Monday, October 28, 2013

Do miracles still happen?...

I am a miracle. 

So are you.


From the first time God thought us into being.

But the ones I'm thinking of today are specific... times when I know God did miracles in my life.

... When I was 12, I got Spinal Meningitis. The doctors did not think I would live. My dad was preaching in Japan at the time. They prayed around the clock, he and other ministers and missionaries. My mother was on her knees by my side, with our friends and church, also in prayer for my healing.

Here I am!

... God allowed my hubby and I to see His power right in front of our eyes as we were able to see a life transformed, a sinner saved by grace. It changed us forever.

... As I drove down the highway in the rain, one of the wheels fell off of my suburban. My car rolled and the wheel raced across the highway and hit a pick up truck. The driver of the pickup was fine, and I landed upright, still strapped in, not a bruise or scratch!

... Another time as I was driving to do a big antique show in central Texas, an 18 wheeler ahead of me on a small country road stopped, and began to back up. He never saw me. I was sitting on my horn and he didn't hear it. I backed up as fast as I could, his truck crumbled the front end of my car like an accordion, and he finally realized he had hit something. I was fine, he was fine, and the car was towed and totally redone, as I loaded all the antiques into a rental car and proceeded to my show!

Probably the biggest miracle of all is how He has changed me... my heart, my desires, who I am. These are the best miracles of all.

Not to mention that there are probably 1000's of other miracles that I don't even know about... those provisions and protections He has provided all through my life.

Do miracles still happen? You better believe it! Think about your own lives, and all the times God has done things beyond our ability or even knowledge, He was at work the whole time. 

Take heart, if you are in the middle of needing a miracle... 

"Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever."


Friday, October 18, 2013

Whining & complaining...

I recently looked up the word complain to see how often it was used in the Bible.

I was shocked! 

There are lots of us out there, and we've been there since back in the beginning.

So what about that word??

I don't generally think of myself as a complainer or whiner, but lately... there have been more than a few times when that's exactly what I've been. 

You know how God points things out to us when we are misbehaving? Yes... so do I, and that's what He did recently.

There are times in life when things get upside down or cross ways, and they begin to pile up. There is a lot of that in our lives, and usually I take it in stride and just keep on truckin'. When I don't... I begin to whine or complain. I hate the sound of my own voice when I whine, don't you?

I don't want to think of the Israelites and smile when I read about how they whined, but sometimes I do. Misery does love company.

But God does not like whining.

My parents didn't like it either. We grew up in a home that had a sign on the wall... 'DO ALL THINGS WITHOUT MURMURING OR COMPLAINING". We heard it so much that dad finally would say... 

"DO ALL THINGS"... and we knew exactly what he meant!

So this morning, I have chosen to focus instead, on... 
  
"When a man is gloomy, everything seems to go wrong; when he is cheerful, everything seems right!" (Prov.15:14,15)   


"And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure." 
(I Cor.13:10-)

 "Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."
(I Thess.5:15-)

"Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns."
(Phil.2:14-16)

Much much better. I can already tell the difference. :)

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Perspective...

A man asked God...

How long is a million years to you?

God answered: A minute.

The man said: How much is a million dollars to you?

God said: A penny.

Well then, said the man: Will you give me a penny?

God said: In a minute.
                         
                            ****************    

Our perspective is tiny, and so limited. When we say God sees the whole big picture, I don't even have a clue what that really means, except that He's a lot bigger and more infinite than I am able to understand.

He is God.

Creator, designer, master planner... He always was and He always will be. Eternal God.


How could we think that we can out guess or even understand His ways? 

And yet... I sure try, over and over again. Each time I do it my way, I am running ahead of what he has in mind... assuming I know what I'm doing.

God is so forgiving.  I think sometimes he must have a small rather sad smile and just shake his head, when he watches some of our antics, like a loving father who sees his toddler doing something that is not the best for him. On the other hand... he is so just and fair, and he knows our hearts, and that we want more of him.

There isn't a stack of million dollar bills high enough to equal what we have as his children.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Get thee behind me!...

Get thee behind me, satan!

I've said those words hundreds of times, I'll bet you have too.

The problem is... often after I've said the words, I don't really get the job done, so instead of getting him behind me, he has lingered, and the pounds have gotten 'behind me'.

I am a work in progress. I am struggling to get a long overdo pattern of the behind me... OFF of me! One more thing my mother was right about. The older you get, the harder it is.

But... I am determined! 

Changing bad habits that have gone on way too long is not easy, but it is not impossible either.

I am dancing, twisting, and using the tension rope pulleys and a stationary bicycle. I remember when those things used to be fun!

It helps to know that many of you are in the same boat, and working to get out! Debbie, you are an encouragement, always, and it makes me smile to know you are in Arizona while I am in Texas, doing the same thing. I see others of you writing the same things...so many of us, we could be a club... 

bloggers bottoms be-gone... or... 
farewell fellow former fluffies... or maybe
sisters seriously slimming & trimming...

It will not happen accidentally. It's an intentional, determined one day at a time journey. I'm moving forward, a day at a time, and I'm encouraged. 

If you knew how many cute things are hanging in my closet waiting to wear, you would be ashamed for me! 

I AM GOING TO WEAR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!

That's it for this Wednesday... onward and forward!