Dogs

I think that the topic of Dogs is more controversial than politics or religion. I think you are either a dog person or you are not.

I fall into the category of trying to be a dog person. We are blessed to live where there is the sweetest HUGE dog. If she were to stand on her rear paws I am sure she would be as tall as me or perhaps even taller. She is part Rottweiler and part Husky, so to go with the big she looks rather intimidating. We moved into a new place and the sign was already there BEWARE OF DOG so it was just left.

To let you know just how intimidating she is, I had a delivery to the house and the dog was outside the lady called from her car, [that was sitting 2 feet from my front porch] to let me know she was at the house but she was pretty sure the dog didn't want her to come out. I told her what I am sure every dog owner says, "she is really friendly, and won't hurt you." However just to reassure her my husband was at the door to call the dog to him and she got out of the car very carefully. Said she saw the sign then she saw the dog and didn't want to take the chance.

I was doing pretty well becoming that dog person until there was a skunk that found the house and decided to make it his own by sharing his "perfume" all around the house, Well, Lela {the dog in question} must have rolled in all the "perfume"  and then decided to come into the house and share her findings. Well, tottering on the line for pro and con it dipped to the con very quickly and I barred her from entering. She looked at me with that sweet face and those hurt eyes as if to ask, "What have I done to you?" I couldn't be swayed. However, I am married to a true dog lover. He allowed the dog to sit there until I went to bed and then he decided he really didn't smell anything so he let her in. [Yep, there is a big difference between a dog person and one that is trying to be a dog person.]

Lela holds no grudges, she is still so excited to see me when I drive in the driveway her whole body is one huge wag. She just wants me to pet her and tell her she is a great dog.

Got me to thinking about we treat each other. Do we snub someone because they don't smell as sweet as the daisies? De we try to ignore those that are in wheelchairs or with a cane, just because we don't know what to say?  What about that woman that is flawlessly beautiful, do we turn away because we are jealousy of her looks? We are all so different and there are so many things that could cause us to glance the other way. Do we get the look, "what have I done to you?" It is so very important to remember what God tells us:

Romans 12:10

 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

I read somewhere this little quote and it has stuck with me.

"Be kind everyone is going through something."

Dog person or not we are all people persons and need to remember to always honor others above ourselves. [still working on becoming a dog person!]

 

Struggling?

Life's a struggle! I'm struggling with . . .  My day was such a struggle to get through!

Have you heard these words lately? Have you said these words lately? Have you secretly told yourself something like the words above lately?

Sometimes feeling like life is a struggle is centered around guilt. Have you been on the guilt merry-go-round. [not sure how merry it is] You are caught off guard by a stray thought. One you thought you had put to rest. You start to dwell on it. [dwell means to live there] As the day wears on so do you, you are wearing out. Your thoughts are consumed by the guilt. You can't seem to let it go or step out of the trap. A trap is exactly what it is.

John 10:10 

 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

 

You have been set up by the Thief. He has very carefully laid the trap of guilt and you have fallen into it once again. Seems like a vicious cycle and there is no way out. If feels like quicksand and there is no one to toss you a lifeline to escape. [speaking from first hand experience here]

I have been there until this past Sunday. As I sat in church the message was on guilt. OK ready to bolt from the room. I thought I was handling this and it didn't show on my face, who told? There was a short video with folks putting cardboard titles on themselves. I know you have seen it, words like addict, adultery. I had seen it once before in another setting but somehow my "title" never appeared. {safe, hidden]I settled back feeling safe then on the next board there it was! It hit me with such force the tears slipped out. Have you been there too? Thought I was the only one.

The rest of the message had my attention because I wanted to get off the merry-go-round. You too?

I found out there are two kinds of guilt. Good guilt and bad guilt. I know how can there be good guilt? Well, good guilt is the kind that makes you run to God and confess you messed up. [again] It turns you around and your receive the forgiveness you so desperately need.

Romans 8:1

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

 

Did you catch that word condemnation? That's the merry-go-round word. That's the bad guilt, the kind that says you are no good, you are a . . .  {you fill in the blank}It is the greatest weapon in the enemy camp. The work is all done by you!

 

Jesus loves you. Go back and read that again. It's not just something you try to convince yourself, He really loves you.

Psalm 103:12

as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

 

[Transgression is another word for sin] He absolutely loves you and me. If we take our sins to him, he forgives us and puts them as far as the east is from the west. He gently takes us off the merry-go-round. He cleans us up and whispers, "I love you", "I don't condemn you so don't condemn yourself."

 

Do you know what that is? Freedom, pure and simply. You are free in Christ. There is nothing like it! Get off the merry-go-round and enjoy the freedom only Christ can give!

 

 

 

Special

I just had another birthday. Seems they happen every year, I know right? I really love my birthday. When I was young my family made me feel so special. I got to choose the things I wanted for dinner. My mom made my favorite cake, angel food, and we would have ice cream. There would be a few presents but it was the feeling that I liked, being special,loved!

As I got older I started to appreciate all my mom had done for me. She was a single parent for all but 10 years of my life. My father died when I was 10 so it was just my sister, my mom and I. She worked 2 jobs to support her little family. So instead of wanting to be the one that felt special, and loved I wanted my mom to feel that way so I started a new "tradition" and for each year I was alive I bought her that many roses.

I continued that until her death. It seems that I wanted her to know how much I loved her and appreciated all she had done and given up for me but it made me feel so good inside to just share with her a small piece of my love.

I have been on a journey lately to try and KNOW God. Not just what read. Not just what I try and understand and fail at. I have told myself because I never really knew my father so God is so out there I just don't understand him. I am having trouble trying to relate Him to something I know. I think that is the problem, He is NOT like something I have known.

I am reading the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan and he has a way of showing God and his greatness and his love for me that I seem to have missed. God didn't have to create all the wonderfully intricate things he has, but he did. He didn't have to have His Son come and die just so that I could be saved and spend eternity with him, but he did. His love is so vast and wide for me that I am now struggling to just comprehend that kind of love.

Do you feel lonely, unloved, starving to feel special? God loves you so much! If you don't believe me just check out the love letters He has sent to you, in his word. He love YOU. Just take a look around and see the beauty he has created today just so you can enjoy it. Better than that, just spend some time talking with Him.

Salt?

When I was very young I was pretty naïve. [you too?] I remember my mom telling me if I put salt on a bird's tail it would tame him and he would be my pet. Humph! Well, who doesn't want a pet! So with salt shaker in hand I spent many days trying to get my "pet".

I must have been the enjoyment of the neighbors for weeks! I am sure my mom laughed for a long time at my attempts. I was sure that if it was just salt that needed to be on the bird I could fling the white stuff far enough to get the pet of my dreams.

So my new approach was to get a handful of salt and toss it at any unsuspecting bird. [I wasn't going to be picky] However the new approach didn't work either.

It wasn't till many years later, my own children in tow, that I remembered chasing down birds and was talking with my mom about it that she shared with me. She told me that if I got close enough to a bird to put salt on his tail I would have been able to catch him. She said she thought I would have figured that out. Yikes! I had missed the whole point. [naïve, did I say that?]

I got to thinking about when I read the Bible. There was a particular verse I had in mind, since my life has been in upheaval lately.

Mark 11:23

“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

 

Hmmm, is this like the salt? I was so believing that the salt would work. This is a picture of the mountains where I live.

I don't know about you, but that is a lot of mountain to move into the sea! Wait, I started to think perhaps I was missing the point. [again] Perhaps it isn't the mountain that I need to move into the sea but maybe it is  my "mountain of guilt" that needs to be moved. I know it seems almost as large as the mountain above.  But, if I have the faith that God is able to do all things then He can move my mountain of guilt, or depression, or whatever mountain has risen in front of me. I don't have to do the heavy lifting I just need to turn to the One that is able to do all things. I have been doing that lately and the "mountains' have been thrown into the sea. The sea of His forgetfulness.

 

Do you have mountains that are looming high above you? Take heart! Let God do the heavy lifting. He is so good at it.

 

 

POWER

This Sunday in church we sang this most wonderful song. [ I love singing praise and worship music!] It is called "Break Every Chain". I have it stuck in my head. [not a bad thing] It talks about the Power in the name of Jesus.

This got me to thinking, when we pray we end with, "in Jesus name. Amen"  Why do we put that at the tail end? We who know the Lord also know that Jesus is powerful. Paul healed in the name of Jesus, Peter and John healed in the name of Jesus. There are numerous verses that speak of the Power of the name of Jesus.

Have your ever been so depressed you could only utter, Jesus? There was power in that single utterance. I know because I have been there. I could only say, Jesus. But, in so doing Jesus came to meet me in that deep need. He was there beside me, no I couldn't see Him or touch Him but the peace that settled over me told me that he was right there. My situation didn't magically change but I did, because of that powerful word, Jesus.

As the song says there is Power in the Name of Jesus, to break every chain. The chain of sin, the chain of sorrow, the chain of fear, the chain of worry, you name it He has the power to break it. The Bible gives us so many hints as to why, but this says it best;

 

Philippians 2:10

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 

Do you see that, EVERY knee, all those chains MUST be broken at the name of Jesus!

 

You have that power available to you, it is not just for some, but to every child of God. Have you called on his name when you are bound in chains? He is waiting to release that power for you.

 

Listen to the words.

 

There is an army rising up when you cry out IN THE NAME OF JESUS. He loves you so very much. He swings wide Heaven's gate to break every chain you lay before him!

 

 

Movie Masterpiece

My granddaughter wanted a video camera for Christmas. Unfortunately she didn't get one, she is only 8 and other things took the place of the much wanted gift.

I was strolling through the store the other day and saw a video camera for a price under $20.00 so I thought why not. I brought it home and had to figure out  how to not give but give this little gift. I came up with a plan that perhaps, she could film things and then teach me how to use the camera. She informed me that she already knew how to use it and she would show me. Hmm. I got the directions out and did a quick check with her. [I think there is a small man inside, because she didn't even listen as I went over the directions.]

She took the camera and went to film all the adventures she had that day. [21 to be exact with none shorter than 15 minutes] She brought it back to me chock full of the wonders from her day. I put them all into my computer to now show her the fun of making a movie with her videos. [wasn't sure if she also knew how to do this without instruction!]

When I told her we would pick one video to create a movie she was a bit disappointed but she pressed on. When we added a title page and animation she was pleasantly surprised. Movie in hand we all watched on the "Big Screen" the masterpiece. After the sea sickness settled [so quickly moving from one scene to the next or floor to ceiling] we all said how great it was and then went on with our every day routine.

She on the other hand informed her mom, "I need to start to film EVERYTHING".

This got me thinking about the way I was viewing my days. Was I excited about each moment I was experiencing? Had I been taking for granted the every day things I was doing? What was my 'movie' going to look like? Would it be a masterpiece? Had I forgotten who I was living for? This verse came to mind:

1 Corinthians 10:31

. . . whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

 

It hit me that this is exactly what I should be doing each moment of the day. Whether it is making the bed, sweeping the house, or when I do my devotions, it ALL should be for the glory of God. That is the Masterpiece. I feel just like my granddaughter, I need to start to film EVERYTHING!

 

New Year's Resolution

Can you believe that 2014 is gone? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing it in. I guess the older you get the faster that things go by is true.

As I look back at 2014 it is filled with some terribly difficult moments. I guess more than moments, but it has also brought me closer to God because He has been the only thing to hold on to in those moments. It has had some fun and exciting moments also. I am sure we all take at least a bit of time to look back and evaluate our year.

It is ok to look back as long as you don't get stuck there. I have noticed when I tend to look back at the good I want to stay right there and not look anywhere else. When I look back at my mistakes or shortcomings I wallow in the mess I have made. Neither one is good.

If I just look at the good I will never move away and grow to move closer to God and know him in a new and exciting way. If I sit and moan over what was wrong I will never lift my eyes to see God waiting for me.

If we take the good and the bad and learn just a tiny bit from them both and then move on not to turn back and gaze at what was past I think that is the best way to start this new year. I can NOT change one thing that has already taken place. No matter how long I gaze or wallow it will not create a new ending. I think Paul said it best:

Philippians 3:13-15

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. [ Following Paul’s Example ] All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

 

Perhaps this should be our New Year's Resolution, to Press On! Remember you are not alone in this, God is in this with you till the end. [He promised to never leave us] I wish you the very best 2015! Happy New Year.