The move to write again.

 I have been away for a while.  I've noticed that this blog has gotten some traffic, albeit very small recently.  I'm feeling that I need the structure of a blog to keep me on track with writing.  I will try to figure out what I will start doing and let you know if you are interested in reading my posts.  

Have a blessed day!

Quote - Freedom

"When Jesus catches us it's to set us free."

~ Beth Moore

Quote - War

"The Islamic State has left no ambiguity about their aims. If you don’t think we are at war it is only because our courageous troops are fighting the battle in a faraway land so that you don’t have to know the very real threat every second of your life here at home (and for that we pray and support our troops in the battle)."

~ Michael A. Milton

Being a veteran I will always support my fellow soldiers.  In the United States, it is "out of sight, out of mind" we are not always aware of what is going on in the world.  Especially with all the crazy things going on right now that gets all the attention.  There are good soldiers all around the world fighting for the side of good.  Praying for their safety and return home to be with their families. 

Quote - Nonbelievers

"Often people avoid God because they see evildoers in the world and hypocrites in the church."  

~ NIV notes


I have heard many reasons why people don't want to become Christians and the two above seem to be at the top of the list.  People often ask why God allows bad things to happen if He is in charge.  John 14:30 says "the prince of this world is coming," Satan is the prince of this world.  I don't have an answer why evil is allowed to roam free except that God allows it.  We don't know why, but we should have faith that God knows exactly what He is doing.  

Hypocrites run rampant in many churches which will do more damage to push out new Christians or people thinking of becoming Christians.  The church is for sinners and we are all sinners.  If people are not acting like Jesus then don't take offense, that just means you are probably doing the right thing because the devil wants to trip you up.  

Remember that the enemy uses Christians all the time when they allow pride to get in between their relationship with God.  Don't let the enemy get a foothold because his roots run deep which you may not even notice until it's too late and they are extremely difficult to get rid of.

Quote - Self-Image

"People never out-perform their self-image."

~ John C. Maxwell

This is so true.  It's like a wall that we erect that we can't get past it. Look past what you think you are then you may be able to see yourself as God sees you.  It is nothing like what you see.  Our tendencies are to put ourselves down while building up others.  Our self image is created from a very early age. 

Do you know anyone who has been changed by a comment that someone made that broken their spirit and they live with that for the rest of their lives?  I have seen so many times people being affected by a hurtful comment made by those who are suppose to love and protect them.  At the time they don't see that the other person had their own issues.  They take in the negative and decide it must be a part of who they are which will be part of every decision they make for the rest of their lives.  Words can wound just like they can build up.  Why do we focus on the negative words and ignore the kind comments? 

The devil knows that if he can get us early in life then there may be a chance that we will remain stuck in our mess and won't be able to work for the Kingdom of God in any way. 

If you are in this position right now I hope you will take some time this year to focus on your thoughts.  Look into what you think and how it makes you feel.  You deserve a good life.  It does not matter what was said to you because God is more than those hateful words.  He loves you right in this very moment.  If you are thinking of all the bad things you have done because of the path you were set on by others, God can forgive that to.  It will be difficult to love others if we don't love ourselves.

Be kind to yourself, you may be the only one to do so.

Quote - Character in Leadership

"It is not wise or even possible to divorce private behavior from public leadership."

~ John C. Maxwell

This came from an email where John was talking about one of the worst president's - Warren G. Harding.  We can learn from the good and bad people from history, both are vital for learning life lessons.  Unfortunately people often repeat patterns from the past and many should stay as history.  Just like in the Bible, we are to learn from the choices people make and apply the lessons to our lives.  Everyone has hundreds of choices to make each day, but over time that is where our patterns develop into who we are as a person.  John also spoke about the people we choose to hang around with, those are the ones we will be more like than anyone else.  Mentors are important unless they are defeating your ability to grow as a person and holding you back.  We all have different levels of leadership (parenting, teachers, business leaders, etc) this applies to everyone not just CEO's.

Who are you choosing to spend your time with?  Do they lift you up and try to make you a better person or do they hold you down, not letting you grow in any way.

Why are you spending time with them?  Is there a need to be included or needed?  I would rather be alone than to be around someone who wants to drag me down.

Where to do you get your self-worth from?  If it's anything other than God then we will be disappointed. 

People will let you down throughout your life, but God is always there for you even if you pick the wrong people to be around.

Unfortunately people often repeat patterns from the past and many should stay as history.

New Year, New Plan

I haven't been on here that much this past year.  I'm not sure what is going on with me.  I am going to try to do better at posting more this year.  I would write in my planner to post on the blog last year and then just never do it.  The past year or so has been rather strange.  I never pretend I have it all together and this past year has really shown me that I am way off from where I should be.  I am trying to work on different areas this year, the most important ones that really matter.  As far as writing goes I want to post more and write a little every day.  I don't worry about starting on January 1st, I am slowly working on organizing my to do list (it's a mess) and making sure that I get things done.  I am one of those people who have a master to do list a mile long, I can write thirty things to do today in a couple of minutes.  The problem is that I don't have a very good system in actually doing the things on my to do list.  Thank you for stopping by even if I haven't been posting that much.  I'm a WIP (work in progress). 

Quote - Fear

"Courage is resistance to fear, not the absence of it."

~ Mark Twain

Quote - Impact

"We impress people with our success, but we impact people with our failures."

~ John Maxwell

John Maxwell is an amazing speaker and his focus is teaching leadership to the business world, but he has such great advice for everyone who wants to make an impact in their lives.  I think you can learn from looking at success stories, but to learn how people made it you often have to look at the beginning of the story.  The beginning is the unknown, where mistakes happen in the greatest number and fear can take hold.  Instead of looking back at our failures and being mad maybe we can look at them in a different light.  Often time and age will start to show how something we thought was a mistake becomes exactly what we needed in the place we are right now.  We can learn the most from those mistakes and make changes so we can move forward to where we were mean to be.

I have not been on here in a long time.  I'm not sure what is going on with me.  Lately I feel like I am floating down a river without a paddle, just watching everything, not doing anything.  I don't seem to have a vision or mission so I am going to have to figure out what is going on.  Maybe read a John Maxwell book to jump start my soul again.

Quote - Pride

"When folks get too wrapped up in themselves they make very small packages."

~ from the movie Joyful Noise

Quote - Compassion

"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace." 
~ Dr. Albert Schweitzer


I don't believe that we should narrowly pick only a few things to care about (while leaving others out).  We should care for all people, animals and everything that makes up the earth.  When lines of division are created it ultimately hides entire groups from someones mind, which can be very dangerous.  This is happening all around the world.  With everything going on today we should look to care for everything around us.  This is not a political issue, although many find it easy to justify their beliefs due to party over humanity or compassion.  We may look, speak, dress and act different but we all are human.  We have the same emotions, concerns, limitations and the same internal structures yet all you have to do is look at the news and you see divisions among religions, class, casts, race, and gender.  

I had some DNA tests done because I am very interested in where I come from.  I am a redhead who can get very tan, which I don't do anymore.  I have always wondered why I seemed to be different than other redheads or other light skinned people who only burn.  It was amazing to see all the countries my maternal line had come from (haven't done the paternal line yet).  Our DNA is suppose to have all of our history in it so the test showed the women in my family going back centuries.  I will share about that in another post.  I think if everyone tested their DNA they would discover we are indeed family, more connected than anyone could every imagine and I think it would completely change the view so many people have of others who look different than themselves.

Quote - Humility

"Our humility toward others is the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real."

~ Andrew Murray

We are called to be humble before God and we may try our very best to honor that, but often we are confronted with people who have vastly different ideas than us.  This seems to bring out the worst in so many people, politics comes to mind.  It is hard to believe the way that people treat others who have a different political view than they do.  This is nothing new, it just seems like it's the worst in history.  I am thinking that there are worse times that divide people although with our 24/7 news it seems to be prevalent everywhere right now.

Sometimes it is better to listen without defending your position.

Quote - Perspective

"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."

~ Nido Qubein

This is definitely the way we should look at our circumstances.  Sometimes it is hard to see the path we should be on because we have no idea what is coming down the road.  Our perspective is everything in determining if we are positive or negative about where we are at this moment which will determine what we will do to get to the life we want.

Quote - Persistence

"A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't."

~  Charles Spurgeon

Great quote.  I have even taken pictures of Bible's that are really worn out because I really liked what that meant.  They were opened countless times in joy and despair.  Daily reading over time will show signs of use and give a wonderful patina.  We can worry and fuss all we want, but if we don't open the Bible we can let the chaos in our lives take over to the point that we give it up entirely.

Shouldn't this be the most worn our book in our homes?  I know that my Bible in not worn our enough so I will try to work on this.  For those who have never picked up a Bible, give it a try.  For those who only open it on occasion, every day is a occasion.  I am doing Bible study with my kids, we just read a few chapters (skip some of the big grown up stuff) and talk about it.  Other than this I have slacked off on spending my own time with God.  I need to do better.  How about you?

Quote - Faith in Action

"When I don't understand what He does, I trust who He is."

~ Carl Lentz

There are many situations that we go through that we do not understand.  Some people during times of tragedy will turn away from God, it becomes a tipping point in their lives.  That is where their story either temporarily or permanently ends with God.  Others find a way to give their entire focus to God despite what is going on in their lives.  Those are the moments we need God the most, during the tough times.  I have seen people who have a close relationship with God go through such terrible things and watch in admiration how they cope by praising God in the midst of such sadness because I don't know if I would be able to be that strong.  The peace that they have is unmatched to anything else in this world.

I have also seen people who where Christians completely turn away from God because of a terrible situation.  They say "How could God let this happen to me."  They are angry and bitter and never seem to have much joy after that time.  God does not want that for us, He loves us through the sadness and heartbreak.

God knows we need time and He knows we get mad at Him when a loved one dies or we see a terrible injustice in the world and I think He is OK with that because He gave us our emotions as a way to process things we see and feel.  The Israelite's had a time of grieving in the Bible then they were to move on.  It sounds cruel, but I believe it kept the people from completely turning away from God in their grief because God restores the brokenhearted.  The problem arises when after a time of grief we don't turn to God or the grieving never ends.  I know for some that is the farthest thing from their minds, but He promises to comfort those who come to Him.  This does not mean you forget what happened, it means you are able to take one step at a time every day.

We see the back of a tapestry it's chaotic and ugly, but God sees the front side that is a beautiful masterpiece.  Another way to look at it is if you are a piece of thread on the front side of the tapestry and you look around, you will only see a few strands that are right by you, but what you fail to see is the entire magnificent picture.  So trying to figure God out is a useless pursuit.  Faith goes beyond any of our reasoning, thoughts, explanations and ideas.  We are to rely on God and not on our own understanding.

Quote - Perception of Reality

"Facts do not cease to exist just because they are ignored."

~ Aldous Huxley

This applies to more than just our divisive political climate.  This can also be personally, regionally or all the way up to global views.  We can easily lie to ourselves and justify anything that suits our views.  I have done it and so hasn't everyone else.  There are many that choose to take ideas and twist them to use for evil.  All we have to do is look anywhere during our history where there are people and we will see that facts are often ignored especially around large groups.  Mobs have a unique character as they seem to choose the worst common denominator which usually does not end well.

 To be a light in the world we first have to see it and only then can it be shared.  

Nahum 3:12-19

v. 12-19 "All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit;
when they are shaken,
the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
Look at your troops-
they are all women!
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed their bars.

Draw water for the siege,
strengthen your defenses!
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
There the fire will devour you;
the sword will cut you down 
and, like grasshoppers, consume you.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!
You have increased the number of your merchants 
till they are more than the stars of the sky,
but like locusts they strip the land
and then fly away.
Your guards are like locusts,
your officials like swarms of locusts
that settle in the walls on a cold day-
but when the sun appears they fly away,
and no one knows where.
O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber,
your nobles lie down to rest.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
Nothing can heal your wound;
your injury is fatal.
Everyone who hears the news about you 
claps his hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?"

Nahum must have known that this would challenge the pride of King Ashurbanipal.  To think you are a great king and be insulted in this way could drive someone crazy and be seething with anger.  God is showing that their defenses are insignificant.  Even calling his troops women.  Back in ancient times women were not fighters, they were wives, mothers, caregivers, they had no power during this time.

For them to fortify their defenses was useless.  Not only did they get insulted as women, but they were compared to locusts.  When the heat turns up they flee and will not stay and fight.  Their injury is fatal.  Nineveh was conquered around 50 years after this prophecy.  The Iraq Christians who lived in Mosul have been driven to the east in the last year or so, to the Nineveh Plain.    That is where the city of Nineveh was found around 1845.

The Bible is full of stories that we can learn from.  I heard someone call the Bible a library.  It's more than just a book, it spans a large amount of time with different writers and many different types of writing, all for the glory of God.

All nations hated Assyria and their cruel treatment of others so they probably were happy when the city fell.  Although there always seems to be another country just as evil that takes it's place.  Assyria in now Syria.  I think how this parallels current day events.  A dictator is in charge who has been killing his own people, there is no excuse for this cruel treatment of men, women and children.  I pray for those who have lost loved ones and for protection for the civilian population.

How you treat your poor, powerless and those who don't agree with you shows your true character.

Song - Oceans

I love this song by Hillsong United.  The music is amazing and the lyrics are outstanding.  

Oceans by United

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Oh, Jesus yeah my God

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

This is one of those songs that seems to get better each time I hear it.  Many feel as if they are just about to go under the waves, but God can restore each of us no matter how deep the water is that we are in.  If we trust in God then we are able to go further that we ever thought possible.  To hear this song click here (just click on skip ad).

Quote - Generosity

"Never suppress a generous thought."

~ Camilla E. Kimball

Our words can mean so much to someone else, but if we decide not to tell them then we both miss out on the blessing.  Don't keep kind words to yourself.  Give compliments when you think of one.  Make a point of saying something nice to someone, but not from a place of obligation or insincerity.  When we give kindness away it may just be the thing the other person needed most at that very moment.  This is desperately needed in the world today.  What if God was trying to use you to make a connection with another person, but you were afraid to say anything?

Why do we suppress kind thoughts, but most are not afraid to speak from hate, divisiveness and anger?

Go out and be the good in the world, even if you are the only one you know doing it, do it well.

Prayer Request

Next week I have to go in for another mammogram and an ultrasound since they have questions about the mammogram results I just went in for last week.  I am asking for prayer for no cancer and the tech to be able to see everything clearly.  I am doing good right now and trying not to stress, but sometimes it's difficult.  My chest has been feeling tight off and on for a while now so prayer that there is nothing wrong there as well (heart doc said my heart is in good shape).  I know that no matter what, I have faith in God and I know that He has a plan for me.  I am trying to focus on Him throughout the day and that brings peace.  Thank you