Who Do You Run With

 Today in church someone posed this question

Who do your run with?  Who is your tribe?

Those are valid questions and worth pondering.

Those that we hang with are our tribe and we all will most likely have common traits

Ive heard said "if you sleep with dogs you'll likely have fleas"

Now this is not judgmental ...but wise saying.

It has nothing to do with status but more to do with character.

Choose your friends carefully. When the kids were growing up we spoke about this a lot.  If it looked like my children were being affected (infected) more by others than the other way around...we would pull back and often change friends.  It's how we teach.  Organic is good but there is still work to be done. 

Take sometime this week and think this through.  How would you title your group of friends/family

Drama club, Mickey Mouse Club,  Peyton Place, Women of Grace. Family of_______

comedy club etc etc 

If needed do some adjusting. Take it to the Lord and ask for HIs wisdom and guidance and He will show you what needs to be done

Stay Focused

Are You Leaking

I got a letter form the Utility Department 

the other day suggesting

 that I had a slow leak in my water system.  

The letter went on to say it might be close to negligible 

 and I might have to look deeper to find it.

Got me thinking!

Am I leaking?

Are there things coming out of my mouth 

that are not pleasing to God?

Are you as full on Wednesday as you are on Sunday?

How come?  

You must be LEAKING!

Do I tend to speak negatively?

Does my anger rear its ugly head too often?

DO I gossip, 

swear or act in a way 

that is not becoming to my "Station"of the Daughter of the King? 

This week

check for leaks. 

 bring a friend along side, 

ask the Gentle Holy Spirit

 to bring it to your attention. 

Repent over and over until the leak stops!

You can do it 

and find yourself BRIMMING

 like Stpehen was in the presence of his enemies!!

The Plumber is waiting for a call!

"Does it Count?"

 Leaving for Prayer meeting the other night, 

 a young catholic girl said to me "oh does it count?"

It put smile on my face.

I had many Catholic friends growing up.

If they went to church Sat night

 or some other time

 it "often counted" 

which meant they did not have to attend church Sunday morning.

It got me thinking about my relationship 

with my Husband Jesus, 

my Savior.

First I thought about when Ive had a commitment

 to call someone 

and after texting them and checking in on them

 I felt "off the hook" for the rest of the day,

 my commitment being done.

But then again 

there's the relationship of a lover, 

a fiancé, 

a possible deeper relationship.

Maybe it's a first date

 that ended nicely 

and with a promise of keeping in touch.

A text in the morning, 

expressing further interest 

sets a spark smoldering.  

You find yourself waiting for more

 and wondering if and when 

there will be more communication.

That text in the morning

simply does not suffice.  

In fact I answer right back

 hoping that it will be replied to !

Why.....

cause I'M INTERESTED! 

Someone has "caught my eye!"

In fact I'm having trouble concentrating!!

Well my friend 

that's exactly what a RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS is like!

When you come to REALLY KNOW HIM

when you've given your life to Him

 and asked Him to take control,

that relationship begins to grow.  

It moves from "counting"

 to not being able to get enough!

How about you?

Has your relationship with Jesus developed into something

 that has your attention all day long?

He's counting on YOU!!

Blessings!

The Word on the Street

 Lately I've been hearing a lot about Joshua and Cleb

You know them Right?

The two men 

who were part of the group

 that went in to get the lay out 

and scope of the Promise Land

Joshua 1-24

SO why were they singled out?

BECAUSE they looked PAST the giants, 

the tall walls and fortresses 

and saw through faith 

the Land God was Promising them!

In that group of men 

they were the ONLY TWO 

who came back with a Good Report!

Giant was NOT IN THEIR VOCABULARY!

Do you trust the Lord?

Do you believe He has the best for you 

and that HE guides, 

provides and protects 

you as you follow His ways?

OR

Do you begin to argue, debate, hedge 

or play devils advocate?

Do you play the roll of the realist 

who speaks through his carnality?

Think about that for a minute

answer the question 

Who do you represent in this story?

the Ones who came back scared 

or the Ones full of faith and expectancy

Seriously. 

Take this up with God

 if the answer is anything but #2

 you need a blood transfusion....a heart check ...to be prayed for....

Cause you either believe Him or you don't.

Don't leave this page before doing a self inspection

Blessings!

Nostalgia

This week I read a sentence that got me musing

GOD IS NOT NOSTALGIC

First I looked up the meaning

1. The state of being homesick

2 a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for

 return to

Or of some past period of irrecoverable condition

GOD S NOT NOSTALGIC

and I don't believe He wants us to be either!

Yesterday in Bible Study we talked about "cleaning out"

And the hold  our "stuff" has on many.

Like we know I can easily make decisions about your stuff

 but mine is a different story!

What are we to do?

First of all God is our Provider

Second I believe as Pilgrims we need to travel light

Third in this blog I'm referring to the things 

That keep "getting in our way"

Those things that occupy our minds and cause us to be unsettled.

Pictures, passed down stuff, memrobelia. 

I'm not by any means saying we must live stark, bare lives 

but more that we just

Need to

MAKE A DECSION!!

Our society is one of STORAGE UNITS

Storage units OFTEN are filled with nostalgia

Things that I simply cannot...

or CHOOSE not 

to make a decision about.

Things that are COSTING me something every day

Matthew 5:37 says

"Simply let your yes be yes and your no be no"

So my friends....this blog is for me!

I'm pulling things out.....

Those things that I'm often not even seeing anymore.

the stuff tucked away

Or maybe, although under my nose,

 I don't see anymore.

Actually, we were discussing the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 10:21

who Jesus told to 

"sell all that you have and 

GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THE POOR 

and you will have treasures in Heaven; 

come accompany Me 

and walk the same road that I walk"

Ok ...I know right where I'm going to start...

I'm going to start a Blessing Fund

I will post whatever is worth anything ..

give it two weeks to sell 

if it does then the money will go to Bless Someone,

if it doesn't,

the items will go to a nearby thrift store 

and it will still be a blessing to someone!

Anyone with me?!

Today

JUST MAKE A DECISION!

COMPROMISE.

THERE SEEMED TO BE NONE IN HIM!

thinking about Daniel 

 Just a Young male called into duty.

How did that happen?  

who raised him? 

how was that foundation laid to be so sturdy?  

He was a young man at the beginning of the story...

yet he had an unwavering character 

Its not mean to expect something from your children.

 During the same conversation the topic of all the stuff (imput) that comes at us on any given day.  what do we do with it all? How do we decipher and discern what we believe and what we throw away?

The picture I got was the mailbox   

I saw myself take out a large stack 

and carry it into the house.  

I opened the trash compactor and one by one sorted the pile.  

Keep, throw, throw, throw, keep etc etc

Now mind you 

I do not open the throw away envelopes!  

I toss them!  

A friend was having difficulty with her aging relative 

who would open every piece of mail, 

read it and promptly write checks to all the senders.

"No its not junk!  

It has my NAME ON IT!  

they are writing to me because there is a need!"

Friend the HUGE MAJORITY of stuff coming your way whether it is mail, news or just information is not all to be saved.  Much of it is junk.

Take a short cut....sort over the trash.

there 

DONE~

Junk Mail

So much arrives daily in our mailboxes.  
Junk Mail.  
What a waste of time
paper, 
postage etc etc....
just someone trying to sell you something,
get your attention.  
A bait thrown out in front of you 
With hopes that one day 
you just might take a bite.

I talk with many people 
who struggle with junk mail. 
Their tendency is
to open it and read it.  
Many file it or leave it 
in a pile on the counter.  
But even then its taking up space!  
Why do we have such a hard time dealing with it?
 
One of the first things 
I have to do 
is show them and convince them 
that its JUNK

That, just because it's addressed to them,
does not mean 
that they have to open it!  
One lady said 
"But you don't understand! 
When I open it
it's addressed to ME
..MY NAME is on it. 
 Its PERSONAL.  
Ah Yes. 
Just another tactic of our enemy 
to tie us up and waste our time.  

When I go get the mail...
I carry it to the kitchen, 
open the trash 
and sort it IMMEDAILTELY.  
I open ONLY what I recognize 
as personal and important 
and ALL THE REST 
goes unopened into the garbage.  
I make short work of it.  

I guess Im working hand in hand 
with the Scripture 
that encourages us to
"Cast Down VAIN IMAGINATION 
and everything that tries to exalt itself over the knowledge od God"
2 Corinthians 10

Please take some time 
and consider what you're doing 
with the STUFF that makes its way 
into your "box". 
Please don't waste your time!

Don't be consumed by lesser things
Marnie