STICKER BUSH

It is in the times of darkness, when the feelings come flooding back in.  The look of yes you are stupid, S-T-U-P-I-D.  You don’t do anything right.   I get thrown into the sticker bush, the problem is, unlike some people, I don’t come running out unharmed.  I come out wounded and scarred.  As I sit in the dark looking out the window, tears form as I stare.  Where do I go what do I do?  How can I keep getting thrown into the stickers over and over and then come crawling out picking the thorns that have been left in my flesh? 

Have you been stuck by thorns?  Have the stickers pierced your skin and left you hurting and wounded? 

The people felt as if they were trapped.  They couldn’t see the way out of the thorny bushes.  The army was coming towards them and they were discouraged. Moses encouraged them to watch the wonderful way God would rescue them.  He said, “The Lord will fight for you, and you need only to be still,” Exodus 14:14 NIV.  It was then that the waters parted and they ran out of the briers unharmed.

My phone beeped.  I picked it up to see a text from a dear friend.  It read, “I just read your website, the wonderful inspiring new and or old branching out of you.  You are truly blessed with a beautiful gift- thank you for sharing.” 

God had sent me my Moses.  She had parted the waters and sent me running out of the sticker bushes. My encourager had arrived and rescued me from the darkness. 

Let the Lord make a way and remove you from your sticker bushes.  He will send you your Moses to part the branches, so you will escape without any thorns. 

All you need is to be still and know that He is Lord. Psalm 46:10

WATERWAY

There isn’t anything like a Sunday afternoon boat ride.  Cruising along at 35 mph with the cool air blowing across your face takes away all the worries of the world.  We had spent the afternoon with friends on a sliver of a sandbar.  It looked like we were on an island.  Because of the extra rain that we have accumulated this spring the water is high, extremely high.  What use to be ridges of rocks all you see is water.  If you tried to go out on the river and you weren’t knowledgeable about the landmarks you would be in trouble.  

After the day was over we  headed back to the landing.  There was  only one problem.  We had to go through the only opening to the waterway that would direct us there.  If you missed the entrance you would end up on rocks.  I opened the map on my phone and we could see our boat traveling down the middle of the river by the flashing blue dot.  Jay watched the dot as he turned the boat to head straight in.  He guided the boat through the small opening without hitting any rocks. 

We all are islands on this earth.  We each have our own identity.  We make our own choices and we live through the consequences.  We end up on the hard rocky rock bed or we  sail straight through life without any difficulty.  We make our own map on where we want to go and what we want to follow.  We  walk through shallow water or we end up deep in the depths of the ocean.  We swim or sink.  At times we feel as if we are drowning. 

Where are you today?  Are you letting the Lord steer you through the rocky beds of life or are you trying to be an island hitting everything alone? 

Life is much easier when we allow the Lord to direct our sails.  He never said that it would be easy or that we wouldn’t hit a rock every now and then, but he did show us that by following Him He would carry us.  We are never alone.  We aren’t an island drifting through life alone.   If we open our eyes to Him we will be able to see the openings that lie between the rocks. 

You may be led through rough water or deep water.  You may feel you have hit all the rocks of life. The opening to your waterway of hope may be inches wide.  Don’t give up, give it to Him. 

Nothing is too small for Him to maneuver through or too difficult for Him to find a way.  He will help you through the narrow opening to the joyous days ahead. 

You may feel as if you are drowning, but remember your lifeguard walks on water!

INNER BEAUTY

We all look in the mirror if not once several times during a day.  Most of us are concerned about our appearance. Our culture has set standards by what we feel we should look like.  We are influenced by the outside world and our world is telling us we should be perfect.  We should have no faults. 

When we look in the mirror what do we see?  When we see the person staring back at us we don’t say, “We are a beautiful work of God.”  We see all of our flaws and imperfections.  All of our blemishes jump out at us and are magnified 100%. 

1 Peter 3:4New International Version (NIV)

4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

In this scripture Peter tells us that we need to develop inner beauty.  This is the real true beauty of a person.  We should work harder in developing the Spirit that lies within.  When we have this Spirit Gods grace and mercy flow out of us.  The goodness that is accomplished by living in Spirit makes an impression on whomever comes in contact with us. 

We are to be a reflection of God.  When He looks at us He see’s the piece of art that He created.  He looks at us with love.  He see’s the beauty that is seen and unseen.  He created each of us uniquely for His plan and purpose. 

Mirror mirror what do you see?  Don’t let the deceiving nature of the world fool you.  You are perfect just the way you are.  Bad hair day or good hair day you are the fairest of them all.  God looks at you and sings, ”You are so beautiful to me!”

BOLD

Coffee I love it.  I love everything about it.  I wish my home could smell like the aroma of coffee beans all day.  My favorite kind has always been donut shop, however a friend introduced me to Emeril’s bold and now I tend to grab that choice in the mornings. 

This morning when I placed the bold Keurig in the holder I began to think about the word bold.  I questioned myself, “Am I bold?”  When we are bold we do not hesitate.  We are not fearful.  We have courage and are daring. 

 “Who are we? Are we bold for Christ?

When we become bold for Christ many things in our lives have to change.  Our friends may change, where we spend our time may change and even our conversations may change.  It is through Him that we will receive the confidence we need to walk out into the world, be bold and share Christ. This stepping out in faith is led by trusting Him.  It may be difficult, it may be challenging, but it will be the most rewarding. 

Proverbs 28:1 NIV The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. 

Just like the ground coffee is infused with the water for us to receive the best extract, let God permeate you to be bold.  He needs those of us who aren’t afraid to speak His word and guide others to Him. When trusting Him we will be infused with His strength to be as bold as the lion. 

HAVE NO FEAR

Afraid!  I have always been a scaredy-cat.  When I was a little girl I was afraid of the dark.  My mom would leave the hall light on at night so if I needed to see.  As I got older the dark wasn’t as scary, but other situations were.  I really didn’t enjoy going to events by myself.  After I got there I was always fine, but I liked having a sidekick with me.  I needed that close assistance to walk with me into the unknown.  As the Proverbs 31 conference is drawing nearer I begin to feel some anxiety.  I am excited about going to learn more about writing, however I would love to have a sidekick with me. 

Fear is an unpleasant emotion.  It sets off our alarm buttons and makes us agitated.  It makes us worry about certain circumstances that shouldn’t bring any fear at all.   When we are afraid it will cause us to miss out on opportunities.  These opportunities may be just the thing that brings us closer to God or brings others closer to Him.  If we keep fear bottled up we will become stagnant.  Our fears will become giants and we will not have any personal growth.  Fear will stop us in our tracks.  Fear limits us to a small world when there is a larger one waiting on us.

So why shouldn’t we fear? 

When we are Christians we have the freedom from fear.  God promised us that He would go before us so that we would be victorious.  Psalm 34:4 says this,

 (NIV)

4 

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

    he delivered me from all my fears.

When we do our part and allow God to become our sidekick we will have no fear.  He will deliver us from the scary situations that make us quiver.  When we trust in Him we have the ability to be fearless with faith. 

Don’t’ let fear hold you back.  Your sidekick is waiting for you to open your door and spend every minute with you.  God is along for the ride waiting to give you the opportunities of a lifetime. 

Have no fear God is near!