Thanksgiving on Thursday

Today I am thankful for love...

Especially from this man...

He has stuck it out patiently

for 18 years,

With his lady who has surely

Complicated his life, and

Given him cause to lose his temper

And give up on me.

I have been blessed to know a love

So true that it causes me to

Admire him...

ALOT.

I'm so thankful to have been shown Jesus's kind of love
Through my husband and others.

It is pure joy to me to bless him
And I know I'm in this marriage
For life,
Thru thick and thin,
Good times and bad times.

Praise God for power in Jesus's name
To make us want to,
And to live out His design...
While being perfected daily.

Security...

photo courtesy of P. Allen Smith

"Jesus says, 

Your Father, 

who looks after 

the sparrows,

 will care for you; 

fear not therefore. 

It is not to be a 

life of self-interest 

at all. 

When God calls us 

He never gives security; 

He gives us a knowledge of 

Himself. 

We reveal how

 much we believe 

in the things Jesus said when we 

reason like this--

'Is this God's will for me?

 No, it can't be because

 there is no security.' 

'It is enough for 

the disciple

 that he be as his Master.' 

Jesus never had 

any home of 

His own, 

never a pillow 

on which to lay

 His head. 

His poverty

 was a deliberate choice. 

We may have to face 

destitution in order 

to maintain our spiritual connection 

with Jesus, 

and we can only

 do that if 

we love Him supremely." 

--Oswald Chambers, 

in The Place of Help from 

The Quotable Oswald Chambers.

Doing the Will of God...

"Jesus saith unto them,

 My meat is to 

do the will 

of him that sent me, 

and to finish his work" 

(John 4:34).

There's a widespread belief that Bible study, reading Christian literature, church attendance, and participation in a variety of outward religious activities are the food that feeds the soul and produces Spiritual growth. While these activities may provide instruction about the will of God, persuade us to do it, and guide us to the source of power for doing it, they, in themselves, are not doing the will of God, so they are not "meat" for our soul, and can not produce the least bit of spiritual growth or Divine virtue. Our bodies gain nothing from meat by learning about the farm it came from, who raised it, where it can be obtained, and having it set before us. We must eat it to gain the benefits of it. The life of the soul is nourished by the spirit that is one with it, and so long as it is one with the spirit of this world, it can only be fed with, grow in, and reflect a life of pride, lust, envy, and wrath. The "meat" for Life to our soul is to believe that the gospel is the power of God to free our soul from its union with the spirit of this world, to unite it with the Spirit of Jesus, and to draw its life from Him, whereby it is influenced, or nourished, by nothing but His self-less love, humility, long-suffering, and total resignation to God. Till we eat that meat, no amount church attendance, participation in religious activities, Bible study, or consumption of Christian literature will help us to any Spiritual growth or Divine virtue.

Morning Musings...

There are many devices in a man’s heart;

nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

~ Proverbs 19:21

More morning ponderings...

musings while I gardened...

"Follow your heart," they say. And Christians say it, too.

Do what your gut tells you to do.

Do what feels best to you.

But God says...

The heart is deceitful above all,

and desperately wicked,

who can know it?

Jesus says whoever does the will

of His Father in heaven is

His mother, brother and sisters.

Isn't doing the will of God

directly against the choices our hearts

would make?

Isn't basing life choices on what 

our heart tells us dangerous?

Should we maybe not pick up the

lingo and actions of the world

which strokes the heart and 

allows it to rule,

and instead lay down our lives,

our wants, hopes, dreams,

ambitions, preferences, etc

and follow the Holy Spirit

which often leads us to something

that directly puts a sword

in the selfish heart?

I'm not talking about Ephrata Cloister style

sleeping-on=wooden-block-pillows type of

asceticism; I'm just simply saying

that do we know where we have picked up

the lingo of the world and of mixed religion

that does not recognize nor teach 

cross bearing?

Many times I have had a personal preference

but God hindered me from living it out,

and though it was hard on the flesh sometimes,

and I felt neglected

(see how the human heart is deceitful?!),

I later could see the blessing of obedience

to what God called me to do

and I was so thankful that I had not

followed my heart or listened to my gut.

We could argue that we simply mean

(by these phrases)

that we are going to do what 

God is telling us to do.

I ask then, 

would it not be better to acknowledge

Him in it and leave our heart out of it?

Sure, He gave us a new heart and a new way,

if we are born again,

but I don't think we mean that heart

when we adopt the phrase

"follow your heart",

simply because of how we say it.

What are your thoughts?

How can we live more fully 

the Way of the Cross?

Scriptures, thoughts, etc

would be very welcome.

Laying Down Your Life...

Give, when you feel like keeping,

Pray for others when you need to be prayed for,

Feed others when your own soul is hungry,

Live truth before people, even when you can't see the result,

Hurt with others when your own hurt can't be spoken of,

Keep your word when it's not convenient,

Be faithful when your flesh wants to run away!

This is keeping the commandments!

This is Christianity!

This is following Jesus!

This is ministry!

~encouragement from a friend

In Psalms and Hymns...

When It's All Been Said and Done

by Robin Mark

Of Relationships...

Life is made up of twists and turns, mountain tops and valleys. The older I get, the more I see the reality of this. What seems to be the most difficult to push through in life is relationships with people. People the world over will tell you this. People disappoint, they encourage, they hurt, they bless, they lift up and they tear down. Sometimes they leave our house better than when they found it after a visit, and sometimes they leave you standing, speechless with shock over something they believe that you  never knew they would, and you wonder how in the world you knew them all these years and didn't know that...

This stuff is real and it is life. We will never truly be able to run to the Alps like Heidi's Grandfather did, not if we are following God's design for us. He didn't make us to be hermits alone on our alpine paradise. He made us to relate to fellow travelers in this journey we call life. He called us to be witnesses that Jesus lives and transforms lives today.

The only way I know of to be a witness that He changes lives today is to walk through those times of testing, those times of being called higher in something, choosing LIFE and letting ourselves go through the process of being changed from glory to glory.

"Expectations ruin relationships." I heard a godly mother say that one day recently and it stuck. "You can expect, but that doesn't mean it will happen (the thing you are expecting another to do/be)," she said. And I thought how true that is. I think that we expect people to be one thing and then they either disappoint us by not being for us what they were never called to be or they disappoint us by being to us what they were called to be, but it isn't what we were expecting. Sometimes disappointments over people's choices is not a bad thing and we do need to walk less closely (sometimes it happens by default if you are not on the same road) than we once did, but I'm not talking about that in this paragraph. I simply mean this as it relates to our own 'needs' and comforts, and how we often look to people to fulfill them instead of to God.

What I am learning from the dashed hopes and heart breaking 'ruined relationships' through the short years of my life (and I'll be learning more as the years roll by, I am sure!):

1. People are not God. Do not ever look to them to heal your hurt, make you whole, or be your everything.

2.People are created in His image and that puts us all on the same plane...with respect and love and blessing being mine to give because my Father calls me to do that; it has little to do with whether or not they deserve it. I deserve no mercy or grace but God graciously lavishes it upon me. How can I not pass it on to my fellow men?

3.There will not be true fellowship with everyone. Jesus said few will find the narrow way. So while it is disappointing how few there may be who truly are simply following Jesus and freely share hearts, that does not mean we need to be morose and sullen. Sure, the startling reality of it all may hit you sometime along the way and you will walk through a valley of mourning for a time, but get up in Jesus' name and be the person He called you to be.

4.People change. They may be hardened sinners for years, and then one day choose JESUS...or they may proclaim His name but stubbornly cling to other gods for a time as well. Just as you have walked through mountain tops and valleys and have been constantly changing and moving, allow others that privilege as well. Sure, there may be times you wish to shake some sense into them, or you stand forsaken when they leave your company for the company of those who do not wholly love God, but keep in mind...people change. They are not ours to control. Keep walking.

5.The best and most important thing you can do for a person is to care for their soul that will never die. In fact, that is what the Great Commission is all about. Sometimes that might mean helping a busy mama or it may mean taking the time to talk to your teenager when you might be tired and worn out at the end of the day. It is of utmost importance that we never lose sight of this Commission and that we remember that what we say and do with people always, always must be from this premise: that we are not here on earth to stay, we are just passing through.

6. Love much because you have been loved much. It isn't about you getting back. That isn't true love. Sometimes you might have to 'take a rest' in the desert alone with God to get your bearings and to figure stuff out, but never ever lose sight of the goal of living and loving like Jesus does. We can never truly get away from people, so even while in the desert, there are certain responsibilities that we have as children of the Light, to love those in our care. God will supply every need, no matter how maxed out we feel or how pulled apart we seem to be by the people in our lives.

These are some thoughts I've been pondering as I walk through the ever changing scenes of my own relationships. I have had some disappointments, to be sure and having just walked through a let down recently, I have had the privilege of seeing some of these things in a new and deeper way.

May the Lord Jesus find us living peaceably with all men as much as lies within us, when He comes to call us Home. Life isn't about me getting my own way in things. It is about me living His Life and serving as He served. Hard on the flesh, but so good for His glory.