always been a practical buyer.  On the other hand, my husband always bought gifts that were too old for their age or too frivolous to last long.  But for several years now I do most of the Christmas shopping and everyone contributes money.  Then every gift someone gets is from everyone.  As the children get older the gifts get more expensive so this is very helpful, practical, and works well.

Don’t Forget…

We don’t want to get so caught up in all that is happening and forget the best Christmas.  Now we all know that Christ was not born this time of year.  But this is a time to remember.  He was the very best gift that anyone of us has received.  At least it has been offered to us but it is up to us to accept the gift.  And unwrap the gift.  We can unwrap the gift of Christ every day as we open His Word.  And He gives us the most precious gift of the Holy Spirit that can lead and guide into all truth.  Just like I love the joy of seeing others receive a gift, Christ is overjoyed when we receive His gift and unwrap it.

We cannot unwrap the Gift without the Holy Spirit.  The fact is, we can do nothing without the Holy Spirit indwelling in us.  We may be able to try or seem like we are doing the right things.  But if we are doing it with our strength and not allowing the Holy Spirit to do it we will be as the 5 foolish virgins.

Unwrapping

Have you ever asked for a gift for Christmas?  There was something you really wanted or needed and you asked in hopes you would get it.  As a kid and you saw the presents under the tree did you ever wonder if it is what you asked for?  And then you decided to carefully open it to see?  I never did that but I have known people that have done it.

When they carefully opened it they were so excited to see they got what they wanted.  But then Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, depending on when you open when they opened their gift the excitement wasn’t the same.  It seemed almost disappointing.

It makes me think about how God gave us the gift of His Son.  And when Jesus left this earth He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit.  When we unwrap the Word of God with excitement to see what Gift He has for us the excitement doesn’t last.  And it is because we open the Gift before the time.  We think we want a sneak peek and the excitement seems so real but it wears off in time because we unwrap it before the time.

We get in a dig into the Word, unwrapping each text and seeing all the things that God wants us to do.  And we start to implement them into our lives but there seems to be a problem.  We are doing all the “right things” so we just keep plugging along.  But we are angry, unforgiving, critical, finger-pointing, etc.

The Gift within a Gift

Even though we have unwrapped His Word we have forgotten a Gift that will make the unwrapping and the doing not about us but about Him.  We can do nothing without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  God gave His Son as a gift to us but without the Gift that Jesus gave to us, we are nothing.  Jesus said, “Without Me, ye can do nothing” John 15:5 last part.  And “without Me” is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

We choose but He does the work!  The parable of the wise and foolish virgins is a good example.  They were all church members, following the Lord in everything.  But the wise virgins were allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work through them, nothing of themselves.  Whereas, the foolish were doing it with their own strength.  They were both waiting for the coming of the Lord but when He came the foolish were lacking the indwelling workings of the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus lived and walked this earth as you and I, He did nothing of Himself.  It was only through the power of His Father.  If He used His own power for anything He would have had an advantage over us.  We can have the same power because it is the Power of Jesus through His Holy Spirit.  And if our own “power” gets in the way we will be as the foolish virgins.  We need to allow Christ through His Spirit to change us so that we have nothing to boast of ourselves but of Him.

Two gifts

So to me, there are two great gifts to be thankful for this Christmas season.  The first gift is the gift of Jesus Who came from the glories of Heaven to this sinful earth to live a life fully through the power of His Father.  And He died for all the sins of this world so that we have an opportunity for Heaven.

The second gift is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This gift gives us the ability to be ready for Jesus’ second coming.  We are saved through the precious blood shed by our loving Savior so that we can have forgiveness for our sins.  And through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can live a victorious life.  Although we are saved by Jesus shed blood we are rewarded by our works, which should be the work of the Holy Spirit living through us and nothing of ourselves.  So the reward of Heaven will be given us as we ask the Holy Spirit to live within us and by allowing Him to perform the work that needs to be done in our lives.  We need to ask for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit each day.

Dear Father,

Thank you for the gifts that You have given to us.  I pray for the power of Your Spirit to come and dwell within our hearts.  Come dwell in us not only during this Christmas season but every day for the rest of our lives.  Help us to turn to You during every time of need asking for Your Spirit to perform the work within us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember if Jesus could do nothing of Himself we surely cannot either.  Allow the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to do the work through you today.

Love you all and I pray you have a blessed Christmas.

Can you share an experience where you felt the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life and you knew it was nothing of yourself but a gift?  I would love to hear your testimony below.

 

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“Alone For Christmas?!!”

Christmas!

What do you think of when you think of Christmas, family, friends, joy, gifts, and peace?  It seems that Christmas for a lot of people makes them warm inside.  The happiness of togetherness with family gathered around the Christmas tree can bring such a joyous feeling.  It seems that people are more courteous and cheerful during the Christmas season.  But the question comes; does everyone feel those warm feelings this time of year?  And the answer is no.

I know this year even for myself there are some sorrows.  It makes it harder to have the full joy of Christmas.  We would visit my father-in-law every Christmas and bring him a gift.  But he is no longer with us.  And I remember the year that we surprised my mom with my brother coming for Christmas.  But this will never be a possibility again.  Things change and sorrow comes into our lives.

Dread

It reminds me of my son.  He cut his leg and it required stitches.  We were told that he could remove the stitches in 14 days; the doctor wanted to be sure it had healed.  My son waited 16 days for good measure.  The next day, after he removed his stitches, he was playing soccer and someone kicked him right on his cut and it totally reopened.  He thought it was totally healed but when put under unfavorable conditions it reopened.

Some people dread this time of the year.  They have had lots of sorrows and abuses that lead to unhappiness when it comes to family.  There are some that seem to have received healing from hurt and pain but when it’s hit with the Christmas season wounds thought to be healed come wide open again.  A lot of times they are either alone or feel alone in a crowd.

Bring cheer

A lot of times we can feel so focused on our own family or our own sorrows we can forget those that may not have a pleasant day planned.  Can you imagine being alone for Christmas?  It’s just another day like any other, no family or friends to spend it with.  There are many that go through this each year.  Do you know someone you could bring cheer to?  I would encourage all of us to think about who we could include in our Christmas cheer that has no place to go.  And let’s change the memory of Christmas for them so that their wounds may fully heal.  Through my own sorrows one thing that I know, as I reach out to cheer others my sorrows diminish.

I remember one year our family invited an older couple to spend Christmas Eve with us.  We celebrate and open gifts on Christmas Eve and this was when our children were younger.  The older couple so thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was wonderful to bring a little joy and happiness into their lives.

Dear Father,

Lead each one of us to think of someone that will be alone for Christmas so that we can include them in our family gathering.  Help us to remember that when we do it unto the least of these we do it unto You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Invite someone today to spend Christmas with you.

Love you all and a Merry Christmas to you.

Do you have a story of inviting someone that would have been alone to join you for Christmas?  I would love to hear it.

 

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“Who Are Your True Friends?”

Have you ever really wondered who your true friends are?

Maybe you even question whether you have a true friend?  True friends seem to be hard to come by these days.  Then the question would be, what is a true friend?

I remember, as a kid having what I thought was a true friend.  Then one day someone came to visit our home.  And then we went to the home of my best friend and her family.  After this person visiting had said something to my best friend, which to this day I don’t know what was said, our friendship was over.  It was like it never existed.  I am sure each of us has gone through similar situations.

I was reminded this past weekend how important friendships are.  Our family spent Thanksgiving with some great friends.  Friendships are a blessing and we don’t want to lose them.

A Friend

Friendships are either like a two-way street or they can be like a one-way.  I think friendships can start out as a two-way street.  Your both going opposite directions, one is following Christ and the other the world.  We have these friends all around us.  They may not be our best friends but we still call them our friends.

Two-way street

The question is, what brought the two of you together as friends?  I mean your goals are obviously not the same.  Hopefully, they see something in you that they are attracted to, Jesus. And hopefully, you have a love for people and want them to know about the love of Jesus.  I would caution you here to be careful.  We need to build a friendship with people to reach them for Christ but we need to be careful that we don’t let their friendship drag us in the opposite direction that we want to be going.  We need to love them where they are at and join them in activities that are not displeasing to God.  But we need to stay away from the things that we know will get us on a one-way street going the wrong direction.

One-way street

One thing about one-way streets is that there is more than one lane.  And the other thing about one-way streets is that you can be going in the wrong direction.  Spiritually speaking one way goes toward God and His ways and the other way goes against God and His ways.  The best kind of friend to have is one that is traveling the same direction you are, toward God.  Now there is still more than one lane.  We are all on a different journey.  The Lord is working with each one of us differently so we are not all going to be in the same lane (growth level) but our goals are the same, to reach heaven.

When we have a best friend going in the same direction we need to accept them where they are and love them and we always hope they do the same for us.  This doesn’t mean at times out of love we don’t go to them and share something that we see in them that may need improvement.  But when we do we need to make sure our motives are right and God is leading us.  I would hope that my best friends would do the same for me.  We need to pray for one another as well.  We can be so close as best friends when our goals are the same.

The Best Friend

There is One Friend that is the best.  He will always love us no matter what we do.  He longs for that mutual love.  No matter what direction we go He will always be there prompting us to a better way of life but He does not force.  He wants to spend time with us but He will not join in anything contrary to His Father’s will, He will not join us in our sin.  But he is still there waiting when we come back.  He is a friend that will always lead us in the right direction.  But we have to choose it.

Our earthly friends may disappoint us but Jesus will never disappoint us.  We may be disappointed in the direction that He leads us. At this point, we need to examine our hearts.  Do we really love and trust Him?  Trust is a part of friendship and our earthly friends may not always be trustworthy but Jesus always is.  He knows everything about us. And He knows us so well he knows what is best for us.

Dear Father,

Thank You for giving Your Son.  Thank You that He is the best friend that we can have. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  Continue to prompt our hearts to be on the one-way street toward You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Make a commitment to be on that one-way road toward heaven.  The way is narrow but there is room for everyone that wants to go there.  Praise God!

Love you all.

Do you have a best friend?  What makes them so special to you?

 

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“Dog Attack!!!”

Have you ever experienced a dog attack?  I don’t know about you but I love dogs.  I am an animal lover in general but dogs are probably my favorite.  But dogs, like any creature, including the human creature, become how they are treated.  There are dogs that are great family dogs for their gentleness but when placed in a home where they are treated mean they become mean.  They are yelled at all the time.  They can’t do anything right.  They are tied up all the time or shoved in a small place to exist.  Puppies can be so cute but how they are raised and treated can make them either mean or loving.

I remember one time when I was in town, pulling up to a store, and parking.  I got out of my car and headed for the store not thinking any danger was at hand.  As I walked passed this truck a dog fiercely poked his head out of the truck and came within a short distance of biting me in the head.  I could feel his breath.  I was afraid to even go by to get back into my vehicle; I was parked right next to it.  I stayed in the store a while waiting for the truck to leave.  I also wanted to talk to the person of the truck.  I don’t really remember the end of the story.  If I am remembering correctly I didn’t end up talking to the person I just crawled in from the other side of the vehicle and left.  The part I will never forget is almost being bit.

How animals are treated has a lot to do with how they turn out, loving or mean.  The same is true with children.  Children always have the freedom to choose what direction they will go.  But a child that is raised in an environment that is full of unconditional love has a way better chance of becoming a loving person.  Than a person who is raised in an environment where they can never do anything right, in the eye of the parent, no matter what they do.  They are demeaned, yelled at, hit, etc., how can they survive.

The question is if you have been an unloving parent is there hope?  There is always hope in love.  But it can be a very difficult road.  It takes time to heal.  Have you ever seen a dog that has been abused change after being in a loving home?  Absolutely!  But it takes time.  And there are dogs where they have not been able to rehabilitate; they have been through so much abuse.  The same holds true with children as well.  It all depends on how long it has been going on and how severe the abuse.  But I do believe there is hope.  If you are willing to make changes in your choices and you allow God to be a part of helping you, He can bring healing.

We live in a generation where a lot of us did not learn to love growing up.  Some of us have no idea what love is.  You may have grown up in a home where, basically, no love was shown to you.  With each generation that goes by where no one demonstrates love because they never saw love demonstrated, it gets worse.  In this generation what love is, seems very messed up. Everything that is watched listened to, or demonstrated is full of so much self that true love is not revealed.  How can we learn to truly love?  God will help us when we ask Him to give us His love.  Reality is we can not truly have an unselfish love without God-loving through us.  But what can we do to change mistakes we have made with our children or anyone and show them, love?  Here are a few tips that I would encourage you to look at.  I have been reading “The Five Love Languages of Teenagers” by Gary Chapman so some of what I will be sharing will be from this book.

  1. Ask your child to forgive you. Start by going to your child or whoever it may be and ask for their forgiveness.  Now it may be hard for them to readily forgive you because of their past experiences with you.  You may have said, “I am sorry” off the cuff many times but your behavior continued.  Gaining their trust will take time and healing will take a long time.  Ask God for His blessing.
  2. Figure out what their love language is. You need to love them in a way that they can accept the love.  Gary Chapman shares 5 love languages.
    1. Words of Affirmation. This is something that is really good for everyone.  In a world that is so negative, these words can change a person’s life.  But there are ones where this is their primary love language and they just thrive when they hear words that affirm them.  You may think there is nothing good in your child to affirm.  But if you look closely you will find it.  We can be so negative as parents that we tend to look over the good things our kids do because we just expect the good.  Listen to what others say about your kids, a lot of times that can give you a clue.  And as you affirm them in the good you will actually start seeing more good.  You will see more good for two reasons, one they will start doing more good things because they are getting positive reinforcement and two you will change your attitude so you can see more good.  And if this is your child’s primary love language he/she will thrive.
    2. Physical Touch. I would start by saying appropriate physical touch.  I am not going to get into the right and wrongs here, read Gary’s book for that.  But for some children, this is very important.  With my own children, I can see who it is important to and who it is not.  If your teen is willing to put his/her arm around you in public, to me, that is one big sign that physical touch is important to them.    There are many statistics that show how babies thrive or die depending on physical touch.  Physical touch no matter what age can make a difference.  But for some, it is their primary love language and they will thrive if they are receiving that physical touch.
    3. Quality Time. Quality time with our children is very important no matter what their primary love language is.  But I think defining what quality time is, is important.  In the society in which we live there seems to be less and less time spent in actually sitting around the table and having a meal together.  Everyone is going in all different directions.  Some may be watching something, others are looking at their smartphone, it may be work and school schedules that don’t match or some may be just plain zoned out.  Having at least one meal together a day if possible is important for communication time.  Planning is important.  If plans are not made and scheduled in, it won’t happen.  Those that have this as their primary love language will find someone to spend quality time with if it is not you, as a parent.  So make this a priority.  Really take a look at what quality time is.  It requires communication.  Some may say, “I watch something with my child at least 2 to 3 times a week.”  I don’t want to burst your bubble but that is not quality time.  It may be the easy way out but it is not quality time.  If you want to see your child where quality time is their love language thrive, spend time with them.
    4. Acts of Service. We should be teaching our children to serve others and how we do that is by the way that we live.  We should start by doing acts of service for our children.  You may find it easy to do acts of service for others outside of your home but doing it for your children may be more difficult.  It is easier outside our home because we get a pat on the back from others.  The truth is that if we can’t do it for our children but do it for others self is in control.  You may be saying, “I will make my child selfish if I do things for them.”  I am not talking about doing everything for them.  And it doesn’t need to be the same thing all the time.  Be creative.  Maybe you know that your child has a big test coming up you could say, “I know you have a big test tomorrow, I will wash the dishes tonight for you so you can get right to it.”  You aren’t washing the dishes for them every night but once in a while.  Maybe they have been back late from school because of some sports event and you fed the pets already for them.  Make a list and be creative.  If this is your Child’s love language they will beam with joy.  Most likely if this is their primary love language they already do the same for others.
    5. There are children that just are overjoyed and feel very loved if they receive gifts.  It doesn’t have to be big.  It could just be a little note on their pillow at night that says your thinking of them and love them.  It could be an extra treat that you give them wrap as a gift.  Be creative and I know that you can come up with some great ideas.  And their need for feeling loved will be met.
  3. In all these things prayer is the key to help you in knowing which love language your child has and how to connect with them through it.  Pray for your children daily and for yourself that you won’t blow it again.  We all have made mistakes as parents and we need to go forward asking God and our children to forgive us.  And then rely on God, surrendering each day to Him.

Even if your children are older reconnect with them by following these steps as well.  God is amazing at bringing healing if we surrender and allow Him to work.

Dear Father,

Forgive us for not always being the parents we should be.  Help us as we surrender all to You and move forward in a better direction.  Give us wisdom and creative ideas on how to love our children.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to God today and reconnect with your children.

Love you all.

Have any of you used the 5 Love Language rules with your children & teen?  What were the results?  I would love to hear your success stories.

 

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“You Don’t Care!!”

Have you ever felt so depressed you just feel like you can’t go on?  Life is just too overwhelming and you can’t cope.  You no longer feel like God is really there.  The trials are way too heavy.

I am reaching back to the archives of Facebook post again to share.  You may be the one struggling right now and I pray this will be a blessing to you.

“My devotion this morning made me think back again to the time when I was in a deep depression. I had a dear friend that was such a blessing to me. She talked to me often with a listening ear and encouraging words. At the time I could not even pick up my Bible and read it because every thing I read did not seem to bless me. I could not see the love of God. My friend gave me a journal and she told me every time I read something or anything positive came to mind to write it in the journal with the date and when I felt down I could go back and read it again. I tried to come up with something but I could not. I did not throw God totally out; I kept trying to hang on. Then one day after a long period of time something so familiar became something so precious; ‘For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16. I wrote that in my journal and for the first time in several weeks I realized God really did love me. I clung to that verse because that was all that I could find, where I felt God really cared.

Then one day I ran across something else I wrote in my journal; Psalms 121:1-8. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:  he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper:  the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:  he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’

When I was done writing it I looked up at the first entry and it had been a year almost to the day. From that day forward I was able to see the love of God again. He carried me through that time and used a dear friend to keep encouraging me. Have I had down times since then? Yes I have but not to the depth of what it was then and I know part of the reason is that I am able to look at what God did for me in the past and it has helped me in the present. If there is anyone out there that is struggling please reach out to someone who cares. If you feel that you don’t have someone contact me.

Dear Father,

Thank You that I can keep my wants, joys, sorrows, cares, and fears before you. I am thankful that I cannot burden or weary You. You care about the number of hairs on my head so I know Your not indifferent about my wants. Thank You that You are very pitiful and of tender mercy. And that Your heart of love is touched by my sorrows and even by our utterances of them. So I know that I can take to You everything that perplexes my mind. I am so thankful that nothing is too great for You to bear, for You hold up worlds, and rule over all the affairs of the universe.

Father, I am thankful that anything that in any way concerns my peace no matter how small is noticed by You. There is no chapter in my experience too dark for You to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for You to unravel. Thank You Father that the relationship between You and I is as distinct and full as though there was not another soul upon the earth to share Your watch care and not another soul for whom You gave Your beloved Son.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

This prayer is for each one of us. I love you all.”

Have you felt this way at anytime in your life?  How did you handle it?  What gave you courage?

Are you going through this right now and you need someone to talk to?  Feel free to contact me.  revittalizen.your.health@gmail.com

 

 

 

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“I’m What?!!”

Have you ever had someone give you a compliment about yourself?  It really doesn’t matter what the compliment may be.  But do you have the tendency to think to yourself,  “If the person only really knew me and how much of a struggle it is to do that.  I am really a failure.”

There are really two types of people, those who are narcissistic and when complimented they just gloat over it and they are constantly saying how great they are.  Or there are those that are constantly putting themselves down for their mistakes and can’t see beyond who they are, they are negative about almost everything.

Neither one of these types of people are in a good place.  A narcissist is so selfish he can’t see beyond the end of his nose.  God is not pleased with this kind of behavior.  The good news is that He is willing to forgive and help us be an unselfish person.

On the other hand the person who is always being negative about everything is also in a bad place.  God has given you talents that He wants you to increase and to use in blessing others.  He created you.  He made you with what is necessary to become what He wants you to be.  And when we put down ourselves we are saying to God that we don’t like the way He made us.

When we talk negative we become what we talk and think.  And we can cause others to become what we say.  I think of those we are closest to, like our spouse and children, if we talk worthless words that is what they will become.

My daughter has to do some school through the summer because she was not as diligent as she should have been.  I was getting her started the other day and before I even started to explain stuff she started saying,  “I can’t do it.”  Negative!  I told her that she needed to change her mindset.  She needed to be saying what she wanted the outcome of her thoughts to be, “I am able to do this work.”

Here are some things that I would encourage you to think about and put into practice.

  1. Rephrase your negative words to positive words. Every time negative thoughts or words come to your mind rephrase them into a positive sentence.  And then think or say them.  For example when your child seems to always try to take charge of everything instead of saying negatively, “Quit, you are always trying to take charge of everything, now just go.”  Say, “You have the qualities of a becoming a great leader.”  And then of course with a Christ like spirit you can direct your child.
  2. Be grateful. When we start our day with a negative attitude everything goes wrong.  Start the day with writing down things to be grateful for.  It might be hard to find things within your family but I would work on this.  When we see everything through negativity it is hard to break.
  3. It is okay to have good things about yourself. Some of us can tend to think it is wrong to have good things about ourselves.  And definitely this can become a pride issue.  That is why we always need to recognize Who has given us these abilities.  When we talk negative about ourselves we are putting down our creator.
  4. Say what you want to become not what you think you are. A lot of us as Christians stumble in our walk with the Lord and we then make negative comments like, “I will never make it.”  What I would encourage you to do in any situation is say what you want to become.  “I am forgiven.”  “I am an overcomer.”  “I am Christ like.”  And this can be in every area of your life.  What ever you want to become speak it as if you are what you’re wanting to become, as you work toward becoming what ever it is.  For me I have started to write.  I am not considered a writing but as I work toward becoming better at it I can still say, “I am a writer.”  Or “I am a blogger.”

Believe me this is an area that I struggle in.  So you are not alone.

Dear Father,

You have made each of us unique.  You have given every one of us abilities way beyond what we develop.  Help us to be more positive with our thoughts and words.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Start today to speak and think positive thoughts.  And remember, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

Love you all.

What do you do to help keep your thoughts and words in a more positive line?

 

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“I Am Struggling With Trusting You!”

As a Christian have you ever asked the question why?  You’re trying to make it in life.  You’re trying to have a successful marriage.  And you are trying to raise Godly children.  Maybe you are single and you are trying to find a truly godly husband or wife but it seems they are far and few between.  What is God doing?  Why are things in my life not going the way it should be for me being a Christian?

I have had these questions come up throughout my life.  There are so many times that I have felt like, “Is God really there?”  “Is He really working in my life?”  “Does He really care?”  I have struggle with looking at other “Christians” that seem to be on fire for the Lord and their lives are so put together.  My question is to God, “Why do they have it easier than I do?  What is going on, Lord?”

The number one wisest advice I can give you is do not look at people.  People are not who we are trying to please and they should not be our example.  God is our only true guide and example.  Get into His Word.

But that still does not deal with the questions that nag our hearts, “Why me?”  Here are a few ideas that I came to realize why some of the people I know have it “easier” than I do.

  1. They are relying on God. There are people who are so reliant on God that we do not see or know the struggles that they may be going through.  They take their troubles to God and they surrender themselves to God and leave their problems with Him to solve. I tend to keep taking them back rather than leaving it with God.  Somehow we think He can’t take care of things.  What we do is give it to God and give Him a deadline to take care of it.  God is not a puppet.  I do want to add in here that there are people who follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and they aren’t even considered a “Christian” but God honors them.  They don’t even know that the are following God but when they are listening to that still small voice, that they don’t even know where it is coming from, they are following God’s leading.
  2. They are two-faced. I have found that there are people who appear to be a wonderful Christian.  They pray beautiful prayers, do wonderful things, and seem to so love.  They don’t seem to be having the attacks that I am getting as a Christian.  But as I have gotten more involved with them I realize that they are really of the world.  They haven’t given up anything for Christ.  They are still doing all the worldly things that Christ has told us to shun.  The devil is giving them a life of ease.  He is making them feel comfortable.  They are feeling just fine with their life.  Remember there are only two powers.  We cannot serve two masters.
  3. Those that are not following God. The third group is those that are not following God.  There are only two powers.  So if a person is not following God they are automatically in the camp of the devil.  Why would the devil have to give any trials or discouragements to them?  He already has them.  He may even prosper them so that they are more attractive to us.  It is not that they don’t have struggles but in appearance they seem to be being blessed.  A lot of these people are really unhappy because only God can bring true happiness.  How many of us have heard about people who seem to have everything, fame and fortune, but they end up committing suicide because they are not happy?

Where I really want to be is in the first group, relying on God.  Our human nature just wants to get involved with God’s plan for our lives.  I struggle with this quite regularly.

We have recently had financial difficulty.  I have had to get a job outside the home.  I already have been working in our home business but now I needed to add more.  The Lord did provide me a job where they call me in when they have extra work and need my help.  I told the Lord, “You provide the work I need through this company.”  For the first several weeks I was really busy.  They were saying how they were so busy compared to what they had been.  Then things kind of dried up.  They really wanted me there but the work just was not coming in.  Of course my human nature took over and was asking God “why”.  He knew we needed the money.  I kept taking it and then giving it back to Him again.  When I would give it back to Him they would call me in for a day or two to work.  But then when they were caught up there was not work and I would say, “Lord, Why?”  Then finally I gave it back to Him.

Then one day the boss asked me if I would be interested in a part-time job that would be more regular.  One of the other employees needed to cut back to part-time.  Now I can see God’s plan but I could not before.  Now I am being trained in to an actual position in the company.  Why does it take me so long to learn?

After that happened the Lord brought something to my attention.  I read a quote that was referring to what patience means.  “Accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.”  When I read this I was like, “Lord, You’re being loud and clear.”

 

The devil wants to try to discourage us by the things he brings into our lives but we need to allow God to use those things to refine our character.  I believe that nothing comes into our lives unless it passes through the hands of God.  God has to give permission and He only gives permission to those things that He knows will help us make the decisions we should and refine our character.  Unfortunately we can’t see the things that the Lord does not allow through.  If we could see all the things that the Lord protects us from we would be amazed.

So what is the conclusion to all of this?  There are three things that I would recommend doing.

  1. Don’t look at people. We cannot read the heart of any person.  We can’t know the situation of any person.  But God sees it all.  Leave other people with Him and don’t use them for your example in life.  People will always disappoint us.
  2. Focus on God. Keep your focus on God alone.
  3. Give everything to God and let Him work out the details. We need to cooperate with God but let Him take control of all things.  Just like when I applied for the job that was, “We will call in when needed”, I had to rely on the Lord.  But I also couldn’t sit back and wait for someone to knock on my door and say we have a job for you.  That is not how God works.  We step forward and do, and then He does the rest.  But we have to leave the outcome in His hands after we have stepped forward.

Human nature wants to be in control so it is hard to fully hand it to God and let Him take care of it.  You all have probably heard the saying that goes something like this,  “God is never too late but rarely early but always on time.”

It is a hard thing to trust God but I have found that as I have the outcome is so much better.  The more we trust the more we can see the hand of God in our lives and then it makes it easier to trust.  Having a journal can be a good way to remember what God has done for us later on when things seem tough.  You can go back and read what the Lord has done.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your love and patience.  Thank You that You love us so much You do not give up on us.  Continue to guide us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give everything to God today.  You can trust Him.

What have you found to be the most helpful way to learn to trust God?

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“Please Save Them!!”

Most of us have children and if you don’t have children you have someone who you desperately want to surrender their life to Christ.  Some are living in such danger physically as well as spiritually that we struggle everyday with our thoughts of them. We can get discouraged and sad.

One of the things that I have found comfort in is praying for my children or any person that is burdening my heart.  There are times that fasting is in order, as well, along with prayer.

What I want to do today is share some of the prayers that I pray for my children.  They can be prayed for anyone but in this post I am directing it toward children.  You can read my “Happy Mother’s Day!” post on actions we can take along with prayer.

Each paragraph can be used as a separate prayer.  I don’t always pray all of these at one time.

Dear Father,

I commit my children to you today; give me counsel and instruction.

Lord, Put a hedge about my children today.  Guard our children and us with Your Holy Angels from Satan’s cruel power.

Lord, Give me my children buried in the rubbish of error, or I die!  Bring them to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.

Lord, Impart Your grace to my children.

Lord, I pray for my children.  Help me as I see them to see You as You hung bleeding upon the cross for them.  Help me to be earnest, broken, and humble as my petitions ascend to You for wisdom that I may have success in saving not only my own soul, but the souls of my children.

Lord, Give me blessings, from You, that I may communicate to my children.

I pray that You will heal my children’s broken hearts and bind up their wounds.

Lord, help me to be an agent through whom You will speak to my children.  Bring precious things to my remembrance and with a heart flowing with the love of Jesus, I will be able to speak words of vital interest and import.  So that my simplicity and sincerity will be the highest eloquence, that my words will be registered I the books of heaven as fit words, which are like apples of gold in pictures of silver.  Help Your words, through me, to become a healing flood of heavenly influence, awakening conviction and desire and Jesus will add His intercession to my prayers and claim for my children the gift of the Holy Spirit and pour it on my children’s soul.  And then there will be joy in the presence of the Angels of You over one child that repents.

Lord, help me so that my prayers are not selfish, asking merely for my own benefit.  Help me to ask so that I can give.  Help me to have the principle of Christ’ life.  For my children’s sake, help me to sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified.  Help me to have the same devotion, the same self-sacrifice, the same subjection to the claims of Your Word that were manifest in Christ.  I know my mission to my children is not to serve or please myself;  I am to glorify You by co-operating with You to save my children, who are sinners.  I am asking for blessings from You, Lord, that I may communicate to my children.  I know the capacity for receiving is preserved only by imparting.  I cannot continue to receive heavenly treasure without communicating to those around me.  Please help me in this, Lord.

Lord, I pray that the melting love of God may warm and soften my children’s icebound nature.

Lord, I pray that the mighty energies of the Holy Spirit with all their quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, my fall like an electric shock on my children’s palsy-stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, restoring their whole being from their dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I have shared a few of the prayers that I pray and I pray they will be a blessing to you.

I would encourage you to never give up.  Keep praying.  And let’s pray for one another.

Love you all.

Have you ever felt discouraged about your children or someone else you pray for?  What has given you the courage to keep up the work?

 

 

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“I Can’t See Where I’m Going!!”

Have you ever felt like you are going along in life and you really can’t see where you’re going? I believe we all feel that way at times. We maybe have made plans for our lives and things seem to be going as planned. But then things come into our lives and we don’t know where they came from and how we are going to make it through. We wish we could see as God sees so that we could understand the reason for our trouble.

I remember when I was around 20. I had a job that required me to drive around 45 minutes to work. We lived out in the country in a farming community. My drive was mostly on narrow, curvy roads. I recall one particular day when I was on my way home. It was dark and snowing really hard. The temperatures were just right for the snow to freeze to the window. I had the heat on full blast, hitting the window. And my wipers were going. But it would build up and I could not see. I would have to reach out the window, grab the wiper and bang it. I had to do this every few minutes. I did stop once to give it a more thorough cleaning but that did not last much longer. It was nerve-racking, exhausting, and dangerous. The car was a manual, adding to the difficulty. Thankfully I made it home safely. I do not enjoy times like this and I am always grateful to be on the other side of it.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel the same way in my Christian walk. I can be going a long and everything seems fine then a “snow storm” hits and I can’t see the way in front of me. The trials and temptations seem to stick to me. I keep reaching out and trying to “scrape” the effects away so that I can see clearly but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. It helps for a short time but then again I can’t see clearly. Then the frustration sets in. I am pouring on the “heat” (prayer) but it does not seem to be enough. I am putting forth the effort the “scrape” the temptations and trial away by spending time in God’s Word. What is going to make the difference?

I think there is good reason why God does not allow us to know what is coming. I think back to my drive home. If I would have known how bad of a drive it was going to be I might have stayed parked in town for an hour to see if it would pass over. Another words I would have stopped moving, at least for a time. I think the same is true of our lives. We would fail to keep moving forward if we could know what is going to happen. Maybe I would not have had children if I would have known that I would have lost one, maybe if we knew we were going to get in that car accident we would not leave home, or maybe we wouldn’t get that job if we knew what temptations we would in counter, etc. The problem is that if we always knew what was going to happen next we would live out of fear and we would never move or grow.

The question is what can we do about it. I have a 6 steps I would encourage you to do. They may seem elementary but sometimes I think we forget the simplicity of God.

  1. Spend time with God. You may be thinking, “I already do that and it doesn’t seem to be helping.” It may seem that it is not helping but it is foundational. Just like I needed to keep banging the ice off my windshield wiper, we need to keep in God’s Word.
  2. Spend time in prayer. We need to continue to pray, crying out to God. We need to keep the heat on that old devil and praying is a part of the formula.
  3. Memorize Scripture. Hide Scripture in your heart so that when the trials and temptations come you can quote His Word. Satan hates God’s Word and that will make him really start “melting”.
  4. Praise God. I have found that if I praise God through the trials I find blessings. This also turns the “heat” up on the devil.
  5. Ask God, “What are you wanting to teach me through this?” Everything that comes into our lives is for a purpose and as we ask Him, He will show us what refining we can gain through our situation. It may take time for us to see it but He will show us if our hearts are open to listen.
  6. Surrender all to Him. As we surrender to Him it will no longer just be us reaching out and banging off the windshield wiper. His hand will be over ours and His strength will be added to ours. As we cooperate together with Him we will have peace through the circumstances and trials. Things around might not change but God can help us live through these refining experiences with joy and peace. Remember His strength is made perfect through our weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Dear Father,

We struggle so much with giving all to You. We feel that if we give up our control that everything will go out of control. But the reality is that as we give all to You, giving up our rights and our control, we will have the peace that passeth all understanding. It is true that it does not make human sense but we want to trust You. Continue to prompt us with Your love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I have had the peace of God when I have surrendered and it is so much easier. But I still have not learned to always give all to Him. I just encourage you do try it. No matter what you are going through, today, give these steps a try to see the blessing that comes.

Love you all.

These steps are definitely not exhaustive so I would love to hear from you. What have you done to help you through the trials and temptations of life?

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“The Machine is Jammed!”

Sometimes we can be going along in life and everything seems to be flowing pretty well.  Yea, there are little bumps here and there but they work themselves out without a hitch.  But then there are those moments we go through things and we feel as if we have gone through the wringer.

A few days ago at where I am working we were sending these little papers through a folding machine.  When the piece went through one section it was folded in half and then when it went through another section it got folded in half again.  The papers were so small.  It was either at the minimum or just below the minimum that the machine could handle.  We would get on a roll and it would be going very smoothly and then all the sudden a piece would go wrong and it would jam.  When one piece got caught wrong, there were several other pieces that would come behind and make a real mess before the machine could be shut off.  When the papers were pulled out they were very crumpled or torn up and not usable.  It took some time to clean up the mess and then start again.

It made me think about how our lives can be when we lean toward the minimum.  When we spend minimum time with God, minimum time in prayer, and possibly no time in hiding His Word in our hearts.  When the rough times come it really eats us up.  We get torn and bruised.  We may go through the same trials and hardships whether we are minimizing or maximizing our time with God but the outcome is different.

Believe me, you are not alone in this.  I have minimized so many times through my life it can be frustrating.  I ask myself, “What is your problem?”  It seems like a no-brainer but we can tend to forget.  We are no different from the children of Israel, in ancient times.  I know I have read the story and I have thought many times how stupid could they be.  And then I have to think again and I know I am not any different.  The Lord did so many miracles in their journey but all they could see was the hardships.

It is so easy to minimize.  The question is, “How do I keep myself from minimizing?”  There are no easy answer, or just fall into place answers, it takes making a decision and sticking with it.  It takes purposing in our hearts to not minimize.  The devil is going to find ways to keep you from having the time to spend with God.

Here are 4 tips that I have used that has helped me.

  1. Ask God to wake you in the morning.  I have found that God has no problem waking me when I should get up.  Now I still have to obey.  There have been times that I have thought, “I will just lay here a little longer and pray.”  Bad, bad, bad idea.  I end up going back to sleep.  The amazing part is that when God wakes me up I am wide-awake.  But when I don’t listen and end up falling back to sleep, when I do get up, I feel tired and I do not have the same strength through the day, even though I still spend time with God.  Obey God and get up.
  2. Make sure to have a planned routine.  This is really important.  If you just haphazardly try to do something, it will not last.  You have to have a plan.  A plan of prayer, what you plan to memorize, and what you are going to read.  Spending time in God’s Word is important.  Maybe you want to get a plan to read your Bible through in a year.  There are several plans out there you could use.  Here is one suggestion: http://oneyearbibleonline.com.  I haven’t actually used this plan but it looks like a good direction.  You can choose to read a chapter out of four different books each day so you don’t get bogged down in Leviticus or Deuteronomy.
  3. Write down what you have learned.  Instead of just reading, write down something each day that was an encouragement, something new you didn’t know, or something that is just fascinating.  Keep things alive by making it practical for your life.
  4. Journal.   I have not always journaled but it seems that journaling about our days, what we are going through, and God’s blessings, can be a blessing.  And when we forget how God has led us we can look back more easily and remember as we read through our journal.  You can also do this in prayer form as well. These are not exhaustive by any means but just some of the practical things that have helped me.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your goodness.  For Your willingness to even awaken us for the time with You.  I long for the time when we can be together with You forever.  Continue to walk beside us and prompt us to spend that time with You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember that Jesus longs to have time with You.  It is through this time, building a relationship with Him, that will help you to overcome and manage the trials of each day.

Love you all.

Have you struggled with finding the time to spend with God?  What have you done to keep it going in your life?  I would love to hear your ideas.