Walking in the truth....

I decided to look at my blog tonight and was so shocked to see how long it has been since I posted anything!  This is NOT because God has not been at work!  Daily I marvel more and more at His constant love and faithfulness.  Recently I have been spending a lot of time reading the Psalms again.  My eyes have been opened even more about how constant and thorough is His care for us.  He is our shield, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, He surrounds us, He is our shepherd, providing everything we need.  Ohhh and I have been amazed to see how attentive God is.  He HEARS our prayers, He is listening to us.  There is no one on earth that has ever or will ever listen to us the way our God listens to us.  He not only listens to our prayers, but he listens to the cries of our hearts when we can't even pray.  There is so much truth packed into the Psalms.  Truth about God's sovereignty, power, love, faithfulness.  His character is expounded and extolled over and over.  This is not only the God, the only God, but this is MY God.  Oh how I just want more and more of this truth to saturate and permeate every thought and crowd out all the human thoughts and worries that compete for my attention and fling my emotions into a flurry of panic or distress.  Lord Jesus, transform my mind and renew it daily and moment by moment, that I might truly walk as You would have me walk.

Content and untouched by trouble

Cate and I read Prov. 19:23 yesterday morning and I am still thinking about it.  It says, "The fear of the Lord leads to life.  Then one rests content, untouched by trouble."  This is one of the most glorious parts about the gospel.  When Jesus saves us, not only is our soul safe from hell, but our soul can also be safe from hell on earth.  By fearing Him (honoring, focusing on, caring about Him first, putting Him first in everything,)  life occurs instead of death, and my soul is shielded and enabled to enjoy this life, where I am at, my position in life, my responsibilities in life, my abundance or my lack and to just be content and untouched by trouble.  That doesn't mean that I don't care about trouble or other people's troubles or that I don't get involved in compassionately helping others in their troubles.  But what it means is that I don't take it into my spirit to the degree that I am overwhelmed and lose hope and live in discouragement and defeat.  We can truly live content in where we are right now because we are just trusting in the Lord with all our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding.  Thank you Lord, for the gift of contentment and your great gift of life...........

Now you see it...now you don't....

I have had the frustrating experience recently of working for hours and hours on History Co-op lesson plans for the year and then losing my work through a computer crash.  I re-grouped and re-did my work plus much more and went to bed late last night so happy that I had finally finished!  I am so very excited for all the plans I have for Cate and Amy's Senior year History class.  But my heart dropped this morning when I couldn't find my document again!!  I searched and searched and finally found it saved in the wrong file!!  I was thanking God for answering my prayers.

I was reflecting on how that is with my spiritual life is sometimes also.  One day I am fully charged and passionate and the next day perhaps I get pulled down by the pressures of life and my joy fades or disappears!    I have been praying so much lately that God would help my joy to just stay constant, no matter what is happening around me.  I don't want my joy to be an elusive entity that can't be found when I really need it!!  I also want others to be able to count on me to be a positive influence for the Lord at all times.  Lord, help my joy not to escape and be lost to me and others this day......

Does prayer season my speech?

Cate and I have been reading through Colossians for our morning devotions together.  It is such a practical, powerful little book with so many spiritual nuggets that transform.  Like this morning's passage in chapter 4.  Verse 2 says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful....V4-6..'Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone."

As I have thought more about this passage, I have been thinking about how staying in prayer puts a check on my spirit and my tongue and truly does help me to have more grace and more "salt" to season the conversation with.  Prayer also sometimes helps us to act as we should toward outsiders, those who don't know the Lord just yet.

Ted, Cate and I were over at Grammy and GrampyDear's house on Sunday and he had been asked to go over and pray with someone all because she had heard him praying from the heart one night as he asked the blessing on the food.  She had been invited over with some other people and her heart was unexpectedly touched by the salt and grace of Grampy Dear.  He was so surprised a few weeks later when he received the request for him to pray for this lady.   We never know when our speech or attitude will make an impact on someone else.  But I know that I do love to be around people whose conversation is full of grace.

I am so thankful for this passage.  God told us to have gracious speech and be salt and light to this dark world,  so we can do it with His amazing power!  May the Lord bless all of us with a greater prayer life and also with gracious speech that seasons the conversation and is a witness for our Lord!

"It is a gift to work"...

Last night we found out that our dear friend, Sharon Seldomridge, was having some serious health issues.  Ted and I prayed in bed together and I felt troubled.  This morning I was able to call her and find a little more of the details.  She has been diagnosed with Systemic Schlerosis.  She described her symptoms to me, which include hardening of her cells.  She first noticed that her hands felt hard.  I won't go into all the details about this disease, but when I asked Sharon how she is doing, she was quick to say that the Lord is giving her His sweet grace.  She also mentioned that she had a little more energy this past week and able to do a little more in her home.  She said to me, "It is a gift to work.  You never realize how true this is until you can't work and can't accomplish things on your list.''  I have been pondering this all day and am in agreement totally.  I have long prayed to God that He would bless my health so that I could serve Him and others and be able to work and move as long as I live.   But today it made me just be a little more thankful for all the things on my list and that I do have the ability to do them, if not always the time to do so.  This morning Cate and I just read, "Do your work heartily as unto the Lord.  It is the Lord Christ you serve...."

Self-control...is what I need....

Anyone remember that worship song from about 10 or more years ago..."Holiness, holiness is what I long for;
Holiness is what I need..."  I have been meditating this week on all the ways I need more self-control in my life.  One, to keep my heart and mind fixed on Jesus and not allow the words or actions of others to distract me.  Two, to keep my tongue under His control so that I don't say everything that comes to mind but only that which edifies the hearer.  My poor Cate, the last child, has to hear so many of my blunders in saying too much or saying what isn't necessary.  I thank God she is so forgiving and sweet and patient.  Speaking of patience....that is another one I need.  But back to self-control.....how many days do I wake up and pray for God to help me lose weight today and then feel defeated at the end of the day.  Ohhh  I could be so very discouraged if I didn't keep in mind that self-control is a fruit that is growing in me along with the other fruit of the Spirit.  And I could be so very discouraged if I didn't keep remembering that God isn't measuring me by my perfection, or terrible lack thereof, but rather by the righteous covering that He has placed on my life in Jesus.  I want to have more self-control so that God can be glorified in my life.  Lord, help me to keep looking to You  to do a deeper work of your Spirit in me and my flesh, that I might please you and bring you glory all the days of my life.  amen.

It's time to share my thoughts...

I have long wanted to become a blogger but I have this nagging problem:  I don't like to take pictures!  I love to have them and look at them just as long as someone else does the work!  I recently realized I could just "borrow" pictures from all my family and friends and then you guys could all hear from me.  Or if that doesn't work I will just write my thoughts and you can use your imagination if I don't have a picture to post.

Now that my problem is solved, here I go!!