POST

It has been a while since I posted... not really a word a day when I don't post everyday is it.... please forgive me... I may or may not ... post again... I am working through some things... please pray for me... thanks

SEEK

The Drawing:

The seek list is at the bottom.

The Quote:

"Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest with either be supplied or its loss will not be felt." ~Francis Bacon

Seek.... God tells to seek Him. "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!" I Chronicles 16:11 This verse is repeated in Psalms. We should diligently seek God every minute of everyday, do we? I don't, just being honest. I get in the way! I start seeking other less important  things to make my life "better". God is all I really need, yet I want more. So what things can I do to help me seek God more, and things less? I say it all the time, pray more, read my bible more, help others, realize that what I do have GOD has given me, and on and on....

Lord, help me to seek you in all that I do, whether I working or playing, studying your word or praying to you, wake or asleep. Lord, be the reason I do everything I do. Thank you Lord for being my God!

The List:
apple   bird   book   camera   celery   cup of coffee
cupcake   egg   guitar  high heel   ice cream   key
kite   leaf   letter   lollipop   mask   money   pencil
ring   ruler   sheriff star   smiling sun   soccer ball
spaghetti   stamp   tennis shoe
tooth brush   t-shirt   valentine   yellow flower

PRAYER

The Drawing and the Quote!

I made a digital drawing today, not really a drawing, but it is a graphic. This prayer comes from the youth Sunday school material that I use to teach the youth. They have many prayers like this through the lessons, but this one stood out for me, and I hope my students will use it also.

So what is this prayer saying? What makes it so special? Mostly this prayer is about the person praying, being willing to pray this prayer and do these things!

First, it praises God for being good, perfect, the giver of life and true. Just as the Lord's Prayer (the model prayer Jesus gave us) does, we should always praise God for who He is.

Next the person praying the prayer is asking for help to know God better. We can know God better through our quite times, through reading God's word, and through listening to our pastors in church. And God can help us know Him better through other means also. He can send people our way, speak to us through the Holy Spirit, or even through trials and troubles we face. God is every where and can use anything to make Himself known to us. We have to be willing for Him to do it.

Next, the person praying is proclaiming a desire to walk in God's way, to live by God's standards (rules). They acknowledge that it is hard to do this on our own and that the good news is that they don't have too. God is right there with them and will help them.

Then they seek transformation, so that they can live by God's rules.

They pronounce they are ready to make decisions based on God's truth (the bible) and stand up for what is right even when the world around them is falling to pieces and going the other direction. They declare they can NOT do it on their own. They seek to be transformed by God. They seek Him to help them.

Romans 12: 1-2 says; "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God that you present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  

I think that the person who wrote this prayer had these verses in their minds and I believe that if we seek God first in all we do that he will give us the desires of our hearts. It is my desire to live this life for God, I am willing to pray this prayer everyday! I hope that my students and many of you will join me.

MOTHER

Yesterday was a wonderful day as I remembered the life that God gave me to nurture and guide in my child. Today, I remember my mother, who 24 years ago passed away at too young of an age. She was 51 and my daughter had just turned 1 the day before.

My mother was not always someone I looked to for guidance or comfort; as it is sometimes with daughters and mothers relationships can be strained. Don't take that the wrong way, I loved my mother and I longed for a close relationship with her. There were a lot of obstacles to that relationship flourishing. Much of that was my fault. So now she is gone and I miss her.

My mother and I were on different wave lengths regarding spiritual matters. I believe that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again to sit at the right hand of the Father.  My mother believed that also. I believe that salvation is eternal, that everlasting means everlasting, once you believe what is mentioned above and ask Jesus to remove all your sins and be Lord of your life you are going to heaven and nothing can take that away from you, NOTHING! If it can be taken away then John 3:16 and the rest of the bible is a lie! My mother did not believe that salvation is eternal, she believed that every time you sinned you lost your right to go to heaven. I tried many times to talk to my mother about this, and it always ended up with me hurt and her upset. She always said right before I die I will pray for salvation, not before.

Now, I am not saying I am her judge for I can NOT KNOW her heart.... My mother went into the hospital for some test, within a day or two was in a coma, and soon after passed away. Do I believe she was able to ask God for the salvation she wanted, I don't know, I truly hope so. I hope that when I get to heaven I will see her and we will have the relationship then that we should have had here on earth.

I said all of this in this blog for a few reasons: 1) I am missing my mother today. 2) If there is one of you my friends and readers that has not talked to Jesus and told Him you believe everything He did, and asked Him to clean you of your sins, securing your place in heaven, please do so today! 3) to let every one I know and those I don't know that Salvation is eternal, no one can ever take that way from you and you can do nothing to get it on your own, Jesus is the only way. and 4) That earthly relationships between parents and children, friends and loved ones matter here on this earth, you never know what you have until it is taken away, Cherish every moment.

Lord, thank you for the time I had with my mother even though we did not make the most of it. I pray that her story will help others to realize how much relationships here and with you are important, That once they are in your hand NO ONE can take them out! Thank you for the salvation you have given me. I love you Lord and I love my Mom!

The Quote:

"I love you Mom!" ~Me

The Drawing: I have one picture that I love of my Mother. I use it quite a lot when I post things about her. So today will be no different...  My Mother and My Daughter a few days after Caryn was born.

CARYN

It has been a quarter of a century a wonderful journey with many mountains, hills, valleys, and wide open spaces. On this day 25 years ago at about 6 am my beautiful daughter was born. I was not expecting to have such a joy in my life. Yet God gave me this wonderful gift and I have cherished her from day one.  Since the day I knew I was going to have a baby the child was in my heart, my mind, and was my life. I wanted a boy, I decided not to find out what I was having before she was born. The doctor told me the very first day I saw him, sounds like a girl's heart beat if I ever heard one. He was right and I am glad.

Our life together has never been easy. I should have known that my beautiful daughter would be head strong and independent from the very first day she came into this world; 31 hours of intense labor should have been the warning. It has she and I since that time. Don't get me wrong there have been people in our lives that have helped us along and some that had good
intentions; for the most part it was just us. That may have been more of a burden to her, because her most faithful playmate, confidant, and friend was her mother. She was more of an adult than a child growing up, always polite and respectful to others, and she demanded the same. Many people think that we are "joined at the hip" that is not exactly true. She is and always has been very independent. That independence is one of the things I like the most about her, even when it can also be a downfall.

So, today I have some words I want to say to her, and I say them here because may be someone else may need them also.

Caryn, you know that the golden rule has always been important to me; I taught it to you from birth, never forget to put others head of yourself and you will come out ahead in the long run. Be yourself, God made you the way you are for a purpose, I believe He has you in His loving care, always has had and always will. Whatever you seek to do do all to honor that God and purpose He has for you. You are his, He loaned you to me, I have tried to teach you all you need to know to make it in this world, remember.  Remember I have loved you from the day you were given to me; through the 31 hours of labor, all the bad times and the good ones, all the happiness and sadness. I loved you every time I kissed you good night and everyday when I pray for you, I will love you with all I have till the day I take my last breath and when that day comes I will love you and be waiting for you in Heaven.

Lord, please bless my daughter in all that she does, Help her to be the person you want her to be, You made her independent, beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful guide her in using all you have given her. Thank you for letting her be part of my life for these 25 years and for many, many more to come, Lord!

The Quote:

"Happy Birthday, I love you more than these words can say!" ~ Me

The Drawing:

GOLD

When I decided on this word a verse popped into my head so that will be the basis of this blog....

"And Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Acts 3:6

Peter and John had been in the temple for prayers. A man who was crippled all his life was in the temple asking for offerings. He saw Peter and John and asked them for some money. Peter told him to look upon them. In my mind Peter is saying look at us, I believe if it had been today Peter would have pulled his pockets inside out and then said the verse above. Peter gave the man all he could give him, and it really it wasn't him doing the giving, it was Jesus.

Silver and Gold I do not have either. Such as I have a will give anyone. Now, I am not saying I can heal someone, far from it, my faith is not big enough.... If it were believe me people would be being healed left and right. I can pray for people, I can share the material things I do have. I can listen. All I have is what Jesus has given me and He gave all He had, why should I do any less.

There is one thing I long for everyone in the world to have; I wish everyone had eternal life. Jesus is the only one that can give that to you. All I can do is tell you Jesus Loves you, He died for You! He would love for you to know Him as I know Him. God is my Father, Jesus is my Savior, I may not have silver and gold to share, I know who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and you can too.

Lord, help me to share your love with those around me. Forgive me for not being faithful enough to do as Peter did. Help to share what I can. Forgive me when my actions are not what they should be, help me to be your workmanship.

The Quote:

"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver." ~Mahatma Gandhi

The Drawing:

BUSY

The Quote:

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" ~Henry David Thoreau 

I have been busy... now the question in my mind is was what I was busy at more important than writing this blog. In some ways yes and some no. Part of the time I could not think of a word to write about. I was working some also. Yesterday, I spent the day at a Youth Summit, that was fun and work, I drew most of today's drawing there and finished it today. By the time I arrived home I was tired and only wanted to unwind, blogging was not on my mind.

Now, here is the other question I have... in all that busyness was I doing anything that was pleasing to my Lord?  I wonder how much of that time spent being busy was helping further the work of God. I do not believe that God doesn't expect us to have down time; He even rested a day. We would be of no use to Him if we worked and stressed ourselves out. Yet, how much of the past few days have I really put an effort into being busy for God! I am ashamed to say not as much as I think I should have. This blog is part of my ministry for God and an outlet for me. I have neglected a big portion of this since I have been back to work. I keep saying I am going to do better... and I don't. I need to continue to do the work I told myself I would do...

Lord, help me to use my time wisely. Help me to remember that in my busyness I need to remember to be busy for you. Help me to do whatever I am doing to the honor and glory of you!

The Drawing:

MAČKA

Mačka is Croatian for cat. Today, I have been fussing over what word to use again. And I finally chose this one for a number of reasons. First, my cat wanted in my lap earlier and I took her picture....

Then I posted it on Facebook, where a number of people told me I needed to pick her up... because I had said I wasn't. I hold her when I am not in the middle of other things. After that a friend of mine from Croatia saw that picture and all of the other pictures in that album and started like them all, it was very comical to me. I had wanted to ask some one what they said to call a cat in Croatia. I know most cats ignore people but... You know we would say to the cat, "here kitty, kitty, kitty..."  So I asked my friend. I already knew the word for cat was Mačka... she said they say "Mačka, Mačka, Mačka..." (Pronounced mach ka) I am so glad that while I was in Croatia I didn't try getting a cats attention... I would have looked really silly saying, "here kitty, kitty, kitty..." To the people and especially the cat :)

The Quote:

"MEOW" ~ I-10 my cat

The Drawing:

COMMAND

The Quote:

"My son, keep your father's commands, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually on your heart; tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you; when you sleep they will keep you; and when you awake they will speak with you. For a commandment is a lamp, and a law is a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,  ~Proverbs 6:20-23

Today, as I was reading my Bible, I saw these verses, I loved what was being said, mostly because as a parent I wonder how much I taught my child will stick. The Bible says, "to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is OLD he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) This leads me to believe that no matter how much we want our children not to stray from the correct path, the path we taught them, they will, it is human nature. Just like children of God wander far from him at times.

As parents we are to have commands and rules. We don't have to have a lot of them, Jesus only had two, on those two all the others had their foundation. We have rules or boundaries because we love our children. The our children have two things to do. First, to bind them on their heart, make them stick to their life, memorize them. The second thing they have to do is tie them around their necks. Maybe Solomon's children had a necklace of sorts that they wore that reminded them who they were and how they should act. I think that is a great idea, a reminder to our children of who they are and how they should act, it doesn't have to be a necklace, it could be a card in their lunch that says I love you, or a hug in the morning before they leave for school.

Solomon goes on to say that commands and laws will do some things for us. First they will lead us on our paths when we roam, Strong's concordance says this word means to travel,to walk, depart, wander. The Websters dictionary says to to wander without direction, but then it also says to travel purposely... I believe this can mean in either case the commands will guide us, whether we are far from where we should be or on the correct path. Solomon goes on to say that when we sleep they will keep us. We teach our children to pray, "Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep...." Having the commands and laws in our heart and around our necks will keep us. Solomon then says that when we awake, could this mean come to our senses?  The commands will speak with us, they will remind us who we are and were we should be.

The commandments are lamps that light the way, the law is a light that shines in the darkness, and reproof through instruction is the way of life. Without a lamp to light the way, a light to shine where evil can hide and instruction for life we can not progress. This is true for our children and for the child of God.

Lord, Help me to live the commands and laws you have set forth for us all, to Love you with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as I love myself. I thank you that if I live these then everything else will fall into place and if I do stray I have them to lead me back. To keep me when I sleep, and to speak with me when I come to my senses. Thank-you God!

The Drawing:

NADA

Ok.... here in America we say this to mean, nothing... as in "I have nada to talk about today." I really did have nothing to say then I thought... Hey a friend Croatia is named Nada, there her name means HOPE, so why don't I write about her instead of nothing because she is definitely something :)  She can work on reading English in the process :)

Nada was in the level 2 class in Karlovac. She is an accomplish artist, you can see her some of her work on her Angel Art Page. She is a very sweet and kind person. She seems to truly care for people, she also loves nature. She loves God and life, she has a joyful disposition and tries to inspire HOPE in those she meets.  I am so glad that I was able to get to know her.

Nada, thank-you for coming to the English course. You are a wonderful person! I hope I get to see you and ALL of my friends in Croatia again soon.

Lord, please bless Nada in all she undertakes and continue to make yourself known in her life. Thank-you for allowing me the pleasure of getting to know her. Lord, bless all of my friends in Croatia and here at home. Let your love pour out on all of them.

The Quote:

"Where there is life, there is hope." ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

The Drawing:

STRUGGLE

Leaving this here because it is part of the blog..... I have a lot to say today about this word and I will get to it as soon as I get back from all I have to do this evening... I was looking for quotes earlier and then I went to Facebook and POW... Billy Graham had a status about Life struggles... so his status is my quote... I promise to get back to this later this evening....

So we all struggle daily with various issues. Some may be small, some could be large. We have decisions to make and fences to mend. Life is a struggle as Billy Graham and countless others have said. We need to remember that while we struggle there is an unseen battle raging, our struggles could help us in that unseen battle.

It does not matter if you are a Christian or not, the battle still rages on for your life. The rulers of darkness either have control of your life or they want control back. God either has control of your life or is fighting desperately to keep it. How we deal with the struggles that come our way may determine who wins the battle. As a Christian, God and his spiritual army fight to keep me from the forces of Satan. Satan tries everyday to tempt me and cause me to turn from my Father. The battle rages on in the spiritual realm, and even though I do not see it, I feel the effects. I know that when I am moving away from God, Satan and his forces are winning that battle. When I give in to fear, loneliness, depression, and many others, Satan has the upper hand. The times when I am praying, reading my bible, singing praises, being joyful, and loving to be near my God, He has the battle won.

It is not always easy to be close to God for whatever reason, and if you aren't a Christian then God has to work twice as hard to win the battle for your soul. I am glad of this one thing.... I know there are spiritual battles raging around me at all times, and I will have to struggle in this life because of them... but God has already won the WAR! In the end God will be Victorious and my struggles will be over! I am so glad of that fact!

Thank-you Lord for fighting the spiritual battles for me, and for having already won the War. Help me to be mindful of the darts and arrows that come through from that battle aimed at causing me to stumble, and fall away from you. Guide me through each struggle I face and help me be all you want me to be.

The Quote:

"All life is a struggle. That is the nature of things. A battle is raging in the Spiritual Realm. 'We fight," the Bible says, 'against the rulers of the darkness of this world." ~Billy Graham

The Drawing:

LOVE

The Quote:

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is Love." 1 John 4:7-9

The Drawing:

I have been a little distracted lately and have either vented my feelings or not written at all in this blog. I am human, because I am I do have feelings, emotions that get in the way of the important things. Not that this blog is important other than to let me have a say even when no one may be listening... Sorry I have missed a day anyway :)

Last night a young man spoke at our church. He was our pastor's son, and he is a very good speaker as his father is. He spoke of Jesus' compassion for people. In Matthew 9:36, Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes of people who were there with Him. As the speaker pointed out they had all been healed already and they were not hungry. What was left for Jesus to feel so much compassion for, he took care of all their needs right? He had met their physical needs because that was what they wanted, they were still a people longing for a guide, they had not seen Jesus in that way yet and He was moved with compassion. They still needed His love, they needed people just like them to show them His love.

John was one of the disciples that was there that day when Jesus had such great compassion for the people. I have no idea if John totally understood at that time the magnitude of Jesus' love, at some point he did because he wrote about it in his letters. He understood that if Jesus loved us enough to die for us that we should be filled with that love and let it pour out to others. Compassion for others is the Love of God. God is Love and without Love we are lost and good for nothing. I believe that where love abounds, love grows and spreads.

Sometimes it is hard to show love to others for any number of reasons. There are times when I just don't feel like letting the children hug me at school, or smiling. It isn't that the compassion isn't there, it is always, it is that I am being selfish and depressed. Sometimes, I succeed at forcing myself to let the kids hug me or smile; then I realize that made my day a little brighter. At times I don't succeed and my day stays dreary. I need to try and let Love abound everyday.

Lord, give me the strength to use the compassion I have to Love those around me in the way that you would have me too. Without Love we are nothing, for you are Love. Thank you Lord for Loving me!