Reflection! again . . .

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you

for My power is made perfect in weakness."
 2 Corinthians 12:9

And we, who  with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,

are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory

which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
 2 Corinthians 3:18

We are sponges.

Human beings reflect what we are exposed to frequently.

So what we read, watch often, listen to influences us directly. Who we spend time with, what we do repeatedly, what takes up our thoughts -  impact us in a much greater way than what we realize.

A New Year is always "reflection" time - a season to "improve" ourselves, change our habits, do things better.

The truth is we can't do much improving on our own. We fall easily back into those comfortable habits and remain unchanged.

So what is the solution?

We become "jars of clay" filled with God's transforming power to reflect God's eternal glory!

His Job?

He floods us with His light

He showers us with His grace

He fills us with His power

He transforms us

Our Job?

REFLECTION!

Doomsday!

The world will end December 21st.

The economy is going to crash with all this debt!

We will die in a pandemic!

The government will take over our lives!

Doomsday predictions, rising feelings of panic, fear and depression!

The truth?

The world is going to end - look in Revelation, Luke 17, Matthew 24.  The economy will crash and a government will take over the lives of those that haven't died of  plague, battles and natural disasters!

The good news?

We won't be here!!!!! We will be attending our WEDDING FEAST with our Bridegroom JESUS!

There will be tremors of this change prior to our going Home -

Our assignment? 

To keep our eyes on Jesus and  

REFLECT

 His character in the difficult times!

Reflection!

The instant God spoke creation into existence -

 an amazing light show beyond description awed the angels! 

Out of pure darkness shot pure light, crafted into the universe we live in and galaxies far beyond our sight.

Look at 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

For God, who said," Let light shine out of darkness,"

made His light shine in our hearts

to give us the light of the knowledge of the  glory of God

in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay

to show that this all-surpassing power

is from God and not from us.

I love the words "in the face of Christ!" A reminder to keep our eyes on Jesus and in so doing

We become a reflection of God's glory to those around us!

Fractured thoughts and runaway ideas . . .

My mind these days is full of fractured thoughts and runaway ideas that fly along one track then bounce quickly to another. Thoughts that used to line up so obediently and flow in order now swirl about my head, bumping into one another and sometimes disappearing into a deep, dark hole!

Since the beginning of the New Year my days have not been routine. Schedules have gone awry and
structure is no where to be found. Perhaps I am not the easy going, flexible person I thought I was. Perhaps routine is my friend after all.

Perhaps my Lord is teaching me something . . .

What am I learning? Beside the fact I don't like chaos and am more fond of daily rhythms than I care to admit?

• I am learning to trust Jesus with my unsettledness - Proverbs 3:4-5

•  I am learning, again, to get my hands out of the way, to let go - Psalm 46:10

•  I am learning to depend on my Intercessor - Romans 8:34

• I am learning to wait on the One who knows my thoughts from afar, who formed me and has filled a book of all my days - Psalm 139

•  I am learning to trust God, who is my Refuge, and when the ledge is narrow in that crevice, my safety net is His everlasting arms - Deuteronomy 33:27 

• I am learning to "rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks regardless of the circumstances" -  1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 

So fractured thoughts and runaway ideas! Beware! Confusion will not reign! My God is in control of the stars, sun and moon, the wind and the waves! He whispers, "Peace be still" and my heart rejoices!

60! REALLY???????

Ever had one of those "OH" moments? You shake your head in disbelief and your mind goes into overdrive, scrambling through thousands of neurons, looking for that piece of information to affirm what you just realized? Had one of those "spells" this month. I am a year older than I thought I was!
This year will be my 60th birthday . . . Surprise!!!!!

Now, 30 did not bother me, probably because I was glad to be alive - I had the flu, without the benefits of Tamiflu! 40 was uneventful and I really enjoyed this time in my life. Even turning 50 seemed "fine".

The 50's are fun! Our Grandchildren bless our family with love and laughter. I so enjoy seeing our "kids" at a time in their lives where maturity and age have blended into making really special men and women that I cherish.

The 50's are a growing time. Days filled with activities that stretch and challenge. Taking care of Mom and Dad during their time on Hospice, precious and the effects - eternal. Living in Psalm 46:10 and all its meaning of "Being still and knowing I am God" - amazing! Cherishing the wonderful relationship my husband and I share with years of experience under our belts - incredible.

I suppose there is an age where we realize we are getting older. We are what we remember our grandparents were. We are now them - and that idea gives us pause.

Life is short. Life is fast. Bruce told me something not long ago "life is like a toilet paper roll, the closer you are to the end the faster it spins!" Thanks, Honey!, ha Funny, but true. The days seem to fly by.The Bible agrees:

Psalm 144 -  Man is like a breath;
His days are like a passing shadow

Psalm 39 - Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.

Remind me that my days are numbered-

how fleeting my life is. 

Psalm 103 - The life of man is like grass,

he flourishs like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

Psalm 139 - You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

So now I have a decision to make. Do I face the 60's with fear and trepidation or excitement and anticipation of a new adventure? 

I choose to:

 hold my head high with my eyes wide open

to see all the Lord has in store,

feel the fresh breeze of a new decade

and breath deeply its sweet perfume,

hold my Savior's hand knowing

He already has mapped out each day and

promises to walk with me, holding me close.

The decade of the 60's! A new and exciting JOURNEY!

 

Ever wonder "Why?"

Ever wonder why ‘hard” things happen? Why the difficulties and heart wrenching times seem to multiply and are never ending? Just one thing after another or there is that one problem that keeps getting bigger and bigger?

I asked the Lord about this and was blown away by His answer. “Would you be on your knees to Me if these things were not in your life? Trust Me, I know what I am doing. In this world you will have trouble but I have overcome the world!”

The more I scratch the surface of this spiritual journey the more I can't get my head around my God. He gets bigger all the time and truly His ways are not my ways, His thoughts are not my thoughts. 

I shudder to think of all the problems in our collective families, compounded by the world and its issues.

We have an infinitely HUGE God . . . it truly boils down to our relationship with Him, our persistence (not perfection) in walking with Him, sacrificing our will and acknowledging that He is in charge of it all. Keeping our eyes on Jesus and allowing Him to work His perfect plan and rejoice with Him in His will accomplished! 

He gently brings our thinking in line with His when we spend time and sit quietly in His Presence! 

Right back to, “Be still and know I am God”! 

Eyes on Me!

Precious Sadie, 7 pounds of  happy black fur . . . several months ago, a totally different picture. 

Sadie had just been adopted and rescued from a puppy mill by our neighbor Christie. Our first introduction to Sadie was seeing her sitting on the grass, weak, painfully thin, droopy eared,  and a very unhappy toy poodle. She would not look directly at you. Her eyes empty of all emotion, wariness and distrust  radiated from every sad curl of her dull, matted coat.

Now, with love as a healer, Sadie bounces along the sidewalk, ears flopping happily, tongue hanging out of a mouth in constant smile mode!

 She has eyes only for her “Mama”. Always checking to see “if it is ok”, “if she did well”, “if she is a good girl”! She’ll sometimes miss a step going upstairs while looking lovingly up at her “Mama’s” face and tumble down the stairs to bounce quickly back to “Mama” - her security, her protector, her world!

Sadie’s life revolves around the one who has opened her heat to love and melted the walls around it to trust. She listens and knows Christie’s voice. Her eyes follow Christie as she moves around the house and is never far from Christie’s side. She keeps her eyes on the one who rescued  her from a life without hope! 

Sound familiar?

John 21:22 – Jesus tells Peter (and us) not to look at anyone else but to “follow Me”!   

EYES ON ME!

Matthew 11:28 – Jesus lovingly invites us . . . “Come to Me and I will give you rest”  

EYES ON ME!

John 10:27 – Jesus confidently states . . . “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow Me”

EYES ON ME!

Hebrews 12:2 – We are encouraged to  . . . Fix our eyes on Jesus – the author and finisher of our faith

 EYES ON ME!

Jeremiah 31:3 – Our God says . . . “I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with unfailing kindness!”  

EYES ON ME!

‘nuff said!