The Race Car Driver

I don't know a great deal about race car driving or the sport itself but I do know that they have spotters.  The spotters are people that watch from a higher vantage point to give news of impending danger on the track. They warn of problems ahead and behind as well as in the current position.

The driver is suited in protective gear and has so many things going on in the car that makes it impossible for him to see anything but right in front or slightly to each side.  He is unable to see the dangers himself.

Like the race car driver, we too have a spotter.  His name is Jesus.  He has cleared the way for the future in eternity  and has given instruction on how to navigate through life.  He can keep us on track by showing us the details that are important from our past, but most importantly, warn us of impending danger through discernment and the Word. 

It's His job to be our spotter but it's our job, just like the driver, to listen and make necessary maneuvers to avoid a crash. 

A race car driver must trust his spotter and follow his instruction in order to have a successful career.  We must follow God and His instruction if we want to be prepared for our finish line and that is eternal life.

Special, we are special

Living through a troubled time can cause your self-worth to deminish.  You start to beat yourself up over something over and over again and feel like you aren't loved. 

As I relaxed last night, I started playing in my head the song "In the Garden."  It's an old hymn we used to sing in church when I was a child.  It was referenced in a novel I read recently. 

The first verse and refrain are as follows:
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

As I thought and sang through those lines, one line really stood out.
"And He tells me I am His own."
He calls me His.  God calls me His.  It doesn't really sink in until you say it aloud a couple of times. 

1 Peter 2:9 NIV says this, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Godʼs special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Not only does He call us His, He calls us His special possession.  Now I don't know about you but I have a thing or 2 that I would call special. I take extra special care of that thing to ensure I will have it forever. 

God does that for us.  He says we are special and takes care of us.  He wants us to feel loved because we are.  Jesus died on the cross so that we don't have to be receive the punishment for sin that we deserve.  We don't need to live in guilt or shame.  No beating yourself up over and over again is necessary.

When you mess up, no matter how bad you think it is, give it to God and let Him forgive you for it.  He paid the debt for you because He loves you.

I don't know about you, but I sure feel loved even when the world says I'm not or don't deserve to be.  God calls me His own special possession. 
 

Fear Not

Last night I stayed alone in a house in the woods.  When I got hungry and went to the kitchen for a snack I noticed a light coming through the kitchen window.  I looked closer and saw what appeared to be a flashlight shining at the house and into the window directly at me.

I immediately felt my heart race and my mind go into overload.  I was facing pure terror in that moment where my mind was saying there was someone outside trying to break in.  I felt so weak and vulnerable.  Would this intruder kill me? Would I kill him with a girlish scream that gives him a heart attack?

I checked with the owner of the house to see if there was supposed to be a night watchman and he said no.  I began looking out of different windows trying to get a better angle on things.

Having been in law enforcement for over 20 years, you would think that my police officer instinct would take over and kick in.  BUT, since retirement earlier this year, I have truly embodied the part of being a girl in need of a man's protection.

I finally figured out that it was a light affixed to a small tree by the window.  The light was swaying a bit in the wind and appeared to be an intruder.  My nerves were calmed but my mind wasn't.

Satan will use everything he can to throw or minds off track.  When our minds are in fear we lose the focus we should have on our number one protector. God is our ultimate body guard.  He has said not to fear that He will take care of us.  Genesis 15:1 says "Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abrams in a vision and said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.'"

I must admit that I felt really silly after figuring out what the light really was.  Satan had my mind going a thousand miles a minute saying I didn't trust God.  Well, he was right.  I didn't trust God at that very moment because I let my own abilities, to deal with situation, try and take control.  However, I realized quickly after it happened that Satan was trying to get in my head and that I had to ask God to forgive me and do better in the future.  So I did.  I prayed that God would forgive me for not trusting Him for EVERYTHING and asked for further protection through the night.

If I failed to trust God in this silly moment, where else am I lacking the trust that He expects?  It was certainly a life lesson.  God WILL take care of is.  We shouldn't be scared to live or to die.  He has a plan for us.  He will carry it out if we just trust and obey. 

Sometimes we learn valuable lessons in things that make us feel so inadequate.  Our own abilities are so inferior to God's.  When we learn to follow, the way God instructed, we will see how peaceful and heavenly this life, this side of Heaven, can be.

Love or be loved

There are several verses of scripture that stick in your mind throughout life.  Being that love is one of God's greatest commands, the verses on love are numerous. 

In John 15:17 NLT, Jesus says, "This is my command:Love each other."  I have read it a million times and even thought it a million times.  It's not until this season of my life that I finally read it for its REAL meaning. 

I know you are probably thinking that it's quite simple and can be taken for its words.  You are right, the words can be taken at face value and if applied, put us in a good place. However, it's what the words DON'T SAY that's important here. 

The scripture tells us that God commands us to love. They do not say we should BE LOVED.  Although we want to be loved and God commands that others love us,  that is not OUR job.  We can't worry about being loved.  We know that God loves us.  He loves us enough that He sent His son to be beaten and killed on a cross for our mistakes.  In my opinion,  God's love is all sufficient.

As I travel down this broken road, facing the possibility of divorce really hurts.  It tells me that my husband doesn't love me like God commands.  And yes, I messed up and caused that love loss but no matter the reason, it still hurts.

Many days I have sat and tried to think of ways to make him love me.  I've also said that I just need to find a way to not love him.  You know what?  First, making him love me can't happen and it's not my job to try to make it happen.  Secondly, God COMMANDS me to love him.  It's a command, not a suggestion or a "if you feel like it would be in your best interest" thing.

The greatest part of all of this is that God equips us with the love He expects us to give.  He is love.  If we have God, the Holy Spirit in our hearts, it just comes naturally.

As hard as I have tried to turn off the love for my husband, in self-preservation, God has given me more, in depth, unconditional love for him.  Now I guess I could view this as a curse since my husband says it's over but God knows what He is doing.  God may just be building my love skills. If my marriage ends, I will still love.  I will have a better understanding of love and I will be following God's command to love.  I can't worry or be held hostage by trying to be loved. 

Next time you find yourself worrying about someone loving you, remember that God commands us TO love, not be loved.  It takes the pressure off.

Wait...there's more

Have you ever been in a bad situation or trial in life that renders you hopeless and miserable?  You think that life, as you know it, is over. 

I have seen, time and time again, people going through yuck and giving up and walking away.  Hard times scare people and make them want to run away.

I watched a sermon recently that Christine Caine did at Elevation Church titled, "Embracing Your Place".  She spoke about your place within the church, in God's will, that you are meant to be.  She referenced scripture in 1 Corinthians and 1 Kings and preached on us being the body of Christ.  She made it clear that we all have a place that we must embrace.

I tell you all of that to bring you to this point, God does have a place for each of us.  Sometimes we don't recognize it as being in a place for God.  We want to run from circumstances that are less than fun and sunny.  You may not be used at church like you think you should be, you may be doing a job that you think is below your skill set, you be in a marriage that is not where you thought you should be or you may be poorer than you think you should be spiritually or financially.  Whatever the case may be, God has you there for a reason.

Zechariah 9:11-12 NIV says this, "As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.  Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you." 

God has a divine appointment for you.  It may be that you are to give your place a 2nd, 3rd, 4th chance.  God may have the "twice as much" part for you this round.  Would you really want to walk away from what God has planned, His reward for you, just because you don't like the circumstances? 

I have caught myself, in the midst of a life storm, thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  My mind says if I change my circumstances, myself, I could be happier.  Well, isn't that funny!?!  Who do you think put me in the bad circumstances to begin with? What makes ME think that MY choices, from here, will be better? 

Trust God.  Plain and simple.  It really never sunk in, until I watched Christine's sermon, that God has us where we are for the purpose of making us better and showing His power of restoration and blessing. 
Would you really want to walk away from the double indemnity that God has for life?  He promised it to the Israelites, His people in history.  We are His people in current times.  God has not changed and will not change.   Why is that hard to understand?  It took me years but I have finally let that sink in.  Once that fully gets into your mind, fully into you heart, God can do miraculous things in your life.  Until then, you will find that you are lost and feeling hopeless in finding your place. 

Blow the trumpet!!!

This morning when I woke up I could feel Satan immediately start his nasty schemes of filling my thoughts with sadness and thoughts that go against the will of God.  I stopped everything and prayed for God to take the thoughts away and replace them with godly thoughts. 

As my morning progressed and I dug into the Word, I got to a verse that kept replaying in my mind.  Was this God answering my prayer? One hundred percent without a doubt!
Numbers 10:9 NLT says this, "When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets.  Then the LORD your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies." This scripture is about the LORD telling Moses to make silver trumpets for signaling in time of war.

God wants us to call on Him when we are attacked by the enemy.  Satan is our number one enemy.  I knew he was attacking me this morning and was quick to "sound the alarm with the trumpets."  God changed my thoughts and gave me this scripture and this blog entry. 

The power of God is amazing against ALL enemies.  If we recognize that we are under attack, we should call on the best Warrior there is to fight the fight.  God will rescue us in a time of need.  Sound the trumpets by praying, calling out in distress. 

My prayer is that we learn to signal for help and not try to fight the enemy alone.  Our voice in prayer make really good trumpets. 

Joy verses Happiness

While reading Acts 16:25, "Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening," I realized something.  Paul and Silas were in prison, not church, not a party, not a joyous event, yet they were praising and worshipping God. 

When I think of prison, happiness is not a word that comes to mind.  I can't imagine Paul and Silas were happy to be in their circumstances.  They, I am positive, would have rather been free to go about preaching and teaching as planned.

God uses sad or less than happy circumstances to test our faith.  He wants us to "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus," 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT.  He wants non-believers to see the joy we find even when things seem tough.

If we are in a circumstance that seems or is bad, God can and will use it to draw us closer and make things better on the other side. If we trust God, let Him do what He does.  He will show His glory in the circumstances and use them to further His Kingdom.  You never know the lives you will touch by showing joy in the LORD in your sad circumstances. 

Is there room for Jesus in your Inn?

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7 KJV

Never before have I read this verse and thought about it this way. 
Jesus was born in a dirty manger among animals and poop.  There was no room for him in the comforts of the inn. 

Is that true today too?  Are we putting Jesus in a dirty manger?  Are we leaving him in a box until we need him?  Maybe he sits in a closet until we go through a storm that is more than we can handle.  Maybe he is in a suitcase that is only used on Sunday or one of the big holidays like Christmas.

Jesus wants to be in your heart, in your life, in your soul, in your every moment.  He walked on earth as a humble man but deserves our best and to be treated as the King that He is. 

I'm guilty of not always keeping him front and center but as my intimacy with Christ grows, so does the desire to have Him in my every moment.  I have began to see that when God is my focus, everything is about Him and what He wants.  It's so beautifully freeing to know that He is in control in the good and the bad.  He is no longer in my manger but in my house with me ALL the time.  Not just the dirty places but the good places too. 

Are you willing to put Jesus where He deserves to be?  Does Jesus have to come second to your work, family, entertainment and everything else?  Jesus wants to be FIRST in you life.  He wants to be in your house (your spiritual house) not your dirty, stinky manger (leftover areas). 

This Christmas, right now...make Jesus the first and most important person in your life.  Make room for Him in your inn.  Don't force Him to stay in the shed, the manger in the backyard of your life. 

Life Lesson in Mr. Brooks?

Although it's been out for a long time, I had never seen the movie "Mr. Brooks" until recently.  Even with a couple of inappropriate scenes and a few bad words, I found it to be a pretty good movie in that it offered a life lesson that I would have not caught before this season in my life.
Whether intended or not, it got my mind working.

To summarize very briefly, the main character is Mr. Brooks.  Ha, that was probably hard for you to figure out without watching it for yourself. Lol
Anyway, Mr. Brooks' conscience is named Marshall.   Marshall appears in the movie but can only be seen by Mr. Brooks and the viewing audience.  Marshall guides Mr. Brooks into evil and justifies things of a sinful nature.  In order to get the full idea you would need to watch the movie (it does have a couple of scenes that you need to be cautious of). 

My point is this...
Just like Marshall taps into Mr
Brooks' mind and leads him into temptation, Satan does the same thing to God's faithful servants.  None of us are immune from his mind trashing schemes.  Even the best of the best, David, a man after God's own heart, was led into temptation and sin because of Satan's lies and schemes. 

We have to stay focused and keep our minds on what is good and of God.  It takes a great deal of work and practice but can be done.  When you start thinking about things that can lead you down a wrong path, start singing, praying or reading the Word.  You will find it virtually impossible to think bad stuff while doing these things.

With that being said, if you do fall for Satan's garbage and find that you have done something less than pleasing to God, remember how God offers forgiveness through the blood shed by Jesus Christ.  Remember the stories of Peter, Moses, David or any of the countless people that God used after their mistakes and even through them. 

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Romans 3:23‭-‬24 KJV

 

Well played God, well played

During the first 6 months of this year I argued with God over where I should be and what I should be doing.  I, in my mind, had it all worked out and planned perfectly.  I knew exactly what would work best for me. 

I did not want to be tied down to a job.  I told myself I wasn't good enough or confident enough to be in music ministry.  So, I retired from my job and fought back and forth over the music.  I would step up and play for a while.  Then I would get frustrated over not being what, in my mind, others expected.

Then by June of this year, God convicted me to step up and make a commitment to the music.  I finally gave in and started getting way too comfortable with it. By September I was proud of where I had come. Hahaha

In the latter part of September God said to me, not in words but through conviction in the heart, you are getting too big for your britches. 
He certainly knocked me down a notch and hurled me into a whale of a storm. 

I had to step down from the music and have found myself wondering if I need to get a job.  My plans, my confidence had led me to destruction.  

Well played God, well played!  He let me get comfortable in my own strength only to say, my strength wasn't good enough.  My plans weren't His.

Over the last 3 months, God has taught me that I am NOTHING without Him and His strength.  He has showed me that when I depend on myself, trust in my own abilities and have faith in the wrong one, I will fail. 

Keep your eyes on God and His plans.  All else will fall into place like a perfectly crafted puzzle.  I have found perfect peace in letting God guide each step.  It was very difficult to give up the control but so freeing when I did.

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Proverbs 16:9 NIV

Missing my God given treasure

"I opened to my lover but he was gone! My heart sank, I reached for him but could not find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply. The night watchmen found me as they made their rounds. They beat and stripped off my veil, those watchmen on the walls. Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem-if you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love."  Song of Songs 5:6-8 NLT

God trusted me with my husband and I let them both down.  This scripture tells of the loss of passion between  a husband and wife over time.  I hate with my whole heart that I failed my husband but with ALL that is in me, heart and soul, I hate that I failed God. 

My relationship with God is better now because of my failure.  He uses our weakest moments to make us stronger in Him.  Even though I don't have my earthly husband right now, God is my Heavenly Husband and comforts me and whispers that all will be okay.

In time, I pray that God will restore my marriage and the love my husband should feel for his wife.  I trust God in EVERY aspect of my life and will wait on Him.  If my husband chooses not to love me or trust me or even continue our marriage, I know God will still be there for me and keep me on solid ground. 

We often put our faith in the wrong things or people.  When we love someone more than we love God,  we can get lost and fall.  I put my faith in my husband for most of our marriage and he in me.  We failed each other and we failed God. 

Let me offer just a bit of advice from the lesson I've learned...
Always make God number one in your life, trusting Him in EVERY decision and your marriage will be so much stronger.  When you start taking God for granted, you will start taking your spouse for granted.  Life will become chaotic. 

Suffering never felt so peaceful

As I travel through a major storm in my life, I have learned that I have all I need when I have nothing at all.  Let me explain. 

At age 42, I never expected to be facing the possibility of divorce, losing my family, family house or starting all over but it may happen.  Satan used his cunning lies and deceptive tricks to lure me down a path I would have NEVER seen myself go.  I am a God-fearing, Christ-loving servant of God. How could I have let myself fall for this seduction? Satan doesn't want us to be in God's will. He does everything he can to draw us away.  The closer we get, the harder he plays.  NO ONE is exempt from the game. 

With that being said, God will allow the game so that He can use them to test our faith.  If we pass the test Satan offers and don't fall, we have matured to a good place in Christ.  If we fail, God can and will use the failure to strengthen us and show us where we need work.

In the midst of the storm, I have found that my relationship with Christ has strengthened to absolute intimacy like I would have not thought possible.  I wake up praising God, praise Him and talk to Him throughout the day and praise and talk to Him before bed.  I even talk to Him in the middle of the night if He wakes me.  He has cleared my life of the clutter and worldly things that block the direct line to Him.  He is my EVERYTHING.  I have gained a strong desire for His Word and direction. 

I guess what I am trying to say is this...
Just because you slip and fall don't think that it's a bad thing.  Yes, circumstances will hurt and you will feel like giving up but God is trying to refine you and bring you to where He wants you but at the same time will meet you where you are.  Trials are faith building exercises that can require total trust, total reliance on the EVERYTHING, ALL POWERFUL, MIRACLE-WORKING GOD. 

I pray that you will learn to trust God and  "be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

He goes before us

This morning Satan tried to trap me into getting upset and ruining my day.  I spilled my oatmeal EVERYWHERE. I almost got upset and started my day with anger and disappointment.

However, about a month ago I found a steam cleaner marked down to $40 because it had been returned.  I wanted to buy it because, at the time, I had little dogs with me that had the occasional accident.  When I got to the checkout, it rang up for $10.  Yes, I said $10.  Lol

Well, shortly after I bought it, my dogs went to live in a bigger house until God can do big things in my life.  (I will get them back shortly.) 

Just the other day I thought to myself,probably said aloud without realizing it, that I really didn't need that steam cleaner after all.  No dogs, no accidents to clean. 

Then, I spill an entire bowl of oatmeal.  God knew I would because He has gone before me.  He provided a steam cleaner to make my mess easily cleaned up.

God knows what we need, when we need it.  He has a plan for us.  He cleans up our messes and can use the lessons for His glory.

May God bless you with a steam cleaner for your mess! Wait...He already did.  His name is Jesus.  He cleaned up our messes in full by way of the cross. 

Exodus 19:4 NLT "'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians.  You know how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.'"

God meets us where we are

This is the biggest spider I have ever seen.  I found it in my garden on top of a pile of chicken droppings one night during the summer.  As strange as it may sound, I found it to be beautiful in a "God made it for me" kind of way.

I was on a "poop pile", so to speak, when God grabbed my heart and called me back to Him.  He calls me "beloved" even though I am flawed and very imperfect.