Happy Thanksgiving!
Tomorrow is turkey day and I'm ready. We're going to our son and daughter-in-law's for the day. We'll also bring home our two oldest 'grands'. Because we share Nate with his other g and g, we don't get to have him; Chuck and I are both bummed about that. We'll enjoy what we can.
The other day I thought about a blog and I'm finally getting here to share it with you. I learned quite awhile ago that the reason that churches in the olden days built their buildings beside where they had their cemetery was so that when people saw the head stones that it would remind them that death was reality and that eternity needed to be dealt with.
That brings this verse to mind: Hebrews 9:27-28: "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."
Have you ever thought about those verses? What do you think about them now? We're all going to die. Then what? When I got sick with Lyme disease and almost died, I knew where my soul would go, to heaven to be with our Lord. Because I was so sick and in great pain, I wanted to go home. A part of me didn't because of family, but I longed for my Lord so greatly that I grieved what I couldn't have: heaven.
The Lord wasn't ready for me, so I'm still here. Our days are numbered by the Lord, even before the world began. So, walk with the Lord in such a way that your heart, soul, mind and strength are constantly directed at Him, the author and perfecter of our faith. Then, when you stand before the Lord, Christ's blood, covering us will find us acceptable to the Lord and we will spend eternity with Him. Alleluia! Amen.
Blessings to you all,
Sandy
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Matthew 5:10
Greetings,
Isn't this fall weather giving us a gorgeous sky? We are so blessed by the Lord in His nature. Do you feel blessed today? Have you counted some blessings?
When I look at the scripture for today I tried to think of a good story and here's what I want to share: Mattew 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
When we were in Europe, one of the camps that we had in western Czech was attended by a lady from the states that had been born in Hungary. Her name is Maria and as the camp progressed we realized that she was only there so that she could get a free trip back to her home country.
She didn't want to teach and Chuck and I had to take care of her classes and the fall out onthe first couple of days as this problem became evident. The students rebelled and justifiably. She also seemed to direct all of her angst against me. There wasn't anything that I could do right. Even her team members noticed and tried to correct her bad behavior. They were embarrassed.
When we were finally done with the camp and back in Prague for the team to sightsee and then leave, Maria needed to catch a train to Budapest. The night before she left, we all were going sightseeing and to supper.
As we were walking to the trolley station, Marie started in being really nasty to me. Her team members jumped all over her, but it didn't stop her bad behavior. Finally I stopped and faced her. The whole team was gathered around watching what was going to happen. Many times through the week the team had talked about how patient I was with her.
So, I was put to the test and because the Spirit allowed me to see through the week that I was being persecuted, not by Maria, but by warfare, I was able to handle the persecution with grace. I apologized for anything that I had done or said that might have hurt her. I was sincere and she knew it. It took her completely unaware.
It was hard for her to accept my apology. Everyone gathered said that I wasn't at fault, but I knew that in order to diffuse the situation, I needed to apologize. Whether I had done anything or not. I took the darkness of persecution, and exposed it to the light, therefore the hold of persecution was disarmed.
When we got on the Trolley, Chuck was worried about me, so I quoted Ephesians 6:12. I wasn't hurt by Maria because I saw it for what it was: warfare because we were doing the Lord's work. I knew that Maria was being used. Satan loves to use those that are weak in their faith to persecute others.
My witness to all of the team was important, as a teaching tool. Hopefully the Lord used that time to help them see what was going on so that they wouldn't be harsh with Maria when they met up again, back at their home church.
It wasn't me that handled this situation well, it was the Spirit in me handling everything well. I just got to see the Spirit at work and to have His comfort as He dealt with the persecution.
Not all problems in life are persecution, but many are and we need to know how to handle them, with God's grace.
Grace abiding,
Sandy
Isn't this fall weather giving us a gorgeous sky? We are so blessed by the Lord in His nature. Do you feel blessed today? Have you counted some blessings?
When I look at the scripture for today I tried to think of a good story and here's what I want to share: Mattew 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
When we were in Europe, one of the camps that we had in western Czech was attended by a lady from the states that had been born in Hungary. Her name is Maria and as the camp progressed we realized that she was only there so that she could get a free trip back to her home country.
She didn't want to teach and Chuck and I had to take care of her classes and the fall out onthe first couple of days as this problem became evident. The students rebelled and justifiably. She also seemed to direct all of her angst against me. There wasn't anything that I could do right. Even her team members noticed and tried to correct her bad behavior. They were embarrassed.
When we were finally done with the camp and back in Prague for the team to sightsee and then leave, Maria needed to catch a train to Budapest. The night before she left, we all were going sightseeing and to supper.
As we were walking to the trolley station, Marie started in being really nasty to me. Her team members jumped all over her, but it didn't stop her bad behavior. Finally I stopped and faced her. The whole team was gathered around watching what was going to happen. Many times through the week the team had talked about how patient I was with her.
So, I was put to the test and because the Spirit allowed me to see through the week that I was being persecuted, not by Maria, but by warfare, I was able to handle the persecution with grace. I apologized for anything that I had done or said that might have hurt her. I was sincere and she knew it. It took her completely unaware.
It was hard for her to accept my apology. Everyone gathered said that I wasn't at fault, but I knew that in order to diffuse the situation, I needed to apologize. Whether I had done anything or not. I took the darkness of persecution, and exposed it to the light, therefore the hold of persecution was disarmed.
When we got on the Trolley, Chuck was worried about me, so I quoted Ephesians 6:12. I wasn't hurt by Maria because I saw it for what it was: warfare because we were doing the Lord's work. I knew that Maria was being used. Satan loves to use those that are weak in their faith to persecute others.
My witness to all of the team was important, as a teaching tool. Hopefully the Lord used that time to help them see what was going on so that they wouldn't be harsh with Maria when they met up again, back at their home church.
It wasn't me that handled this situation well, it was the Spirit in me handling everything well. I just got to see the Spirit at work and to have His comfort as He dealt with the persecution.
Not all problems in life are persecution, but many are and we need to know how to handle them, with God's grace.
Grace abiding,
Sandy
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Eviction
Hey Everyone,
I've not done well with blogging this week; sorry :(. Life has been, well life. Anyway I'm not going to blog anything scriptural today. But, I do have some news, sort of.
Froggie/Herbie has been evicted. Today when I was watering my plants, little tree toad Froggie/Herbie jumped out. I guess he didn't like the sudden bath. Chuck came with a Puffs tissue and gently picked him up (after a few tries) and took him out to our mulch pile so he could find safe harbor for the winter. Lots of good food and wonderful mulch in the rotting leaves.
So, the croaking at unexpected times is gone. I'm going to miss that. But at least he lives to go on with life as a tree toad. He was kind of cute.
Aren't you glad that the Lord doesn't evict us because we sometimes get in the wrong place? I mean, like out of His will? He never moves away from us but is always there, waiting for us to come back into His will and presence. We are so blessed by His patience too.
It was interesting that the plant that Froggie/Herbie jumped out of wasn't the plant that he came into the house in. The plant that he started out in is a hanging spider plant. The one I found him in this morning was a jade plant, on the floor. So, sometime he jumped out and landed in the jade.
I wonder if he was surprised to find himself in another plant? I think the Lord protected this little animal of His. Believe it or not, I prayed the Lord would take care of him, and He did.
If the Lord will take care of a tiny tree toad, how much more will He take care of us????
Sandy
I've not done well with blogging this week; sorry :(. Life has been, well life. Anyway I'm not going to blog anything scriptural today. But, I do have some news, sort of.
Froggie/Herbie has been evicted. Today when I was watering my plants, little tree toad Froggie/Herbie jumped out. I guess he didn't like the sudden bath. Chuck came with a Puffs tissue and gently picked him up (after a few tries) and took him out to our mulch pile so he could find safe harbor for the winter. Lots of good food and wonderful mulch in the rotting leaves.
So, the croaking at unexpected times is gone. I'm going to miss that. But at least he lives to go on with life as a tree toad. He was kind of cute.
Aren't you glad that the Lord doesn't evict us because we sometimes get in the wrong place? I mean, like out of His will? He never moves away from us but is always there, waiting for us to come back into His will and presence. We are so blessed by His patience too.
It was interesting that the plant that Froggie/Herbie jumped out of wasn't the plant that he came into the house in. The plant that he started out in is a hanging spider plant. The one I found him in this morning was a jade plant, on the floor. So, sometime he jumped out and landed in the jade.
I wonder if he was surprised to find himself in another plant? I think the Lord protected this little animal of His. Believe it or not, I prayed the Lord would take care of him, and He did.
If the Lord will take care of a tiny tree toad, how much more will He take care of us????
Sandy
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