Train up A Child in the Way He or She should Go

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children.Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Deuteronomy 6:6 & 7 (NIV)

"Jesus said,"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 (NIV)

I was thinking about how wonderful, and enjoyable it was living with and watching my children as they grew up. I often wonder how the time slipped away so fast. They're both grown and gone and it's back to just Mark and I again. I miss the laughter, questions and love.

It's amazing how entertaining a big ole box can be to a child. Large empty boxes always provided more fun and imagination than any toy ever could at our house. Large empty boxes became anything from a space ship to major live in doll house. These boxes were used until every last ounce of life was gone from them, never thrown away unless the dog peed in them, or they were totally exhausted from imagination.

I always enjoyed reading to the kids so we usually read a chapter or two from a children's story like, "Willows in the Wind" and of course "Charlotte's Web," in the afternoon. (We read both books at least 5 times) Then at night we read one Bible story before bed. As interesting as the Children's Stories were, they never provoked the thoughts and pondering that the Bible Stories did. Both Michael and Heidi asked several questions before going to sleep, then often woke up with comments or questions from the same Bible story.

Don't you think if a child shows an interest in certain things like Science, Math, Geography, or any other field you should also try to help them grow in those areas? Mark & I were never rich, but we found ways to subscribe to National Geographic because Heidi loved Geography. She is my little traveler. We subscribed to Popular Mechanic and Science Magazines because Michael loved taking things apart and putting them back together. They both loved Science, but so do Mark and I. Michael is finishing up an Engineering degree on a full scholarship.

But of all the things I encouraged my children to do, I hope more than anything, I always encouraged a good relationship with God. Putting Him first in their lives and loving Jesus with all their mind, body and soul. A right relationship with God will give you the best foundation in life.

Now my friend I hope you have a good relationship with God. If your relationship with Him is lacking in any way, it's okay, He is very forgiving and loving . He wants you back, close to His side, talk to Him and make your relationship with God the best it can be. Being close to Jesus is the happiest place to be.

(The picture above is my niece Emy showing her niece how to be kind to a baby bunny.)

This is the Day

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24 (NIV)

Imagine being 48, on your way to a college class, but finding yourself day dreaming about jumping on a fast horse and riding on the Florida seashores. I haven't caught myself day dreaming in ions, but I did yesterday. As I drove past a horse farm with horses on both sides of the road I picked out my favorite sable colored horse and ventured off in my mind. Miles from Athens just the horse and I galloping through the waves, beating the next wave with a breeze in our faces and the smell of the surf. :) I was so into that day dream I actually felt refreshed by the time I reached the ATC parking lot. Unfortunately, I was late so my legs ran as quickly as they could to class.

On my way home, that same horse was out by the fence He gave me a look like you might get from a kindred spirit,as if to say, let's do it again. I smiled as I thought, in a New York minute my friend. Sometimes I think it's good to take a little vacation, even if it's just a brief walk in our favorite park, or a conversation with a sweet friend. Escape from all the adversities, if only briefly! What a refreshing relief. Yesterday was certainly one of those days. It ended with one of my favorite friends calling, which was such a nice way to end the day.

God's word is always a wonderful way to begin and or end the day with too. God's truths are wonderful things to ponder before going to sleep. I hope you take time to shut the world's kaois out and spend time reading God's Word, sharing laughs and sorrows with a good friend and just dreaming once in a while, if not every day for just a little bit.

"You are my God and I will give you thanks; you are my God and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 118:28&29 (NIV)

"Give me understanding and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart."

Psalm 119:34 (NIV)

"Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." Psalm 119:37 (NIV)

"My comfort and my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."

Psalm 119:50 (NIV)

Why Did Jesus Die? To clean up Our Sin.

"So the Lord God said to serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the live stock and all the wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust, all the days of your life.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.

He will crush your head and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:14-15 (NIV)

Have you ever wondered why God had to die for our sins? Before Jesus died, believers offered God sacrifices for their sins. The high priest would take the lambs, goats and calves without blemish and sacrifice them and ask God's forgiveness for the believer's sins. If the high priest was unclean, because of his sin the animals died in vain, the high priest died and the sinner's sin was still a problem.

Jesus life and death on that cross completed what God the Father wanted for a sin sacrifice. Jesus was the sinless lamb that would take away the sin of any sinner who simply acknowledged God, accepted His son as the ultimate sacrifice and truly allowed Jesus to be their savior. After his burial he went to hell to crush Satan's head. Yes, Jesus heel was bruised by Satan. But Christ beat death of all the believer's soul that day. Like Jesus your body will one day die. Because he rose from the grave and defeated Satan, you too shall live if you've accepted him as your savior.

I don't have the space to type all of the words in 1 Corinthians 15:35-50, but they are well worth your time to read these verses right now. Just as Jesus Christ was born with an earthly body, he also had a soul living inside that body. ( Jesus was God's son, but he was also God. The deity of God is sometimes hard to understand, but I'll explain it another day.) God made man in His own image; therefore, we also have a human body and a soul. One day in heaven we will also have a heavenly body that our soul will be housed in.

Death is Swallowed up in Victory!

"Listen I tell you the mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- in a flash,in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet . For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe it's self with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (NIV)

"Where, O death, is your Victory?

Where, O death, is your your Sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore my dear brothers stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give your self fully to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 (NIV)

On this Easter Sunday as always I feel like jumping up and singing a song we sang at the Baptist College in Grand Rapids Michigan. "Rise Up O Man of God! Have done with lesser things. Bring forth the Royal Diadem and Crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Christ the Lord is Risen today Hallelujah! This is the best of all the holidays we celebrate. Through the ultimate gift of God's only son we have a direct path to God the Father. I'm enjoying life in Christ with a whole bunch of my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus! Finally, I know that heaven a waits as soon as my soul departs from my dead shell! GOD IS SO GOOD.

God Always Delivers As He Promises

"My God my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" Psalm 22:1 (NIV)

"Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mothers breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mothers womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help."

Psalm 22:9-11(NIV)

"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men have encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my garments among them and casts lots for my clothing." Psalm 22:14-18 (NIV)

"Come let us return to the Lord: He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us that we may live in his presence." Hosea 6:1-2 (NIV)

Anyone who doubts that God will complete what he promises please note the verses you just read. They are quoted from the Old Testament which was written many years before Jesus birth. (Proving the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that God is all knowing.) Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice as our high priest, to bridge the gap to cover our sins. Without Christ's death we would have no Holy Ghost to guide our life. Through Jesus death, burial and resurrection we can say no to our sin nature. Because He rose from the grave, our souls will also rise to live an everlasting life in heaven, if we've accepted Christ as our Savior.

Shouldn't Good Friday be honored more than any other holiday? No one else can save us from our sins, or bring us into everlasting life. Jesus Christ is the only sinless person who has ever lived. As a Christian we have so much to be thankful for regardless of our circumstances, don't you think?

Finish the Race with Grace

As I looked around while I was mowing the yard and trimming the bushes everything seems fuller and bigger this year. The winter was hard, we had so much snow and rain. Honestly, there were times I doubted Spring would ever come, but it did. Very few of my plants died. For the first time my lilac bush and crab apple tree actually have little flowers popping out.

Our lives as Christians are similar to the plants and trees in nature. Some Christians can't handle the pressures of life so they retreat, or even spiritually die during the adversities of life. Trials and hardships like this past winter can seem relentless. Ironically, trials often bring us closer to God and each other. Growth in Christ is sometimes painful, but necessary.

I remember being diagnosed with Chron's. I really never expected to live as long as I have. Twenty surgeries latter, I definitely feel physically weaker now. I'm closer to God, because of my circumstances. God always has my best interest at heart. In short I'm moving toward the mark of completeness for eternity. Only God takes all the negative and turns it into a beautiful ending. :) Like my lilacs, roses and gardenias at the end of my winter all the hardships will turn into a fragrant awesome product for God's glory.

"Be joyful always, pray continually; Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test every good thing. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.May your whole spirit, body and soul be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NIV)

We all go through different trials according to His will. Hang on to Jesus when the winds of change howl. Let Him hold you when you're too weak to go on. Finally, smile as you look back at all His wonderful grace that's carried you through and know He will until you go home.

Real Happiness Lasts a Lifetime

Don't you just love Spring? My mother says it best, "In the Spring God renews and restores everything from the dead cold Winter." It really is amazing, less than a month ago everything seemed so brown and lifeless. Now everything has popped with zillions of colors! I can't hardly stay inside. Does Spring make you antsy to get outside too?







God manages to do something even more wonderful and beautiful inside His people. I remember asking Jesus into my heart when I was eleven years old. By that time there were already so many disappointments, scars and failures that I often wonder which path I would have chose without God in my life. At that time I was a very shy, withdrawn girl. I was desperately looking for affection. I still seek affection, guess I always will. My personality really popped once I had the peace of total acceptance from God.







Because God loved and accepted me I was able to love others even when they didn't seem to love me. Ironically, when you give love it usually comes back. Less than a month after I had accepted Christ as my savior I remember my grade school teacher calling my mother. She told my mom she didn't know what had happened to me, but I had turned into this bubbly little girl. (In fact, she nick named me "Bubbles" after that. Another name I acquired from friends & my church family was "Son shine." Both of those nicknames kinda stuck with me through life.)







I thought about the JOY Jesus gives after one of my college professors mentioned I seemed to "radiate" in life. Honestly there are probably plenty of times Mark could tell you I don't always radiate, sometimes I'm a mean & nasty person, when I let my sin nature erupt. But for the most part I try to keep the Sonny Side Up in life. There's absolutely no way I could without Jesus and the Bible in my life.

As I think about other believers I really smile. God has made a wonderful beautiful world for us to enjoy, but my brothers and sisters in Christ Shine more than the flowers and trees. As He keeps working on us, beyond imagination, He transforms us into awesome masterpieces!

"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created." James 1:16-18 (NIV)







If you're happy and you know it, thank your Lord. He's the only one who can give us true happiness and peace. No one can take it away unless you let them-but don't let anyone steal your Joy.