Silenced Voices

If the aborted children had a voice would they ask "Why?"

Why do you want to kill me?
Why don't you protect me?
Why do you not love me?
Why can't I live?
Why do you get to decide?

Father of all those who call to You, I hear the cries. It grows louder as the numbers joining them increase! Forgive me for not using my voice enough to stop this sea of blood spilt in vain. Thank You for holding each one in Your precious nail scarred hands. It is there they rest knowing they are loved.

Answered Prayers

He is near. He hears my prayers and answers me!

I have had a couple of God sightings yesterday and today. He has answered my prayers in specific ways and I am blessed! He always answers prayer with His wisdom and pure love, giving me what I need not always what I want.

Yesterday, for example, I noticed that my flowers needed some water, but I was running in and out of the house on various errands all day. since the sky was overcast I muttered a prayer asking God to water my flowers for me. He did and I am blessed.

Again today, He answered a prayer very soon after I prayed. I was waiting for a response to an email I sent and prayed that I would get it very soon. I only waited about 5 minutes before the friend had called to respond to the email. God is to be praised! My friend may not have seen the email but it was important. I was getting ready to call when he called me!

The last few days I am sensing God's hand on me throughout my days. He is walking with me to help me overcome in a spiritual battle in which I have been weak. I am far from victorious, but i know He is working in and through me to conquer the enemy!

Answered prayers are such a sweet reminder that God is near, He cares and I can trust Him. Whatever the answer I know it is right and good because He is God.

All-Present God, You hear my prayers and answer me when I call! You are all I need! I don't always call on You as I should, I don't always turn to You in my need. Thank You for staying near anyway! Thank You for keeping an open ear to my cry for help! Teach me how to pray at all times!

God Sighting 1 and 2

Journey Christian Church is going on a God Hunt. (Thanks to David Mains for the idea!) We are to be aware of God's presence in our lives and give Him thanks when we recognize it. I have been on God Hunts in the past that have become a habit for me and, so this assignment is easy. I see God moving in and around me all of the time.

Before the service was over yesterday, I had a prompting to go down for prayer. I saw that there were about four women ready to pray for people but all had someone to pray with. I asked God to show me to whom I should go for prayer and i had the thought that I should go to my husband Patrick. We were to pray for each other at the cross. After service I told Patrick and we went. Actually I never told him we should go to the cross but he led me there and that was God too as I did not expect that. God was present and powerful in the promptings and in the prayers we offered.

The second God Sighting occurred before we left the church building. I sought out a friend who is heading up the Summer Ladies Bible Studies to let her know what I'd been doing to help her. I had received an email that could have lead to a potential conflict and I needed to tell her about it. After I explained the email, she told me God had already worked it out! It was an unexpected outcome and I was assured that this was a concrete answer to my prayer!

God is near and wants us to enjoy His presence. I look forward to what He has planned for me today!

Father, You are GOOD all the time! Though I do see You working in my life most of the time, I know that I overlook Your wonderful presence at times. Forgive me for taking You for granted. Thank You for being The all present God. Thank You for coming near and never walking away. Open my eyes to see You today in the little things! Open my ears to hear the small promptings and help me to obey. I love You, Lord!

Fragrance

There are times when people hug me, and I come away with their fragrance mixed with mine. Not a good thing.

When I wear a fragrance, I put it on before I put on my clothing. It is on my skin and hopefully it does not get passed on to unsuspecting huggers! But there is a fragrance that I do want to pass along to others.

I want to be the fragrance spoken of in II Corinthians 2:16, the sweet savor of Christ. Of course, like the perfumes of those who have different likes than mine, our fragrance can be unwanted by those who want nothing to do with my Savior, Jesus Christ. to my brothers and sisters in Christ i bring the sweet offering of Jesus to them.

Lord Jesus, You are a sweet perfume, a delightful experience of our senses. I want to bring that delight to the world, but so often my sin stinks up the room for others. Forgive me Lord! Thank You for making a simple way for me to share with others. Help me to choose the right way so that my fragrance can be sweet and pleasant to those I encounter!

His Birthday

Remembering the day my husband was born is a fun imagination exercise for me. I was in my Mother's womb. Only 3 months there. Patrick was being pushed out into the world! I was in Pueblo, Colorado. He was on a military base in Shreveport, Louisiana. Somehow we were destined to meet in collage, fall in love, and so far, live 36.5 years together.

Today, Patrick doesn't look old, but we laughed this morning about how we thought 59 was VERY old when we were children. We have alot of life left in us! He says he has alot he still wants to experience. I do too. We want to do it together.

Patrick has grown into a man who loves God and family more than he ever thought he could. He has found a passion in teaching. He can be stubborn and selfish like the best of us, but he owns a soft and generous heart. I hold him closer each day because as time goes on I know that tomorrow is not promised to us.

Fifty nine years is a long time when we break it down into days. So many days to choose to love. Today is just another day to celebrate the person God made him to be. Today is just another day to enjoy Patrick with all his faults and treasures. I couldn't love him without the whole package!

I am posting one of the poems I wrote for Patrick on my poetry blog Please visit it and enjoy http://poetryimpressed.blogspot.com

Father, you are Good! You have given me a fine man to share life with. Bless Patrick today with more of You! You are the best gift I can ever hope for him!

Faith

Do you have amazing faith? Do you have the kind of faith that gets Gods' attention? I can tell you that I want that kind of faith, not just sometimes but on a daily basis!

Jesus said that the Centurion's' faith was greater than any found in Israel! He healed the paralytic because of the "Amazing" (my words) faith of his friends.Jesus was moved to heal, resurrect and free people from demons because of their faith. The Canaanite woman had faith that even the "scraps" of God's power were enough to fill her need. Another woman had enough faith to brave crowds and simply touch the hem of Jesus' garment. The blind saw, the deaf heard the lame were made to walk! Amazing faith!

Jesus asks if He will find faith on the earth when He returns? I want to have faith that makes Him stop and take notice, but how do I get it? I cannot work at it, nor can I get it from others. Jesus prayed that we would have faith. He told us that even a tiny grain of faith would produce huge results. But, again, how do I get it? What is the faith that is amazing to God?

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. I believe that it includes hearing His voice, being His sheep. Many can read the Word and never find faith in its meaning. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the most simple and basic of our relationship with God, and yet, it can be so complex to explain to someone.

My faith needs to be exercised by hearing the word, hearing Gods' voice, prayer, and obedience. Those things are not faith but it exercises my faith. The bible says that faith is believing. We believe in what we don't see. We believe in The God who only needs to say the word, and healing will come. We believe in The God who is so good and powerful that we need only to ask, or get close enough to make our presence known by showing up for ourselves or for a friend. We believe He exists and is good. We believe He made us for relationship with Him. We simply believe in the real God, not the God we have made up in our minds.

God, I believe! Help my unbelief! Increase my faith! Let me know You more so I can believe more! You are real! You are God! You are here with me always!

How to Win Followers

I've been thinking about the ministry of Jesus. He is God, and He came to earth to draw us sinful people back to Himself, through His life, death and resurrection.

You would think that God, THE King, would come to demand that we choose Him, but He didn't. He made us with a free will. In his coming Jesus simply lived His life so we could see and believe. He died so we would be free, and He rose again from the dead so that we could have what He came to give. During His life, He taught us about this plan. He spoke of His death, He told us what would happen on the third day. He also taught us how to love God and each other.

One of the things, I believe He taught was how He wanted His followers to reach those who hadn't heard his good news. He taught this by example.

He did NOT go door to door.

He did NOT approach those who did not want His presence to affect His life.

He did NOT push His way into any persons space to tell them they need what He came to give!

He touched the unlovely, the sick, the outcasts.

He fed them and healed them.

He spoke to them as a friend. He told them stories. He loved them.

He let THEM follow Him freely and even let them crucify Him!

Jesus came to draw people, not push them. Shouldn't we do the same? The question for me and maybe for you, too, is, how do I share Gods' love today? Can I make an eternal difference in someones life if I first live in love and then humbly befriend the ones that need to see Jesus working in me?

What would happen if I spoke in love to the government tax collectors of our day? The poor and needy? The prisoner? The unfriendly? Those who have hurt me? I know it is likely I would be ridiculed, shunned, and or persecuted, and in some cases I may even be in danger. I may even suffer these things from those who claim to be on the same side I am on! The truth is that Jesus said that we should remember He went through it too!

I can be strong in leading others to Christ by becoming vulnerable to the crowds that He came to love. Hard to do.

Jesus, You have shown us the way of gentleness. You are Kind and Good. You are Almighty! You chose to use Love as the power to draw all people to Yourself. Lord, I have pushed my way onto others before I've known or understood a person sometimes. I have failed to follow Your example of reaching out first with a heart that sees their human need for kindness and love before sharing the truth. I have not always lived my life with the fruit of Your Spirit that would draw instead of push away. Forgive me Lord! Thank You for teaching me through Your word and Your life! Thank You for loving me deeper into Your presence! change my heart O God, that I might bring a spark to help light the fire of revival and true change in our world! May You be high and lifted up!

Gifting, Regifting

Do you regift? Okay, so maybe you don't want to admit it, but even if we don't regift, we all think about it from time to time. I love to give books as gifts. I wonder how many have gone unread by my intended giftee before they passed it on to someone who may or may not read it. Maybe my choice of gifts is just not a wise choice.

In fact, as I ponder this I am convicted that giving the kind of book I want the person to have, is possibly judgemental on my part. I am judging that they "Need" what the book says, or they are interested in the same material in which I am interested.

Okay back to my original thought....

God is in the gifting, regifting business. He has given the world His son. His Son, Jesus has given those who believe His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom to those who ask. God has given His word and His love. With all He has given us, He actually tells us not to keep it all for ourselves! (God is worthy to make a judgement on what we need. He is our Creator and Father!)

God wants us to make His gifts our own and then regift them to others. The more receive the more we are to give! This blog is a regifting of all that God has given me! I want the receiver to be aware of the original giver: God.

Father God, You are a wise Giver of good and generous gifts! You are wise in asking us to regift what You have given to us, because You alone give the best! Thank You for teaching me to give without judgement. Thank You for giving me good gifts to regive! Teach me more about giving the precious gifts You have given me!

Lost and Found

Lost coin. Lost Sheep. Lost little girl. Now found.

There is great rejoicing here in Central Florida over the little girl found after four days lost in the woods. Nadia has come home!

There is great rejoicing in heaven when one of Gods' little children find their way back home!

Nadia's return has given us all a picture of the joy that erupts when we turn and look to His face and ask if we can come home. He always waits with open arms!

Father, I know of so many that You love and You sent Your Son to die for that keep running away from You. You await with open arms and a longing heart. You never give up on them and never turn Your back to them. Sometimes I tire of waiting for them to change. I want to forget I know them. Thank You for staying there with eyes seeking for each one. Thank You for seeking for me! Thank You for never giving up. change my heart, Lord, to be like Yours!

Do You Believe?

Jesus often asks me, "Do you believe?" When I pray for a healing, or for help in some way, He will ask me if I believe. It is futile to tell Him "Yes, I believe," when I have doubts. He knows my thoughts and my heart. So I have learned to be honest with Him and with myself over the things I pray for.

Being Honest, even with God, is not easy sometimes. Claiming myself to be a believer, makes me want to say, "I believe." I can believe in His resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead, but do I believe His resurrection power can heal disease now? I believe that He can set people free from bondage, but do I believe it for myself? for the really tough cases?

Do my hesitations make me a doubter, not a believer? Am I double minded believing one time and doubting the next? Is it me, or is it the enemy of our faith that shadows my inconsistent belief? Does my Heavenly Father expect purity in my belief, or does He accept my doubts as a wonderful challenge to prove His love for me?

Father, I have many questions today, but even with my questions I know You are the answer. You are Truth and Giver of all good gifts. You withhold nothing from those who come to You seeking honest answers. I feel guilty not believing You. I know in my heart that You are good but You are so far beyond myself that I cannot see or understand Your ways in the world. When I do see I am amazed and believe more, but so often, I do not see. Thank You for Your Word and Your presence in my life. Thank You for Your voice that speaks to me in times of doubt. I believe. Help my unbelief!

Blessing

I am blessed! I am surrounded by blessing! Blessings flow with my every breath! Yesterday I cried and today I cherish my blessings.

Simple things are the greatest of blessings. Breath, color, smiles, feelings, life. Within these simple pleasures God dwells and thus I am blessed. When I look upon the unlimited blue sky, and drink in the light of the sun shining upon the waters, or follow the winds moving effortlessly through the variegated green of the trees, I am awed by the bigness of God! But then, He draws my thoughts to His presence within me! He dwells within me, and I am blessed!

His presence within the beating of my heart, the breath that passes through my lungs, the workings of every cell amazes me, and I am blessed! Why would THE big, powerful all-knowing God give me life?

I only see it and feel it as love. Love so huge that it cannot be contained ! I am certain God is much deeper than that, but for me, It is all I need for today.

Great and Mighty God of the Universe! Holy God! Creator of endless life and love for us, Your servants, You are amazing! I am lowly and totally dependant on You. Thank You for creating our world. Thank You for entering our world so personally! Thank You for loving our world enough to give Your only Son! I want to spread Your blessing as You have given to me!

Tears Heal

When was the last time you cried? I just wiped away my tears for the day. Healing tears that are precious to my Father in heaven.

My tears washed away tensions and through them I saw forgiveness and found strength. Strength, you say? Yes, strength. My tears are an open expression of my weakness and scripture tells me that when I am weak He is strong. He lives within me and He is my strength at all times but so much more so when I cry.

Father, You are my comfort and my peace. You are the strength I need today and every day! I have fallen into a pot hole today, Father and I thank You that You picked me up when You heard me cry. You wiped away my tears and bandaged my hurts. You kissed away the pain and lifted me up close to You! You have sent the Bully away and reprimanded him. You have protected me from his taunts and fiery darts. You are a good Daddy! I love You! I want to know how to be Your delight. Teach me the right way and help me to obey without question.

Celebrating Poetry

April is National Poetry Month! I am excited and challenged to put a new poem on my poetry blog (http://poetryimpressed.blogspot.com) every day throughout April.

I am sharing my own poetry as well as some of my favorites from other poets, well-known and not so well-known. I hope you will visit and enjoy the beauty of words woven together into a mind picture just for you!

I began writing poetry in high school, but did not share it with others for many many years. My love for words that flow and rhyme and are spoken in melody most likely began in Kindergarten. My Mom has told me the story over and over that I had memorized every poem and verse that was recited for our Kindergarten play. I sometimes wonder what those poems were so I could see how much I remember of them.

Words are a delight to me. They express the heart and soul of the person and I have never been one to stay in the shallows except when swimming. My favorite words are from our Poet God who weaves His life into His Scriptures and makes them live in me!

O Poet God,
I rejoice in Your voice! It is sweet in my ear and awakens my spirit! You are The Word of Life! You are Truth revealed. I bow in humility to Your perfection of all things. Thank You for filling me with delight in Your word and the words that You create in me to share with the world! Thank You for the pleasure of hearing, seeing, reading and speaking! Reign over my words and my thoughts. Rein in my wayward tongue and untamed thoughts. Keep me close to You so I may hear Your whispers clearly!

Poetry

Do you like poetry? I am always amazed at the people who tell me they love poetry or even those who say they hate it! I've heard both statements in the last few weeks.

One hates poetry because she doesn't understand it, so she says. She is a creative writer who uses metaphor and yet she does not understand poetry? I wonder what poetry she has read. There are so many beautiful, simple poems that are easy to understand. If she has been under a teacher who took the beauty from poetry by the teaching a strict form and not allowing the thought, flow and rhythm of the words to delight the senses, I can understand. I've been there. But I cannot stay there.

The other person I discovered loved poetry, was my father-in-law. It was a wonderful surprise and I am sorry I did not know our love of poetry while he lived. He seemed to be an unlikely lover of poetry. But then, he had a tender heart and a wonderful intellect that saw beneath the surface. I'm so glad I found out. It brings me joy to know this about him.

When I read the Psalms I am assured that God loves poetry too! I see poetic influences in most of scripture. God delights to be The Word. He places within it a heartbeat, and a melody that we can feel and move within! He is a poet. He is the Poem.

O Lord the great Poet of all time, You are the Word, You are Delightful and You reach my heart with Your Thoughts through Your life filled words. I can only follow You when writing. I can never write without Your guiding hand. Thank You for giving us poetry. Thank You for Your beautiful life giving poetical words. Teach me to hear Your words with an open heart and open life to live them every day!

*Did you understand my "Writer's Block?" The WALL (The block) with WRITER written over a person was my picture of a writer's block. I thought it was funny! *

Writer's Block

Today, I don't know what to write about. I've been trying to come up with something but nothing seems to settle on the paper.

My thoughts are like a butterfly that won't settle long on any leaf. He spends his life flitting about in the air resting only long enough to tantalize and tempt the one whose net would trap him.

I wrestle with the words trying to make them form a thought or tie them up neatly into a package ready to give away.

The wall is too high and too wide today. I guess I'll just sit here and wait. Maybe I'll paint a word over me on the wall for everyone to see. Maybe then they will understand.

WRITER
O
><
/\

Money

If the love of money is the root of all evil, I wonder what it is to hate money? I sometimes hate money. Sometimes I hate it out of fear that I am not handling it right. Sometimes it is just plain hating the idea that it controls so much of our lives!

Today Patrick and I sat down to do our taxes. It took a large part of our afternoon. I am so happy to know and trust my husband to understand the language and the reasoning behind the forms needed to comply with the law. I was the computer wizard for our excursion into the tax nightmare! We both put our knowledge to work in order to get this done. I also received a couple of bills today, that won't be easy to pay. Ugh! Stress.

Back to the love/hate relationship with money. The idea of trading our lives for a few dollars is hateful to me. I much prefer to give my life away out of love. I guess that it really is best to love what you do, to get the money you can use, to do more that you love to do!

I think I don't hate money as much as I hate that the love of money has taken a strong hold in our culture and the world. I love to give money when I have it to give. I love to use money to make the world smile just a little bit. I love to share my money with ministries that offer Good News to the needy. I don't love money...I love to use it for good!

I was so happy to give a little extra to church last Sunday! It is a good feeling to do something difficult for a good cause. My joy is not about the money, but about the reason for giving! Jesus is my reason to give.

Lord Jesus, You have given so much! You are the perfect giver! I can never out give You. I often hold back my giving and sometimes I fail to give with a cheerful heart. Thank You, anyway, for giving me opportunities to give. Thank You for providing me with so much which I can give! Teach me to balance the money offering plate with love for You.

Speechless

Silence awakens my ears. I hear the whisperings of the breeze in the trees or the twittering of tiny baby birds waiting for their next meal. I hear the soft and gentle voice of my Savior speaking to my soul.

Early Resurrection Sunday morning, Patrick and I went out to watch the sun rise. Fog greeted us with a dim cool blue haze that blocked out the bright orange of the sun. It was not a breathtaking AHA moment when the sun rose, but there was a breathtaking silence followed by the praise of bird song!

I sat wrapped in my white blanket and thought of the first Resurrection morn. Movies often depict a misty morning walk for the women who went to the empty tomb. We don't know for sure what the weather conditions were, but we know the women were discussing their plans, the earth rumbled with an earthquake that came with the Angel who rolled away the stone, and Angles told the Good News for the first time.

"He is not here. He is alive!"

The first Resurrection morning my not have been silent, but it certainly leaves many speechless.

Everyday I am reminded that He is not in the tomb, He is alive in me! It is His life that speaks to me in the silence. When I look around at creation and ponder the changes within my heart, I am speechless. I must listen to His words before I can shout His praise! It all begins and ends with Him!

Wonderful Savior and Lord of Life, I silence my soul to hear Your voice, Your message, Your Good News! I cannot speak without experiencing You. Thank You for rising up to meet me each day! Thank You for the good news You place in my heart. Thank You for silence in which You speak loud and clear to me! Awaken my ears to Your voice, and let me not be silenced when your words need to be spoken!

Resurrection

There is not much to say when confronted with the truth of resurrection. Someone who once was dead becomes alive again! It must have been an amazingly mind twisting experience to see Jesus alive after all they watched Him go through.

I cannot imagine words that could express the awe, confusion and maybe even fear as the disciples looked upon the face of the One they saw beaten, crucified and buried. Looking into His eyes, they looked upon God! What can you say to the one with power over sin and death?

God Almighty, Lord of all, Savior and Redeemer, You silence my every argument. You silence even my agreements! Yet, I must speak out Your praise! I must share Your Good News! My words are weak and fail to completely expose Your love for all people. Thank You for taking my feeble words and allowing them to be the vessel of Your Holy Spirit who speaks truth and wisdom into the hearts of those willing to listen. Let my words be the altar on which You alone are glorified!

Buried

What do you have buried in your past? What do you strive to bury each day?

I know that each person has secrets. We all have things in our past that we do not want others to know. We want them buried and stay buried! I have secrets that only a few people know. I am not proud of the choices I made in the past, nor am I ready to volunteer their stories! I intentionally hide them.

I also have things I strive to bury each day; feelings, fears, shortcomings. I try to bury them under lies or stuff them down with addictive behaviors. I find myself in a battle to face them and deal with them properly. I know it is not good to bury feelings and insecurities under bad habits, but some days it just seems so much easier than to look them in the eye and bring them under the Lordship of Christ. Unfortunately, I never win when I bury them in a secret place.

There is a victory waiting when I agree with Jesus about my buried past and my daily grave digging. He reminds me that His burial was the burial of all my sin! He reminds me that He gives me His life and friendship even when everything around me seems to swallow me.

Through him my past is buried. It is through Him that my daily funerals can become doorways into a life lived for him! I no longer need to fear the digging up of my past, because, though it was buried, I am now changed and made new! I no longer need to live to hide my true self. I am free to cast off the grave digger clothes and put on His powerful armor that allows me to be transparent and real to myself. I am safe from those demons I feared to face.

Lord Jesus, You are my Savior and Lord. You are my protector and my deliverer. I am sometimes a frightened child, not knowing where to turn. I want to hide from the world, from You! But You see me! You see and still love. You see and still reveal Yourself to me! Thank You for taking my sin with You into the grave. Thank You.

Death Sentence

Jesus died. The eternal living God took on human form and lived among us. He voluntarily suffered and died for us! The death sentence pronounced over Him was ours, yours and mine.

Jesus is love. He could do no less than give His life in place of ours. His love demands that He give. His love chooses to experience our pain, our suffering, our sin. His love separated Himself from equality with God and the life He lived with us.

Jesus' death sentence was delivered by all of us, but He wrote it for Himself. His choice is beyond our understanding, but His love is not beyond any barriers we might build. Jesus is God eternal, love eternal.

*Note: I have posted new poems on my poetry blog. http://poetryimpressed.blogspot.com. I welcome you to visit and leave your response.

Jesus, Your love humbles me. I cannot stand in Your presence! Thank You for saving me and pouring Your love into my heart. Let my life be a beacon of hope for others!

Trials

Jesus had more than one trial. He was tried by the Jewish leaders, the Roman government and the common man. All failed to judge Him in truth. All were blinded by sin.

I, too, judge Jesus each day. I judge His, goodness, faithfulness and truth by my obedience to His word, His calling on my life and His guidance in all my ways. I sometimes allow my sinful nature blind me to the truth and my judgement is clouded. I choose within me to turn away from my Lord and join the crowds who would deny His Godhood. My actions reveal the truth of what I believe.

I am a wretched sinner in those times and I need a Savior! I need a Savior that loves without first being loved. I need a Savior who is willing to be mocked by my trial and crucified for my sin. I need Jesus.

Lord Jesus Christ, You alone among men are holy, good, and loving. You alone are worthy of my complete trust. Yet, I do not always give You my trust. I let the crowd persuade me to follow their lead. I let my desires lead my heart away from You. I am weak. Thank You for coming to my rescue! Thank You for calling me back to Your side, Your pierced side where I can be washed clean of my sin. hold me close, Lord. Teach me to renew my mind so that i will believe and not doubt, so I will know the truth and live always in Your presence!