Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Laugh at your Dreams



Sarah’s dream was basically dead, sleeping anyway.  It was an old promise from God that she was still waiting for.  Her heart’s desire was to have a son.  But she could not make it happen.   And her husband could not make it happen. 
 
Years after it was humanly impossible, surprise, God set it in motion.  When she heard God that it was less than a year away, she laughed.  How embarrassing!  Then she lied about laughing.  She laughed because it was absurd! 

It was a fail for her to laugh.  It was wrong.  It was real.  It was not the proper response of a faithful servant.   And God knew about it.

But God did not punish her.  He did not take the dream away.  He gave it to her anyway.  And she was blessed abundantly with new laughter.  She named him Isaac, which means laughter.  

She named her blessing the very thing she failed at.

Another definition of grace. 

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Why Pray? Reason 1



God is with you.  The Holy Spirit is right there with you, next to you, in you.  Don’t ignore Him.  Talk to him.  He is waiting.  He loves you and wants a relationship with you.  He is your invisible friend who hears your thoughts.  Whoa!  Am I lying?  Nope.  

You might wanna direct some of your thoughts toward Him. 

Jesus accomplished the most awesome thing and made it possible for us to have this closeness with the Holy Spirit. Let’s not waste it. 

Some good thoughts to direct toward God are…
Thank you
Help me
Help them
Forgive them
Forgive me
Save us, save the earth, save the creatures.  We need you!
Reveal truth
Heal my heart

Actually that is one thing that prayer does profoundly.  Heal our hearts.  Little by little, over the years, having a relationship with the Holy Spirit heals our hearts, which strengthens our bodies and heals our relationships too. 

For God so loved the world He sent Jesus to save it, and each of us too. 
Emanuel   (God with us)

You don’t think you sense God with you?  Then simply ask Him to be.  Invite Him.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-q8WvfgURU
Let us Pray  Song by Stephen Curtis Chapman

Stay Needy


We are constantly needy.
God created us that way.
To need daily bread, daily shelter, plus much more.
Yet we were created to be managers, Co- directors with God.
Upper management and on the creative team…but needy.
Every brain
Every body
Every business
Every endeavor
Has need for supply, organization, execution, distribution. 
Constantly learning.
Constantly recovering from a set-back.
Constantly receiving supply from above.
We should be managers with vital trusted advisors, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Free willed and in charge, yet dependent.
I have to remind myself that to be totally independent is not a good goal. 
Use humility.  Stay humble.  Count on God and the people he sends you. 

Monday, April 15, 2019

Change your Focus Change your Life


Have you ever told yourself you are going to stop doing something?  Just stop?  I think it is nearly impossible.  The way to get rid of a bad thing is to start a good thing.

Like when you get a song stuck in your head that you don’t love.  You have to find a good song to think about before the annoying song goes away.

Instead of trying to stop eating junk food, really start eating lots more good food.  Put your efforts into finding and creating yummy veggie dishes.

The bible says “overcome evil with good”.   But it takes effort.

Having a bad day?  How can we change our focus?   I have to make an actual list of good things, a real live pin and paper list!  Sometimes I add to my list all week long.  Title your list “Blessings” or title it “Things I don’t hate”.  Either way it changes your focus.  Then it eventually changes your mood.

There is a story in the bible of when Peter wanted to join Jesus as he walked on water.  As he stepped out of the boat he kept his eyes on the Lord and not on the waves.  He stayed above the sea until he looked away from his savior and noticed how windy it was.  As he started to sink fear gripped him.  But thankfully, Jesus also gripped him and held him up.  

The world can be a scary place.  But Jesus overcame the world.  He’s got my attention.  

One of our jobs as humans is to ask God to help with earthly problems.   And not just our problems, other  people’s too.  Remember He said for us to “cast our cares on Him”.  He said to pray for our enemies.   He said a lot of good things we should probably focus on.

I mean…we have life.  We have energy.  We have thoughts.  We can’t just stop.  We can’t be frozen and we are not asleep.  We naturally focus on something. 

Let’s ask God’s help, then every single day let’s look and look and look for the good things to focus on.