Archive for General Musings

Taking that Step into Faith

Follow me to the Internet Cafe Devotion

Follow me to the Internet Cafe Devotion


I normally don’t use the NLT translation, but this is one instance  that I love how this translation reads.

It is a reminder of how we unconsciously slip into unbelief in our daily lives.

Does any of this sound familiar?

“Anything is possible with Him, but what about the groceries?”

“I know I should trust in Him, but the bills have to be paid.”

“I can’t let go; it just hurts too bad.”

Read the rest of this devotion at, “The Internet Cafe“……Don’t worry, there’s always room for you there.

Knitting and Faith

I have been knitting since October and I can’t say for sure what really encouraged me to pick up the knitting needles. Honestly, it is an “odd” hobby to choose since my mil didn’t know how to knit and no one else I really knew, knitted, but something about it, attracted me to the idea of knitting.

It Photobucketjust felt like the right thing to do. As you can see from this image, I must have unravelled my current project,”The Never Ending Scarf” too many times.

I guess 4 times, but I imagine more.

The thing I discovered though as I’ve progressed with knitting and particularly since I gave up trying to be “perfect” and just concentrated on working on my current project is that, as my knitting progressed, I begun to realized how much our lives are weaved by the very hand of our Heavenly Father above.

13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13, New King James Version)

Think about the image that the scripture evokes.

God, the ultimate knitter, knitting us; Nothing is an accident, everything has a perfect purpose.

I was thinking about this as I was knitting and realized that there are parts of the scarfPhotobucket, where some of the knitting was in perfect line; You could see good ribbing, but there were other parts where there were gaps, that though you may not notice it as well, I could clearly see them.

24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,

And He who formed you from the womb:

“ I am the LORD, who makes all things,

Who stretches out the heavens all alone,

Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

(Isaiah 44:24, New King James Version)

Isn’t our life a little bit like that?

There are days, weeks, months, maybe years when everything is working out well; Prosperity, joy, happiness and there are days,weeks, months and maybe years where it seems to be lean, sad, or tearful, but through it all, He still carries us through, knitting the bad, with the good, throughout it and never giving up on us, but continuing to carry us through.

For some us of, we may have started out strong, blessed with a solid foundation, and for some of us, maybe we weren’t blessed with a good start, or our lives were so loosely knitted that our foundation seems fragile, easy to break and for some it does, but rather than abandon us, He picks us back up, puts us together, and we may not be the same as we started out, but we all end, in and through Him, finished by His hands.

24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,

And He who formed you from the womb:

“ I am the LORD, who makes all things,

Who stretches out the heavens all alone,

Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

(Isaiah 44:24, New King James Version)

PhotobucketTruthfully, this is just a very simplistic way of looking at things and I must sound like I’m rambling.

I feel a little bit like that; My life isn’t and wasn’t perfect; There are some gaps here and there and places I had to restart from scratch but He, rather I knew it or not, and most of the times, till I accepted His gift of salvation, didn’t know it, saw me through many things in my life and I’m in debt and humbly grateful to Him now as I was and am, then.

I’m rough around the ages and constantly learning and growing in and through Him, and just humble and thankful that He is my Lord and He is my Saviour, without Him, I am nothing, for Him, He is everything in my life and the life of those I love and care for.

73 Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. (Psalm 119:73, New King James Version)

Because of what He has done for me and what He is to me, I pray and hope that whatever I am when He is finished knitting me, that I am always His humble servant, His tool for whatever He has plans for me.

I can’t give up on Him, because He has shown so much and so deeply how He NEVER gave up on me and wow, the love, the pursuit, the call. As I diligently work on this “Never Ending” scarf, knowing it’s not going to look as pretty as someone whose had more time and experience, it’s still, to me, a deep reminder, of what God has and is and will always do in my life and prayers that He is the same for anyone and for everyone.

From the MHC regarding Psalm 139:7-16:

We cannot see God, but he can see us. The psalmist did not desire to go from the Lord. Whither can I go?

In the most distant corners of the world, in heaven, or in hell, I cannot go out of thy reach.

No veil can hide us from God; not the thickest darkness. No disguise can save any person or action from being seen in the true light by him.

Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open villanies.

On the other hand, the believer cannot be removed from the supporting, comforting presence of his Almighty Friend.

Should the persecutor take his life, his soul will the sooner ascend to heaven. T

he grave cannot separate his body from the love of his Saviour, who will raise it a glorious body.

No outward circumstances can separate him from his Lord. While in the path of duty, he may be happy in any situation, by the exercise of faith, hope, and prayer.

It’s funny, I know, but since I’ve worked slowly on knitting, as it slowly developed, along with it, a deep hunger and appreciation for our Heavenly Father.

Some things take time and stitch by stitch as the threads of our lives slowly come together, we can see as we look at the path our Father leads us down, where He has been and what He has done and with it, the excitement, the peace and the comfort of knowing that our faith and trust is just in His gentle hands as He knits our lives slowly, carefully and with love in His hands and through and in His word.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, New King James Version)

Lord, thank You for Your love and Your Grace. Thank You for humbling me, for softening my heart, for leading me, for guiding me and I pray You continue to grow this humbled soul and to mature and to just be Your servant to Your word and way, Lord.

I’m not perfect, our Heavenly Father, knows that and all too human at times, and there are times when I’m doing alright and there are days when it seems I have missed a stitch here or there and the knitting in my life has a gap or come undone and I give praise to our Heavenly Father who steers me back where I need to be steered and fixes that which this mortal and imperfect soul can’t do without His rebuking and gentle guidance back to where I need to be going.

Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching this simple knitter, Your word and Your lessons.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works

Which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us

Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

They are more than can be numbered.

(Psalm 40:5, New King James Version)

Prepare-An Internet Cafe Devotion

It was a dark and stormy…Okay it really wasn’t but I’ve always wanted to use those words. However, there was a power outage for several hours and the Lord is good.

He had blessed us with beautiful weather that day, so it really didn’t throw us off. The sky was a beautiful blue, that reminded me of a clear lake with minimum clouds in the sky and a gentle wind that blew consistently.

We opened up the windows to let the fresh air in and it felt like silk was pouring in and settled on things that were non-powered, like a book, to help past the time.

It hit me how dependent that we are on technology for all our needs. If the power outage had lasted any longer, I knew that I would have to ration how often we opened the refrigerator, find the lighter fluid and charcoal to use the grill, since the stove wouldn’t work and so on.
How did we go so far that if something happened, we couldn’t fall back as easily?
Imagine what our ancestors had to do without technology and yet, they made it.
This brought to light a more revealing revelation, how much reliance do we have to fall back on our Father’s Word when we really need it the most.
It’s amazing, with today’s latest advances, that you can download His entire Word on a phone or look it up on a computer, but during a previous hurricane, we learned very quickly that technology is fleeting and not always reliable. Even technology has its limits.

Follow me to the Internet Cafe Devotion

Follow me to the Internet Cafe Devotion


Read the rest of this devotion at, “The Internet Cafe“……Don’t worry, there’s always room for you there.

Ready for the New Year?

22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
      Because His compassions fail not.
       23 They are new every morning;
      Great is Your faithfulness.
       24 “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

      “ Therefore I hope in Him!”
       (Lamentations 3:22-24, New King James Version)

Are you ready for the New Year?

I am.

My hubby turn to me and asked if I had any New Year resolution and I told him, “Not really”, but I do have “God’s Resolutions” that He has planned for me and that’s good enough.

 I’m just working on His promises that are without boundaries of any other time, and are on His time, not mine or on time that is defined by man and one day, mean nothing in His domain.

The biggest thing is really continuing what I’m resolving to do which is to pursue Him with an active eagerness to have and live a faith that is active and alive and not subject to “habits” or checkmarks off a list.

Not an easy thing to do sometimes, living in a world that seems to be measured in blocks or lists, compared to our Heavenly Father’s world.

I find myself resolved, to really read His word and not on my favorite books in the bible, or familiar books in the bible, or what I choose at random, but rather, through reading through His entire Word be it in 90 days or through the daily readings that have become a good habit each day.

When I got over the hurdle of reading His word, to “accomplished” a check mark and straightening my thought process to think instead, I need to read His word to grow, to mature and to have a better relationship with Him, I found myself “on fire” to really read and make reading His word a part of my life.

Using the Life Journal and S.O.A.P. method, has been a great help and I’ve been humbled how much I am learning and didn’t know from reading His word.

I found myself having it led on my heart other things that I needed to be humbled and refined of:

  • developing a better and stronger prayer life
  • commiting His word not just short term, but permantely to memory and to heart
  • seek Him on His terms and not mine, I can’t and shouldn’t try to control or define my relationship with Him, by my terms but by His terms and just give it to Him and when I mean give it to Him, not give it to Him and just dwell.

Then there are other things that He really has convicted and laid on my heart, that I have felt convicted by Him to really listen to Him and work on.

Things that I have had shelved and well…He’s telling me…it’s time to start taking things off the shelf, trust Him, go through and work on and then give it to Him once and for all where He will do with it what He knows only and correctly it should be handled.

He knows what He has planned for me already.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, New King James Version)

Me? I just need to just trust Him. Whatever I have plan for me, the reality is that I’m not in control, He is and He has something better than I could or would want to try and plan for myself.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions? Maybe wanting a stronger, better relationship with our Heavenly Father?

Maybe you don’t know Him yet or have a personal relationship with Him?

If you don’t or have been thinking about it, maybe this is the best time and hey, great time, to learn what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

It’s an amazing journey and though not always easy, the love and grace, is worth the time and investment.Do this for no one else but for our Heavenly Father and yourself. Make this an amazing 2010, where you either started or strengthen a fantastic relationship with our Heavenly Father.

The Perfect Tree-An Internet Cafe Devotion

 

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. (Luke 18:18-19, New King James Version)

It’s that time of the year, not the “most wonderful part” yet, but the preparations leading up to the “most wonderful time of the year”.

I know it’s going to happen, the one weekend will be spent looking for….the perfect tree.

The one that we are positive, is hiding in a lockbox, in the very back of the tree lot. We figure if we circle around the tree lot twenty times, they would figure we were on to them, relent, and bring out that perfect tree! THAT would make this the best time of the year, with everyone “ooing” and “aaahhing.”

The truth (sorry) is that there is no perfect tree.

Eventually the tree will start losing its pine needles, and the tree has to be taken down before it catches on fire and people think you purposely decided to have a bonfire in your dining room.

I don’t know how my husband does it.

I try to be a good sport and drag follow behind, but when I look at those trees, they all look the same. No matter how many angles I look, it’s a tree and it’s on sale. I shout, “woohoo! Let’s get it!” To my husband, something is always wrong, and we find ourselves walking back and forth. I feel like humming, “999 more trees in the lot.”

Good thing our Father in Heaven doesn’t do that to us.

He doesn’t look at us and say, “I just don’t know-what about this one? Hey got anything better?”

We’re all the same to Him. Sinners in need of saving. Sinners in need of His love.

This is an amazing time of the year, because its’ definitely not about us.

Follow me to the Internet Cafe Devotion

Follow me to the Internet Cafe Devotion

 


Read the rest of this devotion at, “The Internet Cafe“……and never worry, there’s always room for you there.

~Twinkle Mom

Obedience versus Personal Choice

I’m reading a devotional called Relative Obedience by Dorothy Valcàrcel, who writes,”When A Woman Meets Jesus “and her devotional is about King Saul.

<i><b>”And Saul said, ‘Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering.”</i></b> I Samuel 13: 9- King James Version

Remember the whole story.

Saul was told to wait for Samuel, but he didn’t. Instead, he decided, he’s just going to go ahead and instead of waiting for Samuel, make the offering himself based on what he wanted without consulting Samuel and justifying that he was doing this for God.

The writer talks about “Situational Ethics” which they shared as,.

<i>”In simple terms it means your ethics or your moral judgments are based on the situation you find yourself in, not on what God has required.

In the case of “situational ethics,” obedience to God’s rules only applies if it works well in a particular situation. It isn’t following God’s direction that counts.

It’s how I choose to apply God’s instruction to a particular situation.

Perhaps, if I feel that God’s rules don’t fit the way I’d like or are out-dated in a more contemporary society, then I become the one who matches my behavior to each situation I encounter.

I’m in control, or so I’d like to think.

I run the show.

I have the power to do as I choose.

And this is the very choice King Saul made.”</i>

Another way, I think we can look at it is, taking control of the situation and doing what you want, not what you should; Or being impulsive and impatient.

How many times are we told, we should look before we leap, only to just leap and find ourselves, or maybe others hurt, because we couldn’t wait or didn’t want to be told something that is contrary to what we want, or maybe we wanted to be in control, so we decided to undermine the situation to suit ourselves.

Maybe we know of others who are like this or have done this.

Maybe we have been like that ourselves and justify it wasn’t my fault it was the other person’s fault and build a case to move the blame?

The trouble is that God knows.

He sees what we dont’ want to see or try to hide from others.

The trouble with situational ethics is that, it “….. finds right and wrong to please the majority or a single person out of selfishness. Love is the opposite. Love seeks to encourage and build up others.”

And it goes against what the Bible is about.

I like how GotQuestions.org, looks at the situation of well, situational ethics:

“Two foundational problems with situational ethics are the reality of an absolute truth and the concept of real love.

The Bible does teach absolute truth which demands that right and wrong are predetermined by a Holy God. And love—God’s definition of true, honest, real love—leaves no room for selfish or impure motivations.

Even if you were to say that the situation demands you be selfless, it is you making the call and not a Holy God. Your reasons for determining what is best, without true love—and true love can only come from a relationship with God—are foundationally selfish.”

To try and justify situational ethics goes against what our Father in Heaven has to say in 1 Corinthians 13, that:

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13, New King James Version)

The first part of 1 Corinthian 13, speaks like a warning,

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

You can almost say, that a person can go through the motions of speaking smooth and looking good, but if there is no true love underneath, like what happen to Saul, it has no value or true meaning because it’s not done with the intent of true love and obedience to our Heavenly Father.

Beware the smooth talker. LOL

It’s really sad that someone that God had trusted to rule over a kingdom, chose to go out on his own, rather than obey our Father in Heaven.

As Dorothy puts it,

” It didn’t matter that God had been very particular in assigning the priesthood to the tribe of Levi – and Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin.

What’s more, it didn’t matter that as instructed by Samuel, who was instructed by God, Saul had been directly told to wait until the priest arrived to offer the burnt offering.

Just because things didn’t work out the way King Saul wanted – he decided he would change his behavior to fit the situation, regardless of Samuel or God’s advice.” (Emphasis added by me)

Reading about Saul’s disobedience is a warning to us all.

We have to be careful not to let us delude ourselves that what we are doing is for Him, if in reality it’s to fit our own wants and desires.

Pride is a dangerous thing and our Father in Heaven warns us against it.

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3, New King James Version)

R.C.Sproul has some thought provoking questions for us to consider:

  • If I had been in King Saul’s position, how do I think I would have acted?
  • Would I have obediently waited until Samuel arrived or would I have “done my own thing”?

“The fundamental deception of Satan is the lie that obedience can never bring happiness.”
R. C. Sproul

 

Past and Present-An Internet Cafe Devotion

The sabbatical was a much needed break and something I really needed.

For the longest time, I felt like I was going a mile a microsecond and there was no more fuel in the tank.

Every have that happen? You’re driving and you know you should have fuel the vehicle, but instead, keep going, “One more mile, one more mile,” only to find yourself, near empty and barely coasting into the nearest fuel station?

That was how I felt.

I was running empty on ideas, in need of inspiration and felt short of nourishment but instead of stopping and taking a short break and recharge, I kept going and going.
p>

To read the rest of today’s post and find out what happen, come by and visit me at CWO’s Internet Cafe...
Photobucket

Mom Online

I saw this over at “Christian Homekeeping” and it was a very convicting poem; Many of us probrably don’t have that problem, but it’s still a reminder of how we have to be careful not to let Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, blogging or just being on the Internet to always rule our lives before our Heavenly Father and our family.

Is stats, reader counts more important then something more tangible like Our Heavenly Father and family?

Mom Online

I can hear them calling…so they are fine
“Where’s Mom?” they are saying…Don’t they know I’m online?

We’re hungry I hear…I tell them please hush
Mom is online now, what is the rush?

They had a bite yesterday…when the phone lines were out
These kids will drive you crazy, Oh look, a pout

I dispense bowls of cereal, as I download a file
No time wasted here…I’m a true computerphile!

I check out the boards, and respond to a few…
“We’re so bored”, moan the children, “What can we do?”

I tell them to stop, and please do not whine…
Can’t they see that their mother is busy online??

The grumbling continues as they wander about
“Mom’s ALWAYS on the computer”, together they shout

Unawares to me, they yank the phone line from the jack,
and say “Daddy’s right, this is the way to get Mommy back!”

Author Unknown

Read the Constitution Day today.

If there is one thing besides the bible, that you shouldn’t put off reading, I STRONGLY suggest to take advantage of today to read our Constitution.
On April 15, 2009, people across this great Nation participated in Tea Parties,not because they were Democrats or Republicans, but because they believe in the Consitituion and the principles that our Founding Fathers had laid down.

A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither.-Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Madison

There is no excuse not to read the Constitution. It was written,FOR the people, by the People, about the People.

This is not a right or left…it’s a Constitution thing.

You can even get FREE copies of the Constitution for your home or your purse or bag simply by going to the Heritage Foundation or to read it today for you and your kids, you can read it online.

Updated 4/20/09-You can print a free copy of the Constitution.  A handy, 6 page version can be found here:

  1. constitutioncenter.org/ConstitutionDay/Resource_Details.aspx?code=577Q15H16I6
  2. or : uaff.us/theconstitution.pdf

If there is one thing you can do for yourself and your kids, take the time today to read the Consitutition today and remember what it was meant by the Preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

If you would like to teach your kids the Constitution; Here’s a great public domain book called “Catechism of the Constitution” .

332 Questions/Answers on the Constitution with step by step commentary on all of the important features of “a government of law and not of men.”

You can download it for free here: Catechism of the Constitution

Hey…there’s even a group for Homeschoolers to talk to called, “The Conservative Homeschooler”.


Visit The Conservative Homeschooler

One of the members there, wrote a great letter that emphasize the importance why, it doesn’t matter who we are, the importance of getting involved.


As a homeschooling mom, I am very concerned about my children’s future and the future of my country.

In this country, we have had freedom, family unity, faith, values and principles. Our country was founded on these valuable things and from them, our country became great.

Our country has slowly been drawn away from these values though. Prosperity has made our lives easy and instead of remembering where our blessings originate from, we have turned to our selves and man.

So, our prosperity has been abused and now our once great country, founded upon values and principles, has forsaken them and turned in, upon itself!

Neighbor against their neighbors, parties against parties, family members against family members.

We have been divided and divided we will fall.
As mothers and homeschoolers, I believe, it is our call and our duty to unit, no matter our religion, political party, background, or whatever divides us, and go in to the fight for the freedom of our country, our faith, and our family!

We MUST live by the values and principles of our founding Fathers and apply them to our daily lives.

We must educate ourselves about history, to make sure we know who we are and what our country stood for.
Why should we, mothers be involved?
Because We are the center of the home!
Because We are the teachers of our children (the next generation)!
Because the future of our country depends upon us.
If we do not educate ourselves about the founding of this country, the principles and values it is based upon, how will we be able to educate our children to be the next generation of leaders, parents, teachers, and businessmen, etc?

How will they be able to live and thrive and raise their children (on values and principles) in a free country?
There are so many things happening in our lives and in our country right now.

As the gatekeepers of our home, the “watch-women” in the watch towers of our castles, how will we meet what is approaching us?

How will we be prepared?
I pray that You pray about these things everyday!

I pray that you become involved, that you are concerned enough, and viligent, and strong enough, to take a stand, for Your Family, Faith and Freedom!

After all, are you not homeschooling for this very reason?
God bless you in your High-calling as a mother!

Here are some places for you to join and become involved!
conservativehomeschooler.ning.com/
the912project.com/
the912project.us/
smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/

What a fantastic letter and one that strikes to the core…so if anything else, if, just for starters….Get a copy of the Constitution and read about it and share about it to your kids.

Faith in a Seed

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.~Romans 8:25 (New International Version)

With springtime, it’s a reminder of new renewal like the new renewal that our Heavenly Father promises and gives to all of us. It’s a choice that we all make and break by our own free will and sometimes, there are no birds in the gardens, bad weather or pests to blame, nothing other than ourselves.

I anxiously await the arrival of the seeds to my new plants and hope and pray, with the loving blessings of Our Heavenly Father, that they will be viable to be moved, eventually outdoors, to be planted and to grow deep roots in the ground to flourish.

My husband laughed at my little greenhouse.

To read the rest of today’s post visit me at CWO’s Internet Cafe...
Photobucket

Content Protected Using Blog Protector By: PcDrome.

© 2008-2012 Sunflower Faith All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright