This weeks blog is going to be a little different. This is about dreaming dreams for your family, your children. Some may think it isn't right to dream about your future, but instead to let things fall as they may. If you have read my blogs all along you know I am all about faith and trust in our Lord Jesus. I also feel God is OK with us dreaming and having goals for our future. There is a scripture in Joel that speaks of dreaming.
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. - Joel 2:28
Now I will get to the meat. When I was pregnant for our son 33 years ago my husband and I would always pray and lay hands on my belly. My husband would play his guitar and we would sing and worship the Lord. That precious baby inside of me would be very active during those times.
This was the day when we did not know if our baby was a boy or girl. Only our Lord Jesus knew. But still we prayed, "Lord use this child for your glory in whatever way you desire".
Our son Matthew was born. We continued to hold worship a very high priority in our home, and in our family. Matthew could barely walk, yet he had some crazy rhythm going on. He had a little guitar he would play and he made effects sounds with his voice. He would serenade my Mom and I whenever we were in the car. So Paul and I continued to pray that God would use Matthew and gift him in whatever way He desired.
As time went on it was evident Matthew had an ear for music and a desire to play that guitar. He began learning, officially, at the age of 4. He had times of taking a break when other interests took his time. But his guitar was always there for him.
Then the DREAM. Matthew began to dream of playing before many for the glory of the Lord. My husband continued to teach him. He told Matthew if you want to excel in this you have to practice everyday. So he did, so much so that he would fall asleep at night with his guitar still strapped on him in his bed. As he got older he went to college for more instruction. Matthew also played on the worship team as well. He has always kept that dream in front of him. Never giving up.
Today Matthew has been living that dream. He has traveled the world. Played before many. His desire was to be known as an excellent guitar player and gain respect from others for that. He has that this day.
You may be thinking why am I sharing this, what does it have to do with hope, faith, trust. Matthew, Paul, and myself have always recognized Matthew's talent as a gifting from God. He did not sit back and wait for it to fall out of the sky, he worked hard for it everyday. Paul and I never took that for granted. We continued to pray everyday that God would have His way in Matthew's life. And we still do everyday.
What ever dream you have, whatever goal or vision you have, you must always keep it before the Lord Jesus. He will hear your prayers. He will bring it to fruition as you follow Him, and remain a faithful servant to Him. I believe that as we truly seek Him for His will in our lives, He will reveal those desires to us.
I encourage you today, seek the Lord's will for your life. If you have a dream or a vision, pray, ask Jesus if this is legit or the pizza you ate. Look for the confirmation in God's Word. Ask Him to show you and guide you. I am confident He will show you.
Our son Matthew never gave up on his dream. He pressed on, he stepped out in leaps of faith, moving to Colorado and then a year ago to Nashville with his beautiful wife. God has shown His love and faithfulness to Matthew and Mel over and over. How much more encouraging can it get.
Keep dreaming your dreams for yourself and your family. Trust in our Lord Jesus that He will guide you. Stay in His word for encouragement and confirmation. Our Lord God loves you with all of His heart, and He has a desire to use you, all of you.
Thank you for reading faithful friends. I pray this blesses you.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
How do we keep a positive attitude in the midst of our troubles?
Hello readers, as I share with you this week I pray I am encouraging to you. I have shared similar thoughts before with you all, but this past week I have had this very same topic come up in my devotions and a sermon I heard this week. It has been on my heart everyday. So here it goes.
How do we keep from getting discouraged, or depressed, or just plain feeling down in our spirits?
We all face trials everyday. Some small, some huge. But whatever trial you are going through, it has the capability of bringing us down. That is the goal of the enemy, to bring us down to a place where we lose hope. I tell you today, we all have the power within us to overcome the enemy, kick him right back to hell where he belongs. Wow, harsh words! Yes they are, but when it comes to defeat, I get very intense to be sure I have the victory.
Even when Jesus was facing death on the cross, His Father God sent an angel to Jesus to impart strength into Him, to empower Jesus, and recharge Him. It was a very difficult time for Jesus in the garden. The disciples could not seem to stay awake to encourage Jesus, to intercede for Him. So God sent an angel to help Jesus. See Luke 22:43
If Jesus needed strengthening and encouragement, how much more we must need it when we face our trials? God wants us to be victorious. He is faithful to give us what we need to get past this trial and onward to victory.
With all this in mind, do you think we have a responsibility on our end? Of course we do. Romans 12:2 says (ESV):
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
This is a verse I like to keep in my memory bank. It reminds me that I have to do my end and everyday fill my mind with the Word of God, with positive things. It may be a particular song for you, or a specific book. For me it is this verse and also another one.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (amplified version):
We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ.
This is another verse that has always helped me keep my mind in the right place. Take those bad thoughts, discouraging words and kick them out. They do not belong in you and have no right being there.
So you see we all face things that try to bring us down. But lets turn it around, and send it right back out the door. It doesn't matter the size of your trial, if it is yours then it is a big deal to you.
Don't feel badly if you find yourself struggling. It happens to all of us. During a specific time that seems extra hard to you, call someone who might have some encouraging words for you. Find your outlet to your "happy place".
And most of all never, ever let the devil tell you that you are a loser! Because you are not! Jesus fought the ultimate battle for us. He defeated the devil and now it has no authority over you.
Faithful readers I pray that I have encouraged you all in some way. My husband likes this saying: "tough times don't last but tough people do".
Be blessed friends. See you next time.
How do we keep from getting discouraged, or depressed, or just plain feeling down in our spirits?
We all face trials everyday. Some small, some huge. But whatever trial you are going through, it has the capability of bringing us down. That is the goal of the enemy, to bring us down to a place where we lose hope. I tell you today, we all have the power within us to overcome the enemy, kick him right back to hell where he belongs. Wow, harsh words! Yes they are, but when it comes to defeat, I get very intense to be sure I have the victory.
Even when Jesus was facing death on the cross, His Father God sent an angel to Jesus to impart strength into Him, to empower Jesus, and recharge Him. It was a very difficult time for Jesus in the garden. The disciples could not seem to stay awake to encourage Jesus, to intercede for Him. So God sent an angel to help Jesus. See Luke 22:43
If Jesus needed strengthening and encouragement, how much more we must need it when we face our trials? God wants us to be victorious. He is faithful to give us what we need to get past this trial and onward to victory.
With all this in mind, do you think we have a responsibility on our end? Of course we do. Romans 12:2 says (ESV):
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
This is a verse I like to keep in my memory bank. It reminds me that I have to do my end and everyday fill my mind with the Word of God, with positive things. It may be a particular song for you, or a specific book. For me it is this verse and also another one.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (amplified version):
We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ.
This is another verse that has always helped me keep my mind in the right place. Take those bad thoughts, discouraging words and kick them out. They do not belong in you and have no right being there.
So you see we all face things that try to bring us down. But lets turn it around, and send it right back out the door. It doesn't matter the size of your trial, if it is yours then it is a big deal to you.
Don't feel badly if you find yourself struggling. It happens to all of us. During a specific time that seems extra hard to you, call someone who might have some encouraging words for you. Find your outlet to your "happy place".
And most of all never, ever let the devil tell you that you are a loser! Because you are not! Jesus fought the ultimate battle for us. He defeated the devil and now it has no authority over you.
Faithful readers I pray that I have encouraged you all in some way. My husband likes this saying: "tough times don't last but tough people do".
Be blessed friends. See you next time.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Those Aggravating Hurdles !
Hello faithful readers. It seems as though everywhere we turn these days someone is arguing about who you should vote for. Guess what? I am not going there. Instead more of my own personal journey.
I have been feeling ok these last few weeks. Sunday I was so excited to get to church and have some fellowship. I did go to church, then all of a sudden I felt like I had the flu. I thought gosh I haven't even been around any sickness. By the time I got home I had chills, fever, headache, and so on. I was feeling quite ill. Monday I went to see my Oncologist(the PA). Sure enough a sinus infection. I just had a sinus infection a month or so ago. I was baffled, where did I come in contact with these germs. Well it seems I have no ability to fight anything. I am very immuno-suppressed. I may need to receive an immunoglobulin IV boost at times.
OK then, what do I do with this info. That little negative thing inside me wanted to creep up and give me a very wrong attitude. Wrong you say, yes, wrong! I have no room in my life for a negative, woeful, pitiful attitude that wants to lie to me and tell me how badly I have it. Because I do not have it badly. I am a blessed woman of God who has the promises and the hope in my Lord Jesus Christ.
Sure I have these hurdles at times that I will face. But there is not one single hurdle that can rob me from the blessings the Lord has for me.
Now you may ask, how can you keep that positive attitude? It takes work and commitment on my end. It just doesn't come natural. You may think so, but trust me, it is easy to get tested. I make sure every morning I spend my time in the Word of God, my Bible. I read, I ponder, I concentrate on the Lord's promises, and I pray. My husband can study the Word for hours. I am not that gifted in that area. So I use helps. Study books or study plans, things like that. I am not a huge fan of reading. That's just not my thing. I also prefer to get most of my knowledge from the Word, and not necessarily from some one's book. I am not saying reading a book is wrong. Just for me this is what works. And then I journal. Every single day I journal what I've learned and read, and what God was saying to me, and I journal many of my personal prayers. For me, by doing these things, I can keep that positive, hopeful attitude.
Some of you will think "but you are still sick". Yup, but I still hang on to God's promises. And I have always asked God to use my illness to help someone else. But that is a whole other blog. For a later date. Back to attitudes and hurdles. We can be victorious and get through our trials. It isn't always easy but you can do it.
So whatever trial you are facing, what ever hurdle seems like a mountain, trust me, you can get over to the other side. Keep that faith, that hope, that trust in our Lord that He will help you. He will carry you when He has to, hold our hands, and guide us. That my friends brings me peace and comfort everyday.
I would also ask you my friends, please pray for my brother-in-law. He is going through a very battle right now with a serious health situation. Pray for God to touch him and bless him everyday. Thank You all.
Until next time, be encouraged and hopeful.
I have been feeling ok these last few weeks. Sunday I was so excited to get to church and have some fellowship. I did go to church, then all of a sudden I felt like I had the flu. I thought gosh I haven't even been around any sickness. By the time I got home I had chills, fever, headache, and so on. I was feeling quite ill. Monday I went to see my Oncologist(the PA). Sure enough a sinus infection. I just had a sinus infection a month or so ago. I was baffled, where did I come in contact with these germs. Well it seems I have no ability to fight anything. I am very immuno-suppressed. I may need to receive an immunoglobulin IV boost at times.
OK then, what do I do with this info. That little negative thing inside me wanted to creep up and give me a very wrong attitude. Wrong you say, yes, wrong! I have no room in my life for a negative, woeful, pitiful attitude that wants to lie to me and tell me how badly I have it. Because I do not have it badly. I am a blessed woman of God who has the promises and the hope in my Lord Jesus Christ.
Sure I have these hurdles at times that I will face. But there is not one single hurdle that can rob me from the blessings the Lord has for me.
Now you may ask, how can you keep that positive attitude? It takes work and commitment on my end. It just doesn't come natural. You may think so, but trust me, it is easy to get tested. I make sure every morning I spend my time in the Word of God, my Bible. I read, I ponder, I concentrate on the Lord's promises, and I pray. My husband can study the Word for hours. I am not that gifted in that area. So I use helps. Study books or study plans, things like that. I am not a huge fan of reading. That's just not my thing. I also prefer to get most of my knowledge from the Word, and not necessarily from some one's book. I am not saying reading a book is wrong. Just for me this is what works. And then I journal. Every single day I journal what I've learned and read, and what God was saying to me, and I journal many of my personal prayers. For me, by doing these things, I can keep that positive, hopeful attitude.
Some of you will think "but you are still sick". Yup, but I still hang on to God's promises. And I have always asked God to use my illness to help someone else. But that is a whole other blog. For a later date. Back to attitudes and hurdles. We can be victorious and get through our trials. It isn't always easy but you can do it.
So whatever trial you are facing, what ever hurdle seems like a mountain, trust me, you can get over to the other side. Keep that faith, that hope, that trust in our Lord that He will help you. He will carry you when He has to, hold our hands, and guide us. That my friends brings me peace and comfort everyday.
I would also ask you my friends, please pray for my brother-in-law. He is going through a very battle right now with a serious health situation. Pray for God to touch him and bless him everyday. Thank You all.
Until next time, be encouraged and hopeful.
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