Moments With Marti

This is a battle that I fight on a day-to-day basis.  I don't see it as being lazy, but rather that I just HATE housework.

 

However, this is what I have done, and continue to do to in order to win each battle, each day.

 

During my prayer time, I thank God for my home....for the fact that I actually do have a roof over my head and that I do not live in a cardboard house in an alley somewhere (as so many do now)....

 

As well, when I tackle each "chore", I sing (praise God that ONLY He hears me and that I'm far enough out in the country that neighbors can't hear the dogs howling.. *S*) And I worship and I thank God for each little task and I "clean" for HIM.

 

Sometimes I personally have to made to feel "guilty" before I'll do something (such as housework), and so someone who knows me so well once told me that I should be "proud" of the home that God has provided, therefore I should keep it clean for Him.  OUCH! That hurt.... 

 

So, as a result of that I have come to God and said, "Lord, You know my faults and my shortcomings, so if this house that You have given to me is going to get clean and stay clean, then I NEED YOUR HELP!"....

 

Isn't this just like our spiritual lives?  We ask God to come in and "clean house", then we clutter it up again.... its a day to day process.... we sin; ask for forgiveness and repent...but God is faithful and He DOES forgive us of ALL sin...

 

Today, as I face each task set before me, I’m going to remember “Who” I’m doing this for….how about you?

 

 

 

Philippians 2:14  

Do all things without complaining and disputing….

Philippians 4:13  

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

Recently I had an opportunity to be among my county’s finest citizens. There were three hundred of us crowded in a room where we waited, and waited and waited together. Yes, our time had come to serve as prospective jurors. I always find this as an interesting time…I love to watch and listen and to learn.

 

The conversation going on behind me caught my ear as a man and woman were discussing their collage children. The gentleman (a doctor) was going on about his “A” student who was continuing her education in getting her Master’s degree. While the woman (also a professional) simply made this statement concerning “her” daughter….”Its not that she is an outstanding student, but it’s the “way” that she uses her information.”

 

I thought to myself, “what a profound statement”. My thoughts quickly took me to God’s Word as I applied what I had just heard. “Its not that I am a great Biblical Scholar, but it’s “how I use my information.”

 

We are not all at the same place in our walk with Jesus, and we should never think that we are not as spiritual as someone else.

 

It’s not “how much knowledge we have about the Bible, but instead it ’s “what we do with the information that we have”!

 

How are “you” using the information that “you” have?

 

Upon getting a test to check my carotid arteries, the tech was telling me that although she could only see the part in my neck, that what she saw there would tell her what to expect down closer to my heart. She went on to explain that what she was looking for was a build up of “plaque”…plaque could clog the blood flow through the arteries and eventually cause a heart attack or stroke.

That fact stuck with me the rest of the day.

 

The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 16:10 that “…the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

Keeping this thought close to my heart, I have pondered it and pondered it…. So I’ve questioned myself as to what does God really see in “my” heart? And, what “things” do others see on the outside? Do my actions as well as my lifestyle reveal what is truly in my heart?

 

What kind of plaque is clogging up the arteries that lead the the "true me"? 

Is there the plaque of bitterness......discontent......selfishness and anger? 

 

Or are my arteries clean so that love, peace and joy can flow freely into and out of my heart? 

 

Just "what" does my lifestyle really reveal about who I am and what is in my heart......?

 

What about your lifestyle? Does the way you live your life reveal what is truly in “your” heart?

 

God knows……do you?

As a child growing up, our family would travel each year from California to East Texas to spend the entire summer with my grandmother.  In my eight-year-old mind, there was no woman stronger or braver to have ever walked this earth. 

 

“Granny” was up before daylight killing that day’s lunch and had it frying before the heat of the day set in.  I can still remember fried chicken to be the first smell of the morning along with a fresh baked cake for the noon meal’s dessert. “Granny” wasn’t afraid of wasps or dirt dabbers…. The first time I saw her crush one with her thumb, I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she “was in fact”, the bravest woman in the world.

 

I only saw Granny during the summer months and as time went by, and as I grew, my time of summer visits had come to a close.  As I carved out my own life with children of my own, I could only talk to her on the phone or read a letter she had sent.

 

Fourteen years had passed since I had seen my Granny, and she was now in a nursing home.  I was so excited to see her….along with me were my two small sons….my excitement was building as I walked up the steps to see my “Granny” and to introduce her to her two “great-grand-sons”. 

 

As we waited in the visiting area, I could see my mom bringing Granny closer.  She was now in a wheel chair…her ninety plus years had left her frail and much smaller than I had remembered. 

 

Then it happened…..I hugged her neck and said, “Hi Granny…I’ve missed you so much.”  She looked up at my mother with confused eyes and said, “Who is she?”  Momma said, why, this is my daughter.  Granny looked puzzled and said, “Well, I didn’t know that you had a daughter.”

 

Was I now crushed?  Devastated would be more like it….

Granny did not know me….her eyes told me that the moment I looked into them.

 

I think about that day often, and I can’t help but to compare it to my relationship with God.  I think about the people who claim to serve Him, people who say they love Him and the have served Him all their lives, but…the Bible says in Luke 13 that there are some who only profess these things and that one day Jesus will say to them, “I tell you…I do not know you…..depart from Me….”

I can not imagine any thing worse than to have my Lord and Savior say those words to me.

 

“What will Jesus say to me, when I come face to face with Him?”

“Will He know me?”

And what about you?

 

What is “your” answer to these same questions?

 

Hmmm……...

 

After way too many days of below freezing temps, we were finally blessed with a "warm" day.  Only 40 degrees, but bundled up, my grandson, "Jordan" and I went outside for a celebration of "warmer weather" walk.

 

As we headed out to the pasture, and headed up a rise, I could see the tractor parked in the back hay meadow.... I told Jordan, "look at the tractor", but he didn't see it.  As we continued walking I asked him, "can you see it now?"  "Nope"......he still could not see it, yet there it was in plain sight.....

 

I stooped down to his level to point it out and sure enough, I could not see it either from "where he was".

 

As we continued to walk, the tractor finally comes into Jordan's view....the big smile on his face said it all.....  while I was able to see the tractor long before he was, it's like I was able to see the whole picture, and in due time Jordan was able to see it as well.....

 

God see the whole picture in our lives as well.  He sees what's over the hill before we can...  Our life comes into His view before we even experience it.  But, as we walk; as we keep our focus on God, we too will smile when we view the "other side" of the hill.....

 

Yes, indeed, God "does" see the "whole" picture....

Jeremiah 29:11-13

 

LBG...Marti 

1/14/2010

 

We all face them, some on a daily basis, some just once in a while, but nonetheless, we “all” do face “Giants” in our life. 

Giants come in all sizes…some are big, some are small, and some are easier to conquer than others, but every Giant that we face, does leave their mark on our life. 

 

We learn a lot from Giants, and, I suppose that is why they are necessary to our spiritual health. For without Giants, we may never learn how to fully rely on God. Facing a Giant doesn’t require strength it requires wisdom. 

“Wisdom you say? How can that be?” 

 

The answer here is simple…when we try to fight our giants with our own strength we are destined for failure. However, by allowing God to fight for us is where the wisdom comes in.  God’s ways are not our ways, and understanding how God works in the various trials that we face does not always make sense to us.

Therefore, “wisdom is knowing the right thing to do, and then doing it.” And the right thing for us, as Christians, is to cling to God through prayer and the study of His Word; the right thing for us to do is to nurture our relationship with Him, to follow Him even when the going gets tough, and to love Him with all our mind, soul and spirit…

 

Are you allowing God to fight your Giants?  If not, why not?

 

As I was reading in Psalm 141 this morning, I couldn’t help but to think about how often God’s people are continuously under attack.  So many times, my “flesh” wants to lash out and handle the situation; however, if I do that, then I don’t feel that I have won any victory….no, instead I feel sort of an emptiness inside that I can not explain away simply.

 

Then I look to God’s Word for answers…....and, as always, the answers are there…....bear with me for just a moment while I share what God has revealed/confirmed for me today…..from His Word….

 

 

The very first thing that I must do in the event of an attack is to come to God with an open and repentant heart and “expect” to hear from Him.  Now that I have asked God to hear me, I must do “my” part….

 

It is so easy to be drawn into, shall we say, a confrontation, and immediately find ourselves opening up our mouths and being drawn into “their” evilness…..then we find that we are no better than those who have come against us.

 

Herein lies the answer!!!  God expects me/us to pray against those who do wrong towards us…..its so simple….can we not just pray and allow God to do His part?

And now, the prayer that should be upon my lips as I face each day….

 

 

Our God is truly awesome, and there is nothing that He can not handle, if we will just allow Him to do so………

 

LBG…....Marti

 

August 9, 2005…

 

Millions of people from all over the world awoke early this morning to watch the landing of the US Space Shuttle Discovery. As well, I was among them, eyes glued to our television set..

 

The scene was much different from the one from only two and a half years ago. I remember that day well…..my husband was at the barn and I was still in the house when the biggest sonic boom I’d ever heard broke the silence of our Saturday morning….the windows shook and the ground trembled.

 

At first it sounded like a huge explosion, which here in East Texas is not uncommon, given all the oil and gas wells around. But still, this was different. I immediately ran outside and as I looked up, I saw a vapor trail from what I suspected was a very low and very fast jet plane. James and I stood quietly as we watched the vapor tail spread out until is disappeared. There was some sort of a silence among the animals….even the birds remained still….

 

It was only after going back into our house that I begin to learn what had just happened….the phone rang and I heard my friend tell me that Houston had just lost communication with Columbia. I turned on the TV Set and there is was….the horrific news that what had now become a reality was unfolding right here near home….the days that followed were filled with unbelief and sorrow…..except for one very important fact….

 

Now, today, with much anticipation, we remained silent again, watching as the events unfold right before our eyes…we watched and prayed….there were no words spoken….

 

The final boosters, now traveling at 117,000 miles per hour the Discovery make it’s decent toward planet earth….we hear communication between the shuttle and Houston….everyone is still….very still….very quiet…not a word….

 

Still holding our breath we see the glow of the shuttle…then the outline, then the wings, the tail…..at last, Discovery is gliding onto the runway, landing gear down…..”touchdown”!……..the parachute opens, the aircraft slows down and comes to a stop….then we hear Mission Control call out the first name of each crew member, and then they say: ….. "Congratulations on a truly spectacular test flight," "Welcome home, friends."

 

Now then, let’s go back to that one very important fact about the Columbia crew. Those onboard that were Christians...the ones that had a life changing relationship with our Lord Jesus….they were the ones that received another kind of welcome…. They may not have completed their mission the way that planet earth expected, but they “did” complete “their” mission….and upon arriving HOME, and standing in the presence of Almighty God, hearing each of their names called out, they may have heard those very same words…..” "Congratulations on a truly spectacular test flight," "WELCOME HOME, FRIENDS."

 

Consider this…..only God knows when “your mission” is complete….will you be standing in His presence?

Will He call you by name?
Will He tell you that your mission was well done?
Will He be welcoming you Home?

 

Are you sure?

Imagine yourself sitting in a traffic jam….you are expected to arrive at you destination on time, and now, here you sit. To make use of your time, you begin to pray. It seems as though your family is seeking God’s guidance on a career change that involves moving from all that you have come to love….your home, your neighborhood, your children’s school, and most important, your church.
 
Now you look up to see what’s going on and what do you see? A “pilot” truck with a big sign on the back that says “Follow Me”… WOW, is that God speaking or what?
 
Matthew 4:19…and He said to them, “Follow Me”
Matthew 8:22….but Jesus said to him, “Follow Me”
Matthew 9:9….. As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew
sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.
Matthew 16:24… Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and “Follow Me”.
 
There are 34 verses in the Bible that contain the term “Follow Me” and numerous others that refer to following Jesus. The message is the same in each incident, that being that we are to follow Jesus wherever He leads.
 
The “Pilot Truck” will lead us safely out of an unsafe road condition, all we must do is to follow it…likewise, Jesus will lead us safely if we will just let Him…
 
How are you following your Pilot Truck???

As I consider “today”, it looks like a lot of us are lacking in motivation and discipline. YIKES!! Can I just add ME to the list?! I'd like to blame it all on the weather....HOT in Texas, well, in most of the USA...especially in the south, amen?!

 

So that brings us to the question...What do we do about it? Or more directly, what am "I" going to do about in "my" life today?

After a restless and sleepless night, the thing I don't want to do is to get up....but I must, and I keep telling myself that the longer I stay in bed, the more "time" that I'm stealing from God...yes, "stealing"! God has been so faithful to give me "time"....time to serve Him...time to worship Him, and time to accomplish all that He has planned for me... So I confess.....I'm a thief!

 

The real problem here is that I am bound by the things of the world therefore my focus is not where it needs to be.. I know from experience that when I put God first, everything else works out..
Matthew 6:33 promises us that if we seek the things of God FIRST, then every thing else will come....

 

Once I get it in my head that "FIRST I pray", then the order of my day is just that...."in order"... and knowing that God is a God of "order", I soon recognize when the enemy is messing with me. All those "things" that continue to creep up and keep me from my "time with God", most of the time are subtle attacks...and if that doesn't work, then he (satan) starts on my mind....."you have to do this and you have to do that...you don't have "time" for God right now".... and if I fall into that trap and believe the lie, then my day is over and what have I done with my "time" for God? Not a thing...

 

So what is my point? Simply this...... I can choose to allow God to motivate my day...and I can choose to obey His calling upon my life...it's my choice.....and for you, it's yours....what will it be "today"?

 

First I pray.....then I obey....the rest is up to Him.....

7/9/2008