Category Archives: Personal Growth

Friends Forever

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I love to watch children as they play.  There is such a freedom to express who they really are.

childrens-play-zone-01We took our God-niece (4-year old) to Macdonald’s Playland for supper and, of course, ate with all the other brave moms, dads, grandparents, and sitters in the community.  Miss Annabelle (AB) was certainly more interested in playing than eating but was only looking at the tubes and slides.  I realized the problem when I remembered that she had commented in the car that someone had told her not to be afraid of the red slide.  I asked the mom sitting next to us if I could introduce AB to her daughter and would she help her negotiate the playland.  So, introductions done, AB and her new friend went off to explore and learn.  A short while later AB said she couldn’t find her friend, who was hiding in the bubble.  She went to find her and had discovered that she didn’t want to play because AB didn’t want to go on the red tube/slide.   A bit later AB came up with a new friend named Emma.  As they played I noticed AB still was playing on the green slide but Emma wasn’t worried about that.  She had a friend and that was what was most important to her.

What a picture of Jesus’ love for us.  He doesn’t care if we don’t want to play on the red tube/slide,  He just wants to be our friend.  What a reminder of James 2:8.  We honor the Royal Law, of which we are a part when we ‘love our neighbors (friends) as ourselves.

What a Friend We Have In Jesus

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Be sure to check out my Linky Parties page for a list of the blog hops this may be attached to.

20 Ways To Practice Lifestyle Evangelism

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Are you looking for creative ways to show Whose you are?  Here are a few I’ve used.  Add your suggestions in the comments.

Wear a piece of jewelry that invites discussion.

Take a glass of something cold to your neighbor, or the person doing lawn work, etc.

Visit someone in a hospital or nursing home that doesn’t get visitors.

Call to say I’m thinking of you.

Volunteer!

Invite the person who is sitting alone (in church, in a restaurant) to sit with you.

When someone’s name pops into your mind send them an ‘I’m thinking of you’  note.

Follow through when you’ve said you would do something.  If you said I’ll call, then call.

Don’t hesitate to pray anywhere and anytime you’re asked. 

Be sincere in your compliments.  People can always tell when you’re ‘just sayin’.

Ask someone you don’t know (while at the doctors, grocery, or other public places) if you can pray for them.  Do it right there.

Hand write notes to a new member, someone who is ill, recently baptized, …

Choose a missionary to stay in touch with.

Give rides to those who don’t have a way to get to the doctor, grocery store, …

Use your craftiness to help others.  Crochet an afghan, quilt a lapgan, embroider a favorite Bible verse, …

Prayer-walk your neighborhood.  Pray for every home even if you don’t know the person living there.

When you get ready to get rid of your Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary cards put them in a box and keep them in your ‘prayer spot’.  Take one out each day and pray for that person.  Let them know you prayed with a call or a card/note.

Keep a Jar of Joys.  Put little slips of paper in it that tell about good things that have happened through the year. Go through it at the end of the year and give thanks for the joy and delight God has put in your life.

Invite someone who may be all alone to family dinners like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter…

Take a picture frame that you aren’t using.  Put a sheet of blank paper behind the glass.  Write the names of those you want to pray for regularly.  Hang it in a place you see every day.  Mine is above my home/office desk.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

God Hates …

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Our culture does not like to think of God as hating, yet, the Word is clear about what He hates. Check it out…

Let’s look at each segment and see how it applies to our lives.

  • Haughty eyes:  I found this definition of haughty in the Cambridge English Dictionary: Unfriendly and seeming to consider yourself better than others. Suppose you just heard a new music group and began talking about with others.  If you give the idea that they are somehow less informed than you that’s being haughty.  Anytime you present yourself as somehow better than others that’s being haughty.
  • A lying tongue: I’m sure we all know the meaning of the word lying.  Simply saying something that is not true.  Not just a blatant outright untruth but those little half-truths (So-called white lies fit here.) and those words that sound good but carry a different meaning. (Like saying you love the dress another is wearing but your body language says you look horrible in that color or style.)  Get it?
  • Hands that shed innocent blood: Drive-by shootings, suicide bombings, abortion, euthanasia…  Have we become so jaded (unmoved) to this that we no longer care?
  • A heart that devises wicked schemes: Bullying is one of the most prevalent problems in our homes, schools, work, churches, government… Have you been intimidated into doing something you haven’t wanted, strong-armed into telling lies or saying mean things to and about others, kept quiet about an incident…  All of this just to fit in.  Bullies devise ‘wicked schemes’ to stay in control.  God knows and He hates it.
  • Feet that are quick to rush into evil: The intent of the person who fits this category is simply one who intends to create trouble.  Doesn’t matter who, how, where.  If the opportunity arises they’re there.  And it happens quickly!
  • A false witness who pours out lies:  Both of these phrases are the same concept.  False witnesses are liars!  And man, are they good at it.  Let’s look at a possible scenario.  Someone comes to you and says, I saw Doris at the coffee shop with Darrin.  I think they’re having an affair.  You discuss it, add other possible instances to it, talk with others about it, and the whole thing gets blown out of proportion.  This one fabricated lie has the potential to destroy lives.  My advice: Follow the 9th Commandment. Don’t lie!
  • A person who stirs up conflict in the community: Are you bitter about something or someone?  If you can say yes to this you are ripe for stirring up conflict.  If you have a problem with someone go to them, directly.  Don’t use it against them to rile up the entire community.  (Think about the election last year.  Conflict was created by the media and opponents and the country is still stirred up.)  Let it go!

There you have it.  God is not a hateful God!  He is more than loving.  He cannot disown Himself (see 2 Timothy 2:13).  If any of these fit you take it to Him.  He will forgive and heal you.

Know that the LORD is good and His mercies endure forever! Psalm 100:5

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

3 Things …

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While at the doctor’s office with my husband this morning I saw this tacked to their bulletin board and it made me think about other sets of 3’s that are true to life.

People will try to get you to do ‘it’ their way.

Here’s a thought about money: All that we can buy is paid for by hours of our lives.

Your past is just that…past.

Integrity in life (not lying or cheating) is really all that matters.  If it’s the right thing pursue it and never, ever give up.

By far the three most important come from Micah 6:8.

Acting justly is quite simple.  Be fair in ALL your dealings with others.

Mercy is responding with compassion.

True humbleness is not thinking less of yourself but thinking more of others.

I would love to see some of your three’s in the comments.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

 

Insult

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Have you ever given any thought to choosing a word you won’t be using as your Word for the Year?  That’s exactly what Holley Gerth addresses in her article, The Word I’m NOT Choosing This Year.  It’s certainly worth the read. Check it out!

As I thought about this concept it crossed my mind that 2016 was a very negative and insulting year. (I’m not just referring to the election.  That in itself was beyond anything I could have imagined.)  For me, there was little positive input and I endured insults that were both perceived and real.  So, with that thought in mind, the word I’m not choosing for the year is INSULT.  This picture sums it up:

20a

I know that attacks and insults are to be expected as a follower of Jesus.  I get it!  But I have decided for this year that I will not allow another’s words or actions to cloud my view and dirty my mind.

Matthew 7:1 gives us the famous words, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” I like it better the way Peterson says it in The Message, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment.”

My prayer for the year is this:

Heavenly Father, Abba, hear my prayer for a clean heart and uncluttered mind.  Give me wisdom and courage to deal with those who would use their words against me.  Help me to know when and if I should respond.  Let my response never be unkind or unforgiving.  I want to show the Face of Jesus and the Mind of Christ to those around me.  Yes, even those who are insulting, mean or unkind.  Make it so in Jesus name.