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PICKLE JUICE MOMENTS

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , , on February 13, 2015| 9 Comments »

DSCF8231Remember those moments? That first bite of a luscious dill pickle that dripped juice down your chin and pulled your lips to a full face pucker.

 
When I was young, corner grocery stores always had a pickle barrel where a dime would buy an afternoon’s worth of sour delight. And every foodie, cook, or grandma knows pickle juice is a tasty addition to many recipes, and the spicy brine can be reused as a preservative.

 
But as we grow older, even though we don’t suck the juice from those pickled cucumbers, we still have pickle juice moments. Moments that give our lives flavor, humble us, or teach us lessons of strength that linger long after the zing and snap of the moment has passed.

 
Years ago the Lord allowed one of those p.j. moments in my life. A horrifying and humbling one, but one that served and preserved me.
I worked as secretary to one of the senior partners in a prestigious law firm in Florida. Years before the dictating machine. Years where shorthand was the venue for transcribing one’s thoughts onto the page.

 
My boss decided to vacation, leaving his work with the CEO of the firm—the Senator. And my worst nightmare became my reality. Up to that moment I’d never even spoken to the man. He was an icon—a genius who scared me witless.

 
Our switchboard operator (you’ll have to look up the word, takes too many words to describe here, but you’ve seen them in ancient hiding(2)movies) would notify me when Senator was on the way down the hallway and I’d dash for the ladies’ bathroom to hide. And I managed to avoid him for three days of that week. Whew!

 
But one afternoon my friend had taken a break when his entourage arrived.

 
Senator strode past my cubicle, never stopping or slowing his stride. He instructed, “Miss Nickels, bring your pad.” Terror assaulted my heart and by the time I reached his door (corner office with a view) tears cascaded free-fall down my cheeks. And before I had taken two steps inside he was half through dictating the first paragraph of a letter—before I sat down.

 
He never slowed down, never looked up, just kept dictating.

 
Tears made messy puddles on my shorthand notebook and I knew I would be roasted and fired when this moment was over. Minutes, hours later. I don’t know, I heard, “That will be all. Bring them for my signature before 5 o’clock.”

 
Sobs strangled in my throat. 5 o’clock which day? Which year? Running in the ladies room wasn’t an option. I stood and prayed my legs would carry me to the door before crumbling in pieces.

 
Senator’s secretary and another senior partner’s secretary stood just outside the door like EMT’s and rescued this scaredy-cat mess of a secretary. These wonderful ladies had recorded every word he dictated and assured me they had experienced a similar event in their younger years and there would be no roasting ceremony today.

 
They mopped my tears and Senator’s secretary smiled and hugged me again. “My very first week working for the Senator, he called me into the conference room to record a news conference When I walked in that room there were more dignitaries and cameras than my brain could comprehend. I froze. Another older, wiser secretary did for me what we’ve done for you today. Then she shared a trick for surviving future shocks-and-awes.”

 
The ladies chuckled and Senator’s secretary continued, “If you’re ever in this situation again, just picture these icons of pomp and dignity in their underwear, smoking cigars.”

 
We laughed, my tears and fears vanished, and I thought of the scripture that instructs, “The older women shall teach the younger women…” I know the rest of this passage has a very different application, but these older women rescued me and taught me a valuable lesson that preserved and carried me through many pickle puckering events in the following years.

 
However, the Senator’s secretary retired a few months later and a friend of the family took her place. A beautiful butterfly of a lady, totally opposite from his wise and proper secretary of many years.

 
Late one morning, Senator sent this secretary to Stand ‘N Snack for an early working lunch. She returned with the lunch and spread it before him as he continued his telephone conversation.

 
Now Stand ‘N Snack made the most wonderful kosher dill pickles, wrapped them in tissue, and packed three of them with each lunch order.

 
Lorraine pulled the pickles from the bag, unaware the juice from the pickles had dissolved a hole in their tissue wrapper. As she ripped picklesthe package of dripping pickles from the bag, leverage sent these pickled weapons flying from their wrapper, across the desk, splattering against the middle of this shocked congressman’s forehead, bouncing to his nose, sliding down his tie, and landing on a stack of legal papers, while pickle juice dripped from his nose, drizzled down his chin, and puddled on his tie.

 
She grabbed napkins, trying to sop up the damage and blot him dry, but the Senator’s always-all- together decorum crumbled. He changed from statesman to little boy whose hands still held the phone, but his big eyes appealed why’d ya do that to me?

 
No, he didn’t fire her. But his austere attitude vanished after this p.j. moment. And bouncing pickles and dripping juice replaced cigars and underwear in the secretarial pool.

 
So what did I learn from these p.j. moments? Had I spent as much time sitting before the Lord, pouring out my fear and asking for His strength, as I did stressing and hiding, I wouldn’t have been gushing fear and could have accomplished what I was paid to achieve. God never gives you a job He doesn’t equip you to accomplish—if you trust and obey Him.

 
I am learning the moment fear attacks to drop and pray. God tells us hundreds of times in the Word “fear not—fear not.” Yet what is the first thing we do? Collapse into anxiety and fear at the first glimmer of change.

 
Have you ever had a pickle juice moment or been an EMT for a younger employee at work? At home? At school? What p.j. lessons can you share? And how did God add flavor to your life or teach you in that p.j. moment?

 

 

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10 NKJV).
“Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV).

Illustrations are by my good friend and edit partner, Katie Meyer. Check out Katie’s work on Tumblr at Legend of Zouzam.

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WHO REMEMBERS DAGWOOD?

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on February 5, 2015| 4 Comments »

Dagwood and his outrageous sandwiches?

 
A slice of this, a piece of that—anything he could find in Blondie’s refrigerator or pantry to pile and stack beyond his ability to bite. He could never have consumed these comic-strip sandwiches without some serious heartburn or possible ptomaine.

 
But don’t we do the same thing with bruised emotions, broken hearts, or pounds of unresolved anger? We collect a big ole bundle of burden and stack ‘em in the darkness of our hearts, ready to be piled on a monster sandwich-of-sorrow and toted with us 24/7 when we lose a loved one.

 
And we wonder why we’re done in? Why we can’t do anything but sob or rage? Why our blood pressure goes out the roof? Why we can’t get a handle on life and move forward. Because the loss of a loved one rips scabs off everything we’ve stuffed and hidden and clung to. And that toxic mix has soaked in the acid of anger and unforgiveness, sometimes for years, before morphing into the life-threatening quick-sand of self-pity from which we can’t cry, wiggle, or scream ourselves free.

 
Let me be concise: Every hurt, pain, scrap of anger, thread of guilt, or wad of deception you’ve stuffed and packed and carried on your life’s journey all these years will rear its ugly head and deter or prevent your working through the loss of a loved one, unless you purpose in your heart to deal with the whole muddle. One step at a time.

 
We weren’t created to handle the emotional, mental, and physical turmoil and bear up under such a destructive load. God made us in His image…body, soul, and spirit. And you can’t separate one from the other, even though we all try. When a portion of your heart hurts, the pain radiates to every portion of your being. Just like consumed calories spread over our whole anatomy, anger and pain and unforgiveness gobble up the landscape of our hearts, minds, and souls and end up catapulting off our tongues into the lives of others.

 
But this poison doesn’t remain sealed in tidy packages. It grows. And grows ‘til the anger has turned into bitterness and the refusal to forgive not only affects your relationships with others, it strangles your relationship with God. Left to fester, these two deadly roots of sin metastasize into emotional, spiritual, and physical disorders.

 
This past week our GriefShare folks drew their individual Dagwood sandwiches applicable to their grief and I would suggest you do the same. Think about the state of your heart and create a drawing that applies to your grief and all its emotions today.

 

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The rectangular shape on the bottom symbolizes the death of the person you lost. Every color strip indicates a piece of left-over anger, unforgiveness, secondary loss, past hurt, past grief, family dysfunction that you must add to your sandwich. When the left-over anguish comes to mind, if it still causes a twinge, slap it on the stack. The larger the pain the thicker the strip of color. Some may end up being burger sized. If there’s more than one death or loss, add an additional rectangular piece of bread (white fluff, of course). Then identify each slice you’ve added to your Dagwood sandwich-of-sorrow and list it beside your drawing.

 
How large is your sandwich?

 
How difficult and heavy is it to carry?

 
How long will it take you to surrender this load to Jesus?

 
God never fills full hands, especially those with fists clenched shut, screaming mine—trying to work through the ugly mess alone. I would suggest you take your drawing into the bathroom, close the door, and hold the drawing, with all the aches, pains, grief, and anger it represents, up to God and, speaking aloud, ask God to take this heavy load from you. Tell Him how difficult the chaos and despair is to bear. Choose to hold the stack tormenting your heart with open hands to the Father and give them all to Him.
And trust Him to take them from you. Don’t be an Indian-giver—asking God to take this turmoil then clutching the paper and tucking the stinky stuff back in your heart to fester and grow again. Let them go. All of them. You may need to make more than one trip to the bathroom to turn lose.
After you’ve given your sandwich-of-sorrow to God, ask Him to fill your hands with joy, thankfulness, and praise to Him! And He will answer your prayer, because He loves you, and He is faithful.

 
“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NAS).

 

You may need hands on support in your quest for help, hope, and healing that only comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power of the Spirit. Go online to http://www.GriefShare.org. to find the nearest GriefShare Support Group. Take your Dagwood Sandwich with you. The whole group has sorrow sandwiches, they just might not know they do—help them by sharing yours.
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It’s Not That Bad

Posted in A Nation Divided on February 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

From writer and friend with Institute for Creation Research, Ernie Carrassco. Straight forward truth, whether you believe it or not, Ernie’s words repeat The Word.

Ernesto E. Carrasco, M.C.Ed.'s avatarErnie's Musings

Borrowed from: http://doctorwoodhead.com/days-noah-corruption-demonic-activity-part/ Borrowed from: http://doctorwoodhead.com/days-noah-corruption-demonic-activity-part/

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (Matthew 24:37-39)

Unless you have totally detached yourself from all society, isolated yourself in a cave, or numbed your brain with drugs, you know that the world is in moral decline. We have ejected God from the public square, spurned His law and called what is good evil and what is evil good (Isaiah 5:20). We accept that which is unnatural and hold it up as something to be praised and held in…

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LEGITIMATE LIES, By: Julie Cosgrove

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , on January 29, 2015| 4 Comments »

Have you ever wondered how an author goes about writing a book? I’ve asked my good friend and author Julie Cosgrove, to be with us this week and answer that question and a few more. I’ve read Julie’s two new books Hush in the Storm and Legitimate Lies. And they are both must reads!

Welcome to my blog, Julie. Let me ask, how did you come to write Legitimate Lies?

A literary agent suggested it. Let me start at the beginning, if you allow me to back the truck up…
Two years ago I had major surgery and became bored. So I thought, “What if I start out a novel ‘It was a dark and stormy night?’ Would anyone publish it?” That is how the prequel Hush in the Storm started, until my critique group all raised their eyebrows, and then spurt-sprayed their coffee in my face as they burst out laughing. The dark and stormy night is still in the first few chapters, just not as blatant. So naturally I had to start Legitimate Lies out in a brewing storm as well, though this time in the daylight hours.
The novel, Hush in the Storm, took off and then came to a screeching halt about the fourth chapter. I had a yearning to make it more than just a suspense romance. I wanted to add deeper layers, but what? Then in three weeks, I met three missionaries in three different locales who fight human trafficking When I met the third one, who had just joined my critique group, it was my turn to spurt-spray my coffee. Okay, God I get this! The more I researched the topic, the more fervent I became. Thus, that social issue became the element I wove into my story, but the plot also had to be one of romance, reality and redemption.

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I didn’t end Hush in a happily ever after sort of way—because life rarely does— so this agent at an American Christian Fiction Writers’ conference suggested I keep the storyline moving in a sequel. Thus, Legitimate Lies began…but stalled. I was quicker on the uptake this time. Right, it needs to bring out another social issue that people struggle with, but where did God wish to lead me? The agent, who decided not to sign me after all, provided the answer: Jen’s inability to have children and the deep loss of one she once had.
I rewrote foreshadowing elements of that in Hush and within a month, it ended up under contract by Prism Book Group. My acquisition editor had to quit, and Hush shuffled into a slush pile for over a year. One night the Editor-in-Chief says she awoke with a start. Her brain blurted out the question, “What happened to Julie’s novel?” She contacted me and became my content editor. Once she read the manuscript of Hush, she told me she wanted to read more. I happened to have just finished the rough draft of Legitimate Lies. Twenty-four hours later, I had a contract for it.
What do you hope to accomplish through these two novels?
I want people to fathom how deeply God loves them, no matter what has goon on in their lives. Redemption is always an option, no matter how heinous you think your wrongdoings are, or those done to you. Whether it is adultery, human trafficking, deceit, treachery or aborting a child—or anything else for that matter—it is not out of God’s loving reach. I have witnessed so many people eaten away inside by years of harbored hatred and shame. Forgiveness is the only thing that can lift you out of the muck— first, God’s forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ and secondly, forgiveness for those who wrong you. Lastly forgiveness for yourself if you have done wrong. Not so say we become so weak our lives are floor mats. Just the opposite. It takes great strength, and my heroines exhibit that…eventually.
To illustrate what I mean, here is an excerpt from a novella that will be coming out the end of 2015 – Navy Blues.
I twisted a strand of hair around my finger. “So, do you think I should forgive Trey?”
Absolutely.” Ryan cast his gaze to the small cross around my neck. “Jesus told us to forgive those who trespass against us. But whether you want to continue in a relationship with the guy, well…” He shrugged but kept his eyes locked with mine.
He could have splashed ice water on my face. I took a sharp breath. “Not the same thing, huh?”
Ryan shook his head. “Two very different acts. But once you can begin to entertain the first, the second will be easier to determine.” He gently tapped where my heart lay with his forefinger.” You need to get through the emotions first before you decide.”
I nodded through a glimmer of fresh tears.
I also hope readers enjoy the storyline along the way. That is what fiction is all about. So far, both Hush in the Storm and Legitimate Lies have received high star ratings.

Give us a brief peek at Legitimate Lies.
I slammed the water glass down in front of him, leaned in and threw several daggers into his deep blue eyes, the ones I almost drowned in another identity ago. “You had my business card.”
His eyes twinkled. “Not too hard to snatch.”
“Exactly how long have you been watching me?”
He pushed his shoulders into the chair’s spindles and took a deep swallow. After he set the tumbler down, he ran a finger around the rim. “Is it important?”
I wanted to slap the smirk from his face. I wanted to plant kisses all over it. I wanted to smash the water glass and shove its broken shards into his chiseled cheekbones. Instead, I slumped into the chair across from him. My emotions with this man had never been crystal clear.
A baby, a new life, a kidnapping…all bring Jen to face the lie she’s hidden for so long…will it hinder her one chance for happiness?
Legitimate Lies by Julie B. Cosgrove from Prism Book Group!

http://www.prismbookgroup.com/LegitimateLies.html

Do you write anything else?
Yes, I write regularly for six devotional publications and websites, and I have published three Bible studies, a devotional on the Psalms, and an inspirational help book called Squeeze More God Time Into You Day. I wrote another novel, Focused, about an empty nest couple seeking to find their marriage again, despite the bumbling help of coworkers and church members. They can all be previewed on my website, www.juliebcosgrove.com.
I also have a blog, Where Did You Find God Today?, which I hope leads people to discover His spiritual shoulder taps and soul-whispers throughout their day.

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THE IMPACT OF JOY

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on January 23, 2015| 9 Comments »

I’ve misplaced the inexpressible great joy and glory of my salvation somewhere between the shredding of our Constitution, legalizing the murder of millions of innocent babies, tossing out God’s commandments about marriage and family, and kicking God to the curb in America.
Allowing myself to become so focused on the rancorous evil going on around me, like Lot, my soul has been vexed. And when I focus on vexness, I’m not talking about the joy of living for Jesus. No, I’m spitting the putrid liquid of frustration on everyone around me. And brother and sister in Christ, sometimes it’s hard to tell you and me from the rest of the world.
Can I get a witness?
Think about Lot. Uncle Abraham raised him…can you imagine being under Abraham’s care? ‘Course Abraham had warts too, but as the head of a family, “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness” (James 2:23 NAS).
Yet, when the time came, Lot chose to settle near a booming metropolis where life would be prosperous and his kids could benefit from all the cultural advantages Sodom and Gomorrah could offer. Lot put down roots. Roots that went deep into heathen soil. But Lot didn’t change the culture, the culture changed Lot. And his family.
Scripture is silent about his time there except to let us know Lot sat at the gates. He was a civic leader, maybe on the way to becoming a judge, but apparently his life made absolutely no impact on anyone around him, not even his wife, daughters or would-have-been sons-in-law.
You know the story. He moved in with the heathen, knew they were evil, but lost his perspective and lost his joy. Lost his ability to see beyond his current circumstances to God’s promise and the glory to come. And he dwelt there day after day, year after year, ‘til his ability to think was so distorted he offered his virgin daughters to the homosexual mob, to do with as they pleased, to save his visitors. And God destroyed those cities…forever.
And haven’t we done the same thing with our children? We’ve moved in alongside the godless culture and like those ancient Israelites, we’ve sacrificed our children on pagan altars, refusing to come apart and be different. And we’ve become like the world.
God’s epitaph to Lot in 2 Peter refers to righteous Lot and how God rescued him from Sodom and Gomorrah, but Lot still must stand before God to account for his leadership as a husband and father. Will all that’s left for him be wood, hay, and stubble? What about you? What about me?
So what’s the impact of joy? The question was asked in our Precept study this week, “What truth has God revealed to you about yourself in this first chapter of 1 Peter? And verses seven, eight, and nine leaped off the page and punched me in the gut.
“…the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:7-9 NAS).
Inexpressible joy? Me? I’m not even living in the shadow of His joy most of the time. Some days the darkness of evil seems to envelop my world. Do you ever feel that way? Like Lot I’ve put my roots downDSCF1479 deep, like I’m gonna be here forever. My prayer closet gets a few minutes in the morning and in the evening at best, unless trouble, trials, or torment move in for a visit. Then I want everyone to join me in the closet.
Take a gander around you this coming Sunday morning. What do you see? Joy and peace, or sour faces, sitting and soaking in the pews? Faces etched in unattractive arcs because of the yammering of everything gone wrong in our nation. In our world. And we’re not used to things that threaten our farce of happy life, beautiful home, successful kids, or our bellies. And we react.

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We’ve been cellophaned picture-perfect for the world to look at and envy. But we aren’t perfect or pleasing. And Jesus never told us our journey here would be pleasant or peaceful. Especially when we’ve forgotten The Lord God Almighty. As a nation, we’ve thumbed our noses at Him, refused to listen and obey His commandments, and forgotten He provided all those blessings, we didn’t. And He can certainly remove them from rebellious, hateful, spoiled children.
Those early Christians maintained their love and support for Jesus and each other while members of their families and their church were soaked in tar and used as human torches along Nero’s highways, or others were sewn in animal skins and tossed into the arena with wild beasts to entertain the spectators? How did they maintain their faith and joy?
History doesn’t record them leading protests against Nero. Nor did they appear on the local Rome news of the day. But they knew the Giver of Joy—the Lord Jesus Christ. They were trapped in their frailty and depended on Him for everything. They knew their world was not getting better and they knew, that they knew, that they knew to be absent from the body meant being present with the Lord. And they concentrated on an eternal citizenship and relationship with Jesus, refusing to cling to the flesh. They understood their future was with the God of the Universe. Creator. Sustainer. El Shaddai—The Lord God Almighty.
Is God going to have to use a larger board to get our attention? Their joy over God’s promises and their faith in the truth of His word drove them to abide in Jesus. He was their only hope and they carried everything to Him, in spite of the reality of everything playing out in real time.
If there is any hope for America today, we must do the same. We need to cry to God for the fresh wind and fire of His Spirit to blow the doors off stinky sanctuaries allowing the freshness of His grace, His glory, His love, and His joy to cleanse and rejuvenate His people. We need to be revived!
In spite of what the “name it and claim it” folks shout, America is in immediate, grave danger. Danger of God’s judgment.
Imagine this scene—men and women draped in black robes, sitting on the benches of the courts of ourHot in the kitchen 2 land. The gavel slams down and these justices overrule God. Again. And their decision will place us alongside Sodom and Gomorrah in the history books.
Horrendous stories splash the front pages of the newspapers and scream in HD on the nightly news. America is no longer the America of my youth. The deceiver has captured the minds of the majority and they have chosen his lies rather than God’s Truth. The majority desire a king who will stand against God, just like many of our national leaders do every day and that highest court in the land may rule this spring. And then—business as usual? Maybe—maybe not.
Because God is the same God who, when Israel turned away from Him and Judah followed in their steps, sent heathen nations to judge them. To judge them for the purpose of bringing them back to Him.
The Jews are God’s covenant people and He used a really big, bad, bubba board on them. But because of His unconditional covenant with Abraham and His predetermined plan, He will restore a remnant of them in the last days. But at what cost? The Crusades. Two world wars. Genocide. In days to come, scripture tells us two-thirds of that nation will be destroyed. Only one-third will survive—to be saved and restored in a single day.
Contrary to some teaching, America does not have a national covenant with God. God has offered His grace to individual believers under the New Covenant. But this New Covenant is conditional. And subject to the believer’s faith and trust and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ through the predetermined sacrifice of Jesus’ blood and the grace and mercy of God.
So the question I ask you right now, is the melody of Jesus’ glory playing in your heart this morning? Issun and lightning the joy of God’s grace causing your soul to celebrate with inexpressible joy? Is the dawn of His appearing bubbling from within you? Or does the constant clamor from demonic swords drown heaven’s choir and dim the light of His truth?
What will people see in you and me as the darkness of this age squeezes them into the mold of evil—hope and love and the grace of God? Or the horror of a mirror image of themselves?
What will God’s epitaph read about you an me? Will the impact of our “…great rejoicing with joy inexpressible and full of glory…” point others to Jesus before it’s too late?

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IN THE MORNIN’

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on January 16, 2015| 15 Comments »

Yesterday was a race from the moment my feet hit the floor ‘til I tucked my weary, done-in bones into bed last night. A frantic day, a not-a-moment-to-spare day. A chasing-my-tail day. I know you’ve had them. But as I look back on the sequence of events my anxiousness, my distractions, my unrealistic expectations exacerbated the disappointing chaos.

 
This morning I roused to thoughts of what did you do with Jesus? My mind immediately protested, Why I prayed yesterday morning and I asked God to make my path smooth and help me get everything done I needed to accomplish.

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The silence was deafening.

 
I thought back to yesterday morning and shoving my husband out the door so I could execute my plan for the day. My Martha spirit reasoned, if I missed the first part of Bible study and use it to—yep, that would leave me just enough time to accomplish what needed to be done. I’d just go for the DVD, after all, I did my homework. Yeah, that part worked ‘til the rest of the day did the proverbial leap into the handbag.

 
As I laid there this morning making excuses an old spiritual began to play over and over in my head. In the mornin’ when I rise, in the mornin’ when I rise. In the mornin’ when I rise, I need Jesus.

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And I was ashamed.

 
Those prayers tossed toward heaven were about me, not about Jesus. I had made a plan, dotted the “I’s” and crossed the “T’s”. My plan would be a smashing success. Or so I thought.

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I rolled over and stared at the ceiling as the melody pricked my heart and I whispered my confession to the Lord. My sin of not consulting Him first. My sin of putting everything else before Him. My sin of being distracted with all my preparations. Oh, not bad things, just my things. I hadn’t chosen that “good part” like Jesus told Martha. “Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 11:42 NAS).

 
How many mornings does this scene repeat itself at your house? How many mornings do your eyelids snap open while your feet hit the floor and there’s no looking back to seek Him. How many mornings do we all open the front door to chaos by not beginning the day with Jesus. Thanking Him. Praising Him. Humbling ourselves before Him. Admitting, before we rise, we need Jesus.

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“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38-42 NAS).

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REMEMBER AND RELINQUISH

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , on January 9, 2015| 2 Comments »

Growing up in the deep south where lakes and creeks are always around the next bend, an old wives’ tale was repeated often to us kids. “Don’t touch snapping turtles. They will bite you and not let go ‘til it thunders.”

 
Now I guess they told us that ‘cause what kid doesn’t wanna catch a turtle, poke its shell, or bring the critter home and put it in a tub of water? But all these years later I’m rememberin’ what my momma said, ‘cause I don’t want no turtle hangin’ on my hand.

 
I thought about that old saying this morning. God emphatically tells us we are to remember some things and other things we are to relinquish. But I wonder if we don’t act like those ornery snapping turtles, refusing to turn loose of what God says to relinquish and refusing to latch onto what He says to remember—struggling through life with Satan biting onto a piece of our flesh.

 
Remember what God said to Adam and Eve? “You can eat of all the trees in the Garden, but of the tree of good and evil you shall not eat.” We all know how that came out. Their refusal to latch onto God’s instruction and remember and obey His words and the catastrophic consequences reverberate clear to 2015 A.D., don’t they?

 
In Exodus He chiseled in stone, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” And repeated with the New Testament restatement of this commandment…“Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together as is the habit of some….”

 
When I was a girl Sunday was a day of rest. Stores were closed and it was a day of gathering at God’s house to worship, rest, then dinner with family and friends.

 
As society refused to remember, Sunday Blue Laws were passed, but alas, they did little to hold the chain-of-remembrance firm. Today most of the people on any given block, in any given city in America, have forgotten or have never known God instructed them to gather together with an assembly of believers to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, study His Word, and encourage one another “…as we see the time drawing near.”

 
Yet we’ve allowed those tablets of stone to be chunked out of schools, the family, the courthouse, and the Whitehouse.

 
God called Israel to remember forever how He delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. He told them to remember what their enemies did to them on their journey to the promised land. He told them to remember the words Moses conveyed to them from Him.

 
And God instructed them to “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them;’…then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it…For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 7, 14 NAS).

 
You might find it interesting to do a word search on the word remember throughout the scriptures. Jesus told His followers, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also” (John 15:20 NAS).

 
And in Act 20:29-36, Jesus said: “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified…In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

 
Well folks, the wolves have arrived! Hungry wolves. Wolves determined to shatter and scatter the flock. And the wolves are circling and devouring our children.

 
We’ve nurtured and raised a throw-a-way generation. A generation drunk with self-aggrandizement and pleasure, who buy the newest and best, use it for a spell, then toss the stuff for newer technology. Forgetting to treasure and remember what God’s Word says. And they are raising a generation of children who know nothing of “…more blessed to give than to receive.” They demand everything for themselves.

 
Where did we go wrong? Could it be that we, like the ancient Hebrews, refused to listen and learn God’s instructions to remember. We ignored and did not teach His instruction: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 NAS).

 
But like stubborn turtles-with-a-snap or dogs-with-a-bone we have refused to relinquish what He told us to turn from.

 
I could list what we all consider the big sins, but are those really the ones that shred the church? Or do the thoughts and intents of our hearts within the body of Christ do more damage than we’re willing to fess up to?

 
Philippians 2:5-8 tells us: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied (laid aside His privileges)Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
This passage goes on to say we are to, “…do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.”

 
So what does this look like fleshed out in every day life? In relationships, marriages, friendships? How about relinquishing my right to be right or have my way. Or relinquishing my false pride and self-righteousness. And relinquishing my need to be more affluent, more educated, the center of attention, the most popular, most important…whatever. Then there’s relinquishing my bent to lie, gossip, or respond in harshness or peevish behavior toward others. And perhaps more important, relinquishing my right to hold grudges, be angry and unforgiving to those within the Body of Christ who offend us.

 
In America we have been blessed and affluent because of our forefathers’ faith and trust in the Word of God. But we will not be allowed to hitch-a-ride on the coat-tails of their obedience forever.
God’s patience will come to an end. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7 NAS).

 
It’s long past time for the Church to be the Church…the pure and holy bride of Christ. Loving and forgiving each other daily as God, through Christ Jesus, has loved and forgiven each one of us. Having in ourselves an insatiable appetite for the pure Word of God and a disciplined heart and mind that desires only to please Him and turn from what He hates.

 
Whether that turtle holds on ‘til it thunders is irrelevant. But when God thunders from heaven and the trumpet sounds, it will be too late for you or me to change.

 
Scripture tells us, “Today if you hear His voice do not harden your heart” (Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:7, 3:15, 4:7 NAS). What has God’s Holy Spirit called you to remember today? To relinquish? Perhaps both?

 

 

“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (I Peter 1:22-23 NAS).

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A BLANK…

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on December 31, 2014| 12 Comments »

With a sweeping stroke of my paint-filled-brush, the blank canvas disappears. Forever. And with a flurry of tap-a-dee-taps on theDSCF2870 005 keyboard the blank page of my manuscript is a thing of the past—the story unfolds.
Can I go back to change the direction of the painting or novel? Of course. But the virgin whiteness of the canvas and page has vanished until I begin a new picture or book.
Layers of color, skillfully applied, hopefully enhance the depth and mood of the painting just as crafting and weaving words builds suspense as the plot line flows from scene to scene into a mesmerizing tale.
Every brush stroke and every word adds or takes away from the finished product. That’s why many hours of thinking, researching, and planning must swirl in the mind of an artist or writer before the first color or words smear the page.
And life should be like that too.
Years ago the habit of the Church was to have Watch Night Service on New Year’s Eve. A night when the congregation came together to seek God’s will during the final minutes of the previous year and His help for the coming new year.
Thursday, January 1, 2015, will present to us the stark white canvas of a new year. What will your opening line tell the world? What tone will you set for the year in those opening moments? Blessing or cursing? Love or hate? Anticipation or resentment?
Might the first strokes or words of the next 365 days be improved or hampered by thoughts, research, or planning done or not done before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st?
Good or bad, we are creatures of habits and the habits we nurture affect every area of our lives. But God gives us the freedom to choose how we will determine to walk into this new year—with His help or on our own.
Before I apply the first brush stroke to a new canvas I gather DSCF7975traveling companions—an easel, a stash of many types and sizes of brushes, paper towels to sop up my messes, turpentine or water—depending on my medium of choice, and the composition of the finished product clearly etched in my mind.
A manuscript is different, but I still collect my travel buddies—The Synonym Finder, Roget’s Thesaurus, a ream of white paper, edit partners, pictures, research material, a computer and plenty of ink. And usually a general idea of the final scene in the story.DSCF7972
I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer and open to change. Many times I wish I were more out-lined oriented, would save me yards of time and ink, but the writing trip’s not nearly as much fun.
And many of us attempt to live life clinging to a seat-of-the-pants DSCF7974attitude, but that’s not what God calls His people to do. His instructions are simple. His Word is our road-map and resource guide. The Holy Spirit and fellow believers are our travel companions, encouragers, teacher and helpers when our path gets rocky and steep. And prayer is our walkie-talkie for moment-by-moment communication and personal instruction from the Father.
When I don’t pay attention to the rules and techniques of painting, I make a muddy, ugly, mess. And when I refuse to follow the foundational rules of writing, the finished product screams ignorance and failure to those who read what I write.
And when I refuse to seek God’s help and obey His commands my life becomes a flashing billboard of the consequences of disobedience.
How am I going to walk through 2015? Following God or the world? Learning to love those God places in my path or grumbling about interruption to my norm? Will I accept God’s authority and obey Him or will I choose rebellion? Each decision is made in my heartDSCF7971 and works out in my mind before spilling onto those around me.

Will my life in 2015 be a masterpiece of obedience or a muddy mess of doing it my way?
The truly Good News is God is always right there when we make a mess of our lives. If we are sorry and choose to turn to Him to change our ways, He hits the refresh or delete button, depending on the relationship. He casts our sins behind His back. And gives us a new page, a fresh canvas washed clean by the blood of Jesus and restores our life—if we choose to trust and obey Him as we continue 2015’s journey.
What about you? How are you readying yourself for the New Year? Or are there smudges, stains and scum from 2014 that need Jesus’ healing touch to transform your life or your family? He loves you and longs for you to trust Him. Not just now, but forever.
The last minutes of this old year are drawing to a close. How will you color the blank canvas or fill the blank pages of 2015? With Jesus or with the things of this world?

“And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true;’…and behold, I am coming quickly. ‘Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.’… ‘Behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:6-13 NAS).
“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:17 NAS).
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen’” (Revelation 22:20 NAS).

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ANYONE OUT THERE GRIEVING? RAISE YOUR HANDS

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , on December 19, 2014| 15 Comments »

Fourteen years—fourteen years since that first Christmas without our daughter. We think we’veDSCF7788 healed, but the decorations go up, the carols play, and we’re swept back into that emotional time warp of holidays past and once again deep scars of grief are probed and our hearts ache.

Last year was a major milestone for me, during an unexpected meltdown, a dear friend reminded me, “You don’t have to keep going down the same road.”

For thirteen years I drug out the same tree, put everything in the same place, administered CPR to old memories, choosing to cling to the past, choosing to hang each one of those gut-wrenching ornaments on our tree. And each year the process became more difficult. And I found out the hard way, it hurts when God has to pry my fingers off the past in order to move me forward today.

Two December blogs of 2013, Is Jesus Enough and Storm to Storm—Faith to Faith, https://dianegates.wordpress.com/ recount what happened and how God used my dear friend’s words to bless my heart and change my life.

This year we have a new tree, many of the same DSCF7798ornaments, but those scab-ripper ornaments are packed away, waiting for children and grandchildren’s trees, where they will be treasures not idols. I’ve chosen to take a new, less bumpy road through this year’s Christmas celebration.

I don’t see any raised hands, but I see some of you reaching for Kleenex, and I see and hear your sniffles. And I know if this is your first Christmas after the loss of one you love, you wish you’d gone to sleep before Thanksgiving and could stay in bed with the covers over your head ‘til January of 2015.

Scripture tells us our emotions mirror God’s emotions because we were created in the image of God. We read of His anger, His forgiveness, and His love. We’re in good company.

Consider the turmoil God must have suffered nine months prior to that special night when the Spirit of God overshadowed Mary. For the first time ever, the Father, Son, and Spirit were physically separated. The Son left the realm of His Father’s glory, relinquishing His rights, His comfort, and confined Himself to a pitiful human body so you and I and our loved ones might live.

The separation was the Father’s choosing, planned before the foundation of the world, and the Son was willing. Willing to pay the price.

But I wonder if knowing all the whys and wherefores made it any less difficult for God? If you had known beforehand when and how your loved one would die, would that have made your grief more bearable?

Father, Son, and Spirit knew the necessity of the sacrifice and the cost of the victory—down to every lash Jesus would endure. But as the time arrived for that miraculous conception did GodWise Men 3 experience sadness and grief over the pain and horror He knew His Son must experience before the final victory was won?

We glamorize and commercialize the manger scene in Bethlehem. There were no wise men from the East that night with the Wise Menshepherds. They arrived two years later. Our little nativity sets are beautiful and touching. But I’m afraid we’ve lost the awe, the deep sacrifice, and the eternal majesty of that night.

Dr. Paul David Tripp says: “God’s story is a life-death-life story. And we are in the middle of that story, having just experienced the life-death cycle thus far.”

So what better time to consider this miracle of God’s story than during the pain and sorrow of our own loss? And what better time to be quiet before God, asking Him to teach and ground us in the truth? His Son, His only Son, entered this world to lie in a manger, die on a cross, to become our forever Savior and King!

God’s amazing life-death-life story.

SILENT NIGHT—HOLY NIGHT keeps whispering in my soul. The night angels brought the message of God’s good will rather than His wrath. The night God announced the arrival of the long promised Messiah. The night the angels sang to bleating lambs and lowly shepherds. But all heaven knew there would be great pain and sorrow on this earth and in our lives before joy reigned forever.

“An angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were greatly afraid. And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men” (Luke 2:9-14 KJV).Wise Men 2

I know your soul groans and you hurt, but in the depths of your dark night of grief will you accept comfort, knowing God has experienced and understands what you’re going through? I know from years experience—yes, you can.

And God’s message to you and me today is the same word He sent to those frightened shepherds. Don’t be afraid. Jesus is with you. He completed the Father’s life-death-life plan established before the foundation of the world. He knows your pain and sorrow and is engaged in enlarging your heart’s capacity for His joy through this roto-rooter of grief. You can rest in Him. You can rely on Him. You can trust Him. He loves you and promises to wrap you in His comfort and care ‘til we can raise our hands to worship and praise King Jesus!

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WHAT’S YOUR POV?

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , on December 12, 2014| 8 Comments »

In her teen years our daughter constantly bemoaned “You love my brother better than me.” Followed by a long list of why she believed DSCF7732I loved him best. There was no convincing her I loved each of them and didn’t play favorites. This was her perception. Her reality. Her POV.
One of the first things a writer must decide when crafting a story is who is your point of view character? Who is telling the story and in what tense? First person—from your main character or protagonist view point—past or present tense. Or third person, an outsider’s view point—past or present tense.
Whichever POV the author chooses must be followed without deviation throughout the story. But in real time there are only two points of view in which we can live our life story. God’s or Satan’s. That’s it folks, regardless what your professors or family or even preachers have told you. Regardless of what you think you think.
God’s POV is based on forgiveness, restoration, love and eternal life with Him. Satan’s plot line is deception, destruction and death and he will lie, cheat, steal and murder to ensnare you in his POV. His goal? To separate you from God forever.
Bill Gilham says: “Satan speaks in first person singular, with a southern accent.” That would be for us folks in the South…in other locales, you pick your accent.
Let me explain. You stand in front of the mirror and hear in your head, “My nose is too long. I’m ugly. Nobody likes me. I’m worthless. I should just end it all now.” You get the picture, and you can listen to the news or movies or friends to find out what other lies this enemy of your soul whispers, shouts, and screams. And the more you listen to that voice, the more you are lured into his web of lies. You perceive you’re hearing truth, but you’ve become accustomed to hearing your story from Satan’s POV.
Step back and reason with me, if God created you in His image is any one of us ugly in His sight? Worthless? Impossible to love? Of course not. And if we know the nature of God and the nature of Satan, it’s not difficult to identify the source of the voice. But how can you cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die know for sure? God’s story is written down, recorded by Him forever in the Bible.
God’s promises or Satan’s lies? And you get to choose.
But if you don’t have all the information how can you make an educated choice?

Prism Books is about to release my good friend and writer, Julie Cosgrove’s new book “Legitimate Lies.” The POV character is the DSCF7730same as in the first book in this series “Hush in the Storm.” Those of us who’ve read Julie’s first book know Jen. We know what she’s been through. We know her personality. We know her standards and her heart’s desire. Those who begin with the second book won’t know the background like those of us who’ve been with Julie since the beginning.
God lays the in the beginning foundation for us in the Old Testament by telling us where we came from, where we’re going, who He is, and what He’s going to do—multiplied hundreds of years before what He tells us occurs.

The New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, revealing to all who will read and believe God’s intervention and solution to sin and His plan for us now and for eternity.
But the majority of this world has no appetite for God’s truth, even a great number of folks who sit in church every Sunday morning. So how will they discern truth from lies? How will they know who’s whispering in their ear?
Within a few weeks a newborn baby comes to know and respond to the sound of its parents’ voices. The baby’s ear is tuned to those with whom it has a bond, a perceived relationship. So whose voice is your ear tuned to respond to? The voice of love, joy, peace, and forgiveness? Or the voice of lies, rage, hate, and destruction? Can you discern the difference? Do you know your Father?
This Christmas I urge you to spend some time thinking about the voice in your soul. Does your plot line wander in and out of God’s POV? Are there moments when Satan’s POV grabs the reins and runs you off-the-road and in-the-ditch? We’ve all been there because we’ve all sinned.
But God is the Ultimate Editor. Through the birth and death and blood and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, God edits our lives, forgives our sins, restores the years the locusts have eaten, and transforms you and me into His jewels.
Unlike the books we write, our life’s POV can change. What better time than today to be sure your name is recorded in the book and inscribed in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ who will hold you safe through the twists and turns of life. He is the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Praise His holy name!

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“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Malachi 3:16-17 KJV).

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