Someone Is Watching You

Trying on clothes in a department store, I begin  looking at myself in one of those three-way full-length mirrors. Staring at a side of me I do not normally see, I say to myself, “Is this what I really look like?” 

I often wonder what others see when they look at me. Do they see me living out the life of who I say I am, or is there another side of me I do not notice that others do? I think of Job. He feared God and stayed away from evil, a blameless man of complete integrity. (Job 1:1) I want to be like that.

Are you and I who we say we are: children of the living God? Not just when we think people are watching, but also in those times where we are being observed inconspicuously, such as in our homes with the ones we say we love the most. As children get older, they watch for authenticity in their parents. They watch how we act in church versus at home. My children watch how I handle adversity. Do I go to the phone and complain to my friends, or the throne and seek guidance from my heavenly Father? We never get too old to be setting good examples. I know a handful of amazing women in their eighties who have seen it all and yet shine Christ’s light through their well-worn eyes. I want to be like that.

Someone is watching you. What are they seeing?

Lord, let me be genuine in my walk. Help me to glorify you with every heartbeat, and to always remember that someone is watching me.

Junk in the Trunk

  I received a message through my e-mail that someone I used to know from school wants to be my “friend” on Facebook. The only recollection I have of this girl was that she called me a bad name on the playground in fourth grade. That is the only thing I can remember about her! Did we ever talk to one another in junior high or high school? I may forget what happened yesterday, but I can tell you down to the last detail what happened on that playground over 35 years ago!

 Do you ever have trouble letting go of something from your past? A grudge perhaps, maybe it’s past sins (either yours or someone else’s) that you think you just can’t let go of. Holding on to the  baggage of yesterday will never help you move forward in your life. It’s a waste of time to keep going back there!

 Your yesterdays may be filled with baggage that is much more serious than a Facebook stalker. Its memory may wake you up at night. It could be why you are taking medication, seeing a therapist, or even refusing to leave your home. It can keep you in bondage that can be suffocating.

The Apostle Paul explains it so well when he says, “Forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead. “  You can never look forward in your life if you are constantly looking back! It doesn’t make you stronger and it won’t heal you. Don’t buy into the lie from the Enemy that forgiving yourself or others makes you weak. On the contrary, only those who can fall into Christ’s grace and mercy can be strong enough to forgive! When you allow the One who forgave you of all your sins, to work and move in your heart to let go of the past, it will be the most freeing experience you can ever imagine.

There is true beauty in a woman who can love enough to forgive.  

 What are you holding on to today that you just need to give to God?

Give your ‘junk in the trunk’ to Him, He knows what to do with it!

Does Jesus Have A Southern Accent?

The old dinner table had all the fixings: fried chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, green beans, and the sweetest tea you have ever sipped. Prayer was said, and we would commence to eating. My grandmother would hover over the table watching everyone, making sure we all had our fill.

This was a weekly occurrence in my childhood following the eleven o’clock service at Calder Baptist Church on Sunday mornings. The South is known for strong family ties, Baptist revivals, and sweet tea on a hot summer day.

Time and age have given me a great pride for my southern roots. There seems a love for Jesus here that connects us together. It’s not uncommon to share your faith in everyday circumstances; while shopping at the grocery store, I passed a friend with a cart full. She stopped long enough to tell me of a friend of hers whose father passed away suddenly and she was cooking a meal for that grieving family. I thanked her for telling me and said I would be praying. And I did just that.

On the rare occasion I have left the South, upon my return, I always feel like Jesus is welcoming me home. Yes, he lives in the South with me. He sits on the front porch with me, loves old gospel music and does not make fun of my twang. 

Jesus may be everywhere it’s true, but in my heart, he has a southern accent too.


I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto Me and rest; 
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast."
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say by John B. Dykes

Before Summer Ends

I was reading an article by Kim Talbert, where she reminded me that my thoughts and actions determine the quality of my life more than physical circumstances. I want to savor each day that God gives me with a healthy perspective. So, it seems fitting that before summer ends, I have just a few more things on my list I want to do. The list below reflects some of Kim Talbert's suggestions as well as my own.


Catch a fire fly * Make home made ice cream * Gaze at a starry night * Thank God every morning he gives  you * Pray for others * Go to church * Read a good book * Nap in a hammock * Tell your family you love them every day  * Think positive even when you don't feel like it * Remember life is not all about you * Forgive * Wear sunscreen * Say your prayers * Turn off the television and sit outside * Love deeply * Behave as if God is watching (He is) * Smile at strangers * Cut fresh flowers * Keep faith in hard times * Relax * Take a walk * Live everyday as if it were your last.

The Art of Relaxation

Relaxation. I’m desperately honing my skills at it as I lie here on the beach. Closing my eyes, I listen to the sound of seagulls squawking as they walk up and down the beach in hopes of finding someone’s leftovers. The ocean is magnificent, churning and foaming, roaring continually with all its might. The wind hitting my face, I can smell and taste the saltiness of the ocean.

It’s unfortunate that I can’t stay in this tranquility for long before endless mind chatter invades my peace.

“Be still and know that I am God” comes to mind. I take a deep breath in and release it slowly, trying to focus on the beauty of God’s creation, his majesty and sovereignty over the ocean. A healthy looking young woman walks by and suddenly I am thinking I should exercise more.

A state of wanting and wandering instead of being.

I look over at my husband in hopes that he would inspire me to relax.

He’s checking his e-mail.

[heavy sigh]

I’m going to put this pen down now and enjoy this perfect moment.....even if it kills me.

You rule the oceans.You subdue their storm-tossed waves. Psalm 89:9

Legacy

Rummaging through a box of old books and family Bibles, I found my grandparents sign-in book for their wedding. It was 1925. I noticed my grandmother's parents didn’t sign the book- were they there? Did they approve of the marriage? I wondered if she wore a simple gown. How did they meet? I then found  this picture of my great-grandmother holding my dad as a baby. At the bottom of the box was a smaller white box, which transported me thirty-six years later. Scribbled on top was my grandfather's name and the year he died. I opened it to find all the cards sent to the family upon his death. In the span of five minutes, I traveled about eighty-five years back in time, wondering about lives of people I never met. How their finding each other brought births that brought more relationships together.

What looks like chance encounters to us are all part of God’s amazing design. Our family relationships are like threads woven in the fabric of a blanket, each connecting to the other to create a pattern. That pattern is our legacy. I thank God for the pattern of my “family blanket”. The love and reverence for our Father that has been past down from one generation to another.

It’s never too late to make your family blanket pattern beautiful. Start instilling a legacy of His love today that will last past your lifetime.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

Forgiveness

She suffered with a type of cancer that could have been fatal. It wasn’t a disease that was attacking her body, but her marriage. She woke every morning surrounded by the weight of a heavy darkness that was coming from within her heart. She knew her marriage was dying. Like cancer, it was eating away at her very being. In despair, she would fall to her knees and beg God to take this from her. In those moments of complete surrender, He reminded her of the sacrifice He made for her, forgiving her of her sins, and that she was called to do the same.

Forgiveness is not an emotion and she certainly did not feel like giving it, but forgiveness is a command from God. It was something she could not do on her own, only by the power of the Holy Spirit. She realized that if she chose to nurse bitterness, it would shut down any healing that needed to occur in her marriage, and eventually would eat away at her from the inside out.

Forgiving brings peace and peace was just the medicine her marriage needed.

What grudge might you be holding on to that is not allowing peace and healing in your life?

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. Mark 11:25 NLT

Prayer: Father God, help us to let go of a hurtful past and forgive others like you have forgiven us. Amen.