Refreshing Your Spirit

God's Word feeds our faith, comforts our hearts, and helps us to grow.   ~ Deborah Bolton ~

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him, above ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

                         Thomas Ken, 1674  

As I reflect on the summer and all that God has wrought in my life,

I am thankful, I'm amazed, and I feel blessed beyond belief.  He has brought me day by day to this moment, that I know that I know, I must continue writing and posting on my blogs and Facebook.  God has given me much for which to thank Him.  However, I still have times I grow weary in my spirit, not just my body.

Do you ever have a week or a day where the fear you are not in the center of God's will for your life hits you like a sudden gale?  All of sudden, there is a feeling you are not up to the task He has set before you.  That happened to me during the last couple of days after a glorious time of quiet retreat and prayer.  I had become still so I could hear what God had to say to me.  For too long this summer, I have let the noise of the world and busyness lure me away from the quietness of being still before God.

Thankfully, because a dear sister in Christ shared what God had spoken to her heart, I opened my heart to what God was telling me:  "Read the little."  And I knew exactly what I had to do.  There was a small portion of scripture that spoke directly to my heart.  Rather than spend my time trying to read through the Bible, I needed to meditate and pray.  God gave me the words.  And He reminded me of all the times, I have done that very thing -- found a quiet place, prayed, opened my Bible and read, prayed some more, and wrote in my journal.  I remember better when I write in my journal, and I think sometimes I focus on the Lord better.  My mind stays centered, rather than wandering. 

During my mini-retreat, I realized that I have spent so much time writing, trying to read through the Bible in 2013, and doing other things -- I have lost some of that quietness and peacefulness of spending time in His presence.  Even Jesus took time to be alone with God.  He got away from the crowds and communed with His Father.  Sometimes, I think we forget that because Jesus was perfect, he came to our little planet in the form of a baby that grew to be a man, a human man.  I think because we know Him as the risen Savior, we sometimes forget he had to function as a human being before He was crucified and rose from the dead.  He had to eat and sleep.  He was tempted.  He set the example of how to live.  He became angry (a righteous anger), yet did not sin.  He loved other people and his family.  He worked, he went to parties and dinners with friends.  He physically cared for others' needs.  He fed people.  He taught.  He even cried. And, He needed time alone with God.

Jesus, the Christ, He needed time alone with God!

Are we stronger than Jesus?  No, I don't think so.  But, we are stronger with Him.  Therefore, we need to emulate Him, to learn from His life and follow.  And one of those things we need to do is to spend time alone with our Father in Heaven. 

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (KJV, Philippians 4:13).


Prayer:

Father, a little storm happened after I spent time with You, but I know where it came from.  And, it only makes me want to spend more time in mini-retreats with You.  Thank you for sweet fellowship with You.  Thank you for reminding me how sweet the savor is when I take time to write down what You are telling me in my journal.  Thank You that I can go back and read what I heard to be encouraged again.  Thank You for showing me Wisdom in Your Word.  In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.

Rest For My Soul

 God-sized Dream = A desire in your heart for more of what God has for you.

This week has been hard, and it has been easy.  How can that be?  How can hard and easy coexist, total opposites, yet juxtaposed together?   There is only one way that makes sense to me;  and I know it works, because I am experiencing it now.  

It is called rest, which is defined as freedom from activity, as well as experiencing peace of mind or spirit.  What an appropriate antonym for the opposing forces of an anxious mind with thoughts whirling or ping-ponging back and forth.  Even though my body does not often get the sublime rest of a good night's sleep because of frequent insomnia, or for lack of going into a deep sleep, I do not have to continually experience the unrest caused by the painful, confusing events of life.  I can still find calm for my mind and have peace in my spirit.

Rest For My Soul

Heart cries,

Emotions too deep to speak aloud,

Threaten to drown me -- to break me down.

Stunned with what I knew was coming,

It smacks me in my gut.

Momentarily, I lose control -- I sob; 

 And yet, I pray,

Crying out in all my pain.
Then,
Before the pillow dries, I hear,

Rest in me, rest in me, my dear.  1

Giving to God my heavy load of grief and anguish,

The light that keeps my soul is not extinguished.

His Holy Spirit comforts me with memories dear, 
Of God's word made clear.  
And in my mind I hear
His words of truth and comfort I keep near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
 will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 2

These words of scripture are a gift to you and me, 
Indeed, a promise fulfilled for all who will believe.

Usually, I post my God-sized dream post on Tuesday;  but, as we all know, things happen we don't account for.  And for many this week, it has been a week of unusual occurrences and bad news.  As a nation in the USA, we have seen one of our oldest cities attacked on a day that was to be a fun, joy-filled day of celebration.  Bombs went off at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon.  3 people died -- 1 of them an 8 year old child.  The mother of the little boy that died has a brain injury and his sister lost a leg.  More than 140 people were injured, and their lives will never be the same.

Every day in this sin-filled world, people struggle with hunger, with disease, with loss, with fear, and with grief.  Yet God tells us to take everything to Him in prayer.  Moreover, God is not just talking about the things we think of as larger than life events.  When God's word says, everything, that includes what we may see as insignificant compared to what happened on Monday in Boston.  Nothing in our lives is insignificant to God:  He knows how many hairs are on our heads.  He wants to hear from us daily about all our concerns.

I will be eternally grateful that God can fill our hearts and souls with peace that is beyond comprehension. The hymn writer Horatio Spafford, who already had losses that would topple many men, wrote this hymn after yet another enormous loss -- the lives of  his four daughters, while they were crossing the Atlantic with their mother.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

1. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28, KJV).
2.  Philippians 4: 6-7, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."  

 This is a God-sized dream post.  Every Tuesday, Holley Gerth hosts a place where we share what we have written about following God in our God-sized dreams with others that have been writing about the same thing.  Every week, we have an assignment.  Sharing with these ladies has been a little bit like a Bible Study and very like a fellowship.  One thing for sure, it has been a place to find encouragement and accountability with other Christians on following the Lord's plan for my life.

Chihuahua of Fear - the song

Dear Holley, you asked for funny.  I'm not sure if this is funny:  in fact, I feel kind of like I'm about to step in the doggy's dish.  It might fly up and hit me in my face.

Now, you get to see my weird, wild, and wacky side.  Well, I don't know about wild.  But I think the song I thought of is a little wacky.



Image courtesy of [akeeris]
/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I was ready to go to sleep, and I was hearing the following song develop in my mind.  Now, I am probably beginning to be a little slap-happy.  If you were here, we could have pizza and gingerale;  then, we could try to sing a duet or trio.  Hey!  Why not make it a four part women's chorus?  

By the way, if this were a slumber party, we could talk about why I chose the word "blinder" to describe the furry little canine of fear.  

Doesn't Fear try to blind us to where God is leading us to go?  


Fear gets in our minds, then to our hearts, trying to impede our progress into the promised land.  However, we don't have to live in fear.  Why?  

Because you are of God, little children and have overcome them...that is what I learned in 1 John 4:4 (NKJV). 

Why?  Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  

Amen and Amen!  I love this verse!  I don't have to look it up.  I memorized it a long time ago, because I had a huge problem with fear.  And that fear was more like *The Hound of the Baskervilles than a chihuahua.  

Another word in the chorus of our little song is sidewinder.  A sidewinder is a deadly, pit viper.  And we all know about "he who is in the world."  That is Satan, the Enemy, the Serpent -- the one who tempted Eve and Adam, who were pure and innocent, until they disobeyed God.  

Aren't you glad God is The Greatest, Almighty, Omnipotent?  I am.  I am ecstatic that He is merciful and He is love.  Most of all, I am thankful He provided a way of escape through the price Jesus paid for my sin and for your sin.  Moreover, I rejoice I am His child:  I am His.  Nothing can separate me from His love.  He has already won the victory, and it is written.  It's not a guess.

Sing to the tune of Oh, My Darling Clementine (Free Domain)

Dear Chihuahua of fear, I have a few things I'd like to say to you...


Verse 1:
In a heart, in the dark, lived a doggy most unkind.
He was stout, and all a-bout get-ting in your mind.

Chorus:
Dear chi-hua-hua,
Dear chi-hua-hua,
Dear chi-hua-hua of fear,
You're a blinder,
A side-winder,
Dread chi-hua-hua of fear.

Verse 2:
I read my Bible, the Holy Bible, made it all the way through.
You thought you'd keep me from reading, now you are so blue.

Chorus:
Dear chi-hua-hua,
Dear chi-hua-hua,
Dear chi-hua-hua of fear,
You're a blinder,
A side-winder,
Dread chi-hua-hua of fear.

Now, we should end with a hymn like Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see...(Rev. John Newton, free domain).  Those are the words I want going through my head. 

My God-sized dream is to read the Bible through in a year.  What is your God-sized dream?  Come join the sister dreamers at Holley Gerth's "Heart to Heart with Holley."  We are a friendly group being hosted at Holley's blog to share our journeys as we travel the paths of our God-sized Dreams.

Feeding Our Hearts

Wow!  What is the why behind my God-sized dream?  I like that question.  In fact, the why should get clearer if the dream is, indeed, God-sized and shaped by Him.
  

Number 1 on my list is reading through the Bible in one year.  The neat thing about this year is our pastor encouraged our entire church to do it;  and those of us who committed to this have the encouragement of fellow believers.  We are using the One Year Bible, which has been a different way for me to read my bible.  I usually study a book at a time, but I am reading the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs at the same time.  My husband is too, so it is nice to have family feedback.

Reading through the Bible was something I had already started, but the accountability factor here has been a blessing.  Another thing I have been doing is looking for the thread of Jesus through the whole Bible.  It's there.  Hallelujah.  And this is worth fighting for, because reading God's word will help me know Him better.  He is my reason for being, my Creator, and I need Him.  I think we should all know our heavenly Father and Jesus better.

Jesus said when He was being tempted in the desert after having fasted for forty days and nights, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (KJV, Matthew 4: 4).  I have also heard the Bible called the bread of life.  And I can testify that through the joys, the trials, and the tribulations of life, scripture has been my food.  It is food for my heart and for my mind.  I am taught and uplifted.  I can never hear or read too much of the Holy Bible.  Indeed, I am sure God has used His word in the best and the worst times of my life. 

God's Word feeds our faith, comforts our hearts, and helps us to grow in following Him.  

I am reminded of prisoners of war during the Vietnam era, who spoke of how the verses, they memorized as children in Sunday school, gave them hope.  Can you think of any better hope?  They would actually whisper these verses, tap them out in secret, and pass them to each other.  It brings tears to my eyes, because they knew they could die any moment.  The conditions there were horrible:  many of them had been tortured beyond belief.  And I know this is still happening.  There are Christians that are being persecuted and dying for their faith, even now.  What especially touched me in the testimonies of these Vietnam veterans was that the scripture they learned as children, who did not know their futures, became their mainstay -- their connection to God and His care for them during intolerable, horrifying situations.  It is beyond what most of us can comprehend, never having been where they were.

My number 2 dream has been a part of my life for a long time, because  I have always wanted to be a Proverbs 31 woman, a godly homemaker and helper to my husband.  However, it is no longer easy for me to keep house.  And since I have always been the head organizer and decorator of the home in our marriage: the uncluttered, clean house has taken a big hit.  I'm having to find ways to do things differently.  I can no longer manage my former household tasks the way I did when I was healthy.  And even though my husband is very supportive and helps me, there are still jobs that tend to fall in my domain. 
  
So, the number two dream is to declutter my house.  

Also, I am still trying to organize after having moved into a smaller home.  You would not believe the memories I have gone through, the boxes of paper I have shredded.  I actually wore out our second shredder, a very good one.  There are places you can take boxes of paper to be shredded, but I didn't know that at the time.  And I doubt there is one near me.  

Simplicity is my goal.  I figure, the less we have, the less my husband and I have to clean.  Chronic illness has cured me of wanting more things than I need.  However, I still have to admit to holding onto a few things I might use again someday, like those records I don't have a record player for.  For you youngins'  that is a round plastic disc with grooves that plays music  -- giggle.    And there are a few clothes that may fit me again someday, when I lose twenty to thirty pounds.  Please don't ask me when that is going to happen: maybe that will be my next dream.

One more thing:  the following is one my favorite scriptures.  We used to have verse four on our babies' nursery wall on a Precious Moments poster.
Psalm 37

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.

                          New King James Version     

What precious promises God's word has for us.  Aren't you glad? 
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Now, I would like to invite you over to Holley's place to share a cup of coffee or some tea with us.  Holley makes me feel right at home, and she has graciously connected us with other God-sized dreamers, lovely women who I think will inspire you too.