Important Lessons to Remember as We Get Ready for a New Year

The following was sent in an e-mail to a friend of mine and it has so much wisdom that I had to share:

Remember, the pencil maker taught pencil 5 important lessons, of which I pray that it will be your lesson too in the Year 2012;

1. Everything you do will always leave a mark behind,
2. You can always correct the mistake you make,
3. What is most important is what is inside of you,
4. In life you will undergo very painful sharpening lessons which will make you a better pencil,
5. To be the best pencil you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

My dear friend, let the hand of God hold and guide you through-out the year 2012 and you will fulfill your dreams. Remember, when people saw a barren woman in Sarah, God saw a mother of great nations, when people saw a poor Shepherd in David, God saw a mighty King of Israel, when people saw a poor prisoner in Joseph, God saw a powerful prime minister of Egypt, when people saw a poor coward man in Gideon, God saw a mighty warrior!

My friend, people see in you, different things, but, you are a great person in the eyes of the Lord.

YOU - Are Very Unique and Special

Did you know that you are unique and very special? Well you are and if you need some reminding - read the devotion below. I am hoping that it will be big enough to read - if any of you have a problem reading it - just let me know and I will type it out.
And this is the book that the above devotional came from:

Small Words - Big Meanings

I love how small words can have such a big meaning in a Bible verse. I have written a post in the past talking about The Lords Prayer and how it as the word As - when referring to forgiving us AS we have forgiven others. Well here is another verse that have different small word but it has a lot of meaning.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

I love how this verse has the word "let" your light so shine... we only have to allow God to work through us to allow that light to shine. :o)

...A Never-Failing Fountain of Grace and Strength...

"He in whom Christ is abiding has within him a never-failing fountain of grace and strength. Jesus cheers the life and brightens the path of all who truly seek Him. His love, received into the heart, will spring up in good works unto eternal life. And not only does it bless the soul in which it springs, but the living stream will flow out in words and deeds of righteousness, to refresh the thirsting around him." PP 412

Just a wonderful promise from the book that I am reading that I wanted to share. Yay- I am a little more than half way through this -the first of the 5 books that I plan to read. I have really enjoying this book. I hope you all are well and having a good week! :O)

Which Plan Will You Choose?

A lot of think about... And oh SO true. See we are even warned about this:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8

Whose plan will you choose? I choose Jesus! :O)

Merry Christmas!

Sabbath Praise

The Reason....

Christian Lingo

A couple of years ago, I started going to some 12 step type meetings at my church. I have shared with you all - that there is a couple that used to have a very worldly lifestyle with drugs and alcohol being at the center of their lives. When they got cleaned up and then later came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior - they decided to do their part to help other people.


I remember sitting in those meetings for the longest time - thinking that they really know this program. And I thought there is no way that I am ever going to know this program as good as they do.

Well I have finally gotten to the point of accepting that everyone is different. And knowing the program in order to be able to quote different quotes and such - is not what is important to me. What is much more important to me is to develop a better relationship with Jesus Christ.

In real life, I think we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking because we know all the Christian lingo that we have it altogether. And in the meantime we are neglecting the most important thing and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. :o)

Just Checking In

Well this week, I have been reminded that it is a good idea to hold loosely to your plans. Yesterday morning, my oldest son woke up sick. He thought it was a migraine, but as the day went by and he continued to be sick and got to feeling achy and kept throwing up, we then realized that he had the flu. We are all hoping that he did not give it to us before he got sick. Right now is not a good time for anyone to get sick - at the store we do not have a lot of extra workers. Anyway because of this - I have ended up having to work the grill. And I will have to do it today too.
I am thankful that our bakery orders have been spread out over the month. We had like 34 pies ordered for last Friday. And then 2 and 3 pies here and there. And then this Friday we have quite a bit - but not too much to do. God has been good to help it all be doable.
Well I just wanted to check in to say Hi and to say I hope you all are doing good and staying well. :o)

Proving it Every Day..In Many Ways

What I would like to talk about today is something I have written about before; and that is that we need to act the way that Jesus would act, in everything that we do and say. We do not know when people are watching us and when we can be an influence for good or for bad. How we drive, how we treat the bagger at the grocery store, or how we treat our spouse are all ways that can show people our true colors. Are we behaving in a way that would cause others to want to know Jesus more? Or are our actions such that would cause others to not want to have anything to do with God or Christianity? What we do and say are very important and we must continuously turn our lives over to Jesus in order to allow Him to shine through us. May we be willing to submit our wills to God and allow Him to use us instead of us living in the flesh and in the process - turning people away from God. :o)

Praying Honestly

I heard a pastor speaking about praying honestly and it brought back some of the times in my life that I prayed honestly - even though - what I had to say to God was not very nice. Life is hard and sometimes the pain seems to be just too much to handle. The disappointments really upset us. During these times - God already knows what is going on with us. So what good does it do to try pass off everything like it is OK? We can let God know of our disappointments. We can tell Him exactly how we feel. He loves us with an unconditional love and no matter what we say we can not make Him love us any less. Isn't that comforting to know? I thought so!

Securely Keeping Treasures

When someone shares their heart with us - we should realize that this is a treasure that should be treated as such. What I am speaking of here is that when someone shares things with us - we should keep it as a treasure - not sharing it with other people. This is a lesson that I learned this week. I shared some information with someone and I had asked that this certain information not be shared. Well I don't know if the specific information was told to someone else but I do know that they shared some other thing that I had told them in the same conversation with a 3rd party. It really disappointed me and I felt violated(you would have to know the whole story to understand that.) Anyway that is when I realized how important it is to be a person that is trustworthy. When people share their heart with you - realize that it is information that you need to securely keep as a special treasure - that has been entrusted to your care. What a treasure you will be to your friends then?!

Between a Rock and a Hard Spot

I feel like I am between a rock and a hard spot. I really don't want to go into a lot of detail but I can say that over the last couple of years I have been doing a lot of changing. I think I have shared with you about learning of my character defects. I had to come to terms with the fact that I had allowed life circumstance to cause me to work really hard at self preservation instead of depending on God to meet my needs. I thought I had to do what ever I could to meet those needs. This caused some problems in my extended family. What is sad, is that I had no idea that my need to feel like I was of value and loved - had caused another family member guilt and resentment towards me.
When I began to work through the negative responses that I had to certain situations in my family - the change in me- changed the dynamics in the family. And when something unrelated to this problem came up - all of a sudden all the resentment came out of this family member- her true feelings that she had held inside for so long -all came to the surface. I realized that I had(even though it was was unintentional) caused her grief by my behavior~my behaviors rooted in the need to be loved and valued. The little helpless girl inside had been screaming- "love me, please love me." And when I did not feel this love that I so desperately needed - I would point it out. Anyway, I realized that I owed this family member an apology. So I let her know how sorry I was for any harm I had caused her.

Things seem as if they are ok -we e-mail but that is it. Things are not ok and there is nothing I can do. The family member had resented me and felt like she had to walk on egg shells around me and now- I really don't know why there seems to be a problems. It is hard for me to understand the fact that if this person did not like me then- now that I have changed - why is it so hard to like me now.

At this point all I can do is realize that God is in control. And He knows what is best.

God lead the children of Israel to the Red Sea - and there they were between a rock and a hard place.

"And they said unto Moses, Because [there were] no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 (Is] not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For [it had been] better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness."

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:11-14


This story recorded in the Bible(like all the rest) are there to help encourage us along our journey through life. And this story also helps me to realize that God is in control and I can trust Him.

"The path where God leads the way may be through the desert or the sea, but it is a safe path." PP290

Of Time Lost

Sorry I have not been around much this week, and truthfully I don't have but a few minutes right now to post. I did want to check in and at least touch base with you all.

Since returning home from my quick trip to Colorado- I have been doing a lot of thinking. My Grandma and Grandpa basically lived in Colorado their whole married life. And even though as a child - my family moved around a whole lot - we never lived in Colorado. This made it very difficult to get to see my grandparents very often. Now that I am a grandparent - I am realizing how very hard this must have been for my grandparents. I have also been thinking about what all I missed out on. What all stories and wisdom my grandparents could have shared with me. All the cool stories about our family in the past and the answers to questions that will never be answered now~ Like why did she and ALL of her 6 brothers and sisters go by their middle names instead of their first names. Last week, I found out for the first time that my Grandma's first name was actually Emma - not Eloise.

Anyway so that is just part of what has been going on with me. I hope you all are having a good week. :o)

We Made It Home

Just a quick post to let you all know that we made it home safely. I am so very glad that I went. There were some people I had not seen in 30 years or so. I had not seen my Dad in about 11 years so it was very important for me to go. And I was able to see my Grandpa - he is not doing very well.
I hope everyone is doing well. Now I need to get off of here and get some things done that have been neglected for a few days. :o)

Just a Little Break - Taking a Trip

Earlier this week my Grandmother passed away. I knew she was not in very good shape but it still came as a surprise.
We are comforted in the fact that the next time my Grandma opens her eyes she shall see Jesus coming in the clouds!

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:16

My son and I will be driving to Colorado for the funeral - leaving this morning. My husband does not have any time so he can not take off, with him having so many health problems this year. Anyway - I am not really looking forward to this trip - not the driving part anyway. I will be very happy to see family that I have not seen in years. And when I say years - I mean YEARS. It has been over 10 years since I have seen my Dad. And it will be great to get to see him. Neither of us have had the time or money to make the trip to see each other. He lives a bit closer to me than my grandparents do. But he has a longer trip to my Grandparents house than I do. It will be about an all day drive for us.
If you would - I would really appreciate your prayers. :O)

The Importance of Being Still

We live in a day and age in which we have every technological advantage, but I think that could be more of a negative if we do not use it properly.

We also live in a time period when so many people are busy; always having way more to do than we have time for. I think that Satan loves to keep us busy. When we are always busy, we do not have time to hear from God. That is why I think it is important to make time every day to be quiet and still. When we are quiet and still - we are more able to hear God speak to us.

There have been many times in my life when I have been quiet and as I watch my chickens, the birds, or squirrels that God whispers lessons into my ear. But if I was always busy, always noisy - I would have missed those lessons. There are many important lessons for us to learn- if we will just be still.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalms 46:10

And if you are going through a hard time right now, you can know that you can count of God to quiet your soul:

"The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Be sure and take some time every day - to be quiet and still. Study God's Word and be still - and listen for the things that He wants to share with you. :o)

Being Prepared ~ a Different Angle

This past Sunday our power went out all of a sudden. I was so thankful that we had flashlights handy - and a lighter - so I lite candles throughout the house. Last week my husband and son had gotten a truck load of wood for our fire place. We had not have a chance to get it into the house, but my son went out to the truck and got a couple of loads for us. He started a fire and we spent the next hour and a half in the living room - where it was warm and cozy.

I was so thankful that we had the things we needed. I was also thankful for the sconces that I have on the wall in the main bathroom and in our bedroom. I lite those candles and we had just enough light in those rooms. The candles in those were burnt down and I was happy that they at least lasted through out power outage. I let the rest of them burn down and then I will be cleaning the scones out and putting a brand new candle in there. That way we are ready for the next time that they are needed.

Having flashlights with fresh batteries, candles and lighters are very important to have- especially this time of year. It makes situations that could be unpleasant - much more pleasant and enjoyable.

Of course, the power went out during the Cowboy game so my husband was not at all pleased, but he endured it.

I had made up a big pot of soup. The only problem was - I had not made up a pan of corn bread yet. It would have been fine to eat the soup without cornbread. But praise the Lord! the power came back on and I was able to get pan of cornbread going.

When you go without electricity for a period of time - you begin to be more thankful for things that you normally take for granted. Like your light bulb in the fridge. My son was wanting to make something - and I found him in the kitchen with a candle - looking around in the refrigerator.

This week I am going to try to make sure we have a good amount of fire wood in the house. And I also want to clean out the fire place so that it will be ready for the next usage. I will also be seeing what else needs to be done so that the next time something like this happens. We will have everything we need.

I hope you all are keeping warm and cozy. It is quite chilly here. There was a very good layer of ice on windshields this morning- I had bought one can of deIcer for my husband - but had not thought my son would have to leave for work so early - but he ended up having to go in at 5:50am. So a couple more cans of DeIcer are on my new list of things needed.
Have a wonderful day:o)

Blessings

"Every ray of light that we shed upon others is reflected upon ourselves. Every kind and sympathizing word spoken to the sorrowful, every act to relieve the oppressed, and every gift to the needy, if prompted by a right motive, will result in blessings to the giver. PP 218

An interesting story to go along with this quote. The very day that I read this quote - I had a visitor stop by with these lovely flowers for me.

(yes - my Dewie was as excited about the flowers as was I!)

I had helped a friend out with something that they could not do - and these flowers were a "Thank you" gift. I thought it was so neat that the very day that I had been reading in my "Patriarchs and Prophets" book and found the above quote, and how the quote had stood out to me - that I would see it in action.

Truth be told - there are many times that I have done kind things and it seem as if there is no recognition but there are blessings all around us, if we will only take the time to recognize them.

Be kind to those around you. Allow God to bless those around you, through you. And maybe by your kindness you can draw people to Jesus Christ, the one who put the love in your heart to do for other. May we be a light shining in a dark and dreary world. :O)

My Reading Challenge

Last year I read through the "Little House" books. It was fun, but not very edifying. It was entertaining and I was glad that I had done it. But I began to think that I wanted to be spending my extra reading time - reading things that were uplifting. That was about the time that I found the "special red box" with the "Steps to Christ" book. I began to read through it and was totally blessed. This will be a book that will be reread in the future. Well worth the time and very uplifting.

When I was reading "Steps to Christ" I was inspired to read through the "Conflict of the Ages" series. But before I began it - I had another book - "Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessings" and I thought since it was a little book - that I would read through it and so I did. It was another great book. Well worth the read!
Then it was time to start through the "Conflict of the Ages" books. This series basically starts in Genesis and works its way through the entire Bible - ending in Revelations -with the book "The Great Controversy."
I am so glad that I started with the smaller books, because these books have 600-700 pages in them. These books were written many years ago - from 1898 - 1917. It is a bit of a challenge to read them but as you read them - it becomes easier and easier.

I love to read books that draw me closer and closer into a relationship with Jesus Christ and that is exactly what these books do.

So this is my Reading Challenge - I will be reading through these books. I will be checking in ever so often to share gems that I have found or lessons learned. I will also share the progress that I am making as I move through these books. :O)

Why???...for your Testimony

(a repost,worth sharing again)

Why???...for your Testimony
I love my morning walks. It is so quiet and there is not much going on. I feel so much closer to God when I am out in nature. It isn't any wonder though - He created nature. As I was walking I was thinking about how there are many times in our lives that things happen and we ask Why? Sometimes that "Why?" comes from an angry heart or it comes from a hurt heart. I am sure that God has heard that question a gazillion times. And all of a sudden I thought ~ it is for our testimony.

If our lives were easy and nothing bad ever happened then we would never have the chance to experience God's loving care for us in a real way. God wants to reveal Himself to us, but many times we are too busy to even notice.

This morning in my quiet time, I read about something that just blew me away. We all have probably heard about the time when the children of Israel were trapped with mountains on either side and the Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptians were coming after them. And how God parted the waters for them to walk through on DRY land. Wow!
But did you realize that He did it again? After the 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness and the generation that had not have faith in God had passed away - it was time to go into the promise land. God led them to the Jordan River and He did it again. He parted the waters for them to get across. I thought this was amazing because God was revealing himself to His children. He was letting them know that He would guide and direct them and He would also take care of their needs. How awesome is that? So the next time you come to a place in your life when you are asking why? Remember that God has a plan for your life and if you will hold onto your faith in Him - You will have a story to tell of His goodness and mercy. :O)

If you would like to read about the children of Israel going across the Jordan River - you can read it below:

"9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."
Joshua 3:9-17

One More Verse...

Thanks so much to Hilary for the comment and for sharing this important verse that goes so well with yesterdays post. I knew there were a couple more verses that I really wanted to add.

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :O)

It's NOT all Smooth Sailing

I think there is a lot of danger in the belief that once we become Christians, that it will be smooth sailing from then on. I also think that it is sad that there are some preachers out there preaching these lies. I mean - when Jesus came to the earth, was His life smooth sailing? Was everything hunky dory all the time? No... So why would we think that things would be for us?

"And there came a scribe, and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Matthew 8:19-20

Does that sound like everything was roses and sunshine?
Several times in the Bible it warns of the suffering that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, will have:
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:18-19

"but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." 1 Peter 4:13

But there is good news!

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," 2 Corinthians 4:17

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

And one of my favorites:

"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." 1 Peter 5:10

Isn't that awesome? We may have to suffer but God is using that suffering to mold us into what He wants us to be.

So please do not fall for the lies. Do not expect everything to be wonderful and certainly do not get discouraged when trouble and trials come your way. Because you can count on those things. If you are not in the middle of a trial, or have not just gotten out of a trial - you can about be certain the one will be in you future. But do not be dismayed. For when we love and follow Jesus Christ -He will use these things to perfect us and make us more and more like Himself.