Day 365 Congrats on a Year Well Done!

"A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 

First of all, despite this verse from Solomon, this post is about celebration--of a year completed, of a job well done, of lessons learned, of joy complete--and today, of welcome home!

Is our work always fulfilling? Are our days endlessly satisfying? I can hear you saying, "Um, no—not even close." Mine either.

No one likes to feel like their best efforts are wasted. My job has its perks and its downsides. Your year at "la pinta" had them as well.

There's a prevailing notion in our culture that if we could just find the perfect job-our dream job-we'd have day after day of blissful purpose. But even the noblest task, the most glamorous profession, or the most acclaimed work has its frustrations.

King Solomon realized this and resented it. He seems to have loathed life when his meals, his money and his work didn't prove endlessly satisfying (Ecc. 2:18). He was wise to realize no carnal, earthly, or material thing will ever fully satisfy us. No dinner party, employee-of-the month award, new home, relationship, merit raise, coffee drink, or end-of-season clearance sale. (Well, shoot. But it's true.)

Solomon looked at life's inability to truly satisfy and the fact that one day he'd be gone and his work may not be remembered, and decided all was vanity—all is meaningless here under the sun apart from God.

The book of Ecclesiastes puzzling, with its "everything is meaningless" refrain. Solomon seemed to call everything life has to offer pointless. I get what Solomon meant, but I'm pretty rebellious about accepting the idea that life's pleasures and accomplishments are all for nothing.

So how do we approach work and leisure or frustration and pleasure? Our driving goal is to craft a meaningful life that is pleasing to both us and God, whether it's cooking classes, reading novels, or our life's vocation. I think that we can learn to better glory in life's little pleasures and let them fortify us against discontent, depression, and sin.

There is a divine secret about this in Ecclesiastes. It starts with the moments of enjoyment that are found in our work, our laughter, or even our daily food. They are sheer gifts from God and they are gifts to relish.

Moments of enjoyment are gifts that remind us, in a world that is often dark, cold, and disappointing,  that God is good. They don't offer continuous bliss—they punctuate our days of toil and tears. They give us a taste of an afterlife that will exceed the earthly pleasures of a good meal, a tulip in bloom, or a job well done.

These gifts can satiate us over and over with—here's the key—gratitude to God. They not only gratify us when we enjoy them, but they point us to a loving Creator who holds pleasures evermore in His right hand (Psalm 16:11).

That realization makes us want to enjoy the gift and the moment even more.

This gratitude is deeply satisfying—it's pleasing to both us and God. So we eat, and drink, and take satisfaction in our work, for without Him there would be no enjoyment. And in them we can honor God with our pleasure.

Job well done, Sarah, come on home and regroup for a while! Love you, Mom

Dear Lord, thank You for each and every source of enjoyment You provide in this life. Lord, every good and perfect gift comes down from Your hand, and I am grateful. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Day 364 Happy 26!

Day 363 JJ and SDG

Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the letters “JJ” at the beginning of his scores and the letters “SDG” at the end. What did they mean?

JJ stood for the Latin Jesu Juva, which means “Help o Jesus.” So, at the beginning of creating his music, Bach was requesting divine help. SDG stood for the Latin Soli Deo Gloria, which means, “To God alone glory.” At the end of creating his music, Bach acknowledged and gave thanks to God.

Bach was an extremely gifted composer but even with his great talents, he had the habit of asking for Jesus’ help as he began his work and then gave thanks to God when he was finished. That's being really intentional about including God in all you do.

I think it would have been easy for a person with Bach’s giftedness to take God’s role in their work for granted—to begin to rely on himself and think that it was all on him in a job well done. If a person of Bach’s talent and giftedness made it a habit to ask for God’s help and to give God thanks, how much more should we do the same?

In the end, it's to our benefit to be reminded that we are dependent upon the Lord for everything. We really do need His help! We also benefit from giving thanks to God. It gives us needed perspective to understand that all we accomplish is from God’s gracious hand.

You started this year saying "Help o Jesus" and worked it through each day depending on him for effectiveness and safety. Your work in PNM was a masterpiece, music to God's ears. Take some time in the coming weeks to thank him for your learning and experiences this year, and listening for his leading in the coming challenges.

"To God alone glory!"

Day 359 I'm trying to...

 

THREE MORE DAYS!

 

Day 358 I have a Dream...

...Let us continue to strive to make justice a reality for all. - MLK

Day 357 Bulking Up

Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

You know that for muscles to get stronger, they first have to be weakened. The muscle fibers tear down and then build themselves back up in order to be stronger than they were before. Our spiritual lives often work the same way--to get stronger we must first get weaker.

The verse above encourages believers to not be discouraged by the setbacks of struggles and trouble. James says that difficulties will come “when you face trials.” He said when, not if. We don't have to smile our way through our struggles (that would be weird), James does challenge us to look at them as an opportunity for joy and growth. James is showing how God uses trials to help us build emotional and spiritual muscles in our lives: The experiences that bring distress and trial often make us stronger in the long run.

 We can turn struggle into times of reflection and learning, allowing them to teach us. It's through  struggle that we mature in our faith and are able to show our true colors. What we see as times of trial and challenge, God uses to help us develop character and the fruit of the Spirit.

Building godly character isn't usually easy, in fact, it usually involves struggle. It's just part of the Christian journey. But we have the promise and hope that Jesus walks with us the whole time. He doesn't leave us on our own to handle things by ourselves. He is walking with us, guiding us, strengthening us, and helping us build character and perseverance so we can stay strong.

Day 356 The Secret to Success is....

Day 355 Finding God in the Transition

Have I missed God in times of transition in my life? Probably. Okay, definitely.

One thing is sure about transitions, they don't let you stay in the same place. You can fight it all you want, but it will let you know, "I am here," and until you transition to the expected state you're, well, miserable.

Throughout Jesus' ministry, transitioning people from one state to another was his goal, whether it's in thought, deed, health, or words. But more often than not, people missed His transitions.

Jesus tells the rich young ruler, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." The rich young ruler's response? "...he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property."

He missed Jesus’ transition because he focused on his property instead of what Jesus was offering.


How we miss God in the transition?

• The Picture is not clear. Most of the time when we approach God, we want Him to give us a clear picture of what our lives should be. (Before I relocate, I need to know where I will work, how much I will make, and what my house will look like, etc.) There is nothing wrong with this expectation--except that God tells us to "Go to a land I will show you," and not a land I have shown you. "Follow me and I will make you fishers or men," not follow me because I have made you fishers of men. The picture becomes clearer as we follow.

• The Assignment is too daunting. It's interesting how the Bible describes the rich young ruler. He is first rich, he is then young, and he rules. To transition him, Jesus reaches to the very core of who he is: give it all up. Yes, he could have given it up, but would he have risked being poor and not rule at the expense of his reputation? The assignment to do such a thing was too daunting, so he settled when he was supposed to transition.

• The Timing is not right. Samuel Chand said, "When you are 100% sure, you are too late." We often approach life with an attitude of "it needs to feel right" before we can make that change. But is there a situation in our lives or in the Bible where the timing felt 100% right? It says, In His time, He makes all things beautiful--not our time. When people who wanted to follow Jesus needed more time to finish off their personal business, Jesus said that "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Do we miss God in our transitions because of lack of trust, lack of faith, or fear of the unknown? It's really not worth it to miss God in His transitions of our lives because of our own insecurities towards Him, not so much the situation. It's worth the risk to go for it with God and not be afraid of the transitions because God's transitions always leads to transformation.

Believe Him when He says, "I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plan to give you a hope and an expected end. " (Jeremiah 29:11)
 
 Look for God in the transition from a year in New Mexico. He's there, ready to lead you in to greater faith and ministry. Love, Mom

Day 354 TEN MORE DAYS!!! :)

Did you know that Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts says that after the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was captured and indicted for treason? Northerners wanted Davis to be executed, but one group petitioned for his release: former slaves from Davis’ cotton plantation! After a two-year imprisonment, Davis was freed and avoided a trial.

What a great example of grace and mercy on the part of Davis's former slaves. If we're looking at definitions, grace is receiving something beneficial that we don’t deserve, and mercy is not receiving negative consequence for what we do deserve. The freed slaves demonstrated the same kind of grace and mercy that God gives to us through Jesus--and the same that we we extend to others.

As Christians, we talk a lot about mercy and grace, but we show whether or not we really understand mercy and grace through our lives. When we extend God's mercy and grace, we forgive as he has forgiven us--and I can testify that's better and healthier for everyone!

Day 352 The Untouchables

One reason that religion is so dangerous and often so delusional is that if it does not transform people both in mind and at heart, it ends up giving self-centered people a very pious and untouchable way to be on top and in control. God becomes their defense system for their small self! Even Jesus found this to be true of his own scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the law.
                                                                                  -Richard Rohr

Day 351 Un-gifting

The poor have a treasure to offer precisely because they cannot gift us in return. By not paying us for what we have done for them, they call us to inner freedom, selflessness, generosity, and true care. 

Jesus says, "When you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you--and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again." Luke 14:13-14

The repayment in helping those who are poor, or sick, or lame--or in prison--is spiritual. It is the joy, peace, and love of God that we so much desire. This is what the poor give us, not only in the afterlife but already here and now.

Day 350 Find Me

Find Me in the midst of the maelstrom. Sometimes events whirl around you so quickly that they become a blur. Whisper My Name in recognition that I am still with you. Without skipping a beat in the activities that occupy you, you find strength and Peace through praying My Name. Later, when the happenings have run their course, you can talk with Me more fully.

Accept each day just as it comes to you. Don't waste your time and energy wishing for a different set of circumstances. Instead, trust Me enough to yield to My design and purposes. Remember that nothing can separate you from My loving Presence; you are Mine.

                                                                       - Jesus Calling

Day 349 Irresistible

How little people know who think that holiness is dull... When one meets the real thing, it’s irresistible!” - C.S. Lewis

Day 348 On a CS Lewis Run....

To have faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that He says.

There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him.

But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already.

Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you. 

                                                                                            Mere Christianity

Day 347 Pursehead

After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again.

                                                     -  CS Lewis

Day 346 imago dei

We human beings are a mystery to ourselves. We are rational and irrational, civilized and savage, capable of deep friendship and murderous hostility, free and in bondage, the pinnacle of creation and its greatest danger. We are Rembrandt and Hitler, Mozart and Stalin, Antigone and Lady Macbeth, Ruth and Jezebel. “What a work of art,” Shakespeare says of humanity. “We are dangerous,” says Arthur Miller in After the Fall. “We meet … not in some garden of wax fruit and painted leaves that lies East of Eden, but after, after the Fall, after many, many deaths.”

The Bible and Christian theology give expression to this mystery of the dignity and the danger of human beings in three related affirmations: we are created in the image of God; we are sinners who deny and distort our created being; and we are forgiven sinners, enabled by God’s grace to begin life anew in faith, to serve as Christ’s disciples in love, and to move in hope toward the promised fulfillment of life in the coming reign of God.
                                                                             -  Daniel Migliore

Day 345 Tear....

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

A surgeon wrote this story about an experience that changed his life.

I'm standing by the bed where a young woman lies after I finished operating on her face. Her mouth is twisted in palsy and clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be like this from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry-mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks. "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut." She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says. "It is kind of cute." All at once I know who he is. I understand, and lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a great man. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.

This husband was a great man. In the midst of what could have been a horrible experience for all, he rose above his shock: He accommodated his life and kiss to set his wife at ease.

As a Christian we are called to adjust our lives to serve our fellow human family. What is God calling you to do with your life? Are you willing to follow His call? Are you willing to make some adjustments to your lifestyle if necessary?

Day 344 Why

Sometimes I have a day when I ask God why. Then I get reminded that in our walk with Jesus, it's not about explaining the mysteries of life, it is about resting in the truth. The truth is this: We have a God who loves us so much he sent His Son to die for us. We live in a world that is plagued with problems and struggles that we aren't immune to and can't explain. In the hard times, we can cry out to our heavenly Father for comfort. He is with us, walking with us, carrying us through all of life’s struggles.

So we have a choice. Do we dwell on struggling to find the answers to the Why? Sometimes, yes we do, especially when we hurt. But we can eventually look to our Maker and place our trust in Him. We can't understand what God has prepared for us in this life or for eternity. Until then, He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and to be the great Comforter. So when we cry out Why, only He can quiet our souls. In Him we can find comfort, peace, and rest, even when we can’t find explanations.

 God doesn't want us to get caught up in trying to explain the mystery, but to focus on Him. We are called to look toward Him and know that He is with us and we cannot even imagine His purposes or His plan. Trusting in God doesn't mean we abandon our emotions and feelings; focusing on Him, reminds us that He is with us and we never go through our struggles alone.

Day 343 What God Says

Drama is choosing to react like a victim to the weaknesses of others or a particular situation.

Stand firm, and make a choice to not get tangled in the bondage of victimhood.You are free. You have been liberated. Do not believe the false assumptions of victimhood: believe what God says.

 

 

Day 342 Courage

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
                                                    - Alan Kohen

Day 341 Develop your Strengths

A school for animals included classes in swimming, climbing, flying and running. All the animals were required to take all of the classes. The duck was good in swimming and he was pretty fair in flying, but he was terrible in running. As a result, the duck was forced to drop his swimming class and stay after school so he could practice his running. He kept this up until he was only average in swimming but average was okay and that was acceptable and the others were no longer threatened by his swimming abilities. Everyone felt more comfortable, except the duck.

The eagle was somewhat of a problem student from the very beginning. In climbing, the eagle beat everyone to the top of the tree but did it in her own way. She flatly refused to climb the tree and had to be severely disciplined. She was so uncooperative in swimming classes that she finally had to be kicked out of the class.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but was obviously not up to speed in other areas. In fact, the rabbit almost broke its leg trying to fly by using its ears as wings. The rabbit had so much make-up work to do in swimming that it had a nervous breakdown and had to drop out.

Sadly, the turtle was a failure in almost everything. The turtle’s shell was considered to be the primary cause of this dismal performance, so it was removed. This helped the turtle’s running a bit, but unfortunately, it became the first casualty of the school when stepped on by the horse. By the end of the school year, there were no real successes. It seemed that all the animals were either average, sick, or dead.

God has given each one of us certain gifts and abilities, certain strengths and weaknesses. The question becomes which do we focus our efforts on, fixing our weaknesses or developing our strengths? Without doubt, there are some life skills that are important to become competent in – and if we find we are weak in those skills – we should make an effort to improve. Yet, as the parable teaches us – if we primarily focus on fixing our weaknesses – we may end up wasting the strengths God has given us to be used for His glory!

Today, I challenge you to spend some time working to develop your strengths! God has creatively designed you with those strengths. Thank God for them and use them!

Day 340 Quiet Strength

“With our whole heart, soul, mind, strength and fortitude; with our whole understanding, powers, effort, affection, and feeling; with every desire and wish, let us love the Lord our God who gives each of us our body, our soul, our life; who creates, redeems, and saves us by mercy alone; who does all good for us, the miserable and ungrateful. Let us desire nothing else, want nothing else, delight in nothing else, except our Creator, Redeemer and Savior who alone is good; who alone is holy. Let nothing hinder, separate, or come between us.”
                                                                             —St. Francis of Assisi

 Noise fill our lives. Radios or CDs blare. Televisions are on. iPods and other personal media players fill our ears. A quiet moment can be hard to come by. It seems like moments of silence and peace are near extinction sometimes, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that God wants to speak to you.

Quiet your heart in order to learn how to listen to God’s voice. Discovering ways to nurture the practice of silence in our lives is part of the necessary journey into really living as a Christ-follower. Finding quiet for even a moment or two gives us an opportunity to train our hearts, ears, and lives to hear a far sweeter voice. Silence teaches us to listen to the songs of God. The Holy Spirit sings a melody of transformation not condemnation. The Spirit sings a melody that speaks the words of eternal life to the seeking heart.

“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it.”
                                                                        —A.W. Tozer

Day 339 Wreckless

The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18

Despite the amount of times I use it, it doesn’t take intelligence to be critical.

Words are always powerful and when words hurt, they hurt deeply. This verse says that using reckless words is like stabbing another person with a sword. Think about how to set good verbal and personal boundaries without being reckless.

Day 338 Red Dot vs Chaos

A great thing about walking into any Target store is that they all look the same. The aisles, the checkout stands, the greeting cards, home goods, and electronics departments all have a familiar look and set-up to them. It makes it really easy to navigate. They're consistent so you always know what to expect.

While sometimes I like to spice things up, I also appreciate it when some things basically stay the same. No matter where I travel in the US, all stop signs are red hexagons. So, even if I am coming from the other direction and can't see the word “stop,” I still know what's expected of the other driver coming my way. Anyone who drives knows the difference between a double yellow line and a dashed line. The common rules of the road help us drive safely.

You know that the roads in other countries are basically "everyone for yourself!" Lines don’t matter and there is no guarantee that even if you have a green light someone won’t come through the opposite red. It's chaos.

In our lives, there is one thing we can always rely on that will never change: the Word of God. There might be different versions, but all words point back to the same meaning. We can rely fully on a never-changing God. When things get crazy and unpredictable, when doubt starts to creep in, when we disagree, God’s Word is unchanging, and we can rely on it for truth and direction.

Hang on to God's Word and His promises--they stand forever.

Day 335 Run!

Day 334 Four Grizzly Bears

What are the Grizzly Bears in your life?

A friend was in northern wilderness of British Columbia hunting elk. He and his hunting buddy were positioned on a hill over looking hundreds of acres of range.

Suddenly in the distance they spotted four adult grizzly bears charging down a ridge toward them. Fear gripped their hearts. There was no point in running; there was no place to hide or to find safety.

The only hope was to stand their ground and do all they could hoping the bears would never reach them. They knew, even with high powered rifles the odds of dispatching four adult grizzlies was slim.

In the seconds it took to form a plan the bears disappeared into thicket just below them. They only had about a 20 meter window from the thicket to their position. The plan was to make as much noise, yelling and screaming to hopefully spook the bears. In the minutes that followed they could smell the stench of the bears.

After exhausting their vocal cords and every ounce of adrenaline they stopped and waited… The bears never came. They must have entered the thicket and proceeded down the creek bed to the valley below. My friend understood in a new way the dangers of the wilderness!

When I heard this story it occurred to me, “What are the Grizzlies in my life?” What are the deadly beasts I hope never reach me? What are the things that would destroy my life?

The list included some of the big destroyers: adultery, addictions to alcohol or pornography, love of money and possessions. There are some more subtle ones like pride, bitterness, laziness and jealousy.

What are yours? The real question is what am I doing to make sure they never reach me?
 
There are many things to do, here is a few. First, identify the Grizzlies. They will be different or each person.
Second, don’t put yourself in harms way. People that play with fire get burned. Are your activities pushing you toward danger?
Third, draw on God’s wisdom by spending time in reading the Bible.
Forth, realize there is a real spiritual battle. 

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Bust resist him firm in your faith…the God of all grace… will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
I Peter 5:6-10

                                                              -- By John Woodward

---

Day 333 Still Learning to Talk at 55

How to talk to your daughter about her body, Step One: don’t talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Don’t say anything if she’s lost weight. Don’t say anything if she’s gained weight.

If you think your daughter’s body looks amazing, don’t say that.
Here are some things you can say instead:
“You look so healthy!” is a great one.
Or how about, “You’re looking so strong.”
“I can see how happy you are – you’re glowing.”
Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.
Don’t comment on other women’s bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one.

Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness toward herself.

Don’t you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don’t go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don’t say “I’m not eating carbs right now.” Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes.

Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you’ll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn’t absolutely in love with!

Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move their furniture.
Teach your daughter how to cook kale.
Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.
Pass on your own mom’s recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.

Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size-zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world if she wants.

Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her beautiful body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.

Reminding, and sometimes telling you for the first time, Mom <3

Day 331 Facing Life

"Do you know why books are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You’d find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion.

"The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more ‘literary’ you are. That’s my definition anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.

"So now you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only the faces of the full moon, wax, faces without pores, hairless, expressionless."
                                                                     -- Professor Faber, Fahrenheit 451

Day 330 An Overcoming Likeness

 “Overcomers are not perfect. They fail just like the rest of us, but they keep on getting up, keep on repenting, and keep on being willing to surrender themselves to Christ and letting Him, who is the only perfect One, work through them.”
                                                 
                                                                      ― Nancy Missler

Day 329 Happy Dance!

Much of our happiness in life depends on how we think God sees us.

Most of us have a wrong idea of God's opinion of us. We base it on what we've been taught, our bad experiences in life, and many other assumptions. We may think God is disappointed in us or that we'll never measure up. We may even believe God is angry with us because try as we might, we can't stop sinning

But if we want to know the truth, we need to go to the source: God himself. What the Bible tells us there about our relationship with him is nothing short of amazing!

God Sees You as His Beloved Child
You are not a stranger to God. You are not an orphan, even though you may sometimes feel alone. The heavenly Father loves you and sees you as one of his children:

"'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1)

No matter how old you get to be, it's comforting to know that you are a child of God. You belong to a loving, protective Father. God, who is everywhere, keeps watch over you and is always ready to listen when you want to talk with him.

But the privileges don't stop there! Since you've been adopted into the family, you have the same rights as Jesus:

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:17)

God Sees You as Forgiven
Many Christians are staggering under a heavy load of guilt, afraid they have disappointed God, but because you know Jesus as savior, God sees you as forgiven. He does not hold your past sins against you.

The Bible is clear on this point. God sees you as righteous because Jesus cleansed you from your sins.

"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." (Psalm 86:5)
"All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (Acts 10:43)

You don't have to worry about being holy enough, because Jesus was perfectly holy when he died on our behalf. God sees you as forgiven. Your job is to accept the gift!

God Sees You as Saved
Sometimes you may doubt it but, as a child of God and a member of his family, God sees you as saved. Repeatedly in the Bible, God assures believers of our true condition:

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22)
"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21)
"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

You don't have to wonder. You don't have to struggle and try to earn your salvation by works. To know God considers you saved is incredibly reassuring. You can live in joy because Jesus paid the penalty for your sins so you can spend eternity with God in heaven.

God Sees You as Having Hope
When tragedy hits, and you feel as if life is closing in on you, God sees you as a person of hope. No matter how bleak the situation may be, Jesus is with you through it all. Hope is not based on what we can muster up. It's based on the One we have hope in: Almighty God. If your hope feels weak, remember, child of God, your Father is strong. When you keep your attention focused on him, you will have hope:

"'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.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
"The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;" (Lamentations 3:25)
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)

When you see yourself as God sees you, it can change your whole perspective on life. It's not pride or vanity or self-righteousness. It's the truth, supported by the Bible.

Accept the gifts God has given you! Live knowing you are a child of God, mightily loved and wonderfully made.

Love, Mom

Day 328 He Had you at Hello

Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ.     -- CS Lewis

Day 327 Location Matters

Jesus showed us that location matters when it comes to our relationships with the people in our lives who don't believe in him. After recruiting some of His first disciples, they all attended a banquet in the home of a Jewish tax collector name Levi. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors were at the banquet.

The questionable crowd didn’t sit well with the Jewish religious leaders. They “complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with such scum?’" They couldn’t understand why Jesus would have anything to do with people who sold out to the Roman government while their countrymen remained poor and oppressed.

But Jesus understood that location matters. He showed His disciples that to fish for people, you have to go where the “sinners” are.

This is dangerous “fishing.” It presents the danger of being compromised by the world. So it requires a strong relationship with Jesus and deep commitment to follow Him in obedience. 

 It also requires regular involvement with other like-minded believers. But if we’re going to share Jesus with the world, we must be in the world.

Day 326 Morning! :)

He woke me up this morning and started me on my way. This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

Day 324 Squished Buns

It should have been easier. I was at the supermarket. I was in the ten items or less express lane. I was in a hurry. I had two items. The guy in front of me had sixteen items. Sixteen. This included my counting the bunch of bananas as one item, not seven. Then the guy takes out his checkbook. Isn’t this the 21st Century? He hasn't heard of debit cards? By the time it was my turn to check out, my mood matched the now squashed hotdog buns I was holding. I'm not such a patient person.

We all have things that trigger our impatience. For you it’s traffic. For me, it's being late. Or maybe it's your mother. (Couldn't be!) What is it that fuels impatience in our lives? I think there are three big enemies of patience.

1. Overload. We try to cram too much stuff into our schedules and this results in a lifestyle that has no margin. It leaves no breathing room. So when we find ourselves running behind, it breeds impatience. When you live a life with no margin, any little mismanagement or unforeseen circumstance can result in losing your patience.

2. Unrealistic Expectations. Many of us place high expectations on those closest to us. Usually these are our family, friends, and the people closest to us. And when they don’t live up to our expectations, we get impatient. The truth is that people can't possibly live up to every expectation (many of them unspoken) we have. People aren’t perfect, and sooner or later they won’t live up to what we expect.

3. Pride. Sometimes impatience rears its ugly head when our pride is challenged. When we unrealistically or selfishly think we deserve better treatment than we get, our impatience blows out.

I wish there were some easy ways to eliminate the enemies to patience, but these are issues that most people wrestle with throughout their lives. I do.

The bottom line is that we need to keep on pursuing the reign of God’s kingdom in our lives. When we do, we begin to see new options for how we can respond. We don’t have to walk hand-in-hand with the enemies of patience.

Each day we face choices where we either embrace the enemies of patience or embrace God’s kingdom. As we seek His kingdom, patience grows. Our patience changes us, and it changes others as well. Lt God reign in you more today and grow the fruit of the Spirit, patience.

Day 323 Knights of God

GK Chesterson said that "fairytales aren't responsible for producing fear in children, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey.

"What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.

"Exactly what the fairy tale does is this: it accustoms him for a series of clear pictures to the idea that these limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies, that these strong enemies of man have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear."

I like that! 

Day 321 Soul Adrenaline

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourself flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your soul!" Heb. 12: 1-3

In 490 B.C., the Athenians won a crucial battle over King Darius of Persia on a plain near the Greek coastal town of Marathon. On delivering the important message of their victory, the Greek soldier who came to tell the good news died — he had completed the 26-mile course, running and bearing good news and did it totally unreserved until the moment he died. Today marathons are run all over the world, commemorating that very event 2,500 years ago.

Anyone who has run a marathon can tell you how difficult it is. No matter how good you are, how well trained, how prepared, there are times in the race you just want to quit. But those who persevere till the end receive a prize--not the least of which is the satisfaction of actually finishing! Back in King Darius' day, one would win a crown made of leaves. Today, athletes compete for a lot more than that. But in God's race, we win something far more precious — a crown that is incorruptible.

I bet you're tired today. You are overworked, overstressed, overwhelmed … DONE!  Be encouraged! Just when you think you can’t run any further, press through and press on for the great prize! God is with us, strengthening our feeble knees and moving us in the right direction! Love, Mom

When the inadequacy overwhelms me (all the time), when the apprehension rises, and my blood pressure pounds, when my body is fighting jet lag or a migraine, or worse, I’m just plain frightened, tired or old and want to go home and hide (like now!), it’s time to STOP and quit the frantic chasing of my spiritual tail.  I need to be still, take a spiritual deep breath, and ask myself, “Why don’t you cast (hurl) all your cares on Him?  It’s time to have a hurl, girl!”  I tell my quivering heart.
So right there, right then, I run to the steps of my soul and find Him waiting in the garden of grace, in the deep place where nobody goes, with my present and future in His hands just smiling at me!  I love it when He does that!  Why, this moment alone is worth all the stress and strain, fear and weakness.  JOY!
Seeing then that “the joy of the Lord is my strength” (Neh. 8:10), I have a good cry, wash my face, get up and get on with it!  What a life!
Why don’t you do the same?  Cast it all – go on!  HURL IT
- See more at: http://justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=153200#sthash.OaDHudkY.dpuf

Day 320 Desert Hike

A hike in the desert means not having a concrete path to follow, and walking through the desert can be difficult! You need to watch each step and at the same time look at what’s in front of you.

Blazing your own trail through the desert is like walking through life with God. As you move through the desert obstacles, you started asking God to show you how your hike is like trusting in Him. You look to God to guide your every step in this desert terrain, but even more so in your life.

How does God guide us? He guides us as we trust or rely on Him and His Word. Trust in God allows His Spirit to control us. The Spirit controlling us, leads us in God's will for our life, and empowers us to do it.
  Letting God guide us also keeps us walking down His rewarding path instead of a path where we trip and fall into thorny sins and unnecessary trouble.

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8.

Walk through life on a path that leads to eternity.

Day 319 The P Word, bah-hahaha!

Nope--it's not what you think! It's Permission.

In the midst of your most difficult and challenging experience, remember--you are growing. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself time to examine, question, and explore the principles at work and the emotions you are experiencing. Give yourself permission to fall, to get up, and to do better next time.

Day 317 #generation hope

 This post is by a guy named Jarod.

Last week I stumbled upon an article on the Daily Beast called “Are Millennials the Screwed Generation?” What actually drew me in was the hashtag #generationscrewed on my Twitter feed. I followed the tag for a bit, and it ended up getting me pretty fired up for, and at, my fellow millennials.

There’s a lot of sadness out there among people of our generation. The recession has hit us hard, no doubt. Many of us have emerged from college under a staggering load of debt, to a job market that isn’t open.

It’s tough out in the world. Really tough. I count my blessings every day. Really, I do. My wife and I take stock of things constantly, and we stay constantly aware of how God is moving about us. And we’ve prayerfully budgeted to tithe from our first fruits. Did I mention that we pray? Our young son is now included every night too.

The first job my wife had after we got married was a stinker. I had only been in Louisiana for a year, so I convinced her to join me as I was just starting my career, and she jumped in feet first into hers.

 It wasn’t working out, but we needed the income. It was a miserable situation. She had to quit the job, but the whole time we were conscious of the words of Matthew 7:7. We asked, we sought, and we even knocked on doors looking for the Lord’s will.

Before we knew it, there was work in the community that was the right fit for her and our family. But again, we prayed hard for God’s way to be shown to us which in turn made us open to listening for the right path. It brought us hope to know that the Lord was listening and the blessings came.

I’d like to start a movement. Why can’t we be #generationhope? You aren’t alone. The God above wants to hear your prayers and show you, Sarah, the way of hope as you look for your next step. Love, Mom

o matter what our position or function in the church body, all of us have to deal with difficult people. It’s all Eve’s fault!
But it does no good blaming her for the awkward people we have to cope with in our lives and ministry. After all, all we need to do is look in the mirror to see evidence of our own Eve-ness too! So what’s the answer in dealing with difficult people? Maybe an acrostic using the word difficult will help.
Deliberately go out of your way to make friends with difficult people. It’s amazing what friendships can do. Most difficult people are lonely.
Investigate what the Bible says about the problem, then apply the truth you learn.
Forgive them for being difficult.
Forgive them again!
Intercede for them. It’s hard to be irritated with someone when you’re in the presence of God.
Confront the difficulty and try to talk about it. A third party may help to referee if necessary.
Understand “why” the person is behaving like he or she is.
Love them practically. Do something for them they don’t deserve.
Thank God daily for the difficult people in your life. Praise changes relationships. You’ll see!
I have to go now as I have an appointment with someone who wants to see me. She says she finds me a really difficult person! Help Lord!
- See more at: http://justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=113279#sthash.ja6s3VNG.dpuf

o matter what our position or function in the church body, all of us have to deal with difficult people. It’s all Eve’s fault!
But it does no good blaming her for the awkward people we have to cope with in our lives and ministry. After all, all we need to do is look in the mirror to see evidence of our own Eve-ness too! So what’s the answer in dealing with difficult people? Maybe an acrostic using the word difficult will help.
Deliberately go out of your way to make friends with difficult people. It’s amazing what friendships can do. Most difficult people are lonely.
Investigate what the Bible says about the problem, then apply the truth you learn.
Forgive them for being difficult.
Forgive them again!
Intercede for them. It’s hard to be irritated with someone when you’re in the presence of God.
Confront the difficulty and try to talk about it. A third party may help to referee if necessary.
Understand “why” the person is behaving like he or she is.
Love them practically. Do something for them they don’t deserve.
Thank God daily for the difficult people in your life. Praise changes relationships. You’ll see!
I have to go now as I have an appointment with someone who wants to see me. She says she finds me a really difficult person! Help Lord!
- See more at: http://justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=113279#sthash.ja6s3VNG.dpuf

o matter what our position or function in the church body, all of us have to deal with difficult people. It’s all Eve’s fault!
But it does no good blaming her for the awkward people we have to cope with in our lives and ministry. After all, all we need to do is look in the mirror to see evidence of our own Eve-ness too! So what’s the answer in dealing with difficult people? Maybe an acrostic using the word difficult will help.
Deliberately go out of your way to make friends with difficult people. It’s amazing what friendships can do. Most difficult people are lonely.
Investigate what the Bible says about the problem, then apply the truth you learn.
Forgive them for being difficult.
Forgive them again!
Intercede for them. It’s hard to be irritated with someone when you’re in the presence of God.
Confront the difficulty and try to talk about it. A third party may help to referee if necessary.
Understand “why” the person is behaving like he or she is.
Love them practically. Do something for them they don’t deserve.
Thank God daily for the difficult people in your life. Praise changes relationships. You’ll see!
I have to go now as I have an appointment with someone who wants to see me. She says she finds me a really difficult person! Help Lord!
- See more at: http://justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=113279#sthash.ja6s3VNG.dpuf

o matter what our position or function in the church body, all of us have to deal with difficult people. It’s all Eve’s fault!
But it does no good blaming her for the awkward people we have to cope with in our lives and ministry. After all, all we need to do is look in the mirror to see evidence of our own Eve-ness too! So what’s the answer in dealing with difficult people? Maybe an acrostic using the word difficult will help.
Deliberately go out of your way to make friends with difficult people. It’s amazing what friendships can do. Most difficult people are lonely.
Investigate what the Bible says about the problem, then apply the truth you learn.
Forgive them for being difficult.
Forgive them again!
Intercede for them. It’s hard to be irritated with someone when you’re in the presence of God.
Confront the difficulty and try to talk about it. A third party may help to referee if necessary.
Understand “why” the person is behaving like he or she is.
Love them practically. Do something for them they don’t deserve.
Thank God daily for the difficult people in your life. Praise changes relationships. You’ll see!
I have to go now as I have an appointment with someone who wants to see me. She says she finds me a really difficult person! Help Lord!
- See more at: http://justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=113279#sthash.ja6s3VNG.dpuf

Day 316 The T Word

Day 315 Today's Post is Brought to you by the Letter L

L...keep on Listening.

Experiencing God is rarely how we think it will be. We hope for a booming voice, maybe an eye-popping miracle, or even an instant solution to all our life problems. What actually happens is something quite different.

This all-wise, all-powerful Ruler of the Universe does indeed touch the lives of his followers, but in this day and age, he typically does it in a way that is very private and very personal.

The Example We Tend to Forget
When it comes to people experiencing God in the Bible, we think of Jesus' miracles, the parting of the Red Sea, or Daniel surviving the lions' den. We tend to forget a very odd occasion when the prophet Elijah was waiting for God: 

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Elijah hid his face because he knew the Lord was in the gentle whisper. If we are wise, we also will keep listening for the gentle whispers in our lives, because that is when we are most likely to experience God.

Experiencing God in the Quiet
What fills your head? God will not break in on your cell phone conversations or whatever is playing on your iPod. If you fill your head with noise, God will not compete with it.

The Bible tells us to approach God with reverential awe: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10) Fear, in this sense, is not fright but respect.

To hear from God, give him the respect he deserves. God is not a genie, a butler, or the customer service department. Treating him like those things insults him.

We don't need to take a vow of silence to hear from God. We do, however, owe him a quiet, receptive mind. If you are serious about experiencing God, give him opportunities to speak to you.

Taking a walk, meditating on Scripture, or coming to him in prayer are proven ways to invite God into your heart. Just as we would not expect an intimate conversation with someone we just met, we should not expect God to speak with us unless we have a meaningful relationship with him through his son, Jesus Christ.

So What is Experiencing God Like?
God sees you as an individual, unique in his creation; therefore, he will relate to you in a way best suited to you. If you are a believer in Christ, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who will help you discern a true word or experience from God.

We don't have to wonder whether a prompting or internal word is from God, Satan, or our imagination. The Lord's voice is unmistakable. He speaks with power and authority. The true test, however, is that words from God to individuals always, without exception, agree with the Bible. God never contradicts himself.

But there are other ways of experiencing God—through people and through circumstances. God uses people as his instruments, which is a common theme in the Bible. Throughout your life, God will move others to help you, encourage you, and draw you closer to him.

Millions of people imagine God is working in every good circumstance that happens to them. While it's true that God is concerned about the minor details of our lives, it's probably overreaching to believe getting the biggest ice cream cone is a sure sign of God's favor.

Still, events happen that have no logical explanation. We manage to avoid a traffic accident at the last second. We get a job we desperately needed against incredible odds. We get healed of an illness after our family and friends prayed for us.

On the other hand, often we don't get what we pray for. Only after years of maturity are we able to look back and see that our desire may have destroyed us. God was working in our life by denying our request but we can't see it at the time.

How Long Does Experiencing God Take?
When you love God, you are eager for him to give himself to you, and Jesus already proved his love for you on the cross two thousand years ago. Someone once said that if you were the only person on earth, Jesus still would have died to save you from your sins. Think about that.

Experiencing God in an intimate, personal way takes patience. The more you read the Bible, pray, and stay in relationship to him, the more Jesus will move in your life. But we cannot force this to occur. God works in his own time and in his own way.

When it happens, and it will happen, you will know it. You will know that it was not your imagination or some odd coincidence. You will be stunned at the depth of God’s love for you.