Don't give tools the credit!

Imagine this scenario...
            A masterful carpenter is putting the final touches on an intricately carved piece of furniture.  Just by            viewing the furniture you can tell how much work and skill went into its creating.  Then, a passerby comes along and sees this piece of furniture.  The admirer looks at all the fine detail and all the hard work.  Then the passerby tells the carpenter "Man! Those tools did an amazing job making this furniture".

During Sunday school, this picture rolled though my mind like a movie.  Sometimes that is how God speaks to me, so I thought He might want me to share this.  So here we go.

What is wrong with this picture?  I am sure that you have already discerned that the problem is that we never give the tools the credit for making anything magnificent.  Picasso didn't give his paintbrushes credit, nor did Van Gogh, but rather when people viewed what these men had created, those admirers probably said what beautiful work the artist had done.

Why is it then that when we do exactly what we have been told to do by God, we want to take credit?  We are to go forth into every nation and tell them of the news of Jesus' love, life and sacrifice for them.  Sometimes when people are only an introduction for someone to God, they want to say "I brought them to salvation".  No you didn't.  Only the Holy Spirit can convict someone.  No words we say, no matter how eloquent, no actions we take, no matter how righteous or forceful can make anyone accept Christ's gift.

So don't give tools the credit for a plan laid out so masterfully by the Creator.  Just be glad that you are able to be used in creating such a beautiful thing as a new life in Christ.

God uses women too....

When we think of women in the bible, most of the ones that stand out as godly women are women who didn't come from great means, importance or social status.  The women we associate with good character are women like Mary (Jesus' mother) who was but a mere girl when chosen to be the mother to our Savior.  There are other women, like Ruth, whose actions were such an example as to have a whole chapter dedicated to them.  Neither of these women had wealth, but quite the opposite.  Mary was a teenager who had been affianced to Joseph at around the age of 14.  We know that she was approached by an angel and told that she would give birth to Jesus (from the time before and since there has never been another birth that didn't require two sets of DNA so we know what people probably thought of Mary).  Ruth was an old widow who was faithful to her mother-in-law Naomi.  She found favor in God's eyes and was married to Boaz and taken care of even in her old age.

I say all that to tell you this, women are important to God.  He used them in the bible to do important works for Him.  God used Jael to defeat an enemy of the army of Israel.  He could have used anyone, he could have chosen the most mighty warrior that Israel had, but chose instead to use a courageous and faithful woman.  When you look at statistics for missions funding and we think of those yearly church offerings, what sort of names do you think of?  Eliza Broadus, Annie Armstrong, those ring a bell?  The thing they both have in common is that they are both women and both loved God.

God can use anyone to teach, preach and evangelize.  You don't have to have seminary school under your belt to tell someone of God's love.  There is not a asterix at the end of the Bible saying that all the words in here only apply to men and when Jesus says the harvest is full but the workers are few, he wasn't referring to just men.  He used women in the Bible, and He will use you today.

What Could Be Is Now

Can you imagine a life without worry
Without care and without pain?
A life with joy and peace with
Comfort that is sustained.

Life for you my loves,
Could be called unfair at best.
At time it's seemed unbearable
Like an un-passable test.

Please know that it can be better
If you keep your eyes ahead
Let go of the past, it is unchanging
Your faith in Him embed.

I'll take your pain, if you will
For I have two sturdy knees
Lay your cares, I'll give them away
God will take them away from me.

~For my sister and my niece.  I'll be with you through this new journey.  I love you both with all my heart.  Please always know that.

Don't Do Familiar Again

Sometimes it seems like life is on auto-pilot.  Then suddenly you are cast into a turbulence so severe you are not even sure if you will make it off this trip alive...
Having a niece in the ICU on the brink of death jerked me out of auto-pilot.  The terrible thing would be if we took this gift from God for granted.  If we let life slip back into what is comfortable and familiar.  Please tell me that I am not the only one that realizes that if we do the same thing, we will get the same outcome we have always gotten.  Life is too precious to take for granted.  Think of those that we've lost, those that we've almost lost and then tell me that there isn't room in your life for some improvement.  Each decision that we make should first be thought through.  If it will displease God, it will hurt my family, and it will hurt myself, I try not to do it.  However; I am by NO means perfect.  I do think that I have gotten the main idea of life down.  The secondary concepts I may still need some work on.  But one thing I can tell you for sure that I've discovered in my 30 years is that sometimes people will stick to familiar even if familiar hurts.
Please don't do familiar again.
I love you.
You were created for something beautiful and what you are doing now is not beautiful.


Praise God for bringing my niece back from the brink of death.

Pictures I love

What did you think prophecy meant?

Everyday I watch the news and it seems like at least once a week in our country or some other country there is a natural disaster that has beaten past records on its strength and death toll.  I am not surprised by these, what I am surprised by is the fact that people are surprised it is happening.  It has been written down for a long time.  Granted, it doesn’t give the date and time each flood, hurricane, tornado or earthquake will occur, but it does say that they will occur. 
Luke 21: 7 - 12 says:
⁷And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?
⁸And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
⁹But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.
¹⁰Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
¹¹And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
¹²But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
While all of these things that the Bible has foretold does mean death, sorrow, and hurt, for Christians it also means the culmination of all we have lived for since accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  The only way to make the things that WILL continue to happen less scary, is to understand why they are happening.
If you are reading this, and you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, please contact me, or someone else of faith and ask us how we can help you.  Being a Christian isn’t restrictive, it is liberating because you no longer have to be in control of your life.  Let God take the reigns and you will be fine.

A different kind of thought...

It is funny how you meet someone who challenges they way you think about things.  What is even funnier (not ha ha, but like wow, really) is when you meet someone who you are sure has stepped right out of a movie with all their personality and pizzazz.  I shall not illuminate on this any further, just wanted to have this written down so perhaps I will remember this day later on in my "golden years".  Anyway, I have news to share:

My niece Rachel Clark aged 26 is fighting for her life at this moment.  She is suffering from ARDS, and she is also septic.  Monday morning she was discovered unconscious on the floor.  She was brought in to the hospital and since then it has been a roller coaster.  I am begging any of you who reads this to please, please pray for her.  She is the mother of three beautiful babies.  They have been through so much already, I pray that they can see a wonderful outcome from this situation.  God is mighty, He is a healer and a miracle worker.  We've read of Him raising people from the dead, parting seas, and many more wonders.  Rachel is in very critical condition, and prayers are greatly appreciated.  Also, if you have any prayer requests you would like people to pray for, please don't hesitate to hop over to the prayer request page and leave me a comment.  I'll add it to the main page.  God bless each one of you.  Thank you in advance for the prayers.