Becoming Like Little Children

Matthew 18:3 And [Jesus] said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I sat on my front step and looked at the blossoms coming from the euphorbia.

 

 “You bloom?” I asked. (I talk to my plants all the time. I think they appreciate it.)  I had no idea it did. I just knew it had pointed leaves, lasted a long time, and was easy to grow. That’s why I bought it.

God’s Words To Us

 

I know everything about you

Your strengths and your weaknesses

Remember, I gave them to you.

 

Nothing you do or say

Or think or desire

Will surprise me, for I already know it.

 

Trust me even when you can’t see what

I am doing in your life

I will reveal it when you are ready.

 

 

Persevere, for it increases your character

And character will give you hope and assurance

That you will come out the other side

One day you will see how all the pieces of the puzzles of your life

Fit together to form a beautiful picture I have planned
 

 

I will surround you with all you need

Friends and family, wisdom and knowledge.

You will receive them when you need them.

 

Trust me, for I am not a liar.

I speak only truth.

 

I am the path for you to follow

I am the TRUTH you must hang onto

I am the LIFE that you need.

 

I love you to the ends of the earth and

I will never leave you or forsake you.

I am faithful and will bring about my purposes in your life.

I am working to grow you in ways you cannot see.

And my plans will prevail.

 

You must simply hold fast to what never changes.

You must hold onto me.

God tells us all these things in the Bible. Which one(s) comfort or challenge you most? Don't forget to join the conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emmanuel--God is With You

"God is with you.” Christians know this is true, that God is with us because He’s everywhere.  But sometimes we fail to personalize it. “God is with you” means he is with YOU, personally, individually, everywhere you go. And he always will be.  He tells us in Joshua 1:5, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  David also penned these thoughts  toward God in Psalm 139

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me. (Psalm 139:7-10 NASB)

 



It’s easy for us to think God has let us go, that he’s abandoned us when life beats us down. There are times we feel pummeled over and over whether it’s finances, health problems, difficult family relationships, or any host of other hardships we encounter in life. We have to hold onto what’s true. Our circumstances ARE real, they DO matter, and we CAN’T just ignore them.  But, the key is we don’t have to handle it alone. 

God puts people in our lives to walk alongside us. People who will walk alongside us, encourage us, pray for us, and help keep us on the right path toward our goals.

How have you seen God’s presence in your life?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing God in the Midst of Crisis

Two are better than one . . . If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

 “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” A common joke these days but that’s exactly what had happened.  I was walking my dog and on our way home I tripped. Unable to break my fall, I landed flat on my face, blood streaming onto the pavement.

I couldn’t move.  Fearing I’d hurt myself more than I knew, I tried to get up and managed to crawl to the side of the road. 

Within a few minutes, a neighbor pulled to the corner, ready to make a right turn. Seeing me lying on the ground, she jumped out of the SUV and came to my side. “Are you ok?  

I’m a nurse. Let me help you.” She helped me sit up on the curb and wiped some blood from my face.

“I’ll call 9-1-1. They’ll be right here.”  They were just around the corner.  As we waited, five more cars came by, asked if I was ok, and offered to help.  Jen told them EMS was      on their way. One neighbor came, stopped, took my dog, and watched him at his home until I came home from the emergency room.

After I was x-rayed at the ER and sewn up with three stitches, I was released. Another neighbor picked me up and drove me home.

God was clearly at work in this situation. I fell and hurt myself, but the less than five minutes later, a nurse came by to help me.  Several other neighbors stopped to help and one took my dog home to care for him, taking him off my mind. I didn’t know any of these people, but God brought them to my side to care for me when I needed it.  And now as I heal, friends call and offer to shop, drive me places, or just spend time with me.

God sees us in everything we go through and never leaves our side, just as He promised.  He gives us everything we need. We just have to stop and see how He’s provided. 

Learning takes Practice

I went to observe a class at Greenville Literacy Association and one of the ladies there showed me her work and when I pointed out a mistake she said, “I always do that. I write how I speak.”  I encouraged her by saying that’s normal and that it takes practice to get better. That the more she does it, the more natural it’ll be. And that it’ll become second nature when she does it enough. 

Photo courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net and
David Castillo Dominici

 

On my way home I realized my relationship with God is similar to that.  When I first set a specific time to read my Bible, it’s awkward, or I forget.  I have to discipline myself to think about it. But the more I do it, the more comfortable it’ll get until it becomes natural. 

I’m not there yet.  It’ll take time, but with practice and perseverance, it’ll get better and easier.  Maybe someday it’ll be so natural I won’t even think about it when I go about my days. 

LIFE TO THE FULLEST: Pretty Little Weeds

LIFE TO THE FULLEST: Pretty Little Weeds: by Delia Latham During a recent year’s gorgeous early Spring display of nature, I found a lesson hiding in that beauty. It wasn’t a ne...

God is in everything

 

I was at Stephen Ministry and  this verse reminds where everything in the universe started thousands of years ago. He holds it all together, even to this day. Encouraging when life is so uncertain these days.

 

Colossians 1:15-20

 

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

 

 

He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. (emphasis mine)

 We're Not Meant To Do It All

 

Ring around the rosies

Pocket full of posies

Ashes, ashes, we all FALL DOWN!




Courtesy of Ring around the Rosie on Kidoinfo

So goes the nursery rhyme children sing as they face each other, hold hands, and walk in a circle before falling together at the end of the song. It happens in our lives today too, even as adults. I went through it literally, a few months ago. I’d been going about my day until suddenly I was dizzy when I stood up. So dizzy that I couldn’t take one step without falling.  What in the world is wrong with me? I wondered.  I tried to stand again without success. So I crawled on my hands and knees to lie down on the bed, hoping the problem would pass.  Even after half an hour, I still couldn’t stand without falling.

 

 Courtesy of sciencephoto.com

Not one to give up, I determined I would be fine, but after trying to walk five more times, I gave up. I was in trouble, didn’t know why, and couldn’t do a thing about it.  I crawled back across the house to the phone. It seemed silly to call 9-1-1 just because I couldn’t walk, so I called a neighbor who drove me to the ER. Tests didn’t reveal what had happened. The doctor diagnosed me with vertigo and gave me some medication to combat it. Nobody knew why it had happened though.

Life can take so many turns and go so fast we’re caught up in a whirlwind without knowing why or how it even started. 

In today’s world, especially with modern technology that lets is connect instantly, we often find ourselves with little, or no time for ourselves. We allow people to demand more of us than is humanly possible to fulfill and we handle it without a problem. Until it becomes too much and we collapse under the weight of it all.

So what can we do? We have to admit we have limits to how much we can do, set boundaries that give us time to rest and rejuvenate, and hold fast to what we’ve said we can and will do.  Jesus took time to rest during his ministry here on earth.  We certainly should too.

Sleep--it's more important than you think!

Thought-provoking words by Lori Roelveld.

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=lorisroel

Who Is God?

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

and its mistakes and regrets,

it is hard.

I am not there. My name is not  I WAS.

When you live in the future,

with its fears and problems

it is hard.

I am not there.

My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in the  moment

It is not so hard.

I am here.

My name is I AM.

                                                              Helen Mallicoat

 photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net  and Arvind Balaraman,