Blessings In Disguise

Blessings In Disguise
I posted this last year but Thanksgiving reminded me of all the blessings we have that we don’t always think of as blessings.  I hope you realize all the blessings you have that do not always seem like blessings.  You might be surprised. My challenge to you is to look for the many signs of God's love you can see in your day to day life. I bet you will be surprised.
What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?
Count your blessings
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings
See what God hath done.
Have you counted your blessings today?  I admit I do not always thank God for all He has blessed me with.  In fact, I have been known to grumble about my blessings.  Why would I do such a thing?  Well sometimes His blessing come to us in disguise.  That’s right.  Sometimes His blessings can be found in our day to day chaos of day to day living such as dirty dishes, laundry, bills, and even our dirty houses.  I can see you scratching your head and saying “this woman is crazy!  How can dirty dishes, laundry, and bills be blessings?”
Well, dirty dishes tell us we have food to eat.  So many people do not have enough food.  Dirty laundry lets us know we have clothes to put on our backs.  When we pay our bills, we know God has provided us with the means to pay them.  A dirty house is a sign we have a roof over our heads and a family that loves us and children God has entrusted to our care.
Sometimes blessings can be hidden in trials.  James 1:2 tells us:  “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Remember, God is on the throne, in control and blessing us each and every day.  We may not recognize them at first but when we look through our eyes of faith, they are clear to see.  So beginning today, let’s all count our blessings, name them one by one.  Count our many blessings  see what God hath done.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your blessings you have given me and the ones you are giving me.  Help me to see your love and care in my day to day life.  Everything I have and everything I am I give my thanks and praise your wonderful name.  Thank you for loving me so much.
Amen

The Only Bible

The Only Bible

I know I sometimes, OK often fail God. But He never fails me. I try to live each day in gratitude for my blessings but often get too busy with the chaos of life and do not always show my gratitude. I do hope that when others see my life, they can see the joy of Jesus in me. If there is a time that you cannot see it, please remember that it is a failing on my part and not a failure on His. I am not setting myself up as a standard for what His love and mercy can do but I do hope that when you look at me you see a person that is saved by the wondrous love and mercy of my Lord and Savior. I am not a perfect Christian but one who knows I need Him every minute of every day.

My goal is live my life so that others can see the love of My Father in my life.  I don’t always succeed but He is faithful to forgive  my failures.

I may be the only Bible

That someone else will read,

So take my life and guide it

In thought and word and deed.

Let me be a blessing

To someone else I meet.

Help me show them it’s your love

That makes my life complete.

Oh, such a sobering thought to think

Of what they’re apt to see.

Help me show them it’s you, Lord

That lives inside of me.

Stop and Enjoy Today

Friends, life does get hectic in today's chaotic times. But we need to remember that God is looking for a relationship with us. He wants us to enjoy His blessings and come to Him in times of need. I know I don't always take the time to enjoy His beautiful world and thank Him enough for what He has done and is doing for me and my family. I may forget to thank Him but He does not forget about me and does not withhold His love.

God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Genesis 1:31.

When we wake each morning God gives us a manifestation of His love for us—a new day! But too often we do not even notice because we live our lives in overdrive

Today our lives are filled with so many obligations and demands other people place on us—our families, our careers, our friends and yes we even let our church make . —the list goes on and on. As ,mothers we are so busy caring for other people in our lives, we too often fail to slow down enough to take care of ourselves or see the beauty of each new day We cook, clean,transport kids to and from various activities, just to name a few of our responsibilities. Gold did not intend for us to live such frantic lives. He yearns for an intimate relationship with us.

Beloved slow down and spend time with your Heavenly Father today.. Embrace each new day He gives you. Enjoy His artistic hand in the glow of the beautiful sunrise of each morning. Savor the beautiful sunset He puts in the sky each night for our pleasure. After all, He is our Father and He loves all His children.

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118::24

Prayers Are Real

Liberals have taken it upon themselves to lecture us on everything from who to vote for to who should and should not own a gun. After the mass shooting in the small Texas church, they have come out in full force to tell us that prayers don't work. They, in their self-righteous moral authority, have taken to social media to ridicule and mock Christians that do believe in prayer and are praying for the victims and the families involved.

Wil Wheaton, a washed up actor took to Twitter to blast Congressman Paul Ryan when he said “our thoughts and prayers are with you.” Wheaton, in his all knowing wisdom shot back, “The victims were in church. If prayers did anything, they'd still be alive.” As despicable as his remark was, he was not the only “celebrity” to throw in their pearls of wisdom. One tweet even went as far to say, “They had the prayers shot right out of them.”

They not only ridicule Christians for their prayers. They have questioned the existence of God.”If God is real why did He let this happen?” Well, friends, God did not cause this tragedy. Man did. He used his free will that God has given us all and followed the “father of lies and great deceiver”, satan. Other people want to know “Why has God turned His back on America?” He has not turned His back to us. We have turned our backs on Him. We are now living in a world that has taken God out of our homes, schools, government and yes, even churches. We are now seeing what life is like without God. We cannot take God out of our lives and, when a tragedy, such as this happens, cast the blame on Him. He is not a magic elf that can be put on the shelf until we need something. He is a God of love but He does allow us freedom to make our own choices. So friends, no God is not to blame for this tragedy. But, I do know He has promised in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” I do not claim to know what good will come of this. But I do know that He will work out His purpose in His own time.

So friends, I leave you with this: My prayers and thoughts are with you all and may God watch over you and yours.

As always you are free to disagree but I am still free to express my opinions. May God bless you all. Just saying.

A Praying Mother

I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.

Abraham Lincoln

The young teen was out partying with her friends.  She had had too much too drink and was alone in a car with the school’s “bad boy”.   They started kissing and he began fumbling with her jeans in an attempt to take them off.  She  weakly tried to fight him off but was so intoxicated she couldn’t.  Just as he got her jeans down and started to rape, a bright light filled the car.  He expected to see a cop standing there but when he looked up he saw a huge man dressed in white.  The man had a sword at his side and glowed with a blinding white light.  The boy became frightened and drove the girl home.  When he arrived at the girl’s house he hurriedly pulled her out of his car and drove away.  Her mother heard the car and went to the door.  She saw her daughter lying on the lawn and ran to her.  She then helped her daughter to bed and tucked her in.

The next morning the mother called the girl downstairs for a talk regarding the previous night.  The girl began to cry and tell her about what had happened.  Suddenly she stopped.  “Mom, I remember seeing a bright light and a huge man dressed in white in front of the car.”  The mom sat there with tears in her eyes.  “Darling,” she said.  “I was praying for you.”

As mothers we do a lot for our children.  We make sure they eat to nourish their bodies and we make sure they have clothes to wear.  We send them to school or homeschool them to make sure they receive a good education.  But are we neglecting to give them the most important  protection we can?  Are we praying for them as they go out into the world each day.  This is the most important thing we can do for them—bathe them in prayer daily.  Ask for God’s protection over our most precious resource.  Prayer should be the first thing we do each morning and the last thing we do each night. and all through the day.  It’s not too late to start praying for our children.  A few minutes spent in prayer can make a difference in a child’s life.  The most powerful prayers that reach God’s ears are from mothers pleading on behalf of their children.  A mother’s prayer is powerful because when a mother prays—God listens.

Christians Are Not Violent Extremists

   I  would like to express my thoughts to the people who say Christians are prone to violence and are to be considered as an “extremist hate group”. 
   Yesterday, ISIS claimed responsibility for another terrorist attack in New York. Yet, we are told that Islam is a “peaceful religion”. This is a religion that believes in killing “infidels”–people who do not ascribe to their religion. Gays are thrown from buildings simply because they are gay. Women have no rights and female genital mutilation is a common practice. Yet, they are called peaceful and Christians are portrayed as a hate group simply because we believe in the traditional marriage of a man and woman. I have heard that Christians and Muslims worship the same god–we just call him by different names. That is not true. If you read any of their holy book, the Koran, you can see the differences in the teachings of Allah and God.    In the Old Testament God did demand blood sacrifices but these were usually lambs  (representing Jesus as the lamb of God). Nowhere does He command His followers to sacrifice a human. When JESUS came to earth as a baby, He took on the role of blood sacrifice, so there was no more need for sacrifices to be made to God. Jesus became the sacrifice for us all. In His earthly ministry, Jesus taught us to love each other and did not condone or demand the killing of innocent people. He gave the great commission--go and tell others of the gospel. He did not preach committing violence against those that did not believe. He told the disciples that if a town would not welcome them, they should shake the dust off their feet and travel on to the next town. His gift of salvation is a free gift but He does not force His will on anybody. He gave us a will to decide for ourselves if we want to accept this gift or not. You will never read in the Bible anywhere where we are commanded to kill anyone that does not believe our message of salvation.
I also believe this great nation I call home was founded on Judeo-Christian values and we are still a Christian country. I believe in Freedom of Religion but I believe that when someone moves to this great country, they should conform to that country's laws and not try to make over this country by trying to overtake it or hijack it with the laws from their native country. If they cannot do that the road is open to take them back where they could feel more comfortable with the laws. I refuse to change my religion for their sake. If they do not want to participate in my religion, they are welcome to practice their own. BUT do not try to force me to practice a religion other than my own.
Good night friends and GOD BLESS AMERICA but more importantly America thank God.
As always you are free to disagree but I am still free to express my opinion. May God bless you all. Just saying.