Sponges

Sponges are absorbant and usually used to clean up messes. Sometimes though, we leave sponges sitting in the sink and they get mushy and stinky. God has made us to absorb His water, the Holy Spirit, and go out and clean up earthly messes using the water He has given us. In a sense, we are to absorb ourselves with others. Self-absorption, on the other hand, will cause quite a stench to those around us. The characteristics of a Holy Spirit filled sponge (life) are love, patience, understanding, compassion, long-suffering and joy. The characteristics of a self-absorbed sponge (life) are anger, irritation, constant frustration, impatience, worry, self-pity, and misery. Holy Spirit or self-absorption? Which sponge are you?

Choices

God talked to me this morning. Say that to some people and they think of a German made clock, called a cuckoo. Cuckoo or not, God spoke to me. He speaks to me in my heart, in my dreams and through others. I hope He speaks to you through this blog, today and each day after that.

Adam and Eve are in the garden, paradise on earth. It's perfect, it's everything they could ever want. Who did they choose? Satan and the desire to know more than they should.

The Israelites have just been rescued from 400 years of captivity - God has parted the Red Sea and is providing for them. Who do they choose? A golden calf.

God makes Saul a king. (1 Samuel 13 -31) God puts Saul in charge of the entire nation of Israel, making him Israel's first king. Who does Saul choose? Himself.

David, God's friend, survives being chased by Saul, enemy nations and Goliath. David becomes king over all of Israel and is included in the lineage of Christ. (2 Samuel 11) During a weak time in his life who does David choose? Bathsheba and the desires his flesh

God helps Israel defeat foreign nations, he gives them the promise of being His people, He warns them of judgment for not following His ways and who do they still choose? Idols of gold and wood.

God's greatest act of love and mercy was sending His Son Jesus to save His people. Jesus showed them (us) mercy, healings, power, love, patience and a new Kingdom where they (we) can be citizens. What did they (we) choose to do? Kill Him.

Today, God is asking me who will you choose Ann?
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

Blowing a Fuse

Have you ever blown a fuse? Like ... not a light bulb, but that button that gets pushed and you lose it completely. If not, please stop reading immediately because I WILL, inadvertently I might add, scare you. What do you do with the remains of a blown fuse? How do you pick up the pieces? How do you lick your own wounds as well as those who also got hit by the shrapnel? Forgiveness. I have found that others are much quicker to forgive me than I am to forgive myself. I make all kinds of promises to myself - I come up with a plan. Surely, my plan will work - I will be a nice, kind, loving, fruit of the Spirit, Proverbs 31 woman - as soon as I'm not surrounded by other people. :) Seriously, God says "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22,23
Okay ladies hum or sing with me "Great is thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning, new mercies I see, all I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me." Ahhh ... the daddy just fixed the fuse box. Thank you Lord for being merciful to me when I don't deserve it. Thank you for forgiving me. Teach me Lord to be a woman whose fuse is surrendered to Your calling. Thank you Lord for Your faithfulness. You bless me with peace - thank you. Tomorrow - I will remember Your compassion - not my plan. I will give you the grenades, fuses and M-16's inside my heart so that you can defuse them. You are precious. Goodnight. Bless those who got caught in the crossfire tonight. Amen.

I'm back

Let me explain. Discouragement and Doubt are double trouble and those two scalawags have kept me away. I listened to someone I shouldn't have. Have you ever done that? Listened to a friend, a news reporter, a pastor, or even someone you just met and really got slammed for doing so? Wisdom. What a word - what a concept. Check out Proverbs 3. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and do not lean on your own understanding." It goes on to talk about the rewards of wisdom. I listened to someone who took the wind out of my sails and made me feel silly for thinking that I could ever write a book - that "person" was Satan. Sure, someone else's passing remark triggered the thought, and my low self-esteem in this area fueled the fire, but this doubt and discouragement have a big S plastered on them. Well, I'm hear to declare - no more. No more doubt, because I am surrounded by evidence of GOD. No more discouragement because I have been given the greatest gift EVER and that is the love of Christ! So there - put that in your stinky ole pipe Satan and smoke it in your eternally damned home!!!!! So, I'm back. Sorry it took so long.