Fly Swatter Faith

Ecclesiastes 10:1 “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell…”

We’re supposed to be the aroma (perfume) of Christ in the world, but flies buzz about (temptations) that, when allowed in, stink up our testimony. How do we swat the flies? The same way Jesus did.  When He was tempted by Satan, He would smack him with the Word of God.  Look up Luke 4 to see for yourself.

That’s why it’s important to know His word, to have it at the ready like a fly-swatter hanging within reach.  You never know when you’ll need it.

Here’s some sample flies and how to swat them.  They may or may not be the ones I struggle with, I’ll never tell.  [ok, they're mine, but don't tell me I told you. ]:

click pic for Flickr source

Fly: drink too many beers when the family goes out for pizza (3 instead of 1 or 2).

Fly Swatter: Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.> Proverbs 20:1

Fly:  Make my life as comfortable as possible.  Sure, pray for peeps in need, sometimes, when it’s convenient, but only help enough to appease my guilty conscience.  Keep it comfortable.

Fly Swatter: “The love of Christ compels me, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died, and one died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who loved them and gave Himself up for them.”  >2 Corinthians 5:14

See how it works?

Click pic for Flickr source

Let’s pray:

Father, thank you  for the Bible, Your Word, that is sharper than a two-edged sword, able to pierce as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to lay bare the thoughts and intentions of our hearts before Your eyes. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

Help me to know which verses would make the best swatters for all the temptations and doubts that buzz around my head and heart.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Do you know the One who knows you better than you do? (does that make sense?!)   Click the pic below for a quick introduction:

see below for pic source

http://www.punjabigraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/hello-broken-down.gif

Son-bathing

My daughter and I laid out in the sun today.  It’s just what the doctored ordered, according to an article I read somewhere: 20 minutes of sun exposure a day for optimal health.

As we laid there baking away, my daughter told me that in Spanish, sun bathing literally means, “drinking in the sun.”

Hmmm, I thought. That’s just what we need for optimal spiritual health:  Drink in the Son for at least 20 minutes a day.

“Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  ~~ Matthew 11:28

click pic for source

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for sending Jesus, your one and only son, down here to earth to live, love, and die for us all.  

He’s the radiance of Your glory.  (Hebrews 1:3)

I want to radiate Your glory, too!  I want to look like someone who’s had lots of Son exposure!

 I want to “drink in” Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22) 

Show me how to accomplish this on a daily basis.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Ask yourself:  How much Son-exposure do I get each day?  Could/should I get more?

Better question:  How much time do I spend Facebooking, watching TV, web-surfing?  Hmmmm. Convicting!

 Would trading a few of those minutes for a few minutes reading the Bible and praying lead to more “optimal spiritual health”?  

I’m not a doctor, so I’m not ordering it, just suggesting it as a loving blogger.  We’re all in this together.

Do you know the Son?  His name is Jesus and He’d love to know you!  Click on the pic for a quick introduction:

"Sun Bathers" see below for source...

“Sun bathers” gratefully borrowed from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nehmzow/4209753101/

Strength Building 101

Strength Building 101:

click pic for source

“Because He is at my right hand, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 16:8

The right hand = strength in the Bible.

So, if I want to build spiritual muscle, I need to make sure the Lord is my strength.

“…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

“The Lord is my strength and my shield.  My heart trusts in Him and I am helped.”  Psalm 28:7

How do I make sure the Lord is my strength? I do these simple exercises:

1. Deep knee bends, humbling myself before the Lord in prayer.

2.  Lifting my Bible every day and crunching through some verses.

 Like with all exercises, repetition is key, so I try to practice obeying what I read over and over again.  The more I do it, the easier it gets to do.

Here’s a great starter verse to practice every day, several times a day:

“Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” ~~ Psalm 62:8

Doing these simple exercises every day builds strong faith, and helps me to do the first part of that verse:

“Trust in Him at all times….” Psalm 62:8

“Trust…”

Trust who?

Him.

When?

at ALL times.

good

and

bad

when I’m scared

and when I’m sad

when things are awesome

and when I’m mad.

Trust

in

Him.

Get it?

Got it.

Good.

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank you for loving me.

Thank you for being my Personal Trainer Who teaches me how to be strong faith-wise, and all other  -wises!

With your help, I can learn to trust in you AT ALL TIMES.

Help me to exercise my faith every day by lifting my Bible, crunching through some verses, and bending my knees to pray.   

Jesus, you are my personal trainer, my life coach, my savior, redeemer, and friend.  In Your name I pray, Amen!

Do you want to join Jesus’ gym?  Click on the pic below to see about getting a free pass.

**photo credit:Flickr**

What time is it?

What time is it?

“Timing is everything”, they say.  I don’t know who “they” are, but Jesus agrees with them.  —

:6 Now the Feast of the Jews, the Feasts of the Booths, was near.  Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing…Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.”

At just the right time, Christ came to the earth and at just the right time, he died for us.

 “You see, at just the right time, while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly…” (Romans 5:6)

About time, King Solomon wrote:

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— (Ecclesiastes)

click pic for source

Let’s Pray:

Father, help us to use our time wisely; to stay in close contact with You so we know what time it is, and for what purpose under the heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Ants, Slugs, and Spiders! Oh my!

I’m going to have a lot of questions when I see Jesus face-to-face.  And one of the first is, “What’s with the ants, slugs, and spiders?!”

I have them all over and around my house these days.

Stomping and swatting has become the norm.

I  stomped on a few ants on the way to the fridge this morning, hopped over a few (million) slugs on the front step to get to the newspaper,

and, because we live in the woods,  I ALWAYS, always, always have to watch where I put my hands outside the house, ’cause I might feel this:

wolf spider with babies on her back

or this:

Black Widow Spider

I can understand God making chocolate, or mountains, or furry little kittens, but ants? slugs? and spiders?!

Well, today I start a three part series on the creepy-crawlies about my house.

My new motto is: If you can’t beat ‘em, learn from ‘em.

We’ll start with the ant.

Like I said, our kitchen’s been crawling with them.

So, I put out some poison on the counter.

Some sweet, sticky poison.

They swarmed it like a watering hole in desert!!!

They thought they’d found a little heaven on earth.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!

Reminded me of our toxic culture.  The movies, the TV shows, the music.  It’s so sweet.  So we suck it all down.

"There is a way that seems right...but in the end it leads to death." ~ Proverbs 14:12

And who gets the last laugh?

The Ant Prayer: “Jesus, You are truly sweet.  The Bread of Life, the Bible says.  Oh, may I taste and see that You are good. (Psalm 34:8)  Change my wants from cheap thrills to You. Fill my soul with food that will last. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

“Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.”  ~~ Proverbs 9:5

Do you know Jesus?  Click on the pic below to be introduced:

"I am the Bread of Life." ~~ Jesus (John 6:35)

Rod Blagojevich Hair and Other Poofy Thoughts

Gotta love hair products!

I put some in my hair last night and woke up with Rod Blagojevich hair — POOF!

source

My natural hair is kinda flat.

And so is my natural attitude sometimes, now that we’re on the subject.

Ever wish there was a product that you could use to fluff up a bad attitude?  Something you could “apply liberally, and comb through“?

Product? No.

But there is a Person…

JESUS!!!!

And there’s power in that name!

Take yesterday, for instance. (oh, read on, it’s a short story.  You can take it.)

I was in the middle of a long bike ride with my husband.

My tires were full, but my attitude was FLAT.

I was moaning, “I hate this ride….I hate this ride…I hate this ride.” with every pedal stroke.

It was kinda catchy, but I needed a new song quick.  This one was bringing me down.

So, I started singing, “I love you, Jesus.  I love you, Jesus.  I love you, Jesus.” in rhythm with my pedaling instead.

Kinda like the song Buddy, the Elf, sings to his dad in the movie, “Elf”:

Nothin’ fancy.

But my insides poofed up.

I felt like I was riding along on a bicycle built for two;  Jesus in the front, doing all the work,  and me singing in the back.

Yup, there’s power in that name.

source

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” ~~ Proverbs 18:10

source

“..at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW…every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ~~ Philippians 2:10-11

Feeling deflated?

Speak the name of Jesus, liberally, call on Him.

Let His love “comb through” your heart and soul.

Your natural attitude will be transformed into…Blagojevich hair!   Poof!!

AND,

no matter what language you sing it in,

the Product’s guaranteed

The Late Keith Green

Soul Anchor

False security.  That’s the topic for today.  Why?  Because last night when I finally made it to bed after a long evening, a storm hit.

As the winds raged through the woods about my house and the rain beat against the window above my head I buried my face into my nightly source of comfort.  You might think that would be my husband, and I suppose he is to an extent.  I mean, he keeps my feet warm, but I absolutely can’t sleep without my “snuggly robe”.

Me in my snuggly robe

I have a huge, soft robe that I wear sometimes during the day, but always sleep with like a teddy bear, at night.

And, of course, I cuddled in closer next to my sleeping husband, as well.

So I fell off to sleep, then,  cozy and secure,  missing the storm at its worst, complete with tornado sirens.  My son informed me about it next day.

Funny thing is, although I felt “cozy and secure”, if a tornado had hit our house, me and my snuggly-robe would have been sucked right out the nearest window!

What’s your snuggly-robe? What teddy bear do you cuddle in closer to when the storms of life hit?

I think it would be better to hang onto something that wouldn’t blow away so easy, something with roots.  Don’t you?  A soul anchor, perhaps…

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain…” Hebrews 6:19

And what is this “firm and secure hope anchor for the soul?

JESUS,

JESUS,

JESUS…

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:25

And what does he save us from?  Ultimately, eternity in hell, but daily?

Only Jesus can save us from the storm that howls about us and threatens to suck us right out the window every day, every moment…

our sin.

He saves us from our selfish own selves:

“Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” Hebrews 7:26

So, again I ask, what are you clinging to?

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”  Jonah 2:8

Thing is, we can’t hang onto Jesus with dirty hands.  So, here’s some verses I’m clinging to today.  You might want to hang on, too:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Honor one another above yourselves.

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Share with God’s people who are in need.

Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.

Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Romans 12:9-21

Do you have an anchor for your soul?  Click on the pic to meet mine:

Storm Faith

storm damage

See that hollow limb above?  It was blown off its tree by strong winds the other day.  My husband and I came across it on a hike through the woods.

On the outside it looks like a strong enough limb, but notice its hollow insides.

Made me think, “How are my insides?”

Am I strong enough to hang on in a storm?

It’s what’s inside that matters.

Read these verses from Matthew and answer for yourself what makes a person strong enough to resist the wind:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”  ~ Matthew 7:24-25

Notice those highlighted phrases?  It’s all about hearing and putting into practice — that’s the difference between strong or hollow faith.  It takes faith to obey, and when we obey, our faith gets stronger. It’s a circle, like a tree ring!

Unfortunately, I tend to treat Jesus like a genie in a bottle, rubbing the lamp when I pray, saying, “Here’s my plan, now bless it.”

Where His pleasures cross my own, I choose my own pretty much every time.  Obedience-schmedience!

Why?!

Maybe because, sometimes, it hurts to obey…

Pastor Mark Brown, from Australia, put it this way on his blog:

“I want to follow my will, my desire, but this is plain wrong.  I must submit myself to the will of Christ, and push through the pain.” ~ Journey Deeper into God’s Word

I like the way he put that — “push through the pain.”

And why in the world would I choose to push through the pain rather than enjoy immediate pleasure…

JOY!

That’s what Jesus did.  He chose joy:

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” ~ Hebrews 12:2

And that’s what Jesus taught. He taught his disciples to choose joy:

“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”  ~ John 15:10-11

Stop! Drop! and Pray!

Let’s pray:

Father, I want the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart to stay!   So, help me to obey all that You say.  Not just the commands that go my way. ( Anyone else notice this rhyming?)

You are THE way –  The way to peace, the way to happiness, the way to JOY!

Please show me, Father, how I’ve been choosing my ways over Yours.

Here’s some ways that come to mind: (This is where you confess…)

Father, thank you for being faithful and just to forgive me when I confess my sins to You. ( 1 John 1:9)

And when your pleasures cross mine, help me to choose Yours every time.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Do you know the One who made the trees?  Click the pic below to meet Him.  Come on!  Go out on a limb.

~~ Gloris Young

Happiness is…

I won my first “bloggy award”!!!  (Fireworks, Horns, Hoots, Confetti!!!!!!)

Bloggy Awards are little awards that bloggers pass on to one another to boost morale, show support, say thanks.

I received the Happiness 101 Award from a blogger that happens to make me very

And They Lived Blogging Ever After...

happy whenever I read one of her current post on  BloggingEverAfter.

Click the name to see one of my favorite BloggingEverAfter Posts.  (Bookmark it for later, if you don’t have time to read it now.)

Ok, part of getting the award is passing it on to another blog (see bottom of post. I’ll be awarding one a day for 3 days) AND sharing 10 things that make me happy.

First, TEN THINGS THAT MAKE GLORIS HAPPY (the music builds…)

I’ll share a few each day, starting with (drums rolling…)

1. –JESUS/GOD/HOLY SPIRIT!!!

It wasn’t always that way, of course.  God hasn’t always been at the top of my happiness list, and I’m praying that it will be more and more that way every day.

Here’s BETH MOORE, author/Bible teacher, encouraging us from Psalm 63 to love God.  ( Beth Moore makes me happy, so that’s my #2 )

Doing her Bible studies is a faith shot directly into my heart!  Here’s one of my favorites:

BELIEVING GOD is another happy thing for me, so it’s #3.

Click on the pic to see about signing up for the it online version if you’re interested.  It’s great to do online studies in the comfort of your own home, in your pajamas, even.  They’re so convenient.

Ok, Let’s pray that God will be “ours”, like Beth Moore suggested:

prayer makes me happy, so that’s #4.

love you, Oh, Lord my strength.  You are my Rock, my Fortress, and My Deliverer.  You are my God, Rock in whom I can take refuge; my Stronghold.  I can call to you and be saved from my enemies (Psalm 18:1-2), from my powerful enemies who are too strong for me. (i.e. Satan and his cohorts)

Oh, Father in Heaven, You are love! (1John 4:8), and you love me more than I could ever love myself.  Show me how deep and wide, how high and deep your love is for me.  I want to be rooted and grounded in that love. (Ephesians 3:17-18)

And I want to believe with all my heart that it’s true, that, in fact,  you do love me.

Increase my faith!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

( Now that’s a happy verse! # 5 )

And the receiver of the first Happy 101 Award from Gloriadelia is … envelope, please… MutteringsfromtheMoor!

Click on the blog name to see the first post of “Mrs. Mutterer’s” that I read.  It about a little wooly lamb named, Annie, that grabbed my heart and made me very happy. (:) #6) The blog is “mutterings” from the moors of England.

Check back in tomorrow for other Happy things and Award #2!