Day Twenty-nine

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 
(Colossians 1:9-14 ESV)

Day Twenty-one

ir·re·vers·i·ble

ˌi(r)rəˈvərsəb(ə)l/

not able to be undone or altered.

"she suffered irreversible damage to her health"

synonyms:

irreparable, beyond repair, irremediable, irrevocable, permanent;  unalterable, unchangeable, immutable, carved in stone;  peremptory "irreversible damage" SO, I had this question in one of my classes "Is the communication process irreversible? "         This is the way I look at it: If you said it, then you probably meant it at the time.   You may come to your senses and think ...well I didn't mean that. Or you could have been lying to rationalize your sin or your feelings at the time, or you could have said something really hateful and spiteful because you were angry.  Can you take any of this back?  I want to say yes, but the damage is done the answer is no. You may apologize, but the hurt you caused is still there. The person you hurt will have to learn to trust you again. So this being said we must be careful with our words and think through our thoughts before we say them.

Lets talk about vows made or promises rendered. Certainly this has a strong connotation of covenant... can that be irreversible? You have made that a life long commitment to someone with words...can one simply take that back? I would hope that in the case of covenant that this definition would be:  "not able to be undone or altered"  simply because it is a covenant and a promise. This is made in all seriousness after thorough contemplation, it is not something entered in to lightly.  But let your words be simply, Yes or No: and whatever is more than these is of the Evil One.  (Matthew 5:37 BBE)

Day Seventeen

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi


Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace!

That where there is hatred, I may bring love.

That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.

That where there is discord, I may bring harmony.

That where there is error, I may bring truth.

That where there is doubt, I may bring faith.

That where there is despair, I may bring hope.

That where there are shadows, I may bring light.

That where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted.

To understand, than to be understood.

To love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.

—Saint Francis of Assisi—

Day Fifteen

Today we were presented to our church for membership. It was a good day! The last church we attended closed in April, 2016. We have been at our new church for about a year and a half now. I am blessed by our new family and can't wait to get to know everyone even better as time goes on.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
(Psalms 84:10-12 ESV)

Day Fourteen

 Today we went to an apple orchard, They had  everything apple of course! Apple fritters ...oh was it yummy!   Apple Cider donuts, these were heavenly! Yes we bought apples too!   My favorite was the Apple cider slushy!!  Absolute fun  was had shooting apples out of an apple cannon!

on the way to the orchard

Day Thirteen

              We hiked up to the Hickory Nut Waterfall today! It was awesome!

           

Day Eleven

 I found this beatiful poem, I wanted to share. This is for you James!

j goss poetry

                                          Visit J Goss poetry to see more amazing poems!

Day Four

Mums and Pumpkins  are on the porch now.  I love this time of year. I am very contemplative this time of year. This time of year seems to bring trials. I do not know why. Its all in Gods Hands. He allows this to happen to build us up and to strengthen us.  So with this knowledge, I just need to trust Him.

• Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 2 Samuel 7:28 
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6 
• Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

Day two

I have only sadness from the porch tonight. A childhood friend that I grew up with in my home town lost her life in the shooting in Las vegas.   May our souls find rest in God alone. I am praying for her family and friends.

31 Days of healing Day 3 " Why are you downcast, oh my soul"

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
(Isaiah 60:1-3 ESV)

 "Arise, shine; for your light has come! After the thick and desperate darkness described in Isa_59:9-10, this is the glorious rescue from the Redeemer. Light has come - so God tells His people to respond to it, and to arise and shine!

 Darkness is for lying down; light is for rising up. Darkness is for gloom and sleep; light is for shining. When the light has come, we must respond, and arise, shine!
 First, we receive God’s light (your light has come), and then we have a service to put forth (arise, shine). You can’t shine until your light has come, but once it has come, there is something wrong if you don’t arise and shine!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you: This is no earthly light; this is light that emanates from the glory of the LORD. This is like the light of Jesus in the Transfiguration, when His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light (Matt 17:2). Sometimes harsh, bright light can be disturbing or uncomfortable - but not this warm, wonderful light that pulsates from the glory of the LORD".(Guzik)


 No Matter our current circumstances, we can trust God to bring us through it. Do not be deceived that you will not be healed by God. He has and HE will continue to heal us as we look to Him only for healing. Why are you downcast, oh my soul? Arise for your light has come!

31 Days of healing Day 2 "A careful examining of my heart"

This process is going to take a careful examining  of my heart. I wrote an earlier bog post that I reread a few days ago that really made me think about how I got where I am emotionally.You can read it here Beauty For Ashes.  My own words stung me.  I knew it was time to take a closer look at my heart and confess any sin that I found. One thing that jumped out at me was when we are hurt by our circumstances or people we need to choose how we respond in our hearts. When we hang on to the hurt and try to justify our anger or other feelings and allow them to remain unchecked then our thinking may become clouded and we will not see truth.  We will want to keep carrying our hurts like a prized possession instead of dealing with them. 

"Sometimes, the pain we have worked so hard to avoid is the one thing that leads us to where God calls us to go. Sometimes, feeling our need is the greatest work of faith we can surrender to". ~Bonnie Gray, Faith Barista

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
(Luke 9:23-25 ESV)

31 Days of Healing Day 1 "Intro"

I have endured many trials, tribulations and sufferings this last year. I will be writing for 31 days about my healing process. The road that is now required of me will require my dying to self and putting absolute trust in God and His absolute truth. I hope that you will join me each day as I travail along this path before me. I am excited about what God will be teaching me as I yield myself to Him. 


And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 
(Luke 9:23-25 ESV)

Beauty for Ashes

Photo by:

365 project

 I was driving to church for ladies bible study one morning, I was thinking of what the LORD had been doing in my life. Each of us were to share per the request of our leader what the LORD was laying on our hearts. I knew of this assignment for two weeks but being the procrastinator that I am I waited till the last minute. I was just thinking "I will not share...I will just sit  and listen." I felt I had nothing and should  just be quiet. I prayed "Lord, what shall I do, what do you want me to share?" Just then I glanced to the right of the road, there sat a little blue house. I had seen it before as my family and I had traveled to and from church. The house was probably beautiful at one time, yet now it laid in ruin as it had caught fire and was badly damaged. I quickly looked away. I hated to stare at it for to long it made me uncomfortable.  I felt the Holy Spirit  nudge me.. He asked me "Why won't you look at that house?" I thought for a minute and I responded," I  do not like to look at the ruin ,the life that may have been lost, the utter destruction of personal property. The pain  the family must have had  when everything they owned was lost." 

 I felt like the Lord was telling me"Your spiritual life is like that house!" "You wont look at it long enough to deal with all your pains and hurts and trust me. You need to really look and feel and examine yourself...confess any sins that hinder you so that you may have fellowship with me."(If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1Jn 1:8-9 ESV) I started to cry.  I felt like He was telling me to share what he had just taught me with the women at church, I was hesitant I made excuses," I have no notes Lord." "I will help you I will give you the words to say", He replied. I arrived at church,  went in and sat anxiously waiting for the worship time to be over.  The Lord brought the scriptures below to my mind as I was waiting.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

(Isa 61:1-3 ESV)  

 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

(John 15:1-4 ESV)

  I was the first to volunteer,  I do not like public speaking. I got up shared what He showed me on the way there and sat down.  I felt  His peace. Later afterward a few ladies thanked me for sharing and said that it ministered them. I replied do not to thank me, but Him because it is all Him not me. 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  (2Cor.4:16)

"Sometimes, the pain we have worked so hard to avoid is the one thing that leads us to where God calls us to go.  Sometimes, feeling our need is the greatest work of faith we can surrender to". ~Bonnie Gray, Faith Barista