A Mother's Heart

I brought my daughter and grandson to the airport last night.They spent a week with us. It was so good to have them home. I sure miss them. We had a great 6 days together. My husband and I are driving down to their home on friday to bring her the last of her stuff from home. It was so sweet of my husband last night to have a bouquet of flowers in a beautiful vase waiting for me when I arrived back home from the airport. He knows me. He knew I'd get that empty nest feeling start to creep in. I was okay though. But, today.....Oh geez I just love spending time with my kids! Praise God for the blessing of our children & grandchildren who make our lives richer and fuller!

Recognize God

Are there times when you doubt what you hear is Jesus talking to you? The minute you start to wonder, is the minute you start to sink. Like Peter walking on the water. That's the minute he took his eyes off of Him. Why do we look at the circumstances and wonder if it could be Jesus's will. When our Lord gives us even the tiniest glimpse of Him, why do we doubt? Do we need to have a neon sign telling us it is Him or do we only recognize Him after we are drowing? If He lives and is working in our life; to will and to act according to His good purposes, then the road ahead is covered by Him. He does the driving and our will becomes His will. Only by His grace are we able to recognize His voice when sinking deep in water or afloat. When we give Jesus full recognition in our lives and in every circumstance, will we hear him more clearly.
Dear Lord-
We thank you for your grace. We thank you for your love and direction in our lives. We thank you for being ever present in us to do your will. Increase our faith that we can live with reckless abandon for you. May we recognize you & not focus or be distracted by circumstances that you control. Help us not to doubt even in the small glimpses of the way you speak to us. Help us not to doubt those times we start to wonder and go into ourselves for our own answers, but to rely totally on you and to rest totally in you. We need not "go there" but to keep our focus on you because you are the answer. Help us to recognize that in all circumstances you are working. Help us to not loose sight of the fact that you are speaking to us to will and to act according to your good purposes. When we hear from you, let us go all out to do your will! In Jesus' Name Amen

LIFE HURTS -G.O.D. H.E.A.L.S

This Jr and Sr high ministry provides ongoing support through a biblical small group study called Life Hurts-God Heals (LHGH) created specifically for teenagers who have experienced pain or addiction including: drinking, cutting, pornography, depression, eating disorders, troubled family dynamics, anger, etc. All over the country thousands of students have gone through this 8-step study leaving many encouraged and changed with life long tools to help students heal from their hurts.



8-STEPS (By John Baker, Doug Fields and Megan Hutchinson)

Step 1. G-et help.
I admit that I am powerless on my own and that I need help
Happy are those who know they are spiritiually poor. (Matthew 5:3)

Step 2. O-pen your heart.
I now know that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He is the only One who has the power to heal my pain.
Happy are those who mourn. God will comfort them (Matthew 5:4)

Step 3. D-epend on Christ. I realize I need to turn my life over to Christ. I need to depend on Him in all areas of my life,including all that I say, think, and do.
Happy are the humble. (Matthew 5:5)

Step 4. H-ear and speak. I agree to evaluate my life and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone that I trust.
Happy are the pure in heart. (Matthew 5:8)

Step 5. E-mbrace God's way. I will stop doing things my way and put my life on the path that leads towards God's way.
Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. (Matthew 5:6)

Step 6. A-sk for forgiveness. I will offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me, and I will ask for forgiveness for any wrong I've done to others.
Happy are the merciful. Happy are the peacemakers. (Matthew 5:7-9)

Step 7. L-ive for God. I will set aside some time for God each day to examine my life, read my bible, and pray so that I have the power to live God's way.
Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor (Matthew 5:3)

Step 8. S-hare with others. I will take the message that God heals to others in need and share it by my words and actions.
Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires. (Matthew 5:10)

Keepers of the Inn

Luke 10: 25-37

In the parable of the Good Samaritan a pharisee/scribe (teacher of the Law) asked Jesus what must he do to inherit eternal life. The very thing that the pharisee taught about the law that brings life, was the very thing that seized him. He wanted to know who his NEIGHBOR was.
Jesus spoke of the man going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (about a 17 miles hike) He was robbed, beaten, stripped of his clothes, & left for dead. A priest and a Levite (both Teachers of the Law)saw the man and passed on by. Then, a samaritan came by and helped the man by bandaging his wounds & carried him on his donkey to an Inn to take care of him. The next day the samaritan took out two silvers coins and gave them to the innkeeper and told him to take care of the man & that when he returned, he would reimburse him for any extra expenses he may have for the care of the man.
A very good friend of mine named Irma had heard a message at church from her pastor who described the beaten man as our "neighbor" and Jesus as the "Good Samaritan" & "US" as the Innkeepers. It made sense to me.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind." and "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father-
You died for us to save us. You laid your life down for your friends so that we may live in eternity with you. Lord, as you told the pharisee to do likewise....may we show mercy even to the point we feel it isn't deserved. Just as we don't deserve your mercy.Help us Lord to be the "Innkeepers" of this fallen world. Help us be a haven for the hurting, beaten, & left for dead; especially those who are spiritually dead and separated from you. With your heart, with your strength, with your mind & soul living in us, may we love others as you would; in the way you would have us to bandage their wounds in however they may come. Help us Lord to be the "Innkeepers" for YOU and when you return, may we hear what our hearts long to hear you say, "Well Done, Good & Faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21)

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever! His faithfullness continues through all generations" (Psalm 100:4)

Pura Vida

I'm going to do it! The Lord is providing for me to go to Pura Vida Spa in Costa Rica to train in Paradise. I'll be going to get certified as a Medical Massage Therapist. I want to get certified and use it to help others feel better. While I'm learning to do that, I like the bonus of seeing another land of God's beautiful creation too.
I Thank the Lord for being so good to me! I'm so excited! This is a massage therapists dream