Friday, September 26, 2014

Changes
Changes can be scary
Changes can be overwhelming
Changes can be unwelcome
Changes can cause growth...
Changes can be refreshing
Changes can be opportunities to find out more about who we are and to realize that we can accomplish more than we ever thought possible.
I am so glad for the changing of seasons, I am always in awe of how detailed God is. Not only did He create this incredibly diverse planet, He is detailed in His details & created a cycle of life.
New birth, growth, age and decay that is repeating, turning and developing somewhat the same but always just a little different…..
I took this photo last Fall on a windy day, with a slow shutter to capture the whispering wind. 

Friday, August 29, 2014

God is Awesome


Only God is AWESOME He is the creator of the universe, the redeemer for our souls.  He is mighty and powerful and in control of all things. 

In the last few years I hear all the time, including from my own mouth, the word Awesome.  I got a close parking spot Awesome!  I’m eating my favorite meal, Awesome! I got a new job, Awesome. I just saw the most Awesomeist thing I have ever seen, AWESOME!!  I just stubbed my toe, not Awesome. :( 

Let us remember that God is Awe-inspiring, He is grand, He is overwhelming, He is splendid, breathtaking, remarkable & amazing.  He is AWESOME!

The most wonderful thing about His Awesomeness is that He loves us.  Remarkably He loves us even while we are still sinners.   Romans 5:8 states that “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  You see that the only way that we can come into God’s Awesome presence is through Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  When we believe that we have offended God, by our sin, and that we cannot pay for our sin on our own “For the wages of sin is death… Romans 6:23 a, and believe we need Jesus Christ to make the payment for our sin we get a miraculous gift.  …but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23b.  If we believe that we are sinners and that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin we can spend eternity in God’s AWESOME presence.  

There are many wonderful things in the world that God has for us to enjoy, but this life is like a blink of an eye compared to eternity.  Eternity is forever, it never ends. 

I personally am going to stop using the word awesome except when referring to God, if you catch me call me out and I will thank you for it. 

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

I Do


Say “I Do” to Jesus
To the married and single alike I want to encourage the women out there to say “I Do” to Jesus.  Our Savior, our King, Brother & Friend, and yes even Husband. 
John 3:16-17
Revelation 19:16
Hebrews 2:11
John 15:15
Isaiah 54:5
Let us focus on all the wonderful & miraculous things He has done, no man on earth will ever love you like Jesus.  Instead of saying “I don’t want to be single” or “I don’t want to be married” (Yes it goes both ways) say “I Do” Yes, I Do what you want me to do.  If that’s a single life, Yes I will live it for your glory.  I will try my hardest to be content. I say try because I know I will fail, but I pray that you will always draw me back to you, as you have already done and do so continually.  I Do to living a life of purity, and not get sucked into what the world thinks I should do.  I Do to serving You so that others can be encouraged and that I may lead others to You.
  For the married say “I Do” to serve your husband and to be his helper. To love him the way God wants you to love, to be kind, patient, rejoicing with the truth, bearing, believing & hoping in all things.  To avoid arrogance, jealousy, unbecoming behavior to not be provoked or taking into account a wrong suffered.  1 Corinthians 13:4 This is the way the God calls all Christians to love, however isn’t hardest to love those who are the closest to us?  Say I Do to a selfless life and doing your husband good and not harm all the days of his life.  Proverbs 31:12
 
Let your prayer be….
Lord help me to say I Do to You. 

I Do cling to Your promises that You will work out all things for good for me because I love You because I was called according to your purpose.  Romans 8:28
 I Do remember that You have loved me with an everlasting love, and You have drawn me with lovingkindess.  Jeremiah 31:3
 I Do love You and hope that You will use me to glorify Your name. 
Amen
 

 

Thursday, November 14, 2013


I live just over a mile away from my work and decided that walking is a great way to get some exercise.  It takes me about 25 minutes to walk to work. The funny thing is the traffic is crazy on my route home, include a 5 minute walk to my car from my building, which leaves me with a 15-20 minute 1 mile commute.  But the real reason I walk is that I have to pay $31.00 a month to park on campus which I think is so crazy considering that I am working here!  Hence I have been walking to work for the last month or so and it has been really wonderful.   The way the light shines through all the trees, squirrels everywhere collecting for winter, the houses it’s a very nice walk. It amazes me that within a six week period I have went from wearing a light dress or sleeveless shirt, to being completely bundled up including scarf, hat, gloves and a heavy coat.  I have also been reading through Ephesians and have been reading a section at a time and writing down what I have learned or put it in my own words.   It’s been really beneficial to me.  I realized that God mentions our walk several times, and with a little help from www.blueletterbible.org  I was able see that the word walk is mentioned over 200 times in the bible.  Hmmm, so it must be important!

Here are the references that I have been going over in Ephesians.

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling, with which you were called,
4:17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind…
5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

In my own words

4:1 Walk worthy-be excellent in all you do, be a good example of Christ.
4:17 Do not walk as the Gentiles (world) walks this means that sometimes you may not be able to do things that everyone around you is doing, because it goes against the moral standards that God has called you to live up too. 
5:2 Walk in love-Yeah this is a toughy! We are to love people, even when they are unlovable & don’t deserve it.  We are to sacrifice, as Christ did that means our whole life!
5:8 Walk as light, we should be different a breath of fresh air.  Hope for those who are suffering and in need, and at times even offensive to those who do not know God. Think about what happens when are in a dark room and someone turns on the light without telling you first, or contrast that with being in a dark tunnel and need to find your way out. 
5:15 Walk circumspectly the definition for circumspect in the Webster dictionary is thinking carefully about possible risks before doing or saying something.  So we are too walk carefully weighing out the consequences of our actions before we do something, pray and ask for guidance. Think before we speak!
Our “Walk” can be looked at as a representation of our relationship with God.  If we are not “walking” as we should, then our relationship with God will definitely suffer.

More thoughts on walking
When we physically walk somewhere we do so for basically three reasons that I can think of…here are some thoughts on our physical walk & spiritual walk.
Walking to get to a destination – God says we are to seek Him first & His righteousness and all these things will added unto you Matthew 6:33
Walking for exercise- the bible commands us to work out your own salvation with fear & trembling Philippians 2:12
Walking to enjoy the scenery in Romans 12:2 God says And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Happy Walking!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Caring for wild birds in winter.  Food and water is scarce in winter be sure to help out our feathered friends with some of the ideas below.
  • Many birds look for resources in the Fall so start filling your feeders now
  • Do not place feeders to close to bushes where predators may hide
  • Place feeders near trees or other places birds can go to for safety
  • Fill feeders with Suet, Niger thistle seed & black sunflower seeds
  • Provide a heated bird bath in colder climates were water may freeze
Continue to fill feeders through winter as birds find their resource in the Fall they may not have another birdfeeder to go to.

Check this out this for some cute DIY birdfeeders at wildsideblog.com.

Why the Birdee?


This is a true story and I marvel at how God works, and how His Word is alive and living.  How He causes all things to happen,  that nothing is coincidence, as He is Sovereign.   I have recently moved all the way across the USA from Vallejo, CA.  to Lexington KY about 2400 miles, which is huge in itself.  But I digress… This story takes place as I was driving to Awana to help out in the children’s ministry at church.  I had many thoughts going through my mind about my finances.  I had been working part-time as a temp employee, although I was super thankful for this job, I was not making enough money to cover my living expenses. I was reeling from the amount of money it had cost me to move, thinking of bills, bills bills, and oh yeah I need to get my car registered with new plates, not to mention I was having MAJOR plumbing problems at my rental home back in CA. which had the potential to cost thousands of dollars.  OH yes I am off from work for two weeks in December, in which I will not get compensated for.  I hope I don’t get in an accident as I have no medical benefits!  These are my thoughts as I was driving and yes I was major stressed out and in sin, as we are commended not to worry.  But God is gracious….As I was exiting the freeway and coming to a stop all the sudden all these birds, I mean at least 30 of them  land right in front of me.  I was already slowing down, however had to stop much quicker to avoid hitting them!  So I am sitting there thinking What In The World!  Why would all these birds land right in front of me like that? As I am watching these birds I notice that all of them are eating something, gulping it down, and was just reminded of the verse in Matthew 6:26 which our Lord Jesus spoke “ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?”  I was reminded that God does provide and I need to trust.  Subsequently I did start trust Him, and asked forgiveness for my anxiety & worry.  When those anxious thoughts would start to creep in I would remember those birds, and it would calm me, and keep me from going down the wrong path.   Again, God is gracious…about 6 weeks later I was offered a job at a local community college which offed a compensation package that would cover my living expenses with an excellent benefit package.   My plumbing problems disappeared as the City of Vallejo took responsibility for the work they had done to cause all the problems.   I know that life & finances don’t always work out this well, however He is in control & we need to trust Him, as He knows what is best for us. 

To this day I truly believe those birds were God’s way of reminding me that He will provide all my needs.