Monday, March 24, 2014

God's Extreme Makeover - I Can Only Imagine

First i must apologize to you - my readers & friends - for not posting last Monday. Between the pain & sleep deprivation, i just could not focus on anything. But i'm sleeping better now, only it's in the recliner instead of the bed. But at least i'm sleeping.

 Yesterday at church, we closed the service with one of my favorite songs, "When We All Get To Heaven" I'm sure that the majority of you know, at least, the chorus....
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"When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We'll sing & shout the victory."

When i sing this song, i can't help but imagine being reunited with many loved one who have passed. Plus, meeting my little brother, who had a life span of only a few hours. Maybe this reunion with those i miss is in the forefront of my self conscience, because last Friday was the anniversary of my dad's farm accident, that took his life, 33 years ago. I was an only child & definitely a Daddy's girl. I still miss him every single day.  But enough about that.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

This "old order" is characterized by the debilitating effects of sin, suffering, sorrow, death, mourning, & pain. All of these things will be gone forever! Hallelujah! God will wipe away ALL tears & death will be NO MORE! Now THAT'S a victory!!!
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Do you picture yourself in Heaven like this? I do. "When We All Get To Heaven" was written in 1898. I don't think that it's a coincidence that just a little over 100 years later, a song for this age was recorded. In 1999, the group Mercy Me recorded "I Can Only Imagine". Again, i'm sure that most of you at least know the chorus.

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my hear feel,
Will I dance with You, Jesus, or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall,
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all.
I can only imagine."
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We CAN ONLY imagine. But i want to share with you a "God Moment" that i had with this beautiful song. Last fall, was when my arthritis really began to get painful. The pain was not 24/7 like it is now, but really was becoming an issue. On the way to church on a beautiful fall Sunday morning, i realized that i had not put the CD of music for the service in my purse. (OHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!) Well, church is about 7 miles away from home in a neighboring town. So hubby got out of the truck at church & i high-tailed it back home. The radio was on our local Christian station & i was singing along, hurrying back home. And....you guessed it..."I Can Only Imagine" cam on the air. I was singing as loud as i could, because i LOVE that song! And i felt the Spirit with me. I KNEW that i would make it home & back to church in time & without incident. Singing the chorus, filled with the Spirit, i KNEW that Jesus was listening. And after the chorus, i also knew that "to my knees will I fall". I have had issues with my knees since High School & i'm not telling you how many years ago that was. I can't remember the last time that i was actually able to get on my knees & pray. But i KNOW that "When We All Get To Heaven"..."on my knees will i fall". What an awesome EXTREME MAKEOVER!

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 What extreme makeover are you looking forward to the most? As we wait for that time, & live the lives that God has blessed us with, we CAN look forward to that day, that we meet Jesus face to face. Or as the last verse of "When We All Get To Heaven" says....

"Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty will behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold."

See you there!!!
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Monday, March 10, 2014

Friends Are Blessings & What We Can Do For Them

As most of you know, i've been dealing with physical pain & lack of mobility for awhile now. But do you know that i am very thankful for this affliction? I am! I'm thankful, that i have learned how many people really do care for me & are praying for me. I've always known that i have been blessed by a wonderful circle of friends that have always been a great support system & i thank God for them every day. But i never realized, until recently, how large that circle has grown. I can never thank God enough for so many blessings!

 Reflecting on all this today, it made me think of how we pray for our friends. Very often, i just say thank You & ask for God's blessings on them. There's nothing wrong with that. Often, we don't know what's really going on with our friends & that's fine too. God knows. But yesterday, i read something that was placed on my heart to share with you today.

 In Colossians, Chapter 1, Paul sends a powerful prayer for his fellow Christians. Now, i don't know how many times i have read this passage. And i'm sure that i am not the only one who may read some scripture & then just go on. But today, i'm asking you today to read this prayer as i did yesterday & i have broken it down just that way.
"...Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you & asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom & understanding.

"And we pray this in order that you may have a life worthy of the Lord & may please Him in every way:

"bearing fruit in every good work,

"growing in the knowledge of God,

"being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance & patience,

"and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

"For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness & brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves

"in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)

I hope that you felt the power of this prayer as i did.

Yes, we can always go to Jesus in our time of need & in our friends' time of need. We ARE connected to the One who has authority over ALL things....knows ALL things...loves us UNCONDITIONALLY. He wants to hear our hearts' desires, & bless us with His wisdom & strength to walk in His ways. And He wants that for your friends too! Just as you do. Think about someone whose eternal life you are concerned about. Then, using Paul's powerful example, daily pray & petition God to work in that person's life. There are several people that i have been concerned about their eternal life. So, i am vowing to do this - to intercede for some dear friends. And in faith, i KNOW that i'm going to watch & see how God changes their lives & experience the blessings of His good works.
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Monday, March 3, 2014

After Stretching - Exercise....Meditation

Last week, i talked about stretching for God. Carving time out of your day for your Bible Study & Prayer Stretches. I pray that you are feeling more Spiritually fit already! Now it's time to really start exercising. Don't worry. You can handle it! Just keep your stretches at the forefront. Those are you basic preparation for you exercising.

 This week's exercise is MEDITATION.
"Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the sea of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 
and on His laws he meditates day & night."
Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV)
By keeping God's word on your heart & in your mind, your reassured that God is right there with you all day long. What a wonderful comfort that is. Knowing that you are never alone.

There are many ways to meditate on God's Word. And it is more simple than it sounds. Do you remember those memory verses from Sunday School &/or Bible School? Yep! That's how to begin. Take time to read a passage of scripture over & over & over again, & memorize all, or part of it. It will always be in your heart. Then quiet your hear & listen. Ask & allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through scripture. Have you every read a passage of scripture that you became emotional about? AWESOME! Allow yourself to feel what God wants you to feel. In an adult Sunday School class, that i used to lead, we were always in awe of how a passage of scripture, can give us a different message at different times in our lives. THAT is allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you through scripture.

"I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart."
Psalm 40:8 (NIV)

If you want to know the will of God for the future, be disciplined. When the time is right, your Spiritual senses will be alert to the perfect will of our loving Father.


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Monday, February 24, 2014

Spiritual Stretching

There are so many things that we prepare for. We prepare for vacations, make grocery lists, to do lists, job interviews, doctor's appointments, etc. Some blogger prepare ahead of time what they are going to write about WAY ahead of time. That doesn't work for me. For one, i'm not THAT organized & for two, i do enjoy sitting down on Mondays, praying for God to give me His message & going through scripture to find just the right passages, as well as just the right creation on Etsy, which i randomly. That's how i prepare to write my weekly blog posts.

 Preparation is an important part of realizing God's will also. As humans, we want to know God's will & we want to know it NOW. But we need to prepare to know & obey what God has planned for us. Are you ready to follow when God makes it clear what He wants for you? First, you meed to do some spiritual stretching & exercising. Ick!!!...Exercising!!! I debated whether to use that word or not. But these are good exercises that will prepare you for everlasting life. Just like we - or some of us - exercise for a healthier life here on Earth. Even, with my lack of mobility, i have exercises to do for strengthening.

 Bible Study Stretch
"That copy of the laws shall be his constant companion. He must read from it every day of his life so that he will learn to respect the Lord his God by obeying all of His commands."
Deuteronomy 17:19 (LB)
Obviously, according to this verse, we ARE to read our Bible, every day of our life! For those of you who are already in a Bible Study group, or have a Bible Study plan, that's awesome. And you are right on the mark! For those of you who don't, you may ask, "Where do I start?" This is only my opinion, but i recommend starting with Psalms. That's were i started many years ago & they taught me how to praise & showed me that i wasn't the only one who needed help. Many others would say to start with the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John - learn about Jesus & His life & His death. And my hubby will suggest that you start with Proverbs, that are full of life principles. It doesn't really matter WHERE you begin, just begin.

Prayer Stretch
"Pray without ceasing"
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Yes! WITHOUT CEASING! Has someone been on your mind lately, but you don't know why? Say a prayer for them. Just stop for a moment & ask God to bless this person. Granted, we don't know what's going on with this person, but God does. And it doesn't matter if it's out loud or silently. Did you & your neighbor say "hi" this morning? Thank God for blessing you with nice neighbors.....for a roof over your head....food to eat....the blessing list is endless. But, to me, the most special prayer time is when you have time alone with God. Quiet prayer time is as important of spiritual stretch as Bible Study. It's time that you set aside for just you & God. I've heard people say that they don't know how to pray. Do you know how to carry on a conversation with your BFF? Then you can talk to God. Just clear your mind & start talking. God listens to ALL prayers.

"I desire to do Your will, O my God:
Your law is withing my heart."
Psalm 40:8 (NIV)

These are your spiritual stretching exercises. Pretty simple, huh? I challenge everyone who reads this to start your stretching this week, if you don't already do this daily. The best way to prepare for a race is by stretching. Life on this earth is not a race, but it IS a marathon.

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Monday, February 17, 2014

Sing To The Lord

I am the Music Director at our church & i love it! Now, don't go "Wow!" Because we have no choir & we have no praise band. Though i keep praying that we will. Our music consists of playing floppy discs on our digital piano or CDs, that i burn on my computer, on a portable CD player. Then there is me at the microphone. 
"Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things."
Isaiah 12:5

Though i have performed either singing in the choir, or a group, or playing the piano in church before, i have found that i LOVE leading the music. There is something about hymns & praise songs that makes me feel so close to Jesus. I know that He's always with me. But sometimes i just feel that my words don't do justice in letting Him know how thankful i am for all He's done for me. When i sing, there are certain songs that say EXACTLY what i feel.

It's kind of like picking out a greeting card for someone special that you are around all the time. Like my wonderful husband. We know how we feel about each other & we say "i love you" multiple times a day. But when we give each other cards, they are always mushy, sappy, romantic, & say exactly what's in our hearts that we don't say everyday.

There's a certain chorus from a song in our hymnal that has been running through my mind since the first of the year:
"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I Know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go."

It's been a VERY rough winter for most people this year. Weather DOES tend to affect our moods as well as our physical abilities. Weather change brings a LOT of pain for me & even less mobility than usual. Honestly, it's a very scary thing for me. But those four lines above can change my mood, take away my fears, & give me peace.

So, my "words of wisdom" today is to find a praise song, a phrase, a Bible verse or passage, & in times of trouble, fear, sadness, despair, sing it, read it, say it---SHOUT IT!!! And  do it with conviction, with confidence & most of all, with FAITH, that Jesus is with you AND will take care of everything.



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Monday, February 10, 2014

It's Just Paint!!!

Today's blog is dedicated to my friend, Charlotte. (I just couldn't resist.) For creative painters, we do make mistakes. It could be an actual oops, wrong color choice, or a piece that just doesn't turn out like we thought it would. Charlotte has "taught" many of us recently, not to be so uptight & frustrated when that happens, because "IT'S JUST PAINT!"  and mistakes can make it better, or be turned into something more wonderful than you ever thought it would be. This philosophy can also be applied to today's post......

How many opportunities have you missed because of lack of confidence &/or indecisiveness because you want to to what's best?  You know what kind of decisions that i mean. Will you take the job out of state? Will you teach Bible Study. Or, for those of us small business owners, will you contact that store's owner....after you've had his business card for over a year. And yes, as i started writing that, i realized that last one was me.

 When decisions are not so clear-cut, you have many things to take into consideration. Some make pros & cons lists & that's fine. But the key is to meditate on God's Word constantly & keep your principles in your decisions. You may be conflicted about uprooting your family & moving to a new state. You may not feel qualified to teach Bible Study. But remember, God may not call the qualified, but He WILL qualify the called.

 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water,
Whose waters do not fail.

What a beautiful picture that this passage of scripture paints. But what it tells me is even better! If you do fail -- or if you do make the wrong decision, God is always with us no matter where we go or what we decide. He even uses mistakes to teach us.  He knows that i have made countless mistakes, aka wrong decisions. But i have learned so much from them. Most of all, i've learned to obey what God has shown me & told me.

So, we need to ask God to help us to seize each opportunity - every day. To daily read His Word & meditate on it continuously. And to thank & praise Him that even when we are wrong, HE will make it right.






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Monday, February 3, 2014

Goals...

The Olympic Games are fast approaching. And yes, safety is a big concern this year. But the Olympics are about the athletes. They have all worked tremendously hard to get to this point. They have endured more than most to achieve their goals. And many accomplish their goals of winning a medal. Unfortunately, some medal winners have been disqualified following their performances because of illegal drug use. Their goals were admirable, but their reasoning that the end justifies the means, was not. That reasoning contradicts everything that scripture teaches. God is just as interested in how we achieve our goals as He is in the goal itself.
"Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

Recently, i realized that i have not done my best, this winter to honor God. Oh sure i have kept up on my blog posts, but i had also set a goal to work on new items for my shop in a different style. but i have only added one new item to my shop. I do have another one started, but i have found excuses not to go up to the studio to paint. Why has this affected how i honor God? My shop & my work is dedicated to His glory. And i did not set the goal of working steadily on new pieces with God in mind. Even though i feel that He has led me to do this, i have not dedicated this new path to Him, nor have i asked Him to bless my work.


As Christians, we must first establish the primary motivation for our goal. Since my shop is dedicated to God, for His glory. I need to quit making excuses. Yes, with the rough winter that we've had here, & my arthritis, it's been very easy to make excuses. But with these excuses, i have not worked for God through my creativity this year, so far. Also, i have promised tithes & offerings from my shop to Casa de Fe, an orphanage in Shel, Ecuador. Therefore, i need to get painting this week, asking God to guide my creativity for His glory. And to bless my shop & sales, so that i can pay it forward in His name. 

Whatever your goal is - financial, physical, spiritual, family, etc. - you need to ask yourself if the major purpose is to glorify God. That is the purpose that we were all created for, so therefore, your goals must reflect that basic purpose. Be in prayerful consideration about your goals. Use common sense & seek biblical wisdom to see if your main objective is to honor God. You can never go wrong when He is put first in all things.
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