Tag Archives: love

DAY 33 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Still Knows The Recipe For Manna

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DAY 33 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Still Knows The Recipe For Manna

Recently, while listening to K-LOVE, I heard Annie F. Downs say, “God has not forgotten the recipe for manna.” Those words stuck with me. I have been mulling them over for a few weeks now. I have been thinking about how God caused food to fall from heaven to feed the people He loved, and how He provided exactly what each person needed for that day and only that day, so they wouldn’t be overwhelmed. God was faithful to do this EVERY SINGLE DAY for forty years. For forty years, the children of Israel never had to worry about what they would eat, because the God they served and followed was (and still is) faithful.

Which is why watching them disobey God over and over again is so crazy to me. I judge them hard and say to myself, “I would never.” Yet, as I look at my life, I see how many times a day, a minute, a second I live life as though God has forgotten the recipe to manna. I forget the needs He’s met, the prayers He’s answered, His love and grace over the smallest hiccups. One tiny little thing that doesn’t go my way has me on the floor in tears, wondering where God is and why He’s left me. Oh, me of little faith.

Here’s the truth: I’m the one who’s forgotten. I forget the weapons of our warfare are not flesh, but have divine power. Power that can destroy strongholds. I forget. Not God. God has not forgotten the recipe for manna. He knows what we need for each day, and He gives us divine power, power to destroy arguments and strongholds that try to keep us from His will for our lives. We have a hope that never fails, because our God can’t (and will never) fail or forget.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

God is faithful to provide for us, to meet our needs, and to answer our prayers. But more than that, He has given us the power to break down the strongholds that keep us from what He has for us. So, friends, let’s stop living in our fears and live like we know God hasn’t forgotten the recipe for manna.

So, what am I thankful for today? God still knows the recipe for manna.

Day 345 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Mess and Filth

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Day 345 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Mess and Filth

Feeling like you need to clean yourself up, be less ungodly, or make better choices for God to hear your prayers, love you, or accept you? Well, check this out. King David killed a man and took his wife. Abraham lied and said his wife was his sister and sent her off to another man. Moses killed a man, then ran away. Peter denied Christ, not once, twice, but three times. Paul persecuted and put to death followers of Christ without remorse or guilt. Yet, God calls David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), praises Abraham for his faith in Him (Hebrews 11:17-19), and allows Moses to glimpse His glory (Exodus 33:18-23). He makes Peter the rock upon which His church is built (Matthew 16:18), and Paul the doorway by which Gentiles find Him (Acts 9:15). Killers, liars, and deniers, these are the people God uses. Seems crazy, right? It’s not. You see, in God’s economy, our mess and filth don’t define us. Christ is not afraid of our dirt. In fact, it’s the reason He came.

Mark 2:17 (ESV) “And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'”

Take heart, friends, you can be a mess, the messiest mess to ever mess. But you can NEVER mess up God’s plan for you.

Today, I am thankful for my mess and filth because God isn’t afraid of dirt.

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought…Today I Am Thankful For… STRUGGLES (DAY 388 of 2025)

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Random (hopefully inspired) Thought…Today I Am Thankful For… STRUGGLES (DAY 388 of 2025)

DAY 23 (2015)

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The fences of our past aren't meant to keep us out. No, sometimes they are saying...fight to get in. (Picture by Lisa R)

The fences of our past aren’t meant to keep us out. No, sometimes they are saying…fight to get in.
(Picture by Lisa R)

I have been in training in my new job for close to three months now. The training is pretty intense, but really fun at the same time. One of the many things that we get as a result of the training is constructive criticism. Our trainers will monitor us and tell us what we did good, but they will also tell us what we did that was NOT so good. I am not bad with criticism, but that does not stop that stinging feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you hear you didn’t do something as perfectly as you thought you did. I have been pondering the feedback lately, and I had this thought; as much as I may dislike it, as much as it may make me feel uncomfortable, in the end it really is for my benefit. Then I compared the discipline of my trainers to the discipline that God sometimes gives, and I realize if my sinful, very human trainers discipline and give feedback for my good, how much more does God. God who created me, and loves me so much that He sent His son to die. I realize that when the trial and hard times come it is a form of God drawing the line and teaching me to move in a different direction. Don’t despise the discipline of God. Because if our human parents and leaders do it for our good, then God does it for out GREATNESS.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3″11-12).

So what am I thankful for today? A loving God who disciplines me for GREATNESS.

DAY 9 (2015)

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What words are you using?

What words are you using?

Some days the message is so simple you wonder why more people don’t understand. Then you realize that it’s not because they can’t as much as they don’t want to. God doesn’t make it hard, He doesn’t make finding Him hard. God gives freely, He loves us freely, He saves us freely (although it cost Him so much). Today as I strolled through my day, for some reason I was blown away by the simplicity of our very complex God. Complex in that He is the beginning and end, but simple in that all we have to do is believe and trust and His power is at our disposal. Here is the truth that today has taught, and no nothing amazing happened in my day, gold did not fall from the sky, all my deepest desires have not been meant: But God LOVES me, and that is ENOUGH.

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion never fail” (Lamentation 3:22).

So what am I thankful for today? Unconditional, unending LOVE.

DAY 256 (2014)

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Faith like a child. Trust like a child. Fearlessness of a child. On these are heaven's foundation built. (Picture by Karla S.)

Faith like a child. Trust like a child. Fearlessness of a child. On these are heaven’s foundation built.
(Picture by Karla S.)

Child like faith. It is the foundation of of faith. When the disciples were arguing about about who was the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus places a little child in front of them and says this, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven”. Childlike faith, childlike honesty it is what God desires. Today I fasted about issues in my heart. The need for a good church home and that God would open the doors to my future and lead me and guide me exactly where He wants me to be. Making this move (to New York) was risky, it required that I let go of everything and come to God with empty hands, so He could fill them. During my fasting and prayer time, my mind ran across my friend Karla. In order for you to understand why this interruption happened, let’s take a step back in time. Karla is one of those friends that can just look at you and somehow you feel better (even if there was nothing wrong). She just has that shiny personality and she’s wicked hilarious. I have had many moments of stomach cramps from laughing so hard. Three months into this year she experienced every parent’s nightmare (I won’t elaborate, if you’re a parent or know a parent then you already know). Needless to say her shine lost a little of it’s gleam. But even in the midst of pain, she still showed her best side (my girl’s a fighter). I had asked her to come to church with me many times over our 4 year friendship. She was never rude, but she always declined the invitation. My last day of work, a Friday, she and I left together. I had one week left in Florida, we tried to make plans for Saturday, but I had already made plans for the day. The she said, “What about Sunday?” To which I said, “Sure, but it will have to be after church.” Her reply, “Maybe I’ll come to church with you.” Me, “Yes! And you can’t back out.” She smiled, and we agreed that she’d meet me at church on Sunday. She did and she brought her adorable four year old son with her. That day when the altar call came Karla went up. The day had way more happen then I could put into a post. But when I say God met her right where she needed Him to, it is NOT an exaggeration. It started from the moment her son walked into the 4 year old classroom like he’d been going there for years, to the person who talked to her after church, who just happened to have gone through the same devastation that Karla was currently going through… coincident? I think NOT. GODINCIDENT. Today in my quiet time she flashed across my mind, I wondered how she was doing. I sent her a text. She replied with the above picture. She said, “He’s sitting in the back of his brother’s car on the way home from church… praying” and no one prompted him to do it. Floored! I was floored. Childlike faith. Want to be the greatest? Be childlike. That faith that comes from innocence. That faith that believes just BECAUSE… As I looked at the picture and read the words I said this to God, “If this was the only reason You moved me from Florida, then it is ALL worth it.”

“And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven'” (Matthew 18:2-4).

Lesson: Childlike faith, it is the foundation God wants to build on.

DAY 170 (2014)

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 This basically my mom's reaction... God loves to surprise His children, He's good like that.

This basically my mom’s reaction… God loves to surprise His children, He’s good like that.

My mom’s birthday is on Sunday. As my brother and I decided what to do for her, we came up with a GREAT idea. We’d surprise her with the one thing she wanted most: My brother to come visit. Everyday since he moved to Buffalo at least one time a day she’ll say these words, “I miss Jon.” Yesterday morning I woke up, told my mom I had to help my boss with something, but I’d be back to pick her up and take her out. At which point I headed to airport to get “my boss” (aka. baby brother). I retrieved him from the airport, made a quick Starbucks run (we were both coffee deprived), then headed home. When I got home I left my brother sitting in the car in the driveway. Went inside and asked my mom, to come help me get stuff out of the car. She walked through the garage toward the driveway, she had a quizzical look on her face. Then she noticed him and immediately started screaming for joy. She was so excited (still is), she started laughing, crying, and yelling all at the same time (I did not know that was even possible). Here’s the cool part: she couldn’t stop thanking God. Why is that the cool part?  She knew to whom the praise belonged. She did thank my brother and I for the surprise, but her praise was all toward God. She praised Him for providing my brother with the funds to travel. She thanked Him for my willingness to get up at an insane hour in the morning. She thanked Him for another year of life that she will get to begin with both her children around. There was not a thing that she did not praise Him for. I am blessed beyond measure to have this, godly woman, as my example in life. She has taught me that truly “EVERY good and perfect gift is from God.”

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

So what’s the plan? Know to whom the praise belongs.

DAY 146 (2014)

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By faith the seed dies, so the flower can bloom. Each new bud is the realization of the seed of faith. (Picture by Lisa R.)

By faith the seed dies, so the flower can bloom. Each new bud is the realization of the seed of faith.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

I am realizing everyday how fragile life is. How in an instant what was, can be no more. Today I was reminded that life is NOT forever. We tend to forget that as we go through our days, busy and focused on just ourselves. Thinking only of our wants and our needs. Many times the people we say we love take a back seat to our selfish ambitions and desires. Today just a reminder: Don’t take your love ones for granted, don’t put your needs first, falsely believing that you can make up for lost time later, because later will never come. Instead cherish the gifts that you have been given in family, friends, and relationships, now. Water them and let them grow. Laugh with them, cry with them, and grow with them. Build memories so that when they are gone, you will have no regrets. Life is but a moment and if you blink you’ll miss it. Enjoy your life, follow your dreams, but keep those you love always before you and forever at your side. A dream is useless if there is no one there to enjoy it with you.

Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that'” (James 4:14).

So what’s my plan? Cherish those around me.

 

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Leviticus 7. “These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering, which the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord” (Verses 37-38). God has provided a way for every sin to be covered. If at any time we feel like we can’t come before God, know that He has created a means for which we can come before Him boldly. This has been a theme that I have been noticing throughout the book of Leviticus. God has provided a means for the propitiation of our sins, a way for us to have relationship and fellowship with Him. That’s true unconditional LOVE.