IMAGINATIONS AND HIGH THINGS

Psalm 6 is a precious psalm.  David expresses that depth of despair that sickness can do to a person.

Words like: weak, vexed, weary, groaning, tears and grief, have been my journey recently.

I've learned that telling someone to "rest" who has just told you how desperately they want to be back to normal and healthy, can feel like you were not even listened to.

I've learned that loneliness can be a blessing and loneliness can be a curse.  It depends on what I allow in my thinking.

I've learned if my tears are cried out to the Lord and those who turn me to Him, I know the Lord will be my aid. 

I've also learned if my tears are angry tears, my adversary wastes no time to bring me lower.

So, David rises above his sick bed (not literally!) by knowing truth and confessing it.

Psalm 6:8- Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
:9- The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

A lot is at stake in the battle for my mind.

Health is a wonderful thing!!  It is taken for granted by the healthy and very under-appreciated, in my humble opinion.

It is most valued by those who have either had it taken away and never regained or those who for a season lost it.

Psalm 30:6- And in my prosperity I said, I shall never by moved.
:7- Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
:8- I cried to Thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication.
:9- What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?  Shall the dust praise thee?  shall it declare thy truth?
:10-Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.
:11- Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness
:12- To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.

So, here on May 6th, I do not know if my season of sickness is officially over.  It is my prayer it is.

But, my season of self pity is.

Today, I love the Lord with all my mind.

Today, I set my mind on things above.

Today, the Lord goes before me.  I glory in Him.  I boast in Him.  I do not war after the flesh.  For my weapons are not carnal.

No amount of exercise or careful eating can give me eternal life.  My God is the giver of life.

Strongholds happen in the mind.

WHAT I THINK, MATTERS!

2 Corinthians 10:5-Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Here's Christ's example:

After 40 days of being tempted of the devil, with nothing to eat and being hungry:

Devil:  If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

Jesus: "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Jesus stood on the WORD OF GOD.

Jesus cast down the devil's imaginations and high things because they were exalting themselves against the knowledge of God.

I will:

1. Follow Christ's example.
2. Recognize the false by knowing the truth.
3. Stand on the Word of God NOT on imaginations and high things.

"And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." Luke 4:13

I will be wise to remember that temptations will be no more when I am no more!

No temptations with my Father in my eternal home.  Glory!!

So, if I can imagine a flow chart of sorts:

When temptations come, stand on the Word.

IF: I've lost my footing
THEN: It will show in my thinking. 
END: Where my mind goes, my behavior will follow.

IF: I've lost my footing
THEN: I must go back to His Word.
END:  Victory through His Mercy and Grace.

HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US.  Hebrews 13:5b

Enjoying Life

Since it is April 2010, I thought it would be a good time to update my blog:)
At least I am consistently inconsistent in maintaining my blog!

So, it's Good Friday and I have been thankful all day for Jesus' death on the cross.
I listened to quite a few traditional and contemporary songs regarding Christ's suffering and death.
Growing up Catholic in the "old days", Good Friday meant something.
Even though I lacked a real relationship with Christ, it was a serious day.
Sometimes we would go to church and walk around looking and meditating on the 14 Stations of the Cross.
They were beautiful.
I did wonder and feel sad that Jesus had to die.
I didn't like the way He was treated.
Then at home, between the hours of 12-3, Mom TRIED to keep us all quiet!!
We were many in number, so it didn't work perfectly, but it is something I do remember.
It was suppossed to remind us of Christ as He carried His own cross to Calvary to die.
Personally, for my young, impressionable mind, it was very good.
It made me very thankful that Jesus was so willing but He looked so sad and it made me very sad too.
I just didn't make the connection that He died for ME!!
I'm not sure why!

So many years later, I still have a thankful heart that at a young age I was given so many pictures of what Christianity is all about.

I love living my life for Jesus.
Why?
Because of what He did for me!!
This is one of my favorite contemporary songs of this season that still make my heart glad.

If you are truly seeking God but don't quite understand what a relationship with Christ is, write me.

Okay, so ONE of my very fun, dear to my heart daughters, is currently hanging out with me.
Yes, this is very, very fun.
We have our feet in "foot bubblers" that have relaxing scents, salts and oils in them.
We had a very fun time with the oldest male in the house before we decided to "foot bubble".
He was reading definitions of all different types of "phobias" to us from a source our family is not able to live without.
It is http://www.m-w.com/
I decided that tonight I have "ergophobia".
This is a fear of work.
That explains why our feet are soaking and the only parts moving on our bodies are our fingers typing.
Yes, we do have odd taste in things we like.
But don't be "phobic" about it; or you may just become a "phobophobic".
An excessive fear of acquiring a phobia!

Okay, feet are prunish, I'm outta here!

THIS IS THE LORD'S DOINGS AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES!

PALA--That's with a long "a" on both "a's"! It is a hebrew word and it means: to be wonderful, extraordinary, to act miraculously. That is what comes to my mind this morning just hours after "Apple Pie"'s graduation from nursing school! It's not that we are in shock that she was able to do it!! But that God had this in His plans for her is amazing to us.

And He did it with such splendor!

A.P. was able to go through nursing school debt-free! (a real plus when you want to be on the mission field!!) She also graduated with a 4.0...much to her older brother's delight! (He was proud as a peacock with her last night!) She was also given a scholarship to continue her education.

Isn't God good!

Just had to let you know! Can you tell I'm bursting at the seams!

Home Repairs, Breadmaking and Shopping

Fall has been busy! We have been having some repairs done on our roof. I'm not talking about reshingling, which we also had to do. This was serious stuff! We had some cracked rafters which needed replacing. Some previously poor construction caused this problem. While we were having this done we also had our kitchen ceiling raised and straightened. It had started sagging because of improper support. Now if you came for a visit, you would not be able to tell that a thing had been done but I am happy as ever because now when Honey and I are old we can sit in our rockers and know that we've got a good roof over our heads!!

Often, either Monday or Tuesday, I make bread. Breadmaking is something I love. I've made bread from the time I was in my early 20's and single. The smell of fresh loaves baking in the oven is a homey comfortable smell. I know on cold days that a pot of homemade soup and fresh made bread thrills my family, especially the ones who have been out all day.

Today I ground my wheat and made 4 loaves of whole wheat bread. I also made cornbread from cornmeal and whole wheat flours. Not everyone in my family likes the cornbread since it is heavier than store bought cornbread and not as sweet. We also made store bought cornbread from a mix. I did this for a very specific reason! On Tuesday nights we bring some dinner to share with our "Growing Kids God's Way" class. My friend Suzanne and I plan a week ahead and split what we are making. She made a wonderful pot of vegetable-beef soup and I provided the bread. Since I knew not everyone would love corn/wheat bread, we made the boxed kind to take along.

It seems that in the fall and winter, I do more bread baking. It serves a dual purpose--the house gets a bit warmer and it smells yummy! I've been having a growing interest in fermented foods and I think I will try to make some sourdough starter. I will blog more about this later and let you know how this venture turns out!

I buy my wheat in 50 lbs bags about twice a year. Just a few days ago, I looked at an order I placed for wheat in 1995--that's 13 years ago. The price of a 50 lb. bag of wheat was 12.95. My wheat that should be arriving this week is selling for 32.00 a bag. Same company, same product!!

Tomorrow, the younger girls and I will finish (we hope) our shopping for recital/Christmas performance outfits. Sweet Pea (the younger) was able to find something today but Sunshine (the older) still has not found that something special! I sure do love those girls! They are a joy to me!

What songs will we NOT sing in heaven

This is a spin off from the Thursday night Bible study we attended at our friend's church. We had a song service led by Jay F. He asked us what we thought the "top ten" songs were that we would sing in heaven!! Now there's some food for thought. Of course we are talking about Christian songs to begin with 'cause we know some songs we'd be embarassed to sing before God's throne.
Let's see----we won't be singing:

Rescue the Perishing
Almost Persuaded
Is Thy Heart Right With God
There's A Great Day Coming

I'm sure we could add to the list. But what WILL we sing? I don't know for sure except to say that we will be forever grateful to God for sending Jesus to redeem us from our sins. So here's one that would be a good one for the Top Ten:

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.


Crown Him the Son of God, before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod, crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, that all in Him may rest.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side

Now there is an expression that paints a picture. Because I live in a bit of a rural area, this expression brings to mind a cow sticking its head into my yard while behind him are acres of rich green grass.
But last night this was the title of a sermon we heard at our friend's church. The "Other Side" was not my neigbor's field but...Heaven. Ah, yes the grass is greener there. As a matter of fact, according to Revelation 21:18-27 there will be a lot of other things that will look better. The street of the city is pure gold, as it were transparent glass. Having worked in a large jewelry store in my younger years, I have seen some beautiful gold. But as Charlie B. pointed out last night in his sermon, this gold is different. Our best gold here on earth holds impurities in it. Heavenly gold is clear--transparent. Yet so often we strive here for what is of lesser value. I love jewelry. It dazzles my eyes. I've always loved jewelry. When I was little and my dad worked in the city, he would bring home rings for me. They were just inexpensive ones with adjustable bands but I loved them. When they broke, I would put them in a desk where I could look at them when I opened the drawer. Dad would always buy me another to replace the broken one. The stones were not real but I didn't know that. To me they spoke love and beauty and being thought about by my father. That jewelry was just a vehicle he used to let me know how much he loved me and thought about me. How good of my dad to do that for me. My Father in heaven has done this too. He has surrounded me with trees, rivers and lakes that sparkle but as Charlie told us, heaven has greater!! One day this will all be gone and then, those that know HIM will see the fullness of HIS goodness.
As my earthly father showed me a picture of my Heavenly father's love and devotion so God has given us this earth to direct our attention to HIM who has so much more.
So where should my heart be?

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO. Matthew 6:19-21

First Fall Trip to the Zoo 2008

October 1, 2008--I told the girls I had a surprise for them when their school work was finished. It was one of those longed for autumn days and staying in the house was just not an option! We headed out to the zoo, which the girls had not been to in about 8 years! Great kids, great day, great zoo!