Today as I look back over the past year with its challenges and changes, I am so grateful to know that our God has been in control of our goings and our comings! Nothing was a surprise to Him and He orchestrated a few surprises for us that have all been for our good!
I am so thankful for the love of my wonderful husband, who continues to love me unconditionally and unselfishly! With 40 years of marriage under our belts this year, I have another gratitude to our Father for that fete - we could not have made it without His guidance, forgiveness and mercy! I'm thankful for the love of my three children, their spouses and my eight grandchildren! God is so good and He has blessed me with many blessings through them this past year. I thank God for my siblings and my mother who help keep me grounded and appreciative of all the opportunities and help their love has provided. I'm thankful for my Christian family that is spread throughout the world. The love of Abba Father that binds us together and makes us one is the most powerful force in the universe! I'm grateful for the friends from my past that have been brought back into my present and, hopefully, my future! I'm excited and thankful for the plans that Abba Father has for me in this next year and for the health to be able to participate in all His plans.
Oh, He is so good and He's so loving! I'm very grateful to be called His daughter, to hear His voice and to know His love! There is nothing to top it in this world or the next! I love each of you and pray that you will find much to be grateful for as you reflect back on this year. God bless you in His love! Happy Day of Giving Thanks, dear ones.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Prime Your Pumps! or Thanksgiving Blog
Growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania, we had no running water or bathrooms in the house. We did have a wondeful, old, red-handled pump right outside the kitchen door where we could get the coldest, sweetest water on earth! The water came from the flowing creek at the bottom of the pasture and was pumped up to the house from a pump house down by the creek. Frequently, after not being used for awhile, we would have to prime the pump by pouring some water down it to get the water to come out. Once it started coming, we could pump as long as we wanted and the water would keep pouring out!
I've said all that to prime my Thanksgiving Blog! When My husband and I started our family and celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our home, we decided to start doing "Thankfulness Rounds" around the table. Everyone was expected to participate by sharing something for which they were thankful. At first, as young children, they were excited about thanking God for their sister, dog or new toy. As they entered the teenage years they became less excited about our traditional rounds. Each year our children would start off complaining about having to participate in the rounds, so each year we would have to prime the pump and start sharing our own thanks and then passing the turn around the table. Some years we only managed three or four rounds before we stopped and other years we would go about ten rounds. Each year there were tears and laughter by the time we finished and there was the determination by Allen and me that we were doing the right thing. Whenever we had guests join us for Thanksgiving, we always shared our tradition with them and welcomed them to join us in the rounds if they so desired. I don't recall that anyone ever refused the invitation even if they were a mite apprehensive. We have had some wonderful thanks given around our dining room table, thanks expressed by friends of old, friends we met that day, people of other faiths and nationalities and our own dear children as adults! Tears have flowed and laughter has been shared. How enriched and blessed we've been as we've been entrusted with thankful hearts. There is a vulnerability in being thankful. It denotes our dependence on our God and His access into our lives. It relates our interdependency on others. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to give thanks IN everything for this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Being thankful keeps our eyes on our Father and what He is about rather than our circumstances. Being thankful is certainly a God thing and because of that, it's a good thing!
Our three children are married with children of their own and all of them now do the Thankfulness Rounds as part of their celebration. Now they're hearing some of the same types of things we did and are also experiencing the joy of thanks given and thanks received. There are now tears at numerous tables and family gatherings. Guests and family members who shared those times with us in the past have also incorporated it into their holiday traditions. So, if you haven't already done so, prime the pump in your own family or gathering and get those thankful hearts going in grateful praise to Almighty God! Start small if necessary, but start & don't quit because if you prime long enough the cool, sweet, water of thankful hearts will come pouring out and will keep coming long after the day of Thanksgiving has passed!
I've said all that to prime my Thanksgiving Blog! When My husband and I started our family and celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our home, we decided to start doing "Thankfulness Rounds" around the table. Everyone was expected to participate by sharing something for which they were thankful. At first, as young children, they were excited about thanking God for their sister, dog or new toy. As they entered the teenage years they became less excited about our traditional rounds. Each year our children would start off complaining about having to participate in the rounds, so each year we would have to prime the pump and start sharing our own thanks and then passing the turn around the table. Some years we only managed three or four rounds before we stopped and other years we would go about ten rounds. Each year there were tears and laughter by the time we finished and there was the determination by Allen and me that we were doing the right thing. Whenever we had guests join us for Thanksgiving, we always shared our tradition with them and welcomed them to join us in the rounds if they so desired. I don't recall that anyone ever refused the invitation even if they were a mite apprehensive. We have had some wonderful thanks given around our dining room table, thanks expressed by friends of old, friends we met that day, people of other faiths and nationalities and our own dear children as adults! Tears have flowed and laughter has been shared. How enriched and blessed we've been as we've been entrusted with thankful hearts. There is a vulnerability in being thankful. It denotes our dependence on our God and His access into our lives. It relates our interdependency on others. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to give thanks IN everything for this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Being thankful keeps our eyes on our Father and what He is about rather than our circumstances. Being thankful is certainly a God thing and because of that, it's a good thing!
Our three children are married with children of their own and all of them now do the Thankfulness Rounds as part of their celebration. Now they're hearing some of the same types of things we did and are also experiencing the joy of thanks given and thanks received. There are now tears at numerous tables and family gatherings. Guests and family members who shared those times with us in the past have also incorporated it into their holiday traditions. So, if you haven't already done so, prime the pump in your own family or gathering and get those thankful hearts going in grateful praise to Almighty God! Start small if necessary, but start & don't quit because if you prime long enough the cool, sweet, water of thankful hearts will come pouring out and will keep coming long after the day of Thanksgiving has passed!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Please, Please, Don't Drink the Poison!
To forgive or not to forgive is one of life's more challeging situations. I'm sure each of you has had many times when you had to choose between forgiving or not, just as I have. The decision to forgive is easier for me than it used to be, but there are still situations where I struggle with that decision. I've discovered when I'm confronted with a second-person offense, when someone I care about has been wronged, it is harder for me to reach that forgiveness decision than when it is only directed at me. I think its that "mother-bear syndrome" even when I'm not their mother!
Some time ago, I read the most dynamic definition of unforgiveness I had ever seen. The author, I regret I don't remember who it was, stated that unforgiveness is when: "We drink the poison expecting the other person to die!" What a perfect picture of such a vile thing as unforgiveness! That's a visual that has spurred me to forgive when my emotions didn't want me to. I hurt only myself when I choose to not forgive. Steve Saint wrote that "Hating someone and holding onto bitterness builds a prison around us. Forgiving others frees us." Forgiveness is first a choice and then an action. To forgive doesn't mean that person deserves forgiveness or that we forget his/her actions, it means we CHOOSE to forgive and then we do so! I choose to not die from poison I've ingested in a prison I've constructed! What a waste of our time, energy and position in Christ. The Bible states that if we don't forgive, we will not be forgiven and I need to be forgiven, hence I need to forgive because the price is too great if I don't! Our extraordinary God prepared an amazing way for our own undeserved forgiveness - Jesus the Christ! How can we do less?
Some time ago, I read the most dynamic definition of unforgiveness I had ever seen. The author, I regret I don't remember who it was, stated that unforgiveness is when: "We drink the poison expecting the other person to die!" What a perfect picture of such a vile thing as unforgiveness! That's a visual that has spurred me to forgive when my emotions didn't want me to. I hurt only myself when I choose to not forgive. Steve Saint wrote that "Hating someone and holding onto bitterness builds a prison around us. Forgiving others frees us." Forgiveness is first a choice and then an action. To forgive doesn't mean that person deserves forgiveness or that we forget his/her actions, it means we CHOOSE to forgive and then we do so! I choose to not die from poison I've ingested in a prison I've constructed! What a waste of our time, energy and position in Christ. The Bible states that if we don't forgive, we will not be forgiven and I need to be forgiven, hence I need to forgive because the price is too great if I don't! Our extraordinary God prepared an amazing way for our own undeserved forgiveness - Jesus the Christ! How can we do less?
Friday, September 10, 2010
Holding Tightly With My Eyes Closed!
When I was a child we moved twice a year to another state. The journey would entail a couple of nights in little roadside motels, meals at picnic tables and an occasional Yoo Hoo to drink when we stopped for gas. I don't recall ever asking my daddy, the driver, if he knew the way to go, if he had enough money to get us there or if our car was safe for the journey. I often asked him how long it would be till we got to our destination and "are we almost there?". As I have been thinking about my relationship to Abba Father and His directive that we need to come to Him as little children, the memory of my childhood days has helped me to understand more clearly what Abba means. Thankfully, I had a good daddy I could trust. He wasn't perfect like heavenly Father, but he was a good man and I knew he loved me. It's been easy for me to draw comparisons from my childhood because of that. I know many of you had fathers that you couldn't say that about or no father figure at all. It may be more difficult for you to come to Abba Father with childlike faith, but it is not impossible. Father God is constantly at work in our lives to reveal His great love to us and His desire to have a deep relationship with each of us. Maybe you've received a gift that you had no reason to expect, a job promotion or position offered when you had almost given up, new friends and old that truly care about you, a good report from the doctor regarding a condition you have or had, or anything good in your life. I believe all those are gifts from God to show us His love-heart and to draw us into a relationship with Him. Okay, most of us can accept that, but what about the times when people and things are not so good in our lives? Those times when our home is being foreclosed, our jobs are gone, our friends seem to have abandoned us or our health is attacked can be earthquakes in our relationship with Abba Father unless we have come to experience His love for us and to trust Him as a little child. That trust as a child where we simply have to hold on tight to our Daddy and let Him get us through the mess. Picture with me a raging river, a stormy night, a single log across that raging river to the other peaceful side and Father God on your side of the river. Childlike faith is when Abba Father holds us and tells us to put our arms around His neck and hold on tightly - He will walk us across to the other side. He instructs us to keep our eyes tightly shut and trust Him to get us safely over. What a wonderful position to be in - in His arms with our arms tightly around His neck and our eyes closed! That, my friend, is childlike faith! We're fine in that position unless we open our eyes and look at the narrowness of that single log or the raging waters below. Those are faith destroyers and cause us to start squirming in fear and trying to get out of Abba's embrace because we're not sure He can get us across. Nothing has changed in that picture except we opened our eyes and became focused on the circumstances rather than our faith in Him! How many times I've done that and you probably have as well. I don't want to live like that anymore, so I am determined to keep these baby blues closed as Abba Father walks me safely over! Join me, won't you?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
"Use The Oil You Have"
Last week I wanted to bless a couple of my friends. These women and I meet on a regular basis and have shared our hearts, hurts, joys and hopes with one another. The three of us are walking some new, uncharted paths and I just wanted to show them, in a tangible way, that I love them and care about them. As I shared that desire with Holy Spirit, I related that I had no money to buy anything for them. Of course, He knew my situation and had put the desire in my heart to bless them! He also had the answer - "Use the oil you have"! Remembering the stories from I Kings 17 and II Kings 4 of the prophets, Elijah and Elisha, being fed by the widows with their last little bit of oil and flour, I knew what I was to do. Going through my pantry and freezer I was able to make them some goodies. I believe they were blessed - I sure know I was!
I have mused over Holy Spirit's statement this week because I believe there is a deeper lesson to be learned. Many times I have not done something to help someone, not been available because I didn't think I had "what it took" to meet that need. Oil is symbolic of anointing in Scripture, so the statement could be interpreted to mean, "Use the anointing you have." When we operate in the anointing of Holy Spirit we have whatever it takes to meet the needs of others. The oil flowing from Holy Spirit's bottle doesn't run out as we stay connected to Him. We are supernaturally enabled to meet the needs of others when we use His oil! Flowing from His anointing oil is healing, teaching, mercy, love, grace, forgiveness, preaching, helps, and joy! Wow! What a difference we can make if we start using the anointing oil we have, rather than focusing on what we don't have! We have everything we need to make a shining (oil is greasy, remember) difference in our world - everything! So... are we willing to use what we have and let our extraordinary Father turn our "little" into much for His glory? I say, "YES"!
I have mused over Holy Spirit's statement this week because I believe there is a deeper lesson to be learned. Many times I have not done something to help someone, not been available because I didn't think I had "what it took" to meet that need. Oil is symbolic of anointing in Scripture, so the statement could be interpreted to mean, "Use the anointing you have." When we operate in the anointing of Holy Spirit we have whatever it takes to meet the needs of others. The oil flowing from Holy Spirit's bottle doesn't run out as we stay connected to Him. We are supernaturally enabled to meet the needs of others when we use His oil! Flowing from His anointing oil is healing, teaching, mercy, love, grace, forgiveness, preaching, helps, and joy! Wow! What a difference we can make if we start using the anointing oil we have, rather than focusing on what we don't have! We have everything we need to make a shining (oil is greasy, remember) difference in our world - everything! So... are we willing to use what we have and let our extraordinary Father turn our "little" into much for His glory? I say, "YES"!
"Use The Oil You Have"
Last week I was wanting to bless some friends of mine. I love to give gifts, that's my strongest love language, and I had no money to buy anything for them. I shared my desire with the Father, of course, He's the One who put the desire there in the first place. I told Him that I wanted to do something for them and didn't know what to do. Holy Spirit simply said, "Use the oil you have"! I remembered
Sunday, June 6, 2010
"Why, Oh Why?"
This was the title of a dear friend's email to me earlier this week. She wanted to know why our faith in the Father is so tested and stretched. Knowing some of the trials I've gone through and some I'm currently going through, she was asking for some wisdom and prayer support. I can only give what I have, so this was my answer. Any wisdom I've gained has come through my journey with Abba Father and my relationship with Him
"We are tested and stretched because He has more in store for us than just "easy" faith! Remember, if we can see it in the natural, it isn't faith, its just walking in the natural. His desire is for us to know Him so intimately and to trust Him so completely that our lives won't become topsy-turvey if we don't "see" what we want or are expecting. I know you know this, but He is working to establish a knowing in your spirit that supercedes your circumstances! That's where true faith and true peace reside - in the knowing of Abba Father. I can relate to your cry and so can He. We have had no income for over a year and our home is in foreclosure. We have visions and plans that we believe the Father has given us, and yet, no concrete visualization of His provision. We haven't gone hungry, we have kept our utilities on and gas in our cars. At any point, the homes and properties we owned could have sold and rescued us from this place - it didn't happen. We are continuing to walk each day in faith, knowing that He has promised He won't ever abandon us or leave us defenseless. He hasn't! We don't see the way out yet, but we know its there and that it will be revealed as we wait on Him. I don't know all we'll have to walk through to get there, but I am convinced by His love and care over us, that we will get where we are to be to serve Him more completely than ever before. I can say, with that same assurance, that you will get through this place if you continue to seek hard after Him. He will take you and your family through, not around, but through, circumstances that cause you to cling to Him and learn to know Him more intimately as your Daddy Provider - Your More Than Enough! The journey through isn't to hurt or alarm, but to prove His love and character to His sons and daughters. Trust Him and let Him carry you through in His arms because they are there for you. Get excited about what He is forming in you, because He is excited and delighted about you!"
Just about everyone I talk with is going "through" something in their life that requires faith in order to make it through victoriously. I encourage you to meditate on Psalm 37 and meditate on Abba's love for you, His child! Be blessed by our extraordinary Daddy!
"We are tested and stretched because He has more in store for us than just "easy" faith! Remember, if we can see it in the natural, it isn't faith, its just walking in the natural. His desire is for us to know Him so intimately and to trust Him so completely that our lives won't become topsy-turvey if we don't "see" what we want or are expecting. I know you know this, but He is working to establish a knowing in your spirit that supercedes your circumstances! That's where true faith and true peace reside - in the knowing of Abba Father. I can relate to your cry and so can He. We have had no income for over a year and our home is in foreclosure. We have visions and plans that we believe the Father has given us, and yet, no concrete visualization of His provision. We haven't gone hungry, we have kept our utilities on and gas in our cars. At any point, the homes and properties we owned could have sold and rescued us from this place - it didn't happen. We are continuing to walk each day in faith, knowing that He has promised He won't ever abandon us or leave us defenseless. He hasn't! We don't see the way out yet, but we know its there and that it will be revealed as we wait on Him. I don't know all we'll have to walk through to get there, but I am convinced by His love and care over us, that we will get where we are to be to serve Him more completely than ever before. I can say, with that same assurance, that you will get through this place if you continue to seek hard after Him. He will take you and your family through, not around, but through, circumstances that cause you to cling to Him and learn to know Him more intimately as your Daddy Provider - Your More Than Enough! The journey through isn't to hurt or alarm, but to prove His love and character to His sons and daughters. Trust Him and let Him carry you through in His arms because they are there for you. Get excited about what He is forming in you, because He is excited and delighted about you!"
Just about everyone I talk with is going "through" something in their life that requires faith in order to make it through victoriously. I encourage you to meditate on Psalm 37 and meditate on Abba's love for you, His child! Be blessed by our extraordinary Daddy!
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