No, it is not Indians on the war path. No, it is not an army besieging the citadel. Rest easy, we are surrounded by the Almighty Infinite God. There is no place in the entire universe that we can get away from the presence of God. This God is everywhere, every second surrounding us and not just passively there as inert as air, but listening and watching and working and He has a plan for each of us. This truth should give us assurance and peace.
When the first one of my five children was preparing to leave home to go a university about an hour away, it dawned on me that I wasn't going to be around to make sure he ate right, or that his socks matched or that he went to bed at the proper time. I wasn't going to see him every day and be able to check how he was doing. There was a scary moment as I dwelt on those thoughts, but,then the thought came that God would be there even closer than I could ever be and He loved my son even more than I did and it would be far better if I just trusted the great I AM to take care of him. I was going to grow in a different aspect of trusting my Father God as my son left home.
This idea of learning to trust is somewhat challenging when you have had some control or been aware of things going on around you, but, when you are pretty much ignorant of stuff, you don't even know how to pray, what to ask for and feelings can rule and sometimes the worst scenario comes to my mind and I can become a worry wort.
There have been times when I felt that God didn't care about me, wasn't hearing me, not answering me. There have been times when I felt very alone and those feelings made me sad and I had a big grey cloud hovering over me all day. Well, for crying out loud, why should I stay in this state? Is it just because I want to feel sorry for myself? That is the answer - I want to feel sorry for myself because no one else does.
Enough of that! Do something! What? Use your head, dummy! Make your mind work! There are good things to put your mind on, like something real, like God's Word! What has God said that I can take to heart? " I will never leave you or forsake you." "I have plans for you, plans for good and not evil." "I will be with you until the end of the world." "I have loved you with an everlasting love". "Nothing can separate us from the love of God."
I can choose what state I want to be in. I can choose to be miserable or I can choose to have joy. Personally, I'd rather have joy. There are times in life when trusting in the Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent God of the Bible is the only thing that brings joy. Today, I choose Joy.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Monday, July 23, 2018
#SophieTheCat
We added an addition on to our house the year our daughter was married. The addition included a nice open roomy family room with a dining area at the end where the kitchen was and a connected garage off the kitchen. There was sliding patio doors leading onto a deck and a fireplace opposite the doors. The fireplace was a Heat-a-later brand firebox with vents and fans to circulate the hot air. Outside the fireplace was enclosed with siding, but beneath the box was a sheet of plywood. The base of the bump-out was about 12 inches off the ground and it snows a lot in Wisconsin and drifts get very large and tall.
Thirty-four years after the addition something very strange happened to me one November morning as I walked into the kitchen to make coffee. There was a cat standing in my kitchen and we did not own a cat. She looked up to me with a 'we're friends, aren't we' kind of look and gently walked past my feet with just a touch of her tail gliding past my ankle. I was shocked to say the least and the first thing I did was to go a check the patio doors to see if my son had left them cracked open. Nope, all was snug and tight and I could not explain the cat being in my kitchen.
I took it to the front door and set it on the deck and locked the door. The next morning I went to make coffee and there this cat was again, standing on my kitchen floor. I was stymied. Once again, I took it to the front door and placed it on the deck and locked the door. Then I went through the house checking for openings and down to the basement where the addition had only a crawl space and an opening of about 2 feet by 3 ft in order to have access under that part of the house.
That opening was the only explanation I could come up with, but how did the cat get under the family room? Next step, investigate the perimeter of the house. No openings to be found until I got on my hands and knees and peeked under the fireplace. Aha! The plywood had rotted enough around the edges where a persistent little cat who was not going to endure a Wisconsin winter did everything
she could to make a way for her to get into a nice warm house.
She did make it back in the third time before I could get the repairs done and I decided that she deserved to be adopted. Her name is Sophia because of the wisdom she displayed. That has been almost four years ago and what a delight she is and how thankful I am that she came into my life.
Thirty-four years after the addition something very strange happened to me one November morning as I walked into the kitchen to make coffee. There was a cat standing in my kitchen and we did not own a cat. She looked up to me with a 'we're friends, aren't we' kind of look and gently walked past my feet with just a touch of her tail gliding past my ankle. I was shocked to say the least and the first thing I did was to go a check the patio doors to see if my son had left them cracked open. Nope, all was snug and tight and I could not explain the cat being in my kitchen.
I took it to the front door and set it on the deck and locked the door. The next morning I went to make coffee and there this cat was again, standing on my kitchen floor. I was stymied. Once again, I took it to the front door and placed it on the deck and locked the door. Then I went through the house checking for openings and down to the basement where the addition had only a crawl space and an opening of about 2 feet by 3 ft in order to have access under that part of the house.
That opening was the only explanation I could come up with, but how did the cat get under the family room? Next step, investigate the perimeter of the house. No openings to be found until I got on my hands and knees and peeked under the fireplace. Aha! The plywood had rotted enough around the edges where a persistent little cat who was not going to endure a Wisconsin winter did everything
she could to make a way for her to get into a nice warm house.
She did make it back in the third time before I could get the repairs done and I decided that she deserved to be adopted. Her name is Sophia because of the wisdom she displayed. That has been almost four years ago and what a delight she is and how thankful I am that she came into my life.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
#IsChurchImportant
My dad thought going to church was so important that he would take his family to church even if we had to walk. I do not remember why we walked or for how many Sundays we walked, but I do remember walking with my mother and grandmother and sisters, Bible in hand, beside my dad. It wasn't a short distance either, seven or eight blocks. Perhaps the car was broken down or maybe we did not even have a car for a while, so we walked there and back, to Sunday School and following worship services.
It was there that I memorized scripture verses and learned about Joseph and his many colored coat and about David killing the giant with a sling and stone and about Daniel in the lion's den. I learned to pray and sing really old hymns, like Amazing Grace. Not only did being there teach me so much, but the actual dedication of my dad to make sure we got there did a marvelous thing for my respecting the importance of church attendance.
Jesus died for the church, His bride, as it is called in the New Testament. The church was really important to Him. If it was that important to Him, it should be so with us. Getting up on a Sunday morning and getting ready to meet with God and His people should elicit an excitement and make us want to look our best to worship the King of Kings.
Our getting there with Bible in hand also speaks volumes to our neighbors and who can tell if God will use our dedication to help others see what they should be doing on a Sunday morning. The writer of Hebrews tells his readers 'to not forsake the assembling of ourselves, as with the way of some'. There must have been some 'I'm saved and going to heaven and that's all I care about' believers even way back in the first century. Taking the family on a picnic or to the Colosseum for the game of the day would work if it was rare, but frequently takes away the importance of church.
See you in church, Sunday.
It was there that I memorized scripture verses and learned about Joseph and his many colored coat and about David killing the giant with a sling and stone and about Daniel in the lion's den. I learned to pray and sing really old hymns, like Amazing Grace. Not only did being there teach me so much, but the actual dedication of my dad to make sure we got there did a marvelous thing for my respecting the importance of church attendance.
Jesus died for the church, His bride, as it is called in the New Testament. The church was really important to Him. If it was that important to Him, it should be so with us. Getting up on a Sunday morning and getting ready to meet with God and His people should elicit an excitement and make us want to look our best to worship the King of Kings.
Our getting there with Bible in hand also speaks volumes to our neighbors and who can tell if God will use our dedication to help others see what they should be doing on a Sunday morning. The writer of Hebrews tells his readers 'to not forsake the assembling of ourselves, as with the way of some'. There must have been some 'I'm saved and going to heaven and that's all I care about' believers even way back in the first century. Taking the family on a picnic or to the Colosseum for the game of the day would work if it was rare, but frequently takes away the importance of church.
See you in church, Sunday.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
#TheSinUntoDeath
Yes, sweet cheeks, there is a real place called Heaven and there is a real place called Hell. Yes, dear ones, just as life is real and death is real, also, Heaven and Hell are real. And, because God, the source of life, is Holy, Righteous, Completely Pure, it follows that He has to be Just and it also follows that justice will be meted out by Him and each one us will come to trial and face this just Judge.
The magnificent thing for those who have realized that fact and, while they were alive on this earth, believed that God provided their own personal requirement for justice in the death of Christ is that they have an advocate before the court. Jesus, The Christ, will represent them. Guilty will be the plea for all of us, but, for some, Jesus will say, "I paid for each and every broken law that this one was responsible for, on the cross, and they are free to go."
That is in the future, for sure, but, in the here and now lesser judgments are taking place. John tells us in his first letter that there is a sin leading unto death. This letter was written to followers of Jesus who understood that they were eternally alive, could not ever die, spiritually. Their body would die. Their spirit would be separated from their body when they breathed their last breath and the house they had lived in would begin decaying, but their real being, their spirit, would continue on forever. John was cautioning believers that we will sin because we are human and we should check ourselves regularly to nip-in-the-bud those thoughts, words and actions that go against the principles of God.
A believer can continue to rebel against God's principles and quench and grieve God's Spirit and sooner or later, even through chastisement, go willfully on their own way and God, because He loves so fiercely, will bring death to their body. He has His reputation at stake and that believer isn't representing Him properly and, perhaps, influencing others away from God. This, too, is justice satisfied.
The greatest sin we can commit is the sin of unbelief. An unbeliever is called an "unbeliever" because he doesn't believe God. He is in actuality calling God a liar. That is the one sin that will send him to Hell. That is the one sin that cannot be paid for. At the final trial, and it will be a short one, because only one sin will be brought up and that is the question, "Did you believe what God said about Jesus?"
Since they didn't believe while alive here on this earth, justice will condemn them and the condemned will spend forever away from the God they wouldn't trust. They will be forever separated from God while believers will be forever in God's presence. Heaven and Hell, justice satisfied.
The magnificent thing for those who have realized that fact and, while they were alive on this earth, believed that God provided their own personal requirement for justice in the death of Christ is that they have an advocate before the court. Jesus, The Christ, will represent them. Guilty will be the plea for all of us, but, for some, Jesus will say, "I paid for each and every broken law that this one was responsible for, on the cross, and they are free to go."
That is in the future, for sure, but, in the here and now lesser judgments are taking place. John tells us in his first letter that there is a sin leading unto death. This letter was written to followers of Jesus who understood that they were eternally alive, could not ever die, spiritually. Their body would die. Their spirit would be separated from their body when they breathed their last breath and the house they had lived in would begin decaying, but their real being, their spirit, would continue on forever. John was cautioning believers that we will sin because we are human and we should check ourselves regularly to nip-in-the-bud those thoughts, words and actions that go against the principles of God.
A believer can continue to rebel against God's principles and quench and grieve God's Spirit and sooner or later, even through chastisement, go willfully on their own way and God, because He loves so fiercely, will bring death to their body. He has His reputation at stake and that believer isn't representing Him properly and, perhaps, influencing others away from God. This, too, is justice satisfied.
The greatest sin we can commit is the sin of unbelief. An unbeliever is called an "unbeliever" because he doesn't believe God. He is in actuality calling God a liar. That is the one sin that will send him to Hell. That is the one sin that cannot be paid for. At the final trial, and it will be a short one, because only one sin will be brought up and that is the question, "Did you believe what God said about Jesus?"
Since they didn't believe while alive here on this earth, justice will condemn them and the condemned will spend forever away from the God they wouldn't trust. They will be forever separated from God while believers will be forever in God's presence. Heaven and Hell, justice satisfied.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
#AnsweringTheQuestionaire
A questionnaire was sent to me to fill out regarding the advertising of my book "The Treasure is the Trip" and one question asked, 'what is the overall theme of my book?' and I decided to answer it here first to put my thoughts together.
There is a danger when one is raised in church, any church. The ritual can become the reality. One can get lost in the surface stuff and lose sight of object. That is the state I was in for years and totally unaware. But God ( I love that phrase, but God) loved me so much that He would not let me stay there.
Each one of us is unique and He knows just how to touch us to get our attention, so He gave me the sense of un-peace. There is no other term that describes how I felt and I began searching to fill that need. God was right there at the right time and we had a confrontation in my bedroom in the middle of the night. My book is an attempt to record how I got there and how God responded and the years following, some filled with traumatic experiences as when my son was in a head-on collision resulting in a traumatic head injury and was admitted to the hospital under a mistaken identity.
There are many who fit into my category of 'un-peace'. I am confident that state is not unique. My goal for this book is to help others to be able to see how much God loves each of us and works to get us to see our need and then for us to develop such a relationship with Him that our journey on this earth becomes a precious treasure.
There is a danger when one is raised in church, any church. The ritual can become the reality. One can get lost in the surface stuff and lose sight of object. That is the state I was in for years and totally unaware. But God ( I love that phrase, but God) loved me so much that He would not let me stay there.
Each one of us is unique and He knows just how to touch us to get our attention, so He gave me the sense of un-peace. There is no other term that describes how I felt and I began searching to fill that need. God was right there at the right time and we had a confrontation in my bedroom in the middle of the night. My book is an attempt to record how I got there and how God responded and the years following, some filled with traumatic experiences as when my son was in a head-on collision resulting in a traumatic head injury and was admitted to the hospital under a mistaken identity.
There are many who fit into my category of 'un-peace'. I am confident that state is not unique. My goal for this book is to help others to be able to see how much God loves each of us and works to get us to see our need and then for us to develop such a relationship with Him that our journey on this earth becomes a precious treasure.
Friday, July 6, 2018
#InstrumentFlying
It is normal to feel disoriented. That is what my son, the helicopter pilot, tells me. When the day is clear and the weather is good, a pilot is able to use all the senses he was born with. He can see the landscape ahead and to the left and right. The instrument panel is before him and the controls are in his hands and at his feet. He can tell how fast his plane is going by the gauges and if his attitude is correct and if there is enough fuel. His inner ear is in tune with the gauges and he is comfortable with how everything is working together, then, everything changes.
Now, he is in a cloud and cannot see ahead or to the right or left, anything but milk. For all purposes, he is blindfolded and that is when the disorientation phenomenon occurs. He is forced to look at the instruments and they tell him one thing and his inner ear is telling him something entirely different. He wants to trust his inner ear. His natural self is telling him to trust his inner ear and my pilot son tells me that if he does, he is doomed because there is no truth to measure against - just feelings.
To dispel the disorientation you must force yourself to keep checking the instruments, all the gauges and calculate according to what they are telling you and ignore what your inner ear is telling you. Your mind judging and calculating the truths that the instruments are telling you helps you overcome what your natural self is telling you. The instruments will save you, if you count on them.
As Proverbs 3:5 and 6 tells us: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." The Lord has given us His Word to direct our paths and when the day is clear and the weather is good, we usually just use our natural senses to move ahead. We can see ahead, well, a little bit ahead, and to our left and right and we make plans based on our observations and goals and move forward. We don't see the need to check in on the instrument of God's Word.
But, life is not always fine and dandy and we can find ourselves in 'milk' instantly and we are forced to decide whether to use our natural inclinations or to check the truth of God's Word. Our natural self fights to be in control and we want to trust our inner feelings, but we are doomed to failure if we do.
We may be disoriented a bit, but as we force our minds to check the Word and make calculations based on God's word, we will successfully get through the 'milk'.
Why do you think that God's Word has survived all the attacks on it for thousands of years? Why do you think God has saved it? Because it is ultimately important for our survival and it is there waiting on you to read it and believe it and prove it.
Have you checked your instrument panel, today?
Now, he is in a cloud and cannot see ahead or to the right or left, anything but milk. For all purposes, he is blindfolded and that is when the disorientation phenomenon occurs. He is forced to look at the instruments and they tell him one thing and his inner ear is telling him something entirely different. He wants to trust his inner ear. His natural self is telling him to trust his inner ear and my pilot son tells me that if he does, he is doomed because there is no truth to measure against - just feelings.
To dispel the disorientation you must force yourself to keep checking the instruments, all the gauges and calculate according to what they are telling you and ignore what your inner ear is telling you. Your mind judging and calculating the truths that the instruments are telling you helps you overcome what your natural self is telling you. The instruments will save you, if you count on them.
As Proverbs 3:5 and 6 tells us: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." The Lord has given us His Word to direct our paths and when the day is clear and the weather is good, we usually just use our natural senses to move ahead. We can see ahead, well, a little bit ahead, and to our left and right and we make plans based on our observations and goals and move forward. We don't see the need to check in on the instrument of God's Word.
But, life is not always fine and dandy and we can find ourselves in 'milk' instantly and we are forced to decide whether to use our natural inclinations or to check the truth of God's Word. Our natural self fights to be in control and we want to trust our inner feelings, but we are doomed to failure if we do.
We may be disoriented a bit, but as we force our minds to check the Word and make calculations based on God's word, we will successfully get through the 'milk'.
Why do you think that God's Word has survived all the attacks on it for thousands of years? Why do you think God has saved it? Because it is ultimately important for our survival and it is there waiting on you to read it and believe it and prove it.
Have you checked your instrument panel, today?
Sunday, July 1, 2018
#HeartProblems
There was such a discontent in my heart and I had not talked to anyone about it, my husband or a friend or God. I was deeply bothered and did not know why and couldn't put it into words. I dealt with this for three years doing the only thing that came to my mind to do and that was to go to my Bible and read, mostly from the New Testament trying to find an answer.
Scripture tells us that we can find God when we search for Him with our whole heart, but I was not searching for God, I was searching for peace. There was a small degree of peace for a short time after reading the Bible, but it did not last very long and I would find myself needing to open the pages again and again.
You will have to read "The Treasure is the Trip" to see what transpired in my life to give me the peace I longed for.
The discovery of peace with God led to peace from God which led to the peace of God. Each pronoun gives a different description of peace. Jesus was continually saying, "Peace". He wants us to have the fullness of peace in our hearts. He knew my heart's desire and tho I wasn't directly searching for Him, He came to my rescue and there never has been that unrest in my heart since then.
Scripture tells us that we can find God when we search for Him with our whole heart, but I was not searching for God, I was searching for peace. There was a small degree of peace for a short time after reading the Bible, but it did not last very long and I would find myself needing to open the pages again and again.
You will have to read "The Treasure is the Trip" to see what transpired in my life to give me the peace I longed for.
The discovery of peace with God led to peace from God which led to the peace of God. Each pronoun gives a different description of peace. Jesus was continually saying, "Peace". He wants us to have the fullness of peace in our hearts. He knew my heart's desire and tho I wasn't directly searching for Him, He came to my rescue and there never has been that unrest in my heart since then.
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