Fickle feelings!....

Feelings are fickle!

Do you agree?

I have found myself on both sides of the 'feelings' thing, and I am learning not to trust either extreme.

If I am 'up' and have a burst of feeling God's presence, it's wonderful, but before the 'rooster crows 3 times'... I can be 'down' and everything looks discouraging.

I am struck by what His Word does NOT say about feelings!

It is all about faith, and not once do I find that our faith guarantees that we will always FEEL on top of things.

So what do we do when our feelings are the opposite of our faith?

WE STAND...

We stand, based on His Word, which tells us that we are to trust Him. Not trust Him and then we will FEEL good. We do have those times too, but I know that very often in my life, those feelings are not there.

Is God any less alive in me during those times? NO!

That is one of satan's lies, designed to pull us down because we aren't feeling victorious!

Would I rather FEEL His presence all the time? Yes, I would!

But He is no less God because of the way I feel...

What He says to me is...

"Be still and KNOW that I am God!"...

I am learning to boot satan right out the door, and sometimes I say it out loud... get OUT of here! (or worse...)

My standing as God's child is certain!

NOTHING else in this world is certain, we are seeing evidence of so much chaos all over the world, not to mention personal chaos in so many lives.

GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL... He is the same yesterday, today and forever!

My feelings come and go.... He never changes!

She's looking good...

My mom and dad used to chuckle as they grew older, at the comments they USED to hear, when they were young ...

"she is good looking!"

... and later those same people would say...

"She's looking good." Somewhere along the way, it became less about good looks and more about still being there!

I coud see the 'young me' in this picture, but it took awhile to see the 'old me'. Have you spotted her?

When I see someone I knew many years ago, I am still shocked at how old they look! At my dad's memorial service, our family saw an old friend my hubby and I knew when we were dating... my hubby said "I used to know your son!" We all had a good laugh, but isn't it true... when you are young, you think you will be young forever!

I find myself smiling at the same comments now... I still love to hear 'she's good looking', but I'm pretty sure I'm beginning to listen for the quiet comment in the background that says ... 'she's looking good'.

These are the years we are given, and making them count is more important than ever.

This verse comes to my mind a lot these days...

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Ps.90:12 NIV)

(optical illusion courtesy of Google)

Blue, but not down!...

When you live in Texas... Spring is filled with wildflowers that grow like weeds along the side of our highways...

This passage in Luke seems especially fitting in the words of The Message...

"Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?" (Luke 12:28 MSG)

This verse, along with the one that says He knows the numbers of the hairs on our heads... all remind me of how He KNOWS us, how valued we are, and how important we are to Him! Today is one of those days that I NEED that reminder... do you ever feel like that?...

Just look at those Texas Bluebonnets!

Patience and wisdom...

Patience

and

wisdom...

The dog in this picture definitely has both!

So often patience and wisdom seem to go hand in hand, don't they?

My initial reaction to things is not always the wisest...

I love to look at how Jesus walked the 33 years He lived on this earth. It was ALWAYS with wisdom, and I never get the sense that He was rushing and hurrying to get it all said and done...

His life and how He lived it IS our example!

I'm sure that this dog would much rather be eating what's in that bowl than standing and watching...

This is a good reminder that often it's best to procede with caution, especially when the outcome is still unclear!

"So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." Ps.90:12 NKJV)

2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose and a mouth...

My dad used to say to our kids when they were little...

"Just think... every single person in the world has 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose and a mouth, and yet every one of us looks different. How do you think God did that??'...

It always got the kids thinking...

Who but our God could take 2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose and a mouth...

...and end up with millions of people, each one unique and hand created!

And that's just on the OUTSIDE! Think of how different we all are on the inside... our thinking, perception, gifts, personalities... what a HUGE God to have put us together, each different, unique and perfect, and in His image! I was created just according to His plan, so were you.

When I try my hand at an art project, and I draw people, which is not my gift... every single person looks the same! I always draw 2 eyes, 2 ears a nose and a mouth... and they always end up looking like clones of each other!

I am in awe of His individual stamp on each life, none of us share the same DNA...

... and yet many still don't believe. It would take more faith NOT to believe than to look at the miracle and order of creation and imagine it could be random.

God's creation reveals His loving heart in a million ways, and I am so thankful that He chose me to be one of them...

Dad preached...we went along for the ride!...#8...

I bet you think I'm running out of stories!

Not yet...

One summer we met up with our friend and song leader, Jesse Liese and his family in the midwest. Several small churches had joined together as dad came to preach...

One of the families in the church had gone to Europe for a trip, and invited all of us to stay in their victorian farmhouse, on the family farm. Oh was this exciting for all of us kids (now 5 of us as we have joined with our friends)...

First thing we discovered was a chamber pot under each beautifully furnished antique 4 poster bed. You had to climb onto a stool to get into the bed, but... there was NO toilet in the home! ... there was a large outhouse as you made your way onto the farm land... that was a brand new adventure for city kids!

There was a water pump out in the back, and while we were staying there, a 'band of gypsies' came through, about 25 of them, kids and all, and primed the pump and took a rest on the farm. To this day I have never seen any more gypsies, but that's what they were, men women and lots of children playing. After they had spent an hour resting, they picked everything up and moved on down the road as we peeked around the curtains from inside the house...

One morning a bat got into the house. It flew around and swooped down close to where we were, so all of the kids and the 2 wives climbed into a huge 4 poster bed and pullled the covers up over our heads. Each time that bat flew into the room, we all screamed and hid under the blankets. The bat was probably scared to death! I think the screaming stunned him... My dad and Jesse tried to capture it every time it flew into the bedroom. Finally, they got it contained in a big jar and put the lid on and later released it way down the road.

It's no wonder that I still love farms... some of my favorite memories of childhood happened as we visited those farms. No traffic, very little noise, lots of land as far as you could see, huge stars lip up the night sky, and we NEVER ran out of new places to explore!

Even though I've never owned a farm, I am sure that since "He owns the cattle on 1000 hills"... in some way they are mine as well, after all, He IS my Father!



(photo courtesy of Google)

What's 'normal'??...

I'd say most of the time, this is a pretty true statement! We are all different. 'Normal' also looks different for each of us, not only Maxine!

I have never felt like my life was anything out of the ordinary, and yet... what I am seeing is how many ways I have been blessed, and many of them have been out of the ordinary, different from someone elses 'normal'.

When I was growing up, I didn't think our life was anything unusual, but looking back, I see it so differently. My mom and dad were... 'my mom and dad'. And now I see how special that really was! Maybe it's that way with most of us, we see so much more as we go down the road.

Our everyday life was full of the spiritual 'heroes' of the day, it was our normal. To us... they were just our family friends. Now... I am reading their books and studying the treasures that God taught them, and seeing with fresh eyes that our 'friends' were extraordinary!

And... I am seeing in a clearer way that there is a responsibility that is mine because of all that I was taught and lived through during those growing up years.
"To whom much is given, much will be required"...

So...what does God's normal look like?

Because as different as we may all be, how we were raised, the choices we have made, our temperaments, and our journeys in life...even though our normal's may differ, and even though He created each one of us to be a unique person...

God's standards remain the same for every one of us!

He has made it clear what our lives should look like...His Word spells it all out... and that normal is not always how my life looks, but I want it to, just like you do.

... one day at a time
... one choice at a time
... one 'heaven turned' heart prayer at a time
... one step of faith at a time
... one obedient decision to 'stand on truth I already know' at a time

And the list goes on...

The bottom line is that I want my normal to line up with His standards! He's already given me all that I will ever need to do that....

One of my favorite verses, and I've quoted it before..."If ye KNOW these things, happy are ye if ye DO them!" (KJV) John 13:17