Lord of the flies

Good Morning Friends!  Wise and Wonderful is our God Wednesday.  Last evening when I got home from work Kim and the boys were in the pool.  I walked over and said hi, then went in, changed my clothes and joined them.  I didn’t feel like getting in, but I happily sat on the deck sipping a cold drink enjoying watching my boys.  There was one problem…..the flies were terrible!  I mean tons of them all around, sticky ones landing on me and all of our drinks.  I covered up the boys cups with a towel, but the nasty flies were everywhere and bound and determined to annoy me, pushing me to the point of being angry…..As I sat angrily swatting at flies my thoughts were drawn to Pastor’s sermon on Sunday.  He read from Matthew 10 where Jesus is giving His disciples instructions as they go out and do HIS work….HE warned them that it wouldn’t be easy, mentioning Beelzebub (Old Testament)…New Testament, Beelzebul the word for devil…..the meaning of Beelzebub, “Lord of the flies.”  How apropos is that!!??  Oh my gosh, as I sat there getting more and more agitated with the nasty, pesky flies puking on our cups, undoubtedly leaving their brown specks everywhere I couldn’t help but acknowledge the definite connection between the devil and flies….OH how clever our Father is to name the fallen angel, “Lord of the flies.”  The devil does his best to agitate us, to provoke us to no good….and he is everywhere just like nasty flies.  He tempts us with all the things that our Father hates….sticky and nasty just like flies.  However, Jesus didn’t just drop them into the devils hands to fend for themselves…NO WAY….nor does he leave us on our own…No, Jesus tells us to watch out for the devil in 1 Peter 5:8-11, but declares He is with us….”Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion (or a nasty fly) looking for someone to devour (agitate, frustrate….)Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”   Our God loves us, “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  1 Corinthians 10:13.”  Yes, we will be tempted, pestered, agitated, frustrated, but if we stand firm in our faith, we will get through….Father, as you instruct us in Matthew 26:41, help us to, “Watch and pray so that we will not fall into temptation.  Our spirits are willing, but our bodies weak.”  Thank you Father, All glory and honor to You.

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strong hold of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26.

Love you all!

Popping a little leak...

Good Morning Friends!  Forever HIS Friday!  This morning in my still half asleep mode I turned on the water in the kitchen…hmm I thought, Rural Water District must still be having problems, not much pressure.  I didn’t mention it to Kim because I figured since RWD had been having some problems this week, it was just them, so didn’t give it another thought until….We were sitting on the front porch just like every other summer morning, me reading God’s word and praying, Kim dozing; as it started to get light I could see a big puddle of water in the driveway.  I hadn’t heard it rain during the night, so I was surprised.  I asked Kim, “did it rain in the night?  There’s a bunch of water in the driveway.”  He sat up and looked outside….”Or we have a water leak.”  At that moment I thought about no water pressure…gently I told him…”There wasn’t much pressure this morning.”  At that point, he jumped up and looked out.  “Yep we have a leak, either out here or in a kennel.  GOOD MORNIG!’  And at that he stomped out the door to check it out!  In a few minutes he was back from a completely flooded Kennel….leaks, not a good way to start the day.  I went in the house to pack my lunch and get things ready for breakfast (fresh fruit smoothies for me and the boys), as I opened the frig I was not happy at the sight that greeted me…..oh my gosh, another leak!  The zip lock bag of wild berries the boys had picked had leaked all over the frig.  Dark purple juice everywhere….I had to chuckle just a little bit thinking of the leaky morning!  Well, only one thing to do….get to cleaning so, I soaked up, wiped off, moved things and cleaned under them and pretty soon…Well for goodness’ sake….look how nice and clean the frig is….been a long time.   As I finished my lunch, happy to have a clean frig, the thought came to me…..Leaks don’t necessarily have to be all bad!  Nope, that leaky bag of berries resulted in me having a clean frig…We are blessed with so much from our Heavenly Father, loved beyond our imagination, blessings of food and clothes, jobs, friends, family….the list is endless….Aww yes, I do think we could pop a few leaks….Leaks of love through unselfish acts of kindness, sharing, time, patience, listening, gratitude and thankfulness….leaks that give honor to God…little leaks will be just fine, little acts add up to lots of love puddled up all over, just like the berry juice!  So, friends how about joining me in popping a little leak!  Father, thank you for the bounty of blessings you shower on us every day in every way, instill us with hearts of gratitude, so that we leak your love where ever we go, to Your glory!

 

Give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds.  Psalm 107:21.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.  Matthew 5:42.  Be kind and compassionate to one another.  Ephesians 4:32.  As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.  1 John 4:12.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself (leaking) through love.  Galatians 5:6.

Love you all!

 

 

Who do you say that I am?

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully, I am the child of the ONE TRUE GOD, Thursday!  This morning during my quiet time I found myself reading from Mark 8, Jesus with His disciples, verses 27-29 really struck a note with me…..”Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.  On the way He asked them, ‘Who do people say that I am?’  They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’  ‘But what about you?’ he asked.  ‘Who do you say that I am?’   Peter answered, ‘YOU are the Christ.’ “  On Saturday we flew home from California with our grandsons Brayden 9 and Dane 7.  This was the first time we had ever flown alone with grandkids so the whole process was a bit well…..use your imagination…LAX two boys and red neck Nana and Papa…As we went through the TSA security check, I led the way, boys right behind me and Papa bringing in the rear.  The agent check my ID and boarding pass first, then the boys.  In a gruff voice he said, “Who is Brayden Torrence?”  I pointed to him and said, “He is.”  The agent responded in the same gruff voice, “I need them to answer for themselves!”  Well, alrighty then I thought and stepped back a little.  “Who is Brayden Torrence?”  the agent asked.  Brayden, just a little nervous replied, “I am.”  The agent then pointed to me and asked him, “Who is that?”  Without hesitation he said, “NANA.”  The look on his face told a story, who in the heck do you think she is, Mister…..The process continued with Dane.  The agent asking who is Dane Torrence, then pointing to me  asking, “who is she?”  Dane’s response was quite similar to Brayden’s, with a are you crazy Mister, look on his face he confidently said, “Nana Kathie.”  At that point he let us through the gate.  At the time I thought, well I guess it’s good to make sure that they do belong to us and we are not kidnappers….but not until I read Mark 8:27-29 did I really get it.  The boys knew who I was and were not afraid to tell the stranger…..Oh that I can be so confident and bold to name our Lord and Savior….He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, He died for us……don’t be crazy….believe in HIM and have life eternal!  Father, help us to step up and boldly declare that we are your children….loved and forgiven….help us to never be shy confessing You, but rather help our actions to reflect Your love, so others will want to be Yours too!

 

The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we are proclaiming.  That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the  same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans  10:9-13.   How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1.