LACED WITH GRACE ... ((RATS!))

Today, You can find me over at LACED WITH GRACE!

I have shared a devotion over there entitled, "((RATS!)) ...

"One of our favorite things to do when all of the kids get together is stay up late and sit around the table playing board games. Recently, when the boys were all here, one of them showed me a new card game. I can’t recall the name of it, but I remember that it not only took skill but it took speed and accuracy. Have you ever played a game and everything seemed ..."

click HERE to read the rest!

TRAIN UP A CHILD

This week has been the week for this mother to see her children off to another part of the world to stand on their own. Earlier this week, we saw our middle son and his wife off as they moved to Utah. After 3 days on the road, they made it to their final destination, safely.

Today, we embark on yet another son moving. Jordan, our youngest son, is leaving home to attend Bible College in Texas. It is strange to see the past 19 years all packed up in a box.

Certainly, for this mother, this is a sad time because I will miss their presence. I will miss their laughter, their hugs and late night runs to DQ. But mostly, this mother is happy and content. and proud!

I am happy and content, because I see the boys doing exactly what God intended them to do. Spread their wings and discover the world! God has so many opportunities and adventures waiting for them. If they will just put their faith in God...He will be with them guiding and leading them and that gives peace and joy.

"Train up a child and he will not depart from it" - what a great promise to us parents. I have done the best I can with the little time that I have had. I know that no matter what road my children chooses to venture down that the strong spiritual foundation that they were raised upon will always be in them and now today, it is my prayer that they will lean upon that for each step they take.

THANKFUL THURSDAY...anchor of hope

Me and boats on water just do not mix. I'm not sure why, but being out on water just gives me a real uneasy feeling. I remember when we went on a missions trip to Ecuador, we went whale watching. Well in order to see any whales ... you have to go out where the whales are!

I will never forget that horrible boat ride. The waters swayed the boat back and forth and back and forth. I really thought I was just going to be sick! I remember sitting in my seat ever so still, while others were on the boat walking from side to side, trying to get a glimpse of any sea creature ... I was concentrating on breathing and not throwing my lunch over the side of the boat. I felt so unsteady, uneasy and unsafe.

I finally began to ease up and enjoy the whale watching when the boat found a place to rest and the anchor was thrown out. Have you ever thought about the purpose of an anchor on a boat? When the anchor is set firm ... the ship and all of the people on it are secure. Even when the winds blow, the ship will not crash against the rocks or float out among the rough seas.

No wonder our hope in Jesus and His promises are referred to as an "anchor for our souls". When this anchor is set firm in our hearts and spirit, there is nothing that can throw us off course or destroy us. The waves of life might get rough and bumpy, but the "anchor will hold" and our hope in Jesus Christ will stand firm!

Alot of people try to put their security in other things. Things like a big bank account, or a secure position at a company, insurance policies or investments ...none of these can make us secure. The only true form of security can be found in Jesus Christ ... He is our anchor of hope!

HEBREWS 6:18, 19 "We who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls."

Don't find yourselves in the middle of a storm without your Anchor!

IRIS is hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY this week. Please be sure to stop by and visit her and all of the other grateful hearts as we unite together and give thanks to our Father who is truly our Anchor of Hope! Be sure to come back here next week as I will be hosting TT for the month of September. Y

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...do you hear what I hear?

I read the most interesting story the other day. It had to do with the things that we hear...

The story was told of two men who were walking along a very crowded city sidewalk. Suddenly, one of the men said ..."Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket." But the other man did not hear the sound. The second man asked the first how he could possibly hear the sound of a cricket amid the loud roar of traffic and all the sounds of the people in the crowd. The first man was a zoologist and he had trained himself to hear the sounds of nature, but he did not share this with his friend. Instead, he simply dropped a half dollar coin from his pocket onto the sidewalk, and at least a dozen people stopped and began to look around the two men. Then the first man simply said this, "We hear what we listen for."

Wow! Isn't that true for us today. We hear what we want to hear. We simply do not listen at times. This is also very true when it comes to listening to the voice of God. Sometimes, I have to admit, I hear what I want to hear from Him. There are times when I simply do not listen for His voice. His voice is muffled by all of the sounds going on around me.

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "Who in your life can be described as 'ever hearing, but never understanding'...'ever seeing, but never perceiving' "? The top answers were:

1. 50% of those voting said that this would apply to their children.

2. 25% of the readers voted and said that this would apply mostly to themselves.

In the book of Isaiah, I recall how God spoke to Isaiah ...

ISAIAH 6:8-10 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' and I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' (9) He said, 'Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. (10) Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

It is no doubt that just as God spoke to Isaiah, He also speaks to us. I have read some Bible Scholars say that many Christians envy Isaiah for this experience of hearing God with an audible voice. Hearing an audible voice from God was reserved for a handful of select people in the Bible, but yet God spoke to many, as He does with us, just in different ways.

GOD SPEAKS THRU HIS WORD

2 Timothy 3:16 says that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." So if we are listening for God's voice ... we need to be in His Word.

GOD SPEAKS THRU HUMAN MESSENGERS

When God wanted to speak to the people of Israel, He did not use a loudspeaker to broadcast His message. He instead, entrusted the message to specific people. God not only uses the local Pastor and Evangelist to bring His message to you and me, but sometimes, He even uses your next door neighbor! God speaks to us thru His people, and we must be sensitive to the fact that WHO brings the message forth is not as important as WHOM the message comes from.

GOD SPEAKS THRU WORLDLY EVENTS

On at least one occasion, the Apostle Paul had planned to preach in various places in Asia, but only to have his direction blocked and discovering a different direction to take. Sometimes, our plans are altered, this could possibly be Gods way of telling us to go another direction.

However God chooses to speak to us (audibly, thru His Word, thru His messenger or thru events) it is imperative that we listen and be obedient to His calling. I often wonder, if God ever asks Himself ... "Do they hear what I hear?"

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM GOD TODAY?

A PIECE OF MY HEART ... a day of celebration

Today was kind of an unusual day for me. Today was one of the days that I have been dreading for some time. In the next week, all 3 of my sons will be moving to different states. Today marked the day that Jeremy and his wife would leave to move to Salt Lake City, Utah.

The kids stopped by last night and we visited until wee hours of the morning and then we said our good-byes. They were going to leave this morning, but all of us would be at school or work and last night just seemed like the right time to have our farewell prayer and goodbye.

Instead of being sad and teary eyed, it was really more like a celebration. Even though my heart was sad to see them move so far away, my heart was jumping and celebrating that they were finally going to be together as man and wife. I was excited that they would venture out on the adventure of a lifetime ... their life together!

I wonder, how many of you, today felt like celebrating? If we are believers, we should all want to celebrate! Because of Him, we should look at each day as a time for a joyful celebration.

Do you start up each day with an expectancy to see wonderful things or do you live your day beneath a cloud of worry and doubt?

Even when things seem difficult and sad and out of our control ... we can all have a heart of celebration. Today is non-renewable! Once it is gone, it is gone forever. So why would I want to do anything less than celebrate the goodness of God today?

Today, celebrate the life that God has given you - put a smile on your face, speak kind words and keep a song in your heart. Give praise to your maker and offer encouragement to the lost. Live each day celebrating like it is your last - for this IS the day the Lord has made and we shall rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

"Every day should be a cause for celebration. By celebrating the gift of life, you protect your heart from the dangers of pessimism, regret, hopelessness, and doubt."

and that is a piece of my heart today;

AT THE WELL... growing shoots

Have you ever noticed what happens to a sack of potatoes that are left alone and forgotten about?

I had some potatoes that were in a bin that I had forgotten about. After some time, being left in the damp darkness, the potatoes had rapidly sprouted. Shoots were wildly sprouted in all different directions.

The potatoes were less than desirable now. They had changed now that they had sat in the dark. There was nothing left for me to do with them except to toss them away.

Did you know that some things grow best in the dark. Secrets, for instance. Are we as Christians, hiding secrets that we would rather not have others see or know?

LUKE 8:17 "Nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."

When we dabble in things in secret, the only one we are fooling is ourselves. Surfing bad websites, entertaining ungodly thoughts, giving into addictions, watching inappropriate television shows and watching R (or even worse) rated movies in our home. These are all things that may be done in secret, but it is only a matter of time before what is being done in the dark will come to light.

Just like those potatoes ... when we allow things to grow in the dark, we become less than desirable and useless. Keeping things in the dark will only allow the darkness to grow. The light of God is what we can trust. He will help us to clean out the "shoots" that grow in our heart.

"Nothing is so burdensome as a secret"

I am linking up with AT THE WELL today, you can find discussion over there about "Danger Ahead". Click here to read other thoughts.

MAKE IT A HABIT!

Alot of people have habits. Some habits are good and some are bad. Habits usually are formed when we do something over and over and before we know it we just can't live without that "thing". We find ourselves desiring it, wanting it and forming our life around that "thing" that is now a habit.

Habits can either be crippling to us or it can strengthen us.

Habits such as drinking too much, gambling or having the inability to manage money can be crippling. In fact such habits, oftentimes, take control over us instead of us controlling it. But not all habits are bad...

Jesus had a habit. He had a habit of going up the mountain to spend time with God.

LUKE 22:39 "And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him."

Jesus formed a habit of communicating with God every morning. It is said that if you do something consistently for 30 days, it will become a habit. You can either make or break a habit by consistently doing the same thing. We can follow Jesus example and form a positive habit by spending time with God every day!

Prayer ... make it a habit today!