Don't assume

This post comes about because of so many assumptions!  I am going to post a few things that people have assumed about me and I would like to tell you to always assume for the softer, kinder assumption.  I am trying to quit the assumption game. 

First, but not the most important one, never, never assume someone is old when they are not!!  At least give the benefit of doubt and don't just give me that terrible thing called the senior discount.  I would really like it if all you people that can give discounts would always err to the softer, kinder, younger assumption.  

Don't assume someone is pregnant!  Way back and I mean way back when I was in my twenties someone ask me when the baby was due.  I think I said something like I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat.  Of course it was a man that asked that almost fatal question.  The crazy thing I wasn't even fat at that particular time.  

Don't assume I am sad just because I am crying   I cry all the time and I am not always sad! 

Don't assume I am happy just because I am smiling.  I have been know to put on the happy mask.

Don't assume I can't mow the lawn! I can!

Don't assume that I can't cook!  Sometimes I can!

Don't assume that I won't have my children's back.  Don't mess with my kids!

Don't assume that I can't keep plants alive.  I can keep any ivy alive!

Don't assume that I will always make sense when I write.  I sometimes don't.

The last assumption that I am going to list, though I know there are many more, is don't assume that I am a Christian.  Well I am, I am a saved by the grace of God but how many times do we just assume that the person next to us is saved?  

I think that I have got to quit assuming that just because you look a certain way and that you are nice, gentle, kind and go to church that you are a Christian.  I would hate to make an assumption that might land you in the wrong place.

I am so glad that someone didn't make that assumption about me.

John 3:16-17New Living Translation (NLT)

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

The Mastercraftsman

 I have been reading in 2 Chronicles.  A few days ago I was in the second  chapter and that chapter is about Solomon preparing to build the temple to  honor the name of the Lord.
    

           

2 Chronicles 2:5-7New Living Translation (NLT)

5 “This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods.6 But who can really build him a worthy home? Not even the highest heavens can contain him! So who am I to consider building a Temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices to him?

7 “So send me a master craftsman who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as with purple, scarlet, and blue cloth. He must be a skilled engraver who can work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem who were selected by my father, David

I could not help but compare this to Jesus.  He is my Master Craftsman.  He died and rose again so that I could have a magnificent Temple. That temple is my body.  He is the one that makes me a worthy temple. God sent the best and that best is and was worth more than all the gold, silver bronze and the finest cloth. Just as Solomon wanted a magnificent Temple for God, my God wants me to be a magnificent Temple for Him.  Many times I get in the way of being magnificent but God never leaves me and woos me back to Him.

1 Corinthians 6:19New Living Translation (NLT)

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,

Matthew 21:12New Living Translation (NLT 

12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.

Just as Jesus cleaned out the Temple He can also clean you out and make you worthy to be His Temple.  He wants a magnificent Temple that is willing to give up the past and live for Him.

John 14:6New Living Translation (NLT)

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

John 3:16New Living Translation (NLT)

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Do you know the Master Craftsman?  He is waiting to craft you into a Magnificent Temple!

Change is like a breath of

I have a change that is coming up in the near future.  It is something that I have wanted but have been fighting.  I know that doesn't make sense.  This change is or should be like a breath of wonderful air.  I feel like God has been leading me to this change but for financial reasons I have more or less told God that he doesn't know what is best for me.

I have talked and written about my God and how He is in the business of changing lives.  Now I am trying to put my actions in line with what I have been saying.  I don't know how many times I have told the fifth graders at my church that their actions need to show what their mouth is saying.

God has been telling me to take the plunge and become a stay at home writer.  I have so many words that God has given to me that have just floated away in the breath of I can't do that.  I want my change to be like a breath of I am going to trust my God to supply all my needs.  I want my change to be like a breath of a God who has my back.  I want my change to be like a breath of I will do whatever God tells me to do.

It was with a sense of relief and joy that I gave my notice and my last day at work will be July 18th.  I do know that God is in control and I need to accept any changes that come of to me from the breath of God.  I need to remember that change is like a breath of submission! I need to always remember that ultimate change which came from above!

Change is like a breath of the Cross!

What is your breath of change like?

James 1:17New International Version (NIV)

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

The Spiders are Back!!!

                               



Today seemed like a normal day but than everything changed.  There seemed to be a parade of spiders in my life today.  The weird thing was that I killed them.  I even killed them without doing a spider dance or having to do my kung fu move.  I was trying to do laundry, sweep the floor and wipe down the counters. They just walked right out in front of me except for the one that met its demise in the washer.  I was a little aghast as I took the wet clothes out and saw a dead spider  in the bottom of the washer.  A little shiver did run through my body as I thought of the possibility that I may have carried that spider in my arms with the clothes as I brought them all the way from my bedroom, down the hall, around the corner, through the front room, dining room, kitchen and finally into the washer.

I think that I kept that spider dance and screaming inside because I saw those spiders before they saw me.  I had the upper hand as they boldly walked into the path of a spider hater!  They were invading my space but I had time to formulate a plan and smash them before they wandered out of reach. I just stomped them!  I probably do need to admit that I would not have been so brave if I saw the same spiders in different angles or if they had been just a smidgen bigger.  I do have to admit that if one had swooped down from the ceiling, or had run across my foot, or if one was in my shoe or landed on the chair beside me I would have done the spider dance.

I think sin is like that. It parades right in front of me with the smells, sights and memories.  It even swoops down unexpectedly with no remorse.  It invades my space with many shapes, forms and angles.  My response is much the same with sin as it is with the spiders and their evil ways of trying to catch me. I might think that I have the upper hand and I might stomp around, scream, cry and or run.  I might try to stomp my sin out but I can't get rid of any of my sin with out my Savior.  He is my stomper!  He stomped out my sin and yours when He went to the cross!

Today might seem like a normal day but it can change.   Jesus want to be your Savior and stomp out your sin!   He can turn your normal day into an extra ordinary one!!

John 3:16-17

New King James Version (NKJV)

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 14:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Covering My Blemishes

                                                   

I am always trying to figure out a way to cover my blemishes, my warts, my age spots and well you get the picture.  I use foundation to try to hide the imperfections on my face.  The problem is that I apparently have the kind of skin that the foundation just melts away, sometimes even before I get to to where I am going. I have used the liquid kind, the powder kind and the kind that says it will last all day.  None of them have worked.  I keep trying though.  I want to keep those blemishes covered. If I could find the right maskI would just wear a it.

I do a good job though of hiding the blemishes of my soul.  The hurts, the frustrations, the imperfections and the sins.  The problem is I apparently am the kind of person that mask the things within my soul. The mask I put on seems to hide those hurts, frustrations and sins but they are still there.  That mask, just like the foundation I use on my face, is temporary.  I have to let those hurts, frustrations and sins melt in the hands of my Jesus.  He takes them and covers them with His blood.  He wants me to drop the mask and let Him be the foundation of my life.

Do you need a Foundation?

Isaiah 28:16

New King James Version (NKJV)

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.

Proverbs 10:25

New King James Version (NKJV)

25 When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more,
But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

The Journey Continues:May 2014

It has been a while since I last posted and a lot has happened.  Richard was back in the hospital with a fungal infection and was off of work through the end of April.  He was very impatient with his quest to  get back to work.  He is a stubborn, determined man.   The Doctors have told him that is part of the reason that he is still alive.  This may be true but I know much of the reason that he is still alive is through the grace of God and the many prayers that you guys have been sending up.

He has had an ultra sound, pet scan, pulmonary function test and a bone density test.  The ultra sound showed that he had some kind of mass in his gallbladder, the bone density test showed that he had lost two inches in height(probably due to the steroids) and the pulmonary function test showed a little of a decrease. It is of my professional opinion(that of the wife) that this is getting better as he is getting rid of the virus's, the bacterial infections and the fungal pneumonia.  Next appointment three weeks.

The pet scan showed two small spots that are located in the neck area and they are still the same size as the last scan.  It also showed that the mass or whatever was clogging up his gall bladder is GONE!!  

God is good all the time and no matter what but this just seems like a really wonderful work of a goodness!

Thanks for all the prayers!  

Deuteronomy 10:21

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

21 He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.



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The Inside of Your House

                                              

Everyday on the way to take my granddaughter to school I pass a certain house on the way.  It is a beautiful farmhouse.  The fields are tilled with no debris and  the lawns are always mowed.  The house is white with large pillars gracing the front porch.  Everyday when driving by this house I can see through into the house.  I can only see lights so I don't really know what the inside of the house looks like.  I can only imagine that it is just as immaculate as the outside is.

I know that there are many times when a driver might look at our house and see the lights shining from within and think that the inside is clean.  I know, in my house, that many times the outside looks so much better than the inside.  On certain days if a person were to come to my door and I invited them in they might be really be surprised to see the mess.  The outside does not always tell the truth.  If I know in advance that someone is coming to my house, than I clean, mop, sweep whatever I need to do to make my house presentable.

This morning when I drove by that lovely farmhouse I wondered if they might have the same problem with the inside of their house as I do with mine.  I also wondered if people might  look at me and wonder what is on the inside?   Do they look at me and think oh she has it all together or can they see the chaos that might be floating through my insides?  If I know in advance that I am going to see someone I can look like I am clean.  Are my insides full of debris and need to be tilled?  Can they see the debris of uncertainty, anger and pride?

I do have a sweeper that will sweep away my debris.  He will clean as often as needed.  I can look immaculate but if the inside is dirty it will eventually shine through.  I often have to ask the sweeper to sweep away the dirt in my soul.   My sweeper is Jesus and He cares more about the inside than what the outside looks like.  What about you?

Do you need swept out?

1 John 1:7-9

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.