Category Archives: MyOneWord

Midnight Musings – Be Like Jesus – Jan 5, 2018

Often, I am given things in the middle of the night. Most of the time, I just lie there and beg to go back to sleep! Recently, I’ve been convicted to share these ramblings, and I’ve had some encouraging responses. So – here goes obedience! ~Christi
This is day 6 of 100 in 2018
and this fits into my one word(phrase) be like Jesus.

 

Okay, so I’ve binged. I ate the whole bag of Christmas chocolates.

I admit,

  • I am sick and tired of having problems with my legs.
  • I hate having to put the braces on to stretch out the tendons so that I don’t have the electric shock things.
  • I hate having to put ointment on my legs,
  • I hate having to wrap my legs,
  • I hate having to wear socks that compress my legs, and
  • I hate the fact that I’m doing all of these things and have no idea why I’m doing it because no one knows what’s going on.

NO ONE?
 

Well someone knows.
God knows.
God knows what’s going on with my body,
God knows what’s going on with my heart,
God knows what’s going on with my mind.

Romans 8:28English Standard Version (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[a] for those who are called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 2:10English Standard Version (ESV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I have no idea what good works I can do when I’m spending so much time dealing with pain, headaches, other strange things that I get doctor saying “ooh that’s really weird, but I have no idea what it is!”
But God knows.
And I know God.
And one thing I know about God is it that he intends everything that happens in my life to do something good in me, so that I can glorify him in my life .
God says it…and I say I believe God…so therefore, I believe it is true, whether I understand or not.

Glorify God in my struggles?

Jesus said to let our light shine so that others would glorify God. (Matthew 5:16). Our purpose here is to glorify the King of Kings Lord of lords, Glory Glory! Our purpose here is to share with others the love, grace, mercy that is the heart of the King of kings and Lord of lords. And since there are going to be trials (thank you James), and we’re not supposed to be surprised that they come upon us (Thank you, Peter), we are to count it joy(Thanks again, James), we are to share our love, we are to be in peace, and the whole point of struggling, and suffering with Jesus, is to show how to suffer with Jesus (thanks again, Peter!).
For that matter – we’re not supposed to be surprised if the world hates us! (Thank you, Jesus, as reported by John!) They hated him, first.

1 Peter 2:12English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Empathy

There’s a verse about participating in the sufferings of Jesus, and that’s not what I’m talking about here, because this is about chronic illness, mental illness, and such things. These were not issues that Jesus dealt with, specifically.

For me, this is not confessing to be a Christian. Here in the United States of America, for the most part, it’s not hard to confess to be a Christian.

Suffering well, in any situation, shows others hope in their situation. Participating in suffering gives us a bridge to touch others who are suffering, because we can empathize, not just sympathize. Experiential Compassion.

Do Good?
For the most part, most Christians don’t look any different than everybody else. For the most part, the majority of the population gives the Christian church, and any faith-based anything really, a wide berth as do-gooders. But is that the tag, the evidence, of our Christianity? Doing Good?

I know that there are people that do not believe in Christ, who have no basic faith statement, but are good people! They choose to support the poor, to donate to organizations that help the homeless, that restore are land, help our schools, etc., etc., etc. How does that look any different than the Christians who collect food for the food pantry, go in and help with floods, and give their money wherever? How are WE supposed to look different?
How are OUR good works supposed to look differently?

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

For me, with the problems I have with my legs, I can’t go stand at a soup kitchen, I can’t go serve for the floods, there’s so many things that I cannot do, and good people are doing more good than I am. So how do I stand out as a Christian in the midst of the darkness that we are surrounded by? How do I show empathy, and experiential compassion from the core of my faith? From Jesus in me?

LOVE
Jesus said to or through John that they will know us by our love. It has to be something different about our love compared to the love of your basic do-gooder. The love of Jesus was a love that suffered, and died, on our behalf. His life shows us how he struggled with those that would say things against him, that would choose to throw him off the cliff, and how he actually responded those last days as he knew he was going to end up on the cross.
What do we have to show, differently?

We love because he first loved us(1 John 4:19).
He loved us while we were yet sinners(Romans 5:8).
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16).
The symbol of our Christianity is that they will know us by our love(John 13:35).
Jesus showed us his love when as he was being tried and beaten and made fun of, he looked over and his best friend had just denied him.
Jesus showed us his love, when another of his disciples did not believe that he had risen and demanded to touch his feet and hands.
Jesus showed us his love when he embraced Peter back into the fold and asked him to feed his sheep.
Jesus showed us his love while he was hanging on the cross, and he looked down and asked John to take care of his mother Mary even though he knew he had brothers that could do the job.

How Can I show this type of Love?

Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious, and does not seek its own way… And the rest of 1 Corinthians 13. As Paul said, if I speak with the tongue of angels and have not love, I am just a noisy gong.
This is NOT easy…and this is a growth!

JOY

Joy is another key that Christ has given us in the midst of trial.
He came that we would have joy and have it fully(John 15:11).
The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10).
And in his presence is Joy forever more (Psalm 16:11).

KEY —> if we don’t have joy, it’s because we haven’t spent time in the presence of our King and Joy Giver.

I can’t really talk about Jesus showing Joy because that’s not really what the scripture talks about when it talks about how Christ responded. But I can say scripture points to Joy. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, and I think the next is patience or long-suffering(yep, Gal 5:22-23). The spirit that is providing us with these fruit to grow is the Holy Spirit, the part of God that lives within us. So we should exhibit the love, and we need to exhibit the joy.

But on top of that, there’s some aspect of joy that should just emanate from the Christian, as well as peace in the midst of Trials.

PEACE
The next way to be different than the world in my trials is to have peace.
The peace of God that passes all understanding and keeps my heart and mind in Christ Jesus(Phil 4:7),
Who is the Prince of Peace(Is 9:6),
Who spoke to the storm “peace, Be Still” (Mark 4:35-41)
and said to us “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
In the world there are tribulations (John 16:33)) but HE promises us peace.
Someone without the spirit of God within misses out on the peace that God grants us through his word and through prayer and through the privilege of fellowship with our creator father. So peace is the other indicator of our walk with Christ.

In Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, you can read about people that were singing hymns while they were burning at the stake. That is definitely joy and peace in the midst of a very serious trial. And I have never been asked to confess my faith or renounce my faith at the pain of death, or bodily harm. In our lifetime there have been Christians beheaded in Ethiopia area, there have been people, students, shot in schools because they were asked if they were Christian. There are Christians in China and India that are being tortured and killed. And I know someone from Indonesia who tells of the story of it being so dangerous to be Christian there. I want to look different, even here, in the United States.
I want to look like JESUS!

Conclusion?
James said

James 1: ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The point is, sometimes trials are what God uses to grow us in love, joy, peace and patience (no, I didn’t write about patience, but it’s a good fruit to have!). When we exhibit that love, joy, peace and patience in the midst of turmoil, we actually glorify God in the midst of our struggles, and that is a very good thing. If in any way I can help someone walk through their Darkness and find some light from the Lord that brings them love, joy, peace, and patience as they face what seems to be insurmountable terrors and trauma and trials and tribulations, then my trials and tribulations have value. This is where God takes coal of my life and presses it with intense pressure, and heat(fiery trials), and eventually brings forth a diamond that is a jewel in His crown to glorify him when I see him face to face.

My Prayer
I confess the struggle with my human flesh dealing with pains and such, and I ask my Lord and Savior for strength to endure with character qualities that glorify him. And I pray that my life would be given over and a sacrifice for his glory and to help whoever may need help to take the next step as they walk to the Valley of the shadow of death.

RESOURCES
Verses about Love from Daily Verse .net
Verses about Joy from Daily Verse .net
Verses about Peace from Daily Verse .net
And for good measure:
Verses about Patience from Daily Verse .net

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2018 – Prioritize – one of my five goals

This is day 2 of 2018 – I’m attempting another 100 days! I started one in 2011.

Today, I’m going to talk about how I set up a priority prayer calendar.
It’s not that difficult…and to be honest, if I utilized it more, I would be praying so much more!
I guess first, we have to decide that praying is important – a priority!

In 2018, I’m going to be focusing on doing the work God has placed before me.
I’m still not sure what my word for 2018 will be…hmmmm.

I’m going to be focusing on the important things upon which to focus:

  1. Prayer
  2. Praise
  3. Promises (Bible READING)
  4. Purpose (writing)
  5. Priorities(those things that God brings to mind each day – family, self care, others, etc.)

My first priority, as led by my Savior, Jesus Christ, is to pray.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18English Standard Version (ESV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

WAIT! HOLD THE PRESSES! CORRECTION!

Actually – I”m going to confess a bit of a change right here….based upon 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18!

Praise, Prayer and Praise(Thanks for the promises)

  1. Praise
  2. Prayer
  3. Promises (Bible READING – PRAISE FOR THE PROMISES)
  4. Purpose (writing)
  5. Priorities(those things that God brings to mind each day – family, self care, others, etc.)

And yet – today I’m going to talk about prayer.
As 1 Thess 5 tells us – PRAYER is crucial…and we should do it ALWAYS! WITHOUT CEASING!

Recently, a friend of mine was wondering how we do such a thing, pray without ceasing.

We all know about how Jesus taught us to pray:

Matthew 6:9
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Here’s a print for you from The Catholic Resource

There is a nice little study about the Lord’s Prayer in many versions at The Lord’s Prayer Words.

I admit that this is our guide line for prayer.

  • Our Father – declaring WHO our Father is
  • Who art in Heaven – declaring His Kingdom Home
  • Hallowed(Holy) Be your name – declaring our reverence for His name.
  • Thy Kingdom Come – declaring his Kingship
  • Thy Will be done – declaring his Soverignty
  • On earth as it is in Heaven – declaring his rule over heaven and earth.
  • It goes on – to request our needs –
    daily bread
    forgiveness (with admission of OUR responsibility both for our sins and to forgive)
    help to avoid sin
  • Then PRAISE
    THINE IS THE KINGDOM
    THINE IS THE POWER
    THINE IS THE GLORY
    FOREVER!

so does Jesus mean for us to be praying the Our Father without ceasing?
I don’t think so. I know the Catholics do their rosaries with this and the Magnificat…and I admire the tenacity of their focus. They keep themselves focused, with these prayers and others in the common prayer book. I guess I just fine myself needs to talk to God…ALL THE TIME! and the Our Father doesn’t always say what I want to say.

And, it doesn’t give me room to pray for my family, friends and events, and national leaders, etc.
Understand, I am not saying that Catholics, or liturgically based faiths don’t pray for these things! I was raised Episcopalian, and when I need to focus my prayer life, I have gone back to the prayer book.

I have also utilized a wonderful took by Sylvia Gunter.

4 R


YOu can purchase this at her store. The Father’s Business I have no affiliation with her other than my deep and abiding respect for her ministry.

These resources did not help me to know how to pray for my family and friends on a regular basis.
Do I sit down and list off the 100’s of people I’ve met over the years? When I try, I usually fall asleep.
Praying is a great way to fall asleep – if you are like me, you will wake up praying!

So, here’s what I did.

  1. Meranda
  2. Daniel
  3. open
  4. open
  5. Miheret(a sponsored child)
  6. Adam
  7. Open
  8. Jim & I
  9. Rachel, Sarah G
  10. Asha, John, Connie

So, this isn’t a really hard to figure out concept. Pray for people on their birth DATE – if born on the 2nd of December – pray for them every 2nd!
Now, this handles the people, based upon their birthdates.
What about other dates?

Again, I pray for couples on their anniversaries (my brother John and his beautiful wife, JeanMarie, were married on the 15th of May – I pray for their marriage on the 15th of every month).

  1. Faith & Steven anniversary
  2. Jim & Christi anniversary

One could add a due date to remember to pray for a pregnant mamma!
I have a dear friend who died of breast cancer years ago…her family remembers her on the anniversary of her death(Jewish tradition), I remember her, and pray for her children on her birthday.
It is what YOU need it to be to help YOU pray consistently for others!

I could and should have these written down on printed calendars, but what I have done is on the google calendar.
If you set the event as all day, it just gives you a banner at the top of the day.
If you sent the repeat monthly, you get the repeat notification monthly.
To be honest – sometimes I forget the more distant people’s MONTH of their birthday! /o\

To prevent that, you could also use those yearly calendar things in the back of a printed calendar planner – but that gets too complicated for me to put into days. On the other hand, you could use those dates to remember the special days…and transfer them to a basic calendar, and print it. There’s a very flexible option at Print-A-Calendar.
I think I’ll do this with my yearly calendar when it comes!(I’m a calendar snob…yes, I admit it).

Another tool that I am using this year, comes from the blog “My Beautiful Ugly”, and it’s a January Challenge with a free set of printables, and another set, I just bought for myself – for only $5(the price of these things helps to support the blogger/artist for their work – I’m not affiliated with her other than my respect and love of her work).

Please check out My beautiful Ugly 2018 planner and love challenge blog.

I’m going to go print them out right now!

Now, to comment on my friends wonderment…Prayer is talking with God.
Enoch walked with God and was not…probably didn’t want to end the conversation!
Moses talked to God like a friend.
Abraham talked to God, even respectfully arguing with God about his concern for his adopted son Lot, in Sodom and Gomorrah.
David sang to God.
Peter, James and John walked with God…while Jesus lived here…and talked with Him ALOT! If I can take anything from the interaction the disciples had with Jesus, it’s that I can say anything to Him, as long as I remember to listen for His answer.

There’s another way to pray without ceasing…

Romans 8:26-27English Standard Version (ESV)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[a] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

This comes right before Romans 8:28 –

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

A perfect reminder that when we pray – we have confidence with the Father that ALL things work together for good….not that it will work out the way we want it, but that it will work out the way HE wants it!

I guess that is the main point for me to remember with prayer.
Prayer is not about me telling God what to do in my, or my family or friends lives…
Prayer is letting God know the desires of my heart…and sometimes, Ps 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Prayer is about letting God take charge of my heart.
In fact, Psalm 37 is a great Psalm about a prayer and a prayerful heart. Psalm 37 talks about rearranging our heart, too! Be forewarned…there are requirements…here’s a couple for starters!

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

verse 40
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

Prayer is NOT just about when I pray, how I pray(kneel? stand? lie face down?), or even WHAT I say –
Prayer is the outcome of my relationship with Jesus Christ.
Prayer is the connection with my Best Friend and Savior, Whom I know intercedes for me, and will intercede with Our Father for others.
Prayer is my time with Jesus!
Prayer is Love…
love of God
love of Jesus
love for those I pray for.

I mean, seriously, if prayer is spending time with someone, sharing your joys, sorrows, hurts, victories, and concerns – isn’t that what you do with the one you love?

And what great a privileged it is for we creation to humbly go to Our Creator and ask….because he has asked us to do so.

The book of James gives us so much to think about in our relationship with God, and prayer.
Pray without ceasing – no, not by James…but still as important.

and writing down those we do not want to forget to remember to the Lord in prayer – that can help with the “not ceasing” part.

I do hope this will help you, I know writing this down has reminded me. Here’s to a prayerful 2018!

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment! Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, follow me on Pinterest, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

What’s my word for 2018? Hmmmmm

So this weekend all the Christian leaders at our church were sharing their words for the year.

Last year, I wrote a bit about my words…Number My Days. The tag words are my one word and One Little Word in the tag cloud on the right column of my blogs.

This year – I seem to have been given a gloomy one…THE TIME IS SHORT – or – THE END IS NEAR.
I feel like

I’ve done street witnessing, beach witnessing, mall witnessing…life witnessing…but never placard or these sign type witnessing…and, I don’t really agree with it…so, What on earth is God talking about?

But, there is a concept:

2 Timothy 3King James Version (KJV)
3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now, to do a complete discussion on the end times, I’m going to leave it to this person…from Safe3 Harbor with his post on end times – the end is near..

My blog is about what this means to me.
When I turned 50 – I had a huge celebration…My golden Birthday party.

When I woke up one year later – at 51, I felt hit in the stomach.
one year past the halfway mark of 100.
What have I done with my life?
I started focusing on the Giants in My Land.

But what was really on my mind was the 50+1.
This year, I turned 50+7
When I was 16 – I was sure Jesus was going to return in 1980.
When I got married in 1980, my husband and I thought that we’d never see 1988… from the idea that 40 years was a generation…1948, Israel was declared a nation again.
When that didn’t happen – we moved the date out from 1967 – the 6 days war when Jerusalem was retaken…plus 40 years…2007.
In 2007, we bought a house, met our first grandson…and the Lord Jesus did not return.
The world continued to go crazy.
And, we considered that there is biblical reason to consider a generation up to 100 years from the generational discussions in the old testament. that brings the date options from 1948 – and 1967…out to 2048 to 2067.
And there’s the biblical statement that we are given 70+2 years….from 1948, that would be 2020.
Not too far from 2018.

When Jesus talked about it in Matthew 24:36, he said this:
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

over and over in Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus says WATCH THEREFORE!
It could be WATCH THEREFORE! I don’t know….

So, do I think this is about Jesus coming in 2018?
NOPE!
What do I think this is about?
Last year was Psalm 92:12
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

I wrote about it…#mydays
2016 was prepare…and I wrote about my reflections looking back.

There are so many ways that “the end is near” could be taken.
Yes, my first thought went to the end of the world!
Entering into the Millenial Reign with Jesus – who wouldn’t want that? Well, if you are a follower and a citizen of HIS Kingdom, anyway.
But, I have had a scripture verse that I have been leaning on for …well, since I fell in Navy boot camp in 1978 and went paralyzed:

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

I’ve spent years misunderstanding what this promise is about, to me…and this year begins with failed SI join injection, more pain in my legs, hips, knees, back, and even the arms are now being affected.
Maybe this “the end is near” is an encouragement to keep believing…or, do I go sign up with the VA? Not the point of this blog…but, something that could be part of this “the time is short” “the end is near” phrase.

My husband is battling with cancer…prostate the last two years, that is no longer evidenced in his body, but symptoms with his lymph glands, indication Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. May the end is near and we find that he has no cancer!

The down side could be, like God said to Hezekiah…get your house in order…the end is near.
Maybe it’s just that God is tired of waiting for me to write that book(those books) and bible studies that I keep bowing to fear about.
Maybe it’s just that I need to focus on the MOST important things…not the distraction.

One thing I know…I’m going to be checking out this lady’s blog…I was just looking at calendars and journals for 2018 last night! And she has this all set up!
Please check out My beautiful Ugly 2018 planner and love challenge blog.

I’m going to be focusing on the important things to focus upon:

  1. Prayer
  2. Praise
  3. Promises (Bible READING)
  4. Purpose (writing)
  5. Priorities(those things that God brings to mind each day – family, self care, others, etc.)

That happens to be the first item on her calendar…write down five goals for this year.

  • I have promises that have been made, to God, to my husband, to my children…and then to others…that have not been fulfilled. The end is near.
  • I have health issues that are slowing me down, and I tend to give up and wait to get better. The time is short.
  • I have people that I want to focus prayer upon, and I have not organized myself to do such well. The end is near.
  • I have grandchildren to interact with – and it only takes a week for them to change tremendously. The Time is short.
  • I have children I have sponsored that could be written monthly, but, I put it off until it’s been months. The end is near.

50+7
70+2
72-57 = 15

According to the Bible – unless there are other plans by God – I am given only 15 more years.
Truly, the time is short.

This song is running through my head:
Here’s the Lyrics to Phil Keagy’s Rejoice

This was current while my husband and I were Jesus Freaks in the 70’s….

And the movies…

A Thief in the Night
A Distant Thunder
Image of the Beast

The Apostle Paul preached that the end was near….
And, if it was near for him…it is much nearer for us.
I do believe that Jesus will return.
I believe it will be in my lifetime.
And because of that…the work of the Kingdom is urgent, more urgent today, than in 2010. 1980, 1948, or 40AD.

I don’t know how to put my focus into a word…other than JESUS.
TIME?
URGENCY?

I don’t know…I just know that I am to be a workman in the kingdom…and no matter what ‘the end is near’ or ‘the time is short’ means, specifically – it means GET TO WORK for me.

Hmmmm, not very catchy…but maybe that is it!

Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

The (In)Courage blog and facebook posts have kept me focused in the last parts of 2017 – and finished out my 2017 with a verse that helped me to focus….

Ezekiel 36:25-27English Standard Version (ESV)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.[a]

New Year by (In)Courage

So, no matter how God explains my focus for this year…I have found some women to help me to focus.
I have a Bible that will lead and guide me.
I have a Holy Spirit that resides inside me.
I have the blood of Jesus that cleanses me.
I have the creator Father that listens to me.
I have a husband and family that love me.
I have a church that will feed me.
For 2018, I have all I need!

I know the end of the story….

Revelation 21:5English Standard Version (ESV)
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

But – today is the beginning of the rest of my life…This is the Day that the Lord has made – I will rejoice and be glad in it!

I’ve featured this image, from BibleQuotes

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment! Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, follow me on Pinterest, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2017 – My One Word – #mydays – Cancer? Timing?

This is going to be a very free flowing version of my typical thoughts on My One Word for the year.

Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

It’s been a while since I’ve written – My last post was August 15th – How Long Bitter? There are many reasons, excuses, and explainations. I’ll try to share some.

Some things have messed up my timing…
Hurricane Irma – September 7th through the 14th in our area…hitting September 11th, very early in the morning. Many without power…but many were hit much worse, much harder, and much longer.

And we had company for the storm!

 

 

 

But, Irma messed up my birthday – though I got to see the Dali Museum. Sept 5th in St. Petersburg, FL.

September 3, A friend came from Ohio, and enjoyed the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir with us!

My Friend, Tammy Chrisman, headed in to see the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

She video’d several parts of the program.
Tammy’s Video on FB

Back to my birthday….Jim took me to Ft. Lauderdale to the hotel we were going to stay for my birthday week.

Find the lizard!

 

So, what’s that I said about cancer? I touched on Cancer in my August 15th blog – How Long Bitter?

Gabriel has oral melanoma…and we do not know when his last days will be.

Before the Alaskan cruise, we were told to drop everything and start Gabriel on a radiation protocol. We could not see putting him through anesthesia, over and over, in addition to the radiology.
We chose to make the number of his days the best they could be with comfort management.

Jim is still fighting prostate cancer…and the trip to Ft. Lauderdale was so that I could drive to eliminate some stress so that he would be rested for his PET scan on Wednesday – 9/20.

That led to budgetary re-evaluation – and how to cut costs so that we could pay off Jim’s initial HIFU in 2015, as well as various things we’ve incurred because of a lack of communication.
We needed to get our selves prepared for the possibility of needing to pay for another HIFU.
We have cut many things….lawn care, as much of the cable aspects as we can – Jim does work via the internet when home!…eating out…my travel.

Saturday, 9/23, we talked to the urologist that is caring for him, and found out that there was some unusual things that appeared in the PET scan.
1. no cancer evident in the pelvic/prostate region.
2. something showing up in the abdominal lymph glands.

We are headed to an oncologist.
We were encouraged that the urologist would have chosen to follow the same protocol we’ve followed…we’ve done things with reasonable wisdom, even though we’ve been ill informed at so many points on this journey.

Me – well,

  • I got an epidural for the horrible pain growing in my right leg…because that did not cost as much as the various alternative therapies that were helping. It did not work as well as I’d like,
    therefore, I’m going to have another one, Wednesday, 9/27.
  • to cut costs, I have not replaced my glasses, because of the high cost of my specialized glasses.
  • to cut costs, I canceled my dear Carmen, who kept my house clean, even when I could not.
  • to cut costs, I canceled my gym membership – to the only gym with a pool – because I did not have the energy, nor the time, nor the ability physically to go and spend any time in the pool in relationship to the time it would take to get there, get dressed, swim/exercise, shower, dress and return home. And, an outdoor pool makes the electrolyte and sugar issues more serious, and I have concernes that I would not be able to drive myself home. After the last time I crashed in Ohio from a workout, I have concerns based in reality.
  • to cut costs, I cut down the medical and alternative treatments – the uncovered by insurance, and those with higher co-pays.
  • unfortunately, with the failed SI injection, I’ve been told to go back to the chiropractor. The chiropractor wants me to go back to the acupuncturist. The pain doc wants me to go to PT.
  • Pain comes and goes…but Irma really kicked up the fibro, the migraines, and the inflammation.
  • to cut costs, I’ve canceled Rhuematologists, UroGynocologists, Neurologists, and I have not even set up to see the Orthopedists for the recurring pain that I have not asked for help at this time. Even with insurance, multiple $20 visits, and then medicine, and then any other type of procedures adds up.
  • to cut costs, Choices of travel or not to travel have been hard…I’ve had to choose to NOT fly to Ohio to see my grandchildren this coming weekend.
  • to cut costs, I canceled my plans to serve with the women’s ministry for the Bible study this fall,
  • to cut costs, I canceled my wednesday trip to church for choir practice.
  • to cut stress, I’ve tried to offer my services to drive Jim. I’m not sure that my presence driving Jim around makes any difference to his stress level…I encourage myself by the fact that he’s not driving when he should be sleeping. Though, Monday nights and the lack of planning for travel(except when the world is sleeping) makes it difficult for me to help.
  • The right leg makes it difficult for me to help, though I thank God for cruise control!
  • With just the medical treatments, the gym membership, the housecleaner 2x a month, medicines, not including supplements for the few eplainations I have for my various issues, we came up with $2000 that I cost the family a month. Not including food.

It seems so little so late.
There are things for which the Christian is responsible.

  • Acts 16:31
    They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.”
  • Acts 2:38
    Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
  • Mark 5:36
    But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
  • Mark 12:29-31
    29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
  • Micah 6:8
    He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
    but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

Then there are some that are promises with conditions:

  • John 14:15-17
    15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
  • Matthew 6:14-15
    14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
  • Mark 6:5-6
    5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
    6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

I need God to rise up and intervene in my life, my heart, my mind, my marriage, my family, my church, my community, my country, MY WORLD!
I want to walk in the Power that is supposed to be given to each and every child of God…and yet, there are the stories of those with the talents…
Matthew 25:14-30
And the verse that haunts me is this:

30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Similarly:

Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Hebrews 6:4
2 Peter 2:20-21

I am working out my own salvation with fear and trembling….

Philippians 2:12-18
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

  • Today, Gabriel is showing signs of happiness, playfulness, and energy – in spurts.
  • Today, we were visited by the insurance person, that inspected our home for hurricane damage.
  • Today, we will host the small group in our home…and Jim will leave at 9pm and drive almost to Ft Lauderdale for a 9 am meeting.
  • Today, I struggle with the lack of answers to prayers…the lack of wisdom…the lack of understanding…the lack of knowing which way to turn.
  • Today, I struggle with doubts, and fear…of various things that I know, or should know that God has in control.
  • Today, I struggle with the law of free will…that of mine that causes my own hurt, that of others that cause me and mine hurt, that of those I love that I see following a path of destruction.

But, also, today – I am answering another command of Christ…
Matthew 6:25-34
Be Anxious for nothing….

Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Easier said than done…but I have another promise:

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

This verse, in context, is very convicting.
And, the fact that I’m finding such comfort and conviction in Philippians just confirms that I need to get back and busy with my Itty Bitty Bible Study on Philippians!

Philippians 1:1-2
Philippians 1:3-11

I’ve been focusing upon what God would have me do…what talents I’m supposed to focus upon, and how wasting my time, energy, finances on other things is just wasting the talents he has given me.

There are so many things that have happened in this past month that have been horribly depressing, hilariously funny, honorably amazing.
The one thing that I cannot shake is that I need to continue to move forward into a deeper relationship with God.
One that is similar to Peter, Paul, Mary(yes, I did that on purpose), Ruth, and so many others in the Word and in our Christian World that walk with the presence of the Lord.
This is my prayer.

And, here is a song that we heard the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sing, and one that I just sang with the choir here at church. There are many storm songs I could sing…but this one is the one that is really speaking to me right now!

https://youtu.be/Z9fXN3QKCWk

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2017 – My One Word – #mydays – how long bitter?

Psalm 90:12 – teach me to number my days so that I might apply my heart to WISDOM!
Or, officially:

Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

My last post for my one word was on timeliness, or specifically, timing.

At this time in my life – I have a husband dealing with prostate cancer, and a dog that is dealing with oral melanoma, friends that have dealt with breast cancer surgeries, and I’m praying for some friends’ family members dealing with very serious cancer diagnoses.
Cancer seems to bring timeliness up…it makes people appreciate the time they have left.

What happens when someone is diagnosed with cancer?
Often, they start taking account of their lives, and making sure their ‘house’ is in order – that their relationships are in order – that they have more life in the days they have left – rather than more days added to their life.

When you are aware of Jesus coming – whether in your life time, as in your days or short, or as in the Biblical end of the world – you tend to put your house in order.
Hezekiah was addressed by Isaiah when it was his time…Isaiah 38:1

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

I’m not going to talk about how he asked for more time, and that more time gave him the son that became the most wicked king over Israel – but, my point is, get your house in order!

In our church sermons, our pastor has been teaching from the book of Mark. This past Sunday, it was about the Gadarene demoniac in Mark 5. On Monday, we have a small group that meets to discuss the sermon from Sunday(not chew up the pastor and spit him out…but rather to dig deeper into the message).
This is a BAPTIST church, and the pastor is talking about demon possession, or demonizing.
The pastor is teaching about the ways of the enemy!
The pastor is warning us about being alert and attentive to the enemy’s tactics.

And it was within this study that I was struck with something VERY powerful for me.
The devil wants us to hold on to wounds and irritations and miscommunications so that we are divided!

The story about the demon possessed man is in Mark 5:1-20
Short version.

  • Man is crazy, filled with legion(a legion is 6000) of demons.
  • Jesus makes a trip across a lake to meet him.
  • He runs to Jesus – Jesus commands the demons out – pigs run into the lake and are drowned.
  • Man is in his right mind for the first time in who knows when.
  • Pig owner and townspeople get mad and tell Jesus to leave.

WHY were they so upset?
devils tactics…they were more concerned with the financial loss than with the obvious miracle in this man’s life!

This isn’t to judge the townspeople – this was an instant thing…they were NOT Jews…they were gentiles and how on earth did they have any basis to process this happening other than what they could see? 2000 pigs lost in one day! That’s the meat for the whole community…the livelihood of at least ONE man…if not several.

The point is that it’s the devil’s plan to steal, kill and destroy the testimony of Jesus! John 10:10

What is the single most damaging thing between family members?
unresolved hurts.
Think about YOUR family…is there anyone you haven’t talked to in a long time?
why not?
did something happen?
is someone’s feelings hurt?
was someone wronged?

  • Hezekiah felt that he’d been wronged by not having a son….oops! Isaiah 58
  • Jacob’s sons felt that they’d been wronged by their father favoring their brother Joseph. oops! Genesis 37
  • Esau felt that he’d been cheated by his brother Jacob! oops….Genesis 27
  • Ishmael wasn’t too happy about Issac being the favored son! oops! Genesis 21(and this is where the middle east conflict started!)
  • Cain did not like that Abel’s sacrifice as accepted, and his was not! first murder!Genesis 4

Jesus tells us to be careful! It’s even MORE dangerous than the old testament teachings!

Matthew 5:21-26
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

It’s not even an implication here. He speaks it pretty clearly!
if we know that someone has something against us – BEFORE we offer OUR offering to the Lord…FIRST be reconciled with the one that is offended!

And, what if we’re sinned against?
Matthew 18:15-17
We’re still supposed to work on a peaceful conflict resolution!

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

WHY IS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO CLEAR UP THESE ISSUES WITH ANOTHER PERSON????

1 peter 5:8

  • Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:(KJV)
  • Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. (Holman Christian)
  • Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.(New Heart English)
  • Be temperate and vigilant because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour,(Jubilee Bible)
  • Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.(NIV)
  • Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.(NLT)
  • Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.(ESV)

My favorite version – amplified:

8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

WHY? Because we are to be aware of the tactics of the enemy…and one of his tactics is division.
In our dig deeper study, we were given 1 cor 2:10-11 as applying here.

10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,
11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

This verse was causing me trouble…I did not know how it applied to the concept of the Gadarene Demoniac in Mark 5. Where was the need for forgiving…and what does that have to do with THIS???

11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

How do you battle an enemy? first you have to recognize him….
then you have to acknowledge his methods!

We have Armor:

Ephesians 6:10-13
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

There is so much there, in that passage, about spiritual warfare….we do not wrestle with FLESH AND BLOOD!

One of the first steps of Peaceful Conflict Resolution is to NOT attack the other person…flesh and blood…but to discuss the PROBLEM.
In the case of the enemy – he influences us at our weakest points, and drives wedges between us and God.
How?
Genesis 3

1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

James 4:1-3

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

James 1:12-16

12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

These are the same three issues with which the enemy tried to test Jesus, to make him fall! Matthew 4

Hebrews 4:15

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

It is OUR issue that causes us troubles…OUR lusts and passions and such. THESE are what we are able to control!

  • When little Johnny gets mad at little Chrissy because she has a piece of bread and he doesn’t…is it really that he has an issue with Chrissy, or is it that he wants the bread…and doesn’t want her to have it?
  • When Tommy gets better grades than Billy, is it Tommy that Billy is angry at? Or embarassment that he didn’t do as well?
  • When Joe sees another car on the road that is going the speed limit and he wants to be going 10 mph faster, and can’t get around them, is it really that they are angry at the other driver, or is it that they are angry that they cannot do what they want?
  • When someone spills a drink in a bar, does the other person(spillee) really have an issue with the spiller, or is their ego affected?
  • When someone has an affair, does the other person in the situation have an issue with the PERSON with whom the affair was committed, or that they were injured, in their trust, their confidence, their emotional property?
  • When one group of people is offended by an ugly past and demands that all evidence of that past (statues) be removed, and those that declare that the evidence is part of the past, and that they have learned from it – who are the people angry with? Those living today or the hurts from the past that have not been resolved?
  • When someone stands up for what is right for their own lifestyle – do others get mad at them for being homosexual, atheist, muslim, Christian, or brightly colored hair? Or do they get mad that they are not confident enough to stand up for their own beliefs and allow others to stand up as well.

I’m not talking about someone hitting, stealing, damaging or whatever.
I’m not talking about legal ramifications.
There are laws against so many actions…and the only choice is to punish the person having done the action.

The gadarene demoniac was often chained…bound…and he lived among the tombs.
Mark 5:

3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

He was removed from society.
They had done some pretty serious things to him to try to control him.
He was scary.
He was unwelcome.

The thing here isn’t that what he did was ok…the thing is that often we react to what the other person does…and attack the other person…rather than try to figure out how to find a solution.

Where is the person in all of this?
What is going on in the offenders life at this time?
We do not wrestle against flesh and blood….
there are so many unseen things going in, and to figure out how to deal with it, one must take the TIME to understand the other person.
Again – I do not agree with giving criminal behavior a pass for poor childhood, even mental illness.

  • But, OUR response, as taught by Jesus MUST be other than attacking the other person!
  • OUR response, as taught by Jesus MUST be about reconciliation – which may include restitution and maybe some separation for a time.
  • NEVER REVENGE!
  • Not even retribution!
  • Our response needs to be forgiveness!

James 1:19-20
19 Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener],
slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and],
slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];
20 for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us].

There is an interesting list of proverbs as the cross references for James 1:19 on Bible Hub.

Can you truly forgive if you are still angry? I don’t think so…but, that’s really between you and God!
The issue is that if you hold onto the anger – the hurt – the wounds, and do not forgive, you poison yourself!

Hebrews 12:14-16
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

Ephesians 4:31-32
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence].
32 Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

The enemy:
1 Peter 5:8

8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

The Answer:
John 10:10

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Our responsibility when we are hurt:
Matthew 6:14-15

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Then we can go back round to 2 Corinthians 2:10-11

10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,
11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

It really had nothing to do with the Gadarene Demoniac, as much as the concept had to do with understanding the wiles of the enemy…
And taking up our Armor, and utilizing our weapons!
2 Corinthians 10:3-6

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Where do we do our warfare?
On our knees.
In the presence of God Our Father, through Jesus Christ His son, by the power of the Holy Spirit living within us!

I just read this blog about 10 Ways Prayers are Hindered.

If you take this with the verse:
James 5:16

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

It is OUR prayers that need to be heard….
It is OUR right relationship with God that needs to be considered…
And, in order to battle in the spiritual realm…we need first to consider ourselves.

I mentioned the first step of teaching peaceful conflict resolution.
I taught it to 1st and 2nd graders, and supported the group that taught peer mediators in schools.

  1. focus on the problem, not the person. don’t attack the person.
  2. listen – to each other
  3. reflect what the other said – show understanding.
  4. find common ground and a resolution that is mutually agreeable.
  5. Practice what you agreed upon.

A middle school source gives three steps and a graphic.

Here is a current group that are teaching this to youths. The First Tee talks about Four steps to resolving conflict!

Here are 5 steps for a mediator to utilize when someone else needs to come into the situation.

Here are 6 steps to resolve conflict in the workplace.

Pastor Rick Warren talks about 7 steps to resolve a conflict and restore a broken relationship, based on Blessed are the PeaceMakers.

It doesn’t matter how many steps it takes…we have to take the steps!

First, one has to be able to let go…forgive.
Then, be reconciled.
And THEN – we can give our offerings, our gifts, our talents to the Lord.
And then, we are called the children of God.

The enemy wants to divide and conquer.
God wants the body to be united and victorious.
Unforgiveness is a huge cause for bitterness – and bitterness poisons everything!

How long do we want to hold onto bitterness, and not see the Power of God in our lives?
Am I so hung up on MY rights that I am willing to not only give up on the other person’s ability to be reconciled to me, and GOD, but to give up MY ability to dwell in God’s presence?

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

WHAT PART OF THIS DO I WANT TO RISK LOSING IN MY LIFE????

IS HOLDING ONTO BITTERNESS WORTH IT?

Proverbs 14:30
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.

Jealousy is often mentioned in the same thought with wrath, and such.

In the presence of the Lord, there is fullness of Joy…
PEACE is the opposite of Anger…
The fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace…LONGSUFFERING!

I declare that I want to be like Jesus.
Jesus forgave…and tells me to forgive.
When Jesus said Father forgive them – he was in such an excruciating situation, and yet, HE thought to say HE forgave those that put HIM on that cross…both then, before and after.
JESUS FORGAVE DURING THE ACT AGAINST HIM!


That is even more immediate than immediately after someone hurts me!

but, yes, I’m human, I may need time to process…but how much time?
How long do I want to wallow in my own self pity, and hold on to my own poison, waiting for the offender to hurt?

I have written about forgiveness – in my Itty Bitty Bible Study on Ephesians, and in light of a very dark past, written about during my prayer thoughts on My One Word.

Forgiveness is a key in my life story!

I spent so many years in a church that prayed the lord’s prayer every time we were gathered!

I really have no choice…if I am grateful t Jesus – I must forgive…and share that with anyone and everyone I meet!

Here’s a couple more!
One Step Away – Casting Crowns
Your Love – Brandon Heath

Rather than wallow in my pain, and blame, my desire is to offer God’s love, mercy, grace and MY forgiveness because HE first loved ME!

Join me?

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2017 – My One Word – #mydays – timing

If numbering my days to obtain wisdom, and peace, and understanding and glorifying God is my goal, wouldn’t the fact that HE designs my steps be an amazing answer to this prayer?

Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

I’ve written enough about what Godly wisdom is…by doing a search on The WildBerry Patch, here is what I came up with! Wisdom Posts
In the most recent Itty Bitty Bible Study on Philippians, I talked about the fruit of righteousness, which is very similar!
If that doesn’t work, just type in wisdom in the search bar!I ought to add it as one of my tags!

So, what happened today that effected me? I was a blessed observer to the Lord composing an orchestral symphony of my life!

It started yesterday – with a visit to Gabriel’s vet, and learning how to objectively, or at least MORE objectively calculate his quality of life before we decide to ease him “over the rainbow bridge”.
I became very aware of needing to take into account the good things each day.

 

 

This morning, I intended to be with a friend while she waited for a detective to call about the murder of her daughter. This was an unknown timeframe.
This morning, I intended to see my chiropractor – I thought at 10:30.
This morning, I realized that Gabriel needed to be with me – so I was not going to leave him long, and I needed to find a pair of nail trimmers to ease the discomfort of his VERY long nails.

I left home at 9am, headed to the pet store before the chiro.
I got to Pet Co – and purchased a pair of clippers, and a few other items to give Gabriel a nice spa day.
I got back to the car at 9:30 and realized my appointment was at 11:45. IT’s too early to go in and it’s not long enough to go home and see Gabe, and then come back – so, I canceled my dr. appointment.
(cue the violins to start the symphony)

As I was driving home, the noisy fan(I thought) continued, and the car started to rattle and shake, and lose power! (cymbal?) I had just gotten to the bottom of the hill, and realized the lack of power with an empty turn lane beside me (cue flutes fluttering) and the potential of getting off the road.
(clarinets)
maybe I can get into the turn lane
(oboes)
maybe I can get to the section between the lanes
(cellos)
Maybe I can get into the road towards the parking lots
(basses)
maybe I can get to the dirt parking lot
(Saxes)
looks like I can get into the Bob Evans Parking lot in the rear!
(enter drums and horns!).

I called Jim – told me to stay put and call an uber.
(cue muted trumpet – he was able to answer my phone!)
I called my friend Beth who said “don’t call an uber, I’ll come pick you up” –
(cue violins – this is my friend awaiting the call from the detective)
I called my friend Michele who was dropping her car off, and had to be home by 11 for a conference call.
(cue string section, and wood section)
My friend and server Lisa was sitting at the counter, and I was able to sit with her, and share some of my story about my trips, as well as talk to her about how Jesus is comforting me.
(add some drums – she wasn’t supposed to come in today, but she did because yesterday was so packed, that she thought they may need her)
My friends Michele and Marty showed up earlier, and I was able to treat them to coffee and toast!
(add the horns! they got there at 10:13 – well in time for her to drop me off!)

(pianissimo…)
Now – as we left the restaurant – I got a call….
It’s Beth – she’d gotten the call!
(cue Crescendo – tympani and all manner of percussion!)
IF SHE HAD COME TO GET ME – SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE CAR WHEN THE DETECTIVE CALLED!

(cue melodious music…)
I was tickled that God had handled the timing for Beth….
And I was grateful to my friends, Michele and Marty for bringing me home…
And I started babying Gabriel.

Love being brushed!

(cue more interesting melody, as if something else will happen)
then the Mail Lady came up as I was brushing Gabriel.

(crescendo…)
We talked of our vacations
We talked of our families
We talked of our faith
(cue cymbals and drums and horns)
she shared how her nephew was a struggling person with homelessness and addiction!
(boom boom boom boom crash of the cymbal!)
And I had the information about New Beginnings here in Clermont.
(cue finale)
IF I HAD BEEN AT THE DOCTORS, OR WITH BETH, OR AT BETH’S HOUSE, OR WAITING FOR AN UBER INSTEAD OF MICHELE AND MARTY PICKING ME UP WITH THEIR TIME FRAME – I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HERE WHEN ELIZABETH STOPPED BY, AND I WOULD NOT HAVE HEARD HER STORY!
She left with information about the new beginnings ministry, saying that it was an answer to prayer that she has wanted to work with this type of ministry, because of her family story, and her walk as a Christian! YAY!!!
(And – cue final note!)

Why do I say this started yesterday?
The strange fan sound was there in the Tahoe yesterday as I drove for 20 miles there and 20 miles back, and Gabriel and I were fine.
It didn’t break down with a sick dog in the car, in the summer heat.
My concern for being with Gabriel was part of the urgency for me to get home.

Of course, anyone who has been reading my blogs knows that this timeliness issue has been working in me since last year…and specifically since this year’s one word – #mydays!

(reprise)
In case it’s not clear that today is orchestrated by God – as I was sitting here, I saw the garbage truck drive by – just in time to grab the trash, and run it, and the trash can out to the side of the road to get it picked up!
Yes, the driver/operator saw me run the trash can out…and as he turned around, to come towards our house, he saw me throw a bag of trash into the can…and back away so that he could pick it up. He waved!

Psalm 37:23-24
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2017 – My One Word – #mydays – first love

As I said, last weekend really brought me around to remembering what my focus should be, in light of eternity.

Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

I turn 57 on September 8.
that is 7 years past a half century.
that is 13 years until the ‘fullness’ or, if I’m strong, 23. (threescore and 10 in KJV)

Psalm 90:10
The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Numbering my days….

Psalm 39:4
“O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

Is this a morbid consideration? No, at least, not according to Solomom:

Eccl 7:2
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.

What is the purpose for this focus?

Eccl 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

To number our days…to make our days count!

Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Ephesians 6:1-9 speaks on how a servant – and I am a servant of God – should serve.

In my last post, I shared how it is my desire to see my Lord face to face – and hear him say:

Matthew 25:23
23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

I want to respond as Isaiah and Samuel:

Isaiah 6:8
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

1 Samuel 3:10
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

I want to respond as Mary and Ruth:

Luke 1:38
38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Ruth 1:16-17
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

I have just re-read what I wrote about Ruth 1.
For Advent, I did a study on Mary – the mother of Christ. Very convicting how this girl just obeyed…even in the face of death. And, in the face of a horrible death for her son.

There is Abraham – who in the face of sacrificing his son – got up in the morning immediately!

Genesis 22:1-3
22:1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

And there are those that followed Jesus – when he called – straightway….always immediately. I’m not going to list all of them here.

Then, Jesus condemns those that put their hand to the plow and look back:

Luke 9:
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus[g] said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The first one, I will follow you wherever you go – receives a challenge about the difficulty. Did Jesus know something about this person’s heart?

The next requests to take care of things seems reasonable…
First, let me bury my dead – commentaries say that this person asks to be allowed to care for his family then come.
First let me say goodbye – it would appear that putting those at home above service and following did not go over well with Christ.

From Blue Letter Bible, here is Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Luke 9 – for he says it much better than I, and I am convicted by this commentary:

Luk 9:57-62

We have here an account of three several persons that offered themselves to follow Christ, and the answers that Christ gave to each of them. The two former we had an account of in Mt. 19:21.

I. Here is one that is extremely forward to follow Christ immediately, but seems to have been too rash, hasty, and inconsiderate, and not to have set down and counted the cost.

1. He makes Christ a very large promise (v. 57): As they went in the way, going up to Jerusalem, where it was expected Christ would first appear in his glory, one said to him, Lord, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest. This must be the resolution of all that will be found Christ’s disciples indeed; they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes (Rev. 14:4), though it be through fire and water, to prisons and deaths.

2. Christ gives him a necessary caution, not to promise himself great things in the world, in following him, but, on the contrary, to count upon poverty and meanness; for the Son of man has not where to lay his head.
We may look upon this,

(1.) As setting forth the very low condition that our Lord Jesus was in, in this world. He not only wanted the delights and ornaments that great princes usually have, but even such accommodations for mere necessity as the foxes have, and the birds of the air. See what a depth of poverty our Lord Jesus submitted to for us, to increase the worth and merit of his satisfaction, and to purchase for us a larger allowance of grace, that we through his poverty might be rich, 2 Co. 8:9. He that made all did not make a dwelling-place for himself, not a house of his own to put his head in, but what he was beholden to others for. He here calls himself the Son of man, a Son of Adam, partaker of flesh and blood. He glories in his condescension towards us, not only to the meanness of our nature, but to the meanest condition in that nature, to testify his love to us, and to teach us a holy contempt of the world and of great things in it, and a continual regard to another world. Christ was thus poor, to sanctify and sweeten poverty to his people; the apostles had not certain dwelling-place (1 Co. 4:11), which they might the better bear when they knew their Master had not; see 2 Sa. 11:11. We may well be content to fare as Christ did.

(2.) As proposing this to the consideration of those who intend to be his disciples. If we mean to follow Christ, we must lay aside the thoughts of great things in the world, and not reckon upon making any thing more than heaven of our religion, as we must resolve not to take up with any thing less. Let us not go about to compound the profession of Christianity with secular advantages; Christ has put them asunder, let us not think of joining them together; on the contrary, we must expect to enter into the kingdom of heaven through many tribulations, must deny ourselves, and take up our cross. Christ tells this man what he must count upon if he followed him, to lie cold and uneasy, to fare hard, and live in contempt; if he could not submit to this, let him not pretend to follow Christ. This word sent him back, for aught that appears; but it will be no discouragement to any that know what there is in Christ and heaven to set in the scale against this.

II. Here is another, that seems resolved to follow Christ, but he begs a day, v. 59. To this man Christ first gave the call; he said to him, Follow me. He that proposed the thing of himself fled off when he heard of the difficulties that attended it; but this man to whom Christ gave a call, though he hesitated at first, yet, as it should seem, afterwards yielded; so true was that of Christ, You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, Jn. 15:16. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth (as that forward spark in the foregoing verses), but of God that showeth mercy, that gives the call, and makes it effectual, as to this man here. Observe,

1. The excuse he made: “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. I have an aged father at home, who cannot live long, and will need me while he does live; let me go and attend on him until he is dead, and I have performed my last office of love to him, and then I will do any thing.’ We may here see three temptations, by which we are in danger of being drawn and kept from following Christ, which therefore we should guard against:-

(1.) We are tempted to rest in a discipleship at large, in which we may be at a loose end, and not to come close, and give up ourselves to be strict and constant.

(2.) We are tempted to defer the doing of that which we know to be our duty, and to put if off to some other time. When we have got clear of such a care and difficulty, when we have despatched such a business, raised an estate to such a pitch, then we will begin to think of being religious; and so we are cozened out of all our time, by being cozened out of the present time.

(3.) We are tempted to think that our duty to our relations will excuse us from our duty to Christ. It is a plausible excuse indeed: “Let me go and bury my father,-let me take care of my family, and provide for my children, and then I will think of serving Christ;’ whereas the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof must be sought ad minded in the first place.

2. Christ’s answer to it (v. 60): “Let the dead bury their dead. Suppose (which is not likely) that there are none but the dead to bury their dead, or none but those who are themselves aged and dying, who are as good as dead, and fit for no other service, yet thou hast other work to do; go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.’ Not that Christ would have his followers or his ministers to be unnatural; our religion teaches us to be kind and good in every relation, to show piety at home, and to requite our parents. But we must not make these offices an excuse from our duty to God. If the nearest and dearest relation we have in the world stand in our way to keep us from Christ, it is necessary that we have a zeal that will make us forget father and mother, as Levi did, Deu. 33:9. This disciple was called to be a minister, and therefore must not entangle himself with the affairs of this world, 2 Tim. 2:4. And it is a rule that, whenever Christ calls to any duty, we must not consult with flesh and blood, Gal. 1:15, 16. No excuses must be admitted against a present obedience to the call of Christ.

III. Here is another that is willing to follow Christ, but he must have a little time to talk with his friends about it.
Observe,

1. His request for a dispensation, v. 61. He said, “Lord, I will follow thee; I design no other, I am determined to do it: but let me first go bid them farewell that are at home.’ This seemed reasonable; it was what Elisha desired when Elijah called him,Let me kiss my father and my mother; and it was allowed him: but the ministry of the gospel is preferable, and the service of it more urgent than that of the prophets; and therefore here it would not be allowed. Suffer me apotaxasthai tois eis ton oikon mou-Let me go and set in order my household affairs, and give direction concerning them; so some understand it. Now that which was amiss in this is,

(1.) That he looked upon his following Christ as a melancholy, troublesome, dangerous thing; it was to him as if he were going to die and therefore he must take leave of all his friends, never to see them again, or never with any comfort; whereas, in following Christ, he might be more a comfort and blessing to them than if he had continued with them.

(2.) That he seemed to have his worldly concerns more upon his heart than he ought to have, and than would consist with a close attendance to his duty as a follower of Christ. He seemed to hanker after his relations and family concerns, and he could not part easily and suitably from them, but they stuck to him. It may be he had bidden them farewell once, but Loth to depart bids oft farewell, and therefore he must bid them farewell once more, for they are at home at his house.

(3.) That he was willing to enter into a temptation from his purpose of following Christ. To go and bid them farewell that were at home at his house would be to expose himself to the strongest solicitations imaginable to alter his resolution; for they would all be against it, and would beg and pray that he would not leave them. Now it was presumption in him to thrust himself into such a temptation. Those that resolve to walk with their Maker, and follow their Redeemer, must resolve that they will not so much as parley with their tempter.

2. The rebuke which Christ gave him for this request (v. 62): “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and designing to make good work of his ploughing, will look back, or look behind him, for then he makes balks with his plough, and the ground he ploughs is not fit to be sown; so thou, if thou hast a design to follow me and to reap the advantages of those that do so, yet if thou lookest back to a worldly life again and hankerest after that, if thou lookest back as Lot’s wife did to Sodom, which seems to be alluded to here, thou art not fit for the kingdom of God.’

(1.) “Thou art not soil fit to receive the good seed of the kingdom of God if thou art thus ploughed by the halves, and not gone through with.’

(2.) “Thou art not a sower fit to scatter the good seed of the kingdom if thou canst hold the plough no better.’ Ploughing is in order to sowing. As those are not fit to be sown with divine comforts whose fallow ground is not first broken up, so those are not fit to be employed in sowing who know not how to break up the fallow ground, but, when they have laid their hand to the plough, upon every occasion look back and think of quitting it. Note, Those who begin with the work of God must resolve to go on with it, or they will make nothing of it. Looking back inclines to drawing back, and drawing back is to perdition. Those are not fit for heaven who, having set their faces heavenward, face about. But he, and he only, that endures to the end, shall be saved.

Lot’s wife experienced the effects of turning back!

Simply said:

Matthew 10:37-39
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

In Revelation, The church at Ephesus is rebuked:

Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Such a promise! Repent and do the things you did at first.

Psalm 23 – thy rod and thy staff they comfort me!

Hebrews 12:10-13
10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[a] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Luke 9:23-27 talks about taking up our cross and following…

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

My first loves….

  • life time service to the Lord – full commitment – seen in my young Anglican mind as becoming a nun.
  • to whom I should serve – children and women – with the childhood thought of an orphanage, but, enacted by working with children’s homes, and crisis pregnancies, and training to come alongside abused women.
  • The Bible – I have always loved digging deeply into the Bible.
  • Writing – I write to remember, and I write to share. As a child, I wrote stories.
  • Art – as my dear school time best friend reminded me once – I was always drawing and painting.
  • Prayer – as in constant communication with the Lord Jesus Christ
  • Worship – singing praises to my God.
  • Mission field – serving those in country and out of country that are in need, in Jesus’ name.

I knew from early on that I was called, that I was gifted, that I was chosen.
I just could not believe it – nor did most of the adults that I confided in.
My spirit was broken from abuse from 12 months to 13 years.
My energy was broken for care of my mother.
My body was broken for the disobedience to the calling of God, removing his hand of blessing and protection(check out Deut 28 for that principle).
BUT – GOD!

I will be 57 years old in a little over a month.
I declare here and now –

Speak; for thy servant heareth.
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”(Matthew 4:19)
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

I want to say with Paul in the letter to the Philippians:

Phil 3:8-14
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

In my own strength, it is impossible – (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; Lk 18:27)

But I declare with Jeremiah(32:17):

‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

My God began a good work in me in 1969.
I have bungled it – but nothing is a surprise to Him.
Here I am – I’m not dead yet(though, I’ve been dead a couple of times).
My story is not finished yet.
This is what I hear Him saying:

Isaiah 55:
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

John 4 – to the Samaritan Woman:

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

And this is my desire:

John 7:37-38
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

Is 12:3

Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

As Brother John says in 1 John 1 and 2 – confessing our sins, HE is faithful to forgive us –
I want to stop buying things that do not satisfy!
I want to stop expecting others to fill what only God can fill!
I want to press on toward the mark of the prize of the HIGH CALLING of Christ Jesus – for all the rest of my days.
I want light, salt and living water to flow from me – to the glory of GOD!

Phil 4:13
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Enjoy a touch of worship:
Mandisa – Unfinished:

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

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2017 – My One Word – #mydays – cleansing

Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Honestly folks, I did not think that this was going to be part of my one word this year!
Cleansing?
BUT…..GOD!
This past weekend, I have spent a wonderful time with my classmates at a reunion.
Springfield South High School – combined reunion of classes 74-79.

my high school days were a little different than many.
Sophomore – 1975-1976 – Band, Choir, fun…except for the things going on at home.
I was enjoying music and the one semester of art so much – I wanted to go to the JVS school for art. the school counselors told me that I was ‘too smart’ to go to JVS – and to stay at the high school. I look back now, and realize, at that time, I knew I was to be an artist – but the powers that be(were) did not see that path for me.

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Junior – 1976-1977 – things got worse at home with my mother’s bi-polar, and her self medicating, and, I ‘dropped out’ of classes for a couple months to work at Burger Chef as much as possible to pay for the heat, electric, and make sure my brother Johnny had some sort of Christmas.

Senior – 1977-1978 – I didn’t even do band or choir. I tried to get all of my classes before Dec, but could not get government in first semester.


I started working for my Aunt to get a paycheck to support the family, in case my mom would lose another job at another nursing home.

I started running with a bit rougher crowd because the stress of what was going on at home was getting rough…I needed release, and I needed to feel like someone was accepting me.

When I say a rough crowd – I may have gone to a handful of parties and drank. I never did drugs, because of my mom’s issues with drugs. But, I was inching away from my Jesus Freak days of my sophomore year. I was worried that I wasn’t good enough to accomplish anything.
The second semester – I started working full time-ish for my Aunt Dodi, to pay for the family needs.
I was trying out different churches to see if I could find something that would fill my emotional needs.
I found ways that I thought were filling my emotional needs – and, those ways undid my desire to be a nun.
By the time the end of my senior year came around – I was so tired of taking care of my mother’s drug problem(self medicating bi-polar, manic depression back then), and I was so sure that there was something seriously wrong with me, I could not accept a scholarship to THE Ohio State University for art and music. I remember telling God that HE did not know what HE was doing – I was NOT good enough for an Art OR Music career.
I also was convinced that I needed to make sure I was taken care of, and that I had a steady paycheck to make sure that my mom and brother would be taken care of. If I went to college, it was only going to be money going out…not coming in.
I joined the Navy.

I almost skipped my graduation for leaving for bootcamp.
God intervened there. I did march in graduation with my class.


But, my photo is NOT in the senior class yearbook – because I was not attending school after 11am, and didn’t show up for the photos.

I disobeyed God in 1978, and joined the Navy.
I did not have enough faith that He would provide for our little family.
I don’t think I had the energy to actually go to school AND care for my family.
I also had so little confidence in myself that I got so sick, I never took the ACT or SAT – I would be totally nauseated – and didn’t attend the test.
I’d been so isolated from my school friends, I didn’t even know when anyone else was taking it!
The counselors that were supposed to guide me had implied, at least in my mind, that a technical art career was only for those troubled kids that could not make it through college, and needed to attend the Joint Vocational School. By the time I made it to deciding the course for my life(what a horrible pressure to put upon a 17 year old!), I was so mixed up in my head, I couldn’t even believe God knew what HE was doing!

CONFESSION FOR CLEANSING

James 5:15-16
15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 John 1:7-10
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 2:1-2
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

What happened because I went into the Navy?
ON THE THIRD DAY – he didn’t raise me – because I was NOT in obedience, I was NOT listening to the voice of the Lord…

I was NOT trusting in the Lord – in my reverse pride, I was trusting in my own might:

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

I KNEW I was not following the path the Lord put before me – though I did ask him to bless it! (such pride!):

Psalm 37:5
Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

on the third day of boot camp – as I was running in our PT – thrilled that I was being able to run, and keeping up, and not out of breath, as I turned to my friend and said “I’m not even out of breath…”

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.

SMACK!
I blacked out!
first my tail bone hit…
the snap of my back whipped my mid back, then my neck….
then my head hit the pavement.
Those on the other side of this HUGE black top area HEARD my head hit the ground.
Within a week, I could not stand on my right leg – and I was being carried to and from classes and the galley for meals.

I spent one week, I think it was week four, in the recruit hospital, because I could not walk.
I had fallen!

2 Sam 1:27
“How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!”

Strongs Concordance breaks “mighty” down very interestingly.

Within the above tool, there is a tool called Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon.
there is a slight twist on this definition within that Lexicon:
“commonly of an impetuous soldier”

I had been so busy taking care of my family (and I’m sure it was not nearly as competently done as my little 16 and 17 year old heart remembers) – that I was impetuous in my decision to join the Navy.
I thought it was MY job to take care of my mom and brother.
I made a decision at age 17 that laid the course of my life, forever.

I can go into how my thinking I wasn’t good enough in the face of God’s gift of college was actually thinking I could do better than God – that I knew better than God.
I can go into how my not placing my burdens on God was my actually being prideful – that I was more able than God.
I can go into the stories that brought me to this point….

But, the point here is that I DISOBEYED MY FATHER GOD!
it’s as simple as that.

1 John 2:3-6
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

There’s only one thing I can do!

James 4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Therefore – I am confessing before my brothers and sisters, the pride of a 17 year old…that laid a path for my life.

I have been in disobedience for a very long time.
I have not addressed the art gift that the Lord placed within me as a calling to be focused and applied. I have allowed the prideful aspect of a lack of confidence IN MYSELF(thank you brother Darryl Simmons, for again pointing that out!) to put my light under a bushel.
I have allowed my lack of confidence to quiet my story, in much the same way as Moses…and I am hearing God cry out from His word to me:

Exodus 4 specifically”
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses

This weekend, I obtained some closure to the years of my highschool.
Like our highschool has been revived to produce new fruit, the Lord Jesus has touched my struggling heart to produce new fruit.
Like lost friendships have been rekindled, the lost first love of my faith has been rekindled.

Oh Lord Jesus – I thank you for not giving up on me!
Oh Dear Heavenly Father – I thank you for grace, mercy, forgiveness, and that rod and staff that you use to guide me, protect me, draw me to you, and comfort me!
Oh Dear Holy Spirit – fill me – and renew a right spirit within me!

Psalm 51:3-12
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

And when one is forgiven – there is a “show me” response:

Psalm 51:13-15
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

UhOh –
yes, there is teaching…but, there is some singing in there as well!

I have some marching orders:

1 Timothy 4:14
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, [that special endowment] which was intentionally bestowed on you [by the Holy Spirit] through prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands on you [at your ordination].

I do not want to fall into the negative aspects of Matthew 25.
the ten virgins – 5 prepared, 5 not…and miss out.
The servants given the ‘talents’ – 5, 2, 1. and the one that only hid his talent:
“30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

I know that my salvation is sure – so please, do not worry about that.

John 10:28-30
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

But, this is my cleansing by confession post.
I just said I did not want to fall into the negative aspects of Matthew 25.

Jesus gave me a command:

Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

For this reason was I created!

Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I do not want to see my Lord face to face – and hear him say:
depart from me, I never knew you….

Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

I do work out my own salvation with fear and trembling now….

Philippians 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

I know it is by grace that I am saved, and that not of myself…but that it is a gift from God!

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The desire of my heart is to please my Heavenly Father….and to one day hear these words:

Matthew 25:23
23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. ….Enter into the joy of your master.’

Very few would accuse me of hiding my light under a bushel.
and that’s fine…they aren’t the ones that will invite me in past the white throne!
here is my confession:

Proverbs 16:2
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.

The Apostle Paul thought he was doing God’s work by persecuting the Christians.
The Apostle Peter thought he was doing God’s work by rebuking Jesus for stating that he would be killed.
Martha thought she was doing the work of the Lord by taking care of the household!
Jacob wrestled with God – Genesis 32:22-32 – and while God gave me what I asked, I walk with a limp.

Psalm 106:15
And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

I have felt, always, that something was preventing me to be all that I wanted to be for Christ. Yes, it was my sin!

I can ‘defend’ and ‘explain’ my decisions in 1977-80.
But GOD knows my heart.
I disobeyed what I KNEW God wanted me to do.
And yet, HE knew that I was but dust – and HE never left me!
My salvation was not jeopardized – but, my relationship with My Lord has had a deep dark secret for many many years. Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner! Forgive me and cleanse me! In Jesus’ name!

This quote explains my understanding of WHY I should obey…
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

While I was in the Navy hospital – the Lord and I had a talk.
Again, I was bargaining.
“I will yield to your will for me to be removed from the Navy. I ask that you will make it so that they cannot find the reason I am paralyzed, and that you will allow me to finish bootcamp. ”
But God knows our hearts…HE knew mind…and HE was so gentle with me.
The swelling went down and I was released from the bedrest.
The doctors were going to put me back into another unit, but my CPO believed I would do the PT work – and I actually graduated with my unit!
I was chosen to paint the unit concrete block in the hallway – and it was a painting illustrating:

Isaiah 40:31
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

This became my life verse.
as well as:

Ps 63:7
“Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your Wings.”

The story of what God did to have me removed from the Navy – WITH HONORABLE DISCHARGE – is another story.
And it’s part of the story I’m supposed to write…
It’s part of the light I have hidden under a bushel.
It’s part of the salt that I have not shared.
Because I did not continue in His word – there were many more stumbles.
I’m not dead yet!
But my soul needed cleansing – I needed the confrontation of that time, to realize that I needed to more completely confess my sins, and ask for forgiveness.

Now – I am facing the dilema that Isaiah did in chapter 6

Isaiah 6:5
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

I know that I am forgiven – as Isaiah was:

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

And, I want my response to be as Isaiah:

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

I want my heart to be that of Samuel:

10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

This was the prayer I prayed as I knelt in the church wherein I grew up.
This was the prayer I prayed as I read those prayers from the Episcopal prayer book.
This was my commitment sealed as I took the bread and the cup, in remembrance of what Jesus has done for me.

Proverbs 9 gives us the Ways of Wisdom….
and these are some points for me to heed:

Proverb 9:
9 Give instruction[b] to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life

Prov 1:5
Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Psalm 111:110

Job 28:28
And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Hosea 6:3
Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”.

2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

The above explains my marching orders!
I have been forgiven much – and, therefore, I love much!

Luke 7:36-50
Luke 12:41-48

Mark 12:30-31
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I will not apologize that this is such a long post.
I will not apologize for the Word of God that is set forth in this blog.
I will not apologize for my faith in the Lord Jesus.
For I am not ashamed!

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

I AM NOT CONDEMNED!

Romans 8:1-6
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

But, I do have work to do!

Philippians 3:13-14
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Amen! and Amen!
I will be writing about committing my way to the Lord – as I work on the second installment of the Itty Bitty Bible Study Philippians 1:3-11.

For now, here’s a few photos of my shenanigans this weekend:

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Until then:

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2017 – My One Word – #mydays – wk8 day 3

I have started to read the book My One Word by Mike Ashcroft. (the link is added, but I do not have a partnership at this point).

Of course, this is still true:
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

#mydays

This is my insight for today – seeking wisdom from the Lord, and from my daily writing via 750words
This is not a grammatically correct writing – this is from a free flowing thought writing during my meditation. Some captitalization issues are more for poetic/artistic impact than grammar. Some of the flow, and sentence structure is more poetic than accurate writing code. Please be gracious as I share my heart.

Today’s came out as raw poetically.

and now, I need to be strong and courageous, not tremble or be dismayed.
the Lord my God shall be with me wherever I go
I need to be doing the art blog as well as the bible blog and the words blog
i need to be doing my bible study, my prayer, my spiritual warfare
I need to be a loving and supportive wife
i need to be a praying mama
i need to be a praying sponsor of my compassion and my NHM childre
i need to be a praying friend
i need to be what God has called me to be
and I need to allow that calling to be real…and all that i need.
all i need is Jesus
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is to be filled with the holy spirit
all i need is to be more like him
if i am more like Jesus
then i will not be seen
because if i’m more like Jesus
his love is all they’ll see
my heart is hurt
my mind is dull
my body is broken and tired
but all i need is Jesus
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is to be filled with the holy spirit
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is to love and love
and all others will see is his love
i am not what others need to look at
i am not the prince of peace
i am not what others need to be like
i am not the creator of the universe
i am just a simple follower
i am just one saved by grace
i am just a simple child
that has turned my life to the father of lights
all i need is to be more like Jesus
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is to be filled with the holy spirit
all i need is to be more like him
when darkness comes and
i’m so afraid
when lightning strikes and
i can’t see thy face
all i need is to be more like Jesus
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is my own Gethsemane
all i need is to lay down my life
all i need is to be more like Jesus
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is to be filled with His spirit
all i need is to be yielded to his grace.
my body is torn and tired and weary
my mind is split and fuzzy and blamed
my heart is sore, and wounded and troubled
but i’m a child of God
and I’m saved by grace
all i need is to be like Jesus
all i need is to be more like Him
all i need is to be filled with His spirit
all i need is to seek his face
His face
His grace
His love
fill me lord
His love
his peace
his joy
fill me lord
fill me lord

be near me lord Jesus i ask thee to stay
close by me forever and love me i pray
keep all your dear children in thy tender care
and take us to heaven to live with thee there.

all i need is to be more like Jesus
all i need is to be more like him
all i need is to be filled with his spirit
all i need is to seek his face
all i need is to lay down my life
all i need is to embrace his grace
all i need is to be more like Jesus
all i need is to be more like him.
all i need is to love like Jesus
so those that see me will see his face.
in Jesus’ name
amen

this is copyrighted by M. Christine Wildman, as of this publishing – 22 Feb 2017, all rights reserved.

My 750words entry for today.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2017 – My one word – #mydays – 18feb2017

I have started to read the book My One Word by Mike Ashcroft. (the link is added, but I do not have a partnership at this point).

Of course, this is still true:
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

#mydays

This is my insight for today – seeking wisdom from the Lord, and from my daily writing via 750words
This is not a grammatically correct writing – this is from a free flowing thought writing during my meditation. Some captitalization issues are more for poetic/artistic impact than grammar. Some of the flow, and sentence structure is more poetic than accurate writing code. Please be gracious as I share my heart.

Teach me to number my days that I may apply my heart to wisdom. I used to think that was making a schedule. Actually, it’s about making intentional choices. One of the things I’ve learned in the last 7 days is that if I eat sugar as in a donut or a red velvet bread pudding dessert, I end up with blurry vision. I knew that if my Sugar crashed I would get blurry vision. I now know that if I eat sugary something, my vision goes blurry as well. Another thing that I have figured out just tonight is cheese or dairy. It causes me to itch. I knew it cost phlegm in my throat, but I had not specifically recognized that it caused itching that keeps me awake.

This whole concept of teach me to number my days seems to be teach me to see my days my hours my minutes as priceless. It seems that numbering my days is like looking in my wallet and seeing that I have $19 and deciding whether I’m going to spend that on some ridiculous movie and popcorn, or spend it on an excellent meal, or save it for something that may actually impact the world!

The concept of making sure that I am healthy to the best of my abilities being equal to loving myself and actually serving God to the best of my abilities, is a Brand New Concept for me. Of course loving myself so that I can love my neighbors is a concept I have struggled with for a while. Loving myself because God loved me first is changing my whole Focus.

Thanks for joining me

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” –
from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.