Entertaning Angeles

DON'T QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT -SPEAKING UP

For the past couple of years or so my main focus of study has been on prayer...I read scriptures on prayer, I read books on prayer, I listen to sermons on prayer, and I pray that I will become more effective at praying.  I do believe that praying is a spiritual gift and I believe that God is calling me deeper and deeper into a life of prayer.  I'm absolutely LOVING this!!!  During the last few weeks, something that I've notice that God is telling me not to quench the Holy Spirit.  One of my favorite scripture verses is:

Hebrews 13:2 (NIV) "2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

     I find this super exciting, because, come on, who wouldn't want to meet and entertain an angel???  But, this verse can also be terrifying.  What is God going to ask me to do?  I really want to obey you, God, as long as you don't call me out of my "comfort zone".  We all have our "comfort" zone.  I love to encourage people; I do believe it's one of my spiritual gifts.  I'll email you, I'll text you, I'll like and comment on your Facebook  posts and pictures.  However, they're a very few people that I'll actually converse with, and even fewer that I will strike a conversation with.  I do say "hello", "how are you?",  "please" and "thank you",  etc.  I never really know how people (who don't know me) are going to react to my speaking,  plus it seams like as I age my speech is getting harder and harder to understand.

     That being sad, God had asked me twice this week to step out of my "comfort" zone and speak to people.  UGH!  The first was a lady whose husband came to our church to speak about the Gideons.  There was just something about this lady.  She was a little more mature than I am.  An inner beauty and her love for God just flowed from her .  Not only did I toughly enjoy talking with her, I also felt the urge to give her my phone number and email address.  Then on Monday, I felt the urge to approach a young couple with a couple with a new born baby.

     The Great Commission bids us to go to all the ends of the earth and tell about Jesus.  Part of telling others about Jesus, perhaps the first part, is showing His love tor them.

    I know the closer I grow in my relationship with Christ the more He will ask me to do things out of my "comfort" zone and I pray that I will not quench the Holy Spirit.

BE STILL

We are a busy people.  Most of us seem to be living our life in the fast lane.  Sometimes we get so caught up with things that we don’t stop and take time for God.  This is not a new problem though.  That’s why Psalms 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.”

TALKING TO YOUR FRIEND, JESUS

What if you could talk with your best friend anytime; anywhere.  Many songs talk about how Jesus is our friend.  Prayer is our direct line to Jesus.  We don’t have to worry about Him being too busy or breaking our confidence.  Be sure to talk to your friend Jesus today

FORGIVE AND FORGET

People often say; “I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget.”  Can people truly forgive someone if they are constantly remembering how they wrong them?  Jeremiah 31:34 says “He forgets our sins and remembers them no more.”  If Jesus can do it, why can’t we?”

THE GIFT OF LOVE

Love is truly a gift from; In fact the bible says that God is love.  However, sometimes it is really hard to love people; especially those closest to us.  It may be time to step back and see that person as Jesus sees them.

TEXTING FOR JESUS

“Text me.”  How many times a day do we hear or say that do we hear or say that?   We text each other about everything: where we’re going, about what’s happening at work, We can order food by text,  we can even get test results by doctors by text.  But how are we growing as a Christian by texts?  Yes, we can receive   bible verse by text.  Holly Grove even sends prayer request via text.  But how else can we use text messaging to reach the lost?  We can send someone a text of encouragement.  We can invite them to church. We can share our testimony with them.  There are so many ways we can use technology to spread the gospel?  So, how are you text the good news today?

YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN

A dear sweet friend of mine, she’s like a second mother to me, lost her husband in November, 2015  They were weeks away from their 48^th anniversary.  This woman is one of the strongest and godliest woman I’ve ever known.  We were talking the other day and she said that she didn’t want to be a burden on her family.  My first though was, how could anyone think of this dear, sweet women as a burden?  I know all of her children and the thought of her being a burden to them would never even enter their minds.         However, I have the same thought.  I don’t want to be a burden on my husband and children!

 
Dictionary.com describes burden as a load which is carried, one which borne out of hardship.           Uhm, not looking good for burdens.
 Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:29-30 New International Version (NIV)
²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
       We know we are called to hand our burdens over to God, but what do we do when we feel like the burden?    I love the verse Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.          Many people believe that this is referring to the person that is being served, but can’t it also refer to the person that is doing the serving.  Yes, we are called by God to serve others.  We teach our children the motto that it’s better to give than it is to receive.  I do believe this to be true, but we all have points in our lives where we need help; where we need to be served.
People have to be allowed to serve God.  If we have the attitude where we say  “I’m supposed to serve others, not to  be served.”;  then we are not only keeping them from doing what God has commanded them to do but we are also keeping them from the blessing that come along with serving someone.  Not to mention that we will miss out on blessing too by not being serve by them.
Now, please note, I am not advocating that you become a burden just to be served.  If you can server others, you are called to so.  The fact is that, it is possible (and probably likely) that while most people are serving others, they are also themselves being served by someone else

MY CALL TO PRAYER

Prayer…It’s very passionate on my heart right now and has been for a while.  I’ve always prayed, but lately I’ve feel like I’m being called to be a true prayer warrior.  In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul talks about the different spiritual gifts a person can have.  I do believe prayer is a prayer is a direct remint of several of the spiritual gifts.  Yes, everyone; ever Christian is called to pray.  Yet I think some people are equipped with the words, patience and longer to communicate with God.        I think my prayer life can become a bit routine.  A bit too safe; who can go wrong with “Now I lay me down to sleep…” or “Lord bless this food.” Not that these prayer are bad or invalid, because there not.  I just feel that I need to dig deeper.  I have to expand my horizon and reach to where to where I      have not reach before.  There is a place I can reach in my prayers that I can never reach on my own.  A place that only is accessible by God granting me entrance.         This is a place I long to be.  But not only that, I feel like it’s a place God’s calling me to be.  Maybe’s it’s why I have so much alone time on my hands.    My goal in life is that I want to be as close to God as I can get.         But I can’t just get close to God by wanting it.  It’s gonna take work.  I have to work at it.  Prayer is like anything else      , the more I do it, the better I’ll be at it, and the closer I’ll get to God.  It may take my entire life to get to where God wants me to be and that’s OK.  I pray each and every that I become closer and closer to God.  I pray that when I leave this world and meet God face to face, He says “Well done good and faithful servant!’

  

THE SAFETY NET OF PRAYER

Prayer is my connection to God.  This is not a 

new concept to me.  I’ve been a Christian for 

the majority of my life.  I must admit that my 

prayer life goes through phases, or seasons if I 

may.    I don’t tend to pray as much when I’m 

on the mountain top than when I’m in the 

valley.  There’s an invisible safety net around 

us that we tend to trust when things are going 

our way.  The longer we go without prayer and 

trusting in ourselves the more holes starts to 

form in our safety net.  Then the inevitable  

happens, and we fall through the net.

        Most of us are totally shocked when this 

happens.  Things were going so good.  Why did 

I fall?   I am a natural faller.  I’ve done it all my 

life and I perfected it.  I’m the person who can 

say I’ve fallen up the stairs – literary.  I’ve 

fallen sideways and backward; anyway you can 

imagine.  I’ve even falling when I’m sitting 

down – now that’s takes true talent, let me tell 

you. 

        The thing about falling is that the older 

you get, the harder you fall.  This may be a 

cliche, but it’s true!  When I was younger, I 

would fall several times a day: my scraped 

knees and elbows ware tokens that I had 

survived   another day.  However, now my 

token for falling is groaning and gnashing of 

teeth for days on in.

        What happened?  Why did the results of 

my falling change?  Because I’m not as young 

as I used to be, my body doesn’t bounce back 

as it once did.

        OK, so how does this relate to prayer?

        Most of us when we became Christian, we 

were super excited; we had that fire in our 

bellies?  Where did that fire go?  It’s still there, 

but for many of us it’s been dimmed out by the 

realities of life – we get complacent in are 

praying and when we fall through the safety 

net we wonder why it hurts so much more than 

it used to.

        Perhaps it’s because as we age and grow 

in our faith, we are supposed to be praying 

more, but we get comfortable and we just 

think we are OK where we are.  The safety net 

will always be there.  Right?

LIVING ON THE EDGE OF GRACE

I think grace is a beautiful thing.  Its even a beautiful word to stay; it roles of the tongue. But what is grace?  Grace is an undeserving accepting love giving to us by God.  Its God Righteousness At Christ Expense.   When I think of grace I think of love and acceptance;  of giving people the benefit.          But I also think of someone who has a gentle spirit; a women who has a quiet voice, has the touch of a feather and the peace of a dove.  I am not, according to the latter idea, a gentle person.  I am more like a bull in a china shop.  I am loud and clumsy.     But I long to be a graceful woman.Thankfully, grace from God and not from myself.  I am in God's grace because I have been cover by the blood of His only son, Jesus.  I can grow in grace by studding His word and following ways.     You see, my being a graceful women is not based on who I am physically, but is based on who I am in Christ.When I choose love over hate; I'm graceful.When I choose peace over chaos; I'm graceful.When I choose to serve others over demanding that my needs be met;  I'm graceful.The list could go on and on and on.

The edge is where I want to live.  I want grace to overtake me.  I want everyone I meet to feel like a there is a peace and a love for that can only come from me because of God's grace.

I long to be A Woman on the Edge of Grace because that's who God's calling me to be.

WHEN HE SAYS NOTHING AT ALL

      Growing up in Nashville, Tn, I loved country music.  The songs seamed so romantic.  I always wanted a love story like was on the radio.  One song that stands out is Paul Overstreet's "You say it best when you say nothing at all".  I always wanted to be loved and know so well that we didn't have to talk at all.  Today I realized that after 15 years of marriage Barrett and I are finally there!  Something happened last night and we had to confront Dalton about something kinda risque.  It was so nice, and revealing to realized that we're on the same page that we can just look at each other and have a whole a conversation without saying a word.  I so love my husband.

I MUST DECREASE SO THEY CAN INCREASE

As a mother, they say that is job from they day they are first born that your job is to prepare them to leave.  When they're little they are so dependent on you, so much so it can be overwhelming.  I remember after Dalton was born just feeling so scared and thinking.  "Why did God give me a baby?  I can barely care for myself, let alone this little one." In fact, I'm one of those people who have a thousand  great ideas a day, but I don't always have the umph to follow through.  In the back of my mind was always the fear of what happens if I wake one day and decide this isn't what I want.  (Typical thoughts of a child of a broken family).  As a Christian woman I vowed to be the best mother I can be.  I'm a stay-at-home-mom and I've pour out everything I have to my family.  But something happens to kids; they do grow up..  Suddenly the little boy who wouldn't leave my side is embarrassed to be with me,  and the little girl who wouldn't get out of my sight is sneaking into her bedroom for a giggly gossip phone chat with her latest BFF.
      I know that if I've done my job as a mother right, then I know that they'll make the right choices.  As much as I want them to need me,  I know that they need to be self - sufficient.  Because of my CP, my kids have learned that there are simply some thing Mama can't do, so they've to sort step up to the plate and fend for themselves.  My kids are now 14 and 11,  they still need me, just in another capacity.  No one can love them like I can.  No one can pray for them like I can.  We're just a few years away from them want to hang out Friday night at ball games with friend instead of pizza and a movie with Mama.  While I may not always be happy with their decisions, I want them to know Mama will always be here at the end of the day.

MY FAVORITE SCRIPTUE

 What is your favorite scripture?  While I believe ALL scripture is inspired by God, my life verse is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  As a disabled woman, this verse means so much to me because like it or not, there are limits on my life.  I’m never going to race in the Indy 500 or dance on Broadway, but that’s OK because I can do whatever God ask me to do.  From the moment I was born, I’ve gone against what people have said and believed of me.  I know none of it is because of me but because God has cared for me and allowed me to do these things 

WHAT GODLY MEANS TO THE CRIPPLED MAMA

What does it mean to be GODLY...

 According to www.thefreedictionary.com,  godly is defined as 1) have a great reverence for God; pious and 2) divine.  Now before I start, let me assure you I'm no where close to God, nor do I claim to be.  Our pastor tells us that God is like a blacksmith and that He pounds on metal and burns it in fire until it has no flaws in it and all He can see is His own reflection.  I believe our ultimate goal in this life is to be like Jesus.  Yes, he created us all as unique individuals, but we are to love and treat others as He does.  
       While the bible is full or examples of godly women, there are two that I have chosen to model my life after: The Proverb 31 and the Titus 2 Woman.  I know both these characters sparks different reactions to different people  When I look at these two women I see who God wants me to be.  These women, especially the Proverbs 31 woman can be VERY CONTROVERSIAL.  And yes, if you just look at them with human eyes, there's no way you can stand up to that.  But if you let God guide you, you can do anything!  I'm never gonna be the perfect wife or mother, most of the time I can't even qualify as a good one.  But I have hope that if I keep trusting God that I can be the wife to Bryan and the mama to Dalton and Bobbye Sue that He me to be. 

SIN AS DIRTY GLASSES

      I can’t see.  Now, I’m now blind; things just aren’t as big as 

they as they used to be.  I hear this is very common.  My theory 

is that world is being over taking by leprechauns and their sole 

purpose is to trick us and to make us think that we’re getting 

old.  Yes, this is most definitely be a trick of the leprechauns!

      With that being said,  a couple of times a year I like to go to 

the Dollar Tree and stock up on reading glasses.  I spread them 

throughout the house so whenever I need my glasses, there’s 

always a pair in reach.

      The thing about glasses is they get dirty quickly, though we 

may not notice it.  My kids will periodically pick up my glasses

 and the response is always the same: “Mama, these are filthy.  

How can you see out of them?” (And then they’ll actually clean

 them for me!)

      The truth is, my dirty glasses don’t bother me.  I don’t 

realize they’re dirty.  (However, I did stop as I was writing this 

and cleaned my glasses!) I allow myself to adapt, and my eyes 

have to strain more to see through the dirtiness, but I don’t 

realize this.

    Sin is a lot like a pair of dirty glasses.  It may start out as 

just a smudge:  I can tell this little white lie or I can dabble in 

this behavior and it’s no big deal. You do it more and more.  It 

may seem like no big deal; maybe no one get hurts our even 

knows, but God knows. 

      The more we sin, the harder it becomes to see that we are 

sinning.  The longer we allow our sin to go on, the more 

natural it becomes.  If I go back to my drinking days and 

hanging out in bars, it probably won’t too long before that 

becomes the norm in my life.  I’ll start to justify why I’m doing 

it and I’ll even believe that it’s OK. 

      That’s because my ability to see that I’m sinning had 

hinder me just as my ability to see becomes hindered when my 

glasses become dirty.  I probably won’t be able to see my sin 

until it’s pointed out to me, just like I can’t tell my glasses are 

dirty until one of  my kids points it out to me. 

      To get the most out of my glasses and to reclaim my vision; 

I have to clean them (or have them clean by my kids). 

Likewise, I need to clean my heart of sin.  It’s not always as 

easy as spraying Windex on a paper towel and wiping down 

my glasses.  To cleanse my heart of sin, I have to turn back 

God and allow Him to forgive and change me.  I have to be 

willing  to give up that sin which has become second nature to 

me.  I cannot live in sin and see clearly what God has in store 

for me.    I have to be willing to let Christ’s blood cleanse me 

white as snow.  

A Woman Who Fears The Lord...

A few years ago, I was a part of a (Christian) chat room and somehow the topic of fearing the Lord came up.  This one lady kinda of repairman by a lady that said she NEVER  feared God an even questioned my faith.  Proverbs 9; 10 says; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of evil and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." {NIV} I think the word 'fear' in reference to the bible has two meanings.  The actually state of being afraid and having a state of respect for someone.  As a Christian, I think we have to have both.  I trust God and know He loves me and will ALWAYS do what's best for me.  However, this is the same God who let it rain and flooded the entire earth for forty day and forty nights, killed all the male babies in Egypt before Pharaoh finally let Moses lead the people out of slavery, and allowed a man to be swallowed by a fish because he was disobedient.   So, let me think,,, am I going to fear the Lord who can change a woman into a salt because she glance back at the town that had her home..UHH, YES!  I was a huge daddy's girl, but if I got in trouble I dreaded the punishment, because I knew it would involved  me laying over my parents' bed and thick leather belt.  I got what I deserved, but I didn't like.  There are things in our lives the God reprimands  us for that we are not going to look forward the consequence, But we never doubt God's love for us.       As a woman of God, Proverb 31:10 tells us that "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." {NIV}  The term "fear"  in the verse means to reverence and respect the Lord.  I am to respect Him in the same (or greater manner) that I respect my husband.  In fact, I believe God may value the respect form of fear over literal fear.  If we get to know and reverence God, we will grow into a deeper relationship with Him.  The more we come to respect God,  the less we will actually fear Him because we'll come to trust Him and know that every thing He does is for our good and His Glory.