We had a busy but nice day today. Went to my brothers house to see my nephew who is now 21 and my other nephew 2 and his sister 1 along with the rest of the clan. Then headed to mom's for her surprise birthday party. Afterwards we went to see Gramma at the nursing home and then headed to church. A great family day proving how blessed we truly are to have not only blood family but church family as well.
Truly God has placed us "here" for this season in time. Sometimes we feel a need to make changes in our lives but only God is the one that can make those changes happen. A year and a half ago we thought we were heading to Northern Florida but God had other plans. I am thankful we have ears to hear His voice. Jesus said in John 10:27: "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow Me."
If you are a member of the flock of Christ, you will know Him personally. In order to hear His voice we must know Him intimately. In life we get to know a person or persons intimately by spending time with them. By sitting around dinner tables (something many families fail to do these days), sharing a cup of coffee or a long conversation or by just being together. Likewise with Christ. While we may not physicaly touch Him we have the ability to touch His heart spiritually. He longs for us and we if we are His children will long for Him as well.
He misses us when our lives become too busy just as we miss our family and friends when we haven't seen them in a while. I encourage you today to make time for God, He deserves it and you need it. After all He made eternity with you (and me) in mind.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Celebratory Offerings Touch the Heart of God
What is an offering? For many it’s the money you put in the basket at church for others it’s giving something in faith that you really don’t have. What happens when we ad the word celebratory to it?
Let’s see what Webster’s says. In the 11th Collegiate Dictionary “Offering” is defined as: something offered especially a sacrifice ceremonially offered as a part of worship; a contribution to the support of the church. To offer is the presenting of something for acceptance; to present as an act of worship or devotion.
Webster’s has “celebratory” as being the noun for “celebrate” which means: to perform a sacrament or solemn ceremony publicly and with appropriate rites; to mark by festivities or other deviation from routine; to hold up or play up for public notice.
Worship is reverence paid to a divine being; an act of expressing such reverence; extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem.
So is it safe to say that “Celebratory Offerings” are acts of acceptable public sacrifices of festive celebrations, which are filled with extravagant reverence and admiration for the God who deserves our undivided devotion and praise? My answer is yes but this is my own opinion, not that of any one else’s.
What I am trying to say without causing too much confusion is: “Let’s have a huge party with lots of music and singing and dancing, in honor of God whom we love and respect, revere and admire, and let this party be acceptable in His eyes filled with pure devotion and excitement for who He is and what He has done, keeping in mind our actions must line up with His Word.”
Over and over in the Psalms David celebrates God’s goodness. He honors and praises God with his life through acts of worship. Even when he was down in the dumps or deep in sin he lifted his voice as an offering to his Maker. He boldly came before His God in good times and bad.
In the following Psalms David wrote:
98 “Sing unto the Lord a new song for He has done marvelous things…Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn-shout for joy before the Lord, the King.”
150: “Praise God in the sanctuary… praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.”
149:3: “Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with the tambourine and harp.”
47:1 states: “Clap your hands all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” And 63:4: “I will praise You as long as I live and in Your Name I will lift up my hands.”
5:7: “But I by your great mercy will come into your house in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.”
95:6 “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before our Maker.”
48:9 “Within your temple, O God we meditate on your unfailing love.”
119:15 “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.”
There are many ways to touch the heart of God, to celebrate His goodness but oftentimes we don’t feel like celebrating. Life hits us hard and the last thing we desire is to sing, shout and shake our tambourines. Whether you feel like it or not, as Nike put it “just do it”. Pick the way that best suits you. Dance or just sit quietly as you meditate on His Word. If you do I promise you will touch His heart and in turn He will touch yours.
Let’s see what Webster’s says. In the 11th Collegiate Dictionary “Offering” is defined as: something offered especially a sacrifice ceremonially offered as a part of worship; a contribution to the support of the church. To offer is the presenting of something for acceptance; to present as an act of worship or devotion.
Webster’s has “celebratory” as being the noun for “celebrate” which means: to perform a sacrament or solemn ceremony publicly and with appropriate rites; to mark by festivities or other deviation from routine; to hold up or play up for public notice.
Worship is reverence paid to a divine being; an act of expressing such reverence; extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem.
So is it safe to say that “Celebratory Offerings” are acts of acceptable public sacrifices of festive celebrations, which are filled with extravagant reverence and admiration for the God who deserves our undivided devotion and praise? My answer is yes but this is my own opinion, not that of any one else’s.
What I am trying to say without causing too much confusion is: “Let’s have a huge party with lots of music and singing and dancing, in honor of God whom we love and respect, revere and admire, and let this party be acceptable in His eyes filled with pure devotion and excitement for who He is and what He has done, keeping in mind our actions must line up with His Word.”
Over and over in the Psalms David celebrates God’s goodness. He honors and praises God with his life through acts of worship. Even when he was down in the dumps or deep in sin he lifted his voice as an offering to his Maker. He boldly came before His God in good times and bad.
In the following Psalms David wrote:
98 “Sing unto the Lord a new song for He has done marvelous things…Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn-shout for joy before the Lord, the King.”
150: “Praise God in the sanctuary… praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.”
149:3: “Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with the tambourine and harp.”
47:1 states: “Clap your hands all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” And 63:4: “I will praise You as long as I live and in Your Name I will lift up my hands.”
5:7: “But I by your great mercy will come into your house in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.”
95:6 “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before our Maker.”
48:9 “Within your temple, O God we meditate on your unfailing love.”
119:15 “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.”
There are many ways to touch the heart of God, to celebrate His goodness but oftentimes we don’t feel like celebrating. Life hits us hard and the last thing we desire is to sing, shout and shake our tambourines. Whether you feel like it or not, as Nike put it “just do it”. Pick the way that best suits you. Dance or just sit quietly as you meditate on His Word. If you do I promise you will touch His heart and in turn He will touch yours.
Friday, June 20, 2008
What will be read in your memoir?
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 4 weeks since I’ve started my new job! Where is all the time going? It seems every time I blink another day goes by. About a month or so ago Andrew, our Pastor spoke a message he titled; “Don’t Blink”. In this message he spoke about how fast our lives pass and that we should never forget to spend time with the ones God has placed in our path. Let’s face it, life is short and what we do in the time frame we have really does matter! How we live, who we love (or don’t love), what we do and the places we go make a huge difference in not only our life but the lives of those around us.
Have you ever stopped to think just how many family members and friends you actually know or have been exposed to? Think back a moment about the many folk that have passed through your life. There are those you knew in high school, and those from your growing up years. What ever happened to those friendships? Why have many of them been deleted from our lives? Likewise, we all have family members we’ve known and some we’ve never even met. Some we have loved and still do and others we’ve merely tolerated over the years or no longer see.
My 30th class reunion is this July and I have yet made the decision to attend. I’m not sure if I really want to. Because I have not seen my classmates in many years it will be awkward. On one hand I think, what will we talk about, on the other I wonder what type of influence I can be.
I believe many people pass through our lives for a reason. Some stay for a short while, others our lifetime. Some have taught us great things and some brought nothing but hurt. What is neat to me though is that each one leaves a memory of some kind. Whether good or bad, each has a paragraph, page or chapter in our life story, each a memory that we can cherish or choose to forget. I remember sitting with Grandpa many hours and listening to his reminiscing about the good old days. I remember him telling stories of his life as a young man before he lost his sight. I remember sipping coffee and just sharing time. Now whenever I get the chance I sit with Grandma. We share sometimes over coffee, and sometimes not. She speaks of Grandpa and when our babies were little. She tells her memories of her other grandchildren and her children. She remembers a lot at her young age and it amazes me. She is so beautiful in my eyes! But I know that time is running out, not only for her but for me as well; for all of us as a matter of fact. It’s a scary thought. Life is such that we are here one day here and possibly the next will be gone. I’m not afraid to die, don’t get me wrong. Just re-affirming my desire to leave positive recollections for those I leave behind; if not in book form, in memory.
Jesus left many great memories behind for His family and friends. He even left some extraordinary ones for those who hated Him! In the Gospels we find that He healed, performed miracles, loved and served many and in return what did He receive? Worse yet, what is He receiving from us today?
If you have never read His story, I encourage you to. If you’ve never befriended Him, I persuade you to get to know Him and build a relationship with Him. If you’ve never accepted His gift of life, I beg you to find Him, surrender your life and take hold of the many blessings He desires to give you. Knowing Him is truly amazing. His friendship will be like none other you have ever experienced or can imagine. Why not grab a Bible and read His story. Maybe just maybe you will find a bit of Him in your own life but if you don’t, ask Him into your heart, talk with Him, walk with Him, laugh with Him and love with Him. Before you know it, you’ll be penning your own exciting memoir.
Have you ever stopped to think just how many family members and friends you actually know or have been exposed to? Think back a moment about the many folk that have passed through your life. There are those you knew in high school, and those from your growing up years. What ever happened to those friendships? Why have many of them been deleted from our lives? Likewise, we all have family members we’ve known and some we’ve never even met. Some we have loved and still do and others we’ve merely tolerated over the years or no longer see.
My 30th class reunion is this July and I have yet made the decision to attend. I’m not sure if I really want to. Because I have not seen my classmates in many years it will be awkward. On one hand I think, what will we talk about, on the other I wonder what type of influence I can be.
I believe many people pass through our lives for a reason. Some stay for a short while, others our lifetime. Some have taught us great things and some brought nothing but hurt. What is neat to me though is that each one leaves a memory of some kind. Whether good or bad, each has a paragraph, page or chapter in our life story, each a memory that we can cherish or choose to forget. I remember sitting with Grandpa many hours and listening to his reminiscing about the good old days. I remember him telling stories of his life as a young man before he lost his sight. I remember sipping coffee and just sharing time. Now whenever I get the chance I sit with Grandma. We share sometimes over coffee, and sometimes not. She speaks of Grandpa and when our babies were little. She tells her memories of her other grandchildren and her children. She remembers a lot at her young age and it amazes me. She is so beautiful in my eyes! But I know that time is running out, not only for her but for me as well; for all of us as a matter of fact. It’s a scary thought. Life is such that we are here one day here and possibly the next will be gone. I’m not afraid to die, don’t get me wrong. Just re-affirming my desire to leave positive recollections for those I leave behind; if not in book form, in memory.
Jesus left many great memories behind for His family and friends. He even left some extraordinary ones for those who hated Him! In the Gospels we find that He healed, performed miracles, loved and served many and in return what did He receive? Worse yet, what is He receiving from us today?
If you have never read His story, I encourage you to. If you’ve never befriended Him, I persuade you to get to know Him and build a relationship with Him. If you’ve never accepted His gift of life, I beg you to find Him, surrender your life and take hold of the many blessings He desires to give you. Knowing Him is truly amazing. His friendship will be like none other you have ever experienced or can imagine. Why not grab a Bible and read His story. Maybe just maybe you will find a bit of Him in your own life but if you don’t, ask Him into your heart, talk with Him, walk with Him, laugh with Him and love with Him. Before you know it, you’ll be penning your own exciting memoir.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Remain focused on the One who loves you
Wow! I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I've written. I started a new job at Florida Hospital's Fitness Center and it's changed my whole schedule. I love it though! I've met some really nice folks and my husband and I are faithfully working on our health as well. What fun!
Fortunately, my focus has remained on my relationship with God but I must admit it has been a greater challenge to do so.
The Bible says in Psalms 123:1: "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the Heavens." KJV
During business and hectic schedules when we wonder if we will have enough hours in the day to get our forever lengthening lists done, let us never forget look up to the One who loves us and is able to do more for us than we can imagine.
It's easy to get behind in life's daily tasks when life suddenly changes with and a new job enters the picture but I am extremely thankful that no matter where I am, I can always focus on my God because He is always with me. There's no excuse. If I fail to communicate with Him, it's out of my own selfishness not His. He created me, He sets my feet in motion and He planned my life. I just have to follow His plan and that certainly includes rememebering Him!
Fortunately, my focus has remained on my relationship with God but I must admit it has been a greater challenge to do so.
The Bible says in Psalms 123:1: "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the Heavens." KJV
During business and hectic schedules when we wonder if we will have enough hours in the day to get our forever lengthening lists done, let us never forget look up to the One who loves us and is able to do more for us than we can imagine.
It's easy to get behind in life's daily tasks when life suddenly changes with and a new job enters the picture but I am extremely thankful that no matter where I am, I can always focus on my God because He is always with me. There's no excuse. If I fail to communicate with Him, it's out of my own selfishness not His. He created me, He sets my feet in motion and He planned my life. I just have to follow His plan and that certainly includes rememebering Him!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Life is full of if only's
Have you ever gotten a gut feeling about something and you weren't quite sure why? It seems you knew in your heart something wasn't right (or wrong for that matter) and it nearly made you sick to your stomach?
A couple of years ago I had this very thing happen. It was when I had the shop and I was working alone. I remember it clearly as though it were yesterday. The couple came in and I greeted them as I did every other customer that walked through our doors. The moment they stepped inside I felt unrest in my spirit. I had a funny feeling that something wasn't right with them but chose to ignore it thinking that I was probably being silly.
I asked them if I there was anything I could do for them and walked around the counter as to get away from the register but failed to lock my office. They proceeded to tell me they were new believers in search for books on that topic, so I offered to lead them the way to the shelves. As we were walking the woman stated that she needed to use the restroom and proceeded in that direction. Rather than entering the door that said restroom she entered the private door and realized there was nothing there she wanted and then opened the door next to it. At the time I thought that strange but agian I ignored the feeling. As I worked with her partner in crime, she snuck up front un beknownst to me and helped herself into my unlocked office. She found my purse and stripped my walled of all credit cards but put everything back the way she found it except the cards, of course. I was unaware of the theft until early the next morning. This couple had a field day. They spent over $5,000 in a matter of 4 hours at local businesses and no one ever asked for ID! It was only because I was switching purses (something many women do, you know to match the outfit we are wearing) that I noticed the cards missing. Immediately I called the police and the long, drawn out process eventually cleared my name of the debt they procured. I don't wish theft on anyone not even my worst enemy if I had one, luckily I don't.
If I'd have only gone on my instincts and pushed the alarm, maybe that could have been prevented. But I didn't. We all live and learn.
How many times do we say if only? If only I didn't marry that man or if only I'd have stayed home tonight or if only I'd have used protection? Our lives are full of if only's. What we do with our if only's, is the key to our success or failure. Hopefully, we learn from them and don't make the same mistakes again. Unfortunately, it takes several times to sink in for many of us.
Quite often we have the chance to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior but things get in our way. We might think I'll wait till after the paty Friday night or maybe when I get enough money, or maybe you might say when my kids get bigger I'll make the commitment or change. What are you waiting for? The Bible states that we are not promised tomorrow so if that is true what if tomorrow never comes for you? Will then those who bury you be saying: "If only he or she would have come to know the Lord, maybe this would not have happened or maybe then we would be assured that we'll see them again in heaven but it's too late now." Think about that and follow your gut or heart as it may be.
A couple of years ago I had this very thing happen. It was when I had the shop and I was working alone. I remember it clearly as though it were yesterday. The couple came in and I greeted them as I did every other customer that walked through our doors. The moment they stepped inside I felt unrest in my spirit. I had a funny feeling that something wasn't right with them but chose to ignore it thinking that I was probably being silly.
I asked them if I there was anything I could do for them and walked around the counter as to get away from the register but failed to lock my office. They proceeded to tell me they were new believers in search for books on that topic, so I offered to lead them the way to the shelves. As we were walking the woman stated that she needed to use the restroom and proceeded in that direction. Rather than entering the door that said restroom she entered the private door and realized there was nothing there she wanted and then opened the door next to it. At the time I thought that strange but agian I ignored the feeling. As I worked with her partner in crime, she snuck up front un beknownst to me and helped herself into my unlocked office. She found my purse and stripped my walled of all credit cards but put everything back the way she found it except the cards, of course. I was unaware of the theft until early the next morning. This couple had a field day. They spent over $5,000 in a matter of 4 hours at local businesses and no one ever asked for ID! It was only because I was switching purses (something many women do, you know to match the outfit we are wearing) that I noticed the cards missing. Immediately I called the police and the long, drawn out process eventually cleared my name of the debt they procured. I don't wish theft on anyone not even my worst enemy if I had one, luckily I don't.
If I'd have only gone on my instincts and pushed the alarm, maybe that could have been prevented. But I didn't. We all live and learn.
How many times do we say if only? If only I didn't marry that man or if only I'd have stayed home tonight or if only I'd have used protection? Our lives are full of if only's. What we do with our if only's, is the key to our success or failure. Hopefully, we learn from them and don't make the same mistakes again. Unfortunately, it takes several times to sink in for many of us.
Quite often we have the chance to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior but things get in our way. We might think I'll wait till after the paty Friday night or maybe when I get enough money, or maybe you might say when my kids get bigger I'll make the commitment or change. What are you waiting for? The Bible states that we are not promised tomorrow so if that is true what if tomorrow never comes for you? Will then those who bury you be saying: "If only he or she would have come to know the Lord, maybe this would not have happened or maybe then we would be assured that we'll see them again in heaven but it's too late now." Think about that and follow your gut or heart as it may be.
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