To my child who fears...

To my child who fears:

I wanted you to know that there is no use fearing things you cannot control. 

We can only control our trust in God. God loves us and will protect us!

Last night after sitting next to you, seeing you cry to sleep, full of doubt about safety, and fears of the unknown, I decided to do some scripture searching, and a whole lot of praying.  I searched for scripture verses about trusting God, and I prayed and prayed that He would hold you in His safe arms, and remind you, day after day, that you are His child too, and He will protect you..... 

And, my dear, He WILL protect you, and hold you, even more than I can and do!

The first Christian book that I looked to, in which I indexed "Trusting God", led me to all of Psalm 121, "The Lord My Guardian": 

     I raise my eyes toward the mountains. 

            From whence shall come my help? 

     My help come from the Lord,

            the maker of heaven and earth. 

     He will not allow my foot to slip; 

            or my guardian to sleep.

     Behold, the guardian of Israel

            never slumbers nor sleeps.

     The Lord is your guardian;

            the Lord is your shade

            at your right hand.

     By day the sun will not strike you,

            nor the moon by night.

     The Lord will guard you from all evil;

            He will guard your soul.

     The Lord will guard your coming and going

            both now and forever.

Then the second book I looked to, sited Psalm 121:2-3: 

(a bit different version than above)

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 

I am so deeply touched that God sent me both of these, same portions from the Bible; both from Psalm 121, to help me pray for you tonight, dear child! 

Remember that we must trust the One who writes our futures.  We must constantly turn to God in our times of fear.  Dear child, take the above verses to heart, as if they were written directly for you!  You are a beloved and protected child of God, and He does not rest from watching over you! 

Psalm 121 discusses some possible dangers of this world, but every one is offset by the guarding over us, by God. 

For instance, the last several days of heavy, dreary rain that God has sent to our area, will help prevent unwanted fires.

The technology that God has graced us with, smart phones, television, computers, home alarms; will all serve to help protect us from natural disaster and storms. 

Think about all of the ways that God uses creation, and His power, to protect us every day....

Remember sweet child, that Good triumphs over Evil, and God triumphs over all! Have faith and trust the Lord; He will protect His children! 

All my Love, 

      Mom

I really could...

A few weeks ago, as the worship band that I sing in was rehearsing prior to worship, we began singing "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" by Hillsong. 

Here's the tune link, in case you'd like to listen to it: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeCwwaciAA8

That certainly is a beautiful song, but I must admit that we have been singing this for so many years, and the chorus part is so repetitious, that I was singing, annoyed, at the familiarity of the tune.....

But as soon as I felt that feeling, I chose to close my eyes, and force myself to 'feel' the music, and internalize the words as I sang them....  By the end of the tune, I had goosebumps, and was swaying involuntarily. 

I was overcome by the amazing love of God! 

As the song says, over all the Earth, His love runs!  It spills out of ever bit of His creation, constantly overflowing.   Overflowing, so much that we should never feel less than completely and entirely covered in His love!  Sometimes though, in the 'repetition' of life, that fact gets lost....

If you really think about it, each one of us has some place to go or something to do, that makes us feel the most connected to God....   For me, that is through music.  Whether listening or singing, Christian music opens up a direct line from my heart, to God's, every time!

I perform worship music at multiple church services, on most weekends, and I can honestly say, I really Will Sing of HIS Love Forever!

So, today, find your personal way of obtaining your deepest connection with God; and then continue it forever!  There nothing greater than feeling the deep love of God and connecting deeply with Him!

The Ant & The Grasshopper

You lazy fool, look at an ant.  Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Proverbs 6:6 (The Message)

Never before did I think I would be studying an ant or a grasshopper! After all, when it comes to insects, I am a girly girl, who cannot stand them! 

But, here I am, studying ants and grasshoppers... 

Now, I don't mean scientifically; but rather, studying what the Bible has to say about them, and how I can learn from them. You see, as Aesop's Fables has also taught us, the ant and the grasshopper are quite opposite creatures. The ant knows how to work hard, obsessively even, toward the goal at hand (storing away food for winter).  The grasshopper is very lazy; dancing away it's summer days without a care in the world.

I began to study this, when preparing for a Bible study.   While getting my lesson plan ready, I came upon Proverbs 6:6 as one of the verses we were going to review.  The lesson was about balancing time between work and rest, and the ant and the grasshopper are great examples of extremes of both!

Now, from what I can tell, Proverbs 6:6 is telling us not to be lazy, and to learn solid work ethic from the ant and it's diligent, obsessive, never-ending toil.  And that is a great thing to strive for, when it is time to work, but what about when it is time to rest?

The grasshopper is actually a good example of how to act when it is time to rest.   He lays around lazily, taking in the sun and his surroundings.  He has not a care in the World. 

Our lives NEED to have a balance between work and rest!  Sometimes the pace of life just doesn't seem to allow any time for rest!  

I recommended to my Bible Study group, that the first step to time of rest is scheduling it in!   That we MUST put it on our planners, as an appointment, so to speak!  I prefer to start with church; church is on my planner very regularly, and it is certainly a place in which I find rest and rejuvenation!  I also find much mental rest while exercising, as long as I listen to upbeat Christian music while working out.   

There are many spiritually revitalizing things, that can also be used as your time of rest, in order to rejuvenate mind, heart, and soul.....  My suggestions would be quiet Bible study, daily devotions, reading Christian Blogs in a peaceful setting, listening to Christian music, attending Christian groups, attending worship, and much more! 

Please feel free to use the image that I created, below, to remind you to BALANCE work and rest, and to work diligently like the ant, but to rest lazily like the grasshopper! 

Blessings to you all!