Who is the Judge

Sometimes we are forgetting that we are not the judge and jury of others. We are all human and make mistakes. But (especially Christians) there are times when we look at others and see their many faults, shortcomings and we pass judgment on them based on the many mistakes they make.  Out of our mouths we speak words of forgiveness but in our minds we are thinking “doesn’t matter they will just mess up again”, and in our hearts we are just waiting for that next mistake to come.  Is that truly how Christ wants us to be with each other? I don’t think so. When we accept Him as our Savior, He forgives and forgets. As far as the east is from the west,;that is how far our sins are from us. When He sees us, He sees His blood. So does Satan. Think about it, if we are covered by the blood then even when Satan looks at us to try to destroy us, he can’t, because he can’t cross the blood line. So he plays in our minds and tries to trick us into destroying ourselves.  Satan is the accuser of the brethren. So he gets us to look at the faults of others and before we know we are caught up in that judging and finding our brothers and sisters lacking. Then we start accusing and destroying each other.  This is his plan to stop Christians from being witnesses and saving the lost. He can’t get us so he gets us to attack and destroy each other. We are too busy trying to pluck the splinter out of our brother’s eye that we can’t see the beam in our own. If we as Christians could really grasp this truth, then we would be able to reach those who are lost and need Jesus. We could show the true love of Christ and this is what will draw people to Him.

This week’s lesson learned: I need to look in the mirror at my own faults and leave others alone. If my brother is overtaken by a fault (sin) I will lift them up in prayer and help them not judge and destroy them. I will look for Satan’s plan to destroy and I will not allow my mind to become his playground. I will stay focused on Christ and showing His love to others.

I am so glad that He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs.

God Bless and have a great week.

Time change

I just finished my homework for this quarter of school. I am rejoicing for a short break, even if it is only a week or so. I also just realized that we are changing time again this weekend. I feel like we just set the clocks back an hour and it is already time to set them back up. Time is swiftly passing.  Sometimes time has a way of getting away from me. I make plans, set goals and before I know it the time has come and gone and I got little accomplished. Up until this past week, I have been working a lot of overtime trying frantically to “catch up” and feeling desperately that I am drowning. Finally, I realized, I am only one person and I can only do so much. So I have lightened my load and I am just doing what I have to and if things fall behind (and they have) I will catch up with it sooner or later; As long as the important stuff is done.

          I have to prioritize the important things in life, work, family, God. I have a lot of changes coming ahead for me and I am ready to embrace all that God is calling me to do. I just need to stop and let Him direct the way, instead of trying to figure it out ahead of time. This will be quite a challenge but I am up for it.

       We were able to spend some wonderful time with some dear friends on Sunday afternoon. Singing the old hymns ,reading scriptures and talking about our experiences with the Lord. I had a boatload of homework that I had planned to do but this was a special time that I am so glad I changed my plans for. The brother we were there to visit will soon be going to meet Jesus and when we got there he cried and when I asked if the singing would make him feel better he said yes, he loves the singing so that is how we spent the day. We never know how much time we have to do things with people we love so we should never miss the opportunity to spend with family and friends.

           This week’s Lesson:

Stop and take time to enjoy life and family and serving God and others. Time is passing quickly and the opportunities may pass you by if you are too busy to enjoy them.

Don't take God for Granted

This weekend we had revival services at our church. On Saturday the minister was preaching and he said “Some of you are going through a desert place and you feel like you are all alone and wonder where God is”.  I felt God speak to me and say “That’s you”.  I said back to Him, “No, that’s not me. I go to all of the services, I work in the church, I even share the word sometimes, I raise my hands during the worship, and I pray with people in the alter. So no, that it is not me that preacher is talking about”.  I went through my whole list of all the things I do, and then I no sooner finished when the preacher said, “you may be coming to church and raising your hands and praying in the alter, but you are just going through the motions.”  And I knew in that moment that yes, it was me.

                Sometimes we go through our spiritual life and we think we are doing ok but we are just going through the motions. We have become so good at having church that we have stopped expecting God to do anything. I was amazed that I had gotten into this place of complacency and didn’t even realize it.  I am so glad that God sees us where we are and even if we can’t see it, He knows what we need and when we need it.

My lesson for this week: Do not take God for granted. Expect the unexpected. Look for Him to show up in your life.  Check yourself and see if you are truly where He wants you to be or are you just going the motions.  I am so glad He showed up this weekend and I feel rejuvenated and refreshed in Him.

Have a blessed week.

Big Umbrella

When I first started my job about 3 1/2 years ago, I had to drive to Lima to the office everyday. One day it was raining so I was running a little later than usual and got stuck behind a school bus.  I waited while the bus driver made several stops. At one stop a man dressed in a suit came out with 2 children , probably around 7 and 8 and he had a big umbrella. He held it over the kids while he walked to them to the bus and made sure they got on ok and then walked back to his house. As I watched this scene unfold , I very distinctly heard the Spirit of God speak to me and say, " That is what I do for you. When you go through the storm, I can't promise you won't get wet but I will there to protect you ." I remember driving the rest of the way with tears streaming, thanking Him for showing me such an awesome revelation. We can't stop the storms from coming, and we can't run and hide from them, but God has a big Umbrella that He holds over us to protect us. We may get a little wet, and we may feel the wind blow but He is always there protecting us until we get safely through. I still remember that day everytime I drive by that house.

Lesson Learned: Trust in Him , He walks us through the storms and we are never alone.

Sticks and Stones

Anyone ever “put your foot in your mouth”? I seem to be the queen of this. I can’t tell you how many times I have to apologize (grudgingly) for saying something that hurt someone and I didn’t even know that I did it. 

The Bible says the tongue is sharper than a two-edged sword and boy is that true.

Proverbs 21:23 says: Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Today I am reminded as I witnessed someone very close to me brought down by the careless words of another. Do we sometimes need to be told things that may hurt? Yes. But it should be done in love to help that person who needs the guidance. Not in a hurtful way that tears someone down. But we are all human and sometimes we forget that the words we say can’t be taken back no matter how many times we say “I’m sorry”. Sometimes those words need to be said, but we should always be careful with the way we approach others. Some people put up a good front so that others may never know the damage of their words. But inside they are broken and hurt.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

            I am probably guiltier that anyone I know, but I am learning. Yes even at 49 years old I am still learning. So, today the lesson is short and sweet. Think before we speak, and if something has to be said, say it in love being careful of the fragile hearts and feelings of others.

Have a good week!

Take time to smell the coffee

My weekends are usually spent with my grandkids. This past weekend was no different. The last couple of weeks have been so busy and stressful at work and I have worked a lot of overtime at home in the evenings. This week my supervisor said no work over the weekend so I listened.

As I watched the kids play and listened to them laugh and talk, I realize how much we miss when we fail to stop and take the time.  Last weekend I listened as my two oldest grandsons, 11 and 13 talked about girls and prank called girls on their cell phone. They spent so much time on the phone that Dylan couldn’t keep it charged.  I remembered when Dylan was a baby and his vocabulary was simply standing in my doorway mooing at the cows in the field behind my house.  Time goes by so quickly. It is important to spend every moment enjoying these little things.

The girls 8 years old giggled and laughed at the boys and then talked about their own “crushes”.  Seems a little young to me but they were so cute talking about the boys at school.  

I am so thankful for these moments that I get with them. Yes, sometimes it is a little hectic. And my husband, Rick, doesn’t always enjoy the chaos that having 4 grandkids at time brings. But I wouldn’t want to miss a single moment of these days with them. They are young enough now that they love to go to Grandma’s house but I know the day will come that they will have better things to do.

So, the lessoned learned for this week: take time to enjoy special moments with family and friends because they will pass to quickly.

Stress

I have always thought  that I was good at handling stress. I work the best when I am under pressure to get things done. But sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I forget to take care of myself. I was diagnosed years ago with Epstien Barr Syndrome. I had to get at least 9-10 hours of sleep a night or I would get sick. My ammune system was shot and I got every virus that went around that year. Eventually, I started staying healthy and so far this year I have not even had a cold. I have managed to get down to about 8 hours of sleep and still be ok.

This week has been very stressful. On Weds. morning I was notified that my coworker is no longer with the agency so this means that I have to do my work and his too until he is replaced. Normally , I would say no big deal, but I have been swamped with my own work and have been working extra in the evenings just trying to catch up.  This week meant even more hours of work along with the other everyday stuff that I do.

Yesterday it started catching up with me. I was soooo tired that late in the afternoon , I even layed down and took a 15 min power nap.  I should have recognized then that I needed to be aware of my stress level but I just went back to work and then I kept 4 of my grandkids overnight.

This morning I woke up with my upper lip covered in fever blister which is how my body reacts to stress over load. I have 3 blisters and boy are they painful. I also tend to be a little short with people around me (if I offended anyone this week, I apologize).

I got to thinking , why is it that we never learn when we need a break. We just keep pushing our bodies and minds to the limit. I am reminded that there is a reason that the God created everything in six day and on the seventh took  a break. Even God knows that we need to take a break. He made our bodies to withstand a lot but He also built in a self perservation mode that says when enough is enough. Unfortunately we don't always recognize the warning signs or we just choose to ignore them.
My thinking was I had to get the work done so there was no way I could do anything else.

So today I pay the price with 3 unsightly and painful blisters and I am still soooo tired. But I am going to stop and take a break to day. No work and maybe even a nap this afternoon. Then we are going to church tonight and in between I will work on a puzzle with one of my grandsons.
Sometimes we just have to take a minute and rest in His peace. Everything will be ok in the end. It always works out.

I remind myself of my blessings and my husband for putting up with me when I am testy and grumpy and sometimes just plain mean. He usually takes the brunt of my stress.

So , How do you handle stress? Any tips you would like to share ?