“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” ~Mark 1:9

After reading today’s devotional and the question at the bottom of the page that ask, “Have you ever thought you might die? What was it like to make it through that moment? Instantly I remembered a quote that I had heard, it goes like this: “Get busy living or Get busy dying.” I did not remember where I heard it so I googled it, turns out it’s a quote from the movie “Shawshank Redemption.” I found an article from the Huffington Post that summed the quote up as, “Perhaps the best way to sum up the key to life is wisdom from the movie Shawshank Redemption when Andy Dufresne said to his fellow inmate Red: “Life comes down to a simple choice: You’re either busy living or busy dying.” It isn’t just a quote from a movie, its advice for all of us.”
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5381086
Every living person is both living and dying every day. Every living person can either move their life in a positive direction (“get busy living”) or not (“get busy dying”). That choice makes all the difference. Unfortunately dying is the default. Living takes effort.

When I was in my early 20’s I was involved in a car crash and although it was over in a matter of seconds my whole life up to that point flashed before me. I have absolutely no doubt that God saved me. My car was totaled beyond any repair but I only had one small scratch over my eye brow. Also during this time in my life I had contemplated causing harm to myself because life had become too difficult for me, I was young, naive, foolish and scared, I didn’t have the answers to all the questions I had about life. What I do remember is NOT wanting to die, when faced with the option. I did not recognize the significance of that moment but here I am years later and I look back and I know that God had a plan for me and my life and it did not include me dying on that day. After the accident I decided to seek professional help and began talking with a counselor. My best advice is this: life is hard, and sometimes easy both are so worth the effort to participate in the process. God did not tell us life would be painless, He promised to always be with us and to never leave us and that’s pretty AWESOME!

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ~Hebrews 13:5-6 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Hebrews%2013:5-6&version=NIV
The text for today tells us of Jesus being baptized by John at the river Jordan. The verses following the baptism say that the Spirit sent Jesus to the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan. One could say that Jesus decided to “Get busy living” and NOT “busy dying” as Jesus met each temptation from Satan with clarity, truth and obedience to God, the Father. During Lent we are encouraged and invited on a journey of dying to ourselves and rising to new life in Jesus. Typically, during Lent people decide to give something up for the forty days to honor a commitment to God and to allow the absence of whatever they give up to be filled with spending more time with God and doing God’s work.

As we close the “Wilderness and Mortality” theme, I pray for our journey of Lent and that our eyes, ears and hearts are open to where the Spirit leads us.

Breath Prayer: Resurrecting God, show me how to live anew.

~Blessings and Peace~

 

 

 

“Gather the people; prepare a holy meeting; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants.” ~Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Today’s scripture tells us of the people in Judah and focuses on the terrible famine and devastation of the land and everything upon the land. This was God’s judgment upon the people for their sins. The prophet Joel hears the Lord and from the Lord, he hears words of hope and restoration. This passage continues to make us aware of our mortality and the importance of repentance. We know that without repentance God’s judgment can be harsh. We should not put our trust in our possessions as they can be taken away at any time. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ~Matthew 6:19-21 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%206:19-21&version=NIV
Our trust should be in God alone. God has at times used nature, sorrow or other life situations to draw us to Him. God’s love for His people will endure for all time. “…because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” ~Proverbs 3:12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Proverbs%203:12&version=NIV

As we continue our journey through Lent my hope is that we not only repent of our individual sins and wrongdoings but to also help our brothers and sisters, neighbors and our communities in restoring their faith in God. We are stronger when we work together so let’s get out and share the love of Jesus. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” ~Romans 8:35, Romans 8:37 https://biblegateway.com/passage?search=Rom.8.35,Rom.8.37&version=NIV

Breath Prayer: Healing God, turn our sins from barren landscapes to beautiful portraits of life.
~Blessings and Peace~

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” ~Matthew 6:5 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%206:5&version=NIV

Today’s verse reminds us to be honest and sincere as will live out our faith in public places. Question (?) are your actions in your public life reflected in your personal and private life? God sees us at all times and longs for each of us to be in relationship with Him at all times. This is an area that I am reviewing in my own life. I want to be more intentional about my conversations and seek to represent and be respectful of God. It is easy to get involved in conversations that can lead to “gossip” or negative talk about someone, we must be mindful of what we say and how we say it as well as who we say it to. And I’m not even suggesting that the statements aren’t true, most of the time they are in fact very truthful. When we start pointing fingers, we often make ourselves seem better or more worthy and that is a falsehood for each of us every single time! “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ~Romans 3:23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Romans%203:23&version=NIV
We are all sinners and need God’s forgiveness, His unfailing mercy and His abundant grace. We live in a world (wilderness) filled with hate and chaos, and we are being filled with emptiness, let us all recognize these truths: We are from dust; We are sinful; and We need help. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” ~Genesis 3:19 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Genesis%203:19&version=NIV
“All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:20
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Ecclesiastes%203:20&version=NIV

Breath Prayer: Jesus, teach me how to live my faith in the world today. ~Amen
~Blessings and Peace~

It is with great sadness that I must inform you that I cannot continue posting the daily reading from the Lenten Pamphlet as is Copyright

“Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution.”

In an effort to be transparent I will share my email requesting permission and asking for forgiveness and the response.

I encourage you to continue your Lenten Study and I will make every effort possible to share my thoughts with you about the reading.

For those who know me, this has been a very difficult situation for me, I will admit my spirit feels very bruised and beaten right now, I’m disappointed in not being able to share in the manner I had envisioned and I am going to continue to blog and share God’s messages with you. Unfortunately, I will be deleting the photos of the pamphlets from the past couple of days. I do hope and pray that God blessings and His Word draw you closer to Him during this Lenten season.

~Blessings and Peace~

“Human one, can these bones live again?” ~Ezekiel 37:3

I was happy and excited to be able to attend Ash Wednesday Services at my church last night. It was a wonderful service that was filled with songs and prayers and silent moments of seeking to be in relationship with God. We were challenged to not only “Give Something Up” but to also “Take Something Up.” We were reminded that the giving up of something is not simply “having no chocolate for forty days,” it’s when you are craving chocolate you are reminded that you gave it up for Lent and you are being drawn closer to God. One of our ministers shared a responsive prayer with us and it was exactly what my spirit/soul needed to hear. I’m including it here for you and my hope is that you find it comforting and reassuring of God’s LOVE for you.

The scripture passage and reading for today was like reading a page about my own family. My mother and her mother (grandma) would take flowers to the cemeteries every May usually a week or two before Memorial Day. It was a yearly event and a two-day process that took us to many small towns north and south. I remember it was usually my dad, mom, grandma and my aunt (mom’s sister) and me on these trips. Many of the cemeteries were down lonely old gravel roads and often the headstones were overgrown with flowers and vines. This practice became a family pilgrimage every year that not only celebrated our ancestors and their final resting place but also a chance to stop and visit living relatives we didn’t often get the chance to visit with. Most generally these outings would also include sharing in a meal with relatives and have conversations about those who are no longer with us and we would tell stories and laugh and remember. The first year after my mom passed away I simply could not participate in this family pilgrimage, I was still hurting at the loss of my mom. However, this past year, I went with my aunt and her daughter and granddaughter to several of the cemeteries we continued some of the traditions and started some new ones. It is a privilege and an honor to pay respects to my ancestors who formed the foundations of our families and our values. As it is written in the text for today, we also have the same assurances  and promises from God that Ezekiel did regarding the dry bones of our ancestors, nothing is impossible for God, with only the breath of God and the dry bones are put back together and brought to life. “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” ~Romans 6:8 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Romans%206:8&version=NIV
“…and whoever lives by believing in me will never die…” ~John 11:26 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2011:26&version=NIV
Breath Prayer:
God of my ancestors, remind me who I am.

~Blessings and Peace~

 

Ash Wednesday, marks the first day of Lent, the time of reflection and penitence leading up to Easter Sunday. … As they “impose” or “dispense” the ashes, the pastor or priest reminds each Christian of Genesis 3:19: “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.”

Here is the reading for today:

Content was removed due to Copyright 

Last night I attended, “Pancake and Jazz for Family Promise” at my church. It was a great evening of good food and smooth jazz music being performed by a local group called “Midnight Sanity.” We raised a lot of money for a great cause. After all the clean up was finished two of my friends and I met at a local restaurant where we shared food and drink along with great conversations of faith, family and the future. The verse for today’s reading was exactly what I experienced with these two women. God was with us, our conversations include God and we had way more questions than answers. I felt blessed to be a part of this experience of sharing God, asking questions and laughing with friends. Be open to experiences where you can be present with someone and to be in relationship with. Be the smile that no one expects or thinks they deserve; hold a door for someone; say thank you and you’re welcome; thank God for today!

Breath Prayer: Loving God, be present in my relationships. ~Amen
https://familypromisehendrickscounty.org/
~Blessings and Peace~

 

A piece of soul with no body
A piece of trouble with no blame
A piece of regret with no conscience
A piece of brightness with no color
A piece of why me with no answers
Too many questions and not many answers
This is God’s puzzle and He puts it together but you must give him the pieces
~Unknown

I instantly connected with those words the first time I heard them. I do not know the author or if there’s more lines, it was a line I heard while watching CSI and spoken by actor Gary Dourdan. I don’t remember the details of the episode, only words. I especially like the last sentence “This is God’s puzzle and He puts it together but you must give him the pieces.” Life can be overwhelming at times and we can feel as if nothing is happening the way we want it too. “The way (we) want it to!” When we leave God out, life quickly becomes overwhelming. I experienced a level of overwhelming agitation today and although I’m not completely satisfied with how I handled it, I am thankful that I am learning and growing in this area of my life. My progress is due to God’s amazing grace and mercy and to faithful friends who are not afraid to be honest with me regarding my actions or inaction. I attribute the successes of today with starting it off by talking with God. I prayed and then decided to proactively meet the day with optimism. However, I found it too easy to fall into old habits and the familiar, (negative talk), I reminded myself that it’s all a process. Two steps forward, one step back…progress is sometimes slow but positively moving in the right direction. I am constantly telling myself to practice “Area of Control/Area of Concern!” This phrase has truly become my axiom. I strive to do my very best at everything I attempt to do. I am definitely an overachiever not to outshine others but to challenge myself to be better, to grow and to gain more knowledge and to learn new things. I am happy to say that even though today had its ups and downs, I can say with much confidence I am stronger today than I was a year ago and that my spirit was not crushed because of a hiccup in my day. I am learning to separate myself from what I do at my job and who I am. I have learned that my duties as an employee do not define me as a person. My job is what I do, my life is who I am. I encourage you to be proud of who you are and take pride in doing any job well and don’t overwhelm yourself with things that are out of your CONTROL! Take your cares to Jesus! Trust in Jesus! Psalm 55:23 “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

As I am preparing for Lent, I want to open myself to the changes and challenges God may have in store for me. The study I am going to be participating in will be addressing “The Wilderness of Mortality; A Liminal Space; Hunger; Divine Testing; Power; Providence and Restoration.” I am looking forward to sharing each of these with you.

~Blessings and Peace~

Hello friends! I have used the phrase “Area of Concern/Area of Control” in a few of my posts in the past and it is weighing heavy on my heart and mind again. Understanding the phrase has helped me navigate through some troubled waters. I honestly try to be intentional in applying the phrase into my daily life. As I look at my life, my friends, my social network and my professional life there are so many things that are heavy on my heart that create great concern for me and some of them are completely out of my area of control. For those things out of my control I try to evaluate the situation and it’s direct effect upon my life and asking God to help me through prayer and contemplation. I am not always successful in letting go of the things outside of my control, I have to pray about them and ask God to help me let go. A lesson I continue to learn is that not everyone thinks like me or acts like me, or sees things like me, it’s not my “standard” that others must live by or up to. I am very passionate about my professional life, I can be rigid at times, not out of malice but determination to do a job well and complete. Luckily, I work with a great group of individuals who like me in spite of my challenges and have actually helped me see just how ridiculous I can be at times. I love what I do and I strive for excellence, I learned that perfection is nice to think about but impossible to achieve. I like it when my coworkers and I shine together, I’m successful because of my coworkers and their support, that’s what teamwork is all about. I actually learned about area of control/area of concern from a coworker, I am grateful for the lesson and it has brought me much peace and a greater understanding of the world; my world and the world of others. That’s a sentence with a lot of depth; I simply mean we all perceive the world around us from our own perspective based upon our own experiences and we should pause and remember that, whenever we are faced with difficulties or questions about our causes for concern and control. Take the environment for example, I care about the world that God created for us and treating it with kindness for longevity, I don’t litter, and whenever possible I try to keep my “space” tidy and clean. I often pick trash up in parking lots and discard it properly. Most especially at this time of year when the trees and bushes are bare, it saddens my heart when I see so much trash on our ride sides. One of my favorite things to do especially in the warm summer months is to drive in the country with the window down and take in the beauty of nature that God created for us. It is very disturbing to see that some people use these lonely country roads as their personal trash dumping sites. Some might say we need more laws, stiffer penalties for such actions. It is not laws we need, we need people to be responsible! I am not saying laws are unimportant or needless, we do need laws and guidelines but if people refuse to follow them, making new rules will not ensure obedience. Of all the laws that are currently on the books for drugs and alcohol can you say with any confidence they are working to prevent or stop the illegal use of either of these( ?). Our society lacks basic respect for others and ourselves when we choose to do things that are morally wrong, not to mention lawfully wrong. I wish for more compassion, greater understanding, truth, sincere remorse, common respect and inclusion to mention a few. The things I do, will not cause national recognition and that’s not what I’m trying to gain. I love this quote by Mother Teresa and I just recently saw it posted on Twitter and FB, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love.” That statement is so very profound, and TRUE! We are all created by God with purpose, your purpose may lead you to national recognition to shred light on an issue you feel called to defend or protect, while others are called to change the minds of people simply through once experience to the next. My hope is that we see in each other qualities that build lives and not tear them down. We are all the same in the inside, we bleed the same. Our hearts break the same. We are all born, flesh and blood, we have mom’s and dads, dreams and hopes for the future. For you to win, others do not need to fail. We do not need to put others down in order to rise…we can all rise and live into the person we were created to be by God, the Creator of all things!

Below is from Brave Girls Club:

a little bird told me ❤ your daily message from the Brave Girls Club
Your daily truth from Brave Living…
Dear Valuable Soul,

You know you are just as valuable as everyone else, don’t you dear soul? Surely you know that everything good and true and beautiful is meant for you, just as it is meant for every other person that we share this world with.

You know that you are important and valuable, right?

If not, beautiful friend….how could it ever be true that it is not for you….how could there ever be some whom love and kindness and goodness are meant for, and others that it is not meant for?

Things happen that bend and break parts of us….and sometimes lies creep into those cracks and holes.

If there is anything that ever made you think for a moment that you are not just as worthy, just as valuable and just as important as anyone else…..please understand that this is just a worn out old story that simply is not true.

Let the light back in, let the love back in. You can heal.

You are so valuable, irreplaceable and loved.
xoxo

“For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. ~Colossians 1:16 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Colossians%201:16&version=NIV
~Blessings and Peace~

This post is an invitation for you to share in a Lenten Bible Study with me starting on February 14 and ending on March 31st in preparation of Easter Sunday. The focus of the Lenten study will be “Wilderness.” I have pamphlets available and will be posting a copy of the single page devotional with scripture reference and a daily “Breath Prayer” for your convenience. I am looking forward to sharing these devotionals with you along with what I hope will be personal insights and thoughts that God has laid upon my heart to share with you. The weekly studies are as listed below:
The Wilderness and Mortality
The Wilderness as a Liminal Space
The Wilderness and Hunger
The Wilderness and Divine Testing
The Wilderness and Power
The Wilderness and Providence
The Wilderness and Restoration

~Blessings and Peace~

Have you ever tried to quit something? Have you ever questioned why you do certain things? Do you seek answers from someone you no longer have a connection with? I will cut to the chase and not keep you hanging on until the end in hopes for answers to these questions. The truth is I do not have the answers, although often I wish I did but not knowing has not stopped me from living. I hope you continue reading and my hope is God will provide insights to all of us through this conversation. The first question I posed was “have you ever tried to quit something?” I have tried several through the years and my success rate is “sometimes!” As a child, my mom was constantly asking me to stop biting my nails, that question lingered into adulthood. I have been successful on occasions and yet it is so easy to fall right back into old habits. I’ve tried lots of methods to help me break the habit and what I have learned about myself is that biting my nails is an emotional reaction and a coping mechanism for me. I have a love/hate relationship with myself when it comes to my nails. I love them when they grow and the visual changes they make towards my hands. They make me feel more feminine, prettier and confident. I am disappointed if they chip and break and then there are times I crave the pain the ripping them off. It’s an emotional trigger I seek to keep at bay and I do actively seek other ways to express my emotions. What I am trying to say is we often learn a method of coping with things that are uncomfortable for us and sometimes it is nothing more than a transference of feelings. Talking about these things is the best way to take their power over us away. If you have a mentor in your life talk with them, a teacher, a coach, a pastor, Sunday school teacher, hotlines and counselors and therapist. An objective person who will listen and provide guidance not necessarily answers. My experience has been that answers often dwell within us, they need only to be found. Be true to yourself in discovering “YOU!” It would be easy to simply have someone give you the answers but you must ask yourself, “am I living my life or I am living someone else’s?” There is freedom when you discover who you are and what you stand for. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want, freedom is respecting others as you respect yourself. The golden rule if you will, “do unto others as you would have done to you.” And most importantly “Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.” Neighbor is not just the person who lives next door, it’s everyone in the world. It is global, it is the right thing to do as the Bible tells us of the second greatest commandment from God, the first is, “Love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:36-40.

My second question was, “Have you ever questioned why you do certain things in your life?” Most of the time this is due to learned behavior and/or mimicking the actions of others. A lot of things I do is because that’s how I was taught to do things and others are because that’s the way my mom or grandmother did things. It’s funny, usually growing up we think we don’t want to be anything like our parents or mentors until there comes a time in your life when things just start falling into place and before you know it, you are saying and doing things that make you tell yourself, “I sound just like my mom!” And it’s not horrible and the sky did not fall! I cherish the things that I do that mimic the actions of my parents and grandparents, I also see the value in the things that I do differently. I used to think for the longest time that I was disappointing my family because I did do and see things differently than they did, but I was wrong. With each generation the world we live in changes, expands and provides experiences that were not afforded to our parents. It was a tough lesson to learn that being different does not mean I am defiant; only different, I was just being “me!” God tells us throughout the Bible that we are each created by Him for a purpose, not cloned.

Psalm 139:13-14 “You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.”

Psalm 119:73-74 “You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.”

Jeremiah 1:4-5 “The LORD gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

1 Peter 2:9 “However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Seek God and your purpose will be revealed!

The third and final question I posed, “Do you seek answers from someone you no longer have a connection with?” The ultimate “WHY” questions. I have longed for an answer from someone I have not seen or spoken to in almost two decades. And just today I realized I don’t need an answer to my question, what I need to do is let it go. The emotional baggage I’ve been carrying around has not affected anyone but me. The reality is I have foolishly placed this person and their actions on a platform and allowed it to take up space in my mind for far too long. What I consider a pivotal moment in my life, I had given space and light to the wrong recipient!  My life took on a new direction and doors opened that I didn’t even know existed, these are the things that should be on my platform not the person. The doors I have opened and those that I have walked into were done by me and God has been with me throughout all of the journeys. Admitted, I’ve made some poor decisions in my life and I’ve tried to learn from them. I love this quote, “I’m not where I should be but thank God I’m not where I used to be.” I have a tendency to hold on to things way past their expiration date, take my free advice, letting go helps you. Hanging onto things will only hurt you in the long run. Forgiveness is for you and not the other person, give yourself permission to take the burden off your shoulders. Ask God to help you, He wants to help you and me!

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it fear.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Matthew 6:27 “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Ephesians 4:31-32 “You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk—indeed all malice. Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

In closing, I want to share something a friend shared with me this past week. It is very simple and deeply profound. He said to me, “The moment I knew I was truly saved was the moment I realized I was a sinner.” Hearing this made me think of my own moment of salvation. I remember it clearly and yet hearing my friend utter this simple sentence shock my soul. It is so clear, we are dirty rags, sinful creatures filled with selfishness and God Loves us and wants us. Let me say that again, “GOD LOVES US AND WANTS US!”

Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

~Blessings and Peace~