Furious

I was furious about something my spouse was doing.
And I could not get him to stop.

"A woman does not find her her life in her husband.
She cannot find in him, look to him,
for only what God can supply.
As long as her desire is to (control, contain,possess) him,
is set on him, the needs she so desparately longs for cannot be met.
If she somehow molded him into what she wanted,
her lust would not be satisfied.
It is a lust to control.
Lust can not be satisfied.

When a woman's heart is turned,
when she sets her desire back on God,
a new freedom will come.

The grasping will be gone from her voice and her attitude.  
She will be able to move into relationship with her husband
based on wholeness rather than
inappropriate neediness, hurt, and woundedness.

She will be able to speak into her husband's life
with more effectiveness because
her worth and identity no longer depend on his response.
.
Free now, she is able to be the help to him
When the woman stops looking to her husband for needs
he cannot meet,
she frees him to meet the ones he can,
the need for intimacy
and the shared responsibilty for the marriage and the family."   
-Jane Hansen A Gentle Spirit

"See the good in others.  
Love, Laugh, make the world, your little world happy.
As ripples caused by a flung stone stir the surface of a whole pond,

so your joy making spreads in ever widening circles,
beyond all your knowledge,
all anticipation.
Joy in Me.
Such joy is eternal.
Centuries after,
it is still bearing Joy's precious fruit."  
 -God Calling

GLoomy on a Sunny Day.

                                                         March 9

Beautiful sunny day.  
My husband and I are outside enjoying the great weather,
working in the yard and on the vehicles.

But,
feeling a bit oppressed by the
depravity (sorry, but that is the best word to describe it)
around me.

My neighbors on both sides of me are smoking, cursing, drinking,
Yelling, and blasting profane music on both sides of me.

The most offensive and oppressive thing to me was
the music.  It was F#@! and F$#@ and sexually explicit.
They even had their children running around listening to it.
They yelled loudly also using F this and F that in their conversations.

It was oppressive and depressive.

"My heart is grieveously pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.   Fear and trembling have come upon me, horror and fright have overwelmed me.  

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you."  Psalm 55

"Revere and worship God. 

Know that HE IS. 

Keep His commandments.  
For this is the whole of man, the full original purpose of His creation,
the root of character, the foundation of all happiness,
the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions.."  Ecclecsiates 12

I started thinking about, what is my purpose, why am I here,
wasn't I supposed to do something bigger than this?

"Let us be satisfied to love God ceaselessly and walk in docility along the path He has marked out for us, where everything seems so trivial to us and the world.  Let us peacefully perform all our little duties and not look for great ones.   God does not give Himself to us because of our own efforts.   He knows to what emminence He wishes to raise us.  Let us leave it to Him. "  Beth Moore pg 92


"Be like a green olive tree, trust in, rely on the loving kindness and the
mercy of God forever.  I will thank You and confide in You forever, because you have delivered me and kept me safe.  

 I will wait on, hope in, and expect in Your name, for it is good."

Fear of Dying

March 7

 

 

You teach me that when I am weak, I am strong.
Fear of perishing - what exactly am I afraid of?

Never return evil or insult for insult, scolding, tongue lashing,
but on the contrary blessing, pray for their happiness and protection, truly pitying an loving them.   1 Peter 3

Turn away from wickedness, shun it, and do what is right.
Search for peace.
Pursue peace.

When this was being written these people were getting persecuted! 
And yet, Peter says, no matter what, treat them courteously and respectfully!

My first response when someone treats me wrong is anger.

March 8

Why am I afraid of  death, of perishing?  
Because I am not prepared. 

Well, then get prepared!

Get rid of past writings that may hurt someone that is left behind,
Make a will.
Do what needs to be done.

And then, stop being afraid!

"The implication of the human is
that we have the abililty to accept or reject God.
God wants relationships, not robots.
The only definitive and enduring motivation for a true transformation in our security will be God Himself." -Beth Moore

I realize now that the coming to prayer in the midst of boredom,
 and no message is part of the path.  
It is part of the struggle.  
It is part of the choice.
Come anyway.

"Merely walking through daily life
 is enough to till the soil and sow insecurity in our souls. 
We can say NO THANKS.
We can spiral upwards instead of down.
The human spirit alone is not strong enough to keep its security
afloat long enough in this shark infested waters of our current society."
-Beth Moore 

ENGAGE .... NOT!!!!

Sometimes have you ever had something pull on you that you knew was not supposed to be getting your attention?

Something, or someone begging you to be involved with them and you know it is NOT the path He has appointed for your day.

When a distraction comes,
and there is nothing positive or life giving about it,
then it is just a distraction and a sucker of your life breath and energy.

 

Turn away from it.

Some things BEG your involvement. 

Your ego, pride, some part of you wants to be vindicated, validated....

When the distraction is fueled by anger, vindication, or self seeking,
then it is not the right path for you.

Don't bother attacking.

Follow the path that will bring you and those around you life.

"Your servants are ready to do whatever you appoint." 2 Sam

FEAR IS EVIL

March 4

Lord, things happen in every day,
that I can allow myself to be thrown into turmoil,
or I can choose You!
Give me wisdom to know what to do when these choices arise.

"Draw near to me,
contact with Me is your only cure for all ills.
Truth is many sided.
Have much tender love and patience for all who do not see as you do.

The elimination of self is the key to holiness and happiness and can only be accomplished with My help.
Study my life more,
live in my presence.
Worship me.

Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.

I  did not say they did not do it.

-God Calling

God sees the good in people, but also knows and recognizes the wrong.
"Therefore, put on tender mercies."  Col 3:12.

Love is a choice.


March 5

There is no room for fear in the heart in which I dwell.

I have let myself become unsettled by someone else.
Over something trivial.
I come to you with that.
Show me what to do.

"What ever is good, what ever is true, think on these things."

Please guide me
how You want me to spend my time and energy in this matter.

God promises to supply all my needs.
When I go to Him admitting my lack.
He fills me up.
He alone restores my soul.
Take away the pointing of the finger.

Ever since the fall, the flesh wants to justify, rationalize, blame.
I need to remove myself from the situation,
take away finger pointing,
turn my energies and attentions to the positive path He guides me on.

Love People, Use Things. NOT Use people. Love things.

Love people and use things.
 
Don't use people and love things.

It is easy to get those two mixed up,
isn't it!

FEAR NOT THE TERROR OF THE NIGHT!

February 28

                     FEAR NOT THE TERROR OF THE NIGHT!

Had an unexpected encounter with coyotes the other night.  
I remembered the bible admonition "Do not fear the terror of the night."
I realized that this was very real.  
When this admonition was written,
it could very well be addressing the terror I felt this night!
How hard it is to feel at peace when directly confronted with terrifying events and obstacles in our lives!

Yet that is exactly what God is calling us to experience.
Real peace in the midst of real terrifying or challenging experiences.

March 1

We are comfortable when what we expect happens.
We enjoy being understood and supported by those around us.
We prefer to have a constant source of financial provision.
But when we get all this comfort and support,
we are easily lulled into a sense of false security.
God is more concerned with our condition than our comfort.
At times He stirs our nest to make our comforting things uncomfortable.

Help us to follow you, and recognize you. 
Please help us to be a blessing to others.

Keep to the rules I have laid down for you!

THESE are those rules:

Pray,
obey,
be thankful,
be at peace,
fear not,
don't inspire fear,
hope,
don't point the finger at others,
give,
guard your thoughts.

March 3

We never say of a gift,
see what I have attained!
But we say, see what has been given!
God is the giver and we are the receivers.
It is not to those who do great things,
but to those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift.
My strength is made perfect in weakness. 
In the time I spend with You, I become more aware of my imperfections.