WHAT WAS THAT I HEARD, IS THAT SPRING AROUND THE CORNER?...

Woke up this morning got my coffee and while getting ready to go upstairs to my place for my Quite Time and I heard it. I stopped, listened again and it was for sure the first pretty little sound I had heard in months. It was the sweet sound of a song bird right outside my window. The sound of Spring around the corner is in the air. I’m grateful for my friend in Vermont who reminds me of how many days until that first day of Spring. I can’t wait to put my shovel in the moist dirt and place my pretty colorful annuals in the ground, can you?

My mind wonders to how it happens. On a Saturday morning we awake to a beautiful morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing we dress and hit the road for breakfast in our little town. The Saw Mill Restaurant has a biscuit the size of your hand. If I feel like I can be rewarded I will order one with their one of a kind gravy on the side. I will cut it in half and that means one side will be for gravy and the other will be for butter and syrup to “sop” it in as we say in the South…oh yum makes me want to get in the car right now. Well I can’t today, so moving right along with my detailed event. After our delicious breakfast and talking with friends we see along the way we head on up to our Home Depot store and there they are. Rows and rows of well-watered plants are just waiting for me. I can almost hear them laugh with joy to see me, saying “pick me, pick me”. It is at this time I have learned to keep it simple, because I have come to realize what I buy right now I will have to maintain later. My project has to be within my budget and schedule, remembering a good rule “what we get we have to take care of”.

Walking down the aisles I am feeling so happy this season is here again. The impatience are offered in every color. The running petunias are the latest fad and are colorful. Funny, I’ve noticed I end up having a color scheme each year it all depends on what I want at the time. I have to remember what I will be able to take care of and it is so hard to walk away from some of these beauties. The reds, yellows, purple fuchsia I thing will make a beginning for my color scheme this year but you know what I think it will be some of all these colors. Then when they all make their splash of color it will make a beautiful display on my table when we have friends over. Ah the thoughts of Spring, makes you forget the harsh winter that will go on record, go out and enjoy it with me…

PEOPLE GOT PROBLEMS, AND…..

I’ll never forget years ago what my friend Linda said, after people were asking her what she thought about the events of a nationally known figure that had fallen into the grip of sin. “People Got Problems!” she said, and “we better be careful what we say or think about them, it could happen to us.” That will stop the gossip real quick! So, its a pretty good saying…..

What do you do when you hear of someone’s sin now exposed, having them in a place in their lives that has them trapped, in a place of public pain and failure? You can begin by NOT judging them. Momma always said very simply, “you better sweep around your own door before you go sweeping around somebody else’s”. That says volumes doesn’t it? You never know what people are facing these days. And the sad thing is, they are trying to “fake it till they can made it” and appear that they are doing great, yeah! That’s what you think…NOT…. People got Problems, and they are hurting and you know what? Hurting is one thing but hurting alone is another.

As I live each day I am realizing we need each other and we need to get along. It helps to reach out, be kind and give a helping hand, accepting each other. I want to be somebody that is “trustable” if you tell me something I don’t need to go tell it to anybody else. People who make that a practice are just setting themselves up for trouble. When you want to tell something about someone just stop and ask yourself “what am I wanting to get from this?” and “is this person part of the problem or solution?” Nine times out of ten it is something all about you and the price is too high to pay, so just stop! Gossip is explained well when a mother that wanted to teach her little girl a lesson after she had told something about a friend. She took her to the attic of their house and opened a window. After ripping a feather pillow open she handed it to the little girl and said to throw the contents out the window. The child did as her mother said and as she did a gust of wind came along and blew the feathers all over the ground below. Now the mother said, “now go down there and pick every one up”. She looked at her mother and said, “that’s impossible they are everywhere and too many”. “Yes”, the mother said “ and that is the very way gossip is, your words go everywhere never to be gathered back in.

James talks about the tongue and how powerful it is in James 3:8 “but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison”. We can control the words that pass our tongue by making a choice of saying something positive about someone and not negative. Be kind to someone today. Also, it would be a good idea to stop words in their tracks, if you hear someone beginning to tell you something negative about someone. Begin to practice this. You can say, “I don’t want to hear that”, and if they continue to tell, go the second level by saying “can I use your name when I go to them to check out these facts”. That last one will usually put an end to it…. you can count on it! So you see “People Got Problems” is a full statement that means, yes they do and when we hear about them, begin to pray for them, see what act of kindness you feel you need to do. It could be a phone call, a note or just go to them being a Stretcher Bearer!

ARE YOU MORE INTERESTED IN THE HEALING THAN THE HEALER?

The above question stopped me in my tracks! I saw it written on top of a page in my Bible. I had put it there some time ago but it spoke to me today… again! Reading the accounts of Jesus going from town to town healing people in the book of Mark. I’m wondering how they felt seeing miracles right before their eyes. I thought, are these people wanting Jesus for who he is or for what he can do for them? I am afraid I might fit in the last category most of the time. As I think about it, I want to listen to my prayers more often and redirect them to expressing my gratitude and gratefulness to Him for who He is and not what He can do for me. I really want to learn more about Him in relationship, knowing He resides in me and not as some external being that will do “stuff” as I need it.

All to often we get in a tight place and want what ever we are facing to be “fixed” right away, ASAP! It is at that time we call out in desperation for help when we come to the end of our own resources. I’m not sure He wants to answer those “help me” prayers because it might be something that would be letting our flesh get its way. Then we wonder, “why are You so quite Lord, not answering my prayers”. Ouch! That might hurt, but it’s good for us to think about. So, are you pondering these thoughts with me? Do you have more “fix it” prayers, or more, “I just want to sit here and visit a while” prayers? I really do want to have more times of being quite in listening prayer, experiencing who He is, resting in Him? Don’t you?

This is your homework for the week, find a quite place, open your prayer to Him in gratitude, then just sit and listen. You will be amazed at what you will hear…..

PS:
I read this quote today you might find interesting…
"Lord, now I know why you give no answer, you are the answer"
C.S. Lewis

DO YOU WALK IN THE SPIRIT?…

Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

That’s my question this morning. Things are going on around us that want to take us away from “Walking in the Spirit”, check and see if you are breathing, if you are, you have this going on. The last part of the verse says if we do choose to walk in the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Now isn’t that a promise?!!!

What does it look like to Walk in The Spirit? You will have peace; people will notice something is different about you. Oh and the Fruit of the Spirit will be flowing through you freely. Just to name a few….

As a Christian we have all this working for us In Christ. I’m reading through the Bible this year I think I told you, and yesterday I was reading in Matthew. This caught my eye and I was astounded to say the least, it donned on me the power that we do have as Jesus as He spoke this to his now 11 men. I think they were shaking in their boots as he appeared to them, and this is what he said. But first get the picture, Jesus had been to the cross, died and was buried, the guards sealed the stone as requested my Herod. On Sunday morning the two women came to the tomb and “Suddenly” (I love the “suddenly’s in the Bible!) there was a great earthquake because an angel came down and rolled away the stone and sat on it. The angel spoke to the two Mary’s and said, “don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified, He isn’t here.” Then they were told to go tell the disciples. Can’t you see them running? Wow!

Well they went and they told and the news was out! Now here’s what I want you to see here it is exactly as I read it in the light of knowing we have this In Christ. It is powerful! Matthew 28:18 - 20 says this, 18“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I got all excited when I read these words…. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That means it is just what He said on the cross was completed, “It Is Finished”. The victory has been won and you know what? We can Walk in The Spirit…

My heart is moved when I think of how simple the Christian life is. It is all done for us, just using simple Faith we can walk out each day enjoying life and having “the joy of the Lord as our Strength”. We can accomplish anything we set out to do In Christ. Looking back through my pictures I came across some pictures we took on a day we had Caeden. We took him to the Mall which we like to do and walking to the car they were ahead of me and I saw them hand in hand and it looked so peaceful, it was a trust that I saw as I saw a little child holding the hand of his granddad trusting him as he walked along and that’s the picture for this day to remind us we are not alone and we have all we need to walk each day holding the Big Hand of our Father!

FAITH OF A MUSTARD SEED…

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." NLT Matt 17:20

You think we can live with faith like that, you better believe it! I heard it said one time, “I have the faith to move Stone Mountain the reason I haven’t is God hasn’t told me to....yet”. We have all the faith we are going to get because we have Christ as Life! Wither I make use of what we have, it is up to me. The enemy does not like these words but he has no power unless we let him have it. One of my friends posted this on Facebook today and it says it well, “Once the enemy has a person deeply convinced of the lie that something or someone other than Jesus Christ is the foundation of life, he is open prey for the crippling pain of misbelief." Beware and just don’t let him, it is as simple as that!

I am at the place in my life where I am going to pull out all the stops and believe with all out faith and get ready to move that big thing. Those of you that haven’t visited Stone Mountain in Atlanta, GA you are missing it. I can save you some time by showing you a picture we took while camping there one of the many times. Looking out the window of our RV parked right there near by will make you stare in Awe! It is an awesome place takes your breath away as you stand at the bottom and look up at the massive rock only God could have placed in that spot… Go Believe!!!

WHEN IN A TIGHT SPOT, ITS ALL ABOUT HIM……

Just sitting here, its cold and raining outside makes for a day to read and sip my fresh cup of coffee. Thinking about life and all its circumstances. Oh! How it can get you into Tight Spots sometimes. If you are not careful you will let it control you, believing a lie, that things are not going to get any better or those things can’t change and it presses in until you say “Wait a Minute”! I can believe those things that are True replacing the lies. Funny how immediately you feel a release of the thoughts and pressures that have held you. You know, it’s all about Him and only Him that can be our everything. I received in an email today containing the list below; it’s from a wife whose husband was in a terrible car wreck several months ago he finally got to come home right before Christmas. They don’t know if there will ever be a full recovery as far as being about to function fully and even with their circumstances all around them they were able to send this, sure makes my Tight Spot seem really small…

In the happy moments— praise Him.
In the difficult moments—seek Him.
In the prayerful moments—ask Him.
In the decision moments—follow Him.
In the quiet moments— see Him.
In the lonely moments—know Him.
In the listening moments—hear Him.
In the unsure moments—believe Him.
In the active moments—serve Him.
In the waiting moments—trust Him.
In the hurting moments—touch Him.
In the lovely moments—adore Him.
For in all your moments, He is there
in goodness, in kindness, in love.