June 24 2014

June 24 2014 Greetings My Friend, I used the cool of the morning to clean out the car and to pick litter up out of the yard. With dogs there always seems to be “stuff” all over. A general pick up helps keep order so I work at that in the cool of the morning. I am resting before I make lunch and then begin an afternoon of cleaning, crafting and such. The needle to the sewing machine is broke and I need to pick up a new one. So goes life. I colored paper mache pieces last night. Junior enjoyed the finished product which made my day. I must admit adding craft time to my week gives my week more dimension. I love creating. I’ve been taking pictures and now I wonder about making a scrapbook of some of my pictures. First I have to learn how to download the disk in order to get printouts and then see if I can make up some sort of scrapbook. As I continue to hear bad news about relationships, a work environment that is more than a person can handle and such payer tends to be my first thought in each situation. The next part of paying is learning “Your will Lord, not my will.” I want what I want for those I love and am in prayer for but I also know that God knows the full picture so I strive to “let go and let God.” What does not make sense at the moment will make a lot of sense later. I’ve learned that lesson a few times in this journey. At present I realize I go to prayer with one idea of the outcome I want to see but I also realize that sometimes what I think is best is not really the best. I struggled pick up trash out of the yard, my walker was always close at hand as I bent down to pick up things. I was winded rather easily. As I vacuumed the car out I got winded and tired rather easily. Both jobs have been done and I’m grateful that I can still do these things even if I have a struggle doing them. Life will not be perfect until heaven. Sin seems to break our world to pieces and that is part of the package living in our world today. My body isn’t what it once was. Life in general is not the same as when I was growing up. There are some neat things to make life easier and today people are more comfortable with lifestyle choices that were not the accepted level they are today. I try to keep in mind the fact that I need to be in the world not of the world. The only way I know what God values is to be in relationship with Him. His Bible teaches me that He does not like certain things. He loves people but they can choose and those choices either please God or they don’t. No amount of “common belief” will change God’s mind. God leaves the choice to live His way or our way to us. That choice will come with a consequence though and I must choose. In my journey of faith learning “Your will Lord, not my will” is hard. What I want seems good. I mean no harm and yet the more I learn to go God’s way is really the best. The more I can give God control of my life, my beliefs then the more I am able to let go of dysfunction. At times I read the Bible and I “hear” God say “only this way….not the way ‘man’ thinks” At times I see compassion in man’s thinking but is it real? When I continue on in prayer asking God at times a light is shined on the subject and I see a bit more. These days I strive to take God literally at His Word even when it seems harsh. The more I look at the Cross...at Jesus’ battered body….I truly begin to see that God is “working all things out for the good of those who love Him.” One of the first lesson’s God opened my eyes to is the passages that are repeated a whole lot is “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. Why would God keep pointing these passages out to me? As I prayed this out night after night I began to see God’s direction for me. I tend to want to incorporate “all” religious thoughts into one. The more I prayed and asked God to open my eyes and heart to Him the more I saw these passages and even recalled them throughout the day. God is directing my attention to the fact He is the only God and if I want to know Him I must follow the Bible since God has made His will known there. It takes the confusion out of the equation for me. God created us a certain way. He teaches us the things He does not want us to do…..cheat on our spouses, that man and woman were created to be man and woman not man and man or woman and woman. Does God hate the adulterer, the homosexual, the thief and the murderer? No He does not. God will guide us away from these things if we let Him. Turning my lustful thoughts to God has helped me to stop having dreams about other men. Dreams one day turn into action and thank God I never acted on that. Today if I have those thoughts it is only with my Mr. Wonderful. If we choose to keep going the way we want then at some point God will harden your heart. That scares me to be honest. There is a point of no return and I can cave into all my wants or I can ask God to help me walk away from them. If I am asking God with a sincere heart I find Him helping me walk away from bad habits and the like. My goal is to love like God loves. He loves me right where I am at and then He will begin to change my heart to His way. The more I turn to God’s way….life begins to be awesome. I have my struggles but these days I am not alone and that gives me courage to need “man’s” approval. I am different and that is OK. I love deeper and purer and it is awesome. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet