The Climb -- Change Your Perspective!

Recently there was a Disney movie where Miley Cyrus was featured and also sang the title song “The Climb”. I would like to take from that today and expound of the fact that we will constantly be climbing that mountain, yet we don’t climb it alone.

From the song, “The Climb”:

‘I can almost see it
that dream I am dreaming
but there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
every move I make feels
lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying…’

God gives us mountains to climb so that when we reach the top we can see Him. It is about knowing that when we come to the next mountain to climb that He is climbing with us. It is also about the times He carries us when we can no longer climb on our own. God moves mountains, not us. Our job is to believe, to listen to His voice, to take His direction, to learn what we can and to climb!

In the Bible, God has promised us that He will never give us more than we can bear without providing an avenue of escape. Our trials make it so we will come to Him with our problems. I have found that nowhere in scripture is there a verse that says we won’t have climbs in life. I believe whole-heartedly that God allows us to go through trials and causes us to climb mountains so that we will turn to Him for solutions to our problems.

I like the way it is written in the NIV version of scripture; “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” – 1 Corinthians 10:13.

The victory is always the Lords. Always! It is through His grace that we will shine from the top of the mountain. It has nothing to do with our success of climbing that mountain, but what God’s grace has done through us to reach that summit.

I end my writing today by providing you with a quote I found in one of my daily readings (see below in quotes.) Sometimes I get so bogged down in the details that I forget the joy! It is about the faith in the climb, not the climb. It is about my faith in the Lord! Have a great day, friends.

“You must not overlook the details of life's requirements by focusing on the big picture and the goal. By the same token, you cannot lose vision and purpose by paying too much attention to the details. It is like looking at an entire landscape, seeing both near and far. You can see where you are going, but you have to ...walk the path step by step to get there."

Grace Under Pressure -- Why Do I Always Fall Short?

“LORD, please give me your grace under pressure. Why do I always fall so short? I will try again today. Thank you! Amen”

This was my prayer a few days ago when I found myself losing control over a “nothing” situation at work. At times like this I am more disappointed in myself and how I shattered my testimony than the actual event that started my downward spiral in the first place. You know you are living your life for the Lord when the adversary starts messing with your peace and your confidence. One day I hope to say that I passed the tests that the adversary throws my way; until that day comes, I will continue to pray for God’s grace under pressure. And to those whom I have disappointed, I am truly sorry. I would like for you to remember that I fail too. Praise God for His Grace!

I am finding that since I took on the task of writing what the Lord has done in my life, my trials (or testing) have come faster and at times more pronounced. I do know that whatever God allows me to go through, He is faithful and just to provide a way out. There is absolutely no doubt!

Keep your eyes on the Lord and not on me. Just pray for me as I try anew each day to be the person God wants me to be. We all help each other grow, just as God’s Word reminds us in Proverbs 27:17, “as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” I am so thankful for my Christian friends, my family in Christ, who walk with me through the storms I face – no matter when and no matter where. I stand amazed; for it is so true that “friends love through all kinds of weather.” – Proverbs 17:17

“We don’t need to find the answers to tomorrow’s questions with today’s resources. Our hope and our peace is in the Lord our God!”

Click on the link below and enjoy the song by Chris Tomlin, "Your Grace is Enough" -- this song says all I am trying to say here and more.
Your Grace Is Enough

God Is the Divine Healer - He Is Simply Not a Bottle of Aspirin

I would like to share a reading from 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 that really resonated with me today. “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort – we get a full measure of that too.” – The Message

Although this passage was written to the church of Corinth, its meaning applies to each and every one of us today. I hope you find that passage and inspiring and uplifting as I did! What this passage spoke to me was that God is simply not a bottle of aspirin – a quick fix!

The question is if God comforts us, then why doesn’t our hardships and pain just go away? Why doesn’t God just give us rainbows all the time? In reality, if that were always so, then we would only turn to God just to be relieved of our pain. We wouldn’t seek God out of love for Him only. I really needed that realization today. I hope that I continually (daily) seek God out of my love for Him. I pray that I continually seek God not matter the cost.

On the other side of the equation, the more we walk through suffering, the more God can comfort! As with comfort, it brings renewed strength, hope and encouragement. Also, in turn with all our struggles that we are comforted and are able to be renewed, we have that much more wisdom and strength to share with someone else what God has done in our lives. I really love this part of the equation. I never say “thank you, God, for all my trials” especially when I am right in the middle of one, but as I go through them I am thankful that I feel the power of the Holy Spirit guiding me, nurturing me and yes, sometimes carrying me through to the other side. Then, praise God, my love for Him over flows and I am excited to help someone else too!

We need to seek God because of our love for Him – not for what He can do for us. Perhaps that will be my mission as a widow – to grow in strength and Godly wisdom, so that I might love and comfort other widows.

Thanks be to God, Who Gives Us the Victory

My posting today is from 1 Corinthians 15:57, "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

If you have read some of my postings, you know that I tend to get caught up in emotional or anxiety related issues. I like to call this getting trapped in "self-stuff". As Joyce Meyer's likes to demonstrate with her robotic like action humor, "What about me? -- What about me!" Now, when I tend to get caught up or over-react I see her image and find myself repeating that mantra. Then I just start laughing and my issues are gone. Isn't laughter wonderful!

About this time last year I found that I wrote in my journal praise for receiving a victory over my emotions; someone that I worked with was always "pushing my buttons". It got to whenever I saw this person coming, I would cringe with fear. The person had a sense of humor that tended to "bite", if you know what I mean. If their attempt at humor didn't leave one in tears, it left one in an angry mood. Well that day was one of those challenging days and as I wrote in my journal, "Praise be to God that I didn't allow them to cause me to speak harshly or to feel so wounded that I began to cry. (I hate it when I lose control and cry -- I am working on this one and getting better every day!)

To my amazement, I was able to basically overlook their actions and words (as if the incident didn't happen or I didn't hear it or the Lord focused me on what was really important.) I found myself sticking to the job at hand and set aside all the other "stuff" -- no added emotions on my part! Then, later on that day I noticed that their behavior was changing for the good. Hmmm, who changed? Was it me that changed? ...or perhaps my behavior didn't keep them stirred up?

Whatever the reason, I learned something really important that day. I am in control of my own reactions to my environment. As long as I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me, and I am quiet enough to hear, I will always make the right decision. I ended my journal entry that day with, "Thank you God for giving me the victory over my emotions and my mouth today! Through my actions your light shone brighter today through me."

"Count your blessings. Once your realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence " -- Og Mandino

I hope I remember this quote for a very long time! I am very thankful for the blessings God has bestowed on me. It is true that my smiles are beginning to return as I learn to make priorities, be forgiving of myself, look for the good in situations and truly believe God is in full control of my life. He has a purpose for me, He has a plan for me and I am enjoying the revelation.

Oh My Nerves -- I Can't Believe I Did "It" Again!

Do you ever feel like you just cannot get “it” right no matter how hard you try?

There are times when I wake up in the morning with such confidence and such great expectations that I am going to do the right thing today – the “thing” that is going to be the most pleasing to my Lord. Then, something happens during the time I get out of bed! Sometimes, even before I have had my first cup of coffee, I do it again!

What is wrong with me? Absolutely nothing, however at times I do find that I’m a slave to sin. I just need to refocus on the things of God and not man! We all know the struggle of staying disciplined, trying to do the right things and avoid all the things that we know we should avoid.

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker “Don’t follow me, I’m lost?” Sometimes I feel that way when I perceive that others are watching me, trying to catch me in my words or actions. I slip so easily and I know I can disappoint. Perhaps I should use these times of “slip ups” as a testimony to just where Jesus has brought me; to the place He is taking me in order to fulfill His purpose for my life. Fortunately, I am not lost in the eternal sense for I know that my Savior forgives me over and over again. I pray that my life’s reflection will shine as polished mirror, but when the tarnishes do appear the world will look to Jesus and not me.

I take comfort in the words of the apostle Paul, found in Romans 7:15-16, where Paul tells us “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate (don’t want to do) I do.” Paul was a man who was blessed to have a vision from Jesus Christ Himself and yet he faltered with the same problems. How much more then would I encounter the same issues? Verse 21 says, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” Then verse 25 tells us to give “thanks to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Jesus reminds us that He will rescue us, instruct us, comfort us and walk through the storms with us. He will never leave or forsake us. He understands our temptations, for He was tempted. He understands our suffering, for He too suffered.

God does not promise us that we won’t have storms in life, that we won’t make mistakes, and that we won’t have heartaches. He does promise that He will never leave or forsake us and that He will be with us always. Hebrews 13:5-6 reminds us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that we have nothing to fear from any one because Christ is with us!

Remember the story of the disciples on the boat when a great storm came up and they were so afraid? Jesus was in that boat with them and the storm still came anyway. The disciples called out to Jesus and He was able to calm the storm. If we didn’t have the storms in life, or if we never made mistakes we would never appreciate just what we have in the Lord. He is always there to pick us up and set us back on the right path – no matter how many times we get it wrong, or how many times we do “it” again!

Let’s praise the Lord God today for His continued mercies and His everlasting grace!

Be Still -- I Miss Me When I am Gone!

Have you ever heard the saying, “of all the things that I’ve loved and lost, I miss my mind the most!” I certainly don’t know where that saying came from, but I surely can relate. Perhaps someone will “Google” that and let me know.

When is my mind normal? What is normal? What is abnormal?

I would dare to say that when we allow our thoughts, our mind, to continually be filled with anxious thoughts or over thinking/reasoning (be it worry, fear, anxiety and the like), our mind is running abnormally. An abnormal mind is not what God decided for us when He gave us the power to reason over all the animals. We cannot hear the voice of god if our mind is too busy.

I feel like I am “back” when my mind is “normal”. The Holy Spirit desires to bring us insight, but if we are too busy we will miss what the Lord is attempting to reveal to us. Our minds are normal when it is at rest, when it is at peace. I am not talking about being catatonic, I am talking about free from over thinking, free from the “what ifs”. I am talking about letting it all go and letting God! I know this to be true because I have fought anxiety and fear most of my entire life. Praise God that in my senior years I am finally “getting it”, finally learning to be still.

“Be still, and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10 NIV

Have you ever tried to whisper something to a friend in a crowd filled room? They can't hear what you are saying, you can't even hear what you are saying, because of all the noise and the chatter going on around you. I love the way Joyce Meyer worded it when she said, "The ways of the Holy Spirit are gentle; most of the time He speaks to us as He did to the prophet -- in 'a still small voice'" (see I Kings 19:11, 12.) It is so important, so vital that we learn to keep ourselves (our minds) in a condition that allows us to hear Him.

I am attaching a short video that Stephen Curtis Chapman put together, “Be Still and Know”. Use this as a time of quieting your mind. Empty your thoughts of everything that is keeping your mind busy. The Lord is attempting to speak to you today. You won’t be able to hear him if you are filled with busyness.

Meditate on the Lord this morning and know that He is our Father, He gives us what we need, and He is trying to let us know.

Be Still

Any Sand In Your Sandals?

I found a small torn piece of paper, about an inch or two in size that I have kept in my bible for more than 40 years. It was actually a note I scribbled and stuck in an older bible and have just transferred it each time I would get a knew one. On the note was a question that simply read, "Any sand in your sandals?"

This question was used by an evangelist by the name of Ken Poore (at least that is the name I remember, it was so long ago.) I will never forget the message he provided that day because of that little torn piece of paper I always kept in my bible. I was only a teenager at the time, yet the message really touched my heart. He told of how in the time of Christ that Jesus and his followers would travel through villages preaching and ministering along the dirt trodden roadways. The image the story conjured up was how they must have had dirt in their sandals day in and day out as they worked to further the gospel; leaning on God to provide for their every need.

I read a quote a couple of years ago in the "Daily Bread" devotional book that said, "Life is not always fair, but God is always faithful! God stirs in us the desire to move ahead and provides us with the encouragement to do so. He is with us each step of the way. God is our ever faithful leader. He alone knows our future and gives us hope. I like the way Jeremiah 29:11-12 reads from The Message -- "I have it all planned out, plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen."

None of us know or realize how Jesus is all we ever need until we find ourselves alone and Jesus is all we have! Faith is a gift from God, doubt is a choice we make. I choose faith, forging ahead knowing God has a plan for me with no doubt that He will provide; no matter how difficult the journey.

Christ collected dust from every village that He went to, getting involved in the needs of the people along the way. I hope to say to the Lord, when I meet Him one day, that I too have dust in my sandals!

Forever God is Faithful, Forever God is Strong! -- I love that song. If you have an extra minute today, click on the "Forever" link below and enjoy Chris Tomlin singing "Forever".

Forever

Finding Your True Passion - What Makes Your Heart Sing

Passion will not develop on its own, like a seed you throw in the ground and expect to develop into a beautiful rose. One must discover their passion-- something that stirs within, a small desire; an inspirational thought or song. Recognizing your passion, that inner spark God has placed in your heart, is what gets you out of bed in the morning.

A lifetime of searching won't show you what is already in your heart. You must search your soul and ask God to show you what you already know to be true. You might start with asking yourself a few basic questions:

1) What is it that gives you the most joy?
2) What would you not want to live without?
3) When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing on your mind?

When you find your passion, you want nothing more than to know all about it. You begin having a strong desire to nurture, develop, and feed it in order to see it grow. It becomes your "passion"! God's Word tells us, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."- 2 Timothy 2:15

After your passion is developed, you are ready to cultivate and share with others. Passion gets you up in the morning-- passion is contagious to others because they want what you have. My Passion is for Christ! "...being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ." -- Philippians 1:6

There is so much work to be done in our cities, in our nation and in our world. Let us focus on "keep on keeping on" with the work at hand! "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."

I leave you today with one of my favorite songs, Chris Tomlin's "God of This City". I hope you take a few minutes to listen to the song because it is everything I have tried to say here, It Is My Passion! Until next time...

God of This City

Just Let It Go -- My Mind Says Differently

I read a wonderful book a couple of years ago when I was really struggling with anxiety issues and self-pity. The book is titled "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer. In her book, she writes that there is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Let me share two scripture verses:

1) "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" - Matthew 14:31
2) "And He marveled because of their unbelief..." - Mark 6:6

Doubt will cause a person to waver between two different opinions or theories. (The adversary loves to fill our minds with doubt!) Unbelief leads to plain disobedience! Meyer wrote that 'Doubt is not something God puts in us. The Bible says that God gives every man "...a measure of faith" - Romans 12:3. God gave each and everyone of us the gift of faith, which He placed in our hearts. The adversary will try to dissuade all of that and destroy our faith by messing with our mind. The adversary cannot know our hearts like God can, so He messes with our minds. We must be careful what we put into our minds; not to fill our minds with things contrary to God. It is important for us to keep speaking the Word, through all of our fears, anxiety, decisions and let all of our "self-stuff" go. Let it go -- keep on keeping on!

The bible reminds us of double-mindedness, James 1:1-8. We are to pray to God for guidance, make the decision He places on our hearts and then follow through. Verse 8, paraphrased from "The Message" says -- "Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. I love this verse, especially now that I finally "get it", I finally let it sink in. For all of us who have suffered from anxiety know the pain and frustration of double-mindedness.

Satan knows how dangerous we will be with a heart full of faith! Isn't that awesome? Just saying that makes me giggle! The adversary will try to attack us with self doubt, double mindedness and unbelief. Stay strong in your faith, be filled up with the Holy Spirit and remain in the Word. Tell the adversary to run!

I leave you today with one of my favorite passages of scripture, one that brings me immense comfort and peace! Quoted from the Message, I give you portions of Psalm 139, "You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there too -- your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful -- I can't take it all in." Isn't that the most amazing portion of scripture? I am amazed that no matter where I go, no matter what I do, no matter how bad I mess up God is always there and He always knows. He will ALWAYS be there to pick me up! I love my LORD!