Seasons

Last night when we got home from Kentucky it was pouring down, much much much needed, rain. It has been quite awhile since we got any amount of substantial rain, here in our little Pauline. 

It gets really hot and really humid here. Our grass turns crunchy and brown. The flowers, fruit and vegetables suffer from the lack of rain.

Then the rain comes- and overnight it's a cool 68 degrees, our grass has soaked up the much needed water and has turned soft and green again. The earth smells and feels cleansed. 

It took a LONG time, weeks, for the earth to turned to hard, dry, growthless ground. 

But it only took one night of cool, steady rain to replenish the earth. 

And so it is with God. Maybe you've been in a dry season- and you feel as if your heart is hard, dry and growthless. Maybe you don't FEEL His Presence. 

But friend, Jesus is was ALWAYS with you. You may have felt in your soul (mind, will and emotions) that He was not with you but the TRUTH is- if you are a believer, His child- He promised He would never leave you or forsake you. Never. And never is "a mighty long time". 

He is just as much with you when you don't feel His presence as He is when are overwhelmed with experiencing His presence. 

He is just as much with you (HE LIVES IN YOU!) when you are wandering around the dry and barren wilderness as He when you are floating gently, without a care, down the peaceful river. 

The point is NOT the season- dry or nourished.
The Point, is Jesus- well, Jesus IS the Point. 

Be fixed on Him, no matter how you feel. Feelings are real but they aren't always truthful. Be fixed on Truth. 

"Jesus, even if I never feel Your presence- I am trusting, by faith, that YOU are with me. You abide in me, and I in you. This is much deeper than what my soul experiences. You have made me alive with Your very presence in my spirit- now I ask You to live through my spirit, overwhelm my soul- and capture me like never before. Whether in the wilderness or the lush land- by faith...I take hold of You."

Beautiful poem!

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
~ W. H. Davies

August 16, 2009

Called INTO one body....

When the apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Colossae, as a prisoner in Rome because of Christ, it was around AD 62. So, it was about 25 years after Jesus was crucified, risen and ascended into heaven. 25 years the church, His body, was expanding.

Aren't these words beautiful?

"Indeed you were called into one body"- Colossians 3:15.

CALLED INTO one body.

We were not called to be Baptists, Methodists, Nazarenes, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Presbyterians, Non-denominational or Denominational.

We are called into one body. His body, the church. We can get so divided by our opinions that we forget that we are family. We can get so caught up in our own "church" that we forget that the church is CHRIST's body, His bride. The church is one body of believers who Jesus lives within individually and is empowered by the Spirit and lives unto the Father. We are to work together- encouraging and exhorting one another. We are brothers and sisters. We are one body. Christ is the head of us, His body.

Let us live as one, be unified. For; He has a purpose in us!

John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Live and be....who you are individually and as His body:

"and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.- Colossians 3:10-17

Jesus...my Path

There are two of the dearest ladies you could ever meet that walk together on the same roads I run. The last few years we have struck up a wonderful friendship. These two ladies are 68 and 77. Yes, they walk probably 4 miles a day. Some days, I just stop running and walk with them. I am so thankful for the older women God has brought into to my life to mentor me, speak truth into me, laugh and cry with me.

One of the ladies, Brenda, told me last week, "There is something so special, so wonderful and emotional, seeing for the first time your daughter hold her first baby." Brenda and I both, teared up as we walked and talked. Her in remembrance and me envisioning. 

Last night I was sitting on the deck watching the stars come out one by one and the moon just lit up the night- I prayed, "Lord, when I was 26 my life was so different. 20 years ago I was a young mother of 3 children and the path I was choosing was not a good path. By the time I was 30 the path of life I was on was a complete turn around. YOU, Jesus, changed my path. Not only mine but my marriage, my kids path...You changed the direction of a whole family. Oh God, what if You hadn't came into our life? Where would we be? Certainly not on the path we are...or my kids on the path they are on....Jesus, Jesus...You saved us. You saved not only our life but...our LIFE!"

Because of choosing the Way, the Truth and the Life....this girl, well now...this young woman in the picture below...chose to wait, to trust God in His perfect timing and His glorious purpose. 

I get to see this young woman in a few short weeks hold her first baby for the first time. I get to see her do something I didn't do. I get to see her speak Jesus into her child from the moment of birth (actually, conception!). I get to tell my first grandchild that Jesus is peace. He is love. He is faithful. I get to tell him that one day Jesus spoke to me and I said Yes to Him. And because of that choosing, we are on a different path...and he, my grandson is on that path. 

3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

4 Years Ago

June 17, 2012

My favorite bridal portrait of Allison Nichelle Ellison.

Is Jesus a fad to you?

What is a fad?

-A fad or trend or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group and which impulse is followed enthusiastically by a group of people for a finite period of time.

-an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze.

Sometimes I think He is to people.  I see people post about Jesus all the time.  They repost.  They share.  But I know, personally, some of these people and I've seen no evidence of Jesus in their life.  

Matthew 7:20

So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Due Date! 3 weeks from today!

In less than 3 weeks I get to read this to him : )