Are you a lighthouse or are you a storm????

     Good evening, as another day comes to a close I cannot help but think about the wonderful story I posted earlier about the threadbare quilt, our book of life was written before we gained our earthly bodies, he knew everything that we would do, every turn that we would take and every hurdle that we would be faced with before he let us leave our heavenly kingdom as the pure spirits we were. He knew the trials and tribulations that would face us and he was hopeful that the faith we possessed would be enough to carry us through. I pray that my quilt is threadbare and filled with holes when I return home to him, I pray that my scars will be enough to make him pleased with the person I have become, with the decisions I have made and with the obedience I have had to him. My life has been filled with ups and downs, mostly downs, not by his hand but by the choices I have made, by my inability to stay on the straight and narrow and by my thinking I know better than HE when it comes to  mucking through. It has taken me many years to "get it" to understand that I do not know it all, that only HE does. My life would have been so much easier if I had, in my youth, figured things out and depended upon him to lead me. Many people say I am hard headed, I am stubborn and I am like a bull when it comes to getting my way! I do not like being likened to a bull but in looking back on my "day" I must confess that it does not miss the mark! Today I like to think that those negative characteristics have been pushed to the wayside and that, thanks to God's patience and understanding, I am on the right track, I see more clearly and I am pushing up hill to secure my right to passage when my time here is done.
    Tonight I bow my head humbly, I pray for each of us, for our salvation, for our ability to "see the lighthouse in the storm and know if we keep it in our view that we will make it to the glorious shore safely, that we will all meet there, a song on our lips, a smile on our face and so much love and awe in our hearts that our light shines as bright as the northern star. God please shine a light in us tonight that might get us, each and every one of us, back on the track, back in your footsteps and walking up straight and tall. I ask you God to bless those who are in dark caverns, that they might begin to realize that just past the cavern wall is a light, a beautiful light, one that has been made just for them. Father please allow each of us to be more aware of those in the dark, allow us to be more empathetic to those who have lost their way, allow us to be your eyes and ears here on earth and send us where we need be so that we might be a light to bring the darkness to a halt for them. I ask that you bless all with their needs father, you are all knowing and all seeing, look into the hearts of each earthly body and supply us with your light. Father God I ask these mercies in the name of Jesus Christ, amen and amen again!
     Might you be the light of a person who feels that there is only darkness, take time to listen to the still quiet voice of our Father in Heaven and be the instrument he needs. Stop, look and listen, he will always provide you with what he needs you to see and hear! Love in Christ to each of you. 

If Christ reached out to you, would you reach back?

     Good morning and happy Wednesday, 62 degrees, breezy, sunshine, no clouds, blue skies, coffee in hand, birds singing, loving life....you might think I would get tired of writing pretty much the same words each morning, that I might begin to take for granted the similar words that I write daily, that I might begin not to add them to my writings as they repeat, repeat, repeat! But each morning when I awake, each morning when I collect my things from inside and find my place on the porch, I look around, I listen, I smell, and I appreciate another beautiful day I get to witness! Many times my posts here are much alike, I do not go by a lesson plan, I do not go in any order, I go with what God impresses upon my heart, what he needs me to chat about so that someone in need might come across my words and feel his spirit in them. I do not pre-write these messages, each morning when I sit down and begin my morning conversation with him, I ask him to show me what I can do to honor him this day, what I can say to bless someone that is in need this day...in reading the feedback from my posts, he is answering me, he is getting through,  so I will keep on repeating as long as there is need for someone to read it! I sit, I look, I listen, I smell and I love it!
     This morning I was sitting here in deep conversation with God, saying my usual morning prayers, lifting those who have come with special requests of prayer, asking God to once again lead me through this day and to lay in my path someone that is in need. I felt his love running through me, and I felt peace and calm! In sitting there I had the thought of "heartbreak" and "empathy" come into my mind...HEARTBREAK???? EMPATHY???? I never question what comes to mind, I sit in his quietness as I know he will show me what I am missing. I sat there and rested my mind, I sat there and tried to hear what part of heartbreak and empathy he was needing me to feel and to share...I have several friends who have suffered loss of a parent, a sibling a spouse,  some have been married for 25 plus years, some less but the pain always seems to be the same for them, I have friends who have lost children, either to illness, accident, war...no matter the way the loss occured the pain in each of them the same...I have friends who are going through divorce, knowing that it is the right way but still seeing them struggle with the pain of it, I have friends who struggle each day with heartbreak and I see so many in need of empathy from others but not receiving it...At first when the initial loss occurs so many rally around to offer love and support...but as time goes by the visits and the calls become less, the memory of the loss for them becomes smaller and soon we are going about our busy days, moving on to the next tragedy, not realizing they are still hurting, they are still struggling, they are the ones that are still alone...they get up every morning only to realize it was not a bad dream, it is reality and as the world continues to spin, their world has a broken spoke that cannot be replace, that can only be mended to be made usable, but cannot be brought back to its original condition! We move forward but they seem to think that they are stuck in time, that they cannot! Today I ask you to join me in making contact with someone who has suffered loss, who you rallied around at the time of loss. Check to see if they are okay, offer special prayer in their name for peace and understanding, let them know that you still care, that you still understand that they are hurting, that even though they are putting on "the happy mask" that the pain is still with them. Let them know that you care! Life continues and so many who have encountered loss seem to be in limbo...they appear to be "handling" it but in reality cry themselves to sleep at night, have bouts of anger during the day, are reminded by simple things and their worlds come crashing down on them again! It may be a week, a month or several years and we think they are fine, they no longer need us, they have moved forward..but have they??? Today I pray that something will spark a memory for you of the moment when you first heard the news, today I pray that someone will be on your heart that is still in need of your words and your comfort. I pray that you will take the prompting and make contact if only to say...I am thinking of you, I love you, I care..."how are you, no really, HOW ARE YOU! Someone is in great need of your love and empathy today, go the extra mile to make contact! God is love, he provides us our needs each and every day, he provides us a beautiful path to walk hand in hand with him, we waiver and get off into the rough at times, but with our faith we can get back on...some feel lost and alone and have wondered far off into the woods, I think we should all be helpmates this day and offer ourselves to be like his hands today, reach out and help them get back on track! Don't ignore the situation, God does not ignore us. Love to each of you, may this day be an eye opener and may Christ's light shine through you and you make the difference!

Jesus teaches us to empathize with others by His Own loving example.

• Isaiah 53:4a Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
• Matthew 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
• Matthew 8:16,17 When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
• Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.
• Mark 1:41 [Jesus healed the leper:] And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
• Mark 8:2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat.
• John 11:33-35 [Jesus was summoned by Martha and Mary to raise up Lazarus, their dead brother.] When Jesus therefore saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto Him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. [Then Jesus prayed, and Lazarus, who had been dead four days, miraculously arose from the dead.]
• 2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.

HE KNOWS!!!

     Many times in my life I have taken a step back from God, I have gotten myself into situations that I did not feel worthy of his love, of his presence and honestly I did not want him to be mad at me for the choices I was making, SO...I did not bow in prayer, I did not listen to his quiet still voice, I turned my back thinking he could not see! Always, something would happen, and I would turn around and start calling upon him again, until the next time that I decided that I needed to hide from him because of my actions. 
     When I honestly discovered that he knew everything I was doing, when I realized that even with my back to him, he could read my heart, when I chose the "wrong" instead of the "right" and tried to hide it from him...OH HE KNEW! When I recoiled back into my broken spirit, when I put on my "tough stuff" mask, when I thought I knew better than he did, what was good for me....HE KNEW. Then when I crumbled and felt there was no way to progress, I would fall down and turn to him, HE KNEW, so many times, I mean MANY TIMES, I did this, I called upon him only in times of need, when the going was good I seemed to forget where I had come from and forget who was the provider and always, I am here to tell you always...the gettin good got bad, then boom, back to him I would run!!!! 
     As I sit here this morning, reflecting on the "used to be" I am ashamed at my insolence, at my bull headed, high handed, self imposed...insolence!! Yet in all that I was doing, he still loved me, no matter how much I did wrong, how many mistakes I made, how far away I turned, he was there, and he still loved me! I think the common mindset is that if we do bad things, if we make stupid choices, if we mess up really bad that he will not be there... but I found that the further I tried to get from him, the faster he moved toward me. You know..we all make mistakes, it is how we learn to make good choices, if we did not do things wrong we would have no need to be here as there would be nothing for us to learn. The biggie is, when we make a mistake, we have to realize that it is the "wrong way" and figure out what we are going to do to change it, once we figure out what needs to be done, we ask God for forgiveness and we move forward! I think this is what took me the longest to learn, this has been my bain, my albatross, my ball and chain. I beat myself up for so many years always looking back at my sins, always reliving the stupid things I had done, always taking back what I had given to God and yet...he still loves me! 
Today I have no regrets, I know that I had to go through all that I have gone through to be me, I had to make bad choices to have a bigger more compassionate heart, I had to live with my back turned to him so that I had understanding for those who are turned and need help, I had to be there, have the feelings that I had, so that I can have empathy for those who are hurting and in need of kindness and understanding. I will not say I am proud of the things  I did but I will say that I thank God each and every morning for never turning his back on me, that I praise him for giving me a chance to spread my wings, for allowing me to make my own choices, I love him for giving me a chance to repent of my wrongdoings and know in my heart that he forgives me...The is nothing...NOTHING that cannot be forgiven, there is no sin either to small or to large that he does not forgive us of if we ask with true intent and make peace with it in our hearts. 
     Today if you are swimming in the sea of turmoil, if you have your back turned, if you think that you know best, if the waves continue to crash on you and push you under...try turning around and asking for help, try swimming toward our Father in heaven and telling him that you need his hand, I promise when you are ready to quit hiding behind your bull headedness and you run toward him, he will be there because HE KNOWS....May this be the first day of your life, may you reach out your hand and know there is one waiting to pull you safely in, may you realize that we are here to learn and without mistakes we have nothing to learn. God bless you with renewal today, may you not be scared to trust in him and follow him because he is the only one who knows the true answers, he has written the book and no matter where you run, you cannot hide because He KNOWS, Love in Christ to all:)