I was reminded today about an article that I read some years back about a mom and a wayward son. The mom talked about how each day she would “carry her son to the Foot of the Cross” and pray “Lord fix my son”… “Lord fix my son”. And then she would dutifully pick up her son and walk away.
The Lord spoke to her one day as she once again carried her son to the Foot of the Cross… “I can’t fix him if you keep taking him away”. Continue reading
My thoughts from today’s Bible Reading:
Gen 1:1 – 3:24 – The Creation Story
Gen 3:11 – 3:14 “And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, “The woman YOU put here with me – SHE gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (emphasis mine)
That just struck a cord with me. Even all the way back then, man makes a mistake, goes against the “rules” and he blames someone else. Not only did he blame “the woman”, but he also blamed God. Like a whiny child… I can almost hear the whining… “It’s not my fault. It’s your fault, YOU made her…YOU put her here with me, if YOU hadn’t put her here, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
I haven’t lived on this earth for 56 years and not made mistakes. Some huge whoppers for sure. But one thing I’ve learned… I made the mistake. I reap the consequences. I can’t blame my bad decisions on anyone but me.
Then I read this passage:
Gen 3:21 – The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Even after they broke the one single rule that God had for them. Even after the whining and crying and blaming, He still loved them enough to take care of them. To provide for them. Isn’t that just the truth. We sin… we fall down… But the Lord our God still loves us. He still cares for us. He still provides for us. That, to me, is Grace – undeserved, yet freely given.
December 31, 2012 – 9:00 PM
Here it is, the last day of 2012. So many people are thinking right now about what their New Year’s resolution is going to be. I don’t make resolutions. I’ve tried in the past, and it seems that within a few weeks those resolutions are just one more thing that I’ve failed at. So, this year I have decided to set goals instead. To me, goals are attainable.
So what are my goals? Continue reading
Today was just an horrific day. 20 chidren and 7 adults murdered. The thoughts that kept running through my head were about the babies that were murdered. How scared they must have been. The sound of them crying for their momma’s and daddy’s… I just makes me so sad.
The news just went on for hours and hours. I don’t know why I couldn’t seem to change the channel. Maybe I was hoping that at some point someone would come out and say they found maybe just one baby alive in all that horror.
Every news pundit offered their view on why this happened. It was blamed on lack of gun control, maybe drugs, maybe psychological issues, etc. But what I didn’t see what the blame being put where it needed to be put. The blame needed to be put directly in the hands of the young man that planned this carnage and pulled the trigger.
Later this afternoon, I heard Mike Huckabee’s interview. Continue reading
People have asked me if God really speaks to people. My answer to that is yes… if we are quiet enough to hear Him, yes indeed He does. A few years ago, God did indeed speak to me. It was August 5, 2006. I woke up very early that morning, totally out of sorts. I had spent the days before getting ready for a 1200 mile road trip to New England to say goodbye to my oldest and dearest friend. Her husband had called to tell me that she didn’t have much longer. My heart was so heavy. I had know her since birth. When I say that I knew her since the playpen… that’s what it was. I had known her for 48 years, and now I was travelling to see her for what would be her last days here on this earth. Cancer had invaded her body and was about to win this earthly battle. She was soon to receive the Absolute Healing and go home to be with her Heavenly Father.
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.” Rev 19:11
Are visions possible? I will preface this story with a shorter story. All the years growing up, I remember my mom being one of those people that would look up into the sky and she would say to me “what do you see?” I would look up and say, “clouds.” She, of course, was one of those blessedly amazing people that could pick out dogs and clowns and pogo sticks – okay maybe not pogo sticks, but nonetheless, she could see wonderful images in the clouds. That is something that I could never master. So what I am about to share with you is something that completely overwhelms my brain to this day.
I flew out of Knoxville Tennessee on a late June 2005 afternoon headed to New England. I was seated on the right side of the plane near the window. We were flying north, the sun was not coming in my window, as I was flying north, the sun was coming from the East.
The weather on the ground was much like it has been on most any summer day in the south, very overcast, humid and hazy. The takeoff was uneventful even with the clouds. But as you know, no matter how cloudy or stormy it is on the ground, you typically have clear blue skies once you clear the top of the clouds. This trip was no different. Continue reading
Saved Because of His Mercy 