Select Page

I will

by | Oct 30, 2012 | Uncategorized

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekial 36:26
Whenever I think of God saying to me… “I will” it feels like a promise to my heart.
He does not say it lightly nor does He say it without knowing what HE is saying.
I will.
Just as he said in the new testament “I will be with you always” it is a promise for us to hold very close and to remember.
We are not alone.
In the process of writing this I looked into the bible gateway site and typed in the two words, “I will” and the site showed 2,318 matches.
All the words that show ‘I will’ together were there along with other sentences using them in different contexts.
Meaning for me that it is a theme God continues to use throughout the years.
God was telling the people something then and He desires to tell us now.
I will …
God said it in many circumstances to many different people.
I remain amazed.
It is comforting to know He stands by his word. Always.
Two simple words.
Relating a promise and commitment to us.
His desire is to have a beautiful relationship with us if we choose to believe in his love.
Are we ready to receive him and say “I will” in return?  

Morning rays

by | Oct 29, 2012 | Uncategorized

They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening,
1 Chronicles 23:30

Joining Deidra on Jumping tandem with the Sunday community.
Photo by Margo of Yamhill, Oregon

At the Cross revisited

by | Oct 23, 2012 | Uncategorized

body {background-image: url(“http://hotbliggityblog.com/image.php?id=688”); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }
(This was originally posted in 2010 I hope it blesses and challenges you)

At the Cross

Sunday when we were in church, the worship leader played a song.
It ministered to my heart, and I felt a longing to share more about what the Lord was showing me through it.
The chorus:
At the cross you beckon me,
Draw me gently to my knees,
And I’m lost for words, and so lost in love
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrender.

The song has been playing in my head since I heard it.
I wondered what the word beckon meant.
you beckon me.
Dictionary.com said: to wave and/or nod to somebody with the intention to make the person come closer.
God beckons us, waves to us, ‘come here, come be with me’. Draw near to me.
His intention for us is to draw near and come closer.
I visualized the scene in the movie, at the foot of the cross where Mary and the ladies were sobbing and grieving.
Remember the scene; can you go there with me?
How the reality of His death, brought the reality of His Life to them.
They were drawn near because of their love. He draws near to us, because of His love.
It is an awesome thought.
Have you ever been somewhere, maybe in a store or after a church service and you see someone you know, and you wave to them to get their attention. As if to say, come here, I want to talk to you.
That is what this is saying; to wave/nod with the ‘intention’ to make the person come closer.
He is saying to us, “please come, I want to share with you”.
Draw me gently, closer to the one who is asking.
I wondered in this context what did draw mean?
Dictionary.com said: to drag or pull
So He is beckoning us to come near, pulling our hearts, toward a new experience with Him, to fall on our knees in humble praise.
Moving our hearts into a new reality, just as the women at the foot of the cross were moved.
I am lost for words…I think when we SEE Jesus, we have no words, only worship.

I am lost in love…that means focused. Nothing around me can distract me.
God is asking for relationship.
He is calling to us, waving to us, saying to us, “remember me?”
Just as we would do towards a friend who we really want to talk to.
It is an awesome thought to realize, the God of the universe cares enough for us
to ask us to draw near.
He desires us to make the move, drawing us gently, not forcing us, but gently drawing us to our knees.
It is not accidental.
Come near, He is waving us purposely to come close.
Do you grasp it yet? It is relationship.
How blessed are we as people.
To have a God who cares for us so deeply, to desire a relationship with us.
(remember the hymn ‘what a friend we have in Jesus?)
He promises, if we draw near to Him, HE will draw near to us.
James 4: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
The other part of the song.
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrender.
That means, He breaks our sinful nature softly ‘not in an abrupt’ way.
Sweetly broken, gives me a word picture of how someone would hold a baby.
Sweetly nurturing.
We are broken in a gentle loving way.
As we surrender our lives to Him, ‘wholly surrender’ that means ‘whole’, all parts of our our lives.
Only through the cross, and only through the Lord and His love can we do this.

Psalm 63:2,3,4
I have seen you in the sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
Psalm 108:1
My heart is confident in you, Oh God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!

I pray, that as we walk with the Lord, when he beckons us to come near, we will rush to His side, to spend time with Him.
Just as the women at the cross cried over the reality of His death,
may we cry over the reality of the Life He gives to us?
This is my challenge today.

I am

by | Oct 21, 2012 | Uncategorized

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
that there is no one besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:6
Joining with Deidra on jumping tandem and the Sunday community
Picture by Maxine from Oregon.

 

Taking a risk

by | Oct 19, 2012 | Uncategorized

When I think of taking a risk it brings to me deep and almost anxiety producing issues.
Should I do what I feel is right to do or should I
step back and do nothing so the risk doesn’t cost me something.
Taking that first step always costs us.
We become vulnerable.
We open a door to allow acceptance and perhaps the door shuts.
We become unsure of ourselves.
We become unsure of our motives.
Taking a risk means we move one more step outside of ourselves.
Dictionary.com says risk taking is to expose ourselves.
Not in a bad way but to take a risk to show others our ‘true’ selves.
Our authentic selves.
Can we do it?
This challenge for thirty one days has been a risk for me.
It has moved me in directions of distance and fear and of uncertainty.
I wasn’t sure if I could do it for thirty one days with a consistent flow and consistent thought process.
If wasn’t something I felt like I had to do it would be easier.
At times I have written three times a week and never had a problem with it.
When it became a challenge for me
the words didn’t come.
They felt more pushed and pulled and taken out of context of the flow of my blog.
The month is not over and I will continue to try to write
with some sort of content and thought.
It has just plain been hard.
How do you handle a risk taking situation?
  

In Prayer

by | Oct 17, 2012 | Uncategorized

Finding topics with words and content and just not knowing
what to share has been really hard during this thirty one days of challenge.
Not wanting to repeat myself and not wanting to appear boring
I struggle with the writings.
They say a habit is broken in thirty one days if someone wants to change.
What about a thirty one day challenge to write more and with more intent?
Does it make it easier or harder?
It is challenging.
It is interesting.
I push myself and words are not available
it is like they are hiding in some dark place waiting
for a light to turn on and expose them.
At the same time I get feedback that the words written have been a blessing
so it must be a matter of my heart only.
My love of writing has gripped me for the good
but some days it pushes me to limits I cannot go near or complete.
Thirty one days of a challenge might be too long.
Continue to be patient with me and prayerful.
I will press forward in prayer too.

Trusting

by | Oct 14, 2012 | Uncategorized

There is only one of  you.
When the fog dims your view.
When your vision is not clear.
When you don’t know which direction to go or turn towards.
Trust in the one who walks beside you.
“Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated.
Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God,
is striding ahead of you.
He’s right there with you.
He won’t let you down; He won’t leave you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 (msg)
Joining Deidra on jumping tandem with the Sunday community.
{photo by Rosi from Oregon}

Thirty one new Ideas

by | Oct 13, 2012 | Uncategorized

Continuing on the 31 day challenge.
Perhaps we can come up with new ideas for each other.

1. write a letter to a friend by hand and mail it.
2. send an email to a friend by computer.
3. send some flowers to someone just to say ‘I appreciate you.’
4. volunteer to take someone someplace they wouldn’t go alone.
5. volunteer in your church nursery or play group.
6. make someone a special meal and deliver it as a surprise.
7. take someone a hot cup of coffee ‘just because’.
8. offer to help clean someones home.
9. offer to babysit for a  night out.
10. send a child a card in the mail they always love it.
11. send a note by hand to your pastor thanking him for many things.
12. give something special away that you have treasured to someone you care for.
13. call someone you haven’t talked to for a long time.
14. visit someone you haven’t visited for a long time in person.
15. go grocery shopping and give an extra bag to someone in need.
16. send stamps to a child with envelopes so they can write you back.
17. take new pictures and frame them.
18. organize pictures you already have and put them in albums.
19. clean out closets and give away to the needy what you don’t need.
20. give a compliment to someone without them expecting it.
21. encourage someone verbally and surprise them.
22. purchase a gift card and give it away anonymously.
22. decorate your home for the fall.
23. buy a fresh bouquet of flowers for your table.
24. organize your table cloths and napkins for the holidays.
25. declutter as much as you can and take to recycling or other places.
26. go through your shoes and see if there are any you can give to someone in need.
27. go through your coats and see if any can go to someone else.
28. send a check to a local charity so they can help others.
29. notice a senior in line at the grocery store and give the clerk money to help them.
30. purchase gas for your car and buy a gas card for someone else.
31. make a Christmas present instead of buying one.

There are many things we can come up with to help others as well as ourselves.
Are we ready for the challenge and the goal of doing something different?

Thirty one days

by | Oct 10, 2012 | Uncategorized

Thirty one days of being intentional.
Learning to be grateful.
Learning to be thankful.
Learning to be ‘in peace’.
Learning to take life in slow incremental steps.
Learning to be tender hearted and compassionate.

What are you learning as we head into a season of Thanksgiving?
Are you taking the time to settle down and sip some tea?
Are you taking a crispy fall walk?
Are you allowing yourself some sleep in time?

Being intentional means making a conscience attempt at being and doing purposeful things.
Even such simple acts of kindness like a smile.
A gentle laugh.
A nod of approval.
A wink across the room.
A knowing that you are giving your time to make someone else feel special.
Thirty one days of being intentional is really not that hard.
The hardest part is making the choice to do it.

Giving thanks

by | Oct 9, 2012 | Uncategorized

Continuing on with the 31 day challenge.
Join with me as I thank the Lord for 31 blessings.
Learning to have gratitude for all things.

1. fresh water from the tap
2. furnace that warms our home
3. refrigerator that keeps things cold
4. washer and dryer that make washing clothes easier
5. stove that warms and heats our food
6. carpeting under our feet
7. warm socks
8. comfortable shoes
9. over abundance of clothes in closets
10. electricity that lights our home
11. convenience of stores and pharmacies
12. convenience of drugs to help heal us and
      doctors who can treat us
13. warm beds and soft pillows
14. family to love
15. grandchildren who give us joy
16. eyes to help us see
17. ears to help us hear
18. hearts to help us love
19. tears to help us cry
20. bibles to read freely
21. songs to sing loudly
22. prayers rising from many in churches
23. freedom to worship
24. freedom to vote
25. freedom to walk most anywhere
26. cars to help when we can’t walk
27. computers to help us keep contact with others
28. homes with roofs that protect us from weather
29. windows that close or open as needed
30. friends who love us
31. friends whom we love

As the list grows it is easier to find other things to be grateful for.
Many things not mentioned or spoken.
Learning to be grateful for life and love is something we all can begin to do.
I challenge you to make your list and thank God for giving them to you.
As we move into a time for giving thanks may we each learn to be more grateful.

Secret Link