Refreshing Others

Sea of Galilee Photo- "shop" photo

“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withhold unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

— Proverbs 11:24-25

There is not much I want to add to this except to maybe ask you to read the above again. 

This is flat-out motivation for refreshing others and being generous! Period. 

How can we refresh someone today without worrying about what we get out of it in the moment? Is there something we can do today that truly just uplifts someone else?  

There is! And the great news is... it actually comes back to prosper and refresh us.

It is just good walking with God! 

Perform for an Audience of One

Happy Birthday Ben 🎈 Your journey has just begun...

It's my youngest son's birthday.  He is turning 29 today. 

One of the things that stands out to me when I think of Ben is that he performs for an audience of ONE! By performing for an audience of One, that has made him exceptional in every way. 

Certainly he listens to others and learns, yet at the same time, when it gets right down to it... it has always been all about getting approval from ONE! 

Talking and walking in a personal way with God himself. Living his life in a way that is true to who his GOD has called and created him to be.  His walk has been so incredibly real!

People often say to us, "How did Ben become this at such a young age?" 

Well, though he is young he's been doing this for a really long time.  He began listening and being empowered by ONE as he taught his first Bible study in the 3rd grade, Through high school he had a Bible study every Saturday night which grew to be over 100 kids packing out our house. And became a pastor his senior year of high school... And to see what God has done and is doing is an absolute blast to watch as parents.

He has been a unique and amazing human because he performs for an audience of ONE!

This causes me to think, who am I performing for today?  What voices am I listening to?  Who am I trying to get the ultimate approval from? 

So many people, probably very well-intended, give us all kinds of advice.  Many times the opinions are contradicting each other. People often tell us who we should be and what we should do.  Sometimes the advice can be valuable.  But, sometimes, I'm not trying to he mean here, but the advice people give us can be flat out ignorant, opinionated,  and ridiculous to be honest. 😭

People often try and make us into who they think we should be, and so often we will never get their approval EVEN IF we do everything they tell us.  This is just a part of life so we just need to know what to do about it. 😊

So what DO we do about it?

Listen to ONE voice. 🙌 Because we are actually LIVING for THAT voice. When we are performing for GOD, we are performing for the One who will actually empower us to be who He's created us to be.  And when we fail and are not performing in the right way... We are forgiven and allowed a fresh start. COOL deal! 

Our Father's plans for us are even better than the best intentions of anyone else.  God's plans for you and I are far better than we can even come up with ourselves.  So let's get our approval from Him alone and find ourselves performing today for an audience of One!

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

— Psalms 37:4-5

Listen to the Voice of Gladness

Come into the Sanctuary - "Shop" photo

There are absolutely different voices whispering into our ears.  I totally understand the sort of comic visions we've seen with a little miniature devil 😈 on one shoulder and a little angel 😇 on our other shoulder.  Both whispering something different into our ears.

The little devil keeps bringing us down.  Saying nothing is possibly going to be good in our lives.  That God doesn't care.  That there is no hope.  That we have blown it so bad as a human that we cannot be used or expect anything good to come our way. That there is no real love to be found or had.

Then there is the angel speaking... there is the voice of gladness. The voice of immediate hope.  The voice of joy.  The voice of vision.  The voice of forgiveness. The voice of  thankfulness!  The voice of a personal and everlasting plan. And a voice of so much love to be had towards and for us.

Why in the world would we choose to listen to the voice of sorrow and sadness and no hope and condemnation when we can listen to the voice of GOD?!

Have a beautiful Friday my friends, while today and throughout the weekend, you listen to The Voice of Gladness.

“The voice of joy and the voice of gladness...The voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the LORD is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting...”

— Jeremiah 33:11

Take That Road

Road in Greece -"Shop" photo

Has the Lord shown you and I a specific road we are to go on, yet for a variety of reasons we haven't yet taken the journey?

Maybe there is someone we are to reach out to. Or an elderly person in our life that we know we are to stop in and visit more often.  Maybe it's forgiving that person that you feel has wronged you. Or perhaps it's the road of focusing on an ability God has given you and you are to strengthen that talent. Or it might be making a point to speak life instead of death to yourself and to others ... but you, or I, just haven't gone down that road even though we know we are supposed to. Even though we know it's the right thing.

Time to go down that road.  No more excuses.  Let's just take that road now. 👆You won't regret it and nether will I. 

Let's not worry about what's around the corner or further down the path that we can't see yet. Let's just begin the journey and Our Father will  guide us, empower us and direct us.  He really will.

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.”

— Psalm 25:4

Can We Be Happy?

"Classic Fun Sun" shop "Paintings"

Can we be happy?  I'm speaking for myself here, but my answer is absolutely unequivocally YES!

in Psalms 144:15 it says "...Happy is the people whose God is the Lord." 

Try not being happy as you read through Psalms 100 below... 😊

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.  Serve the Lord with gladness:  come before His presence with singing.  Know ye that the Lord He is God:  it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;  we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise:  be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good;  His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations." 

Happy? Did I hear a "Yes?" ... me too!! 😄😄

“Happy is the people who’s God is the Lord”

— Psalms 144:15

In a Fog

Sometimes in life things can seem as though we are in a fog. The things in our life appear out of focus and it can feel as though there will never be clarity.

I've been married to Jon for over 30 years.

He was the first person that I actually fell in love with enough to want to get married. 

I had dated a number of successful and great guys before dating him,  but it was Jon that my heart felt something different from anyone else.  

Without getting into too much detail, I was (and still am 😉) 12 years younger than him.  So when we both were younger the age difference seemed like it was a hurtle too big to jump over when deciding to get married. So we broke up.

I remember I felt so helpless.  I was in love for the first time at age 19 but it looked like it wasn't going to work out because Jon was wanting to avoid controversy (I didn't really care about controversy, my mentality was "deal with it people!" 😂).  

But as it stood, we were done.  It was over. I was in a fog.  So much unclarity.  Nothing was clear.

Why did it look like my life was heading in such a fun and exciting direction only for it all to fall apart?

I remember praying during that season, "Father, please either take these feelings away or make it work out..."  I prayed that over and over again. 

Like I said at the beginning of this post... "I've been married to Jon for over 30 years." 

It's pretty clear, God made it work out.  Even when humanly speaking it looked impossible.  

There has not been a day go by that Jon hasn't made me feel beautiful. 

God is faithful.  When things feel hopeless and impossible, God always always comes through.  He is a good good Father.  He has been so very faithful to me! 

This is just a bit of my story.  

You may not feel like you have a story yet. Keep walking with God and never give up, and you will. 

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you...” ”

— 2 Thessalonians 3:3

✌️Peace

Okay loved ones!  I absolutely LOVE this video my son Ben did.  It just came out yesterday.

Not only is it beautifully filmed and peaceful and serene to watch... But it really reaches down into my soul and speaks deep into my heart.

Let the peace of God fill you while you take in this just under 3 minute video ...

...Then be sure to think of at least one person you can send this to...  And you will bring #truth regarding the beautiful peace of God into someone else's day as well. 🌾

Simply Beautiful!

Yellow

The Cross on Easter Morning -"shop" painting

I just finished this cross painting a couple weeks ago.  I think it might be my personal favorite.  I love it because it's yellow.  Sunrise colors. 

Yellow in this painting speaks of the light and brightness Jesus brought into the world because of what He accomplished on the cross. 

I'm a light fanatic. And so I'm so drawn to the fact that Jesus said of Himself "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Are you a light fanatic like me but yet you sometimes feel you are in darkness in some area of your life?  Follow Jesus today. You and I are given a fresh start.

We can begin walking in the light in every area of our lives today.  Today is a new day.

We can actually participate in being a light in this world!

In fact... that is what we are called to do.  

Pretty awesome calling I would say.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...”

— Matthew 5:14