Have Nothing To Do With,...

In our humanity, when there is a problem, we want to step in and fix it.  If we do nothing we feel that we are in error.  That somehow we are "less than" because we are not physically doing anything.  But I have found that sometimes there is nothing we can do.  In the natural realm anyway.

2 Timothy 2:22 - 26 ESV
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.  God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.   

Oftentimes, the more we try to fix a situation, the more we fall into the snare of being quarrelsome, stirring up anything but peace, gentleness and kindness.  Our protective instincts will cause us to lash out and say hurtful things that cannot be taken back once cast upon the airwaves.  And the more you stir, the thicker it gets.  Tensions grow stronger and it just gets deeper and deeper.  Misunderstandings and misrepresentations of your words or reasons become a maze that is impossible to find your way through.  And the plot thickens,…

The best thing to do is not always the easiest or the most natural thing.  The best thing to do is pray, and pray, and pray.  Allow yourself the time and the quiet to hear what God wants you to do in a particular situation.  Then do it.  Take your hands off and trust in the hands of God.  Trust that He is able to work in situations where you cannot.  Trust that no one and no thing is beyond His grasp and His ability to handle.  He knows all about it.  He is the only One who knows every minute detail from the beginning to the end.  When He works in a situation there is hope - unending hope.

Today I choose to have nothing to do with a very tender situation in my life.  I am bowing out.  Stepping back.  I am going to live and love like there is no tomorrow.  Because there may not be,…  But there is a God Who holds tomorrow.  And I place this very tender situation, once again, into His very capable hands.  I will pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

1. ’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to take Him at His Word;
   Just to rest upon His promise,
   And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
   • Refrain:
     Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
     How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
     Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
     Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
2. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to trust His cleansing blood;
   And in simple faith to plunge me
   ’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
3. Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just from sin and self to cease;
   Just from Jesus simply taking
   Life and rest, and joy and peace.
4. I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
   Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
   And I know that Thou art with me,
   Wilt be with me to the end.

Amen.

 

 

Quick Fix

I attended a yoga class a few days ago.  Putting aside all I had heard about the new age aspects of the practice.  My desire was and is simply to learn how to relax, to let go, to live - to live!  Why is that so hard?  I was praying about whether or not to attend another class this morning.  You know - "God, should I go or not go?  Please tell let me know what I need to do."  Nothing.  No answer falling upon my ears.  So, as I've learned lately, I purposely didn't stress over it and just continued with my morning routine of a hot caffeinated beverage and some reading and being quiet.  I came across a simple phrase in my reading.  It related to quick fixes.  And God spoke to my heart through that phrase.  I really don't want any more quick fixes in my life.  I'm tired of that.  I want lasting fixes.  Fixes that begin within and make their way out into my everyday living.  For me - hear that - for me, yoga is the quick fix for learning to relax, to let go, to live.  I want the lasting fix.  The fix that endures the test of time.  The proven fix to relaxing, to letting go, to living.  And that fix has to come from within.  That fix can only come from the Holy Spirit in me - enabling me to trust God.  To relax in Him.  To let go in Him.  To live in Him.

Romans 11:36 & 37

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be glory forever.  Amen.

Father God,
I thank You for speaking to my heart this morning.  May everything in my life be from You, through You and back to You.  All for Your glory.  I love You.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Working On Me

Not changing with the wind,…  Or not even the wind, a slight hint of a breeze,…  Trying to learn to be steady, consistent, balanced.  The root of inconsistency - I don't have a clue.  But then again maybe I do.  It is not being satisfied.  Satisfied where I am.  Satisfied with what I have.  Satisfied with the what if's and the what if nots.  How pathetic is that?  Maybe not pathetic.  Maybe just human, ordinary flesh and blood.  Adam and Eve weren't satisfied in the Garden, in Paradise where God came and walked and talked with them in the cool of the evening.  They were looking for something more because of the tempter, Satan.  That creepy, crawly serpent who whispers - "maybe this isn't good enough"  "look over there, see that"  "ooh, that is so shiny and pretty.  you need that."  So, this inconsistency and lack of satisfaction is age old.  Since the beginning of time.  It is a root of evil.

Today is a day the Lord has made and He expects me to be glad in it.  To not follow after the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride that lurks within me.  To know that He is God and to fall into His ever-loving, ever-present, never forsaking arms.  He knit me together in my mother's womb.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  He knew me before He created time.  He knew everything about me. And He loves me.  ME!  Not because of anything I have done or can ever do.  He loves me because of Jesus.  My Strong Tower.  My Ever-Present Help in Time of Need.  My Rock.  My Deliverer.  My Redeemer.  My Healer.

I go to God, the Father, in, by, and thru Jesus, His Beloved Son.  In Whom He is well-pleased.  Because Jesus is in me and I am in Him, The Father is well-pleased with me.  I can renew my mind with these things and I can and will be satisfied,...

Consistency and Balance

I'm sitting at work - I know - shouldn't be writing a blog post but I am.  I'm alone in the office and it's hard to be motivated sometimes.  I have so many thoughts circulating through my head and just want to get something written down and hopefully, out of my mental, circular highway!

CONSISTENCY and BALANCE

Consistency:  steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.
Balance:  mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.

Oh my,...  My life seems so far removed from the definitions of these two very common words.  Most of the time I feel like I live on a roller coaster.  Up, down, turning this way and that way, sometimes sharply and abruptly.  Then climbing that steep hill again back up to the top where the ride begins again.  I want so badly to get off of this ride.  Thrill rides like this are not to my liking any longer.  Maybe in my younger years but not here in my "meant to be" beautiful golden years.  (I turned 50 in May)

Today I am going to take a stand.  A stand for consistency and balance.  I am going to be who I am.  I am going to pursue peace and balance and calm.  I am not going to make abrupt choices and changes.  I am going to slow down and take my time before I make decisions that will effect my life.  Stop making decisions that I have to turn around and try to undo the damage caused by rash moments and turns. 

When I grow up I want to be like my husband.  Mr. Stability.  Mr. I Never Change.  Mr. Balance.  Mr. Turtle.  He is slow and steady.  You never have to question things about him because he remains the same.  He is my hero. 

So, here's to growing up.  I'm only 50, you know. 

    

Watching God

I am watching God pull the threads of my life together.  He is taking what I thought was bad, or insignificant, anything but a God-thing, and turning it into my purpose.  I'm 49, closing in quickly on 50, and for the first time in my life I feel like I am beginning to see what I am here for.  I know, I mean really know, that God is taking everything in my life and is using and going to use it for good.

See Romans 8:28

When I finally began to realize that God really is good, right, smarter than me, and Someone I can trust 100% of the time, the pressures start to diminish.  Circumstances don't become perfect but you know that there is purpose to everything.  And to quote an old friend of mine, "God's got it".  Whatever IT is, He really does have IT.  He had IT before IT was an IT.  OK, sorry.  Enough of that.  But, "it's true".  He really does have your whatever.  Whatever seems hard, whatever is causing you heartache or pain, whatever is making up your life story at the moment - IT isn't a surprise to God.  He is using it for a piece of His story.  The thing is - realizing that and giving it all to Him for His glory.

Everything in our lives is meant for His glory.  I gladly lay down my struggles, my ideas, my comforts, my plans in exchange for His plans for me.  Where I'll end up, only He knows.  The end result that I am longing for is to one day hear Him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant".

So Many Changes

I'm not gone.  Just going thru many needed changes in my life.  I am so thankful for my God who values me too much to let me stay the same.  I'll be back on my blog soon (I hope).  And it is all for His glory,...