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Safe Harbor
  
"Safe Harbor" - it is a nautical term by the way and I just happen to be an ex-Navy girl - "is a place to come to when you've been damaged or beaten by the storms of life - it's a place of rest, refuge, and restoration - for a time - to receive healing or repair damages, and rest - in the Father's arms - no camping out here indefinitely - it will soon be time to get back out there and be about the Father's business. Yes, you can minister broken but how much more and better can you serve if you are restored and whole?"

"What a blessing was that stillness as He brought them safely into harbor." Psalms 107:30 NLT
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Sowing and Reaping ... Dec 15, 2008 7:45 am
Mood: Hmmmmmm, 223 Views
Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6 : 7

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. NIV

There’s a warning against deceiving ourselves, imagining that we can sow one thing in life and reap something different, imagining that we can get away with things that God won’t see, that we won’t be caught up with the consequences of our actions. The Bible warns us this isn’t so. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

We know this is true in the natural realm. We know that if we plant an orange pip an apple will never grow. We know that if we sow maize, barley will never grow. What we sow is what’s going to come up out of it. So many, however, that see this in the natural don’t realize it’s equally true in the spiritual.

God has made the whole universe with the same principle - that what we sow we reap. If we sow unkindness, we’ll reap unkindness. If we sow selfishness, we’ll reap selfishness. If we sow bitter words, we’ll reap bitter words. But if we sow peace, we’ll reap love. If we sow love, we’ll reap love. If we sow joy, we’ll reap joy.

Are you dissatisfied with your life? Are you dissatisfied with the way that things are? Remember that what you are reaping is the result of what you have sown. If you want to reap differently, you’ll have to begin to sow differently. God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Written by Derek Prince
1 comment
The arrival ... beautiful ... Dec 15, 2008 7:26 am
Mood: reflective, 201 Views
The Arrival
by Max Lucado

God had entered the world as a baby.

Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.

The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him—so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can’t remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn’t figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasn’t the energy to wrestle with the questions. What’s important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes he remembers the name the angel told him to use … Jesus. “We will call him Jesus.”

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33)

He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?
1 comment
Are your fruits showing ... Dec 13, 2008 11:44 am
Mood: good, 229 Views
A repost from 2006:

I just want to ask you a question. Are your fruits showing? You might say ‘what do you mean ‘are my fruits showing’ – what fruits are you talking about’? Well, I am talking about the fruits of the Spirit – notice this is Spirit with a capital S meaning the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23 (New Living Translation) it says “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Do you notice that these are very positive attributes or we might even call them ‘good fruit’? Mostly we only hear about the first three fruits which are love, peace, and joy. I don’t know about you but I haven’t heard a lot about the other six fruits of the Spirit which are patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These six fruits are just as important as the first three. God expects us to walk in all nine of the fruits of the Spirit.

If there are good fruits then there must also be bad fruits. It might surprise you but just three verses previous to the scriptures about fruits of the Spirit is a list of the lusts of the flesh or our sinful nature or bad fruits. Galatians 5:19-21 says “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.”

So tell me now – If you are not walking in the fruit of the Spirit – are you walking in your sinful nature or lusts of the flesh as the King James Version calls it? Are you walking in good fruits or rotten fruits – are you a good tree or a bad tree? The Good News is God will help you walk in good fruits – I’m not kidding you – He really will. He loves you that much. But you have to take the first step in that direction – you need to ask Him for His help and then submit (humbly cooperate) to Him.

Matthew 7:18-20 says “A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.” Are you producing good fruit? Are your fruits showing?
2 Comments
Here's a pic ... Dec 11, 2008 4:59 pm
Mood: having fun, 271 Views
New picture of me and my long time friend Nancy while I was Ky this week - friends for almost 23 years!! Click on picture to enlarge it some!

Blessings!
9 Comments
I'm back ... are you glad... Dec 11, 2008 3:28 pm
Mood: tired, 235 Views
I am glad to be home. I had a wonderful time in KY with my bestest best friend - Nancy - we've know each other going on 23 years now. The weather was lousy but we had fun anyway - and she makes the best fudge around!! YUM!!! But I'm also glad to be home too - nothing like your own bed and your own cat and your own stuff!! Blessings!!
6 Comments
The month before Christmas ... (come on and read me) ... Dec 11, 2008 2:05 pm
Mood: joyful, 192 Views
*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!*


Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet during the holidays a MERRY CHRISTMAS



Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

Unknown Author
3 Comments
Leave your enemies in God's hands ... Dec 7, 2008 2:01 pm
Mood: 18, 314 Views
A good friend of our's from Australia - Penelope - sent me this just this morning - thought I would share it with you - it's VERY timely - not only for BC but for each of our lives!

Leave Your Enemies in God's Hands
by Max Lucado

Some years ago a rottweiler attacked our golden retriever puppy at a kennel. The worthless animal climbed out of its run and into Molly’s and nearly killed her. He left her with dozens of gashes and a dangling ear. I wrote a letter to the dog’s owner, urging him to put the dog to sleep.

But when I showed the letter to the kennel owner, she begged me to reconsider. “What that dog did was horrible, but I’m still training him. I’m not finished with him yet.”
God would say the same about the rottweiler who attacked you. “What he did was unthinkable, unacceptable, inexcusable, but I’m not finished yet.”

Your enemies still figure into God’s plan. Their pulse is proof: God hasn’t given up on them. They may be out of God’s will, but not out of his reach. You honor God when you see them, not as his failures, but as his projects.

God occupies the only seat on the supreme court of heaven. He wears the robe and refuses to share the gavel. For this reason Paul wrote, “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. ‘I’ll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I’ll take care of it’ ” (Rom. 12:19 MSG).

Revenge removes God from the equation. Vigilantes displace and replace God. “I’m not sure you can handle this one, Lord. You may punish too little or too slowly. I’ll take this matter into my hands, thank you.”
Is this what you want to say? Jesus didn’t. No one had a clearer sense of right and wrong than the perfect Son of God. Yet, “when he suffered, he didn’t make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly” (1 Pet. 2:23 GOD’S WORD).

Only God assesses accurate judgments. We impose punishments too slight or severe. God dispenses perfect justice. Vengeance is his job. Leave your enemies in God’s hands. You’re not endorsing their misbehavior when you do. You can hate what someone did without letting hatred consume you. Forgiveness is not excusing.
Nor is forgiveness pretending. David didn’t gloss over or sidestep Saul’s sin. He addressed it directly. He didn’t avoid the issue, but he did avoid Saul.

Do the same. Give grace, but, if need be, keep your distance. You can forgive the abusive husband without living with him. Be quick to give mercy to the immoral pastor, but be slow to give him a pulpit. Society can dispense grace and prison terms at the same time. Offer the child molester a second chance, but keep him off the playgrounds.

Forgiveness is not foolishness.

Forgiveness is, at its core, choosing to see your offender with different eyes. You don’t excuse him, endorse her, or embrace them. You just route thoughts about them through heaven. You see your enemy as God’s child and revenge as God’s job.
By the way, how can we grace-recipients do anything less? Dare we ask God for grace when we refuse to give it? This is a huge issue in Scripture. Jesus was tough on sinners who refused to forgive other sinners. In the final sum, we give grace because we’ve been given grace.
10 Comments
Prayer request ... Dec 7, 2008 1:55 pm
Mood: joyful, 251 Views
I'm gonna be on the road for a few days - traveling to Kentucky to visit my friend Nancy - would appreciate prayers for my journey. Talk to you soon and hope ya'll behave while I'm gone!! Blessings!!
7 Comments
Rejoice ... Dec 6, 2008 6:57 am
Mood: rejoicing, 322 Views
"This is a day that the Lord has made;
we ( I ) will (my choice - I CHOOSE TO ) rejoice
and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24


I make a conscious choice to rejoice in this beautiful day that the Lord has made. Despite if it's a cloudy, stormy day or not - despite the circumstances in my life - my life no longer depends on what is going on in the world around me - my life depends on Christ and what He says - He tells me to rejoice. He doesn't say rejoice only if things are going well and you are perfectly healthy and all your kids are behaving and you just got a promotion on your job and all the bills are paid. NO - He says REJOICE! Don't wait until everything is perfect in your life (you might be waiting a really loooooooong time) - REJOICE NOW - when everything isn't looking so great - REJOICE because you have Christ in your life - REJOICE because He loves you so much - REJOICE because He never leaves you nor forsakes you - REJOICE because He is taking you through that circumstance - REJOICE because eternity is your home - REJOICE because you are breathing - there are a trillion billion things you could be rejoicing and praising God about. Take a moment right now and think of a couple of things you could rejoice about - and then REJOICE and praise Him. Double dog dare ya'!!

God really really really really LOVES YOU!! He does!! I'm not kidding!!
13 Comments
God says ... Dec 5, 2008 11:02 am
Mood: joyful, 289 Views
YOU SAY - GOD SAYS BIBLE VERSES

You say: "It's impossible"

God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)

You say: "I'm too tired"

God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me"

God says: I love you (John 3:16 & John 3:34 )

You say: "I can't go on"

God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: "I can't figure things out"

God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: "I can't do it"

God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I'm not able"

God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8 )

You say: "It's not worth it"

God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28 )

You say: "I can't forgive myself"

God says: I Forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can't manage"

God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I'm afraid"

God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1: 8 )

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"

God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5)

You say: "I'm not smart enough"

God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone"

God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

PASS THIS ON.

Believe God is there just for you...
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MAY BE IN NEED !

Unknown Author

Blessings to all!!
6 Comments
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