Posts with the label faith
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Faith in our Busyness




Can we have faith in our busyness?

At a Ladies Luncheon this past Saturday, we were asked to pick one word that describes our current season of life. Five ladies at our table shared four words, because two women picked the same word. Busy. The other words are Waiting, Change and Joyful.

I've pondered the words. Let's start with the word "busy". The definition of busy is occupied, full of distracting details or having a great deal to do. Wow! The definition that jumped out at me is "full of distracting details". How can we grow our faith by experiencing Jesus in the detail.....unless we are full of details about him that distract us from the world!

Each day we begin our busyness to accomplish something. Proverbs 23:4 advises us to "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom." The sermons, and my own reading and studying lately, have centered around "thine own wisdom". If we lean to our own understanding, how can we expect to make godly decisions or live for Him? Worldly distractions cloud my vision quite often. I have to wholly seek God to avoid the pitfalls of doing what Tammy wants to do. And, doing what Tammy wants to do is so much easier than what God commands. It's easier at first. When my world falls off it's axis and God says "Remember what I asked you to do", repentance follows and I'm left wondering why can't I be more obedient to God and deny the world? I John 2:17 reassures us that good labors for God are the most important, "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever".

So many little busy details distracts us from God. Our goal is to engage with God more than this world. The Bible teaches us how. Psalms 37:5 offers a solution. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. My all time favorite verse that helps me to keep Jesus in the details of my life is Colossians 3:2 Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.

Busy isn't bad. We must make sure our busy is occupying the right space. Do you want to get busy distracted by God's Word and Love? Challenge yourself to listen and respond to God more this week. If you accept the challenge, please comment and let me know how you plan to increase God in your details. ❤️

Busy365,


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Faith in our Busyness

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Five Basic Elements of Unconditional Love

merry go round


Life has thrown some pretty big challenges at Steve and I. I'm sure you have plenty of your own. We are thankful the carousel stopped before the dizziness got to our stomach. The constant ups and downs of the ride churned our beings. We hung on for dear life. When Steve and I married, 36 years ago, he planned to take care of me. I was the one born with a congenital birth defect. He nor I, never, for one minute, considered my health would ever be better than his. My perpetual limp, coupled with my basic need for prostethics for both feet, was quickly overshadowed by Steve's need for a double lung transplant in 2020. Life, in general, for everyone, necessitates the five basic elements of unconditional love. Love is what makes our worlds go round. 

Before his transplant, I watched Steve struggle to fit in with his new requirement for oxygen, unable to walk 10-20 feet without stopping for air. People stared at him and his tank. I've almost overcome the stares from curious people, although, some days I'm off my game. I wish Steve never endured the breathlessness of a chronic lung disease or felt inadequate. God grew both of us through his illness and transplant recovery. Praise the Lord Steve is back now! We've come full circle. I'm the one trying to keep up with him again. 

Everyone wants unconditional love. These are the five basic elements of unconditional love we embrace and practice: 
  • Different is good. Diversity was cool in our home before it became a popular buzzword. 
  • Compassion not pity.  Compassion and pity are synonyms but aren't the same. Both convey sympathetic feelings for others, but pity creates cause for regret or disappointment. Pity comes across as sadness or misfortune. Advseristy encourages strength, adaptation and courage. Those valuable charcter traits desire compassion not pity.
  • Wear a smile. A smile is so much more comforting than that furrowed brow frown; no sad faces allowed. Caring is revealed with a happy face. Show your love for ohters by greeting them with a warm smile. 
  • Do not stare, gawk or crane. When I share my story with groups, I laugh at myself. I've become so used to people staring at me, I get offended when they don't. I wonder what's wrong with these people? LOOK at me! (That is a joke, of course.) I really don't enjoy being stared at for the wrong reasons. 
  • Take time for all. Individuals are put into our lives for various reasons. We will learn and grow from every person we meet if we invest wisely. Understanding people is a full-time job.  Friends are a blessing to cherish.
Faith is unconditional love. Our faith sees inner beauty. Our value lives on the inside. Grace and mercy are always unconditional.. Paul, a popular disciple, struggled with his problems until he found Jesus. His attitude changed completely. He accepted his physical plight. Paul wrote the following scripture. I think he began to practice the five basic elements of unconditional love. 
  
2 Corinthians 12:8-10. "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Lovingly,


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Five Basic Elements of Unconditional Love

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Monday, April 18, 2022

5 Steps to Increase Every Day Faith


Do you feel like you're being eaten alive? Daniel may have thought the same thing when he found himself thrown into a lion's den. Do you feel like you're drowning? Moses may have thought the same thing just before the Red Sea parted. Are you burned out asking what's the use? The three Hebrew children may have considered eating meat to get out of the flames. Instead of caving to unbelief, Daniel, Moses and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego exercised their faith. They confidently waited on God to deliver them. We can do the same when we exercise faith in our every day life. 

Hopefully, we won't face hungry lions, nor a sea with an raging army behind us or even get thrown into a fiery furnace. Life overwhelms big sometimes leaving us desperate, scared and begging for help. What if you could face life with confidence relying on your faith to dispel your fears? Would you do it? I've listed 5 steps to increase every day faith to help you depend more on God. These steps should free you up to live more and worry less. You've got to apply them. Practice them every day. 

1. Meditate on God when you first wake. I find communication is best with God first thing with a clear, renewed mind, without all the demands of the day pulling at me. I thank God for who he is and what he's done for me. I thank God for the day. I ask God to guide my day. Think about his goodness. Things he has done you. Request some things from him. Then, listen...

2. Listen for God to speak. My believing friend shocked me when she asked me "How do you know God speaks to you?". I know God is speaking to me when I have a "new elevated" thought. Something I would never think of on my own. It's kind of like letting God do your thinking for you, allowing him to guide you through the day. There's so many ways God speaks. If you'd like more, let me know in the comments.

3. Learn to Recognize God is speaking. I always recognize God speaking to me in my thoughts. We carry many conversations, because I'm continually asking him for advice or answers or something. My seeking heart is always open to recognize him. He may confirm what he spoke through someone else's conversation with me. The Sunday Sermon might cover my questions for the week. I may read my answer. The other day on my way to lunch with a friend, God popped an idea into my head. I thought about turning a project into an Air B&B rental. I'd never had that thought before. During lunch my friend said, "Why don't you turn your house into an Air B&B rental?". Coincidence? Not at all. God spoke and confirmed quickly!

4. Take Action. I remind myself all the time, faith is an action word. The Bible says faith without works is dead. We need faith action in our every day life to keep our faith building and strong. My definition of the word "works" in that scripture is simply a response to my faith.  There are spiritual "works" responses and physical "works" responses. 

Spiritual example: God asks me to believe. If I choose not to believe, my faith is dead. Belief is the works or action required from me. 

Physical example: God asks me to bake my neighbor a cake. If I choose not to bake it, my faith is dead. If my faith were alive, I'd bake the cake and deliver it, recognizing God will accomplish his work with the cake. Another physical example. Will I turn that project into an Air B&B rental?

5. Ask, Believe, Receive. Do this exercise every day to increase your faith. Ask God for something small, very specific and personal. Ask for something tangible so you know God answered your prayer. Ask for:

  • a friend to call or text you today
  • your empty gas tank to make it to the station
  • to find something you've misplaced
  • to understand a scripture you've struggled with
  • to curb your appetite (this is a favorite of mine)
Ask God for it. Believe him to do it. Receive it. If you practice this simple technique every day, your faith will increase. Trust God for the little things and before long, HE will be trusting you with the BIG things. Matthew 25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

My goal is to help you see Jesus in the details. 5 Steps to Increase Every Day Faith is just the beginning. Please comment your simple prayer below and let me know how God answered it. 

Lovingly,


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5 Steps to Increase Every Day Faith

Monday, April 18, 2022

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