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Showing posts from 2011

ESTAR

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Yesterday I started my day with asking God what He wanted me to "do" today.  I was telling Him that I was ready to go and accomplish whatever He had ready for me-I mean He did send us all the way over here to Peru!  I was sitting quietly listening and I felt His presence tell me that as Americans, we are often in too much of a hurry to check "things" off our list.  Perhaps we are addicted to our feeling of accomplishments.   He softly told me He wanted me to "be" today....be gracious, be kind....you fill in the blank. How often do I work at "being"?...not near as much as I think about "doing."  I know that both are important-which is why "The God of Intimacy and Action" is one of my favorite books.  I then remembered one of my favorite excerpts for Phillip Yancey's, "Reaching for the Invisible God."  Read the excerpt below. '"I have visited Calcutta, India, a place of poverty, death and irremed

Some quotes I "stumbled" upon...

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The Judge that Knows Both Sides

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Have you ever been treated unfairly?  Something that you know you don't deserve...spouse, co-worker, family member...relationships are difficult.  No doubt about it. Did Jesus ever encounter people treating him unjustly?  What was his response... I Peter 2:23 "When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats." Well, that's nice-I'll just be a doormat and explode like a volcano in a few months from now. No, wait, there is more to this verse... ..."INSTEAD, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." How do you do that?  For me it is quietly retreating and pouring out my heart and my side of the story to God.  Sometimes I feel His comfort and peace.  Sometimes I feel Him nudging me to go back and love some more.  And sometimes I feel his encouragement to speak a few words of truth, He helps me add the love that I would miss if I spoke those words on my own.  I am so glad I know this Judge per

Lent

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I have been looking forward to the upcoming Lent season.  I had already made up my mind that I was going to have an hour of silence per day as suggested by one of my daughter's friends.  Although silence is somewhat lacking in my life and would take effort to obtain, it was something that I was eagerly anticipating.    This morning I woke up and God asked me for something  completely different.   " The Lord is my Shepherd ...I shall not want ."  That's it.   My forty days are to be spent worshiping and praising my God and King- NO asking.  Contentment.  Resting. The thoughts came quickly and strongly this morning-I shared them with my husband-his first reaction was similar to mine... not this month, we have to work hard at fund raising for our trip to Peru and that includes praying, pleading to God for financial support... we will still discuss our trip and plans with others...but for God and me, this Lent season is to be a period of resting and knowing He will

Psalm 23:1

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The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul . Do I need to add anything?  God's word is beautiful, Amen.

...Just Because I Can...

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How often does this little tiny statement rule what I do?  More often than I realize.  Think about it, from buying a nice car or home, to buying a coffee.  There are so many things that I just do because I can...but does this mean that I should?  Has freedom and money really given me more?  Or does it just steal from my dependence on asking God...for those seemingly simple choices that we just do because we can...we greedily ask, take and go for the largest, biggest that our pocketbook or time allows.  Is this really what God desires for me?  Lord slow me down enough to ask you...is this what you want for me?  

If...

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Today was one of my beautiful daughter's birthday.  She turned 20.  I was so very fortunate to get to take her out to coffee.  Where else other than Starbucks?  As we sipped on our coffee, I pulled out a book I recently picked up from a used bookstore, entitled IF2.  It is full of 500plus questions.  I opened it up and this question leaped from the page and I read it out loud to my daughter, "If God were to come down and whisper in your ear, what would you like him to say?"  She gave me a wonderful answer that God had actually whispered to her during a quiet time awhile back.  She then turned the question on me.  I couldn't even answer, my eyes immediately started to tear.  It wasn't only that I couldn't answer because I would break out in a full out sob in the middle of Starbucks, but I honestly didn't even know the answer.  So,  she kindly went on to some of the lighter questions and after we finished our coffee,  I left unable to get anything done unt