'Oh, Gracious 'Restorer', Bring back my wandering soul......'

    Smiling at the sign posted on the wall, I thought, "That's how I feel today." It said: If I have to finish everything before I go, I'm so far behind, I'll never die.

 After a week of illness, stress, isolation, I felt overwhelmed, full of insecurity, and alone. Everything seems beyond my strength and ability. I found it difficult to cope with the chaos within. Murmuring to myself, "It seems like you are the only one who remains the same, 'yesterday, today, and forever', Father."  ~Hebrews 13:8~

    Ah, yes,.. that is the answer! I need to focus on the healing presence of Jesus.  He'll not let me fall into this darkness. Whether my need is physical, mental, or spiritual blindness, my task is simple. I must focus on the light of Christ, trusting that he will not let me fall into darkness....for he is the light of the world. ~John 9:5~ I then have His Shekinah (the luminous glow of the very presence of God) rests on me. I am Restored.....I am wrapped in the arms of love and light. How can I be fearful or insecure in this threatening world?
   
    When I wander from God's path of trust....from following Him beside still waters, till I lose the way,  lose joy, lose the sound of his voice. Then my Master "brings us back into His way," into paths of righteousness. ~Psalms 23:3~ "He Resoreth my soul...He leadeth me..."
     
     And.....  JUMPING  FOR  JOY  IS  GOOD  EXERCISE !

A Current Of Love ...Leading To Fellowship Of the Unashamed

     Yogi said, "If you don't know where you are going....You'll end up somewhere else."
All through childhood and as a young person I felt drawn to spirituality but lived with a emptiness within. I longed for balance, integrity, and purpose. I found peace when I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. My pilgrimage into spirituality flows with the current of love. This conversion enabled living a guided life through spiritual insight... and a purpose to become who He planned me to be for His glory. It didn't come quickly,,, I learned the value of using affirmations  (messages of care and nurturing that we give ourselves.)  Affirmations call attention to  internal qualities. It takes time, but it's worth it. It has led me through 65 years of "knowing where I am going" and I have become a part of .....  "The Fellowship of the Unashamed."...  An Affirmation oft  renewed....
                                                           .....................................................
 I am a part of the  "Fellowship of the Unashamed."  The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won't look back, let up, slow down. back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence.love with patience, live by prayer and labor with Holy Spirit power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the  maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. and when He comes for His own, He will have no  problem recognizing me. I am a committed believer, a satisfied servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. My banner is clear and in that hour my hope will be realized and my joy will be full. It will have been worth it all. I am a part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."  ~ Clipped from a Ministry bulletin 50 years ago, placed in my Bible,  my affirmation often renewed~

Who Am I When No One's Looking?

    A little girl grew up in a small rural community where a handshake was your bond and you didn't have yards of paper work every time you made a decision..... but that was our world eighty some years ago.... 

today, It doesn't take much to realize honesty isn't valued in our society.  Yes, people talk about transparency in government and business. But in everyday life, a great number of folks still live as though deception is a necessary part of being human. I'm thinking about my own experience: how often have I justified stretching the truth for any number of reasons? Perhaps I wanted to avoid awkwardness of giving an honest feedback to a friend or colleague. Or maybe I wanted to cover up a bad decision. 

What a Comforting Thought.....

   My world between the years 1926 and 1939  was lived in daily relationship with a Great-Grandfather, three Great-Grandmothers, two Grandmothers, two Grandfathers, a dozen Uncles and Aunts, Cousins by the dozens. Most family lived within a five mile radius. At the end of the war in 1944, I began to notice major changes in life. By the time I was raising my own family, it was becoming a new age in all areas. I now have family members from Florida, Carolina, California, Illinois, Colorado, Penna., etc. even Alaska. It's kind of difficult  to have one-on-one relationships, even with your Grandchildren when they never see you. This has grieved me  for many years. I've never seen two or three of my Great-grandchildren....
    Bill often said, "Never assume anything."  I realize that long ago that I had assumed my Grandchildren would have the same family relationships I had as a child.  Can it still happen in this mobile, technical world?
I usually am a more realistic thinker, but this saddens me. What I hoped and prayed for was not  what I received... but I still expect I will somehow know, because of my prayers and love .....
"What a comforting thought---to imagine our grandchildren facing some tough decision someday or feeling lonely in some far-off place and suddenly remembering a grandmother's love---and being comforted by it."

Thoughts on learning to Balance and Live ...Now

Thoughts on Learning to Live Life...Now

"Thoughts on Learning to Balance and Live. Life...Now"

    Once upon a time, in a deep, dark tunnel of life and overcome with despair, no hope, no options. I cried out, "Oh God !" and He answered my cry with a golden light, because no one else had heard it. That very night I accepted Him as my personal Savior and have served him for sixty-four years regardless of circumstances.  What a privilege it has been.
     Through those years, I learned many lessons but..... as I listened to dialogue in small group Bible Studies, heard a documentary on the brain/memory; and considered my own responses to my "now" dark tunnel of grief, illness, etc. ... I need to renew those lessons. So, I begin a new Journey in my journal.
     Bill stated that, "God needs affirmers." So I start with that and listed some on FB. An affirmation is a positive thought from the Word of God that we imagine as if it were true in the now. If I say it and feel it with conviction, it will become true. I found an affirmation can be written or stated positively. But if I write my affirmation and then read it aloud, I am using my eyes, my ears, and my body to affirm the new messages I am telling myself. They work now,  when I say with conviction , believing and receiving, stated as true (God's Word is truth.)  Sounds strange at first, but I found when I repeated it daily for 21 days,  it changed my being....because it change my negativity to faith in His promises. An example:
    "I deserve to let good things happen in my life today....because I am a child of God."
    "I am meeting people who are positive and supporting in my life...because they are part of the Family of God, the Church."
     As for me, this was a discipline that enabled me to draw me away from what I call my "stinkin' thinkin' ".    Well, if the Lord permits, I may share some things about that next post.

"When we discover the still quiet place that lies within each of  us, we can see it as a base to untangle ourselves from doubt indecision, ill-health, guilt and other forms of old programming that result in confused and defused actions." ~ Woman Spirit ~
   
   

An Epitaph

     A yellow slip of paper fell from the pages of an old Journal last night, and the words on it brought a vivid memory to life.  I closed my eyes and could see a young couple so overcome with the joy and glory of finding and accepting Jesus as their Savior being transformed in new purpose that they were devouring God's Word like starving people before a bountiful feast.

     As they read the passage about David and Jonathan's friendship, love and commitment to God and each other, they realized that they let nothing come between them...not even family, careers, problems...they grew closer together when their friendship was tested. (I Samuel 18:1-4).

     As they read on in the Amplified version of the Bible (II Samuel 1:23) they replaced the names of David and Jonathan with their names so it read as their epitaph: "Virgene and Bill, beloved and Lovely!  In their lives and in their death, they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions."

     O Yes! Praise God... more than five years after Bill's earthly death, our covenant to God and each other and His purpose's for His glory is the solid rock on which I stand.                      

An Epitaph - "Virgene and Bill....."

    A yellow slip of paper fell from the pages of an old Journal last night, and the words on it brought a vivid memory to life. I closed  my eyes and could see a young couple so overcome with the joy and glory of finding and accepting Jesus as their Savior, being transformed in new purpose that they were devouring God's Word like starving people before a bountiful feast.

    As they read the passage about David and Jonathan's friendship, love and commitment to God and each other, they realized that they let nothing come between them... not even family, careers, problems... they grew closer together when their friendship was tested. (I Samuel 18:1-4).

    As they read on in the Amplified version of the Bible (11 Samuel 1:23)  they replaced the names of  David and Jonathan with their names so it read as their epitaph:
"Virgene and Bill, beloved and lovely! In their lives and in their death, they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions."

    O Yes! Praise God.... more than five years after Bill's earthly death, our covenant to  God and each other and His purpose's for His glory is the solid rock on which I stand.