Make it an Awesome Day!

Choose to be happy today, friends. 

The God of ALL creation is on YOUR side!

Make today awesome!

Keep Moving Forward!

Life seems like one big roller-coaster ride sometimes.

Each day can be full of ups and downs – we never really know what to expect.

I heard on the news just last night that there was a malfunction on a ride in a local theme park and the poor people were stuck at the top for 2 hours.

Don’t you feel that way sometimes?

Like you’ve been sort of left to dangle from the top of the ride, helpless and suspended wondering how long it will last?

You’ve begun the journey but all. motion. has. stopped.

It’s been that way for me lately.

I only wish there were teams of rescue workers showing up with lights and sirens ready to hoist ladders up to save me and set me back on sold ground again.

God is that rescue worker, but even when He brings us back down and brushes the dust off our jeans, He expects us to continue on. To resume with life in a positive way.

He’s our strength and our guide, but we have to be proactive in reaching our goal. He has equipped us with brains, hands and feet to press on.

Prayer and faith and belief are only pieces to the puzzle. They aren’t much good if we don’t put one foot in front of the other and use the abilities God has given us.

I just want to encourage you to put action to your faith today. There will be ups and downs in the journey, but sooner or later you’ll find your way back to solid ground.

Keep moving forward!

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Phil. 3:12-15)

Many Blessings,

Debbie

Waiting Out Every. Necessary. Step.

The swift change in temperature took me by surprise today and I welcomed the swirling leaves at my feet and the whisper of autumn across my face.

The quiet afternoon called for home-made bread.

Maybe enjoy a cup of coffee while the dough rises, I thought.

Maybe spend a few minutes in prayer for those heavy on my heart today and give praise to God when He directs me to the absolute perfect scripture….like He always does.

There’s a lot to be learned from making bread.

The perfect combination of ingredients sending up little drifts of flour. Steady hands working, kneading, preparing.

Each step is necessary.

Each step takes time.

Precious time.

And the waiting is difficult…but well worth it.

Lord Jesus,

Help me to be patient and to remember that as I wait upon You, You’re gathering all the necessary “ingredients” together and working them, molding and shaping them to perfection. You know me like no other, and even though I want to speed up the process or somehow “help” You to bring about the blessing sooner, it’s ALL in Your hands…..not mine.

I’m learning to be thankful for the waiting. For each necessary step. Each one takes time. Precious time. And yes, the waiting is difficult. And regardless of the outcome… in the end, I will praise You.

Amen.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37) NIV

Be Blessed,

Debbie

What Will You Own Today?

We don’t have to look far to find things that complicate our day.

A restless night of sleep disturbed with constant nightmares can set our whole morning off track; like little fingers jabbing at the center of our joy.

Those few tense days awaiting that call from the doctor with your test results; how the “future” dangles by the phone lines.

Deadlines, pressures and that pile of bills awaiting your attention and how the numbers in your checking account just don’t add up.

All the things to be figured out and tough decisions to be made. How they tug at your time and your energy.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

We can attach ourselves to hope today….or to fear.

We can attach our peace to faith in God or give in to uncertainty created by the one who smiles on our defeat and laughs at our nightmares.

It’s a choice, really. What we “own”.

We’re free to either choose the Word of God and His promises to us or we can be a slave to the evil one.

Faith doesn’t come alive – I mean truly come alive until it’s lived out!

Wouldn’t you agree that what we own deep down in our spirit is what we will offer the world today?

1 Corinthians 10:31 
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:20 
“you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (NIV)

Living in Fear or Living Free

I learned recently that the reason a dog doesn't like going outside when it’s raining is not because he fears getting wet, but because the sound of the rain distorts all the other sounds he’s normally attuned to. When he goes outside, he expects to hear the birds, the barking poodle next door or children playing and laughing down the way. But the sound of rain sort of throws him a curve ball and he’s unsure.

Don’t we all react in a similar way when we’re tossed into a situation unfamiliar to us?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those

who seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6)

But if we don’t step into the rain, we miss out on the experience and the chance to be blessed or to be a blessing to others.

If we watch from our safe, cozy spot inside always wondering, always second-guessing ourselves right out of every opportunity…oh, the endless excuses….our hearts will never know the freedom of stepping through the door.

It’s fear that keeps us watching from that safe place.

Fear of “What if?”

Fear of rejection and scorn: time, money and effort lost.

The breaking down of what has yet to be built.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

(Colossians 3:23)

Which is bigger; your fear or your faith?

I want to encourage you today to step out in the rain. Yes, you will get wet. Might be a little uncomfortable. You might even slip and fall….but you will appreciate the rainbow a little more once the rain has stopped and you’re left with the blessing of fresh, new growth.

Be blessed today and always, friends

And may you have faith to step out in the rain.

Debbie

I Cast All My Cares Upon You

Well, I did it. I bubbled over with stress and did that embarrassing sobbing-face-in-the-hands thing in front of my husband. Sometimes, it helps to pop the release valve just ever so slightly and let some of the steam escape from my emotional self…ugly as that may be.

It’s rather embarrassing when my inner 4-year-old emerges unexpectedly. Do we ever outgrow tantrums???

And then these words….merely words if we don’t put them into practice.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

(Isaiah 26:4)

Be blessed today and always,

Debbie

Blessings on the Wind

Can you hear that?

It’s blessings on the wind.

In the rustling of the leaves; they shimmer crimson in fall sunlight.

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Can you feel that?

It’s the sweet, cool breath of the Holy One.

He whispers your name and calls in your dreams.

He’s moving in a mighty and powerful way.

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The blessings…they’re there. Just around the next bend, from high up they descend gaining speed and land at precisely the right moment. His moment.

If we only believe.

“The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them…”

(Deut. 28:12-14)