Got your day's supply of Manna?

Peace is a gift that God longs to give us daily!

Just as the Israelites could not store up manna for the future but had to gather it daily, so it is with God's peace. The day-by-day collecting of manna kept them aware of their dependence on God for what they needed for each day...what a wonderful lesson for us! In the same way, God gives us sufficient peace for the present when we come to him each day....

Just as they could store up large amounts of the manna to carry them through the future, we too need to learn to go to God DAILY for the peace we need. God designed us to need Him moment by moment, as our awareness of our neediness increases. so does our realization of His abundant sufficiency

From one pumpkin to another

A woman was asked by a coworker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?'

The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.'  God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. 

Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.  He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.   Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.'

This was passed on to me by another pumpkin..  

 

Encouragement

Encouragement is a beautiful gift.

When other people encourage me, they help me gain commitment, resolve,and motivation.They inspire me with courage and hope. God promises that when we encourage others He will encourage us as well.

Need some encouragement today? Reach out to others and see what God has in store. And in case I haven't told you lately...God Loves you bunches and so do I! Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

New Beginnings

Life is a series of beginnings, and how we enter into them makes all the difference. Although the thought of new beginnings sometimes makes me feel anxious, I remember that I experience them all the time.

Each day brings a whole series of new opportunities, including opportunities to get to know God better and to start over with a new attitude toward the circumstances in life.God's mercy toward us is new every day, no matter what we've done, or how we feel.

Today's plan: Give to others the same opportunity of new mercies that God gives us every morning!

Body Parts

Belonging to God makes us part of Christ's body, the church.When each person in the body understands what his/her part is, and does faithfully, the body functions as God intended.

The next step is figuring out what part of the body you are.

Are you a hand that works? A foot that moves? Ears that listen? A mouth that speaks? When we learn what part we are, we discover our spiritual gift. And when we use that gift as God intended, we will find where we belong in the church, where we can best serve others, and where we can feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Second -Half may be the best

Paul said, I have run the race and finished the course...makes me think that the ending of the race is more important than the start...
think of race cars, its not who starts first, but who finishes first. Watching basketball one can see that its the last seconds of the game that really matter....So what does this all mean for us?

I am thinking that all too often, I think I am too old to do a new thing for God, or I have lived all my life and could of been......My friends God is more interested in the end of our race than He is in the beginning. I have often struggled with the thought that I probably could of done so much more for God, or wondered if I had missed what He had intended....

But the Holy spirit reminds me that God purposes are eternal and God knew the course of my life before I even existed...He is interested in all that I do for him and as I yield my life to him, He will perfect that which concerns me

So we may be in the second half of life, but perhaps it can be the best!

Today is the tomorrow we hoped for yesterday

 Psalm 56:3 says"Whenever I am afraid I will trust in You."Here's another verse..Isaiah 12:2 " I will trust and not be afraid."Continual reliance on the Lord puts up a shield against the fears that haunt us.So whether we turn to God in an emergency or confidently accept circumstances as coming from His hand,Our ever present Lord is more than sufficient to give us peace.Either way works!

Sometimes I go through things that I wish I could forget, Hard things and hurtful things.But God,in His remarkable way, eases the pain of my bumps in the road and before long I can barely remember them. Joy rises up in the place of pain and I move forward, content in the fact that tomorrow will be better than yesterday

Hand-me-downs

Maybe because I am turning "old" this month, I am thinking back to when we were little kids. Growing up in a family of 5 kids resulted in most of us having to deal with hand-me-downs. Getting them was sometimes fun and sometimes not.
I remember looking forward when it would be my turn to get the nice red coat. and dreaded having to wear the ugly blue play pants. 


As an adult, sometimes I look forward to the hand-me downs from Mom's house, a set of dishes, nice couch, etc.When I am shopping with mom, i think Oh yea, someday this will be so coll in my house! and my sister and I kid ourselves by saying OK that will be mine someday (sorry, Maggie, the Christmas houses are mine this year!)


But its good to know that in our Christian experience, we need not look for hand-me downs. God has fresh blessings of our own. We need not rely on other's leftover blessings...God has Great things in store for each of us.
Nor can we pass down those blessings to others, while we can share our faith, and live by example to others, all of us need to experience God personally for ourselves.


God tells us He has a plan for each of us, and in his plans are blessings beyond anything we can ever imagine or hope for.

What's in the center of your life?

What's in the center of your life? There are nearly 774,000 words in the Bible. These are contained within 66 books, of 1,189 chapters and 31,173 verses. The exact center of the Bible is Psalm 118:8 which states "Its better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." some fascinating facts to start the day, remembering its a good thing to have the word of God as the center of your life.

Lasting Joy and Success and Dreams

Want lasting joy? Joy is the celebration of walking in God's presence. It is an inner happiness that lasts despite all circumstances because it's based on a relationship with Jesus Christ. This gives me the confidence that God is real, personal, and involved in my life. With this perspective, I realize that while feelings may go up and down, joy runs so deep that nothing can take it away.

Want lasting success? God created us for success but never planned for us to acquire it alone. True success comes when we're willing to say "Its not about me and its all about You Lord." Then God is free to take us to a level that only we can achieve with His strength and power propelling us. This is how we discover lasting success in Him.

 Got a big dream? When I follow my dreams, I know that success results with God's power, not my own. God wants me to have big dreams. If my dreams don't require a miracle, they're just not big enough. God wants to help me become all He intended me to be which is greater than I could ever can imagine. As I walk toward my dreams I see two sets of footprints. My dream IS to go where he calls me to go and to do what he called me to do

Our compassionate God carries those for whom He cares. At times, we all need to be carried.
As we journey through this life of faith, there are many times we need to be carried .We may fall behind like little children whose legs are too weak to keep walking through. Other times we might be like lambs that persist in straying from the shepherd and risk falling pry to enemies.
God always promises to carry us - even in our old age. But it costs to carry. In order for Jesus to carry our sins, He first had to carry His cross. He carried that cross for you and me.

Speedbumps

 Even when speed bumps are painted yellow, they sometimes catch me by surprise. In the fast lane of life, the trials and setbacks that come my way remind me of those bumps .While God may not take hardships away, He does promise to be with me through the bumps in the road when I struggle to keep going. God allows the bumps in life to bring growth, to demonstrate His work in my life and to draw me closer to Him.

How I handle the unexpected reflects my deepest attitudes. It's easy to be dissatisfied and discouraged when things haven't gone my way. If I realize that the way things are going is for the best, that they will become beautiful in God's time, not mine, then I can let disappointment go. The things I hope for don't always come the way I expect, but even in disappointment there can be joy.

Lets Go on a Picnic

A favorite psalm of many is the 23 psalm, often referred to as the shepherd's psalm. many things can be brought out of this psalm, but as I was reading it, the idea of a picnic came to mind.

The great shepherd not only satisfies and sanctifies his flock,supporting them in their valleys of fear;he supplies them with a picnic along the way!

Our great shepherd lays a table before us in the very presence of our enemies. Imagine how He covers a table in the dark valley with a white cloth, finding a wide leaf for a plate, and picking some lovely green blades of grass for His jumpy lambs. By the time the lamb (that's you and me) have eaten its fill, he will have had its hear anointed with the oil of gladness, and his cup of joy will over flow.

Do you need a picnic today? Jesus is waiting.....

Not a maybe or perhaps.... but a surely

Whether the sun was shining, or it was midnight in his soul, David was able to say, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me  all the days of my life."

It's so much easier for me to say, "most days" or "some days." yet the Bible promises God's presence all the days of my life. This is not a promise that all my days will be good or happy but rather an assurance that the God of mercy will follow me through the good and bad days, the rich and poor days, the sick and well days, - ALL the days of my life...

When I believe this promise,I bring His presence into my problems. It is His presence in all of my nights that wrings from my lips the certain cry, "Surely!" His sweet friendship lights up good days and makes them even better. so I do not have a maybe or perhaps or a hopefully, but a surely that is rooted in the proven promises of God

Trusting God...Got 2 Minutes?

Trusting God is not necessarily having trustful feelings. It is an act of will. Trsting God essentially is reasoning with yourself to act upon what you know in your head to be true, even though you don't feel like its true...walking by faith despite feelings, walking by faith despite the circumstance, trusting, believing and Knowing God is ever faithful to do as He has promised.

 I find that trusting God with my life is easy - for about 2 minutes. Then I get off course and forget the character of the God I trust. Fear sets in,and logic doesn't help. It sounds funny to say, but its true, I need to trust God in order to keep trusting Him. Only God can Give us the faith we need when we ask Him for it.

So today, I will trust God with my life 2 minutes at a time!

Worship - Release, Relief, and Rescue

 Worship in the midst of doubt and difficulty saves me from a soul-numbing cycle of self pity. Worship helps me to get my eyes off myself and my problems. As I worship, I focus my heart on God, which puts everything else into proper perspective. When the pressure is on and the pain is great, when I am pushed to the end of my endurance, worship is the release I need, the relief I need, and the rescue I need.

I used to think of worship as a Sunday morning series of events in which I gather in a church sing songs and listen to a sermon. If that is the only definition and dimension of my worship my soul will wither away in the heat of difficulty. I worship when I reflect God's glory-his character and likeness-to others in the way I live.

Worship Is a way of life,not a weekly event.

 To worship God while walking through a trial is a precious and powerful testimony to the world around us . Trials equip us to worship in a way we never have before because when we hurt we are acutely aware of our desperate need for God.

Trials put our helplessness and inadequacy in proper perspective to God's power and sufficiency.

We are a work in progress

Just as a sculptor sees the master piece in the stone before beginning to work,God sees the end in the beginning of things.He works carefully,unveiling my beauty day by day,stroke by stroke,with His divine chisel.If I can realize that everything around me is a work in progress,I may be able to release my fears,trust God, and open my heart to the gentle unveiling of beauty in my life

The Road Ahead...

The road ahead may be completely unfamiliar and I may not know where it will ultimately lead.But as I travel it hand in hand with God,my journey and destination will be truly rewarding. Even though the terrain underneath me and the uncharted territory ahead of me may seem rocky, it is pale in comparison to the loving,powerful God who walks beside me...where He leads I will follow.

Kites and Faith....Flying High!

It was very windy yesterday, so I was thinking about flying a kite. My hope is that my faith will be like a kite, where an opposing wind will cause it to rise higher...and it will dance across the sky, closer to heaven than my feet on earth. May the string never tangle in the trials of life, but rather be wound tight around the core of God's promises

Questions and answers

 If I could ask any question of God, and get the answer, what would that be..? Would it start with WHY? would it start with When? would it start with Where? Maybe it would start with another word...after thinking about this, I think I would start with the word What. I would ask Him "What did you ever see in to die for me?" Wonder what the answer could be... What question would you ask?

Being all I can be

 God is amazing.He starts a fire with a single spark,a hurricane with a single raindrop,and a new life with a single cell.God creates each person with enormous potential and promise.God sees my brave heart in the midst of fear.He sees the little grain of faith that can grow into a great work for Him. And He knows the impact of a single willing heart on the world.God encourages me to be all that I am meant to be.

 I am a success story! God created me for success but He never planned for me to acquire it alone.True success comes when I'm willing to say,"It's not about me and its all about you Lord".Then He is free to take me to a level that only I can achieve with His strength and power propelling me.This is how I can discover lasting success in Him.In Him I live and move and have my being...What an amazing God!

 God allows the events in our lives with the purpose of drawing me closer to him.When all is well,I can feel God smiling on me When there are bumpy patches on my life-journey,I trust he is still smiling.God's reasons for adversity may often be shrouded in mystery,but His continual presence is an absolute promise.So I will look for God in both the good and bad and find Him right beside me looking back at me with love