AGGRAVATION

One of my dad's favorite board games is called "AGGRAVATION".  It's fun to play it with him because he gets such a kick out of it.  But in real life, AGGRAVATION IS NO FUN!!  The hustle and bustle at this time of year tends to give me a ton of opportunities to become aggravated. However, I've found that allowing AGGRAVATION to play a part in my life makes me sick and miserable, not to mention adversely affecting those who get in on it. Allowing AGGRAVATION to manifest is like when we throw a stone into a pond and we see the ripple effect. The ripples multiply and spread across the water, seeming to never end.  In this same way,  exposed AGGRAVATION spreads and adversely effects those around us.  You and I have the amazing power to potentially bring another person down or make their day. We should all strive to make life more beautiful by keeping our frustrations to ourselves.  Therefore, I'm making every effort to respond in a better way and not react in AGGRAVATION. Every morning I prepare myself mentally and spiritually by praying and reading my Bible. I've decided to focus on thoughts of nostalgia, hope, love, and gratitude instead of frustration.
     The winding down of 2013 has made me think about how very fast this year has gone by and yet how truly blessed my life has been. As I read the news and hear about all of the horrific situations that so very many people must endure or succumb to,  I feel grateful and yet a tad odd about my little bubble that I've been living in. NOW, there's one thing I do need to clarify here. My world is not perfect, I deal with "issues" too!  But, in comparison to the trials of so many, I am humbled.
     I realize that no one's life will ever be perfect on this earth, yet I believe there are keys to living well.  God loves me and you!  He has a wonderful plan for our life. He has been so very good to me! Yet, I also realize that I'm not so good to myself sometimes.  His goodness + my bad = my bad.  You may have an equation that better illustrates my point.  But the fact of the matter is, my consistent bad trumps my experiencing God's goodness in my life.  The main challenge for me (as for most people), is to Focus on HOPE and  STAY CALM (KEY).  Just about everyday (unless I stay in bed) there are tons of opportunities to FREAK OUT>FALL OUT>QUIT> SCREAM and things like this!  (Yes,  I am TYPE A)  I don't know if it's because when it seems things are running pretty smooth, out of the blue a LITTLE something tries to step into my life and change things up a bit. For me it could be anything from a traffic aggravation, to getting into "the wrong line" at the store, to slipping on a wet floor (from dog pee),  to wondering "what in the world is wrong with him/her? IDIOT!"  Now you know how imperfect I am!  LOL!!  One thing I'm learning at my age is that life goes a whole lot better when I try to be loving, understanding, STAY CALM, AND MOVE ON.  I love that popular saying>STAY CALM AND MOVE ON!  It really has made a difference in my life. I've found that BY FOCUSING ON STAYING CALM, I DO MOVE ON and life is much better!!
    I hope you'll get on board with me to spread the good cheer and leave AGGRAVATION where it belongs...in no man's land.  I pray that peace, joy, and gratitude will be our response for this season.  I pray that we'll all take advantage of the Lord's good grace and presence by adapting ourselves to doing life His way
   I'll leave you with these two pieces of great advice.  One from the Apostle Paul (Phillippians 4:6-7), "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance...pray...and God's peace will be yours."  Second,  Jesus said in John 14:1 " (YOU) Do not let YOUR heart be troubled (distressed, agitated).  YOU believe in, adhere to, trust in, and rely on God...".
NOW HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!

WILL YOU Have a Merry Christmas?

I went to see the movie, "TAKEN 2" last night.  I thought that is was great, but I especially liked "TAKEN"-Part 1. The whole thing started out with a loving dad, who is an exceptionally strong, spy kind of guy, rescuing his teen daughter from the sex slavery industry in Europe. Of course, the dad is always the hero! I love the dad's intense hatred of evil. The selflessness and determination he exhibits going after the bad guys is exhilarating! The purity of the love he has for his family is refreshing. The part I abhorred was the cold, wicked, and calculated evil that was exhibited by the sex slave operators.  It truly is disheartening to realize just how dark mankind can be. This world is in bad shape. We can look around us and see the atrocities on every hand.  Or, we can look around and see God. We can look for and see FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.  We must be determined to have a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Some of you reading this may ask, "HOW? Are you kidding me?"  Having A MERRY CHRISTMAS can be deterred by entertaining DISAPPOINTMENT, FEAR, ANGER, FRUSTRATION, BITTERNESS, DREAD, ANXIETY, and other such things. But, FOCUSING on the Lord will cause the bad "things of earth to grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace" (This is a line from one of my favorite hymns: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus"). One of my favorite Christmas carols is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".  The message in this song is simply amazing to me.  It's speaks of RESTING in God's PEACE and being MERRY or JOYFUL!  The writer exhorts, "LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY..." (alarm you or cause you to lose courage).  WHY?  "FOR JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR WAS BORN ON CHRISTMAS DAY, TO SAVE US ALL FROM SATAN'S POWER WHEN WE WERE GONE ASTRAY..."  Satan is the father of evil in this world. He works through many people.  BUT, GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT is also in this world.  He brings "TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY" through people.  We can choose to allow the devil to wreak havoc through us, OR we can choose to allow the PRINCE OF PEACE, the MIGHTY GOD, AND THE EVERLASTING FATHER to have His way in our heart and life.  I love the songs of the season.  I especially love "Handel's Messiah".    I went to UF last weekend to the "Songs of the Season" concert.  It was fantastic!  I'm brought to tears remembering the last song that they performed of the evening. It was the "Hallelujah Chorus" by Handel.  Immediately when this majestic song started, the audience rose to it's feet in reverence and awe. This was not in a church setting, nor was this a predominately "Christian" audience to my knowledge. But, you would've thought it to be at this point. When the song ended, the audience erupted into thunderous claps and exhilaration!  JESUS truly is the REASON FOR THE SEASON!  I so enjoy the fun that goes with Christmas, but I continue to be in awe every year at this time when I think about the love our Father God, exhibited in sending His only Son into this world to SAVE us all from Satan's power. Lastly, I want to encourage you with this: "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS NOW"!

CHRISTIANS, WAKE UP!!

Whew!  I'm glad that the Chick-fil-A day is over.  Although I was completely on board with it and waited in a line for food 1 1/2 hrs., there was definitely a huge conflict that I encountered on Facebook. Who would've thought that friends and family members would basically hate you for siding with Biblical and American traditional Judeo/Christian values.  I tell you we are in a CULTURAL WAR!  I'm not advocating meanness or aggression, because I believe that we Christians should love and respect all people regardless!  BUT, when it comes down to being attacked, intimidated, and belittled for my beliefs, I WILL NOT BOW DOWN! Some of the reactions (attacks) I got were saturated with tones of hatred, inferences of stupidity, and accusations of not having Christian love for LGTB (lesbian, gays, transgenders, and bi-sexuals). This couldn't be farther from the truth!  God knows that I have some precious friends that fit into most of these "gay" categories. No, they don't profess to believe in Christ, but they respect and love me, as I also respect and love them.  They know where I stand and I know where they stand as well.  I think that this is the way we should relate to these groups.  BUT, when it comes down to their demanding that I, must condone and accept as TRUTH, their philosophy of life, I WILL NOT BOW DOWN!  I WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!  I've decided that even as Esther, Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, and so many others in the Bible, did not BOW DOWN and compromise with  the idolatry in the society of their day, I WILL NOT EITHER!  I want to challenge my Christian brothers and sisters to WAKE UP and understand the times that we are living in.  The days of just having loads of fun at our Christian prayer (gossip) meetings, ("meat market") concerts, (gluttonous) dinners, and (social climbing, prideful) Bible studies, (while so many go home to view porn) are OVER!  I really don't believe that the sleeping giant (the church of America) has smelled the coffee yet. There are still too many professing Christians in this country walking the fence by compromising their beliefs, and loving pleasures more than God.  I really believe that this is why our country is in the shape it is in today.  We have strayed so far away from the faith of our founding fathers with drug addiction, violence, immorality (pornography, adultery, fornication, etc.), alcoholism, speaking lies as sport, and so many other sins running rampant in the good ole God blessed (?)  USA. A Christian minister posted on FB that we shouldn't judge one sin over another. I agree with this.  Sin is sin and God is judge. BUT,  I'm calling for all Christians to stand up for GOD, IN THE NAME OF GOD,  LIVE THE LIFE!  Clean up your act!  And LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!  JESUS said for Christians to BE A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS, DON'T HIDE IT UNDER A BASKET!  He also said that we are to be like A LIGHT THAT IS UPON A HILL FOR ALL TO SEE, and to BE LIKE SALT THAT IS SALTY (noticed) or else we are NO GOOD, BUT JUST TO BE TRAMPLED UNDER THE FOOT OF MEN!  I want to submit to you that if we are cowering behind the four walls of our churches, or the comforts of our cozy homes, and we are not letting those around us in our society know that we love them, but also Who and what we stand for, we are self-centered and selfish, ashamed of the GOSPEL!  AND...I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DOWN-FALL OF THE NOT SO GOD BLESSED USA! I read recently an article in CHARISMA"magazine that the 93 yr. old Dr. Billy Graham wrote a letter entitled, "My Heart Aches for America".  In the letter, he's calling "America and it's deceived people" to repentance>(turn from our wicked ways, to God's ways).  This letter was "one in a series of escalating warnings that the nation is in growing danger of God's judgement".  He also spoke of his late wife, Ruth's concern regarding the nation's "terrible downward spiral".  "He wondered what Ruth would think of the country today where SELF-CENTERED INDULGENCE, PRIDE, AND THE LACK OF SHAME OVER SIN are now emblems of the American lifestyle."  Mr. Graham stressed the fact that THERE IS HOPE!!  God is merciful and WILL FORGIVE US IF we REPENT of our sins and turn back to Him.  Many other respected ministers have expressed their concerns and warnings as well.  There you have it!  We all need to get on our face before God and sign up to "fight" for the battle that we are in today!  Please consider this CALL and do what your  COMMANDER requests.  After all, this is Christianity 101!

shalom

After my Bible study this morning, I went to the feed store to get some little ducklings.  I brought them home and put them into their new pen. I gave them some food and a pan of water to play in. It made me so happy to watch them enjoying their food and mini-pool.  I could've sat there watching them all day! All of a sudden, the Lord reminded me of my Bible study I had just finished. He had spoken to my heart that He so wants to bless His children.  Ps. 35:27 says, "God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant". The Hebrew translation for prosperity is SHALOM. It means safety, favor, welfare (God's, not govt. welfare), health, and financial prosperity.  It's important to know that if we are His loving and obedient children, then we can and should expect Him to take care of us.  In fact, He wants to shower us with abundant blessings. As a matter of fact, Jesus said that He came to give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10)  Haggai 2:4-9 reveals some conditions for receiving the blessings of God. In this passage, God commands us to BE STRONG, ALERT, and COURAGEOUS. He says here that we must WORK (and be in expectation) BECAUSE HE IS WITH US!  He says that this is because of HIS COVENANT He made with us when we came out of Egypt (signifying our conversion), and because His Holy Spirit stands and abides with us. He goes on to mention here that the starry heavens, the earth, the dry land, and all nations will shake. Does this shaking nullify His covenant blessings?  On the contrary!  God warns us in this same passage to NOT FEAR!  He goes on to say some pretty amazing and encouraging things!   He tells us that the desirable and precious things of ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN to us.  He says here that HE WILL FILL THIS HOUSE (His loving and trusting children's lives) with splendor and glory!  Wow! Now that's some good news! His Covenant makes a way for us to receive what He desires to give us. And if that's not enough, He goes on to declare that, "...THE SILVER AND GOLD ARE MINE, says the Lord of hosts...the latter GLORY SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER...AND IN THIS PLACE I WILL GIVE PEACE (HEBREW: SHALOM-safety; favor; welfare (God's, not govt.);  health; prosperity). I want to submit to you that if we entertain fear, we might just miss out on what God is offering us. He has promised and He will be faithful. Now we must believe and take possession of our inheritance.   There are so many scriptures that confirm the fact He wants us blessed.  In Genesis 12 we see God blessing Abram (Abraham).  Later on we see God telling him that he was blessed to be a blessing and would bless the nations of the earth through him because he obeyed God's voice. We see in Galatians that Christians can also have the Abrahamic blessing in our lives (Galatians 3:14; Heb. 6,12, etc).  Just from these passages, it is obvious to me that we can live in God's blessing regardless of the circumstances that surround us in this world. The most important thing to remember is why we're blessed.  #1.) Because our loving heavenly Father wants us to be.  #2.) He wants us to be a blessing to others.  In  Matthew, Jesus exhorts us to seek His kingdom first and to make sure our heart is for His kingdom's purpose, because our treasure ($) will be where our heart is. I've decided to be strong, alert, and courageous as I seek first His kingdom, expecting His blessings to be abundant in my life, and being sure to somehow bless others!  As a result, God will be thanked, praised, and glorified!!  How about you?

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

Remember this old song, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"?  I remember singing this over and over in Sunday school as a child, not having an inkling of what this truly means.  Oh the depths and the riches of the fact that God is in control! Bill and I are on vacation and God's peace and presence have been so special for me. It has been like heaven on earth (on the Gulf for a few days and at the Atlantic beach since! PTL!)  As I opened my Bible this morning, God began to show me something amazing! I'll give you a little back ground first.  When I became a born-again Christian at age 22, I decided to live the rest of my life for God. At that point I made the decision to give everything I am or ever will be, all that I had or ever will have, to Jesus and His purpose for my life.  I decided that I would work for Him to the best of my ability. I do believe that although I'm not perfect, my heart has been steadfastly centered on that goal from that time and continues to be. Ironically, over the past 30 plus years, I've often felt like a hamster on a wheel going nowhere.  I've often felt overwhelmed by all the needs in the world, and despite my well meaning efforts, it doesn't appear to me that I've accomplished much for Him.  Yes, His presence and blessing have been there for me.  Yes, I've seen how I've help some individuals in some way come close to Him and experience His love. But has it been enough?  It seems that when most people hit mid-life, we many times want to evaluate our life's accomplishments.  We want to see if we need to make any changes to make our life count for something. Maybe it's because we realize more than ever how precious time is. Maybe we more than ever realize how amazing strength and physical ability is. In John 6:29, Jesus speaks about "the work of God".   Somehow when I read this passage this morning, I saw everything in a new and brighter light.  I saw how important it is to do the work of God more than ever before, but with a different perspective. The right perspective to have is to rest in the fact that He is a great God and He is sovereign. HE HAS THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS AND HE IS IN CONTROL! WE ALL HAVE A PART TO PLAY IN HIS PLAN.  BUT, WE NEED TO WORK HIS WORKS, NOT OUR OWN WELL INTENTIONED WORKS! In John 6, we see a crowd of people following Jesus around because they had seen the miracle of the multiplied bread. In vs 26, He rebukes them for only being interested in Him because of His provision.  He exhorts them to "labor not for the food which perishes, but for the food that endures unto ever lasting life...".  They then asked, "What should we do that we might work the works of God?"  Jesus responded, "This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He (God) has sent."  That's easy!  (or is it?) In other words, when we look at the Greek translation we find that it means to be loyal to, adhere to, and  trust in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. Notice that it's not just a mental belief. He doesn't give us a "to do list".  He wants our heart, the core of our being! He wants us close to Him, loving Him and cooperating with Him.  He says in another passage that "eternal life is to know Him". When we're walking and talking with Him, we naturally work His work. That's how we experience the depth of His rest and peace which He promises.  He works it all out.  We don't have to. His work is different for all of us. I have a friend, Lee Grady, who continuously travels all over the world and ministers to people. He seems to want to do this and enjoys it.  He is blessed in his work.  I have another friend, Judy Foster, who has given her life to the people of Haiti as a missionary.  I see both of their amazing works and could easily ask myself, "What in the world am I doing for God?" Anything that you and I do for God is between us and God. Only He knows what He created us for with our particular gifts, callings, and abilities. Only He knows how we fit into His plan for this world.  I see now more clearly than ever that we need to truly trust Him, love Him, and enjoy our life with Him. We must find confidence in the fact that our life is all that He wants it to be by hearing His voice each day telling us how much He loves us and that He's got us in the palm of His hand. I know that God is good and loves His children.  His grace is sufficient to do what we must, but He will never call us to work under a burdensome obligation.  I submit to you that He will always supply the ability, the heart, and the joy to do His work, even as far as laying our life down for Him, if it be that. I know God wants us free and happy in Him.  If we're struggling and oppressed, we need to reevaluate our works.  God has called us to peace.  Enjoy Him today and everyday!!  (2 Thessalonians 3:16), "Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace, always, by all means.  The Lord be with you all."

A Beautiful Illusion

Our greatest dreams and desires can be forthcoming blessings or they can be trouble going somewhere to happen! I want to explain what I mean by this in sharing with you what was recently revealed to me while on a cruise with my daughter in the Caribbean.  First of all, anyone who knows me very well, knows that going somewhere in the Caribbean is always a thrill for me.  I love swimming in the beautifully colored water!  As I stood on my balcony one evening, our ship swiftly cruising to our first destination, I noticed the beautiful water churning below.  It was a combination of deep sapphire blue and a luminous turquoise.  My first thought was how delightful the water looked!  I would've jumped into those luscious waters had I not rationalized the horrible consequences of that choice!  I chose to stay on board, understanding and accepting the fact that jumping into the water at this time, in this place, and in this way would prove to be dangerous and most likely fatal! (Good thing I did! Ha! I ended up having a dream vacation!  Thanks Lord!!)  Was swimming in these waters my heart's desire?  Yes. Was swimming in the beautiful Caribbean part of the plan? Yes. Then what's wrong with this picture?  I submit to you that it was the wrong time, wrong place, and wrong way to go about it!  I believe that as we adhere to these following three keys, God's good plans and dreams for us will be activated and trouble will be evaded. In order for everything to go as God has planned, we must consider and infuse these very important keys continually into our life:  #1-WE MUST PATIENTLY WAIT ON GOD'S TIME>RIGHT TIMING (Phil. 4:6 "...be anxious for nothing..");  #2-WE NEED TO POSITION OURSELF IN THE PLAN OF GOD BY OBEDIENTLY STAYING WHERE HE WANTS US TO STAY AND BY FOLLOWING HIM TO WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO (Jn 10:1-14) THE RIGHT PLACE;  #3-WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LIVING WITHIN THE PERIMETERS OF A GODLY LIFESTYLE (Ps. 25:20-21) THE RIGHT WAY.  The children of Israel saw God's miraculous favor and blessing as they obediently exited Egypt (symbol of misery and lack) to go into the PROMISED LAND (symbol of abundance and blessing) that He had for them.  Did they all make it to the Promised Land?  No!  In the Exodus account, we find that many suffered and even died horrible deaths due to their disobedience and discontent. I have seen so many people come short of realizing their blessed destiny because of poor choices they've made. The Bible makes it very clear that our choices dictate our destiny>Deuteronomy 28-30. I believe God's grace and mercy carry us in our ignorance and imperfect faith, but intentional resistance and self-will gets us into trouble. Granted, this world is not perfect and there are many obstacles that we must overcome, but with total trust in and whole hearted  dependence on God, we can experience His good plan for our life!  There are countless beautiful illusions in this world that entice many wonderful and godly people down the hellish path of misery and disappointment.  To name a few illusions: vanity, greed, lust, self-sufficiency, bitterness, and pride.  They appear to be amazing and some are so convincing, but they all  leave their victims in a state of disillusionment and confusion.  I believe that this is why so many people question God's goodness. When we read in the Bible that God's plan is good and that He loves us,  but then we see so many people living a sad and bad life, we might be tempted to question the validity of this belief.  Humbling ourself and trusting God (James 4:10) is the only way to find out just how much He does love us! We must seek Him and stay with Him through the difficult times.  If we do, we will see the goodness of our God! Be encouraged with this verse>(Amp) Psalms 27:11-14 "Teach me Your way, O Lord and lead me in a plain path...what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living...WAIT AND HOPE FOR AND EXPECT THE LORD, BE BRAVE AND LET YOUR HEART BE STOUT AND ENDURING.  YES, WAIT FOR, HOPE FOR AND EXPECT THE LORD."  I want to end with this declaration:  Ephesians 3:20-21 (Amp. version)  "Now to Him Who, by the power that is at work within us, is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we ask or think (infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hope, or dreams)-TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS FOR EVER. AMEN."