SelahV Today by hariette petersen

CAN GOD'S WORD LIVE?

"This is my comfort and consolation in my affliction; that Your word has revived me and given me life."  Psalm 119:50

Isn't it amazing how the Psalmist in chapter 119 refers so much to what God's Word does for him?  Over and over again, he trusts in the precepts and commandments of God.  Not because those etched words have power, but because the author of those words give power to them.

How did Jesus handle Satan's temptations in the wilderness?  "It is written."  Jesus quoted the Word, yet He Himself, was the Word.  "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John 1:1.  Perhaps that is why it behooves us to memorize and speak those same Words.  For in them, and through them are the power of God to use as a sword to open the hearts of men and provide entrance for the faith and grace of God.  selahV 

OPERATION ABORTED, AND OTHER ANNOYING THINGS

Lately I've had a lot of weird problems with my internet.  Warning signs from my virus and protection service on specific emails.  I'll receive an email from someone and this little box will appear and tell me that my email may be infected with a virus.  Also, I've clicked onto sites and they won't open because of some malfunction with Windows and Explorer.  At least that is what it says on my monitor.  "OPERATION ABORTED."

Yesterday I went to a very reputable website and clicked on a particular post.  I wanted to comment and instead of opening to the entitled post, I was taken to a screen that said, "You've been 404'd!  You gnarly dude!"  Then it listed another site-link to click on and other weird stuff.  I didn't click on the link because that was just too out-of-the-box stupid.  I went back several times to the site to see if it had just been a fluke, and it repeated the same screen several times. So I contacted the site's editor and he said he had "no clue" what that meant.  I tried it again and it was still a "404'd" message.  So I emailed the site-owner and haven't heard back from him yet.  However, after I contacted the site-owner, I logged back onto the site and it linked right to the post.  IS THAT NOT WEIRD?

So, I'm thinking.  What in the world does this mean?  I googled the 404'd and up popped a bunch of links that had one-line explanations of what 404'd means.  It appears that anyone who gets that message is considered "stupid" and ignorant of the internet.  Well, I confess!  I am very naive.  In fact, I saw on one of those CSI-NY shows that people could actually buy software to download somehow on a particular computer and monitor a user's every keystroke.  Yep!  And I googled keystroke tracker and sure enough, there were all kinds of places to purchase that stuff.

I may be a bit paranoid with all this, but when ya have chronic "Weird Stuff" happening whenever ya use the internet, ya begin to become quite distrustful.  Especially when ya get "out-of-the-blue" emails from folks who write uncharacteristic things to you.  Apologies and such.  You just get a bit suspicious of folks who want to befriend ya.  And then you see on the news where a grown woman posed as a teen-age boy to engage conversation with her daughter's classmate.  And then the classmate commits suicide.  And your mind wanders back to last summer when a young college student hacked into Sarah Palin's email account.  Whatever happened to that kid, anyway?

I had a friend who had a great guffaw over my recent episodes with the internet.  And I have to admit, it is odd that it happens just to me.  Does any of this stuff happen to you?  selahV

UP ALL NIGHT

What do ya do when you cannot sleep?  With me, a lot of stuff goes through my mind.  I rethink my day--many times my actions and conversations.  I pray for God to cleanse me from all unrighteousness and commit my life afresh.  It's odd how so much of a day is spent on unnecessary thinking.  How senseless some conversations are at times.  What a waste of the precious time God has given me!

Many times, as was the case tonight, the Lord brings to my mind different people.  And then I pray.

I sorta went through my email list.  I have several on my list who've commented on my site and my server automatically saves them in my address book.  Others, are folks I know really well.  Or I think I know them pretty well.  So I give them to the Lord and ask Him to watch over them and expand their ministries and fill them with love.  I even pray for those who I think do not like me very much.  I pray for grace to abound in their lives and for God to really bless them.

I don't know what is going on in many folk's lives.  I do know what is going on in mine.  And I believe that often if I pray for them as I would want someone to pray for me, that God will honor that thought in their lives.  We can all use encouragement, hope, strength, provision, rest, healing.  Can't we?

I found out this week the reason I've had so much back pain that causes my legs to go numb and burn with a tingling pain.  I had an MRI and the doctor said it was degenerative disc disease.  Another thing that comes with age, arthritis and who knows what all else?  I'll see her next week to determine a course of treatment.  Meanwhile, that's part of the reason I am up tonite.  And that is a good thing.  If not for the pain, I may not have been led to pray for folks.  I noticed a few folks in my stats' log that hadn't been to visit my site in a while.  I prayed for them, too.

A couple came to mind specifically that I want to bring up to you.  Robert and Kerri Hamilton, formerly from Texas.  They are now serving in Brazil as Southern Baptist missionaries.  They really need our prayers.  It's got to be tough--learning a new language, being so far from home, trying to raise children and share the Gospel with an entirely different culture.  So if you would, take a minute and pray for them today.

And you might want to go through your email list, or pick a couple of bloggers you frequent, and pray for them, too.  I know I'd appreciate your prayers.  Satan has a way of maneuvering his way into my life, far more than I'd like to believe.

I'm sure glad today is Saturday.  With no sleep last night, I may need to nap today.  selahV

    

A SLIPPERY SLOPE

It seemed like such fun!  I was envious of the little ones as they slipped and slid down the slope.  My son-in-law spread out a long strip of thick, black plastic.  He placed a sprinkler at the top portion of the plastic and turned on the water.  A friend poured a generous amount of baby shampoo to the stream of water, and the kiddos jumped headfirst, on their knees, piggyback and sideways.  They giggled and squealed and reveled in the moment.  It was hilarious watching them slither down the hill and trek back up to repeat the thrill.

I thought how great it was to be young.  I recalled the slopes I use to sled on when it snowed in Virginia.  I thought about the grassy slopes I'd roll down.  My brothers and I use to lie down, extend our arms out above our heads and race one another to the bottom of the hill.  We didn't mind the trip back up the incline so we could roll down again and again.  We'd also take cardboard boxes and make running leaps and use the boxes to slide down the dry grass and leaves that Autumn afforded us.  Hills and slopes can create grand experiences when ingenuity is used and a child is daring enough to plunge forward--ignoring the scrapes, scratches, and possibilities of broken bones.

However, what one can do in one's youth, may not be quite as sensible as one ages.  The limberness we had as children gives way to inflexible muscles and brittle bones.  We risk torn cartilage and wrenching sprains.  Our hearts may want to do what our bodies simply will not allow, and we know it takes a lot longer to heal and to mend.  We know this because experience has proven it to be so.  With age comes the wisdom of knowing a slippery slope can be a dangerous thing. 

The same is true of a person who slips into the temptation of dabbling with deceit and slander sprinkled in guile.  Sometimes the words used are like the shampoo--so slick, so seemingly sincere, but to the discerning heart, the words are recognized for the twisting falsehoods they are.  "He who hates pretends with his lips, but stores up deceit within himself.  When he speaks kindly, do not trust him, for seven abominations are in his heart.  Though his hatred covers itself with guile, his wickedness shall be shown openly before the assembly.  Whoever digs a pit [for another man's feet] shall fall into it himself, and he who rolls a stone [up a height to do mischief], it will return upon him." Proverbs 26:24-27  

I'd love to have jumped onto that slippery slope my son-in-law created for those toddlers.  But I knew better than to do anything more than photograph it for posterity.  selahV        

FACING JUDGEMENT DAY

Someday we'll all stand before the throne of God's judgment.  My deeds will be gold or they will be straw.  They will go on forever and be rewarded or they will be burned and receive their just reward.  Some day I will have to give an account for every idle word I've spoken.  Unlike my very quiet and controlled husband, I'm going to be in big trouble.  I tremble at the thought of how long I'll be standing at the throne giving an account.  Indeed, that may be why I am getting eternal life.  It may take an eternity to explain myself.

Explain myself?  My words?  My actions?  My inaction?  I don't know quite how the Lord plans to do this.  I'm not all that familiar with the way it will all play out according to scripture.  Maybe He'll replay it all in my mind like a virtual video of thoughts.  Maybe the folks involved with my words and actions will be there to give their own account.  I don't know.  This makes me ponder all the more how I behave myself each day.  It makes me pray all the more for clearer discernment to the Spirit's conviction and prompting.  It makes me yearn for more defining sensitivity to His presence in my life.

How about you?  Do you give any thought to the day you have to give an account for every word and action?  selahV

IF ONLY

Ever want to roll back the clock?  Ever wish you could undo something you've done, or do something you have omitted?  This weekend I have.  I've thought about times I've made mistakes and what happened as a result of my choices.  I've wondered if things could have been different had I chosen a different path.  I could beat up on myself forever for all those times.  But what purpose would it serve?  Would it bring any glory to God?

Ever beaten up on someone who has made a mistake?  Ever joined in the group of stoners and scorners?  What purpose does that serve?  Does it bring any glory to God?  One thing I've noticed about the mistakes I've made, is that God can use them to bring about good.  He can also use those things to illuminate the grace of others in my life.  If only we could all let go of our mistakes as easily as we commit them.  If only we could forgive others for their mistakes as quickly as we want to be forgiven our own.  If only.  selahV

WHAT PATH ARE YOU ON?

In what direction are you headed?  Think about how you spent the majority of your time last week, yesterday, thus far today.  What does it say about your priorities?  Think about what you said this morning.  Think about what you've written this day.  Yesterday.  Did you glorify God in your conversation?  Did you glorify God in your actions?  Your thoughts?

"Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright.  Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil."  Proverbs 4:26,27.

Will your path be followed by others?  Do you want others to follow your path?  Do you want your children and grandchildren to see the way you are headed?  Will it lead them unto righteousness?  selahV

Devotional guide: "FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER.

WHAT OUR CHURCHES NEED

What does your church need?  More laborers?  More tithers?  More space?  More baptisms?  Better preacher?  New pews?  High-tech equipment? 

"...The need of the hour is that we see ourselves as we really are.  For no man will change until he sees what he really is.  No sinner is ever saved until he sees himself a sinner.  No saint ever goes from victory to victory until he sees himself in light of God's glory...

Dear friend, the church today needs to experience the kind of purging by fire that brings her to the point of brokenness and submissiveness before the Lord so that when people see her, the only explanation for her is God.  Gold has had all the impurities burned out.  Buy gold when people come to your door, they will find the wealth that will meet their need.  They'll find a flexible, submissive saint of God so yielded to the living Lord that nothing gets in the way of their being touched by the Master's hand.  Oh that peple might say of us that there is no explanation for our lives, there is no explanation for our ministries, our churches, other than the presence, the power and the glory of God."  MANLEY BEASLEY:  Man of Faith--Instrument of Revival, by Ron Owens.

This quote is a snippet from the tapestry of testimonials collected by Ron Owens in his accounting of Manley Beasley.  These particular words are but a portion of Beasley's sermon based on Revelation 3:18.  "Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the same of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see."  Amplified.

"Before gold is sold on the market it has to go through a purification process. This process is quite complex and dangerous. It needs to be done under the right circumstances and with the utmost care in safety precautions. It is not recommended to try this process unless you have experience working with harmful chemicals..."  Chris Sherwood, How to Purify Gold

Perhaps we wonder why Christianity is being attacked from every side of the world.  Pehaps we wonder why saints of God are walking more and more with the world and accepting the culture without reserve.  Perhaps we wonder why our churches do not have much influence on society as a whole.  Could it be us?  Could it be that God is placing us in the furnace of purification?  Are we satisfied with less than the glory of God in our own personal lives, and thereby building our churches with bronze instead of Gold?  selahV

SO MUCH TO SHARE

This is one of those times I don't know where to start.  So many great things happened this weekend.  I had breakfast at church to honor my grandson and the other highschool grads in our church.  What a spread!  I felt guilty just smelling it.  The teens look so eager to trade one era of education for another.  Do they know what they are beginning?  It's exciting to think about the next step for all of them.  And a bit scary.  Their youth minister mentioned how they will probably take classes in college that will challenge their Christian beliefs.  He prayed they'd stay strong and rooted in what they know as Truth in Christ--to study their Bibles and always go back to the Word when they are challenged.  I can't forget these young people in days ahead. 

Then I watched my little granddaughter, Abby, get baptized.  She was so excited to let the world know that she loves Jesus.  I pray now for her walk as a Christian.  She read the Scripture that I wrote in the card I gave her and hugged me for it.  It was an exciting time.  She's been talking to me about knowing Jesus loved her since she was five.  She's always asking questions about God.  It's a joy to see her hunger and thirst.

My younger granddaughter, Haylee, woke up this morning and her mom told me the first words out of her mouth were, "I get to sing on stage tonite!"  She's been talking about it all week.  She sings in the children's choir and she thinks it is very important.  The group of preschoolers were adorable as they smiled and praised God in worship.  They joined with the other children's choirs and sang with such joy.  It made me think seriously about how stale we adults can be when singing praises to God sometimes.  These kids beamed with excitement and anticipation.  Shouldn't we approach our times of worship with that attitude?  selahV

IMPRISONED AND SET FREE

In Christ we have all we need to meet the circumstances that seem to imprison our souls and manacle us to our past.  Abuse.  Addictions.  Abandonment.  Betrayals.  In Christ we are set free to praise, to live under grace and receive the greatest joy.  Jesus gives us that choice--to live victoriously.

"At the bottom of a Philippian prison cell sat Paul and Silas. With mangled bodies and emotional torment they began to pray. Soon their spirits were raptured into the presence of the Ancient of Days. The joy of their spirits conquered the agony of their bodies and weariness of their souls. Before long they broke into a symphony of praise.

In the darkness of their trial Paul and Silas praised God. And their gospel-centered lives experienced LIFE. Their bonds were loosed – doors were opened - and morning was soon to dawn on a very dark night. As we live the gospel-centered life we are prosperous. And in our darkest hours, we can praise God for the coming morn."  Dr. Brad Reynolds, Guardian Ministries

What imprisons you today?  What bars surround your heart and soul?  Break free and sing.  Sing a new song.  A song of praise, because God is good.

Blessed is He among all generations.  Blessed is He in the darkest of hours.  Blessed is He in the tremors of earth.  Blessed is He in the fire of pain.  Blessed is He in the hatred of man.  Blessed is He in the most violent of storms.  Blessed is He.  Blessed is He Who has overcome the world.  His Truth will set you free.  And you will be free, indeed.  selahV

A BIT SICKENED AND WEARY, I GUESS

It's 1:52 a.m.  I couldn't sleep.  Don't know why.  Maybe it was the scene I saw in IHOP at dinner tonite.  A husband treated his wife like dirt; he snapped and snarled when she'd knocked over a beverage glass.  It didn't matter that she repeatedly apologized for the spill.  He kept making a scene.  Their little girl patted and rubbed her mother's shoulders to console her as she cried.  I don't know.  Maybe it was the clerk I talked to in the store this afternoon when she asked if my purchase of flowers  was for Memorial Day.  When I told her they were for my son's grave, she shared that her 33 year-old cousin, a police officer in Mexico, was killed and quartered by the Cartel last week.  The young officer's mother was shown the body.  When I was leaving we hugged one another and I promised to pray for her and her aunt.  Maybe it is simply reading vindictive exposes' by folks who could serve the world much better if they'd only minister to discouraged souls in a confidential manner.  I don't know.  But for now, I'm sickened and weary of the state of some minds.  And I'm praying for Christ to give peace that passes understanding to those so desparately in need of His comfort.  I feel so helpless in it all, and I feel a bit sickened and wearied, I guess.  selahV

BY NO MEANS PERFECT

No matter how many times God breaks me, reassembles me and stands me up again, I will never be perfect.  I will never know it all.  I will never understand it all.  No matter how busy I am, how much I serve Him, or practice what I preach, I will never have it all together.  

I am so very grateful that God's grace covers my sin.  I am equally grateful I have been made righteous in Jesus, through Jesus, and for God's glory.  I am grateful my eternal destiny does not depend upon me but my Savior's attoning act upon the cross.

Knowing this, does not give me license to sit back and twiddle my thumbs at the evil I see in the world or to condone it with my silence.  It does not erase my responsibility to warn others of the evils in this world, and the sin that destroys their lives.  It does not negate the fact that God's Word gives specific instructions on how to live a holy life and to encourage others to persevere in remaining set apart as His child.  In fact, being His child, commands me to share Jesus and teach others about Him and all He offers through His redemptive power and sanctifying process.

It is by grace I am saved and sanctified.  And it is through grace I extend grace to others in their walk with God.  I cannot live for another; I can only set myself apart as God leads and His Word teaches.  I really don't want to be lukewarm spew.  I do not want to be so cold that I have no compassion, no desire, no interest in others.  I do not want to be so hot that I treat others in a hateful, condescending, overbearing way.

Pride is destestable in God's sight, just as practicing homosexuality is abominable.  To think myself higher or greater than another is pride.  Where is the line between warning, exhortation and judgement?  What risks do we Christians run in vocalizing our opposition to sin?  Can we really stand for Jesus without standing against Satan and his tactics, deceit, tools, and methods?  How do you present yourself as a "living sacrifice" without sacrificing anything and everything that could be harmful to another's walk with Christ?  selahV

FEASTING ON THE BETTER THINGS

Nine times out of ten when asking someone how they are, they will say, "Fine.  Good.  Doing okay."  And to be honest, the majority of the time, folks are fairlly fine, basically doing good or okay.  Though problems are in their lives, they do their best to rise above them.  They determine to face the day with as much grace as they can muster.  They do not let the world know their mental battles, the physical struggles, or the wars they have spiritually.

Anyone can be negative, annoying and disgruntled.  Anyone can focus on all that goes wrong in a day.  It's easy to grumble, murmur, and complain.  It's common to see the dark spot on the pristine wall and notice its flaw.  But it is not the better portion of one's life to dwell on the annoyances or turmoil. 

"All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances]."  Proverbs 15:15 Amplified.

Anxiety weighs us down.  Affliction can wear us down.  Why is it that some people have as many problems, or more than others, and manage to see the vast amount of goodness surrounding the bad?  The person who manages to do this is sometimes called an optimist.  But not everyone is an optimist by nature.  Proverbs says, "he who has a glad heart has a continual feast".  A glad heart--a heart focused, not on oneself--but Jesus Himself, has a continual feast.  We don't have unceasing praise for life--we have unceasing praise for the Life Giver.  Jesus has overcome the world and all its anxieties, its heartache, its sorrow.  In Christ is redemption.  Forgiveness.  Sanctification.  Righteousness.  Freedom.  Eternal life.  Constant, continual presence of His Spirit.  Peace.  Reconciliation.  Counting our blessings in Him gives us the glad heart we need to face "all the days" meant for evil.  God makes them for good.  selahV

I DON'T WANNA BE A COTTONBALL CHRISTIAN

Unused, a cottonball is so soft and clean looking.  If you press down on it with your finger, it springs right back into shape.  However, the more times it is compressed, the more it loses its shape.  It's still a cottonball, just no longer a puffy ball.  When placed on a bottle of polish remover, it absorbs the acetone in a nano-second--becomes saturated with it.  It's still a cottonball--just filled with something else.  Some Christians so absorb the things of the world and take in its culture, philosophy and ideology, they remind me of that cottonball.  It's still a cottonball...but it's so full of acetone that when it is used to remove the nail-lacquer, it flattens like a pancake.  And it gets so smeared by the mess it seeks to clear off, it must be tossed aside as worthless for any other purpose.  How does one wash a cottonball, anyway?   selahV

TIME FLIES! WHEW!

Sixteen?  I can't believe it!  But it's true.  Ryan is graduating and Jordy is driving!  What a blessing these boys are to me.

Lord protect them, guide them in Your ways.  Deepen their love for You, Jesus.  Let them be beacons of Light for others.  selahV

SOMETIMES IT HURTS REAL BAD

We don't know why things happen to us sometimes.  We don't know why things happen to others.  And sometimes it hurts real bad to learn of the problems in the lives of brothers and sisters in Christ.  I had the awesome honor to speak at a Ladies Supper tonite in Duncan, OK.  When I was asked to speak, I knew it was so close to Mother's Day that my brain might go for a hike.  I've been praying about this for weeks and believed God was leading me to share, When We Wonder Why and scriptures that have helped me trust God in the unthinkable circumstances of life.

You know.  It's hard to imagine how to help other people trust God when circumstances are cutting deeply into the emotional veins of their lives.  Sometimes it hurts so bad for folks that you wonder how in the world a word from you can make any difference.  I didn't have a clue when I went to speak to this wonderful group of women that they had so many difficulties.  Some are battling cancer, others have children with extremely difficult situations and life-threatening problems.  Please lift them up in prayer.  One lady has a ten-year old daughter (her name is Jordan) on dialysis who needs a kidney transplant.  Please pray for her.  And pray for her siblings who have to share so much of their parent's time and attention with their sister.

After I shared what God laid upon my heart, I was privileged to spend a bit of time with some of them and talk.  These aren't strangers.  These are my sisters in Christ.  These are your sisters.  These are people who are trying to live for Christ and are being buffeted by the trials and struggles that are so very hard--and hurt so much.  They need God's divine intervention.  Their dear pastor and his wife are standing in the gap, doing the best they know how to do...depending on God to give them wisdom and strength for their ministry.  Please pray for them, also.

Life is hard for most of us, for the person next to you, today.  For the cellphone sales associate, for the checkout gal, for the service-station attendant, for the teacher, the nurse, the cable installer, the postman, the soldier, paperboy, and the pizza-delivery guy.  We do not know what these folks are battling in their lives.  If we did, we might be a bit more patient, offer a word of encouragement and whisper a prayer on their behalf.  It's the least we can do.  After all--life is hard--and sometimes it hurts real bad.  selahV 

BLESSED ARE THE MOTHERS OF THE WORLD

Today is the day folks have traditionally set aside to celebrate as Mother's Day.  On this day we honor our mothers and even honor all mothers.  When I think of this day each year, I think not of my own mother, because I really didn't know my Mother.  She left me with my Dad and two brothers when I was 3 years old.  Through my lifetime I grew to understand what it takes to be a mother by the best I saw in other mothers.  The mothers in my school.  The mothers of my church.  The mothers of my relatives.  The mothers of my neighbors.  In them, I found what I believed motherhood to be.  My mother and stepmother simply couldn't measure up to those around me.

God blessed me immeasurably with some great examples as a child.  It was a mixed blessing.  I lived between the world of wanting and accepting the lot in which I lived.  I lived with the fantasy of what life could have been if my biological mother had stayed with me and the reality of being abused, emotionally and verbally by a mentally ill stepmother.  Yet, always in the midst of the confusion of my life, I knew there was a better way.  I felt it.  I saw it exemplified in the love I received from my school teachers, and my Sunday School teachers.  For every bad example of motherhood, there are many more good examples.  I salute these moms today.

I am convinced that the positive examples of motherhood that God placed in my life are part of what has helped me become the mother He wants me to be.  I am also convinced that the poor examples are ones God used to strengthen me, to teach me perseverance, faith and ultimately forgiveness.  I am convinced that part of the reason I am a Christian today is because of the love I was shown from Mrs. Warren, Mrs. Gibbs, Mrs. Varner, Mrs. Lindamood and Mrs. Keys.  I believe it was their prayers for me as a child, and their interest in me as a child, that God used to guide me to Him in my 28th year.  Once I became a Christian, I was able to read in God's Word about the kind of mothers who lived their lives as God wanted.  I read principles that helped me understand motherhood.

It would take a book for me to give tribute to all the mothers who have blessed my life, and even then, I'd leave some out.  So for all the moms out there in the world who are moms to all the children in need of moms, I give you thanks.  I call you blessed.  And I pray the fruit you bear will indeed produce greater fruit than you can even imagine.  God bless you all. 

DO YOU HAVE SOME MOTHER, YOURS OR ANOTHER'S, WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE?  selahV

INTERESTING TATTOO

I was checking out of a store today.  I noticed a tattoo on the clerk's arm.  It wasn't on the outside.  It was just below her elbow, on the inside of her arm.  It was the "Serenity Prayer".  I thought a moment when I noticed it, then said, "I pray God grants you the serenity you need."  The clerk looked me in the eyes, smiled, rubbed her arm and said, "Thank you."

That prayer has been repeated by thousands upon thousands of people through the years.  I don't even know who wrote it.  But I do know that many alcoholics and drug addicts repeat it as they struggle from day to day, hour by hour to stay sober and drug free.  There's no telling how many plaques, cards and gift displays that have been sold with that little prayer.   Today I pray for those people.  I pray they find the real Power in Christ Who gives serenity in the struggle.  I pray for those families whose lives are torn in bits because of an alcoholic loved one--for courage to change the things they can.  I pray for the families who've lost loved ones because alcoholics have left them without a father, a mother, a brother or child--to accept the things they cannot change.  May they find the peace to live with their heartache and loss.

Will you join me in praying for the people who struggle from day to day with these battles?  selahV

For an excellent reference guide on a biblical view of the wine consumption and its relevance to today, I recommend reading this book....Achient Wine & The Bible, a case for abstinence.  You can purchase it here by clicking here.

TO SOME, IT'S IRRELEVANT; TO OTHERS....

...it carries all the relevancy in the world.  May 8th.  It's just another day in May to most folks.  It's not Cinco de Mayo, or the National Day of Prayer.  And this year, it's not even Mother's Day.  Four years ago, it was the worst day of my entire life.  It was Mother's Day.  While waiting for a blooming onion at Applebee's, my husband's cellphone rang.  A few minutes later, we were told my only son, Chad, had been killed in an ATV accident.  I will never forget that day. 

Today I went down to Texas to see his two little girls for lunch.  Each of them asked me the same thing.  "Mimi, do you remember what today is?"  Abby was just 3 at the time.  Brooklyn, 7.  It's hard to believe they remember each year.  But they do.  Brooklyn marks it on her calendar--as well as his birthday in August.  Brooklyn was comforting a friend who was sad because today also marked the one-year anniversary of her grandmother's death.  Brooklyn said, "I understand how you feel, cause I lost my daddy four years ago on this day."  After that, several students came up to her and told her they were sorry.  But Brooklyn said, "It's okay.  I'm sad; but I'm still happy."  I'm so grateful for that.  I told her, that was good, because her daddy wanted her to be happy.

It's odd to think back and realize someone who was such a dynamic force in your life has been gone for four years.  And that he's never coming back.  The days aren't as long anymore, but the years are still flying by.  Chad was so full of life that I know he wouldn't want us thinking sad thoughts.  He would want us to celebrate life--just as he is celebrating Life with his Savior in heaven.  He's probably equally thrilled that his youngest daughter, Abby is going to be baptized on May 17th--that she's given her heart to Jesus and wants the world to know.

All these things may be irrelevant to some folks.  But to me, and to folks who know and love me and my grandchildren, it's very relevant.  Relevancy is a personal thing.  What's relevant to one, can be utterly irrelevant to another--in which case, the latter need not concern himself at all.  For the former?  We are "remembering the good times" and praising God for the legacy of love Chad left behind in our hearts forever.  selahV 

A TRIVIAL MATTER

This is not the least bit important to anyone except me.  I went shopping today.  I wanted a new "something" for a special event on Monday night.  Earlier I looked in my closet and contemplated the mix and match selection of browns, blacks, blacks, and browns and thought...I need something brighter, something Spring-like!  So after having lunch with my husband, I went to the mall.

It took me about fifteen minutes in the first shop to discover that they just don't make clothes for people like me anymore.  I'm a simple kind of person.  The gaudy prints (sorry for you who are wearing them), and short-waisted, sleeveless tops, do nothing for me. I wanted something colorful and Spring-like; but I didn't want to look like a picnic table.  On top of that, the prices were outrageous!  So I went to another shop and found the same stuff, only in different colors and wilder patterns.  About ten more minutes scrolling through the racks and I felt as excited about the selections as I do about the ingredients in a hotdog.  I was on the verge of feeling quite discouraged when a phrase came to my mind, "take no thought for what you will wear."

Ah ha!  I stopped thumbing through the items immediately, turned around, weaved my way through the racks, and walked out of the mall.  I felt so relieved.  I felt good about what I already have and contented with what I didn't.  Appearances.  How important are they anyway?  selahV  

WHEN LIFE AIN'T A SLIDING BOARD

Is your life easy?  I'm not talking about easy in comparison to someone else's.  I'm talking about your day being a slip down the playground slide--slick and smooth with a soft-sand landing at the end.  No problems.  If your life is a series of those kind of days, then more power to you.  You can stop reading now, go get your comic strips, put your feet up and just "be happy". 

For most folks, though, life is not all sunshine and roses; it ain't a sliding board.  Life is fraught with trials, problems, chaos, crisis, and upheavals.  Just start in Genesis and read through Revelation.  It's only in a brief couple of chapters that we find complete paradise.  No one is exempt from the difficulty of life.  None of us.  It can be as annoying as the smallest rock in our shoe to living with an abusive parent.  It can be as simple as an illness that causes us to miss a paycheck, to as frightening as losing a job.  No matter how difficult we find the climb in our own lives, we can always look around and see someone else who has a far greater mountain.  We can take courage when we see them endure, overcome or persevere.

God never intended it to be so difficult.  Life began in paradise and everything was perfect.  Man's decision to sin set in motion a world filled with darkness and trouble.  Over and over again we read the difficulty people faced from then on.  Even the most holy of people faced difficulty.  But with each difficulty came opportunity for man to turn to God for strength, wisdom and hope.  Today, God offers us His Son to cleanse us from all sin.  He gives us his Spirit to help carry our load.  In Christ we are no longer alone in a desert place.  He keeps us in the center of peace when we focus on Him and trust Him to take us through those difficult times.  He gives us other Christians to help shoulder burdens and encourage one another.

When my granddaughter, Kinsey, climbs the slide, she likes to have me stand at the bottom to catch her when she comes down.  She has more confidence to let go knowing I am there.  That's what God does for us when we look to Him in confidence.  He is always with us to keep us through the perils and trials.

And the best part of life is that we can be the ones to help others face those times.  We can be used to hold others up in prayer.  To visit the troubled.  To offer words of encouragement.  To share Jesus.  Can you think of someone who has helped you through a difficult time--someone who's been at the end of your slide?  Wasn't it a blessing?  It's been that way for me.  No matter how hard my situation is, God has always brought someone into my life to help me, to counsel, inspire, motivate and build me up.  To undergird me.  That fuels me to be someone for another.  How about you?  selahV

   

PLOWING UNDER

Florida can't make any money off their tomato crops.  It's not worth it to even harvest them.  So they are plowing them under.  Perfectly good tomatoes.  Not a thing wrong with them.  Somehow that just seems wrong.  They say it is because they can't sell them at a profit.  So, why not let people into the fields to pick them at will?  Why not let folks have them who know how to preserve those delectable red globes for chili, salsa, spaghetti, and pizza sauce?

It reminds me of so many other things we have in life.  If is isn't making ME money, then Lord forbid I give it to someone else who can use it.  When I think of all the hungry folks out there and the fact that I can't ever get tomato plants to produce here in Oklahoma, well, it just rubs me the wrong way to hear of such waste.  It also brings to mind the fact that "fields are white unto harvest" and we lack laborers for the field.  How many lives are being plowed under by the world because of my complacency?  How many are dying on the vine?  selahV