I love Nascar. I have my favorite driver, my favorite car, and my favorite track. I beam when they interview my driver on television and cheer him on to win the race. I have the top of my dresser full of his memorabilia. Chocolate race cars, ticket stubs of past races, a bumper sticker, a remote control race car, hats, shirts, and sweatshirts are all prized possessions of mine.
There is always one winner and forty-two losers. But, of course, everyone wants to win, and they try everything to accomplish this. Do you?
They change parts and crew chiefs. They come up with different strategies to include how they can make their car faster. They must rely on their spotters and crew chiefs to help them see what is ahead. They go into a curve and never let off the gas, holding it wide open and floor it. Do you? Do you rely on God to help you see what is ahead and help you through your challenging corners?
I can compare it to my walk with God. I am in the driver's seat with my helmet on and buckled into place. God is my crew chief, and one hears, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" My engine fires up. Does yours? It is time to race.
Are you ready to get your engine fired up and race? Are you prepared to win God's race? Don't you want the big trophy? I do. I want it all. The checkered flag is down…who will be the winner?
I Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
When I started to get serious about my walk with Jesus, I read two chapters of my Bible daily. To read my Bible and understand it, I had to focus only on it. That meant no television and no noise.
Two chapters soon became easy, but I felt I needed more to feed my spirit-man. So I read two chapters in the morning and two in the evening. Then, I also began to say my prayers before work and whenever I felt prompted during my workday. Additionally, I began to feel the need to pray before I got in bed and then start praising God for what He has done in my life.
Your spiritual life changes and grows with time and practice. I know when it is time to do something different. First, I feel inside I need more, and then I realize it is time to make the change. I have had many changes.
Now I read my Bible at night and watch some biblical teaching by a man or woman of God, someone I know who "walks the walk," not just talks a lot; a whole lot without bearing any fruit in their lives. You will know them by their fruit (Mathew 7:15-20, NIV). Six months ago, you couldn't make me watch anyone. Now I try to tune in to watch someone every morning. That time is the most peaceful, relaxing time of the day because my spirit is getting fed. I tried to "kill two birds with one stone," reading and watching simultaneously and got nothing from it. How can you listen and read simultaneously and grasp what God is trying to say to you?
Make the necessary changes to keep God first in your life. If you are unsure what changes to make, ask him for help; the Holy Spirit will guide you.
How was your day? My husband asks me that question when we see each other every evening. Some people reply same ole, same ole. My husband will be sarcastic and say, "Just peachy. It couldn't have been any better." We all have our good days and bad days. Some people think things are always great once you are saved. But unfortunately, Satan wants you even more now, and He will do anything to complicate your life.
I was emailing my friend and said that I wish my road in this life was straight and had a scenic view on both sides. Can't you just imagine it? I would be riding in my red Mustang convertible with the top down, and there would be palm trees or fruit trees on either side. The wind would be blowing my hair all around. Yet, all I would see would be the beautiful horizon in front of me. I think it is blue like the sky or maybe blue like the ocean filled with all sorts of colors. Well, let me wake up to reality!
When God came into my life, He didn't promise me a hassle-free journey but eternal life. To get there, you have to continue to grow. To grow, you have to walk the walk and talk the talk, as they say, day by day. There are lessons and tasks that He gives you to learn. But, it just seems that sometimes my road is like the yellow brick road. I have to go through that scary forest with all the mean trees. Remember? There will be palm trees and fruit trees along the way, but unfortunately, there will be some rotten fruit on those trees. We must remember that Oz was at the end of the road, and our God in Heaven is at the end of our road.
God is here for us all. All we have to do is talk to Him. I talk to Him everywhere, knowing He listens to my every word. It is a liberating feeling.
Satan seems like he is continually on my back 24/7 anymore. The closer I try to get to God, the more oppression. God knows that, but one must persevere down the yellow brick road, never giving up. I think of Jesus and what He had to endure when He walked the earth. I am sensitive, and it upsets me when someone hurts my feelings. Someone says boo to me, and I cry. Jesus must have cried many a tear with all that was said and done to Him. He was NAILED to a cross. Hello Susan!
If I have to continue driving or walking down the winding (sometimes scary) road to see my God in Heaven, that is what I will do. I will have my ups and downs. I will have my issues. I will cry once in a while and have my bad days. However, I will have done my duty for my God and be blessed forever in the long run. Never fear. God is here! How was your day?
Do you ever come across people or a particular person who continually seems to bring you down?
Is it hard to go to work every day knowing that your happiness may go down the tubes? Are you having a great day, and then someone cuts you off in traffic, or do you come home to a mess that someone made and should have cleaned up?
Well, let me tell you a story about JOY. My friend and I have issues like all of you. I told her that we needed to start carrying our JOY in our back pockets. In carrying our JOY in our back pockets, we have to make an honest effort to not let anyone steal our JOY. Now that is a tricky thing. Let's face it. For every kind person, unfortunately, there are 5 mean, hateful people who really want to steal your JOY. I would look in my back pocket at the end of the day, and sometimes my JOY was there, and sometimes it was just OY. My thinking is that when your JOY becomes just Y, you begin to think, WHY am I here, and WHY am I doing this? It frustrates me at times and makes me mad because the devil is winning. What right does he have to my JOY?
My new thing is that I will not let the devil win. Is it going to be a struggle? Well, of course. He really tries to make my life miserable. Doesn't he do that to you also? So we need to take control of the issues. Use the ten-second rule of waiting ten seconds before you answer anyone.
Make sure that it is what God would want you to say. Guard your JOY and be proud that you have come home with JOY in your pocket and in your heart. Remember, though, you will have those days that you end up with just OY or Y, but God is with you through it all. HE loves us all, and he is Y we are all here.
Biblical Truth: The joy of the Lord is your strength!
Good morning. We click on the light, and the first thing that we see is a reflection in the mirror. A mirror says a lot of things. The queen in Snow White would say, mirror mirror on the wall who's the fairest of us all. The funny thing is a mirror holds different things for different people. Some mornings you look in the mirror, wondering who is looking back at you. It can make you happy or can make you sad. It helps you do many things. We all know our rituals in front of the mirror. We even talk to ourselves.
I can honestly say that I usually pray in the shower. Being under all of that water, enjoying those hot streams coming over my head, puts me in a different frame of mind. It is quiet by myself, a relaxing time. I have poured my heart out and sobbed as I have repented and prayed. It seems like people don't take a little piece of their day to pray or talk to God in this day and age. I have heard sermon after sermon about all the time we have for other things, yet we have no time for the Lord. I am guilty, and you are guilty. So I pray in the shower.
Getting back to my mirror. On my mirror, written in lipstick, are people that I am reminded to pray for. I cannot tell you how often I say that I need to pray about something or someone, and I just plain forget. Let's face it, we cannot remember everything. So it is there right smack in front of me, every morning and every night, someone who needs my prayers.
Another critical part for me is that it keeps me in check. I can look in the mirror and stop grumbling about insignificant things because someone's name in lipstick is hurting more. Going through more. Even though I need Him, someone needs Him more.
Take time to pray. It can help someone through a tough day or time in their lives.
On my long journey to work one day, I followed a car with a sticker in the back window. Of course, my mind wondered what it meant, or I should say what it meant to me. Was God trying to get my attention? I believe in signs from God. I read license plates, posters, and all kinds of things because sometimes I think maybe the message is meant for me. The symbol I saw:
HE>i
That symbol says HE, as in God, is greater than little old i. Not big I but little i. Sometimes, we forget that there is one greater while walking through our trials and tribulations. HE is our savior from all of life's ups and downs. HE has led many out of the wilderness. HE has led many from the depths of hell to heaven. HE can do it all.
We get so wrapped up in little i, i, i that I imagine HE peers through heaven's window and says, I am here, just ask. I am greater than it all. For me, I am no one without HIM.
Of course, I looked at what the symbol truly meant on the Internet when I got home. It is a clothing store in Hawaii, but it means so much more to my heart. It touches me knowing that HE is greater than little ole "i," and He has and will always provide.
Today we mark the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a father, a husband, a Baptist Pastor, and a defender of civil rights, not only for people of color, but I believe for all humankind. The nation, at that time, was divided when he so eloquently delivered his "I Had a Dream" speech from Washington, D.C., in front of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Nothing has changed.
With Abraham Lincoln watching, I listened intently to a man preach from these steps knowing that something was being stirred inside of me. I watched black and white people hold hands and march together. I watched as they hugged one another. I listened to Peter, Paul, and Mary sing "Blowin' in the Wind," written by Bob Dylan. These changers stood up for a better tomorrow, realizing that hate and destruction never resolve issues.
Their cries did not go unheeded by those who grew up in the sixties. We still long for a peaceful society, and our children do as well. But one must understand that as long as Satan is ruling in the spiritual realm (which many do not want to acknowledge or believe-Eph. 2:2-4), our earth will never be at peace. Our hope only lies in Christ, our redeemer. Remember the words of our Savior: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, NIV).
Let my poem "Beyond" minister to your broken dreams and your broken hearts today, and let us not allow Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination to be in vain.
"Beyond"
Isaiah 45:22 "Turn to me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."
Let us look beyond the mountains, beyond the stars, to the heavens, beyond what our human eyes can see.
Let us look to our heavenly Father for the answers to the questions we have deep within.
Let justice rain down like a mighty river covering the land, the valleys, and along the shore.
Let us look unto ourselves first when we see something wrong with others, judging not, lest we be judged.
Let us look past our color, our physical differences to the one who sees us all the same.
For if we say we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, yet utter one word about our neighbor, we have fallen short of the will of our Father, who is in heaven.
Let us remember to forgive as we have been forgiven, to love as we have been loved.
Let us be an example to others as Jesus, our Savior, was.
My definition of "The Fringe"- imagine a pair of blue jeans cut off at the bottom, producing a fringy look. The fringe is not the whole garment, only a tiny portion.
They say there are two sides to every story or two sides to every coin. One side is what we call "heads," with the other being "tails." As I walked around throughout Christmas this year, it hit me deep inside that those I am around are kind, they smile when spoken to, and have, for the most part loving attitudes. I am blessed. But they are definitely "heads." And I know and believe that there are more of us in this great nation of ours than The Fringe of society that seems to voice opinions in very outspoken, sometimes belligerent manners, many times with destructive outcomes.
I was moved to tears by those standing on the streets with signs asking for help as I reached into my wallet. While driving away, I always asked God to lift them from their circumstance without judgment. But, then, there is the side which is called "tails." I fondly call this side The Fringe. I am aghast at The Fringe of America, continually criticizing and belittling many who need a loving heart. But, to ignore one's brother on the streets of America in any city is "tails." And a side note: Violence and destruction, from The Fringe, have no place in a civilized society.
In closing, as we, together, embark upon 2022, I hope that the light of the Holy Spirit will show you which side of the coin you are on, whether you project "heads" or "tails." There is a moral right or wrong, good (which can be very good) or bad (which can be very bad, bordering on the demonic). My question for you: Are you Heads or Tails?
We all will answer for what we do while on this earth, whether we want to believe it or not. But, for me—I am not—The Fringe, although I love my jeans with a fringe!
When I first started to get serious about my walk with Jesus, I read two chapters of my Bible a day. To read my Bible and understand it, I had to focus only on it. That meant no television and no noise.
Two chapters became easy, but to feed my spirit-man, I felt I needed more. So I read two chapters in the morning and two chapters in the evening. Then, I also began to say my prayers before work and whenever I felt prompted during my workday. Additionally, I began to feel the need to pray before I got in bed and then start praising God for what He has done in my life.
I know when it is time to do something different. I feel inside I need more, and then I realize it is time to make the change. Your spiritual life changes and grows with time and practice. I have had many changes.
Now I read my Bible at night and watch some teaching by a man or woman of God, someone I know who "walks the walk" not just talks a lot; a whole lot without bearing any fruit in their lives. You will know them by their fruit (Mathew 7:15-20, NIV). Six months ago, you couldn't make me watch anyone. Now I try to tune in to watch someone every morning. That time is the most peaceful, relaxing time of the day because my spirit is getting fed. I tried to "kill two birds with one stone," reading and watching at the same time and got nothing from it. How can you listen and read simultaneously and grasp what God is trying to say to you!
Make changes that you need to keep God first in your life. If you are unsure what changes to make, ask him for his help; the Holy Spirit will guide you.
Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Proverbs 18:20-21 (NIV) "From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. So the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
When I think of fruit, I think of bananas. I love bananas. I love their shape and color. I love the way you have to peel it, and I love the texture in my mouth. I also love to freeze them for protein smoothies. At Christmas, my mom always made banana bread. Everyone would rave over mom's banana bread, but she chose very ripe bananas for her recipe to achieve the perfect taste. But overripe fruit can cause harmful consequences when correlated to the words we speak.
Words. Be wise what and how you talk to those you love; don't ever do it through anger, rage, or a very nasty temper which can cause great harm. The Holy Spirit is listening—and so is God. Some words are rotten fruit that can and will backfire. It takes lots (it did for me) of PPT (Prayer, Practice, and Time) to overcome a foul mouth. Many times, I begged God to please duck tape my mouth or, better yet, shut it and let nothing come out; just like he did John the Baptist's father through his disbelief that he and his wife could bear a son at a very old age (Luke 1:11-25).
I was raised to be a proper young lady, but the enemy of my soul walked right in, sat right down, and took residence. As a woman, I grew up in the Helen Reddy era of the "I am woman hear me roar" generation. I had to have the first, last, and every word in the middle word. I was always right and never wrong. I feel confident my mother wondered what happened to the young lady I tried to raise in the world!
Suppose you are one, like I was, who has had a troubled mouth which bore rotten fruit. Pray and ask God to help you through the power of the Holy Spirit. A part of his job is to purge and clean us. So, just a thought to leave you with: there won't be gripping, complaining, anger, or tempers in heaven; no rotten fruit. What is in the heart always comes out of the mouth, and you will eat its fruit, and everyone around you will partake of it whether it is good, bad, or ugly.
Matthew 12:36 "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment" (KJV). Sobering Huh?
God bless you all as we strive to be the best that we can through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
