be alert

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

- 1 Peter 5:8

It is so easy to be lead astray in today’s world.

Around every corner there is something that grabs our attention, promising us riches and fame and the next best thing.

But don’t be fooled.

Look at everything with a clear mind, see things for what they really are.

You’ve hear the expression “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”?

Be aware of your surroundings and the things that fall into your lap.

Good things do happen, but make sure before your throw yourself into what is being offered, that it is a good thing, and not something that is going to bite you in the butt.

broken

Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds.

- Hosea 6:1

I was hesitant to post this verse, because a part of me didn’t like it.

I love that God will heal me, I love that God will bind my wounds, but I don’t like the words that He has torn us to pieces or that He injured us, because I don’t think that is true.

I actually had to go read the chapters before this verse to gain understanding of the verse.

Israel had repeatedly gone against God.

They rebelled against Him, they worshipped other gods.

He tried to warn them, but they would not listen.

The people were unfaithful, and God withdrew from them.

Hosea was a prophet, he was encouraging people to return to God.

But they would not listen.

God was saddened by their disrespect to Him.

Think about a time when your children defied you, you were probably angry, but you never stopped loving them.

Or, if you don’t have children, I am pretty sure you can remember a time when you disappointed a parent, a grandparent, a teacher or a friend, they may have even expressed to you that you had let them down, but they never stopped loving you.

God never stopped loving Israel, and He will never stop loving us.

No matter how badly we behave, God never stops loving us, He wants us to run back to Him, so He can heal us.

i love you

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

- 1 Peter 4:8

If you have read my email/blog for long, you recall that I have said before that it seems that we find important things in the Bible many, many times.

Like this is God saying “listen, I am telling you that this is important, so I am going to repeat it several times.”

Love each other is one of those things that seems to be in the Bible a lot.

Why? Because Love never fails.

Song reference!

Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all
Matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease
At the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes
When you don’t

Love is the arms that are holding you
Love never fails you

When my heart won't make a sound
When I can't turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater than this
Greater than this

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

Love is the river that flows through
Love is the arms that are holding you
Love is the place you will fly to
Love never fails you

I may not believe in the same things that you do, my views on politics and news stories may not be the same as yours, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love you.

God tells us to love deeply.

That is what I am going to do.

how to live

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

- Micah 6:8

Most people learn stuff by repetition.

From the time that we are born, things are repeated for us, it is how we learn to feed ourselves, to walk, to talk, all repetition.

God does the same for His children, He shows us, He teaches us, He gave us the Bible to show us how to live.

He has shown us, over and over, how much He loves us.

He has told us over and over, how we should live.

Act justly, love above all, be merciful and walk with God.

Sounds reasonable to me.

unexpected

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

- Jeremiah 29:11

Well, that did not go the way I expected!!

I was supposed to be back on August 12^th, and here it is two weeks later.

Some of you know that my little hiatus was supposed to be a vacation to the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Unfortunately while hiking on the first day, I fell and broke my leg, two breaks on the same bone.

This resulted in a lot of unplanned adventures, including surgery and extra time off work.

These were not my plans.

God knows what He is doing, there were a lot of moving parts that just fell into place, that would not have worked without His hand.

I certainly didn’t plan on having a broken leg, but somehow this is in God’s plan for me, and I will grow from it.  

No Fear

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

- Psalm 23

No explanation needed. 

He is with me. 

Yes, I am scared

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

- Psalm 46:1-3

Tomorrow is the day. 

Surgery to pin and plate the two breaks in my leg together so I can focus on healing. 

I’ve had multiple surgeries in my 50 years, I shouldn’t be nervous. 

This doctor has done this exact surgery hundreds of times, (he did it on our son Jordan in 2015!) I shouldn’t be nervous. 

I’m surrounded by prayer warriors that will be praying for the doctors, the surgery and me, I shouldn’t be nervous. 

I serve the most amazing God, I am the daughter of the One true King, I should not be nervous. 

But I am. 

I’m leaning heavily on God over the next few days. 

I know it will all be ok. 

I am His child. 

you are loved

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  

- John 13:34-35

My friend shared on Facebook the story about the math teacher that had each student make a list of every student in the class and next to the student’s name write the nicest thing they could think of about that student.  She gathered the papers and gave each student a copy of what everyone in class said about them. 

I’ve heard several variations of this story. 

The point is, sometimes we are so hard on ourselves that we forget the reasons we are loved. 

 if you need a virtual hug, either comment on this post, send me a text or a private message and I will tell you why you are wonderful. 

what has He done?

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done.

1 Chronicles 16:8

Someone asked me how I can still praise God when I am going through such pain. 

How can I not praise Him???

So I have a broken ankle, that was me, not God. 

Look around, see the beauty every where. 

The trees, the flowers, the animals, the children, every where you look, you see the amazing things He has done! 

If you can’t find something to praise Him for, come see me. I can give you ten thousand reasons to give Him glory. 

I’m valued

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6-7

I’ve been feeling pretty rotten the last few days. 

Me with my broken ankle and being so needy, hubby running his legs off to attend to my every need. 

A tiny part inside me scared that he is going to get mad and tell me to figure it out myself, when in reality I think I’m making him mad trying so hard to be independent right now. 

It’s a good thing he loves me. 

It’s better that God loves us all. 

So powerful is this love that we are never forgotten, even when we are broken we are valuable to God. 

Giving up control

 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Matthew 16:24

My daily devotional today was titled “Give Up Control” with this verse. 

At first I didn’t think that there was a way to connect those words to my life today. 

And then I read “giving up control is a daily, no, sometimes a minute by minute thing.” 

I’m struggling with this a lot right now - I’m a “little” independent- ok, a lot independent.

It’s driving me crazy right now having to ask people to help me do things. 

Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they must put aside their fear of suffering or pain and follow Him. 

Pain. Fear. Suffering. Asking for help. 

Giving up control. 

Corrie ten Boom said “You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.”

I’m glad that I have Jesus, especially after the events of the last few days. So many bad things could have happened but having Jesus sure made a difference in the way events unfolded. 

Healing

“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise." 

~ Jeremiah 17:14

If you are regular readers of my blog, you may have noticed that I didn’t post yesterday. 

Hubby and I went to Iowa to visit family then to Sturgis for the motorcycle rally. The Black Hills are absolutely breathtaking, we drove through the badlands and saw God’s glory in the earth. 

Monday we rode through Spearfish Canyon, we saw Bridal Veil Falls, and rode a little further to Devils Bathtub. It’s about a 2 mile hike through the Black Hills to get to this natural waterfall that falls into a basin. 

Somehow I forgot that I am 50 and not in great shape, and I was 250 feet from the basin when I slipped on a wet rock and broke my ankle. 

I had to be medevac’d out of the Forest, the hospital confirmed a minimum of two breaks. We are heading back to Arkansas so I can see a surgeon. Pain killers are a blessing for long rides. 

Jeremiah 17:14 says “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed”. I know that this verse is talking about our spirit, our soul, but I also know my God is watching over my leg too. 

There are so many things that could have happened that didn’t, so many factors that I know God had a hand in. 

I’m on the road to healing, and I know God is with me every step of the way. 

open books, open minds

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

•Psalm 119:130

I love to read, I have loved reading since I was a child. 

My mother used to get mad at me because I took books with me everywhere, even a simple trip to the grocery store. 

My husband encourages me to read and several years ago bought me a Nook, which, through Barnes and Noble’s “Free Book Friday” offer open a whole new genre of books for me. 

When you browse a list of titles, and flip the book over to read the synopsis, sometimes that is what makes or breaks the book for you, at least it does for me. 

What if the Bible had a synopsis?

I’ve heard “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”, but what if there was something on the back or the inside cover that would compel you to read the Bible? 

When you read a history book, you learn about what happened in the past, you learn and your knowledge grows. 

Shouldn’t we let the words of His Book, flow into our hearts, our minds, our souls, so we can learn and grow? 

what did you say?

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
- Matthew 12:36

We’ve covered this before, but it is certainly worth repeating. 
Words. 
Words can do a lot of things. 
Words can hurt, a sharp knife to your heart.
Words can heal, a soft warm hug for your soul.
Words can mean absolutely nothing, an empty promise or broken vow. 
Words matter. 
Jesus tells us that we are accountable for the things we say.
When we tell jokes our friends might laugh, but if the jokes are at the expense of a particular person or group of people, Jesus isn’t laughing. 
You might be easily angered and words that make others cringe come flying out of your mouth, Jesus isn’t smiling. 
We say all kinds of things every day. 
Make sure you think before you speak. 

don't be afraid

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

- Isaiah 41:13

I remember when I was a little girl there were a lot of things that scared me.

I can remember that if I was really scared, I would cry out and my daddy would come take my hand, and walk me through what ever was scaring me.

Did you know, that you can do that today?

If you are scared all you have to do is call out, and God is there.

Song reference!

Weak and wounded sinner

Lost and left to die

O, raise your head, for love is passing by

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted

And carried far away

And precious blood has washed away the stain, so

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby

Don't be afraid to crawl

And remember when you walk

Sometimes we fall, so

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely

And steep and filled with pain

So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over

And music fills the night

And when you can't contain your joy inside, then

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

Why would you turn to anyone else, when you have the God of all creation on your side?