Simple Thoughts

I have never been what some would call “a runner.” I love to walk. I love to sit. But I hate to run. I always struggled in elementary school to do the mile. One time in college, I ran a mile on the treadmill…. One time. But lately, there has been a trend around me. It seems like an extraordinary amount of people in my life have been training for and running half-marathons. HALF-MARATHONS! People at work, people at church, people everywhere! In every arena of my life, it seems. One friend, in particular, has been talking to me about her training and has also shared about how she, like me, hated running and was never good at it while growing up. That same friend has shared how she learns a spiritual lesson every time she runs. So, I decided I would start running. Maybe eventually train for a half-marathon, but at least start running. And what better way to begin than figure out where your starting place is. (When the above friend started training, she was running 3 miles.) So ye...

Psalm 32:7 "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." There is a need in this time, now, for us to see God as our Hiding Place. He is our shelter, our safety, our strong tower of refuge. He will preserve us from trouble. And oh ... here comes my favorite part --- "You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." I have felt a need for songs of deliverance to come forth. There is nothing like being in a storm of life and having a song to cling to -- a song that the Lord seems to give for YOU. A song that you can cling to and hum or sing when you are feeling shaken by the storm. I recognize this is a short blog - but my prayer for each one of you is that God will show Himself as the Hiding Place to you. That you will find safety in His arms. That we will run to Him alone for our comfort and protection. And that He would preserve us in the upcoming trials and tribulations. And that the Giver ...

I realized something today. There is something that happens to me every time I watch a painter create a picture on a canvas. It doesn't matter the type of canvas or the type of paint. It doesn't even matter what it is they are creating. What happens is this... I watch the creator paint, layer after layer, creating new levels of that painting, sewing the scene together with the different colors of paint. Every time I watch, I am intrigued and then, it gets to a level that I am perfectly pleased with (so I think). "It's done!" is what I think to myself. Then the painter will ruin the picture! A few white specks here, or black lines there... And I think, "Oh no!! They are messing it up!" But then that painter begins to work in those specks or lines and begins blending it into the painting... And then the random specks or lines become creative genius that I would have never thought to add to the painting that I thought was done. By the time the paint...

Psa 71:14 - But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. There are circumstances in all of our lives that cause us to wonder... wonder if bad things will continue to happen to us... wonder why it seems like everyone else gets a breakthrough but not us... wonder why our prayers are unanswered. But then there is this thing called HOPE. Hope: –verb (used without object) to feel that something desired may happen; to place trust; rely (usually fol. by in ). We are to HOPE in the Lord. We are to hope continually. WE are to place our trust in God and to rely on him. Not just some time, not just once and a while, but CONTINUALLY. We are to always place our hope in Him. AND we should be praising Him more and more while we're at it. While we are waiting and hoping and trusting, we should praise. Sounds simple, but takes effort to do. But it's so worth it. No matter what is going on in your life right now, HOPE in the Lord. And praise Him and gi...

I heard it today, and I will change the relationship to protect the culprit. (wink). “My best friend does love to gossip with me… Well, it’s not really gossip. It’s all true…” I immediately found a dictionary and looked up gossip. As far as I could remember I didn’t think that truth was a qualifier. gos•sip –noun 1. idle talk or rumor, esp. about the personal or private affairs of others: the endless gossip about Hollywood stars. –verb (used without object) 6. to talk idly, esp. about the affairs of others; go about tattling. So rumor – that is something that may or may not be true… okay. But idle talk? What is that? i•dle –adjective 5. of no real worth, importance, or significance: idle talk. 2Ti 2:15-16 NKJV - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane [and] idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. Idle babblings in the Greek is kenophōnia which me...

Rom 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Jam 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Perseverance is not something that is unattainable. It is not some trait that we can find in the GREAT CHRISTIANS of old and can’t get in our life here in 2010. However, I will warn you. Having perseverance takes guts. Why? Because perseverance is a trait acquired after trials, tribulation, and hard times. per•se•ver•ance  / [pur-suh-veer-uhns] –noun 1.steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or ...

Eph 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Grace. Receiving what you do not deserve. It is His grace that gives us salvation. We could never possibly work our way into Heaven. We must grasp the concept of grace. It is a gift from God Almighty. We have salvation ONLY because God sent His Son to the world to die for our sins. He didn't have to. He could have lived an eternity without us, or created more humans that could love him better, and we would have spent an eternity in hell. Instead -- He decided we were worth saving. Worth saving from that eternity in hell. Worth saving so He could have a way to spend eternity in relationship with us. Grace. You could not work your way into Heaven. You can't. You could never work hard enough. If you could, those who made it by works would boast and be prideful that they did it all by themselves. We can't do it ourselves...