Be Still Kari Jobe w/ lyrics

Be Still

Be still my soul. Is that a request? A command? A plea? Are we begging? How do we quiet it down? It’s so easy to be in turmoil. When life goes up and down- the valley, the mountain, the valley the mountain; it is a vicious cycle.

Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

⁷ Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,when they carry out their wicked schemes

“We cannot talk to God unless we walk with Him when we are not talking” Oswald Chambers

So there again, we have to be still! When we are still we hear the voice of God. That is how He calms our soul.

Job 6:24(NIV)

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong.

If we go to Him, we will find our rest. How many times have I cried out to Him just to calm me? Too many to count!

Isaiah 32:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

Every time I cry that’s what I ask. And He always comes through for me! He calms the storms; He calms the waves that crash around me! When I am desperate and not sure which way to go, He shows me! But I have to be quiet long enough to hear. It’s hard to be still, it’s hard to be patient. We have to place our life in his hand. That’s where we will find peace.

John 14:27 (NIV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The only way that we get through this crazy life is to trust in Him. Trust that He knows what’s best for us. Because we surely don’t! That’s obvious by the choices we make on a daily basis. We choose what we want! Choices that we think will benefit us and often no thought to anyone else. But God has the whole picture; the beginning-the middle-the end. That’s where most of us are-the middle. I know that’s where I am; the time in between. I know how my story ends. It’s this time in between that is killing me! I know He has a plan but can I be still enough to hear what it is? Do I have the patience not to jump in and try to do it my way? I don’t think so! I get tired of being patient. I even get tired of being still.

Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

So He crashes me, slows me down so I don’t have a choice but to listen and hear and be patient. It would’ve been much better to just go slow and learn this thing of patience little by little bit by bit.

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer

Take it to Him so we don’t have all this pain. Let Him work it out. Then He will give it back to us as a blessing. Still. Patient. Quiet. Sounds so easy, yet we always do the same thing. Try to fix it on our own. I have a terrible time of keeping my vision in sight. I want Him to be my vision! I want to keep Him forever in my sights! As I wander through this life, O Lord, be thou near to me! Stay by my side. So I can feel you! That’s my prayer. I don’t care what comes my way as long as you are there! But I have to “feel” you here with me. Otherwise I am hopeless and helpless. And if I have no hope-I have nothing!

Psalm 62:5 (NIV)

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.

So join me. Let’s get quiet. Let’s be still. Let’s be patient! None of us will have to do it alone. He walks beside us. He holds our hand and our hearts. He knows each of our stories, He knows our hearts. Nothing will shock Him! He is a loving and patient God.

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

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.”

Let’s cozy up with Jesus. Let’s get to know him in a really personal way. Pull out your blankie and find your favorite resting spot. Get a cup of coffee or tea or even a diet Coke and then invite Jesus there with you and I assure you there will be miracles. There will be peace. And there will be hope!

Job 22:21

Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee.

Crash

Crash

No matter what may come my way, my life is in your hands.

I know that I can make it; I know that I can stand.

With Jesus I can make it, my life is in your hands.

That song has so much more meaning to me today than it did last week.

I have pondered whether I should share this story. Over and over it goes in my head. So today as it was going round and round like the hamster in the wheel, God said, yes! Now is the time. Tell it.

About a month ago I was driving on my way to work. The roads were terrible. It had rained with ice and snow, but we had school/work anyway. As I was driving, God speaks to me and said, “Can I use you?” So of course I said yes! Then He said “Can I use you in a car accident?” Can I crash you if it is to help a friend?

John 15:13 (NIV)

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends



So I barely hesitated, because He has already showed me my end. I live a long life. So of course I say yes. Use me.

Galatians 5:25 (NIV)

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit

So I brace myself because our conversation was so real. I knew it was coming. I even called a friend and told her if she heard I was in a wreck not to worry. I would be OK. So I made it to work all in one piece! A friend reminded me of the story of Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice. Maybe God was just doing that to test me, to see if I really would do it. So a couple weeks ago I was coming home from work. It had been a very trying day. You see with my new job I have to look in the faces of cancer patients or their loved ones on a daily basis. This particular day was no different. I was feeling pretty defeated. Helpless to help anyone! I ask God many times, “why”? I know I must have unresolved issues that He is bound and determined to get out of me. I know that’s one. There are more. So on this day as I was driving home, I hear that still small voice say, “Remember when you said I could use you? Well here’s the perfect place. Just drive yourself right over the mountain.” Well I did consider it, but only for a second. I did question God. I said, “Really? You are going to make me do it?” Well I didn’t drive off that mountain. The next day I recognized that voice as the devil. I know God wouldn’t tell me to do it. He would do it! He already asked me if He could. But just between you and me, those two voices in my head? They sound a lot alike. A friend told me once that the way you can tell the two apart is to ask, does it honor God?

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

So I wondered, how would that honor God? It wouldn’t! That would just bring pain and confusion! Lord knows I don’t need any of that! So Thursday as I left work, I had been hurting all day, the old polymyocitis beginning to flare up so I stopped at Rite-Aid and bought a bottle of Motrin. I went ahead and took a dose. Bought a diet Coke and left the lid off so I could “drink and drive”. Halfway home as I made the curve coming over Crag road I edged over to the side on this one lane road, just in case I met a car. The ground was soft and it sucked my back wheel down and it jumped across the ditch and hit the side then did a 180 and slammed me in to the bank. Both air bags came out on the side but not the front~ Thank God! The whole time I was being thrown around I could hear God say, “It’s all gonna be Ok, it’s gonna be OK!” I felt Him there with me and I wasn’t afraid. It was like riding a roller coaster. I shut my eyes and waited for it to end. I kept thinking this is the time. This is it. This is the wreck you asked me about. So after I crashed I was stunned. My head hurt so bad I couldn’t think. But I felt around on myself, everything was intact, no blood. My glasses flew off along with my phone and diet Coke. So before I turned off the engine I did have enough wits to thank God for taking care of me!

Then He started sending His angels to take care of me. Brenda Bryant, someone I went to school with appeared first. Then Jeremy Willis, then Mandy Bryant. All people I knew. God was really taking care of me! He first gave me a dose of Motrin before it even happened then He sends me angels I know!

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I have no doubt God had his hand all over that situation and every situation in my life, every situation in your life too. He will take this and work something good from it. I don’t know who is in my path from day to day that will need to hear that God delivered me, but I know that’s what I have to tell. This wasn’t an accident, this was God. He asked me, I said yes, and He did it. All in his time. And that is how the outcome will be as well. In his time. Maybe there is someone out there that doesn’t believe in miracles. Or they don’t have enough faith to let God use them. It’s very easy to say no, pick someone else. But if he calls you to it, he will equip you! And if that means crashing into a bank, then do it! You will receive a blessing from it! I have been amazed at the outpour of love and concern for me! I mean after all there are so many that are so much worse off. I went to work the next day, granted I shouldn’t have! I made mistakes, my brain was fuzzy, and I was confused! But with the grace of God and help from my co-workers I didn’t kill anyone I know of that is! Just kidding! God takes care of us every day. The little things we take for granted? That’s God! This morning as I lay in bed my head was spinning around and around; once again that hamster on the wheel. And when I opened my eyes the room was spinning and I had this very nauseated feeling and then it stopped. So I am thinking concussion?! But I don’t remember hitting my head, but then again, confusion. I went on to church and was blessed over and over. God is so good! My prayer for you all this Sunday afternoon is that you, every one of you, find someone that you love, tell them you love them, hold them tight and don’t let them go! Hold them in your heart, because life is too short for unspoken words! Age doesn’t matter. Whatever you are 10, 40, 80 or even 100, if you have something to say, SAY it! Even if you think it’s gonna hurt, get it out and let God deal with it. Chances are everything will be OK! That’s my pastor’s favorite thing to tell you. It’ll all be OK! And in the end, he is right! No matter what we are going through here when Jesus comes back it’ll all be OK. But first you have to CRASH into Jesus, just like I crashed my car! He will wake you up. You might be a little sore after crashing, because He will clean you up and sometimes that hurts. But trust me it’s worth it all to know that your end, my end, THE end, will all be OK! We are going to Heaven, some before others, but we are all gonna get there. And if we have to take a hard knock here and there, it’s OK because He goes with us!

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

He was with me when Danny died. He was with me the many long, hard, empty, lonely days since he died and yes, He was with me Thursday night when I crashed. He is always faithful and always taking care of me. So undeserving but He does it anyway. For that I am thankful! Let Him go with you too, that’s the only way we make it. Together.

1 Peter 5:10-11 (NIV)

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Home from the Hospital

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> Surgery went well , took about a hour and I had to stay overnight. They sent me home about 2:00 today. I' a little sore but feeling very well. Thanks so much for the prayers and concern.
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> Love and prayers

Daniel
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Pain

Pain, that’s a word that no one likes.  I think it falls in the class with the 4-letter words.  Some of us self inflict, others inflict it on others.  And often we enjoy inflicting pain on others.  That in itself is just messed up.  The Bible teaches us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets

For the most part I think that is how we, the human race, operate.  You occasionally get the bad seed.  But yeah, we try to treat others good.  But sometimes, and we are all guilty, we mess us.  We hurt our friends, the ones we love, without meaning to.  And it isn’t always the pain you can see; Most of the time it is our words. We should always be an encourager.  Try to lift others up with our words.

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Sow good seeds with your words.  After we say that hurtful word the damage is done.  We back track and try to take it back.  Say I’m sorry, but the best we can hope for is to mend the fence, ask for forgiveness and hope they have it in their heart to do just that.  Me and my no filtered mouth often finds myself in that predicament.  I am always asking somebody to forgive me.  I know it comes out, I hear it, and then it’s like I can’t believe I just said that our loud.  Sometimes I actually just think I am thinking it buts it’s out there!  In the air.  Damage done.  I have learned  a valuable lesson this week.  When I give my opinion I am going to wait a few seconds, listen to God, and wait for scripture and speak that!  If what you say is scripture, that can’t hurt!  It might sting sometimes, because we don’t always receive what is true and best for us.  We always think we know best and we can fix it.  But we have to give everything to God so he can shape and mold and work things out for our good.  And He needs every little piece!  Every little sliver!.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose

Why would we want to hold on to our pain?  Sometimes I think in our little minds we think we deserve it.  We have done something to deserve our pain so we keep that little piece to punish ourselves right when we start to feel joy within us.  When we feel Jesus in there, the devil comes along and says but you know you don’t deserve to feel joy, you don’t deserve to have a happy life.  You certainly don’t deserve to move past this pain and move on without it.  Well that’s the devils job.  He lurks around “seeking whom he can destroy” Don’t let him destroy you by holding onto your pain.  Jesus took care of your pain by dying on the cross.  His pain!  I was thinking on my way to work yesterday how sometimes God asks us to do things and we hem haw around before we do them, or even IF we do them.  What would we be, where would we be if Jesus had said, “Nah, God!  Not feeling like hanging on the cross today?”  “Un Uh, not gonna do it”.  But He didn’t, we know how the story ends.  He prayed in the garden, He died on the cross, arose 3 days later!  He did ALL that so we could have eternal “Life”!  Se we could let go our pain!  I can’t begin to imagine what it felt like to hang there!  Tormented feeling like his Father had all but forsaken him.  Here I am nursing a little seatbelt burn on my neck and I am thinking, “What a WUS” and I am!  I will be the first to admit it.  I don’t like pain!  I hurt, I take a pill, I rub something on it, get the heating pad, you name it I have tried it!  But we are human and that’s what we do for the flesh.  But the pain that comes when someone cuts us deep with actions or words will not so easily be fixed.

1 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing

We retaliate with hurtful words of our own and think that somehow helps.  We distance ourselves from the ones we love and that loves us so we protect ourselves and don’t feel pain.  We all have our own coping mechanisms, but how many have tried Jesus?  Most times when we hurt we cry out to Jesus.  And He wants us to!  But He wants us there in the good times too.  And honestly after the last couple of years I can say I know He was there in the bad ties!  I felt his arms around me!  I could feel his peace, his protection.  I could feel his nudging me along, ever so gently.  But what I felt after I started to live again, the good times, is so great!  I hear him telling me what he wants me to do, I hear him whisper to me that things are going to be ok.  He shows me the plans he has for me!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

So then when the bad times, hard times, come I know what He has told me in the good times!  But you have to let him in during the good times.  That’s how the pain all makes sense!

James 5:7 (NIV)

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.

Be  patient!  That is a word that I have come to hate!  A friend told me this week that patience is like an old mean childhood friend that used to beat you up and pick on you.  Now it is like picking at a really bad sore that won’t heal.

1 Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love.

If you are in pain, let the Bible, Gods word, heal you.  Whether its physical pain, or the emotional kind.  There is a word in there for all of it. He is the Great Physician after all!   He doesn’t care if you have insurance, Obama care, Medicaid, Medicare!  He takes it all.  He will make it good and return so many blessings on you!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus!

 

From Daniel

All went well feeling much better, thanks so much for the prayers
Love and prayers from my

From Daniel

I got sick last night and was brought to the ER about 4:00 this morning.  I am having an appendectomy in the neighborhood of 3:00.  Please pray for me we will update you when we have more information. 

Mark said it was -20 with -22 wind chill this morning at 6:30.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but it still wasn't pretty :)  Trish, God certainly works in mysterious ways!!  I'm going to email your tattoo testimony so we can get others praying for him as well :) 

Ink

As I sat in the chair I couldn’t help but wonder what Danny would say. Part of me thinks he would say, “Are you crazy?” Another part of me says, “It’s your finger, do what you want! But don’t come crying to me when it hurts!” That’s the Danny I love! The one that tells me there is consequences for my actions! But he loved me anyway! I tossed the idea of a tattoo around for several months. 6 to be exact. When my anniversary rolled around I wanted something permanent to show me that yes he was here! I know that makes absolutely no sense to some of you! Most of you! Because all I have to do is look at my kids to know where he was. I look at the kids who he coached- I see him there. I look at the people he touched every day in some form or fashion. I find out daily how he touched people’s lives. It warms my heart to hear stories of him. My new coworkers have many stories to tell. Stories before I even knew him. Childhood stories. They feel like a part of my family that I am just beginning to know.

Isn’t that how it is in God’s family? Everyone we meet is just another member of the family of God. Of course as I sat there I was still trying to decide if I had made the right choice. Was I in the right place? The right time? You know me I have prayed about this! For six months I prayed! So me and my big mouth (yeah I know you are all laughing) I tell him right off the bat that I am a Jesus freak! He has heard the song, knows the band. So far so good! After all he is the one that is going to be inflicting pain on me! So we begin to share our stories. After all that’s what we are called to do! Oh boy, that’s when it got interesting. He told me he was an atheist! So I let him know right off that I would be talking about Jesus the whole time I was in his chair! After all the customer is always right! Right?! I was curious because I have never met anyone who professed to be an atheist. So I had lots of questions! At that moment I wished I had chosen a more complex tattoo because I knew he was going to be finished way too soon. But I gave it my best shot. He told me that IF there was a here after he thought he would go there because he did good deeds, tried to live and do good for people. So I told him yes there was a hereafter it was called heaven and you couldn’t get there by doing good. You had to have Jesus in your heart. He then surprised me by telling me I reminded him of his mother! She was a praying Christian too! So after I heard that I knew! I told him he didn’t have a chance because if he had a praying mother she had already prayed for him and God was still working on those prayers! See his mother died last September, a month after Danny died! Hello! It was not coincidence that I was there right at that moment. And my tattoo? He was the only one that could do fingers! So yeah, my tattoo was a God thing! He uses everything, even my tattoo. I found out from my new friend that he didn’t believe in Jesus’ unconditional love because He made the path too hard to find Him! He said the Bible for salvation was like taking a toddler into the wilderness and giving them a road map. They would never find their way out! But I told him all he had to do was ask Jesus in his heart and He would do the rest. He would show him the way. No matter where he was! He was extremely knowledgeable of the bible. I am sure he knew more than I did. He has taken several theology classes. So he knew his Bible and the history. But what he didn’t know was that when I pray God listens! And I have faith that God answers my prayers. I told him he was pretty much done for because he was on my list! My prayer list! I would be praying for him every day! And I was sure he would be going to heaven with me whether he wanted to or not. After all, between the prayers his mom prayed and now with me praying he just didn’t stand a chance!

He told me to come back in 2 weeks for a touch up. I assured him I would be back because I wasn’t going to miss a chance to tell him more about Jesus. One of the saddest things I heard him say was that there was nothing in this world that he could chalk up to a miracle. So I asked him if he had children, that’s the obvious miracle. He has a two year old. When I asked him how could he not see THAT miracle when she was born he simply laid it off to science. But I told him it was so much more. So much more! So this morning I was thinking of our conversation and just the fact that YES I have a tattoo, I realized that in order for me to fulfill my purpose, I am going to have to go to places I would normally not go! Let’s face it, when I witness at church, they have already heard it! I have to get out there where people don’t know about Christ! They want to know or my tattoo artist wouldn’t have taken a class! What I am sure of is this; since he won’t go to church and he professes atheism Jesus is going to have to go to him. So I have an appt in 2 weeks! Just for a touch up. But I am thinking, another tattoo? I don’t know, that’s gonna have to be a God thing. I know God sent me to minister and witness to him on that day at that time. He was such a nice young man. I believe he has good values, high standards and I don’t doubt he is a good father. But you have to go past his appearance. I have a feeling just from our conversation he has been persecuted for his tattoos, his piercings, his general appearance; and he has been persecuted by Christians. So he just chooses not to be one of those! He is going to try to get to the hereafter on his own, by works and good deeds.

We, you and I-fellow believers, know this is not how to get to heaven. You ask for forgiveness and ask Him to live in your heart. Not a hard thing to do, but it is very humbling! So I told him I was going to pray that God sends him a miracle. A miracle that he would have no other explanation for except to say, WHOA that was God! So I am asking my face book believers to pray with me for this young man that has no belief in God! And not just him but for all those that say Christ and his unconditional love does not exist. Because I am here to tell you I have experienced it. I have felt the warmth of His embrace. The comfort in the knowledge that yes, I will see those I love again. It brought tears to my eyes as he told me he didn’t believe in Christ and his love. How devastating that would be. So even if I have to get tattooed from head to toe, I will be visiting him and his tattoo parlor. If sitting in his chair is the only way for me to tell him Jesus loves him, then all I can say is get the ink ready!
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I think we had about the same, or so they say.  I put my car in the garage last night because I was afraid it would not start this morning and Dan is in Connecticut.  It went from 52 degrees to -8 by the time I got to work.  Colin's work was cancelled yesterday and today.  I think we are supposed to get to 4 above and drop back to -1 tonight before climbing upwards.  It is supposed to be the coldest we have been for two decades.  I remember the winter of '83 - '84 when Dan was working in Cincinnati and the kids and I still were in Virginia.  He left one Sunday morning to go back to Cincinnati and it was -22.  It did not get above freezing for 30 days in Ohio at that time.

How cold can we go?

Ok folks how cold is it in your neck of the woods?!  -11 with a windchill of -30. Way to cold for me!!

Purpose

There are days that I wonder what my purpose on earth is. Most of you are like me; we set the alarm, we get up, we wake up kids for school, we go to work, we interact throughout the day, we come home, we have a little family time, go to bed then do it all over again. There has to be more to life than that! And the sad thing is that we sometimes do this for years before we wake up and say, “What have I been doing with my life?” For those of you lucky enough to not have to lose a loved one in the process, I encourage you to take advantage of the situation! Whether you lose them to death, addiction, divorce…whatever the reason? God is giving you a second chance by waking you up! He is telling you to seize the moment! Let Him come into your broken life and mend it. He wants you to experience the fullness of a beautiful life. He wants you to have that special someone that you can tell anything to, someone to share life and faith with. He wants you to love that little child when no one will. To sit and rock in the wee hours of the morning when they are crying for no reason. When God created the family it was His finest hour! In my opinion it far out shines the hour He hung the moon and the stars! It outweighs the creation of the heavens and earth! Family is so complex yet so simple. All it requires is love! So easy to give and always ready to receive. Yet we toss it around like it is nothing.

Micah 6:8

What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God!

If we could do that how much more would our life mean? So much more! Easy answer. We would work less, love more, we would nurture our family more. We would treat it like it was the most precious gem. When it hurt we would cry. When it felt joy we would laugh. When it felt love…well that’s what it is all about. That’s when we feel everything. All the walls come crumbling down when there is love because that is your safe haven, Your refuge. That is where you can say anything, do anything and still come home. Still be able to know that love will carry you through. It will forgive and continue to love without judgement. After all, who is without sin? Who is to say that it may be us the next time. We may be in that situation that is requiring forgiveness. A family without love is, well, a group of people that may be related by blood that may or may not live in a house together. How sad that is.

Jeremiah 31:16-17

This is what the Lord says; “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,: declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your descendants,”declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.”

I was created for 2 things. To serve God and raise my family! That’s my purpose. My family is almost done! Wow, Jacob will be 15 next month. That is hard to believe. I can remember when my little family was me, Danny and my little dog Prissy! But things change.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new

Do you know your purpose? Whatever your purpose, make sure it honors God. Look to Him for guidance.

1 Corinthians 16:14

Do everything in love.

As you start the New Year remember to seek His guidance but then slow down long enough to hear what He has to tell you!

Psalm 46:10

Be still and know that I am God

Even if that means taking a time out from your family that you love so much. Do it! Go sit by yourself. Or walk! Whatever you have to do to get some alone time! Lock yourself in the bathroom! But go meditate on God’s word. Listen to His voice then put it into action and DO!

Romans 12:2(NIV)

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

very nice Trish, I like it

I love it Trish!!

I have joined the many with tattoos! This is for danny:)

There is nothing like bearing your heart that makes you real to us Trish!  So much meat in those exhortations!  Webster says you "urge, or warn earnestly!" 

Trish, I love that last post!!  I really needed that on the beginning of this New Year.  And I would just like to say that "I ain't got time for that" either!!  Wishing everyone a blessed day :)

2014

Where do I go from here? What do I do? Which road do I take? Which way do I sway in this dance? I don’t know! I would like to say I don’t care, but I do. Do you make lists? Lists of what you accomplished in 2013? Lists of failures? What you want to do, goals you want to reach in 2014? I want to! I have formulated them in my head. They just haven’t made them to paper yet, which is odd because everything in my head eventually makes it to paper. As I was discussing my weirdness last night with a friend, I realized I have some little tiny goals I have to complete. We tend to always look at the big picture and set our goals. Like I want to lose 100# Well Hello! Don’t start with that! How about you start with I want to get healthy in 2014. Cut back on my sugar, go with low fat! Limit the doughnuts and chips! Eat fruit and veggies. Walk a mile instead of watching that television show. Then before you know it, the pounds will be falling off, but more importantly you will be feeling better. You will have more energy and you will be able to move without your knees complaining. And as you feel better you will want more of that! Those pounds will come easy with health as your motivator! My thing or one of my things is this; I have watched TV for a long time, Danny and I watched a lot of TV! So for the last year I have just quit watching TV. I don’t know why! I don’t enjoy it! But I still feel the need to DVR all my favorite shows. But then every time I think I will watch one of them, I don’t. So I have all these series taking up space on my DVR and I have no desire to watch them, but yet I can’t bring myself to delete them. That’s what I want to do this New Year! Either watch them or delete them! That’s easy enough! Right?

Philippians 1:6

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

My desire to quit watching TV started after I prayed for God to make me healthy, to clean me up, and to give me a heart like His. I didn’t even finish last season’s finales! And they are still on my DVR. But what I do now instead of watch TV is read my Bible; write words that God gives me, pray! But no TV!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When I prayed for health, I had no idea He was going to clean up my spiritual health. But He did. Yet I cling to the old way by not deleting that! I have no doubt I am not going to watch it! It’s as if I can hear Him say every time I look at TV, wouldn’t it be better to sit with me for a while? Let’s talk! Get your coffee, I’ll get the word. And how can I argue with that? So I am sure, as sure as I am writing this on paper that I am going to hit the delete button. There is like only 10% space left on my DVR because of all the junk that I have recorded! How much space do you have left in your life for Christ? Is it 10%? 50%? With a new day, a new year, we have a new slate! There is nothing stopping us from hitting that delete button on all the garbage in our life so that we can free up space for Jesus! I am going to start by deleting all that “stuff” taking up space. Then I am going to start looking at other areas of my life. I know I have lots of trash laying or lurking around in my body, my heart, my mind! It takes up space that I could turn over to Christ! If I will let it go! I am beginning to think I am a hoarder not just in my physical realm but in my heart and mind. I get all these things, thoughts, emotions and I think I need to hang on to them. But I don’t and that’s one of the things on my list for the New Year! Letting Go! I need to let go of the things I have no control of, and let God have them. He knows the plans He has for me! I just have to trust Him. He is working everything out for my good! We are just along for the ride!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

That verse has become my light when it’s dark. My hope when I am hopeless. My strength when I am weak. I know He wants what’s best for me just as He does for each of you! I am holding on to that promise. I know it will happen in Gods time. Not mine. I just have to be patient and wait upon the Lord! Not an easy thing to do, but while I am waiting I am talking with Him! I am praising Him for all He’s done for me! I am serving Him! I am hopeful! I am obedient, while I am waiting!

Psalm 40:1 (NIV).

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

I am running a race! But not just a race, THE RACE! And during this race, we wait. We learn at the feet of Jesus! For this race is not one of speed, but of endurance!

Galatians 6:5

The Message (MSG)

^4-5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

As we run our race, on our road of life, we run into temptations along the way. The devil has to try and trip us up. He has snared me plenty times. And does every day! And trust me, I get discouraged. But I am grabbing an accountability partner this year! More than one actually, and I am going to defeat the devil instead of being defeated! Because as a wise friend once told me, “The devil has no power over us except when we allow him to influence our thoughts and words.” So I don’t know about you, but “I ain’t got time for that!” The devil has no place in my life! And if that means surrounding myself with people to remind me of that, then so be it!

Psalms 136:3

O give thanks to the Lord of Lords!

That’s my number one goal for this year! Because without Him and all He has done, I would be doomed! But thanks for Jesus Christ dying on the cross for me, for you, we have eternal salvation. All we have to do is ask!

Romans 10:13 (KJV)

¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved

Isaiah 12:2 (KJV)

² Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation

As I move into the New Year, my prayer is to listen to God, not man! Go where He wants me to go! Follow His goals not mine! He has already set down what we need to do! How we need to live! You don’t need to say; yeah I need to lose weight. Just say, Lord, create in me a new thing! Do away with the old! Give me your heart. Make me like you! That was my prayer on April 6, 2013. I will never forget that day! I was broken! Physically, spiritually, emotionally…broken. But God picked up the broken shattered pieces and put them together better than I could have imagined. And He is still working on me! I always see areas in my life that need cleansed up! But little by little bit by bit I run that race, I avoid that temptation, sometimes I get snared by the devil but I can always come back to the One who loves me!

Praise God, there is nothing we can do that would make Him say, you can’t come back! We are human, we mess up, and we ask for forgiveness and because of the cross and the blood that Jesus shed for us He always forgives!

Matthew 21:22 (KJV)

²² And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive

As you embrace 2014, my prayer for you is to begin everything with prayer. Ask what you should do in every situation before you do it! If you are a list maker, let Him help you! Let your goals be for God this year! I can guarantee you will grow! Your path may not be easy but it will be rewarding. You will never be alone and He will always answer your prayers! Just believe and receive!

 

Doors

So here I am once again uncomfortable; with my surroundings, my capabilities, life in general.  I know this means growth but dang if it doesn’t hurt.  I feel like I have nothing to offer in the big scheme of things.  There are more qualified people that can do this!

Then on the other side there are people I know trying to check out on life, some actually succeeding.  And I wonder where did I go wrong?  I know some days I literally feel like the fire hydrant that the dog is peeing on!  But then God sends a little angel by just to say Hi! How are you doing or can I help you, or come by for coffee or I have a hug waiting for you!  That pulls me back to the real meaning of life!  What we are really here for.  We aren’t here on earth to make sure the exam rooms stay clean.  That the instruments are cleaned at the end of the day, that the paper work is all in order.  We are here to make people feel loved and needed.  If we can’t do that while we do all these other things then something is wrong somewhere.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

That’s what I hold on to.  That’s what I pray every morning.  Lord help me do this job so I don’t come across as a complete idiot!  I did go to school, I do have some knowledge.  But sometimes it just takes me a while.  I am what you call a slow learner.  But once I learn it…I got it for life!

I think I am where God wants me to be, no let me rephrase, I know I am where He wants me to be.  He opened up all the doors to get me right here at this moment.  The same as He opens doors for you in whatever situation you are in.  I read somewhere yesterday that no man can shut the door God opens.  But I also think no man can open the door God shuts!  So if He closes that door it’s for a reason!  Be done with it, don’t look back.  We were talking in our Sunday school class how God is the one who closed the door on Noah’s Ark, simply because it was too big for anyone else. Well in our lives, some of our doors are the same way.  We go in and out of the same door; Back and forth, wishy washy! God is patient but sometimes it’s like OK, I have had enough!  Shut the door already!  Kind of like when you are at home and the kids fan the door.  Letting in the bugs and letting out the heat!  Shut the door already!

That’s how I feel.  I need to just close some doors.  He is giving me the chance to close those doors all by myself.  He knows what I am going to do before I even do it, so sometimes I am like really?  Go ahead and shut it!  Save me all this humiliation, pain, separation, heart ache!  But He doesn’t.  Once again, My God is a patient God.  Long suffering!  Steadfast!  Faithful!

Proverbs 3:3

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck write them on the tablet of your heart.

Psalm 119:114

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

That’s where my hope lies!  In His word.  When I have a question or don’t know what to do, that’s where I go!

Psalm 33:22

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

In life we get discouraged.  Sometimes we throw up our hands and say that’s it!  I’ve had it!  I’m done!  But don’t let discouragement make you lose faith.  Because faith is the victory, just like that age old song we sing on Sunday morning.  We will get our victory.  We just have to have that steadfast faith.  When the devil tells me I don’t know what you think you have to offer?  I am ready to tell him I can offer My Jesus!  That’s it!  But that’s enough because if I can offer that, He can complete the rest of me!  If He wants me to do a job He will equip me!  I have to quit thinking this is me doing this!  Because it isn’t.  He gives me the knowledge and wisdom.  I just have to move over and let Him do it.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong, do everything in love!

If you mess up- apologize- make a mental note to do better and move on.  Don’t let all that garbage drag you down.  No one is perfect.  We all mess up!  And above all else, no matter what you do, and everything you do- do it in LOVE!  A beautiful 4 letter word that isn’t practiced or heard enough!

And as God opens those new doors for you to go through, have faith!  Don’t be afraid!  He is holding your hand as you go through the door and He has already been there!  He isn’t leading you into a trap, He wants you to prosper and have a great life!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Yes, I wish for you a blessed New Year!
Psalm 1:1,2
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.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.