The Lord's Prayer...

We're Not Heavy; We're God's Children

Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

My drawing says it all, these frustrations and difficulties we all experience in our lives however, require believing in the trustworthiness of The Lord and allows us to stop focusing on just our circumstances which produce these feelings, but to lean on depend on and have faith in God. We have to remember that Satan will keep trying to reinforce those insecure feelings and magnify them in our minds, but we can remember that in the end God completes His promises and in the end it is Him who will win!

Line Art Doodling For Release

Most everyone has doodled at one time or another, it's something that just comes naturally wether we're bored, distracted or making a concentrated effort. Doodling once thought of as just a way to pass the time actually has some positive health benefits.

In one study it has been shown that people who doodle during other activities (meetings, class) remember and retain more than non doodlers, that doodling helps the brain to focus.

Spontaneous doodling can also be a stress reliever forcing the mind to slow down and focus on being creative, and explore random thoughts and feelings that don't surface during busy daily lives.

I love all forms of doodling but especially line doodles. It's simply drawing lines or shapes over and over to create an overall picture, real or abstract. Doodling this way has a meditative effect on me. As I focus on keeping my lines close together and straight I get lost in the smoothness of the pen on paper, the flow of the lines and the quiet time that I allow this to occur. I find that I sometimes will workout a problem, though it's not my original intention. It's an great mood booster, after all we were created to be creative beings.

And he has filled him with the Spirit Of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and sliver and bronze,
Exodus 35:31-32

God's Wisdom Over Ours

It's hard when life's challenges feel like they're overcoming us. It's usually when we are relying on our own knowledge instead of God's that we get confused and lost and veer from the path that God sets us on.

It takes time away from the world in order to be able to focus and listen for instruction on how to live our lives, we have to learn to be dependent ( the opposite from what the world tells us to do) on our father and to trust in His ways even if we do not fully understand the why or what in them.

It begins with getting to know God as our ultimate parent, creator and Lord. We can't learn and grow in someone whom we have no idea who they are or what they are about. God's word provides us a direct link of who he is and how he operates. Its our life How To Manual. When we learn to function by this manual and not a false man made one ( Worldly culture), we can begin deciphering our fallen ways from His ways and begin to bring about transformation.

Traveling God's narrow path isn't an easy road but in the end it's the only road to bring us into God's light.

Our Culture or God's: The Choice Is Ours

Titus 3: 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this preset age.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at our world, it's culture today to witness it's moral decline. People not God are deciding what's good and right and attempting to over run people who refuse to follow their ways.

2 Timothy 3: 1-5 But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the god, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying it's power. Have nothing to do with such people.

In Touch Ministries: The Choices We Make
On a six lane freeway, it is easy to crowd lots of cars onto the road. Entering the highway is pretty easy since ramps feed into the right lane every few miles. Conversely, trying to stay on a narrow sheep path from the pasture to the barn forces you to walk slowly with one foot directly in front of the other.

The sheep path is a picture of the narrow way-God's way-while the wide, six lane thoroughfare illustrates the broad way-that is Satan's road to destruction.

The broad way is as crowded as an expressway at rush hour. The majority of people choose this road because they love what it has to offer: no restraints on anything they want to try. Whatever brings pleasure, power, pr prosperity is welcomed and practiced. God, the Bible and church may be tolerated for a while, but will eventually be supplanted in the heart of the traveler on the broad road. That's to be expected, since everything is embraced here-all philosophies, all belief systems, all the passions of men and women, and all habits promoting the idea of free choice.

As wonderful as all that tolerance and license may sound, however, the broad road is also the way of disappointment. No matter what the world promises, it will not ultimately satisfy, because the broad way is an illusion. The flesh may be appeased temporarily, but the human heart cannot find peace on that road.

Nothing the world thinks up or creates can fill the place in our hearts that God made only for Himself. True fulfillment through The Lord is found only on the narrow path.

So many times I have felt that I don't measure up to the world and it's expectations. It is only because God rescued me and continues to do so again and again that I know that only His expectations are of any real importance. It doesn't matter what others think or their opinions on me or my life and choices I make, because I'm not living to impress other humans. I feel this would be like pigs living in their barn, yet one pig feels compelled to gain acceptance and approval from the other pigs. They are All pigs, so what does it matter, just as we are All humans. This shows how ridiculous the need is to try and live for others. Our lives should be to live for God and not seek to fit into anyone's culture or ideals of living. Whenever I feel that I've fallen off the narrow path as stated above I remind myself of my pig analogy and it snaps me back to reality. I am ever grateful for God and the strength he gives me even when I feel like all of mine has evaporated.

Just Another God Doodle

A little doodle to remind us to stay connected to God...

Fruits of the Spirit pt. 3. Kindness

Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us in our thought and behavior of Kindness brings us into the joy of God. Not joy based on our circumstances. Kindness is learning to extend it to our enemies and those who mistreat us. This is a life long learning process based on letting God lead not our human emotions. Life will continue to challenge us in ways that test our behavior and its how we learn to respond that reflects our growth.

Fruits of the Spirit Series: Faithfulness

This is part two of the Fruits of the Spirit Series. Today I'm talking about Faithfulness. In my last Fruits blog I mistakenly posted Faithfulness as the title when it should have been Gentleness which was the fruit in discussion.

Faithfulness is that believing that God is who he says he is and trusting in what God says, not what your own eyes or the world tell us. When life becomes inconsistent and takes us through the hills and valleys we should remain steadfast in our Faith that
God is or will work things out, maybe not the ways we think it should be taken care of but in His way, because he sees things differently than our human minds do.

Having the fruit of Faithfulness will carry us through life with the confidence of having an insurance policy, one where the only requirements are faith and obedience. Studying on the fruit of faith helps me get through my difficult times because it's a constant reminder of who is really in charge...

Doodles For God

Here sharing my doodles. I love drawing and why not create something's to remind and inspire others to the greatness of God. When live throws me a chew bone, I remember that God is always good and the rough times are just as purposeful as the good times. I remember to lean on Him and to have faith in the bigger picture..

Slowing Down to Move Up

As of late I've been getting the repeated message that I have to stop trying to run ahead of myself. I keep tripping over the same rocks, accumulating the same ' injuries' and wondering why.

Growing where I am planted is a seed that is finally beginning to take root. God speaks to us often through unlearned lessons that must be repeated until we hear...

Learning to stop, wait and listen for Gods guidance is allowing me to see why I continued to repeat my own mistakes. I realize that by filling my life with my 'stuff' that being to do's and have to's and self imposed deadlines I was unknowingly seeking worth and value as a person. As long as I filled my time with stuff that we're all supposed to do then I'm important and adding value to myself.

My fumbles were a part of my process of learning to seek my worth and value through the Lord. I thought I was, but my actions showed me otherwise. All of my busyness left me little space to follow the Lord when he called for me in whatever area needed.

It also believe that some of my actions were an attempt to hide the fact that I felt not qualified enough to do the Lord's bidding, that I would screw it up or misunderstand somehow.
I also realized that there was some selfishness involved, being that it required that I move into an uncomfortable place in my life, or give up some of my time and plans. Service is sacrificial and not going to be convenient for my personal satisfaction.

Slowing down has been humbling, moving, and scary like walking a tight rope without a net. I realize I've always had a net, the Lord... So now, I operate at a new pace, reset priorities, listen and grow. I will push through my feelings of inadequacy and get off the hamster wheel. My worth has always been in and through Him, not worldly achievements and successes. I realize that any service I do in the Lords name is valued by him. That's real success.

A life Well Lived Bible Planner...Terriffic!

I've recently purchased a great bible day planner to help me focus my daily bible study. I don't use the actual, day plan section as it's small and I have a great life day planner already(future blog).

This planner has features that help guide you to daily reading and understanding scriptures, as it instructs you to re write the days scripture in your own words. There's also an area for setting your goals, priorities and tasks for the day as relating to your actions and putting scripture to work. For example, a couple of my priorities and goals include when I'm having negative thoughts about someone or situation to stop and remember Proverbs 4 to guard my heart. Its my goal to know that God looks at the heart. I can't take in garbage and produce good things, it doesn't work that way.

I love how this bible planner gets me to think and remember HOW I think as well as act throughout my day. It's allowing me to be reformed by constantly putting right thoughts and ways of being into action.

There are worksheets in the back that help you to focus on life areas. There are seven, Career/Financial/Spiritual/Physical/intellectual-Creative/Family/Social. You are guided here to identify these areas and set goals for improvement in areas needed.

This planner has changed my spiritual life for the greater and I'm so thankful for God bringing it into my world. To purchase one of these go to
Www.A-LIFE-WELL-LIVED.com. This planner is not only a great addition for you but would make an excellent gift for someone in you life who's struggling spiritually.
This is my own opinion and I'm not being endorsed in any way. I just want to spread the word on this fantastic planner!