Beauty of the Sandhill Crane

Song of Sol. 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

~ The Sandhill Crane ~

The majestic beauty of Crane descending

Black lines mount the sky

Like rows and rows of soldiers pending

Their song-filled woes draw nigh.

Their movement off in the distance

Seeking a haven to rest.

Being met with no resistance

To the wandering river they nest.

Right on cue each year they meet

The melody fills the air.

Gather together new friends to greet

A sanctuary they share.

Flocking northward like a band of thieves

To the winding river they roam.

A blanket of clouds each one weaves

Finding a shelter to call home.

Briefly at the Sandhills they stay

The morning’s call will incite you.

You’ll rise and shine to greet each day

Until the moment the Crane bid adieu!

Isa. 60: 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows

Poetry Sunday ~ The Light of My Soul

Isa. 58: 11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

The Light of my Soul

The rising sun drips in rays

Dancing o’er the morning

I see it glance in my window

Without a wavering warning.

The warmth washes over

Bathing me in light

Immersed in pure beauty

And so sheds the night.

I glimpse to see the beams

Piercing through my soul

My God has awakened me

From the darkness night had stole.

The heated passion carried

For all the world to see

A peek into my window

At God who shines through me.

I bear the light-filled burden

of sharing throughout the day

I pass the torch onto you

To do with it what you may.

Will you spread the seed of hate

To dance with those who glower

Or plant some love in fertile soil

Savoring the stunning flower?

I’ll spray a little sunshine

To the masses that I meet.

Sprinkles of love and laughter

To each one that I greet.

Jas.5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1 Pet. 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Quotation Saturday

Matt. 12: 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

PRAYER

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
~ Søren Kierkegaard

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
~ Mother Teresa

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
~ St. Francis of Assisi

“Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

HEART

“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”
~ Augustine of Hippo

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

~ Psalm 28:7 NIV

“Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.”
~ Homer, The Iliad

A heart without words is just a heart. Words with a heart, are just words. Sincere words of the heart become a prayer to the wounded.

~Joni

SOUL

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”
~ Cassandra Clare

“Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words.”
~ Rumi

“Every heart has a soul. Every soul has a heart. But he who is without compassion and love for his brother is just a body with a functioning organ.”

~ Joni

Rom. 14: 10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ

 

 

Stressed ~

Pss. 126: 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

I’m Stressed

What? Happy-go-lucky, Joni? The lady that's always thinking positive and lifting people up? Stressed? Really?

Yes, Joni, stressed, one and the same. I am human after all as much as many of you think I’m not. I hurt, I cry, I sin and I get stressed. The only difference in me is, I take it all to God and allow Him to carry my burden, then I pray, pray fervently for an answer, any answer, even if is not the answer I had thought of, I fervently pray.

When I announce to my virtual friends that I’m stressed, I don’t expect them all to come running and offer me comfort but I do expect a little compassion. Sure in my weakened state they will offer me scripture, God this and God that. Yes I know, that is why I fervently pray. I would just like one, any one to say, “What’s wrong?”

When I’m stressed, it isn’t the time to taunt and tease me because I seriously react differently than when I’m not stressed. Sure, I can take a taunt and tease as well as anybody but sometimes I just need to vent and THANK GOD I have my writing for that, because in my flow of words, writing is the only thing that helps me since no other so-called humans even understand. That is why I turn to the Holy Spirit and my spiritual gifts.

It hit me Saturday, when Steven’s mom asked, “So do you have any plans for graduation?” Me? Plans? I hate plans! Like rules, they were made to be broken, right?

“Um, no.” I replied. 

Then for the entire ride, thoughts came in like a wave crashing on the shore. The wave being the thoughts and the crashing being them hitting me like a ton of bricks the wave carried in.

Graduation. I never really thought the day would come since I home-schooled Adam for eight years of his school life but now he’s a senior nearing graduation and thoughts are swirling like a twister in the southern heat!

Okay, a little compassion here. I think I’m feeling a little of what is called ‘empty-nest syndrome’ or something closely related to that. No he hasn’t left the nest, but he plans to. He has also made HIS OWN decision in not entering college. While I hear the scoffers of his decision, I myself think it is a wise decision and am standing behind him, well, since I’m the only one he has.

I notice so many parents and schools put pressure on kids to attend college to ‘better your education’, to ‘get a good job in your future’, to ‘make lots of money, down the line.’ Yes it is a lot of pressure on a kid who just wants to end a harrowing school experience and be done with it all.

Why I think it is a wise decision? Who is going to PAY for college? Will he be indebted for 50 years for a college he was pressured into attending only to drop out and decide to do something else? The boy is thinking of getting a job, saving money, and deciding ON HIS OWN if college is for him. From an adult standpoint he’ll know what HE can and cannot afford. He IS his own person after all!

Now back to the graduation woes. Adam has no family. The only family he has known for eleven years has been Steven’s most awesome family. My family has no cares for him, he has no father, he has no aunts and uncles in my family to even congratulate him or say, “Way to go, kid!” They might when the time comes but I highly doubt it. They’ve had nothing to do with him all these years, why say anything now? On my side of the family all that Adam has had has been my mother and father, but they are too old to travel with all of their health issues, so no, no family for Adam.

Now, Steven’s mom offered us her house for a ‘get together’, for anybody that DOES show. Then she mentioned invitations, pictures and so many things that go into a senior graduation, my mind went into a tailspin and here I am venting into the unknown. Thanks MOM! Haha, I chuckled. She is one of the kindest, sweetest women I know!

In the four years that we’ve been here in Nebraska, we’ve attended 4 graduations for his nieces and nephews. They had the whole pic thing, the invitations and kinda nice parties if I do say so myself. Surrounded by family and friends, food and a good time. Again, Adam only has Steven’s family and if no one shows up, he’ll be alone on one of the biggest days of his life. Okay, okay, I KNOW mom, Bobbi and Mike will show, they’re rocks that way and they love Adam!

And to top off the stress, it falls on a Saturday. Steven works on Saturday’s. Will he take off? Well, he BETTER if he knows what’s good for him. Haha That being ME! I think he is all too eager to see the nest empty but does he really know what that means? HE will have to do all Adam’s chores! Taking the trash out, cans out, drying dishes and putting them away, vacuuming, mowing, etc. etc.  I hope the day turns out important to him since he has been the only man figure IN Adam’s life!

Graduation – coming to a May near you.  *Deep sigh*  …. To be continued…

Mark 11: 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Temptation

Matt. 6: 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Temptation

Will you resist temptation

As it’s knocking on your door?

Will the past you try to run from

Come calling to prowl for more?

There’s truth amid the ruins

Of all you seek outside

If only man would look within

His light it could not hide.

Will sin beat and batter

Your soul you try to waken

Will you embrace the darkness

That has your self  forsaken?

I see you hugging evil

in the liars den.

You stroke the hand of many

Calling them your friend.

See them turn away from you

In disgust as you glower

Sin is not a pretty pic

Disguised as a flower.

The sinful man cannot see

The harm that he has done

His only triumph is in himself

And battles he has won.

He stands alone looking proud

Of all of his possessions.

Appearing as a man of truth

Leaking false impressions.

Temptation has a hold;

His will to fight is bleak.

Look to find the Lord within

The Light to all you seek.

Luke 8: 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Look to Him

Prov. 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Look to Him

Look to Him on rubble roads

Even when you stumble

Look to Him and not to me

In all things be thou humble.

Look to Him for guidance

In all things that you do.

Look to Him and not to me

He’s waiting there for you.

Look to Him as you seek

In His Light you will find

A trove of flowing beauty

A world that’s warm and kind.

Look to Him as you pray

An answer’s in the sound.

Look to Him and not to me

For Glory that you found.

Look to Him for direction

On the path that you must take.

Look to Him and not to me

Your soul shall then awake.

Prov. 13: 9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

I Shall Not Judge

Rom. 2: 1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

I Shall Not Judge

I shall not judge another man’s sin

For those are his alone.

No one can judge God within

Or gifts that He has shown.

I shall not judge another man’s load

For the path that he has led.

God has made a perfect road

For which we are to tread.

I shall not judge another man’s choice

For his world is full of sorrow.

I will lend to him my voice

To carry into tomorrow.

I shall not judge another man

For all of his wrongdoing.

I will strive to do all I can

God’s word with them renewing.

John 12: 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Poetry Sunday ~ The Idols of Darkness

Ephesians 4:32-33 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

The Darkness of Idols

An icy chill blankets the globe

It seeps right through the ground.

Man allows his soul to sleep

To earth forever bound.

Silence is truly golden

or so the masses say

I will not leave you blinded

In the stillness of the day.

I will put my eyes on love

and the fullness that there is

Our life is but a mission quest;

That many fail the quiz.

By seeking out the ruins

That all false idols be

An aching pain erupts inside

Never setting you free.

You become an idle source

Of possessions that you hold

Your treasure lay in your hands

The truth of you be told.

An icy chill comes over you

Uncovered bones do tremble

You follow idols in the dark

With a life you disassemble.

1 John 5: 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

 

 

Quotation Saturday

I chose this week perfectly/imperfect, strength, weakness, beauty. Why? Because God created each one of us perfect, He loved what He created for it was good. We are the ones who made us imperfect and not by God’s hand. We should not be happy with our weaknesses, we should strive to return to God the perfect man/woman He created. “Become like little children,” not childish; pure and innocent for there is where the beauty in your mind, body and soul is attained. Yes God loves you!

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Perfectly Imperfect

“Perfectly Imperfect
We have all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. Each snowflake takes the perfect form for the maximum efficiency and effectiveness for its journey. And while the universal force of gravity gives them a shared destination, the expansive space in the air gives each snowflake the opportunity to take their own path. They are on the same journey, but each takes a different path.
Along this gravity-driven journey, some snowflakes collide and damage each other, some collide and join together, some are influenced by wind... there are so many transitions and changes that take place along the journey of the snowflake. But, no matter what the transition, the snowflake always finds itself perfectly shaped for its journey.
I find parallels in nature to be a beautiful reflection of grand orchestration. One of these parallels is of snowflakes and us. We, too, are all headed in the same direction. We are being driven by a universal force to the same destination. We are all individuals taking different journeys and along our journey, we sometimes bump into each other, we cross paths, we become altered... we take different physical forms. But at all times we too are 100% perfectly imperfect. At every given moment we are absolutely perfect for what is required for our journey. I’m not perfect for your journey and you’re not perfect for my journey, but I’m perfect for my journey and you’re perfect for your journey. We’re heading to the same place, we’re taking different routes, but we’re both exactly perfect the way we are.
Think of what understanding this great orchestration could mean for relationships. Imagine interacting with others knowing that they too each share this parallel with the snowflake. Like you, they are headed to the same place and no matter what they may appear like to you, they have taken the perfect form for their journey. How strong our relationships would be if we could see and respect that we are all perfectly imperfect for our journey.”
~ Steve Maraboli

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.”
~ Leonard Cohen

“In a cruel and imperfect world, she was living proof that God could still create perfection.”
~ Rex Reed

“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.”
~ Steve Maraboli

STRENGTH

“Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”
~ Christian D. Larson

WEAKNESS

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength.”
~ Criss Jami

“In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there's no danger that we will confuse God's work with our own, or God's glory with our own.”
~ Madeleine L'Engle

BEAUTY

“For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. 
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. 
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. 
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. 
  People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.” 
~ Sam Levenson

“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”
~ Scott Westerfeld

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Valentine's Day, really?

Gen. 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Valentine’s Day, Really?

Most who know me, know that I’m different, different beyond belief. Valentine’s day is one of those days my true colors come shining through. Why? Well let me tell you. I don’t celebrate just one day of love, especially that of a martyred Saint.

Yes I’m human. I see all the hearts and V-day stuff appear as soon as the Christmas stuff goes down in stores. I see the way the material world and the commercialized world  scatters their brains and revolves around money. It’s all about money! Right after V-day we’ll be hit with Easter bunnies! Sure I have wants but in no way do I want jewelry, roses, rings and things, I want LOVE!

When Steven and I first met, our first V-day was online so he sent me lyrics to love songs. Yeah the man wooed me via music, but not just that, he knew my heart and soul, the lyrics he chose was a mirror of me. I fell hard!

Our second V-day, we were together, he brought me a puppy two or three weeks BEFORE V-day and said, this is your Valentine’s present. He was serious. He doesn’t celebrate V-day or anniversaries and it kind of threw me, but you know what, he knew me. He knows my heart and my soul!

Holy days were tainted as a child growing up. I was raised Catholic and the nuns from first grade taught us to give these cute little V-day cards to our classmates. I was so excited when my mother would take me down the five-and-dime to buy a box of cards. The day would arrive and as I handed out say 26-30 I never received many back and I watched with great sadness as other ‘popular’ girls left with handfuls of cards.

We would also make our mother’s a card, hence the very reason I’ve never BOUGHT my mother a card, I was a poet even then. My dad would have me go down to the Hallmark store and pick up a card for him to give my mother and she never knew for years it was my sister and I making the purchase.

Then I grew up, converted to Christianity and started seeing holidays for what they really were, commercialism.

I got married and still Valentine’s day was marred by ‘expectation’. Not from me, but from my ex. He’d buy me something on V-day and ‘expect’ something in return, if you know what I mean.

I have a friend who works at a Hallmark store, and she had commented on loving seeing men pick out a special card for their ‘special’ someone and how that was ‘true’ love. Me, I immediately thought, “Yeah, their next trip is to Fredrick’s of Hollywood to get another ‘special’ something.” Why? Because they ‘expected’ something. Marred and tainted.

Now I’m with a man who expects nothing from me. He buys me stuff when there is no commercial holiday dangling over his head, so why would he buy me something on Valentine’s Day? Maybe his V-days were marred too.

For Christmas he bought me a screwdriver, this week a much needed lawn mower AND he took my car to the shop. Shocking as this may seem, THAT is what I ‘expect’; a man who knows my heart and soul and fills every need imaginable in my life.

So why do people wait for one day a year to express their true love? It makes singles feel unloved, it makes daters expect something and when not received, they hurt. It totally makes people feel the opposite of its intended Cupid target. Face it, it is a day of great expectations that fall short.

I’m all for love YEAR ROUND!!! This one day a year crap is totally bogus. I think the holiday is sacrilegious just like all the other Holy Days they tainted. I don’t even think St. Valentine himself would be happy that they’ve done this.

Gives you something to think about, eh?

Happy LOVE Day to you!

John 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

John 15: 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love

Focus

For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.' - Proverbs 3:12 (KJV)

Focus

When skin is brittle and broken

We tend to see the scar

Why does man linger there

When we’ve tried to come so far.

To mend a tattered fence

Leaves room for shattered lives

Be still and try transforming

Awaiting the day He arrives.

Be still and know full clarity

Of a life that’s been reborn

Try not to complicate yourself

While you focus on the torn.

Looking at all the wrongs

Never makes the world aright

The action that you take to change

Helps peace rule the night.

His Sacrifice

Heb. 10: 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

His Sacrifice

He did not come as a flaming fire

The manger was His birth.

Angels danced and sang that night

As Jesus graced this earth.

Some won’t hear, some won’t see

He will rise and awaken thee.

He came in silence on a starry night

The great Emmanuel

The sages bowed before Him

A Savior’s tale to tell.

Some won’t listen, most won’t agree

His blood was shed for you and me.

He walked a wrinkled furrowed path

Our sin was His to bear.

Nailed upon the tattered cross

Yet not many gave a care.

Some will watch, some will flee

God in man now trinity.

He came to show us how to love

Not live in prideful hate

He offers us a straightened path

But narrow is the gate.

Some will follow, some will be

A Light for all of the world to see.

Matt. 7: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Feed the Fire

Jonah 3: 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Feed the Fire

Feed the fire fan the flame

All you hold is your own shame

Your arms are crossed without fear

Stand to lose all you hold dear.

Feed the fire fan the flame

Hold no truth to all you claim.

Sitting proud you rule the land

Emptiness is in your hand.

Feed the fire fan the flame

You’re the winner of the game

Silence is golden or so the say

But peace is not with you in the day

You feed the fire fan the flame

Stories are yours so you claim.

My life is spent praying for you

To see the harm in all that you do.

Fervent Prayer

Matt. 5: 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Fervent Prayer ~

It’s a big deal prayers are. Uttering words, “I’ll pray for you,” is not a prayer for a person. When someone asks for prayers they are reaching out in a desperate need because they know and believe in the power of prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." (ESV)

James 5:16, "The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with." (The Message)

People say they read, believe, have faith; some even say the words ‘I’m praying’ then goes on with their day getting sidetracked with one thing or another forgetting to pray. Then they lie awake at night in worry and can’t remember what it was they were supposed to do. They forgot to pray for that person in desperate need. It haunts them.

Some will say I’m praying, then say to God. Prayers for John Doe. Did God hear the prayer? You betcha. Does He know John Doe? Mark my word. Will He answer that prayer? Well let me tell you, He was already at work on the person in need of prayer. The bible says, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (KJV)

God is waiting for the righteous man to pray FERVENTLY. He’s called you to pray. He NEEDS you to pray. He already has the person in need covered, but it is YOU He needs to hear from.
Is uttering the words ‘praying’ an effectual fervent prayer? Did you actually stop what you were doing to ‘fervently pray’ or did you put it on your to-do list and go about your every day hob-nobbing?

Fervent means: having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent:

Do you see the difference in the ESV bible and the KJV? I think the ESV downplays prayer and has people who ‘are right with God’ praying and is a power to be reckoned with. Really? That sounds so much different than FERVENT prayer of a righteous man/woman, to me anyway.

Righteous defined: acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous: a righteous and godly person.

A righteous man is easily seen in his ACTIONS. Let’s say a man goes around hating this, despising that, gossiping, showing himself in his actions. He dilly dallies his day away laughing and mocking thinking himself a bigger person because afterall, he reads, has faith, believes. Does that make him an upright moral person? So him uttering the words ‘praying’ falls flat. It’s nice that he utters, but it would be more powerful if he FERVENTLY prayed and made himself a man to be reckoned with.

I know people who say, ‘I’m praying for you’ and really mean it. You know how I know? Because I can SEE them living morally upright, they ooze goodness and graciousness, they can never be seen spewing discontent. Are they sinners? Yes, we all are, but their moral compass shows through and it is like a beacon of Light on their forehead.

If I can see no light shining from a person, how do you think God sees it? Sure we can put on righteous looking garb for the world to see, but God knows and sees everything. You can’t wear a veil for Him because he sees through it, easily.

“Are you judging me on HOW I pray?”

No, not at all, only God can do that. What I’m saying is this; when a person asks for prayer what is really happening is God is looking at YOU! He heard the person ask for prayer because he asked with fire and passion; what He is waiting for is for YOU to pray FERVENTLY! To serve Him FERVENTLY! To walk in righteousness FERVENTLY!

God knew what He meant when He said; The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The question is, do YOU?

Rom. 12: 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Godspeed

Luke 11: 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

Godspeed

He walks a blazing future trail

Behind him a comfort zone

A blanket of truth is his guide

He will never walk it alone.

Cradled is his love of God

A valiant road in life

Blessed be the journey taken

Beside him walks his wife.

Onward Christian soldier

Marches into the unknown

Going with the grace of God

The spiritual Light he’s shown.

He leaves behind a trail of sheep

All lined up in the field

We hang on every sermon

As our strength and mighty shield.

We offer him our blessing

Go forth and plant your seed

Always stay true to your faith

With love and peace, Godspeed!

Rev. 7: 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

*Note: This is for Pastor Mike as today is his last

sermon before he moves on with God's hand guiding.

Quotation Saturday ~ Hope, Journey, Peace

I chose peace, hope and journey this week because this week I have been led to a woman’s blog by Hope, Hope Clark that is. Not one to believe in coincidences I was led to this blog for many reasons as the Lord has shown me.

Flailing Arms (blog) has come at a time when our pastor is ending his tenure with our church at Efree and going on a journey where God has called him to give the new Efree church hope in Minnesota.

Our church is involved in many mission trips whether it is in another country (Sudan) or here at home feeding the hungry and aiding the needy; just what a church should stand for. And out of my not understanding a few things, Flailing Arms came along, and now I have clarity and understanding.

Alecia Klauk, writer of Flailing Arms, this week has been on a mission trip in Guatamala, and little known to her, she has given me hope, in knowing and seeing the people that are called by God, endure the fear of going, but overcome it with HOPE, Esparanza!

Hope: Pss. 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Peace: Prov. 3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

Journey: Prov. 7: 19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

HOPE

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”
~ Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

“We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming - well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.”
~ Amy Tan

“to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weighs you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.”
~ Ellen Bass

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

JOURNEY

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it by yourself.
It is not far. It is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.
Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land.”
~ Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

“Perfectly Imperfect
We have all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. Each snowflake takes the perfect form for the maximum efficiency and effectiveness for its journey. And while the universal force of gravity gives them a shared destination, the expansive space in the air gives each snowflake the opportunity to take their own path. They are on the same journey, but each takes a different path.
Along this gravity-driven journey, some snowflakes collide and damage each other, some collide and join together, some are influenced by wind... there are so many transitions and changes that take place along the journey of the snowflake. But, no matter what the transition, the snowflake always finds itself perfectly shaped for its journey.
I find parallels in nature to be a beautiful reflection of grand orchestration. One of these parallels is of snowflakes and us. We, too, are all headed in the same direction. We are being driven by a universal force to the same destination. We are all individuals taking different journeys and along our journey, we sometimes bump into each other, we cross paths, we become altered... we take different physical forms. But at all times we too are 100% perfectly imperfect. At every given moment we are absolutely perfect for what is required for our journey. I’m not perfect for your journey and you’re not perfect for my journey, but I’m perfect for my journey and you’re perfect for your journey. We’re heading to the same place, we’re taking different routes, but we’re both exactly perfect the way we are.
Think of what understanding this great orchestration could mean for relationships. Imagine interacting with others knowing that they too each share this parallel with the snowflake. Like you, they are headed to the same place and no matter what they may appear like to you, they have taken the perfect form for their journey. How strong our relationships would be if we could see and respect that we are all perfectly imperfect for our journey.”
~ Steve Maraboli

“For everything in this journey of life we are on, there is a right wing and a left wing: for the wing of love there is anger; for the wing of destiny there is fear; for the wing of pain there is healing; for the wing of hurt there is forgiveness; for the wing of pride there is humility; for the wing of giving there is taking; for the wing of tears there is joy; for the wing of rejection there is acceptance; for the wing of judgment there is grace; for the wing of honor there is shame; for the wing of letting go there is the wing of keeping. We can only fly with two wings and two wings can only stay in the air if there is a balance. Two beautiful wings is perfection. There is a generation of people who idealize perfection as the existence of only one of these wings every time. But I see that a bird with one wing is imperfect. An angel with one wing is imperfect. A butterfly with one wing is dead. So this generation of people strive to always cut off the other wing in the hopes of embodying their ideal of perfection, and in doing so, have created a crippled race.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

“It's funny how, in this journey of life, even though we may begin at different times and places, our paths cross with others so that we may share our love, compassion, observations, and hope. This is a design of God that I appreciate and cherish.”
~ Steve Maraboli

PEACE

“Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:
- I shall not fear anyone on Earth.
- I shall fear only God.
- I shall not bear ill will toward anyone.
- I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.
- I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.”
~ John Lennon

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.”
~ Milan Kundera

“The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

The Great Debate

Job 20: 3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

Science vs. Faith

I had to find it funny, yes ha ha funny not ironic funny, that this day and age the force of wanting/needing to debate faith and science still holds a strong-arm in society. I know people who state, “I believe in God, I read the bible, I have faith, but I also need ‘PROOF’!”

Isn’t that funny? They have faith but need proof? Faith is believing in things unseen not things that are a proven fact, a proven fact by who, scientist? No wonder it’s a great debate. I bet scientists win hands down!

I’ve had this debate with myself ever since seeing my first shooting star, and that was many, many moons ago. But you know what? As you can tell in my posts, God always won, not some scientist. Why? Because God proves Himself to those who have faith and they don’t need some human defining scientific theory to them to make their belief stick.

You know what, I believe in the Big Bang theory! I believe God was the force behind the push that propelled the universe to take shape and form. When I was about seventeen years old I was really digging into Quantum Physics, reading about science, astrology, astronomy; I was always questioning God, and wouldn’t you know it, in God fashion, He was always answering me, amazing, huh?

I delve into the spiritual world, clashed with the forces, and not one time was I seeking proof, I was acknowledging that it existed. That is what science does for faith to ME, in all their studies trying to PROVE God’s existence, they are solidifying my faith and all that I believe and am shown.

The scientist can define a string theory, they can feed us lies that say there are nine planets, then change that theory through further study and make us tell our kids that Pluto is NOT really a planet. As much as scientist want us to believe that God’s message is confusing, they PROVE His existence daily though all their studies and confusion.

One minute there are nine planets, the next there are eight. One minute a black hole then the next thing you know, scientists claim they don’t exist. Scientist are the ones confused, God has been the same since the beginning of time, yes millions and millions of years ago, God was the same exact SPIRITUAL FORCE that he is today.

Has science proved that energy exists? Yes! Have they proved that atoms, protons, photons and electrons exist? Yes! Do they realize they proved God exists in these findings? No! They need to dig and dig and dig further. To me, the more they dig into the physics of the compilation of the universe, the deeper they are proving God exists.

Ok now lets talk spirit. Define spirit:

: the force within a person that is believed to give the body life, energy, and power
: the inner quality or nature of a person

: a person

:  an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms

Actually I’d like YOU to go to the dictionary, search spirit. That’s all, just spirit.

THIS is what the scientists are looking for! They are not looking to prove the bible, they are not looking to psychology of the mind to define God, they obviously are looking in  all the wrong places for God, OUT THERE! They are in actuality searching for SPIRIT!!!

Here’s a concept: The bible WAS NOT written FOR scientist! It was not written so thousands of years down the line a scientist could dissect it and find dissension. People, humans, told the stories in the bible. Humans err, scientist err, it’s a part of life. I can dissect science and prove where they erred too. Guess what, scientist are humans too!

What a concept!

Another concept: The bible was written BY man FOR man. The driving force behind the writing was the same spiritual force that created the universe. When a scientist defines that spiritual force maybe I’d give them more credit, but as it is, they can’t dissect spirit, they can’t prove the non-existence of spirit, so therefore all their studies and theories hold no weight.

I can prove spirit exists. I know there is a spiritual force inside me causing me to think, to eat, to drink, to love, to hate (wait that’s a different spiritual force) to feel, to BE, to thrive in a natural world, and see beauty in every living organism. THAT my friends is a spiritual force that not even YOU can deny.

So in all this effort in trying to prove in this physical world, through physical human beings that God doesn’t exist, why not try and prove spirit doesn’t exist? It will never happen because WE are a tiny molecule of the whole of God. WE are a part of the same spiritual force that created the world. If you have faith in God, you are believing in yourself. Let me make one thing clear – GOD IS NOT A RELIGION!

Faith is believing without (seeing) proof needed!

Put that in your beaker and burn it!

1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1 John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.