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STILLNESS

STILLNESS

Watching some of the news reports about Pope Francis death, caused me to think about being still. The reporter was in Vatican City and there were thousands of people, young and old, quietly wandering around in the square. He said the people that he had talked to; were there because they wanted to feel the pope’s presence and closeness, and needed the stillness in reverence to the pope. It started me thinking about God and the fact that we have to have stillness, in order to truly “connect” with Him.

 My last couple of weeks have been super busy. A dear friend and I went to a ladies’ conference about 4 hours away. There were speakers, humorist, singing group and I have a booth to sell my books. What a blessing it was to visit with my friend to and from. I met women of different ages and stages of their lives. I was able to talk to them, pray with them, share my story. My booth was closed during the activities planned. Sitting in the stillness and listening to the speakers and singing, as a group of women, filled my heart. When I came back, I was so tired. I have fibromyalgia and lupus, besides caring for my 91-year-old dad. That week I got back; I had bunco on that Friday night here at my house and then had a dozen people over for Easter on that Sunday. At bunco, I started losing my voice. By Easter, my voice was almost a squeak and my chest started burning. It is normal for me to get bronchitis when I wear myself out. Went to doctor on Monday, and sure enough, I have bronchitis. I am now on an antibiotic and inhaler. Now, feeling better and talking better. You, ladies, understand what I am talking about, as far as so many “things” needing to be done. No time to be still.

Why, you are asking, am I telling you all that? Because in this world, we can be so busy that we forget the important things. I forgot that I needed to slow down, read scripture, sit in the stillness of meditation to God. Sit and do nothing. Our world is a busy world. We have to go to work, take kids to activities and the day-to-day busyness that we have to do. We have so many things that help us maneuver through the busyness: microwave ovens-cell phones-computers-premade dinners-cars-drive thru restaurants-washers and dryers-dishwashers.

Our world is a “find out now” society. We have TVs, Facebook, computers that we can hear the news while it is happening. But have all these things actually helped us? Do we ever just sit in the stillness and just be quiet? Do we take the time to visit the elderly or are we too busy? Do we sit in the stillness, rest and meditate on the Bible stories and words of wisdom from our God?

In Bible times, they were busy too. Think about it ladies! In order to fix a meal, an animal had to be killed or bought at the vendors, defeathered or dehaired (I guess those are words), cut up and then cooked. Then, after that meal, they had to start preparing for the next one, because they had to grind the wheat, knead the dough, let it rise and then cook it, besides all the other tasks they had to do. They did not have all the things to make them a get it “now society.”

The word stillness means: a state of quietude, rest and surrender-relinquish control-stop striving and trust in a higher power or divine presence-not move or make a sound in deep silence and calm. This stillness allows for a deeper connection, understanding and a meaningful spiritual growth.

The Bible is full of the people being told to sit in the stillness. Let’s look at a few and see how they can help us to get a life of stillness away from this busy world.

Psalm 46:10a, “Be still and know that I am God.” God tells us we need to quiet our minds, stop our frantic activity and sit in surrender to what God has for us and just be, in His presence. We have to set our minds, turn off our devices, let go of our worries and actively stop and sit in the stillness and trust and feel God’s power.

Exodus 14:14, The Israelites were fleeing Egypt, but here they were caught between the Red Sea in front of them and the armies of Pharoah behind them. The Israelites became very afraid and even said they would have been better in Egyptian captivity! Moses tells them, “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”  In other words, hush-be still-hold your peace and remember, God was in charge. God would take care of them just like He had already.

Lamentations 3:25-26, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” This verse tells me that God has His own timetable. Waiting is hard, but we must wait and have quiet confidence that He will bring us through our hard times.

Mark 4:39b-40, Jesus says “Peace, be still.” This is when the disciples were crossing the sea in their boats. Jesus was in one of the boats and was sleeping. The wind came up and started causing the waves to start filling the boat. They asked Jesus, who was sleeping, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Jesus tells the waves to be still. “…there was a great calm. But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” How can we have peace, if we refuse to sit in stillness and in remembrance of our Lord God?

In Bible times, they let the worries, fears, lack of patience and hope cause them to forget who God was, is and always will be. Don’t we do the same? The last two weeks of my busyness, have consumed my time and caused my stress level to be elevated, even causing me to physically get sick.

The people who were in Vatican City, remembering the pope, felt they could feel closer to him through quietness and stillness. Shouldn’t that be a lesson for us?

This blog has been for me to remember what is important and to refocus on remembering to, even in the busyness; stop-sit-breathe-read scripture-spend time in prayer talking to God-think and meditate on God’s words of peace. My focus, back on Him, once again has told me to center my core in obedience, trust, hope and stillness.

Have you remembered today to sit in stillness and focus on what is truly important? God our Lord and Savior!

Stillness. What a powerful word!

Till next time!

                                                        Keela

AGAIN

Are you like me and keep doing the same things over and over, that I just asked God forgiveness for the day before? It is hard to realize that God will keep forgiving us, isn’t it? I think it is harder for me to forgive myself, than it is for God to forgive me. I wrestle with guilt that I can’t push the devil out of my thoughts and I keep doing the same sin over and over. Ephesians 3:20-21 reads “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” God’s power and ability to accomplish things is far beyond our comprehension or expectations. God’s power is at work within us, meaning He empowers us to live and act in ways that reflect His greatness. Neither God’s love nor His power to forgive is limited by human imagination. I am thankful for that, aren’t you?

There is a song by Jeremy Camp, called “AGAIN.” It has made me think about this blog. I have realized that I let this world “climb into my brain” at the most inopportune times. I will be listening to the lesson at church, and all of a sudden, I realize I am wondering how my lunch is doing in the oven at home! What is wrong with my brain? I would like to blame it on my age, but the fact is, the devil loves to wiggle into our brains without us realizing it. The devil loves to cause us to swerve away from thoughts of God and His laws.

Matthew 18:21-22 reads “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’’ Seven in the Bible, refers to completion and perfection. Jesus didn’t set a number of times we should forgive. Jesus pointed out to Peter that there is no set number of times that we are to forgive others. This would apply to us forgiving ourselves also. The point of this verse is not to keep count at all, but to always be willing to forgive, no matter how many times we sin over and over.

We are assured that when we confess our sins, God will forgive us. 1 John 1:9 reads “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Do you see the first word of that verse? IF. We have to take action to talk to God, in prayer and ask for forgiveness. When my brain wanders away from what I should be focused on, I tell the devil, once again, to GO AWAY!  

Jeremy Camp has a song called “Again,” that I identify with and it assures me that God is always there for me no matter how many times I go to Him for forgiveness. Below are the words to that song.

Here I am again, back in the same place I’ve been so many times.

Here I am again losing the battle and thinking I’ll never win this fight.

I’m so ashamed, down on my knees.

I know there’s grace but is there grace for me?

Fall after fall, prayer after prayer.

Father, will You still be there?

(Chorus): Here You are again forgiving, redeeming my heart again. Standing me up on my feet again. You show me Your mercy will never run out. Will never run out. I can breathe again knowing I’m loved, I feel free again, no matter how long I’ve gone too far. Here You are again.

Here I am again, reminded of all of the ways You’re patient with me. What a faithful friend, through every climb, every fall You never leave.

(Chorus)

You’d go anywhere. You’d give anything. Even lay down Your life to bring to new life to me.

(Chorus)

When I think that I’ve gone too far, here You are again.

Did the words to that song, connect with your heart, like it did mine? The devils’ attacks make it a real challenge for us to remember and simply rest in the promises of God and trust His love. He tries to get us trapped by guilt so we don’t feel worthy of God’s love and forgiveness. The devil lies to us, especially when we are weak. John 8:44 reads, Jesus speaking about the devil, “You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” The devil is always searching (remember what I wrote about him in my last blog). The devil is waiting for us to slip up, say something we shouldn’t, lose patience, lose focus, pay attention to the sins of this world, to feel less than, or when the temptations of this world pull us into old sinful habits which pull us into addictions. He just waits for us to get our focus off of God!

Psalm 103:11-12 reads “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” There is no distance, no place we can go that God’s grace and mercy won’t reach us. No depth that we can sink to that God will not pull us out of our self-made muddy mire.

The only time He will not forgive us is, if we “sit in it” and don’t ask for that unlimited forgiveness that God is so generous with. Tell the devil to GO AWAY!

Just know that no matter how many times we have to go to Him again and again, that He will forgive us and will help us to breath with peace in our hearts once again. Standing us back up on our feet again. We are once again free because of Who He is and what He has done for us. Rest in the knowledge that we are loved by a perfect God, over and over AGAIN.

Till next time!

                                                   Keela

RENEWED MIND

RENEWED MIND

The meaning of the word renews is: ‘resume or restore an activity or an activity of the mind, after an interruption’. This shows me when we see the letters re in front of a word, we need to go back to change something again, to make it fresh, to get back on track or the right path. In this article, we will re-new our mind.

Who do you think causes us to have to renew our minds? That sneaky devil! He wiggles himself into our minds, when we are weak. I have to renew my mind every day. Do you? Let’s look at why we have to keep renewing our minds. 1Peter 5:8– “Be sober, be vigilant, (on the alert or be ready) because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  My daughter and I had an experience with a lion once. When she was in grade school, I took her and a friend to the zoo. We were in front of the lions’ cage. The lioness was sunning herself on a rock and her little cubs were running around. Ashley said I wonder where the daddy lion is? Right after she said that, we heard roaring and here came the lion from behind the rocks. He started pacing back and forth in front of the enclosure, looking at those of us standing there. He stopped right in front of us, stared at us, turned around, raised his tail and shot urine right at us. I pushed the girls one way and I jumped the other way, but the lion hit its target. The urine splattered all over poor Ashley. She screamed and we went running to the bathroom to clean her up. (I am pretty sure, I started laughing.) The reason I am telling you that story, is so you can have a visual of that sneaky lion, the devil, and how he paces back and forth looking for someone to devour. (or in our case, pee on!) Job 1:7, God asks the devil “From where do you come?” and Satan says, “from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” He is always pacing to find who he can target!

Satan is always looking for someone to mess up, have a weak moment or, as in my case, lose focus. I don’t know if it is my age or what, but my mind loses focus all the time! Satan knows if he controls our thoughts, he can also control our actions. Proverbs 23:7 says “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he, ‘eat and drink’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.” Do you ever, in church, sing the song or hear the prayer or the lesson and realize you were thinking about that sweet baby in front of you or what you are going to have for lunch? I sure have! I will sing the words to the song, but then all of a sudden, I realize our overhead at church, says end of song. I was singing the words (I have been a Christian about 60 years, so most of those songs are in my mind), but I was not focusing on the words and their meaning. You know who has controlled my mind? Satan! Think about this! If the devil distracts our spiritually focused thoughts; there was probably something in the class, sermon, song or prayer that we needed to hear! Satan is always waiting for a time he can wiggle into our minds and get them, off of God. Something reassuring about this is; if he is still trying to wiggle himself into our minds; then he doesn’t have complete control over us! He comes with trials of this world, causing trials to come against those who are a threat to his ministry on the earth. Satan tries to make us believe we are inferior-worthless-incompetent-we don’t believe we are good enough for God to love us. When he puts those thoughts into our heads, we start living those thoughts as truth and those thoughts become our definition of ourselves!  We need a quick renewal of our mind back to what we know about our Father God!               

The negativity in our thoughts, can come into our minds, in so many ways through-tv-books-Facebook-radio-the news-someone talking to us who is a negative person-repetition of hearing negative or bad language. We hear negative so much that we can become negative or repeat what that person is saying. Think about a child who lives with mother and dad who are always negative. They believe that is how everyone is and they can be pulled down into that negativity, which will affect the rest of their lives. When I was working at the animal hospital, they hired a new veterinarian. My office was close enough to the vets’ office that I could hear what went on in that room. She cussed almost every other word! If we hear something all the time, we can take that into our minds. I started worrying that if I heard her enough with those awful curse words, would I, not on purpose of course, but would I start using them? It was a Wednesday night and I remember going to church and talking to a friend, to pray for me that I would be able to separate my mind from that bad language. Well, it ended up the vet that owned the practice, must have had a talk with her and asked her to not talk that way. Because the next day, she did not cuss but for every once and awhile. When she would use one of those words, she would immediately, holler towards the room I was in and tell me she was sorry. I was so thankful I did not have to worry about that. But you know what it also showed me; she could actually control her language if she wanted to. It was a choice.

I have been telling the devil to go away when I realize he is in my mind once again. Can you think of a time Jesus told the devil to go away? Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13, tell us of when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness.  Satan tempts Jesus when He was hungry. Satan told Him to throw Himself off the high part of the temple and Satan wanted Jesus to bow at his feet. Jesus told Satan to go away and Jesus quoted from scripture: IT IS WRITTEN.

Now, that we know who is the cause of us having to renew our minds, let’s see how we are to fight against the devil. I have realized that my mind is a battlefield. (There is a very good book, that talks about this I recommend, by Joyce Meyer, called “The Battlefield of the Mind.”) Our mind is a battlefield, which means we have to put action into our lives by using God given defenses against the devil. Read Ephesians 6:10-18, which tells us of the armor God has given us to use against our enemy, the devil, and tells us what actions we need to take. Some of the defenses are: the truth-righteousness-the gospel-faith-the hope and assurance of salvation-use scripture which is the Word of God, to fight back like Jesus did, by saying it is written and then quoting scripture.

Let’s think of some ways we can keep our minds strong and renewed every day, so we can fight the devils’ battle that he wages into our minds. Some things we need to do in order to be defensive against the devil. PRAY-I always feel closer to God when I talk to Him several times a day.  STUDY SCRIPTURE-we are to fill our minds with God’s Words. MEMORIZE VERSES-when a trial or temptation comes, we will have God’s words implanted in our minds to fight against the devil. Remember what I said above that Jesus said to Satan in the wilderness-IT IS WRITTEN. TURN OFF-media, the news on tv, our phones or computer-anything that feeds us with negativity. I wonder if this contributes to our minds causing us to become negative? Of course it does!  SPEND TIME WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS-we can talk to each other, study together, laugh together, have compassion and understanding with each other. When we associate with other Christians, instead of people in this world, it will help us to not give into the devils’ grasp.

We have to turn our thoughts away from this world, by renewing them through doing spiritual exercises. We have the ability to make the choice to change our thoughts through renewal, every day. It is a constant action. We have to put off our former conduct, and put on our new self, which is done by making the choice to renew our minds in the Lord’s truth. Ephesians 4:17-24 reads “…you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness …you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus; that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of the mind, and that you put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Philippians 4:6-9, tells us what we need to study and meditate on in order to be able to renew our minds. These are the attitudes we need to choose in our lives, in order to have peace from God and thus a renewed mind. TRUE-focus on what is real and accurate. NOBLE-have honorable character. JUST-fair according to God’s standards, righteous. PURE-morally clean both in thought and deed. LOVELY-focus on positive. GOOD REPORT-we are to be admirable, worthy of respect and praise. These verses also say we are to LEARN-RECEIVE-HEAR-SEE and DO these things. Put action and choice into our lives. God tells us how to lean into a life of positivity and not negativity, and that type of life will give us that peace of God.

God warns us that we need to renew our minds and learn how to recognize when we are in the grasp of the devil. Tell the devil to go away and have the words of the Bible so imbedded in our minds and hearts, we can say “IT IS WRITTEN.” God is the only one who can help us renew our minds and give our mind peace once again! Who are you letting come into your mind?

Till next time!

                                                         Keela

A PROMISE IN THE CLOUDS

A PROMISE IN THE CLOUDS

It had been a stressful week. My husband was in the hospital once again. There was a pile of bills sitting on the kitchen table, waiting to be paid. I knew I did not have the money to pay them. After my twelve-hour day, I was finally on my way home, from my two part-time jobs. I was so tired and knew I was going to have to do it all again tomorrow. Is it just me, or do you also, start feeling sorry for yourself, like I was, when there is just not enough time in the day to do all, you have to do? The weight of the world was weighing on my heart! Almost everyday something else seemed to happen to push me down deeper into the dark abyss I found myself in. Of course, to top off my gloomy mood, it had been raining non-stop for days. The clouds were dark and ominous showing signs of another serge of rain heading my way feeding into my gloom.

Then, all of a sudden, there it was. A promise in the clouds! Not just one promise, but a double promise. A double complete rainbow! The colors were bright and beautiful against the dark clouds. Have you ever seen a double rainbow? Perfection, peace and the glory of the Lord, shone brightly. God was reminding me that He was right there with me and His promises were still true.

In Genesis 9, we read about a family who also saw a rainbow of hope. Noah, his family and animals lived together in the ark, while the flood waters engulfed the earth. Noah and his family were saved from the flood that covered the earth and every living creature.  No time out from the animals or each other. They could not go take a walk in the woods, or sit by a babbling brook to find a sense of peace from the world. They had to rely on the promises made by God to keep them safe and secure. Then, after the waters receded, Noah, his family and the animals left the ark into a new world. A world fresh and clean, washed from all evil. This is a promise we are given through the act of baptism. When we are raised from the water of baptism, we feel fresh and clean of all impurities. (1Peter 3:20-22)

God made a covenant (or promise) with them and a covenant to be passed on to generations forever, including ours. In Genesis 9:11 reads “Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And verses, 15-16, “And I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” I am afraid of deep water, that promise from God gives me so much comfort. God’s promises were good in the past, in our present and in our future!

Have you ever wondered why God made the rainbow so beautiful? Why are there different colors, instead of it just all orange or green? Why is it always in a half circle pointed down? The only simple answer is, God knew that it would be a very welcoming beautiful sight after a brutal storm. God knew that after our storms in life, the beautiful rainbow would give us hope on our gloomy days like I was having. God gave me a double promise! God’s promise in the clouds, is encircling downward showing us that God is circling us in His complete peace and love. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. Thank you, God!

I have a bad habit, these days, of forgetting the reason for the rainbow. When I see the rainbow, the LGBTQ community uses to represent diversity and unity within their community; I think of them and not the real reason God gave us the beautiful rainbow. Do you also think that? God gave us that beautiful rainbow to help us remember: His promises, His hope, His love, His peace, His salvation, His protection, His anchor, His consistency. Don’t let the symbol used by the LGBTQ community to distract you from the real reason for that beautiful rainbow of promise in the sky!

Have you ever noticed how quickly a rainbow disappears? By the time I had called my family at home, to look out the window, it was gone. God gives us fleeting glimpses of His presence every single day. We see: a baby’s smile and laugh, a beautiful cardinal in a tree, an eagle soaring about a mountaintop, the sound of water cascading over a rocky riverbed, the rustle of leaves in a tree and yes, a rainbow in the clouds. God gives us these signs as a visual reminder that He is real-that He is true to His promises-that He will help us to put one foot in front of the other when it just seems impossible. We can make it one more day, one more hour, one more minute. Yes, God is true to His promises and He gave us a visual promise in the clouds! I have never seen a complete double rainbow again, a double promise from God. The next time I see a single or double rainbow; I will remember God’s promise to generations before and generations to come. Thank you, God for a promise in the clouds!

Till next time!

                                                                   Keela

FEBRUARY 14

FEBRUARY 14^th

It is almost that time again, to share something special with the one you love on this special day. My husband was always, even in those rough years, good to remember this day. We would go out and eat or he would have some candy or flowers to give me and a special card. One special thing he did for me was to go by Sonic and get me a sweetheart shake. Sonic has long sense stopped serving this. But I go to DQ instead since his passing, and get their strawberry blizzard with strawberries mixed in. There were many years, we would host a party with friends. We would play games-eat heart shaped goodies-just have a fun night with friends. They always looked forward to our fun. But then when my husband got so sick, we had to stop. I miss those good times!

After Valentines Day, we see on Facebook, all the special things that those in love have done for each other. We see their happy smiling faces. Perfect gifts given each other. We look at them and wish we could have experienced what they experienced with their valentine. 2023 would have been me and my husbands’ 50^th anniversary. I remember August 4^th 2023, seeing all the posts from my friends and classmates who got married that same year, and the special trips they took. It was hard to see those posts, even though I was happy they were both still alive to enjoy that milestone.

But, I say, what about us, the ones who don’t have a valentine or a loved one to share those special memories? Those of us who are widows-widowers-the divorced-those whose valentine is away protecting our country-those who have not found a person to love, they are single-those who don’t have the money to buy something special for each other. I remember the first Valentine’s Day after my husband passed away, my boys got me some flowers and had them sitting on the kitchen table when I got home from work. Yes, I cried and I dried those flowers. They are in my China cabinet right now. Every time I look at them, I remember that very special present my boys gave me. A true act of love that they did for me. They had grown up seeing their dad making it a special day for me. Those of you who have lost their loved one and you are experiencing all those “firsts;” I am sorry. That first year after my husband passed away: the first Thanksgiving-Christmas-Valentine’s Day-birthdays-your wedding anniversary; those are so painful and will always be difficult. Then we see, what seems like the whole world together sharing such joyful days together we ask ourselves what about me? Why don’t I get to experience that happiness?

Those special days for everyone single will continue to be hard. But let’s look at some things we can do so those days are not be so hard. Not saying we won’t feel pain on those days, but we can “bubble wrap” ourselves in the knowledge of God’s love.

1. TURN TO GOD FOR COMFORT. Psalm 34:17-18 reads “the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” If you feel like curling up in a ball, do it! That is ok. But we can’t stay in those feelings of a broken heart. We need to turn to the Healer, our God. I have found out that those sad, hard times, are when we feel the closest to our Father. We just need to reach out to Him. No distractions from the world. Just our eyes closed and talking to God. We can say anything, telling Him of the pain. When we feel those days of sadness, we need to think about scriptures that help you to remember you are not alone. God has promised He would always be there for us and that love from Him will bring us strength. Psalm 46:1-2 reads “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear…” I like the word “present” in that verse. It tells me that God is right there by my side, during those times when I need Him. He is helping me take one step at a time!
2. SERVE SOMEONE. I remember around Valentine’s Day one year, several of us took the older women, who were widows of our congregation, to a tea room. We had a cake and bags of goodies, including candy, of course, for them. Philippians 2:3-4 reads “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” We don’t help or spend time with others, to be seen, but rather out of humility, we serve others for their sakes and to mirror Jesus. Matthew 20:28 reads “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus served us ultimately by giving His life for us. Guess what! One advantage to serving others is, even though it does not take your heartache completely away, it does help to diminish the pain. You are thinking of someone else and not centering on the pain you are going through!
3. CALL A FRIEND. I am so blessed to have several sisters in Christ, who I can turn to when my heart hurts and they can turn to me as well. Proverbs 18:24 reads “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” This is talking about Jesus as our brother who is close to us. But also, can refer to the fact that if we help others in their time of need, we can depend on them when we have bad days. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reads “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone. Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” This verse tells me that there is a purpose for us to have friends we can turn to. I have always liked the “threefold cord.”  What a beautiful word picture! That is telling me, if we have God in the middle of that cord of ourselves and our friend, we will be stronger than we can even imagine! Find someone who you can talk to and know, whatever you tell them, will stay between the two of you. What a blessing, friends are in our lives!

1John 4:7-8 reads “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” How simple are those verses! When we see the world enjoying loved ones and we wish we had that opportunity also, we have to remember that the ultimate love towards us belongs to God. We might think we don’t have any visual signs of His love like we use to with flowers or shakes given us by our loved one, when they were with us. Well, wake up! Look all around you! Who gave us those beautiful flowers to enjoy? God did not have to give us beauty in nature! Who gave us those juicy strawberries to eat? God did not have to give us taste buds to enjoy fruit! But He did for us; to make us happy and loved. The ultimate, of course, was God gave us His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins. God has prepared a place for us to spend eternity! How blessed we are!

Am I going to get a strawberry shake or blizzard from DQ on February 14^th? Yep! I will be in that drive-thru line! When I feel so sad that day because my husband has been gone 15 years and we can no longer be together and when I see all those smiling faces on the media, I will remember to cherish the memories of bygone days. I will remember Who loves me more than anyone else. God can help us out of those dark places and turn us to His marvelous light!

If your loved one is still with you, whether it is a parent-a brother or sister-a spouse-a friend, tell them how much you love them. Send a prayer our way. Give us a hug. Smile at those you meet in the grocery store. Those small gestures can raise a person’s spirits beyond what you can imagine.

Remember, “God is love.”  Man’s love is temporary and God’s love is eternal! Love you, my friends!

Till next time!

                                                                              Keela