July 3rd, 2011
I came across this (very old) poem which I think is perfect for this week. Are you going through trials and wonder why - what purpose your suffering is accomplishing? Perhaps these words will give you some hope and insight.
God Meant It Unto Good (Gen. 50:20)
"God meant it unto good" - O blest assurance,
Falling like sunshine all across life's way,
Touching with Heaven's gold earth's darkest storm clouds,
Bringing fresh peace and comfort day by day.
'Twas not by chance the hands of faithless brethern
Sold Joseph captive to a foreign land;
Nor was it chance which, after years of suffering,
Brought him before the monarch's throne to stand.
One Eye all-seeing saw the need of thousands,
And planned to meet it through that one lone soul;
And through the weary days of prison bondage
Was working towards the great and glorious goal.
As yet the end was hidden from the captive,
The iron entered even to his soul;
His eye could scan the present path of sorrow,
Not yet his gaze might rest upon the whole.
Faith healed not through those long, dark days of waiting,
His trust in God was recompensed at last,
The moment came when God led forth his servant
To succour many, all his sufferings past.
"It was not you but God, that sent me hither,"
Witnessed, triumphant faith in after days;
"God meant it unto good," no "second causes"
Mingled their discord with his song of praise.
---
"God meant it unto good" for thee, beloved,
The God of Joseph is the same today;
His love permits afflictions strange and bitter,
His hand is guiding through the unknown way.
Thy Lord, who sees the end from the beginning,
Hat purposes for the of love untold.
Then place thy hand in His and follow fearless,
Till thou the riches of His grace behold.
There, when thou standest in the Home of Glory,
And all life's path lies open to thy gaze,
Thine eyes shall SEE the hand which now thou trustest,
And magnify His love through endless days.
by Freda Hanbury Allen.
♥♥♥♥♥
June 29, 2011
I was searching my heart for what to provide here this week and it came to me very clearly that this post was meant for someone else. I woke this morning knowing I needed to phone Kaye. Kaye has been part of our Osoyoos Christian Centre for over thirty years and is a real prayer warrior so who better to provide this week's post, being she's been praying over our church, community and country faithfully? Here is the message Kaye provided:
Here we are
again and Canada Day is upon us.
I
remember as a child going to my school assembly and sing “God Save the King” (it
was the king in those days) and to sing O Canada. How my heart would swell with pride to be
called a Canadian. How very sad we are
no longer allowed such a great privilege. We are no longer allowed to say the
Lord’s prayer in our public schools anymore.
Let us remember that this nation was founded on the blood, sweat and
tears by our ancestors. We are so
blessed to have been born in this great nation.
On Canada day, let us look to the hills and thank our almighty God that
we have the freedom to love and serve Him as we choose.
~ Kaye Harkness, 2011
Thanks Kaye, for that wonderful reminder. And now, I would like to share some song lyrics by a group called His Season (who no longer seems to be around anymore) I think they sum it up beautifully along with Kaye's Message. Click on the arrow to listen to the song!
WORSHIPERS AGREE
by HIS SEASON
Let our nation sing to the King of Kings
Let our people pray to the Lord today
May the anthem of my country be pleasing God to Thee
From sea to shining sea let the worshipers agree
That the Lord of the Heavens is the Lord who reigns in me
From sea to shining sea let the worshipers agree
O Canada let the worshipers agree
O Canada living God reign in me
O Canada we stand on guard for Thee
O Canada
Let our nation sing to the King of Kings
Let our people pray to the Lord today
May the citizens and leaders ever stand on guard for Thee
From sea to shining sea let the worshipers agree
May we trust in the living God to keep us glorious and free
From sea to shining sea let the worshipers agree
O Canada let the worshipers agree
O Canada living God reign in me
O Canada we stand on guard for Thee
O Canada
♥♥♥♥♥
June 22, 2011
Confessing
is a Blessing!
Surely it
couldn’t have been me who was short with my husband today – not today when he
was already under pressure with today being graduation at his school. Could I have been this insensitive, even when
he blessed me by taking time out of his busy morning to order something for me
I’ve been hoping for?
Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of
your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up
according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen.
Proverbs 15
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a
harsh word stirs up anger.
And it
couldn’t have been me who cut off a friend when I was in a hurry when she was trying to
show me something, and then I gave my attention to someone else, because that
would have been rather rude of me. I
would expect her to pay undivided attention to me if I was showing her something...
Luke 6:31 (NIV)
Do to
others as you would have them do to you.
Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)
and a
brother is born for a time of adversity.
It had to
be someone else who did not budget enough time to spend in “the word today”,
allowing other things to get in the way... certainly I have better control over
my daily schedule than that. I know that
I need to read my bible every day.
Romans 10:17 (NIV)
and the message is heard through the word about
Christ.
And it must
have been somebody else who made blanket judgements in their mind about someone
else’s lifestyle or habits and how it made sense to me to live
differently. No, that would have been
pretty presumptuous and arrogant of me.
(as if my life is so perfect?)
“Do not
judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way you judge others,
you will be judged, and with the measure you
use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in
your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take
the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your
own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s
eye.
Yes, I
failed you today, Lord, and I admit to this knowing at the time. And each time I sinned I pulled a little
further away from You - and You deserve so much more. And I could tell you right now that I won’t
sin tomorrow but that would be another sin in itself, for I am weak. So I’m confessing my flaws to You and asking
forgiveness. I pray you’ll keep me
accountable so I don’t lead others astray.
Thank You for loving me so much that You died for my sins. Help me die a little too, each day – for
you. When You hung on that cross You
knew that despite my very best intentions, all my finest efforts that I’ll
still manage to use You and abuse You and yet I’ll never lose you. When I confess – You bless. I will to seek and be meek. I shall gird with Your Word. Thank You Father! Your mercies are new every morning. Amen!
♥♥♥♥♥
I was given a small gift recently and it really meant a lot to me. For some reason, reading the "I Love You" on the package made me "tear up" with emotion. I was inspired to write the following poem:
The Gift
Something I
didn’t anticipate
Nothing was
alluded to
But it
seemed all of a sudden
I was was
blessed with a gift from you
I will not
name just what it was
Not color, size
– nor use
A gift
given “Just Because”
For me –
how did you choose?
A gift of
eternal treasure
That will
give back forever more
And which
fills my spirit with pleasure
That was
never here before.
Your gift
came at personal cost
Not in
monetary means but in sacrifice
That I
gained what you lost
Such a
loving device
You gave to
me so that I may know
Just how
very much you care
That though
my life is “to and fro”
That you
are always there
No matter
how your gift was wrapped
How it was
presented to me
That I
should look past all the pretty trappings
For if I
look beyond I see...
‘Twas not
the gift itself
That
touched me deeply within
No, though
your gift was wonderful
It was not
about the wherein
I must confess
that what touched me so
What has
changed my life forever
And remains
within an ember glow
And makes
think of you whenever...
Is the tiny
tag – the sentiment
That was
written upon your thoughtful gift
Three small
words that said it all
Gave me an internal
heart shift
The words
you wrote
Were “I
LOVE YOU”
Instead of
a blank note
It meant
“There’s nothing I would not do”
Thank you
for your precious words
That show your
kind thought of me
Today,
tomorrow and forever
Your words
have set me free
Thank you
for reminding me
It’s not
the “what” that is the gift one gives
For things
of the world become debris
But the
thoughtfulness forever lives
When you
package a gift with Godly love
It matters
not the thing you present
For this
act becomes something to be in awe of
And becomes
a blessed event
When you
choose to give of yourself
A token to
say “I care”
Then you be
assured that in this loving spirit
That God is surely there.
~ Barb
Derksen
June 8, 2011
What you
wanted - was it what you needed?
credit: pixaio @ sxc.hu
I was
thinking of food lately. Ok, I think of
food often. I like to cook and enjoy eating at
restaurants. I consider myself somewhat
adventurous when it comes to trying to please my palette. Now I won’t go so far as to admit I’d not be
squeamish to try bugs or things like this, but I do step out of my tongue’s
comfort zone at times.
So I was
thinking about food, restaurants and my most recent restaurant experience. My in-laws were visiting and they took us
across the border and treated us to lunch.
The name of the place is “Fat Boys”.
Hummm... does this name influence your thinking on what might be served
here? Let me first say that the food here is delicious. Everything is tasty and there is lots of it to taste, and the prices are
reasonable. So for an occasional visit it’s a fun place
to eat. I think we ate there a total of
three times during my parent’s visit.
I love
looking through the menu and finding things I’ve never heard of – like “Pugs” I think that much of the menu consists of
deep fried items and I always try them because deep frying is something I never
do at home. When I go out, I GO
OUT! And I enjoy it totally but after the third
time of gorging there it got me thinking the following thought:
What if...
what if when we ordered food we did not get exactly what we ordered but instead
got what was GOOD for us? What if we ordered fries and we got baked
fries? (Well, I could handle that and
probably would like or prefer it – it would not deviate too far from what I
wanted in the first place and knowing it was better for me would compensate.) But what if, we were substituted with
salad? Salad with no dressing? Or
nothing at all?
Now my
first reaction would be “well, I’ll just go to another restaurant” But
what if all restaurants began to
change our orders from what we wanted into whatever was good for us?
Bear with
me while I take another tack.
credit: kurhan @ sxc.hu
Same goes for our doctor's visits.
When we go to the doctor and we have a conversation with him/her and they in turn examine and diagnose us and in the end we are provided with recommendations and prescriptions. Now often the recommendations are actually life-choices which are completely beneficial to us but perhaps we do not want to hear. For example, we are sure to hear things like:
- Exercise regularly
- Lose weight
- Get more rest
- Eat healthy
credit: michaelaw@ sxc.hu
But the
thing is – we live in a world of free choice, and often these recommendations
go in one ear and out the other and in the end we basically tell the doctor what
we want to do or what
we are willing to do and these two things do not look the same as what
is for our good. How very frustrating it
must be for our physicians who see us making poor choices and having their
hands tied. Why are we always looking
for a “magic pill” to cure us of ailments?
Why do we work very hard to not work at taking control of our health?
I believe
it is because we are human and though we can make some basic choices which we
know are good for ourselves, we often either flagrantly choose to deny these
choices or we ignore them. And then we complain
about the consequences of our poor choices.
And we expect our Lord to “pick up the pieces” or even worse, blame Him
for allowing the consequences.
So my
question is this:
What if the
doctor would tell us what to do
instead of suggest what we could do? What if they made us do what is GOOD for
us instead of what we are willing to
do? What if they were given authority to
make us do what was good?
What if we were willing to listen and obey rather
than order and demand? What if we intentionally made choices that
were good for us?
My thinking
about choices leads me to prayer requests.
When we pray do we do the same thing?
Do we make our petitions to the Lord for what we want rather than for
what He wants for us? For what we desire
rather than what is GOOD for us? Do we
trust in His authority as the “great physician”? Do we ask Him for one thing but only accept
the things we exactly asked for? Do we recognise
that what’s best for us often does not look anything like what we asked for? Do we accept that answered prayer sometimes
can only be viewed as an answer LATER ON, upon looking backwards?
Why don’t
we practice praying for what’s BEST for
us this week?
Jeremiah
29:11
For I know
the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
We need to
trust in the Lord rather than ourselves and be willing to listen to those who
give us advice we know is good for us.
And:
We need to
GROW UP!
1
Corinthians 13:11
11 When I
was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
Perhaps
when we were children we could justify our thinking but we are adults and as
such must never allow ourselves to give in to ourselves. We
cannot be so naive and stupid as to lie to ourselves about what we are responsible
for in our lives. We grow out of the "hand holding" we needed as children. We can no longer get
away with giving in to our carnal senses.
Not only do we fool ourselves, we may lead others astray by our
example. Where is our witness to others
in the choices we make?
So, the
next time I eat at a restaurant, I might not make a choice that is not so
healthy for me – if I go there only once, but should I find myself there a few
times over (I should be so fortunate to be treated out that many times in a
row!) - then I hope I’ll have the wisdom to make
better choices. When I take the
recommendations my doctor prescribes I hope I will accept some lifestyle changes rather than ignoring his/her
valuable advice and therefore make their job harder!
More
importantly, when I pray I will try to pray with a “listening heart” for what
the Lord wants for me instead of just what I want. For I know His plan for me is much better for
me than what I could ever choose. I will
pray for the wisdom to accept what I am given – knowing its the BEST thing for
my (eternal) life.
♥♥♥♥♥
Be Still!
Anyone who knows me could say with confidence that I am
high-energy, always doing something. I have a difficult time just sitting
still and even then I am either multi tasking or listening to something or
creating with my hands – or working or working out. It is tough for me to stand still. I find myself restless and jumpy when I strip
all stimuli from my environment. It does
not take me long to become antsy after a short time of being still.
And yet…
When I am still it is always where I meet the Lord. Just as in the words of the Hymn “I Come To
The Garden Alone” (video by Alan Jackson
and lyrics follow this post) I find that
its only until I’ve consciously extracted myself from all distraction that I
commune with the Lord on the highest level.
I’ve come to realize that making quiet time before our
Father is an act of worship and my reward for being obedient, for carving out
time of undistracted conversation and prayer with Him is that I enter into a
closeness that cannot be achieved when I allow my mind, my senses and my spirit
to be disquieted by my surroundings. In
our noisy world it has become very difficult to draw away from it all. Perhaps how hard it is to draw away is
directly in proportion to how honoring it is to God when we do get to this
intimate place. For its only in this place, where we can be alone with
Him, that His voice is singled out from among all the chorus of voices we have
pulling at us. And HIS voice is the only one that has the power to guide us.
Psalm 46:10
New International Version (NIV)
He says, “Be still,
and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among
the nations,
I will be exalted
in the earth.”
The Lord is clearly telling us two things in this passage –
to Be Still – in our body and in our minds. I believe that we are to take His words and to meditate on them so they are sewn
deep in our hearts. I interpret also this to
mean that He wants to be alone with me, too! In the very next breath He says “and know
that I am God” and that is all I
really need to know. When I know that
God is with me then everything else makes sense. I can trust that He is on my side. Yes, I
need to get out into the garden – especially when I don’t think I have time for
that.
When I quell my unruly spirit and become still before Him I
stop worrying about what the rest of the world is doing – even when it appears
that others might have all the “short-cuts” to success. There are a million self-help books available
today and everyone has an opinion on how to run your life, but God assures us
there is only one who has authority
in our lives – the author Himself! His
word says:
Psalm 37:7
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently
lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his
way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
As I searched the Bible to seek why the Lord encourages us
to “be still” I have discovered that
He brings us to this place of inertia to demonstrate His power to its
fullest. As in the following passage:
Zechariah 2:7-10
“Come, Zion! Escape,
you who live in Daughter Babylon!” For
this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me
against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the
apple of his eye— I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves
will plunder them. Then you will know
that the LORD Almighty has sent me.
“Shout and be glad,
Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD.
“Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my
people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent
me to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will
again choose Jerusalem. Be
still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from
his holy dwelling.”
It is only when we are still that we can focus our entire
attention and spirit upon Him. I believe nothing that goes on around us has any
bearing on our lives unless we are
living intentional lives of Faith in Him.
Without first surrendering our flesh and spirit to the Lord, everything
we say and do here on earth means nothing.
Do you understand that He waits for you and me to get alone with him to
talk about what direction our lives should be lived in? Do you and I miss these precious invitations
to converse with our Father because we are (with all best intentions) busy with
the tangible, hard-copy things of our day to day?
Ah yes we do! Because
let’s face the fact that it’s hard to pull the rug on every single thing that
we can physically and mentally rely on, which we therefore believe we can
control, and to allow ourselves to fully, completely and willingly rely on that
which is in the spiritual realm. That
which God has for us – which is oh, so much
better for us! A perfect example is the
following:
Mark 4:35-41
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Calms the Storm
That day when evening
came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along,
just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke
over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked
the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and
it was completely calm.
He said to his
disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified
and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Can you imagine yourself on the boat? Now remember that before we boarded this boat
Jesus preached and gave us all sorts of parables of faith – teaching and
instructing so that we would know that
God is in control – and still…
Can you feel the heave of the boat as it heaved and buckled
in the waves? Can you feel the cold,
rude splash as the waves tossed water into the boat? Can you hear the wind as it whipped the water
to a froth? Do you feel yourself
blushing and in wonder when Jesus, who had to be woken from a nap during all
this, in a few simple words tamed the waters?
Embarassed that we got more worked up about what was going on around us than
believing in knowing and trusting that He would see us safely
across to the other side? This after
just having Him demonstrate in parables the need for us to have faith. Almost as if this were “the test” right after
the lesson .
Jesus clearly uses the creation of a stillness of the water
to demonstrate that He not only has control of the entire universe and it’s workings,
but that He has complete control over us too – and He can get that much closer
to us when we kick away all the earthly things we use for support. Instead
we need to rely fully His being.
I can’t know where your life is at right now. You might be in a storm. You probably have countless distractions –
some good, some not so good but these things are receiving attention because we
allow them to. This attention belongs to
the Lord. We need to give up our
physical time and concentration to make time to be alone with Him. We might think we can “hear” His voice at
times but we must absolutely know
that He hears us, and then we need to rely on that fact and act out our in faith that
He by allowing him to guide us, for the Bible tells us that He will order our steps as they should be.
Be Still:
To be away from the world, thus closer to Him
- To take away all your earthly “crutches” and cause yourself to fully lean on the Lord
- To trust in the Lord, not on yourself
- To allow space in your heart and mind for an infilling of the Holy Spirit
- To establish a safe and quiet place, like “the garden” where you can meet with the Lord with no distraction
- To worship Him with your obedience in quiet reflection.
May you find your "garden" this week!
I Come To The Garden Alone
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is
still on the roses
And the voice I hear
falling on my ear
The Son of God
discloses.
And He walks with me, and He
talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry
there,
None other has ever known.
He speaks, and the
sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds
hush their singing,
And the melody that
He gave to me
Within my heart is
ringing.
I’d stay in the
garden with Him
Though the night
around me be falling,
But He bids me go;
through the voice of woe
His voice to me is
calling.
♥♥♥♥♥
Stop
Comparing!
In a novel
I’m reading at the moment, one of the characters advises another to “stop
idealizing other people because by doing this she will always pale in
comparison.”
I love
little bits of wisdom like this for they always get me thinking about how God
created each and every one of us to be unique – complete with our flaws
etc.
Psalm 139
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
4 I praise you because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
5 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
I know this
is a familiar passage to most of us but I think we take the full meaning of it
for granted. Have you ever imagined how
He did not just make one master template of us – something He was pleased with
and then just replicated it over and over. This would have been the simple and easy thing
to do. By making everyone the exact same
it would also make His job easier because if we were all the very same we would
be predictable. Instead, He took us, His
precious creations and He gave each and every one of us a unique personality,
unique talents, individual tastes and likes and dislikes. He made us endlessly different. I can’t help but believe this is His way to
express His love to us.
He gives us
gifts and talents to be used to Glorify
and Evangelize so that others may come to know Him. Our gifts and talents were not really created
to amuse or entertain us – they are used to draw us closer to Him – USE YOUR
GIFTS!
Ephesians 4
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life
worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble
and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to
keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith,
one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in
all.
9 (What does “he
ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is
the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the
whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
And you
know, wherever God does good – gives us a gift like this for good, the enemy
can also use it to exploit us. In this
instance it’s like the character in the novel – we allow ourselves to take the
focus off of ourselves and discovering what God gave us that is special and
unique and can set us apart and use for the Glory of Him, and we instead look
to what we don’t have! We look at someone
else and long for what they have, though it may never have been intended for
us.
Now I am
not saying we should not try new things – that if someone we know has a talent
or gift and it appeals to us that we at least try it. That is sometimes how we discover that we
have a hidden gift we did not know about.
But, if we try something and it’s just not working and not productive,
if it becomes a frustration and it is not for the Good of God, then we must be
wise enough to know when to stop investing in that certain thing. If we do not draw a line it can turn into an
addiction.
The enemy
delights in finding ways to have us envy others for the gifts and talents of
others. He works very hard to destroy
relationships in this way. The enemy
walks to and fro ceaselessly and tries to goad us into wanting to have things
which were rightfully apportioned to others.
He creates jealousy among us and causes us to turn loving healthy
relationships with others into hatred and greed and division. The bible tells us:
Ephesians 4
2526 “In your anger
do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own
hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own
hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to
their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you
were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
but only what is helpful for building others up according to
their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
We need to
train ourselves to push aside what we cannot do, and to welcome what others
do. Think of it this way. If we all had the exact same talents and
gifts very little would ever get accomplished, and if everyone were
doing the same things there would not be anything to compare it to. We need to value what individual thing we
were given and to celebrate what others were given to do.
You will
never be someone else – celebrate YOU and walk in the confidence the Author of
your life has a specific job for you right here, right now! If you look at someone else today with a
talent or gift, why not pray for them today – that their talent will be used to
further the Kingdom of God, recognise them for their works and let them know
you appreciate their gift. By doing this
you will break any hold the enemy may hold on your relationship with this
person.
STAND!
S -Stay put!
When life gets difficult one of our
first instincts is to move, to flee.
Even animals have the “flight or fight” desire but God gave us minds
which can be masters over our bodies. We
have the ability to overcome the adrenaline rush to take stock of what our
situation is and then after prayer and careful consideration move forward with
confidence. This does not mean you should stay in unhealthy
situations, but you should not jump from the “frying pan into the fire” and
thus either avoid taking your state of affairs to the Lord. Stand still long enough to know you’re not
just reacting to the predicament you are in at the moment.
T – Talk! We were created to live within a body of
believers, brothers and sisters. Every
situation we face impacts others in our lives.
When facing major decisions we need to be objective about what we are
going through – talking to someone else gives us balance because they can see
what we cannot! Stand with believers in
your life and invite them to weigh in.
Take what they say and give it objective consideration.
A –
Ask! Ask God into your situation. Of course He is the author of your life but
He also allows us to make choices. If
you fail to ask God to be your compass you may end up in a destination far from
where you should be. Set aside specific
prayer time and allow time to either clearly hear what He has to say or to
place your trust fully in the unknown destination He has for you knowing His
plan is being worked out. Stand still in prayer and allow God some
absolute solitude in this world noise and chaos. This takes some doing these days.
N – Never give
up! The enemy walks to and fro seeking
every opportunity to plant seeds of doubt in your mind, to unsettle you, to
divert your attention to things that draw you away from your divine purpose as
appointed by God. Never doubt, the Lord
created you to fulfill His purpose. No
matter what your situation is today, know that you can count it as joy. Not a dancing up and down celebration
sort of joy but a deep joy of strength and confidence that you are in His hand
and the enemy cannot touch you. Ignore
the pictures the enemy tries to paint in your mind. Stand on His promise to prosper you!
D – Do not be afraid.
Allowing fear robs God. Fear
makes us make hasty choices. Fear
diverts us from making wise decisions.
Fear makes us see problems that are not really there, erodes our
confidence, eats away at our spiritual
life. Stand still – you are not
standing alone, ever. Close your eyes
and know Jesus is standing right beside you.
HE is standing with you – now is YOUR opportunity to stand with
Him! He does not promise it will be easy
– but he does promise victory in the only battle that counts.
Mark 13:13
Everyone
will hate you because of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end
will be saved.
Philippians 4:1
Therefore,
my brothers and sisters whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand
firm in the Lord.
1 Timothy 3:13
Those
who have served well gain a good standing and considerable confidence in
the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
James 1:2
[
Stand firm ] My brothers and sisters, think of the various
tests you encounter as occasions for joy.
James 1:12
Those
who stand firm during testing are blessed. They are tried and true. They
will receive the life God has promised to those who love him as their reward.
1 Peter 5:8-10
8 Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the
prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge
that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the
world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace,
the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself
restore,empower, strengthen, and establish you.
Priorities
A few weeks
ago I mentioned that I am working my way through the “Simplify Your Life”
workshop series by listening to an eight-part series of radio shows (www.middayconnection.org) and reading
the accompanying books as well. This is
a workshop which is meant to help you make your life simpler, something we all
crave and is so elusive in this busy time.
I have been working through the first part which involves organizing my
home. The concept is to identify some
key areas and then slowly work through each cupboard, drawer, closet – just one
or two a day so that it’s not overwhelming.
I’ve
learned some important things during this first month. Perhaps you’ve observed something that I have
– it seems easier to clean someone else’s home than your own. Somehow helping someone else get straightened
around seems less complicated and requires less effort and can be sort of ...
fun? Tackling my own mess seems like
drudgery and its kind of embarrassing to really face what four years can do to
a person who loves to collect ‘neat stuff’.
It has
occurred to me that its so easy for us to get around these days that we are
often tempted to be away from our homes, to neglect them. And this harkens me back to a few posts when
we were talking about relationships and how we often take more time to look
after our homes and cars than we do our relationships. So if our relationships are being neglected
for our homes which are being neglected to other “good causes” ... its going to
have to “give” somewhere. God has
blessed us with much, we need to look after what He’s given us!
Titus 2
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in
the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but
to teach what is good. 4
Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be
busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that
no one will malign the word of God.
One thing I
made myself do was to take ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of each day’s work. I’ve posted these in a photo album on the
internet which I share with close friends, family and a few other people who
also have taken this challenge with me. (Its very encouraging to work with
others who are doing the same thing, for
you really inspire each other!) I
cringed to share some of my storage areas etc, but was glad that I did because
the before and after pictures were dramatic visual proof of what a bit of
organizing can do. My willingness to
share, to expose my clutter and be vulnerable to critique opened up good
conversations. I received lots of great
advice and some new ideas. Isn’t this just
like our lives? If we are willing to “be
real” with others, sure we may get hurt sometimes, but ultimately we also allow
others to be comfortable as well – to share our imperfections with one another. Its awfully hard to be around ‘perfect’
people – we fear we can’t measure up and often just avoid putting ourselves in
that situation. Its like that with sin
too, isnt’ it?
The other
thing that I learned is that I have a very difficult time “staying PUT!” to get
my own home/life organized. There are a thousand good causes to keep me
busy outside the home – I could safely name many of them as worthy ministries,
but some of these had become an avoidance of taking care of things at
home. I suppose I hoped that my husband
would be able to help when he had time off but the fact of it is that at our
time of life, with his own ministries as well, he has no time off. Don’t get me wrong, he is completely willing
to help, just unable to find the time. When it all boiled down I realized that if I
did not start working through this on my own, it simply will not get done.
Its often
like this – we simply rush out to help others.
(forgive me for this if I am making a broad, incorrect statement but I
believe as women we have that “rescue” impulse that grabs us the moment a need
reaches our ears and compels us to respond!)
Men seem to have the ability to assess the situation and take action
after careful consideration. Somehow,
all these needs seem of far more importance than cleaning out my own closet or
junk drawer.
The thought
occurred to me that this is all fine if one has the common sense or natural
ability to balance keeping your own home neat and clean and helping others but when the balance is tipped too far one way
or the other something or someone gets neglected. And while we all need to be responders to
some causes, especially when those around us suffer losses, get injured etc,
the rest of the time we really need to make sure all is well at home. Home, Marriage, family – these are all
priorities because if things are not 100% at home then how can our ministries
outside the home be effective? I learned
that making myself go through my own home, to devote the time it takes to get
it in shape has taught me valuable lessons I will be able to use to mentor
others. It places value on my home
life. Being organised actually frees me up to help others with a clear
conscience knowing my own family is looked after. Besides, shouldn’t your own family enjoy a
nice and clean home first... you know
where I’m going here – if you know you’re having guests come for dinner you
would definitely run around and make sure everything was nice – for them!
Think of it
this way as well – if you don’t look after yourself, ask yourself this – if you
were injured tomorrow would your house be in order that someone could look
after you easily in your own home? Or
would it mean someone would be left
to deal with what you did not?
Kaela
Christmas 2003
- You can forgive me daily for my shortcomings
- You can be patient and see how much I love you.
- You continue to believe in our relationship
Jason
Last Saturday we were able to celebrate a milestone birthday for Shirley, one of our senior ladies who is well respected in our church. Her daughter Ester organised this event and it was a precious time
indeed. Shirley LOVES company, and so this was a perfectly lovely time for her. We were able to share a few hours in her warm and welcoming home enjoying fellowship and of course, delicious home baked goodies and tea. Her daughter made her a very beautiful cake - a fluffy, light bundt style cake, topped with chocolate drizzle and surrounded by fresh raspberries - Num!
Shirley has history at Osoyoos Christian Centre. Her husband Rev. Ken Kubryn served as Pastor at Osoyoos Christian Centre from June 1988 to January 1994. At that time they moved to minister at Kennewick, Washington where he served for 5 years while also working at a builders supply store. The Lord called Ken home May 23rd, 2008. While Ken pastored, Shirley often provided daycare for children and many were blessed by her tender care and ministry.
A real highlight of Shirley's birthday party, which was attended by about a dozen of us (and don't you just LOVE the fellowship of our women - precious time with Sisters, especially when the Lord is invited in, spoken of freely and praised!) - a true highlight was Shirley being able to show us the beautiful quilts she has made. Shirley's mother was a quilter, along with two sisters and so seeds of a talent which were later to be grown, were planted inside her soul. As it often happens, her talent lay dormant for years until when sher grand-daughter, 8 years old at the time, asked her if she would make her a quilt. Shirley, after considering that thought, agreed but requested the granddaughter would choose the theme. That was no problem - some material with horse's heads was found in a local thrift store, about a dozen of them. Shirley lovingly crafted her first quilt. That first quilt inspired another little girl, a family friend, to ask "her mommy to ask Shirley" if she might have a quilt made too - with animals and flowers on it. That started the second quilt, featuring african animals on it - and after this a long line of quilts since then.
these quilts represent LOVE and COMFORT and CARING. I'm sure as each person who has one is wrapped in the material, they are really wrapped in Shirley's love - and I KNOW that each person has been lovingly prayed over with each stitch.
We thank God for Shirley and her talents - she truly is a Proverbs 31 woman for:
(various verses)
A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She's quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
(subtitle) a FREE workshop with organizing pro - Marcia Ramslund
Click HERE to go to Midday!
Click HERE to visit Marcia's website!
I'm loving it, so far its only doing a few, managable cupboards in the kitchen a day - I do it while I listen to the audio bible, worship music, or right after I do the dishes, and it takes less than 1/2 hour to do each cupboard. I've been using my iphone to take before/after pics which I'm putting in a (private) web
album, but if you were to take part I might be bribed for an invite. The photos are pretty dramatic and give me a great sense of satisfaction.
album, but if you were to take part I might be bribed for an invite. The photos are pretty dramatic and give me a great sense of satisfaction.
Another point to mention, as you learn to organize and downsize, this workshop teaches us the gift of GIVING away what we do not need - as a single, or in our Church groups.
I'm extending an invitation to you - if you would like more information or for me to help set you up, just email me at occwomenonline@gmail.com
- if it were an "I'm sorry" gift
- if it were a gift from someone who I knew did not care for me
- if it were a gift to "pay me off" to do something - a bribe
- a gift given as an afterthought
~ Barbara
(Psalms 34v1)
“I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth”
Genesis 28:16 (The Message)
16-17 Jacob woke up from his sleep.
He said, "God is in this place—truly.
And I didn't even know it!"
He was terrified.
He whispered in awe,
"Incredible. Wonderful. Holy.
This is God's House.
This is the Gate of Heaven."
The part after the ... certainly puts a different view on this statement, doesn't it? How many times has this been the case for you? I can personally say that I've been so guilty of this very thing, wishing God were present when all the time He was.
Do you have a thought about this passage? We'd love to hear about it! email us at occwomenonline@gmail.com
Be Content.
Don't worry.
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When you wake each and every day,
And you ponder on all to you have to do,
Pray to the Lord, leave it with Him,
And He will order your "list" for you.
Thank the Lord for his heavenly guidance!
Matthew 7:12
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you,
do also to them,
for this is the Law and the Prophets."
John 15:17
These things I command you,
so that you will love one another.
Matthew 25:45
“He will reply,
‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did not do for one of the least of these,
you did not do for me.’
What does dignity do? It's a restorer of power, its hope for the lonely, its what allows us to be the servants that we are called to be.
Galatians 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brothers.
Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love, serve one another.
I will tell you that as I've been practicing treating everyone about me equally, giving them dignity I'm noticing some incredible things happening. While changing myself I've being humbled and I appreciate each and every person and am thankful for the Lord allowing them in my life. We can walk around busy, distracted, treating others as superfluous and wandering further and further off the track from what God's word commands for us, or we can STOP and pray and ask the Lord to open our eyes to the insides of those in our lives.
I'd love to know what you think of the subject of "dignity". Do you have a story or thought about this subject? Has someone shown you dignity - especially when you did not think you deserved it? Email your thoughts to occwomenonline@gmail.com
behalf Osoyoos Christian Centre
