Our time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."  -Steve Jobs

Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato, and Milton is that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men, but what they thought. A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. ...Else tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another. "                Emmerson


I borrowed this quote from "Shadow's" blog page.  Thanks for sharing Lana!

                    Okey Dokey!  (o:


When things don't seem to be going your way, first accept the fact that you are fine..... you are still in command of your choices.....and you are not afraid of change when that change will only make you better!  (O:

PROFOUND.....

 The poor man who doesn't know that he's poor is rich indeed!

FIVE SMOOTH STONES

There was nothing special or unique about the five smooth stones or the boy who picked them up that day.  Just ordinary stones, without David's faith and God's direction would never have hit their mark.  But, when David released them with his faith, they carried a message to God's enemy saying, "Don't mess with my anointed!

Faced off against any enemies lately?  Here is what you need to know:  David didn't waste his time with Goliath's army because he knew that they too were just small men, intimidated and motivated to serve their leader out of fear.  He spoke straight to the one that they answered to!  It is likely that none of them had the nerve to stand up to this giant, so David's courage and refusal to back down caught them all off guard.  One small boy against their fearless champion....they watched in disbelief!

David brought down his giant in three steps.  First, he invaded his space.  Who had dared to come "into Goliath's face" like that before, so fearless and unafraid?  David humiliated him, "defaced" him, in front of his brothers and men.


Stunned, yet still full of pride and arrogance, Goliath did not recognize the real threat before him.  Foolishly, he let David make his move.  Timing is everything!  The giant was vulnerable and David's stone hit it's mark.  This larger than life man fell hard!


Most importantly, it was what David had done earlier that decided which way this battle would go. What question did David ask Saul's men when he first came into camp?  "...for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of The Living God?  David knew who he was in God.  He knew it when he took on the lion and the bear.  That was simply practice for taking on Goliath, and taking on this giant was training for many other challenges that David would face in his life.


Jesus knew exactly who he was, the God Man.  Being deity made him immortal but his man side made him vulnerable.  How was he able to accomplish his mission to us?  He understood a profound truth.  We must begin with the end in mind!  If we don't have a plan and don't know where we are going....how will we know when we get there?  Life is full of random moments and events....that are not so random after all.  They are training for something else!  Something higher!


Jesus followed through.  A man took on God's enemy and Satan fell hard.  He was not afraid to live or die and when he descended down into hell, Jesus took Satan on his own turf.  Amazed and defeated, Satan turned over the keys to death and hell.  Jesus returned home to fill the empty seat beside His Father but before He left He said:


"Verily verily I say unto you, the works that I do he (you) shall do too and greater works  than these shall he (you) do because I go to the Father....and I will pray the Father and He shall send you another comforter that He may abide with you forever...."   John 14:16.


Now it is our turn to decide what we will do.  We have heard the story of David and how, knowing who he was in His God, caused him to take on a giant and win.  Even greater than David, is the Son of God, who beginning with the end in mind was able to carry out a terrible course here on earth for the sake of delivering us from the evil one.  What was His greatest motivation?  To finish His work and get home to His Father.  Relationship.  We must understand our need for relationship also. When we do, we will also see that:


"Our weapons are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."  2 Cor. 10: 4-5


What then is the force that drives us on as believers in Christ?  Is it fear?  No, it is love and love's purpose!  Because we love Him, we put on the spiritual armor which he has given.... because He so loved us first!  Our enemies most vulnerable point is exposed when we refuse to let fear control us and take a stand in the name of Jesus.


If David knew all he did while he was yet under the old covenant, how much more should we understand and know, being under the new covenant  today?  It is clearly  superior to the old...but have we taken the time to study and learn everything God has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ?  We have what David had, and much, much more!


  Is your heart submitted to God?  Don't just pray for greater faith, show it by offering yourself up to God daily as a living sacrifice, totally surrendered to Him.  Don't say you can't do it, because you can.  Ask Him to help you and He will!


In closing, please read second Samuel 22, versus 1-16.  Verses 17 and 18 finish it off:


"He sent from above, He took me;  He drew me out of many waters:  He delivered me from my strong enemy and from them that hated me, for they were too strong for me....the Lord was my stay."


Yes, by the time Second Samuel 22 was written,God  had delivered David from enemies he didn't even know he had.  Either David had a very vivid and wild imagination, or such great love and respect for Him, that God could not just sit idly by and do nothing while His servant David was in need. Maybe both, but God and David made it through many more battles together.  God and you will too.  Just remember:


Jesus has already invaded the enemy's space for you.  The enemy's fortress has already been spoiled!  Speak the name of Jesus, the Words of Jesus often.  This creates instability  in the enemy's camp throwing them off guard.  Pray to The Father in Jesus name, you have a direct line to the throne room of God.  Develop that relationship as David did and watch the giants drop one by one.  It's target practice for you.  It's curtains for them, because even the strong man's strong man can't stand against the name of Jesus!

Sigh.

My blog page

is not cooperating!

It likes to decide for itself

what will be a paragraph and what

won't!


I think it is a little too much like me in that respect. 
It wants to work independently of it's creator!  I wonder
 if my life looks like this to God.  All clumped together when
it's not supposed to be and all spread out when it is supposed to


be clumped together.......


Sorry God. Help me to cooperate better with your format!  

Ooooooh Me!

God introduces Himself to us through the Trinity:   Father, Son and Holy Ghost.   He created us to be in His own image: Spirit, Soul and Body....like Him, triune beings! 

 Sadly though, we live out most of our lives through the perspective of Me, Myself and I.   Ooooh.... not too spiritual huh? One of me is enough to destroy my life, let alone all three.  Lord have mercy!

When God desires our attention, first He must deal with Me! This is somewhat difficult though because, Myself and I are constantly getting in the way! How patient He is!

All kidding aside, we need to recognize this and do something about it. Me, Myself and I are not doing us any favors.  This undisciplined Triune Trio has gotten me into more trouble than I care to discuss!  Paul said it very well,  ( I paraphrase)  "What I want to do I don't and what I don't want to do, I do it anyway!  Oh Lord, who can save me from my undisciplined self?"

What is the answer?  Is it us, finally figuring out how to get focused and becoming independently righteous individuals?  Nope, even the great apostle Paul needed some help!  He then added:

"Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"

Thanks be to God for forgiving me.... helping me to discipline myself.... and loving me in such a way that I just cannot resist Him!




Can somebody say, thank you Jesus! 

FOR MY FRIEND AND BUSINESS PARTNER, ROSA.

Choices.

We make them first, then they make us.

  Make them good!

I found this in one of my old journals.  How true it is!  

Blessings on your day!

Lightningbug  (O: 

SAFE SPARKLERS. YUMMY TOO!

PRETZEL SPARKLERS

                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                     You will need 1 bag of large pretzel "rods", vanilla bark coating and various, colorful sprinkles.  Melt the vanilla bark and dip one end of the pretzel rods into it, about 1/3 of the way down.  Immediately dip the freshly coated end into sprinkles of your choice.  To dry, stand the pretzel rods up in a cup on their uncoated ends.

Lots of fun to make and even more fun to eat! 

A Prayer Rock

Here Is A Fun Gift To Make!

Find a round stone about the size of a big strawberry.  Clean it well and glue "google eyes" on.  Paint on a friendly smile!  Copy the poem below and give it to a secret sister or friend just for fun!

***************************************

Just a little rock I am

But I can help you, yes I can!

 

Are there problems in your way?  

 Do you take the time to pray?

 

Each morning when you make your bed

 Set me where you lay your head.

 

Go about your work, please do

 I will wait right here for you.

Once again you’ll come to bed

     And when you do you’ll lay your head

 On me, ooooooh!

 

Who has kept you through this day?

 Don’t you have some prayers to say?

 

Then in your slipper I will go

 Till daylight comes and then you’ll know….

Once again, God is waiting!

**********************************

Have A Blessed Day!

A Snot Provoking Incident

What is this?  A "snot provoking incident" is somewhat the same as a thought provoking incident.  I had one today!  Yes, during my prayer and meditation time.  Seems that I had allowed some "toxic" things to build up in my life and they needed to come out!  (O: 

What is the "detox" key here?  Humility....surrender.....tears.... yes even snot!  Not pretty, but it does need to happen sometimes!  Just grab the kleenex box and thank God for His unconditional love and patience!

Life Lessons Vs Events

Events happen every day, all day long.  We judge them to be either good or bad.  Good times entertain us and provide a welcome distraction from harder times.  We appreciate even the temporary relief!  Not so welcome events can turn us sour on life and affect our relationship with God and those around us if we do not handle them right.

Don't waste a learning opportunity during the hard times.  This is where our capacity to learn is heightened and the grace of God is so incredibly available!  Feel the pain, recognize the challenge but allow God to develop in you the Champion he has created you to be.  Study the word Champion.  That is who you are.

A real Champion has to work for what he/she gets.  Nobody else can do it or get it for them.  Will you do a word study on the word Champion and find out who you are in Christ?  Will you believe it once He shows it to you?

Every event can be a lasting life lesson if you allow it to be!

      

 "God...calleth those things that be not as though they were."
    
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  This verse is found in Romans 4:17, right after God brags on His servant Abraham, saying:

                              

 "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith giving glory to God." 

                                                             ~ and ~

"... being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform....."

Is this the same Abraham, God speaks of,  that I just finished reading about in the book of Genesis?  We have some serious repercussions in the world today that can be traced back to this man, whom God made a point of calling His friend and speaking very highly of.  The offspring of Abraham's two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, are divided and fighting to this day in the middle east.

It all began when Abraham and his wife Sarah, being along in years, were told by God that they would become parents.  After waiting a while, they decided that God needed a little help fulfilling His promise and decided that Hagar, Sarah's handmaiden, should bear Abraham a son.  When it was time for God to fulfill His promise and Sarah bore Abraham the promised son, Isaac, Abraham already had Ishmael, by Hagar.  Sarah got a little insecure around Hagar and Ishmael, and Abraham ended up sending them away!   

Sometimes I wonder how this could be.  God freely places Abraham's story in print for us all to see and then seems to turn right around and say what a great man of faith he was. Didn't this man, Abraham, make some pretty serious blunders?    It's interesting that God does the same thing concerning King David.  How could "a man after God's own heart" do the things that David did and still be so loved and revered by Almighty God?

  I don't mean to sound judgemental.  God knows my heart too and understands.  He overlooks what I am saying.... and instead hears what I am trying to say,  "God, will you do that for me too?"

I love it when you read on a little farther into Romans 9:25:

"I will call them my people, which were not my people" and her beloved, which was not beloved.  And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people;  there shall they be called the children of the livng God." 

Awesome, huh?  He's talking about me and you too!  God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11) and He truely believes in us even when we have a hard time believing in ourselves.  When we come to Him by faith in His Son Jesus, He doesn't focus on our failures.  He even goes one step further, He speaks out over us what He wants to see, knowing that this is what we also desire and need to hear!

 We get plenty of judgement from ourselves and others....by the time we finish beating ourselves down, there are others ready to take up where we leave off.  But our Heavenly Father says, "No, stop it, I don't condemn you....don't condemn yourself.  Go your way and sin no more!"  He will convict us, but He does not place guilt and condemnation on us....we do that to ourselves!  Yes, there are consequences if we continue on in sin, but to blame God for those consequences is ignoring the truth.  He just loves us!

 

Remember that Jesus died for our weaknesses and now offers us His strength.  Do you need it?  Will you take it?  Will you stop "beating yourself up" and let God help you become who you were meant to be in Christ?   He doesn't condemn you but instead, offers you grace.... grace to forgive yourself, recieve His forgiveness and move on.  That grace covers your sin and mine for eternity.

 God looked on sin once and for all when His precious Son hung bleeding and dying on the cross.  Once was enough for Him.  The blood of Jesus paid our debt to God in full.  Now, he simply seeks to help us to reach our potential in Him.  Consequences are a natural result of sin, they are there to teach us but are not His punishment. If we are humble and teachable we will see how His grace offers us pardon, without condoning sin.

 Remember the guys in Mark, chapter 2, who were so determined to get their sick friend into see Jesus that they tore up the roof and lowered him down in?  What did Jesus say to the man?  He told the man sick with palsy that his sins were forgiven! This man got up and walked away whole.  Evidently this man's sin and condemnation was tied into his problem.  Forgiveness is at the very root of our well being, whether we are fighting a physical, mental or spiritual challenge.  We must forgive others, and forgive ourselves.     

"If God be for us, who can be against us?  He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  (Romans 8:31-32)  

 Spend more time with the Father.  Let Him tell you who you are....how He sees you and who He created you to be.  His love does not enable us to overlook the dangers of sin.  God's love draws us into a higher relm where we learn new ways of "sin management".  The way we see ourselves is directly related to the way that we think and act.  If we listen to Him, we will get to know ourselves in a different way.  We will be able to cooperate with Him and His efforts to make us better.

May you know like never before the extravagent, compassionate love He has for you.  May it change your life forever!

God Speed,

Lightningbug 

    

         

   

Let the weak say, "I am strong!"

Let the weak say, "I am strong!"

Let the weak say, "I am strong....

In the strength of the Lord!"

I had a dream one night, and in the dream I saw this auditorium full of youth and young adults.  They had their arms lifted to God in praise and worship.  They were shouting the message you see written above.  They shouted this three times.  Then they repeated themselves.  I looked on amazed by their passion and understanding of the words they were speaking.  It was coming from their hearts!

I believe that God is raising up a generation of youth that will understand what this means.  They will recognize their weaknesses and cry out to God for His strength.  He will hear them because He is waiting for their call!  He is waiting for them to put down their pride and come. 

We discover how weak we are, moment by moment.  We are no match for the flesh.  Feel the struggle, feel the pain and then realize...I can't do this on my own!  God has given us a secret weapon, it's called grace.  Yes, we recieve mercy and pardon....there is no condemnation in Christ, but the flip side of grace is power to overcome sin in our lives with the strength He alone can give us.

We must love Him more and the things of the world less....God help us!

Let the weak say I am strong....in the strength of the Lord! 

There's a blue sky in my heart

The Son of God is shining through.

Clouds cannot linger....

Gray skies are just dark skies lightning....

The breakthrough I seek is within me!

What's For Supper?

                                                 Goulash!
                    (Sounds scary but it's really not!)

1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey

1 small green bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

shell pasta, cooked

Prego or Ragu Spaghetti Sauce

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Start out by cooking the beef or turkey, along with the onion and bell pepper.  When meat is done, add a little salt and pepper if you like.  Pour in the spaghetti sauce and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Add cooked pasta and grated cheddar.  Let the cheese have some time to melt before serving.  Serve with rolls and green salad.

              

Praise -vs- Encouragement

As a teacher, I learned a powerful truth.  There is a difference between encouragement and praise.  Here is an example of what our children need from us:

A teacher walks around her classroom observing her students as they do their seatwork.  She notices Michael who usually has really sloppy handwriting, doing something right.  It may just be one word on the page written correctly, but there it is, proof positive that he can do better! 

What should she do?  Say, "Michael, l am so proud of you!  That paper really looks good!"  This attention would certainly please Michael and give him at least temporary incentive to work harder, but there is a better way!

What if, she was to say, "Wow, Michael, look at how those letters are sitting right on the line where they belong.  I believe this is the best paper I have seen you do yet!"   Michael would not only be the recipient of some praise from his teacher, but ultimately, he would know what he was doing right and what behavior to repeat!

The rest of the class now knows what pleases the teacher also and many will check their own papers to see if any improvements need to be made.  Kids love to get positive attention and if you tell them what they are doing right, they will repeat that behavior because, deep down inside, they really do want to please!  (O:

The Proverbs 31 Woman

"A woman of noble character, who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies...."  Proverbs 31:10

There was a time I thought for sure that God had "posted" the Proverbs 31 woman message just to torture me.  Of course I also knew that would be out of character for Him but I wanted so badly to do the things she did and be "her", or just like her at least.  It didn't seem to be happening and I had become discouraged.

About that same time, a  friend invited me to come hear a woman speaker at her church.  The message was on a woman in the Bible who was badly crippled, stooped over and in need of healing.  From this poor woman's stooped position, her whole outlook was different.  With eyes wide open, all she could see was the ground in front of her and maybe a little bit to the side.  In the natural, things didn't look real good!

 When we depend on what we can see with our physical eyes it is easy to loose hope!  At the time I felt like I had as much of a chance of becoming the Proverbs 31 woman as that woman thought she had of standing straight and tall.  I just couldn't see it....neither could she, actually!  But she could hear.  She heard someone say that Jesus was close by and that He had the power to heal.  She made a decision based on what she had heard, to go see Jesus.

 The journey was difficult in her condition, but then she heard His voice. She even saw His feet!  What else could she see from her stooped position?  Straining, she looked up and He looked back.  Her stiff and twisted bones suddenly became straight as He spoke.  Her perspective changed that day.  No more need to look down!  She looked into the eyes of Jesus and walked home with her head held high! 

 Like that woman, I was dwelling on only what I could see through my natural eyes.  From my perspective things didn't look promising at all.  But, I wasn't ready to give up!  That night God spoke.  This is what He said, "You are the Proverbs 31 Woman".  I tried to explain to Him all of the differences between her and me....but He wasn't listening. 

I entered the church that nite spiritually "bent over" under the weight of my own expectations and failures.  I walked out amazed and touched by what He had said.  "You are the Proverbs 31 Woman, because I say so".  You know, I really don't want to argue with God any more over this issue. So, I think I will just agree with Him because it is Him I need to please...not me.  Letting go of pride, I humbly realize that I can't do it on my own, but He sees me through the eyes of grace and for that, I am so very grateful!    

     

This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!