Who Moved

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sunday driver 300x300 Who Moved

I heard this story somewhere years ago and it stuck with me.

A married couple was driving down the road. The wife turned to the husband and said, “What’s happened with us?”
“What do you mean?” the husband asked.
She said, “We’re not like we used to be.”
“How did we used to be?” the husband asked.
“We were closer. More connected. We held hands all the time. In fact, here’s a perfect example right now. Remember when we’d get in the car, and we’d sit right next to each other, with me there in the middle.”
The husband turned to her and said, “Who moved?”

Today’s message in Jesus Calling reminds me of a spiritual application to this cute story. When I feel far from God … it’s NOT Him who moved! It’s me!

What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you. Genesis 28:15

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Romans 8:31

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8

My feelings some times lie. They tell me that I am alone, that no one cares, that I have to defend myself.

This is truth … He is with me! He will protect me and provide for me! He will never leave me! He stands for me! He never changes!

I need to focus more on the truth!

~~~~~

I have managed, with all the stress and change in my life, to completely ignore the upcoming tax deadlines. One of these years our accountant is going to reach the end of his patience with me! Anyway procrastination must come to a close so I will be offline tomorrow until I get it pulled together enough to pass it on. My ex-employer deleted my password and online access so I can’t even get my W-2s. Good grief!  Pray for me!

~~~~~

The Joy Dare

6 – 3 Gifts Nailed Together (Jesus on the Cross)

a house to shelter my family

chairs to relax in when we have grown weary

beds to sleep in at the end of long exhausting days

7 – 3 Gifts Waited For (Jesus in the Tomb)

work/income

comments/followers – trying to relax about this but they are a precious gift when they come!

publication … maybe? someday?

8 – 3 Gifts Rising Up (He is Risen!)

hot dinner rolls fresh from the oven

Psalms (and other songs) of prayer and praise

every morning that we rise up from our slumber

April 8, 2012

Strength

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strength 300x268 StrengthIn quietness (spending time alone with Me) and confident trust (relying on My sufficiency) is your strength. Jesus Calling – April 5, based on Isaiah 30:15

Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.

Isaiah 30:15

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:7

I think one of the most common prayers I hear among humans is Lord, give me strength. I’ve certainly prayed it. Have you? Consider this … it’s probably NOT God’s will to make us strong!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

We bring glory to Him … not when He makes us strong … but when we let Him work in and through our weakness!

Where are you feeling weak? Could it be that God is using you, in your place of frailty, to bring Himself glory? Something to think about!

~~~~~

The Joy Dare

April 5 – 3 Gifts, 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, 6:00 pm

Waking up happy! It was before 11:00 but not by much. In spite of my intentions to the contrary I have returned to my night owl nature. I no longer dread my days!

Perfect hard-boiled eggs. Less pain in my ankle.

Checks to deposit in the bank. Grocery money for the weekend.

April 5, 2012

Answered Prayers – Practicing Thankfulness

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When Meredith suggested that I join the A-Z Blogging Challenge this month, I first set the suggestion aside, and then went back and embraced it. I noticed that the organizers were suggesting that the participating bloggers choose a theme for the challenge in addition to the inherent alphabetical theme. I decided it would be fun to try fiction. I was flip-flopping (mentally) between serial fiction (one story, 26 segments) or a serious of fiction short stories. On Sunday I sat down to write my first post and spent about 4 hours trying and tossing ideas. I was about ready to give up! Then I prayed that if God really wanted me to do this thing that He would give me words.

I sat back down … and wrote. The story, Afraid, just poured out onto the screen. And it seems to be taking on a life of its own. But every day I have to pray that God will give me words because I do not have this story planned out. And aside from a general idea of where I would like it to end up … I don’t know where it’s going or how I’m going to get it there. I believe that He will continue to provide but I am sort of wishing that He would let me go ahead and write the whole thing so that I can quit thinking about it constantly! If you would like to pray with, and for me, I would appreciate it!

I am looking into some work from home opportunities and it looks like I need to incorporate and be an employee of my corporation. The corporation will contract my services to companies that use call centers. I am thinking that I will probably put my blogging under the corporation and track any blog related expenses (software, conferences, domains, web-hosting, etc.) there. Certainly if I define myself as an author they would be appropriate. We’ll see how it goes! I just need to be sure to keep really good financial records and pay my taxes on time … right from the beginning. It’s kind of exciting! Even though contracting services will eat up some of my time. I’ve kind of been enjoying this lazy lifestyle of mine!

Today is my first official day of unemployment. I think … Hard to tell since I had about 3 weeks of vacation time tacked on the end of my paid time off. I’m feeling so much better! Obviously the arthritis pain is hanging on and my neck still hurts but those issues are easier to live with when not accompanied by overwhelming stress! Aside from the fact that I negatively impacted our finances and health insurance … I have NO regrets about my decision. And I have asked the Lord if (perhaps in my mental/emotional state over the last year) there was truth in the accusations against me. In some cases there was *truth* in the naked facts but it was always taken out of context and twisted … creating untruth! Nothing to repent or ask forgiveness for … or if there was … I already did. I’m good!

Peace … within and without … is such a GOOD thing!

The Lord is continuing to call me to be still. To listen closely. To hear His voice and follow His leading. Today He even told me to turn off the TV (background noise)! icon smile Answered Prayers Practicing Thankfulness

Do you remember … back when you were young … and you would head out to play, to a friend’s house, on a date, whatever, and your dad would always call the same message out to you? Don’t all dads do that? I suppose moms do too. With Josiah I always tell him that he’s a good kid and I love him. I don’t recall what I said to the other kids. I had a friend whose father always told her to remember whose daughter she was. My dad always called to me to be a blessing.

Be a blessing … to myself, to others, even to the Lord.

Stillness of soul is increasingly rare in this world addicted to speed and noise. I am pleased with your desire to create a quiet space where you and I can meet. Don’t be discouraged by the difficulty of achieving this goal. I monitor all your efforts and am blessed by each of your attempts to seek My Face.

Jesus Calling ~ April 4

How are you blessing Him today?

~~~~~

The Joy Dare – an exercise in thankfulness

April 1 – 3 Gifts Round

Tomatoes ripe from the garden (no garden here … reaping rewards from others)

My purple daisiespurple daisies 300x300 Answered Prayers Practicing Thankfulness

Hershey Chocolate Drops (I’m also grateful that they’re gone!)

April 2 – 3 Gifts White

A blank blog page … ready for words to be written

The soft white spot under the chins of my cats where they love to be scratched

A sparkling clean sink

April 3 – 3 Gifts Surprisingly Found

Allie’s Story

New blogs to follow

New friends and readers

April 4 – 3 Gifts Found in His Word

He wants me to ask!

James 1:5  

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Stay pure … no matter what is going on around you!

1 Peter 2:11-12

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Right now, this VERY moment, I stand holy and blameless, in His presence, without a SINGLE fault!!!!

Colossians 1:21-22

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

April 4, 2012

Relinquish the Fantasy of an Uncluttered World

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” … relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world. Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all.”

“… Remember that your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you; it is to keep communicating with Me.”

Proverbs 3:6

Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Okay … so who else out there is a frustrated perfectionist? A friend of mine posted the other day about her dining room table which holds everything but dinner. It was good to know that I was not alone. I don’t even have little kids at home anymore and I am still over-run by clutter. She posted pictures. I’m not that brave. But I will tell you that my closets have overflowed. We leave the doors open and hang clothing from the door frames. Every room in my house has shelves, totes, boxes … filled with things that I couldn’t seem to throw away but didn’t know where to put. This is the ugly side of control addiction … when I can’t have that control … I abandon it entirely and chaos ensues! Can you relate? Do you long for House Beautiful but find yourself living in Hoarders? Yes? Welcome to my world!

Honestly I know that God is not talking about my house here. he’s talking about my life. But I suspect that a lot of the spiritual can be seen in those visual images. I have allowed too much clutter in my life. Have you? I haven’t prioritized, haven’t thrown out the unnecessary, haven’t taken out the trash. I have tried and found myself unable to maintain control so I have said, “the heck with it,” thrown my hands in the air, and sat down to pout because my life is not picture perfect.

God is calling me, and you, to quit pursuing perfection, and quit being frustrated when we can’t find it! He wants us to come crawl in His lap and ask Him … “what is important? what do you want me to do first? what is YOUR agenda for this day?” And then concentrate on those things. Stay focused on His presence and plugged into His power!

April 1, 2012

One Day at a Time

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“Stop trying to work things out before their times have come. Accept the limitations of living one day at a time. When something comes to your attention, ask Me whether or not it is part of today’s agenda. If it isn’t, release it to My care and go on about today’s duties. When you follow this practice, there will be a beautiful simplicity about your life: a time for everything, and everything in its time.”

When I left my job there were a lot of personal items in my office that I needed to pack up, throw into bags, and boxes, and bring home. The bags and boxes were shoved in a closet to deal with later.  I was tired and didn’t want to think about it. But I had missed my Jesus Calling calendar so I opened the closet today and found it. Opened it up to March 29 and was blasted by that first sentence. ”Stop trying to work things out before their times have come.”

My heart nearly stopped in shock at how fully that spoke to all the things that I am fretting over. We have insurance until April 30. Yes, I need to plan and prepare for it to run out but today is NOT the time to panic. I believed, still believe, that I was following God’s plan for my life when I gave notice. If, and when, He wants to send me back to work … He will. Today is not the time to worry about that! I can look in help wanted ads. I can and should submit applications and resumes. I should not fret over what happens from there. It’s out of my hands. And our health? Well … there are no guarantees, are there? I need to learn to give thanks for today without fretting over tomorrow!

Thinking of each day having a God ordained agenda is new to me but I like it! I need to wake every morning and consciously surrender the day to God and ask Him what we need to do with it. And then when things arise which are not on His agenda … I need to “pass the buck” and let Him deal with them! The only things that I am responsible for are the things that He puts on my agenda for today!

One day at a time!

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.   John 16:33

The Joy Dare

28 – 3 Gifts Entwined

I love baskets. I have several. I have made a few. A friend and I wove a bassinet/cradle for my first grandbaby. Many hours of work. Lots of laughter. More love and prayers went into it. I’m not sure where it has physically wound up but it lives in my memory. Joy in the weaving and in the anticipation of joy to come.

Family – so mixed up and crazy. Broken in places. Bruised in others. But still family. Too fully entwined to ever pull myself completely loose even if I wished to. (Which I don’t.) My children, even the ones who have walked away, still have roots entwined deeply in my own life and heart. They can rebel and they can run but their roots remain attached. I pray that someday their roots, and our God, will draw them home.

Grace – entwined so completely around my fears, my failures, my mistakes and my rebellions, and also around my love, my faith, my good choices and successes. Grace … the eternal cord binding past, present and future … me … bound to Him who has chosen to redeem me in spite of myself.

29 – 3 Gifts of His Promises

He has overcome! I may not see it today but it is truth! He has overcome and in Him so shall I!

Nothing, and no one, not even my own rebellion, can remove me from the security of His loving grasp!

I am loved, cherished … a daughter of the King!

March 29, 2012

Focus!

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We learn much of our perception of who God is from our relationships with our earthly fathers. The thing is that our earthly fathers are human beings who make mistakes and some times they unintentionally leave us with very wrong impressions!

My dad was a good dad. Not perfect … but good. But from him I learned that fathers play for a while but they get tired of playing faster than their children do and then they get angry if the children continue in their exuberance. And I expected God to do likewise … to play with me for a while and then tire of me and punish me for not automatically knowing the boundary lines.

My dad’s sense of humor was sometimes painful for me. He is a tease. And God gave him a child (me) that doesn’t respond well to teasing. There were times when he terrified me even though I loved him and knew he would never hurt me. And I expected similar treatment from my Heavenly Father and I lived in fear … not respect … fear of Him.

My dad wanted to impress us. As a parent I understand this. As a child … I was impressed! One morning he magically changed the colors of our cereal and I was convinced that my dad could do magic. I went to school and bragged to my classmates about my magician dad. They told me they would only believe me when he came and showed them. I begged him to come. He told me he couldn’t. He didn’t have time. And I learned that I was unimportant. He didn’t “have my back.” And I expected the same from God.

I had a recurrent nightmare for years! It still comes up when I’m particularly stressed. I am lying on my back, unable to move, and a giant thumb is lowering towards me. As if to smash me like a bug. I focus on the thumb print as it draws nearer. Trying to figure out who it is and why they want to hurt me. As it comes closer it becomes hard to focus. I try to squirm away but I’m unable to move. I always wake up, terrified, just as the thumb touches my nose.

The nightmare plagued me almost nightly through my teens and much of my 20s. There were nights when I didn’t want to go to sleep because I knew it was coming. At some point I figured out that the thumb … my torturer … belonged to God. And trusting someone who wanted to smash me like a trapped insect just didn’t seem too smart!

My name is Beth. I’m a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. And I struggle with trust! I struggle to believe that God is a good God who loves me, has a plan to prosper and not to harm me. I struggle to believe that He is working everything together for my good. Some days I struggle to believe that I am saved!

I have wondered how do I get past this. Past my own doubts, ingrained so deeply in me and refusing to budge, how do I CHOOSE to trust ANYWAY?

Waiting for Me to work, with your eyes on Me, is evidence that you really do trust Me. If you mouth the words “I trust You” anxiously trying to make things go your way, your words ring hollow.

Did you catch it? The clue. The answer. Not necessarily easy but definitely simple … keep your eyes on Me! Spend time in His word. Fill my world with music that ministers to my spirit and speaks truth to my heart. Gather with other believers who will lift and encourage me. Pray continually. Do whatever it takes to keep Him the target that my life is pointing towards! Watch for what He is doing. Go where He is leading. One choice. One step. One at a time. Focus!

The Joy Dare

11 – 3 Gifts Read

This would need to be a post unto itself but my Bible reading the other day took me across a verse that stated that in the Garden, Jesus prayed, knowing fully EVERYTHING that was about to happen to Him. Something in that really struck me hard and I’m still mulling it over.

Alycia’s Facebook posts because she always makes me laugh!

The book, You’re Already Amazing, which I apparently promised to read and review. (I lost the paperback copy somewhere so I bought the e-book.) Speaking truth and healing to my hurting heart.

12 – a gift in wind, in water, in white

Watching Tigger attack the laundry room window – trying to get to the shadow of a branch blowing in the wind!

I’ve mentioned it before but watching my cats respond to running water is a constant source of amusement for me.

The soft chewy inside of a hand-tossed pizza crust – yum!

March 12, 2012

Quit Judging – Start Dreaming

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Are you tempted to judge, evaluate, compare yourself? I surely am! I stepped on the scale at the doctor’s office yesterday and felt my heart sink. The number makes me feel unworthy of good health. I sat in the chair in my bedroom this morning and caught a glimpse of my unclothed body in a full length mirror and recoiled in disgust. I sat on my scooter chair at Blissdom this past weekend and wondered why the social thing is so hard for me when it looks so easy for others. I sat in learning sessions pondering SEO, keywords, Google Rank, etc. and found my blogging to be unworthy of following.

Some of those things are within my power to change … although it will take dedication, determination, discipline, and good old-fashioned hard work! But that’s beside the point. The point is that I need to learn to love, accept, and appreciate who I am right now … or I’ll never be content with the changes and improvements!

Jon Acuff, one of the speakers at BlissDom, spoke to this in the Friday morning keynote. He encouraged us to define our dreams and refuse to allow the external to limit those dreams! To not compare my beginning with someone else’s middle! And learn to ignore the (negative) voices. The only way to avoid having rocks thrown at us is to lay down and do nothing! Refuse to exercise the  muscle of doubt. Etc.

I’ve been ruminating on these things since this weekend. And then today’s Jesus Calling reinforced the message:

Stop judging and evaluating yourself, for this is not your role. Above all, stop comparing yourself with other people. This produces feelings of pride or inferiority; some times a mixture of both. I lead each of My children along a path that is uniquely tailor-made for him or her. Comparing is not only wrong; it is also meaningless.

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

I am who I am. And who I am is pretty awesome!

 

The Joy Dare

24 – 3 Gifts Before 11:00 a.m.

an abundance of clean clothes from which I can choose an outfit for today

a car in which I can drive to work

a handicapped space available in the closest lot

25 – a gift nearly worn out, a gift new, a gift made-do

comfy jeans and threadbare t-shirts

abundant *swag* from the Blissdom Conference

a laptop which will suffice until we can afford to replace a broken computer

26 – 3 gifts seen as reflections

my *little* cat playing with his reflection in the mirror

blue skies reflected in a puddle after the rain

myself – defined as worthy by the heart of a friend

27 – 3 ugly-beautiful gifts (see ugly as beautiful)

feet after a manicure – flowers on my toes

my abundant collection of Crocs shoes – I know they are ugly but they are so comfortable!

a sinus infection upon return from Nashville gave me a couple of days to rest and recover before returning to work

28 – 3 gifts, from the past, that help you trust the future

journal entries testifying to His goodness

highlighted Bible verses

birthdays and anniversaries

February 28, 2012

Busyness

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Jesus Calling – February 10

Don’t fall into the trap of being constantly on the go. Many, many things people do in My Name have no value in My kingdom. To avoid doing meaningless works, stay in continual communication with Me.

Luke 10:41-42

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Psalm 32:8

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.

Busyness. It’s the plague of this generation. We have, in the pursuit of simplifying our lives, given ourselves so many more things to keep up with. So much more to do.

When I was a little girl, which admittedly was a long time ago, all of my friends had stay at home moms. A 2 income family was nearly unheard of. People managed on whatever Dad made at the one job that he held. They didn’t have oodles of electronics, multiple cars, houses too big to keep clean. They had family. And time to support and enjoy that family!

I know … it wasn’t a perfect world and not all families were Rockwell-esque. But it was a calmer, steadier, safer world for most of us. And I’m not so sure that the *improvements* have been a good thing!

Are you busy? I think I am but I sure wouldn’t want to see a chart of how I spend these limited hours with which I have been graced! How much of my time do I waste on stuff that has no value? It’s not that I think God objects to my blog, Facebook or Twitter. I don’t. I think that those things can be used in a way that DOES honor Him and DOES have value and I try to do that. What I think is that He wants me to put Him first! Not wedge Him (time in the Word) in during TV commercials with the sound blaring so I don’t miss the show when it comes back on! Yeah … I’ve done that! Blush! And I think He would like my prayers to be more focused and personal than a Facebook status! And longer than a Twitter update! He loves me and He wants the best of my heart and life … not the leftovers!

I need to step back from my busyness, from all the things that beckon my heart, demand my attention, and really LISTEN for His Voice. Otherwise … I’ll miss it! I was reading about Elijah the other day and came across 2 verses that really spoke to my heart. I’ve heard them before but this time they sunk deeper and settler in so I could pause and consider their truth …

1 Kings 19:11-13

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

   And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

God doesn’t DEMAND our attention, out of the middle of our busyness, with lightning strikes or fireworks! He whispers. And if we’re not still, focusing on Him, long enough to hear … we’ll miss the whisper! And all of our busyness will amount to nothing but wood, hay, and straw … consumed by the fire! (1 Cor. 3:12-14) I don’t know about you but I want all my “busyness” to amount to precious jewels … not kindling!

The Joy Dare – February 10

3 Times You Heard Laughter Today

Wow! I left work without talking to anyone. I work in an office, in a small private room, away from other people. I’m going to have to think really hard about this one!

1. My own laughter when I watched this video. I do not like the abundance of poor language in the video BUT I applaud this dad for following through on what he said would happen if his daughter chose to behave inappropriately. If more parents would “shoot their kids computers” this world would be a better place!

2. Our old boss stopped by for a visit and there was lots of laughter out in the halls as people stopped by to tell him hello.

3. I bought 2 of these a long time ago. Why I bought 2 … I don’t recall. One has been on my desk holding my cell phone and keys (I hook them over the thumbs) since I got them. The other stayed in a cabinet. One of my co-workers noticed it today and it made her laugh. Heartily! So I gave her the spare one! icon smile Busyness

February 10, 2012

Rejoicing in the Pain

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Jesus Calling – February 9

Do not recoil from afflictions, since they are among My most favored gifts. Trust Me and don’t be afraid, for I am your Strength and Song.

Psalm 27:8

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”

2 Corinthians 4:7

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Isaiah 12:2

See, God has come to save me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
The LORD GOD is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.

Do not recoil from afflictions, since they are among My most favored gifts. 

Excuse me? I have a hard time seeing affliction as a gift! And if it is one … it feels more like a prank gift with a nasty surprise inside!

My head KNOWS that God is in control and nothing happens to me, or in my world, that is out of His will. My head knows that I am supposed to trust Him to be working everything (even the hard stuff) together for my good.  My head knows that I am called to give thanks in ALL circumstance, that this is the day God has made for me and I’m supposed to rejoice and be glad in it! My head knows all that! But my heart? It’s still feeling a little leery!

My depression has kicked up a notch today and I was driving to a doctor’s appointment indulging in a little self-pity … thinking that my last 5 years have been about as hard as anyone could imagine. The little voice in my head spoke up and responded that I hadn’t experienced the death of a spouse or a child. I’m going to admit to you here that my response to that was “And I’m supposed to be grateful that? Isn’t that the LEAST I’m due considering everything else I’ve been through?” I AM grateful that I haven’t experienced that level of loss … I really don’t think I would survive it. So yes … I am grateful … but what about the things that have happened … sickness, pain, depression, cancer, rejection, job changes, bankruptcy, debt, an adult child in jail, etc. Does He REALLY expect me to be grateful for those things?

Hard as it is … and it’s HARD … I think the answer is yes. Yes, I should be thankful for what He is doing in me, and in my life, through this pain! I can give thanks that He has made me gentler, more compassionate, slower to judge! I can be grateful that He has given me a more giving spirit … that He has opened my heart, and my voice, to a level of honesty and openness that reassures others that I’ve been there. I understand! He has allowed me to experience better, worse, sickness, health, poverty, wealth, etc. and He has held my marriage together! He has allowed my adult children to choose to walk away from their faith and their family … but He has filled those empty places with a plethora of daughter-friends online for whom I can be a voice of support and encouragement.

He has given me MUCH MUCH more than I can bear alone … but I do not have to bear it alone. He is with me … ready and willing to carry my burdens! And yes … I should be thankful!

February 9 – The Joy Dare

3 Gifts that were surprises – unexpected Grace!

My (upcoming) BlissDom trip!

My Eeyore lanyard (I’ll share that on my other blog in a few minutes)

Loving words … in a comment, on a Facebook page, the the conversation box of a Words With Friends game.

February 9, 2012

What are You Holding Onto?

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Shhhhh … my Inbox is empty!

I have been too busy lately to find much time to indulge in blogging, reading blogs, or my assorted social media addictions, but it looks like things may finally be slowing down!  Most high school seniors are advised to get their college applications in by February 1st at the very latest so from here until the next crop hits in late July … we should have a fairly light work load.

Here are a couple of messages, from Jesus Calling,  that have really stood out to me over the last few days …

February 5 -

To receive My Peace, you must change your grasping, controlling stance to one of openness and trust. The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is My hand. Ask My Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts …

Romans 8:6

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

Psalm 46:1-2

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.

February 6

Lift up empty hands of faith to receive My precious Presence. Light, Life, Joy, and Peace flow freely through this gift. When your focus turns away from Me, you grasp for other things. You drop the glowing gift of My Presence as you reach for lifeless ashes. Return to Me; regain My Presence.

1 Timothy 2:8

In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

February 7

Come to Me for Rest and refreshment. The journey has been too much for you, and you are bone-weary. Do not be ashamed of your exhaustion. Instead, see it as an opportunity for Me to take charge of your life.

Romans 8:8 (AMP)

So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

Psalm 42:11

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.

February 8

I guarantee that you will always have problems in this life, but they must not become your focus. When you feel yourself sinking in the sea of circumstances, say “Help me, Jesus!” and I will draw you back to Me. If you have to say that thousands of times daily, don’t be discouraged. I know your weakness, and I meet you in that very place.

Matthew 14:28-32

 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

   So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

Before we go any further, I want to say something about Peter. He gets a bad rep for sinking BUT:

  • He believed he could do the impossible!
  • He got out of the boat!
  • He walked on water!
  • He knew what to do when he started to sink …. he didn’t reach back for the boat … he reached out for Jesus!

I have admitted that I’m a control addict,  haven’t I? If not … there you have it, I, Beth Zimmerman, am a control addict. I fuss. I fidget. I plan. I manipulate. And God knows I worry! Lately it seems to me that all of the messages that the Lord is sending me are focused on letting go of that need for control and holding onto Him. Only Him! Perhaps part of the reason that I have fallen so far into this cycle of depression is that I am trying to hold onto the wrong things! Life is NOT going the way I planned. It’s not neat. It’s not orderly. Most of the time it’s not even fun! And I have been so focused on trying to pull the pieces back together and fix what’s broken … that I have kept God at arm’s reach. How ridiculous is it to know that my attitude has been, “Hang on a minute, Lord. I need to fix this. THEN I’ll deal with You are Your plans for me.” God’s plan for me is to let go of the broken. Quit trying to control the uncontrollable. Let go … and hold onto Him! Him alone!

The Joy Dare Prompts

7 – 3 Gifts Red

Icy cold watermelon on a hot summer day. Spitting seeds into the grass while the juice drips down my chin and falls sticky against my neck and chest.

Shiny red ribbons and bows on beautiful Christmas packages.

Crisp red apples in the fall.

8 – a gift broken, a gift fixed, a gift thrifted

My little bunny musical shelf-sitter, a gift from a long ago secret pal (forgotten who) – the cheerful little blue bird who sat on his back fell off.

My word tags (yes, I promised a post, I will get to it). They arrived – different than what I ordered. The artist graciously created a new set and sped them to me.

Clothing, I could afford, for a child who was growing faster than my budget could keep up with!

February 8, 2012

Worn Out

1

Jesus Calling – February 4

Bring me your weakness, and receive My Peace. Accept yourself and your circumstances just as they are, remembering that I am sovereign over everything. Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning. Instead, let thankfulness and trust be your guides through this day; they will keep you close to Me.

Psalm 29:11

The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 13:5

But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

Today’s whole reading in Jesus Calling practically shouted at me, “Beth! Take note! This one is for you!” Especially this line: “Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning.” Guilty as charged, Lord! There are so many aspects of control addiction that He is pointing out to me and calling sin. This one … wow! I plot. I plan. I make lists. I try to figure out every possible scenario and the best way to respond to each in order to obtain the most favorable outcome. Not that I do this in ways that would make good practical sense. No. No. No. I don’t want to give you an impression of myself as a hyper-organized Polly Perfect. I do not budget. Well … I try … but I’m a Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey) dropout! I do not menu plan. Shoot … I don’t even grocery shop anymore. Hubby has taken it over because of my health issues. And if you were to peruse my home you might decide I am the Queen of Clutter. Any of those areas would probably be perfectly healthy, and reasonable, areas on which to focus my unwavering attention. But no … I analyze and plan (endlessly) in areas over which I have little or no control. Areas that I need to let go of and leave in God’s hands!  I’ll keep you posted!

Joy Dare for February 4 – 3 gifts found when bent down

I’m not sure what to think of this prompt. Quite frankly, given my weight and the condition of my knees, I don’t bend down a whole lot. And when I do … the greatest gifts are that I do not topple over and that I can stand back up! Obesity does a number on mobility, flexibility, stability and a whole lot of other abilities. A truth that is brought home to me daily when I clean the litter box. And reinforced today when I was trying to chase Tigger out of my bedroom and he hid behind the recliner. I reached for him and about fell over. The only thing between me and a shoe covered floor was a flimsy TV tray. I considered it a gift when I found myself solidly back on both feet without a detour! And I managed to catch my wayward cat too!

My cats (the Israelites who want to go to the forbidden places and do those things that I have commanded them not to do)

My piles of shoes … including some cute new Crocs which are decidedly un-Croc-like! I LOVE Crocs and rarely wear other shoes. I went looking for some that would work with a dress and settled on these:

Tangled up cords that give lie to my claim that we are “poor.” We may not have the latest, the newest, or the best, but we have been given above and beyond our needs and I should be more grateful!

February 4, 2012
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