Posts with the label encouragement
Showing posts with label encouragement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label encouragement. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2022
Faith and Pickles
Summertime means pickling and canning season for a lot of gardeners. Harvests are preserved for wintertime feasting using many different methods. I'm not a big pickle eater although they appear appetizing in a jar. Sealing of the jar is probably the most important step of canning. If you've ever canned, you're familiar with the "pop" the lid makes when the jar is sealed. I remember canning with my mom as a kid. My favorite part was counting the sounds as I heard the comforting pops as the jars sealed. Sealing preserves pickles to be eaten later, months later. If the jar doesn't seal, the food isn't preserved for later and will spoil if not eaten quickly.
Are you beginning to notice Jesus in the details of your life? I'm not sure if it's a gift or simply from meditation and seeking that I find God everywhere, in everything. He inspires me! As I ate a pickle from a jar the other day, Ephesians 4:30 came to me, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
The similarities of faith and pickles are:
- Pickles start in a raw perishable state. We are born into a perishable state.
- Pickles need someone to perserve them. We need a Savior to preserve us.
- Pickles take time to obtain their unique flavor. We take time to obtain robust faith.
- Pickles are "ready"-to-eat. We are "ready"-to-go.
- Pickles must be thrown out if not properly sealed. We will hear "Depart" if not sealed by Jesus.
We are like pickles; a simple cucumber transformed by salt and sealing! Jesus is the only perservative that can keep our faith "in a pickle"!
Lovingly,
Friday, April 22, 2022
How to Use Your Faith to Find Something You Lost
Do you allow God to help you in your life every single day? Do you ask him for help? I've heard eye-rolling comments such as "I don't want to bother him", "He's got more important things to do than fool with me" or "He's busy enough, I don't want to add to his list". Are you serious right now? YOU are God's number one priority! God loves to help us. He cannot wait to help us. The "key" to receiving help from The Almighty is to simply ask. I want to share our story of "The Lost Keys" to illustrate how powerful prayer is and how to use your faith to find something you lost...instantly.
Our family was vacationing in Mexico Beach, Florida. We drove seperately but stayed together. My daughter, Sydnee lost her keys in the house. Losing her keys is not an unusual event for Sydnee, so the rest of us didn't get too excited. Her Dad, Sydnee and I looked for the key for at least an hour. My first line of action for anything, especially problems, is to pray and ask Jesus for help. I began my half-hearted, frustrated praying about five minutes into our search because honestly, I didn't want to be bothered looking for the keys. They were not MY keys. I didn't misplace them.
Sound familiar? You may be better at being human than me. I'd be all in if I'd lost my keys, But, I didn't lose my keys. Sydnee did. Humans always jump to blame others, me included. Humans also think others should pay for their shortcomings, me included. My human heart didn't care if she sweated a little over the ordeal. On the other hand, my momma heart began to get worried the longer the search . went on. We looked the house over. The sparsely decorated house should have coughed up the key easily. But it didn't. NOW, I'm concerned...
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Thursday, April 21, 2022
His Fault
His Fault
by Tammy P. Stafford
It's not our Creator's fault his creatures abuse, refuse and cry.
It's our fault we reject, have no affect and despise.
The Creator didn't create murderers, jealousy or greed,
deception, bankruptcy or aborting his seed.
It's not our Creator's fault his creatures are unkind, rude and dry.
It's our fault we mock, ridicule and act unwise.
The Creator didn't create sickness, lies, cancer or death,
corruption, brokenness or meth.
It's not our Creator's fault his creatures want, live reckless and pry.
It's our fault we bicker, blame and wear a disguise.
The Creator didn't create divorce, alcoholics or fatherless children,
malice, chaos or poor economic trending.
My Creator God is responsible for
The miracle of birth and loving me first
Helping me walk to my husband who does not gawk.
Gives me a song and causes doctor's prognoses to be wrong
Took my place, saved me by his grace.
Hung between thieves on a tree
Defeated death and took the keys
Died for me and rose on the third day free
He gave me life, eternally.
This is his fault...
Friday, March 13, 2020
Corona Virus is not my First Scare of 2020
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Friday, February 1, 2019
Top 5 Reasons Christians Fall Off the Wagon
We most often associate the familiar term "Fall Off the Wagon" with a recovering alcoholic who has turned back to the bottle. I want to use the analogy of "The Wagon" as it applies to Christians demonstrating a safe place or haven where all our needs are met, namely Jesus. I've been trying to improve my diet since August 2018. Well, I've been trying to improve my food choices for years. Recently, I'm seeking to allow the Holy Spirit to guide my daily food selections toward good for me food and avoid bad for me food.
Yesterday, I didn't feel well. My stomach was a tad nauseous with an overall feeling of yuck. I'm strange. When I feel like this, I want a plain McDonald's burger with fries and one of their unparalleled, deliciously-filtered fountain Cokes. I went. I bought. I ate. Sometime during the afternoon, pondering why I ate it,(because I had been doing so well), God spoke these truths into my ear concerning the Top 5 Reasons Christians Fall Off the Wagon.
- REASON No. 1: This Christian has never gotten in the wagon. It's hard to fall off if you've never gotten in, right? But you are in. You've accepted Jesus as your Savior but you won't accept him as Lord of your life giving him full control. You've either walked behind or alongside the wagon feeling the pain in your feet and the burden on your knees with every step. You know him. You just can't seem to trust him with your whole heart. Get in the wagon.
- REASON No. 2: This Christian likes the easy life. It's easier off the wagon than inside of it. How can it be easier to walk alone than be carried? Jesus carries the people who believe, trust, obey, sacrifice, are patient, longsuffering and kind. I can name more Christ-like attributes but do you really want me to? Those ACTION verbs are hard. Walking singularly without anyone expecting anything from you. especially Jesus, is so much easier.
- REASON No. 3: This Christian relies on other people for their life example instead of Christ. We've all heard it before, "If they're a Christian, the woods are full of them." Just stop it. Stop trying to justify your wrongdoings by comparing yourself to the next best born-again sinner you know. Christians are supposed to be better people because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, but unfortunately, all Christians don't exercise those action verbs above and unfortunately, we still sin. Be like Him, not every Tom, Dick or Harry!
- REASON No. 4: This Christian wants his cake and eat it too. Eating causes crumbs in the wagon. What happens when we see morsels of bad food lying around? We eat it. Then, we want more! There's never been a Christian that dabbled with sin without wanting more. When you're on the wagon for Christ, you're off of entertaining temptation for Tammy (insert your name here). Perfect example of this for me is if I eat one Entenmann's Chocolate Doughnut, I'll not stop until I eat the entire pack. Little Bites, big bites, they're all sin to me because I can't practice moderation. This Reason No. 4 applies to any temptation you are apt to succumb to, certainly not limited to food.
- REASON No. 5: This Christian falls off the wagon because she doesn't get the results she's expecting or they are happening way too slow. Notice I said they ARE happening! We are a fast car, fast food, microwave, direct deposit, instant gratification society that wants Jesus under our thumb or fingertips instead of giving honor to his place of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We want to use him like a medicine: as needed. We get bored when we're not entertained. We lose interest if the thrill we seek requires too much effort on our part.
The wagon isn't full. Want to get in with others who are selfless, God-seeking, life-surrendered, saved by grace, mercy-showing followers of Christ? I do! It's gonna take an action verb...
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Action!
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
5 Things I Learned from Divorce
My week has been rough. My week contained so many variables; some favorable and some unfavorable. (I'll admit it, I have an accounting background.) I've been blessed. I've learned things. I've been schooled. I've lost my temper. I've exercised self-control. I went to the movies. I ate out too many times. I weeded my pool fence. I broke my left prosthetic. I made me a new left prosthetic. I could go on, but you get it. It has been a week!
My life has been enriched over the past months with my high school bff, Mary Ann. I credit Mary Ann for my marriage to Steve. God placed her exactly where she needed to be in my life to accomplish his goal for Steve and me. Shortly after the "lost my temper" stage this week, Mary Ann sent me the picture above with the following message. "I bet God finds our efforts to do anything amusing. These are plants I threw in my trash pile that wouldn't grow in the greenhouse. They are not even planted and look how pretty." God used those words to teach me but also to show me some things divorce has taught me. Here are the top 5 Things I Learned from Divorce (in no particular order):
- Divorce hurts. It hurts everyone it touches, especially this ex-mother-in-law. Divorce is one of those excruciating hurts like a kidney stone. You know you have a stone. You wake up feeling pretty good and BAM! Within the next five minutes the blood supply is cut off to your kidney! You immediately find yourself rolling around in the floor begging, screaming, praying for comfort, even if it's only for the shortest while. The pain subsides. You think it's over but here it comes again...worse.
- Divorce is necessary. My parents' 60th wedding anniversary was yesterday. Kudos to them! Steve and I will celebrate 33 years in November. Divorce was not in my vocabulary until God showed me, sometimes, it is so necessary. I couldn't even ask him to stop it.
- Divorce is ugly. I can't find one thing pretty about divorce. My daughter's tears of sorrow are ugly. My grandchildren riding off for the weekend is ugly. The destruction of the completeness of my family is ugly. The mistrust and resentment are ugly. Being wronged is ugly. Period.
- Unconditional love is unstoppable. It is difficult for me to understand why I still love my ex-son-in-law so much. He makes me so mad I could rip his head off! But, I can't stop loving him. I can't stop feeling for him when he creates his own demise. I can't stop making concessions for him when he deserves none. God's love in me for him cries out for mercy, grace and above all, forgiveness. If unconditional love were stoppable, Jesus would have succumbed under the weight of the cross. He fell, but got back up, not once but three times. Praise be to Jesus for his love for us!
- I can't change things. This is the hardest lesson ever.
Overcoming 365,
Friday, August 10, 2018
My Next Endeavor
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Friday, August 3, 2018
Does God Fulfill Our Desires?
 Your relationship with God is yours. You own it. You possess it. You give it energy. Like everything in life, you treasure your relationship or trash it. You nurture and grow it by obeying what his spirit commands you to do. You, my friend, can be as close or far away from God as you want. You can use him as a "Get out of Jail free" card or you can surrender your life into his hands and wholly follow him. I'm opening with this thought to give God all the glory for the 1500 sf gray jewel pictured above, lovingly known as The Holiday House. Lisette gave it the sweet name and "it 'tuck" as Mil says! We enjoyed a glorious Summer 2018 at Mexico Beach. You might ask why I would give God the glory for our beach house? Does God fulfill our desires? I believe he does! |
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