The Great I AM

Anxious
from Phoney Nickle

I was regretting the past

and fearing the future.

Suddenly, my Lord was speaking.

"My Name is I AM"

He paused. I waited.  He continued:

When you live in the past, 

With it mistakes and regrets, 

It is hard. 

My name is not I WAS.

When you live in the future,

With its problems and fears,

It is hard.

My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment, 

It is not too hard.

I am here.

My name is I AM


by Helen Mallicoat

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) 

What Difference Can It Make?

I read the following story by Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen and it encouraged me to persevere even when the results aren't obvious. 


One At A Time

                                                                                                   Starfish from mizmak

A friend of ours was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he  kept hurling things out into the ocean.

As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed upon the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.

Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, "Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing."

"I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all of these have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen.

"I understand, " my friend replied, "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don't you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can't you see you can't possibly make a difference?"

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as they threw it back into the sea, he replied, "Made a difference to that one!"

Perhaps it would give us a better outlook if we keep this in mind. What do you think? I'd love to hear from you.

 

It's A Process

Stitch By Stitch

I like to crochet. The different patterns, colors, and things you can make are endless.  It takes time and attention to detail to create the final product.  Some stitches take longer and more complex than others, but each contributes to making the design complete and unique. 

God works the same way in our lives.  Like the image below, all our lives begin with a small, rather plain row of stitches. 

But as God adds various people and circumstances to our lives, He changes us, molding us into the form He has planned.  We can’t see the end product as His work is in progress.

Is there something in your life where you can see He’s working but hasn’t come to the final product?  God is faithful and will complete His work in you.  In the meantime, we can ask Him to show us glimpses of what He’s doing along the way.

I Asked God, Day 5

Photo by luigi diamanti

I asked God if He loves me and God said “Yes.”

He gave me His only Son Who died for me,

And I will be in heaven some day because I believe.

I asked God to help  me love others,

And God said, “Ah, finally you have the idea.”

I Asked God, Day 4

I asked God to make my spirit grow

And God said “No.”

He said I must grow on my own

But he will prune me and make me fruitful.

I Asked God, Day 2

I asked God to grant me patience

And God said "No".

He said patience is a by-product of tribulation.

It isn't granted; it's earned.

I Asked God

Thoughts on Prayer 

Photo by jacco de boer

Thumbing through my file cabinet the other day I found a poem about prayer from God's perspective.

"I asked God to take away my pride, and God said 'No.'

He said it was not for Him to take away but for me to give up."

It gave me pause. It's harder for me to give something up than having someone take it away because giving it up means I have to change my attitude about what matters to me.

What do think?   Is there something you have a hard time relinquishing to God?

Weakness or Opportunity?

I’ve been sick and run down for over a week now and can’t function as well as I typically do.  Since weakness is looked down upon in today’s world, we don’t like to admit we feel this way.  But maybe we ought to consider another perspective. 

Our weakness(es) may be another person’s opportunity to reach out and serve.  To give of themselves and minister to someone in need.  It could be part of God’s plan for someone else.  And to remind us that we need others in order to be our best.

Perhaps, if we looked at it that way, we’d be more honest, and less inclined to deny ourselves the help we need from time to time.  What do you think?  Don’t forget to join the conversation.