It's A Dog's Life!

The other day I wasn't feeling very well, and I was laying around on the couch, when I looked over at my two dogs at the other end of the couch. They were laying on their blanket that was laying on the quilted pet cover to keep the hair and doggie smell off the couch. I thought to myself, sometimes it would be nice to be a dog. It really is a good life if you have good owners. 

Then I realized, I sorta DO have a dog's life. lol I mean at times when I'm not feeling well, my hubby takes good care of me and caters to me. I lay around on the couch with my blanket and pillow. He will bring me food and drinks if I want them

and he will even rub my belly with his warm hands to make me feel better. (The warmth from his hands often helps my nausea -- we discovered this when I was pregnant with my first child!) So, see, I have a dog's life sometimes! lol 

How about you?! Do you have it pretty good at times? Just a little thought provoker to help you realize some possible blessings in your life! Maybe tomorrow I will bake my hubby something special! 

ps---these pics are not my dogs!

Unrealized Blessings

I saw a video on Facebook this week that reminded us that sometimes we think bad or frustrating things are happening to us; when in reality those things are really God looking after us. 

When we have little delays in our day or the car doesn't start or we have a dropped call from someone or the restaurant gets the order wrong, what actually may have happened was God providing His loving hand of care and protection. I believe that if we could see the spiritual realm of warfare going on around us, just to keep our lives going the way God plans or even the way we pray, we'd be astonished! In the Bible there is a story told about a man being confronted by an angel and the angel tells him that he was sent to help as soon as the man had prayed and asked for help but that he was hindered for a few days by Satan. In other words, the guardian angel that God sent to help with the man's problem was doing battle with Satan and his devils which kept the angel from getting there right away. 

So, when those maddening, frustrating and bad things happen, don't get upset with God and point an accusing finger at Him. First, take a deep breath and do a self evaluation check to see if it is even remotely possible that you have sin in your life that could be bringing on the chastisement of God. If not, then remember, you may be running late or the car may not start right away because God is keeping you from an accident. Sometimes God is just molding and shaping and strengthening areas in us that needs it. You know patience is most often a learned trait! So is not being easily angered! 

Just some food for thought!

The Voices From Without

A good while ago I did a post about the voices from within in which I talked about  how we put pressure on ourselves and listen too often to the voices in our own heads. 

Today I want to discuss how we can use the voices coming at us from other people to learn about ourselves and grow as a person. God uses people to teach us, to help reveal flaws in ourselves and cause us to think. 

I've recently had such a thing happen. At first, I was hurt over the comments but realized afterward that I needed to self evaluate because if someone saw me in this manner that I was hearing expressed then I probably needed to make some changes. That's a healthy, adult way of looking at the situation, right?? Yes it is! Sooo, now is the time to implement changes in my life to become a better person. I'm obviously not portraying the person I thought I was. I'm not displaying the Christ-like lady I want to display. I probably need to spend more time "studying to be quiet" as the Bible says. At any rate, this probably sounds like a New Year's Resolution but since it's May, it isn't. It's just a realization about myself that someone has brought to light and I want to change the persona. 

I hope that this will help someone else to see that when others make comments that hurt or even grate on your nerves, it may be time for self evaluation and possible changes. Sometimes what we think we portray to others isn't at all what others are seeing. 

Learning From the Apostles

I know everyone must be shocked that I'm posting again the next day but I had an idea to blog about. I recently was reading at the beginning of the book of Acts and a thought struck me. After Jesus gave some instruction to the disciples, they got to watch him ascend up into a cloud. As I finished the first chapter, I wondered what the apostles did from the moment of Jesus' ascension to the moment of Pentecost. This would be approximately 10 days or so. I did some research and continued reading for a couple more chapters. I think we can learn a few things from how the disciples handled Jesus leaving them. 

The first thing they did was go back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives to the upper room and gather together in prayer and support for one another. The Bible says there were about 120 men and women which included Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Jesus had told them to wait on the promise of the Father, which was the power of the Holy Ghost (comforter). They were being obedient. 

We can learn from the disciples to be obedient to the Lord and to spend much time in prayer and fellowship as we are waiting for God to show us the next move to take. 

Another conclusion we can see is that the disciples were searching and reading over the scriptures to know what to do. We know this because Peter stood up in the midst of them all and quoted from the book of Psalms. They used these verses of scripture to decide to cast lots and replace Judas Iscariot for the ministry. 

We, too, should continually study, read and search Scripture to know how to live our daily lives. The New Testament tells us that the things were written in the Old Testament as examples for us. Christians today can look at OT and NT scripture for examples. There's instruction for us. It truly is the owner's manual of life! 

What Is Godliness?

Been pondering some things lately. I believe people use the term "Godly" far too loosely in the world today. Have you ever had someone say to you that "she or he is a godly person" or "she or he exudes godliness"? I'm afraid that far too often we have contact with a person who is extremely nice or kind and speaks in a soft manner and they dress in a modest, conservative way and we automatically assume that the person is a godly person. After all, they just SEEM godly. Yet, even though the person appears in all outward appearance and character to be godly, they are truly far from God. 

Can a person be godly if they never pray, read AND study their Bible or spend time with God and trying to live out what His Word says? Remember that Jesus told a story about people who will someday say "Lord, Lord did we not cast out devils in your name?" Jesus said that the Father would tell them "Depart from me for I never knew you". 

When we worked up close and personal with teens in years past, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon with others who thought they were looking at certain "Godly" teens because they outwardly were obedient and nice to others and never missed Sunday school. Yet, when you dug a little deeper into their personal life, you found out that they never spent time in prayer, or reading their Bible outside the Sunday school classroom, or trying to live a separated, sanctified life that showed others they belonged to Christ. So, were they godly? Were they examples of godliness? I'm not sure you can rightly live for God if you never spend time in His Word learning about who He is and what He commands. 

I think the above phrase says it all. You may be able to fake your Christianity before others but true godliness cannot be faked. If you are spending time with God and in His Word, studying and hungering for it, then it will just come forth to others. 

Just something to consider. Profess godliness! Don't be a faker...live your life so others know whose side you stand on and in whom you trust. God's Word should fall from your lips freely and unapologetically! 

Is Success Expected?

In the world thought process...YES! In our friends and family's thought process...Often Yes! In our own minds...usually Yes! 

The world, loved ones and our own selves want us to be successful in life. We want to be financially successful, marriage successful, child rearing successful, employment successful, and even in our hobbies we want to feel successful. 

Success is measured in different ways by different people. We put ourselves under tremendous pressure by expecting success (really this is often defined or measured as perfection) from our endeavors. We compare ourselves to what others have accomplished. We can become envious and then depressed because we have not done as well as someone else we know or see around us.

I have no problem with setting goals through careful and prayerful thought and trying to attain them. However, we cannot be so goal focused that we overlook the here and now of every situation. 

I think old Albert may be on the right track in this quote. A person can become so focused on attaining what they feel is success and never really contribute to those around them. If you have not been of value to your spouse, children, parents, community, state or country, have you really been successful at all? If a person is successful at climbing the corporate ladder and/or building a large business but never invested time in his family, he has not contributed to helping build a life and relationship with his wife or children. This can go for the wife who is in the business world also. I could give many more examples or scenarios but I think you get the picture. 

Does God expect success from us? When I think of what the Bible says, I'm convinced not! Even if success comes in some way, shape or form--it is not us who was successful. It was God who blessed and allowed it!!!

God expects faithfulness. He expects obedience. You know when Joshua lead the Israelites across the Jordan into the Promised Land and they took Jericho. Success came strictly because they followed God's instruction to the letter. A short time later when they went to the little town of Ai, they were defeated because they were not obedient to what God said. 

I am reminded of a devotion I read years ago about a man who was told by God that he had work for him to do and to go outside his cabin and push against the large rock. The man did as he was told for several days but try as he might, he could not move the rock. Still he was obedient each day but began to grow weary in the fact that he could not move the rock one inch. After awhile, the devil began to say to the man that he should give up and that it was no use because he would never be successful at moving the rock. Finally, the man became defeated and discouraged in his own mind and cried out to God that he didn't understand why God had told him to push against the rock because he had not been able to move it. God responded, "I never told you to move the rock. I told you there was work to be done and to push against the rock. You were obedient and faithful all this time. Now your hands are callused, your arm and leg muscles are firmer and stronger because you did as you were told. I will now move the rock for you!" 

God doesn't call us to be successful. He calls us to be faithful and obedient! That's what He expects! When you feel like a failure. When you feel irrelevant in the job you are trying to do. Just remember that you are expected to be faithful and obedient. God may or may not allow you to be successful but you WILL earn rewards in heaven for being faithful in the work He has for you. Hope this helps encourage someone today!