Author Archives: Sheila

The Leap Frog Life

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Moments with My Father ~

 

I find it so interesting how my Father often uses things of His creation to instill His Truths into my mind.  For example, I, as a girl, have gotten to where I actually love frogs. I’m not much of a fan of snakes, though. Yikes!  The reason I love frogs is that they help me to remember that I can fully rely on God.  F for fully, R for rely O for on G for God, hence FROG.  When I am looking at life with a FROG attitude, His presence in my life fills me with tremendous joy and He can get me excited about life that creates such zeal and fervor that I feel just like the Psalmist that wrote of Him “my heart leaps for joy!”  Combining those two thoughts and feeling my Father’s presence close to me right now,  I guess you could say I have a “leap FROG” approach to life today and I’m croaking out a song of thanks to Him for His goodness in my life.  Ribbet, Ribbet!  Well, gotta go.  I’m on the hop and leaping out in faith!  Much love to you all!

 

Psalm 28:7

 

 

 

Well Fed

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Moments with My Father ~

 

How delightful spring time is in Idaho and how exciting it is to see its progression from the cold dormancy of winter into the full vibrant life of summer!  Such a great welcoming!  My mind today envisions the scene that I see each spring from my office window as I look out into the tree branches there and observe the nests built there by the parent robin who has taken up residency there.  So faithfully, the parent robin provides just the right setting for its babies to be placed into and tends to them at each stage of their development and hatching into the world.  Once they have hatched, the babies are born blind as their eyes have not yet opened.  When they gain the understanding that when they are hungry, their parent will fill them with the food they need to still their hunger, you see the little birds chirping with their mouths opened up and faced upward as that is the position that enables them to receive their food.  Once the parent feeds them, they quiet down and are peaceful.  This picture in my mind is a beautiful imagery to me of my Father’s great caring for me when I am spiritually hungry for the spiritual food that He provides to me when I lift my voice up and turn to His heavenly presence to fill me, to satisfy my hunger so that I can be at peace in my life.  How great is His faithfulness to always meet my need!  His Word teaches us to “listen, listen to Him and eat what is good  and our souls will delight in the richest of fare.”  His spiritual blessings are indeed likened to a banquet of the finest of food.  He fills the hungry with good things!  He satisfies all my needs according to His glorious riches!  He gives me peace in a way that the world around me cannot give to me.  With all of this taken in, I’m a little birdie satisfied and content as He has once again fed me well this day.  “Oh, Father, how great is your faithfulness unto me.”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Ps 107:9; Is 55:2; Php 4:6-7,19;

The God of Compassion

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Rising up from sleep this morning, my Father tells me that He has risen up with me and His heart is all about being gracious and compassionate towards me and towards others and He desires to partner with me to show compassion to others.  Compassion can be spoken in words, but it is also spoken through the actions we take.  Carrying out the daily tasks and chores of everyday life to help sustain others speaks in a powerful way that we care about them.  It is showing our Father’s compassion to them just as He daily carries out His responsibilities of sustaining us through His day in and day out continuance in keeping our world going for us.  Oh, I am so glad He is faithful to keep doing what needs to be done to keep me going in life and His provision for me just makes me want to keep going in doing the little things in life that help keep others going as well.  In so doing, it shows my compassion back to Him.  It also gives me encouragement that the little things I do that may not seem like much to me or even the things that are difficult for me to do are great ways to let others know how much I care for them.  All of these thoughts just makes me feel so compassionate about life!  Woohoo!  Our Father is thinking about us and working to show us kindness and to show us He cares for us today. Now how cool is that?

 

Is 30:18; Ro 8:28-29; Eph 4:32

Blessings of our Father

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Moments with My Father ~

 

It is a blessing and an honor to be my Father’s kid today.  My heart praises Him for all that He is.   As I reflect upon Him this morning, the Shakesphere line comes to my mind of how a love spoke to his love long ago.  Recognize the line “How do I love thee, let me count the ways.”  I agree with the Psalmist who had the same mindset as he thought about our Father and he counted these great reasons why he loved Him and gave Him praise with a heart that was glad and a tongue that rejoiced: 1)  He counseled him and instructed him.  2) He had confidence in always having Him set before him and at his right hand – “he was not shaken.” 3) He enabled His body to rest secure. 4)  He did not abandon his body to the grave, nor let him see decay. 4) He made known to him the path of life. 5) His presence with Him filled him with joy and 6) He provided him with eternal (never ending) pleasures at His right hand (with Him).   Oh, our Father is such a blessing in one’s life.  I lift up this praise to Him this morning with you and am so thankful He is in my life.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il-bJjeiOhY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Ps 16:7-11; Jn 3:16

 

 

 

The Faithful Friend

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Have you ever had a friend stand by your side when nobody else does?  If so, you can appreciate or relate to what Paul is saying when he tells of the story about being on defense and being deserted by everyone.  Yikes!  What a lonely feeling that can be and how wonderful it is to have a friend stand with you.  That is a true gift in life!  I am so thankful for my friends in life!  Sometimes, though, we are in places in life like Paul when we must face life alone or in a place of needing to be the one who carries out an individual specific call on our life.  In those times, it is such an encouragement to know and experience what Paul understood and saw and that is the reality that Jesus stood beside him and gave him strength to carry out what God was calling him to do.  For Paul, it was to be on trial for the defense of the Gospel and to fully proclaim the message to the Gentiles.  Paul was in a position of needing to speak out for the Lord in dire circumstances and I so admire him for doing the difficult.  Praise be to our Father who gives us strength!  Oh, I’m all inspired this morning.  Our Father stands with me today and gives me strength through His Word and this song that plays through my mind:

Wherever we are and whatever our Father is calling us to do as an individual, we have our Father with us.  We are never all alone.  I’m standing with you in heart as together we rest and trust in His strength and in His guidance to have victory individually!

 

2 Ti 4:16-18

Faith Like Spinach

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Oh, my Father takes me back in time today as He recalls to my mind a cartoon that I used to watch as a child.  Perhaps you are familiar with the character “Popeye”?  Popeye was a sailor man who often found himself in what seemed insurmountable circumstances and in those times, he gained “superhuman” strength after eating a can of spinach.  On his own, he felt weak or inadequate to carry out what was before him, but put confidence in spinach to give him what he lacked.   The Apostle Paul shared a similar struggle to Popeye in that Paul’s heart was burdened to bring blessing to people but on his own, he felt he lacked.  Like Popeye, Paul, too, found a source of superhuman power that he came to rely on.  He tells the story of how when he stepped out into life, he did so with weakness, fear and much trembling.  He did so, not claiming to have wise and persuasive words.  He said he resolved to know nothing except knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Paul had a clear identity as to who he was and what he was capable of.  Popeye was also someone who had self reflection and is known for this quote: “I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam.”  I greatly admire Paul in that despite his feelings of lack in his own ability, he stepped out to do what he knew he was called to do.  Why?  Because he knew a secret to being able to do the “superhuman” just like Popeye, only his spinach or strength was the power of God’s Spirit in him.  Paul’s example encourages me this morning that in our faithfulness to step out just as we “yam” to serve our Father, that we can trust our Father to provide what is needed to bring Him glory. That thought makes me feel even stronger than Popeye!  Therefore, I’m sailing into this day, trusting our Father to accomplish all He desires to carry out through me today.  Toot, toot!

1 Co 2:1-5; Ac 4:23-31

Commitment

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Moments with My Father ~

 

My Father’s arms of love are holding me secure this day as He speaks His promising precious Words to me that NEVER will He leave me nor forsake me.  He is committed to me and to you as well!  What peace and rest this gives to me to know He will always be there for me!  I don’t need worry about ever losing Him.  His actions communicated this same commitment to Noah when He sealed Him into the ark.  It delivered the message that Noah was special to Him and He was wanting to protect or keep His relationship with Noah.   Our Father did the same thing when He went to the cross to save us from the wages of sin.  Our Father’s action in doing so tells us that we are special to Him and He wanted to protect or keep His relationship with each of us.  His Word tells us that He has set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.  Now how special is that?  He has sealed up securely our being together not only now with His presence in our hearts, but for the future into eternal life.  Oh, commitment in a relationship is a very special and beautiful thing.  Our Father did not give up on us.  He saw that it is far more rewarding in life if we can resolve a situation that troubles a relationship rather that dissolve the relationship.  Paul also encourages us not to give up on doing good and to make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  With all of these thoughts, I say let’s keep going in hanging on to the relationships our Father has given us in life.  Each one is so precious and I’m a gal keeping going with ya all!  You are all dear to me!

 

2 Co 1:21-22; Eph 1:13-14, 4:30, Gal 6:9-10; Jn 3:16, Ge 7:16; Heb 13:5; Ro 14:19

The Root Connection

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Moments with My Father ~

 

I am so thankful for my connection with Jesus today!  He is so vital to my life and my well being and as I reflect upon the Apostle Paul’s writing today, I see that it is through our connection with Jesus that each one of us can have a great healthy connection with each other as well!  As I ponder this, I am reminded of Aspen tree forests.  It is amazing that a forest of Aspen trees is in reality one tree.  The Aspen tree forest has developed as a result of the efforts of one parent tree.  It is from this parent tree source that Aspen trees have life and draw nourishment as they are all connected in their root to the parent tree.  Aspen trees are known to be able to survive and spring back after forest fires well because their roots are connected deep down underneath the surface and it is there that their source of life is protected from damage and destruction.  I am seeing that these facts about Aspen trees is similar to what Paul is saying in his writing to the church in Corinth.  Paul understood that Jesus was one who was connected in heart or root to His Father just like a parent Aspen tree.  Jesus was able to survive the forest fire of taking on the sins of the whole world on the cross because of His deep down connection to His Father and it was through His Father’s strength that He had eternal life.  He understands the heat of life trials because He personally experienced it and He can sympathize with each one of us.  Because His heart or root is connected to the heart of the parent root, His Father, who is the God of all love, compassion and comfort, He is able to extend out of His compassion for us, His love and comfort to you and to me.  As a result of each one of us being connected to Jesus and being nourished through the sap of His love, compassion and comfort, we are then able to extend that on to others that we have connection with and they in turn can do the same and it goes on and on and on just like an Aspen forest that adds so much beauty to our Father’s world! Despite trials in his life, Paul is one who poured nourishment or encouragement into the lives of others to comfort them and help them have everlasting life in connection with his Father.  This is because deep down in his heart, he drew his nourishment through his root connection with Jesus in the hard things or forest fires he faced in life and hence, he was able to escape destruction and persevere in living life,  Wow!  If we each are all connected to Jesus as our root source, then we as our Father’s kids in this world are capable of having well being and unity, being one in connection to our Father.  Now that thought just gets my heart sap flowing! Oh,  I so love the thought of having everlasting connection with you all!    May we all feel His love flowing to us today!

2 Co 1:3-11

Good Looking People

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Good morning, family!  I’m a chuckling at my Father’s message to me today.  Did you know that He has called us to be “good looking” people?  Now I don’t want to have you all go running off on a tangent on me thinking that this is going to be the justification for an entirely brand new wardrobe or the frenzy to focus on sprucing up our outer appearances, but what I mean is having the good attitude that I see our Father of love modeling for us.  There is a day coming when Paul says that we as our Father’s kids will all stand before Him and all the work that we have done in this life will be considered or judged by our Father and at the end of it, there will be no condemnation for us as His kids, but rather our Father says we will receive His praise.  He says He is coming back soon and His reward will be with Him!  Doesn’t that just get you excited about His return! Our Father is a “good” looking Father and we are called to be imitators of Him – chips off the ole block you could say.  His Word tells us to think about what is lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.  We all struggle with condemnation in our lives, being too hard on ourselves and being condemned by others.  Therefore, I’m thinking that it is a “good” attitude to look for the “good” in others just as He does and when we see it, extend some praise.  It is good to lighten up on ourselves, too!  Oh, I’m praising my Father for His love and goodness to us.  He is so good and I want to be like Him.  In other words, as I move through this day, I so want to be found  “good looking”!  How about you?  It could look good on ya!

1 Co 4:3-5; Ro 8:1; Rev 22:12; Php 4:6

The Gentle Giant

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Moments with My Father ~

 

I look out my window this morning into the beauty of another gorgeous spring day and I marvel at the power and the might of my Father.  How ever does He do what He does?  He moves Heaven and earth!  He creates each new day!  He controls all of nature!  He brings forth spring rains and lets the sun shine upon us.  He is the giver of all the life I see – the grass, the trees, the birds of the air, animals, human beings and He sustains us all moment by moment.  His power is such that all the gifts of my life here today could be gone in an instant, but He chooses to and promises the gift of life to me eternally with Him.  He never wants to see any of us fade away to nothing and be apart from Him.  That is why sin’s affects on the world concerned Him so much.  He did not want to lose any of us to the consequences of sin. That speaks to me that He cares for me and longs to have a relationship with little ’ole me and you.  How special is that!  He is a powerful giant, perfect in every way, holy and yet He is humble and gentle.  He cares for us, His kids, each personally and individually, not only in seeing that our physical needs are met, but He cares about our well being in heart.  This is what He, the high and lofty One says, He who lives forever and is holy:  “I live in a high  and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  He is a God who desires to bring healing to us and see to it that we are well.  He who is perfect and holy, without sin, has seen that we all have our struggles with sin living in this world that hurts us and He sees us with compassion and mercy and rescues the humble in heart.  All have sinned and fall short of God’s holiness, but He so loved all of the people of the world that He Himself became flesh in Christ and died on a cross for all mankind’s sin so that those who have acknowledged or confessed their sin and their need for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to save them from the wages of sin could be helped. When our all powerful God sees that humbleness of heart in a person, it just melts His heart and draws Him right into the midst of their heart where He dwells and longs to guide us and comfort us in life.  “Peace, peace” is His heart for us all.  He is so sweet and loving.  He is a gentle giant, our God.  I praise Him for His great kindnesses in caring so much for me this day.   Our all powerful Father loves us.  How special is that?  May you feel the presence of His tender love for you today.  His peace to you.

 

Is 57:14-21; Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 1:8-10; Mt 11:29; Ps 77:13-20; Ro 3:23-26

Power Drinks

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Moments with My Father ~

 

One of the things that I greatly enjoy each morning is a hot cup of coffee.  I love drinking in something warm, something that I enjoy the taste of and it gives me a little help to get going each day to produce or have productivity.  It is described as a power drink or a drink that boosts energy.   There are many different types on the market today and they have became very popular in our fast-paced society that is busy in the pursuit of accomplishment.   My Father has laid it upon my heart this morning though, that while I do enjoy my cup of coffee and the boost it gives me to help me produce in life, the most important thing for me to drink in each morning is the spiritual drinking in of Him, His Spirit, His living water that empowers us or gives us strength to produce what is of Him – the most divine of accomplishments!  He produces in us the delightful fruit of His Spirit which is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Wow! - such great accomplishments!  I definitely want to have that success today!  Hence, I’m drinking in of Him this morning and relying on His enabling power in me as I set out to join Him to accomplish divinely.  I hope you have a divine day, too!  His power to ya ~

Gal 5:22-26; Jn 15:4-5

The Ultimate Cowboy

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Yeehaw! That is the expression that comes to my mind today as I envision my Father as the ultimate Cowboy who does not give up on us!  His attitude towards us as His kids is like someone breaking a horse, in that “He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  I see a twofold application of my Father’s message to me today: 1) Our Father is patient with me and when I fall into rebellion or sin against Him and His best for my life, it is like a horse throwing its trainer to the ground.  When this happens, my Father doesn’t give in to defeat or look upon me as worthless, useless or hopeless.  Instead, He sees me as a marvelous, magnificent creation with great potential and He picks up again and again and pursues me with His love, continuing to work in my life to help me gain victory in my life.  Oh, He has the best plans for me!   The second aspect of my Father speaking to me this morning puts me in His boots as a cowgirl and how I can ultimately love others in the arena of life with me.  As He loves us with non-stop, unfailing love, so He desires that we love each other – with the kind of love that when others sin against us, we don’t give up on them, but we keep loving them as our Father guides us is best.  That can look differently at different times. It may be at a point, that all we can do is pray for them as they run about life for a time.  At other times, we may need to be as close to them as possible, looking directly into their eyes and speaking all the love we can to them. Perhaps our Father can help them see the next step to victory as He leads us in loving them.  Our Father believes in us and sees our potential.  I’m a gal thinking that this is a good way to look upon others as well. What a Cowboy our Father is – so strong and determined to love us!  I so want His best for my life and I am thankful He doesn’t give up on me as I keep working at learning and implementing what He teaches me. I want to be just like Him in how I love others as well, by going through life with a cowgirl attitude that doesn’t give up, but is strong and determined and keeps going in the pursuit of loving people as my Father loves me.  Victory is so beautiful to see!  Therefore, I’m putting on my spurs of encouragement today for us all to love others as our Father loves us so we all can ride through life together, carrying out His plans and purpose that is the ultimate for us all!  Yeehaw!  That means “hooray – let’s go!” Much love to you all ~

Php 1:4-6; Ps 138:8, 139:14; Jer 29:11; 1 Jn 1:9; Col 1:21-23, 3:13; Heb 10:24; Jn 15:1-17; 1 Co 13:1-13

Wearing the Gift

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Have you ever been given a very special gift that to the giver, it was given with great love and enthusiasm and with a hope that it would be well received, well appreciated and be a blessing to you?  Have you ever received a gift that you just stuck in a drawer, in a cupboard or in some out of sight place where it is not seen by others and pretty much not thought about in the course of everyday living? I have been blessed to have been given the diamond wedding ring that my father-in-law gave to his bride that she proudly wore the 50 years that they were together until she passed from this earthly life.  He was so excited to give it to me and looked often to see if I was wearing it.  I knew that it was special to him and I wanted to wear it, but it was awkward in that it was too big for me and for a time I left it in my jewelry box unseen.  Because I knew it was special to my father-in-law to see me wear it and it was special to me and I wanted to wear it and bless him and have it bless me, I took the steps needed to make it so that I could wear it and not only has it blessed him to see me wearing it, but it also has blessed me in so doing.  It is a great reminder to me that he loves me and wanted to impart something special into my life.  The gift given to me blesses others, too, as often people comment on it and how they enjoy seeing it and hearing the story behind it. My Father’s Word this morning stirs this mindset as I read of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy to fan into flame or put into practice the gift our Father gave to him which was to teach our Father’s Word to others.  As our Father’s children, upon our spiritual birth into His Kingdom, He chooses a special gift that He desires for each one of us to have.  The Bible mentions several different kinds depending on how our Father has chosen to gift us - for example: to some, he gives the gift of evangelism, some the gift of administration, others are gifted with teaching, contributing to the needs of others, encouragement, wisdom and knowledge, leadership, serving, etc. Each of these gifts are given with love from our Father that says I love you, I want to bestow something special on you, I believe in you to make a difference in this life and to represent me on earth and join with me in special work that has been chosen for you individually to do like nobody else can.  There are many great resources that you can find that can help you identify your gift if you are not sure what it is.  Perhaps you know what your gift is, but like the gift of my ring, you are at a place where the idea of using our giftedness seems too big for you.  If so, I encourage you as Paul encouraged Timothy, to fan into flame, or take the steps needed to use the gift given to you as I did my ring instead of leaving it hidden and unnoticed.  Everybody has to start somewhere and as Paul told Timothy who had tendancies to be timid, our Father, in giving us gifts and His Spirit in us, did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power and of love  and of self-discipline.  He, in giving the gift, also has and will enable us to use it with the power of His Spirit in us.  As your sister, I encourage you to take the first step of faith!  You can do it!  In so doing, it will bring blessing to our Father, to others who see you using your gift and are blessed by it and to you as well.  The thought comes to me that sometimes I need to take the step to polish my gifted diamonds and for those of us using our spiritual gift given to us by our Father, we can ask our Father to show us and enable the steps we need to take for our gift to shine to its maximum.  Oh, that would just be beautiful!  Leaving you with the thought today that you are a gift to the world, dear saint! Put you out there by using your gift fully!  It will be a good thing and you can do it.  Our Father believes in the gift of you!

2 Ti 1:6-7; 1 Pe 4:10-11; 1 Co 12; Ro 12:4-8; Ps 139:14; Jer 29:11

The Enabler

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Moments with My Father ~

 

I am awed by my Father’s holiness and perfection in all He does this day.  How my heart longs to be just like Him!  How about you?  Do you ever feel like Paul felt, as a wrestler with the sinful nature in him, leaving him feeling beat up and defeated?  If so, I want to encourage us all that these feelings that Paul experienced are of our enemy the accuser.  As Paul concludes at the low point in his thinking of himself as a “wretched man” in need of rescue, we can give thanks to Jesus because He has rescued us from condemnation and through His efforts on the cross for us, He has filled us with the power of His Spirit.  Our Father has not left us to ourselves to overcome sin in our lives.  He gives us 1) His Word, as Paul refers to it, the knowledge of the Law, which shows us right from wrong and points us to our need for Christ and 2) Upon believing in Him to rescue us through His work on the cross from the wages of sin, He gives us His Spirit in us to do two things 1) remind us of His Truths He has given to us and 2) to give us power to live the Christian life. He tells us that apart from Him we cannot bear fruit.  As I reflect upon my life and areas where I struggle to have victory over sin, I see it is good for us to 1) ask ourselves what Truths am I missing that I need to focus on in my mind to help me have a victory mindset? 2) We need to pray for the needed power of the Holy Spirit to give us strength to rise above the sin and 3) We need to rest in knowing that our Father sees us as righteous and His love for us is not based on what we can or can’t do to please Him.  His love and acceptance of us is constant – not phased by our performance.  Therefore, we can extend ourselves grace and not let the accuser beat us up.  Our Father’s Word says of the saints of old that “He made His people very fruitful.”  Oh, I like that thought and I’m a gal of today stepping out, trusting in Him to enable me the same way.  Rejoicing with you that He will bring our victory!

 

Ps 68:35, 105:24; Col 1:11, 21-23; Jn 14:26, 15:1-8, 26; Ac 1:8; Eph 2:8-9;  Ro 7-8:17,12:1-3; Rev 12:10-11

 

 

Searching for Love

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Moments with My Father ~

 

My Father speaks to my heart today of how much He values my love for Him.  His Word reveals to me that His eyes look down from Heaven to see the sons of men to see if they understand Him and see if there are any who seek Him.  This passage speaks to me that He so wants to be found and loved. He desires the love of all of our hearts, souls and minds!  He desires to be known by us, so much so, that He, who is Spirit, left His heavenly home to become a man to live among us that we might know Him.  Jesus showed us the Father by the Father embodied in Him!  Talk about going to great lengths to relate and develop a relationship with someone!  As a result of Him leaving His heavenly home, we don’t have to look or seek far to find Him because now as believers (those who understand Him and His gift of love to us), He is always with us – His Spirit is in our hearts! The fact that my Father loves me personally, is always thinking about me and desires my love back just draws me to Him today.  How precious to know He is with me in Spirit and walking with me through this day.  He is my constant companion, always with me, always listening, always talking with me, always loving me, always helping me.  He is committed to me and promises never to forsake me.  How precious is that!  Oh how my heart beats with the presence of the love, peace and joy of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords today.  I am so glad that all of us saints can journey through life together, sharing in His love for each of us and through each other.  It just summarizes a blessed life right here on earth and it all just makes me smile!  Much love to you all.  Enjoy God with us!

 

Ps 14:2; Mt 22:37-40; Jn 1:1-18, 3:16, 4:24, 10:22-42, 14:15-27; 1 Jn 4:7-21; Heb 13:5; Jer 29:11, Ro 8:28-29,  Rev 19:16; Mt 1:23

Unending Faith

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Never say never!  That is the message that my Father has given to me this morning as I study His Word and some examples set by saints of old that had this very mindset.  These saints modeled persistence in prayer and faith in that though they had prayed over and over and over again about the same issues, they never gave up and ultimately they were blessed for their faithfulness.  There was Hannah who prayed year after year for a son from her barren womb, Job who continued to talk to God about his difficult life situation until an outcome was realized that left him more blessed than he was before, Jacob who wrestled with God and would not let go of Him until He had received His blessing and Jesus told the story of the persistent widow who continually presented her plea for justice before a judge and ultimately received His justice.  As I look at these saints, I see that though they lived with trials for quite some time, their lives brought glory to our Father because of their faith that never gave up.  Their faith was not shallow faith that prayed a time or two and then gave up on God because they didn’t see results right away.  I say to these saints “What a way to be!”  They rocked!  These were saints that trusted God was capable to bring the victory in their life situations and in Him, they never lost hope.  They believed in the Lord’s unfailing love that it would not fail or give up on them.  Jesus promises that He will reward each person for what they do for Him.  Our Father has perfect timing and His presence with us as we wait upon Him will do for us just as He did for the saints of old.  Our Father gave them strength to walk and not faint, to run in the call on their lives to persevere so they did not give up from being weary and He brought blessing upon their lives.  They rose above defeat and rode the air of perseverance, soaring to the great heights of glory just like eagles.  In whatever lingering trials we might face as saints, I say let’s keep going!  It speaks volumes to the world around us of the difference in a life that faith can make and our Father is not unjust.  He will not forget the love we have shown Him in trust that never gives up. I’m a gal that is trusting and hoping with you and keeping going in the difficult parts of life as I so want to bring my Father glory.  Oh that thought just puts a song of peace and joy in my heart that lifts me up as I soar out into this day!  I’m proud of ya all for persevering for our Father as we await His good plan to unfold.  You rock!  Enjoy the gift of this day!

1 Sa 1:1-20; Ge 32:22-32; Lk 18:1-8; He 6:10; Mt 16:27; Pr 3:5-6; Is 40:31;

As Close as Possible

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Moments with My Father ~

 

New day greetings to you, precious family!  This morning I have been enjoying the loving sweet presence of Jesus.  How dear He is and what a great heart of love He has for us all!  He is the God of the Universe, the greatest being there is and from the distance it is from the heavenly realms to us on earth, He saw us from afar and  it strikes me this morning that He was not content with that separation from us.  He wanted to be just as close to us as He could possibly get to us.  He wanted to be in our hearts!  That is truly an honor when someone cares enough about you to desire a heart to heart relationship with you.  So precious!  When Jesus shed His blood on the cross for us, His Word says “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”  He has chosen us and considered us close enough to share His life and His heart with us.  Now only that, but He desires to hear our hearts and cares about what is on our hearts.  How special is that!  Oh, my Jesus.  I am so thankful this day to have such a close loving relationship with Him.  What a great gift in all our lives to have someone as close as He with which we can be ourselves and know that we are loved unconditionally, totally accepted, totally forgiven and downright cherished.  Doesn’t it just bless your heart to know that you have been chosen because you are loved!  Oh, I’m a gal enjoying the gift of Him close to my heart today.  As this song says, indeed we have a great friend in Jesus!  Enjoying His love with you all today~

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2jJPpgb_PM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Eph 2:12-13; Ro 5:8; Jn 3:16,15:12-17; 1 Co 3:16; Col 1:19-23; Ac 10:38-43; Ps 13:5-6; 1 Pe 5:7

 

 

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

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Moments with My Father ~

 

As I reflect upon my Father’s Word this morning, I am so grateful to my Father for His kindness and faithfulness to us as His kids.  I read this morning that He, as our Sovereign God, made the heavens and the earth by His great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for Him and I’m a gal saying “Amen!”  Wow!  When you look at God’s creation, I have no doubt God is able and powerful! Time after time in my Christian walk, there have been times when I was in the midst of being at the end of myself and difficult matters, or as the saying goes, “between a rock and a hard place” meaning in the middle of a situation offering at least two possibilities, neither of which is acceptable in that the situation is not acceptable and I am powerless to fix it.  It is in those times, I have learned to turn to my Father, the great “Rock” with whom there is great possibility and trust He can do things like no other.  All things are possible for Him!  I am reminded of the story of Sarah who laughed at the possibility of her having her own child as she thought she was past childbearing years.  Little did she know that in the eyes of eternity, she was yet a spring chick and very capable in God’s perfect timing and with God’s help of hatching out a son!  God knew His abilities and was rather taken back by Sarah’s disbelief in His abilities.  He did what was in her eyes, the impossible and surprised her with a son just as He had promised to Abraham.  God does keep His promises and we all can find peace in knowing that when situations seem impossible for us, we are in reality between “the Rock (God)” and the hard place of life and He promises that we can cast our anxiety on Him and that He cares for us and will work good through the difficult situtation we are in the midst of.  Time and time again, He razzle dazzles me with His power, His ability and His faithfulness to take care of me.  Therefore, I’m gonna stand content and at peace between my Rock and any hard places of life I find myself in today!  Oh, my Father – He’s so cool! He so rocks, just like this song says:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfPzFOMn63U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Jer 32:17; Ge 18:10-15; Ps 61:1-4, 92:12-15; 1 Pe 5:7; Php 4:6-7; Ro 8:28-39

 

A Jelly Belly Life

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Moments with My Father -

 

Did you ever have a favorite kind of jelly bean?  Have you ever heard of “Jelly Belly” brand name of jelly beans candies that come in a mixed package of many different flavors?  I remember when they first came out and they were quickly understood as “THE jelly bean.”  None was better! Each one is bursting forth with their own unique flavor, yet they are all one brand and are all known by the one name of being a Jelly Belly.  My Father has placed it upon my heart this morning that we as His children are each like a Jelly Belly – all of us each gifted in our own individual ways to add a special flavor to this world that is unique and different from each other, yet we all are under one name – the name of Jesus.  Even though we all burst forth to bless the world with our own uniqueness, as saints, we are all called to live a life of faith individually worthy of the Gospel of Christ.  Paul spoke this message to the Philippian church.  It is important as so many people of the world are watching as we are all scattered about the world and whether people see us or hear us using our individual spiritual gifts, living in accordance with faith based on the Truths of the Gospel clearly identifies us all as being of the One name of Jesus aka as Christians.  Paul urges us to let there be no confusion in that. As individual Christians, let’s be united in showing and telling the world, our faith based on the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus as “THE God, The One!” With this thought in mind, I’m bursting forth in the flavor of me, but standing firm with you in “The faith” that “our God” be praised!  All for One?

 

Php 1:27; 1 Pe 4:10-11

 

 

Singing Like a Bird

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Moments with My Father ~

 

Oh, it is another wonderful gift of life today with my Father and the experience of all of His greatness and love for me!  I so love getting up in the mornings to the sound of the birds singing in the midst of His incredible creation.  It seems they are extremely happy about His greatness and the gifts in their little lives as well.  It seems they are so overjoyed that they just can’t keep it in and they have to sing it out!  That is how I feel today as I reflect upon my life.  I read in my Father’s Word this morning the words of the Psalmist who said “Shout with joy to God of all the earth!  Sing the glory  of His name; make His praise glorious!  Say to God, How awesome are your deeds!”  I took some time this morning to sing like a bird this song of praise to my awesome Father.  Can you find a few minutes in your day to do the same to tell our Father how awesome He is!  What an incredible gift we all have in Him!  The earth is just full of His glory! Woohoo!  I am so blessed to be a recipient of His great blessing!   I’m singing praise to Him in my heart as I step out into the gift of this day~

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIwMYktdBg8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Ps 66:1-3a