The last week has been very thought provoking for me. I have been able to reconnect with a couple of good friends that I rarely get to see or talk to as we all lead such busy lives. I have great respect for both of them and I miss them terribly. I frequently think about hosting a bible study in my home as I would LOVE to be able to see these and other women that I used to go to church with more often but it just never seems to actually happen. Is that one of those things that God implants in my mind that I do not obey? It’s like the gift certificate I purchased for another friend who came to our house and did some work for us and I am still carrying it around…..I need to mail it to them…..!! That is me….I have always been this way….a procrastinator…..I am always late for everything….I am always putting things off….
Well….I started this blog on Sat morning and here it is Monday morning…and since then…..I discovered that one of my favorite people in the world….Louise…is in ICU at Forsyth hospital in critical condition….my dad sent me an email last night….this is a lady that my mom was very close to growing up and that I had promised I would come and see…in fact Tommy and I had talked about we were going to go and see her this summer…along with my uncle JD and aunt Annie…I hope she knows how very dear she is to my heart….I hope SO many people know how dear they are to my heart. You know we just race around daily trying to get everything done….do we take the time to really build the relationships that are what are the fabric of what matters….that is what God put us on this earth for….to serve one another….to love one another…Satan wants to keep us all bound up in stuff that doesn’t matter….material things…hurts….anger…FEAR…that is my biggie…what if’s…..but you know what….no matter what happens….God is still going to be there…HE isn’t going anywhere….people get sick and even when they go on to be with him…..death has NO victory….because Jesus rose again…so there is NO need for fear…unless you don’t know Jesus….
All the things that I used to gain comfort in….so many of them have changed….and change is really difficult sometimes….but the one thing we can count on to NEVER change is our LORD and Savior….He promises us that he will never abandon us.
We had the most powerful service yesterday at church. The pastor’s daughter sang this song…that she wrote…it was really beautiful….she is just a kid…it amazes me how God speaks through young people….she played the guitar and sang and of course with my memory….I can’t quote the lyrics but one line in particular really spoke to me….it was about God being our strength when we are weak and finding rest in Him and there was a line where God asks us…why don’t you just let me be who ‘I AM’ I thought this was so powerful….so many times….I try to be God in my life…trying to make things happen that only He can do….if I would just get out of the way and let him be HIM then everything would just fall into place and I would not have to work nearly as hard.
Then a young man named Brian got up and testified which was another powerful part of the service….he is a someone who sings frequently as he has a powerful voice and he was sharing about a time when he was preparing to sing for a funeral and he was very nervous and he had gotten some reassuring words from his father—a person who is not usually someone who reaches out in this way. He stated that this gave him the understanding he needed to surrender to God as he realized he is just the instrument being used and that God is doing all the work and there is nothing for him to be nervous about. This testimony was given before Haley sang by the way…..It should be noted that I don’t really know any of these people….nor do they know me…..but it is very obvious to me that they know my Lord and savior and are therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ….and God has placed us there with them for a reason….and they are definitely teaching us some things.
Pastor Joe’s message yesterday was about Sin, Spills and Stains…..and the scripture reference was Isaiah 1:5. He pointed out that the only way healing can take place if for the wounds to be acknowledged. He compared sins to spills on a carpet and how they can be easily taken care of if they are dealt with immediately after they occur. But if we chose not to acknowledge them…then they become stains which are like strongholds which require more effort to loosen their grip in our lives…but we have Jesus….and he wants to discuss it…..he wants to make our sins go from bright crimson to white as snow….he will remove the stain forever…if we will just be honest with him about it….sometimes….for me anyway…I need his help to be honest about it….I have hid things from myself for so long that I don’t even know the truth….I think we are all that way….we have thinks that we think and feel that are so ugly….that we all want to bury them….but you know what…those things are not secret to God..he knows them…and he loves us anyway….that is beyond my comprehension….sometimes my husband’s love is beyond my comprehension…so God’s love….is WAY beyond my comprehension….to love someone so much that you would send your only son….knowing what he was going to have go through….for people who are so ungrateful and unloyal….and to promise to love them forever….if they only believe….what an awesome God we serve.
Anyway…Pastor Joe said yesterday that there comes a time when we have to start living what we are singing about…..I say amen to that…the time has come…
Help me Lord…to live each day to serve you….with my heart and not just with my lips…make me aware of my spills as they occur so that I can bring them to you and not allow them to turn into stains in my life….help me to stay disciplined in your word as that is my #1 offensive weapon against the enemy who wants me to believe the worst about everything and everybody….help me to see people through your eyes Lord….including myself….help me to surrender things to you and leave them with you…knowing that you are much more capable of taking care of them than I am. Amen
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