THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT.

There’s an app for that.  I hear that a lot.  So when I stopped to think about it today I decided what works for me better is there’s a verse for that.

You see, I have a heavy heart today.

Close friends and family are struggling with serious health problems.  I have been praying for them.

Extended family members are dealing with the loss of loved ones.  I hurt for them and with them and have been praying for them too.

Some days are harder than others when it comes to communication.  It is not always easy to take into consideration the weight of our words or how they will be received or perceived.  I mean one can say something and the other person hears something completely different.

I am not even sure I want to get into how difficult relationships can be.  Not only words are misunderstood at times but also actions. Sometimes silence alone is taken the wrong way.

Let’s face it; life is tough even on a good day!

But, I was brought up learning and have grown older still learning day by day that for every problem, issue, situation, circumstance, or whatever you want to call it, there is a verse in God’s Word to cover it.  So, my motto today and everyday is:  There’s a verse for that!

I want to share just a very few of those verses with you.  I am sure if I haven’t pointed out the verse that works for your situation, God will gladly lead you to that very verse.  Just open the Bible and find the treasure.  Every day in God’s Word is an adventure for sure!

Psalm 5:8b  New Living Translation (NLT)

8b. Tell me clearly what to do and show me which way to turn.

Psalm 16:8 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁸ I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.

Psalm 32:8 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.

Psalm 56:3 New Living Translation (NLT)

³ But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.

Proverbs 21:23 New Living Translation (NLT)

²³ If you keep your mouth shut,
you will stay out of trouble.

Philippians 2:13-14 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

¹³ It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing.

Philippians 4:6-7 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

⁶ Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. ⁷ Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:28 New International Version (NASB)

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

2 Corinthians 5:7 King James Version (KJV)

⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Psalm 6:9 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord will answer my prayer.

UNPLANNED…UNEXPECTED

When I wake up in the morning I usually have at least a general idea of the plan for the day.  Most days go as planned but some days it just doesn’t happen as I thought it would.

Could be a call comes for me to go pick up one of the grandchildren at work or practice.  It could be bigger like the water tank goes out or bigger still like hubby calls and says to meet him at the emergency room.

What’s your unplanned, unexpected event?  Unexpected bills, an appliance stops working, unsettling news from the doctor, your spouse is suddenly done with the marriage, your car breaks down, your little one gets sick in the night…

One never knows what the day will bring.  What do you do when these times come?

Personally, my first instinct is to pray.  More often than not it will be as simple as “Lord, please help me.” or simply “Help!”

The good news is that God hears and responds quickly to these short direct prayers.  Things can be put into perspective (God’s perspective), priorities can be set (God’s direction), the best course of action can be chosen (God’s wisdom) and emotions gotten under control (God’s peace). The unplanned, unexpected event can be handled one step at a time with a gentle and quiet spirit.

1 Peter 3:4New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

How is this possible?

Because I believe…

Psalm 139 tells me that God knows everything about me.  He knows when I sit down or stand up. He knows my thoughts. He knows what I am going to say before I say it. He sees and knows everything I do. He is always with me. He knew what was going to happen every day in my life even before I was born.

So you see, anything of those unplanned, unexpected things that happen are only unplanned and unexpected by me.  God is not taken by surprise when they happen.  He has a plan and a purpose.

God is in control of all things at all times.

Psalm 103:19 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁹ The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
from there he rules over everything.

Nothing happens in my world unless God allows it too.  I always picture a circle with a dot in the middle.  That circle is God’s wall of permission.  Nothing can get though that wall to me (the dot) unless God first says ok.

I believe His allowing something means that He surely has a plan and a purpose for whatever is happening or is going to happen.  He will prepare me and equip me for it.  It is basically an opportunity to trust Him more and grow to know Him better.

God loves me with an unending and unconditional love and God is a good God who wants the best for me.  He has a plan for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

We can trust our awesome God with the unplanned and unexpected – NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!

Alfred Ackley wrote the lyrics to He Lives!

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

Refrain:
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho’ my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thro’ all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

Do you know my Jesus?  Do you know my Awesome God? 

FACEBOOK SAYS WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

What is the first thing I see every time I open Facebook?  What’s on your mind? That’s what it asks.

But tonight, in my world, it’s not what is on my mind but what is on my heart!

There is joy, praise and peace for God is still in control.  I have the hope of heaven ahead of me. I live in the presence of the Lord right now.

There is thankfulness for my family and friends, for knowing God’s love and being one of His children, for His constant provision.  There is no end to this list.

There is also sadness for we have lost yet another friend this past weekend.  I pray for his family and two church families that are deeply grieved by his passing.  He sang for us many times at church.  He was full of life and joy and happiness.  Now he sings in heaven and his joy is complete.

There are prayerful concerns and hopeful expectations for others who have needs only God can meet.

Last week my daughter’s friend had a heart attack. He went to the ER only to come home a few days later with a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer and months to live.

My husband’s co-worker and his wife struggle and hope that as she encounter health risks of her own, their unborn child will be able to remain in the womb and grow for a few more weeks giving him a stronger grip on life.

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from my aunt in Arizona.  Her 39 year old granddaughter had an aneurism/stroke earlier in the day and was given a 20% chance of making it though surgery.

Overwhelmed momentarily but hopeless – NEVER!  Already we have praises and thankfulness for answered prayers.

My daughter’s friend will start treatment as soon as possible.  Please pray that God will clear a path for treatment to begin and the wait will not be long. I pray that God draw him and his family to Himself during this time that they will know God’s love and comfort in special ways.

Mama and babe are being carefully monitored; plans are in place for whatever happens next. It is time to wait again.  Each new day brings new hope!

My aunt’s granddaughter made it through the day.  She had been moved to another hospital more suited to meet the need of removing the blood clot found in her brain.  She asks that we keep praying for the needs are serious and great.

I want to share my response to her email:

Aunt Ileen
We have an awesome amazing God who is still doing miracles every day. We see it in the sunrise and the sunset. That is God. Only God can do that. We see God’s handiwork every time a baby is born.  We see His hand of provision and protection on us day in day out. God answers our prayers every day.  We must never give up hope. Our God is love and where there is love there is hope.  Pray on everyone! I love you Aunt Ileen. 

I am hopeful that we will be mindful of who our God is as we call out to Him in prayer. Trust in His mighty power, the power that we have seen time and time again in the Bible and in our lives.

Yes, I know this is a heavy blog but sometimes life is like that.  Its heavy and in that heaviness we go to God who has all we need and gives us all we need to carry on in hope, love and joy as we pray and care for each other.

Facebook says what’s on your mind?  God says what’s on your heart?

Talk to God about whatever is heavy on your heart today.   God hears. God cares. God answers.

Psalm 116:1-2 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹ I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers.
² Because he bends down and listens,
I will pray as long as I have breath!

Psalm 103:19 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁹ The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
from there he rules over everything.

JUST SAYING

It is usually easy to say this is what to do.  It is hard to do it.

It is usually easy to know what to do.  It is hard to do it.

It is not unusual to want to do what should be done.  It is still hard to do it.

Many times the head knowledge and heart knowledge do not connect making it hard to do the right thing.

Just saying, as they say now days.

Do you ever find yourself in any of these situations?  I have been there a lot lately. We are not alone. In the Bible, the apostle Paul found himself in the same situation.

Romans 7:21-25 New Living Translation (NLT) 

²¹ I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another power^[e] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ²⁵ Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Just because we have become a child of God does not mean that we will always make the right choices.  Our sinful nature stays with us untill we leave this earth.

The head knowledge tells us to do it our way but the heart knowledge tells us to do it God’s way.

The key is to be Christ centered not self-centered; to give God control of our thoughts, attitudes and actions.

One thing I know in my heart tonight is that we have to let go of the past and forgive others as God has forgiven us. They don’t have to ask for our forgiveness.  They don’t even have to make things right but we have to forgive as God has forgiven us.

Ephesians 4:32 New Living Translation (NLT)

³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

It is a command from God’s Word, not an option.  Just saying!

PERSONAL “EARTHQUAKES”

Yesterday, I posted about real earthquakes that have happened in several areas of the world in recent days.

Today I want to take a closer look at personal earthquakes that seem to blindside us and have the ability to shake us to the core.

Think about these words:

Accident          Act of God               Agitation                 A blow

Bombshell        Breakdown              Clash                       Collapse

Bump – as in unexpected “bump” on the road of life        Collision

Circumstances beyond our control   Confusion                Crash

Distress           Disturbance             Double Whammy        Explosion

Eye-opener      Hysteria                  Impact                    Injury

Jolt                  Natural disaster       Ripple                    Scare

Shake             Stupor                    Shiver                     Trauma

Trepidation      Tremor                    Unforeseen Event        Tremble

Upheaval         Upset                      Whammy                Wreck

Do any of these words describe any part of your world lately?

Your needs for right now  may be food, water, clothing, and shelter…basic physical needs…money for bills, physical healing, transportation ….

But even more importantly you need God’s love and hope. God is faithful!  He will calm you and be your anchor in this storm of life. Know that God is still in control and you can rest in Him in spite of your circumstances.  He will be with you through the days and nights ahead. He will give you strength and direction.

If you find your life has been touched by any of these personal earthquakes please pray now, ask God to be very real to you and to meet your needs as only He can do!

If you have wondered away from God get it right with Him.  Confess your sin and know His peace once again.

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, follow the Roman Road and believe on the Lord today.

1. Rom. 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

2. Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

3. Rom. 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

You can become one of God’s children right now!

4. Rom. 10:9-10, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

7. Rom. 10:13, “For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

As a child of God, He will meet your needs and set your world upright once again in His time and His way according to His plan for your life. Trust Him!  He is in control and will give you much needed help and hope for right now. 

Romans 8:28 New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 

Romans 15:13 

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Psalm 46:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 

 God is our refuge and strength,
 A very present help in trouble.

EARTHQUAKES

As I write this I have just been reading about three recent earthquakes:

Recent earthquakes

earthquake.usgs.gov

Right now would be the time to pray for those devastated by these earthquakes.

Their needs right now would be food, water, clothing, and shelter…basic physical needs. People all over the world have gone to help them with these needs. We can also pray that more will be able to go to help and that funds will be given to meet these practical needs.

But even more importantly they need God’s love and hope.  They need calmness and an anchor in this storm of life. They need to know God is still in control and they can rest in Him in spite of their circumstances.  They need to know God is faithful and will be with them through the days and nights ahead.  He will comfort them if they have lost loved ones. He will give them strength and direction.

Our prayers have the power to reach anyone anywhere in the world. Please pray now, ask God to be very real to those affected by these earthquakes and to meet their needs as only He can do!

God will supply the people, the funds and meet all their needs.  Most of us may not be able to go.  Some of us may not be able to give, but all of us can pray asking God to give them much needed help and hope for right now. 

Psalm 46:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 God is our refuge and strength,
 A very present help in trouble.

LIFE IS HARD!

There is a lot of hurting people in the world.  Actually a lot right in my own small world.  I have been hurting a little myself lately! Hurting and way too busy.  That would be the reason for no blogs for a month!

Not an excuse, not right, just stating the facts.  Maybe you can relate.  Let me try to recap this past month since my last blog.

I was busy getting ready for vacation then company coming then the community yard sale.

We enjoyed vacation with Ted and Debbie, my brother and sister-in-law, in Myrtle Beach at a Gospel Convention.  Great gospel singing and preachers/speakers that could motivate you high as the clouds! It was a great week with fun times and good fellowship.

But now we are home again and I slowly came down off the mountain facing reality. Ted and Debbie are once again nine hours away. We are all hurting and longing for days gone by with Mom, Dad, Amanda and the old home place now gone on to new owners.  Lisa and Sammie have got back to their own homes.

Life hurts when we are separated from loved ones either by death or miles.  Life is hard when unexpected expenses come. Life is crazy when we are pulled so many directions at once. Life gets  worse when we feel so very alone and things seem to be closing in.

I am so thankful that God is still on the throne in heaven and still in control.  God has given us the keys to make it through this life.

1. God has something to say to you! He has a plan and purpose for you. Read your Bible every day to find out what His plan is for you!
2. Pray every day. Pray all during the day. Pray about anything, everything. Don’t be afraid to tell Him your hurts and fears and desires.  He already knows – might as well be honest with him. Let go of the guilt if you have asked God to forgive you of your sins.  Get on the same page He is on:

3. When you are talking to God spend more time being thankful than asking for Him to fix this or take away that.

If you aren’t to the point where you talk to God, just start making a list of all you have to be thankful for.  List 25 things.  Do it every hour if you need too! It is hard if not impossible to be down and depressed when you have a thankful heart and mindset.

Focus on what you have not what you don’t have.

Focus on what can be not what was.

Focus on God not yourself or your circumstances.  He is bigger than any problem you have. He has control of everything!

Philippians 4:6-8 New Living Translation (NLT) 

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, , and admirable. Think about things and pure, and lovely that are excellent and worthy of praise.