Acts 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
God sent them a vision and told them where to go. They didn't hesitate, they went. They thought they were ONLY going to preach the word of God. I wonder how they imagined things were going to be. I don't know if they were tired in body, but my guess would be yes. But they trusted that God would go before them and make away for them to do his will. And I guess you noticed I said ONLY preach the word. Is that how we treat the things that God instructs us to do, do I use the world ONLY when I think of spreading his word. Do I follow without hesitation, when God tells me what he needs me to do. No most of the time I drag my feet trying to decided if it really came from God. When I already know in my heart that it did. Have I put myself in a prison.
16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.And he came out the same hour.16:19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 16:20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 16:21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
Now Paul was working for God, doing great things in the name of Jesus Christ. What would I have done in that situation, would I have cast the evil spirit from that woman. Or would I have looked at her and tried to go the other way. How many times have I seen people out in public and God commanded me to just say a kind word, or even wanted me to share our precious Jesus with them, and I turned and went the other way. Not very willing am I. I let the outside of people control my actions, not the God that lives inside of my heart. So doesn't that put me in a type of prison. One of my own making.
16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: 16:24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Oh me, would Paul have taken this trip if he had known it would end with him beaten, put in stocks and thrown into Prison. I believe yes he would have. Would I. That is the question. Would I willing go into prison if I knew it would save a soul. That's a hard question, am I in prison, looks like I might be.
16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.16:27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.16:29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Now Paul and Silas were in prison. Did they drop their heads and say," God why has thou forsaken me". NO. They started singing and praising God and our Lord Jesus. And God heard their singing and sent an Earthquake. Do you think Paul questioned God then. Talk about a bad day, and I get upset just because I can't go outside, because of the heat. But by their actions in their trials, the jailer and his house hold were saved. WOW. I can imagine when God sent them the vision, they would have never thought that their purpose was to be thrown in prison so that a lost soul could be saved. After all God dose know the big picture. Am I singing in my prison?
16:35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.16:36 And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.16:37 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.16:38 And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.16:39 And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
OK now they have been released from prison, not for their great works but because they were by birth Romans. And instead of running as fast and as far as they could from that place, they first went and comforted the people who had taken them in from the beginning. Now we all know this story, we learned it as a child. But do I understand what the message that God has for me in this scripture. I am in a prison. That's right we are all in prison. We are imprisoned by out body's, fiances, our family's, by all the things we think we need to have in this life, our jobs. Sometimes we are prisoners of our own minds. Do I just pick up and go when God gives me a vision of what I'm suppose to be doing, if not I'm in prison. The only way to be completely free is to live for God and to let God live thru us. So I can safely say I'm not free. But I could start singing, and wait for my earthquake. I've never been a in a real earthquake, but I would guess it would be very scary. But don't we have earthquakes in ours lives on a daily basis. Yes we do, my earthquake may seem small to you and yours may seem small to me. But that doesn't make them any less devastating when we're the ones in the middle of the earthquake. God will free us from prison, but not because of our good works, but just as Paul was released because of his birth as a Roman, we are released only because of our rebirth thru Jesus Christ. So do I want to get out of prison. Yes. Think about what kind of prison you have made for your self. Are you singing and praising God, are you prepared for the earthquake that may be coming that will help loosen your shackles. Will you run the other way and try to escape on your own when the earthquake comes. Or will you be still and know He is God and he has a plan for your life. His plan may include some time in prison and a big earthquake, but know if you will go where he leads there is no prison that can hold you. Today I'm going to choose to sing and praise God. I pray that tomorrow I will choose the same thing. How about you?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Forgiveness
I had a friend ask me about forgiveness. This is a hard one. I would love to have some other commits on this, to help my friend. All I could say was what is in my heart and to give some scripture to back up my thoughts. So any help would be appreciated. Jesus says that what we bind on earth will be bound in heaven and we should forgive 70 times 7. Which is allot. We are to forgive in the way we want God to forgive us. Not how earthly people forgive. There is a huge difference in man's forgiveness and God's forgiveness, so to me you only have control over what you do and you think, you can never control another persons thoughts or deeds, only yours. So if you want God to forgive you, you have to have a forgiving heart. The Bible also say to be angry and sin not. And Jesus was very angry when he turned the money changers out of the temple. So God understands that as humans we are going to get angry. Its how we handle that anger that defines us to God. He can forgive us for anything, but he expects to see a change in us, that we are not doing that same behavior over and over again. So my answer is as long as I have done everything Biblical correct to seek to forgive some one and they refuse my forgiveness. It is then on them. God is please with you when you can forgive. So don't look at it that you can get the other person to ask to be forgiven, you've just got to do it for your own soul and the people who look to you for guidance. Please read all the scripture that I have for you, I hope this helps. Its hard to get over things that cut us to the bone, but only with God's help can we do it, and it takes time for cuts to heal, and when they're that deep its not an over night thing its an on going process, and some times you even have to have surgery to cut out dead and dying tissue to get a cut to heal. But I promise it you just let if fester you will be eaten up with infection and part of you will die. So use the Bible to wash out your cuts, keep them clean, cut out the dead flesh, and sometime in the future you can have true healing. And true frogiveness only comes from God.
Matthew 5:38-48
Go the Second Mile
38 "You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn from him.
Love Your Enemies
43 "You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 7:21-29
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Build on the Rock
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
28And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Matthew 6:8-15
8"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew.
18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Luke 6:29
And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
Matthew 5:38-48
Go the Second Mile
38 "You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn from him.
Love Your Enemies
43 "You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 7:21-29
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Build on the Rock
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
28And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Matthew 6:8-15
8"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew.
18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Luke 6:29
And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Why?
Why, why, why.....it seems to me this is what we whine all the time. Or at least I do. Dose it sound familiar to your ears. When we are first learning to talk this is was one of our favorite words, WHY. Why do I have to do this or that, Why are you so mean to me, Why is life unfair, Why did that have to happen to me, Why do I have to wait, Why can't I have what I want, Why, Why, Why. "Ours is not to reason why, ours is to do or die" these word were written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. But what do they really mean, to me. Well as Christian, who tries my best to live my life by the words of God in my Holy Bible, I should never ask Why, but I do. We like to think we have control over our lives. And then when, what we think are bad things happen to us, we automatically want to ask Why. We want to ask God Why all the time. Well maybe Alfred Lord Tennyson was on to something. "Ours is not to reason why, ours is to do or die." Don't you think God would love it if sometime we just said OK I'm trusting you, that this is your plan for my life and I want your Glory to show thru my life with this trial. To do or die. Wow those are strong words. Even our precious Jesus, while hanging on the cross said in Mark 15;34 "My God, My God, Why has thou forsaken me." He was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world and HE CHOSE TO DO BY DYING. Wow. I think that God had to look away from him because of my sin, and your sin, the sin of the whole world. Do we think we are really better than our Saviour. There is no comparison between me and Jesus who laid down his life for the sins of the world. Maybe when I'm asking Why, I need to look at my self. I don't believe God can look upon my sin unless it is covered by the Blood of Jesus. He promised me he would never leave me, but I leave him all the time. Maybe we need to listen to Jesus when he is asking us, Why are you not trusting, Why do you think I would leave you in this mess, Why do you think your better than others when it comes to trouble and trials. All I can say is OH MY. Maybe its me, no not maybe, but definitely me. Maybe I need to rid my life of sin, daily, hourly, minute by minute. Because that is the only way my prayers will ever be heard. Maybe I just need to replace the word Why with" Thy will for my life be done". How much happier would I be if I just deleted the word Why from my vocabulary. It's a hard thing to do, because we are just human, but we are to strive, to be like Jesus. The only perfect man, who chose to be a living sacrifice for my sin. Maybe he should have been the last person to ask Why. We will be a fallen creation until we get to heaven, and the only way that will happen is if our sins are covered by the blood. So, will I ever be able to rid my self of that pesky word Why. The honest answer is NO, I'm just a lowly human. Will I try to do better in the future, Yes that is my intention. Will I succeed, I'm afraid the answer is still NO. Not by myself, not on what Lisa can do, only thru Jesus do I have any hope of ridding my self of this word. This is just what has been on my mind, I hope it is a help to someone. It has been a help to me just to think about it. So lets say good bye to this pesky word Why. To do or die. I hope God finds me doing in the name of Jesus and not dying in my sin and asking Why this bad this is happening to me. Love y'all Lisa, but not near as much as Jesus does.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Have I done my job, raising my children.
127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
127:5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
22:1 A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Today my babies turn 21 years old. WOW. It just seems like yesterday that I was going on my first date with Rodney Sylvester Freeman. That was 29 short years ago. With the girls turning 21, it has made me sad. I know I cried all day when Joshua turned 13, because I knew a had such limited time left with him and I was worried, had I given him the tools to live his life as a good honest human being. Had I done everything in my power to see that he knew Jesus and had a personal relationship with him. When Justin turned 13 it was not as hard, I had already crossed that bridge. I think with him it hit me the hardest the day he graduated high school. He was walking away from me following his daddy back to the car for something. Had I done my job, was I sending him into the world with the main things that he would need to be a good honorable human being. Had I shown him Jesus, and made sure he had that most precious personal relationship with Jesus. All the other things that we teach our children are important. But if we teach them about Jesus and the 2 most important commandments then we have done our job. If they live their lives by these, they will always have the hand of God to guide them on their journay thru this evil world we live in. They will not have trial and tribulations, but they will know where to go for help in dealing with anything that comes along. Have I done my job.
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Now I'm feeling sad again. My babies are 21 today. I the fear had not hit me until yesterday. I cried a good bit on the way back from Wind Creek yesterday. Have I given them the skills they will need to be successful in the real world? And by successful I mean knowing and using these 2 great commandments. They are wonderful people honest, caring, happy, cheerful, helpful, and many, many other wonderful qualities. But have I done my job. The weight of this should bare on each and every parent. Have we given our children Jesus. The most important gift there can be.
Right now my children have made me proud, they have not made too many bad decisions in their, lives ( yes Joshua this includes you too). There has been nothing so sever that with God's help we were able to get thru it. I want to Thank God today for the privilege to have been their mother. I hope that one day they can Thank God that I was their mother. But this is something that only time will tell. So far so good. I pray each day for each one of them and the boys wonderful spouses. That they will let the light of Jesus shine in their lives and never hid that light under and basket.
I love you Joshua, Justin, Chelsea and Anna and now I also have Leslie and Amy to include in my love and in my family. My most fervent prayer is that I have given y'all the most important thing for your life. Jesus Christ as your living saviour, and have shown you how to have a relationship with him on a minute by minute basis for the rest of your lives. And I will try to live my life in a do as I do manner and not a do as I say, because I know that y'all are watching me, but now that your adults, their is someone out there watching you. Is your light shining.
127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
127:5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
22:1 A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Today my babies turn 21 years old. WOW. It just seems like yesterday that I was going on my first date with Rodney Sylvester Freeman. That was 29 short years ago. With the girls turning 21, it has made me sad. I know I cried all day when Joshua turned 13, because I knew a had such limited time left with him and I was worried, had I given him the tools to live his life as a good honest human being. Had I done everything in my power to see that he knew Jesus and had a personal relationship with him. When Justin turned 13 it was not as hard, I had already crossed that bridge. I think with him it hit me the hardest the day he graduated high school. He was walking away from me following his daddy back to the car for something. Had I done my job, was I sending him into the world with the main things that he would need to be a good honorable human being. Had I shown him Jesus, and made sure he had that most precious personal relationship with Jesus. All the other things that we teach our children are important. But if we teach them about Jesus and the 2 most important commandments then we have done our job. If they live their lives by these, they will always have the hand of God to guide them on their journay thru this evil world we live in. They will not have trial and tribulations, but they will know where to go for help in dealing with anything that comes along. Have I done my job.
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Now I'm feeling sad again. My babies are 21 today. I the fear had not hit me until yesterday. I cried a good bit on the way back from Wind Creek yesterday. Have I given them the skills they will need to be successful in the real world? And by successful I mean knowing and using these 2 great commandments. They are wonderful people honest, caring, happy, cheerful, helpful, and many, many other wonderful qualities. But have I done my job. The weight of this should bare on each and every parent. Have we given our children Jesus. The most important gift there can be.
Right now my children have made me proud, they have not made too many bad decisions in their, lives ( yes Joshua this includes you too). There has been nothing so sever that with God's help we were able to get thru it. I want to Thank God today for the privilege to have been their mother. I hope that one day they can Thank God that I was their mother. But this is something that only time will tell. So far so good. I pray each day for each one of them and the boys wonderful spouses. That they will let the light of Jesus shine in their lives and never hid that light under and basket.
I love you Joshua, Justin, Chelsea and Anna and now I also have Leslie and Amy to include in my love and in my family. My most fervent prayer is that I have given y'all the most important thing for your life. Jesus Christ as your living saviour, and have shown you how to have a relationship with him on a minute by minute basis for the rest of your lives. And I will try to live my life in a do as I do manner and not a do as I say, because I know that y'all are watching me, but now that your adults, their is someone out there watching you. Is your light shining.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Breathe
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Joh 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 27:4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Exekiel 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Psalma 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
This may seem like a strange topic for my blog this morning at 3:00 am CST. But it is very much on my mind lately. The single biggest miracle for human kind is that God chose to breath the breath of life into our nostrils. For most of us we take Breathing for granted. I vow to be thankful for this gift each day, hour, minute, second and moment of my life.
I understand all to well what it is not to be able to take a breath. As most everyone know (how could you not know, I whine about it all the time) I have severe Myastenia Gravis that affects my respiratory muscles. It weakens them severe at times. Plus I have the double whammy, its called Asthma. I have allergic asthma, exercised induced asthma, every kind of asthma you can conceived I have.
This part may be boring but bare with me, I will get to my point. Breathing, or pulmonary ventilation, is the process of exchanging air between the atmosphere and the lungs, and includes inspiration (inhalation), and expiration (exhalation). An example, the lungs are like a container. By changing the size of the container, the pressure inside increases or decreases proportionally. During normal breathing, the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles contract to expand the lungs (our container), causing the pressure to decrease. When that pressure becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, the air will move into the lungs (if you have ever siphoned gas its the same idea). As it moves into the lungs, it gets warmer, becomes moist, and expands.
During expiration (exhalation), the diaphragm and intercostal muscles relax, causing the cavity size to reduce, which causes the pressure to increase. When that pressure becomes greater than the atmospheric pressure (outside), the air is forced out of the lungs.
All of this is to say that breathing in is an active process, that requires strong muscles. When you breath in the chest expands and when you exhale it is suppose to be a passive process. So you are really suppose to work to breath in and rest to breath out. Neat concept, except for a Myasthenia Gravis and Asthma suffer. The Myasthenia keep me from have enough muscle strength to bring the air in to my lungs. And once the air is in the lungs I have expiratory asthma which is a fancy way to say all my bronchial tubes constrict and I have to physically ( with my muscles) push the air back out. That's what causes that lovely wheezing sound I have most of the time.
So I really believe I have a pretty good handle on how precious breath is for human life. At times the harder I try to breath, the weaker my muscles get and I end up sounding like a panting dog with short shallow breaths. No wonder, my brain doesn't work correctly most of the time, it is Oxygen deprived. (LOL) So are my other organs. But we compensate, that's another gift from God that I want get into today.
I have said all of this just to remind my self and anyone else who might read this, how precious the gift of breath that GOD him self breathed into our nostrils, it is there to sustain our lives. It is something when working correctly that we don't even think about. Sit very still for a few minutes and listen and feel your self breath. And thank GOD for each and every breath. I am going to finish when a poem that I don't know who wrote, but that I love, I have quoted it many times on face book. But I love it and would like to share it with you.
Love all y'all from the world of Lisa
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Joh 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 27:4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Exekiel 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Psalma 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
This may seem like a strange topic for my blog this morning at 3:00 am CST. But it is very much on my mind lately. The single biggest miracle for human kind is that God chose to breath the breath of life into our nostrils. For most of us we take Breathing for granted. I vow to be thankful for this gift each day, hour, minute, second and moment of my life.
I understand all to well what it is not to be able to take a breath. As most everyone know (how could you not know, I whine about it all the time) I have severe Myastenia Gravis that affects my respiratory muscles. It weakens them severe at times. Plus I have the double whammy, its called Asthma. I have allergic asthma, exercised induced asthma, every kind of asthma you can conceived I have.
This part may be boring but bare with me, I will get to my point. Breathing, or pulmonary ventilation, is the process of exchanging air between the atmosphere and the lungs, and includes inspiration (inhalation), and expiration (exhalation). An example, the lungs are like a container. By changing the size of the container, the pressure inside increases or decreases proportionally. During normal breathing, the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles contract to expand the lungs (our container), causing the pressure to decrease. When that pressure becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, the air will move into the lungs (if you have ever siphoned gas its the same idea). As it moves into the lungs, it gets warmer, becomes moist, and expands.
During expiration (exhalation), the diaphragm and intercostal muscles relax, causing the cavity size to reduce, which causes the pressure to increase. When that pressure becomes greater than the atmospheric pressure (outside), the air is forced out of the lungs.
All of this is to say that breathing in is an active process, that requires strong muscles. When you breath in the chest expands and when you exhale it is suppose to be a passive process. So you are really suppose to work to breath in and rest to breath out. Neat concept, except for a Myasthenia Gravis and Asthma suffer. The Myasthenia keep me from have enough muscle strength to bring the air in to my lungs. And once the air is in the lungs I have expiratory asthma which is a fancy way to say all my bronchial tubes constrict and I have to physically ( with my muscles) push the air back out. That's what causes that lovely wheezing sound I have most of the time.
So I really believe I have a pretty good handle on how precious breath is for human life. At times the harder I try to breath, the weaker my muscles get and I end up sounding like a panting dog with short shallow breaths. No wonder, my brain doesn't work correctly most of the time, it is Oxygen deprived. (LOL) So are my other organs. But we compensate, that's another gift from God that I want get into today.
I have said all of this just to remind my self and anyone else who might read this, how precious the gift of breath that GOD him self breathed into our nostrils, it is there to sustain our lives. It is something when working correctly that we don't even think about. Sit very still for a few minutes and listen and feel your self breath. And thank GOD for each and every breath. I am going to finish when a poem that I don't know who wrote, but that I love, I have quoted it many times on face book. But I love it and would like to share it with you.
The Best Things
The best things are nearest;
breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes,
flowers at your feet, duties at your hand,
the path of Right just before you.
Do not grasp at the stars,
but do life's plain common work as it comes,
certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.
Psalms 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Love all y'all from the world of Lisa
Friday, April 2, 2010
Things: where is our heart
Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
This is such beautiful scripture. And it is in two different places in the Bible, that tells me it's impotant. Do we every really think about where our treasures are. Things, things, things,just seem to get in our way so often. I had something happen here at the house, last month when the nurse Jolie came to check Rodney off on accessing my port. We always use my dining room table as our work station. Well everyone knows that when I finally got my back pay from social security we bought some new furniture. We have never had much furniture the we bought, most thing we had were given to us over the years. Joshua now has my old table which was mama and daddy's, that I stripped and refinished at least 20 years ago. It had sentamental value and I'm glad Joshua wanted that table in his home, but if he had not wanted it and none of the others had wanted it I would have found some one to give it to that might have been in need. So back to my story about accessing that stupid broken port. We had to opened 4 start packs, used 6 Huber needles before it was finally working. When we went to clean up the HUGE mess we had made, we discovered that where we laid the antibacterial swabs after we cleaned the site, multiple times, on one of the sterile barriers. Well the sterile barrier we put down was not liquid proof, and some of the the very strong antibacterial liquid leaked through and made a fist size spot on my new table, where it took off the finish, that's some strong stuff. Oh me, the little girl who was here to check Rodney off got so up set about ruining my table. I told her not to worry it was just a thing and she had made a memory there for me. She was so upset that we would be mad. And maybe years ago I would have been mad, but what good would that have done. Would I have been an example to her of where my treasures are. To me things are just things that some times envoke a sweet or sad memory. Just like my Boston Rocking Chair that my Grandaddy bought me when I graduated from high school. I stripped it and refinished it last summer, because the girls thought it looked bad, and it was well used and not very steady. So we made a memory by working on it, Rodney did a lot of the work. And now I use it to display the first quilt I ever pieced by my self. That is a good memory. But if it was gone tomorrow I don't think I would be upset because its just a THING.
I told these story's about things in my life that I like, but they are just things, to give examples of some of the things I have accumlated over the 47 years of my life. They will not get me to heaven to live with my precious Lord and Savior Jesus and God the father, and the Holy Spirit that lives with us every day to comfort us when were down. That is where my heart should be. I enjoy the wonderful things God has allowed me to have. I am Blessed far beyond what I deserve. I want my first treasure to be my Lord and Savior, then my husband who is solid gold, the the 4 diamonds in my life named Joshua, Justin, Chelsea and Anna. And the new diamonds in my life Lesile and Amy. I want people to see me as having my priorities right and my eyes on Heaven. Where are your treasures, would you have gotten mad over the table. We let things rule our lives, we say if I just could get this my life would be easier. This is a lie of the Devil. Things never make our life better, there's always some new thing that comes along that makes us think if we had it our life would be better. When the only thing we need to make life better is the hope and trust and faith in Jesus Christ. THINGS, THINGS, THINGS. What things are you wanting. I like nice things but I want my heart to fully devoted to Jesus. How about you.
Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
This is such beautiful scripture. And it is in two different places in the Bible, that tells me it's impotant. Do we every really think about where our treasures are. Things, things, things,just seem to get in our way so often. I had something happen here at the house, last month when the nurse Jolie came to check Rodney off on accessing my port. We always use my dining room table as our work station. Well everyone knows that when I finally got my back pay from social security we bought some new furniture. We have never had much furniture the we bought, most thing we had were given to us over the years. Joshua now has my old table which was mama and daddy's, that I stripped and refinished at least 20 years ago. It had sentamental value and I'm glad Joshua wanted that table in his home, but if he had not wanted it and none of the others had wanted it I would have found some one to give it to that might have been in need. So back to my story about accessing that stupid broken port. We had to opened 4 start packs, used 6 Huber needles before it was finally working. When we went to clean up the HUGE mess we had made, we discovered that where we laid the antibacterial swabs after we cleaned the site, multiple times, on one of the sterile barriers. Well the sterile barrier we put down was not liquid proof, and some of the the very strong antibacterial liquid leaked through and made a fist size spot on my new table, where it took off the finish, that's some strong stuff. Oh me, the little girl who was here to check Rodney off got so up set about ruining my table. I told her not to worry it was just a thing and she had made a memory there for me. She was so upset that we would be mad. And maybe years ago I would have been mad, but what good would that have done. Would I have been an example to her of where my treasures are. To me things are just things that some times envoke a sweet or sad memory. Just like my Boston Rocking Chair that my Grandaddy bought me when I graduated from high school. I stripped it and refinished it last summer, because the girls thought it looked bad, and it was well used and not very steady. So we made a memory by working on it, Rodney did a lot of the work. And now I use it to display the first quilt I ever pieced by my self. That is a good memory. But if it was gone tomorrow I don't think I would be upset because its just a THING.
I told these story's about things in my life that I like, but they are just things, to give examples of some of the things I have accumlated over the 47 years of my life. They will not get me to heaven to live with my precious Lord and Savior Jesus and God the father, and the Holy Spirit that lives with us every day to comfort us when were down. That is where my heart should be. I enjoy the wonderful things God has allowed me to have. I am Blessed far beyond what I deserve. I want my first treasure to be my Lord and Savior, then my husband who is solid gold, the the 4 diamonds in my life named Joshua, Justin, Chelsea and Anna. And the new diamonds in my life Lesile and Amy. I want people to see me as having my priorities right and my eyes on Heaven. Where are your treasures, would you have gotten mad over the table. We let things rule our lives, we say if I just could get this my life would be easier. This is a lie of the Devil. Things never make our life better, there's always some new thing that comes along that makes us think if we had it our life would be better. When the only thing we need to make life better is the hope and trust and faith in Jesus Christ. THINGS, THINGS, THINGS. What things are you wanting. I like nice things but I want my heart to fully devoted to Jesus. How about you.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Help me see my plan is not always your plan.
Dear Lord, thank You for my life and everything in it: the good, the bad and all the future blessings that I know You'll send my way. Help me to recognize the trials in my life as Your gifts in disguise and to wait patiently as Your plan comes to fruition in my life. Amen.
This is a prayer I read this morning. It is beautiful. Why do we find it so hard to know, that sometimes, things we think are devastating and horrible are really gifts from God. I know why I have a problem, I get so wrapped up in the now that I forget to look at the big picture. I think we are all this way. We each have troubles and trials, in our lives. God never promised that we would not have troubles and trial. He ONLY PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE US. Wow how many other people in your life can you so that about. I would like to believe that my family would never leave me, but life changes all the time and as they go out in the world, they are physically leaving my presence. And I miss them. But I know they haven't left me, that is as it should be, and that they're there any time I really need them. I don't have to physically see them to be with them. Its the same with God but only better. We don't have to worry about cellphone, or Skype coverage dropping out. He's there immediately. God never ever leaves us physically or mentally. He is always there. But we take that so for granted. We want to pull Him out like our favorite blanket to wrap around us when we're sick or tired in spirit and soul. But He's there all the time, we don't need to sit him on a shelf for when we think we have a need. I believe we have a need every second of every day. I will try my hardest and I know with God's help all things are possible, to keep him wrapped around me all the time, and be thankful for the good and the bad thing that come through my life. And know that he dose know the big plan for my life and the lives of the people I love. All I know is the moment in which I live. I really believe life would be so much simpler if we would try to make the simple words in this pray how we live our lives.
Dear Lord, thank You for my life and everything in it: the good, the bad and all the future blessings that I know You'll send my way. Help me to recognize the trials in my life as Your gifts in disguise and to wait patiently as Your plan comes to fruition in my life. Amen.
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