Dreams vs Reality

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine from church and discussing how difficult life can be. Why does it have to be so hard? Seems so simple when you day dream. It’s all laid out in a nice neat order that has a flow to it. You know there will be disappointments and hurdles to climb, but you know you’ll get though it all. You have parents, siblings and friends to help you over the rough parts. You will find your soul mate and live happily ever after. 

In those dreams, we don’t feel the emotions of every day events that land squarely on our shoulders.

I’m not living in the home I dreamed of. There is no wraparound porch with wicker furniture and ceiling fans. No manicured yard with lots of flowers blooming year round. No white picket fence. I’m not sitting on that porch reading a book and sipping sweet tea with lemon.

I do have a nice comfortable home with a deck on the back of house that I can sit on and sip unsweetened tea. A few flowers are scattered around that need my attention. The deck needs to be cleaned from all the pollen. It’s hot and muggy out so a noisy fan rotates to move the humid air. There is laundry in the dryer that needs folding and my floors need to be mopped. What happened to that dream? 

Life happened. Neither of the pictures I painted above is right or wrong, they are just pictures in a moment of time, not a complete life. When life hits us with its everyday problems and responsibilities it gets hard. When life gets hard on a Christian, Satan comes at you like the roaring lion God warns us about. His claws are out, his teeth are bared and he is ready to leap on his prey and devour.

However, we have an opportunity to ward off Satan. God has prepared a way for us to get free, His word. 

We were discussing how if we stay in His word and bury ourselves there Satan wouldn’t have as many opportunities to lunge at us. He is there and waiting for when we are weak, he always will be. The more I study, pray and lean on God daily, the less opportunity he will have to attack me. It was true; I wasn’t as deep as I should be in His word. I had slacked off and that was all Satan needed. He saw an opening and took it. He lunged and I wasn’t prepared. I was almost devoured before I realized it was Satan that was next to me. 

This week will be different. I’m in His word.

How about you?

May God Bless

Beautiful Christian Sister

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  We all see things differently and are drawn toward what we find attractive or pretty. I’ve met people that I have thought are just downright beautiful, stop traffic pretty and gorgeous. I think this type of beauty is few and far between. 

I’ve tried to figure out what is beautiful about some people. For example take someone you see at a restaurant and you think they are prettiest woman you have ever seen. Is it the shape of their body? Is it their hair? Is it the clothes they wear? Sometimes it’s a combination of all of these things and how they put themselves together.

On the flip side, have you ever thought someone was beautiful until you’ve gotten to know them? Maybe their attitude or language made them look “not so beautiful”.

I’m sharing this poem because it touched me. 

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER
By Maya Angelou

A woman’s hear should be so hidden in Christ
That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.

 When I say … “I am a Christian” I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin”’,
I’m whispering “I was lost, now I’m found and forgiven”.

When I say …” I am a Christian” I’m not trying to be strong,
I’m professing that I’m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say… “I am a Christian” I’m not bragging of success,
I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say…” I am a Christian” I’m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say…” I am a Christian”, I still feel the sting of pain…
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say …” I am a Christian” I’m not holier than thou,
I’m just a simple sinner who received God’s good grace, somehow!

Pretty is as pretty does… but beautiful is just plain beautiful! 

Are you pretty? 

Are you beautiful? 

Let’s focus today on what makes us beautiful.

Hopefully it is God’s word in you and your attitude and actions.



May God Bless

Encourage Yourself in the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 (NIV)

9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you,for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 

    The Macedonia church family loved each other as we see in the verse above. Yet Paul, who wrote this letter, felt the urge to encourage them to have even more love for each other. 

   

 It’s always great to hear an encouraging sermon, or someone gives you and encouraging word. A simple note from another Christian can lift your spirits. What about when you are alone with no one around to give you those uplifting words? That is when we encourage our self in the Lord by reading His word or praising and praying to God. 

     Hannah prayed in 1 Samuel 1:10 for a child and even made a vow to God to give her son to Him.

     Paul and Silas were in prison and chained but found encouragement in their prayers and singing.

Acts 16
          25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

     I Googled “encourage yourself in the Lord” and a website came up with 100 Bible verses with encouragement.

https://www.openbible.info/topics/encourage_yourself_in_the_lord 

 

  Sometimes we just need to do it for ourselves. There might be a situation where no one is around or we don’t want to share with others that we need encouragement. Depending on yourself to turn toward God for the answers grows with us in maturity and understanding. 

     I can’t go wrong with God. He is there for me always. He is never too busy or distracted to take the time to listen and give me encouragement.

May God Bless

Why Do We Sin?

     If you are like me (normal 😊) then each day you think, “I’m not going to sin today.” Well maybe not literally say that phrase, but we have that attitude. We might pray on the way to work or before we get into the heat of the day and it’s challenges, to be a good example to others. Maybe ask God to put an opportunity before us that day to share His word. How about a chance to do a good deed that day?

     Every morning we are given a clean slate. We can start new and fresh. What happened yesterday is in the past. You have a choice each day to choose God and joy or not. So why do we sin? 

People sin because: 

1 – We don’t fear God.
Romans 3:18 - "There is no fear of God before their eyes" 

2 - There is pleasure in sin.
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished, brings forth death" 

3 – We are deceived by false doctrine.
Galatians 1:9 - "If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed"

 
4 – The influence of others.
1 Corinthians 15:33 - "Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits"
5 – We don’t do what we should do.
James 4:17 - "Therefore, to him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" 

  OK, now that last one is the biggest one for me. 

I should have: 

• called (put name here) 
• sent cards to (put name here) 
• take a meal to (put name here) 
• read my Bible today 
• And so on and so on 

     Some say get rid of the should’ve, could’ve, would’ve in your life. Well I do agree that we beat ourselves up sometimes, but those thoughts also keep us in line sometimes. God tells us to do good and if we don’t we are sinning. I believe that most of the times we want to do good. We all crave to have a full day of pleasing God. Getting the cards and calls done and taking a meal to so and so, but life gets in the way. The mind and heart wants to but for a million reasons we don’t get to it.

     Here’s the catch, if the reason we didn’t get to do things for people is legitimate, it's understandable. If we didn’t do what we needed to do because we were just plain lazy or not organized and spend our day non-productive, then we are sinning. 

     What’s legitimate you ask? That’s between you and God. You have that conversation with God and read His word for your answer and you’ll figure it out on your own.

     

Just remember:

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”

May God Bless

Let’s talk about the “F” Word

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 

When I started thinking of the word “faithful” and searching it in the Bible I had on my mind the direction of me being "faithful" to God. Then this verse (along with many others) popped up concerning God being "faithful" to me.



That made me think about how "faithful " God is to each of us. 

It doesn’t matter:

• what the situation is, what time of day it is, He is there waiting for me. 
• if I am tired, full of energy or angry. He is there waiting for me. 
• if I am happy or sad, excited or not. He is there waiting for me. 

What does it mean to be "faithful"?

Webster says:

1 – Steadfast in affection or allegiance: Loyal
2 – Firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty: Conscientious
3 – Given with strong assurance: Binding
4 – True to the facts, to a standard, or to an original

God is loyal; He assures us of His loyalty to us.
God is conscientious; He keeps His promises to us.
God is binding; He stays with us throughout time.
God is our standard; He is the original, the first, the omnipotent.

I fall short of being "faithful" to God. I am human. I will disappoint others in this world and as a child of God; I will make mistakes and disappoint God.

However, I will never give up trying to be a "faithful" servant to my Lord, the creator of all things, our heavenly Father.

Are you conscientious and loyal to God? Have you given your life to God? Do you work on your “faithfulness” to God?


Do it today for we are not guaranteed tomorrow. (ref James 4:14)

May God Bless