Inspirations

 I woke up this morning and went to work.   I wanted to stay in bed and sleep a little longer, but I chose to do the adult thing  and crawl out of my comfortable, warm bed. I often choose what I want to eat, and wear. In fact, sometimes we have so many choices it's hard for people like me to make decisions. I thank God that everyone makes choices, no one is exempt. I thank Him for the good choices I have made, like living for him and following him. I also thank him for the bad choices I have made. They were learning and growing experiences. I thank God that he loves us regardless of our choices. I am grateful that most choices are not fatal or irreversible.

  I  am thankful today for the valuable gift of time. What a blessing that it is given to each person with impartiality. No one gets more or less than twenty-four hours in a day. Each person is responsible for how they use their time. I am reminded not to  spend all my time working, I can use my time to invest in people.  I can give time to my children and family, help an elderly person, Listen to someone who is struggling. I am grateful that  as time moves on, it  can change things, but mostly, it changes how we see things.  Often a moment,  changes everything as well. I am grateful for the reminder to live well; and make time for what really matters.

  Lately, there has been a plethora of discussions and dissension about race and racism.  Sometimes, it is discouraging and depressing.  Everyone yells about rights.  I concede that there are some cases of racism.  This must be fixed when it is evident that it exists. But we often look at every label as bad.  Perhaps we can and should be proud of some labels. Are you a mom or dad? great! accept that label and wear it proudly.  It's what you are, a mom or dad.   Are you red, yellow, black, brown, or white? Awesome!  Most of the people I know will not look down on you for the color of your skin. In fact, be proud of your skin color.  It's an important part of who you are.   If someone refers to you by your skin color, rather than be offended,  be proud of the color that defines you.  Be proud of your ethnicity. When someone refers to you by your race, they may not mean any insult. It's simply a way of describing wh...

  Quite a few years ago, we were given a silver minivan.   It was a lovely luxury van.   I really liked it, but honestly, I did not value it.   How do I know?   Well, It was always messy.   I was ashamed of how it looked and rarely ever offered anyone a ride in that automobile.   I couldn't be bothered with the task of keeping it clean.   Fast forward to today.   I have a little ford Fusion, it is quite clean.   I even go through the carwash at least once a month.   It is clean inside and out.   I have put some value on this vehicle.   I have had other things over the years, some I valued and some I didn't.   It's ok because they are just material things  and should not have a place of great importance anyhow.   The point is that we can choose whether something is valuable to us.   Imagine that two people both have baseballs sign...

I am thankful for each new day. Each day is a chance to start over. Yesterday, with all of its problems and struggles, is over, gone, poof. I may have made a mess of things yesterday, but I can try again today, and tomorrow, if necessary. When I am having a bad day, I am thankful that I have hope that tomorrow will be better. I have the privilege of making today the best day it can possibly be. With each day I can choose to; laugh more than I did yesterday, Be kinder than I was yesterday, love more than I did yesterday, dream bigger dreams than I have ever dreamed. What a blessing that Yesterday does not define today. No matter how bad yesterday was, today may be different. I don't have to live in yesterday's failures. Each new day offers hope that things will be different than yesterday, and it will be because no two days are ever exactly alike.

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  This is a hard verse for me.    In fact, I think I have a love-hate relationship with this verse.   I love it, but it's hard. When I get the promotion…    when the bank account is running over…    when there are no health issues…  when there is no drama…    when I get what I want…    when my kids are the epitome of perfection…  then it's easy to give thanks.     However, if there is no food in the house…    my doctor’s news is not what you hoped for…    my car breaks down…    my friends have turned on me…    when I am passed over for a promotion…  then giving thanks is hard.    That little word all hangs me up every time.    God wants me to intentionally thank him...

Today our cat ran outside.    Midnight loves to be outside.   So, we let the cat stay out for a while.     It got dark, and my daughter became concerned.   She wanted her kitty safe in the house.    The problem is that midnight was not ready to come back inside the confines of our home. He wanted to chase birds and other animals.   No amount of coaxing could persuade the wayward cat to step one foot inside that door.    I went outside to catch him, but that too failed.   Cats are, generally, faster than people and cannot be snared easily.   Finally, I gave up came in and sat down in my chair saying that if he loved us,  he would come back in when he was ready.   Yes, it hurt, and it was scary.   I wanted him to choose to come in, but I couldn’t force him to make that decision.  I...

So my plan for today was to travel with my husband to Binghamton to visit with his family that we have not seen in forever….. ok at least 20 years.  I made sure I asked for the time off everything was set, or so I thought.  I found out one of the days I asked for was denied.  This meant shortening our stay in Binghamton, but we were still set to go.  Then, earlier this week we found out that his family had other plans so we decided to wait and go later when they would be available.  Now I was left with two days off and nothing planned.  One thing I decided was that I was not sitting home and doing nothing for the two day off.  So I decided to go visit a local beach.   I put my mp3 on and walked on the beach.  It was lovely.  I even took some pictures.  Often it’s easy to be irritable when we have to change our plans or when our day does not work out the way we planned.  Sometimes, when we have to change our plans we ...

As I was finishing digging the raspberry bushes out of my yard and lamenting over my laziness in letting them take over my yard, I was still thinking about how similar to sin those raspberry bushes were.  However, my thoughts were now moving in a different direction.  I have heard people say, “Well, everyone has a sin that so easily entangles them.  This is mine.”  I have to confess it makes me sad and as I was digging and cutting down the raspberries, I realized why it makes me sad.  I had the power over the bushes.  I didn’t have to let them stay in the yard, I chose to let them stay in the yard. Then I started getting excited because I realized that I have the same power over sin that I had over the bushes.  Sin is already defeated!!  We no longer have to let it say in our life.  Praise God! We can say no to sin and yes to “God-likeness."  In fact, we are commanded to “throw off the sin that so easily entangles."  There is ...

I am a “fixer” by nature.  “Fixers” want to fix things; it’s what we do.  This is especially true when it comes to people.  If they are hurting, I want to “fix” what made them hurt.  In short, I want them to stop hurting.  This is not always bad, but it can lead to one huge problem.  I tend to “take on” other people’s pain and make it my responsibility; that is never a good thing.  The other day I was in the process of thinking about a friend of mine; more importantly what he/she should do about a problem when God revealed something to me. It stopped me, mid-thought.  Are you ready for this? I can’t fix people. Big surprise, right; and yes I knew this but I definitely needed a reminder.  The fact is it’s not even my job to fix people. That’s God’s work. He fixes people!  I can pray for them; point them toward the solution but I CAN’T fix them.  God wants us to care about people; love them; help when we can.  The very best that...

Have you ever had someone ask you for something?  What was your reaction?  Sometimes, I hate to admit it, but I get slightly annoyed.  About a week ago, I had someone ask to help provide a dinner.  My first thought?  Really?  So I did the Christian thing.  I said I’ll have to “pray” about it. I did, and God said, “Help her”!   As I was fixing the meal, my attitude was still not very good.  That was when God started meddling.  He said, “Sharon, think of my life”.  I did and then he asked, “When did I ever do anything for someone that they did not ask me to do”.  OUCH!  I have to admit it, but as I thought about that, I began to realize that I was the one with the problem, not her.  Jesus, aside from his work on the cross, did not do any act of healing or other miracle without someone asking.  In fact, Jesus tells us to ask.  Strike that!  He commands us to ask, and he wants us to ask.  If he expec...

As I as driving last week, I had to go on a road that was unimaginably bumpy.  I do not think that they had fixed the road in a long time. I was jostled and jolted by the bumpiness of the road.  As I drove, I was thankful that we had good shock absorbers on the car. There were a few times that if I had been taller, I would have bumped my noggin.  Friends, sometimes, through no fault of our own, we hit rough spots in our life; it’s bound to happen.  No one is immune to the troubles of this world.  What we need is a shock absorber; like the ones on the car to smooth out the ride, or a screen door to keep it from slamming.  Praise God we have a shock absorber for the potholes of life.  It is God! He holds those who put their trust in him in the palm of his hand.  What a comfort that because of him we can make it through the tough times and come out on the other side of what seemed like a crater unscathed.  We can look back and realize that we...

Today, I want to remind you of something amazing.  God chose you.  Yes!  No matter whom you are or what you've done; God wants and desires you!  See, I told you that it was amazing.  Wait!  It gets even better; God loves you so much that he chose to die for you.   He didn’t have to do that, he chose to do that. He could have decided that the cost was too high, but he didn’t.  Is it not amazing that he had a choice to die; or not to die!    Are you feeling loved right about now?  Good!  I know I have probably not said anything new, but it may be that, like me, you need a reminder.  I was reminded of this tonight, and what God reminded me was that he had a choice.  He could have decided that it was too much of a bother or that we were not worth it.  After all, no one actually deserves God’s favor.  He gives it, but we don’t deserve it.  In fact, Paul reminds us that when he died for us we were all si...

It was sunny and quite warm for September, so I decided to go outside and sit under a tree during my lunch break.  As I was sitting under a tree listening to music and knitting, and enjoying time with God, a lady came up to me, and said she wanted to be sure I was OK.  Since I had been in the same place for what seemed to her to be a long time, she thought I might be sick and need help.  I assured her I was fine, and she went on her way.  I was humbled and amazed that someone would take the time to stop and check on me to see that I did not need help.  I was also ashamed because I have seen the lady around a few times, and had thought her to be unfriendly. As I finished my lunch, God reminded me not to be quick to form opinions about people; to wait and keep an open mind until I know them better before I make determinations about their character. James says “mercy triumphs over judgment”.  For me, I want to extend mercy as often as I can. I want to kee...

Some time ago, we had to replace the roof on our house.  It started out as a minor leak when the rain was heavy.  Gradually, it would leak every time it rained.  By the time we got it fixed, we had to replace not just shingles, but the boards underneath, and the ceiling too.  What a disaster!  It would have been relatively easy to fix when it was a small leak; but because of finances, we had none, and the massiveness of the task we let it go; because, for a while, we could put it out of our mind until the next rain storm.  Then it would rain, and we would say, “We need to do something about that roof”.   Sometimes we do the same thing in our life also.  We give the devil a foothold because we fail to take care of small things.  Rather than correct the wrong attitude, or thoughts.  We let them go because it’s a little insignificant thing and we can “fix it later”, and it easier to let it go than it is to deal with the problem....

Today, I went apple picking.  It’s one of the fall things that I enjoy even though I’ll be sore tomorrow.  I have a friend that allowed me the privilege of picking as many apples as I wanted. What a blessing that was!  When I went to her house, she had two apple trees.  One tree had small apples that were still kind of green.  It didn't look like the apples grew very much. It was plain to see that it was not a good tree.  The other tree had huge red apples on it.  In fact, there were so many apples, that some of the branches were bent almost down to the ground.  It was also just as easy to see that this tree was indeed a good tree.  Jesus said that we are like trees and when people look at the fruit, the deeds, they can tell just as easily the whether we are good or bad.  Friends, fellow Christians what kind of fruit is your life producing?  If you are not sure, ask someone close to you.  They can see whether you are bitter, q...

  Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.  John 2:2-3 Growing up, there were many things that I chose not to do simply because I knew my parents, especially my dad, would be hurt if I did them.  It wasn't that I thought my dad would not love me if I did them; I just did not want to cause my dad shame or pain.  A few months ago, some friends went to a club.  Later another mutual friend if I went with them to the club.  The rest of the group laughed and said, “No, she’s a goody-two-shoe”.  Perhaps I should have been offended, but I wasn't.  We’re all friends, and I knew that they meant.  There are many things that I choose not to do because I love God.   I know that God will still love me even if I choose to participate in drunkenness, or do something immoral, or take part in any other lust of the flesh.  I would not cease to be a Christian because I did any of those things....

Therefore, there is  no w  no   condemn ation  for those who are in Christ Jesus,  Romans 8:1 Ok, I admit it!  I am a sensitive person.  I absolutely hate knowing that I have hurt someone either knowingly or unknowingly.  I do not think this is a bad thing.  It is how God made me, which is the best me there is.  There are times, however, when it creates problems; that others who are not so sensitively wired do not have.  If someone criticizes something that I said or did, I immediately feel pain or guilty; I think that I must have caused their hurt and or anger.  I internalize the remarks and feel badly that I hurt the other person.  Recently, I had such an episode, and as I was thinking about the altercation; I heard God say “My child, I did not condemn you”. Then he said, “You did nothing wrong; no sin was committed.  You don’t have to “own” this guilt.  ”.  So I decided that I would send that guilt ri...

because you know that the  testing   of   your   faith  produces perseverance. James 1:3 It’s rainy, wet, and gloomy.  I am not a fan cold, wet, dreary days. I prefer warm and sunny days.  My guess that most of you feel exactly the same way; we all have said, at one time or another, “rain, rain go away, come again another day”.  Yet, we all know that as much as we don’t like the rain, it is essential and vital if we plan to go on living.  I don’t need to remind you of what our world would be like if it never rained. Friends, God wants us to have a sound faith.  I am reminded that although we don’t like struggles in our life, some difficulties are necessary for our faith to grow.  Faith without some complications would wither and die like plants without rain.  So when you are facing troubles, rest in the knowledge that your faith will be strengthened if you trust God and do not turn back.  Remember that struggles ar...

Now you are the  body  of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  1 Corinthians 12:27 Monday night and all day yesterday I had a problem with a tooth bothering me.  It hurt like crazy!  Such a small portion of the body; yet when that tooth started hurting my entire body seemed to hurt.  I imagine as you read this, you can think of your own experiences with this as well; a stubbed toe, a broken bone and the list could go on.   As I was thinking on this, I was reminded that, as believers, we are also part of the body of Christ.  It made me wonder how we respond when a fellow Christian is hurting. Do we ignore them; criticize them; minimize their pain? Or do we instead help them; pray for them; ease their burden.  In short, do we love them and treat them with the care that we would treat our own body?    The fact is that one part of the body cannot hurt without the whole body hurting.  I talked to my Daugh...