Keep eating

God's Word is not meant to be nibbled.  Yet I continue to cheat myself of the zestiest morsels.  For example, I use the concordance for a particular topic, find a single verse or two that speaks very well to my inquiry.  So I stop there when I do best to read at least that entire chapter if not more.  It doesn't take that long and yields such nourishment.  I am making a new vow to myself to develop better eating habits.

24/7 warrior duty

During Sunday eve's sermon, I'm just sitting there minding my own business, listening to Mike's very good sermon on fear.  The presence of the Spirit showed up and my mind and heart heard these words: Wake Up.  Once in awhile I have this type of encounter when I least expect it.  I have something to chew on accompanying this attention getter.  And I will continue to seek God's meaning to me so hopefully I can yield to it and pray into it.  One thing I know for sure.  It has to do with the non-option of being in the war.  We are all in it whether we choose it or not.  But the really scary part of it does belong to God.  And He's not afraid.  Wow.  P.S.  God sees a garland of roses around my neck, their beauty gracing the shield of faith.

Maybe my dilemma can help yours

Ouch!!! That's getting a little personal, God.  I THINK I've figured out that I've been avoiding an important reality check of the deep kind.  You know . . . allowing the yuck to bubble on out by actually speaking it out loud to God.  Anyway, that's how it is with me.  Keeping it unsaid but alive in my thoughts doesn't allow me progress.  And I've also realized there's some communication via the Spirit-powered prayer language that I've been resisting.  NO MORE RESISTING.  I'm ready for a breakthrough.  I don't know for sure what the outcome will be or when it will be, but I'm forging ahead.  Go ahead, Lord, and peel that layer away.
Trust and obey for there's no other way . . .

Allowing God to be Himself

I'm not the type who asks a lot of why questions.  Not about life, not about God. At some point it must have seemed easier to not go there.  Since my mom died when I was 9 and a lot of bad things happened from then on, it makes sense that I would be more intent on surviving than figuring out the whys of it all.  I was looking back in journals I had written in as far back as 10 years.  I never went down the why road in those recorded thoughts either.  Right now I see this as a blessing.  I feel comfortable with God being mysterious.  Actually, I LOVE that He is.  

Boundaries

I was observing the fish on the sidebar of my family/marriage blog :   chuckanddeli.blogspot

I know these are only pretend fish in cyberspace, but they keep going to the edge of their little imaginary box -- their boundary.  It made me think about me.  Recently I prayed with someone who is experiencing confusion about boundaries now that she's read the popular book widely known in Christian circles.  She is more confused than ever, it seems.  I'll soon be 60 and I haven't even figured out what a boundary is much less live by them.  So here is my question -- if a person isn't aware of a boundary, does one even exist?  Hmmm

A thought provoking scripture

God's written word is not only living, it is on fire and its heat catches us offguard at times. This was the case for me about 3 days ago as I picked up a book that was talking about prophecy. It cited the example of Samuel with this one verse. Listen -- "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." I Sam. 3:19 So, we know Samuel's mom Hannah vowed to let God have her son if only God would favor her with one as she endured the heartache of childlessness. She turned Samuel over to the priest Eli when he was a whopping 3 yrs old. Samuel benefited from Eli's parenting even though Eli's biological sons were bad news. Samuel was called by God to be His messenger, a prophet whose track record is referred to in this one verse. God granted such a good ear to Samuel that "none of his words fell to the ground". They were all reliable and true messages. I've been pondering this verse for 3 days now. I am in awe of how rich such a few words are. I'm thinking about how important the obedience of an individual is to God's plan. I'm thinking about God's truth never falling to the ground even in the "hands" of us mere mortals. Good stuff . . .

Vacation

We finally made it to a winery on our last day in Missouri.  It was very warm, but a breeze helped as we sat on the deck at Montelle Winery out of Augusta, MO.  As we ate lunch there, we observed a lot of tipsy young women.  It was 1 p.m. on a Sat.  Some of them were in pretty bad shape.  I've been there so I know all about the process including the hangover and embarrassment afterwards.  I haven't been around drunk people for a long time.  I didn't expect to see so many at a winery mid-day.  They just wanted some fun.  I get that.  But I couldn't help but think of what God says -- be drunk with His Holy Spirit, not wine.  There's no shame or hangover or ugly consequences, just joy and all those other fruits.