Just Praising Jesus

Well, I told you that I would come back and share when I had something that I felt was worth saying. So my profound statement for the day is . . .

. . . Praise God for He is so good!

After an intro like that I bet you expect me to have a wonderful story to tell you about something grand that has happened in my life today. Well sorry to disappoint but no earth shaking story to tell.

Today was just an ordinary day in the ordinary life of an ordinary wife and mother; except for the one extraordinary thing ~ I am a child of the King, God Most High! Me(and you too if you know Jesus)a wretched sinner. I am loved by God. The God of grace sent His very own Son to redeem me so that I could have a relationship with Him!

Now people if that doesn't make you want to say "God is so good," well lets just say I think you better check your priorities!

So, I'm gonna say, "Ta-ta" for tonight and go sing a few praise songs to my Jesus!

Dead Without The Spirit

Have you ever been in a place where you felt a sense of unease or discontent; almost to the point of feeling numb, or like you are just walking through the motions of life? This is a place where you perform the daily tasks of life in something of a fog. You are not angry, worried, or fearful.

You wonder and question what is wrong, yet you cannot put your finger on anything specific that is out of place. When you consider your life you realize that you have so much to be thankful for. You realize that you are truly blessed, especially given the economic times. Yet, you continue to struggle to find the rest, peace, joy, and contentment in your heart that you so long for.

For me, that has been the way my days have rolled by lately. I have wanted to write something to post here on my blog, but I have felt that I had nothing to say. For those of you who know me best you will know that it is a rare occasion when I can’t at least come up with something to praise God about. And, that is just it!! I do have many things that I should be praising God for. But, I just don’t seem to have the energy, or the heart to sit down and type anything out.

Given my health status I wondered if my Parkinson’s Disease was causing me to be suffering from apathy, or an increased level of depression. But, I don’t really feel apathetic. Nor, do I feel that my depression level is increased. So, I decided to pray and think about what I am feeling and see if I could come to some conclusion about this strange malady that I have felt was trying to consume me.

Today, Praise God, I think I may have been hit on the head by something.

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
Romans 8:11

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit,. . .”
John 7:38-39b

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13a

What do those verses mean in relation to what I have been feeling lately?

What I felt God was speaking to me is this, “I have not been fueling myself through a connection with the Holy Spirit. I have not been tapping into the power of the Spirit living within me. I have not connected with the stream of living water, nor have I sought His Spirit of truth."

This must cease! I will not allow the evil one to steal another minute of my time, or waste anymore of my days by filling my mind with thoughts like, “I have nothing to offer. Who do you think you are? Who would want to hear anything you have to say anyway?”

In and of myself I may not have much to say, but the Holy Spirit who lives within me does have Much to say! He desires that I proclaim the love of Christ to everyone who will listen, through whatever means I have at my disposal.

No, I may not be gifted or talented in the skills necessary to get the message out, but I don’t need to be. I just need to allow the Spirit to speak through me. I just need to allow the Spirit to fill me with God’s truth, refresh me with living water and sit with my fingers poised over the keyboard and ask Him to be the driver.

As I typed those words, the lyrics of a song came to mind. "Oh, praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!" (Sing along here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI )

Okay, so now I’ve got us in the mood to praise HIS name, go ahead and sing along with this one too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ

Be blessed everybody! I'm gonna run off now to have myself a little talk with my Savior and then listen to the Spirit to speak truth to me!

I know I have a whole new attitude now; now that the Lord has my full attention. I’ll let you know what He wants me to reveal soon, so come back and check me out again in a few days!

SERIOUS OBEDIENCE

“Knowing the correct password – saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance – isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience – doing what my Father wills.” ~ Matthew 7:21 MSG

Have you ever struggled over and over with a problem and not been able to bring any resolution to bear on the situation, much less been able to come to a point of peace? If so, then this post will resonate with you. If you have never experienced the feelings that I will discuss today could you leave me a comment to let me know your secret, because obviously I struggle; boy do I ever.

Sometimes I can be such a dunder-head. And, I say that with sincerity and acceptance. Since the Christmas break I have been struggling with the feeling that I was being sucked down into a black hole. You see, I have me a sit-u-a-tion, and I have been at a loss to figure out how to fix the problem. This hole was not only getting deeper, but I began to notice that the hole was filling with a great deal of mud and muck. Along with the mud and muck I began to notice that the air was also becoming foul.

I began to search for a way out. I didn’t like where I was at in my struggle to find resolution, but I was failing to see the way out. I pondered the issues facing me. I rolled them around in my mind. I struggled in my own way trying to find clarity and solutions to the dilemma which was my adversary. I stayed awake at night and read some books by a few experts on the topic. All to no avail.

By now a few weeks had passed and to be honest I was beginning to become quite peeved at the notion that I, a usually bright, articulate, caring and responsible adult could not find an answer to my conundrum. Then today, thankfully, the light-bulb moment finally came.

GOD! God came through! (Praise His name, He always does!) I finally (told you that I sometimes am a dunder-head) realized that I had failed to seek God and ask Him to provide an answer to my problem. Well, if I’m being totally honest with myself and you, I probably was blocking my mind from seeking God’s wisdom because I kinda already knew the answer to my problem is that I need to change.

It came down to the fact that I needed a good ole dose of being “seriously obedient” to the Lord. I was being stubborn and selfish. I can be that way at times! Oh, yes mam I certainly can! I didn’t want to speak to God about the issue because I didn’t want to hear what God’s will would be in this situation because I wasn’t ready to do His will. Are any of you ever like that too?

So, I realized that I had myself a case of serious need for repentance going on. I was looking for a shortcut. I didn’t want to give my total and vigorous attention to the problem. I wanted to be selfish and keep doing things my way and asking God to bless my pitiful efforts and have Him change the situation so that my way of doing things would work. How pitiful is that?
Today however, God finally broke through my toughened, calloused heart about this issue. I finally heard loudly and clearly, “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need.” (Matthew 7:7 MSG) I realized that what I needed was not to be right, but rather to be happy and at peace. I realized that the only way for this to happen was for me to give in to God and come into serious obedience and do things God’s way.

I spent time on my knees confessing my need. I confessed that I was being sinful, arrogant and proud in my efforts to solve my problem in my own power. I cried out to God asking Him to reveal His plan and His solution. I asked Him to soften my heart to hear His voice and to follow His prompting.

Now I am feeling at peace. I know that walking according to God’s plan and direction will not be easy. Hence why I was so stubborn about seeking Him for answers in the first place. But confessing my need has freed me from the bondage of sin that was holding me captive. I may not get things perfectly right, but I have once again learned the lesson that I need to depend upon my Savior for all things, not just be willing to give Him the easy places in my life. When I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, well, that’s where and when I need Him the most. I just have to remember that and go to Him constantly in prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to lead me and keep me on track, confessing my failures as I go along to keep me balanced.

I am so grateful that God never gives up on me, even when I am being a dunder-head and am failing to live in serious obedience.

BTW ~ For a little insight into what my sit-u-a-tion was, drop in on Renee Swope’s blog. This week she is providing tips and encouragement to parents about all kinds of parenting issues as she teams up with the D6 team.


Further Verses to Consider:

Matthew 7:13-14 MSG –
“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. . . . The way to life – to God – is vigorous and requires total attention.”

Matthew 7:7 MSG –
“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need.”

Isaiah 16:3 MSG –
“People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.”


"Dear Lord, give me a hunger and a thirst to always seek Him. May I always take everything to Him in prayer. Not as I did in this situation, as a last resort, but first and foremost for our God alone can show me the way through a difficult landscape. His guidance, love and grace are all I need! In Jesus name, Amen."

Blessings to you all!

Roots of Faith

“These commandments that I give to you to day are to
be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.”
Deuteronomy 6: 6-8

"God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly
patient—so much love, so deeply true—loyal in love for
a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. Still, he doesn't ignore sin. He holds sons and grandsons responsible for a father's sins to the third and even fourth generation."
Exodus 34:4

The other day as I was combing my hair and I was gazing into the mirror, I realized that my hair color needed to be touched up; my roots were showing. I have been coloring my hair for a while now to combat the gray. This task is something that must be done repeatedly, if not then I live with the effect that I noted in the mirror; the roots of my natural color peeking through at the scalp. This need for ‘touch-up’ was making me look old, worn and tired.

I relate my hair needing a touch-up to my need to keep myself spiritually glowing and renewed. To do this I must stay in touch with Jesus through reading the word and through frequent prayer.

I, like all sinners, have a great need to cover my less-than-desirable behavior with the love of Jesus. However, for this cover-up to take effect and hold, I cannot just spend a few minutes once every six or eight weeks reading His Word. Rather, learning to glow for Him requires that I spend quality time in His presence every day.

Remember when Moses spent time on Mt. Sinai with God? When he returned to camp his face glowed. This glow came not because of anything Moses had done, but simply from being in the presence of God. That is a most humbling thought.

As I thought more about my roots I realized a parallel between the roots of my hair and the deep faith that comes from being blessed to have an extended family of Christ followers.

I was raised with a built in support system that was ready and willing to keep me focused on following God. This support system came from an extended family of prayer warriors, teachers, encouragers, and ministers. Each one of these people, Uncle’s, Aunt’s, Mother, Father, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc., have held me up and have supported me along my faith journey. I realized what a rare honor it is to have such a rich history godly family members.

When I look around today I see so much dysfunction in families. Children are living in broken homes and are missing out on the blessings that can come from being a part of large Christian family.

One of the members of my extended family was my Uncle Locke. Uncle Locke was a minister who loved the Lord and served Him all the days of his life. It was he who introduced me to the Lord on April 13, 1974.

My Uncle Edgar was also a minister. I cannot name one of my Aunt’s or Uncle’s who did not know the Lord and each one strived to serve Him all the days of their lives. Some were vocalists and sang in their church choir, others were Sunday school teachers, and others worked in the private sector yet lived their lives in such a manner that God was given praise, honor and glory.

My mother and father were Christians who lived life using principles developed through their personal relationship with the Lord. My dad was a deacon and served in our church for most of my life. My mom served on many committees and was always practicing hospitality. It was a rare occasion when we did not have an extra mouth or two around the table for Sunday dinner.

Growing up I could spend time in the home of any one of my extended family members and my parents were assured that I would be flooded with wise counsel that is only developed through a deeply intimate relationship with the Lord.

Unfortunately having this rich and wonderful family of faith could not keep me focused and bound to the Lord. For many years I walked away from the faith. I lived a life characterized by sin. I had allowed earthly challenges, hurts, anger, and disappointment to cloud my vision. The evil one was all over any negative circumstances that came into my life. I began to listen to his lies rather than reaching deep into the foundation of my faith and turning toward God and the big roots of my faith. I began to think that the only way I could survive was on my own.

For many years I believed that God had forgotten about me. I believed that my profession of faith in Jesus had not been enough. I could see no other reason why I had been subjected to the pain and devastation that I secretly lived with. I could not understand how a God of love would allow so many hurtful attacks to come upon one life and rather than face my pain I chose to burry it under more bad decisions and sinful practices.

As I look back across the years and pages of my life, to those many years where I was not living out a life characterized by the love of the Lord, it was then, when I was the most venerable that He was carrying me.

Now with a life fully dedicated to service of My King, I can honestly thank God for the blessings of family life. As I attempt to show my boys what a godly mother looks like I draw from the rich well of memories that those who have gone before have left behind.

It is my greatest desire in life to live each and every day expectantly waiting for my God to show me where I am to be at work for Him. That my witness will leave a lasting imprint on the ones I love and that one day they too will look back and praise God for deep roots of family faith.


Thoughts to Ponder:

How did your family impact your life?
If there are Christians among them do they know how their witness affected you?
What legacy are you leaving for the next generation?