Finally home after vacation and then a couple weeks of 'not so much'! Thank you, Lord! Thank you for helping me do the required work and strength to do so. How do we compare the two? Packing up the result of parents, three children and 8 years of belongings in a 3000 square foot home. I love to compare the possibilities of how You see us. The bags and boxes of our belongings placed at Your feet. What would You throw out Lord? What would You save for future use? What belongs in the trash? What is the possible regret for throwing out what is the best? Either by sheer will or mistake? At this juncture in my life....I am mentally perusing the important and the unimportant. Reading the scriptures and not forgetting that You wired me the way I am......(and often, me badmouthing the end product) I want to be, I read from Ephesians 2:10....." For we are God's workmanship, created in Jesus Christ....to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." The phone calls keep coming. "Mom, do you remember where you might have put this?"
Straining my brain to remember where I might have 'tucked it away'.....and hoping I am right...I wait to hear...."I found it. What a relief!" One thing I do know......I basically threw nothing away. Paper clips, pennies, pieces of puzzles and games....are all yet to be uncovered.
Lord, I want my life and heart to be an open box.....left to be thoroughly checked out by You. Could You check out the places I have tucked things that are really not important for me to concern myself with. There is so much I think You want me to concentrate on. All of the fodder just mucks up my life.....distracting me from the important issues I have been commissioned to do for You. Whatever they are.....wherever they are......I will do my best to bless You , Oh Lord. I am determined to make this happen. Truly Lord.....when I find myself distracted by the unimportant....I lose time and mental acuity. Yes, I want to stay up-to-date on the happenings in the world....the events that affect us....tangibly, physically, mentally and emotionally. But, my concern has got to be the areas that deter my focus.
To start my devotion time today, I read a prayer from a 'Proverbs 31 Ministries' post by Lysa TerKerst. "Oh Lord, You made me in Your image and that is something I seem to forget daily. Please help me to remember to celebrate and live in who You made me to be and not in what I wish I was. In Jesus name."
So often.....rather, too often.....I forget this. I thank You for making me. I balk at the result of what I have done with the creation You made at times. I do know what I have to do.
Once again, I pray for wisdom and strength.
In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Everything I Want....Except What I Need!
Lord...I feel a little "not quite right"! I've been living out of a suitcase. You and I know what that means.
I have too many clothes with me for what I really need.....so there's not enough room left to put in there what I really need. I have extra stuff to carry besides the suitcase. I have a bag for my Bible, my notebooks, and a book I'm currently reading for Sunday School. I have another bag for my "pills". I have a bag for my current craft interests....and a special light I use for it. Since there is a little extra room in that one, I place all of my sleep apnea paraphernalia. I also have a really nice bag for my computer and cords. Writing all of this out looks ridiculous, Lord. A special pillow and "blanket" added to the mix is added humiliation. I am most certainly the highest form of the term "bag lady". Yet, with all of my stuff......I rode away from my last stop on the list without my "notebook". I feel like I left a limb behind. "Can you do without it, Mom?", they called and asked. "Yeah, I guess so.", I answered. Dumb and dumbest move I could make.
I feel like my life is in there. I write everything I find that I think is important....recipes, devotionals, prayers to You, unsorted trivia, addresses and phone numbers. All that I take into my brain for about 4 months. Lord....how do I sort all of this out? What lesson can I take from this? First of all, I think the "less clothes" thing could be an answer for me. Like leaving some room for what IS important.
The extra bags just add to the confusion in packing and "finding where I put something" later. One place. One place. One place. One place. Have I mentioned.....one place for it all? Okay. So I have settled that. Haven't I? Oh, brother.....dear One. My focus is slightly off-kilter. Always has been. I always contend.....if I take it all with me.....then I don't have to buy it when I get there. So, I have it all with me. I just never can find it all when I want it. I have a few sewing supplies with me. I have a glue gun and glue sticks. I have breakfast bars here and there.....plus a few other snack items.....that are more than likely crushed. Wouldn't You love to go on a trip with me? Now......where is that hair dryer. Yes, I KNOW I brought it. Which bag is it in? "My hem just ripped.....where is that thread and needle? No, it's not in this one......okay, here is some tape .....that will work in a pinch!" What is the point of bringing the house with me? So, I will feel like I have "it" all together? No. It never seems to work for me. I end up going to buy more....because I can't find what I brought. I think I could start a reality show about "Hoarders on the Road". I do feel like my Mother. She took it all with her too. I think she must have had an index system though! So anyway....Lord.....what do I take away from all of this jumble of words I have written to You. Help me think. Show me what is the most important for me to remember. Give me an insight as to what really is needed to be content for the time I spend away from home. Clothes to wear...a few cosmetic needs...my iphone... my computer...my notebook and Bible....my sleep machine.....and duck tape for good measure. Okay.....let's see if I can pare it down a little more. Yes, Lord.....I will work on that. I'm pretty sure I can!
As a little girl, I thought one day as I looked out of that second story window.....what would I need when you would come to take me to heaven. All I could think that I needed....honestly and truly.....was that favorite long white nightgown that I loved to wear to bed. I had to have only been about five or six. Lord, that's all I wanted to take with me.
As I age.....and think about the years that have passed.....and the things that have changed throughout,
I wonder.....and think that the little white nightgown gave me a sense of security.....within and without. Lord, provide my white nightgown of complete fulfillment on the journey I take with You every day.
"All I need....I've found in Jesus". I can't remember any more words to that song, Lord. But, I think I already know what is most important. YOU ARE ALL I NEED.
I feel as if I need to say I am sorry, Lord. I bother You with all of this rambling....when there are so many with so much to bear.....yet, I know how You understand me.....and take my thoughts and turn them into what I need for today. I'll be watching. I'll be waiting. You won't believe what a gem I will turn out to be. I promise, I will make You proud.
I speak all in the name of Jesus. I bless You, Lord. Amen.
I have too many clothes with me for what I really need.....so there's not enough room left to put in there what I really need. I have extra stuff to carry besides the suitcase. I have a bag for my Bible, my notebooks, and a book I'm currently reading for Sunday School. I have another bag for my "pills". I have a bag for my current craft interests....and a special light I use for it. Since there is a little extra room in that one, I place all of my sleep apnea paraphernalia. I also have a really nice bag for my computer and cords. Writing all of this out looks ridiculous, Lord. A special pillow and "blanket" added to the mix is added humiliation. I am most certainly the highest form of the term "bag lady". Yet, with all of my stuff......I rode away from my last stop on the list without my "notebook". I feel like I left a limb behind. "Can you do without it, Mom?", they called and asked. "Yeah, I guess so.", I answered. Dumb and dumbest move I could make.
I feel like my life is in there. I write everything I find that I think is important....recipes, devotionals, prayers to You, unsorted trivia, addresses and phone numbers. All that I take into my brain for about 4 months. Lord....how do I sort all of this out? What lesson can I take from this? First of all, I think the "less clothes" thing could be an answer for me. Like leaving some room for what IS important.
The extra bags just add to the confusion in packing and "finding where I put something" later. One place. One place. One place. One place. Have I mentioned.....one place for it all? Okay. So I have settled that. Haven't I? Oh, brother.....dear One. My focus is slightly off-kilter. Always has been. I always contend.....if I take it all with me.....then I don't have to buy it when I get there. So, I have it all with me. I just never can find it all when I want it. I have a few sewing supplies with me. I have a glue gun and glue sticks. I have breakfast bars here and there.....plus a few other snack items.....that are more than likely crushed. Wouldn't You love to go on a trip with me? Now......where is that hair dryer. Yes, I KNOW I brought it. Which bag is it in? "My hem just ripped.....where is that thread and needle? No, it's not in this one......okay, here is some tape .....that will work in a pinch!" What is the point of bringing the house with me? So, I will feel like I have "it" all together? No. It never seems to work for me. I end up going to buy more....because I can't find what I brought. I think I could start a reality show about "Hoarders on the Road". I do feel like my Mother. She took it all with her too. I think she must have had an index system though! So anyway....Lord.....what do I take away from all of this jumble of words I have written to You. Help me think. Show me what is the most important for me to remember. Give me an insight as to what really is needed to be content for the time I spend away from home. Clothes to wear...a few cosmetic needs...my iphone... my computer...my notebook and Bible....my sleep machine.....and duck tape for good measure. Okay.....let's see if I can pare it down a little more. Yes, Lord.....I will work on that. I'm pretty sure I can!
As a little girl, I thought one day as I looked out of that second story window.....what would I need when you would come to take me to heaven. All I could think that I needed....honestly and truly.....was that favorite long white nightgown that I loved to wear to bed. I had to have only been about five or six. Lord, that's all I wanted to take with me.
As I age.....and think about the years that have passed.....and the things that have changed throughout,
I wonder.....and think that the little white nightgown gave me a sense of security.....within and without. Lord, provide my white nightgown of complete fulfillment on the journey I take with You every day.
"All I need....I've found in Jesus". I can't remember any more words to that song, Lord. But, I think I already know what is most important. YOU ARE ALL I NEED.
I feel as if I need to say I am sorry, Lord. I bother You with all of this rambling....when there are so many with so much to bear.....yet, I know how You understand me.....and take my thoughts and turn them into what I need for today. I'll be watching. I'll be waiting. You won't believe what a gem I will turn out to be. I promise, I will make You proud.
I speak all in the name of Jesus. I bless You, Lord. Amen.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Loving God With All our Soul, Mind and Strength!
Why is it, Lord? Why do I hesitate writing when it's really what I need to do? Is it because I find myself asking the same old stuff? Talking of issues I've prayed for dozens of times before? Is it because I think You just want me to pay attention to the areas of concern to You about me that I tend to just slide through? Things I've acknowledged.....but find too uncomfortable addressing. I think it's more like "too lazy to address!" Jesus, I have lived my life for You so many years. And, I regret none of those years. It is You that I have leaned on and asked advice for my issues over and over again. I woke up so early today and I read a devotional posted by "Joni and Friends" about starting the day out with time alone with You, Lord....and I feel encouraged immediately. The vacations we have enjoyed with our children are turning into the highlight of so many of our lives. Making our Sunday morning "church time" a very poignant time. The sincerity of our thoughts, laughter at our blunders, tears about the anxieties that have plagued us all....are what our service consisted of this year. It seems that each year we pray for something that stands out for all of us as we ask for prayer concerns to share. Lord, You know about our concerns. You know that as we express our anxious thoughts and concerns for ourselves and show our hearts to be vulnerable, our grandchildren will catch the glimpse of You that we yearn for them to know. That to take our troubles to You.....and expect You to help us solve the concerns of our hearts....is our
expectation....and ultimate joy. We believe in the power of prayer. We do not necessarily want You to erase all the endless troubles that arise in one's life......but we do ask, incessantly, that You give us
Your wisdom in the choices we make.....the words we use to express our heart's cries....the behavior we exhibit in the day to day of our lives. I say "necessarily" because it isn't even realistic.....but, it would be okay once in a while, Lord......wouldn't it? No, I guess not. Forget I said anything!
I remember the day we left.....John prayed that You would watch over us all through any of the events that would surround our family.....I remember thinking, ' maybe he should have prayed that we would be protected by anything that would hurt us, etc., etc., etc..' But, Lord.....to have You give us wisdom throughout the hard places of life that come so swiftly and sometimes totally unforeseen is a special touch from heaven. We all see Your hand on our lives.....protecting, saving, loving, enduring. We do need a special touch, though. Our precious granddaughter is suffering from an unlikely source. Four kidney stones are making their way through her system and wrecking havoc. For a moment, we beg for a miraculous pain free exit.....and then, we say.....Lord, allow what You will.....and give peace. Your peace. That special, quietly sustaining expectation of Your power that calms our soul.
The verses that we listened to yesterday are the ones that give us Your precious thoughts about how to live our lives. From Deuteronomy 6:6-9; I love how You don't just 'suggest', but command us .....to let Your words be in our hearts......teaching them to our children diligently....talking of them when we sit down, when we walk on the road, when we lie down and when we rise up.....writing them on the doorposts and gates of our homes. That is a lot of talk. Especially when they are rolling their eyes.
But, Lord.....consistently, diligently, ever-so-sweetly speaking about the name and words of Your teachings and life will never return void. I am encouraged today, dear One. I believe. I love the nature and depth of Your word. It has never led me astray. My hope is in You. Help me evermore to speak the name of Jesus , without fear.
I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus. I am thankful for that. I bless Your name, Oh Lord......I love You today. Amen.
expectation....and ultimate joy. We believe in the power of prayer. We do not necessarily want You to erase all the endless troubles that arise in one's life......but we do ask, incessantly, that You give us
Your wisdom in the choices we make.....the words we use to express our heart's cries....the behavior we exhibit in the day to day of our lives. I say "necessarily" because it isn't even realistic.....but, it would be okay once in a while, Lord......wouldn't it? No, I guess not. Forget I said anything!
I remember the day we left.....John prayed that You would watch over us all through any of the events that would surround our family.....I remember thinking, ' maybe he should have prayed that we would be protected by anything that would hurt us, etc., etc., etc..' But, Lord.....to have You give us wisdom throughout the hard places of life that come so swiftly and sometimes totally unforeseen is a special touch from heaven. We all see Your hand on our lives.....protecting, saving, loving, enduring. We do need a special touch, though. Our precious granddaughter is suffering from an unlikely source. Four kidney stones are making their way through her system and wrecking havoc. For a moment, we beg for a miraculous pain free exit.....and then, we say.....Lord, allow what You will.....and give peace. Your peace. That special, quietly sustaining expectation of Your power that calms our soul.
The verses that we listened to yesterday are the ones that give us Your precious thoughts about how to live our lives. From Deuteronomy 6:6-9; I love how You don't just 'suggest', but command us .....to let Your words be in our hearts......teaching them to our children diligently....talking of them when we sit down, when we walk on the road, when we lie down and when we rise up.....writing them on the doorposts and gates of our homes. That is a lot of talk. Especially when they are rolling their eyes.
But, Lord.....consistently, diligently, ever-so-sweetly speaking about the name and words of Your teachings and life will never return void. I am encouraged today, dear One. I believe. I love the nature and depth of Your word. It has never led me astray. My hope is in You. Help me evermore to speak the name of Jesus , without fear.
I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus. I am thankful for that. I bless Your name, Oh Lord......I love You today. Amen.
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