Always Steadfast

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
~ Psalm 51:10

One of my prayers for my children is that they would have a pure heart, pure motives and minds and hearts transformed and conformed by God. To be honest, this type of prayer never entered my mind for my children until they became school aged and were no longer under my constant care. I became terrified when I realized that Samuel was no longer going to be with me and my direction every minute of the day. I became insanely anxious when I realized others where going to be able to speak into him and at him all day without me being there to filter things, or guide him through all the white noise like talking that would swirl around him on a daily basis....so I started praying. Lord, please let my son know when it's you and when it's not; help him to keep a clean heart, spirit and mind in a world that is often composed of hidden agendas and unclear motives. One day while I was praying for my children in regards to the specific request of purity, it came to my mind that I should also keep praying for that for my husband and I. I was taken by surprise, but than I thought about it. In a world of selfish ambition, we adults also need to make sure we have pure hearts and motives. I feel like I do a good job at this already and I don't see anything glaring at me in the horizon that is impure, but it never hurts to be on guard, especially if I want to teach my children about purity. Impurity doesn't just come in sexual form, or uncleanliness either for that matter, but it can come in the form of lust, greed and even popularity. I need to make sure that I am making the right moral choices for me and my family even if it's unpopular; which is just another way of keeping our home pure. Lord, I pray that you would cleanse whatever you desire and make my home a pure one for you. Always and steadfast. ~

Very Alone

Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always; to the very end of the age. ~ Matthew 28:19-20

These are the last two verses of the book of Matthew given to us straight from Jesus' mouth and even though the whole of the two equals a part of the Great Commission, what really speaks to me is the very last sentence....'and surely I am with you always; to the very end of the age.' Therefore, you and I have nothing to fear not only as we walk this earth trying to make disciples of all the nations but also when we are doing our daily, sometimes mundane chores; or getting persecuted for following what we feel like we've been called to do; we are never alone even through horrific circumstances and situations. I have come to realize this in my own journey. I have come to know that I don't and won't understand everything, but we humans are able to endure the unimaginable when we are accompanied by friends, family and especially when we realize Jesus is with us even though we don't understand. Why? Because we were never meant to be, designed to be, or intended to be....alone. In fact, we never are. You may feel it, but you never are. NEVER. We have what some would say their conscious (I call it the Holy Spirit) and we have a father who loves us unconditionally if we would only let him....he's just waiting for you and I to turn to him. He waits patiently. He will not force a relationship with anyone; that's part of his love, you have to initiate that, but he will always be waiting for you to take that step. My personal spiritual journey has been rather intense in a good way these last two years and I am so thankful that I am never alone. There are circumstances and situations that I felt COMPLETELY alone without direction and in total confusion. We all have them. It's how you chose to REACT to them that can really affect your life. I have learned that without those sometimes dark and deafening silent times I would not have the relationship I have with Jesus now. May I suggest that sometimes he leaves us alone and backs off a little just so he can show himself again to us when we are at the end of our rope and finally turn to him again. He uses us in our weakness to show himself strong and when I don't think I can go on anymore he always shows me that I'm never alone......to the very end of the age. ~

Some Improving

Rejoice with those who rejoice....Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty....never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. ~ Romans 12:15-18

Whew! This scripture is loaded with what seems like impossible rules. I mean who can follow these all the time? No one. We are imperfect human beings, but we can try to live up to these measures everyday with brand new mercies from above. We are to be joyful and rejoice with those who have reason to rejoice; no matter how we feel. We are to rejoice with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ when they have something to rejoice about. We are to live in harmony with one another and sometimes that means learning how to control our tongues, at least for me, and learning when to keep my big mouth shut. We are not to be haughty; we are not to be full of ourselves; which goes against the grain of this narcissistic/selfish society we live in today. God did not design us to be by ourselves, but we are to fellowship with each other and love each other without judgement in part by leaving our selfishness at the door. It's not all about me. God forgive me those times when I have inflated myself with conceit and a self induced ego; only in my humbleness can I show the true character of God with servant hood and not expectation. And who in the world knows how to live with everyone peaceably all the time? May I suggest that no one has been able to do that; even Jesus stirred controversy, but we are to try our hardest to live in peace. When someone rubs us wrong, or wrongs us, we need to be quick to take the high road and give them the benefit of the doubt instead of playing the victim role all the time, or seeking revenge. After all, once again, it's not all about me and if I continuously play the victim card I am also playing the "about me" card constantly. So everyday I need to pray that God would make me more Christlike and less worldly so that I may live according to his word. Without him and his mercies I will never come close to becoming what he wants me to become. Thank him that we can go to him and ask him to help us to become more like him; after all, he knows you - ask him to help you and watch your world grow. I know I could use some improving. ~

Mind Blowing

"The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17

I love the thought that someone exults over me with loud singing all the time; do you realize that the Lord rejoices over you? Whew! Sometimes I feel so unworthy of that, actually, most of the time I feel unworthy of that; after all, I am just me, but not to God; I am special to him. The one who created this universe, this world, and every little detail of it actually exults over...me! Spring time is a special time of the year for many reasons ~ it's a fresh start, the days get longer, new growth is seen outside, but when I really think about it and let my mind wonder about how everything comes back to life and lives fresh again, I am in awe of how that all works. This is not science and it didn't happen in a BIG bang, it happened by divine creation and when I think about the inter workings of how plants, animals and the world works, I get overwhelmed to think that the one who made all of this is more concerned with me and with the human race than with any other thing. Talk about having a full plate...he's got one! And yet, he still makes time for me...he rejoices over me with gladness when he has a ton of other things I'm sure he could be doing. I am the lover of the one and true God who not only holds all things in his hands, but still fights for me, loves me, rejoices over me and sings over me. Boy, than I must be pretty special...and so are you! Rejoice in that this spring. Rejoice in that this Mother's Day. God has given us this beautiful world to enjoy and you are his crowning creation. Mind blowing! ~

Will Continue

SHORTY'S IS OPEN! FRIDAY - TUESDAY 4:00 - 9:00 P.M.! WHAT A RIDE! My husband got his restaurant open and people are flocking in; what a wonderful thing it is to witness your spouses dream come true! There are, of course, kinks that need to be worked out, but I believe that is with any new venture and especially any new venture that has to do with customer service. There are no words to exactly tell him how proud I am of him, but I have tried; part of the amazement comes from the fact that I would be lying if I said I thought this was all going to come together. I had my doubts and I had to eat crow in the end, but, in this case, crow that I am more than happy to dine on. Our life has been a whirl wind of events in the last six months; one day we are thinking about moving back home and then two weeks later, BANG, God gives us the wisdom to know it's time....so we move, we start a restaurant, I get a full time job in the school district that I left eight years prior, and we start getting together with the other churches in this area to help out the youth here; WHEW! When we first moved home I missed Denver and my home there terribly; felt like I went into a bit of a funk, but in the last two months, I can now look at pictures of our life down there with happiness and thankfulness for that chapter in our lives instead of regretting the move. After all, Denver was home. It was our boys' home. It was the place Cody and I started our family new. Denver was good to us. However, God has been great here also and I believe he will continue to be. ~