Blessed Things

Sometimes you wonder if people feel about you the way you feel about them...as adults, we don't really ask those questions anymore. We just try to be nonchalant. We try to be "cool". Well, praise God, He knows what we need when we need it, and gives it to us in just the right amount.

God did that for me. He has surrounded me with truly unique people that just seem to love me. I truly don't know why. I don't need to know why. I'm just thankful.

Janet is one of those. She sat and held my hand the other night, and didn't ask why or even if I needed it. She just knew. I still can't tell her why I needed it...but I am surely thankful that she responded to the prompting of the Spirit in her heart. God does that...He matches us up and fills us up and shows us where to pour Himself out. Obedience is a blessed thing.

Janice is another one. She's a priceless gift of love from God to me. I see in her His faithfulness, gentleness, and sense of humor. She keeps me from getting too involved with myself. She challenges me to grow. She reminds me that love conquers all. She tries to beat me at Boggle - sometimes she does. Servanthood is a blessed thing.

Cheryl is another. She is a gentle soul, too. I often wonder at God putting gentle people around me - think it's a hint? She doesn't judge, she exhorts. She holds me up and prays for me and makes me look good in front of a group. What a stretch (and gift!) that is. She always brings me back to the center: Jesus. Encouragement is a blessed thing.

So, my precious friends...this is my declaration to the world. You are treasures...each and every one. Each a gift from God. Each a needful thing. Each appreciated for more than words can say.
I love you. period. Each individually, each specifically, each gratefully.

May God bless you all.

Ocean touching Sky

I was walking along the other morning (taking my dog to do her business, to be exact) and happened upon a sight that I had taken for granted. It was the sight of the ocean, touching the sky. It was early, just past dawn, and clear. It was glorious. It was vast. It touched my soul for the first time, again.

It got me thinking of the immense spanse that God created. Now, in comparison to my Lord, the ocean touching the sky is nothing. And yet, in His infinite wisdom and joy, He created such space and color..in order to touch my soul and get me to ponder on Him.

And so, I pondered. How, in the vastness of this earth, God looks down on me. He intimately knows me, my thoughts, my heart, my needs. In all the world, He can hear every prayer, simultaneously, clearly, and answer them according to His perfect will. Yet He is perfectly intimate with each of His children. And He sees....me. What a wonder!

And so, in this immense world, I pray to be found intimate with Him. I want to touch that vastness of God - see His face- with my whole heart.
And so, I ponder.

Hearts always set on HIM

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chron. 16:9).

God is looking for a man, or woman, whose heart will be always set on Him, and who will trust Him for all He desires to do. God is eager to work more mightily now than He ever has through any soul. The clock of the centuries points to the eleventh hour.
"The world is waiting yet to see what God can do through a consecrated soul." Not the world alone, but God Himself is waiting for one, who will be more fully devoted to Him than any who have ever lived; who will be willing to be nothing that Christ may be all; who will grasp God's own purposes; and taking His humility and His faith, His love and His power, will, without hindering, continue to let God do exploits. --C. H. P.

"There is no limit to what God can do with a man, providing he will not touch the glory."

In an address given to ministers and workers after his ninetieth birthday, George Mueller spoke thus of himself: "I was converted in November, 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later, in July, 1829. The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God, God alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else. And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, an exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God. I ask affectionately, my beloved brethren, have you fully surrendered the heart to God, or is there this thing or that thing with which you are taken up irrespective of God? I read a little of the Scriptures before, but preferred other books; but since that time the revelation He has made of Himself has become unspeakably blessed to me, and I can say from my heart, God is an infinitely lovely Being. Oh, be not satisfied until in your own inmost soul you can say, God is an infinitely lovely Being!' --Selected
I pray to God this day to make me an extraordinary Christian. --Whitefield.

I read this from "Streams in the Desert" this morning, and it mirrors my heart completely. OH! To be soooo in love with the Lord, and not in a moment but for all time.
Sigh.
A perfect goal for my life...let it be, dear Lord

Fruit

I am looking at my life lately. Mostly because a question was posed to me by the Lord. I love that I can hear Him asking...not too sure I like the questions sometimes. Inevitably, questions are good. The process to discover the answer is sometimes quite painful. Praise God, He knows what to ask and when, and ultimately for my good.



My question: Is there "new" fruit in my life, or just the old stuff hangin' on that tree? I have to admit that it is hard to look at that question. Others may say - "yes! Lots of fruit!" But in all actuality...I know my own heart and the basis for the things I have done. I am a very selfish soul...sigh.



Change is what I need. A forward motion into the love of my Savior and an outpouring of that love in every area of my life. Not just the easy places. I need to concentrate on the hard places...hard in my heart places. Change in the form of transformation. A work of the Holy Spirit is called for. I pray to be open to whatever that change calls for...and a desire to be permanently and continually changed.