Want to be a Star?

When I get up in the middle of the night and am unable to sleep, I listen to Beethoven Strings and imagine myself walking on an expansive beach. I feel the white, fine sand beneath my feet and in between my toes. The wind lifts the ends of my hair and runs between my fingertips. The ocean waves seek the shore; stars sparkle in the secret heavens. 
Imagining myself in a setting filled with God’s awe-inspiring foundations, I am able to remove myself from personal concerns, feel grace, and start to praise. 

When it stops being about me--

This is when I begin to feel free.

I need to be attentive, watchful, prayerful, diligent with what God wants for me.
He also wants me to feel free in the arms of His love, His grace, and His power. 
Philippians 2:15-16 reads… so that you may become pure and blameless, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…

Just imagine..

Needy? ...Ahhh, Yes.

Needy? Ahhh, yes….
I need food, I need water, I need shelter. Watched Survivor lately? Or, the series on Alaskan wilderness families? Definitely life necessities!

But there are other things we need—affirmation, validity, a feeling of productiveness and worthiness—and we almost become beggars if we don’t get them. 

But, wait, I missed something big. What else do I need?
Love. Especially do I need the love of God that passes all understanding.
In God, my cup over-flows. 

Food, water, and shelter are givens for most of us.
We are so blessed.

Affirmations? Validity?
Perhaps these would come more naturally if I asked for God’s love first and, then, reflected it to others.

Mother's Day is Every Day

My mother is always with me--
She's the whisper of the leaves as I walk down the street
She's the smell of fresh laundry
She's the cool hand on my brow when I am not well
She lives inside my laughter
She's crystallized in every teardrop
She's the place I came from...
My first home.

Let's not wait until Mother's Day to celebrate our moms and/or being a mom. Take care of yourself. Take care of your loved ones. You are special.

Do Not Be Deceived... Or BEEN HAD?

Do Not Be Deceived, my next novel, due to come out in May, is about deception. Deception and deceived are tricky words in themselves. Synonyms include cheated, betrayed, misled, tricked. A phrase not listed is been had. 

A Bible verse about deception we are perhaps most familiar with is one from Galatians that reads, Do not be deceived, God will not be mocked. A man reaps sows what he sows. When I think about my past mistakes, this hits home. 

We can mislead others, we can be misled, as in been had—by others, by things, even, by ourselves….
Yes, the deception may be the lie we believe about ourselves: not good enough, not worthy, not capable or loveable. 

Exactly where does the deception lie? … or, in today’s world, I ask myself: where does it not? 

Let’s end on a redeeming note. Do Not Be Deceived is also based on a verse from James—Do not be deceived, every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

No matter who or what deceived you. No matter that you’ve been had, there are good and perfect gifts out there coming from The Father who has not an ounce of deception in Him. He is the one that gave you birth through his true word so that you are a blessed’ and loved part of His Creation.

Get out there and give some praise!
He loves to hear from us.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

JESUS LOVES ME

   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...John 3:16

THIS I KNOW

   We write this to make our joy complete.1 John 1:4

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO

   In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.... John 1:1

LITTLE ONES TO HIM BELONG
   Let the little ones come unto me... Matthew 19:14

THEY ARE WEAK

   My grace is sufficient for you... 2 Corinthians 12:9-11

BUT HE IS STRONG

    I can do everything through him who gives me strength...Philippians 4:13

YES, JESUS LOVES ME, YES JESUS LOVES ME....

   How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

 

 

Until the love of God

is set in a heart,

it is impossible to love

as God intended us to...

 

Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me...
Let us never tire of singing it.



"I can't help the way I feel." ....

I can't help the way I feel?

Ugh.

Yes, I can. If I want to change the way I feel, I need to change the way I THINK.
No, it's not going to be easy..... I've got to rewind those tapes in my head and start over with new thoughts.

Mankind's nature is to act out of how we feel rather than what we rationally know.
Due to our sinful nature, with Satan as our cheerleader, our minds go to places they should not go....
That's why daily devotions, reading of scripture, and Christ-filled, supportive friends are essential.

The B I B L E, yes that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B I B L E...
It is my road map for life.
It is my "how to guide" ...
It is my love letter from my Creator.
 
Don't like the way you feel?
Can't help the way you feel?
Get out the good book, the book of life and start to re-think your feelings.
God will be right beside you.

 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Inspirational Thoughts and more...: Crumbling Walls and Elephants in the Livingroom

Crumbling Walls and Elephants in the Livingroom

After picking up the mail, I ventured to my neighbor’s house where the children were playing on the driveway. Kierstin, the oldest, said nothing but pointed sheepishly to what I thought was her backyard. I thought, New puppy? New playground equipment? She kept pointing with her sheepish smile. I finally asked, “What?”

She said, “Look!” and walked towards the three- foot brick retaining wall that separated our properties. I gasped. About ten feet of it had crumbled and collapsed to the ground. Our errant bricks had tumbled onto their bushes. I was speechless. How had I not noticed this? I said as much to Kierstin's mother, who explained that she would have told me had she known we did not know, and, yes, a few bricks spill each day—adding to the pile below.

 What happens to my brick wall is what happens in my life when Satan gains ground that does not belong to him. Brick by brick crumbles and pretty soon my life is in a real fix.

How did I not notice this? We weren’t paying attention! It’s a little like having an elephant in the living room. You can't help but know it’s there, but you ignore it. 

We need to turn our false securities, our bitter thoughts, our anxieties over to God. It is where our weaknesses lie that Satan keeps picking, picking until everything lies in a heap.

Repair the wall; kick the elephant out; do what you need to do to feel dignity in Christ. He loves you; he is reaching out for you.