Question of the morning! "Is God really real?"

  

 Good morning, and happy Monday! We are overcast this morning with a bit of a wind picking up, 76 degrees and expect to have some rain showers throughout the afternoon! I see that my friends in Texas got a hint of rain yesterday, prayers are answered, will continue to pray for more so that your grounds can get really good and soaked!
      I slept in this morning....something I rarely do.....for me to sleep later than 7 a.m. is amazing, I guess my body was in need so praise the Lord!!!! In prayer as I sat out in the gusty wind I realized how much I miss when I sleep late, the sunrise has come and gone...the bugle call at the near by air force base has already taken place, the birds have made their way to where they will be holding fort so I missed the morning ritual they do before the move! Funny how just a little change in our routine can throw us off balance!
      I was in prayer this morning and again the thought that came to mind was for those in need of finding Christ, for those who continue to turn from him, for those who continually turn their backs and deny him. I know he wills for each of us to share his love, to be examples of Christ and to never deny who he is and what he has done for us, I know we are getting close to the last of days and so many are still sitting on the fence wondering if he is real, if he is there, if he is our salvation! Many people ask me..."how do you know, really know, that he is real? "I can only say to you, that I know he IS from the events that have happened in my life, I know he IS by being witness to the blessings he has give me and each of you! I know he IS real... when I pray, when I chat, when I need him, he is always there. I have had hard knocks, I have suffered loss of possessions, I have lost loved ones, I have struggled, I continue to struggle, but it is not because he is not real, it is because these hardships are learning tools in life, if everything was peaches and cream how would we learn lessons and how could we strengthen our faith?
I know in my heart that he is needing my words to touch the heart of someone who has either turned away from him altogether or is really struggling with their faith! Very rarely does he touch my heart with the same type of message two days running! I will continue to pray that whomever is in need will read this and will if nothing more ask me about my faith, ask me about the troubles I have seen and how I have overcome, it was only by his love, his hand and his sacrifice. I have a daughter that I love most in the entire world, she is my everything, she is my heartbeat! I cannot imagine her not being in my life..not even for a day! I cannot imagine having to make a choice to either save her or save multitudes of people. I would never have been able to sacrifice her so that all could have everlasting life. I would never have been able to place her on a cross and watch her perish so that the very people that had hurt her could live! He gave his only begotten son for us...for every one of us and I feel that they worst thing we could do would be to deny him, to follow satan, to not appreciate the sacrifice is such a slap in the face to our Father in Heaven. I cannot imagine not having unconditional love, knowing that no matter how bad my life gets I have someone in my corner is such a comfort to me, I cannot imagine how life would be without prayer, without knowing that I can, through, the savior speak to God any time I wish! I am posting the "salvation prayer" again this morning, if you have questions or comments please feel free to comment here, if you would rather remain anonymous there is that option for you! I love you all and pray that today might be the first day for someone in need! God bless you, won't you take his hand and allow him to touch your heart as he has touched so many others?

God Loves You!

The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"

The problem is that . . .

2All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God.

The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.”

The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago,

3God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me."

God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.

4If you want to accept Christ as your Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this:

 Don't wait a moment longer to start your new life in Jesus Christ. Pray this with us:

"Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

Prayer of Salvation - I've Prayed It; Now What?
If you've prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different. Religious systems may have led you to believe that you should feel something - a warm glow, a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact is, you may, or you may not. If you have prayed the prayer of salvation and meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us that your eternal salvation is secure! "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Don't doubt!!!!!

  

  Happy Friday, another beautiful morning, 71 degrees and sunny, we had our first "summer like" day yesterday, we hit 90 degrees and it felt glorious:) I went for a late night drive and was thrilled to have the top and windows all opened up, feeling the night air tossing my hair around and playing some old time rock and roll took me back to a younger day, stopping in at sonic for an ice cream cone filled me with grins and giggles:)  I love to chance on a memory of happy times," the take me back" is so much fun! I pray today that you have "take me back" that something in your life sparks a "grin from ear to ear" "belly laugh" moment that releases you from the stress of the day and allows you back to times of youth, freedom, and zaniness! 
     In prayer this morning I prayed so fervently for the two that I prayed for last night, I hate it when people I know suffer, I feel so inadequate and sometimes I think..."I wish I could do more, but all I can do is pray and ask God for a healing" in thinking on this, I am filled with shame, I am filled with who are you that you could do more than the great healer, the master of all things, who are you to shrug prayer off as a fraction of the process? Then I am forced to look at all the times in my life alone, that there seemed to be no way, there seemed to be no answer, no way of mending the broken fence, no way of reversing a deed done wrong, no way of digging out of the dark hole...when BOOM, something happens that changes the entire situation, something happens that can only be mercy from the hands of God, something happens that fills my heart with hope and renews the faith I have. So right this very moment, after being smacked on the back of the head to wake up my brain, I am no longer feeling inadequate, I am feeling like each time I pray I am giving the gift of God, I am "on bended knees" praying for him to do what needs to be done to bring them back to health, I am praying for a doctor who will listen to God and follow his guidance on what needs to be done to bring them out of their illness. I know how powerful prayer is, I am witness to many miracles in my life, I know that through Jesus Christ all prayers are answered, I believe, oh boy do I believe and I have faith. I will not lie, my faith waivers from time to time, but ALWAYS, ALWAYS something happens that makes me kick myself for allowing it to wane! Today I stand in the knowledge that his will be done, I stand in the love of him, knowing that he will answer my prayers and I stand in comfort that he will heal these two, and that he will continue to bless those who are lifted in prayer, he will proceed in laying peace on hearts that are shaking and will lay the mercy of strength on each of us as we trudge through troubled waters! I do not doubt, I will not devalue his power and I will cling fast to the rod! I love you guys, and am so thankful that you come to this page and pray with me, I have seen such changes just in the short time it has been up and running! God bless you all with love, and joy! Be safe this weekend, allow a smile to be upon your face and love to be oozing out of your hearts:) 


Matthew 7:7-11
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.     For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

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:)

"PROMISES"

Happy Friday, may you all be blessed with safety on this memorial day weekend. Our skies are not as gloomy as yesterday, we are at 51 degrees this morning, no sunshine as of yet but no rain either...so all is good !!! This morning in prayer I felt empty, I cannot explain what it was that I was feeling, maybe disconnect is a good world for it. I prayed as usual asking God to continue to bless those in the storm ravaged states as they begin to dig out and rebuild, as they morn the loss of their loved ones, as they stand in sheer dismay as to what "was" only a few short days ago, and what "is" right now. I prayed for my friends and family, asking God to continue to bless them with health, financial relief, with peace in failed relationships, with knowledge for unruly children, with sense of "worth" for themselves, with affirmation that they are on the right track....I ask God, as I always do, to fill my heart with someones needs, to allow me something that will touch someone, that will confirm to them that God is love, that God is peace, that God is their hope. I sat, my head lifted to the heavens, the birds singing, the noises of the world awakening, I opened my eyes toward the sky and I felt so strongly the word "PROMISE" have you ever made a promise and due to circumstance been unable to keep it? Has someone promised you something and then not followed through? When we are children we promise our parents many things, when we become parents we promise our children to protect them, to love them, to nurture them...we all make promises, some we keep, some we break...Our Father in Heaven has promised us many things, sometimes we feel he has broken his promise to us, sometimes we are so let down when we do not feel he has answered prayers. At times in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong, when we suffer heart wrenching loss of loved ones, when we lose possessions that we hold dear to us, when the stress of getting out of bed each morning is to much to bear, when we look at the bills and at our bank books and see that the numbers are much more in favor of the "owed" and the list goes on and on....we feel let down, we feel alone, we feel scared, we feel disappointment, we feel like he is not keeping his promise. Many times I personally have lifted my arms to him and cried..."why" what is this all about, why do people have to suffer, why is there illness, why is there death,  what is there addictions, why...why...why, if you can make a promise to love and protect us, why do we have to hurt and suffer?  Why do we have to have "blind faith" why do we have to live on what is written as your "promise" Could it be that God does not want "half heart" Could it be that God does not want "junk" could it be that we have free agency to make our own choices, to make our own decisions...right and wrong have been laid out in front of us, but we have to decide which way we will turn...God's promises are based upon us choosing what is right,  us living a life that is pleasing to him, us trusting him, in allowing him to work through us, and our reward is what he "PROMISES" It took me a long time to give in, to relent to a promise that I could not see facts, to believe in the unknown, but when I did let go, when I did relent, when I did believe...this is when my life changed. I cling to his PROMISE now, I believe that if I live according to his will that he will make good on all that he is offering me. I ask you today, do you believe? If you have a hard time with this..look at times in your life that you did not think you could take another step, look at the times in your life when you felt defeated and that there was no way you were going to be able to  "pay that bill" to get that promotion, or live without your partner, to be able to function when you lost a loved one...all of the times when you could see no way out, and then boom...a miracle happened, low and behold you were given what was needed to get you through, coincidence...I don't think so. God knows the desires of our hearts and he gets us through when there is no earthly way...Let his promises wash over your heart today, allow him to make good on what he is offering, and the price for him doing this???? Love him, believe in him, live according to his word, love others, be kind, be compassionate, be as Christlike as you can...not a big price to pay for calm, comfort and peace is it? I pray that today, we all allow our loving Father in heaven to make good on his "Promise" may his love be the clay that you need to mold yourself in our saviors image! May you feel the spirit in you today and may you know that he is true and he is real. God bless each of you:)