God is Crazy About You

I recently read a story about a young lady whose dad was a famous 80s child actor.  In her quest to find importance apart from his fame – all her friends became her friends, she thought, just to meet her dad - she sought validation, from among other things, her Instagram followers.   The problem was that if anyone unfollowed her it would send her into a deep depression where she couldn’t even get out of bed for a week at a time.   I felt bad for her.  Who would think that a wealthy, drop-dead gorgeous, young woman would have any reason to feel so bad?

The need to be loved and recognized is vital and real, which is why knowing how God feels about us is so important.

He says…

We are redeemed

We belong to Him

He is always with us

He is our Savior

We are precious in His sight

He loves us

He leads us in triumph

We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing

We are chosen

We have access to Him through Christ

His peace guards our hearts and minds

He supplies all our needs

And Deuteronomy 28 delivers this mind-blowing passage: “God blesses me inside the city, and in the country; He blesses my children, the crops of my land, the young of my livestock, the calves of my herds, the lambs of my flocks.  He blesses my basket and bread bowl, and He defeats my enemies.” 

Next time we are tempted to worry or even care about what a mere human thinks about us, let’s remember that God is CRAZY about us!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for being madly in love with us.  We receive so many mixed messages every day about what makes us likeable, special, or loved.  One day we’re on top of the world and the next day it’s as though no one cares.  But You love us with an abiding, everlasting love no matter what.  We’re always number one in Your eyes, and that’s all that matters.  Help us to have a healthy and emotionally stable view of our selfworth because of the value YOU place on us. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

Listen AND Apply~

"But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves" James 1:22.

Have you ever been fooled? I have, and it happened regularly at my high school, Shamrock, in Georgia.  Back in the early 80s it was all the rage to refold the used aluminum from a rectangular piece of Wrigley's doublemint gum, reinsert it into its paper wrapper, and offer it to poor unsuspecting folks like me.  It was impossible to tell the difference between a real piece and a fake, and I always fell for it.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me?  Then shame and more shame on me.

However, being fooled by snarky pubescents with a phony piece of gum has no life-long implications.  On the other hand, thinking we can hear about God's salvation, wisdom, encouragements, and commandments and then walk away without doing anything about it spells trouble.

The above verse says that only listening to God means we are fooling ourselves - we are deceiving our souls.  So much more is required.  We must do what God says.  To reap  a blessed, protected, guided, provided-for life that is replete with faith, joy, peace, love, and hope, we have to act.

Years ago when I had a thyroid problem, I went to an endocrinologist.  She came up with a course of treatment, which I discussed with her and then read on my own.  Thank God that I didn't have to do anything else.  Simply by listening I was healed!

Not!  I had my blood tested, an ultrasound done on my neck, followed by a needle biopsy, and a follow up plan that eventually required surgery. I would have only been fooling myself if I thought that I did not have to follow through with the doctor's treatment.

We have to follow through with our Lord, and it starts with prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We do not want to only listen, we want to do what Your Word says.  Our lives are better when we pray, trust, and exercise our faith.  We slip out from under the weight of depression when we express gratitude daily.  Our families thrive when we are rich in forgiveness, patience and understanding.  Our co-workers are blessed when we show self-control and kindness.  Our marriages are immeasurably blessed when we pray for each other, treat each other with respect, and serve one another.  Every single situation or problem we face benefits tremendously when we apply Your Word.  HELP US LISTEN AND APPLY! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Pray it Off~

Tuesday greetings,

A few months ago my husband played a mean joke on my daughter-in-law, Lis.  She was weighing herself on the scale, and Jorge moved in stealthily behind her and also stepped on the scale.  It increased her weight by 20 lbs, and sheer panic set in for a few horrifying moments.  We all got a good laugh out of it, but man o man, I would have killed him.  Truth is I have never met a single person who would welcome extra weight.

Some of us carry it physically, but way too many of us carry it in our hearts.

Proverbs 12:25 “Worry weighs down the heart…”

Anxiety, heaviness, grief, sorrow, call it what you will, but all the aforementioned are part of life, and they weigh us down, bring us low, depress us, and trouble our hearts.

What can we do? The second part of Proverbs 12:25 says, “…but a kind word cheers a person up.”

Other versions of the Bible say “a good word”, an “encouraging word”, or an “appropriate word” brings joy.

The anecdote for heaviness of heart is found in the quality of the words we receive, and it’s instant.  Most importantly, we should be reading the Holy Bible every day because it is the kindest, most encouraging Word on the face of the earth.  I know that when I have those times that I feel the pressures of life, reading scripture provides a powerful lift.  Praying with a buddy also infuses my soul with hope.   And of course, over the course of my life, there have been so many life-giving words shared with me that I treasure to this day.

There is no need to carry around that extra weight today; let's pray it off right now!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for knowing that worry weighs us down.  You never ignore us or pretend our feelings aren’t real.  But we also thank You for providing a way to lift our spirits. Remind us to fill ourselves with Your Word everyday so we can soar above the problems of life.  Also, remind us that the words we speak can affect the quality of someone else’s life.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN. 

Self-Control~

Salutations~

 

 

Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message version)

 

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

 

 

Based on the verse above here's a neat and concise list of the gifts God gives when we live His way: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control.

 

 

All these are the fruits that will grow and thrive in our orchards.  And all these are necessary for enjoying life.  We should also be asking God regularly to help us and our children produce these fruits.  But today I want to hone in one particular fruit that seems to often elude us and whose lack of in our life produces misery.  I am talking, of course, about self-control.

 

 

What happens when you try to control your spouse? Your kids? The weather? Someone else's reaction? God?

 

 

Simply stated--You can't!

 

 

And when we can not control something we feel helpless and afraid.

 

 

If only we could choose for our spouse when they fall into temptation.  If only we could say "no to drugs" on behalf of little Johnny.  If only we could make sure everyone driving around on the friendly streets of Miami were properly licensed and insured.  If only we could make sure that everyone else around us is always nice, always loving, always kind...In short, always producing fragrant fruit in a fertile orchard.  

 

 

All of us with half a brain know that this is not the way life works.  We really have very little control over anything much less anyone--except ourselves.

 

 

It's called self-control for a reason, and that is because you are really the only one you can control.

 

 

This does not mean we don't try in vain to control situations or other people, but more often than not, when we assume this huge impossibility and fail, we feel like failures and this leads to unhappiness.

 

 

Ask yourself what you have been really down about lately or just in general, and more than likely it will have to do with a situation beyond your control.  

 

 

For example: (all the names of my brave friends have been changed to protect their innocence.)

 

 

Pierre la Franc has been really low lately--precisely since 2007.  This is when the economy started tanking, and he took a huge personal hit.  He blamed everyone and everything and felt his happy light slowly starting to fade.  The power of positive thinking was not powerful enough, and no matter how hard he ordered his personal finances to turn around, they would not budge.  It was out of his control.  

 

 

Sally G. Away invested a lot of time and a lot of effort in raising her two little girls.  One of whom chose the straight and narrow and one of whom did not.  The one who did not went down a path of self-destruction that destroyed Sally as well.  Over and over and over again she blamed herself for her daughter's choices, and in the process fell into a severe depression.

 

 

At the root of the problem was that both these fine folks were trying to control something beyond their ability.  Add to that a heaping helping of self-condemnation and it's easy to see how these life-scenarios led to such unhappiness.        

 

 

And then there's my buddy Lois who was so convinced that her daughter deserved a certain role at school that she expended a lot of time and energy rallying the higher-ups to choose her child and was highly insulted when it did not work out.  She almost withdrew her child's enrollment because of it and would have forfeited many years of fun and friendships.  We laugh about it now, but back then it was a perfect example of "forcing one's way in life," and "not channeling one's energies wisely."

 

 

I think we can all relate.  Let us focus on the one thing we can control and trust God with the rest.

 

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are right.  Self-control is the only control we have.  Thank You that You have the rest under Your watchful eye.  In Jesus' name, AMEN