god keeps us

I’ve been in a funk, lately. Probably because I am tired to my bones. I have been needing a brighter outlook. I commented on Jon and Emily’s blog today. What came out of my brain, and what I left as a comment, was exactly what I needed today:

“The God we serve is good and faithful. He loves us completely and always. "He keeps that which we've committed.’”

When I keep giving it to him; he'll perfectly care for me.

Help me remember this.

g

you are blessed when you make peace

Max Lucado says this about making peace:

“Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heartdeep in a person’s life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens.

An employee gets a compliment. A wife receives a bouquet of flowers. A cake is baked and carried next door. A widow is hugged. A gas-station attendant is honored. A preacher is praised.

Sowing seeds of peace is like sowing beans. You don’t know why it works; you just know it does. Seeds are planted, and topsoils of hurt are shoved away.”

In this place we live, we don’t have many peacemakers. What we have are: chaos-makers. We have lots of snatching and grabbing for a lot of entitlement…you can see it in your home, in your town, in your country, in your world, in your church, and even in your heart. Everyone wanting what they have coming to them. Adam and Eve did not make peace. Cain did not make peace. There were times when King David did not make peace. The disciples did not always make peace when they were with Jesus. Many times, the church has failed to make peace in our world. I am not always a peacemaker.

If we want to be called Sons of God, though, we have to be peacemakers. Lucado goes on to end this chapter with these words:

“’ Be a power broker,’ the snake lied,’ and you will be like God.’

‘Be a peacemaker,’ the King promised, ‘and you will be a son of God.’”

How I need the peace of God to have any peace to share. Please, Lord, bathe me in your peace. Fill me with your peace…calm the chaos…help me to realize, daily, that I don’t need what the world has to give…that will pass away. I do, however, need what you have…for that is what will last for all eternity.
g

you are blessed when you show mercy

“Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7, Amplified Bible)

I like to read the Amplified version of the Bible. It shows me more exactly what the original thoughts were of the speaker/writer were, according to the language the words were written in. Because of this, I am made aware that the word “blessed” has a different meaning than I originally thought… It speaks of the blessing to be a blessing simply because it is originates in God…not from us and what we want. It also speaks of being happy/satisfied with what God has for me regardless of my outward conditions. Hmmm…really different than what I have also thought….

So, this blessing comes when I show mercy to others…when I give others what I would like them to give me…The dictionary says that mercy is:

“clemency: leniency and compassion shown toward offenders …a disposition to be kind and forgiving”

This is hard for me. Not so much if I am with the offender, and we talk about it and work through it, and continue to live through it…but if I am ignored and left alone…it is hard for me to forgive. This is a particular problem that God has been working with me for several years, now. It is very hard for me, but I know that God has a very special blessing for me every time I give him people and situations that cut me to the bone, believing and trusting him to take it and make something beautiful for his glory.

Lord, help me show mercy… even when it is hard for me. Work in my life…break my heart…mold it in your image…

g

precious

Last weekend my family came over to help with our home renovation project. (Note: it takes a lot longer to renovate than it takes those people on HGTV).

My family is precious to me. One way they make themselves precious is through the things they do for me and for others.

None of them really had the energy or the time to give a day in our behalf, but they did. It was time to be together and do something constructive (no pun intended). It gave me a fresh outlook on our project, and it gave me a “shot in the arm.”

Yes, my family is precious to me. My life has been enriched by each one of them. Thank you, family.

g

happy birthday, memaw and pawpaw

...thank you for being precious to me, and to many others.

I love you,
g

you are blessed when you are hungry and thirsty

10-3-0-10

When my soul is hungry and thirsty, I continue to go to the place of sustenance. I crave it. I long for it. This is the human experience…longing, wanting, and craving. We are born with it and we die with it.

Jesus wants me to have that hunger for him. He wants to fill me and sustain me. He wants to feed me. He wants to be everything to me.

Sad to say, I have spent a lifetime of looking for food and drink for my soul in all the wrong places….people, church, jobs, family, and (yes)… even through real food…you name it…I’ve gone there looking for it.

But here, Jesus is saying to me that when I go to him with my unquenchable hunger and thirst, he will fill me…in fact, in other places in the Bible, it is promised that I will be filled to overflowing. That speaks of extravagance…of having much more than I need. Who doesn’t want to be there?

Revelation is becoming one of my favorite books of the the Bible (who would have thought it)…These words of promise are spoken in the last chapter:

Is anyone thirsty? Come!
All who will, come and drink.
Drink freely of the Water of Life!

My hunger and thirst become a blessing, because they drive my straight into the arms of Jesus.

g

PS I am so tired today. Lord, please help me. I need all that you have for me. Fill me to overflowing.

happy b-day, mamie

Today is our Amy’s twenty-seventh birthday. Amy is a gentle soul. She has always been so responsible that life bears down on her at times, but she keeps on going forward.

I am so proud of her because she is brave and focused and she is not afraid of hard work. She sees the path ahead, devises a plan, and keeps her eyes on the prize going full speed ahead.

Amy is a good friend and an incredible daughter.She loves to help and serve. She has been a great blessing in the lives of many (especially mine).

Happy birthday, sweet Amy. Have an incredible year loving life and learning and serving. Look to God for all that you need, and you will always have enough.

I love you,
mom