Tag: God

Daily Thoughts

Veterans Day Plus One

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Yesterday was a day of reflection and gratefulness. As I scroll down on all the post from FaceBook and see everyone give honor and thankfulness to those who served, I can’t help but think of something that continues to fill my mind. Yes, I am most grateful for each and every person who has served in our military and sacrificed so very much, sometimes even their lives. But as I get older, there is something that just fills my heart with wonder. As most of you who read my blog know, I never got to meet my biological dad. He and my mom never married and she had given him instructions to stay out of her life and not to try to even contact her or me, when she learned that he was also the father of another baby that was due to be born around the same time as she would give birth to me. Yes, I am very grateful that she chose to keep me and she loved me and married a man who adopted me and loved me as his own. But being an only child, it becomes such a dream to meet someone that is related to me. My biological dad was named Eugene Gaylord Gipson, known also as Jiggs, from Peru, Indiana. He had four sons and two other daughters. From his obit, I learned that he served as a US Navy veteran in WW2 and was on the USS Wisconsin. My mom always carried around one picture of him and had given it to me years ago so I would know what he looked like. He owned a Tavern, called the Jockey Club in Indiana, after retiring from the military. He died in 1973, I have heard from cancer.

My adopted father, Carl Roland Michaels, served in the Navy, in San Diego until being discharged due to scarlet fever. He married my mom when I was 8 months old and raised me, like I said earlier, as if I were his own. My mom and dad were actively involved in church, serving as youth leaders, then teaching Sunday School, sang in the choir and allowed so many different people, who needed a place to live, in their home. Did they have a great marriage? No, not really. But they did, in their own way, love each other and they did love the Lord. They taught me what serving others looked like so very well. At night, I would walk by their bedroom and see them both kneeling by their beds, praying after reading their Bible. We went to church each week, not out of duty, but out of honor and respect for God. They taught me that the best way to love God was to love others. I remember my mom always saying, to have real JOY, put Jesus First, Other’s Second and Yourself last. My mom struggled with depression and with some anger all of her life. But through those struggles, she always depended on God for provision and for strength. My poor dad seemed to catch the blunt of her anger so many times. But through it all, he still loved her. I have often thought about how different my life might have been had I known my bio dad. God always knows what is best for us and because my mom had a priority to marry someone who would be a good dad, I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home.

The purpose in me writing about this is that maybe you are like me and never met your real mom or dad. Maybe you did not have a family that was the perfect Leave It To Beaver family. But God……He who sacrificed His Son that we might live and live abundantly. Will your life be perfect, because you are a Christian? Of course not. But you will have someone who walks through the valleys of life with you. He will give you strength and peace and joy that the world cannot give you. This is not about joining a church. This is not about a religion. This is about giving your heart to Jesus, who loves you as His own. We all can be adopted into the family of God, no matter who your parents are.

I heard on the radio yesterday to ask yourself every day this questions:

“At the end of the day, what is one thing I did today that I did because I am a Christian, that I would not have done otherwise?” Is there anything that I did that would point someone to Jesus? That is what I am going to begin doing. It helps me keep my eyes on what they should be on…..Jesus Christ.

I might not ever meet any of my biological family members this side of heaven. But I do know that my Father in Heaven loves me and cares for me and will one day say, “welcome home dear child, you are mine and I love you.” What better words could we hope to hear?

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There Shall Be Showers of Blessing

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A day of emotional ups and downs. This day began knowing that I was waking up to go to the dentist for the second time this week. On Monday, my regular dentist had given me some very unwelcome news. I am one of those who would rather go through childbirth than sit in a dentist chair. Back in 2012, in California, I had to have a tooth pulled and it was not a good experience. In fact, from that point on, it seems that the word “valium” comes to mind when I know I am going in to have dental work. But when Dr. Sandridge told me Monday that he didn’t have good news for me, I began to dread today, knowing that I might have another tooth pulled or a root canal redone. Sorry for all the details, but bare with me……when I walked into this new office this morning, I could tell by my blood pressure being sky high due to the fear that ran through me. When the girl took me back and checked my BP, she looked at me and said, “oh my, are you on BP meds” I quickly responded that no I was not because the only time it is high is when I go to the dentist. It was 167 over something. I have no idea what. When I saw the 167, I quickly looked away. Didn’t want to see the bottom number. Well, the news I got today was that I have to have 2 teeth removed. The good news is they are sending me to an oral surgeon so I will put put under and won’t feel anything. Thank you Lord. Now for the blessings. As I drove away thanking the Lord for this news that I get to be asleep to have the work done, I headed to church to pick up my book I had ordered for Fall Bible Study. Due to the Covid-19, the church bookstore has had curbside pick up for orders. All you have to do is drive up, call and they will bring your order out to you. But as I was just so grateful to have had the news of being asleep for the tooth pulling, I thought, “no, instead of calling and making Leslie bring out the book order, I think I will go in and get it.” So I parked and went in. As I was in line behind another lady picking up an order, there it was……..
the pillow I had been trying to find for 1 1/2 years. If anyone remembers reading a post I wrote last Aug called Sweet Tea & Jesus, this is a pillow I had seen at Bucky’s last year while traveling. I just had to have it. But when I went back to get it, (after traveling for 7 months), it was not to be found anywhere. So I gave up. Two precious friends felt sorry for me and sent me a tea towel that had the same saying on it. But I still wanted the pillow. Well….today, standing in line waiting to check out at Prestonwood Book Store, I looked to my right and there it was. All I could think of was how precious the Lord was to just give me a sweet blessing today. He knows when we need just to know He is there and that He cares about the days that are filled with emotions and fears that cause our BP to go through the roof. It just blessed my heart to know that after this day of hearing what I dreaded, The song, “He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs” came quickly to my mind. He does meet us at our points of needs in ways that surprise us. We do serve a mighty loving Father who loves us so very personally.
Is having some teeth pulled a big deal? not in the scheme of things that are going on in so many peoples lives, but today it was to me and He knows that. But….He also sees the tears that fall from our eyes and is so gracious to shower us with blessings that just show us He is here, ALWAYS! Lord, thank you for prompting me to get out of the car and go inside instead of being lazy and letting someone else wait on me.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Ezekiel 34:26b “… and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.”

There shall be showers of blessings, This is the promise of love. There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above…showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need; mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead”
Written by James McGranahan (1840-1907)

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Through It All

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Well, if you are like us, you are probably about 7-9 days into being stuck in the house, oops, I mean, being blessed to be privileged with your precious husband, and/or kids/or both.  For some reason, when I got up this morning, the old song, sung by Ray Boltz but written by Andre Crouch, Through It All, was running through my mind:

‘I’ve had many tears and sorrows

I’ve had questions for tomorrow

There’re been times, I didn’t know right from wrong

But in every situation, God gave blessed consolation

That my trials come to only make me strong.

Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus I’ve learned to trust in God, Through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

I’ve been to lots of places, and I’ve seen a lot of faces, There’ve been times I felt so all alone, but in my lonely hours, yes, those precious lonely hours, Jesus let me know that I was His own. Through it all, yes, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.’

This great song just keeps going through my mind as we wake again each day not knowing how long this trial and difficult time will last. But….we need to also remember that Joy Comes In the Morning!

This morning as i sat and watched GMA for a few minutes while drinking my Dr Pepper, it was just so sweet to see families who were coming together in ways that they had not done previously. As I sat there and watched, I was struck by the memories of years ago when my daughter came back from a very difficult time in our lives. She and I would sit and think about those hard years but also for what those hard years taught each of us. As she and I looked back at that time, we both, were thankful for the things we learned about each other and about relationships and the work that it takes to grow them and to allow each other grace. That was what I thought about this morning as I watched these precious families on TV. The laughter that was coming from the homes. The closeness and the togetherness that was so evident. Yes, we will all be so thankful when these hard and difficult days are behind us. But….may we come out on the other side being different people. People who are grateful for the little things, once again. People whose hearts are bent toward showing thankfulness and grace and enjoying others. For  awhile after 911 churches were filled and Bibles were being read. That didn’t last very long. My prayer is that this time, we will truly learn that the things we are experiencing are hard; but they are good in that it is teaching us to look through the eyes of others. To appreciate people and to share our hearts and God’s love and kindness to people.

Truly, may we never forget…….never!

Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in God!

 

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Praying In The Parking Lot

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As so many of us have been ordered to stay home as of yesterday, I thought this precious testimony would remind us that God loves us personally and sometimes sends others into our lives to not only bless us, but to be a blessing to others. When I received this today in my email from a precious friend, it made me cry. It convicted me, first of all, of the times when I felt that nudging from the Holy Spirit to go and be obedient to get out of my comfort zone and pray for someone or at least go and see how I could encourage them. We never know what others are going through. They might be struggling physically, spiritually or, as we will certainly be seeing in these coming days, financially. But God…..is still here and still loves us and still wants to bless us. So many times we think that blessings should always be financially, or health related or have things that make our lives joyful and pleasant. But blessings can come in many forms. As this story will tell us, 3 lives were blessed this day because of one women’s obedience.  The blessing  was for one lady, the chance to be used of God to bless another. The recipient was blessed to know that God cared enough and loved her enough to send someone to just encourage her. The 3rd lady, the “witness” of this event, was blessed by seeing how God orchestrated this to show her friend that God was still in the business of loving and caring for His own. I am using just the initial of the lady telling the story, as she does not want the focus to be on her. We will just call her S. This is her testimony…

“My Dear Praying Princesses,

I miss you a lot and hope that you are safe and protected under the shadow of His wings, in spite of all that is happening around us. I am so sorry that I missed last Thursday’s prayer time with you, but your prayers still resound in my heart.

I wanted to share with you something that happened to me last Wednesday, March 11th at my local Aldi store, 2 days before the President declared the National Emergency. I was shopping for my weekly groceries, just the essentials and there were not many customers in the store. I was weighed down with my own financial worries, school closing and trying to find healthy food for the kids. I was standing behind a middle-aged woman (must be in her 60’s) at the checkout line and she was having a hard time taking items out of the cart. I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask her if I could help put her items on the counter. She said, “yes” and showed me her left hand which was bent. She told me she had a problem with her hands that she could not move her fingers. She could not drive and her friend had brought her to the store.

I remembered Sister Cora’s prayers and Sister Kathy’s story about comforting strangers in our daily life and the Holy Spirit whispered to me in clear words to pray for her. My automatic reaction was…”no Lord, not today…I have so many things to worry about.”

I spent the next 5 minutes ignoring the voice of God within me and hoping that I would be done with my checkout soon but the Lord delayed the cashier for another 5 minutes. We both checked out, the lady was still inside the store bagging her groceries and as I was putting my groceries in my car, I started arguing with God. That is never a good thing because that opened the door for the devil to join in the conversation. I told Jesus that I will pray for her silently in my car, but the Lord said a firm, “NO”, I want her to know that you are praying for her. I want you to lay your hands on her and pray in my Name.” The devil reminded me of the virus, the social distancing, the 6 feet apart rule, worst case what if she is an unbeliever. And a whole list of reasons why this was a bad idea. The Lord replied that we were both protected from the virus by the power of His blood. That shut up the devil. While I had been arguing with the Lord about this, I felt the Lord speak to me that she was His daughter too and that we both will be protected by His blood.

SO  I waited in my car, waiting for her and her friend to come out so I could pray over her in the parking lot where I wouldn’t be too embarrassed if this did not go well. She came out of the store, helped by her friend and amazingly, they had parked their car near mine…I only had to walk 5 steps. (I love how God directed even this small detail).

Finally, I pick up my courage and walk up to them and blurt out something like this. “excuse me Mam, I am a Christian and I belong to this prayer group of Sisters and the Lord has asked me to pray for your hands. Is that ok?” The lady just burst into tears, grabbed both my hands and cried, “YES, YES, Thank you Jesus. I have been a Christian missionary all my life. I have 12 kids and I am suffering because of my hands.” I don’t remember what exactly I prayed, but just that morning, I had listened to a sermon about how Jesus healed the man with the withered hand in the Synagogue on the Sabbath day. I let the Holy Spirit take over my mouth. I prayed for her hands, her family, the promises of Psalm 91 over her for protection  against the virus and I blessed her in the powerful and Almighty name of Jesus.  Her name was Claudia and she was so happy and cried tears of joy.

Claudias’ friend who also joined in my prayers was also in tears and told me “you picked the most deserving and the best person to pray for, she really needed this today. Thank you”.

I went back to my car, fighting back my own tears and ask the Lord for forgiveness for not obeying Him promptly.  I was so busy swimming in my own pool of self-pity and selfishness, that I would have missed the opportunity to be a blessing to someone else. Almost missed the chance to be His voice and His hands, in such a time as this.”

What a great testimony and encouragement for us to be salt and light to a very hurting world right now.

As we have this fresh in our minds may we stop and ponder what all the Lord is trying to tell us!

May we all be reminded to surrender our days to Him and even now, with the restrictions in place for so many of us to not leave our homes, we need to remember that we serve a God whose ways are not restricted by anything. He can and does move in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. He is the Great I am.

In listening to a sermon yesterday by Jim Cymbala from Brooklyn Tabernacle in NY city, we heard the Pastor preach on Ezekiel 29  and how the Israelites were turning to Egypt for security in the hard and uncertain times. As a nation, are we doing the same?  In God’s Word, Egypt is a symbol for worldliness, are we turning to everything that should be helping this virus stop? Car manufacturers making surgical masks, distilleries making hand sanitizer? Businesses closing for social distancing? What if we looked to the One thing that could actually stop this? The God who could stop this in the blink of an eye. What if, as one people, we acknowledged our sin and bowed the knee before Him asking Him to forgive us for throwing Him out of our government, our families, our schools and invite Him into our lives again? Are we better than the Israelites who kept rebelling against Him and going after other gods? Why do we think that God will not look upon our sin, as He did with His own people?

Yes, we do need to thank God for a government that is trying it’s best to help our Nation and leaders who are trying to stay on top of this awful virus.  We are grateful for companies who are going the extra mile in developing the needed supplies.

Yet, God loves us and desires our love and obedience to Him.

May Ezekiel 36 26 be our prayer in this time of needing to come back to our first love…

“And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new obedient heart. and I will put my spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatsoever I command.”

Verse 37 -38″This is what the Sovereign Lord says, I am ready to hear your prayers for these blessings and I am ready to grant them their requests. I will multiply them like the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more and everyone will know that I am the Lord.”

I know this is a very long post today, but the Lord laid upon my heart to share these words, that they may bless you and encourage you to be a blessing to anyone He puts on your heart, even today.

 

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Artificial Light

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Isn’t it amazing how the Lord puts an idea in our hearts when we least expect it? This morning as I turned on a light that I  have turned on for the last 8 months each morning on my way to the kitchen, this thought immediately came to my mind….artificial light! Then walking into the kitchen, because that thought had clearly been given to me, I knew the Lord had put that little phrase in my mind, to then go and write this story.

When we were in Italy last summer, we began to look at places online. We knew where we wanted to live and so the search began. About once a week or more, I would go online to search out the possible places that would be available in July , back in Dallas, in our price range. Because we had friends who were living in the area where we wanted to be, they had told us that they would be on the look out for lease places which came up. One day, as I looked, the place where we are now living appeared on the search. Showing Randy the pictures of the place, it looked like something that we would love and we called our friend who not only had been looking here for us, but was also a realtor. Jack called us back and told us that he would contact the realtor and get the details. Well, from the pictures on line we saw that it was light and bright and had a great kitchen and a large living room. It was in our price range and we grabbed it. We were able to move right in when we moved back in July. The day we walked in to see it in person for the first time, we noticed that it wasn’t as light and bright as the pictures that we had seen on realtor.com. In fact, it was obvious that they had brought some professional lighting in to make the pictures look bright and sunny. In fact, the condo is in the corner of a building so it never gets direct sun in the living area, which causes the living room to be quite dark with only one corner window.  As we walked through the condo, I kept telling myself, ‘well, I can just use a lot of lamps and so the lack of windows won’t bother me.” The furniture arrived a few days later and we began to unpack. My son, Jamin, came over that same day and as he walked through, it was obvious that he didn’t like the place. That evening i texted him and told him I could tell he didn’t like it. He texted back to me, “mom, it’s not that I don’t like it, it is just that I know you and what a window person you are. You are not going to be happy in that dark house.” I assured him that I would just use all the little lamps that I have and always keep them on so it will be light. He told me that that was well and good, but I was still not going to like  not having windows and sun, like I had always been use to. Well, we had a two year lease that we had signed before seeing it in person and it was just going to have to be ok.

It is now 8 months down the road and I have to admit that it has been difficult to adjust to never seeing the sun out the living room window. The room is dark, in spite of the lamps. But it has also been a great reminder of so many times in my life that I have tried to substitute artificial sun for the real Son. When difficulties come, as they do, or circumstances arise that are beyond my control, what do I use for my strength, or my power? Am I looking to other things that try to grab my attention or stir my thoughts and affections off of the true “light”?  When days become monotonous or ordinary, what do I turn to? In these challenging days of trying to adjust to the new normal until this crisis passes us by, what is taking the Son’s place in our homes and lives?

As I look around this pretty dark room today, and with the rain, the 6 lamps that are turned on at this very moment, it is still very dark. But…..when my heart focuses on Him and I turn my thoughts to God, this room seems a little brighter to me. I take my focus off of me and turn it to Him and surrender my day and how I can reach out to others. Automatically, the room begins to lighten.

Isn’t it amazing how the true pure light of Christ can brighten up any corner of not just a room, but our hearts as well.  In this trying time, let’s keep our thoughts, our hearts and our minds on the true source of light…Jesus Christ. The dark days of confusion, fear and challenges will become a little brighter.

John 8:12 ” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Lord, may I quit trying to fill my life with artificial light ,the things of this world that vie for our attention but look to the true source of light, Jesus Christ.  May my mind and heart stay on You and my mind be filled with “whatsoever things are pure, of good report and true” that I will think of these things each moment. Use me to share Your love and gospel to those who are hurting and needing  You. In Jesus Name, Amen

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10th Floor View

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As we come to the close of our time here in Orlando, we have so many precious new memories, not only with our kids who live here, but with each other and with dear friends who we had almost lost contact with in preceding years.

This morning when I was looking down to the view below and commenting to Randy that I will greatly miss waking up and looking down on the lake which is on one side of the condo, but also the Orlando skyline which is on the other side. When standing outside this morning looking across at the different scenarios of the peaceful feel that you get looking at the lake, as opposed to the feel that comes from watching cars race by headed to work or activities, this thought came into my mind…..”is this all I want?”

This question was posed to us last Sunday in church where we attended several times with our kids while in Orlando. I hadn’t thought much about that question until this morning. As the preacher was talking to us on Sunday and told us to turn to someone and ask them, “is this all you want?”, he went on to talk to us about the Christian life. Is just coming to church on Sunday, sitting in the pews and singing some songs, listening to a message all the Christian life we desire. Or do we want more? Do we want to live the abundant life that Christ has promised us? Do we want to live to glorify Him? Do we want to love Him more than anything we know or have. What is our reason for wanting to be a Christian?
We read Luke 7:43-50 where Jesus is giving us the story of the women who washed Jesus feet with her tears and hair. She didn’t worry about what others thought of her. She surrendered herself and her heart to Him in a way that none of the religious men in the room had done. Probably at the time when she was on the floor, bowing before Jesus, where her tears fell upon Jesus feet did she even realize that she was indeed washing the feet of God.
The service last Sunday was ended with listening to “My Alabaster Box” and as we heard the words of the song, it convicted my heart of the question that was ask of us at the beginning of the service. “is this all I want?” Do I want more of Jesus?
This morning as I stood out on the balcony looking below at the different views, that questioned lingered. Yes, it is easy to stand 10 floors above and look down upon the quiet, peaceful lake across the street and think, “wow, what a great life it would be to have everyday tranquil, peaceful with no ripples to my day.”
Then walking around the corner looking below at the cars rushing to wherever they are going, I start to think about the people in those cars. Do they ever think about God? Do they ever ponder what their lives are about? Do they question why life is what it is? Is there a purpose to my life?”
As I stood there this morning, thinking about this, it dawned on me that yes, I do want more. I want to be used by God to tell others the Good News. I want to fall in love with Jesus more every day and fulfill the purpose of why He allows me to wake up each morning. I want to live each day desiring to be His Heart, HIs Hands and live in such a way that others see “Christ in me.”

As the days grow closer to Easter this year, we will be in Florence, Italy having the blessing of attending Easter services there. Lord, help me to have greater desires to be used by You and that others will see Your reflection when they look at me.

Alabaster Box (Written by Janice Sjostran)

I can’t forget the way life used to be
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days
Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box
I thought I found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul with the wonder of His Touch

So now I’m giving back to Him
All the praise He’s worthy of
I’ve been forgiven and that’s why
I love Him so much

And I’ve come to pour
My praise on Him like oil
From Mary’s Alabaster box
Don’t be angry if I wash His feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren’t there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When He wrapped His loving arms around me
And you don’t know the cost
Of the oil in my Alabaster box

Lord, please help me not to be satisfied with just sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings, but to be out there, living for You and being surrendered, that You will use me to share Your love and Good News with whoever You bring into my life.” Help me to get off the balcony of life and onto the streets.

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Home & Hope

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We are in the middle of packing to leave Arizona. I must say it is harder than I expected. When we first began thinking about moving, we truly had thoughts of possibly coming back here as we have some of our kids here and have met some wonderful friends. But as the time grows closer, we feel drawn to possibly close this chapter of our lives and be open for what God has for us and where He leads. As I have looked back over my life, my security has been placed so much in my home and where I lived. This morning, in reading in Cheque Book of the Book of Faith, the scripture was “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psa 91:4”
As I read on, this sentence really stuck out, “How can we distrust when Jehovah himself, becomes house and home, refuge and rest to us?”
It made me stop and think about where my security and trust lie. Yes, I have felt very secure in some of the places where we have lived. Several of our homes have been in a guarded and gated community, which allowed me to feel very safe. Other homes, we were blessed to be in places of quiet and “safe” communities, where we still lived in an Ozzie & Harriot” neighborhood. But as we leave this place, not really knowing where we are ending up after a few months of playing gypsies, it is easy to begin to feel a little apprehensive. Where will we live? What kind of home will we have? As we begin a new season of trying to “trust and obeying” where God leads, may my hope be in Him. Not in a different house, but truly in Him. The God who promises to be my shield and buckler.
Because our plans to stay for a 3 month period in Italy,is just around the corner, of course, stirrings of doubt and worry can lead me to take my eyes off Jesus. It is easy to place them on things that can arise. Did we book places that are safe? Can we (at our age) manipulate the trains or buses? Can we read the maps and get to where we are suppose to be?
A friend yesterday suggested on Face Book that there are 24 chapters in the gospel of Luke, which if we read one chapter a day in December, by Christmas Day we would have read about the life of Jesus. That by Dec 25th, we might see Him in a whole new way. So that is what I am doing. My prayer for December is that in reading the Book of Luke, may my heart see Him in a whole new light. That gained knowledge of Him, would be more than just head knowledge. May He become the Christ Child who covers me when I trust. ”
“That I would see Him as the Lord who cannot lie; he must be faithful to his people; his promise must stand. This sure truth is all the shield we need….Come my soul, hide under those great wings, lose thyself among those arms of hope and strength.”*

Lord,May this Christmas season, rekindle my trust and strength in You, who came to save that which was lost. For You are my hope and shield. No matter the place, no matter the house. May my home and hope forever be in You.

*Cheque Book of the Book of Faith

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Heart Control vs Gun Control

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This past week has been one of which America has watched 13 people die from being shot in a place where they never imagined anything but going and having fun. This hit close to us as we have friends whose daughter goes to that same place on college night for line dancing. Another one of our friends knew the guard who was shot and killed during that tragedy. Last night, as we watched the news, a lady whose son was one of the victims who died that night was shouting, “do not send me prayers, give me gun control…I do not want to know you are praying for me, just pass more gun control.” My heart went out to her as you could feel her anger, her frustration and hurt and as a mom of 3 son’s, I can’t imagine loosing any of them, especially through no fault of their own.
We are living in a day that is continually bringing to light more and more scenes just like the one mentioned above. Will more gun control eliminate the violence? Will more rules eradicate the problems which seem to be overtaking our world?
We have continually pushed God out of our lives. We have decided that we do not need Him in our homes, schools, work places and government. We have replaced the worship of the Creator with worshiping ourselves. We now live in a world which seems to think that everything has to be about “what makes me happy” without regard for others. Our kids are being raised to think that everything has to be about their rights and are entitled to what is “rightfully” theirs. We, (and I am so guilty of this) as parents have allowed our kids to take priority in our lives, even over God. We didn’t do it on purpose, we just wanted them to be happy and to give them things that we didn’t have. But in that process, we have taken away their ability to discern what life should really be….we were created in God’s image and were created for His glory, not our own.
In the past, when families were family and kids were taught right from wrong, we had the same laws regarding guns, but why the difference in then and now? We have more rules now, but more shootings and anger.
Are our hearts different now? We keep shouting for more gun control, but what if we were out there shouting for more heart control? What if we, as Christians were out there showing God’s love and power over evil. That maybe if our lives showed the kind of love that we are suppose to be living out to others, maybe that would draw others to God and what His love could do to our hearts. As a Christian, I sit there in worship service every week and listen to how we should be living lives that would make others want what I have. That I need to be living in a way that would show the world that being a Christian is indeed a blessing to have God in my life that helps me bear my burdens and can change my heart. A heart that loves others in spite of our differences. A heart that cares enough about others that I can go out of my way to help, when needed.
We have allowed children to sit for hours and play video games which kill others. I’m not saying that every child who plays these games will grow up to kill someone. But maybe some are losing discernment between reality and fantasy?

The scripture that comes to mind is: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Are we living our lives in such a way that it is hard to “think on things that are pure or noble or lovely”? Are we teaching our kids to not only respect themselves, but others as well?

Whether Democrat, Republican, Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Muslin, Catholic, Baptist; what are we teaching the next generation? We lash out in hatred to others who do not believe as we do. We insist on our rights, at the cost of others. We try to handle all our own anger, burdens or issues ourselves when we have a God who understands our needs. Why not trust Him to handle our lives, and in so doing, surrender to the One who gave His all for us.

Maybe we should allow Him to have more heart control over our lives, and in so doing, maybe gun control would never be an issue……

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Table Time

Chocolate Castles9 Comments

We sold our dining table & chairs yesterday. We have tried several times to sell it, thinking we wanted a round table instead of the rectangle one which came with our house we bought back in 2001 when Randy’s job took us to California. So 17 years, family and friends have gathered around that table. So much food has been served and so many memories of different groups have sat around that sweet table. Isn’t it so strange that for some reason, I always thought I would be so glad when it sold, but as we sat there looking at the empty space last night in the dining room, so many memories came flooding back to me.
When we bought our home in California back in 2001, God was so gracious to us to provide so much furniture that had been left in the new house. Jodi and Jaden were coming to live with us and since it was a model home, they had left the nursery furniture, the dining room furniture and so much more. In fact, the builder left so much of the furniture, we had to sell some of ours as there wasn’t room for all of our things. We have told the story so many times of God’s blessings to us as we moved from Texas to CA and how He went before us and provided for all our needs, even a nursery.

When we moved back to Texas in 2003, of course that beautiful table went with us. A dear friend, Debbie, our Women’s Minister called one day with a question. Would I consider having teacher training in our home and cook for them to have lunch. Would I….wow, that was such an answer to prayer that I could have ladies in our home and cook for them. One of my favorite things to do. After a couple of years, she had another great idea. (Yep, thats Debbie, lots of great ideas that involve food). HA.She suggested that we have the minister wives meet together for a luncheon once a month, at our house. We lived right across the street from the church (which that is another story of how God closed the door to one house and opened the door for one right across the street from our church) This would allow them to get to know the other minister wives and just be loved on, as we would cook and serve them each month. We realized that sometimes minister’s wives have so much ask of them: lots of time away from their husbands always being called up to serve in different capacities, not many chances to get to know other ladies who have the same responsibility of always being on call and having to sometimes “be on” and feeling like they had to be perfect. So once again, it was a privilege and blessing to just cook and serve these precious ladies who have been such an influence in my life over the years.

The times of meals being cooked and served to family gathered around the table when their lives were so hectic and hurried, and yet, when they sat down to eat maybe a roast with mashed potatoes or turkey & dressing, ham at Easter, beans and tamales at Christmas….there was always a calm that presided over our time together. It was always such a treat when one of our kids and their spouses would call and ask if they could come over for dinner. Always gave me an excuse to bake and cook a lot of food. So much more fun to cook for more than two. One of my prayers for our kids and their families is that they relish their time around the table and realize that it isn’t the food being served that is important, but the laughter, and the time spent in conversations about what is going on in their lives at the time.
When I think about all the blessing that have been spoken, some unspoken, around that table the last 17 years, it brings tears to my eyes to think about all the ways God has truly blessed our families and the ones who have gathered around. There have been prayers which have been answered. Relationships mended,kids sharing stories of setbacks or awards. These are such gifts which we treasure to this day.

Today, both Randy and I paused and prayed for the family that will now be sitting around that table. May they feel the prayers that have been said. May the Lord shine His face upon them that they would sense His presence and come to know Him personally, if they do not already.

Yes, it didn’t bring me the joy that I had anticipated I would have selling it, but…may God grant us in His time, in His place where He takes us to begin a new season of once again, gathering around a table, whether it be round, square or rectangle, which will bring honor to His name.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Rebuilding Our Home

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Today I was searching through FaceBook to see if there were any good recipes when I came across this poem by Jodi Dupree. Yes, I am her mom and yes, I could not be more proud to be her mom, but when I read this, I cried. Jodi has a blog titled To Dance With You, which is a blog of poetry. But this poem, this poem, has a special meaning to anyone who has ever tried to build a home on anything but God. He is our Solid Rock and the foundation of any relationship that is built on anything else lacks the peace and fulfillment of what God intended to give us. As you read this blog, may your eyes be turned to the One who can give us that foundation. He is the perfect Carpenter….
Asa 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”

I saw gaping holes in the walls of my home.
Where wind and water came through
The wind would howl, the curtains blow,
Yet there was nothing I could do.
My hands were not skilled for this

The damages beyond my scope
If left to fix this on my own
I’d have no reason to hope
Still, I worked day and night

Patching where I could
Eliciting help from others
From anyone who would
But the storms kept coming

Faster than the repairs were made
Ready to give up
I called it a day
Then my Father showed up

Ah, yes, the Carpenter
He said, “move aside dear,
I’ll take it from here.”
His hands began working

With such skill and ease
I knew He was the expert
Of whom we had need.
He first revealed the patches
That were causing the harm

He saw the break in the foundation
And faulty wiring in our alarm.
Yes, this job was way too big for me

His expertise far surpassed my own
And here He was now helping us
and would not stop till He rebuilt our home.