Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Count Your Blessings

The wind is whistling and howling outside of my window tonight. The rain is falling in sheets. It was completely dark by 4:30.

I'm so comfortable in my house. I'm so grateful. What could be better than a full stomach, a soft bed with warm blankets and lots of pillows and looking forward to a deep rest.

You can't be grateful and complaining at the same time. Forget your troubles. Let go of your problems just long enough to count your blessings.

I'm off to bed now! Sweet dreams..............

Set Them Free

Dear Lord,

With all of my heart I ask your blessings of grace, mercy and forgiveness upon all of those less fortunate than me. I lift up to You those who don't know You yet. I call forth Your tender mercies that are new today for those in my heart. Help me by some miracle to be a light, an inspiration and a comfort to everyone You will bring me into contact with today and everyone in my past. Even if it's only through a memory they have of me.

I forgive and release every person who has ever sinned against me. I ask for a full pardon where there has been injury, pride, and unforgiveness. Let no one be held accountable for wrongs done to me, but set them free through forgiveness.

May every mistake I have ever made be used to lead people to the Truth, and let my life be a prayer today. Help me to joyfully give the kindness and love that I desire to receive.

Father, somehow use this flawed life of mine to work beautiful things into the lives of everyone You will bring me into contact with. Thank you for limitless grace.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

"For Nothing will be impossible with God"

On this Christmas day in 2011 I rejoice and rise up from my bed of sorrow, because nothing but NOTHING is impossible with my God. Yesterday and today my heart has been heavy for someone who was once very close to me. I am tempted to give in to the hopelessness that seems to color this person and the predicament that has resulted from bad choices.
Maybe on this day of joy there is a heartache that you have, and all hope has fled. There seems to be no way of lifting you out of the thick mist of despair over that which grips your heart.
Nothing, nothing, nothing is impossible with God! Who would have thought it possible that the Creator of the Universe would leave His perfect home and enter the world as a tiny helpless life to grow in the belly of a young, unknown, unmarried Jewish girl? He voluntarily became totally dependent upon that young woman to satisfy His hunger, meet His needs and comfort Him in distress. He exchanged His glorious radiance for uncomely flesh. He submitted to the boundaries and limits of time for 33 years. He did all of that for you and for me - and for those we have heartaches for.

Then, perhaps the most impossible thing He ever did was to let the people He created abuse Him to the point that He was no longer recognizable as human. And He let them hang Him on a cross until this beautiful Son of God was dead.

Nothing is impossible with God! Fall down on your face before this mighty Saviour and ask, seek and knock. Nevermind that you cannot see an answer or imagine a remedy. Pursue Him diligently. Though your mind be broken, your ears deaf and your eyes blind - know and do not doubt that He is the God of the impossible!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Do You Feel Alone?

Disease isolates us in a way that people without disease don't experience. Certain seasons or times of year can isolate us and leave us to battle our thoughts and feelings of aloneness. Today's devotion for me this morning, really speaks to this, and I'd really like to share it with you.

"'I am not alone, for my Father is with me.' (John 16:32)
It is certainly unnecessary to say that turning conviction into action requires great sacrifice. It may mean renouncing or separating ourselves from specific people or things, leaving us with a strange sense of deprivation and loneliness. Therefore the person who will ultimately soar like an eagle to the heights of the cloudless day and live in the sunshine of God must be content to live a relatively lonely life.

There are no birds that live in as much solitude as eagles, for they never fly in flocks. Rarely can even two eagles be seen together. And a life that is dedicated to God knows divine fellowship no matter how many human friendships have had to be forfeited along the way.

God seeks 'eagle people,' for no one ever comess into the full realization of the best things of God in his spiritual life without learning to walk alone with Him. We see Abraham alone 'in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities...near Sodom' (Gen. 13:12). Moses, although educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, had to spend forty years alone with God in the desert. And Paul, who was filled with all the knowledge of the Greeks and who sat 'at the feet of Gamaliel' (Acts 22:3 kjv), was required, after meeting Jesus, to go 'immediately in Arabia' (Gal. 1:17) to learn of the desert life with God.

May we allow God to isolate us, but I do not mean the isolation of a monastery. It is in the experience of isolation that the soul no longer depends on the continual help, prayers, faith, and care of others. The assistance and inspiration from others are necessary, and they have a place in a Christian's development, but at times they can actually become a hindrance to a persoon's faith and welfare.

God knows how to change our circumstances in order to isolate us. And once we yield to Him and He takes us through an experience of isolation, we are no longer dependent upon those around us, although we still love them as much as before. Then we realize that He has done a new work within us and that the wings of our soul have learned to soar in loftier air.

We must dare to be alone, in the way that Jacob had to be alone for the Angel of God to whisper in his ear, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel' (Gen. 32:28); in the way that Daniel had to be left alone to see heavenly visions, and in the way that John had to be banished to the Isle of Patmos to receive and record 'the revelation of Jesus Chhrist, which God Gave him' (Rev. 1:1).

'He has "trodden the winepress alone" (Isa. 63:3) for us. Therefore are we prepared for a time of 'glorious isolation' rather than to fail Him?

L. B. Cowman in Streams in the Desert

Monday, December 19, 2011

Calling Back For You

I just read a most encouraging message this morning in my devotions and I'd like to share it with you.

"Life is a steep climb, and it is always encouraging to have those ahead of us 'call back' and cheerfully summon us to higher ground. We all climb together, so we should help one another. The mountain climbing of life is serious, but glorious business; it takes strength and steadiness to reach the summit. And as our view becomes better as we gain altitude, and as we discover things of importance, we should 'call back' our encouragement to others.
'If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back -
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if perhaps, Faith's light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.
Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest's roots were torn;
That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the lofty air was still.

O friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet sprint in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you'll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you'll say He saw you through the night's sin-darkened sky -
If you have gone a little way ahead, O friend, call back -
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.'" by L. B. Cowman - Streams in the Desert

To those of you who may be behind me, I'm calling out to tell you that He is true and faithful and truly able to deliver. From this glorious heighth that I have come upon, the view is stunning! Keep coming! Climb on, one step at a time. If you have fallen then start again. Don't give up! You are not alone. I am but a step before you. Hear my voice, calling back to you and cheering you on! He is your safety net. He will make a foothold in the rock for you. Trust Him! He will not fail you.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Patience Will Guard Me

I haven't been writing to you of late, and I apologize for my absence. It's not that you are forgotten. You are very much in my thoughts and in my heart.
As always, this time of year is stressful to me. As many wonderful things there are going on in my life at this time, there are also worries and things to deal with that are not so wonderful. It takes alot of my energy to send those worries away from my door. Sometimes I feel like all of my time is spent slamming the door on temptations of all kinds, so that they don't invade my thoughts and burden my heart. Today I'm going to try a new strategy. I' m going to dwell on Truth and fill my mind with it BEFORE Depression, and Sadness and all of their cousins begin their disruptive incessant knocking at my door. This is what I will meditate on today: The Bible tells us that God is love. In 1 Corinthians, we read that love is patient.... So I can deduce that God is patient.
How wonderful my day will be as I think about the fact that God does not get impatient with me. Not when I am slow writing my name, or slow to understand the point that someone is making. Not when my walk is slower than everyone else's and my friends have to go at a slower pace so that I am not left behind. God doesn't get impatient with me when I forget that I have already told everyone the same story more than once, or when I forget what I am saying mid-sentence. Even if those around me are impatient with me,I will remember to be patient with their impatience!
Noah Webster defines patience in his 1828 dictionary as: "the sufferings of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provation or other evil with a calm unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness; a calm temper which bears evil without murmuring or discontent."
That's our God. That's our Saviour and Redeemer. I will think of all things today in light of this truth. And I will remember if God is patient with me, then I should be patient with myself. I will remember the hope He gives for restoration and total healing one day.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Have you tried coconut oil?

I just read that diseases like Parkinson's Disease can be tremendously helped by adding certain foods to your diet. I encourage you to google PD and coconut oil. As I understand it, our brain needs glucose to function, but when we have PD the cells become insulin resistant, so the brain is starved for glucose (the fuel that powers the brain). But if we eat certain foods - like coconut oil - the liver can break that down into keytones which is an alternate way of feeding the brain. Reportedly tremors can disappear and cognitive function improves.
Of course, one should check with a doctor before altering the diet, but I can tell you that I added some coconut oil to a bowl of kaaska this morning! I urge you to pray for heavenly knowledge and wisdom then look this up. God heals in many ways, and I know that you have prayed many a prayer for healing.
You can get coconut oil at a health food store, or even online. Buy organic, cold pressed, virgin or extra virgin coconut oil, if you decide to try it with me. God loves you precious ones, and He knows the answer to every mystery.