Gateways to Joy

Yesterday, while driving my son to his basketball game, I was able to rest and reflect while driving.  Believe it or not lots of times that's how I find the time to unwine. I love Christian radio and yesterday I listened to the late Adrian Rogers. Adrian said there's three things a Christian can do to be sure they don't backslide. Spend at least 15 minutes listening to God from His Word.  Spend at least 15 minutes talking to God through prayer. Find someone to tell about God everyday He said the problem come in because usually, though, we sit with Bible open, or we bend the knee often times we don't devote an entire 15 minutes to these things daily. I do have regular Bible and prayer time, but this morning, I timed myself and spent at least 15 minutes doing the above.  My telling someone about Jesus everyday will surely be me blogging to you, but hopefully...I'm pretty sure God will send someone in my life to disciple. So try this and let me know how ...

T he words still my eyes.  This is where the Father wants His daughter to begin her early morning meditation.  " The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus; with a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart And on the horns of their altars, as they remember their children, so they remember their altars and their Asherim.  By green trees on the high hills.  O mountain of Mine in the countryside, I will give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty, your high places for sin throughout your borders.  And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance that I will give you;  And I will make you serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; for you have kindled a fire in My anger w hich will burn forever." ~ Jeremiah 17: 1-4 "What does this mean concerning me?"  I asked my Father. I read on.  I'm stilled. "Thus says the Lord, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh ...

`I NEVER NOTICED until this morning the context of this command in the Epistle of James: 'My brothers, do not blame your troubles on one another or you will fall under judgment.' { James 5:9, NEB}.  The context is patience.  A farmer's precious crop comes up only as he waits patiently for autumn rains, winter snows, spring sunshine.  Anything worth having is worth waiting for.  Troubles are permitted in order to teach us many lessons, not the least of which is patience.  If we instantly assign responsibility for those troubles to somebody else, our energies will go into resentment instead of into learning God's lesson of patient waiting.  The Lord's coming is far more certain than even autumn rains and winter snows.  We can stand firm and patient no matter how others treat us, knowing that in the end our troubles will be transformed. 'The Lord is full of pity and compassion' {James 5:11}. Can we believe that, even when we feel sorry for ourselv...

H ave you ever searched for something only to realize once you found it, that it was never as far off as you thought? That's sort of how it is for me with Jesus and my Christian walk at times.  Sometimes I stray ... in search of?  Peace...fulfillment...happiness...joy???  I find out very quickly from searching deep and looking wide that all I long for I already have, all of the wants, the desires and the hopes are mine for the asking. Where are they to be found? I have these things and more in abundance in the person of Jesus Christ.  "Man is a hungry being, says Alexander Shememann, but often times don't realize the insatiable hunger is for God." I am a hungry soul with a hearty appetite, always on the prowl for tasty meals.  This insatiable hunger for food causes me to stray out of the boundaries of my diet.  There is always that "sugar rush."  My diet crash sends me right back to the starting point where I have to beg...

Gratitude is defined most simply as 'the condition of being thankful.  ... gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change peoples' lives.'  But, and here's the self-help angle, 'gratitude (or thankfulness) is an effortful state to create and maintain.  It is not for the intellectually lethargic.' ... preliminary findings suggest that those who regularly practice grateful thinking do reap emotional, physical, and interpersonal benefits. ... Grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism ... The practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed and bitterness.'  That cultivating gratitude can fight depression is no small deal, as antidepressants have become the most prescribed medication in the nation.  Not only all that, but being grateful can, or might, also protect us from heart attacks, lessen p...

I 've just hopped into bed.  My feet are up and my body is adjusting to its new posture.  I can feel the days hustle and bustle leaving...I relax.  The lasagna is in the oven and shortly I will call for the girls to come make the salad.  Burning next to me is a candle, Wild Honeysuckle, a hint of its fragrance permeates the room. Besides the note pad that I'm scratching thoughts in, Elisabeth Elliot's book, "A Lamp For My Feet," rest in my lap.  Before I peel open the pages I sit quietly: meditating on the day.  Silently asking myself the question, "Did I make the most of my time today?  Did I accomplish the things on my agenda that I feel God wanted me to...this day?" My lips part.  They move and quietly I whisper, "Lord give me another opportunity tomorrow to live for you.  To spend my time a lot more wisely and to purpose in my heart to please you.  Forgive me of this days sins:  the known and the unknown ...

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. ~ Ephesians 5:25 Marriage a "holy union." A precious relationship that needs tender, self-sacrificing care.  SELF-SACRIFICING CARE , men that's what a lot of us, WOMEN, want to see more of.  PROVIDING & WORKING is only part of it ...it's a good part, but not the only part. We want you to show ... compassion understanding honesty integrity loyalty empathy kindness gentleness patience friendliness attentiveness Love:  compassion, devotion.  In the NT, usually the Gr word agape', which focuses on benevolent (marked or disposed to doing good) actions toward another person, rather than on feelings for the person.  Often described as an unconditional, sacrificial love which does what is in the best interest of another, without expecting anything in return....