Draw Near to God

On that sunny day I walked on the sidewalk next to the cemetery. I loved the cemetery because it was peaceful and had lots of trees. When I could I would spend time just sitting in the valley that ran through the cemetery because it was so beautiful. As I walked alongside the fence I saw something moving ahead of me on the sidewalk. I wasn’t sure what it was until I got closer. There was a bird that was hurt, hopping on the sidewalk unable to fly.

It was a small bird and I wanted to help it. I tried to get closer but fear took over. I had never touched a live bird. I wondered what it would feel like but could not get close. I reasoned with myself that I touched dogs and they were alive, so why not a bird. I became so afraid that I had to walk out in the street to get away from it. My heart wanted to help it but my fear of the unknown made me walk away. I wondered if anyone would help it and was upset with myself that I could not be that person.

I still have some of that same reaction when I go fishing. I love to fish as long as my husband is there to bait the line—if it is live bait, and help take the fish off the hook. I even bought myself gloves to wear so I could hold the fish without fear of being hurt by the scales, but I could not do it because the fish would always move and I would scream and let go. I am working on overcoming this fear.

I think there is the same kind of fear inside of us that sometimes keeps us from approaching God. We know that He is alive and we know that He is powerful which makes it difficult to wrap our thoughts around approaching Him. But James tells us in

 James 4:8 (NKJV)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Our fear of approaching God has more to do with our sinful nature than anything else. But the rewards of drawing near to Him are so much greater than the momentary embarrassment and guilt we feel on the way to Him. If we overcome our fear of punishment and shame we can receive grace and mercy. So the question becomes do we enjoy the embarrassment and guilt, the fear of punishment and shame so much that we would not trade them in for grace and mercy?

I say it is time to embrace the changes God has for us, shed the embarrassment, guilt, fear of punishment and shame so we can draw nearer to God. He will gently guide us on the right path, show us grace and mercy and forgive our transgressions.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

My goal in life is to bring God glory, but I can’t do that if I am not close to Him. Would you join me this week in drawing nearer to God so He can work in our lives and gain the Glory that is due Him? Enjoy your week and I will be back next week with more.

Trusting and Waiting

 

I spent the week reminding myself of being a daughter of God. Every time I started to get discouraged I told myself “I am God’s daughter”.  That started my mind in the right direction but was not enough. So in order to make this real to me I decided that I must look at scriptures that addressed the areas of my life that did not seem like a daughter of God’s life would look.

I focused in on two areas this week that are needs. The first is healing and the second is finances. As a child of God certain promises are available to me. So I searched out scriptures that would help remind me of this.  The promise of healing is available to me as a child of God.

Psalm 30:2 (NKJV)

“O Lord my God, I cried out to you, And you healed me.”

My plan is to add other verses every week because the Word can change a heart and mind. Acting like a child of God means that I must be a good steward of what God has given me whether it is financially or physically or spiritually.

Proverbs 21:20 (NKJV)

“There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, but the foolish man squanders it.”

I must make sure I am a good steward of what God has already given me, before I can ever expect any increase. If I am a child of God then I am righteous. Psalm 52 tells a lot about the righteous but I focused in on these verses this week.

Psalm 52:8-9 (NKJV)

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise you forever, because you have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

Two things stand out to me in this psalm about the righteous person. The first is being a green olive tree in the house of God. I know that olive trees produce olives and from them olive oil is produced. Olive oil is used for anointing and for burning to create light and was used with sacrifices in the Old Testament. So being an olive tree in the house of God means that a righteous person is very useful in the house of God.

The second thing that stands out is I will wait on Your name, for it is good. As I pondered this part of the verse I realized that the names of God describe his character. And the names of God that I am currently interested in are God as our provider and God as our healer. My take on this is there is waiting involved and good children of God will wait on the character of God. They need to show up and in the mean time they will be useful to God’s kingdom.

I am waiting on God’s name and trusting in his mercy this week. Join me on this journey. Enjoy your week and I will be back next week with more.

I am a daughter

Physically I am a daughter of my parents and I have been blessed to have a daughter of my own. Spiritually my Father is God and I am His child since the day I accepted Him and the works of Jesus, His son, who came to this earth and live a sin free life, shared healing and deliverance with sinful people, suffered and died on the cross and then rose again to everlasting life.

There were some major sacrifices and sufferings that occurred in order for me to become a daughter. Physically my mother had to suffer through pregnancy and labor to bring me into this world. Spiritually God sent Jesus to give His life that included suffering, praying, healing, teaching, dying and rising again, in order that I might become a daughter.

Wow that is a lot of suffering and pain and struggle for me to be able to say I am a daughter. And as a mother myself I can say that I suffered in order to bring forth my children, some more than others. But I would not change a thing about bringing them into the world. The sacrifice was worth having others live and have the chance to make decisions and show in their lives what God has done.

I am sure Jesus believes that His sacrifice was worth it when He sees one of us come to know Him and live our lives as sons and daughters who will live eternally with Him and the Father. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and help us make the right decision in life to give the most glory to God the Father.

My daughter and I just spent two days at a women’s retreat (Pink Impact). We had time to talk about spiritual things. I have watched her grow up into a beautiful woman inside and out. I watch her deal with situations in her life and I see the love of God flow out of her toward everyone. She is not perfect and neither am I but the love of God compensates for all of our flaws. As daughters of God we are allowed to make mistakes and move on. We are given forgiveness when it is needed and most importantly we can trust that God will take care of our lives.

It is time to think like His daughter. I plan on spending time this week reminding myself that I am God’s daughter until it is sealed in my heart. Whether you are a daughter or a son of God join me this week in changing your mindset to understand that this is what we are. Read the word and pray for revelation.

2^nd Corinthians 6:18

“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”

Enjoy your week and I will be back next week with more.

My Mama

Well it is another mother’s day. This year I wanted to reflect on my mama. She was my inspiration for birthing the desire to write. As a child I began admiring her for her research of the history of our town and the writings that she did as a result of that research. She published some books on history and tour guide books and brochures all based on her research. She also decided that the children in the town needed local history presented to them and wrote a curriculum that was added to the history classes with her as the teacher. She fought hard to preserve the old buildings in our historic town of Ste. Genevieve, MO.

At the top of her game she won national recognition by receiving the Gordon Gray Award in 1977 “for her efforts to educate her town about their 18th century French heritage through classes, publications and lectures.” (Preservation News)

She instilled in me things that I realize have shaped my life desires. She loved to research and find things that others missed or did not talk about. I embraced this quality and it has served me well throughout the years. Whether it is researching the Bible for inspiration or using research to help me be the best in my job. I am thankful that God allowed her to have six children, I am the sixth, even after they told her she could have no more than one.

We learn what we experience. All of us have seen failures in our parents but we can take the good and let it shape our lives or we can get stuck in the bad things that happen and never move on. I choose to take the good; the things that have helped me get through life with a smile. My mama loved me and always encouraged me. That does not mean that we always saw things eye to eye or always agreed, because we did not. But looking back she was my biggest cheerleader.

So on this mother’s day I say thank you to my Mama who is in heaven today. Thank you for never giving up on me and teaching me things that have shaped my life.

Proverbs 6:20 NASB

My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; 

Enjoy your week and I will be back next week with more.

Ends are Confusing

I’ve been trying to figure out all day why I don’t know what to do. I finally realized that I came to an end and ends are confusing. My job ended this week and because I had myself in such a routine with exactly what happens and when in order to be ready for work five days a week I have been completely thrown off. Because I will be home most of the time until I find work I don’t have to spend the weekend cooking for the whole week. That gave me extra time that I wasn’t sure how to use. It is not like there aren’t things I need to do but when time just suddenly shows up that you weren’t expecting it really can throw you off. And if you are not careful you will find yourself doing nothing all day

I have accomplished a few things since my job was eliminated. I applied for unemployment and continued a rigorous revamping of my resume. I am looking into the possibility of educational opportunities to further my employability. I am coming to understand that it is important to keep moving even if you aren’t sure where you are going. 

In the bible there is a story after the resurrection of Jesus in John 21. Peter and the disciples had experienced a tremendous end in the death of Jesus. And now they were in a bit of a confusing time with the new beginning that started with His resurrection and His occasional appearances. I think they did not know what to do with themselves so Peter and some disciples went fishing one night and caught nothing. In the morning Jesus was on the shore and asked what they caught. He instructed them to cast the net on the right side and they caught more fish than they could handle. 

My take away from this is that nothing works well without Jesus. Even things that you were good at before He showed up in your life. So since I came to an end and am in the process of a new beginning it is time to press in to God and get direction to move forward.

I hope those of you out there in similar situations will find encouragement from this and seek what your next steps will be. Enjoy your week, whatever it brings, and I will be back next week with more.

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