Did you wake up this morning in a blessing?

I’ll start by saying that my boast is in the Lord. Where I now wake up every day is due to nothing but God's loving-kindness. I’m in the new home that I prayed for about over a year. I had no idea how overly abundantly above my prayer God would answer.

I’m tucked under His wing. If you are a Christian reading this then you understand the reference. In this ever-changing world, knowing that your life is under God’s care is worth more than anything money can buy. Finding myself there causes me to praise and thank Him every day.

But, God is no respecter of persons. Yes, it is true, He loves everyone and gave His Son Jesus so that we all might come to the saving grace of God. But not everyone will accept the gift of salvation. This is an unbelievable event to me. Who would reject such a gift? Yet, you might be one of those very people. That is why using my voice here I cannot help but offer to you the Gift of the salvation message.

My voice is small in this world. But how I use it can have far-reaching outcomes for the Glory of God. That’s what He wants from your life too. There’s so much waiting on you; you have no idea. If you're a believer who comes here to read my postings then I pray that you will always receive something you can carry off into your own life and the lives of others. Only what we do for the Lord will carry over into Heaven.

Recently, my sister went through some things that she has saved for years and asked me to find the value of them. It’s going to be a task for sure. While I have been searching for these things online it has come to me several times that no matter the value, one day they will not matter at all. Sure we pass on to family members the things we gain in this life, but they will not keep them either. Material things just keep being passed from hand to hand. But none of it will make it out of this world.

The only thing we have of any value to God is our souls. The saddest thing is to gain the whole world and end up losing your soul. For some of the wealthiest men in the world that is going to happen if they don’t know the Lord.

What will it have all been worth? And sadder yet is that they won’t know the truth until it’s too late. When they finally stand before God and cry out knowing now that He did exist, and that their eyes were blinded; leaving them eternally separated from God.

Yet each one of us can run the risk of doing the same thing. I hope that one of the main things I will accomplish with this blog is to move you to jealousy. Not of me but of the goodness of God.

Our source is and should always be God. I recently read this statement, Not from the government down, but from the people up. It was the truth about where the hope and help for our country will come from. It just goes along with my thoughts today.

God has clearly said in His Word, 2 Chronicles 7: 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

There it is. The answer to our country’s woes.  As a Christian, I pray every day for this Nation to come back under the covering of God; That what our forefathers established this nation upon will come back. It’s the first prayer God instructs us to pray every day as believers. The second is for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel.

I’ll leave you here to reflect on your thoughts.

I bless you.

 

The FAVOR OF GOD 

This posting today is coming through extreme thankfulness for the favor of God over my life. The first thing I want to say is if you know the Lord and have an active relationship with the Holy Spirit, then you have the favor of God also.

It's a relationship promise. But it comes with a requirement and that is that you have to know God, not just know about Him. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity and He comes into our lives when we accept the salvation promise.

He is sent to teach, comfort, guide, and relay to us whatsoever He hears the Father saying. Stop and think about that for a minute if you will.

The God of unfathomable universes, the creator of everything that was ever created, the One who has no beginning or end, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and is Love itself, comes to abide within us.

He knows the number of hairs on our heads, maintains our lot in life, loves us with unimaginable love, forgives us, and loads us with benefits every day. His Goodness and Mercy are following after us every day. I could go on and on.

That He even sent His Son to take our place is more than we deserve and yet, the Word is full of so many promises beyond that. I truly cannot understand how anyone would refuse the offer of Salvation; I honestly can’t.

I’ve posted previously that I was waiting on God for a promise given to me well over four years ago. I have praised Him and thanked Him continuously with faith that believes before you see things come to pass.

I have been praying to move back to Florida. Well, at the end of this month that will be my new home! I cannot begin to find the words to tell you everything that God has done for me to make this move possible. This scripture recently came in my email, and it was so very timely.

Luke 1:30: “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.’ ” KJV

We often think about how God put His favor on others in the Word, but do we really believe that when He says that He is no respecter of persons that means that we too can expect the favor of God on our lives as well?

We are living in a troubled world right now. So many people are experiencing tragedies beyond imagination. Peace is a scarce commodity. But there is a place of refuge that is available to everyone who trusts in God.

I hope this posting will stir you to acknowledge the favor of God over your life if you know Him. If you don’t and are searching for a safe place to surrender your life to find a peace that passes all understanding, you will make that decision today.

I bless you

 

And just like that, it’s over.

I was about to sit down and work on one of my books, (yes, I write books. I’ll leave a link below.)

Oh, my, my, my, the Lord sure teaches me so many practical lessons. I just finished writing this post and clicked on another page without saving all that I wrote and—Poof—it's gone—just like that! I think God also has a very rich sense of humor.

I was writing about how later in the day yesterday after the eclipse, it felt as though nothing had happened. There was so much hype around the event then it lasted only a few minutes and it was all over. Everyone went back to their lives I’m sure just as I did.

Later that night it felt strange that the sun had come back out, life went back to normal just as though nothing had happened. I have a very grainy picture in my Gallery but other than that there was not one slight difference in the rest of my day. I knew I’d experienced a phenomenon and could now say that I had witnessed an eclipse but that was it. I’m sure all the scientists in the world would beg to differ. I’m sure they have a whole pack of evidence that they are pouring over today.

My other point that I so carelessly deleted, was that I’m not good at waiting. I’m quite bad at it. Today as I sat down to write I was a bit anxious and even might add, sad. I’m not sure why. I’m waiting for a new part of my life to come but today I'm on the waiting side of it.

Unlike the eclipse, I do have a whole lot of evidence about the things that God has changed in my life. I know that I am not the same person. I know that there are things that I don’t think or do anymore. I know that I waited on the changes and one day I turned the corner, and everything became new.

The same thing is going to happen with what I'm waiting on today. One day I’ll say, “And just like that, it's over.” There is nothing like answers to prayer. The time praying is often long and can even add some sad days, but when that answer comes—Hallelujah!

Just like this post today, I spent time writing it, and then just like that it was gone, and I had to decide if I’d forget it and go write something else or discipline myself to not give up and start over. As you can see I chose the latter. That’s one of those things that’s not easy for me. But I’m growing every day in the Lord. I love when there's evidence that I can see of changes in my life. When some of the things that used to bring my life to a standstill are no longer a part of my life—that’s a reason to rejoice!

I hope that as you read my simple blog posts you will find something encouraging to take with you into your life. And even more importantly anything bothering you right now, know that one day you will also be able to say, “And just like that, it’s over.”

I bless you.

Here is the link on Amazon, I’d appreciate it if you took a look at all my books. I’d appreciate it even more if one of them catches your eye and you purchase it.

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Dexter-Bridgestokes-Bequeath-ebook/dp/B0CSXGMNCZ

 

A need to stop beating a dead horse and the big - BUT.

How often have you had something stuck in your mind? Sometimes I wake up with a word or thought on my mind and it hounds me until I sit down and think about what’s going on with me. That's what I'm doing now.

One of my faults is always thinking that I’m the only one with what I struggle with. I have very little interaction with people daily right now, (I hope that will change soon.) So naturally it's more likely that I deal with myself and myself as confidants.

Let’s start with the phrase, stop beating a dead horse. You’d think that action wouldn’t need any encouragement at all. Who in their right mind would keep beating a dead horse expecting it to get up?

We might not be actually beating a horse, but if you are like me and I’m going to believe that you are, we do this. Sometimes it’s like a broken record. And while I’m at it, they say that doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is insanity. Now most of us are not really insane as the definition of insanity suggests but I think a lot more people than would admit—follow this pattern in their life.

I added in the BUT, because there is always one. My, BUT is, when I keep beating a mental dead horse, I know better. BUT thank the Good Lord that I finally do sit down and deal with whatever it is that is creating all those mental flies in my life. And we all know what draws flies—garbage.

There are so many things that people struggle with, whether of their own making or by others that are completely unnecessary. If it is just my own shortcomings that I’m being convicted about to either start to do better or stop doing altogether, then that’s the easier of two. BUT what is genuinely crazy, is trying to get someone else to change. Yes, dear reader, let’s have a time of confession before we continue. That’s something I do think I’m not the only one who does it.

How many times have you asked someone to stop doing something or to PLEASE do something? If you are like me you walk off more frustrated after encountering these individuals than you were to begin with.

So let’s go back to that picture of someone beating a dead horse. They can beat it until they fall over and join the horse, and NOTHING is going to change; other than both are now dead. That horse is not going to get up. As bystanders, we could all see that the person doing the beating has a problem—not the horse. It’s dead.

So why do we as humans do this? I have to ask myself during one of my self-conversations, “Why am I going over this same ground every day?”

I can give me, myself, and I some grace because I don’t do it as often or as long anymore. Maybe it's getting older and just not having the mental or physical strength to keep beating a dead horse situation. The other thing that I think helps is running out of time.

Boy, oh boy, if I had all the time back that I spent fuming over my own shortcomings or those of someone else, I’d have many more years of life added to me. But sadly we can’t get back those years that we wish we hadn’t given so many of them to beating dead horses.

That good old—hindsight- is another part of this posting. Can’t we all look back to some time in our lives and wish that we had done things differently?

As I write I see this common boat filling up with other people who just might have some of the same issues I struggle with. I am not the only one. Thankfully there is a boat that we can all get into when our Titanic begins to sink.  

Maybe my honesty is a fault, but I’d rather be honest than be the opposite. Some people are so closed off that you never know what they are thinking. What a merry-go-round of emotions we can get caught up in if we are not careful.

BUT, hear is the glorious silver lining, knowing the Lord. I know that there is help for me. I know that I don’t have to struggle with my problems alone. I might never understand the reasons why things happen or what people do that I can’t change, but I do know this—having the Lord in my life is the most important part of my life.

So today, I’m going to walk away from one of my dead horses and get on with something more productive. And I am the only one who can make the changes in my life with God's help. That might be the first dead horse you are beating. If you got up today trying to deal with all your problems alone and God isn't a source you believe in, stop reading right here and give God room to speak to you. 

We are only given one life to deal with. It’s not up to us to try and change another person or ourselves—only God can do that. When I woke up today with my current issues already racing across my mind, I came here to make this post. I know what to do today. I know where to go for the help I need in my life to change these old mental habits. I have no one to blame but me, myself, and I if I continue to get out my whip and beat my dead horse.

I hope my being honest helps any reader in some small way. If nothing else, if the main horse you are beating is that you think that you are the only one, let me assure you that you are not. In assuring you, I’m assuring myself.

We are not the only ones.

I bless you.

 

Sometimes you just don’t have time.

I certainly am not knowledgeable about all the Jewish traditions during this month. If I had been born into a Jewish family I would have been taught from a young child to understand exactly what all the practices mean. I’m an adopted child of God; and so very thankful for my gift of salvation. But I’m privileged to read about the significance of the Passover documented in the Bible in Exodus 12.

As I was enjoying my time this morning beginning my prayers with the instruction when we come to pray, is to first pray for all those in authority (1 Timothy 2: 1-3) and (Psalm 122:6 ) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

My mind began to drift, as it often does, which I hate, so when the picture of how the Israelites were supposed to eat the Passover meal was described in detail along with how the meal was to be prepared I began to think about these things.

I love to cook. I’m a novice bread maker. I’ve tried my hand at making yeast bread several times. I could eat yeast bread every day, all day if possible. I recently went on Keto and if you know anything about Keto—bread is a no-no unless you use different flour. (I digress.)

See how my mind drifts? My point is, I wondered why they were instructed not to use any yeast. Again, please anyone reading this who has a much better handle on the tradition, forgive my lack of knowledge.

What came to my mind as to why the lack of yeast was stated was that it takes time for bread to rise when it has yeast in it. Usually, an hour or so and then a second rise time. Everything in the 12th chapter of Exodus lends itself to being prepared for a quick exit.

My mind also drifted over to the latest news about the Baltimore Bridge accident and the loss of lives. I kept trying to bring my mind back to some sort of order of thought but in some way, it all began to come together.

As I prayed for the individuals lost in this accident, probably like most of us I couldn’t help but think that these men had absolutely no idea that anything of this magnitude would happen to them as they headed to their jobs. Then I thought about the time it takes for yeast to rise or other things that sometimes take the time that we don’t have.

The Israelites didn’t have time for bread to rise. They needed bread that could also be carried without spoilage I assume. I don’t know of any person who hasn’t at some time in their life needed more time. It’s said that time is one of the things we’ll never have enough of or ever get back.

As I have gotten older that has become more evident to me every day. I spent a lot of my time on things that didn’t really matter. Time, that now I wish I had back. One thing that time hopefully gives each of us is wisdom. Sometimes it’s too little too late. And sadly we do finally wise up but have run out of time. No one knows exactly when that time will be. As we see, we can be going about the most common everyday activity and have no idea that time is about to run out.

When I sat and gathered all the threads of my thoughts today I paused to take the time to be thankful for everything in my life. I always try to do this because when I compare my life to that of others; I have nothing to be unthankful about. I am a blessed person.

When I went through a health problem over a year ago and the pace of my life came to a halt by the interruption, I remember saying to myself and others, that when this time of my life was over I would appreciate the return to even the smallest routine of my day and take nothing for granted. I saw other people who were walking the same path as I was who had different outcomes. Sitting in a waiting room you hear conversations of all types. The ones that were hardest to listen to were people complaining about such insignificant things when there were people who would have given anything to have their everyday routine back.

This post might have felt all over the place, so I’ll try to tie it together with the pictures in my mind. I saw the Israelites, clothed, and packed, standing as they had been instructed in preparation for the journey ahead of them. Laying aside anything that would take more time than they had to prepare. I saw images of people who have had to recently flee their homes, usually with nothing but clothes on their backs because of weather or other sudden events in my area. I looked at my own life and took stock of what could be considered—yeast.

I’m prepared to grab a suitcase that contains all my important papers, a set of clothing, extra medications, a cherished Bible, and money if the fire alarm goes off in my senior apartment building. But the most important event that I am prepared for is when my time runs out; I’ve already made that preparation, and there will be nothing I have to grab.

One final thought; never ignore the urgencies in life. Those thoughts that interrupt your day that later on you wish that you hadn’t ignored.

I hope that you will take some of the time you have right now to read Matthew chapter 24 very thoughtfully. Maybe it's things that you already know and will be blessed by the reminder or maybe it will be the first time you have taken the time to do so.

I pray that what you have read here will cause you to “drift” off from your thoughts to something you didn’t expect to think about today that will change your life.

I bless you.