From one pumpkin to another

The little kids will be out in numbers again this weekend. All dressed in their wigs, masks and costumes. Trick or treating has been a tradition for years. Our community has gotten kind of away from the door to door trick or treating and alot of kids go to local churches for harvest fests instead. Our church hosts a large community outreach during this time of year offering a safe and spiritual alternative. I am thankful to see good things come from an otherwise evil-intended celebration.

You can always tell it is getting close to harvest time when people start putting out pumpkins in their front yards. Our neighborhood is full of them. I have many fond memories of taking my children when they were young to the pumpkin patch to pick out their very own pumpkin. It was always fun to see the different kinds of pumpkins each one of them would pick. One would pick the largest one they could find, while another picked the smallest. I always liked to find a pumpkin that had indention's or markings in it that resembled a face. Whatever we ended up with, one thing was proven ... no two pumpkins were the same.

I think that being a Christian is much like a pumpkin in that pumpkin patch.

Just as we went to pick out a special pumpkin - God also reaches down and picks us up, brushes off the dirt and sees something very special about us. He then opens us up and reaches in and scoops out all the nasty stuff that lies inside. Stuff like doubt, fear, sin.

Once we are cleaned up inside, God then gives us a new look on the outside, a smile that is contagious for all to see it.

1 SAMUEL 16:7 "...for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

No matter how many bumps we have, God has the power to smooth them over and He always sees the beauty inside even before all the seeds and junk are removed. No pumpkin is complete without a light to reflect the new creation. So to finish His touch on His pumpkin patch, God places a light inside of us that shines on and on for all who passes by to see.

So from one pumpkin to another, may we all just keep our light burning brightly for all to see!

Have a safe weekend!

THANKFUL THURSDAY ... splashes of color!

My favorite time of the year is upon us.

Fall time. The shift in temperatures. The change in colors. It all reminds me of the beauty of God's creation. How He splashes color into our world.

 Have you ever considered what creation would look like in black and white?

 It might be alittle drab!

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.   Job 23:10

God not only splashed color in the leaves on the trees but He also splashed majestic colors into His children. When the leaves change color in the fall, they have a crispness to them, a beauty that is impeccable. A beauty that is comparable to a changed heart, a lost soul returning Home.

Seasons change and so do people. God's creative hand is responsible for both.

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and I am grateful for the splashes of color in our world. Physically and Spiritually.

What are you thankful for today? Please share your grateful heart with us over at LYNN'S as she is our TT hostess today. Next week we will begin a new month of Thankful Thursday right here at WOMEN TAKING A STAND!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...why does it hurt so bad?

All of us have experienced hurt, it is a given that in this world that we live, we are going to experience hurt, lonliness, sorrow, separation and grief. I hear people ask, "Why did God create this world with so much suffering and heartache?" The answer is clear ... He didn't!!

The truth is, man created it and often times our grief and suffering will keep us from being all we can be in Christ because of our heartache.

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question: "Are you experiencing heartache?" The top 3 answers were...

1. 44% voted and said YES they were hurting because someone they loved were hurting.
2. 33% responded and said NO they were not hurting now but have been hurt in the past.
3. 22% said YES they were hurting because they have lost a loved one.

There is no doubt that we all experience hurt, disappointment and grief from time to time. The question really isn't about "if" we hurt as it should be about "what to do" when we hurt! How do you handle grief in your life? Where do you go when you are hurt?

Many people just draw themselves in when they get hurt. If you have been hurt in a relationship, most likely you will put up a wall and not let others in as easily. Putting up walls only keeps us isolated and with isolation usually comes bitterness and misery.

When I think about grief in the Bible, I think about David.
Now here is a man very well acquinted with grief. David was King of Israel and he had many lovely wives. But when David saw the most beautiful wife of Uriah the Hittite, David coveted her for himself. (2 Samuel 11-12) This was the beginning of David's grief and misery.

He committed adultery with Bathsheba and she became pregnant. David tried to trick Uriah into believing the child was his, but was unable to so he had Uriah murdered on the battlefield. After such a tangle of sin, lies and deception, no doubt David probably struggled with guilt. And sorrow, when the son that Bethsheba gave him died. It was during this difficult time of his life that David wrote this:

"Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted away from grief, my soul, and my body also." (Psalm 31:9)


Adultery. Murder. Lying. Deceit. Death.
David is saying that because of his agony, he has cried and cried so much that his soul and body are wasting away. What David is saying is that guilt will make you sick! Circumstances such as these certainly can feel overwhelming and hopeless, but I love how David responded to his grief!

How easily it would have been for him to throw in the towel. Give up. Curse God. Blame others. But instead what David did was cry out to God. David learned to live with what he couldn't change. He couldn't change the sin. He couldn't change that the baby died. Nothing can change your past, but with God's help you can move forward with Him and not live in guilt!

That's not all that David learned. David willed himself to worship. Inspite of his circumstances. When David learned of the death of his son, he went out and worshipped God. At the moment of the greatest hurt in his life, David chose to praise God! Worship will transform your grief and heartache!

God is the Great Shepherd Who has the ability to restore your soul. It is my prayer that each of us will be like David and discover that the victory is not focusing on our difficulty but focusing on God and His Power!

 

Me and my shadow!

This morning we awoke to a mighty storm brewing over our house.

The winds were gushing wild, the sky was as dark as could be and there seemed to be a shadow of gloom hovering in the air.

I have just described today's weather in my neighborhood, but don't you know that this could also describe how you feel when you are going thru a valley. A dark spot. A trial. A testing that seems too much to handle.

Did you know that regardless of the weather conditions, when you are facing a valley, it is dreadful and dreary. The sun can be shining brightly in the sky above, but on the floor of the valley lies misery, gloom and darkness. It is so easy to become overwhelmed and to begin believing that the whole world is full of darkness and light will never shine again. Can I tell you, that these type of shadows are very deceiving!

Shadows always seem larger than life. Think about it ... when you are out on the street and see your shadow in front of you, doesn't it grow larger than it is? The shadows of darkness that looms around us always appear larger than they are in reality.

I got thinking about shadows the other day,
and I realized that being afraid of the dark is not very rational. Shadows cannot hurt us. They may seem large and the darkness of them may seem unsettling, but truth is - there is nothing tangible about shadows. When was the last time you were hurt by a shadow?

I stood out in my front driveway the other day, and a UPS truck drove by, as it passed me, the shadow of the truck illuminated my drive. But I was not afraid, why? because shadows have no substance. Almost as quickly as the shadow appeared, light overcast the shadow.

Wherever there are shadows ... there is also light! In fact, without light, shadows would not exist. Light must encounter the darkness for a shadow to be created.

Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world!" (John 9:5)

Whenever we find ourselves in the valley and fearing the shadows that loom around us, the best action to take is to just turn our back on the shadow and face the light. Remember, there is always light in your shadow, where God's light is, darkness will not remain.

Don't fear the shadow, walk in His light!

Batteries required!

Have you ever purchased a new electronic device, only to find out after you got home from the store that "batteries are required"? If you are like me, most likely you got all the way home with your new purchase but with NO batteries. Without the batteries, your new purchase is worthless.

Spiritually speaking, without "batteries", we can find ourselves in the same place...feeling worthless. The Holy Spirit acts as the Christian's batteries. They are required in order to grow in Him.

Micah 6:8. . . . "And what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Batteries are not the only thing required, Micah 6:8 shows us 3 things that are required of us by God:

First, God wants us "to do justly." In other words, stop trusting our own righteousness and live according to God's way of doing things. 

Second, we are  "to love mercy." Be generous in your giving and forgiving of both others and yourself.

Thirdly, God wants us "to walk humbly" with Him.

As I read and meditate upon this passage of how I can give God the things He requires of me, I realize that it is  not about writing a check, or doing more good works, or attending more church services. It's about being surrendered to His will and obedient to His Word (without grumbling and complaining.) Giving up self and putting on Christ is the right thing to do because it is the REQUIRED thing.

Do you have your batteries His Spirit in place?

Are you a "Shrek-like" Christian?

There are those kind of people who you just don't want to mess around with.
The people who can lift cars with one hand. The people who can crush an aluminum can with their forehead. The people who can rip phone books in half. Call them muscle men, school bullies or your worst nightmare. Whatever you call them, you sure do not want to make them mad!

How we respond to these kind of people reminds me of how people responded to Shrek in the animated movie "Shrek". He was big. He was green and he was mean. He was an ogre. Nobody liked him, but yet, everyone feared him. Nobody liked to get on his bad side and everyone trembled to go against him, they knew nobody could defeat him. Shrek was a strong ogre and he was victorious each time.

EPHESIANS 6:10 "Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power."

Just like there are strong men in this world, men like the green ogre Shrek, there are also strong Christians. Men and women who have built a solid foundation on Christ, Christians that have withstood the elements of this world. Their strength comes from placing their lives on a rock of faith, the kind that cannot be moved.

I admire men and women like this. They have earned the respect of their peers, because those around them know they are the real deal. True, authentic Christians. They don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk and they wear the name "Christian" proudly and honorably.

You can always tell who the strong Christians are ...
they are the ones that when they enter a room, the atmosphere changes. The rowdy group quiets down, the cursing stops and no more inappropriate talk is spoken. Strong Christians get this respect because of the impact they have made on people and those in the room respect them for the strength that they possess.

Having spiritual strength is not casting fear upon people. People recognize a strong Christian by what they stand for, how they lead, how they love others and how they give glory to God for the good and bad things in their life.

Shrek may have seemed big and bad to some, but inside he was nothing but a loving, tender hearted ogre. Are you a strong Christian?

God is looking for some "Shrek-like" Christians
Where does your strength ooze out from...your bi-cep or your heart?

THANKFUL THURSDAY...living in a fog

Have you ever had to drive in a dense fog before?

It is difficult to see anything in front of you. The white blanket of fog whites out everything visible. The cars around you. The bridge. The road. The nearby buildings. I will never forget one particular foggy morning. It was several years ago when I still lived in my childhood hometown, a tragedy occurred one foggy morning. The fog was so thick, that a multi-car pile up occurred on one of the bridges. Lives were changed that day.

I read somewhere that if you would take a dense fog that covered 7 square city blocks and condensed it, you would get less than one single 8 ounce glass of water! Is that not amazing that one single glass of water vaporized can actually transform into a dense, blinding fog covering 7 blocks!

Worry is like fog!
We allow something in our life - whatever it may be - that amounts to almost nothing, to become a blinding, all encompassing vapor that hinders our faith. Worrying will cause you to not see things clearly, it will blindside you and it will keep you living in a constant fog.

A study conducted by the University of Michigan discovered some things about the state of worry:

1. 60% of what you worry about is unwarranted.
2. 20% of what you worry about is already past; it is over and done with.
3. 10% are issues so petty that it is foolish to worry about them.
4. 4%-5% are justifiable concerns, but there is nothing you can do about them; they are out of your hands.
5. Only 2% of what we fear and worry about is legitimate.

Before you allow your foggy state of mind to rob you of peace, joy and contentment, you need to know that there is freedom from worry. When we shrink those problems that have us so worried right back to their normal size and place them in the hands of God, the fog will immediately be lifted. When we understand that He is in control of ALL things, our lives will be changed.

I am thankful for His leading and guiding as we go thru an occasional dense fog. How about you? What are you grateful for today? Join your grateful heart with ours for THANKFUL THURSDAY.

Lynn is our gracious host this month. Link up HERE! In Lynn's TT post, she asked us to list 10 things you may not know about ourselves. I had already written my TT post but will add my short list here:

DID YOU KNOW ....

1. I have 1 husband, 4 kids, 2 daughter in laws, 3 dogs, 2 cars and an empty bank account!
2. I got married at the age of 17!
3. I have a birthmark - a small hole in my earlobe!
4. I do NOT like diet drinks!
5. I cannot resist a good sale on shoes!
6. I am a Pastors wife!
7. One of my first jobs was working for a newspaper!
8. I am a northern raised girl living in the south. (that makes me a southernized Yankee!)
9. I have been married 29 years to my high school sweetie!
10. Life is an adventure and I am living an extreme one!

HAPPY TT!