Mayhaws & Chainsaws

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.  Chuck Swindoll

When my siblings and I were kids we did a lot of outdoors stuff.  Why?  Because we only had 3 TV channels and back then when the clock struck midnight the national anthem came on and immediately following that the TV went blank.

During the summer we spent most of our time outdoors.  We had horses, chickens, ducks, dogs and cows.  With that much going on there was always something to do.  We had 20 acres of wooded land behind our barn that we leased for our horses.  There were two memories that always stuck with me about those long ago summers. 

The first was that we had a big fireplace in our den so we always needed firewood.  Every summer my Dad would get out the chainsaw and go into the woods to cut down a tree for firewood or if one had fallen down during the winter we would cut it up and use it for firewood.  So we would go out to the woods with Dad to haul firewood.  It always amazed me how my Dad could cut a notch in the tree and make it fall where he wanted it to.  If it had been up to me to cut the tree it would have landed on the truck that we hauled the wood in. 

The second thing we always did was my Mom would get plastic and we would head out to the back of the property where there were huge mayhaw trees.  If you have never seen a mayhaw tree I will describe it for you.  They are fairly large trees with small trunks.  We would take a sheet of plastic and lay it under the tree and then shake the tree.  Mayhaws resemble tiny apples or cherries.  When they are ripe they turn red.  We would sit out there for hours picking mayhaws and then Mom would take them back to the house to make mayhaw jelly. 

The thing I learned and remembered about those long ago summer days was the time we spent together as a family.  Video games and laptops didn’t exist and no one had ever heard of Dish or cable TV.  We made our own entertainment.  I learned more about life in those moments of time than I ever did living in a large city and my parents taught us about God.  There is no greater legacy a parent can leave their children than to teach them about God through everyday living.               

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for my parents.  They spent many hours with us as children.  They were not perfect parents and we were not perfect children, but they taught us how to live.  I praise You for giving them the wisdom to teach us about You.  Many of the things they taught us carried over into my adulthood.  I praise you for giving me godly parents that understood how important those lessons of childhood were in our growing up years.          

Scripture:  Children and Parents

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.  Ephesians 6:1-4

Broken

God is looking for broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God.  Harry Ironside

Have you figured out that we are all broken?  Everyone who reaches the age where we understand right from wrong is broken.  Some brokenness seems worse than others but in reality a little brokenness is the same as a lot of brokenness. In our broken state we are in need of a Savior and God provided that in Christ.  The problem comes when we start to look at another person’s brokenness as worse than our own.

When we begin to understand our spiritual need for God; that is when we fully understand our true brokenness.  If we are not able to see ourselves in the light of our brokenness, we will never be able to show mercy to others.   Mercy is what God gave us when Jesus died on the cross.  If I am unable to look at another person and see the broken person inside, I have failed the test of mercy. 

I think we all have experienced what it feels like to have someone else judge us based on what they think they know about us. Too many times we are quick to jump to conclusions about what we think of another person. 

To deal with our brokenness and have mercy on others, we must start with a contrite heart.  What that means is we don’t seek to rationalize, explain, excuse, defend or justify our sin.  Second, we don’t try to fool God, others or ourselves.  We recognize that God demands truth and honesty and we pursue that above everything else.  It also doesn’t mean we merely feel bad or remorseful about our sin.  Finally, we don’t seek to blame our sinful circumstances and failure on other people or God.  

Owning our sin is the first step and until we do, we will never reach our God given potential. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am broken and I accept responsibility for my brokenness.  I don’t blame it on someone else or You.  I am guilty of sin but I love You and I ask for Your mercy on me.  Help me to see the brokenness in others so that I can help them to know You.  I am like a broken vase, but with Your help the pieces can be glued back together for Your Glory!        

Scripture:  The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:15-18

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.  Isaiah 66:1-2

Facebook & LinkedIn

In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is that we come to Him...that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him - totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence.  Chuck Swindoll

You already know that my husband and I are sometimes technologically challenged.  The other issue we have is password memory loss or PML.  Everything I own has a password and some things have multiple passwords.  My brain doesn’t have enough wrinkles in it to hold all the passwords I need to run my life. 

I think a great diet would be to put a password on the refrigerator.  I would forget what it was and never be able to get in. 

Anyway, back to Facebook.  My husband sent me a friend request yesterday.  I admit I am not up on the lingo that goes with all the social media sites.  The problem with his friend request was that I couldn’t even friend him because I couldn’t remember my password to my Facebook account.  They try to make it simple for me to retrieve my password by making me set up questions.  My favorite question is “What was your first car?”  This question is tricky for me because I can’t remember what I answered with in the first place.  Did I say my first car was the Toyota station wagon that my sister and I drove in high school or was it the Toyota Celica I bought when I moved to Dallas?  Did I call it a station wagon or a Toyota or a Celica?  Then there are the sites that won’t let you go any further unless you use characters, numbers and symbols in the password.  Who can remember symbols in a password?

So yesterday I receive a LinkedIn message from someone.  That gets me back to the whole password thing again because I have a different one on that account.  The person had “endorsed” me.  What does that mean?  Endorsed me for what? I can’t even remember my password so I can see the endorsement.

I admit I was trying to clean out my personal email account because I had over 2000 emails.  I found friend requests from 5 years ago that I never responded to.  If you are reading this and I didn’t friend you 5 years ago, it’s not because I don’t like you.  I am Facebook challenged. 

I think I want to be God’s Facebook friend.  I don’t have to worry about whether He is going to “Like” me or not because He already does, in fact He loves me.  I am also going to join His LinkedIn account because that’s the kind of endorsement I need.  Finally, I don’t need a secret password that requires letters, numbers and symbols so that someone can’t hack into my God account. If someone wants into my God account all they have to do is ask.  No hacking required.  I will tell them everything I know about Him.        

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am so confused with social media.  I know my first issue is that I don’t use it very often, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.  When Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple was split in two allowing each of us direct access to You through prayer, meditation and the Holy Spirit. I am forever thankful for your mercy on all sinners that we can be born again into a new life with Christ.  You are amazing!      

Scripture:  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:50-54

Changing the World

Christ holds that prayer is a tremendous power which achieves what, without it, was a sheer impossibility. And this amazing thing you can set into operation. And the fact that you are not so using it, and simply don't believe in it and its efficiency and efficacy as our fathers did, and that so many nowadays agree with you, is certainly a major reason why the churches are so cold, and the promises seem so tardy of fulfillment.  A.J. Gossip

Have you ever thought about how we often limit God’s power in our lives?  The Bible tells us that His thoughts aren’t our thoughts.  In other words, He doesn’t think like we do. 

If you think about it from a train perspective, say you have a steam engine locomotive.  The way the locomotive moves forward is by the buildup of steam. When the steam is released it makes the familiar “choo choo” sound.  The more steam it produces the faster the train goes.

If you take that same concept and apply it to our Christian walk, we really need God’s steam for power.  The problem is we often limit God in our capacity to help other people know Him because we are trying to accomplish what we can’t do under our own steam.  When we try to take control of our limited amount of power, we are never going to reach the potential we would have through God’s power. 

We have the ability to change the world one person at a time.  We can try to accomplish this under our own steam or we can use God’s.  If Jesus could feed multitudes with a loaf of bread and a few fish, think what we can do if we let go of the controls and let Him lead.      

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I sometimes try to wrestle the reins from Your hands because I think I can do it better.  What a silly notion.  You are the power that can do amazing things through me if I will just allow You to do Your work Please remind me when I slip back into the old habit of trying to control everything, that You are the greatest source of power on earth and I can do anything through Your strength.    

Scripture:  The Whole Armor of God
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 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.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.  Ephesians 6:10-20

Testimonials

Testimonial - a written declaration certifying to a person's character, conduct, or qualifications, or to the value, excellence, etc., of a thing; a letter or written statement of recommendation.

If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much.  Harry Ironside

I was listening to the radio the other day and as will often happen, the first thing that came on was an advertisement.  There was a spokesperson talking about how great this thing was that they were advertising.  At the end of the ad a voice comes on and says this is a paid testimonial. 

To me a testimonial kind of loses its value when you have to pay someone to say something good about your company.  I could probably walk up to a stranger on the street who knows absolutely nothing about my product, and pay them to say something nice about it even though they don’t even know what it is or may have never used it. It is really kind of sad the lengths companies will go to for a sale. 

Have you ever thought about what type of testimonial people would give about your life on earth?  Would there be declarations of how great your character is, or that your conduct was above reproach?  What about the value you bring to what is important in your earthly life?  Would it be filled with “it’s all about me” or “it’s all about others”?

As I look back on my own life, there were times when my character was good and many times when it wasn’t.  There were also times when “me” was my main focus and “others” wasn’t even in the picture.  If my life after I am saved doesn’t look different from my life before I am saved, then there is something wrong with the testimony I show the world.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be a light to the world but sometimes my testimony to the world is a poor example of what You have called me to be.  I need Your help to present to the world a testimony that is worthy of You.  I have the opportunity to be different and show others You, but if the testimony of my life is not hidden in Christ then I am a poor reflection of what a Christian should be.  I praise You for your mercy on me.        

Scripture: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 1:8-12

Aging Gracefully

Within each of us exists the image of God, however disfigured and corrupted by sin it may presently be. God is able to recover this image through grace as we are conformed to Christ.  Alister McGrath

The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out.  D.L. Moody

All of us have heard the terminology about aging gracefully.  I think we have a misconception about what it means to age gracefully.  The world sees aging gracefully from the perspective that if our eyes get laugh lines and our neck begins to resemble the forehead of a Shar Pei, we are not aging gracefully.  Why do we place so much importance on outer appearance instead of what is inside?  Society places an inordinate amount of importance on defying gravity and looking younger than we really are, but for what purpose? 

I was looking through a magazine this weekend and I saw a famous newscaster.   The problem was I didn’t recognize her.  I had to read the fine print to figure out who she was and she is not the only one.  How many actors, sports figures and other famous people don’t even resemble the person they were 20 years ago.  You see them all the time.  Their eyes resemble a deer in headlights with a perpetual surprised look on their faces. 

Some of the most beautiful people I have known in my lifetime were not wrinkle free.    Every wrinkle on my face should tell a story.  There are the wrinkles from surviving cancer, the wrinkles of laughing with my niece and nephews and the wrinkles of worrying about loved ones and just plain old stress wrinkles.  Each wrinkle is a badge of courage.  Some wrinkles are of our own making.  Smoking, alcohol and hard living can bring on the wrinkles too.   

When I think of aging, I think about God’s grace. Graceful aging should be the terminology we use.  God gave us unmerited or unearned grace so that we could live.  He didn’t intend for us to try to look the same age as we were when we were twenty.  When we decide to live for God we no longer need to worry about what others think of our wrinkled face.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, we often get caught up in the worldly habit of trying to look young.  I have started to see my wrinkles differently.  If I look at them from Your perspective, there will be times of suffering and times of great sorrow.  Age and gravity will pull at my face but if I look at my wrinkles from the standpoint that many of these signs of aging were wrought from trials that made me love You more, how can I not appreciate each tiny crease and fold.   

Scripture:  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.  Romans 5:1-11

Cash Back

It is not your business to succeed, but to do right: when you have done so, the rest lies with God.  C.S. Lewis

Have you ever really thought about cash back?  You know the commercials that advertise you can get cash back on tires, gas, groceries etc….   The commercial is intended to make you spend more but they make it sound so enticing.  It is kind of ironic don’t you think that they sell us on buying more so you can get something back.

In reality they are trying to convince us that the more you spend the more you save.  What kind of thinking is that?  I am currently reading a book about business.  In the book it talks about how every transaction that we do in business should be a win-win-win for everyone involved.  What does that mean?  It means that the business owner is not in it just to make money.  If you run your business with a win-win-win theory, it means that the business owner wins, the supplier for the business wins and the customer wins.  What a concept. 

What normally happens is companies are greedy so they do whatever it takes to win.  This means they will cheat the customer, charge outrageous prices or take advantage of their suppliers.  In this case with credit cards they will charge extremely high interest rates so that they can offer cash back.  They want you to think you are making money by using your credit card. 

Let’s take vehicles for an example.  The average car dealer markup fee is typically between 2-5%. This number represents the amount of money the dealer automatically raises the price to ensure a profit. This is not the final sale price, which is often higher. For example: a car comes in at dealer invoice (what the dealer pays for it) of $20,000. The dealer marks it up 2-5% (this is their listed invoice price) and then assigns an MSRP price on it that is even higher. Should you negotiate the dealer down to invoice, they still make a 2-5% profit on the vehicle anyway. 

I am not trying to pick on the car dealers.  You find the same thing in furniture showrooms, grocery stores, gas stations and all sorts of businesses.  God never intended for us to use greed as a motivator for business.  God intended us to own businesses but our intent should not be to make the most we can make.  God’s perfect plan is for us to charge a reasonable price and in that perfect plan the customer will return because they know you are not cheating them.  If everything I own is God’s, how can I use it to cheat others to get ahead.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I get frustrated with buying things in today’s world.  Retailers spend extreme amounts of money on advertising that is intended to make us think we are getting a good deal, when the reality is greed is the primary motivation.  There are still companies out there that charge a fair amount for whatever they are selling.  I thank You for those companies who strive to be what You call any business to be.  Please help me to use discernment when I am spending Your money so that I may do so wisely.

Scripture:   So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying:  “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death? Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.  For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”  Deuteronomy 31:24-29

The Hawk

Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Andrew Murray

Last weekend I was at my parent’s farm and I was standing outside when I looked up and saw a hawk flying overhead.  It was amazing.  He wasn’t flapping his wings or diving.  It was like watching total silence as the wind currents lifted him into the air.  I couldn’t hear anything but I could see the wind carrying him up and down as he was caught in an updraft, then he would start to descend and he would flap his wings once and then the air current would lift him up again.

The absolute stillness was what struck me first.  Then his ability to actually stay in the air without a motor or anything else propelling him was amazing to watch. 

We have the ability to fly and soar if we let God guide us.  Just as the hawk occasionally flapped his wings to keep him airborne, we too must use God’s tools to keep us flying.  If we don’t have God as our source of energy and strength, we have no hope.  Place your faith and hope in God.  He is our greatest source of strength and there is no one above Him.       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You are the only one who can help me soar.  If I am dependent on the world I am destined to fall.  I praise You for your strength and might in my times of trouble.  There is no love like Your love and You renew my strength daily.  I praise Your Holy Name.     

Scripture:  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

Perfect Love

Such was God's original love for man that He was willing to stoop to any sacrifice to save him; and the gift of a Saviour was the mere expression of that love.  Albert Barnes

Perfect love drives out all fear.  The only perfect love is God’s love.  When you figure that out you have won the biggest battle of your life. 

I was thinking about some of my past relationships.  These were relationships I had before I met my husband.  You can look back on your life and see a lot of mistakes that were made throughout your life if you are willing to look at the relationship from a “realistic perspective” instead of an “I am in love” perspective. We often mistakenly call the heart racing, quiver in your liver attraction “love.”  In reality it is not even close. 

When I think back on my first long term relationship I laugh because I was so in love with love that I didn’t even realize the person wasn’t good for me. I was young, impressionable, naïve and a people pleaser.  So if you throw all of that into a relationship it spells “DISASTER”.  At the time I had moved to Dallas from a small town in Louisiana, and I had to leave my long term boyfriend behind. 

So picture a young woman thinking she is in love, leaving the first serious boyfriend she ever had and moving away from friends to live in a city where she knew no one.  Then picture this same naïve young woman experiencing the person of her dreams breaking up with her.  Then, being naïve, she is heartbroken when the guy tells her they need to date other people. 

This same young woman even goes so far as to write a sappy poem called “Time Wasted”.  She sits in her room alone and listens to every song they ever listened to together and falls apart.

Fast forward 6 months later.  This same young woman meets another person at work and decides to accept a date.  She is not yet healed from the disaster relationship she was in before, so she starts dating this new person.  Still being naïve, out of the blue she receives a call from the previous boyfriend who tells her he “loves” her and she believes him.  Here is where it gets really complicated.  The old boyfriend decides he wants her back and the new one decides he wants to marry her.  You want to talk about messed up. 

So the old boyfriend decides he is losing the naïve young woman, so he decides to move to Dallas to be near her.  The young woman becomes even more confused so she breaks up with the current boyfriend who wants to marry her and as soon as she does that the old boyfriend moves back to Louisiana. So she is left with no relationship and more heartache.

This is a true story and I am embarrassed to say that sap was me.  The thing is God helped me, during a time when I was not close to Him, to dodge two bullets. That experience made me tougher and not as trusting of others.  What I didn’t understand at the time was that God is my first love and should always be.  If we put Him first above all others, He will show us what perfect love really is and He will never forsake us.

After many years of learning and growing in my faith I finally met my husband.  God really chose well for me.  He gave me a man who loves me unconditionally.  A man I can trust who has my back and is there with me even when cancer invaded my life.  God knew what he was doing.  When that same husband told me I was beautiful when I had no hair it reinforced for me God’s perfect love. 

I will leave you with this last thought.  I was reading a devotional by Rick Warren last week and he wrote about an older preacher who sent a wedding card that he never forgot.  It said “God always gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.”     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for You and Your perfect love.  It took me many years to understand what perfect love really means.  Perfect love is willing to sacrifice a son on a cross for a sinner like me.  With my focus on You I can have perfect love.  You will never forsake me and what a comfort that is to know someone loves me like I am the only one.   

Scripture: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.   And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Riding a Horse

By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!  George Washington

I had a dream several nights ago.  I dreamed I rode my horse to work.  The thing is, I don’t even own a horse and haven’t been around a horse in years.  Thanks to my Dad I do know how to ride one and thanks in part to my brother, I know how to fall off one. 

Dreams are weird.  Sometimes when I wake up I can remember a dream as clearly as if I was still in it. Other times, not so much.  Then there are the times I can remember parts of a dream and not others. 

In the Bible, God used some people to interpret dreams.  Remember Joseph.  He was a true dreamer.  God revealed things to him in dreams but most people laughed or scoffed at him because they didn’t believe it was God speaking through him.  His own brothers hated Joseph when he told them his dreams.  Remember the skinny cows and the fat cows. Then there was the one about the baker and the three white baskets on his head with birds eating out of it.  My dreams don’t sound so weird now do they? 

I don’t know how to interpret dreams, but I decided to go back to the Bible and read about horses.  Since my horse was the main character in my dream, why not look up scripture pertaining to horses. 

In Joshua 11:6 the children of Israel were battling against the people of Canaan and God commanded them to hough their enemies horses.  They were to cut the hamstring of their enemies horses and burn their chariots.  This rendered the animal incapable of speed.  In Deuteronomy 17:16 God forbade them to multiply horses. God repeatedly told them He would fight the enemy for them.  God wanted their faith to be in Him and their strength to come from Him alone, not their artillery or transportation. 

So my dream could mean any number of things or absolutely nothing.  The thing is it motivated me to look to the Bible for answers.  God might be speaking to me through my dream and if I don’t compare it to scripture I might miss something God is trying to tell me.  God might be trying to tell me not to depend on my current transportation, or that if I keep thinking about getting a new car he might exchange my current ride for a horse. 

The point I am trying to make is that everything that happens in our life happens for a reason.  It has passed through God’s hands and if we take what happens in our life and search through the Bible we just might find a treasure God intended for us.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I often dream weird dreams that may just mean I have indigestion, but if I don’t open Your Word and read about how You handled things throughout the Bible, I will miss out on some of the blessings you intended for me or it may help me to avoid a stumbling block in my journey.  Thank You for Your wisdom and truth and for helping me to keep my focus on You.   

Scripture: And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.

So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.

And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.

And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.  Joshua 11:6-10

Red Shoes

Remember that you are not called to produce successful, upwardly mobile, highly educated, athletically talented machines...Giving your children great opportunities is good; it is not, however, the goal of parenting. Christlikeness is. Above all, seek to raise children who look and act a lot like Jesus.  Chip Ingram

Have you ever thought about how other people, especially children watch what you do and often imitate you? 

I have one niece and she came to visit with me when she was young.  She was around five at the time.  Those were special times because she loved to dress up and wear my high heel shoes.  I had a red pair of heels that were her favorite.  One of my favorite pictures of her was a photo of her standing in my kitchen wearing my high heel red shoes.  Her tiny feet were only about three inches long and she was sporting my size 7 ½ red high heel shoes. She came wobbling into the kitchen and struck a pose.

My niece has grown up to be a smart and beautiful young woman.  She has an amazing sense of humor and has grown up loving the Lord.  I had the opportunity to talk with her for an hour or so last night, and listening to her talk about her faith was amazing.  She lives on her own in Austin and continues to put Christ first in her life.   

If you think about it, God has placed a great responsibility on all adults.  Our responsibility to children is one of the most important roles we will play in a child’s life and how we handle our interaction with them can make the difference in them coming to know Christ or not knowing Him. 

When I put it in that perspective it is daunting.  God expects us to lead by example and it can affect a child’s life for eternity.  Christlikeness is what we are supposed to teach children.  If we put it in the perspective of eternity, how would you feel if you knew in your heart that your child would not go to heaven?

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner who has not always been a faithful follower.  Each of us is responsible for our actions before children and how we act is often repeated in the children who look up to us for guidance.  I pray that you will help me lead by the example of my life so that those children will see You through me.   

Scripture:  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”  Mark 9:36-37

Revealing & Concealing

In order to make this journey--you have to make it without baggage. You can't carry loads of bags with weight on you in order to be free and Jesus gives you an invitation to come unto him. Now you have to come to him--you will not get rest from anybody else. If you go to anybody else you’re going to find more work.  T.D. Jakes

When God created us one of the things he gave us is a need for companionship.  Because we have this need to be in relationship with others sometimes we circumvent God’s best for us. How do we do that? 

We don’t take care of our emotional baggage before we start a relationship with someone.  There used to be a commercial by American Tourister where this huge gorilla was in a cage and they threw a piece of American Tourister luggage in the cage with the gorilla.  The gorilla proceeded to throw the luggage, jump up and down on it and basically beat on it.  The premise behind the commercial was that the luggage was indestructible.  Sometimes our lives are just like that luggage.  We think we can hide the emotional baggage and only reveal bits and pieces of ourselves.  We only reveal what we want the other person to see, and conceal what is reality.

So, imagine you are going through life dragging your American Tourister luggage along behind you and you meet someone you are attracted to.  What will often occur is we keep our baggage locked down tight and only reveal bits and pieces and the bits and pieces we do reveal are the best of who we are inside, not the worst. Then we are surprised when we are deep into the relationship and it falls apart. 

I have never been one to pack light so what normally happens is I keep adding outfits or shoes or socks to the baggage, in other words, more emotional junk.  Instead of dealing with my emotional baggage, I keep adding to it.  When I try to bring another person into relationship with me that person brings their own baggage.  So now we have two people trying to be in relationship dragging all their baggage. 

Several years ago my husband and I went on a trip to Playa del Carmen Mexico.  When we returned to Dallas we were waiting at the baggage claim when all the bags started coming out onto the turntable.  As we watched a piece of luggage came up the ramp and it had literally exploded.  There were clothes hanging out all sides, some were even scattered along the conveyor belt.  That is what happens when we conceal our emotional baggage.  If we marry the person we are attracted to the baggage we bring with us can explode all over the other person.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, we all have emotional baggage.  We live in an imperfect world and we are going to be exposed to emotional warfare throughout our lives.  I want to deal with my emotional baggage in a Godly way.  I must first understand that I have the baggage and then, through You, learn to empty my suitcase of the harmful stuff that has the potential to ruin my relationships with others.  Thank you for giving me the tools to deal with my baggage. 

Scripture:   Walk in Light

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.  But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”  Ephesians 5:8-14

A Silly Argument

One of the good things that come of a true marriage is, that there is one face on which changes come without your seeing them; or rather there is one face which you can still see the same, through all the shadows which years have gathered upon it.  George Macdonald

My husband and I had a silly argument yesterday.  This is a lesson in how most arguments are over stupid stuff. 

Jerry and I both work long hours so we hire a guy to mow our front lawn and because we have a dog, we mow the back lawn.  Yesterday I was driving toward our house on our street and I look up and see who I think is the guy who normally mows our lawn.  As I pass him it occurs to me that wouldn’t it be a nice surprise for Jerry if I make the arrangements and pay the guy to mow our lawn. 

So I get to the house and walk in and proceed to tell Jerry that I made arrangements for the guy to mow our lawn.  He looks at me and says, “What guy.”  I say, “The guy that is mowing the lawn down the street.”  He asks me “What is the guy driving?”  I look at him kind of funny and say “I think he is driving a white pickup with a trailer on the back.”  He tells me “That’s not the guy who normally mows our lawn.”  I say, “What difference does it make, I just thought I would surprise you by paying the guy to mow our lawn.”  Jerry then says “It’s not Friday”.   This conversation keeps going downhill faster than a boulder rolling down a mountain.

Jerry then says, “If we get this new guy to mow our lawn he will charge us $25 instead of the $20 we normally pay our regular guy then he will expect to mow our lawn every week.  Why should we pay this guy more than we pay our current guy?”  At this point I decide to cut my losses and say, “Since we are going out to dinner, we will just stop by the house where he is mowing and tell him we don’t need him to mow our lawn.”  Jerry replies, “We can’t do that because we already offered the guy the job.” 

As a sideline to this conversation Jerry says, “This guy won’t understand about the waters.”  For those of you who don’t know what that means, our current guy who mows our lawn, mows it for $20 and two cold waters.  We have a signal for our lawn guy.  Jerry hangs a sack with two waters on the tree in our front yard and our regular mowing guy knows that is the signal that he needs to mow our lawn.  Rather ingenious don’t you think.  

Finally we decide that we will drive by and tell the guy we don’t need him to mow our lawn.  The mowing guy probably was thinking, “I am so glad I am not mowing their lawn.  They’re crazy.  One minute the wife is slamming on the breaks and asking me to mow and the next they are driving back by and the husband is telling me they don’t need me to mow.  I wouldn’t mow their lawn if they paid me $100.”

We are driving to the restaurant to eat and I tell Jerry, “You know we really need to work on our communication skills.”  As we sat down to eat Jerry thanked me for being thoughtful and trying to make the arrangements.  I decided that I will not try to take care of the lawn in the future.  I will leave the guy stuff to the guy in our family. 

This is an example of how not to communicate.  God created each of us differently and especially when it comes to men and women.  How we resolve conflict in marriage can make the difference in a long and fruitful marriage or a tumultuous one.  If you break down most arguments between spouses the majority of things we argue over are silly.     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I acted on impulse yesterday and it sort of backfired. It helps me to understand how my husband thinks because often that will help me to understand where he is coming from and issues between us will often be resolved without leading to conflict.  I praise You for giving me a husband who wants to take care of things and me.  The institution of marriage is a tricky one but can bring great happiness if handled properly.  Please continue to give me wisdom in my marriage.

Scripture:  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.  For we are members of His  body, of His flesh and of His bones.  “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:25-33

Anger Unleashed

Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past ... to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.  Frederick Buechner

For many years I was under the misunderstanding that I was a good person if I didn’t incite others to anger.  This meant that I was always the one who caved under pressure.  Angry people scared me so I always tried to be the peace maker.  The problem with this is that people like me have a tendency to hold everything in and not confront others when their anger is out of line.    

The way this works in a person like me is that the anger builds up and builds up until you are like Mount Vesuvius. The results aren’t pretty.  What I learned over the years is that it can be as much of a sin to hold things in as it is to blow up all over other people.

The sin of anger can destroy more relationships and ruin families, children and spouses.  We have become a society of angry people.  We cut each other off in traffic, we yell at our children.  We become the very opposite of what God intended us to be.

I read where a psychologist once said that everyone has a bucket of anger in them and once it gets full you need to let it out.  In reality if we allow anger to get a foothold in our life we basically build a factory where more and more anger is produced.  Once we are in full production we also manufacture other things like bitterness, unforgiveness and hatred. If anger weren’t important God wouldn’t have put 230 verses in the Bible dealing with it. 

How we handle anger can make the difference in us loving one another or living in hate and bitterness.  When anger takes up residence your house will fall; it is just a matter of time.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was guilty at one time of not speaking in truth to others for fear of the anger it would produce, but the side effect of that is I became angry inside with unresolved issues and resentment.  Thank you for opening my eyes to my sin and helping me step by step to be what You call me to be.  I am not there yet, but I will keep trying.  You forgave me, how can I not forgive someone else. Thank you for your mercy on me.

Scripture:  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:30-32