Tag: Spiritual

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The Empty Cup

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This week is going by so quickly. Tomorrow I leave to go to NY to watch our grandson and his jazz group perform at Carnegie Hall. What a memory this will be. Our daughter and I will have the blessing of going to watch and listen to this amazing talented group of young people perform from a stage which few get to be. So I don’t have to tell you how excited we are to go. Sunday we will still be in NY and will be sitting in Brooklyn Tabernacle worshiping and praising our Risen Savior with complete strangers, but bonded together by His Spirit. What a wonderful weekend this will be.
Last Sunday our pastor preached on Eph 2:1-3, which is a part of scripture that reminds us of our sinful hearts. No matter how good we think we are, there is “no one good besides God” and we need to feel the conviction that leads us to repentance and humble ourselves before God asking Him to forgive us.
Each week our services end with Communion. Each week as we bow our heads in remembrance of what Jesus did in taking our place on the cross for our sins, we are not only reminded of His sacrifice, but the love that He has for us. We end our time breaking bread and drinking from the cup which signifies Jesus Blood that was shed for each and every one of us. We give thanks and praise Him for His love and grace to us.
This past Sunday was probably one of the most meaningful Communions I have ever experienced. Our pastor announced that we would have the plates passed around as normal, but this time, there would be no “bread” or juice in the cups. The cups were empty. We were instructed to take one of the empty cups and hold it as we “lamented” our sins, realizing what it would be like if there was never anything in the cup. As we were led in prayer, he reminded us what it would be like if we indeed had no hope. What if there had not been a crucifixion? What if Jesus had not died for our sins or been raised to life, which gives us our hope and our salvation? As we sat there in the quiet of the morning reading scripture describing us as a people who needs God’s forgiveness and a people who truly needs to “lament” of our sins, we left with a new awareness of what Easter really means.
Easter, a time of renewal! Easter….a time of reflection! Easter….a time to worship the one who came to give us life and give us life abundantly. Because He did die and rose again, we do have hope, we do have life eternal and we do have a Savior who loves us more than we can ever imagine.

Glory to God in the Highest! Hosanna (God Save Us) Hosanna in the Highest! To God Be the Glory, Great things He hath done, for you and for me!
May we never forget His sacrifice and love. Worship together with your family this Easter. May we bring our humble hears before Him in Worship and Gratitude!

What occupies our minds the most is what we worship. Where does your hope lie?

Matthew 28: 1-7
Early on Sunday morning as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him and they fell into a deep faint.
Then the angle spoke to the women, “Don’t be afraid!, he said, I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples he has ben raised from the dead and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. you will see him there, Remember, I have told you.”

Psalm 95
Come, let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise.
For the Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods. He owns the depths of the earth and even the mightiest mountains are his…
Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the sheep of His pasture.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”

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One Word

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For a few years, I have taken the advice of Debbie Stuart and prayed that the Lord would give me a word for the year. The word which He gives you is a word that will amazingly appear in places you would least expect and you know in your heart that the word you are given is for a reason. For 2017 my word was Tenacity. I had begun to pray and ask the Lord what word He had for me for 2017. One morning in early December I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and tenacity was the word that was in my mind. I had to go look it up because I truly never remembered using it ever, nor did I know what it really meant. When I looked it up, I discovered that it meant “learning to be content with circumstances and to persevere, going forward. For the next few mornings I would wake up thinking that word. Looking back over 2017, I know why that word was the word that I was suppose to study, to take to heart and to apply to my life. 2017 came with some struggles of circumstances which I had never thought would come across my life. God was faithful and provided His grace and sufficiency to me in areas that I needed to grow up, not only spiritually, but mentally. Fast forward to 2018.
Reading an email from a friend who was talking about what she felt the Lord had given her as her word for 2018, I suddenly realized that I had not even begun to think about praying for this year’s word. So I quickly began to pray and ask the Lord what word He had for me this year. Past years’ words for me have been,
“tenacity” “restore” “serve”. So when I was praying, I expected my word to be something along those lines. But once again, on December 6th I woke up thinking about the word “kindness”. I thought about that and wondered why that word was on my mind. But again the next day, “kindness” would just pop into my mind. IT was then that I begin to ask the Lord if that was indeed my word. On December 8th, I woke up and came into the living room and opened up my devotion book as I do each morning. As I opened up Streams in the Desert for December 8th, this was the scripture at the top of the devotion, “Colossians 3:12, Put on as the elect of God, kindness.”
It was the story of an old man who went around town who carried a can of oil everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. Anyplace he went that needed a touch of oil to stop squeaking or lubricating, making the hard places easier for those who came after him, he oiled them. The devotion went on to say:
“Have you your own can of oil with you? Be ready with your oil of helpfulness in the early morning to the one nearest you. (oh boy, that meant that I had to be continually “kind” to my husband for a year,) It may lubricate the whole day for him. The oil of good cheer to the downhearted one-oh how much it may mean…our lives touch others but once, perhaps, on the road of life; and then, mayhap, our ways diverge, never to meet again.
It ended with “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.” Romans 12:10
About an hour after reading this, a dear friend from California texted me with this message;
“thought of you this morning as I was reading Streams in the Desert……….hope you have a blessed day” She had never written to me about a devotion before and here she was writing about the same one I had just read.
Then on December 13th, a blog I read from time to time called Two Chums popped up in my email. For “some” reason, I opened it that morning and this was what it opened with, “above all else, be kind”. It was at this point that i quit asking God for more confirmation and declared that my word for 2018 is Kindness. I don’t know why yet and I don’t know what circumstances will be in my life this year. Sometimes it might be hard to fall on the promises of God that “I can do all things with God’s strength” and “nothing is impossible with God” But I can rest assured that “my God will supply all my needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus”, even His strength to help me show kindness to everyone, no matter what!

If you have never ask God to give you a word, begin to pray about that. It will be amazing how He will reveal it to you and how He will use it for your spiritual growth. Also there is a book called “My One Word” by Mike Ashcroft.
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Pasadena & Pine Cones

Chocolate Castles8 Comments

A sweet dear friend of ours has given me permission to share this story. While we lived in Pasadena, we attended a wonderful church where a precious man, named, Dave, played the piano for our Sunday School class and his wife, Donna always greeted folks as they came in the door with the most beautiful smile. This precious couple became very special to Randy and I and several times, we were blessed to be in their home. Besides Dave being a fantastic piano player, he made the most awesome pies. His specialty was lemon meringue. Dave had some medical problems which put him into a care facility towards the end of his life. On one of our visits back, we stopped and bought a lemon meringue and went to the nursing facility and had pie with Dave, never dreaming that that would be the last time we would see him. He passed away a few days later, after we had gone back to Texas. We were so grateful that we had had several times of visiting with he and Donna in their beautiful home and at different restaurants, which we always came away feeling so blessed, as Dave was one of those men who, no matter how down he might have been, due to medical problems, he always seemed to have that “sunshine in his soul” which radiated out to others. About a year before he passed away, he gave a sweet testimony of how he felt the Lord had spoken to him and share it in class. This is Dave’s story, told through one of our class teachers, Les Stocker, at the funeral.

“It was a bright Saturday morning in late June 2012. The phone rang. It was Dave. “Les, I have a very personal story the fits perfectly with the series you are teaching right now in the Disciples Class. But it’s a bit complex to share over the phone. Can I come over?”

Thirty minutes later, Dave was sitting in our family room as he proceeded to tell me his pine cone story that was not only amazing, but transformative in Dave’s life.

Some years earlier, Dave was counseling with a pastor who was very close to Dave at the time when he was going through a period of discouragement and depression. As they talked, the pastor, who was an avid hiker in the local mountains, mentioned how he often picked up pine cones along his hikes. He reached for a basket of pine cones near his desk and picked one out.

He then told Dave, “I would like to give you this pine cone.” He did not extent it across the desk as one might expect, but simply held it near him. Dave felt an awkward moment. He was offered the pinecone, but by the Pastor’s actions, it appeared to not be offered.

A few minutes later the pastor said, “Dave, if you want the pine cone, you must reach out for it and take it. It is yours, but you  must reach out-just like the peace which passes all understanding that God offers us. He grants us many gifts, but we must reach out to receive them. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount said to “knock and it will be opened, seek and you will find, ask and you will receive.” We have to actively reach for those gifts.

That spoke to Dave that day. If Dave wanted the “peace that passes all understanding” he must reach out to receive it. A point of action. And so encouraged, Dave realized that he needed to reorient his thinking and receive this peace that God so freely gives to us.

Sometime later, Dave was again feeling a sense of discouragement as his medical problems began to escalate. He was out on some errands and stopped at the bank. He went in to conduct his business and on the way back to his car, he noticed a pine cone sitting upright, as though someone had placed it right on the curb, right in front of Dave’s car. In fact, it was so perfectly centered that if there had been a hood ornament, it would have been right above the pine cone.

Dave looked around. There was no one in sight. He then looked at the trees and other landscaping. No pine trees in sight. He immediately remembered the talk with his pastor, those years ago. The pine cone was such a dramatic reminder to him.

Dave wondered, “was this a miracle or just so bloke walking by and decided to place a pine cone at this perfect spot? We don’t know, but we do know that God spoke to him so graphically, reminding him that if we want His gifts, including the peace that passes all understanding, we have to do our part. We must reach out and receive it.”

Both Randy and I were so blessed to have been in class that July 1st, 2012 when Dave shared his story with the class. Now 5 years later, there is another story of God’s provision and care that comes from Donna, Dave’s wife.

One night about 2 months ago, about 9:30 at night, Donna texted me and ask me if I was close to my computer. After I said that I was, she gave me an address and told me to look it up and see what I thought. So I did. It was the real estate listing of a house that she had looked at that day in Pasadena.  I called Donna and she shared with me some of the details. She had always thought that the house where she and Dave had lived all those many years would be her home forever. Until now. She had gone with a realtor friend to look at this house and Donna became excited about the possibility of moving to a smaller house. She ask me to pray along with her and a couple of other friends about what God might want her to do. She was excited about the possibility of beginning a new season in a new place, but also sad, thinking about leaving the home which she and Dave had shared for 30+ years. She told me that if the Lord wanted her to have that house, He was going to have to move very fast and sell hers because she didn’t even have her house listed. This was on Wednesday night, I believe. That weekend a pastor who was moving from Washington to California was in town to look for houses. Her realtor called her to ask if she could show him the house, Donna agreed and in turn as soon as she knew that the preacher wanted her house, she put in a contract on the darling cottage that she had fallen in love with. She was so disappointed to find out that the owner of her ‘dream” cottage had accepted another offer. Donna’s response, “God must have something else for me, so I will just trust Him for His direction and His provision. A couple of days later, her realtor called again. The owner of the cottage had called and spoke with Donna’s realtor. She had ask if she thought Donna was still interested in the cottage, as there had been some problems with the other contract, so if Donna  still wanted the house it was hers. AND…the price had now been lowered. The Lord knew exactly what He wanted Donna to have to pay for the house, and had also provided a pastor to buy her house, a house which had been filled with many nights of prayer and Bible reading, was now being sold to a pastor who would, in turn, keep the prayers and Bible reading going.

We all know that all of our days don’t always turn out exactly like we want, and sometimes our dreams don’t all come true. But God is always faithful to provide and care for us in ways which we, in turn need to always tell of “His wondrous acts to perform.”

His word tells us to share with others the marvelous ways in which we see His goodness and grace. Yes, we have trials and tribulations. Those are our chances to grow our faith and to look for Him in ways which we might not have thought. God’s love is true, His ways are perfect and His will will always be for our best and for His glory, it is up to us to follow His will…to reach out for His promises and receive them. God was there for Dave and is still there, working and caring for Donna. Who knows, I wonder if she might find a  pine cone in her new yard one day?

Donna, thank you for allowing me the blessing of sharing how God worked in Dave’s life and is still working in yours. May your story, in turn, bless others and remind us all that God cares for each one of us, it is up to us to “trust and obey, for there’s no other way, but be happy in Jesus and to trust and obey.”

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Wilted Hearts

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Last evening when I walked into the den, I looked over to see a cast iron plant with leaves that were drooped over the flower pot. I took the plant into the kitchen and ran the hose over the leaves being sure the dirt was soaked before returning it to the den. This morning, walking into the den, I glanced over and saw that the water had indeed restored the plant and the leaves were now beautifully standing tall and soaking in the sun. As I walked over to my chair, it dawned on me that just like this plant, sometimes I feel wilted and need refreshment. It was at this moment I began to think about writing about the similarities of wilted hearts and wilted plants, when Randy walks in and says, “isn’t it amazing how just watering a plant can transform it?” Now normally you wouldn’t think anything about that, but just the fact that Randy had noticed the difference and then commented on it was, well, to say the least, odd. He just doesn’t comment about things like that. In fact, I never knew he even noticed when a plant needed water or attention of any kind.  Immediately, I couldn’t wait to sit down and write about the refreshment of our souls.

Isn’t it wonderful that when our lives feel wilted, as they do from time to time, from circumstances, or trials which have begun to take their toll on us, we can go to the source from which all our hope, our strength and our refreshment is given….Jesus Christ. His Word tells us that, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,they can walk and not grow weary, we shall run and not faint,  they shall mount up wings as eagles!”

Isa 40:31

 

That is His promise to us. He meets us at our points of need. His love is truly a “fountain of living water” that nourishes our lives, allowing us to walk through our trials; that the brokenness which we might be feeling, can be transformed into knowing  that there is someone who is capable of giving us a life of spiritual abundance.  We can live with a joy knowing that God loves us and cares for us so much that He gave us His Son to pay for our sin. He took our place on Calvary so that we do not have to live a life of defeat. That is what we will be celebrating April 16th. A risen Savior who gave His life for us. Who loves us unconditionally. All He ask is that we give Him our love and admit that each of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

As we celebrate Easter in 12 days, may we recognize the need to love the Lord for who He is and not just for what He can do for us. My prayer is going to be that I may decrease that He may increase. That just like the plant which was wilted and needed water, I pray that I will recognize my need of the Lord to refresh my spirit, not looking to the world or others to give me what I need. May my eyes and my heart become so focused on the Lord that my life will point others to Him, by my love and actions to those who I come in contact.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 

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Christmas Blessings

Chocolate Castles6 Comments

This morning as I was scrolling through my FaceBook page, several memories came across from 2012 that made me just sit back and reflect on several things. First of all, it made me miss everyone who was a part of our lives back in 2012, but also reminded me of God’s goodness, as we move from state to state. Thinking back first of all to 2010, I remembered crying all the way across the desert, as Randy’s new job was taking us to Los Angeles and what in the world was I doing moving so far away from our family and friends? It is so interesting to look back and see how God intervened and blessed us both beyond anything we could have possibly imagined. The friends that were made in CA remain to this day like family to us and was indeed some of the best years of our lives. When we moved back to Dallas, we leaned on the Lord for purpose, for comfort and for a new direction in both our lives as we entered a brand new season. That move was one of the hardest that we had ever had to do, but we were so blessed to have friends there in Texas who still loved us and still allowed us to come back into their world, even though we had been gone from theirs, for 3 1/2 years. We found out that true friendship doesn’t have to end, just because you are many miles away and that truly was something that helped us both get through a rough couple of years.

After those two years back in Dallas, we knew that the Lord was causing a “stirring” in our hearts that led us to move to Arizona. Once again, we would be starting over in a new place, with having to begin, once more, making history with new friends and searching for the place we felt God calling us to serve in church. I have to admit that there were some days that made me feel that I was getting to old to “start over” as thoughts of “can I really do this again” haunted me whenever I met a new friend. Did I have the energy to invest in new friendships? Because I am such a people person, I had that answer even before finishing the thought. Of course I had the energy to invest in friendships. Part of my survival mode when we move to different places is trying to fit in the community as quickly as possible. If neighbors don’t knock on my door to welcome me to the neighborhood, I bake something to take them and go knock on theirs. It makes the transition so much easier.  This brings me to the present. As we live in a community where many folks drive golf carts and it is a gated community, it has made it so much easier to meet people. Because of the classes and the activities which are available here, the Lord has once again, blessed us with the privilege of already feeling like this is our home. When I sat and thought how wonderful it is that there are ladies here that have already opened up their hearts to me, it just made me realize how great our God is to provide friendships, no matter the place, no matter the season. Today was filled with coming home after church, where we already know friends who we enjoy  sitting with and corporately worshiping together, before baking for a ladies open house in the morning I am having.  It makes it feel like home to stand around after church and visit with couples who end up inviting us to a Super Bowl party at their home.

All this to say that last Christmas, as we were packing to move from Dallas to Phoenix, my mind was filled with wonder; wondering if the new place would feel like home, wondering if we would be able to find a church home. Wondering if people in Arizona would be as nice and welcoming as the friends we had in Texas and California. We wondered if our hearts would stay in Texas, or California even though our home was going to be in Arizona. We wondered if we would find purpose in this new place? Would God use us where we felt led to move?  So many questions. We have lived here now almost 8 months, and we feel that we are in the place where God wants us. We have been, once again, blessed with new friendships, new dreams and even added some new things to our bucket lists.

Yes, God has continued to show us His faithfulness by bringing us blessing upon blessing. Here it is Christmas, the time to reflect on the greatest gift of all, God’s Son, who came as a baby into our world to give us eternal life, which will allow us to live in His world one day.

So much to think about, so much to give thanks for and so many blessings which continue to point us to His love, grace and faithfulness. Merry Christmas to each one who has loved us through the years and to those we have just not had the opportunity to meet yet. This week, remember to thank the One who came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.