God Has Called

God has called us to "action". 

"Living" for Christ is not getting for ourselves but, 

"doing" 

His work, "being" His hands and feet, for others!

                                                                                  

We aren't to live in a bubble of Christianity, 

stirring up emotions of feel good goose bumps and petitioning God for His blessings. 

                                         

                                                                                  

Pop that bubble! 

Get out and "go" in to the real world 

and "be" a blessing! 

Not "what can you receive" but - what can you 

"give or share" with others, 

for Him.

 God will abundantly bless you with more 

than you could ever begin to imagine!

God, The Refiner

God - the Refiner!

"Do you feel like fuel has been added to fire in your life?

Be advised, 

God is working to reveal Jesus in and through you.  

Be encouraged!  

                                                                        

When a refiner purifies gold, he melts it in a pot over a fire. He keeps turning up the heat until the dross, or impurities, rise to the surface. He then bends over the gold to skim off the dross and continues doing so, until he can see his face reflected in the surface of the liquid gold.

Gold refined in the fire is a meaningful visual of how God refines us. (Malachi 3:2-3)

So, when God, the Refiner turns up the heat, we need to fix our eyes on Him, totally trusting Him to know exactly what He’s doing!
                                             

Prayer: May it be that our faith would be purified, God would be glorified, and Jesus be magnified through every step we take on our journey, until the Refiner sees His own reflection mirrored in our life."

                                                

The above words were compiled from Anne Graham Lotz

A Letter From Grandpa

Grandpa's Letter 

One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather’s belongings when he came across a bright red envelope. Written on the front were the words, "To my grandson." Recognizing his grandfather’s handwriting, the boy opened the envelope. 

A letter inside read:

"Dear Grandson,

Years ago you came to me for help. You said, "Grandpa how is it that you've accomplished so much in your life? You're still full of energy, and I'm already tired of struggling. How can I get that same enthusiasm that you've got?"

I didn't know what to say to you then. But knowing my days are numbered, I figure that I owe you an answer. So here is what I believe. I think a lot of it has to do with how a person looks at things. I call it 'keeping your eyes wide open.'

First, realize that life is filled with surprises, but many are good ones. If you don't keep watching for them, you'll miss half the excitement. Expect to be thrilled once in a while, and you will be.

When you meet up with challenges, welcome them. They'll leave you wiser, stronger, and more capable than you were the day before. When you make a mistake, be grateful for the things it taught you. Resolve to use that lesson to help you reach your goals.

And always follow the rules. Even the little ones. When you follow the rules, life works. If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you're only fooling yourself.

It's also important to decide exactly what you want. Then keep your mind focused on it, and be prepared to receive it.

But be ready to end up in some new places too. As you grow with the years, you'll be given bigger shoes to fill. So be ready for endings as well as challenging beginnings.

Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Life isn't just reaching peaks. Part of it is moving from one peak to the next. If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit. Leave the past in the past. Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.

Dump things that weigh you down emotionally and spiritually. . When an old resentment, belief, or attitude becomes heavy, lighten your load. Shed those hurtful attitudes that slow you down and drain your energy. Remember that your choices will create your successes and your failures. So consider all the pathways ahead, and decide which ones to follow. Then believe in yourself, get up, and get going.

And be sure to take breaks once in a while. They'll give you a renewed commitment to your dreams and a cheerful, healthy perception of the things that matter the most to you.

Most important of all, never give up on yourself. The person that ends up a winner is the one who resolves to win. Give life everything you've got, and life will give its best back to you.

Love always,
Grandpa

Author Unknown

How To Be A Trustworthy Friend

Who do you trust?

What do you trust?

Don't know..... 

we retreat to isolation and eventually in to depression.

Guard up!

I'm not nameless.

I am not hungry.

I'm not invisible!

I just want someone to talk to.

I sure would love to have a friend.

The streets are crowded.....actually, overcrowded.

Can someone just befriend me?

I have past hurts, wounds.

Words like "bad, ugly, not good enough......

Is there anyone who is honest - authentic?

Take off your blinders -

I know all about Jesus.

He can help!

He is watching my back.

He will bring justice.

I can trust Him.

He is safe!

I remember - "more abundantly"

I remember - "peace on earth".

Taking a risk.

Trusting.......

Not in anyone - but, Him.

Compiled - Unknown Authors

Grandpa's - My Dad's Hands

Grandpa's Hands

Father's Day is nearing and I can't help but always remember my Dad's hands. 

 They were always kind and gentle.  

                                                                  

Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.  He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat, I wondered if he was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK.

He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking," he said in a clear strong voice.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK," I explained to him.

"Have you ever looked at your hands," he asked. "I mean really looked at your hands?"

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.

Grandpa smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled, and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

* They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.

* As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer.

* They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

* They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.

* They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.

* Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

* They trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle.

* They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body.

* They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw.

* And to this day, when not much of anything else of me works real well, these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

* These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life.

* But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home.

* And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandpa's hands and led him home. When my hands are hurt or sore I think of Grandpa. I know he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

Source:  Unknown

Can't wait to see my Dad again in Heaven ! 

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it ... Dad

  By Unknown Author

Sincerely, Love Grandma

A Letter From A Grandmother

For my grandchildren, I’d like better. I’d really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would. This is my letter to them....

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it’s all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he’s scared, I hope you let him. When you want to see a movie and your little brother wants to tag along, I hope you’ll let him.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. On rainy days, when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don’t ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won’t be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head. 

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a girl or a boy, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a tree, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole. I don’t care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don’t like it. And if a friend offers you drugs, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle. May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays. I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor’s window and that she hugs you and kisses you with tears in her eyes when you give her a plaster mold of your hand. 

These things I wish for you – tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it’s the only way to appreciate life. Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I’m here for you. And if I die before you do, I’ll go to heaven and wait for you. 

Love, Grandma

                                                 

-Unknown Author-

Springtime Pruning

The trees and shrubs in our area are singing new life and beginning to flourish. What a mess though, in the meantime.  

Pollen is off the charts!

Yet this season for many trees is a time for pruning.

Why? To instigate growth.

Pruning includes even the insignificant, unsightly smaller branches. Yes, even these small branches steal valuable nutrients from the main branches.

Pruning resembles "life" for all of us. Often it is the "little things" that can steal our joy, sap us of our energy and keep us from growing.....whether in our health, personal growth or our spiritual growth. So we need to be pruned!

We must cut off or cut back that which needs attention and care or is keeping us from the most important aspects of our lives.  

It is vital that we use the correct tools. 

God's Word is the perfect tool.

Often times the process of new growth gets messy. 

It is all part of Our Heavenly Fathers plan.  

For example - Spring cleaning can often become total chaos before it is completed. Closets, cabinets, drawers are cleaned out and organized to make way "for the better".

Proper pruning produces health and growth.

Pruning can be painful but it will not harm you. It might now be pleasant either, but we can take comfort in 

2 Corinthians 4:17 which says, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory".

Growth will encounter a few stumbles and trials along the journey. These difficulties however, will build our passion, our perseverance and thankfully deeper character.

Surrender today to The Master Gardener.  

He knows what is best for our 
greater growth.

*****Happy Spring y'all.******

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

LENT - Pause and Prepare

PAUSE and PREPARE

Early Christians felt the importance of Easter called for

special preparations. The first mention of a 40-day period of fasting in preparation for Easter is found in the Canons of Nicaea (AD 325). Eventually, the season evolved into a period of spiritual devotion for the everyone.

                                                          

Lent – a 40 day journey to Easter Sunday.

The word Lent is an old Saxon word meaning “spring,” and no, it is not in the Bible.  In fact, the word Easter is not in the original scriptures either.  (However, one English translation of the Bible does use the word. The King James Version.)

The practices and commitmentsof Lent such as prayer, fasting, repentance, moderation, self-denial, (giving up something—a habit, watching TV, social media, or a food or drink, sweets, etc.)spiritual discipline (such as reading the Bible and spending moretime in prayer to grow spiritually and be drawn nearer to God in their relationship with Him.)

and almsgiving – (noun(used with a singular or plural verb) money, food, or other donations given to the poor or needy; anything given as charity.. “The hands of the beggars were outstretched for alms”)….are, indeed Biblical (multiple scriptures),Christ-centered (Matt. 6:5–24)and are heavily emphasized.  These commitments are doing something to incorporate more time with God in a humbling and very intentional way!  

The season of Lent is a participation in Jesus life,

not an entrance fee to heaven.

It’s a season of spiritual devotion with roots in Jewish worship, the teachings of Jesus, and the practices of the apostles and early church. It is a season of repentance.  It is about pruning and cutting things back so that we may grow closer and deeper to Christ.

The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ, His suffering, His sacrifice, His life, His death, His burial and His awesome RESURRECTION.

                                                      

Like many spiritual disciplines,  there is much confusion, misunderstanding and misinformation behind the practice of Lent.

 ***A take away from this blog would be…

Don’t impugn the motives of those who have found spiritual benefit in setting aside a time of the year for reflection.  Your favorite time of year for fasting may be the first of the year.  That’s great. But, don’t judge others for their observance in preparation for Easter.

Lent is not a gimmick, trend, a ritual or a fad! In fact, history indicates that Lent is here to stay. Fog machines, using certain "latest" technology devices and many other trends or fads are often gimmicks.  The point is– we are not called to cast disdainful judgments about people who practice Lent or whether they don’t.  Sadly, too many Christians are suffering from too much self-righteousness and put themselves on pedestals.  

(Pedestals = Pride.   “Pride goeth before destruction an an haughty spirit before a fall”.  Proverbs 16:18)

Setting time aside for certain spiritual practices, devotions, preparations and disciplines allows us to focus more intently on God for a deeper understanding and growth in our relationship with Him.

                                                      

In church history, there were plenty of Puritans who banned Christmas, Easter, and any special Sunday, but I don’t see many people today taking a saw to their Christmas trees.  Do you?

Understand that what is more important than the practices we take on is the heart attitude behind them.   If there is anything we should give up this time of year, it us our judgmental attitudes and sense of superiority, whether it is to Christians or non-Christians and to those who attend church or those who do things differently than we do. 

                                                          

The cross levels us all….

whether you practice Lent or not.

One Grain of Sand

Psalm 139:17-18 

How precious to me are your thoughts, says God!

   How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

    they would outnumber the grains of sand—

    when I awake, I am still with you.

How many grains of sand do you think there are in the world?  King David tells us in the verses above that God's thoughts towards us outnumber the grains of sand.  


In preparation for Spring and outdoor living, I was carefully rearranging some of my treasured, unique pieces of driftwood that were on our back porch. Even after many years some pieces of driftwood continue to carry hidden grains of sand.  Changing the position of the driftwood quickly reveals this fact.

Anyway, I'm not sure when it occurred, but all it took was one grain of sand getting into my eye to remind me.......ALL day long about the importance of and the lessons in life associated with just one grain of sand.  
                                                   

A tiny, boring, insignificant grain of sand...

..became a total nuisance!  It later was

a reminder of so much more.

Put all of the individual, uniquely different, tiny grains of sand together.....you will have gazed upon something magnificent.  You will observe the beauty of a beach, or the wonder of the desert.  Crystal, glass and more..... beauty.  Place the sand in the mouth of an oyster and a beautiful, amazing pearl will begin to form.  A miracle.
                                                       

What about the little grains of sand in our lives that form "pearls"?  The seemingly insignificant, tiny, often unnoticed things of our lives that are actually building blocks of greater things.  

Here are some little grains of sand to help you get started....
**Have you ever stopped and understood the impact of saying grace before eating a meal?  
                                                      

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer".

1 Timothy 4:4-5

**Another little grain of sand of life with a huge impact I feel is Sunday School.  It is rare to find churches that honor this sacred tradition but if you are a person who attended Sunday School in the past, or still do, you absolutely understand the need for it's restoration.

                                                      

These are examples of some things that together, begin to form "pearls".  Tiny and seemingly insignificant, but are of "great price".  

Matthew 13:45-46

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it".

Years later, the moments will come together and the picture will fit, revealing God and all of His beauty.