Monday, March 31, 2008

Garbage Compressor

This morning I was at the church doing my normal cleaning routine. (I'm the church cleaner). Now before you go feeling sorry for me, I love to clean. And what better house to clean than my Fathers!  Our church is always well kept so it usually makes the job enjoyable. Now don't get me wrong...I have my days where Im tired and I have those days where there's a thousand other things I could be doing, but for the most part it's enjoyable.
Well today I was putting a few small garbage bags into one big bag so it was easier to carry to the garage. Now in order to do this you know you have to compress the air out of the bags or they'd never all fit into one. And....well...you know how there are those things you do in life that no matter how many times you do it, you never seem to learn from? Well having my face over the garbage while I compress it is one of them! Yuk! Oh what a smell.  The smell instantly made my hair curl!  I stood there for a second and said, what can I learn from this? As I was laughing in my head....I was thinking...um HELLO! MOVE YOUR HEAD...or at least don't inhale! But I felt the Lord showing me something.  When that garbage bag was just sitting there, there was no smell...or no smell that got my attention.  But when it was compressed it gave off a foul smell. And I thought, so many times in our Christian walk we are doing really well, and it's not until we are compressed, bumped or moved around that we see what's really inside of us, or inside of one another. It's in those times of testing or in those trials that we choose to send out an aroma of bitterness, wrong attitudes or unwholesome talk. Or in those times of testing we have the power to rise above, or allow the Spirit to work through us to rise us above and give off a pleasing aroma to those around us. It's in those pressing times when people around will see what we are really filled with. 

I challenge you this week, to watch what comes out.... see what comes out when you are pressed on every side, when you are being persecuted....
 
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.....Matt 12:33

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Frizzle...Frazzled!

Do you...well I know you do, we all have those days or those moments in our lives where we feel we've been wound up like a top...and that at any moment if God let go, or we let our flesh take over, we would spin out of control crashing into everything and everyone around us within close proximity?!? Well today my friends was my day.
I got a little rattled....and if you know me well nothing much shakes me, I don't really worry about a whole lot, and I kind of like it that way. My theory: If He can't fix it, nobody can..so there's not use worrying. But today all of a sudden I got hit. It felt as though I was so tense that one by one the hairs on my hair were going PING...PING...PING and frizzing out standing on end all over my head! Now I know, we are to cast our cares upon the Lord. I usually do it pretty well. I've always been designed to never over think...just leave it with Him. But today it caught up with me. In these situations we have the power to choose to either try and escape or to seek the Lord. Well, I'll be honest I tried to escape. But as I went to go upstairs, I ran into the baby gate which was blocking the upstairs access....we had our carpets cleaned this morning, which meant no escaping to my room. So as I sauntered to the dishwasher and began to unload, I started thinking YES...a nice hot scalding up to my eyeballs in suds bath! That's just what I need. So I hurriedly finished my task only to realize the tub too was upstairs which was OFF Limits, not to mention the bathrooms were piled high with furniture from the bedrooms (sigh).
Now a little more irritated then before, I instantly thought of opening up a cake mix, you know the double chocolate fudge kind, so I could indulge in the left over batter (all the children were in bed, so I was sure to have as much as I needed..which at this point was enough that there wouldn't have been a cake! (wink wink) Obviously realizing this too was not the answer I was in need of. So I headed over to the living room where I turned on a worship CD and plopped myself down on the sofa with my bible and closed my eyes. Instantly I started relaxing in His presence. What an amazing God we serve....knowing that when we come to Him so overwhelmed He instantly consumes us, and we can feel the cares and pressures of this world rolling off. How you can feel fully clothed in your Fathers presence, you can feel the assurity of who you are in Him, and the peace you feel because you know the promises He's given you. I then rolled myself off the couch and onto the floor and just laid there soaking in His presence, His love and His indescribable peace. As my focus turned from circumstances and situations back to Him, and as I sought out His words and His promises for my situation and my life, I could almost instantly feel His loving arms wrapped around me. His presence puts everything into proper perspective. What an amazing God we serve! Always there attentive to our every need and our every concern. Always there to comfort and love us along the way.
I challenge you this week to shut yourself in with God. Commune with him daily, hourly and moment by moment. When it seems the troubles of this world are coming against you, stop what you are doing and just shut yourself completely in with Him. Seek Him for counsel and direction. Rest and soak in His presence and almost instantly your perspective will be realigned with His, and you will be filled with a peace and an inner joy that only He can fill you with.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

....Friends....

.....Friends....
I've been blessed with an amazing week. Nothing extraordinary happened, but it seems it was a week where I had more time than most to reconnect and visit with those friends and those in my life that are important to me. What a blessing friends can be! David and Jonathan were an excellent model of what a true friendship can be.
Often in the business of life and our daily routines we don't always have the time to connect with those we'd like. But when we finally connect it's like a warm cup of tea....just relaxing and enjoying each others company. Being able to share and impart what God has laid on your heart, and hearing all that God has laid on theirs. It stirs up your passion, your desire to press on and press through. And to realize "We're all in this together". We need those relationships. We need to have people in our lives that support and walk alongside of us. I love the variety of friends I've been blessed with, the soothing ones, the gentle ones, the funny ones, the spontaneous ones......man God has created some really awesome people, and I am so thankful He chose my path to connect with theirs!
Sometimes throughout life, we feel like we are alone. And sometimes there are seasons in our lives that we are....but I challenge you to look at those key relationships in your life, and really be the friend you desire to have.
And to all my dear friends young and old. I pray special blessings upon you and your families..and all you put your hands to. And I thank you for having a hand in molding me to be the woman of God I was called to be.....