Tuesday Writing Prompt

Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge.

Today’s prompt—Heaven in her eyes

Heaven in Her Eyes

Misha sat quietly as she listened to her grandmother rest. Her breathing was becoming labored but she waited quietly hoping for more wisdom from the stories she always told. Misha’s mother had told her the stories were not real, that they were just stories of hope of what heaven would be like.

But Misha knew different. Even though she was still seven years young, she herself had vision. And the visions she saw matched the stories she heard from her grandmother so many times. Before her grandmother had become so gravely ill, Misha had shared quietly with her grandmother her ability to see vision as well.

Her grandmother smiled brightly at her and her eyes sparkled with love. “Oh, my dearest Misha. Hold that truth close to your heart and let no one take it from you. It is a gift from God. Use it for the purposes he asks you to do. God will let you know when it is time.” And they shared many stories together of what they saw.

Misha watch the fluttering of her grandmothers eyes as she opened them looking toward the ceiling. “Oh, Lord, what a beautiful sight. Thank you for allowing me to see the beauty of heaven as I transcend to you.” And with that her grandmother breathed her last.

Misha stood and took her grandmother’s hand. “I will miss you Granmama. Thank you for believing in me. Enjoy the beauty of heaven that is now fully in your eyes.” Misha was fully at peace knowing where her grandmother was now, in the beauty of heaven wrapped in many layers of love. The sound of the door opening caught her attention as her mother came in the room.

“How is she doing today?”

“Today she is great. She has the true beauty of heaven in her eyes.”

Misha’s mother let out a horrid scream understanding what Misha meant, knowing now that her mother was dead.

But Misha turned quietly from the room knowing her grandmother was now more alive that she had ever been.

Come join in on the fun of Tuesday Writing Challenge and share your creative juices with everyone.

and as always, remember the truth of kindness.

An Evening Encouragement

As I study and glean words of encouragement from some of the devotionals I read, I like to pass those thoughts on to anyone who may need a little encouraging themselves. The biggest benefit for me is that it helps me to study knowing that I have to make sense about what I am trying to say. This morning Oswald Chamber in His devotion called My Utmost for His Highest made a statement I had never really thought about but it is entirely true. Those of us who call ourselves Christians know that we are all created by God for His purpose but if we don’t go to Him and follow Him, He can’t fulfill His purpose in us. He will not force it on us, its our choice.

God will not make me think like Jesus— I have to do it myself. I have to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” – Oswald Chambers

A lot harder to do than sitting on a soft comfy couch. Oswald reminds us that all thoughts matter…financial, intellectual, emotional, all matters that make us human, regardless of our circumstances.

Jesus never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Oswald Chambers

We have a tendency sometimes to wallow in our circumstances never enjoying the serenity of life which is hidden in Jesus. But there is a better way.

So if you feel sometimes that you think “just a minute Lord, I gotta do this first” – rethink that process.

Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future. Oswald Chambers

It may seem like it creates more chaos, but in the end, more calm will be the result because you have allowed Jesus to drive the car. You know the old adage about Jesus driving the car don’t you?

a – You can wave at Jesus as you drive by Him as He waves at you when you pass, missing all the benefits of following him… or

b – You can stop and pick Him up but put Him in the back seat and listen only to what you want to listen to, again missing the benefits…or

c – You can stop to pick Him up, slide over and let Him drive the car, reaping all of His benefits. Its all part of obedience.

Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future. Oswald Chambers

And since you are choosing to abide in Him, remember to always be Kind.

Encouragement of “That Day”

Good morning friends. I hope this day is bright and sunny as you look around the beauty of today. I want to share with you the gleaning I received from my morning devotion. After several days of needed rain, it is refreshing to see the bright sunshine and beautiful blue sky.

Scriptures remind us that some days will be stormy, and I am not really speaking of weather. Life is hard sometimes but we can be lifted to the peace and beauty of the heavenly places through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then Jesus can teach us the truths of God.

Just as Jesus stood unblemished and pure in the presence of His Father, we too by the mighty power and effectiveness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit can be lifted into that relationship. Oswald Chambers.

All we have to do is ask….

What a great honor to be able to speak, pray and be one with the Father. Being able to come to the Father in this manner proves His love for us and proves our union with Christ is real and absolute.

Once in that wonderful position, having been placed there by Jesus Christ, we can pray to God in Jesus’ name in His nature. Oswald Chambers

So relax and feel the peace of “That Day” – It is not a day in the future but is in fact any day. And remember that not everyone understand this truth. So reflect the Love of Christ as you go about “That Day” and be kind. Kindness is a pure reflection of God’s love.

Helping Out Fellow man

What you do with the gifts God gives you shows others, who are watching, the value of the gifts you have been given.

Today, my church participated in the World Vision Waterwalk for 2021. Our goal was $1500.00 and we met our goal. Knowing what some people in some countries have to go through just to get clean water is scary for those of us who just turn on a tap and there you go. May we never take it for granted as one day it may all may be compromised.

Enclosed are some of the photos I took of our church using our gifts to try to put a drop in the bucket of much needed water across this globe. If this stirs you heart, it is never to late to give.

Have a blessed day and remember that any gift of kindness brings joy to the giver and the receiver.

The Power of Love

We generally think of love as gentle, nurturing and healing. While it is ALL of those, it is also powerful. In the fruits of the spirit, it is the first fruit listed…without love, none of the rest matter.

Love is so important that an entire chapter of 1 Corinthians is dedicated to it. And the first verse of that chapter reminds us that it is not frivolously created but must ring true.

So show your love with abounding joy, through healing peace, With utmost patience, with rich goodness, with affirming faith, with quiet gentleness, and with firm self control. And yes I left one out, but this one is always my closing statement. Kindness. Even when we are faced with uphill battles we can still show kindness to others.

Kick Moodiness to the Curb

Good morning friends. I wanted to share some encouragement that I got from my devotion this morning. Oswald Chambers reminds us that when we become born again, we have a new way of thinking and a new way of reasoning.

Many of us miss a lot of the joy God has for us because we stay at the door of Christianity instead of walking through embracing His Love. We fail and blame things on the devil when it is really ourselves because we won’t get out of our own way. Think of where we would be if we fully embraced God’s truth. Its hard. We get discouraged and we let our moods run the show. Our moods are rooted in some physical circumstance that is surrounding us. We can pray about it but in reality we just need to stand up to the mood and kick it to the curb. It is a struggle to listen to these moods but we must stand firm against them and not give them the power to rule us.

The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh. Oswald Chambers

When we feel ourselves being beaten down by our moods, we need to pick ourselves up, shake the mood off and march forward into the peace Christ has for us – even when it seems impossible. Stand Firm!

Sometimes when you are in the midst of a hard struggle and you find that you can still be kind. That is when you have learned to stand firm. Try always to be kind.

The Door of the Cross

The importance of daily study of the Bible creates for us light bulb moments. You know what I mean…those moments where you have looked at a passage a hundred times. You think you fully understand what it means and then something happens in your day that when you read that passage for the hundred and first time it gives it an entirely new understanding – a light bulb moment.

Although we don’t fully understand it, we all believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Oswald Chambers in his devotion this morning reminded us of the gift God gave us. He deliberately limited His, omnipotence, His omnipresence and His omniscience to be the Son of Man…for us.

During Jesus’ time, the people of God were under the law. Billy Graham reminds us that the law was a mirror reflecting the wayward heart of man. While the law in itself wasn’t bad, man would never be able to follow it, he was condemned by it. But the Cross and Jesus’ ascension into heaven redeemed us from the power and condemnation of the law.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, He returned to His Father in glory not only as the Son of God but also as the Son of Man. And as He did this, He left the door wide open for anyone to have access through that door of the Cross to the Throne of Heaven. And now, Jesus, as the Son of God and the Son of Man, has all the power at the Throne of God. So take a deep breath knowing as hard as it can be sometimes, God always has our back.

And knowing that God has your back, remember to be kind. Someone next to you may not know that.

Too Busy

Too many times I have heard it said that “If you are too busy to spend time with God, then you are just plain too busy. Slow down.

God reminds us through His Word that He just wants to walk by you side being close. He wants an intimate relationship with each of us.

In today’s devotion of Quiet Times with God, we are reminded of the intimacy we should have with God. Normally when we think of intimacy, we think of the husband and wife bedroom scene, but intimacy is so much more than that. You can be intimate with someone from across the room. Webster define intimacy as something of a personal or private nature. I think it is knowing someone so well that you can speak volumes with them without saying a single word or making a single sound.

“Each of us can be as close to God as we want to be; it all depends on how much time we are willing to put into developing our relationship with Him.” Quiet Times With God, Joyce Meyer

Developing any type of relationship with a person or animal requires time. You are not allowed to be too busy or it just wont work. If we think our relationship with Jesus is not that important, we would be the losers of the equation, for…

Spending time with Jesus is probably the single most important relationship you could ever have. That makes it personal then it fills us with the assurance of His love.

So I remind you of God’s individual love for each of us. It is always available if we just SLOW down enough to enjoy its benefits. And as you do, remember one of the attributes of this love is kindness. Kindness is something that can be shared with man or beast and has the potential to send out roots of kindness out to others in distant places.

Always Be Kind

His Reach, Our Perseverance

I wanted to share the words of my devotional this morning from “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. We sometime have life forces pounding on us that seem more than we can stand. We are moaning “enough”. But Oswald reminds us…

Perseverance means more than endurance, more than simply holding on until the end. Oswald Chambers

Revelations is a book of hope reminding us that we can survive this life if we just hold o and trust Him.

“A person’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something we can not see, but our Lord continues stretching until His purpose is in sight, then he lets the arrow fly.” Oswald Chambers

Even though we feel we can take no more, if we continue to maintain an intimate relationship with Christ our faith in Him will help us persevere.

“Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion. It is a strong and vigorous confidence built on God’s love for us.” Oswald Chambers

“The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering.” Oswald Chambers

So as you face the trials of this life, raise and uplifted hand above and I promise He has a hand reaching down to you to help you survive. He never puts more on us than we can tolerate.

And in closing I remind us all of the power of kindness. Kindness has a power of strength that can not be measured and it can sometimes be the one thing that helps us survive, whether we give it or receive it.

Reach out to be kind.

Basic Needs

The advertisers across the globe will argue with you and confuse you as to the difference between want and need. That brand new sparkly shinny thing you just have to have is a want and it is their job to explain to you why you NEED it.

According to some reports I have read, there are five basic needs for all living creatures – air, water, food, shelter & safety. Every living thing including plants need these things. But I find it interesting that even with these things met, a basic need not mentioned, that if never met, will result in death. So what is the most valued basic need? Love.

Galatians reminds us of the fruits of the spirit and at the top of the list is Love, because without love, the rest won’t work. You can’t have Joy without love, you cant have peace without love, you cant have patience without love…and so on and so on…

I remember a horrible song we sang as kids that we laughed about but as an adult, I wonder how many kids felt like this song : Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’m gonna go eat worms. Gross. But it is true. All living creatures need love and affection. We see pictures on Facebook all the time about animals cuddling up to another animal of a different specie just to get some love. They get it.

Biblical scriptures remind us over and over about the importance of love…then Jesus demonstrated a love we could not fully comprehend but are so thankful for. The 15th chapter of John has so many wonderful ways of telling us about this profound love that is available to all living being.

And by abiding in him does not mean Him being over us but beside us…as friends. He wants the type of close relationship with us that you would have with a best friend. One where we feel comfortable to go to him when life is fun, when life is sad, or when life is scary.

And look again at all the attributes of that Love : Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faith, Gentleness and Self Control.

Kindness is an attribute. I push for in all I do and I add it to every post to remind us all of its value. Sharing a little kindness is sharing a little love.

So, Always be kind!