A New Year Blessing

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

Thanksgiving 2010

I really wanted to get my Thanksgiving list posted last week but the storm that hit Kitsap county left me without power most of the week. Better late than never, right?

What a year this has been for me. It was my first year on my own as a single/working mom. It's been rough at times, but God continues to meet our needs and shower us with His bountiful blessings.

So many things to be thankful for:

The ABC's of Thanksgiving

Although things are not perfect

Because of trial or pain

Continue in thanksgiving

Do not allow your lips to complain.

Even when times are hard—

Fierce winds are bound to blow—

God is forever able;

Hold on to what you know.

Imagine life without His love.

Joy would cease to be.

Keep thanking Him for the things

Love imparts to thee.

Move out of "Camp Despair."

No weapon that is known

On earth can yield the power

Praise can do alone.

Quit living in the past;

Redeem the time at hand.

Start every day with worship.

Thanksgiving is God’s command!

Until we see him coming

Victorious in the sky,

We'll run the race with gratitude,

Xalting the Lord most high.

Yes, there will be times good and bad,

but . . .

Zion awaits where no one is ever sad.

Bitterness vs. Love

Bitterness imprisons life... love releases it.
Bitterness paralyzes life... love empowers it.
Bitterness sours life... love sweetens it.
Bitterness sickens life... love heals it.
Bitterness blinds life... love anoints it's eyes.

The Cracked Pot

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled. “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?”

“That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to embrace who God made you to be and how He wants to use you, and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

What I am in Christ

• I am blessed with all spiritual blessings — Ephesians 1:3
• I am accepted in the beloved — Ephesians 1:6
• I am born of God — 1 John 5:18
• I am a son of God and joint-heir with Christ — Romans 8:14-17
• I am a new creature — 2 Corinthians 5:17
• I am baptized by His Spirit into His body — 1 Corinthians 12:13
• I am bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh — Ephesians 5:30
• I am forgiven — Ephesians 1:7
• I am redeemed by His blood — Colossians 1:14
• I am robed in His righteousness — Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21
• I am the temple of the Holy Ghost — 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9
• I am sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise — Ephesians 1:13; 4:30
• I am kept by the power of God — 1 Peter 1:5
• I am a saint — 1 Corinthians 1:2
• I am alive with Him — Ephesians 2:5
• I am seated with Him in heavenly places — Ephesians 2:12
• I am complete in Him — Colossians 2:10
• I am more than a conqueror through Him — Romans 8:37
• I am an ambassador for Christ — 2 Corinthians 5:20
• I am free — Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1; John 8:32
• I am holy and without blame — Ephesians 1:4
• I am predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ — Romans 8:29
• I am a partaker of His divine nature — 2 Peter 1:3-4
• I am the light of the world — Matthew 5:14
• I am strengthened with all might — Colossians 1:11; Philippians 4:13
• I am greatly loved by God — Colossians 3:12; Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4
• I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me — Galatians 2:20

If Not For Easter

If Not For Easter

If not for Easter,
the chaos of this world
would be all there is
and all there ever would be.
If not for Easter,
the unfairness of life
would drive us to despair.
But God sent His Son
to give eternal life
filled with peace, happiness
and unimaginable blessings
to those who choose Him.
All we have to do is choose Him.
Happy, Happy Easter!

By Joanna Fuchs

Take a RISK

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try at all is to risk failure.
But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The man, the woman, who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

The Perfect Morning Prayer

“Well, Lord, it's gonna be me and You again today; more You than me, for You know how I am. So, if You don't mind, I'm going to trail along behind You, for I have not been this way before. And I hope that by day's end, when I lay my head on my pillow, that I have not gotten myself into something that will take me the rest of my life to get out of. The only way that could happen is for me to not watch where You're walking. And Lord, may I not look up and see that I am here and You are over there! Should such happen, please wait and let me catch up. Amen!"

Joyful Expectation

Psalms 25:3 "Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed..."

Years ago, one of the characters in a popular comic strip was looking forward to an upcoming event. Throughout the strip the character’s excitement continued to grow. At the end of the strip the character stood with his head down and a look of disappointment upon his face. When asked by a friend what was wrong, the character replied, “I found that my expectations far exceeded the actual event.”

What happened to this comic strip character will not happen to the child of God who is trusting in God’s promises. What God has planned and prepared for those who love Him will blow them away! We must remember that the difficulties, hardships and trials that we are presently going through are only pages in the story of our lives. We must be patient and read on, waiting with excitement and expectation for what the final chapters will bring.

God will never betray our trust in what He has said, and as we wait upon Him to fulfill His promises, we do not need to fear disappointment. In the end, we will not be let down by the expectations of our faith. Everything He brings to us will be more than we could ever ask or think. Since what God has for us will exceed our expectations, it means we can never expect too much.

Psalms 30:5 "... weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

S.D. Gordon tells us, “Trust trusts God when it doesn’t understand what He is doing." As you wait for the fulfillment of His promises, you don’t have to wait in gloom or misery. Even if you don’t understand the things that are happening around you, you can trust Him in joyful expectation for the fulfillment of what God has promised to do.

Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

That's God...

Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone? That's God talking to you through His Holy Spirit.
1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another."

Have you ever been down and out with nobody around to talk to? That's God wanting you to talk to Him.
Psalms 34:18 "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you haven't seen in a long time and then you see them or receive a phone call from them? That's God.
Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loveth at all times..."

Have you received something wonderful that you wanted but didn't ask for; like money in the mail, a dept that has mysteriously been cleared, or a coupon to a department store whre you had just seen something that you needed but couldn't afford? That's God knowing the desires of your heart.
Phil. 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it was going to get better, wondering when the hurting and pain would end? When you look back on it, you can see that you were never alone... that's God passing you through tribulation to see a brighter day.
Hebrews 13:5 "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

False friends..

"False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade."

God has blessed my life with many "true" friends. I love you all very much.

Valentine's from GOD

Valentine's Day is over, but I just couldn't go to bed without sharing some of these pictures that I have been collecting this week.

I have the greatest Valentine of all and I am determined to have the relationship with Him that He has been longing for. I never have to feel alone for He is with me. He will never leave me or forsake me. He is the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother and He cares for me more that I can even imagine.