Roads to Life

Proverbs 19:16 Keep the commandments and keep your life;despising them leads to death.
Oh Lord, that we might have a teachable, repenting Spirit today as we walk humbly upon this earth!

Say What???

Drip, Drip, Drip.....

Well, Solomon certainly had enough wives to know which ones "dripped"!! May we all be an encouragement to all that we come in contact with today- offering words of life. May we be problem solvers, rather than critical spirits!!

A Deluge of Dew

A lion's roar can be heard up to 5 miles away.  Imagine the ruckus of the King as He roars out his anger and frustration.  I imagine that every breath is caught and every heartbeat flutters, within hte realm of his Kingdom,  at the sound of that roar. We can paint a picture of God that is all love and grace and mercy - and He is just that.  But the other side of Jesus, of God, is one that can not tolerate sin and unrighteousness.  He is judge and vindicator, He is head of the Angel Armies.  Power and might wrapped up in grace and mercy.
I love the image of His favor here, saturating dew, that nourishes, permeates and soaks.  There is never a "deluge of dew".  You never hear a weather report that speaks of "Dew Alerts", or school closings because there was, simply, too much dew to get going.   But, the dew soaks the earth, and permeates everything that it touches. This permeating love and favor is what is available from our King of Kings- our Jesus.
I pray today that we find a "Deluge of dew" to splash in, as we stretch out our adopted hands to the heavens, and sing praises to His name!

A Manifestation of Glory

Today's Proverb reminds me to slow down...to cease and desist from reacting and to pray.... and ponder.... and respond with grace.  Solomon promises that we manifest glory when we overlook anothers transgressions. To  not enter into the debate or the onslaught.  To not respond to the argumentative spirit that seeks to draw us in, but, rather, to think and ponder and pray these things in our hearts.  Ultimately, to pray for those that attack us and to offer forgiveness and blessing is a manifestation of Christ in our life.
c

Exceptional In The Ordinary

 THis morning's devotional summed up our study of the Proverbs, taken from "My Utmost For His Highest":

"But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God--but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people- and this is not learned in five minutes"-Oswald Chambers

This is why I study the Proverbs everyday, one verse at a time---to learn a Holy obedience to the ordinary.

Praying For Those With No Voice

A false witness will not go unpunished and a liar will be destroyed. Proverbs 19:9
 
Praying for those today that the world has turned their back on, the women and children in Syria, in Africa, in South America, in our backyards and in our front yards. I remember today, that God bends down to listen, so we must pray as long as we have breath.

Hearing the Hurting

Today's Proverb is 19:6
"Many seek favor from a ruler; everyone is the friend of a person that gives gifts.

The picture above is me trying to find Dinah, an Old Testament young lady that was only mentioned long enough to tell her story of surmised rape. I don't know why my head meanders where it meanders, but somehow I linked these two together.  So many times woman are not heard and money and gifts speak louder than the truth.  Power and prestige are valued more than a hurting young lady.  A little bit of Dinah's story: She struck out into the land of Canaan one day to seek out other young women of the area.  The prince, Shechem, saw her---seized her ---and raped her. You can check out the full story in Genesis 34.
Dinah, after all these years, was a pawn in a power game. Today my prayer would be that we bend a little lower and we listen just a little stronger----to hear the stories of those that are hurting.   I pray that we can validate their pain and sit next to them for a little while , while the world continues to turn.  To be able to say, "I see you, I hear you, and I am so-so sorry."

Get Out Of Jail Free

^19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.

I think we can all bear witness to this.  At some point we have all told a lie and felt the shame and guilt as it squished us under its weight.  The lie becomes difficult, a task master, something that has to be protected at all costs.  Exhausting and anxious, our days are filled with “keeping it all together”.   Perhaps this is punishment enough, perhaps this is an eternal non-escape. Forget about getting caught in the lie, carrying the lie is enough of a burden.

Don’t we just do that to ourselves though? We can come before the Lamb, enter into the throne room of grace, and inhabit the destiny of royalty.  But the pulls of our earthly flesh are hard to extinguish and we find ourselves living amongst the consequences of our decisions.  Jesus, with His hands held out offers us a life of abundance. A life filled with fruits of the Spirit.

My prayer for us today is that we would change our glasses and the lens from which we look at life.  I pray that we would see earthly things as a distraction and an entrapment, keeping us form our Kingdom purposes.  I pray that each one of us can rise up to who we were created to be and operate as the highest calling on our life.  We got a “Get Out OF Jail Free” card, through Jesus, and I am cashing mine in today!

Join Our Creative Revolution!

⁴ Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend.

This proverb saddens my heart, because we can be like a raven following after the next shiny object, can’t we? We will peck anothers eyes out if we feel we might get a token or shekel.

So, it got me thinking, what is the hope in today’s message?  I think that we need a Savior. Without a Savior, we are not inclined to generosity and compassion.  We are not inclined to helping the lowly and ask or help ourselves.  Without a Savior, I am selfish and conniving- I know because I remember me before I fell in love with my Jesus.

So, today I want to share Salty Sidewalks with you – a ministry that intentionally spereads the Gospel through the Arts----because the world needs a Savior and its our job to make disciples.

So check out Http://www.saltysidewalks.com or join in the revolution on our facebook page. He needs a creative army to love the world through color, want to join in the fun? 

Let It Go.....

³ The foolishness of a man twists his way,
And his heart frets against the Lord.

Today’s Proverb makes my heart sad, because I know each one of us have found ourselves in opposition to the Lord.

Here our foolishness lands us in a situation where we are overthrowing our journey and standing in opposition to the Lord. Through our foolishness we are self- tormentors and we have sided with the enemy of our peace. Fretting is to be visibly worried or anxious. Our Proverb tells us that this is pure foolishness. It overthrows our journey and it topples our apple cart.  We stake ourselves against the goodness and the grace and the sovereignty of our God.

Do you ever feel like you are slipping down the “fretting” rabbit home, lost in the foolishness and not able to come up for air?  Ruminating and losing the battle.  Rumination is “the compulsively focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions. “

Guilty.

 I can get stuck in a frame of mind and keep playing things over and over.  (Enter the “Frozen” track, “Let It Go”.  )

Elsa gets me, look at her song:

“It's funny how some distance,

makes everything seem small,

and the fears that once controlled me,

can't get to me at all.

It's time to see what I can do.

To test the limits and break through.

No right, no wrong, no rules for me!

I'm free!”

I am free!  I serve a good righteous, sovereign God who has set His affections on me. Most of my fretting is about letting people down and them not liking me. ….let it go…….God loves me.

It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small…let it go……..distance from the situation, proximity to God.

The fears that once controlled me …..let it go…..if God is for me who can be against me?

Cant get to me at all….let it go….because my God is peace!

It’s time to see what I can do

To test the limits and break through

No right or wrong no rules for me….let it go…and release into His plans and His love.

I AM FREE.

This has been a public service announcement from God, Lisa and Elsa, reminding us all to place our cares with Him and let Him navigate their course.

Be Blessed and fret free today!!!

Jumping In With Two Feet

² Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.

Matthew Henry sums up our Proverb today so well:

“He that hastes with his feet (that does things inconsiderately and with precipitation, and will not take time to ponder the path of his feet) sins; he cannot but often miss the mark and take many a false step, which those prevent that consider their ways. As good not know as not consider.”

To be without knowledge- is to be without a means to consider ones ways …..before we jump in with both feet.  To consider out thoughts, actions, words and deeds before we launch.

Sometimes a girl can get excited, you know? 

Sometimes a girl can jump head first, into the deep end, before considering the next step.

My husband and I went on an engagement retreat before we were married.  One of the exercises was to tell your betrothed something that you adored about them.   

His response about me? 

My passion. 

Ok, I’m cool with that.  (Images of the passionate artist streaming through my head, romanticized and brilliant in color….)  

The next exercise, what is something that you find difficult about your betrothed? 

His response? 

My passion.

Sigh

Well there goes my romanticized image in a wink of an eye.

Passion causes you to feel deeply, to love extravagantly, to act impulsively, to cry horrifically and to…sometimes, well, every now and again- more times than not- well, often (truth be told) jump in before looking. 

Believe it or not, I have been working on that. I do spend time with the Lord now and seek Him in what I do and what steps I take. I seek His direction and His plans for my life.  I weep as He closes doors, but the artist in me, ricochets with excitement, at new prospects.  I think Jesus must get a giggle as He watches me bounding off to the new adventure He has planned for us, while I am crying about the one I am leaving behind.

I am a work in progress, aren’t we all? Be patient with me and I will be patient with you.  Maybe you don’t like to leap?  Girl, I got your back – gosh, I’ll push you before I stand still for too long!

Let’s pray that today we all sync with the heartbeat of the Lord and we walk inHis perfect timing and in His perfect plans.  We can run ahead, but His steps are steady and always there to fall in next to.  We may lag behind, He will wait. He’s just good that way.

His ways,  His timing, His paths and His diving board. Amen, Amen, and Amen.

Words That Cut

19 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Integrity: (N) The quality of being honest, and having strong moral principles: moral uprightness. 

It is better to have less worldly treasure and more internal fiber. Worldly treasures, baubles and trinkets are lost and forgotten.  I have never been to a funeral where ones possessions were applauded, it is always the integrity and the character that are remembered.

We  are still camping out at guarding our lips, our tongue and our speech.  To lash out at someone is to cut them.  We have no right to cut others and to tear them down with our tongues. Respect and communication are assets that are undervalued.

I pray that today we use our speech to honor each other and lift each other up. I pray that those of us that have been cut today, through the words of another, don’t cut back----but enter into prayer and thanksgiving.  Praying for open communication and thanksgiving for the opportunity to hone our relationships to be more Christ like.

Go make a difference in your world!!!