Perception

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, 

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Boy this is a hard verse. 

 You think you know people

you have known them maybe a long time

your whole life

maybe a few years

months

They suddenly are mean

say mean things, show no compassion

Sometimes they just outright throw something at you from left lane! 

Your like WOOO where did that come from !!! 

It happens

to all of us at one time or another.

Unkind people

No compassion

Rudeness

Non forgiveness

We are to forgive and love like Christ did us. 

hard

What we want to do is yell

scream

shout

make them feel as bad as we do!! 

(maybe monkey slap them! LOL)

That's what we want! 

But that will get us no where. 

See, its about 

Perception

Defined: The way you think about or understand someone or something. 

So, if we choose to yell at this person

their perception isn't the same as ours (If it was, you wouldn't be disagreeing in the first place) 

This is how fights start. 

the sad part, most of the time, you don't even know how or when the whole thing started. 

What made the relationship this way? 

Why is this person rude? Showing no compassion to my cause? 

How did I get to feel this way about this person? 

Maybe you felt this way all along

Maybe it is a new feeling

no matter, how did it ever get this way! ??

Hard

Makes me wonder how Christ felt when his friends

the very ones who hung out with him

His Disciples

 left him at the cross

The only one who showed up and stuck it out was John

The rest were no where to be found. 

They were scared.....understandably

 People were rude to Christ

Spit on him

called him names

called him a liar

they questioned who he was

Can you imagine!!! 

You are THE CHRIST and people are spitting on you

calling you names, stoning you

wanting you dead

on a cross. 

Yet

He forgave

He has compassion on those who spit on Him

hated Him, stoned Him, and Hung Him on a Cross to die

He FORGAVE

hard

yet, we are to do the same

 

 

The Fresh Road Ahead- revised, I forgot a whole paragraph!! oops

I took this picture this morning on my way home from taking my husband to the bus. It was about 615 AM and the snow was fresh. I was the first person on this road in my subdivision. My apartment is somewhere behind all that darkness. I had to stop and take a picture. It was quiet, beautiful, kind of creepy in some ways, but more beautiful than anything. Not the best picture, it was after all taken with my phone, so sorry about that, no flash, just the light of my headlights. If I turned them off, I would have been in pitch blackness! You can make out driveways on the sides. Thank goodness for that, otherwise I wouldn't be able to know where the road ended and where it started!

Which brings me to The Lord.
Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
This road is one I go down a couple times a day, so I know it very well. I maybe could have driven without the guides of the driveways to lead the way, but what if I HAD turned off my lights? Would I have been able to find my way home?
I don't think I would have tried!! As it was I drove slow and deliberate, there are woods near by and one slip and I would have ended up with the deer!

In all ways acknowledge Him. It says He will make our path straight.
What does that mean?!!
Well for me it means that when I acknowledge the Lord, He usually makes it clear to me what I should do.

Praying is how we speak to God, so I was taught to pray A.C.T.S.
Acknowledge who He is. The God of the universe, who created me.
Confess my sins. I have many.
Thank Him. I have a lot to thank Him for.
Submit. Submit to Him my requests.
With proper attitude.
I don't always do this. So I don't always get my prayers answered.
Sometimes I am not listening.
Sometimes I am a brat and want to do my own thing.
Sometimes I am so far out with my attitude, my actions, my insincerity, my lack of faith, that I'm short circuiting my own request.  (John 9:31, Psalm 66:18, Isiah 59:2, James 1:6-7, James 4:3, Ps 66:18, Isa 59:2, Jer 14:10-12, Proverbs 28:9, Heb 11:6, James 1:6)

But when I pray with an attitude of first  Acknowledging who He is in my life, Confessing my sins, Thanking Him for my life, and then Submission, I find I do usually get my answers or at least a path to take, even if it isn't the one I was seeking (and it usually isn't!)
And if my request is something to please Him, He usually makes straight the path for me.
That is IF he wants me to do that. If it's something that He is not leading me to do, I find that path becomes zig zaggy and not clear.
When we acknowledge who HE is, The God of the universe and of all things good and noble and right, our path can be clear, easier than if we tried it on our own.

I find, when I follow things, people, go some place, look at something, etc, that is not of God, not clean, pure, holy, pleasing to Him, I find that 'path' is not so good.
Its dark, with no markers to find my way, it can get slippery, dirty, make me feel crummy.
Sometimes, lead to pits, those are the worst!
But following Him, asking Him, Acknowledging Him and who He is, will never get me down the wrong path! It may not be the path I wanted, but His path is Never wrong!

So the next time you find yourself in a situation where you don't know what path to take,
A.C.T.S. and then see what happens.

Jesus has that way of clearing the path for us.
He did after all die for us. Me. You.
He walked that path first.
Paved the way He did.
He came and did what we can not do on our own.
He saved us through His Grace.
He will lead us, if we just Acknowledge who He is, and ask Him to make our path straight.
Try it.
I bet the road is clear and the way is sure. (better than if you had tried on your own)
Better than trusting in the sidelines and hoping your remember your way, or hoping you can figure it out for yourself.
Trust HIM!
Let Him lead your path!
See what happens.
You won't be disappointed!

Come, sit with me and talk

Mark 14:36 He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

This picture says so much. 

I'm not sure who painted it, but it is so beautiful on so many levels. 

What a beautiful fall day. 

This young man, we can only guess where he is coming from, going to, been. 

Is he a drifter? Run-away?  Coming home from camp perhaps? 

Either way, he has ran into the Father. 

Not just ANY father, THE Father!

Can you just imagine. Your sitting on a park bench, minding your own business

and down sits God the Fathers Son, Jesus Himself! 

They look deep in conversation. 

Jesus body language says so much.
He is turned inward toward the young man, His arms open

feet planted comfortably as he puts His arm on the bench

inviting the young man to tell Him his problems. 

They are clearly looking AT each other. 

Eye to eye contact.

The young man looks as if he has a world of troubles to tell Gods Only Son. 

And Gods Son, is ready to listen! 

Can you imagine the advice he got this day on the bench!? 

The young man says, "I can't do it" "I don't want to deal with it" "I'm scared" "I"m alone." 

Or is he saying, "You think it's OK for me to do it?" 

Or maybe, "What would you do if you were me?" 

What do you think they are discussing? 

Isn't it like God the Father to let us come to Him in openness and ask anything we want? 

Isn't it like God the Father to sit down on a bench with us and open His arms in conversation? 

Wouldn't you love to sit on a bench with Jesus Himself and just ....talk!? 

I know I would! 

I'm not sure I would ask why, no, to much into that question. 

I think I would ask, What? What is it I'm suppose to do, just tell me 

And how, how do you want me to serve you? 

How do I make that relationship better to serve you better even though I'm hurt? 

How do I approach that situation? 

I want to bring Glory to you, but honestly Jesus, I don't want to approach that situation.

What? What do I do? & How do I do it. 

That is what I would ask

What would you ask? 

You can you know

Ask Him

Anything

Anytime

Anywhere

Any place

Ask Him

Talk to Him

God the Father

Sent His Son

And the Holy Spirit

So we can Ask

Take the time where ever you are today

Whatever it is

And just talk to Him

Ask Him

He's waiting

With open arms

Turned body towards you

Arm on the bench

Waiting

What are you waiting for!!!

Ask Him!!!! 

 

Oceans of Love

http://youtu.be/dy9nwe9_xzw

Hillsong United- Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown where feet may fail

And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep

My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand

Will be my guide

Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me

You've never failed and You won't start now

  

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

________________________________________________________________

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/oceans-where-feet-may-fail-lyrics-hillsong-united.html#qireyjO7Xz0mj2JC.99

ou call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
[x6]

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/oceans-where-feet-may-fail-lyrics-hillsong-united.html#qireyjO7Xz0mj2JC.99

Like Peter, Jesus calls us out of the boat, into the water, into an area where we may fail. 

Will my faith stand? 

When I call His name and He is there, will I reach for His hand? 

Will I keep my eyes on Him? 

When oceans rise, will I call His name? 

My Soul longs to embrace Him

For I am His

And He is mine

His Grace knows no bounds in my care

My feet will fail, will I trust Him to lift me up? 

Oh Holy Spirit! Take me deeper than I have ever gone before! 

Show me HIS power! 

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

May your ocean be one that you allow God Almighty to walk across with you

May you reach His hand and let Him take you deeper than you ever thought possible

May you allow Him to surround You with His never ending embrace

To guide you, lead you, and carry you

Today and every day, may you feel the depths of His Love! 

Home

 HOME

I love to watch HGTV. Well, sometimes. It seems lately that the younger crowd (20 & 30 somethings, although not always the younger crowd, the older crowd can be just as bad) don't want neighbors, or windows that look at anything other than trees. And they want granite counters, large open space kitchen/living rooms, space to entertain, a 'man room', a large laundry room, 3 car garage, big closets and 4-5 bedrooms with those big closets in them, walk in showers, double master sinks, walk in showers....the list goes on and on. AND they seem to want it all for pretty cheap! Sometimes I have to turn off the T.V. because honestly, I just can't stand to hear their wants. 

Oh sure, I have wants too. Our house in Michigan looked more like the little white one posted on my blog today, (although not as pretty as that one!LOL) but it was a cute 1000 sq foot bungalow. We were there for 15 years. When we bought that house, we thought we would be there forever.             No reason to ever leave. 

The couple today on the Home Channel House Hunters program was a 30 something couple. He was a high paid doctor who had the money to buy a house like the one big one I have pictured today on my blog. Big, million dollar house! That is the kind of show I like to watch! They were very nice too. This couple. Neither one of them were picky in an annoying way. They were looking at this house purchase as their "forever" home. The one they would live in for 30 plus years. Raise their kids in it. It was sweet really, they had two little girls and the dad wanted a stair case that his daughters could walk down in their prom dresses, then their graduation gowns, then a wedding gown. It was refreshing and sweet to see that he was thinking about his family, his daughters, their future. (usually the men on HGTV House Hunters don't really care, as long as they have their garage and/or man cave, they are happy) And he wanted his wife to be comfortable, as he works long hours, so he wanted a house she was happy with as well. (It wasn't all about him and his man cave, so refreshing!) If he lived within 30 minutes of his hospital he could come home on those on call nights, otherwise, he would have to spend the night at the hospital. I was happy to see that they chose the house that allowed him more time with his wife and daughters. Finally, a nice couple, looking for a house for the right reasons! They did not buy the 1.3 million dollar house, they went for the lower one that needed work, why? Because family meant more to them than granite and fancy lighting.

Ok, so why am writing about this today? People all over the world buy houses for the "right" reasons. I know, but they aren't always on HGTV! How does this fit into God today and my life? 

Well, It got me thinking. 

Proverbs 24:3-4 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Now I don't know anything about this couple today on the show, only my opinion of them. I watched the show for half an hour and it seemed to me that they bought their house built on wisdom, so the rooms could be filled with what was precious to the family.  Isn't that what we all think when we are looking for a home? What can we create here? What kind of memories can we make? 

If someone would have told me 8 years ago that I would be living in Milwaukee, in my third apartment in 7 years and that I would be blessed beyond anything I could imagine...I wouldn't have believe it. I would have laughed out loud. LOUDLY!! 

But when we moved here 7 years ago this coming Sunday, (1-19) we moved on Faith. My husband and I said, "Lord, we do not see how this is going to work. After all, it is 2007, look at the economy, its tanked! We have a house, how is it going to sell? It needs some work, who is going to buy it in this climate? And move to another state where we know no one!! No, that won't work Lord...or, will it. 

Jeremiah 29:11-13

  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

This was our prayer. We laid out a list, said, Ok God, this is what we see has to happen to make Milwaukee a reality. And by golly, each and every thing on our list came to fruition. We were on our way here. We picked our new home based on location, (all three of them). 

What worked best for transportation for work. 

We prayed for wisdom that we sought from the Lord and He Delivered each and every time! 

It is not about what we have, or how big, or if it has granite (I don't' like granite, it is cold and hard) Its not about closets or man caves, or how much it cost. It is about a firm foundation in the Lord. To trust Him that you will find a place that can make you prosper and not harm you. 

Let you grow and give you a future. To bring Glory to Him in your memories. 

To use our homes to serve Him and His greater purpose.

One that includes seeing your little girls walk down a stair case in their special moments in life. 

When you call upon Him, the one who knows our hearts desires before we even ask, when we seek Him and trust Him and Him alone, it doesn't matter if we live in 1,000 sq feet or 10,000, on a beach, in a tree house, as long as we have Christ as the foundation and set our eyes on the life that He planned out for us, our home will be 

built by knowledge and filled with His Precious and Pleasant Riches!

comforter

 

 

 

So I had some Kohls cash and wanted to spend it on a new purse. However, I was shopping with my husband, so that didn't happen. Instead, we opted to buy something for both of us.

This comforter was the end purchase. I'm sure you will know what I am talking about when I say this comforter is THE softest thing EVER!! Have you ever had a blanket that was soooooooooo soft that you just can't help but feel it and put it against your face? Probably your child's blanket.

Do you know what I'm talking about? I have one of these blankets on my spare room bed and any guests who have been there and slept with it always say the first morning, "where did you get that blanket? It is THE softest thing EVER!"

So I knew when we felt this comforter in the store, that we HAD to have it! Plus with the sale price, the Kohls cash and the extra 15% off, it basically cost the tax, so that made my husband very happy!

The brown side of the comforter is soft, super soft, but the cream color side......oh it is soooooooooo soft! It brings such comfort to my sleep. Every day I walk in my bedroom I think of how soft and comforting that comforter is. How I look forward to spending my slumber hours with it. And when it is below zero, how warm it is on top of being soft! What a deal.

 

Christ give us a better deal. The BEST Deal EVER!

 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

He comforts us in our pain, suffering, illness, sadness, etc. 

And also in our joy, peace, happiness, etc.

He is always there to wrap Himself around us and carry us.

No matter the situation He promises to be there, to wrap us in HIS love.

After all, He died for us. 

Think about that!

He died a death in our place. 

That is how much He loves us and wraps himself around us.

With His own life, He gave for us, so that we may be saved.

Comforted. In Him.

    

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.
 And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

Our faith in Him allows His Grace on us.
We can not get this on our own. It is a gift from God the Father, through the Son.
If we allow, If we Believe, we will be saved!
And we WILL BE comforted by His loving arms in all situations!




 

 

 

A new vacuum !!

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” 

 

I bought a new vacuum yesterday! I have been watching the price at Sam's Club as they had a deal on a vacuum AND a Steam Mop. It went down under $200 for BOTH, so we got it!
It was so simple to put together, no screws, no screw drivers, just click, click and it was together. So I figured it couldn't' be that hard to run, right? If I could put it together with a few clicks, I could surely turn it on and run it. I mean after all, I have been vacuuming for YEARS! I think since we moved to Milwaukee this is my 5th vacuum, so I know what I am doing!
So I plugged it in, pressed the big red button that said POWER. It turned on and was so quiet. I was impressed.
It has two lights on the front that lead the way! (just like in the picture). I have never had a vacuum with lights on it. I can actually vacuum in the dark if I want!! How exciting is this! My purchase was turning out to be the most excitement I have had in house chores in a long time! WOW! I'm gonna breeze through this job now!

 I noticed that half way through, the brush wasn't spinning. So I called my husband in the room. He pushed it and agreed, it was hard to push, but,  it was picking up stuff, so we vacuumed the entire lower level. And for those who know me, that is a lot of carpet!
So, we emptied the canister, and there was a lot of junk in it.
I still felt like it was to hard to push and maybe something was wrong. After all, I have had five vacuums in 7 years, the roller should roll.

Then, I noticed a button next to the POWER button that said, "BRUSH ROLLER"
I wonder what that is?
I figured I'd better get out the manual and read it after all.
Sure enough! I needed to hit that button as well to get the roller rolling.
WOW! What a difference!! That vacuum took off !!! It wasn't nearly as hard to push and it picked up double what we first picked up! (Yes we Re-vacuumed the entire lower level!

This reminded me of the bible.
God breathed into man HIS words of wisdom for us for so that we could follow it, much like the manual to my new vacuum.
Had I read the manual, the book on the vacuum, I would have known I needed to push BOTH buttons to make the vacuum work at its full potential.
Isn't that what God wants of us?
To work at our Full Potential.
He created us with a solid purpose and way to work.
HE IS OUR LIGHT!
He made each and everyone of us to be exactly what He wants us to be.
He put us together with a Click of His hand and designed us perfectly!
We are made to run smoothly and work at 100 Percent IF ONLY we follow Him and His Word!
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Next time you need to figure out how to work something in your life, just pick up the bible and read it! Everything we need for life is in there. There are hundreds and hundreds, probably 1000's of topics in the bible. If we only read it before we try to go run our lives, we might find it leads us down paths where we don't have to push as hard and do things twice. We might just find that God is leading the way and lighting the path for us!

Today was a day with many different bible Christ things thrown at me. First it is Thursday, so its Bible Study day. Love those ladies :)

We are studying Revelation. Heavy. But so good when it's done by Beth Moore.

I find her energy so .....energetic!!

 

Revelation 1:1-3 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

 

Then I had a conversation with a friend about being Equally Yoked AND Being Born Again. Heavy. But good conversation

 

2 Corinthians 6:14  Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

 

John 3:3 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

 

Revelation. Equally Yoked. Born Again.

 

What do these words mean? Why on one day would God throw these three things at me? What is He saying to me? What am I suppose to learn? Am I suppose to search these topics? Study them?

 

I know that I am Born Again.

I have actually been born again a couple times. Once when I was 17. A dear friend of mine from High School, his mom was a saved Christian. And she sat me down one day and said, "you are going to pray this prayer, repeat after me."

That was the first time. I actually prayed that prayer a few more times in my life.

Each time it got me closer to Christ. And each time was its own special experience.

Yep, I am saved and Born Again.

 

I am equally yoked to my husband.

On Different walks we are. But we are strong in our marriage.

We both believe. We know the power of Christ in our marriage. He must be the head of the marriage. Only then does the marriage function as it should. But also, respect, love, commitment, shared goals, communication, friendship, and an overall likeness of each other. This person, this mate, should be your friend. Someone you trust more than anyone. You should LIKE to spend time with this person. You should not feel ill of this mate. This is the honest to God truth, I have never questioned if I should be married to my husband. Oh, don't get me wrong, we have our moments where we disagree, and maybe raise our voices over something stupid. We can have passionate conversations.

But, we LIKE being together. And I have never said to myself, "did I make the right choice in a mate." NEVER.  I KNOW my husband was chosen my God for me. I know it. And my husband has told me he too has never questioned if I am the right wife for him. We both come from a long line of committed marriages in our parents, siblings, friends.

It has always been "right" "equally yoked".

 

Revelation.

I have revelations every day about Christ. He is everywhere and in everything of life.

But to really have a revelation from Christ, it doesn't happen often I don't think. There are those rare moments when you step back and say, with the hair on your neck standing up and you say, "THAT was a God thing!" There are God Revelations that are profound, that make you just stand in Awe of who He is. I have only had a few of those in my life, where I felt like the hand of God himself touched me. Dreams. I have many dreams. So powerful that I wake KNOWING it was God.

Moments when I should have fallen completely apart, but didn't. Moments when I KNEW God was God.  Those are moments, the ones that we look at and say, I should not have made it through that, but I did. Those moments, are God Revelations.

But there are so many moments that God is trying to Revel himself to us.

We just aren't paying attention, or in the right frame of mind.

We have to open up to that kind of trust. Its scary, but oh so wonderful when we say, from our heart God, let a Revelation come to me.

 

Three God things thrown my way today.

Continue to make me as excited about my faith today as I was at 17!

Continue to bless my marriage to be equally yoked under Your Authority!

And continue to Revel Yourself to me!