GETTING THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

You will never comprehend God's mercy and grace unless you fail.

You will never embrace the depth of God's love until you walk in the valley with him.

You will never experience his divine peace until you let go of the things that weigh you down.

You will never grow in his wisdom and knowledge as long as you are focusing on yourself instead of him . 

You will never live life to it's fullest as long as you are filled with yourself. 

SIT WITH ME AWHILE

      
      Today Josh, my oldest son, and Lisa, my oldest daughter, came over for a visit.  As they were driving away I felt so blessed to be close enough to where they live for them to drop by.  This has been something I haven't ever experienced as a mother after my children were grown and left home.  We have always lived so far away from them that this was never a possibility.  I love my children and was soaking in the wonder of just how awesome they are.  It thrills me that they would take time out of their schedule to come and spend with me. 

      As they drove off I began to wonder if this is how the Lord fills whenever we pop in and spend a few minutes with him.  Do we take time to do this often enough?  Are we possibly like the child that has filled his/her lives with so many events and desires and don't have time to stop and spend time with our very own Father, the Lord Jesus Christ? 

      Maybe we need to sit and chat with the Lord about the good things he is doing in our lives or about the things we feel are going wrong.  He is longing for you to drop by and visit with him.  It will not only bless him but it will also bless your own life. 

     Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.  (Isaiah 55:6)

     Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

A FERRIS WHEEL KIND OF LIFE

     A few months ago I was pondering on how my life seems to be either heading uphill or heading downward.  While pondering on this I thought about the Ferris wheel.  The Ferris wheel is in constant rotation around the hub.   The attendant knows that whenever he puts the children into the seats that they are not going to stay in one place.  He also understands that they are not going to fly into space.  This attendant knows that as long as the seats are connected to the hub no matter how high the children ride, they will once again come back around to the bottom of the Ferris wheel where they first got on. 

      As I was doing my radio/television a few weeks ago one of the ladies I spoke with that day was having a very difficult time.  I was able to share with her this very illustration because I felt this was where I actually was at the time.

     Jesus Christ is the hub and there are times that we have great experiences and feel we have reached the very top.  There are also times that we feel our lives are in between and we are just content being there.  Then there are times like I experienced a few months ago where I was at rock bottom.  No matter how hard I tried, everything just seemed to be falling apart. 

     As I pondered on this a bit I realize that everything was going to be alright because my operator was God and I was connected to the hub, Jesus Christ.  With this being true I knew that just as sure as I had reached rock bottom, I also knew the ride wasn't over.  I knew the hub had the power to lift me right back up if I would just stay calm and seated and allow him to take control.

      True to his word, he has been faithful to lift me back up to much higher ground and he will continue to do so as long as I stay connected to him.  Jesus Christ is to be the center of our lives and when we allow him to be in the right place he is able to bring forth great things in and through us. 
   
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:37-39)

 

TUNNELS CAN TEACH US TO LOOK PAST OUR PRESENT SITUATION

Have you ever driven through a long dark tunnel or maybe even went for a ride at six flags into a tunnel?  While passing through it we always know the light is going to come bursting forth when we arrive at the end of the tunnel. 

There are times we feel our lives is a perfect example of this.  At the moment all we can see is the darkness and things that cause us to panic.  All the while we are looking for the end of the tunnel so that we can once again see the light and be able to take a deep cleansing breath and say, "Thank the Lord for the light at the end of the tunnel." 

I was just pondering on this the other day wondering when I would be able to see the light of day and get this second book sent in for publishing.  This has been a real walk of faith for me and I am still wondering what the Lord has in mind.  I know one day we will see the light and understand why he put a hold on the whole event.  As for now, I just don't understand. 

This thing is for sure, He who began a good work in you is able to complete it.  So we are trusting that this is just a passage way from one place to another and then the Lord will shine forth his glory on the other side. 

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6)

JOY IN THE MORNING

A few months ago I started using these words, "Joy in the morning!" often as a reminder that things will not always be as they are at the present.  True to his word, the Lord allowed me to experience those words this morning. 

In the book published in December of this year I wrote a poem called the Prosperity of Adversity, which I am going to include once again in my blog today.  I have had many times in my life that this poem was so fitting.  When I wrote it in the book, I didn't realize I was fixing to face some extremely strong storms once again. 

Each time I was about to give up, during the battles of the last two months, the words to the poem found their way to my lips.  Instead of spouting anger, frustration and accusing the Lord of not taking care of me, these words flowed from my lips,

"This is a bridge and not a wall."

Each string of bad events that came against me, I started reminding myself that the rocks Satan was throwing at me were not going to destroy me.  I would place them under my feet and I would use them to step higher and become a better person and not a bitter person. 

I had felt I was writing that poem for my readers, when in fact it was the very poem that carried me through the last storm. 

Lisa Villarreal was a neighbor of mine in Burkburnett whom I grew to love deeply.  She and I would go out late at night and sit on a swing that I had in our front yard.  We both have some very fond memories of those times.  She called yesterday and we were talking about how our prospective can change our whole life.  I just wished I would have learned the things I've learned this last year when I was in my early adulthood.  It could have saved myself many headaches, anger attacks and moment of deep depression.  Sometimes we feel the event we are faced with is going to destroy us when in fact,  it isn't the event that controls us, it is our prospective and how we handle the event. 

Pastor Keith made a statement last week in his sermon.

"When you go through a storm you will either make God larger or you will make him smaller."

How true is this! 

Prosperity of adversity is the greatest riches of all,

To learn that whenever bad comes our way: it's a bridge and not a wall.

The bitterness that we once had, was laid down at our feet,

They became the stepping stones of success and not a path of great defeat.

The greatest servants in the world, have learned adversity to extreme,
Learning not to focus on the hurt but focusing on Christ supreme.
Finding the Lord will always catch us, no matter how far the fall,
When it seems the bottom is falling out, on the Lord is who to call.

The bridge of crossing is easier now as we watch the waters flow,
The trials are being washed away so that we will be free to grow.
As the time passes by, so do the things that once did weigh us down,
Prosperity of adversity is not a weight, but it's a crown.

(Written by Sherry Long)
Inspired by a sermon preached by Charles Stanley