Quick Word of Encouragement

I know we can all use a reminder of the hope we have in our Lord, so today I just want to share a quick passage with you in hopes of giving your spirit a lift.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

I know I shared this as a portion of my last post, but it is really hitting home with me today.

Today I am tired, weary, on the verge of being physically ill (probably from exhaustion).

But, the wonderful thing to know and remember is that my God who is the Creator of all has the wisdom and ability to impart me – tired, weary old me – with His strength and stamina when I need it most.  After all, He lives in me, so it is not so far-fetched to know that His strength resides in me as well.  The key is for me to hope in Him, having faith that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Knowing Who I know and hoping in Him, I know that even this tired body and mind will be renewed by the strength of the One who never grows tired nor weary.  I know that these unstable legs that carry me will become sure-footed and not stumble nor fall.  And, I know that I will even soar on wings like eagles…I know it because He said it…and if He said it He will surely bring it to pass.

Now, go about your day and evening and be encouraged and renewed.  I am, just by sitting down and writing this for you.  Guess it was for me, too.

*I wrote this earlier this week while on a lunch break at work and posted it on Faithful Feet.  I wanted to share it with you here as well, since I resonate even more with it over the past couple of days.  I imagine you do, too.*

Life is but a breath of God

Life surrounds me.

Death surrounds me.

The presence of God surrounds me.

Then the LORD God formed a man 

from the dust of the ground 

and 

breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 

and the man became a living being. 

(Genesis 2:6)

Comfort, comfort my people,
   says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
   and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
   that her sin has been paid for,

“All people are like grass,
   and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
   Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of our God endures forever.”

You who bring good news to Zion,
   go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
   lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
   say to the towns of Judah,
   “Here is your God!”
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
   and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
   and his recompense accompanies him.  

He tends his flock like a shepherd:
   He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
   he gently leads those that have young.  

With whom, then, will you compare God?
   To what image will you liken him? 

“To whom will you compare me?
   Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
   Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
   and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
   not one of them is missing.

 Why do you complain, Jacob?
   Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
   my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint. 

(Excerpts from Isaiah 40)

Life is but a breath of God.

Be comforted today by the One who is the very Breath of Life.

It the Tree's Knees!

Living in South Louisiana, I am constantly surrounded by some unique, beautiful, and intriguing creations of God.

One of these I have witnessed many times in several southern bodies of water such as lakes or even swamps.  But in my own neighborhood?  Not until now, at least.  (and I don’t live in a swamp…)

Ambling along through Narnia the other day with my five-year-old son…

Wait—did I throw you off with “Narnia”?  Yes, as in The Chronicles of Narnia.  Of course, where else would we be after we passed through an imaginary wardrobe and came out near a real lamp post along a path in our neighborhood?  See?

And you thought I was crazy…

To confirm that I really am not crazy, you can finish reading this post on Faithful Feet, the blog on which I posted it in its entirety. :o)  See you there!  And leave your thoughts on it here and/or there...would love to hear someone say I am not crazy...or maybe you think I am...oh well.  ;-)

What if...God said it and it is true!?!

What is truth?

How can you be sure?

These are some common questions of our day.  We as humans often struggle with truth.  In reality, however, I think the reason we struggle so much with truth is that we don’t want to believe it.

Tough thought, I know.

If you want to know more about my thoughts on this, check out the rest of my post on "What If..."

If you do stop by there, leave me some feedback about your own thoughts on this.  You know I would love to hear them.

See you there!

Intentional

Be intentional.

Make intentional decisions, lest you inadvertently make unintentional ones whose affects on you can be devastating.

After all, to not decide...is to decide.

Intentional.

This word has been floating around in my head for several months now.

It first stood out to me when I heard Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine discussing "Legacy" on their radio show, FamilyLife Today.  Dennis said that when his son was asked what one word he would use to describe his father, his answer was "intentional."

How about you?  Can you be described that way?
At times, maybe I could be, but not as a majority.

Deep thoughts of this word resurfaced recently when I happened upon a blog post in which the author, Alece, is leading a second annual "one word" for the year.  This year is, of course, "One Word 2011." 

So, she put forth a challenge for anyone who wanted to consider it to come up with your "one word" for 2011.  Maybe what you want to be, what you want to do, but whatever the case---find and claim your "one word."

Immediately, I knew what my "one word" would be. 

So, here I tell you that, as of today, I plan to be INTENTIONAL in 2011.

No longer will I just do things, say things, spend time and/or money without a purpose or intention.

I want to be INTENTIONAL:

• in my use of time
• in the words I write and say
• in the books and articles I read
• in the love I give
• in the way I relate to my husband
• in the guidance and upbringing of my son
• in the work I do for my job
• in all of my relations and interactions with others
• in the entertainment in which I partake
• in the money I spend and give
• in my thoughts and plans

I have made the decision to be intentional.

Only with God's guidance, support, and strength is this possible.

With Him, however, all things are possible.  

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26

 So---what about you?  What will be your "one word" for 2011?

Life---in 3 Minutes or less

How is it that we have come to this?

We have so many time-saving, efficient devices and processes in our day, yet we constantly feel the need to rush around as if we cannot stop and savor what is occuring. 

That time that we have saved for ourselves with all of our gadgets and plans has not turned into something of worth.  It has not allowed us time to ponder and reason and just enjoy a few moments to ourselves.  No, it has caused us to have shortened attention spans, to the point that everything we do and view seems to need to fit into a space of three minutes or less.

We cannot begin to read an article or blog post that appears to have more than maybe five paragraphs.  We cannot take the time to watch a video when we see on the progress bar at the bottom that it is FIVE MINUTES LONG.  Oh, be still my heart! 

Yes, many factors play into this conundrum, but it is a sad one still.

When I consider this sad state we have allowed ourselves to get into, I always think of the lyrics to a song by county music's Alabama called "I'm in a Hurry."

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

That is just part of the song, but enough that you probably are either singing it in your head now, or you at least get the idea of why it often comes to my mind.

All of this to say that, as my head hurts from all of the random thoughts that are jumping through it right now, I think we all need to remember that time is one of the greatest gifts God has given us.  Some of that time needs to be used to be productive and even efficient, yet He intends for us to also wisely use some of it to just chill. 

Balance is not easy to find, especially when it comes to managing the gift of time.  However, we have a daily and even hourly opportunity to learn from our past mistaken imbalances and implement those lessons in ways that will benefit us in our moments and days we are currently living.

If this strikes a chord with you, I invite you to jump over to my friend Christie Love's site called Love's Notes and check out a new FREE online Time Management Bible Study she has just begun to lead.  You can jump in at any point no matter what you may have already missed.  I think it will bless you to have some guidance in changing your perspective on how you use your time as Christie uses her vast experience in time management coaching in order to lead this Bible study.

In hopes that you are still reading this and I haven't taken up too much of your precious time ;-) --- I will leave you with this:

"There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens..."  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Immanuel - God With Us

Immanuel

Is He Immanuel to you?

If you pray, do you often pray for God to "be with" you and/or others?  I do, too, at times.

However, if we consider that Immanuel - Jesus Christ - who was born as a baby on this earth so many years ago is truly "God with us" as the very name "Immanuel" means, then is there ever a time when He is not with us?

Let me present His Word to you and let His Spirit speak to you as He has been speaking to me as I ponder this.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). - Matthew 1:22-23

 Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!
   Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
   Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;
   propose your plan, but it will not stand,
   for God is with us. - Isaiah 8:9-10

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 

If God is for us, who can be against us?  - Romans 8:31

The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress. - Psalm 46:7

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; 

no one will snatch them out of my hand.  

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; 

no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 

I and the Father are one.” - Jesus - John 10:27-30

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you 

and be with you forever—  the Spirit of truth. 

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. 

But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. 

Because I live, you also will live. 

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, 

and I am in you." - Jesus - John 14:16-20

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, 

the gospel of your salvation. 

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, 

the promised Holy Spirit, 

who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance 

until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—

to the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:13-14

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 

Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, 

neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, 

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.- Romans 8:35-39

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  

- Jesus - Matthew 28:20

So, I ask you again:

Is He Immanuel to you?

If not, He can be.

If He is, rest in knowing that He is in you and with you 

now and forever. 

Merry Christmas!

God is with us.