Yeserday was March 16th. I'm a K-Love (Christian radio) listener and I heard them talking yesterday morning about sharing John 3:16 with others during the day and calling it 3:16 day. I am all about living in such a way that others don't even have to ask if we are a Christian, but I'm also about being obedient to God if He gives us an opportunity to share the reason for the hope that we have. Actually, I believe He gives us many, if we only look for them. Some people are not comfortable talking to others about the hope of the world. Me? I'll talk about Him to anyone who is willing to listen...and then some. After all He has done for me, I find it hard not to tell others about His love.
As I was thinking about 3:16, I had a thought that I would like to start diving into different scriptures representing every day of the month, just to see what nuggets I could share from God's word. I know that John 3:16 is probably one of the most recognizable scriptures in the bible. That, and the Lord's prayer in Matt 6:9-13. While many people may be skilled at reciting these passages, one has to wonder how many really ponder the words and believe the truth therein. I think we may all be shocked if we were to really know the answer to that.
As I searched for a scripture to go along with today's date, 3/17, God brought a beautiful scripture to my attention in 2 Cor 3:17:18. I really like the NASB version, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit!!!(exclamation emphasis multiplied, and all mine:-) Talk about a nugget...this is golden. It's worth being unpacked at a later time, since it deserves a lot more than just a short explanation. For now, suffice it to say that the Lord and His Spirit within us wants us to live in the freedom He affords us and to become transformed to be more and more like Him. Can you imagine looking in the mirror and seeing Jesus? If Beth Moore were here, she'd say "Glory"! She's not, so I'll go ahead and say it for her. Glory!
We've been singing the Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels song at church that mirrors this scripture. I'm not real good at posting links on here, so I'm pasting this in so you can copy it into your browser. It really brings the words to life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNpusaxlDVc
I suppose I cheated a little by using two scriptures in 3:17-18, and I could say I'm done for tomorrow, 3/18, but God has really blessed me with this exercise and I've already started looking for 3:18 scriptures for tommorrow. There's a bunch of good ones, let me tell you. I may have a hard time sharing just one. I hope you join me on this adventure, because I know God can show us all great and wonderful things in His word - much better than I can come up with on my own. Tune in daily for His truth. It's a date!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I can sing Mary's song!
It was a year ago, today, that I received a surprising diagnosis of invasive breast cancer. God was my only lifeline then, and He continues to be my lifeline today. The cancer was removed in January of this year, with clear margins, and none was found in my lymph nodes. I have been remarkably healthy this past year, despite my health trials. On this day, a year ago, all I could say was, "My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord, for He has done great things for me"! Bill says God heard my praise before He heard my prayers. I was mindful of all the blessings He had already given me and, in Him, I had to continue to put my trust. I knew that whatever was to come, I could only get through it with God's help.
So, today, as I revel in God's faithfulness, I am reminded again of Mary's song in Luke 1:46-49. I will always sing this song with praise and thanksgiving:
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servent. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name".
Last week, Bill had me read this scripture at the end of the Celebrate Recovery service. With joy in my spirit, I readily agreed to read the scripture because of what it meant to me and the hope I thought it would instill in others. I became all choked up with emotion and gratitude and could barely get the words out. Initially, I thought, "Great, I've really blown this"! But then I remembered who God is, and knew He would use His words as He intended. It didn't matter that my delivery wasn't perfect; wasn't even good, really. What matters is that He used my testimony to portray His faithfulness. And I'll be singing that song forevermore.
So, today, as I revel in God's faithfulness, I am reminded again of Mary's song in Luke 1:46-49. I will always sing this song with praise and thanksgiving:
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servent. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name".
Last week, Bill had me read this scripture at the end of the Celebrate Recovery service. With joy in my spirit, I readily agreed to read the scripture because of what it meant to me and the hope I thought it would instill in others. I became all choked up with emotion and gratitude and could barely get the words out. Initially, I thought, "Great, I've really blown this"! But then I remembered who God is, and knew He would use His words as He intended. It didn't matter that my delivery wasn't perfect; wasn't even good, really. What matters is that He used my testimony to portray His faithfulness. And I'll be singing that song forevermore.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A snuggie and a cup of joe
Seriously, the relationship between me and this blog is in deep trouble! I have been emotionally and physically unavailable and I'm in dire need of a cup of joe. Even if no one else is around to share a cup with me, I need to get back into my happy zone. Writing is a place that makes me happy. I may be random, but I'm in my sweet spot, nontheless, when I can express my thoughts...deep or shallow, funny or sad...and just be me. Is it always pretty? No, but it is usually somewhat interesting to say the least.
Today's random thoughts are jumping to my constant struggle with cold weather. It got below freezing here today and I am now officially accepting sympathy cards for my grief over the loss of warm weather. I kid you not, this is really a challenge for me. We left 70 degree weather in Lexington this past weekend and now I'm watching my University of Kentucky Wildcats play basketball in Maui as I sit here in the frigid cold. They keep showing pictures of the landscape in Hawaii. Oh, how I would love to be there cheering them on...in person.
As I'm lamenting the onset of wicked winter in the Northwest, I have to snap back to a happy place and count my blessings. It's high time for a psalm and song of praise to bring me up out of the pits of my despair. For goodness sake, we're about to celebrate Thanksgiving this week and I'm whining about a little cold weather. I've got so much to be thankful for - it almost embarrasses me that my focus is on a little discomfort that can be covered up with a snuggie a good warm drink.
This all sort of reminds me of my prayer life and the time I spend with God. Even though my time with Him is sweeter than anywhere else in life, I kinda go AWOL on Him every once in a while and find myself in a cold season. How does He respond when I find myself out in the cold? He opens His arms and envelopes me like a warm blanket just out of the dryer. He doesn't berate me for how long I've been gone. He just lets me say anything I want, even the random stuff, as if He was having coffee with Carolynn! If I close my eyes, I can feel my toes in the sand...right by His footprints. I think I'm going to snuggle up in my snuggie, get a nice cup of coffee and take a walk with my Father. We've got some catching up to do because I've been gone far too long.
Today's random thoughts are jumping to my constant struggle with cold weather. It got below freezing here today and I am now officially accepting sympathy cards for my grief over the loss of warm weather. I kid you not, this is really a challenge for me. We left 70 degree weather in Lexington this past weekend and now I'm watching my University of Kentucky Wildcats play basketball in Maui as I sit here in the frigid cold. They keep showing pictures of the landscape in Hawaii. Oh, how I would love to be there cheering them on...in person.
As I'm lamenting the onset of wicked winter in the Northwest, I have to snap back to a happy place and count my blessings. It's high time for a psalm and song of praise to bring me up out of the pits of my despair. For goodness sake, we're about to celebrate Thanksgiving this week and I'm whining about a little cold weather. I've got so much to be thankful for - it almost embarrasses me that my focus is on a little discomfort that can be covered up with a snuggie a good warm drink.
This all sort of reminds me of my prayer life and the time I spend with God. Even though my time with Him is sweeter than anywhere else in life, I kinda go AWOL on Him every once in a while and find myself in a cold season. How does He respond when I find myself out in the cold? He opens His arms and envelopes me like a warm blanket just out of the dryer. He doesn't berate me for how long I've been gone. He just lets me say anything I want, even the random stuff, as if He was having coffee with Carolynn! If I close my eyes, I can feel my toes in the sand...right by His footprints. I think I'm going to snuggle up in my snuggie, get a nice cup of coffee and take a walk with my Father. We've got some catching up to do because I've been gone far too long.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Spa Days with Jesus
I was at a women’s event a couple of weeks ago and two different people approached me and said they knew me from somewhere. I just smiled and said “I have one of those faces”. I got to thinking about it later, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if what people recognized in me was Jesus?!”
We go to all sorts of trouble to “doll-up” our outer appearance, but what are we doing to beautify our inner self, our character, so that none can compare to the beauty that is within us? I think this intensive beauty regimen is available and I think it’s rather inexpensive, depending upon the way you view things. Inexpensive, in that it really costs you nothing monetarily; costly in that you might have to reach a point where you surrender your precious control to Jesus. Yet, He can do so much for us when we turn over that one little thing. He can make us into His likeness, a beauty none of us can manufacture on our own.
I am starting to find that the closer I get to Jesus, the more I want to know Him and be known by Him; the more I am becoming like Him on the inside. I’m no rocket scientist, but even I can tell you that the result of a spa day with Jesus could be nothing less than incredible; so beautiful that the love and authenticity on the inside will begin to show on the outside. Imagine the sweet fragrance lingering in the nostrils of those you’ve spent time with, making them feel like beautiful music has just washed over them. That seems a little unnatural, huh? Yea, you got that right – connecting with our Lord on that level would have to be supernatural.
But, oh, don’t you want to know Him that way? I know I do! How about scheduling some Spa days with Jesus? I could use a little exfoliation to work away some rough spots; a little intensive conditioner to smooth the harshness in my soul; a little deep cleansing to draw out the dirt and grime in my life and wash it away; a little massage to let me know that the hands of Jesus are all I need to work out the stress in my life and to give me peace and serenity.
YES…I’m scheduling lots of spa days and I’m urging you to do the same. Wouldn’t it be cool if people started recognizing Jesus in us and saying, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Let’s hope so.
We go to all sorts of trouble to “doll-up” our outer appearance, but what are we doing to beautify our inner self, our character, so that none can compare to the beauty that is within us? I think this intensive beauty regimen is available and I think it’s rather inexpensive, depending upon the way you view things. Inexpensive, in that it really costs you nothing monetarily; costly in that you might have to reach a point where you surrender your precious control to Jesus. Yet, He can do so much for us when we turn over that one little thing. He can make us into His likeness, a beauty none of us can manufacture on our own.
I am starting to find that the closer I get to Jesus, the more I want to know Him and be known by Him; the more I am becoming like Him on the inside. I’m no rocket scientist, but even I can tell you that the result of a spa day with Jesus could be nothing less than incredible; so beautiful that the love and authenticity on the inside will begin to show on the outside. Imagine the sweet fragrance lingering in the nostrils of those you’ve spent time with, making them feel like beautiful music has just washed over them. That seems a little unnatural, huh? Yea, you got that right – connecting with our Lord on that level would have to be supernatural.
But, oh, don’t you want to know Him that way? I know I do! How about scheduling some Spa days with Jesus? I could use a little exfoliation to work away some rough spots; a little intensive conditioner to smooth the harshness in my soul; a little deep cleansing to draw out the dirt and grime in my life and wash it away; a little massage to let me know that the hands of Jesus are all I need to work out the stress in my life and to give me peace and serenity.
YES…I’m scheduling lots of spa days and I’m urging you to do the same. Wouldn’t it be cool if people started recognizing Jesus in us and saying, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Let’s hope so.
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