Inspirations

  Even though it's cold and snowy,  I am sitting here in my comfy chair sipping a soda but sometimes it's coffee. On tv, the weather channel is yammering something about another hurricane in Florida. My daughter just ran into the room, tripped over the cat, and fell in a heap on the floor. I must get to bed soon because five O'clock will come early. I'll be sleeping soundly in my warm fuzzy bed  when the alarm blares bringing my slumber to an end. In the past few years, I have turned some corners and life has thrown me some curveballs. I have faced things I never expected to face, and I have seen the faithfulness of God in my life. There have been times that I was sure I would not survive, but every day God shows his love for me. My life is far from perfect and some days are diamonds while others present a challenge but I am blessed and thankful for the life I have and  to God who gives us all things abundantly.

  I love music!    Not just any music,  but uplifting music.   Music holds the power  of the spoken word of God.   I am grateful for music  that connects me to God.  For me, there is nothing better  than a worship song to make my spirit soar.    When I am completely stressed  and overwhelmed by the cares of this world,  I thank God that I can take my phone,  put on the mp3 player  and it seems only a few minutes  before the stress is gone and  I am praising God.   How it happens,   I have no clue,  but I know that it does happen.   I thank God that he gives us  songs that can calm  our troubled spirit and make us one with him.    I am grateful that  we do not have to have a great voice, he cares that we praise him;  that our heart is in tune with him.     

 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.

But his mother  treasured  all these things in her heart.  Luke 2:19 As I grow older, my memories have grown sweeter each year. Thank you for my precious memories.  Memories of long walks in the woods. and a winter when there was snow overtops of the trees.                                yes, it did happen.   I wish I had taken pictures. I'm thankful for the many memories we   created in this house                                              I'm thankful for the memories of playing softball. with the pastor of our church. As he stepped to the plate, he said,  "You need to move back further" to the outfield. They laughed until he hit the ball a mile over their heads and into the woods.  He did not run the bases; he walked each...

From the beginning of time, when we were created, God intended us to grow and mature.  Plants start as a seed.   Imagine if potatoes or apples stayed the same size as they were when you put them in the ground,  or watermelon never got any bigger than what it was as a seed.     We would all starve!  Imagine your cat staying the same size as she was the day she was born.   I know kittens and puppies are fun,  but I am sure that it would only take a few days or weeks for us to grow tired of them. As parents, we would panic if our children did not grow.   We love them as babies, but they are not supposed to stay babies.   We want them to grow and become toddlers and teens and adults.   I think God wants us to grow spiritually too.    I imagine he takes as much joy in our growth spiritually as we take in our growth into adults.   I am blessed to see that my children have grown into responsible adults but more tha...

  Today I want to thank God for rest.   In the busy hurry-up lifestyle in which most of us live, we forget to rest.  Sometimes, we look at busyness as something to be envied. We are taught that this is the way to achieve success.  Make no mistake, I believe in hard work. However, God rested. He rested on the seventh day. In fact, he set rest into The Ten Commandments that's how important that rest is to God. Jesus napped in the bottom of the boat. Peter slept chained between two guards. Jonah slept in a storm. Some days I am up early, and I need a God-ordained nap.  For some even when they are in bed and should be resting errrr..... sleeping, they can't turn their brains off long enough to really sleep. God planned rest into our schedule. Even animals understand the need for sleep.   Babies do not need to be told to sleep, they just do anytime, anywhere. Sometimes when we are irritable, the most God-like thing we can do is put the cares of this wo...

  As we draw closer to Thanksgiving, I want to thank God for reminders.    The fact is that we all need reminders,  from time to time,  to help us stay focused.   Thanksgiving serves as a yearly reminder that we have much to be thankful for.  It is incredibly easy to take many of the blessings of God for granted.   We forget to cultivate a thankful heart.   So at least during the Thanksgiving season, we are reminded to be thankful for what we enjoy.   I know a couple of friends that write down things they are thankful for each day.   Perhaps it's not a bad idea especially if it allows us to remember what God has done for us.   God wants us to remember his blessings.   So while we need to be thankful each day,   Thank you, God, that once a year we can devote a day  to give thanks for all the blessings you have lavished on us.

  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.

  Today, as I sit here sipping a cup of steaming hot coffee that is perfect for the cold fall day, I am Thankful that God inspired someone to use beans in this way and I am thankful that I can afford the luxury. There are so many other simple pleasures that I enjoy, lunch with my husband,  or shopping with a friend. I am thankful for smiles  and hugs, or a simple gesture that can lift my spirits. Another thing that I enjoy is sitting on the porch in the summer soaking up the sun. The list of  what you enjoy is probably way different than this, however, I am sure that you have your own list of things you enjoy, your simple pleasures. I am thankful that God gives us these things that give us a little enjoyment to settle the chaos in a crazy life.

 The painted skies declare your glory,  and delicate flowers that whisper your praise. Mountains that reach the sky and declare your glory. The moon and all the starry hosts shout your praise as well. The waterfalls, roaring with laughter F Every insect we see gives glory to you. The Birds and animals praise your name.        E verything you created; for all the glory it displays, I thank you.  

Trials!  this year has been a year full of them.    Relationship struggles have me feeling "anxty" and wondering how I ended up in this place of uncertainty. Do not even get me started about the whole COVID virus  that has us in lockdown and wondering where that train will end. add to that an election year where both candidates act like children,   and you have a very stressful year.   Sometimes in all the craziness, I am not sure If I am coming or going. I can lose hope and begin to feel overwhelmed. I am thankful that in every trial, God is there holding my hand,  encouraging me and helping to go on  and remain strong in the midst of the fiery ordeals of life.  I am thankful that in the trials,  I can be sure that God is working to make me more like him.

I am thankful that in all the craziness,  I serve a God who is alive. He is not limited by what limits me. He is stronger than any problem I face. He only needs to speak and his words are done. He is wiser than anything I am going through. He can see the beginning and end of every situation and he will help. What a comfort it is to know that the God of the universe knows me and cares for me.   He loves me enough that he died for me.   How awesome is that!!

  All too often I spend my days going at full speed.    I try to cram so much into the day  that I collapse at the end of the day in a heap;  unable to move. If I go to a restaurant and    I have to wait longer for my food  than I would like or expect to wait, I grumble and seethe  rather than see it as a time to catch my breath. If I end up behind someone slower leaving a store,  I often act like my world will end. when what I really need to do is see it as a chance to help or make a new friend by smiling and giving a cheerful "hello". I thank God that he gives us days with nothing to do, No places to go, No one to see. I can slow down, Relax,  and breathe. Sometimes, it is hard to slow down to relax. I am thankful that God knows that we need to slow down. Thank you, God, for rest  that restores and quiets our souls,  we need to rest and unplug from the world and plug into God. I thank God that wh...

  Thank you God for my sight;  with it, I can enjoy the beauty in everything you have created trees mountains, the night sky,  flowers and animals and so much more. I find pleasure in the different tastes of foods; Everything from tangy, sweet, salty, spicy,  and any other taste I could possibly imagine. I enjoy hearing birds sing,   a dog bark,  the gentle  ripple of a brook, the roar of a waterfall,  the whisper of the wind in the trees,  and the softness of a name spoken in love. The smell of fresh bread;  or the earth just after rain.   The smell of wood burning on a cold night;  or turkey in the oven on Thanksgiving morning. These are smells I enjoy.   The feel of water in our hands;  or mud squishing between our toes.   The softness of the touch of a loved one,  or the feel of a hand calloused from hard work.   

    A cheerful heart is  good   medicine , but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. There is nothing better than laughter. A good joke can release the stress that has been building up. Q: Why did the belt get arrested?  A: He held up a pair of pants. A funny situation can provide much-needed laughter. Laughter can diffuse lighten the load.   When we can see some humor in something,  it makes it seem somehow a little better. Sometimes, as we get older, we forget to laugh; to see the humor in things.  Children naturally see the humor in situations.  This sign appeared after receiving almost 200 inches of snow.  I saw it and laughed. We go through life like zombies and forget that some things are funny. As I read through the Bible, I find many instances where God exhibits a sense of humor. For example: In Esther, God has Haaman parade the one person he hates, through the streets of Susa.   If that doesn't convince you,  ...

  Growing up, I got sick easily. So thank you, God, for being my healer.                                   Now I am blessed with good health, thanks to God.   I still get sick once in a while and have had some problems,  like an ornery gallbladder.   It's no longer with me.   They spend many hours studying and learning their skill.  Then they spend many more sleepless nights on call.   They are always on call, and everyone wants free a diagnosis, go figure.  I am also grateful for medicine that we can take when we are sick,  and the men and women that God gave the wisdom to harness the field of medicine. Thank you, God, for health and when we do get sick thank you for being the God who heals no matter if the healing comes through the wisdom of doctors or divine intervention we know that any healing is from your hand.

  Thank you, God, for my pets. They often provide love, companionship, and devotion. They calm me down when I am upset, and cheer me when I am sad. They often demand so little and give so much.  Our pets depend on us for most of their care and yet they are often happy to see us at the end of a long day.  Thank you, that there are a variety of pets so that no matter what my preference and personality, there is a pet for me. Whether your pet crawls, or walks, or flies is warm-blooded or cold  Thank you, God, for our pets.

  Thank you, God that in times of  extreme sadness  when it seems all is lost, I can pray and receive help in my time of need. When my joy cannot be contained and overflows what a joy to converse with you. When my way is unclear and my steps seem uncertain, my joy is found in coming to you for direction. It doesn't matter whether it's the dead of night or the middle of the day.  There's never a time when God does not care  or when he's not there. No problem is so trivial that you cannot be bothered or so great that you are not greater still. What a joy just to chat with you anytime anywhere. Not just to ask for things  but to let you know all the details of our life. To tell you we care about the needs of our friends and the cares of our family, the body of Christ. As we pray we find that peace is restored and our joy is greater and deeper than we can imagine.