Author: Paula

Staying Between the Lines

Posted on by Paula

I am a person who uses the crosswalk. When we go for walks, my husband and daughter happily cross the street at an angle, while I lag behind because I am staying between the lines. If my husband and I are crossing together, and he starts easing me out of the lines, I choose to fall behind him so that I don’t go outside the boundary. I have even been known to go pretty far out of my way in order to use the crosswalk in various parking lots. I have often seen my family standing on the other side, shaking their heads, waiting on me to finish crossing. I can’t help it; I was taught that it is the rule and that it is the safe thing to do.

Another lesson about staying within the lines can be found in Deuteronomy 5:32-33, “You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.”

We must be careful that we are actively seeking God’s will each day. It is true that we are not able to earn salvation by keeping the law; we have all sinned. Salvation is a free gift that we receive when we put our faith in Jesus. We acknowledge that he is Lord, and that we are sinners. We turn from our sinful ways to Jesus and his ways.

Though we are not saved by our works, we do obey when we accept his gift of salvation. Jesus says in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” Our obedience comes out of our love for Jesus. He suffered humiliation and ridicule, violent beatings and undeserved death on a cross in order that we could be forgiven our sin. And just as he laid down his life for us, we too should lay down our lives for him.

When we make that decision to die to ourselves and live for Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Through him, we receive the power to overcome temptation and sin and to obey God’s commands. As his power works in us, we are transformed. If we cannot see a change in ourselves and we cannot see any fruit of the Spirit, we need to ask ourselves if we have truly repented and started living his way instead of our own.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

If you love him, you will keep his commands. Listen for the Holy Spirit, and let him keep you between the lines. He will teach you and remind you so that you will walk in the way of the Lord, not turning aside to the right or left.

It All Boils Down to a Choice

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She told me she needed to get her life straightened out. She thought she was strong enough for the choice she would face, but she slipped up again, just one day short of celebrating 90 days of staying clean. Although God had been strengthening her each day, Satan was waiting for the opportune time to entice her. In just one weak moment, she fell back into the trap. She relapsed. Disappointment, anger, guilt and regret followed.

A few days later, another woman shared with me that God had convicted her of a habit that was coming between her & him. She wanted to stop, but years of participating in the behavior made it difficult. She asked if I would pray for her.

I could relate all too well to their stories. I too started making some changes in my life this year, and I totally understand. The struggle is real!

I had neglected taking care of myself for years because I was too busy. As a result, I was sick and exhausted. When I cried out to God about my troubles, he convicted me. If the Holy Spirit dwells in my body, and I am to offer my body as a living sacrifice, I need to take care of it. How could I be of use to God, and how could I take care of others if I didn’t take care of myself? I needed to trust God to help me make the necessary changes and stay afloat with my busy life.

Every day has been a battle since that day I decided it was time to make those changes. I don’t want to go to bed early, but I don’t get enough sleep if I stay up late. I’d rather stay in my warm bed than get up early to exercise, especially when it’s cold and dark. However, I know that most of the time, I will be too tired and busy to exercise if I wait until I get home from work. I want to eat sugar, breads, dairy and junk food, but I know that my body will have more trouble if I indulge too much of those things. I am an excessive person, and am not always in the right frame of mind to do things in moderation.

I am the poster child for “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” I want to always please God by being obedient to him, but I love chocolate and sleep! Some days are easier than others as I’m learning to take my cross up daily and follow him. During this long, drawn-out battle, I have learned that it all boils down to my choices. I will either choose to obey the Holy Spirit and please God or I will choose to ignore the Holy Spirit and please myself. When I’m tempted to stay in bed, cheat on my diet or skip exercise, I am choosing to satisfy my flesh rather than to please God.

When the Holy Spirit convicts me of a behavior in my life that is keeping me from God or keeping me from living the life he called me to, then he will enable me and empower me to overcome. If I choose to ignore the Holy Spirit for too long, my heart could become hard and could risk no longer hearing his voice.

The choice is ours. Pray for God to help you surrender to him. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s convictions. He will empower you to overcome.

Remember All He Has Done!

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I was asking “Why?” one day. God has answered so many of my prayers lately, but he has also remained silent or even said, “No”concerning some things I’ve been praying about for a long time. I believe that my motives in what I’m asking are pure and that what I’m asking would advance the kingdom, but for some reason, God has yet to come in and save the day.

Satan can really start to mess with a person’s mind in times like this, “You’ve been praying about this for over 20 years. If God loves you so much, why won’t he help you out? God is totally able to do what you are asking. Why won’t he fix the situation?”

A thought about this came to me recently, “Stop fretting about what God isn’t doing, and remember all he has done!” My heart was convicted, and my mind started thinking of all the wonderful things that God has done for me.

I remembered the pile of shells sitting at my table on the porch. Back in June I wrote a post called, “What Do These Shells Mean?” At that time, I was remembering some of the encounters that I had with God and writing them down on seashells I had found at the ocean. I had planned on making a wind chime with those shells, but I didn’t have time to complete the project.

This Sunday, I decided that it was time to do something with those shells. Sorting through them was good. They reminded me of so many wonderful things that God had done. I even had a few things to add because over the past few months, God has continued to bless me and to allow me to experience how good he is.

There are many great spiritual markers written on those shells. Each one of those encounters with God strengthened my faith and deepened my relationship with him. Likewise, each experience with God has made an impact on my life that has helped transform me to be more like Jesus.

I’m sure that I will add even more shells to this wind chime as God continues to pour into my life. There is already one shell on there, though, that will always be the most important shell. It hangs in the center just below the shell that celebrates the day I was born. It reads, “Born Again, July 24, 1977.”

That shell represents the day that I received new life. When my body was immersed under the water, I died to myself; my sin was washed away. When my body came up out of the water, I was raised back to life in Jesus. When I think about the day that I was baptized into Christ, it puts everything back into perspective. Giving my life to Jesus and learning to follow him has been the most rewarding decision that I’ve ever made. After my baptism, the Holy Spirit came to live in me and to empower me to do God’s will. Through Jesus, I will experience eternal life with him in heaven. All the other shells on that wind chime and all of the encounters those shells represent are just icing on the cake. That one encounter helps me to stop fretting over what God isn’t doing and remember all he has done.

Offering What He Gives

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My tired eyes stared at the blinking cursor on my Word document. I always look forward to Sunday evenings; that is when I sit in my little sanctuary on the sunporch and write a new post for my blog. This, however, was one of those nights when the words just didn’t come. I thought about my comfy bed and longed for my pillow.

The last couple of pieces I wrote hadn’t received very many views anyway. I started to wonder if I should just throw in the towel this week. As tired as I was, I couldn’t give in to sleep. I had a commitment to God; I had posted the last 29 Mondays, and I was not going to let this writer’s block have its way with me.

I have always loved to write, and people have encouraged me to do so. Because of my passion for writing combined with that encouragement from others, I began talking with God about starting a blog this year. I wasn’t sure if anyone would read what I have to say or if I could even find things to write about each week. However, I decided that I would trust God in this matter, and that even if nobody read my blog, it would be okay. I would grow closer to God by spending time writing with him each week.

So, every week, I pray for God to give me the words, and then I give the blog to God to use however he chooses. This is my offering. My burning desire is that he uses it to make himself known to those who don’t yet know him and to deepen his relationship with those who do.

Sometimes, my posts receive only a handful of views with no comments or feedback. Other times, God has blessed me by letting me see the fruit of my labor. There have been times that readers have thanked me for sharing words that they needed to hear (God’s words). Strangers have “accidentally” stumbled upon posts that they can relate to and have found God’s comfort, healing and peace.

We all have something to offer our Creator who designed each of us unique and special. Just as He has put a passion on my heart to write, God has surely put a passion for something on your heart as well. Offer your passions, talents and gifts to God and ask him to use them for his glory.

Offering our lives to God and allowing him to work in us and through us strengthens our faith and helps others see that he is the one true God. In him we find great purpose and true satisfaction.

Are You Prepared For the Inevitable?

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I love summertime! I love wearing dresses, seeing the sun shine and feeling the warmth radiate down to my bones. Summer means blue skies, sheets on the clothesline, watermelon, popsicles, lemonade, flip flops, fireflies, green leaves, bright sunshine and fresh air. Life is good in the summer, and I am happy, happy, happy!

My feelings for winter are quite the opposite. I loathe wearing long pants and bundling up. I have a difficult time emerging from under my electric blanket in the morning. I dread the dark, dreary days and the bitterly cold wind. Don’t even mention the “s” word (you know, that white stuff that looks all pretty falling from the sky but makes the roads slick and the floors muddy). All through the winter, I long for the warm sunshine to return.

No matter how much I want summer to last forever, winter always comes whether I like it or not. The warning signs always creep in. The winter clothes appear in the stores, the grass begins to die, and the leaves on the trees start changing their color. Then the frigid wind starts blowing from the north, and the sunshine hides behind the clouds. Some things, we cannot change. I can either prepare for winter or live in denial and get a rude awakening.

There is another fact of life that we cannot change, and this matter is much more serious. Whether we like it or not, we must face the reality that our life here on earth won’t last forever. Our bodies wear out, and eventually our hearts stop beating. For some of us that time arrives gradually and slowly; for others, that day comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

We don’t like to think about this, but as sure as winter always comes, the day will come when we will leave this world behind and stand before Almighty God. Romans 14:11-12 says, “It is written, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Though our physical bodies die, our souls will live on for eternity. We can either ensure that we are prepared for the day we meet or Maker or we can get a rude awakening.

You see, God created everything, and He created man in His image. All was good until we humans sinned by deciding to do things our way instead of God’s. (Adam and Eve ate from the tree that God told them not to eat from). God is holy, and sin separates us from God. The penalty for sin is death; all sinners are doomed. The wonderful news is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide a way for us to be made right with God again. Jesus became God in the flesh, lived here on earth and was tempted in every way just like we are, but Jesus never gave in to those temptations. He lived a perfect life without sin so that He could take the death penalty for us. He died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. If we accept His gift of salvation & commit our lives to following Him, our slate is wiped clean. We can stand before God because we have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus.

Jesus is Lord whether we accept it or not. Those who decide to surrender their lives to Jesus and follow his ways will receive the gift of eternal life with him in heaven. Sadly, those who choose to reject Jesus and his ways, will not be allowed to enter but will be forever separated from God and cast into the eternal torture of hell.

I do not say this to judge or condemn; I say this out of love. Just as God wants no one to perish but all to repent and be saved, I too cannot bear the thought of anyone being separated from God and cast into eternal punishment. Each of us will come face to face with Jesus & each of us will confess Him as Lord. If Jesus is tugging on your heart and calling you into a relationship with him, surrender your life and trust him. If you wait until that day when you are standing before him, it will be too late. Make sure you are prepared for eternity, and if you are prepared, make sure you tell others so that they can be prepared too.

Lessons from a Plant Killer

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I am a plant killer. I absolutely love plants, but over the years, I have caused more plants to suffer than I would like to admit. I am able to kill a jasmine, gardenia or begonia rather quickly, but for other unfortunate types such as a hibiscus, palm tree or orchid, their death can be a long, drawn-out process. I have learned that there are certain plants that I can do well with and others that I need to stop bringing home no matter how much I love them.

One of my favorite plants is a bougainvillea, a plant that thrives down in the south.  I had an absolutely gorgeous one for quite a few years; I loved that plant and took good care of it. However, a couple of years ago, I got in a funk, and while trying to keep my head above water, I stopped caring for my plants. When the difficult season ended, and I went out to clean my sunporch, I was sad to see that my beautiful plant had died.

 

The beautiful bougainvillea thrives in the south

 

This summer while vacationing down in the south, I decided it was time to replace my plant. I was doing much better this year and thought I could handle gardening again. However, less than three weeks after I brought my new bougainvillea home, it had lost almost all of its leaves. I had gotten too busy and forgotten to water it. The poor thing was dying of thirst, and I was crushed.

 

My bougainvillea less than 3 weeks after I brought it home

 

I watered the thirsty plant right away and gave it plenty of attention for the next few weeks. Thankfully, less than a month later, the plant that had been on the brink of death has made a wonderful recovery.

 

Water brought my nearly dead bougainvillea back to life

 

All living things need water to survive. Plants wilt, lose their leaves and die without water. Animals become dehydrated and die without water as well. When we ourselves haven’t had enough to drink, we get thirsty. God created us that way to keep us from getting dehydrated and dying.

God created us with another type of thirst as well. While our physical bodies thirst for water, our soul thirsts for something more. God created us to long for him, and nothing else can satisfy that longing. Psalm 42:1-2 says,

 

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

 

When we aren’t spending enough time with God, our soul starts to thirst for him. We become restless, unsatisfied and discontented. We long to hear him speak through his word in the Bible. We long to commune with him in prayer. We long for his presence, his joy and his perfect peace. We long for rest in him.

Maybe you are thirsting for God and don’t even realize it. Are you unsettled and dissatisfied? Only God can fulfill our deepest needs and desires. It is He who brings us true healing, joy, purpose and peace.

If you are finding yourself in a dry and weary season of life, stop depriving yourself of his living water. Shift your focus back to Jesus and let him quench your thirst and refresh you.

On the Inside

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I have never had a purse that I actually loved until I found this one. The multi-colored sequins was stunning, and the over-sized bow was in the perfect shade of pink. The inside had plenty of pockets and enough room for everything a normal woman wants to take along plus added room for my camera or a book. There was a side pocket for my umbrella. Even the name was perfect, the Betsey Johnson Pink Fairy Bow! Everywhere I went, I received compliments from both friends and strangers about how much they loved my purse. I carried it for 2 or 3 years and was sad when I needed to find a replacement because the edges started showing too much wear and tear.

Yes, that purse was absolutely gorgeous on the outside, but sometimes the inside was a different story. Sometimes I threw so much stuff inside that I couldn’t find the really important things when I’d search for them. Sometimes, I’d try to dig through it very discreetly so that there was no way possible for the people close by to catch a glimpse of the inside. I would have been horrified if anyone could have seen all of gum that spilled on the bottom, the collection of ink pens, the papers, the crumpled up receipts and the many other embarrassing items that got thrown in as I rushed through the day.

I always say that you can tell what my life is like by peeking inside my purse. If my purse is a mess, you can pretty much bet that my car and house are in disarray as well. Dig even deeper into my life, and you may find that I’m not always so well put together on the inside either. Oh the things that we women can accumulate on the inside when life gets too busy. Sometimes we don’t have time to deal with hurt, low self-esteem or feelings of being unloved. Furthermore, if we get overloaded and start feeling like we are carrying more than our fair share of the load, jealousy, anger, bitterness or resentment can start to sneak in. We just keep stuffing it all in there as we deal with task after task. If we let things go too long, we can also start adding guilt, despair, hopelessness, self-pity or self-centeredness.

Yes, when my purse is a mess, you can pretty much guess that my whole life is a mess. Just like I need to periodically dump my purse out and sort through the gunk inside, I also need to give the mess in my life over to God and allow Him to sort through the gunk as well. God can help us get rid of all the garbage that keeps us from living life to the full. He can unclutter our minds, untangle our hearts and fill us with peace.

Let’s allow God to clean our lives up, and let’s encourage each other as well. We never know what someone else is struggling with unless they let us look inside. However, we can ask God to help us see others through his eyes. We can ask Jesus to love the people through us, we can build each other up and we can remind each other of the beauty we see in one another’s lives.

Holding on to Hope

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It has been over 5 hours since I heard from my son, Christopher, and my daughter-in-law, Cassie and probably more than 4 hours since the center of Hurricane Irma passed over them. We knew that losing communication was a possibility, but we had of course hoped that it wouldn’t happen.

Sam and I had offered to fly them home from Florida early last week, but they had to teach school. By the time school was canceled, it was too late for them to get out. The roads were already starting to gridlock, there was no gasoline in their community, and all the flights were booked. They were stuck.

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t very happy that a 450 foot wide hurricane with winds of 185 miles per hour was heading their way and that they had no way to leave. However, I stayed surprisingly calm at that point and started praying that the hurricane would go out to sea and dissipate. I believed it would.

Then, I found out that their stores were out of water and sandbags. I also found out they were unable to board up their windows. This made me even more unhappy, but I continued to pray and to try to stay calm.

Christopher and Cassie were eventually able to get all the supplies they need. They even found a safer place to stay. One of their friends in their life group has a dad who is a building contractor. They invited Christopher and Cassie to stay in their sturdy home with the windows boarded. The home had already made it through hurricanes Andrew and Charlie. I still didn’t like the idea of them having to stay in Florida, but at least they had supplies, a safer place to stay and good people to help them weather the storm.

I told myself that praying was much better than thinking about it or talking about it. Praying was actually doing something about it. Every time my mind would start to worry, I’d pray, holding onto God’s promise for peace,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6-7

I continued to do pretty good until Thursday night when one of the hurricane models predicted that the hurricane would go straight up the center of Florida where Christopher and Cassie live. The news report said that their county would get the worst of the wind in their viewing area. However, I misunderstood and thought the weatherman said they would have the worst weather in the state! I’m not going to lie. At that point, fear did start to get me. I shed a few tears and fell asleep praying for God’s continued protection over Christopher and Cassie and also asking God’s forgiveness for my fear.

The next morning, Christopher sent me a message, “I’m confident God is taking care of us and I have peace…. It’s a confidence that we are under his wings” (Proverbs 30:5). The bible verse is one of the first verses that I taught the 5th and 6th grade Sunday School class when Christopher was in it, “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” I was even more excited about his confidence that they were under God’s wings because unbeknownst to him, one of the things that I had been praying was for God to hide them under the shadow of his wings.

A couple of hours later, a dear friend of mine texted me to see how Christopher and Cassie were doing, “Prayers that God will protect them and hold them in the shadow of his almighty wings…” Neither of them knew what I had been praying, but after getting a little scared the night before, their words brought me great peace. God was listening to my cries and he would hide them under the shadow of his wings.

So though it is now just past 2:30 in the morning, though I still haven’t heard from them and though I watched in horror as the center of the storm passed over them, I am doing okay. I am fighting by praying and holding on to the hope God gave me in his word. “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

When Things Are Out of Your Control

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When things are out of your control, remember Psalm 46:10,

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” ~Psalm 46:10

Maybe you are scared today and don’t understand why things are happening the way they are. If you are struggling, turn to the One who can replace your anxieties with peace. As soon as you start to worry, nip it in the bud & turn your worry into prayer. Do this whether it’s one time or a hundred times today. The more you practice the promise found in Philippians 4:6-7, the less you’ll worry.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6-7

We have 2 weapons that God has given us to fight with–“the sword of the Spirit,” which is the Word of God, and “prayer.” So use them to fight and stay strong in the Lord, knowing that this life on earth is much shorter than the next life which will be spent either in heaven or in hell, depending on whether or not we have chosen to believe in Jesus and to surrender our lives to him. We can have peace through the difficult times and peace through eternity if we turn to the Lord and trust in him.

So today, pray, pray, pray and trust, trust trust! When you start to get distracted by whatever storm you are encountering, shift your focus to Jesus. Cry out to him. He’s ready to reach his hand out to you. Peace!

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. ~Jesus, John 16:33

A Time for Rest, Reflection and Refreshment

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Learning to Stop--A Time for Rest, Reflection and Refreshment

I was a person who didn’t know how to stop. For way too many years, I took great pride in the fact that I “could get by” on 4-6 hours of sleep at night. I kept on working late into the night or into early morning because my to do list wasn’t done. I have worn my body out over the years and have woken up tired far too many mornings because I didn’t stop when my body and mind cried out for rest. I am a person who has realized that I have been laying burdens upon myself that weren’t meant for me.  If I am not careful, I become a person who will pour and pour and pour into others until I am totally depleted. I am a person who has not allowed myself to get the rest I need. In fact, I still struggle…but…by the grace of God, I am changing, There is hope!

God’s words in Psalm 127:2 spoke to me long ago, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.” I was also convicted by God’s command in the Old Testament that for six days we are to work, but on the seventh day we are to rest, just as God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. Those words were freeing when I read them, and I tried to find rest in them. Yet, between taking care of my family, volunteering with youth and working in a church, I’d soon get too busy and fall back into my overloaded lifestyle. For too many years, I wrote in my journal that I was tired and had too much to do. I decided in January 2016 that it was time to stop going back and forth; it was time to shape up and listen to God’s recurring soft whisper on my heart, “You need to rest.”

Now, I am not saying that you are wrong if you don’t choose to take a day of rest. What I am saying is that in my out-of-whack life, God convicted me that I need to.

A wise pastor once said something that really hit me. It was something to the effect that God said to work for 6 days and to take a break on the 7th, yet if I think that I need to work all 7 to get the job done, I am not trusting God.

An idea that has really been life-changing for me came from Dan Smith, a “retired” pastor who has been faithfully posting his beautifully written thoughts daily on Facebook for years. Dan wrote a couple of sentences in his November 6, 2016 post that I loved, “Well, every seven days, it’s called ‘Sunday’ and it’s like having an appointment that brings me up to date on where I stand with the Lord. So, today I can reflect back over the last six days; they’re all behind me, and see where I’ve been, and I can assess where I am today and can recommit that in all the tomorrows I will attempt to serve the Lord with even greater zeal than I have in the past; knowing all along that in just a week I will come full circle in doing it all again!”

I liked the idea of keeping an appointment like that with God. So one of the things that I committed to this year is to set aside as much of Sunday as possible to reflect on how awesome God is. Part of each Sunday is spent meeting with other believers to worship God. Part of the day is spent journaling all of the wonderful ways that I have seen him at work in and through me and the people around me. I record the things that he has taught me and pressed upon my heart. Then I go back and read those words the next Sunday to see if I obeyed what he made known to me or if I fell short. When I fail, I ask forgiveness and for help to overcome the next week. After I do my heart check with God, I write a new journal entry recording again what God has done over the past week, what he is teaching me and convicting me of and the progress I am making. After sorting things out with God, I end the evening writing a blog post, another idea that God has put on my heart this year.

Though I have journaled for years, it has greatly improved because of my appointment set aside to reflect and write each week. Before I got into this Sunday routine, I’d get so busy that I’d neglect taking a break to journal regularly. As a result, I would sometimes forget to record the awesome ways I saw God at work. Remembering the great things God has done encourages me when I am struggling and helps me when I am challenged with a decision.

Even though I meet with God each morning to study and to pray, I look forward to our Sunday appointment. No matter how hectic or difficult the week has been, I know that I can take a break to rest on Sunday. I guard that time and often have to say no to others in order to keep my commitment. Resting with God on Sunday shifts my focus back to him when the cares of the world have distracted me. Reflecting on the past week holds me accountable and helps me to grow and mature in my faith. Sitting at his feet and spending time with him refreshes me so that I am ready to pour into others again the next week.

How can I afford to stop and rest? How can I afford not to?