Thursday, August 13, 2015

A Lot To Be Thankful For.

Psalm 118:24
This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

I am so incredibly blessed. I don't say this to boast but rather to acknowledge what God has done in my life.

This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice in it. It is so easy to get discouraged or upset and angry and to have a bad hair day. I have had quite a few of those in my life. Sometimes I just want to be left alone to mope. When nothing is going right in my life and my health isn't too great and I am feeling out of sorts it isn't easy to be happy and enjoy my day. I just want to curl into a ball and go to sleep for a week.

But God! Again He comes and takes me by the hand and rescues me and sets my feet upon the rock again.
You see I had a revelation today as I was driving in my car and listening to my favorite Christian radio station. The verse Psalm 118:24 came up, "This is the day the Lord has made and I (we) will rejoice in it"

The first part got me. This is the day that the Lord has made. That means that today is special. It isn't just any ordinary day. It is the day that the Lord has made. If that is the only reason to rejoice then that is the best reason in the world. That God made today for me and He put me in today for such a time as this. By moping around the house (note I didn't say mopping, I don't mop, I shop) I haven't achieved anything joyful today. I didn't tell anyone about Jesus. I didn't smile at a stranger and have them smile back. I didn't extend kindness and friendliness because I was so busy being sour.

Still parts of me wants to just sulk and be miserable with the world but that is exactly where Satan wants me. He wants me to be miserable and ungrateful so that I will forget to count my blessings. He wants me to forget what God has done for me and he wants me to forget who my God is and how mighty and powerful He. The more negative I become the more I want to give up.

I love how God speaks to me. How He always finds a way to tell me how much He loves me and cares for me. He is aware of where I am and when I am far from Him He isn't very far from me.

So today, the day Lord has made in this I will rejoice.

Why don't you embrace today with me for what it is, a gift from our Heavenly Father. Rejoice me over the amazing things that will happen today and the amazing things He has done in the those days gone by that He also made.

I am coming up to 6000 views on my Blog! Even though I did not post last week the traffic to my Blog has continued and I am so thankful. Thank you all for your support.
I am thankful that God has chosen to use my paintings to bless others. I am thankful that He has made me to have a lot of unique talents and has made able to adapt well to anything He has asked me to do and to apply all I learn to every aspect of my life.
I am thankful that today He has laid this message on my heart to you and for myself.

If you are finding it difficult to rejoice today can I ask that you stop, take a deep breath and tell God that you are ready to hear from Him and that you are fixing your eyes on Him right now and off your situation. Then think of 2 things that have happened today that you are thankful for. It doesn't have to be big. Just that you had breakfast today and that you have clean clothes or that you are breathing and are able to come to God whenever you want. Start small and soon you will realize that this really is the day the Lord and you can and will rejoice and be glad in it.



Saturday, August 1, 2015

Bringing Hope to a Younger Generation

Titus 2:1-6   Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives.

There is always someone watching you. There is always someone who needs to be taught what you have learned. There is always someone who has never been loved the way you have that you can share that love with.

I have probably blogged something similar before but something that has happened recently has got me thinking about my attitude and my very narrow world.

I have come across and have had people in my life who have not had the same life I have had. Basic things I have taken for granted. Born into a Christian family. The Easter bunny guaranteed every Easter and Santa every Christmas. Milestones were celebrated. My life was far from perfect and still isn't but I always had someone cheering me on and supporting me and doing their best for me.

Now that I am married and have my own children I see my life and am very grateful for what God has done in my life but it can't stop there. It must not stop there.

There are people in this world who have never learned how to care for and love their children. There are children out there who have been abandoned by their very own parents.

So what can we do about it?

This is what we can do. Don't walk out on the troublesome teen. Don't walk out on the unruly child. You might just be that very person they trust. If you walk out on them and do not value the place and purpose you have in their lives you are just going to be another person who has walked out on them.

There is always someone watching you and wanting to be like you. It may be hard to believe but I do feel we don't fully understand the impact we have on others lives. Don't you remember a time where all you wished for is someone to be on your side and come along side you and help you through the stuff of life.

What people need is hope. They need to know that you are committed and that you will be consistent and keep your promises. They want to know you care about them. You may think this is a lot of responsibility but I don't think it is. Aside from loving God we are told to love our neighbours as ourselves and by the increase of selfies I say we love ourselves a whole lot so how about we spread that love and put an arm around those that need hope and take some "groupies". Make people a part of your life.

Yes we are busy and yes we would rather not go to another youth thing where we feel awkward because we are old(er). When our week has been busy and we are tired and we don't want to go out and feel out of place with a generation that we don't have much in common with other than that we were there once a long time ago.

I pray I never forget what it was like growing up and all the teen stuff and all the feelings I went through. I am glad they are behind me and I never have to go through it again (although other challenges lay ahead of me I am sure) but I want to be able to help another girl with her journey. I want to show her who Jesus is through my actions and through my commitment to her and her future and in the way I love.

You can never know by simply looking at another person what they are going through or what their lives have been like up until that point. But if you never take the time out to reach out you will never know and you will never be able to help and give out advice that is much needed.

It is scary going through this life and you may be a child's only hope.

This may not be what God is calling you to do but I feel really strongly that I am to help young girls. I have 4 of my own and I wish that everyone had the life my girls have. I am not a perfect mother, I get it wrong, I blow it so many times a day but they do not have the worries that some children have. They do not have to worry about mum and dad being there for them when they wake up in the morning. They do not worry about what they will have for lunch that day or the fact that they did not have breakfast. They have shoes they choose not to wear and a bed and a roof over their heads, none of which they have ever had to worry about. The kitchen is always full of food, magically and they get what they ask for (within reason, candy before dinner is never an option).

It simply breaks my heart that their are kids that worry. Kids that will wait for Santa to come and he won't come.

You can't make everyone happy but I won't quit trying because of one person who really didn't want me around. I will save it for those who are desperately praying to God for an answer to their loneliness and need for guidance.

I hope someone out there knows what it is I am trying to say. If God is calling you to something do it well and with a servant heart. Don't complain about being tired and not wanting to do it (and I am like that sometimes so I am not only talking to you) My attitude has got to change from what I am called to do to the people I am called to serve and love. The responsibility I have to others is so much greater than whether or not I feel like it today or not. I shouldn't be doing things because I have to or even want to but out of a place of love. Love what Jesus loves. Love who Jesus loves.

If you kind of understood what I was trying to say here please let me know either on Facebook or in the comments below. I would really like to hear some feedback.

Almost 2 in the morning here so better head off to bed.

Blessings for the weekend.
Love Tamryn