The couch

" befriend your problems,.... you can even give persistent problems nicknames, helping you to approach them with familiarity rather than dread" Jesus Calling

This made me smile as the memory of a coach surfaced.

When removing a ratty old couch from the house I asked my boys to put it by the side of the road, in case someone wanted it.....you never know!

I began trying to make a plan to get it to the landfill. Call after call, person after person......

 dead end......FOR WEEKS!!

My couch continue  to set by the road, rain, sleet, and sunshine.

I massaged my ego, not to take it personally.

I would drive in or out of the driveway and say,

"Nice couch Lord!! Maybe I should put a tea cup on it with a sign to Come in and rest!"

"Hey Lord I see you still have that couch! And I would always end with..."I'm trusting You Husband of mine..to take care of this.

The couch was now water logged and it would need effort to move it

One late fall day while putting the gardens to bed, Kendall and Euni were stacking wood when Kendall ran to me and said "mom, you want that couch gone right? (I guess she'd forgotten and it had become just a part of our scenery!) 

She ran back to where she had come from and then a few minutes later came to tell me she had "entertained angels!"

Mom, two gorgeous preppy young men in a brand new van drove by and waved, but up the street they stopped and backed up

He rolled down his window and asked "are you getting rid of this couch?"

After the affirmative reply the two

Got out of the van

Flipped it like a feather into their van 

Waved and drove away

"Mom I think they were angels!"

Who would ever want that couch?

I smiled

My husband is so wonderful...sometimes it seems to take Him a while but His ways are so much better than mine

Thank You Lord for sending Your Men❤️❤️❤️

MISS~UNDERSTOOD

Last night I had a disturbing dream. 

 I found myself 

in situation after situation 

where "Things" were being "held against me" 

and I Felt I Had done nothing wrong.

In one scene

 I was at a retreat with women

 and everywhere I went I was "overlooked"

 even my mom could not see my distress. 

I had sat in a group of people 

where I confronted some relatives about words 

they had spoken about me 

while I was caring for mom. 

 In every situation... 

 I could not be HEARD 

 I was distraught and SO frustrated! 

 When I awoke 

I tried to pray about it 

as I muddled through the feelings left behind 

 "But I did nothing wrong! 

 "Why is this all happening to me?

 Jesus what are You trying to say? 

 Immediately I saw Him before Pilate 

The PERFECT ONE 

RIGHTEOUS...NO SIN..

PURE 

all evil was being hurled at Him 

from every side 

Yet He remained silent. 

He had nothing to prove or gain 

by trying to protect His reputation. 

Father You sent Your Son 

to bear a punishment 

for something He didn't do . 

He took our place without screaming or whining 

about His rights. 

In Hebrews it's said that He laid them down 

taking on a form of a servant

I too am not my own

Ive been bought with a Price

Father who do I have to impress?

Who do I answer to in the end?

Help me Lord....

I once again give this issue of "my rights" 

to YOU

You alone are mighty to save!

The Splinter

The Splinter

A few weeks ago while filling the wood stove, 

I got a Splinter in the palm of my hand 

right under my right index finger.  

OUCH DID THAT HURT!!

I couldn't see anything but a small speck 

 after I detached my hand from the log.  

Soon my finger swelled,

 the area became red and was very sore. 

I started to get concerned. I could not use my hand at all!

 I'm not one to rush to the Drs 

and after praying numerous times, 

showing a friend, calling another,

 I decided to soak my hand in warm Epsom salts and see what would happen.

My hand remained swollen for almost a week

I continued to soak. And prode. And "favor" it.

One day as I was pushing around the area

 a Large Piece of wood "popped"out of the wound. 

WOW! It looked huge!**

Yet

The wound continued to fester

I continued my regime of favor, probe, and disinfectant 

And even though the area seemed decidedly better, 

My hand was still very sensitive and I had to be gentle even when applying lotion to my dry hands

I COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING!

Why did it still hurt??

2 full weeks into this

 I was driving to an errand when I pushed gently on the spot

 (it was very hard to leave it alone)

Immediately I saw out of the corner of my eye (I was driving) something literally "fly" out of the spot!

I knew IMMEDIATELY it was another Splinter and I also knew it was the last

Seeminginly immediatlely

My hand felt different

The infection stopped building

The sore grew smaller and smaller

It did not hurt to the touch!!

I have had many "splinters" in my life

In the natural the norm is that they will cause infection to build that will eventually "erupt" pushing the Splinter out.....

So interesting.

I've seen it in the natural and I've seen it in the Spiritual

Many people are carrying splinters

They are infected, touchy and often out of sorts as they try to protect the area

Pray for them

Give them time

Ask the Lord to allow the infection to erupt

That the wound could be healed.

Be available and sensitive...carry the Balm of His Healing

And be there....

It's time to stop being so self absorbed that we are blind to the world around us

We are His Hands

We are His feet

https://youtu.be/y0WtTvXamKQ

ps. another observation I made was when the first splinter erupted it was Huge!  After being out of my flesh ,in a very short while, it shrunk down to size.  The infection amplified its size and blew it out of proportion.  chew on that thought for a while.

Vacations

Vacations..

Did you know 

that Christians should not take vacations

 or naps for that matter?

There is no place in the Christian life

 for Carnal Cruises or cat naps!!

Have you ever thought 

"I just need a break...

not for very long...

a few weeks off won't hurt...

No ones Perfect!"

What would it be like if God thought that!!

We would all be in serious trouble!

I will repeat it again

we can not afford to take a carnal cruise or a cat nap!

Too much is happening 

in and around us 

to let our guard down

1 Peter 5:8

"STAY ALERT! 

WATCH OUT

 for your great enemy, the devil. 

 He prowls around like a roaring lion 

looking for whom he can devour"

Her Husband

Her Husband

My single friend excitedly told me 

about all the options and opportunities that were beginning to open to her 

as she considered leaving her tenured job of many years. 

She was beginning to test the waters 

and do some looking.

She was feeling a little overwhelmed as this new task was added to an all ready very busy season as teacher. 

'There's this and this, 

a phone call, a meeting, an offer etc etc." she shared.

Immediately I saw a picture.   

She was sitting  at the breakfast table 

with her Husband,  

telling Him all about the many things that were swirling around in her mind.  

I saw Him sitting back in His chair 

in rapt attention 

as He intently listened to her every word.

"Honey", He said,  "Go and enjoy your day today. 

While you're gone I'm going to take some time 

to look carefully at each of these offers 

and suggestions and make a few call etc.  

Leave it all to Me!  

You know I have Connections!  

When you return 

and are rested 

we will chat about each one and I will give you My thoughts and guidance on each and every detail!"

He shooed her along as her "but but but's" faded away.

What a GOOD HUSBAND we have!!!

Is it possible?!

Does Someone really look out for us like that ?

Does Someone really care that much?

Is He really willing to get involved in the muck and mire of daily living?

Does it really matter to Him?

YES IT DOES

https://youtu.be/CqybaIesbuA

and yes HE DOES 

Wait for the end of the story!

My Story

While sharing with a friend today she shared how others had told her she should write her story.

I recalled the story of Cinderella  

 She was in a safe beautiful family

Her mom died and eventually her dad remarried

A step mother and 2 step sisters moved in on the scene

Immediately her life changed

drastically

She became a slave, her carefree life and all the freedoms she had known were now over. 

At any time during these years 

her story could have been written 

but yet today we know it would not have been the whole story......we would have "held" her in the chapter where we last saw her.

Cinderella obediently went about her business, 

preparing her family for the ball, 

bearing her own disappointment of broken dreams and sitting in the cold ashes.

A knock at the door

a fairy god mother

some mice, a few pumpkins and some "magic"

a Prince Charming that would not be satisfied with lesser "things" and an ill fitting shoe

brings us to the 

rest of the story

where they lived happily ever after!

What we miss by writing our story before He's finished!

Wait on the Lord...

Don't lean on our own understanding,

but let Him keep writing your story

Don't Be afraid

He has the VERY BEST ENDING in store for those that follow Him!

Halleluhia!

The Train Ride

The Train Ride

As I listened to a dear sister talk today 

I had a picture of her being on a long train ride.

It seemed she did not know when she got on the train

 and her trip seemed to have taken on a life of its own.

She kind of had forgotten where she was going

 and that she even had a destination.   

Each day ran into the next with the mundanity of broken hope and nothing new.

Today it seemed as she stared out the same old window on the same old car a sign caught her attention.

A SIGN

    A SIGN??

 A SIGN!

HEAVEN BOUND...

  

What a relief....

she had been riding so long, 

so many broken dreams and crazy life happenings had caused her to doubt and wonder if she was even on the right course

But Today...

She saw a sign

that reminded her

she was on the right train,

That her conductor was Jesus and that He was taking her the route she had to travel.

All is peaceful now that she has seen the sign.  Relief and peace has washed over her

Jesus is a Very Present Help in times of trouble.   

Keep watching ... 

Praise His Name