491

Taming the Tongue, 16Sept

Very important scripture… Very mindful to hold the tongue –

Very very important time for me to listen and be quiet – always was- always will be… I know the Lord has great plans, I am patient… Be quiet – Be still… Let the Lord do His work…

James 3 scripture is good in all seasons of life… Taming the tongue… There’s a balance of using the tongue and abusing the tongue… We are not to curse others but show them mercy… And especially the teachers should be careful… I take this scripture to heart – we all should – I am a teacher and actually we are all teachers showing that our faith lights our way…

We are all called to be peacemakers…

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

I wish you all peace, I have reaped awesome comfort from all you do and all your prayers for me. Thank you! I thank God for you!

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Here’s the important scripture…

James 3 (NIV)

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

 

490

Broken Chains, 12Sept

Here are two scripture stories about being released from prison chains –

Acts 12 NIV

Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison

12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews,he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

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Acts 16

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatiranamed Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailertold Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

 

 

 

 

489

Be Still but Keep Walking with LIGHT, 24AUG

You’ve seen those summertime moths being drawn to the light from within the house, or to a lamppost?… The floodlight outside my childhood home was flooded with big moths, the biggest mosquito looking bugs, and anything that mistakenly thought they were following the path to daylight… The spiders knew too, and set up shop, ready for the catch of the season, yum! And at camp in the wilderness, the swarm around the spotlights was unparalleled… Thicket of fluttering lost moths, many dead by morning… Sad… Lost… Returned to dust…

What these moths didn’t realize was that the artificial light was merely distraction and became busywork, not a true calling… They often get burned out by busyness.

Are we burned out by busyness? We are drawn to flickering lights of life on this earth too. We are distracted and reach for excitement, as if we are following lights to a carnival. But when the temporary carnivals of life pack up and go, dimming their lights at dawn, where are we? Moths confused, bewildered, exhausted… We need to not burnout…

True LIGHT comes from within, likely you already know this, feel this, love this… Prayerfully I hope you can feel this LIGHT, focus on it giving you direction and purpose. Yes life holds great purpose… And God gave us true skills and purpose.

The gurus of the earth remind us to love the LIGHT… but where can we find it? The true LIGHT of Jesus’s LOVE shines within each of us… Be Still and know… (Psalm 46)… Be Still – take time to focus, BUT do not become idle, as we are reminded to work as the whole body of the church… Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

LIGHT that is focused should stir us internally… Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”

The kingdom of God is the kingdom of the heart… Chase not the external light like a wayward moth chasing aimlessly, but choose the LIGHT of Jesus.

Jesus said “the kingdom of God is in your midst.”…  “23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.” (Luke 17)

Jesus warned about distractions and enemies… He reminds us to always remain faithful, He told us to “Stand firm, and you will win life“. Luke 21:19…

Jesus said “33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21

As we start each day, may we know God, may we pray to hear His voice.  May we look eternally internally to His kingdom of all our hearts… Life’s busy, distracting, and full – but let’s Be Still and follow the right true LIGHT… Let’s be filled with LIGHT.

Amen

 

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Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

488

Any words that are insufficient to even begin to make any sense of a tragedy this week experienced by a friend – how dare I try to make any sense of a senseless couple of days… so I am not trying to – I am on the outside and on the inside of this situation at the same time. Typing words bump my prayers out thru my fingers, typing slows my thoughts down from racing. And I have to tell you how God kept a different situation moving along – God is there right alongside all of us as we process life… God

This week held the most difficult of questions – “Why God? Just Why?”

I question endlessly – and God answers in His own time – at the end of time all will be answered – I am not allowed to rush the time… and with so many questions somehow God still loves me, His pesky questioning child… “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD” – it is the only ANSWER that actually makes sense – God is in charge. Not us – GOD.

Yes the purpose of life is to LOVE –  to LOVE GOD – to Love others like God loves them – and to know that we are all loved… God does use everything to remind us about His presence and guiding hand. WE ARE TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT

CHARLIE – LIVE IN THE MOMENT

Charlie was a dog that caught me off guard – I mention Charlie because I want to use the example of this sweet dog to reiterate that God wants us to “live in the moment” – He really does…  I was picking up my daughter from camp – with the last trip to the store – and she says “SO, what did you do this week???” – hmmm my pause… as I wasn’t going to tell her about a particular tragedy this week if I didn’t have to – as I never want my kids to ever carry my burdens – but she did ask so I disclosed what made this a tough week… I only shared the news in a few sentences – not much more – very succinct – and she said it was so sad…

Then INSTANTLY – before I could speak the words that were about to roll off my tongue – there was this unreal, scariest, freaky, cold and gross feeling on my ankles – I SCREAMED!!! I thought I was bleeding?? UGH!! I am usually calm but this stilled me into a quick scream…  Charlie, the dog, was waiting outside the store – I was so wrapped in my own mind with my daughter and never even saw the people sitting there and Charlie – a dark brown lab – started vigorously licking my legs – ugh – cold – wet – weird!! – I am so surprised that I didn’t fall… As soon as I realized what this feeling was, I then laughed – petted Charlie – and realized that God was taking me away from my thoughts… God was stopping a discussion – FORCING me to stop my speech and go back to let my daughter have her JOY in the moment – and He was telling me by use of His angels to go back to having this focused time with my daughter… God said you must process internally but you don’t need to disturb the beauty of the moment for others – “live in the present – live in the moment.” Charlie was interrupting me for God’s timing – Charlie then parked himself across my legs until I stopped, in the moment, and smiled in the moment, and acknowledge that God orchestrated that very moment.

Yup a wakeup call from God via Charlie… I was then released from Charlie’s tangled leash – yet I still see his eyes looking at me. I am not a dog person and God knows that – but that type of sweet dog will always induce love and smiles with his loyalty and gentle playfulness… Thanks Charlie…. We did our store shopping and I thanked Charlie on the way out for keeping me living in the moment – living in the present with my bubbly child…

Live for this moment – don’t over process. Keep moving – be still even in the crashing of mountains and waves and yet keep moving – BE…

Live in the moment – Live each day to the fullest. “From dust we came and dust we shall return” (Gen 3:20 Ecc 3:19). BE present in the meantime…

Be God awakened (and dog licked).

Amen

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John 4 scriptures say: ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

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Psalm 46: God is our refuge and strength. An ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging….

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

487

Merry VBS Christmas in July, 25JULY

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! Merry Christmas in July!!!!

Wow – what a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas in July today – with so many wonderful VBS children… All of us made by God!!! WOW GOD!!!

Over last weekend, when we were setting up the many marvelous VBS decorations, I continually thought of how blessed we were/are to run this program for not only the many children (over 100) but also the many many teens and volunteers who come to help (over 75) and the families that donate their time and material goods for the good of GOD… it may look chaotic at times (or all the time) – but the energy level is amazing and just think about the visual of everything in motion – how blessed to see the excitement – and how it is about the exact OPPOSITE of the old old phrase “This is NOT my circus, these are NOT my monkeys”…

The exact opposite is true when you look at Christmas and the children of God – from God’s point of view…  God says “This IS My Christmas – these ARE MY SHEEP!!!!!!!!!!”

Merry Christmas in July to all of you – to all of us – We are God’s sheep!

God knew that we needed a shepherd – for help in life – and for life – we are truly shepherded as God not ONLY makes us HIS children, He moves us into place – for HIS purpose and plan – and that plan is to let everyone know how much HE LOVES US! And He asks for our LOVE in return!  And He asks us to share the Good News!

Jesus came as a baby – a physical presence of God in human flesh – and we are continually reminded with the energy and love of our collective VBS children (young and old) of Jesus actions in the scriptures: “Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ “ (Luke 18)

We are all made by God (WOW GOD!) and blessed to be called to be children of God and see HIM thru the wonder and beauty of a child’s eyes – our eyes – we are HIS sheep – we are called to RECEIVE the Kingdom like little children! We are called to follow Him! Jesus is our shepherd.

Blessed are we to be in the loop – God brings us to Jesus who will take us back to God eternally! The SPIRIT in us gives us life here and now!

In John 6, Jesus speaks to his followers: “It is not the flesh that gives a person life. It is the spirit that gives life. The words I told you are spirit, and so they give life.”

Jesus says: “The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them. I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do. I did not come to do what I want to do. I must not lose even one of those that God has given me, but I must raise them up on the last day. This is what the One who sent me wants me to do. Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day. This is what my Father wants.” (John 6:37-40)

God sent us Jesus – and when Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us – to save us and to LOVE US!

God says “THIS IS MY CHRISTMAS – THESE ARE MY SHEEP”

Thank you Lord for making us – being for us – being with us – for loving us eternally – and for making a plan for our lives!

WOW GOD!

Thank you for sending Jesus as our Shepherd

Thank you for making us YOUR SHEEP

AMEN

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

486

Reflection 22JUL

I saw the light this morning – the sunrise – but I also get to see the light of the best Son-rise, Jesus, shining through so many people whom I see every day. There is a spirit from within that can’t help but to spill out of us…. Ah, not everybody knows whose light they shine. But I know… All light and life – All joy and truth -All in all – Life is a reflection of the light placed within. LIGHT cannot be hidden…

In my 6 a.m. walk, processing VBS thru my head, I finally saw the physical sun that I had been tracking ever since dawn, but I did not see it directly at first – I first saw its REFLECTION in a window. And that’s what we are too – we are windows to the light placed inside of us – we are reflections (and hopefully the focusing beams) of the greater true light that comes from God. Not light from us, but LIGHT thru us…

Sometimes our windows need cleaning but the LIGHT is still there – and sometimes our windows get cracked and certainly the LIGHT will beam on through then… The LIGHT is also found when we are in the coldest darkest times, no matter what; nothing could prevent us from focusing on the LIGHT within. LIGHT heals as it warms…

We reflect God’s LOVE to others as they reflect it to us… And we should look for it – in them and in us… And we should focus on it… And we should LOVE it…

God – the great tinkerer of all time gets an idea – and a LIGHT goes on – HIS idea is to make a person – and to LIGHT a LIGHT inside of them…. God Made You – God knows you – God loves you!

It’s time to shine…

Reflect LIGHT

Reflect LOVE

485

Made in His Image, 14 July

I rattled this idea in my head for a couple weeks now and it’s time to get it out…

For us to be made in His image, let me propose an interesting thought that God and we are made as a NET. I know that scripture tells us that God is SPIRIT – but please let me take a moment to write out my thoughts on God…

This writing is also for vacation bible school… The scriptures on day one are from Genesis, the bible point is: “God Made You”…

“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;”

Yes, so many times I think about how we are made in His image and how He made the world so complex… And how we are to learn to take care of this world…

As a scientist, I also am as bemused as much as I am bewildered with how glorious a system we are a part of… And how we can take a step back to describe what we see… And how we are allowed to take a step back to study God…

From the smallest DNA molecules to the largest ecosystems there is nothing living that is beyond God’s reach. From the smallest atomic nanoparticles to the vastness of the universe, there is nothing beyond God’s reach. Because God is already in all these systems. He is not external, He is internal, He is intercalated, HE WAS and HE IS!

For us to be made in His image, let me expand this interesting thought: if you look at the circulatory system, the nervous system, the muscle systems, the organ systems, the intricate systems under the skin and layer them all together and have them work together… what do they look like? Our bodies look like a NET. 

If you trace all our brain waves internally, what would that look like? Those paths would look like a NET.

If you emotionally connect with people near and far, what would that look like? Life connections look like a NET.

If you study the heavens, trace all the beams of light reaching not just your eye, but all directions, what would that look like? The universe looks like a NET.

If you allow this role of humans to take care of all creatures big and small to pull on your heart strings, what would that look like? The string connections look like a NET.

If your gut tells you to pay attention to some feeling – and it is trying to convince your brain to pay attention – then responding to all those intertwined signals looks like a NET.

If you allow life’s joys and sorrows to fill the depth of your soul? Your life looks like a NET.

The WORD written in letters and pulled from the pages, is made to be spoken in language form – that creates spiritual sound waves – that net result is the WORD made flesh in Jesus. The WORD is a NET.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is a Fisher of men.

Jesus is the WORD made flesh.

Jesus, like us, was made in God’s image.

Jesus is more than just integrated into the net – HE IS THE NET.

Jesus is the one who captures us, who fishes for us as His Father requests, and who holds us from within.  Jesus said “I am the vine and you are the branches.”

If we are created, integrated, and moved as a NET, then who can we catch and hold?

First we must catch ourselves. We hold the Truth within us when we acknowledge who we are and who made us and how we should live. We show the Truth in us when we allow ourselves to freely move with the Spirit and love because of the Spirit. We shine the Spirit, quite often unconsciously, but we shall shine like we are on fire when we purposefully share this greatest of Truth – that the Spirit makes up every part of our being.

If we are made in God’s image then we are made of LOVE

If God’s image is like a deep NET, then we are deeply made in God’s image…

The net within us is THE NET within God’s reach.

The net within us holds God inside us – to be able to reach out.

God catches and holds us in HIS NET of LOVE in order that we would love Him. God made us for His purpose to LOVE us. God loves you. God is for you. God made you.

Life is not for us to love the world but for us to LOVE all of Him and those that He placed into this world.

God is LOVE. We are made of LOVE.

LOVE is a net. Tend to your net, repair your net. Let God’s WORD heal your frayed strings.

LOVE yourself and LOVE all.

LOVE God.

Amen

484

Time, 13July

It’s time, it’s always about time… And we don’t know all the ins and outs of God’s time… A terrible news story just came out about four missing young men, they found their graves… So sad beyond belief, it is from some reason unknown… I can’t comprehend the loss for those parents… My heart aches but truly my heart cannot even begin to comprehend it…

My kids are here… So my kids I hold ever so much tighter tonight in my heart… And I put them to bed at 2am… I stayed awake for this time… It’s was an unusual summer night… Tonight, I was gifted extra time with the kids because when I arrived home from band practice at 930 pm instead of being tired, I was wired… awake and happy to see my kids… Then I got sucked into watching back to back BBC Sherlock Holmes mysteries on Netflix with my daughter… Amazing show… I love Sherlock Holmes and this TV time is all my daughter’s fault, LOL, yes she forced me to sit and watch TV with her – seasons 1 thru 4… This is gifted time with my kids and that is all my shoulder’s fault, I had to take downtime after my surgery, that was a gift of downtime… She made me watch and spend time with her… The shoulder injury was my fault, I was rushing around a corner and slipped and fell… Therefore this downtime has been turning into a huge BLESSING… This change of time is gifted time… My rushing turned into an opportunity of God’s mercy…

The moment I fell I called to Him… HIS mercy to me was that I could see endless blessings from it… I would never chose to fall and be injured, but I pause at this very moment in time to praise time with my kids… It’s God’s time… It’s always been God’s time… It’s always God’s mercy that saves us eternally from our falls…

My kid time is precious but short… I will take whatever time I have, and appreciate it… I cherish my children and His plan… I will cherish time… No rush Lord, I try to just love and live in the present…

Thanks Lord for Your time…

Thanks Lord for Your Mercy…

Amen

Thanks all for letting me share…

483

PT divine intervention – song – “Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger”, 23JUN

https://youtu.be/btPJPFnesV4

Survivor – PT-style… I’ve had major progress after surgery,  but this major frozenness in my repaired shoulder after the inactivity requires serious stretches and I’m grateful my therapists are stretching me hard… But quite often doubtful thoughts flood in – that my doctor might not be happy with my progress even though I’ve been working my butt off… but that’s just because I’ve laid down a lot of scar tissue that I can’t help, my body just did it – no choice. So the therapist, as well as a fellow shoulder stretcher Tom, were so wonderfully encouraging today, and just then my classic 80’s motivation song came on the radio – “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor from the Rocky movie. It came on as soon as I was in a moment of doubt – so I knew it was surely a divine reminder to keep fighting… A motivation to keep rising, to get “back on the street… hanging tough…  staying hungry”‘… Oh yeah, could not have been more awesome timing, my fight song, oh the tears flowed big time while I laid on the table as I thanked God for the motivation, I thanked the Lord for knowing what I needed before I knew I needed it… He gave me the release of tears to appreciate His love and He gave me the fight to move forward…. The scripture “He knows every hair on your head…” – Yup, that was exactly the song I needed exactly at the minute I needed it… Blessed… Couldn’t hide my tears even in public, so I got to share (I had to share) with three people what that very song meant at that very moment… awesome to have the right people placed perfectly because as much as God knows I needed that moment, He ALSO knew that I would have to share that moment… much more that sharing His spirit to me – He wanted to share it THRU me… my tears for His glory!

His love I feel so much

His love is amazing…

I’m hanging tough – I’m staying hungry –

I’m Staying hungry for His level of LOVE…

Blessed… thank you for letting me share…

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Handmaid of the Lord, 15JUN

Somebody challenged me asking if I’ve had a “life verse” – a scripture that defined my journey or a scripture for what I was trying to achieve in my faith… But I said no, I didn’t have one, it’s not like a prerequisite or Christian “coat of arms” – truthfully and in actuality tons of scriptures irresistibly cling to me – I cling to them too with new devotion each time I hear them… Scripture comes alive as spoken WORD… the WORD is alive in us… There are even those who can’t recite scripture yet feel the love gifted to them and love that is shared thru them… God provides…

But you know, a scripture did show up soon after that conversion – surely no one really said you must find just one scripture forever – I wasn’t looking – but this one fittingly found me:

“I am the handmaid of the Lord.” 

Seemingly appropriate and precise fit… From Luke chapter one verse 38, it is seven words of truth, of trust, of seeing once again how God reaffirms our paths directly towards Him…

Yes, verse “I am the handmaid of the Lord” could be ventured to speak of both our desired commitment to Him and our astonishing acknowledgement that we are in the Lord’s plan…

These spoken words are from Mary, in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, and are said to have come directly from his interviews of eyewitnesses. Mary acknowledged and trusted the angel’s message from the Lord…  Mary got on board with the plan to bear the Son of God, no matter how daunting that could be, because she knew she was a slave to her Master… She was In His service… Came to realize her role as HIS handmaid… A forever servant… We are all forever servants – we are in this world, but not of this world (John 17:16) – we serve here until we are called home – eternal life awaits us and is joyously calling us home.

Of course, it is a blessing to be working for the Lord. We are all blessed and yes, we all really do work for the Lord. Proverbs 16:3-4 reminds us: “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose – even the wicked for the day of trouble.”

Yes, verse “I am the handmaid of the Lord” could be ventured to speak of a willingness to follow God’s greatest commandment: LOVE. We know we are His… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ “. Matthew 22:37-39.

Yes, this verse “I am the handmaid of the Lord” could also be ventured to speak of acknowledgement of our humanness… We need guidance and we need to accept that we need Him – we are to trust and obey. We need our Lord, crucially need to take His hand and rest in His arms… Psalm 1 speaks to the delight we have following the law of the Lord, meditating on it, day and night… Our humanness defaults us into sinful ways, our master sees and knows, and yet loves us anyway and yearns for us to follow His law. The good news is there’s nothing that can separate us from His LOVE.

Yes, verse “I am the handmaid of the Lord” could be ventured to speak of a woman’s freedom to be herself while inevitably causing her to lose herself in her servitude to Him – to be a woman with willingness to work in the system for the greater good of the system is a blessed existence, even when it is hard and heartbreaking… “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

Yes, verse “I am the handmaid of the Lord” could be ventured to speak of a mom’s duties to be entrusted with her children, raising them faithfully to be children of God, nurturing, feeding, and protecting them. Doing everything in her power to serve her immediate family and friends and all of God’s children. To embrace LOVE…  LOVE grows even more when given away.

“I am the handmaid of the Lord” truthfully allows us and compels us to extend the needed grace and forgiveness to others that is gifted to us. We are to remember that all children of God are human too.

“I am the handmaid of the Lord” truthfully allows and compels us to lean NOT on our own understanding, but trust the Lord’s plan, especially when we don’t know the plan.

We do not know the plan, but we know we are in it. We serve to love, we know freedom in Him, we feel the LOVE.

“I am the handmaid of the Lord”…. surely, eternally blessed.

Amen

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Psalm 1 King James Version (KJV)

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

² But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

³ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

⁴ The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

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Thinking about something else but instead a devotion popped out – or should I say leaked out… Truly sorrows (although mine are few compared to so many around the world) are no match for His JOY… GOD WINS…

Here’s my devotion, been a long time since I wrote one – I have peace at camp this morning to share… (PS as soon as I finished writing  I heard car tires and my mom came out to camp to cook breakfast, blessed… This is a camping trip with so many dear family members as we gathered for a memorial of our beloved aunt. We are blessed to gather… We were taught to appreciate our time together…

Coagulation in my Cup, 11Jun

Surely the joy I have – the smile that I get to show – is a result of my overfilling cup… It’s not my right to give away the peace that fills me… Honestly it’s not even my cup…

It’s not even our peace is it?… We did not generate it but we get to share in it, for sure – and that makes me shine a shine of a smile even more… We are blessed to understand that we are vessel, an empty jar of clay… But to be filled with the spirit also means it’s best for us to have an appreciation that the spirit is a gift – peace is ours to maintain… Our cups not just filled – but the cracks are clogged… Clogged cracks prevent leaks… Give us time to look at and count our blessings… Devote ourselves to sharing our blessings..

Peace comes from the Lord… Our Prince of Peace Jesus knows His part of the plan, He teaches us –  His blood represented by wine shared at the Last Supper… His Blood poured out… But remember, blood that pours out of a body coagulates, chunks, globs, it is an attempt to stop the flow… Coagulation in a cup would preserve solid masses – clogging those cracks – preserving the intact vessel best it could be…

Jesus wants our cups to be intact to hold even more…

It’s not our peace to throw away, is it?… it’s not our joy for us to take and crumble down… How could I let my precious peace escape me? How could I not fight to preserve the peace?… All this peace belongs to the one who created us… Created everything… His peace given at a price, so that we are free to be free forever… That’s the good news… The love, the peace, the joy… The mercy for our mess ups, known and unknown. The salvation traded for our sins… There’s nothing to take us away from the love of the Lord whose intervening presence is intended to heal us… Bind our wounds, seal our cups…

Not all cracks can be repaired on our human timeline… But eternally we reach for the source – our eternal home will call us when it’s time and we will be whole…

Here’s my cup Lord, please fill it up…

Lord, please fill the cracks, please clog the spirit leaks. Please Lord, let us be stilled with your peace…Thank You Lord, we know Peace is from You…

Thanks for Your coagulation in our cup…

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Other Duties as “Reassigned” by God… 17MAY

I marvel at how the Lord pre-answers me – takes any questioning that I may have about why I have to endure this shoulder injury and healing – He reminds me that yes, I need to take this downtime for my shoulder rehabilitation and a few other projects… So, a christmas 2015 writing I just posted tells me exactly that this down time is purposeful – for God knows the plan and I don’t!!!…

I try to not question anymore – well sure I still do!!!  we all do!!!  I question especially in the middle of the stretching exercises which are very painful – self induced pain – and I look at the minimized size of my left arm muscles and I think – there must be a purpose here – but it still hurts… but the pain is temporary and the JOY from the Lord is PERMANENT…

So, I asked God for a snow day to upload my writings – maybe a snow week – this is what I got instead, oops – a snow month or months – my duties reassigned… This came with a definite benefit – extra home time with my kids (who exclaiming say “what do you mean we have to sit for dinner EVERY night?” LOL) and means I have a minimum 2 extra hours most every day for a while not having to drive to work… I am NOT saying my writings made or make any difference externally – I know they did to me personally but externally to others that is not my business to know – I just know I want to get the posts up and taken care of…  Where things go from there God only knows…

The food brought by my church family for 15 days now is the huge blessing beyond blessing… Tonight we ate while standing in the kitchen – laughing and fighting over the microwave…and well – not exactly 1950’s but the laughter was priceless – laughter and love 100% gifts from God!

I have been able to share with others endlessly these last few weeks about my God-enforced down time – and I look to the scriptures from Job 38 “²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,…?” I am a scientist but I have no problem with this statement because as a scientist I have been given a small window to study the minutia – but God sees it all as a big picture… As I have been called to write for some purpose – not always known to me – how dare I question? – even though I still do…

As someone working for God – I know now that we all work for God !!! But what to work on?? Well, listening is the best way for us to discern… I have discerned that NOT rushing is important! – that I am not to rush thru God’s work – just like I am not to rush around the corner and slip on a stupid piece of cardboard causing me to fall and snap my rotator cuff – same with that leg burn last year – that was also a big hint – I am to proceed with caution – with acceptance that God needs me to do certain things – and those jobs I must accept… with delight…

I am blessed to have seen a slew of writings from Christmas time – I wrote them a year and a half ago during my first real 100% Christmas – how blessed to see that I was lost right where I was meant to be… the song lyric is “maybe I must may be lost, right where I need to be…”

Today I had interactions with dozens of people – yesterday too – and of course endless opportunities to speak of the good works of God and God’s people – including with our plumber, a nurse friend who took some of my extra food to a fire victim family – and with my own pastor. The blessings we receive enable us to speak of the works of God naturally in simple non-threatening marveling at how things work out and how we don’t know the plan….

I really don’t know the plan but I will sit here in peace – bum shoulder and all – but in peace – and I will work on what I have to work on…  My “other duties as ‘reassigned’… yup, reassigned by God”….

Thanks Lord for including me in your plan!

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An old writing reminding me that i am lost where i am supposed to be… at https://debbieupper.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/the-old-peace-21dec-322/

The Old Peace, 21DEC – #322
“maybe I must may be lost, right where I need to be…”

479 Nooks and Crannies of My Soul, 10MAY

Resting from my shoulder surgery, I have been re-reading, editing and posting old writings… my favorite line in one of them is: “I have been blessed down to the nooks and crannies of my soul…”

I think God slowed me down when I was previously posting these so that I would have this opportunity to feel many extra smiles during my recovery… after 6 hrs sleep they are 3AM blessings to read…  applying ice to my shoulder replaces medication now… then I get to back to sleep…

The work angels (that instantly appeared for a wonderful potluck lunch) whom I wrote about a year ago remind me of last night’s umw angels who randomly brought refreshments when I had failed to ask anyone… blessed… and of course there are many angels bringing my family dinner foods this month while I recover… blessed… and the angels of praise band music have lifted my spirit greatly this week… just today I had the blessing of hearing the first full set of me singing with the band jan2016 and I emotionally heard the moment that I relaxed and my praise took over my nerves… blessed… standing on solid ground – “Rock of ages – my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness….”

Rereading this memory writing, I love this line because it is true in the present too… ” my angels daily… They luck me up, they fill my pot of gold so I can redistribute blessings to so many more, they make me realize the abilities I have – and make me want to share them.”

A dear friend sent me a Facebook movie of a rainbow forming EXACTLY after I spoke of God’s forgiveness that I needed – that I humanly needed in advance – and that He was and is willing to give – and I had to take a leap of faith to accept – and realize that yet again a couple angels had been holy-spirit placed to help me process life – process blessings after a rainstorm… yes, angels are there to simply help you feel the joy by showing you a rainbow… the light of the rainbow is Jesus – all colors and always there to shine light in the darkness…. Faith and healing down to the nooks and crannies of your soul…

smiles

thanks angels everywhere!

thank you savior Jesus – for your glorious light

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https://debbieupper.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/potluck-angels-24nov/