TO PRAISE or NOT TO PRAISE

created2bless
Psalm 150:1 says "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord."

This is a quote I use often in the signature of my emails I send out each day to family and friends. When I think of everything that has breath, I am reminded of my sweet Lhasa Apso's. I wonder how they praise the Lord. I know the Bible talks about even the rocks praising God. What an awesome concept. Things that do not even have life as we know it praise the Lord. So how much more should we living beings, created by almighty God, His very life breathed into us, praise Him?

I find in days of depression and frustration, it is not easy to praise the Lord. I know He tells us to count it all joy when trials and tribulations come our way, and they do. I try to reflect on scriptures like
Phil. 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice."

I remember how Jesus suffered so much and that we should not be above suffering ourselves when our precious Lord and Savior suffered much.

I will often put on praise and worship music to help me enter into the frame of mind I am to have at all times actually. God says "He inhabits the praises of His people." So what better place to be than in the very presence of God Himself? There is no better place to be.

Whether in good times, or in bad, whether during prosperity or poverty, when it shines or when it rains, I must choose to praise God if only because I have breath.

I can be thankful to Him because I am living this day, have a voice to sing praises with, hands to lift on high in adoration, and a heart that beats to the very rhythm of His calling. I will praise the Lord, with everything within me as long as I have breath!

THE CALLING

It's the deep feeling of servanthood that forever resides in your heart and intensely stirs your soul. Whether full of strength or unimaginably weak, the task must be accomplished!

The man on the street needing fed and clothed, the lonely child without a father gently searching for love, the single mother found at the grocery store fifty cents short for a loaf of bread, a rejected teenager who's only bed is the backseat of a car, the recently widowed man who's suddenly alone in the cold and distant world, an orphaned infant left tragically alone when a natural disaster claims its parents lives, are all circumstances which cannot be ignored, forgotten, or left uncared for.

There is no choice, only the command. Obedience is not an option but is mandatory just as a heart beats, until inevitable death. It wakes you at night to pray earnestly, produces tears for another one's pain, allows for immense happiness in a time of rejoicing and causes extreme sacrifice at all costs even unto an untimely death.

Instilled by Almighty God, gently spoken by Jesus Himself, and birthed by the Holy Spirit, this calling is a substance both tangibly felt and ferociously driven. It is inevitably accepted and acted upon in a most incredible way, leaving your soul satisfied and your spirit uplifted. It's this calling that owns every part of the one that is chosen, imparting an eternal God-given purpose, unmistabley real and devotedly divine.

This calling is what motivates as it intensifies. There is no escaping it. Nor would you want to. There is nothing quite like it in all the world.

THE POTTER AND THE CLAY

Tonight, my youngest daughter Tiffany, was sharing with me how God was showing her just how much patience He has with her. She sculpts equine and has been working on a very elaborate piece for over a year now. Needless to say, she has felt exhilerated, frustrated, excited and defeated during the course of this entricate project.

She told me just as she forms the clay figure, it often it resists her slightest touch. She diligently works with it, removing ever so gently edges she no longer desires. Tiffany sometimes has to start all over, and often she has wanted to just give up. God showed her how much patience He has with her. Often she too resists and is on edge from time to time. But never does her heavenly Father want to start all over with her. Never does He want to just give up on her. As a matter of fact, He specifically tells her in His Word, He will never leave her nor forsake her.

This reminded me of how impatient I am with others from time to time. How I often resist God's nudging, miss His voice, resist His molding of me, and sometimes feel like giving up on Him when the world comes crashing around me and I feel He is not near or does not care. I Peter 5:7 tells me to "Cast my cares upon Him for He cares for me." How can He mold me and be the Potter He needs to be, when I , the clay, am rebuking His correction? How can He mold and make me into His own image when I am not compliant, cooperative or content in the trials or tribulations He has allowed for me?

I must realize as my daughter Tiffany has, that because it is God Who is the Potter, and thankfully I am the clay, I know these truths. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I am complete in Him, no one can pluck me out of my Father's hand, I am more than a conqueror through Him Who strengthens me, and I have an inheretance because of Jesus' death for me. WOW!

We truly serve a patient and loving God. One Who will never give up on us!!

SEARCHING for SIGNIFICANCE

I ask myself from time to time as I look around me at the trials and tribulations I am going through, who I am and why am I even here. I know I am a child of God because I believe in Jesus and have received His gift of salvation. Acts 16:31
I know I have received an inheritance because of Jesus' death on the cross for me and He now lives in me. Eph. 1
I realize God knew me while I was being formed in my mother's womb. Psalms 139

But for some reason, I still wonder about my existence and place in this world.

Jeremiah 29:11 says the Lord has plans for me, plans not of harm or pain, but to give me a hope and a future. I truly must choose to stand on these words, sometimes daily when the storms get so fierce and I am being tossed to and fro by unmerciful waves. I must believe God has great plans for me and cares about the smallest affairs of my life. He feeds the birds and surely I am more to him than fowl of the air.
I am the apple of His eye. I can be secure in His love for me, and I know He will let nothing happen tome outside of His will for my life. With God on my side, what could mere man do to me.

I have all these promises and so many more. Maybe my focus is all wrong. I should be keeping my eyes on the One who created me, not the circumstances I often create for myself. Let me encourage you to do the same. No one compares to Him. Almighty God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

What more significance could we ever need?

RAINING IN MY TEARS

I heard a song recently from Casting Crowns both that stirred my heart and swept my emotions away to a heavenly place I wished I could remain. Its focus was to praise God in the storm. Something I am not in the habit of doing but have made the decision to start. It mentions of how He holds my tears in His hands like the ocean engulfs the rain as it descends from the sky above.

What a concept one not easily grasps. I think how full His hands must be with my tears as the seas swallow up the rain. How often I have dreaded hearing hte drops, nihgt after night, falling like pebbles from on high.

But now when I think of hte rain that usually depresses me so, I remember my Father's hands. How big and strong they are in holding my every tear. I can see how refreshment comes and new growth is inevitable.

So instead of shaking my head in despair, and hiding until the rain subsides, I can lift my head up to heaven through the rain, thank God for His refreshing hand of strength, comfort and love, even in my tears.

NEW TEETH

Years ago, when I was carrying my youngest son, now eighteen, I was attending a charasmatic church with my family and the pastor had called me forward to pray for my unborn child. We had known for quite some time this baby was a special little one and the Pastor confirmed this when he spoke of his calling as a Prophet and continued praying for my baby. As soon as he finished, he quietly told me God was also healing my teeth. I was shocked. I had four front teeth that were decayed and disentegrating quickly and knew one day I would unfortunately loose these teeth at a very young age. He prayed for healing and blessed what God was doing. I was a bit embarrassed, but he had never even known I had teeth in need of a touch from God. About a month later, I was brushing my teeth before hopping into bed for the night, and I noticed four beautiful white teeth, NEW TEETH! He had completely healed these four teeth and made them like brand new. I ran into my husband and showed him, and he was filled with joy. I ran around the house showing off these new teeth of mine. I even went to the next door neighbors house and told them about what had happened and showed them my teeth. This was a profound experience for me because I had only been a Christian for a very short time. I had not even thought about asking God for this healing. I am not even sure if I gave much credit to Pastor Dino's prayer, but in my heart I knew God is a God of miracles. He is not a respector of person's, he would have died for me had I been the only one on the face of this earth. I thanked God immensely and still do for showing me I was special, too. Through this event, He not only healed my teeth, but helped me realize he knows my deepest heart cries, even before I utter them. He is in the business of miracles, spoken and unspoken, and I know He longs to do the same for anyone.

MEMORIES

Memories are what makes us laugh, and cry, smile and hurt. They make us feel warm and fuzzy all over, cringe with anticipation, jump for joy and sometimes quietly bow in sorrow. Memories stay with us, good and bad; they add to our lives and often take from our hearts.

Memories are what we have when we no longer have that special someone around. Our walls are filled with the laughter of our children when their own come for a visit. When looking in the mirror, a mother can see a glimpse of her daughter standing with her, giggling at the craziest hairdo, the outlandish makeup and the wildest outfit. A father can still see he and his son working heartily at cleaning the garage, rebuilding the engine to his son's car for the thrid time, and can reflect on the conversations they had over meals at their favorite Mexican food resturaunt.

Memories allow for excitement and renewal, heartache and great pain. They build us up and sometimes tear us down. You cannot hide them, escape them or remove them. They should be embraced with sensitivity, thankfulness and deep respect. Memories are what make us who we are, and remind us of who we were, what we had and where we've been.

Memories are always with us, in one fashion or another. They are what makes life worth living and give us hope for the future.

First day of blogging...a very special day

Well, today is my first day blogging and I will make this short. It is my lovely daughter's 22nd birthday and I cannot believe the time that has flown by. I remember so clearly having her, holding her and naming her. She has grown from a precious little girl into a lovely young woman with her whole life ahead of her.
She is gentle, kind hearted and loves animals. The compassion she has for others is unique and refreshing. I have learned much from her.
Today, I dedicate this blog to her,
Christina Anne Spooner, my precious daughter, awesome friend, a blessing from above.
I love you Chrissy, with everything within me!! Jeremiah 29:11-13 is for YOU!! Mama Nana XXOO