Springtime Is Coming!

Today I walked outside and was just looking at all the signs of coming springtime all around me. The beautiful yellow "buttercups" in their little clumps here and there are all over our little hillside. They were always our daughter's favorites when she was a little girl. My mother-in-law's front yard looked like it was carpeted with jonquils every spring and Elizabeth dearly loved to go out and gather them by the armfuls as soon as she was old enough to toddle around!

My rose bushes are beginning to bud and leaf out. The red and green colors on the new leaves look so fresh and alive! I'm looking forward to seeing...and smelling...the roses later this spring.

And last but not least are the very fragrant hyacinths in the front yard. Such lovely delicate bluish-purple blooms that give out soooo much fragrance for their small size.

I'm thankful that the Lord sends us these early signs of spring so that we can know the winter's almost over. I need these signs in my spiritual life as well from time to time. There are seasons in my spiritual life that seem barron and cold and ''wintery'. It always excites me to see some signs that "springtime is coming" to my spirit after a season of coldness.

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Matthew 6: 30

I pray that you are seeing the signs of spring all around you as well !

May God bless you!

Marilyn

Remember Me?

After getting my hair cut today I took a little extra time and visited some shops I normally don’t stop in when I’m out. As I was headed out of town I noticed a little thrift store that I had been meaning to check out for a couple of months. To tell you the truth, I almost didn’t stop because I was already in the “headed home” mode! But for some reason, I pulled in the parking lot and got out. As I opened the door the smell of the shop of stale cigarette smoke was so strong I almost didn’t even go on in as I usually start coughing around smoke of any kind. But against my own “better judgment” I went on into the small store. Then I heard someone say, “Hi Mrs. Marilyn! Do you remember me?” I looked over and saw one of my former clients from the crisis pregnancy center where I volunteer one day a week. A beautiful young girl in her mid-teens. She had come for our series of parenting classes almost two years ago and had been one of those clients that I just could not get out of my mind. One of those I worried about. Prayed about. And she had been one of my least receptive clients….I thought at the time. She would stare off into space as I talked to her. She was quiet as a mouse. Many times she would roll her eyes and sigh. I tried to let her know how much God loves her and how concerned we ( staff at pregnancy center) were about her and her pregnancy. To say that I was surprised when she greeted me today with such eagerness and excitement is an understatement!

As I stood in that little smoke-filled shop and talked to her she was all smiles and her speech animated. When she asked “Do you remember me?” I immediately smiled and replied that of COURSE I remembered her! She seemed surprised. I told her that I had thought of her many times since her parenting classes were over. That I had prayed for her many times also. She just kind of shook her head, raked her hand through her beautiful long hair and said….”You really remembered me?”

I talked to her about how her life is going at the present. Was introduced to her current boyfriend. Made small talk and just in general tried to let her know that someone cares. My heart breaks when I think of some of the circumstances in her life. Nothing I would share with anyone because our client/counselor confidentiality still stands. But believe me, she’s had a hard road and is still on it.

As I started to leave I remembered that I had a lot of Chick Tracts in the car left from giving them out when we visit our church bus route. I asked her if it would be all right if I went to the car and got something for her to read. I could see a sort of veil come across her eyes, but then she blinked and smiled and said “Sure”. I went out to the car and got maybe seven or eight tracts. (If you’re not familiar with Chick Tracts, they are little comic book style tracts. Very easy and interesting to read) As I handed them to her I told her, “These are all little comic books about God. You remember that when you would come to parenting classes we always talked some about God?” She smiled, nodded her head, and took the tracts.

I was praising God the whole way home for letting me have that encounter with her! I know He orchestrated my un-planned stop in that little store today. Please pray that God will touch the heart of this young girl and her boyfriend. That’s all they need. A touch from God. Just like we all do.

Psalm 106:4 “Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;”

I'm so glad God remembered me and visited me with His salvation!

Marilyn

Be Still !

Be still ! I remember saying these two words to my children so many times when they were small. I think that God says that to His children a lot also but I'm not sure we obey Him all the time.

Especially this week I have felt God calling me to "Be still" in some matters in my life. So many times we want to "do" things or "work things out" in our own way and in our own time when that may not be at all what God wants us to do! It's hard...for me anyway...to give up that feeling of being in control (although actually we never are!)and just "Be still" and try to discern what God wants us to do or which direction He wants to lead us.

Remember when Moses and the children of Israel had gotten to the edge of the Red Sea and they didn't see a way across? This is what God had Moses to say to the people-- "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14:13-14)

That should bring a peace and a calmness to the heart of every Christian! The LORD fought battles for His children back then and He still fights battles for us today!

Lord, help me today to Be Still and rest in Your promises!

Marilyn

Finding Eeyore....Again!

The last two times our grandchildren have been over to play I have called myself checking to see if all the toys got put up. Then both times in a day or two I've found poor little Eeyore off somewhere all by himself. Pouting I guess. Or feeling sorry for himself. That what he does best.

The first time I found him was purely accidental. I was in the living room looking into the kitchen and saw something under the dining table. Something a little more than the normal dust bunnies that usually reside there. I had no idea what it was, seeing it from a distance, but when I went into the kitchen and knelt down to look, there he was...little Eeyore...facedown on the floor. I rescued him and took him back to the toy box so he could visit with Pooh, Elmo and Barbie.

The last time the kids were here we gathered up ''all'' the toys before they left. Or so I thought until the next afternoon when I found little Mr. Eeyore...again off alone. This time flat on his back! I took pity on him and took him back to the toy box.

I guess the reason I'm writing about Eeyore is that I so identify with him! He can be so ''dismally gloomy'' much of the time. So can I! Oh, I don't really intend to be. I think that I have things all straightened out, my life in order and all tidy, and then all of a sudden there he is...Eeyore... my gloomy side....and I either fall flat on my face in defeat or I find myself lying on my back lazily moping my time away.

Neither of these attitudes will do me much good. And the devil knows this. The doom and gloom story is one of his best weapons against us Christians. He tries to make us think that we are total failures. He tries to make us think that we'll never be good enough. The thing is that he uses a little bit of truth with all his lies and we fall for the lie. Yes, I am a failure. No, I'll never be good enough. But what I need to always remember is that it's not about ME! It's all about Him! It's about Jesus Christ. And He will never fail but always succeeds. He is the only One who has ever been good enough. Because I have put my faith in Him, then He has covered me with His righteousness and I can receive eternal life just as if I'd never sinned.

So when you're living life and find Eeyore hiding in a corner making you feel gloomy, just remember where your joy comes from! "for the joy of the LORD is your strength."(Neh.8:10 b)

King David also had a gloomy side to him sometimes. His antidote is found in Psalm 42:11 where he says: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."

So I pray that I can keep my Eeyore side cheered up in the joy of the LORD. How about you? Does Eeyore ever show up at your house?

God bless you!

Marilyn

Are We Paying Too Much?

As I put the finishing touches on the tuna salad I was making for supper, I heard the very last of a Bonanza re-run on the TV in the next room. I had not paid much attention to the program until the last ten minutes or so. The plot had something to do with a rather old man who had kept a secret for years about an unethical scheme he had been involved in to make money at the expense of others. He finally made a clean breast of his guilt and told Adam Cartwright that he would do whatever it took to try and make it right with the people he had wronged. As Bonanza was about to end, Adam said to his father Ben, "Sometimes truth costs a great deal." Ben nodded and replied,"Yes, but never as much as covering it up does!" It was sort of an "Ah-ha" moment as I stood there at the table cutting up an apple for the tuna salad. I thought to myself how true a statement that was.

I was reminded of the verse in Proverbs 28:13 that says "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." When we cover up our sins we never gain as much as we lose. We may save face with those around us when we cover our wrong doings but deep down we carry a load of guilt that makes us miserable. We are paying a big price. But we don't have to! The last part of this verse tells me that if I confess my sins to God and forsake...or turn away from...them, He will give me mercy. And along with that is implied forgiveness and rest in my spirit.

One thing I want to do in the New Year of 2012 is to try and keep "short accounts" with the Lord. I don't want to have to pay for something that I don't have to pay for by keeping it "covered up"! Do you?

God bless you!

Marilyn

($ image created by Stuart Miles)

Something Missing?

Have you ever worked and worked putting an intricate puzzle together only to find at the end there was a piece missing? Our children used to love puzzles and a missing piece was always quite a frustrating feeling! I was reminded of this last Sunday as Benny and I ate lunch after church with our son David. He and his Dad have a lot in common and usually carry the conversation between themselves. Soon they became very engrossed in talking about some news from the science community. Seems the great physics minds of the world were disappointed last week. You may have heard about it. I had not. That's not really the kind of news I normally follow. But it seems my men do! I pretty much sat there in silence soaking up all the knowledge they had of this news and wondering why in the world I had never even heard of it!

The news was that last week the scientific community gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, hoping to be told that the last "missing piece" of the universe had been found. I sat spellbound as I listened to David and Benny talk about this giant particle accelerator where "stuff" is sent at almost the speed of light in a huge underground tunnel in the UK. All this "stuff" collides with each other and it broken down into smaller particles. Oh it goes on and on but my mind is not scientific enough to either explain or retain all the information! To find out more, click HERE. This is what they're looking for in a nutshell: It's what makes "mass"...or basically what holds things together...and is called the Higgs Boson or sometimes the "God-particle".

We all commented on how interesting it is that nickname for the Higgs Boson particle is the "God-particle". I like that. Because what better name for the particle that holds everything together? We were reminded of the verses in Colossians 1:16-17 that say: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

Thousands of people wait on the edge of their seats to see if this "God-particle" will be found in their lifetime. I am pretty sure there are thousands upon thousands more who are searching for a different "God-particle" and don't even know it! I did for many years! I was born into a Christian family, was in a Baptist church three times a week at least and still grew up searching for something that was missing in my life. Something that would be the "mass" in my life. Something that would hold it together. And in September of 1978 I found what I was looking for. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

A couple of Sundays ago all our family went to see our two grandchildren sing in the children's Christmas program at their church. Six year old Leah had a solo part in one of the songs. Her part went like this: "If you seek this baby Jesus...Seek the Lord with all your might...You will find Him, like the shepherds did...As they searched for Him one starry night!" What a truth she sang. The Scriptures echo this promise in Jeremiah 29:13..."And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

I'm sorry that the scientific community was disappointed with the incomplete results from the European Organization for Nuclear Research. As God-Seekers we won't be disappointed !

Merry Christmas!

Marilyn

(p.s. That's David at age 3 putting the puzzle together)

True or False? "Jesus is the reason for the season".

True or False? "Jesus is the reason for the season".

Seems every day I read on a friend's blog or facebook page or hear in person something like "I don't like Christmas anymore!" I admit I've been feeling some of that lately myself. I think we sometimes get upset when we see all the commercialism during Christmas. But why are we surprised that people who don't believe in Jesus anyway want to leave Christ out of Christmas? They leave Christ out of their lives 364 days a year....why would they want to include Him the other day? It should be a wake-up call to us to be in prayer that more people would come to the knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done for them. Most of us give Christmas presents to our loved ones. God ...who IS love (1 John 4:16)...offers the greatest, best, most expensive (to Him) present there ever was to all of mankind...not just at Christmas but all during the year. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 3:23)

I realize that our Christmas holiday is not sacred or holy in the truest sense. But since we have decided to have a holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ, let's try to not make Him the last thing we think about! I'm trying to use this Christmas season as a conversation starter with people who may have never trusted Christ as Saviour. It seems to make it easier to explain why His birth is so important. That was the beginning of His life as Immanuel..."God with us"....here on earth, living a perfect sinless life so that in His perfectness He could take the horribleness of our sins and pay for them while dying on the cross. We always need to remember that He didn't remain a babe in a manger! He had a specific work He came to do and He did it! That's why just before He died He said, "It is finished."(John 19:30)

So, I'm curious. Did you answer True or False to my question, "Is Jesus the reason for the season"? I'm gonna say True! We normally only use this phrase during the Christmas season but I think really it would apply to ANY season! Jesus should be the reason behind any and every thing we do. I fall so short of practicing this but I truly want to do better!

I pray that Jesus is the reason for ANY season in your life friend!

May God bless you!

Marilyn