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Spiritually B A L A N C E D Part 2 of 8

B A L A N C E D

Be open to the Holy Spirit

Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

Lament for your sins

Allow God to work in your life

Nourish yourself with God’s Word

Commune with God

Exercise faith in God

Draw strength from God

Keeping our lives balanced can be a challenge whether it is physically or spiritually.  And the next part in our series for a balanced life is no exception.

Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

It can be difficult to truly acknowledge we are a sinner.  We might be able to say it but to really understand what it means is a totally different story.  So the question would be, what does it mean to acknowledge that we are a sinner?  And how can we know that we are a sinner?

Start with…

The first way to know whether or not we are a sinner is to start by looking at other people,  right?  Wrong!!!  But isn’t that what we do a lot of times?  We look at ourselves as better than those people so we must not be that bad.  So we don’t see ourselves as we truly are.  But we are not any better than the next person.  We can look at the most horrific sin out there and think how horrible but that could be us because we have all been born with sinful flesh.  We are no better than anyone else.  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23.

Now you might be saying but I haven’t murdered anyone or committed adultery.  That may be true but in God’s eyes, sin is sin.  Sin separates us from God.  And remember to hate someone in God’s eyes is classified as murder and what you think in your heart can be adultery.  “…Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” Matthew 5:28.  It is about what is in our hearts and minds.

Begin by…

Where we need to begin is at the cross.  We need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and what He has done for us.  The more we focus on Him we see ourselves as we truly are and that is what brings us to the point of acknowledging that we are a sinner.  We cannot realize our need until we come to the point of seeing ourselves as we truly are.  Jesus said, “…For without Me ye can do nothing” John 15:5.  We can’t even see our wretchedness or our worth without coming to the cross.

When we focus on others we look at ourselves as “rich, and increased with goods, and having need of nothing;” and we don’t recognize the fact that we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” Revelation 3:17.  But when we behold Christ we see our need.  And as we behold Him we can recognize our sinfulness and our need for a Savior.  And that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags but His righteousness is complete.  We need to ask Jesus to come into our lives and let His righteousness live out in our lives.

Dear Father,

We need You to even realize our sinfulness.  But I am so grateful to You that as we come to the cross and realize how sinful we are, the cross also shows us how much we are worth.  Thank You for the love and worth that You have shown to us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Come to the cross today and every day for the rest of your life!  Jesus loves you with unfailing love and is waiting for You.

Love you all!

If you are someone that already comes to the cross each day what blessing has it been for you?

If you have not yet read part 1 in this series check it out here:  Spiritually B A L A N C E D Part 1 of 8

 

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Spiritually B A L A N C E D Part 1 of 8

I talked about having balance in our lives both spiritually and physically.   Now I am starting a series in both areas.  I pray that each one will be a blessing to you as we all grow.

Balanced!

In any of our lives, it can be difficult to have balance but it is crucial that we do what we can to create balance in our lives.  In this series on being balanced in our spiritual lives I will be covering these areas.

Be open to the Holy Spirit

Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

Lament for your sins

Allow God to work in your life

Nourish yourself with God’s Word

Commune with God

Exercise faith in God

Draw strength from God

In part one I will be focusing on Be open to the Holy Spirit.

Be open

After Jesus died for our sins and went back to heaven He sent us the great gift of the Holy Spirit.  And we cannot do anything without the Holy Spirit.  Christ works in our lives through the Holy Spirit and as Jesus said, “…Without me ye can do nothing…” John 15:5.

It is the Holy Spirit that draws our hearts and does the work within our hearts.  We wouldn’t even know anything about God and His love for us if the Spirit didn’t draw us.  He may impress others to share their testimonies, pray with us, or even share some truths from the Bible.  I call this seed planting.  But Jesus makes those seeds grow through the power for he Holy Spirit.

God never forces anyone.  He draws but it is up to us to be open to His drawing.  I believe every one of us, if we are honest with ourselves, can think of a time that we felt the drawing of the Spirit.  And there are times we listen and other times we don’t.  I can think of different times in my life that I didn’t listen to that “…still small voice” 1 Kings 19:13.  He comes to us so gently.  It starts with Him every time.

Think of someone, it may have been you, who grew up not even knowing anything about God and who He is.  God is drawing their hearts through the Holy Spirit.  They don’t know what it is but at times they listen to that still small voice.  I recall my mom telling me about getting the impression that she should or shouldn’t do a particular thing as she was growing up even though she didn’t really know anything about God.  Now that she is a Christian she can look back in her life and see when those times were and what the Lord was trying to save her from.

I have given my heart

Once we have been drawn and learned about Jesus and what He has done for us and we accept Him, He continues to speak to our heart through the Holy Spirit.  Is it an audible voice?  At times it may be but for me mostly it has not been audible.  It is really hard to explain what it is but for those that have experienced it they know what I am talking about.  You might call it an impression.

For me, I always like to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart through God’s Word.  As I read His Word the Spirit impresses me with those things that need to change in my life.  He has also spoken to me through individuals around me.  Sometimes when the Lord uses people we tend to not listen.  It can be a little more difficult but we need to be open to what others share with us.  Go before the Lord in prayer and ask the Lord if He is using the person to show you something.  If we are honest in our hearts we will know if it is from God or not.

What I love

What I really love about God is how caring He is.  He cares about everything in our lives and sends the Spirit to speak to us about the every day mundane things as well.  You would think that He would only care about the big things but not God He is interested in every part of our lives.  He wants to teach us that we can trust Him.  We don’t have to worry about anything that is going on around us.  He has our back.  And everything that happens will work together for our good, even though we can’t see it at the time.

What I realize is how much I really need to write down the things the Lord speaks to me about and whether or not I listened.  It would be good to be able to look back and see those things.

I remember one time when I was grocery shopping.  We all have our particular stores we go to and what we buy at each of those stores.  Well, this particular day I had an item that I wanted to get that I always bought at a particular store because it was less expensive.  I went to two other stores before I was going to the store where I would get that item.  At each of the previous stores I walked passed the very item and a little voice said, “Buy them here”.  But I was determined to get them at the store where it was less expensive.  You have probably figured this out already.  When I got to the store where I wanted to buy it, they were out.  It definitely would have made my life easier if I just would have listened.  But what amazes me about this story the most is that God cares about it.  He wants to help us with everything.  And it starts with listening to that still small voice.

Test the spirits

We do need to realize that there is more than one kind of spirit.  We need to be sure to test the spirits, whether they are of God.  Now obviously it wouldn’t matter to God if I buy a particular item at one store or another He is just trying to make my life easier.  But there are other things that do matter.  We need t always test the spirit by the Word of God.  Because there are evil spirits as well that can speak to us and people do mistaken it of the Holy Spirit.  But if we stay in God’s Word and test everything by His Word we will be safe.

This is why it is so important to spend time each day in God’s Word and in prayer.  We need to have knowledge that will help us discern the spirits throughout the day.  If we have hidden God’s Word within our hearts we will have the discernment that we need.

Dear Father,

We want to have Your Spirit drawing us.  It can be hard at times with our selfish hearts to listen but it is our hearts desire.  You have promised that You will never leave us or forsake us.  We claim that promise and ask for Your Spirit to soften our icebound natures that want to take over.

I pray that the mighty energies of Your Holy Spirit with all quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on our palsy-stricken souls, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, and restoring us fully from our dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Be opened to the Holy Spirit starting today!

Love you all!

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“I Am Glad You Have…?”

Sick!

I don’t know anyone that likes to be sick.  Now there are those that may pretend to be sick to get off work or school.  But if they are truly sick they are definitely not excited!

Recently, my daughter got sick.  And not only was it not exciting for her I was not too happy about it either.  Now is not the time to get sick with anything because of the pandemic that is taking place right now.  It causes your life to turn upside down.  Life changes and there is nothing you can do about it.

I had to call my work and let them know what was happening.   Naturally, they wanted me and my son, who also works there, to stay home.  “Until we know what she has we can’t allow you to be here and possibly put the rest of us at risk.”

And what did they do?  They scoured the place, Lysol, alcohol, sanitizing wipes, you name it they did it.  Because there is a fear of getting the deadly sickness that can change your life.  There are a lot of sicknesses that can be contagious and it can be good to take precautions so that you don’t get sick.   The biggest one is to keep your immune system strong.

Now one thing I want to be clear about here before I go on.  I am not writing this to take any side about what is true or not true about what is going on in our world today.  But what I want to do is derive a lesson that we can learn.  And in order to derive that lesson we are going to assume in this writing that what is being said is true, this sickness is deadly and you don’t want to get it.  I am not saying I necessarily believe that I am trying to show a spiritual lesson that we can derive from anything that comes into life.  And there are many!

What do I do now?

After calling my work and being band I wanted answers.  I was not going to sit around for 14 days to see what the outcome was I wanted to be proactive on getting this resolved so I could go back to work.

My next step was to call our family physician!  I told them, “My daughter has a fever and a really bad sore throat.  I need to figure out what the problem is so I can go back to work.”  I was informed that a nurse would need to call me back and ask some questions because they were not allowing anyone in the office with certain symptoms.  If she had certain symptoms I would have to take her somewhere else to be tested.

I waited for several hours for a callback but it finally came.  The questions were simple and because I could say no to all three they made an appointment for me to bring her into the doctor’s office.  We were grateful when she was diagnosed with something that you would normally not rejoice over.  But with what is happening in our world today what she was diagnosed with was better than the alternative.

It made me think

Then I got to thinking about sin in the life.  We often look at sin as if there are different categories.  We may think the sin of gossip is not as bad as murder so we are grateful that we may only have the gossip issue.  There are so many other examples that I could give but I think you get the idea.  But in God’s eyes, all sin is the same.  The sins that we think as “little” can be more dangerous to our spiritual life.  It can eat away at our spiritual life little by little without detection.

A disease of the body is like a sin to the spiritual life.  No matter what disease or sickness you have it takes you down physically.  The same is true with sin.  No matter what the sin is it has an effect on our spiritual life.  And just like some physical illnesses are contagious sin is contagious.  That is why it is so important to keep our immune systems strong and keep things out of our lives that lower our immune systems.

Now what?

What is the answer to our dilemma, whether it be physical or spiritual? The answer is really the same.  You need to build your immune system and do things that will support your immune system, whether physical or spiritual.

I am not here to talk about the physical or spiritual immune boosting ideas in-depth but I want to give a snippet to what is coming.  What about our physical and spiritual immune systems?  What can we do to help keep ourselves physically and spiritually well? I have an acronym that I have created to help us look at what things we can do to keep our immune systems strong, whether it is physically or spiritually.  We have to have a B A L A N C E D life in both of these areas.

Physical                                            Spiritual

Bed Time                                        Be open to the Holy Spirit

Aqua                                                 Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

Light                                                 Lament for your sins

Air                                                      Allow God to work in your life

Nutrition                                         Nourish yourself with God’s Word

Control                                           Commune with God

Exercise                                         Exercise faith in God

Dependence on God               Draw strength from God

God has no fear

When it comes to our physical or spiritual lives God has no fear of us coming to Him.  We don’t have to call up the Great Physician and ask if it is okay to come to Him.  He has no fear of “catching” what we have. We can come to Him at any time and He will be there for us.  There is nothing that is beyond His knowledge or control.  What a blessing!  He can take care of any disease, whether it is of a physical nature or a spiritual one.

God does not always promise to heal us physically but He does promise to heal us spiritually.  Spiritual healing is the most important.  If we die physically we have a great hope of the resurrection but if we die spiritually we have lost that hope.  I want to be healed spiritually!  How about you?

Dear Father,

Praise Your name that You are the great healer and You can heal us both physically and spiritually.  I am so grateful that I can trust You with my life.  And I am grateful that nothing comes into my life unless You allow it and it is for my good.  Thank You for Your unfailing love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep your spiritual immune system in tacked by connecting with God each day.

Love you all!

What do you do to help keep your spiritual immunity up?  Share below.

 

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“What?!! Trust Who?”

Trust?

In the world in which we live it seems very difficult to trust.  A young person has a hard time trusting their parents for multiple reasons.  Parents struggle with trusting their children.  It can be difficult to trust a salesperson and you wonder if they are caring about your needs or just trying to make the sale.  Social Media? Some people seem to think if they see it on Facebook, Youtube, etc., it must be trustworthy.  I have news for you it is not a good source to trust.

What about the young people of today?  Why is it that they have such a hard time trusting their parents?  It seems that this is a problem within the church as well as outside the church.  And I think a lot of people are wondering why.  Our young people should feel that they can trust their parents.  There is a lot more trust in us when they are very small but things seem to change as they get older.

Parents

God was the most perfect parent and He still had children that didn’t trust Him.  But I do believe that there would be fewer young people leaving the church if they had more godly parents. You might be saying,  “Well, the Bible says, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.’  And that is exactly what I am doing.”  This sounds good but my question to parents is are you training up your children in the way they should go?  Or are we training them like we would a horse or a dog?

I don’t want you to get angry with me or think I am pointing fingers.  I am writing this just as guilty as anyone.

My parents taught me all the dos and don’ts.  I was a more compliant child so I did what they taught me.  I am sure they showed me all the reasons and they felt that the reasons were good enough.  But when I left home I was doing the right things but did not have a saving relationship with Jesus.  My parents even today would tell you how they wished they would have understood more.  But that is what growing in Christ is all about.  We don’t have it all together.  We grow!

As a parent right now you may be doing all the right things in your life.  I am not saying that you are claiming to be perfect but you have the fundamentals of right and wrong down.  But I hate to break it to you, that is not going to save us and it will not encourage or teach our children to follow Christ.  It may even turn them off.  Especially since a lot of us may be trying to get them to do the things we are doing and we are really forcing it on them.  They may be compliant but still in a lost condition.

Answers

I have to say here that I don’t have all the answers.  And I definitely don’t have it together either.  But as I study more and more I see what the answers are and want them in my life.  It may seem discouraging and I may wonder if it is too late to rectify the influence that I have been on my children.  But I know that I can trust God’s promises.

Reaching our children or anyone around us starts with us.  As parents we are missionaries and our home is our first mission field.  And what we say doesn’t mean as much as how we live and what we reflect.  Who is the one that is the accuser?  Who is it that wants to condemn?  It is not our loving Savior.  Our Savior is compassionate, forgiving, merciful, loving, shows no anger, etc.  Even when Peter denied Him He looked at him with love.  How do we look and treat our young people when they do not do what we want them to do?

If we are trying to do what is right in our strength we are going to be pointing fingers, getting angry, frustrated, and not showing love and compassion to our children or anyone that does not do what we think they should be doing.  When they see us filled with anger and frustration, or a condemning spirit it doesn’t draw them to Christ.

It starts with us

The answer starts with us.  We may be doing all the “right” things but they mean nothing if they are done in our strength.  When we do things in our strength that is when anger, frustration, no compassion, etc comes in.  We have to allow the Lord to have control of our lives and let the Holy Spirit do the work in us.  If the changes in our lives are not through the power of the Holy Spirit we are not in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  And we cannot reflect Him to others.  Our children will not see Jesus in us and be attracted to a better way of life.  When we are doing it in our strength they see such a struggle in us they want no part of it.

Keeping the law

You may be saying, “I keep the law of God!  I worship God and don’t take His name in vain and I keep His day holy.  And I show my parents honor.  I do not kill, steal, commit adultery, bear false witness, or covet.”  I hate to break it to you that it is much deeper than this.  We may think we are not taking the name of God in vain, using swear words but if we are not reflecting Christ and claiming to be Christians we are taking His name in vain.

And we only have to break one to be breaking them all.  “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” James 2:10.  And Jesus said, “Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:19.  The teaching is done more through our actions than through words.  And if any of you are like me, we have failed bitterly.

Prayer

We need to be in much prayer.  Praying for the Holy Spirit to fill our lives and to change us.  I read once about what a young man had to say about his father and I pray we all can have this said about us by our children as well as others.  He said, “Father, I knew you then and I know you now.  I have seen such a change in your life will you mentor me?”  If we allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives our children will see a change in us.  As we perfectly reflect Him they will see it.

Dear Father,

You have promised Your Holy Spirit to all who ask.  I ask for Your indwelling Spirit to change my life.  I pray that everything I do will be through Your power and not my own.  And as I allow You to have full control my children will see something better and will be drawn to You.  Thank You for working in my life and the lives of my children.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in your life so that your children will not see you but Jesus.

Love you all.

Have you had an experience where you know you allowed the Holy Spirit to work instead of you pulling yourself up by your bootstraps?  Can you share how the difference feels?

 

Note:  Life has been a little crazy and changing in my life thus the break from writing but I hope to be getting back on track.

May the Lord continue to bless each one of you.

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“Ruth, You Were a Hero to Many!!”

Hero?

What is a hero?  Is it someone famous, wealthy, known by millions, etc.?  The dictionary’s definition is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”  Probably your definition of a hero may be different than mine or even the dictionary.  We all have our own thought of what a hero is to us.  But most people if you were to ask them who their hero was they would have someone.  My definition of a hero is someone that is close to God.  And when you are around them you feel the love of God shining through them.  It doesn’t mean they are perfect but that they are striving for being the best person they can be with the help of God.

Life changes…

Life changes so quickly!!  We have lost another friend.  In one weekend we lost two friends.  This friend has lived a long life and was a very special lady.  She was an encouragement to all.  It would be hard to even put down on paper what she meant to all of us.  She was so kind and loving and accepting of all.  Thankfully she went peacefully and in a position she was very familiar with, prayer.

She was at our church for many a year.  But then moved away a few years ago so she could be near her family.  She came for a visit recently and it was so nice to see her.  As I ponder how she looked she didn’t really look any different, she looked great.  I am so thankful we all got to see her one last time and that we got to see her how we remember her, full of life.

Homeschooling

I remember years ago as I was struggling to homeschool my children.  It seemed that there was so much work that was given, especially in math.  There were so many problems to accomplish in a day that it would take up most of the morning.  It was tough and discouraging.

So as a homeschooling mom and Ruth being a retired teacher she was helpful.  I remember when she told me that as a teacher they never finished books.  She shared with me that they never did every math problem in each lesson.  That took such a stress off of me.  I would push my kids way beyond what was necessary so that we could finish the book.  And I guess mostly we still finished the book but we would skip some parts, especially in math.  What this special lady said to me helped my children and me.

My children

She so much cared for each one in our family as well as everyone around her.  When she was here for the visit recently she told me how she still had Valentine’s card that my son, Michael, gave to her.  She treasured it.  She got to tell my son as well, which was a blessing to him as he heard the news of her death.  Many years ago Michael remembers getting a letter from her that was in the shape of a fish he has fond memories of her.  She was so caring.

Jeffrey, Aaron, and Caleb also remember getting letters from her.  When I asked each one of my young people what they remembered about Ruth, the letters she wrote was their first response.  The other thing that stuck out in their minds was when she would preach.  She always gave out a paper to each one of the children with 3 or 4 words on it.  They were to keep track of how many times she said those words.  Then after the service, she would count them and see if they got all the times that she said them.  During the week they would get a little card from her with compliments on how they did.  It was special to them.

She loved children and helped out at many Vacation Bible Schools.  She told the Bible stories and the kids just loved it.  One of the things that Jeffrey and Aaron remember is that before she would tell her story she would tell all the children to look at her and stay looking at her.  She would point to the bridge of her nose and tell them to keep their eyes there.  When someone would quit looking at her she would stop talking until everyone’s full attention was on her.

She also headed up a family class at our church when there were not enough kids to have a division.  All the families with children gathered together and she taught them all. She was able to reach from the youngest to the oldest.  There was a presence about her that drew everyone’s attention without her saying a word.

My daughter does not remember as much about her as she was younger but one thing I remember is how she opened her home for a baby shower for my daughter.  She opened her home many times for many people.

Elderly

When we first got to know Ruth she was elderly, in her 70’s.  But she had a burden for the elderly.  She faithfully planned a service once a month at the local care center besides visiting there other times during the week.  It seemed to me that even though she had a heart for all people that the elderly had a special place in her heart.  I don’t think she really considered herself elderly.  She kept her mind until the end and even was still driving, not many can say that.

The other thing that she did was memorize scripture.  She could quote whole chapters from the Bible.  When she would go to a care center she would often quote from memory large portions Scripture.  I can’t remember what it was now but I do remember her quoting a lengthy portion from Scripture for a sermon once.  It was so amazing to watch.

Music

Ruth loved music.  She never wanted music to be left out.  And she loved to sing.  There was just one problem.  She could not carry a tune and she had no problem admitting to the fact.  Although she could not carry a tune I can say it still was not that difficult to sing next to her because she did not sing all over the board like some that can’t carry a tune.  She pretty much stuck to one note or maybe two.  But it did not stop her from praising the Lord.  I, along with many others, are looking forward to the day when we are before the throne of grace and we get to hear the most melodious voice of Ruth.  She will be singing with such gratitude to God for His love and mercy.

Being that Ruth was a teacher she was a planner.  She even had a plan for her memorial service.  Planned out was the songs she wanted, the speaker, the players, the singers, and some of what she wanted said.  My son, Caleb and I had the honor of being on her list to sing.  We added in my daughter, who Ruth never got a chance to hear sing.  When I was asked if we would be willing to sing, I told them how can I say no?  It was a great honor.

Praying

She was a praying woman, a person of great faith, and she prayed for many!!  I can’t imagine how much time she must have spent in prayer.  But it had to be a lot because she prayed for so many people.  I believe that is one reason she lived to be almost 96 years old.  She trusted God implicitly; at least that is how it seemed to me.  I’m sure she must have had her time of worry but she sure didn’t show it.

Prayer is the key that opens the storehouse of heaven where God is waiting and willing to pour out His blessings into our lives and Ruth knew that.  Even at the end of her life, she was found kneeling by her bed.  There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the last thing that she was doing before she died was praying.  And I believe all her prayers will ascend before the Father continually even though she is resting until He comes.

Hero

To me, Ruth was a true hero.  She never looked at herself as a hero or even considered herself anyone special.  But what made her a hero to me was her connection with Jesus.  She reflected the character of Jesus to those around her.  Was she perfect?  No, she made her mistakes.  But she would also humble herself when the Lord spoke to her heart. Humans are not perfect and we should never put people on a pedestal.  But sometimes the only Jesus people meet is the Jesus that is reflecting through us.  And Ruth was one of those people.  She reflected the love of Jesus to all.  People felt her love and felt accepted of her.  She is resting awaiting the voice of Jesus to call her name.  And I know that there are many of us that want to be there when her name is called.

Are you…

So the question is are you ready?  Are you reflecting the love of Jesus to others?  The connection that we have with our Heavenly Father is the most important connection that we can have.  I know that Ruth wants to see all those she loved in heaven with her.  But she also wants to see all those she has never even met.  That is just who Ruth was, she loved all.  What is our legacy going to be?  I pray that I can have a legacy of love.

Dear Father,

Comfort those who are hurting.  We all miss Ruth but I know her family is hurting the most because of this loss so give them extra special comfort.  Thank you for giving Ruth such a long life to share Your love with others.  May she rest in peace until You come.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Draw close to Jesus so that you can reflect His love to others.

Love you all.

Did you know Ruth?  How did she bless your life?

 

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“Is She Going to Make It?”

Anxious!

Have you ever had something occur in your life and you get really anxious over it?  I am sure you have.  We all have events that take place that gets us anxious.  There are things that take place where we need some answers but we don’t know what the answer is and we aren’t sure where to get it.

I recall an event in my life that led me to this anxious feeling.  As far as how old I was I am not really sure but I think I was around 14 or 15.  At that time my dad was traveling on the road for his work.  So he would leave on Monday and then arrive back home on Friday.  We lived in an old farmhouse that was built back in the 1800s.  I loved that house.  We had two little ponds with several apple trees around them.  When we moved into the place we acquired a male and female goose and also one male duck and two female ducks.  They were lots of fun, most of the time.

Devastated!

One morning when my dad was out of town, I went out to feed the animals.  One of the ducks never arrived for the feeding time.  I grew concerned and went looking for her.  I found her in the second pond.  She was out in the middle, soaking wet.  As you know when you see a duck, soaking wet you know that there is a problem.  I don’t rightly remember how I even was able to get her but I finally got her.

As I picked her up I saw that she had a big hole in the back of her neck.  It was around the size of a silver dollar.  I could see the tubes that run through the throat.  She also had received damage to her body and her oil glans.  Things did not look good for her.

Let her go.

My mom was trying to figure out how we could put her to sleep.  I was not in favor of having her put to sleep.  I am an animal lover and I will do whatever it takes to save an animal if I possibly can.  So I said to my mom that I wanted to talk to dad.

For those of you that are younger it is hard for you to believe but cellphones were not a thing then.  And because my dad was on the road we could not readily get a hold of him.  He called us each day, morning and evening.  I can’t remember for sure but it seems the time to talk to him had passed.

I can’t readily remember how we got a hold of him.  But it seems that we had to call the main office.  He called into the office more than once a day at times and then, of course, when he got the message he would have to use a payphone.  He finally called us and I was so grateful.  When it came to animals my dad has the same heart I do.  And the reality is that God has the same concern for His creatures.  He sees when the Sparrow falls!  He loves the creatures that He has created.  My dad told me to call a vet and see what they suggested.

What?

Remember no Internet.  I had to grab a phone book and start looking in the yellow pages.  When I dialed the first vet I was shocked at the response from the receptionist.  She started laughing.  There was no sympathy or concern.  She let me know that they didn’t treat ducks.  I got the same response from one or two more vets.  At that point, I felt discouraged but unwilling to give up.

I finally got a sympathetic receptionist and doctor.  They let me know what cream I could get to put around the edges of the hole as well as her body.  It would take some work putting it on, keeping her warm, and getting her dry.  I did have concerns about her oil glans but the vet assured me that he felt they should heal without a problem if I just followed the directions.  There was still a little question but it was so worth trying.

Preparing

Some of the memories have gone from me, but my mom must have taken me in somewhere so we could get what we needed and get started with the treatment.  We also were able to find a large box to put in the house to place her in.  Somehow we put some heat in the box to help get her warm and try to get her dry.  You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to get her dry but it was not easy.  It was amazing to be able to learn what those glans do to protect them.  And realizing how the oils coming from the glans keep the water from soaking in and sheds the water was so fascinating.

…Stomach

It did require a strong stomach in order to treat the duck.  I did not really want to do it before or right after eating.  As I recall my mom did not want to do it at all.  We had bought this cream and the vet said to take it and smear it around the opening of the hole.  It amazes me that the hole was not bloody.  So it was not to terribly difficult to smear it on.  I did wear gloves to do it though.

Now when it came to her back and wing area it was bloody.  It wasn’t massive amounts though, thankfully.  I can’t remember for sure but I think I used the same cream on them as well.  If I am remembering correctly it was a process that I did more than once a day.  The poor baby was so scared but seemed to know that I was helping her.  She allowed me to do what I needed to do without any complaint.

Healing

I don’t remember how long it took but her glans started to heal and the oils started to work again.  There was a question as to how long or if the glans would heal.  When we took her out to the pond for a test run I was so grateful that she did not get all soaked again.

It took quite a while for the hole to heal and fill in again.  But it finally did.  It amazes me at the healing power that God has put within our bodies and the bodies of an animal if we give it the right conditions.  God has made everything with amazing wonder.  And as I study more and more about our bodies I am even more amazed.  We definitely did not get here by chance.  All of creation was designed with such amazing intricacy it is impossible to be put together by chance.  We serve such an amazing God.

Thinking…

I started thinking about this experience a few days ago and it made me think of our lives in relation to God.  To most of those around us, we may look like an impossibility.  Our lives are full of holes and so many wounds that they may think for us to be made whole again is out of the question and fully impossible.  How can all those wounds be healed?  How can there be any hope?  I mean they are soaked in sin.  They are bleeding and fearful, which is covered with anger.

They don’t reach out to someone for help because of their fear of rejection.  So you try to find someone that can reach out to them.  Everyone you turn to laughs at you.  “You have got to be kidding me, you really think there is hope for them?  We don’t work on those kinds.”

But then you finally find Someone (the right Vet) that gives you some help in knowing where to turn.  He tells you about this amazing Salve that can help to heal the wounds.  There is no guarantee that the wounds will be healed because there is a factor that can keep those wounds from healing.

Choice…

The most amazing salve that can help heal the wounds of the most wounded soul is God’s Word.  There are a couple of factors that can stop the healing.  First, it has to be applied with prayer.  Because the healing is brought about by the power of the Word as it is applied through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And the second factor is the power of choice.  The person that is wounded has the choice to be helped or not.  Some people reject help.  They are so used to going through life with holes in their heart and with bloody wounds that they feel uncomfortable being out of their “comfort zone”.

They also need to be surrounded by those that are allowing the Word to work in their own lives.  People who have allowed the Word to so pray their lives that they have a warmth that will draw and warm those who are cold.  Assembling ourselves together with others helps to keep all of us warm.  It is like a lump of coal, if you take it out of the fire it will become cold.  Or if you take a cold piece of coal and lay it in a fire it will start to warm and glow like all the others.  Again it is still a choice.  You can’t force someone to join in and be close to those that can warm him or her.  But we can continue to love and to draw them.

Faith

It does require us to have a strong “stomach” (Faith).  Reaching out to people that are wounded requires a faith that will withstand the wounds that may lash out at us.  Wounded people can be full of so much anger that they lash out at those that even love them.  But on the same token we can be so turned off by the way they portray themselves because of their wounds that we may not want to even be around them.

By faith, we need to claim the promises of God and know that the “Salve” (Prayer & the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit) will accomplish the healing.  It may take longer than we think but we need to continue to be consistent.

The healing may take time and may not happen depending on their choice but never give up.  If the duck had fought me and resisted she would have never lived.  The same is true as we work with wounded people.  But we should never give up.  Even if they will not accept anything we can pray for them.

Also, remember as people surround us that there are those that we don’t even realize are wounded.  So we need to be sure that as we interact with those around us that we are much in prayer.  We need to be as Jesus was when He was here on earth.  The method that Christ used on those around Him is how we should treat all around us.  It is His method that will when the heart of each person.  Remember it is not about us and what we think it is about Christ and what He thinks. As you look at people see Christ hanging on the cross for them.  Love them with a Christ-like love that only He can give as we surrender self to Him.

Healing

Healing can take time.  But the most amazing thing is that it will happen and they can be the most amazing people when their wounds are healed.  They become stronger than they have ever been as they cling to the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to wash them clean.

Maybe you who are reading this are the wounded one.  Let people love you.  Read God’s Word and claim the promises that He has for you.  Spend time in prayer pleading for God’s blessing.  Do not let Him go until He has blessed you.  There may be those around you that will hurt you, even those who claim to be Christians.  But don’t get discouraged because no matter what people think God loves you with an everlasting love.

Dear Father,

I ask for Your wisdom, as a Christian.  Help me reflect You to others.  I pray that each of us will see the value to work with others as Christ worked.  Help us to set self aside and only see You.  And allow You to work through our lives.

Lord, I also pray for those who are wounded.  I prayer that You will wrap reaches arms around them and that they will feel those loving arms.  Forgive us if we have wounded a hurting and fragile person.  Keep us focused on You and the love that You would have us spread to these hurting ones.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember to draw close to Jesus; He is the healer and reach out to those around you.

Love you all!

Do you have an experience to share about how God has helped in your healing process?  Or maybe it has been a person who has helped you?  Comment below about your experience.

If you are hurting and have no one around you to reach out to, reach out here.

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“What happened to the House?!!”

Things…

This seems to be a topic I keep coming back to but I think it is so important.  We take so many things for granted every day.  We live as if life will always be the same.  You never know when life can change forever.  We need to be grateful to God each day for what we do have.

Beginning…

Many years ago when my husband and I got married we had our dreams.  We started by buying the property.  We could not afford much so we placed an old mobile home on the property and lived hauling water for 2 years.  Our dream was to live in a mobile home for a small amount of time and then build a house.

As the years passed and the children were coming, we did not have the room we needed.  We only had a single wide 2-bedroom mobile home and the one-bedroom we have always referred to as the postage stamp room.

I remember having two kids in a bunk bed in the postage stamp room.  We had a baby in our room and a toddler bed in the living room under the overhanging counter from the kitchen.

Addition…

We finally built on an addition so we had more room.  We designed it in such a way that we could pull away the mobile home and build our house.  The design included an area for taking care of my parents when needed.  This has been the master bedroom, office, music room, etc. But we are coming up to our 30th year of marriage and we do not foresee a house coming into the picture any time soon.

There have been many changes over the years.  In 1995 we put a new kitchen in our old mobile home.  Since my husband is a cabinetmaker and we have our own business it seemed logical.

I don’t even remember the year but we qualified for assistance in making the mobile home better insulated.  They came and replaced all our mobile home windows to really nice windows.  And they sealed up the bottom of the mobile home with more insulation.  It made such a difference in the winter.  One year we remodeled the bathroom, which made such a difference.  We even had a solid surface countertop, leftovers from a cabinet job we did.

Then we remodeled the back bedroom furred out the walls a little and put in more insulation.  I am not kidding when I say, when we pulled the paneling away there were areas that were just paneling space and outside metal, no insulation.  This mobile home was built in the ’60s and they saved money on insulation, Lol!  And another year we remodeled the postage stamp room and made it just a little smaller so it could get better insulation.

Difficulties!

I remember when we first moved the mobile home up to our 10 acres.  We had no clue the amount of snow we would get.  It was a mild winter and we actually moved it on the property in the winter.  And into the snow belt non-the less.

We discovered very quickly the next year that mobile homes, especially old ones, do not hold up to the snow load.  So needless to say our roof was damaged.  Our ceiling started sagging with the water load and we would put holes in the ceiling so the water could drain out.  It also did damage to the roof’s structure.  So we had to build a roof over the top.

But then…

Even though we have had difficulties it has been a roof over us and kept us warm.  It has not been our dream and we still dream of having a house someday but at least we have a place to call our own to live in.  Too many times we are not grateful for what we have and we are always looking on the other side of the fence because we think it is greener.

But then a few weeks ago the reality really hit me how much I appreciate my home even though it isn’t my dream.  We almost lost our house.

We were all gone except one of my sons.  He was working in our cabinet shop and came into the house for something.  He smelt electrical and was going around the house to see where it was coming from but he could not figure it out.  As he was standing in the kitchen, suddenly flames started coming up from behind the gas range.  Thankfully he was able to grab the extinguisher and put the fire out.  But if he hadn’t been in the house it would have been gone.

Grateful

We tend to go through life taking everything for granted.  The thought of gratefulness each day that we have a house to come home to doesn’t really cross our minds.  We don’t think about the fact that we made it to and from work, school, shopping, etc., safely.  It just seems that most of the time we take it all for granted.

A lot of us may even pray before we leave our home asking for safety but do we send up a prayer of thanksgiving when we arrive home safely.  Maybe I am the only one that forgets to be grateful but I have a feeling that is not the case.  We get so caught up in everyday life we take life for granted.

Christians

As Christians, we should always be grateful.  We should understand the sovereignty of God and the life that He sustains us with every day.  I think we often use Him as a puppet.  We expect Him to provide and do in our lives what we expect and how we think our lives should go.

Then when things come along in life that is unexpected it is harder to keep our faith.  But the reality is we need to be so close to God that when those things come it makes our faith in Him stronger.  Because we trust Him so implicitly we can go on with joy in our hearts even in sorrow.

Jesus is our example!  “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.

Christ

I believe the Father’s presence surrounded Christ when He was here on earth and that nothing was allowed but that infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world.  This was actually Christ’s source of strength. And it can be the same for us.  When we are imbued with the Spirit of Christ we abide in Christ.  So every blow that is aimed at us falls on our wonderful Savior, who surrounds us with His presence.  Everything that comes to us comes from Christ.  The most wonderful thing is that Christ is our defense.  And even greater NOTHING can touch us except by our Lord and Savior’s permission.  We have this wonderful promise that He has given us, “All things” that are permitted “work together for good to them that love God” Romans 8:28.

We can be so grateful for the promises that God has given us to cling to.  And also for His Word that we have available to us at this time.  We need to treasure it.  We never know when we may not have the privilege of having the Word.  But we can hide it in our hearts and minds so we will always have it with us, no one can take that away from us.

Dear Father,

Your love abounds and is beyond our comprehension.  Thank You for Your unfailing love.  You are always there for us for which I am grateful.  Remind me each day, Lord, that without You sustaining my life and I would not be here.  I need You to remind me that You care even when the sparrow falls.  So how much more You care for me when I fail or have any difficulties.

Remind me of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and how You take care of them and they don’t worry as I do.  I can claim the promises You have given me that You will take care of me.  You will give me a way of escape in time of temptation.  In the time of crisis, You will work all things together for my good and the good of those around me.  I am forgetful, Lord, so I am asking You to do whatever it takes to help me remember.  Prompt me and guide me with Your presence.  Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer for not only myself but for each one of us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Don’t take life for granted!  Be grateful each day!  And give all your worries and trials to Him.

Love you all!

What evidence has God given you that He cares?  It doesn’t matter how big or small I would love to hear your story.

 

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“She’s Gone!!”

Life!

As humans, we tend to get so involved with our lives and what is going on around us that we take it for granted.  We leave for work or school each day just planning to come home to our family.  We don’t expect or even think about coming home and someone is missing.  I am not meaning that we should live in fear but I do think we need to take every day more seriously.  Every day we need to be grateful.

There is a family that lost their daughter recently.  They have been fighting for her life for several months.  I am sure their lives were going on as normal every day.  They may have even taken life for granted, I don’t know.  But then one day they woke up and life changed.  Suddenly house, money, work, etc., no longer meant very much to them.  All they wanted to do is save their daughter’s life.  They spent all their money and time finding ways to save her life because she meant more than anything else.

Now she is….

It is true that they made all this effort and now she is gone.  But they do not need to have regrets because they did all they could.  They sacrificed so much but it was so worth every effort.  They may feel regrets, which are only natural, but for all of us looking on we can see differently.

The pain they feel now is not explainable.  The emptiness will be difficult and the ache so real.  They need to be surrounded by love because even though the battle is over for their daughter it is not over for them.  There will be many days of sadness.

I never met this girl personally.  But through watching Facebook post I could see she loved the Lord.  She had Jesus in her heart.  She had the most important thing that anyone can have, faith and trust in her Saviour.  This is something that every Christian parent prays to see in his or her children.

Hope

As Christians, there is a hope that we have.  The pain is still enormous!  The emptiness remains real!  But I cannot imagine what it would have been like when I lost my daughter if I had not had hope.  Here are some verses that became a real promise for me.

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.  

For this, we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16

There are several songs that have blessed my heart over the years.  But there is one that sticks out.  It is a very powerful song and every time I sing it the chills it brings to me is amazing.  We have hope!

“We have this hope that burns within our heart,

Hope in the coming of the Lord.

We have this faith that Christ alone imparts,

Faith in the promise of His Word.

We believe the time is here,

When the nations far and near

Shall awake, and shout and sing

Hallelujah Christ is King!

We have this hope that burns within our hearts,

Hope in the coming of the Lord.”

—Wayne Hooper—

I believe the coming of the Lord is sooner than most of us realize.  The things of this world are falling apart rapidly.  The time is near and I am looking forward to being reunited with those I love, especially my daughter.

Time is…

Life can change in a moment and time is precious.  We tend to take time, life, people, etc., for granted.  Just remember we never know when we wake up what could happen that could change our lives forever. Keep your family and friends close.  Don’t take any time or people for granted.  You never know when today may be your last and you are leaving behind those you love.   Just love, love, love all around you.  Yes, it is more painful when they are gone but then you can live with no regrets.  You know that you loved them and showed it daily.

Giving all

This family that lost their daughter has given all to save her life.  And it has been worth every moment they have had with her.  They loved her so much that the temporal things of this earth meant nothing.  How much do you love those around you?  There is more than one way to lose a loved one.  Remember the things of this earth are not as important as those we love.

It also makes me think and ask the question how much do I love Jesus.  I should love Him more than anyone or anything.  What am I willing to give up for Him?  He should be more important than anything in life.  He is the One that brings true happiness even in the midst of the worst circumstances.  Give all to Him today and cling to His promises as you go through each day.  Just like these parents were willing to give all to save their daughter’s life we should be willing to give all to save our lives.  So that we can be with Jesus, the One who gave all that we may live for eternity.

Dear Father,

I pray for comfort for the family who lost their daughter.  You are the only One that can bring real comfort.  There may be others that read this that may be suffering, bring comfort to them also.  May all of us cling to the promises that You have in Your Word.  We long for the day when You shall wipe away all tears from our eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4.  Lord, we long for this quickly but we trust You with the timing.  I know You long to have as many as possible come to You.  Thank You for Your unfailing love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Draw close to the One that gave all for you so that you can live eternally.  Also, stay close to those you love.  You never know when it will be the last day of either one of you.

Love you all!

From your life experiences, what encouragement can you give this family who is suffering from their loss?  Please write below.

Note to my readers:  Even though their daughter is gone the money they have put out has been overwhelming.  If you can at all possible help them financially pay these medical expenses please donate at this link. Help this family

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“The Challenge!”

Challenge!

We have all embarked on a challenge in our life at one time or another.  It might have been the challenge of getting a college degree.  Or maybe you have challenged yourself to some physical achievement.  Whatever the challenge is you have to prepare for it.  And when you think you are ready for the challenge some times it is more challenging than you imagined.  My son did a challenge recently.  It was the challenge of climbing a local mountain the equivalent high of Mt Everest from sea level to the top, which is 29,029 feet.  He planned to do it straight.

Why?

Many people would wonder why in the world would he do such a thing.  He had decided that he wanted to do an Everest challenge but wanted to raise money for a local institution.  He had thought about raising money for a place that helps kids that suffer from learning disabilities because of his own struggles with learning.  But he could not find a place that he could involve.

Then he started thinking about a friend who at the age of 22 had committed suicide. Maybe he could find a local place that helps people that deal with mental health issues and help prevent suicides.  He found a local place and they were excited about the idea of being able to receive money.  They do a lot of free help and they need donations to keep going.  And then my brother committed suicide.  At that point, he made the push forward to make this happen.

His desire was suicide awareness.  Suicide is on the rise and we need to be aware.  And there are places that people can reach out to and get help.  A lot of times people won’t reach out to their family or friends.  But there are places that they can reach out to for help.  And he wanted to raise money to help this local crisis center.

Getting started

We got up before 3 a.m. the first morning.  By the time we packed up and got there he was able to start hiking around 5 am.  He had picked the steepest trail of the mountain because it would be fewer miles for the elevation.

We set up an aid station ready to do whatever he needed when he would arrive back after each ascent.  It didn’t take long for us to discover what foods were best for him and what foods did not work well.  One round he ended up sick and threw up because of what he had eaten.  From that time on we kept things very simple.  There were only like 3 or 4 things that he would eat.  He made sure to stay hydrated and kept his electrolytes up.  Another thing that he did was take a complex that helps support the joints and muscles with the discomfort and also a cream that he put on his knees and legs.  He also took a natural energy and stamina complex that helped with endurance.

Enduring

Any time someone enters into a challenge I think if they really knew what was ahead they may not choose to do it.  But thankfully we don’t know.  The hardest part for my son was hiking in the dark.  He was very fatigued and hiking alone.  In those moments he had to keep his mind focused.  Your thoughts can run wild and if you don’t stay focused a person could give up altogether.

When he started his journey his average for one round was about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  But as time went on and he got more fatigued it took him 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Before he ended it was taking him more like 1 hour and 45 minutes.  In order to reach the elevation, he was aiming for he had to hike up and down 16 1/2 times.

Support

As he hiked through the night we were there for him each time he came down.  But I also talked with him as he walked via the phone during those hardest times.  The next morning I decided to go up the mountain on his 15th time to meet him.  I met him halfway up the hill and came down with him.  And then I went up for his last trip, which he only had to go half way up.

I couldn’t imagine doing this challenge myself it was so grueling.  By the time he was done he had hiked for 28-1/2 hours, ascended and descended a little more than 29,029 feet, with only a 30-minute nap in over 30 hours.  It was tough!  What kept him going?  He had to keep his eye on the goal.  If he had wavered on the goal he would have failed.  Yes, he was discouraged at times but he still kept going, keeping his eye on the goal.

Another kind of…

There is another kind of challenge.  This challenge is achieving a higher elevation than 29,029 feet.  And each one of us as Christians has chosen this challenge.  Our goal is heaven.  It is like climbing a mountain.  There are times that it is so “steep” we don’t know if we can keep going.  Then as we get through those grueling times we have a mountain top experience.  And then we have a descent in our lives.

You know how it is when you go hiking.  You’re climbing a path and you’re getting tired you can’t wait to start down.  So you get there and what beauty there is at the top.  You start your journey down and it does not take long to realize that your knees can hardly take it.  Your knees become so painful.

Why?

When we become Christians we may be asked why.  There may be family and friends that question why we would give up the “fun” life and become a Christian.  Why would you want to go up that grueling mountain of “rules and regulations”?

The reasons are similar to the goal of an athlete/mountain climber.  It is to win!  It is to accomplish a goal that has been set.  The difference is that the Christian wants to win the race of life so that he or she can live eternally.  We don’t get a gold medal like here on earth.  But to me what we do get is the best trophy ever.  We get to be with Jesus who gave His very life so that we can be in a world without sin and sorrow.

Getting started

So when it comes to the goal for the Christian how do you get started?  What are the steps to success?  Just like my son started in the early morning for the success of his goal, started early with God is the way to start.  Each day we should start our day with God, reading His Word and in prayer.  We should be communing with Him throughout our day.  Each evening opening our hearts to God asking Him to reveal any sins that we have committed during the day.  As He reveals to us we can confess and forsake those sins.  Sin is a burden that makes our journey harder.

Enduring

In order to make our goal as a Christian, we need to endure until the end.  The journey can be grueling at times.  When we have a mountain top experience in our Christian walk it feels great.  We have struggled and as we get to the top the beauty is spectacular.  But then things happen that start us on a downturn.

We may start to realize that something is not right.  Our “knees”(experience) seem to be “aching” but what is the problem.  The reality is that we have started down from our mountain top experience.  At this point, we need to fall on our knees asking God to show us how to continuing in our journey for the goal of heaven.  And He will help us.  We need to keep our focus on the goal.

Support

We cannot make it in the Christian race without a support team and we have the greatest support team ever, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

It is great to have a human support team.  Having a church family is great for support.  But they will not always be there for us.  We need to have our full trust in God.  God is the greatest support.  We can “call” any time and talk, during the good and bad times.

Just like my son struggled in the darkest hour of the night we as Christians sometimes struggle.  In those darkest hours, God is there and all we need to do is “call” Him and He will see us through.  He will feed us from His Word and give us encouraging thoughts that He brings into our minds.  He encourages us to rest in Him.  This journey can be very tiring if we are not resting in Him.

Dear Father,

Thank You that You are always there as a support team for anyone that will accept it.  Help us in keeping our eyes focused on the goal of heaven.  Keep our minds on You bringing Your Word to our minds throughout the day.  Give us the strength that we need by empowering us with Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep your eyes on the goal and don’t waver.

Love you all.

Do you have an experience that you have been through where you know that God was there beside you and seen you through?  Please share your experience below.  I would love to hear it.

Note to my readers:  Due to my limited time, I will be cutting back on how many times I am writing per month.  Instead of writing once a week I am going to start by doing one every other week and see how that goes.  I pray you are blessed by my experiences and what God shows me through those experiences.

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“Preparing for the Challenge”

Challenge!

We all have had something in life that we have had to prepare for that has been a challenge.  Maybe you had a test a school that you had to prepare for.  If you are athletic maybe you had to prepare for a race or sports event.  There are also things that you may have to prepare for at work, whether a report or solving some problem.  Every day no matter where we are and what we do we have challenges that we have to prepare for.

As I write my son is preparing for the biggest challenge of his life.  It is something that he has never done or faced before.  He is planning to hike a local mountain the same elevation of Mt. Everest from sea level to the top, which is 29,029 feet.  How can a person really prepare for such an event?  And why would someone do something so crazy?

It may seem crazy but for my son, it is remembering.  After losing a friend to suicide and then his uncle he wanted to do something to help raise awareness to mental health needs.  And to bring awareness to the fact that there are places available for people to go for help.  Depression and suicide are on the rise everywhere you turn.  And it happens to those that you least expect.  And with this challenge he wants you to help by donating to a local crisis center that helps people who are dealing with mental health issues that could lead to suicide.

Preparing

How do you exactly prepare for such an event?  There is a lot of physical, mental, and emotional preparation.  You have to be eating healthy.  And figure out how to sustain your body through the physical push that you put your body through to do such an event.

My son has been physically training every chance that he gets, hiking, running, climbing, etc.  And making a list of those things that he should be eating or drinking during that time.  He needs to have things that are high calorie but also healthy.  You can get high-calorie items that are so unhealthy that it defeats the purpose.  Many do it but in the long run, what it does to their health brings disaster later.

Another challenge

There is another kind of challenge that came to my mind as we were preparing for this physical challenge.  This challenge is of a spiritual nature.  The Christian walk is a challenge.  When a person decides to become a Christian there are things you need to do to be able to meet the challenges.  And to accomplish the goal, heaven.  Just like we had to know the best food for my son to eat to keep his strength up to endure, we need to keep ourselves fed spiritually.  We need strength each day to endure the testing and trials that may come our way.    We need fuel to keep up our strength.  And it needs to be the right kind of fuel.

Preparing

When you are doing something that is challenging physically fueling with the correct things can help you endure and come out successful.  But if you don’t it can be disastrous.  The same is true of our Christian walk.  Our refueling needs to be something that truly strengthens us in our spiritual walk.  Reading God’s Word and prayer are the key components.  There may be other things that we think could be good to strengthen us but in the long run, it is destroying.  Just like in the physical world you need to be intentional about what you use for fuel so in the spiritual.

Dear Father,

It can be so easy to get distracted and start fueling with things that are detrimental.  Keep prompting our hearts to stay connected with You through Your Word and prayer.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember to keep refueling!  And make sure it is of a nature that will strengthen you spiritually and not drag you down.

Love you all.

What challenges have you had spiritually or physically?  What did you do to refuel?