Daily Verse – Psalms 10:12
Daily Verse – Psalms 9:10
“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
Psalms 9:10 NASB
Selfish for Him
I am selfish. It is obvious by the prolonged silence I have in this space. The silence doesn’t represent periods of drought in my life. Well, not always. There are times of stale stagnation. But then there are times of rich learning and deep fellowship which I hoard.
So here we are. A crossroads if you will. The realization that the fellowship I have known, which I have selfishly held in isolation, is for you too. Can I, may I, share it with you? Will you enter into this fellowship with me? Perhaps you have experienced your own? I pray you have shared it with others and not selfishly hoarded it like I have.
God desires our fellowship. He knows each one of us intimately. He knows the most joyful and the most dreadful among us. He is creator, you know!
He waits patiently, even in chaos and struggle, He waits. In slanderous, back-biting political debates, He waits. In deceptive business deals, He waits. In gossip-filled church groups, He waits.
His waiting is for the truth-filled fellowship of those He has called. Sincere recognition of Him.
Yahweh. Jehovah. I Am. The Beginning and The End.
Waiting for your worship and fellowship. Waiting for your attention to be turned to Him.
Let me encourage you to worship daily. Fellowship with Him frequently. Even constantly. If you know Him, He is your constant companion. Become alert to Him.
Share with others, maybe even with me, the joy of your fellowship.
If you don’t believe, it isn’t for you
The gospel message is true. It, alone, contains the best promise that ever existed. But it isn’t accepted by everyone.
There are two groups. Believers and nonbelievers. The message is the same for both groups. The message is offered to both groups. The receiving of the message is different.
The first group accept the message of truth. The promise is theirs. With it brings security to count as precious treasure.
The second group rejects the message. They leave it where they heard it. Some even hate it. It is too convicting to the mind and therefore left unaccepted. Like a proposal gone wrong.
All are offered the same message. All are offered the same choices. There is no inequitable offer.
Do you understand your need for the gospel message? Do you accept the gift of salvation? Do you accept the freedom found in forgiveness of sins upon confession and repentance? Do you recognize the Sovereign Authority of the One making the offer?
The message is simple.
The consequences are monumental.
If you need to know more, ask me.
It’s A Wrap – Sugar Fast
It’s not about the sugar. It’s about the role sugar can play in my life. Giving it way more importance than it deserves. Desiring it, even when it is harming me.
Days two through five went well, considering I quit all sugar completely. No grains. No fruit. And definitely no ice cream or cake or cookies. I’ll admit some crankiness. My husband would admit more. But overall, I noticed a reduction in inflammation, which is always a good thing.
Saturday evening came and so did a restaurant with few to no options that worked with a sugar fast. Grains were reintroduced. I felt fine. Slept soundly. No stomach issues.
Mother’s Day. 5:00 am came and I decided to sleep in.
6:15 am came and I didn’t feel just right. It woke me up. I have been dizzy before but this was a whole new level. I stood. Spinning. Made my way to the bathroom. Spinning. Opened window shades. Never have I ever seen the yard spin past me like that. Feeling a little nausea.
Decided to go back to bed. I couldn’t stop the spinning. With the spinning came more nausea.
Not sure if my body tried to panic and bring some tightness in my chest or what but I decided a trip to the emergency department was necessary. My husband tried to get me to the truck, unsuccessfully. I had to lay down.
So on the floor I went. I thought I was going to die. My poor sons and husband had to get all my final blessings with me prostrate on the floor. (You can laugh now since I am typing this. Although, my family didn’t think it was funny at the time.) They called an ambulance and waited while I explained all the important stuff in life. (Primarily their relationship with God and the fact that I love them.)
EKG, chest x-ray, blood tests all came back normal. Blood tests looked better than they did six years before. No explanation other than vertigo. Nothing points to any other explanation.
But let me be clear!
When someone tells you they have vertigo, pray for them. Offer to help them. If they are prone to motion sickness, get them a trash can to sit close by so they don’t have to move. Then, pray some more. Do not minimize this condition!
I don’t know if the sugar fast had anything to do with this little episode. But the sugar fast ended.
This week has looked a little different. The same old ordinary things have taken place. Work. Laundry. Dishes. Walks through the yard. Snipping dead flowers. Picking squash and strawberries and blackberries. Text messages. Phone calls. More work. But my perspective has been a little different.
I have been moving, intentionally, a little slower. I haven’t been racing against myself. I have been taking my time. Partly out of fear of the spinning. Mostly out of reverence for the life God has blessed me with.
Will I embark on another sugar fast? I can’t tell you that right now. Not today.
Today I will live and be content with what God gives me.
Day One – Sugar Fast
It has been nagging me. Like every time I take a bite or sip of some sweet concoction there is that little voice that has been increasingly louder. Don’t eat it. DON’T eat it. DON’T EAT IT. DON’T EAT IT!!!
I have done this before. Then excuses pop up about why it is okay for me to have something sweet.
I deserve it.
I am stressed.
But it is a birthday party. It would be rude to skip the cake.
It is Christmas.
It is Thanksgiving.
It is Easter
I am on vacation.
A baby shower.
A wedding shower.
It was a gift from some well-intentioned person.
The list could and has gone on and on.
But it must end. It can no longer master me.
It has become ridiculous. Last week I hid a bag of mini Heath candies. Throughout the week, I ate the whole bag. There were a lot in that bag. It is quite embarrassing admitting this out loud. I blamed being stressed. So pathetic.
Friday, I said today’s the day.
Saturday, I remembered Friday’s failed start. Then had cake at a wedding shower.
Sunday, well, the family wanted to have ice cream from a local farmer’s market. It was yummy. But as I enjoyed the final bites of my butter pecan waffle cone, I remembered Friday again. (Insert eye-rolling, sick to my stomach, I can’t believe how this stuff has enslaved me!)
I quit coffee and caffeine two months ago. Since then, this sugar habit has been bothering me. If I can give that up, certainly I can give up sugar.
Both treat me like a drug. Temporary highs just to come crashing down once the effects wear off. With sugar the plunge is harder. Watery eyes, heart races a little, sleep, got to have sleep.
Breads, cakes, cookies, lemonade, juice, and places you wouldn’t think to look. Salad dressings, tomato sauces, soups, ketchup, seasonings. If you don’t believe me, go to your pantry or refrigerator and read some ingredients. Not all sugar is named sugar. Look up the different names.
Monday is here. I made it the whole day. Reading ingredients. Carefully considering what went into my mouth.
My goal is not to become so rigid and not having occasional treat. But to master sugar and not have it master me. To make good nutritional choices to fuel my body. To honor God in the choices I make. To be around to see my family continue to grow. To serve God with healthy choices.
Celebrating day, one of being sugar-free. But not with sugar!
Instinctive or Intentional
The imprint of the Creator becoming evident on the heart of the created. Without having known the precepts, not having been taught the scriptures, not having been in the presence of reading and teaching and discipling. Just the Creator leaving a mark on a heart and that heart being intentional to the prompting of its Maker.
How beautiful to think on this! Creator God fashioned in the womb each individual. Breathed life into lungs. Gave rhythm to the heart. That rhythm knows the Drummer. He keeps time.
Find your pulse. Feel it. If you have a stethoscope, listen to the beating of your heart. Now, know that is God’s rhythm in you. Stay here for a minute or two or three. Consider His provision of that rhythm. Without that rhythm you have no life.
Without the Creator you have no life. He places life in each one. Each one owns instincts inherently given by God. The precepts of God written on your veins. Coursing through your body with each beat of His drum.
Breathe.
Fill your lungs and chest and back and stomach and intestines as full as you can get them. Use every extra space to take in a little more oxygen. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Then fill up again. Let it out loud and hard.
Feel your pulse again. And stay here. Listen for Him.
What has He written on your veins?
What will you do with the instinctive of your heart?
Are you intentional with that instinct for Him?
There Is Work To Do
Me: Emergency Alert woke me up at 3:45 am. Flash flood warning. (A million thoughts immediately bombard my brain.) It is 5:00 am now. Yes, I am normally up by now anyway, but I just want a little more sleep. I will set the alarm for 6:00 am and get a little more rest.
Inside my brain after I lay down: Your laptop is fully charged. You have work to do.
Me: Just a little sleep. There will be time for that later.
My brain: You are not going to sleep. I won’t let you.
Me: But it has been storming for hours and I have not been sleeping well and I really want just a little more sleep! I need it.
My brain: You can try but it is a waste of time.
Me: (Sitting up, grabbing glasses, turning off alarm for 6:00 am, opening laptop, following through on the work given to me.) So what should I write today? The conversation you just had with yourself.
I can’t help but think about the garden. Jesus asked them to pray. They kept falling asleep. He found them sleeping. As He was preparing for their salvation, they slept. I wonder if any of them had problems sleeping after that night.
Social media is full of reasons people are not sleeping well. I have even researched why my sleep has not been as abundant as it once was. I blame age, health, stress, my husband. I have changed medication. I have tried magnesium. I turn the thermostat down. You name it and I have tried it. I need my sleep.
Years ago, I found myself waking around 4:00 am everyday. No alarm, even though I always have it set, it rarely goes off. That trend has continued. When I get up early, I know there is one primary reason. To do what I am doing right now. It is the work I do before I do other work.
But this work gives me perspective. I spend a little time focused on what God is showing me. And I type it out. Early on in doing this thing I do, I called it clicking keys. The clicking of these keys focuses my brain and keeps out the distractions that attempt to pull me away. Like sleep.
God hasn’t called me to be a missionary on the other side of the world. (Well, up to this point anyway!) He hasn’t given me a difficult task, although this can be daunting for me most days. He has given me a way to share about Him, for even one person that may need to hear it.
What is your work? Do you ever find yourself falling asleep in the middle of it? Yes, I know it could be a medical condition but I am not a medical professional so I will leave that to someone else. But I do know for me, sometimes my sleep is from laziness. Sometimes it is avoidance. Sometimes it is truly being tired and needing rest.
But this morning, before I picked up my laptop, it was an internal argument with God. No one reads this stuff. Why do I have to do this? It isn’t making any difference. But that isn’t my call to make. I am just called to do it.
Here’s your encouragement: Do the work He has called you to do. You may never see the full results of whatever you are doing but He is faithful. He will take any of my inefficiencies and lacking and turn them into something for His glory. He never ceases to amaze me! Let Him amaze you.
Good News
I don’t want to shove this down your throat. Well, I do, but I won’t. It is the message of good news. And this isn’t the kind of good news that the doctor gives about your most recent lab results. It isn’t the kind of good news that reports crime is down. It isn’t good news that your child received an award at school. It isn’t a mysterious amount of money showing up at just the right time.
I can’t shove this down your throat. Because if I do and you don’t want it, you will either throw it up in disgust or ignore it and never consider it again. To your peril.
I can offer it and explain it, but you must want it. You must receive it for yourself. As much as I try to give it to you, unless you reach out and grab it, my efforts are wasted. That doesn’t mean I will stop trying. It just means you may think I am shoving it down your throat. I am not. It is just really good news and I really want you to have it.
I have shared it before. Some listen. Some don’t. Some roll their eyes and skip reading. Some read in complete agreement. My words aren’t reaching far but if you read them always feel free to share if you know someone that may need to hear.
Do you want the good news? If you have come this far, I think you do. Unless you are mindlessly wasting time scrolling through stuff that doesn’t make any difference to or in you. This is here to get your attention. To bring encouragement. To urge you to share the good news if you have it.
I know. I still haven’t given you the good news. But if you have read anything from me before, you already know it.
So, I will leave it there. Not shoving it down your throat. Click around and see if you can find any glimpse of good news.
And I try to give you a little something pleasant to view, as well.
