covid 19

How was your day? How is your new normal? Some days are just plain harder than others.

As I sit here tonight I am reminded of a couple verses.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7

If you have a steady diet of the media coverage of Covid-19 chances are your hope may be taking a beating. It is good to be informed. It is better to remember that our hope is in God. Go ahead, be informed but then take it to God in prayer. Cast your cares. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

So much of our new normal brings sadness to me. I could let that sadness dominate my days or I can choose to focus on the good. I can choose to not lean on my own understanding. (Prov 3:5-6) I can choose to trust God.

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:6

All your ways – does God have all of you? I believe that God is at work in and through us as we let Him direct our paths.

If you are working – let your trust in God be evident to those around you. Share your hope – yes you can do that and still practice social distancing. Let your light shine. (Matt 5:16)

If you don’t have to leave the house, you can still be used by God. You can still reach out to people through phone, email, texts, messenger…. You can also use this time to dig deep into God’s Word. And don’t forget about prayer. I do believe that this virus has gotten our attention and hopefully it has gotten us to increase our conversations with God. (James 4:8)

My prayer: “Father, It is You that I trust with all that I am. May Your Spirit bring healing to those who so badly need it. Strengthen your people. (Isaiah 35:3) Draw others to You so that they can experience Your peace. (John 16:33) Please bring an end to this virus. May Your goodness be seen throughout our land.(Psalm 27:13) My life is Yours. In all I do may You be glorified. When I fall short, help me to learn and grow so that next time I will stand victorious in You. You are my strength. Forgive me for those times that I have tried to do it on my own. I recognize how very much I need You! I trust You to direct my steps. Here is my life; use it for Your glory. ”

til next time

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my mind tends to wander

I trust God. Yet my mind tends to wander. My mind tends to give in to stress easier than it should. I find that I have to be intentional about where my thoughts go. I think we all do.

Holding tightly to this verse.

Isaiah 26:3 English Standard Version (ESV)

“You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you.”

I finally watched our Fireside Chat live video just a few minutes ago. (If you watch it, start at 4:12) I couldn’t watch it earlier. I read the comments but that was it. My mind had me convinced that it was nothing short of a failure. Who needs to watch that?

From there my mind went to – we don’t have the proper equipment, lighting, knowledge, what are we thinking? Curtis told me that it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

As… I… thought — Thoughts — oh how they can deceive us.

Our thoughts can cripple us. Our thoughts can hold us hostage. I have said for years that the battles that we face are really lost or won in our mind. How we think about what is going on. What we dwell on — what lies we give credibility to and the damage that it does.

Or do we keep our mind on Jesus?  Looking to Him, trusting Him, believing and living out His promises found in the Word.  He will never leave us.  He is an ever-present help in trouble.  He will see us through.  He is greater than whatever we face.

Do we see problems as opportunities for God to shine in our lives?  Do we see trials as a way that our faith is displayed for all to see?  Do we see tribulation as nothing more than something Christ said we would have but we can be of good cheer because He has overcome the world and we are overcomers because of Him?

“perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.” Maybe like me, you need to be reminded of the great importance of keeping your mind on God. It really is of utmost importance to walking in peace.

And guard against letting the enemy pull your thoughts away to a dark place that will not do anyone any good.

fixing my eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:1-2)

til next time

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let them see Jesus in you

My prayer for you today comes from Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT)

24 ‘May the Lord bless you

    and protect you.

25 May the Lord smile on you

    and be gracious to you.

26 May the Lord show you his favor

    and give you his peace.’

May today find you noticing the blessings of God. Blessings are all around us. He is with us and He will make a way where there may seem to be no way. (Isaiah 43:19)

God smiles. “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;” (Psalm 149:4 ESV)

We don’t have to look far to see how gracious God is to us. His grace (getting what we don’t deserve) and His mercy (not getting what we deserve) are examples of His great love for us.

Favor and peace – Thank you God! He is working all things out for our good. (Romans 8:28) He is able to do more than we can even begin to imagine. (Eph 3:20) His grace is enough. (2 Cor 12:9)

May God bless you today and may we not forget that it is God. Throughout the day stop, look up and thank Him for the big and the small things. It is also good for us to remember that He blesses us to be a blessing to others. (Gen 12:2)

Let your light shine. Let them see Jesus in you.

Selah

til next time

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shine

Today, let them see You in me.

Today, let me walk in Your love.

Today, shine through me!

God’s Love Wins!

til next time

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God smiles

God smiles. “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;” (Psalm 149:4 ESV)

We don’t have to look far to see how gracious God is to us. His grace (getting what we don’t deserve) and His mercy (not getting what we deserve) are examples of His great love for us.

My prayer for you today comes from Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT)
24 ‘May the Lord bless you
and protect you.
25 May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
26 May the Lord show you his favor
and give you his peace.’

May today find you noticing the blessings of God. Blessings are all around us. He is with us and He will make a way where there may seem to be no way. (Isaiah 43:19)

Favor and peace – Thank you God! He is working all things out for our good. (Romans 8:28) He is able to do more than we can even begin to imagine. (Eph 3:20) His grace is enough. (2 Cor 12:9)

May God bless you today and may we not forget that it is God. Throughout the day stop, look up and thank Him for the big and the small things. It is also good for us to remember that He blesses us to be a blessing to others. (Gen 12:2)

Let your light shine. Let them see Jesus in you.

til next time

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deep need

Two scriptures got me through today.

Jesus tells us – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)

AND

“I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NET)

My deep need for Jesus to help was so very evident to me. I didn’t want to just “get” through the day. I didn’t want to waste today by grumbling. I wanted to shine for Christ!

What about you? Do you realize your deep need for Him? Do you look for His help?
This song says it all for me today.

https://youtu.be/bEeSS-0bPHQ
Selah,

til next time

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2017 and so it begins

“Things don’t get better as you drift away from God.” Curtis Girod

“Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:3 NKJV

Don’t drift. Go after the things of God. Dig into His Word. Start the year with determination to know God more. As you do this, your life will reflect Him more and more.

May our theme for 2017 be — Shine through me, Jesus!

This little light of mine is not just a children’s song.  It is a way of life.

“Lord, may Your light shine in me and through me.”

People may not read the Bible but they can’t avoid us, at least not all of the time.  What is it that they see when they come in contact with us?  What does our words and our actions reveal about our relationship with Christ?

Letting Christ shine through me — this is my heart’s cry!

til next time

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super moon

Did you take a moment to look at the super moon awhile back? Maybe you even took a picture? I did. Sadly, it did not capture the beauty. Yet the source of the beauty wasn’t the moon.

If it weren’t for the sun, the moon would be dark. What we see is a reflection of the sun’s rays bouncing off of the moon.

When people look at us, are they seeing the light of Christ?

 

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)

 

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

 

December is here and with it can come the stress of getting the shopping, decorating, and baking done. Then there is the calendar that is already full. For some, adding school programs, work parties, family gatherings to an already stretched calendar is a potential recipe for added stress.

 

The other extreme is also out there. I was talking with a lady who shared with me that the holiday season is the worst time of year for her. Loneliness and sadness are nipping at her heels. Her calendar is too open.

 

Whatever the reason may be, if you are feeling overwhelmed this December, I encourage you to take a few moments (right now would be good) and talk with God. Cast your cares on Him, lay down your expectations at His feet, and allow His peace, love and joy to fill you again.

 

Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

 

btw – I want to be a ‘super moon’!  Reflecting brightly the light of Christ!!

til next time

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be still?

Are you troubled?  Does life have you stressed out?  Would you describe your life as peaceful or chaotic?

 

 Check out yesterday’s post on peace.

Picking up where I left off.

“Be still, and know that I am God;”

What a wonderful truth. God is in control. When life seems uncertain, when problems attempt to overwhelm us or when we are in the middle of something huge, we can be still and know who is God.

 

Psalm 23:2 “He leads me beside the still waters”

Sometimes we can be so focused on what is going on around us that we go rushing past the still (quiet) waters. In rushing past, we miss the opportunity for God to refresh our hearts.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Did you know that this verse doesn’t end there?

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!  Psalm 46:10(NJKV)

This takes my thoughts off me and puts them back on God. God is in control. He sees all.

He longs to use each one of us to reach a lost and dying world. There is so much darkness in our land.

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NASB 

 Let God shine through you on purpose!!!

To God be the glory!

til next time

 

 

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light in the darkness

Recently I did some soul searching – motive checking – examination of why I do what I do. It seems that I tend to fill my days and nights full – at times even pushing the limits.

 

So why do I do what I do?

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NASB)

 

 

 

I want to live a life that shines for God in a world that so desperately needs Him.

 

Along time ago I was in an accident that should have taken my life. It was only by the grace of God that we all survived. I remember the week or so before the accident I was questioning many things and in a crisis of faith.

 

I was in some serious pain from the accident but that all dimmed in comparison to how God used that accident to give me a renewed thirst for more of Him, a hunger to live God’s way to the best of my ability, and a determination to let my light shine brightly.

 

As Dallas Holms sings

“Let my light shine in the night time.

Let it shine, all day through

Let it shine, shine for Jesus

Let it shine, shine on you.”

 

til next time

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