SERIOUSLY?

Life involves a series of choices.  When we choose wisely, life is good.  When we choose poorly, life sucks.  In our lifetime we will have many opportunities to choose our words.  In fact every second of every day we have a choice to make in regards to our words.   Does we speak without thinking?  Or do we take a moment and think about what we want to say and how to say it?  Or we can make the sometimes wiser choice and keep our big fat mouth closed?  For me many times I make a conscious decision to keep my mouth shut.  I remember when I was growing up my mom constantly reminded me this:  "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all."  So to this day I do my best to remember this and that is why I am sometimes quiet.  Notice I said sometimes.  I am human after all (at least I think I am).  LOL.

There are times we are tested to use our words wisely.  Like during an argument it can be very easy for me to forget this saying I try to live by.  We all do.  In the heat of the moment we feel we need to defend ourselves so we spout off a list or wrongs, a list of offenses and maybe even a few of those bad words we used to get punished for as a child.  We defend ourselves by bringing someone else down.  We beat them up with our words, after all "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me", right?  After all there is no physical damage done to someone else after we've let them have a piece of our mind through our mouth.  We use our words as weapons and while there are no outward, visible signs of damage, we don't notice how defeated the other person looks.  Sure there are no scars we can see, but internally we have broken their spirit and bruised their hearts.  

I have used my words as weapons in the past and I have experienced people who have used their words as weapons against me.  When we choose to criticize others, when we choose to point fingers and when we choose to tease, we choose to bring death to others.  Our words can carry a destructive power that can cause mass destruction.  The thing I've come to realize in my 56 years of living is that people who use their words as weapons are doing so to make themselves feel better and more superior than others.  Instead of using fists, we use our words, instead of looking in the mirror and saying "what's wrong with me?" we concentrate on what's wrong with everyone else.  We have no problem telling others what they're doing wrong, but God forbid someone do the same thing to us.  

Words are powerful, even if no one else hears them because God hears every word we speak.  If we had to answer to God for every word we spoke, would we change our words?  If we really knew that God hears our words and our tone of voice, would we speak differently?  If we had our words thrown back in our faces, how would those words affect us?  Words bring life or death, so what are our words saying to others?  Think about that for a moment.   If our words could literally kill someone, would we change how we speak?  Well our words may not literally kill someone else, but how many suicides have been caused by someone's words?  How many marriages have been destroyed over words?  How many families have been torn apart by someone's words?

I can honestly picture God in heaven crying over the way we speak to each other.  He gave us words to bring life and healing.  He gave us words to encourage others and build others us.  Words should give us hope and make us feel loved.  Words should change someone else for the better and make their life just a little brighter.  I recently heard a story of a family who was having a young man spend the night.  This young man had spent the night at other people's homes and money and other things came up missing after he left, so this family was warned by well meaning people.  So when the young man walked into the home, the dad looked at the young man, shook his hand and spoke life into his heart.  "Wow!  You have a very powerful handshake.  You must be a very strong young man.  I see in you something rare and unique.  I see greatness in you."  That young man left the next day, nothing was missing and all went well.  Years later that young man told the dad how much his words changed his life for the better.  Our words carry power!!!!!

We must begin to use our words to encourage others and speak life into their lives.  Yes, there are times we need to confront others but we should always do it in love and with words that help, not words that hurt and condemn.  We have the power with our words, to change lives for the better.  Let's stop criticizing.  Let's stop beating people with our words.  Who's with me?

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Oh my goodness I love mountains.  They inspire me and make me stand in awe.  They are majestic and they can be a bit intimidating, especially if you're a climber.  I am not a climber but I just love staring at mountains.  Whether they are snow covered, covered with tall pine trees or desert mountains I love mountains.  There is something powerful about mountains, not sure if it their size or just the looks of them.   I've seen many different mountains over the years and what intrigues me about these desert mountains is the fact that in between the rocks a cactus or other type of foliage will arise.  It may seem like the most inappropriate spot between a rock and a hard place, but life will spring forth.  

"Between a rock and a hard place"...how many times have we described our lives this way?  When times are tough financially and there isn't enough money to pay the bills, doubt and fear fill our mind.  Worry sets in and we begin to struggle with our faith.  We fear the worst and plan in our minds what's gonna happen.  We plan for a future that looks bleak.  Our thoughts begin to wonder and we become desperate to figure out what to do and how to do it.  It seems impossible to imagine that we will get out of this financial hole we've dug ourselves into.  Physically all this stress and worry begins to take it's toll on us so this "between a rock and a hard place" gets even worse.  We don't sleep, we can't rest, we can't even enjoy the little things in life because we're too stressed out.  Sound familiar?

 I won't lie here because I've experienced it and have seen it even in the lives of so many people, even pastors and biblical scholars.  It may seem hard to believe but us Christians, people who are supposed to know better, fall into this category.  We forget the promises of God.  We forget that He will work all things out for our good.  We forget the miracles He performed for us in the past.  All we see is that the bottom line is not good and we do not have control of the situation.  We feel hopeless and restless.  We can't fix it, we can't make it all go away, we can't wave a magic wand and make our hard times vanish.  How can we believers fall for this trap of the enemy? 

We're humans and we loose our focus.  We forget that God is in control, if we let Him.  We lack the faith we need to totally surrender our finances to Him.  That's right God wants to be in control of your finances.  After all He is the best financial adviser there is.  He knows the future better than anyone else.  He knows what His plans are for us, yet we doubt.  We hang on with clenched fists holding on tight to every single penny we can.  God has more important things to concentrate on than our finances.  Oh how little faith we have.  It's easy to talk about it, preach about and study about it, but it's hard to live with it.  Yet, God's promises are all over the Bible.  We read it but do we really believe it?  Our faith in God and His promises (I believe) will determine our life here on earth.  Will we live in peace and joy no matter what our circumstances are?  Will we trust that God knows better than we do?  Will we have faith in God the size of a small mustard seed?  

Matthew 17:20 (The Passion Translation) "It was because of your lack of faith.  I promise you, if you have faith inside of you no bigger than the size of a small mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move away from here and go over there,' and you will see it move!  There is nothing you couldn't do!

Our faith and trust in God is critical.  We have to release our clenched fists and open up our hands to receive God's promises.  We have to stop worrying and stop stressing.  We need to rely on God to move the mountains, yes even the financial mountain of debt we may have.  God is still in the miracle working business as far as I am concerned.  But we can't receive His blessings or His promises with clenched fists.  We need to let go and surrender our financial future to God.  Sound scary?  It is.  

In 2007 we risked our entire financial future in a hope and dream God gave Jerry.  We put our faith and trust in Him at a time businesses were declaring bankruptcy and closing their doors.  We took a chance and relied on His promises and trusted He would work it all out for our good.  We had faith the size of a mustard seed and He did not fail us.  He moved financial mountains that only He could move.  It was not about something we did, He did it all and we give all honor and glory to Him!  It was the scariest thing we have ever done.  Our faith was tested to the max and God rewarded our faith.  Do you have a financial mountain that needs to be moved?  Pray.  Trust.  Have faith in God and rely on Him!  Then do what you must but enjoy your life and give thanks for the power He has to move mountains and sit back and watch the Glory of God work a miracle.   

ARE YOU STRESSED OUT?

It's early in the morning here and darkness is all around me, literally.  (This is not a picture of where I am right now it's a place I visit to spend time with my mom.) Anyway back to the darkness of the morning.  I don't know why this time of day seems to intrigue me.  I know the sun will soon rise but it's still so dark. If there were geese on my lawn I wouldn't know, well except for their annoying squawks.  The darkness frightens me, I don't like it.  I think it's the unknown, the hidden and the dark places where I can't see what's in front of me that fills me with fear. But it's this time of day just before the sunrise that I absolutely love.  You know that time in the morning when the sun slowly begins to kiss the horizon and dispel the darkness. The sky slowly begins to turn from black to blue and the shadows that were once hidden, some to light.

As I sit here typing the world around me is slowly coming to life.  Kitchen lights are being turned on, cars are getting warmed up ready for to take their driver to work or school.  Bedroom lights begin to pierce the darkness as people get ready for their busy day.  I can smell the coffee brewing as I type.  Showers are cleaning off yesterdays messes as we begin to prepare for a new day.  The geese are starting to wake up, I hear them now. Kids getting ready for school, parents getting ready for work, streets begin to be filled with traffic running here and there and everywhere.  Once the sun rises and lights begin to shine, we forget about the darkness and move on in our fast paced world.

As we move and go and do our day begins to fill with the stresses of every day life here in America.  From the moment our feet hit the floor in the morning, our feet don't stop until bedtime. That's the time the darkness returns and the regrets of what we didn't do, the thoughts of what we should of done, the ideas that never came to pass and the reality of what could have been fill our minds until we can't sleep.  We toss and turn as our mind continues to process the stresses of today and our mind fills with the worries about tomorrow. Our dreams, if we sleep, are filled with torments and regrets.  We wake up tomorrow and begin this same path all over again.  Day after day, night after night the same old vicious circle keeps up tied up in knots and stresses us out until we become so physically ill that we break.

I've seen it for myself, I've heard people's stories about how stressed filled their lives are.  I have noticed that there is a darkness that surrounds these people.  They are literally living life under the attack of the enemy. That's right I'm talking about Satan.  He is alive and he is out to get us.  He wants us so rushed, so distracted, so deceived that we live this life in ways God did not want us to.  Let me ask some hard questions that I have had to ask myself... Is that job that stresses you out worth the income you're spending at the doctors?  Are you so busy running errands that you're missing your child's or grandchild's performance?  How much more can you take?  Do you feel like your gonna break?  What is your first thought of the day?

I recently ran into an old friend I haven't seen in almost 5 years.  In those 5 years he had aged 20 years.  His face was filled with lines from all the worries and regrets. His health was struggling from all the stress of trying to make a buck and please people.  In the last 5 years he had spent numerous amounts of money trying to figure out why he was in so much pain and felt so ill most of the time.  It was sad.  I felt so bad for him.  Stress is a darkness and a strategy of Satan that steals our joy, kills our family life, and destroys our health.  The best remedy for stress that I have found is diving into God's Holy Word first thing in the morning.  Before we get dressed, before we get busy, before the darkness can get a hold of us....get your Bible and read it.  If you have to blow the dust off it, do it.  Trust me, it defeats the enemy before he can get started.   

Psalm 119:105 (The Passion Translation) Truth's shining light guides me in my choices and decisions; the revelation of your word make my pathway clear. 

If you are reading this and do not know Jesus please don't stop reading.   Jesus Christ is the only pathway to an eternity in heaven.  God is waiting for you with open arms.  He's waiting to love you with a love you cannot even comprehend.  He's waiting to forgive you for all of your sins.  Jesus Christ died to testify to the truth that He is the only way and the only truth.  He took away my sins, He took away my stress, He took away my worries, His Word lights my path and pierces the darkness.  I surrendered because His way was much better than mine.  His path way much brighter than mine.  When I totally surrendered, I also gave up my worries.  It wasn't easy at first and if I'm honest there are still times I try to take my worries back, but in the end I always give Him back all my worries, all my fears and all my life.  

In doing this I have a peace that surpasses all understanding.  I have faith that has been tested by fires.  I have a love that is beyond my comprehension. Please take a moment and consider making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.  Trust me it will be the greatest decision of your life.  

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

Ever have one of those days where everything seems to go wrong?  Ever experience a time when your heart just seems so heavy and weighed down? There are times we all experience this I believe.  Sometimes we don't even know why we feel that way or what is causing it, but it happens to the best of us, that is if we're being totally honest.  I've had those days when a smile just don't seem possible.  Oh sure I could blame it on the weather but in reality it usually happens when we're disappointed or frustrated whether at ourselves, our situation or someone else.  There is usually nothing that can be done to rectify the situation, we can't make ourselves snap out of it and we can't make someone do something for us that they don't want to do.  This stuff usually starts the downward spiral into becoming brokenhearted. 

Feeling brokenhearted is not easy to deal with.  It literally feels like someone is ripping your heart right out of your chest with no anesthesia.  It's painful, it's hard and it's also the reality of this human life sometimes.  Alright I'll admit it, sometimes life sucks.  We expect things to go a certain way and they don't, we expect people to treat us a certain way and they don't, we expect ourselves to be perfect and we're not.  It may seem at times like life just threw us a curve ball we weren't expecting.  Like we were hit right between the eyes and we never saw it coming.  Have you ever felt that way?  Am I the only one who falls into a pool of tears?

Okay I'm being honest here and so should you!  Being brokenhearted is not a weakness and it does not mean you are a failure.  For me it means that God is going to raise me to a new level and my enemy, Satan, doesn't want me to go there.  He attacks me with a vengeance that is powerful and scary. As God tries to continue to prune me and grow me, the attacks from the enemy become increasingly more frequent.  He (the enemy) will use whatever and whoever he can to break me.  He will fill my head with lies until I become brokenhearted and cry a pool of tears.  That's usually when I fall with my face on the floor.  Call it a pity party or a strategic plan but it's at that point I have a decision to make.  I can either remain pitiful or I can become powerful.  

How in the world can I become powerful when I feel brokenhearted?  Well to be honest it ain't easy.  In fact it can be rather painful.  Usually when my heart is broken and my spirit feels crushed, I turn to my Heavenly Daddy and ask Him to reveal to me His truth about who I am.  I ask Him to speak truth to me in areas I need to change or grow.  I ask Him if there is someone I need to forgive or something I need forgiveness for.  I ask Him to speak to my heart and my mind.  I ask Him to fill me with His spirit and I bind the enemies power in my heart and my mind.  My Heavenly Daddy, loves the brokenhearted.  No matter how broken I feel, my Heavenly Daddy is with me, healing me and saving me from the attacks of the enemy.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

It is only through the blood of Jesus Christ that I can awaken from being brokenhearted and feel restored and redeemed.  You see Jesus Christ has already defeated Satan.  Because I believe in Jesus Christ, I have the power to overcome the enemy.  What used to take me days and sometimes weeks to recover from, now only lasts an hour or less.  How?  I have a personal relationship with the One who defeated the enemy. I have been saved and I have the same power that rose Jesus from the grave living inside of me. With that kind of power and love, no weapon formed against me will ever prosper. Although I may feel brokenhearted for a time, I am not defeated.  I will overcome and live my life powerful, not pitiful.  

As I continue my journey as a Jesus Girl, I know the enemy will continue his attacks and at times even increase them, but I have already won the battle because Jesus Christ already won the war.  I've read the end of my story and I win through my belief in Jesus Christ.  Join me please.  

GARDENING IS NOT FOR THE WEAK

I sit here looking at this picture remembering the insanity of the way this garden was when we bought this home.  It was a wild flower path filled with rocks and stones and flowers and weeds galore.  In fact I truthfully couldn't tell the difference between a weed and a flower.  There was ground cover and bushes and to me all I saw was a mess.  It was overgrown and an eye sore to me.  There was nothing pretty about it except a few Iris's and a tulip or 2.  I sought out advice because I was at a loss.  People advised me to give it a year and see what happens.  To be honest, I couldn't wait.  I felt like I was almost becoming claustrophobic just walking around in the garden.  I couldn't enjoy it at all, I wont even mention the mosquitoes we had to deal with. There was nothing about this garden I enjoyed....yet!!!!

Then we had a neighbor come over and literally rip out everything except the hostas and the iris.  We just purged the whole thing and started over from scratch.  The process was painful, it was difficult and it was costly.  We needed a major transformation and this was just the beginning.  It was amazing to see the difference between what used to be and what is now.  All the hard work, all the backaches and muscle strains was all worth it.  The garden is the way I like it...neat and organized.  

Like I said the result is amazing.  While the new bushes and flowers are still small, it is much better to me without all the clutter.  Our lives are a lot like a garden, if we don't tend to the weeds, if we don't prune out the dead, and if we don't nourish our garden it will become a giant mess of overgrown drama and clutter.  Their are weeds in our hears we all must deal with.  It's called our past.  It can infect our hearts, our minds along with our words and actions to a point that makes us a giant mess.  We can no longer see the beautiful flowers God has planted in our hearts because we have neglected our hearts and our minds.  We can get so wrapped up in the garbage of the past, the negativity of the world and our current circumstances that we can't see the truth about ourselves.  Heck we can't even begin to receive the promises of God because we are so blinded by the weeds.

As believers in Jesus Christ we are slowly being transformed into His image, but this process is painful.  It means dealing with the weeds and getting rid of them for good.  It means pruning away the things or people who are robbing your joy and stealing your time with God.  It means digging into the past and dealing with it.  It means forgiving others and yourself.  It means looking in the mirror and taking an honest look at yourself and take an inventory of your life.  What do your words say about you?  What does your actions say about you?  How have you treated others?  How have you treated yourself?  When you look in the mirror who do you see?  Yourself?  Jesus?

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's Glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who us the Spirit

We are slowly being transformed much like my garden.  I'm not where I need to be but thank God I'm not where I used to be.  It ain't easy!  It ain't simple!  It isn't an overnight process.  In fact it will take my entire life, but I will keep allowing God to pull my weeds and prune the dead away.  I will allow Him to nourish my soul and get rid of the drama and negativity.  Will you join me?  

IT'S PLAY TIME

Who doesn't like a good water balloon fight on a hot summer day?  Who doesn't like to jump in a big pile of leaves in the fall? Who doesn't like to have a snowball fight in the winter?  Who doesn't like to run through a rain shower in the springtime?  Me.  I don't know why, well actually I do I just don't want to admit my reasons but I guess I have to confess the truth hear since this is what I'm talking about.  I don't like to get messy and dirty.  I don't want to mess up my hair or my makeup or my clothes.  Yes I am serious here.  This is a very sad statement I am typing here.  Really this is not a great way for me to be.   I love to have fun and laugh but why do I get so goofy about this stuff?   Seriously?  It seems sort of ridiculous when I think about it after all that is what life's all about isn't it?  Laughter is the best medicine, isn't it?  Sometimes being a little childish can be fun, although there are those people who never want to grow up, but sometimes we(me) get so wrapped up in the seriousness of life we forget to let go and have some fun.

3 of my 6 grandchildren are pictured here having a water balloon fight during the 4th of July weekend.  Where was I?  Up on the deck watching and laughing and taking pictures.  Seriously?  What is wrong with me?  I don't think I'm the only one acting this way in fact I know I'm not alone in this struggle.  We were taught that we grow up we should give up our childish ways.  Why?  What's wrong with acting like a child for a few moments?  I tend to be one of those serious people.  I need to behave a certain way or people may not like me or approve of me.   I'm a believer in Jesus Christ and that is serious business after all.  I'm supposed to be an example of Jesus and I don't think Jesus would get in a water balloon fight with a group of children.  I don't think Jesus would jump in a pile of leaves or have a snowball fight or dance in the rain.  Or would He?  

Seriously the picture of Jesus I had growing up was a serious man who prayed and ministered and healed.  He had too much important things to do to waste time playing with children.  I pictured Him like a CEO of an important organization.  His schedule was packed tight with no time for shenanigans and goofing around.  He's God's Son with an important mission to accomplish, no free time in His schedule.  He had a very serious goal to accomplish and a balloon fight or dancing in the rain was out of the question.   Since He lived in the Middle East there probably wasn't piles of leaves to jump in or snow to form into snowballs.  But anyway I just couldn't begin to imagine Jesus playing with children, but I think He did.  He loved children.  In fact when the disciples tried to get them to leave Him alone, He told them to let the little children come to Him.  Then He said this:

Matthew 18:33 And He said: " Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Even though it's not in the Bible, I can picture Jesus playing tag with a group of children.  If there would have been water balloons back then, He would have been in the center throwing them back and forth and laughing with the children. I can picture Him dancing in the rain with the children.  Sometimes we take the seriousness and urgency of this Jesus thing way to serious, I know I do.  We become legalistic and bond by our doctrine instead of laughing and enjoying this life.  Jesus said that we must become like children.  That doesn't mean that we spend our life playing, that means (at least to me) learning to grow, learning what path we need to follow, letting God have control of our life, letting God provide for us, and it means learning to laugh and enjoy life.

Children (not teenagers) have fun but they are also learning new things, growing in their knowledge, willing to get back up after they fall down, willing to try new things.  They rely on their parents for food and shelter and clothing, they trust that their parents will take care of them.  They are totally dependent on their parents for survival.  They obey (for the most part) their parents trusting that they know best.  They play games and learn through these games, they read parent approved book and watch parent approved TV shows and movies.  They listen to parent approved music.  

God is our heavenly Daddy.  He wants the best for us.  He has a plan that make our life way better than we could ever dream.  When we rely on Him and trust in Him the way a child trusts in and relys on their parents, that pleases God.  When we get rid of the music, the TV shows, the movies and the books that aren't doing anything good for us, that pleases God.  When we come to Him with our needs, that pleases God.  When we thank Him for all He's done and given us, that pleases God.  When we learn to laugh and play, that pleases God.  

So lets try to live life like a child.  Let's learn and grow and laugh.