The Serenity Prayer

 God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

—Reinhold Niebuhr

Many of us are familiar with this famous prayer, which has become an important component to recovery  in AA, Al Anon, and other 12-step groups.  In discussing the subject of TRUST, I was reminded of the importance of discerning when TRUST is letting go and letting God…………or the opposite~ moving forward in TRUSTING courage with God, becoming a part of the solution.

As the Serenity Prayer says, this requires wisdom.  In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived says, There is a time to speak and a time to be quiet.  We could also add, There is a time to act, and a time to be actionless.  Knowing which is discerned through prayer, because it is through prayer that we become open and receptive to knowing. 

In the book of Proverbs, chapter 3,  Solomon also pens, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.  The first step in trusting is to ask God, being sincerely open to what He wants~letting go of any agendas, completely relinquished willing to trust in the answer He reveals.

Do we trust then pray, or do we pray then trust?  They actually go hand in hand, clasped together~ prayer combined with the response of trust.  It’s always a winning combination because prayer brings  God into our world and trust allows Him to work. Prayer changes things, you can trust that. 

Remember, prayer is just talking to God, pouring out our hearts to the one who truly cares and has the power to intervene.  It’s always the place to start……..and to end.  So with that said, I pray today that you make the choice to prayerfully spend time with Him, the one who cares. Then choose to trust Him, and  as you do, may He grant you the wisdom to know any role you play in His imaginable plan to bless your life.

-The Quilted Poetess

 

 

TRUST

I want you to trust Me in Your times of trouble, so I can rescue you, and you can give Me glory.

Psalms 50:23

TRUST. A simple 5 letter word that has the power to set us free! Free fr Worry, fear, frustration, greed, anger, condemnation…..all kinds of negative emotional arsenal.  Daily, our lives are continually barraged with circumstances, surprises, and what ifs, that try to invade and to bomb our joy, peace and hope. Choosing to TRUST~ is one fool-proof missile, which will completely annihilate their vicious attacks. 

Jesus says, in the world we will have trails. Everyone has them, but the great news it that these very trial actually give us the opportunity to build  the muscles that TRUST missiles are made of.  As we exercise them, we become more adept at maneuvering  around small arsenal bombs, and stronger at lifting  the weight of the larger, more dangerous ones from blowing up within us. When we do, peace like a river explodes once more, releasing God’s radiant Presence into our souls and a lightness return, as joy begins to arise once more through the sparks of  hope.

Hope in Him. Hope in His promises. Hope in His goodness.  Hope in a rescue. Hope in His provision and protection. Hope in His grace in the midst of the battle.  Hope in the promise of eternity. The gentle reminder that the price has been paid once and for all~ and we are no longer guilty, but free, for all eternity! TRUST is the missile of freedom for both our soul and spirit in this world and the next.

TRUST in believing that all God says is true. Our inheritance is such a tremendous gift from God, becoming available the minute we surrender our lives to Him. But with this said, TRUST is not only the missile that destroys the bad, but the key that ushers in the good and actually opens the lock box activating our inheritance.  Won’t you choose to TRUST in the Lord with me today, with all your heart~instead of leaning on your own understanding? A simple 5 letter word more powerful than all the enemies vices. Choose to TRUST, and I TRUST that you won’t be disappointed.

-The Quilted Poetess

Just Because

Yesterday, while driving across town I heard on the radio that, God’s loved us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. Immediately I felt a release of pressure. Pressure to perform, to justify, to hide unlovely parts, to………..you fill in the blank.  That one simple, but profound statement powerfully released within me immense freedom, hope and joy from Holy Spirit.

God IS Love.  We read that in the  Bible, and in our minds know it to be true, but the real question is, Has its life- transforming truth made its journey into our heart?  Virtue was once more released that morning as those precious words were uttered through my ear gates, to my mind, and yes, it did make it down into my heart.

But with that said, the next question I ask myself is, Has it actually rooted and grounded itself there?  My initial answer would be Yes, until I dig alittle deeper and find that I am still plagued more times than I’d like to admit with worldly earthworms~that stay awake day and night~ rooting themselves by making every attempt to eat away those roots.

God IS love, and as Max Lucado says, Nails didn’t hold God to a cross, love did. Love did!  God did and does what He does daily, which is love us unconditionally, NOT because we deserve it, NOT because we earn it, BUT just because…….just because HE does.  He did, does, and He always will. When I made my wedding vows, I promised to love my husband until death do us part, but God on the other hand, not only loves us, just because, will love us, just because, forever.  Now that is a LONG time. 

I am not sure we will ever truly have the capacity to understand, just because, but that’s O.K. We don’t need to understand everything. Being rooted and grounded in love does not occur because we understand it, it occurs, just because. Our only part of just because, is to believe it, just because God says it.  I challenge you to do that today. If you are asking why~ my only answer to you would is,  just because.

–The Quilted Poetess

 

 

Rooted and Grounded in Love

My husband and I have moved numerous times in the past 14 years, both to new homes and new areas.   This was quite a change of lifestyle for both of us who were born and raised in the same house and town for almost 20 yrs. Once relocating to beauty-filled Lake Tahoe, we settled down once more for the next 24 yrs. raising our family and again occupying only 2 homes for the next 20 yrs. 

Since that time, we’ve been on the move.  On the move both physically and spiritually.  For 2 people who had spent the first 40 plus years, stably planted in only 2 locations and 3 permanent homes, this was quite a transition- or should I say a transplant. Yes, I know I have felt literally transplanted, over and over and over again this past 14 years.  Moving from Tahoe to Redding to Montana, than back to Redding, while occupying 7 homes has been quite a whirlwind of experience, not to mention the transitioning from church home to church home. But NOW, I am happy to report we are settlers once more.   We’ve been in our present home going on our 3rd year. 

Settling avails the opportunity to once more become grounded.  Routines and schedules can be established, becoming a stabilizing force, making it so much easier to focus, relax and feel secure.  Spiritually speaking this also occurs when we become as Ephesians 3  says, rooted and grounded in love. Knowing and experiencing God’s love~ that surpasses understanding- is unconditional, is always available 24/7, roots us in th soil of His kingdom. When rooted, we can grow strong and stable and thus flourishing and bearing fruit.

Until such time we can be liken to houses built on sand; lacking stability, being tossed to and fro with every wind, trial, challenge, and new way of thinking that blows.  God is always willing and working in us to ground us, but we also, must become active recipients of this rooting process, or it will not occur. Spending quality getting to know God through His Word, worship, and listening for His life giving, loving Presence is a sure proof way to do just that.

The rest is supernatural.  He infiltrates our hearts and minds to not only begin to good work of the rooting process, but is faithful to complete it, as it says in Philippians 1:6.   It truly is a lifelong process~ and not one for the faint in heart. But again, if you find you are faint it heart, take heart~ He will strengthen you and give you His amazing grace. He has an answer for everything; it might not always be the answer you are looking for, but it will bring comfort, encouragement, healing and hope, no matter the circumstance~   You see, His sweet Presence is the answer, because He is the true lover of your soul and the one and only that eternally can satisfy. 

When in need for grounding, ask, seek and knock today and keep on  knocking………..and He will answer, and when He does your life will never be the same.

-The Quilted Poetess

Oh What a Night!

A few evenings ago, I went on a moonlight kayak tour at Whiskeytown Lake.  Although I’ve been out kayaking a few other times this year, I’d never been on the lake during the later evening hours. We headed out just before dusk, and the moon was already vivid in the cloudless sky above. As the evening progressed, and the sky became darker and darker, everything stilled and settled down around. As it did, all our senses become more and more alive to both the silhouettes of both trees and mountains, as well as the smells and the sounds of nature surrounding us.  The moonlight was glistening and sparkling so beautifully upon the waters. To the touch it was bath water warm.  Oh what a night!

As constellations began to unfold in the starlit night, we would occasionally stop and point them out to one another.  Meteor showers were also a highlight of thrill emerging by surprise on occasion. Pondering the never-ending galaxies caught the attention of our thoughts, reminding us of just how BIG God really is!

In the midst of all this evening beauty, my favorite part was the moonlit water, leaving a rippling white trail for our kayaks to follow.  In the quietness of the night, our eyes were fixed on this trail in all its beauty, which led us back to where we’d begun……………the way home.  No directions needed to be given, as this moonlit trail spoke volumes through its magnificent grandeur.  Oh what a night!

I am so thankful to live in such a beauty-filled area, able to celebrate God’s creation firsthand.  Thank you LORD!  Thank you that You created the night to be as beautiful as the day. Thank you everything in creation speaks to our senses to bless and enrich our lives.  Thank you that you love us so much, that you created our surroundings and abode so amazingly gorgeous for us to both behold and be one with. I was STILL and I knew that You were GOD…..oh what a night!

The  creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite and most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells us of God.  John Calvin

-The Quilted Poetess

Taste and See

I just returned from the most wonderful lunch date with an old friend.  She emailed me many weeks ago, offering an invitation to dine with her, but it took a process and numerous emails to alas, configure our schedules to a day and time that was perfect for both of us.  But perfect it was, even the name of the quaint cafe she took me to; Gold’s Cafe.

Gold’s Cafe is a small place located on a back street in downtown Redding.  It is that kind of place my husband is always looking for when we are on the road.  You know those kinds of restaurants found off the beaten path~ where all the local go, but often times those traveling through don’t even know exist.

Well, Gold’s Cafe is just that kind of place. Offering great food and great comfort, which often times leads to great conversation!  And great conversation it was. Neither of us could stop talking from the moment we arrived.  We covered all kinds of topics, including quick snapshots of  past, present and future……………..all in less than 2 hrs.  Something only 2 women could do.

Making and creating time in our schedules for such opportunities can offer fresh oxygen to our emotional lungs.  Nothing feels better than being in the company of someone who truly loves us and is interested in EVERYTHING we have to say.

Our relationship with God is to be much the same, but sometimes, I think because we cannot see Him physically, nor actually hear Him, it can seem different. But the truth is, it isn’t. He might not have flesh on Him, but He has an even more unbelievable scope of love, interest and enjoyment in us~ and everything about us. And when we do take the time to feast with Him, chit chatting and discussing what may…………………..we also leave very satisfied, refreshed and reignited.

Why not make and take some time today to catch a bite with Him?  Taste and see that the LORD is good! 

-The Quilted Poetess

Morning Splendor

Yesterday, I hosted our women’s weekly luncheon at my home.  Throughout the summer we are sharing our personal stories and testimonies with one another, creating both an opportunity for us to get to know one another better, while glorifying the Lord.

I began my story by sharing Psalm 34:1-4, I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt His name together. I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

You see, God has been so good to me!  My life was not always so blessed, but in His faithfulness, He led me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock (Jesus), and not only delivered me from all my fears, but poured out immeasurably His unfailing love, mercy and favor upon my broken heart.

At a writing conference a few years ago, the speaker asked us to try to sum up our life legacy in 6-8 words.  Immediately these six profound words came flowing from  my spirit: Was lost, now found and loved.  And that really says it all!

As a child I was lost, as a young adult the Spirit found me, and as a middle-aged adult, I truly began to experience His all-encompassing, undeserved, amazing LOVE! To know He loves me and created me for Himself has transformed my life. As I have gotten older, I have began to grow in His love, bearing the fruit of Kingdom living. 

Yesterday, while looking back and sharing the process, I once more realized just how thankful I was for all the incredible times He has intervened and blessed my life.  He had delivered, healed, restored, renewed and inspired me over and over and over!

But with all that said, I also realized I was a willing and proactive recipient.  As Henry Blackabee says, I chose to join God in His work. He wills and works according to His purpose, but because of our free will, we can daily chose whether to join Him or not.

In closing, I encourage you in two things: First of all to spend some quality quiet time reflecting and looking back upon your life for the many blessings the Lord has bestowed on you.  And secondly, to recommit your life to follow hard after Him. As Proverbs 4:18 says, But the good man walks along in the ever-brightening light of God’s favor; the dawn gives way to morning splendor. 

May the Presence of the Lord be a light unto your path, creating morning splendor in all your do!

-The Quilted Poetess

Gratefulness for His Faithfulness

There is so much to be grateful for!  Just as with contentment, gratefulness is our choice. What we choose to focus on will either produce a heart filled with gratitude or one filled with…………………(you fill in the blank).

While counting your blessings is one way to become refilled with gratefulness, today I’d like to discuss another.  In the Living Translation, Psalm 91:4b says,  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  God’s Word to us is just that HIS WORD.  This means it is true and we can depend and trust it. We can stand on it and when we do it becomes an armor of defense and protection.

Protection from what?  From such things as doubt, fear, hopelessness, frustration, and any other negative emotion that can lead to discouragement.  Promises are just that: PROMISES.  When He says it, we can both believe it, accepting it as true, no matter what we are experiencing and seeing, because He is always faithful!

But with that said, timing is also everything.  God can give us a promise, and because it is not time for its fulfillment, we might have to wait to see its fruition. We live in a world where time does control the outcome of events, and sometimes it seems like it is taking forever to experience the fulfillment of what we know if our spirits, the Spirit Whisperer has whispered to our hearts. 

That is when faith in what we cannot see becomes all important, and recalling those timeless things in His Word that are always true, like the fact that He will never leave us of forsake us, and that He loves us with an everlasting love, (not based on our behavior or moods).

God also says that morning by morning new mercies we receive. New mercies are always available no matter the circumstance. Sometimes I have to look real close and pay attention to find them, but if I do, they always reveal themselves. I am so grateful for His unlimited faithfulness to me!

Why not spend some time today in His Word and record some of the many great and precious promises of His faithfulness?  When you do, I am confident that gratefulness with begin to well up and overflow in your heart, cascading it with peace, hope and nuances of every color of the rainbow of His love.

-The Quilted Poetess