Wanna Sleep Like A Baby?

Greetings Everybody,
Last night my 10 month old grandson had a spend the night with us and it was great.  
We cooled the hot tub down so that it would be comfortable for him, and then we put him in his "Little Swimmers" diapers, and put his legs in the holes of his pool float...and the fun began.

 I couldn't find an online photo of the pool float that he has, but I posted this one to give you the idea.

ANYWAY, he looked around at us, and had big eyes, and this huge grandma-melting grin, and he just laughed and laughed.  We had fun too.
We took the time to get him used to the water, and then after a few minutes, we turned on the jets which started up the bubbles.


And he thought that was even MORE fun.


He loved it.
He laughed and he gibberjabbered at us and he patted the pool float and basically kicked his legs like he had been in a pool every day since he was born.


He was secure, he was comfortable, and he was happy.
My husband and I were able to once again experience what it is like for a child to have absolute total trust in us.
It was wonderful!


He was never afraid.
He was comfortable being our presence.
He enjoyed his time at our house
And yeah, when it was time for bed, he did "sleep like a baby".


I am reminded that the way that BABY was with us last night, is the we GROWNUPS are supposed to be with our Heavenly Father.


We need to remember what absolute total trust in God feels like.


We too, should never be afraid, because He is there to protect us.
We too, should be comfortable in His Presence, because He created us.
We too, should enjoy our time in His House, because we are His Children.


Ah but all to often we are busy making our way in this world, and in the process we end up carrying the WEIGHT of that WORLD on our shoulders.
We worry about health, and family members, and money.


We worry about relationships, and cars, and appliances.


We lose sleep.


We we have bad dreams.


And in the process, we lose our joy.


We forget what it is like to have absolute total trust in Our Father.


God doesn't want us to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. 


His Son, Jesus Christ, Will Do That For Us If We Only Ask Him.


“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28


And we should submit our lives to The Lord, knowing that...


“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.” Psalms 127:1-2


Ya know, last night, my husband and I got to experience the joy of our grandson trusting us.
And I gotta tell ya...it was an AWESOME feeling!


But you know something else...I strongly suspect that God also feels some of that Awesomeness when we TRUST IN HIM.


If you have been tossing and turning at night, and just can't seem to let go of all of the worries and the cares of the day...Talk To God About It.
He's up all night and never cares how late it is when you call Him!


Just thought I'd Share!
Here's Hoping That You Too Will "Sleep Like A Baby" Tonight:)


In Him,
Grace

Remember to Give God The Credit

Greetings Everybody,
This morning I want to reflect on a Bible passage from the book of Acts and a story about a man named Herod.


This man had political power, he had connections, and apparently he was an effective orator.


Scripture indicates that when he spoke, people were impressed.


Take a look...
"On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died." 
Acts 12:21-23.


I believe that this passage offers us some guidance today. 

You could say that it "speaks" to us today.


I assure you that it speaks to me...because I too am a public speaker.


Each time I speak before a crowd, I always ask God to "give me the words".


As a side note...Because of my asthma condition, sometimes I also have to ask God, to "give me the BREATH to FORM the WORDS that I am asking Him to give me". LOL




And every time I have asked, HE has given.


And even as I was sitting down to TYPE the words you are reading right now, I asked God to supply the words that would bring Him glory.


I do that because I believe that it is important to acknowledge God's role in my daily life.


And I am writing this to you today, in order to share that belief with you.


It seems that the Need for Autonomy & the Pride of Self-Reliance are so prevalent in Americans. 
It's almost like those two items are in our makeup...in our  very DNA. 


These two traits, Autonomy & Self-Reliance run bone-deep in many people.


Perhaps you have even heard the terms:
 "He is a self-made man!" 
or
 "He pulled himself up from his bootstraps!""


These are terms that indicate a sense of dedication and determination that is not based on fate, but rather on intense focus and grit.


And we as a nation, tend to applaud such thinking.


We applaud hard work.


We applaud accomplishment.


And we applaud "getting one's slice of the American Dream".


But such thinking does beg a few Questions,  
Such as...


Q1.  Getting a slice of WHAT?


Q2.  What is the American Dream?


Q3.  What is the difference between a Self-Made Accomplishment and a God-Given Blessing?


Perhaps the Answer to those questions is...


A1.  Getting a Slice of Blessings: Many people forget that every comfort we have is a actually a blessing. And frankly sometimes the things we DON'T have are blessings too.
See the following...
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of  God." Matthew 19:24 


With riches come tempations and all sorts of other troubles. 


And some times we have no idea how blessed we are 
to NOT have everything we ever wished for.

   ( btw...Did you know that this scripture references a particular gate in Jerusalem known as "The Eye of The Needle" and not the eye of a sewing needle?  

Apparently it was very difficult for a camel to squeeze through this gate!)

Photo credit to Yahoo Image Search
     http://hethathasanear.com/Needle.html

A2.  The American Dream is of Being Blessed: Many people forget that the American Dream is based on living free and prospering...and that such freedom is based on Spiritual Freedom instead of Financial Freedom.
But living Free does not mean living without Debt.  


We owe our LIVES to Jesus Christ, because He died for us to redeem our souls, and then rose from the dead to show His power over death. 


He told us that He is going to prepare a place for us in heaven. 


We are called to live our lives in the service of Jesus as a response to the debt we owe. 


And we are called to do this out of love.  


We gladly pay the debt, and enjoy the benefits of being indebted to Jesus Christ. 


We rejoice in this debt.


Because the benefit of this indebtedness is 
eternal life in Heaven. 


"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."  
John 14:2


This blessing is not unique to Americans...it is for the whole world. Americans tend to be hegemonic..believing that we are the only country who is entitled to God's Blessing. 


But God loves every person.
His Son, Jesus Christ, died for Every Person on Earth then and now.


The "American Dream" is not geographically bound to our national borders...it is a term used to define a way of living that is based on loving submission and open Acknowledgement of HIS Ultimate Power and our Genuine Love of Him.

A3.  The difference between a self-made accomplishment and a God-Given Blessing is that there IS no such thing as a self-made accomplishment.
We, In and of Ourselves,  can do nothing unless GOD wills it to be so.


Therefore in EVERY SINGLE THING THAT WE ACCOMPLISH, or WE PURCHASE or OR WE ARE PRAISED FOR...we ought to remember that GOD gets the glory...not us.


So today, as you go through your daily activities, let me encourage to you remember that God is the one who supplies us with what we need.


God, is the one positions those of us who HAVE to share with those of us who HAVE NOT.


I pray that in all things we thank God for our blessings and that we...


"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thessalonians 5:15-18


In Him,
Grace

Spiritual Teflon

Greetings Everybody,
Let's start things off right...


This is the day which the LORD has made; 
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24


Yesterday was a very busy day.  I had a school function BEFORE school,  a full day OF school, an AFTER school function, and dinner with some friends last night.


Lord Willing...Today I have a 9 am meeting, and a gap in the middle of the day...and then our grandson will be spending the night with us tonight.  He will go to church with us in the morning too.


And then we will come home, and his parents will meet us for lunch at our house, and THEN off we go to our daughters Baby Shower.


This weekend is NOT a time of rest.


But it is a time of JOY.


For teachers, this time of year tends to get a little bit chaotic.
And we have a tendency to take on a ton of stress.


But I am praying for Spiritual Teflon...so that when the stress hits it won't stick to me.
I am praying that the stress just rolls off of me like water on a ducks back.
So yeah I am claiming JOY.


I am claiming JOY and ENERGY and PEACE and CLARITY and FOCUS and BALANCE and PERSPECTIVE and INSIGHT and RECOLLECTION and DISCERNMENT too.


I am asking GOD for the DESIRE and DISCIPLINE to make healthy spiritual and physical choices.


I am asking GOD for the COURAGE to SEEK HIS WILL in my life.


I am asking GOD for the STRENGTH to STAND AGAINST THE EVIL ONE IN HIS NAME.


I am asking GOD to give me the HEART that CRAVES the THOUGHTS, WORD, and ACTIONS that will please HIM.


I am asking GOD to:
Protect me
Provide for me
Prepare me
Purpose me
Position me


I am asking GOD to:
Send me kids who want to learn, parent & administrators who will support me and to help me be the Teacher that HE wants me to be.


I am asking for the FULL ARMOR OF GOD:
The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate of Righteousness
Feet Fitted with Readiness
The Shield of Faith
The Helmet of Salvation
The Sword of The Spirit



¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.^( 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 


¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 


¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 


¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 


¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 


¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvationand the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.


¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18


Father please equip me for all that I will need today and for all of my tomorrows.
Help me to remember that in YOU I have my strength and my salvation.


Yes today is the day that the Lord has made...and no matter how busy I get,...no matter how many details I am called upon to attend to at once...I am able...MORE than able...for my Heavenly Father is at work in me.


In Him,
Grace

In The Words of Dory...

Greetings Everybody,
Its been a long time since I was able to sit down and write out my thoughts. 


And part of that is because during the times when I COULD have been writing, I chose to just be still.


Sometimes people ask me,
"So, is the end of the school year winding down for ya yet?"


But the answer is, 
"NO, it isn't.  It has gone into HYPERDRIVE!"


I am looking forward to leisurely summer mornings in which I can sit and visit and type to my hearts' content.


But for now, I am almost overwhelmed.
Can't rest, can't stop,  gotta get all of this done in order to ever get to the end of it.


In the words of Dory, from the Movie "Finding Nemo", 
I have to....

photo credit goes to Photobucket

                 "Just Keep Swimming!" 


In Him,
Grace