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| Skies are blue, and road is gray, God is worthy Every day! |
God's Will - Nothing more.
God's Will - Nothing less.
God's Will - Nothing else!
Keep Rolling on, dear ones!
Showing posts with label spiritual life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual life. Show all posts
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Life in a Nutshell
God's Will - Nothing more.
God's Will - Nothing less.
God's Will - Nothing else!
Keep Rolling on, dear ones!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Could It Be Sacrifice?
We had an uneventful drive up to Wichita, Kansas, yesterday. Those are the kinds of trips I like! I'm thankful to the Lord that the engine did not overheat, and the generator, though it still ran hot, didn't overheat either, largely due to my husband's opening of a bay door while we drove. It's not the prettiest setup, but it works!
Here, we're close to McConnell Air Force Base, and Lord willing, we will be able to ascertain what is going on as far as ministry-wise on the base. Please pray that the Lord will continue to open doors, and that whatever He has in mind for us here would be accomplished. Our desire is to find what God has for us in every situation and fit into His puzzle, in His perfect Will.
As I was laying in bed this morning, a privilege reserved for Saturday mornings, I had this thought:
Serving God without a vibrant relationship with Him is basically sheer slavery. It is a constant drudgery, a painful sacrifice, the endless chore of grinding round and round on the big gerbil wheel of life. There is no light, only a mere dull gray.
However, serving God with a vibrant love relationship with Him is like a wonderful marraige. It is a dream come true in which I am loved for who I am, provided for with the utmost care (even spoiled at times!), and secure in my relationship.
I respond with love, working side-by-side with my soul-mate, the desire of my life. I love what He loves, I want what He wants, and I seek His goals, not my own. It is no sacrifice, only a great desire to be what He wants me to be.
Instead of the rock-hard altar, I lay my soul down the softness of the fragrance of His love.
Could there be any better life than that? Could it be called sacrifice, when I receive all my heart desires, all my life's wishes, and a peace which flows over my being as I serve Him? No, it could not be called sacrifice, it could not be called duty; it is pure delight.
Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit, breathing from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so.
Oh, this full and perfect peace!
Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
How wonderful that I am His, and He is mine!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I LOVE It!
For those of you who don't know, THE GUYS ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We picked them up from the airport on Monday night at around 11:00pm. Since no one was willing to stay home and go to bed, we all went, and ended up staying up insanely late. That's ok, though; the guys are home!!! They were gone for two months, and that's long enough! I'm SO THANKFUL to the Lord for their safety.
Tonight at the missions conference, they are going to show a slide show of their missions trip to Germany, and talk about what God has used them to do over there. I'm really looking forward to it. And, to top it all off, they will be preaching on Sunday!! I'm really looking forward to it.
Now, you may say, calm down Lisa. That's not too much to get worked up over. I suppose you may be right, but when I start to think about what the Lord has done for me and how the Lord has graciously chosen to use the members of my family, I get overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness!
Sometimes I think of our daughter Kathryn and her husband Matthew serving the Lord working with bus children in the UP of Michigan, and get so thankful. Then I think of my "guys" serving the Lord here in the States or abroad, doing whatever the Lord would have them do. And there's my sweet daughter Sharon, who has given her heart to the Lord to guide and direct her life, the word "gratitude" simply does not express my feelings adequately. I have been supremely blessed.
Pardon me if I go on just a little bit. I am not in the least deserving of His Mercies in my family, but I am sure thankful for them. All I ever wanted after I got saved was to serve the Lord and have a family that serves Him, and He has kindly granted my request, so far. God has been so good to me.
Lately I've been thinking of this Scripture, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7) That is exactly how it is with me. Any treasure here is of Christ, and all the glory goes to Him. He is the reason, the power, and His is the glory. Praise His Name!
Tonight at the missions conference, they are going to show a slide show of their missions trip to Germany, and talk about what God has used them to do over there. I'm really looking forward to it. And, to top it all off, they will be preaching on Sunday!! I'm really looking forward to it.
Now, you may say, calm down Lisa. That's not too much to get worked up over. I suppose you may be right, but when I start to think about what the Lord has done for me and how the Lord has graciously chosen to use the members of my family, I get overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness!
Sometimes I think of our daughter Kathryn and her husband Matthew serving the Lord working with bus children in the UP of Michigan, and get so thankful. Then I think of my "guys" serving the Lord here in the States or abroad, doing whatever the Lord would have them do. And there's my sweet daughter Sharon, who has given her heart to the Lord to guide and direct her life, the word "gratitude" simply does not express my feelings adequately. I have been supremely blessed.
Pardon me if I go on just a little bit. I am not in the least deserving of His Mercies in my family, but I am sure thankful for them. All I ever wanted after I got saved was to serve the Lord and have a family that serves Him, and He has kindly granted my request, so far. God has been so good to me.
Lately I've been thinking of this Scripture, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7) That is exactly how it is with me. Any treasure here is of Christ, and all the glory goes to Him. He is the reason, the power, and His is the glory. Praise His Name!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Spritual Suicide
The Lord has been so good to grant me some blessings, some “handfuls of purpose,” these past few days. We arrived here in NJ on Friday, set up the tent on Saturday, and began the tent meetings Sunday. I came here so hungry to hear something from God, to hear from folks who love the Lord and fear His name, and the Lord very kindly showed me His goodness.
We’ve been traveling these two and a half months, and it seems to me that I have seen more spiritually sleeping people on this trip than I have ever seen before in my life. I have been a servant of the Lord for twenty nine years, and I remember many times of fervency, and of seeking Him. A strange lethargy has overtaken His people here in America; a very odd thing to behold.
While I was in PA, I spent some time with a friend of mine whose daughter has been diagnosed with anorexia. Now, for those of you who don’t know, anorexia is an eating disorder. The young person becomes obsessed with her looks and thinks she is fat, when in reality, she is just right, perhaps even a little skinny. Many times anorexia becomes a serious problem as the person refuses to eat. In many cases, anoexia is fatal.
I got thinking the other day: I wonder if we American Christians are spiritual anorexics? Or, more precisely, spiritually bulimic. Bulimia is a related eating disorder (many anorexics are also bulimic) where the person eats and then gags themselves to throw up all the food they just ate, so they wouldn’t get “fat.”
It seems that we go to church and hear the preaching, then go home and turn on the TV, completely erasing all the spiritual gains we got in the House of God. We get no nutrition, though we are going through the motions of “eating.” We could be enjoying the great meals of the Word of God, but we allow the electronics and gizmos of this world to ravish our hearts and take us withersoever they will.
Because she rarely eats, my anorexic friend’s daughter experiences physical problems like digestive issues, bruising for no reason, etc. In actuality, these physical problems are merely symptoms of a greater problem. I wonder if many of the problems we experience in our lives – marital problems, financial problems, parent/child troubles, etc, are merely symptoms of a greater problem: a lack of true, close, intimate “still” time with God. Maybe we are lacking that precious time of meditation on the Word, that calms our hearts, stills our souls, and turns us in the right way. Maybe we are lacking those special prayer times, where God seems to be right there in the room with us.
Are American Christians killing themselves?? I wonder…..
We’ve been traveling these two and a half months, and it seems to me that I have seen more spiritually sleeping people on this trip than I have ever seen before in my life. I have been a servant of the Lord for twenty nine years, and I remember many times of fervency, and of seeking Him. A strange lethargy has overtaken His people here in America; a very odd thing to behold.
While I was in PA, I spent some time with a friend of mine whose daughter has been diagnosed with anorexia. Now, for those of you who don’t know, anorexia is an eating disorder. The young person becomes obsessed with her looks and thinks she is fat, when in reality, she is just right, perhaps even a little skinny. Many times anorexia becomes a serious problem as the person refuses to eat. In many cases, anoexia is fatal.
I got thinking the other day: I wonder if we American Christians are spiritual anorexics? Or, more precisely, spiritually bulimic. Bulimia is a related eating disorder (many anorexics are also bulimic) where the person eats and then gags themselves to throw up all the food they just ate, so they wouldn’t get “fat.”
It seems that we go to church and hear the preaching, then go home and turn on the TV, completely erasing all the spiritual gains we got in the House of God. We get no nutrition, though we are going through the motions of “eating.” We could be enjoying the great meals of the Word of God, but we allow the electronics and gizmos of this world to ravish our hearts and take us withersoever they will.
Because she rarely eats, my anorexic friend’s daughter experiences physical problems like digestive issues, bruising for no reason, etc. In actuality, these physical problems are merely symptoms of a greater problem. I wonder if many of the problems we experience in our lives – marital problems, financial problems, parent/child troubles, etc, are merely symptoms of a greater problem: a lack of true, close, intimate “still” time with God. Maybe we are lacking that precious time of meditation on the Word, that calms our hearts, stills our souls, and turns us in the right way. Maybe we are lacking those special prayer times, where God seems to be right there in the room with us.
Are American Christians killing themselves?? I wonder…..
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