Spent most of the afternoon enjoying the writings of my blogging community. I so enjoy reminders of faith, hope and love. As well, the various tips and information that help and encourage along this spiritual and writing journey. I have included some of the posts here for you to have your own reading pleasure.
There is a lot going on in the world today, from the death of the iconic artists to the crazy presidential race. In the midst of it all, I did take time to be grateful for the small things. The image above is one of those things. I absolutely love the beauty of nature and this image was one that gave me pleasure. I took the image at a customer’s home, with her permission, of course. Taking a minute or two from my driving to capture nature’s beauty.
In having to make a decision on a second job inside or outside, I chose the outside. It is a second driving job and though it has the pros as well as the cons, I realized that I do not want to give up my writing or photography. I would not have the opportunity to capture as many of the beautiful images that I see on an inside job for most of the day. It was a challenging decision in that I have to wait a little longer and I do have some urgency for additional finances. In the grand scheme of things, wisdom in decision-making is considering the long-term as well as the short-term results of our decisions.
Trusting God as my provider means that I can make a decision based on Him and not my circumstances. I trust Him to take care of me and provide even when I can’t see how. I’m still here, aren’t I? That means God has provided.
I also thought about my commitment to my writing. There are sacrifices for what God has called me to do. I do notice also that in the transforming of my mind to the things of God, the anxiety is lessening to nil. When it rises, I immediately see that my flesh wants to take control but it doesn’t have to. Transforming my mind means, to me, that I am trusting Him for the unseen things for my life. That I am trusting Him for what He has given me and honoring Him with it. And, that I am standing on who He is in my life, Jehovah-Jireh, my provider.
Today I would like to say that God is glorified in so much that we see all around us in nature. I do not worship nature, I worship God. I do enjoy nature very much, though. Moments when you have to stop and catch your breath. I appreciate His glory when I see images like the photo added here. I was working and after delivering food to the customer saw this image and had to take it. I look forward to the new camera because I will be able to take different aspects of the same image. A different image in depth of field or a telephoto shot will make different statements, I’m sure.
Serena looked around. She realized that she had been frantic and had not sat down for quite a while. She decided to sit in the armchair and deep breathe again. She realized, “This is not even my own home? How could I get locked inside someone else’s home? Why would I let them do this to me?” Deep breathing helped to calm the nerves as she realized panic would do nothing for her. “Okay, Lord, I am here, trying to get calm. I just need to know what’s going on? Why am I here, Lord?” She heard the whisper of “I am here with you.” Again, she slowed her thoughts to recognize the whisper.
The flesh and the enemy, both are contrary to the peace of God. Over the last twenty-four hours, after I posted “Rest in Him”, it has been a constant vigil to stay in His peace. From conversations ending badly to feeling judged. I have to say that I do recognize this and have refused to allow the enemy to keep me there or hold me there. The constant reminders of God’s promises, His mercy, His grace, His favor are able to minister to my soul. I believe that part of being able to do this rests in accepting where you are, identifying with the emotion or feeling and then moving past it. Begin with reminding yourself of God’s promises and repeating the Word over and over again. Forgive yourself and others for whatever transpired and move to the place of peace again. Know that He has you. When you know that God is leading you, it is necessary to keep that stand. We are empowered through our union with Christ because, according to Ephesians 6:13-18, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places in the unseen or heavenly realm.
That said, I am standing strong, thanking God and praising Him. As I see it, encouraging others becomes a game changer for the enemy. He does not want to see us doing what we are called to do. Encouraging others, spreading the Word of God, standing on the promises, and having the peace that passes understanding are contrary to his nature. I know that regardless of the arrows, God is for me. As I praise Him today, no matter what I see, I know that He gets the glory. Christ has accomplished all that He needed to and this is where we come in, “to stand.” When we have done all else, we stand. The call to be alert is very important. Sometimes we may be looking at one way and not alert to the side ways the enemy comes our way. Resting in Him gives us the spiritual eyes to see! Praise Him!
Short and sweet today. Have a blessed day and rest in Him…
What’s in yours? Obviously, the suitcase is an object used for traveling or moving. What would you pack if you only had one suitcase and knew you were leaving things behind? What would you take with you? Or, could be considered baggage. Kind of what we drag around with us in this life, holding on to stuff we need to let go. Addressing both aspects in this posts, I can say I relate to both.
The past few days have been cloudy, rainy and a little cold. Springtime in Vegas for a minute. I took the images included here and as you can see, sometimes the clouds seem looming and dark. Kind of like this life and the journey we are on. We need them both. Appreciation for the sunshine is taken for granted until the rainy and gloomy days hit. There seems to be a true, heartfelt appreciation when the sun shines again.