Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Battlefield Of The Miind

Joyce Meyer has a great book she has written entitled "The Battlefield of the Mind" that I highly recommend.  Recently I watched her speak about this subject on early morning TV. It was just what I needed to hear!

Joyce shared that the first 15 minutes of the day are often the time Satan goes after our minds.  For me this is true.  When I wake up I find myself taking inventory of my aches and pains, and with Lyme Disease that can take awhile!  I will often find myself worrying too, ~worrying about my health, Joel's health, finances, the family, etc. etc. etc.  Oh dear!  I confess, worrying is second nature for me and I have to work at turning all those things spinning around in my mind over to Him.  I guess that is why Joyce's book resonates with me.

I am learning what helps change my mindset, and I hope you find it helpful for you too.

Giving Thanks and Praise:  Giving thanks to God for each day I wake up to see the morning is a gift, and giving thanks and praise helps me to put aside my worries.  Every time I start to think about something negative or the worry wheel starts spinning, I praise God instead.

Pray:  Lifting up my worries and aches and pains to the Lord and again thanking Him for the healing that is to come.

Remembering:  It is reassuring when we look back and remember what He has done for us in the past.  It is good to look back and remember the worries that never came to pass...or the trials that He guided us through, the victories we have had with the Lord's help.   Joshua built an altar to the Lord made of stones to always be a reminder to the people of God's goodness. I have a memory box to store mine.

Trusting:  When we give thanks, when we pray, and when we remember it affirms that we can trust our Lord with our today's and our tomorrows.  We know that He loves us and He is always with us. 

Reading and Speaking Scriptures aloud:  Yes, God's word is filled with messages and promises for each of us.  The Bible instructs us on how to keep our thoughts pure and on God and His goodness.  Speaking scriptures aloud keeps the Enemy at bay.  When we speak scriptures aloud, he cannot stick around. 

Giving Thanks...again!:  This brings us around full circle ~ we giving thanks, we pray, we remember, we trust, we speak and read His Word, and we know that with God all things are possible..including victory over the battlefield of our mind!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Stuck On The "I Can"



One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:13
~~~
"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me"
or paraphrased~
"I can do all things through Christ who continually pours His strength into me"

What I have learned about myself is that I often get stuck on the first few words of this well known verse.  "I can do all things"....and I tend to forget that what I can do is only possible if Christ continually pours HIS strength into me.

Recently I read about a woman with a debilitating chronic illness, who prayed and gave thanks for God's strength throughout her days.  If she was making breakfast she prayed for strength for that task.  While caring for her children she prayed for strength to do so.  Every single task took great effort and she had learned that without Christ's strength being continually poured into her she could not accomplish these things.  Without Christ's strength being renewed on a task to task basis, she was too weak to function as she needed to.  What an amazing testimony!

I believe that the "I can" attitude keeps us from giving and receiving some of God's greatest blessings!  We are not in this life alone. When we rely on Christ not only in our times of need, but every single day in every single way, we are able to be used more for HIS glory, and we become closer to Him.  We know without a doubt, that He loves us and we are blessed!

I can??

or

HE can!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Attitude of Baditude

"Praise the Lord......"
Psalm 150: 1-6

I was watching Joyce Meyer Friday morning and when she looked at her audience and firmly said,
Your problem is NOT your problem....your attitude and perception are your problem",  I felt the earth shake and tremble. Okay, not really, but her words resonated in me!  Problems will come, but how we respond to those problems will make a big difference in our daily lives. 

Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by the way the storms of  Lyme Disease beat upon our lives.  I can easily be swept away by the mighty winds of illness and loss which sets me up for an attitude of baditude...instead of gratitude.  You know...the "poor me....poor me...." song that brings about a change of posture~ my nose in my bellybutton~ which blocks out all the Sonlight!

God never leaves me in that place for long.  He reminds me that He is with me, He loves me, and that He wants me to have an attitude of praise and gratitude.  Lately I have been hearinig from a number of sources the need for me to praise God in all circumstances...more praise...more gratitude...never too much praise!  Get rid of that baditude, girl!

Do any of you find yourselves with a baditude attitude?  If so, ramp up the praise and thanksgiving, not just this week, but year round.   And remember Joyce Meyer's words~ Your problem is NOT your problem~your attitude is your problem! 

Stop over and visit Charlotte at Spiritual Sundays and read inspirational posts or link up your own.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A Regular Monsoon

I have not been here much lately. I apologize for that...to you readers and to God, who gave me the gift of writing to use for His glory.  Today I write from a place of transparency.  Life is not always a bed of roses, which everyone knows if they live for any length of time!  Today I share with you from my heart.....and ask for prayers for Joel and myself, and for those I will list at the end of my post.  Storms are raging in the lives of many.......but Jesus can calm the storm. 
           ~~~~~~

The sun is shining, the sky is clear but it is storming here. It is raining hard. The house is warm, the windows are closed, but it is storming inside our abode. It is raining in sheets. A regular monsoon.

Joel and I are both feeling the storms...soaked and chilled to the bone by the heavy rain. We are hunkered down, subdued, worried and trying not to be. I am exhausted.....so very very tired. So weary. I want to ask the same old questions that come to me too often of late.....the "whys" and "hows" that reverberate in the air and are never answered to my satisfaction.  I remember the words....

LIFE is not about waiting for the storms to pass,
it is learning how to DANCE in the rain.
~~~~

We are trying Lord.
Please pray for others in the midst of storms:
Georgia who is having heart problems again.
Leon and Marilyn~ Leon's cancer spreading and Marilyn is having heart problems
Ruby Grace~ in need of several surgeries from hydrocephalus and healing from a PICC line that was misplaced
Linda~ healing from flu and needing a new caregiver and place to live
Rose~ in need of a special wheelchair so she can get outside
Autumn~ brain tumor
T and L ~ healing from divorce
Hear our Prayers O Lord....Jehovah Rapha
In Jesus name
Amen 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Her First Bible


"You have been taught the holy scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus."
2 Timothy 3:15


Our granddaughter Isabel is in 2nd grade and this year she was presented with her first Bible during church a few weeks ago.  She was soooo excited she went home and spent that Sunday afternoon reading the "how to read your Bible" instructions that came with her Spark Bible, made just for children.  She even told the family she needed quiet time so she could read!  Last I heard she was in the 8th chapter of Genesis. 

Isabel could hardly wait to tell Papa and Grandma Na about the Bible.   Her excitement was palpable when we talked to her on the phone.  She also shared at the same time that her Sunday School class was memorizing all  the books of the Bible.  Yikes!  I think I was 12 when I did that.

I have been pondering Isabel's excitement.  Here in America we take it for granted... we can find a variety of Bible translations, concordances, and more to be purchased easily online or in a bookstore.  There are countries in this world where that would not be true.  I wonder, do I appreciate the freedom I have to read from the Word of God so easily and openly?

I also was reflecting on how I feel when I open my Bible.  Do I have the excitement Izzy has? Do I look forward to exploring its pages?  Am I determined to take or make the time to open its cover every day and discover what God has to share with me? 

Oh, Lord, thank you for using the excitement of a child to remind me of the blessings Your Word holds for me.  Let me never forget to be excited when I open Your book, and let me always be reminded of what a privilege to share the gifts of what is within with others.  Amen.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

All I Can Do Is Nothing?

"The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still."
Exodus 14:14

I was reading a post written by a friend today and one sentence she shared took on special meaning for me as she spoke about her chronic illness.   "All I can do is nothing".  Do you ever feel like that?  I know I do.  Sometimes we come to a place where we feel we can do absolutely nothing to change our circumstances, like when life has handed us a huge challenge, and we do all we can to fight the battle for as long as it takes, even becoming exhausted from our own efforts ~ But nothing changes.  So we try another tactic...hanging on with sheer determination and endurance.  But nothing changes.  We ask God for help in our cause.  But nothing changes.

There is nothing left to do..."All we can do is nothing",  so we let go, crumbling into a heap, weeping in sorrow and frustration, giving up the battle.  Surrender.  Surrender to our circumstances, surrender to our God who tells us in Exodus that there are times when all we need to do is be still and let the Lord fight our battle for us!   A place of acceptance like my friend spoke about.  A place of surrender.

I have been at this place many times over the years, but I have trouble staying there.  I rest, pick myself back up and spend all my energy trying to change my circumstances ~ thinking~ " I can do this!"  I search for answers, for cures, for ways to change my situation.  with sheer determination I plod forward.   I wonder how often I get in the way of what God wants for my life by not shifting my focus,  by not sitting still before God and hearing His voice and embracing peace in where I find myself. 

All I can do is nothing?  What does that mean?  Giving up?  Not hardly.  It means I let go of my plans,  my timing, my actions and reactions so I can be obedient to His.  It means sitting still before God and surrendering my will to His, living from a place of acceptance with hope.  It may seem like we are doing nothing..but we are really doing something...surrendering to the most powerful Someone in our lives. Letting Him fight our battles when we are weary.  Trusting in His love for me and His plan for my life.