Ray and I have had five weeks of company while preparing two very different booths for the upcoming gift buying season.
Today is the first day without an extra person in the house. My house looks like a war zone and I really can't blame the company. So I find myself weary and overwhelmed.
The day by and large was a good one. A really upbeat staff lunch with a meeting with a forward thrust. so excited about all of the new plans and changes. I love my job.
In fact, I love company and I thoroughly enjoy turning trash into treasure.
The booth at Antiques on Main in Woodbury is chocked full of primitives and vintage items while the booth at Traders Mall in Thomaston has some of my shabby chic items. That booth is shared with Cathy Clark who has a whole lot more going on than I do,
So I am blessed! Then why do I feel like I have been run over by a bus?
I am quicker to recognize it now. It is because too often I have tried to keep all of the balls in the air in my own strength. In variably when I run out of steam, I run to my false comforter. For me that is sugar or carbs. However, it is as dangerous as if I went on an alcoholic binge. It means highs, lows, insulin and muscle pain.
During the five weeks I went on a modified Daniel Fast successfully. So how is it that I can hit bottom again?
Finally I know the answer. The pieces are coming together.I turn to the end of the Book and find out we win!
Revelations 12:10-12
10 And
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our
God day and night.
11 And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters
of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
So I am quick to repent. Quick to run to my Father who forgives me, loves me in my mess.and restores me.
I used to run the other way, but no more. No matter how much of His love I receive, there is more. It's not all for me. It is to pour out as well.
Allow Him to raise you up.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Humpty-Dumpty Kind of Faith
But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him.Hebrews 11:6
Two of my granddaughters are here. School starts in a couple of weeks and I want so badly to make sure that they have everything they need for school.
My mother and grandmother would make clothes for me and my sister to assure that the first week of school I would have a new outfit every day.
Well, I can sew a straight line, but that is about it. I gave up early because every time I would try, my grandmother would rip it out and tell me to do it again. So the joy of sewing was just not there.
Ray and I have bought some clothes and some school supplies, but I want to do so much more. Also, I want make sure they have brand new tennis shoes, awesome book bags and a few other things. They have not asked or even hinted for a single thing.
They are so grateful for what they have received.
I had to catch myself, because I was tormenting myself by looking at MY resources rather than Father God. Can I not trust Him to provide the things they need after I have done all that I can do?
He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM, not deals, maneuvering of the family budget. Seek Him. As much as I love these girls, He loves them so much more. So once again I release them and their needs to Him.
When I seek His hands rather than His face, my focus is skewed. It is a heart issue and if my focus is wrong then I have that Humpty-dumpty kind of faith that makes you scramble to try to get it all together again. His answers are always found when we let go and trust Him.
Two of my granddaughters are here. School starts in a couple of weeks and I want so badly to make sure that they have everything they need for school.
My mother and grandmother would make clothes for me and my sister to assure that the first week of school I would have a new outfit every day.
Well, I can sew a straight line, but that is about it. I gave up early because every time I would try, my grandmother would rip it out and tell me to do it again. So the joy of sewing was just not there.
Ray and I have bought some clothes and some school supplies, but I want to do so much more. Also, I want make sure they have brand new tennis shoes, awesome book bags and a few other things. They have not asked or even hinted for a single thing.
They are so grateful for what they have received.
I had to catch myself, because I was tormenting myself by looking at MY resources rather than Father God. Can I not trust Him to provide the things they need after I have done all that I can do?
He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM, not deals, maneuvering of the family budget. Seek Him. As much as I love these girls, He loves them so much more. So once again I release them and their needs to Him.
When I seek His hands rather than His face, my focus is skewed. It is a heart issue and if my focus is wrong then I have that Humpty-dumpty kind of faith that makes you scramble to try to get it all together again. His answers are always found when we let go and trust Him.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
How Long, Lord? How Long?
I have been a Christian 60 years ever since I asked Him in my heart during Sunday school at First Baptist Church in DeLand, FL. sixty years. You would think I would have gotten this walk right by now.
David declares, "My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word."
I, too, hold on t things that are not good to me, those dusty things carried from my past that I haul into each new day.
My biggest struggle is running to food as a false comforter. Food when I am tired. Food when I want to express love. Food when I need love. Food has way too much room in my life. I recently lost 10 pounds, but because it is like taking sand from the Sahara, it is not good enough. Wonder who told me that?
So I go back to the Word and what it says about me, about my walk and my final destination.
Why do we search elsewhere when the answers are all right there?
My souls cleaves to the (worthless).
When I run to the Word, He can restore me and even enlarge my heart to receive more that I may pour out more. To receive His love and then pass it on is a great delight.
Today I will be patient with myself. I will look to my Father to guide me. He is the truth that never changes. I am His daughter. I am loved and must learn to love myself even in the dust.
Spiritual maturity cannot come in a day. We cannot expect it. It takes growth, until the whole beauty of the image of Christ is formed in (us).
Andrew Murray
David declares, "My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word."
I, too, hold on t things that are not good to me, those dusty things carried from my past that I haul into each new day.
My biggest struggle is running to food as a false comforter. Food when I am tired. Food when I want to express love. Food when I need love. Food has way too much room in my life. I recently lost 10 pounds, but because it is like taking sand from the Sahara, it is not good enough. Wonder who told me that?
So I go back to the Word and what it says about me, about my walk and my final destination.
Why do we search elsewhere when the answers are all right there?
My souls cleaves to the (worthless).
When I run to the Word, He can restore me and even enlarge my heart to receive more that I may pour out more. To receive His love and then pass it on is a great delight.
Today I will be patient with myself. I will look to my Father to guide me. He is the truth that never changes. I am His daughter. I am loved and must learn to love myself even in the dust.
Spiritual maturity cannot come in a day. We cannot expect it. It takes growth, until the whole beauty of the image of Christ is formed in (us).
Andrew Murray
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Which Way Are You Walking?
Psalm 119 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Most of my life I have been fiercely independent. It was a coping skill borne out of abuse. I trusted few people.
What I did not recognize until I was in my sixties, is that I didn't really trust God completely either. I had to have my fingers in the pie. There was no absolute surrender.
Corrie Tem Boom once said, "Hold everything loosely because it hurts when God pries your fingers open."
Fear cancels trust. Whether fear of man or fear of failure it does not matter. Psychologists say there are over 4,000 fears. Every single one of them will separate you from God, because fear cancels faith.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.Hebrews 11:6
When we seek Him with our whole heart, we will walk in His ways trusting Him even if we don't see the final destination.
I am sometimes frustrated that it took me so long to let go of my ways and walk in His, but He reminds of His love and now my zeal that others will not wait as long.
I am sometimes frustrated that it took me so long to let go of my ways and walk in His, but He reminds of His love and now my zeal that others will not wait as long.
There is happiness and peace when you walk in His ways even if they don't make sense in the natural. His is a trust walk.
Will you trust Him? Oh, what places He will take you to when you walk in His ways.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Rain is Coming!
Have you lived through a desert time in your life when your very soul seemed parched?
The older you get, the more have confidence that the rain will come
We wait sometimes in anguish for it seems unbearable. It is a time for soul searching, a time to seek the Lord with all your heart, for you know that He and He alone holds the answer.
Reminds of Isaiah who declared, "Behold, I do a NEW thing..."
Why do we hold on to that old thing that brought us to this wilderness?
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
it shall spring forth That is a promise from God!
Let go of your plans, the way you think should work out and rest in the desert quietly for the rain. Let the sun of the desert bake out those impurities so that truly you will see the Son of the rain.
The older you get, the more have confidence that the rain will come
We wait sometimes in anguish for it seems unbearable. It is a time for soul searching, a time to seek the Lord with all your heart, for you know that He and He alone holds the answer.
Reminds of Isaiah who declared, "Behold, I do a NEW thing..."
Why do we hold on to that old thing that brought us to this wilderness?
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
it shall spring forth That is a promise from God!
Let go of your plans, the way you think should work out and rest in the desert quietly for the rain. Let the sun of the desert bake out those impurities so that truly you will see the Son of the rain.
Show Me Your Way
There are many paths we can take. Some are easy, others are not. What colors our choice?
God has told us. This is the way, walk in it, but we do consult Him, We go our own way, an easier way and then wonder why we have no peace.
Isaiah 30 illustrates the consequences of forsaking His ways.
For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
That does not sound like an idle request. Isaiah 30:15
What draws us away? What demands our time and what do we simply give our time to without thought?
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
By not following His ways, we open the door to adversity. Then we feel compelled to create new ways to compenate, to bring course correction. All along His way, His path is before it but we are blinded by the cares of the world. We are not sensitive to His voice.
If he said right now, This is the way, walk in it, would I hear His voice? Am I so busy that I have lost that quietness and confidence?
To find His ways we must read the course guide. It is back to basics.
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
Show me your way, Lord. Let me hunger for your righteousness.
God has told us. This is the way, walk in it, but we do consult Him, We go our own way, an easier way and then wonder why we have no peace.
Isaiah 30 illustrates the consequences of forsaking His ways.
For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
That does not sound like an idle request. Isaiah 30:15
What draws us away? What demands our time and what do we simply give our time to without thought?
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
By not following His ways, we open the door to adversity. Then we feel compelled to create new ways to compenate, to bring course correction. All along His way, His path is before it but we are blinded by the cares of the world. We are not sensitive to His voice.
If he said right now, This is the way, walk in it, would I hear His voice? Am I so busy that I have lost that quietness and confidence?
To find His ways we must read the course guide. It is back to basics.
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
Show me your way, Lord. Let me hunger for your righteousness.
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