I have read this several times before (and you may have, too), but it never fails to bless me.  Hope it blesses you as well.

The Geese

There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation of Christ or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God.

He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her faith and mocked her observance of Christmas. "It's all nonsense - why would God lower himself and become a human like us?! It's such a ridiculous story!" he said.

One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home.  After they had left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm.  He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. And another thump. He looked outside but couldn't see anything.  So he ventured outside to see. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but had been caught in the snow storm.

The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles.

He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, "The barn would be a great place for them to stay! It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm."

So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But they didn't notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.  He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn.  They still didn't catch on. 

Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety and shelter.

Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me?  Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?  How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?"   He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them!  They would trust me.  They would listen to me and understand my words and my actions.  Then I could save them!  They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had just said. The words reverberated in his mind: "If only I could become like one of them - then I could save them."  At that very moment, he heard the bells from the church that his wife and children were attending play the carol, "Silent Night". 

And then, at last, he understood.  He understood why God left heaven and became a man.  He finally understood the heart of God and his love for mankind.  He fell on his knees in the snow and worshipped Him.


"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  We beheld His Glory, the Glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of Grace and Truth!" (John 1:14)

No Worries!

I was just thinking this morning ... and maybe doing some worrying when these scriptures came to me.  Yes, times are rough right now - for all of us.  But there's no sense in worrying!  We know our Father God is in control!  Besides ... worrying only gives credit to the enemy - it says we don't trust our Father to do what He says He can and will do!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday ... and remember, No Worries!

Matthew 6:25-34 (NLT)
25“This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? 26Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? 27Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? 28“And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. 30It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have! 31“So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ 32(These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. 34So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

I AM

When the enemy comes to us with discouraging thoughts and encourages us to just give up, it is so important that we renew our mind and speak the Word of God out loud so the enemy can hear it.  The enemy has tried to discourage me many times and let me tell you, that when I stand firm and speak the Scriptures, those thoughts flee from me faster than when they entered my mind.  Be encouraged and when in doubt, speak the Word out loud and see the deliverance of the Lord. Believe me, it works!

I received this a while back and have always loved to read it whenever troubles came my way.  I encourage you to print off a copy or keep it handy in your email box so you can get quick access when you need to fight off the enemy and his wicked thoughts.


I AM...
 1.  A Child of God (Romans 8:16)
 2.  Forgiven (Colossians 1:13-14)
 3.  Saved by Grace through Faith (Ephesians 2:8)
 4.  Justified (Romans 5:1)
 5.  Sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11)
 6.  A New Creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)
 7.  A Partaker of His Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4)
 8.  Redeemed from the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)
 9.  Redeemed from the Hand of the Enemy (Psalms 107:2)
10. Delivered from the Powers of Darkness (Colossians 1:13)
11. Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
12. A Child of God (Romans 8:14)
13. Getting All My Needs Met by Jesus (Philippians 4:19)
14. Casting All My Cares Upon Jesus (1 Peter 5:7)
15. Strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10)
16. Doing All Thing through Christ (Philippians 4:13)
17. Doing the Lord's Commandments (Deuteronomy 28:12)
18. An Heir of Eternal Life (1 John 5:11-12)
19. Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings (Ephesians 1:3)
20. Healed by His Stripes (1 Peter 2:24)
21  More than a Conqueror (Romans 8:37)
22. Establishing God's Word Here on Earth (Matthew 16:19)
23. An Overcomer by the Blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11)
24. Daily Overcoming the Devil (1 John 4:4)
25. Walking by Faith and Not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
26. Bringing Every Thought into Captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5)
27. Being Constantly Transformed (Romans 12:1-2)
28. A Laborer Together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9)
29. An Imitator of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1)
30. Continually Praising the Lord (Psalms 34:1)

Have a blessed weekend!

One Minute Sermon

Happy Friday!!!!

Not sure why this was weighing so heavily on my mind this morning, but I decided to share it once more!  Have a blessed weekend!!

To be a survivor in this amazing race
with a need for speed you need God’s grace.

And if you’re desperate like housewives
watching days of our lives,
you can’t cope without hope
and that’s not on a soap.

If you’re lookin to Oprah or Dr. Phil
you can shop nonstop or pop a pill.
But the void won’t fill and the pain won’t kill
till you love the one that hung on the hill.

Kicking back in your lazy boy easy chair
watching who want’s to be a millionaire.

Na, you’re not gonna find it there.

No American idol or counsel tribal
has a final answer that’l satisfy ya.

CSI ain’t got a clue,
SVU don’t know what to do.
Not the ER or OC,
nothin on a CD, TV, DVD or MP3
can save you and me.

CNN’s got no good news,
here’s a headline, you must choose.

It’s not a simple life Paris Hilton,
it’s treadin on thin ice, living in sin.

You can be an apprentice for Donald Trump
or eat Fear Factor fast food from a dump.
You can be a heavy hitter or Wheel of Fortune winner,
a Fox News news spin spinner
or a flat out sinner.

But you better check this life that your livin
and make sure your sins are forgiven.

I bet ya 50 cent Elvis done came and went.
And eventually, every Black Eyed Pea, Gwen Staffani, P-Diddy and Brittany;
every wanta be on MTV with they icy bling;
every Dixie chick that sings.

They all gonna see the King of Kings.

I don’t care if you’re J-Lo, Leno, or Bano.
One thing you gotta know,
some day you gonna die bro,
then where you gonna go?

Hey I’m not talkin some punk junk that’s irrelevant
like you’re grandma’s church from way back when,
it’s not some preacher feature on TBN
that ya need to be liken or listenin.

The real super star is Jesus Christ.
He’s the way
He’s truth
and the life.

One day He’s gonna split the sky,
He’s the brightest light
and the highest high.

So what I came to say
and what I’m tellin ya,
is don’t buy that stupid stuff
they be sellin ya.

It’s all designed to fill you head
and waist your space,
until you’re dead.

Here’s the bottom line of my rhyme;
Give your life to God while there’s still time.

In God's Time

I heard a story which illustrates how we often confuse God's timing with ours. A country newspaper had been running a series of articles on the value of church attendance. 

One day, a letter to the editor was received in the newspaper office. It read, "Print this if you dare. I have been trying an experiment. I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I did all the cultivating on Sunday. I gathered the harvest on Sunday and hauled it to my barn on Sunday. I find that my harvest this October is just as great as any of my neighbors' who went to church on Sunday. So where was God all this time?" 

The editor printed the letter, but added his reply at the bottom. "Your mistake was in thinking that God always settles his accounts in October." 

That's often our mistake as well, isn't it -- thinking that God should act when and how we want Him to act, according to our timetable rather than His. The fact that our vision is limited, finite, unable to see the end from the beginning, somehow escapes our mind (sometimes conveniently so).   And so we complain; we get frustrated; we even accuse God of being indifferent to us. 

That's when God reminds us that... "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts". (Isaiah 55:8-9)God's timetable is perfect. He will do exactly what is best for us - in His own time - according to His wonderful plans for us, because He loves us so much. Wait! Be patient! His clock may show a different time than our clock, but it's the right one. 

Have a great week.

Going Home!

I know this is a reprint, but in light of all that's happening in our world I found it a good reminder that regardless of what is going on - our Father is at the helm and He's taking us home!

A pastor had been on a long flight between conferences.  The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on:  Fasten Your Seat Belts.  Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We will not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."

As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive.  Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time.  The turbulence is still ahead of us."  

And then the storm broke...   The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines.  Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments, that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean.  One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him.  He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying.  The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

Then, I suddenly saw a little girl.  Apparently the storm meant nothing to her.  She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly.

Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world.  When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm; when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity; when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid."  The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time.  Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement.  We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at 
rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.

Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot.  He is in control and taking us home. Don 't worry!

Love & blessings-

Dancing In The Hurricaines

“Buddha said that fortune changes like the swish of a horse’s tail. Tomorrow could be the first day of thirty years of quadriplegia…the more you open to life, the less death becomes the enemy. When you start using death as a means of focusing on life, then everything becomes just as it is, just this moment, an extraordinary opportunity to be really alive.” – Stephen Levine

FOR SOME PEOPLE, life’s difficulties are much more than storms – they are horrific hurricanes. Enormous calamities can happen to anyone at any time – we never know who might be struck by tragedy.

We are grateful when it isn’t us. “thank God that didn’t happen to me,” we whisper to ourselves. “I don’t know how I would have handled such misfortune.”

And we are inspired by the example set by others:

• actor Michael J. Fox and his valiant struggle with Parkinson’s disease • basketball hero Magic Johnson, living his life with the HIV virus, • physicist Stephen Hawking, who continues his brilliant scientific work despite being totally crippled by Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), • Senator John McCain, who survived broken bones and years of torture as a North Vietnam prisoner of war, • Holocaust author Elie Wiesel, who wrote about his search for meaning in the living hell of concentration camps in Nazi Germany, • blind/deaf Helen Keller, who overcame her disability and went on to teach and inspire millions of others to do the same, • “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve, determined to overcome his quadriplegia and spinal cord injury caused by falling from a horse.

These people and many like them are amazing human beings – not just because of the suffering they endured – but because they experienced gratitude in the midst of disaster. They were grateful not only to be alive, but grateful to have found meaning and purpose. They became who they were – not in spite of their pain – but because of it.

We can do more than just endure the storm - we can DANCE IN THE HURRICAINE!  How?  Because God's grace IS sufficient!!  He will be right there with us all the way!!

2 Cor 12:9 (NLV)
He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me.

Have a great week!

How To Lose It and Keep It Off!

People do the craziest things to lose weight.  Believe me, I know. We will take away all the normal food out of our lives, and then it's tremendous. You can have water, grapefruit, all the lettuce can eat, lots of celery, and watery soup. You can lose weight that way, but you know what? Take it from an old diet expert here, you can't keep it lost. You just can't live that way. You just can't always eat just grapefruit and unlimited lettuce. You have to find some new foods that you can eat and enjoy for the rest of your life. Otherwise you violate the key principle: If you're going to take away something you enjoy, you had better put something good in its' place if you want the change to last. Actually that applies to spiritual change too.

In 2 Timothy 2:22, Paul is writing to young men, and he's talking about a subject that would have to do with young men. He talks about the "evil desires of youth." He says, "Look, I know especially when you're young that one of the challenges spiritually is controlling your glands, and your sexuality, and your feelings toward the opposite sex." And he talks about something you should lose. You could almost call it losing spiritual weight. Except here it's losing a bad habit.

He says, "Run away from infantile indulgence." [The Message]  Okay, that's the diet plan; that's the fattening things you've got to lose. But I'm glad he doesn't leave it there, because he gives you something new to put in its place. He says, Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after ...." Okay, it's not just running from things. There's something you need to chase. "....Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God."

I'm afraid that a lot of Christians would just stop with the negative - with the prohibition. "Flee youthful lusts, my son."  And he's right when he says that, and we're right to have those negatives. Don't cheapen sex, don't fill yourself up with destructive music, or websites, or worldly amusements.  Don't go out with unbelievers, don't read magazines that have garbage values, and don't watch junk TV.

But notice that Paul doesn't stop with a "don't." He says, "Go chasing..." And then he says, "...pursue some good stuff to do. Go after faith." Well, that means adventures that can stretch you and your faith in God. He says, "Go after love." In other words, be pursuing bridges to other people; more ways to put them first. He also says, "Be a peacemaker between other people."  He gives one don't and four do's. That's a spiritual diet that can have lasting 
affects. Lasting results because you've got many more things you are doing than things you stopped doing.

Jesus talked about a man who swept the house and got rid of an evil spirit, but he didn't have anything in the house after the spirit was gone. And seven spirits worse came back because there was a vacuum. See, I don't think we can just be against things; we've got to be for a lot more things. We've got to invest in alternatives to the wrong thing.

We should major on healthy friendships, invest in those, encourage those, spend money for our kids to have good input and fun family times without regrets, and healthy recreation to develop their abilities. Go on spiritual missions together in your neighborhood or somewhere else in the world.

I think as Christians we should be known for being too busy doing good things to miss the things we're not doing. Let's be known not for what we're against, but for the great things we're for.


Have a great week, and enjoy all the benefits of the Lord!

Change

I’m going to change.  More than that, God is going to help me change.  He is growing me and making me a better ambassador for Him. My past ended a minute ago and I’m looking ahead to new beginnings and a new hope in all God is.
 
I’m going to be kinder and less critical.  I’m going to be less vocal and listen more.  I’m going to talk like Jesus to every single person I meet.  

I’m going to be more joyful - knowing He is in control - and not operate so much on emotions and circumstances.  I’m going to claim God’s blessing in my life and let Him work a miracle in me.
 
I’m going to smile and see Jesus in every face I meet. 
 
I’m going to stop and think before I open my mouth in order to ensure my words are uplifting, loving, compassionate and forgiving. 

I’m going to share and give to those in need.  I’m going to find joy in my life regardless of what happens or why.
 
I’m going to try harder to understand nothing is impossible for those who believe God is all He promises.  I’m going to spend more time with those I love and to keep my promises. 
 
I’m going to remember and practice prayer.  It is, after all, my chosen time to spend time with my Savior and Father.  I’m going to pray for the leaders of this nation despite disagreeing with them. I cannot change anything, but God can change everything.

I’m going to be more tolerant, more open-minded and more understanding.  I’m going to remember all things are possible through God who loves me.
 
I’m going to sit quietly and listen when others need a shoulder to lean on.  I want to be supportive, sympathetic and encouraging to the cross others carry and not be so critical and judgmental.  I’m going to try and grasp that I’m never too old to learn something new and remember that God works in unusual and strange ways.  I’m going to be receptive and approachable and try to remember that we are all works in progress.
 
I’m going to be more forgiving and hopefully, with God’s help, I can put it all behind me and learn from every single thing that happens.  I’m going to remember I’m not perfect but through God I can do all things.
 
I’m going to change.  Thank goodness God considers me a work in progress.  I know I have a ways to go but God considers me valuable and wants me to meet my potential.  He sees value in me and is willing to spend time on me and with me.  His commitment to me is 100% and I’m placing all my hope on that.
 
Remember God don’t make junk and He is helping me change. He’ll help you change, too ... if you will let him.

Have a great day!!