Author: Anita

We all have lots of shoes for different types of activities. In Ephesians, chapter 6, starting in verse 10, Paul writes:

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

The NIV translates verse 15 as:

¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

When I read the ESV version, it really hit me that we need to put on shoes and go share the gospel. Our shoes represent the readiness that the gospel itself provides. It is so important to have the right shoes. This was so evident when we were heading out to the beach and crossing the hot sand. Without shoes, the sand was too hot to walk through and if you tried it, your feet would be burned. There are many other instances where the task we are trying to accomplish requires a certain type of shoe – baseball cleats certainly could not be worn to play on a basketball court. Likewise, basketball shoes would not provide the traction needed on the baseball field. The examples are endless. I am sure we have all been caught saying “why does she have on high heels when she knew we were going to do this” – whatever this may be. In this scripture, Paul is telling us to put on shoes that make us ready to share the gospel – the word of God.

Shoes also imply that you will be walking, running, etc. You will be moving! All of the armor mentioned is critical but let’s not forget the basics – shoes for our feet. Without the gospel of God directing us, we will be stumbling through life like walking across hot or rocky surfaces without shoes.

As I sat at my piano to play a hymn which always makes me feel better, I stopped on the hymn “Take Time To Be Holy”. Although I’ve played it many times and we sung it a lot at my childhood church, I never really paid any attention to the words. Although written in the late 1800s, how true the words are today. We just need to take time to do what God ask. Read these verses of the song and think about what they mean:

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
(William D. Longstaff)

I want to take more time for what God desires in 2018!

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2: 8-9 (ESV)

Our works can never be good enough to earn salvation. It is only through God’s mercy and grace that we can be saved – through accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and putting our faith and hope in him. Then we will want to show this grace to others and share the great news of salvation.

Our pride sometimes leads us to believe that we can “earn” our way to heaven because we are good enough and smart enough. We are surely better than others. But none of this matters if we have not asked Jesus into our hearts and given our life to him.

Then when we do accept this free gift of salvation, we will want to do good works. These good works will not only help meet the physical needs of others but will also carry a message of hope and peace to those in need by sharing the gospel of Christ. This message will help sustain people through the hurt and pain of life even when physical help falls short. It is a decision with eternal consequences.

The world is in need of those that do “good works”. But more importantly, this world is in need of a Savoir that sustains them through the trials of each day. Sharing this message while also reaching out to meet the physical and emotional needs of others is what makes the eternal difference.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalm 118:1

God is Good! His steadfast love endures forever.
Forever…that is a long time. It is already 2017. Time keeps flying by. Isn’t it great to know God endures forever? Never ending…
If you know Jesus as your Savior, heaven will be your home forever.
Life may present challenges. Our boat may be beaten with the waves of life but God will endure forever. God never leaves us. I am so thankful for that. The winds outside are strong but God will help you overcome. Trust him … forever.

We all have good intentions. I am always responding “that I intended to do that” whatever “that” may be at the time. But it seems time slips by and good intentions end up being just that. Before we know it, months go by. And we catch ourselves treading in the water of life trying to stay afloat and our good intentions don’t ever come to fruition. I sit here tonight asking the question “why”.   Why do we let the important opportunities slip away from us? Are the expectations from others taking priority over what we know should be important? Are we so busy doing all the little “things” of life that we miss out on the “moments” of life?

I’m tired…tired of treading water just to get by and get to the next meeting, the next appointment, or whatever is demanding my time. I want to float a while and enjoy the journey. But how does this happen? Well, I can look around me and see what I can grasp a hold of to help me stay on top of the water. I can get back in the boat and get the oars out and start directing my boat. Or I can just raise my sails and let God direct my path. I think sailing sounds the most peaceful.

I may hit storms. The waves may get rough. But as long as God is guiding, the journey will bring me to the right destination. Sometimes letting go of our worries and headaches and holding God’s hand is the best answer. Then we will find a way to make good intentions become actions that bring more fulfillment and joy. Moments will then turn into good memories…and our arms won’t be so tired from paddling.

It has been a while since I have put my thoughts on paper and posted them. Time has a way of flying by us and we forget to stop, observe, and reflect. Blessings come, trials come, and our journey through life goes on. Who and what are we impacting along the way? What values do we stand for? Are we standing or hiding sheepishly in the background? Sometimes I find myself not intentionally hiding but getting too busy to really stand up for what is important. I also find myself “too busy” to focus on what is important in my life and the life of my family. We can get in the mantra of just making it through the day and getting to the right places at the right times. Do we ever stop to “look back” at the memories we are creating? We are making memories everyday – just not sure what they will look like in the rear view mirror.

I tell myself to slow down. I tell myself to stop and enjoy each day but it seems there is always something to rush off to or a deadline to meet. But in all of this busyness, there are moments to be cherished. Smile, laugh, say kind words, lift others up, and enjoy the moments on the journey! Life is good in so many ways and we get too bogged down by the frustrations and stress of the day to see all the good! A negative current is all around us trying to pull us under.

We need to adjust our sails when the challenges face us and keep floating. Calm waters will come and the sun will shine through.

“The Lord is my strength, my song, and my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him.” Exodus 15:2 TLB

Spent a week at the beach and did not see a single sailboat…seems a little strange.  The weather was wonderful and the ocean was very calm but there were no boats.  Maybe my timing was off and the boats were there but I just didn’t see them or maybe I was not looking for the boats as I was absorbed in other things.  Maybe that is true of a lot of things in life – our timing is just off and we fail to see the spectacular around us…or fail to look for it.  Sometimes our lives are so busy that we don’t stop to look around to see what else is out there.  We are focused on taking care of our immediate needs, the needs of our families, or the needs of work.  What are we missing?

It seems that there are so many things on our “must do” list that we seldom have time for the “want to” list.  We just move from one thing to the next without much thought of the blessings around us.  We are blessed with family and friends that seldom make it to the “must do” list.  We all complain that we “need more time in the day” but how would we spend that time?  Would we spend it in the same manner as the other twenty-four hours or would that extra couple of hours be magically spent differently?  Would we just consume the extra hours with a longer “must do” list or stay at work the extra time just so we can get more “things” done?

How do we “spend” our time? It is ours to decide.  What is really important?  Life is so short and we only have a certain number of days.  How do we make the hours count? How do we make the minutes count?  It is time to look at what is really necessary…it is not the things that matter.  It is the people that matter.  We need to turn our focus to our family and friends and enjoy the time that we have with them.  Appreciate them, laugh with them, cry with them, and be there for them.  Let’s not overlook the people in our lives as I probably overlooked the sailboats…just didn’t take the time to see them for whatever reason.  Open our eyes, ears, and heart to those around us.  Listen to God to help determine what direction we take and what goes on our “must do” list.  Start doing more of what is on the “want to” list and making memories that will last.  Make each moment count…

Two of the most important things for us to embrace in life are HOPE and FAITH.  This morning as I was driving to work looking at the beautiful trees and flowers and thinking about how awesome God is, my mind shifted to the hope we have in our day to day lives and our future because of the faith we have in a God that is bigger than anything we can imagine.  Our human minds cannot even comprehend how everything in the universe works the way it does.  Likewise, we cannot comprehend how our God is powerful enough to know each person by name and care for each of us individually.  We cannot fathom how all of this is possible.  Yet we can have faith in God through the evidence of his work in our lives and the lives around us.  We can have hope because of the Bible that teaches us how real God is and what the future holds for those that know him.  This HOPE and FAITH are two of the sails that help guide our boat through the waters of life.

Yes, there will be times when the winds toss us about and it seems our hope and faith falter.  But it is when the storms are the strongest, that we can use these sails to keep us steady and get us through the difficult winds.  It is during these times that we hold on to the promises of God.

We are so blessed with all that God has and will do for us.  Let us help others  by sharing what our hope and faith is based on…what keeps us afloat when the struggles of this world try to pull us under.

 

 

Wow, it is April 16th.  Spring is here – the trees are blooming, the flowers are popping out, Easter is this weekend.  It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies and the “things” of life that take up our time.  I have not been very good about living “intentional” the last couple of months.  Overwhelmed with multiple “to do” lists, I have let life take over and have not taken the time to adjust my sails.  So what happens when we do this?  We end up floating around without really making a lot of progress.  It is one thing if you lower your sails, drop your anchor and sit back to relax for a while- that is not the same as being tossed about by every wind that comes your way and floating into areas that you have no control over.  So what actions do we need to take to get back on course? 

First, I think we need to make sure our eyes are on the right target.  When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he started to sink.  Likewise when we get distracted from God’s purpose for our lives, we start to “float” and lose our true direction.  We need to make sure that our purpose is aligned with God’s purpose in every area of our life.

Second, we need to stay “intentional” with our actions.  Don’t just make “to do” list, make “action lists” that help to accomplish what needs to be done in order to leave time for the things that you “want” to do.  Better yet – put the things that you want to do on your “action lists” and plan these into your schedule.  This includes time with family and friends.  This is one of the most important ways to spend your time.

Third, spend our time wisely.  Don’t waste it beating ourselves up.  Life is too short for spending time regretting what we didn’t do.  Count your blessing every day.  Tell others how blessed you are to have them in your life.

Tomorrow, a dear friend moves on to a new career and the next chapter in her work life.  It will be different at work without her and we will miss her dearly.  She is a remarkable person in so many ways. Let us not forget the impact others make on our lives.  Let us thank them often for the difference that they make.  Don’t wait until they are leaving to thank them but instead tell them every chance you get.  Make time for the opportunities to be grateful.  And then be grateful…show your gratitude.

A new year brings excitement about new beginnings…new ideas on how this year is going to be different.  But how?  How will we do the things this year that we didn’t get to in prior years?  How will we find the time we need to make our ambitions come to fruition?

I think the first step is to be “intentional” about the way we approach each day.  A person does not sail to the other side of the shore without first leaving the current one…without preparing the boat and setting sail in the right direction and with the right supplies.  In order to reach the destination, one must prepare and then actually board the boat and start sailing.  Accomplishing our desires in 2014 should be approached in like manner.  We have to be “intentional” with our preparation, our decisions, and ultimately our direction if we are to have a successful journey.

Time goes by so quickly.  Before we know it, a month is gone – January is already behind us.  Were we intentional with our time and energy in January?  Did we check off items on our list?  Or did we let the minutes and days pass by with our priorities being driven by others?  Did we choose each day our direction?  Of course, there is always work to be done, appointments to make, people to take care of, and many other events that take up our time.  All of these are important in our lives.  It is not about avoiding these things…but enjoying the journey and being intentional about our choices along the way.  Many of us would rather sit back and blame all the things on our plate for not reaching our goals than to take ownership of our time each day and be accountable.

Think tomorrow when you wake up…what do I have the privilege to do today?  Do you have a job that you are blessed with?  Do you have the opportunity to make breakfast and spend time with your children before sending them to school?  Make each moment count.  Cherish the day and be intentional about what you do and how you think.  You will be amazed what you can accomplish.