Tag: Bible

Believe for it

There are times in our lives when we truly have no idea what God is doing!!! In fact, we never know what God will do in our life or the lives of those we love. We may have been praying years and see no progress from our tiny human perspective. In our high paced world, we expect immediate results.

Maybe we feel like giving up on our prayer for someone we love to see themselves the way Jesus does. We can’t give up! The Lord hears our requests. His timing may be different than ours, maybe His answer is ” Wait, I know it is hard, trust in Me.”

We know the Lord will work in the life of those who seek Him.
Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

We know that He will bring good things out of suffering.

Romans 5:3-6 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We know He is God and we are not!! We know He sees our lives from beginning to end.

Psalm 139:16

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

It takes incredible faith in the unknown; faith in God. We must trust Him with our lives. It is stepping out of the way of Jesus. It is praying unceasing as a Mamma Bear. It is believing for it! This song describes this struggle as a follower of Jesus. Thank you Cece Winans for putting to song the words of truth.

May this reminder, encourage you to Believe for whatever you are trusting the Lord to deliver in your life or those you bring to the foot of the cross. There is Power in the Name of Jesus. Let His love cover you as you wait.

Weeds

As I bend my knees and pull weeds from my springtime garden, I ponder all the weeds I’ve let grow. The weeds of impatience, frustration, pride, anger, lack of self-control, impulsivity and harsh words. Disappointed circumstance, parents failing health, dysfunctional relationships and that evil word, comparison, can make me unsettled and cranky.

I look at the tall grass stack of weeds waving freely in the breeze. I feel so overwhelmed. Whether it’s the hard dry, cracked soil or the tangled weeds above and beyond the weed barrier, I want to scream, “enough! I am done, I don’t even want to start”.

Weed barrier is supposed to keep out weeds, isn’t it? Would it be possible, the Bible is a weed barrier? The word of God can block the reactions if I will stop, pause, take a moment to look and listen to the wisdom.  I ponder what it would feel like to be free of these weeds. 



Matthew 13:23    The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.

I think of my Father’s hand, the Gardener, His hand over mine, as I use my shovels and my rakes. I think of the living water, Jesus, His life poured into the soil softening and causing me to loosen the weeds. Am I letting the worries ruin my peace? Is that the example I want to be? Deep breathe, slow and steady.

I think of friends who help me turn my garden, toiling their own soil, as moms, sisters, brothers, wives, people. Their words of truth from God’s promises give encouragement along with their touch providing hope. One weed at a time, I can pull them out. I must be willing to do the work.

Even our crazy chickens flinging dirt at me as they look for bugs remind me to pause and laugh. Nemo, the cat, slips away calm and composed. Another example from nature draws me to Jesus.

Nourishment from the sun, spending stillness with my Jesus. Being open to the sunshine and the Son brings peace.

 Matthew 13:24       The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”


I must get back to my weed filled garden, muscles achy but it feels good to put forth the effort. One weed at a time!! There just may be a harvest to gather if I don’t quit pulling. Keep going Sisters and Brothers!!!

Who Does He say you are?

 Psalm 139: 13 - 14
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Whether you feel the message of these lyrics or not, The Lord is for you not against you. I am blessed with three children from adoption. Sometimes when they are processing through their adoption story they need to be reminded that first and foremost, they are a Child of God. God knew them from conception. They are created for a purpose, He made them uniquely so others can see the beauty and plans of God. I hope this song with lyrics by Hillsong Worship encourages you. Walk in the knowledge that You are Created for a beautiful purpose. Let His love fill you with hope.

Illuminate.

This photograph was taken at an old mountain community church outside Estes Park, Colorado. It was beautiful to see light illuminate the stained glass window. In a way, it is like each person who wants to learn the Word of God. We can take what we learn and illuminate what God is teaching us, sharing what we are learning about our own broken lives and let His Light shine through our stories.

Photo credit by Mary Mesikapp

Reflections: Strong will

Have you ever had a conflict with a strong willed child and seen in the reflection of their eyes your own strong will? As you stake your claim, set your boundary, demand their cooperation for being an obedient kid, you see a bold determined mini me. How do you respond? Continue to speak, deny their voice, say, ” I am your mom, you are the child.” or do you say, ” Because, I said so.” I shutter as I ponder, oh no, have I become my mom?

A mother hen wants to direct her chicks not keep them bound in the henhouse. She wants to provide a space of peace, love, instruction and real life experience. When her chicks leave the roost she wants the best for them. She wants their voice to be heard, their gifts to be shown and their walk to bring harmony to the brood. We have a chicken coop, there are six “Clucky Ladies”, yes that is the name of their coop. Surprisingly, each chicken has a different personality. There are leaders and followers. Those that love to be held and those that are free spirited. However, when my daughter or I let them free range who do they follow? You guessed it, their lead hens, Kristina and I. They trust us to keep them safe and fed. They stick together for the most part and when there is a predator or when competing for food, they are loud and obnoxious just like their human counterparts. They poke with their sharp beaks to get their turn being held.

I wrote in my gratitude journal last night, I am grateful for the learning lessons of life; mistakes in speaking not listening, short tempers and yelling are a sign that there is a block in my reflection of Jesus to my own child. Are we not created with two ears and one mouth? Is there a reason I should shut my mouth and listen more. Non validation is a block to a healthy relationship. I have been on the receiving end of this form of destruction. We must choose to break this cycle. We must step back, deep breathe taking a deep inspiration to the count of four and expire at a count of 6 – 8. As we do this breathing exercise we can feel our brain fog of strong will clear and maybe, just maybe, open our mind to another persons feeling and hear their deepest thoughts. We can count to 10, as maybe our own parent has instructed. Maybe there is something to that skill. We can ask Jesus into our experience and relationship especially with those we love. We must allow our broken patterns to be changed as we let Him move in the space between us and them. However or whoever they may be. He will make a way, Will we let him lead?