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THANKSGIVING

I am already making my list of what I need from the grocery store, for Thanksgiving at my son & daughter-in-law. I am usually asked to bring the same thing: broccoli casserole, frozen pink stuff, deviled eggs and seven-layer salad. I am so blessed that my daughter & family from Virginia, will be here this year. My family here, have never seen their little daughter, who just turned a year last week. It has been three years since my family here have seen her husband, who is in the Navy. I will have all eight of my grandkids & my one great-granddaughter together. Those of you who know me, realize there will be a lot of pictures taken! We are truly going to make some memories! I am so thankful that they are going to make the long trip to us!

Let’s go back to the first Thanksgiving. In the early 1600’s, English colonists had traveled across the ocean to a new land. Most of the passengers failed to survive the first few months. The weakened remaining pilgrims from the voyage, did not know how to take care of themselves in this wild new land. The Indians from the Wampanoag tribe, shared their knowledge of crops and how to build shelter against the cold of the winter. The pilgrims celebrated thanksgiving as a part of their religion. But those were days of prayer, not feasting. Our national holiday stems from the feast held in autumn of 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. This was celebrated, in thanksgiving, for their first successful harvest.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Sometimes it gets pushed to the side by all the Christmas decorations and merchandise. We as the family of God, should celebrate thanksgiving every day. There are so many things for us to be thankful for! Let’s look at some scripture to help get our mind centered.  

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything in prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Paul was finishing up his letter to the Philippian brethren. He uses the word “everything.” He is telling them in every situation to pray to God. When we do this, we can find the kind of peace that only God can give, which is beyond our understanding. This kind of peace can help protect us from external corrupting influences and keep our hearts and minds, focused on His truth. Thank you, God, for giving us this peace!

1 Corinthians 11:24-26 Paul shares that on the same night Jesus was betrayed He said, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take eat, this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’’ In the same manner, He also took the cup after supper saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”  1 Corinthians 15:56-57 “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Especially when wetake the Lord’s Supper, we are to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us through His earthly body, giving us victory over sin through Him. Without that sacrifice, we would have no hope. We need to be thankful every day for our Lord and Savior!

Philippians 1:3-4 reads “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you with all joy.”  Paul ends this letter to the Philippian brethren, letting them know he prays for them in love and in thanksgiving, for all they have done to spread the gospel.

Psalm 107, starts the chapter out with “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Then,four different times in this chapter, we read “Oh, that man would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness. And for His wonderful works to the children of men.”  This chapter tells, in praise, of the things the Lord has done for the Israelites and applies to us today. Sit down and read this amazing chapter in praise to God for His goodness and mercy which endures forever! Actually, read the whole book of Psalm some time. Amazing!

Even when the happenings of life get us down, there are so many things we still can be thankful for. I have realized when I am down and out, if I start thinking of all my blessings-my attitude towards the struggle I am going through, changes. I look at life in a more positive way. I go to God in prayer and thanksgiving. He helps me realize that through Him there is hope for the future. Maybe my trial has not changed, but my attitude has!

So, this Thanksgiving when you sit down to the dinner table, look around you at your family and friends God has given you. Put away your cell phones and focus on what really matters-the family and friends who surround you. Don’t just start putting the mashed potatoes with gravy on your plate, but stop and give thanks for the gifts the good Lord has given you. There are many this holiday season who are not as blessed as we are. People who are cold and hungry. People who will not have left overs like we always do for the next meal. We have abundance. They have nothing. While you are reading this article, look around you right now. What do you see? I have so much to decorate every season. I see so many reminders of my mother in my home. After she passed away, I have furniture and trinkets that remind me of the love she had for her family and the blessings she gave us! Life is fleeting! Tell your loved ones today how much you love them! As I am writing this, the snow is flying outside. I am in this warm home. How long has it been since I thanked God for that? I have found that once I start making a list of my blessings, that there is just not enough paper to list them all. Put into your mind something you are thankful for and each day, pray for that one thing all day. When you do that, no matter what is going on in your life, your attitude will change and you will remember the hope that God has given us!

I am going to just write one more article after this one, before the end of the year. I don’t know about you, but my life is truly crazy after Thanksgiving. I am still working and as I have told people, work gets in the way of my social life! Ha! There are so many things I want to get accomplished before the end of the year. So many places to be-people to see-parties to go to. I have truly been blessed and I need to remember to be thankful. I am so thankful for you reading this article today and walking this journey with me. I hope that my articles will give you hope for your future and help you put one foot in front of the other on this journey, we call life.

The picture that I put at the first part of this post, is one Thanksgiving many years ago. My daughter, Ashley was in high school at the time. My husband loved the “blow ups” for each occasion-Santa, pink bunny and turkey! My oldest grandson, Austin is on Ashley’s shoulders. My granddaughters, Alexis and Aubrie by her side. And the little one is A.J. I remember saying “Ashley has stinky feet!” And that is the reaction they all had. What a blessed memory! One of my favorite pictures from many years ago. My husband has long since passed away and my daughter is now married with her four little ones. There are times that I feel sad about the time that has flown by but I look at a picture or think of something that happened and it makes me smile and brings me joy! Don’t just look to the past. Look at the here and now and be thankful! Cherish the memories and praise God for them.

May you all have an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends! Take pictures so that you can look back. There are many of my family members who have passed away and I cherish all those pictures that I have of them, to look at and remember times gone by. May God bless you, give you hope and help you to be thankful, not only this time of year, but every day.

Till next time!                                                   Keela

A GOOD SOAKING

Even though I tried to steer away from the puddles, I still got my new shoes wet anyway. We had just gotten a good soaking rain and I was trying to make my way into work. The large umbrella over my head, was not helping to keep my shoes dry. Instead of thanking God for the rain, I chose to grumble about the puddles.

Have you ever noticed that when we are going on with our day to day busyness, that sometimes we focus on things that we should not? We soak our brains with things of this world and forget to fill our brains with God’s love and His promises.

Sure, I pray. But there are times I realize as I have been saying the words that my mind wanders. Have you ever done that? It really frustrates me when my mind goes off on its own tangent. My prayer has just become words with no meaning. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men….And when you pray do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard by their many words.”  This type of prayer is not one to soak my spirit. Our stomachs tell us when we need to fill them. Why are we so willing to dehydrate or spirits and souls by just saying words that have no meaning?

The scriptures tell us that our prayers can accomplish so much when we ask in faith. James 5:15 tells us “The prayer of faith will save the sick.” Also, in verse 16 of the same chapter, James tells us “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”  Let me share with you of something that happened to a dear friend of mine. She has stage four cancer in a large part of her body. We as a collective body at church and also in our own personal prayers, have been praying for her. She has been on a special cancer treatment just for her. She got amazing news that ALL of the tumors had shrunk to half of the size they originally were! Praise God! She still has stage four cancer, but is much improved. Prayer does work! Prayer, when we are not just saying the words to impress others. When we focus on what we are saying to God, we can see what can happen when we pray! When my mind wanders and I lose focus, I am just saying words. We should not just pray when the bad things of this earth happen, but every day, several times a day, reaching out to God in love and praise!

When the earth has become dry, because of lack of rain, it takes a good soaking to even let the dust settle. Sometimes, because of our lack of focus in our prayers, our souls do not get the good soaking we need. When we don’t pray like we should our souls become parched, our spirits become dehydrated, because we are trying to walk on our own and “dodge the puddles.”

When I realize my mind has wandered off in another direction, I try to get my focus back on my Savior. I remember Jesus died on the cross with His arms wide open giving me a way to become a child of His, and a way to come to His mercy seat through prayer.

When my life becomes just one big blur, I need to remind myself to slow down and feel the good soaking that my Savior can give me through His word, meditation and prayer. It is during these times when I am so busy with things of this world, that I have started focusing on living the small story of my life here on earth, instead of the bigger story of my life eternal.

Rearrange your priority list and put God back as number one! When we can do that, then we can close our umbrella of this world, “kick off our shoes” and stand in the middle of the down pour and become soaked in His love and guidance.

Thank you, God for giving us this privilege to come before you, bare our souls and feel the welcome of the good soaking downpour of Your love!

Till next time!                       Keela

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

Have you ever thought that God created you for a purpose? My purpose is not your purpose! Your purpose is not my purpose! Has God given us one purpose or has He given us many purposes? Have you realized your purpose? Do we even realize when we are fulfilling our purpose? Is that important? What if we fail to act upon something that fills our heart, that was one of our purposes? Too many questions you are thinking!

The word purpose in Webster’s dictionary means: “an object or result aimed at.” Sometimes, we can see clearly a certain purpose that God has given us. Let me give you an example in my life. The church I attend, several years ago, went through a huge transition of people leaving for various reasons, some passed away and some people moved elsewhere. But then, new people started coming and placing membership at church. I think back to the difficult ten-year span of my life when my husband was sick and all the challenges that faced us. Many of the people who attended church back then, helped me through those years. I can think of so many who have passed away that were my strength and encouragement. There are several amazing friends who have moved out of state, who were there for me and also for my husband. They made me laugh in the midst of the turmoil and reminded me that God was always by my side. They were amazing friends to my husband and gave him some peace. They helped push the pain out, by me being able to talk to them about what was going on. They just sat and listened to me, I knew that they would not turn around and gossip. I miss all of them so much! (If there are any of you reading this, thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to help us during that difficult time.)

As I mentioned, there have been so many new faces and families now that have become my church family. I had a “light bulb moment” a few years ago. I realized that maybe I was in their lives right now to help them with challenges that they may be facing! Wow! I had many God given purposes during my difficult years that I can look back now and see, but now maybe this is a God given purpose for right now in my life! A purpose to give peace, hope, clarity and encouragement for others! Thus, starting my blog and publishing my new ladies Bible class book, “God’s Beauty Plan.”

There is a book in the Old Testament called Esther. It is a quick read, only ten chapters. It is full of so many lessons. It is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God, but He is everywhere within the book! This is the story of an orphan girl named Esther, who was raised by her cousin, Mordecia. Through a series of events, she becomes queen of the King Xerxes, of Persia. Esther was a Jew, but did not tell the king. As in most good stories, there was a bad guy named Haman. As prime minister of Persia, everyone was to bow down before him when he passed. Esther’s cousin, Mordecia, refused to do so. This made Hamen so angry that he asked Xerxes to command that all the Jews in this region, be annihilated (old, young, little children, male and female.)

When queen Esther, found out about this, (through Mordecia) she was urged by him to go before the king and plead for the salvation of the Jewish race in this region. You and I might think how easy that would be to go before your husband and talk to him. But during this time in history, she could be killed if the king had not called her. Esther 4:11 “…any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law; put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter that he may live.” Mordecai said in verse 13-14 “…do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for SUCH A TIME AS THIS?” Mordecai was telling her that she would be put to death, just like all the other Jews. But he had faith in his heart that God would deliver the Jews during this time, whether Esther had courage to go before the king or not. The next part touches my heart deeply and should yours as well-he says, for SUCH A TIME AS THIS! Mordecai is telling her, maybe she had been put into this situation, by God, to fulfill His purposes in her life!

Wow! Think about that! Have you been born during this time in history, to fulfill one of God’s purposes? Maybe God is calling you to step out of our comfort zone and reach out in courage. Maybe your faith is being tested. Maybe you need to exercise your faith in order to fulfill God’s purpose or purposes. Is there something in your life you have felt you needed to do or get done and you keep putting it off? Maybe it is as simple as a card, a call, a meal to a family having a hard time, inviting a neighbor to church services, a visitor made to feel welcome or a hospital visit made. There are many simple things we can do that maybe are fulfilling our purpose given by God. But maybe there are also “larger” things we are meant to accomplish, but are held back by our lack of courage and faith! Do you have anything that has been tugging at your heart and you are scared to take that first step? In my life, getting in front of women to give a speech or teach a class, is definitely out of my comfort zone! But “God nudged me” and now, I know that my experiences can and do help other women to have hope, thru God, in the middle of their daily challenges.

Are you being held back by your lack of faith? Maybe you were put in this church to fulfill a purpose that God has given you. If you think about all of the people in the world and all of the years, that have been and will be, our lives are just a small speck in God’s history of time. Let’s remember, it is no accident you were born at this time in history, in a particular church family, in a specific job or in a specific person’s life. God has a purpose or purposes for each and every one of us! Don’t let a lack of faith and courage stop you from fulfilling those God given purposes. Don’t let a lack of confidence in yourself hold you back. If God brings you to it, He will help you through it! You are important! God created you! Every day is important! Have faith to step out in a God-given confidence knowing He is right there with you! And just as Mordecai told Esther, God may have created you “FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!”

Till next time!                                      Keela

NEW NORMAL

Where I work as a receptionist, there are some “interesting” characters we see from time to time, on the sidewalks in front of our building. One lady would just holler at some imaginary person. One day she actually poured salt all over her head. Was she trying to get rid of some evil spirit or was that some type of strange thoughts in her head that she wanted to do? She would come into our practice and ask for free cat litter. Did she have an imaginary cat or a real one? We never found out. We have not seen her for awhile so we hope she found some help to quench the unsettling thoughts she had. This week, we saw another lady, who was on the sidewalk across the street, doing an exercise routine. We thought that was part of her walk she took every day. But when she started walking on an imaginary balance beam and talking to the bench, we knew that was not the case. She would take out running down the sidewalk screaming at the top of her lungs like she was in some type of race. Both of these women, thought what they were doing is normal. Those of us watching her, were not for sure.

What is the meaning of normal? Webster’s dictionary defines normal & norm as: “sound in mind or body-of average intelligence-a set of standard development or achievement derived from the actions of a large group of people.”  From that definition, maybe what is normal to me is not normal toyou! Normal comes from the same regular actions of a group of people. We each give a different meaning to normal. I have a normal routine I do in the morning when I am getting up. I do the same thing over and over. At work, we have changed the way we clock in and out. We use to do it on our phones and now we clock in from one of the computers. So, I have forgotten to clock in, because when I get up front, I might have to start helping someone and forget that I am not actually clocked in on the time clock. I have had to change my normal routine to accommodate the changes that have been made at work. I have had to start a new normal.

 We all agree that the actions of the two women I just talked about, are not normal. They were living in their normal of what their thoughts were telling them to do. We feel that we want to help people like that to transform them to the normal thought patterns that we have. My boys when they were little, had transformers. I am sure most of you who have children, know exactly what I am talking about. The toy that, when moved around, would take a different shape and be transformed into something else. When we chose to follow God, we have to transform, change, our minds and actions away from the sinful, worldly actions that we were or did before we made the choice to follow God. The Bible talks about this in 2 Corinthians 3:18. “But we all with unveiled face, beholding as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed in the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  As believers behold the glory ofthe Lord, by reading the scriptures, we become transformed or changed to strive to be more like Jesus. Of course, we will never be like Jesus who was perfect, but we should strive to be better and more like Him in all we do.

Another scripture is in Romans 12:1-5, reads “I beseech you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say through the grace give to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”

These verses tell me that we should strive everyday to serve and obey God. In the last set of verses: holy means-set apart for the Lord’s use; acceptable means-pleasing to God; reasonable means-God has given us so many gifts, and the normal reaction to this is to serve Him. A person who is conformed to this world, follows other people to do evil or follows every person that is different to believe what they believe. They mold their lives to not think for themselves and they do not stand against what the devil throws at us each and every day. Instead of following the values of this world, the believer should be transformed or changed away from those values. This transformation begins in the mind and heart. We have to change. A mind that is dedicated to do the things of this world, will only produce a life of a person who follows everything others tell them to do and will be tossed around in the culture they live in. But when we transform our minds, to dedication to our God, we can stand against all the trials we might face in this earthly life. We have the center of our lives-God. These verses also, compare the many members of our physical body like the-foot-hand-eyes, to the fact that we as individuals are not all the same. We have our own personalities. Our own talents. Our own purpose. God created each one of us unique, to fulfil His purposes for our lives. It would be very boring in deed if in this world we all were the same. Throughout time, God has shown how He has used certain personalities for certain purposes. In the Old Testament, there are many different personalities that fulfilled different purposes. Job-David-Joseph-Esther-Hannah and so many more. If you are not familiar with these I mentioned, search in your Bible to see how God used them to fulfill a certain purpose.  

What is normal for one person is not normal for another. When my husband passed away, everything changed in my world. My physical life became totally different. I felt a type of confusion-a type of not knowing how to go ahead into the unknown future. At the time, I was writing for another woman’s website and talked about my husband’s death and how everything had changed. I got a response from one lady, that I will never forget, who said I had to find a new normal. The normal I was use to living, had changed or transformed. I had another direction for my life, that I had to make choices and follow. It took me a while to understand what my new normal was, but I realized that different seasons of our lives our normal might change here on earth. But our spiritual normal needs to keep growing and might take us to different challenges given us by God. For instance, in my life, the two books I have published and the blog I have started.

Each one of us has a normal life we live. But if we are following the world, then we need to understand and change that normal. We need to transform into what God wants us to have as our normal. I have always enjoyed going to venues where Patsy Clairmont was and reading her many books. One of them is called “Normal is Just a Setting on your Dryer.” There are so many settings we could use. Some are for delicate items. Some are for heavy loads. Some are for wrinkle release. I know that I use the permanent press & the normal setting most often. Just like the different settings on the dryer, we all are different. We look different, we act different. We are all in different seasons of our lives and may have had to find a new normal. Are we normal? Well, I like to think I am. But, of course, that is my viewpoint.

The two women I talked about at the beginning, did not seem to have normal behavior in our definition of normal. This physical life presents many challenges and changes. We need to transform our thinking and actions towards the Lord. He is the only one who can help us find our normal in this world.

Maybe you feel like you need to find a new normal in your life, because things have changed. Maybe you have been letting your normal be the same as the worlds. You have let the world define what normal is-conformed your thinking. Maybe you are trying to find what your new normal is after a tragedy in your life. If you are stuck in the normal of this world, reach out to God for a new normal. God can help you transform away from the world. We just have to reach out to Him. So, the only kind of new normal that is truly acceptable to God, is one of following His word and obeying His commands. When happenings of this world change your normal, reach out to God. He is always there! Stop conforming to this world’s definition of normal. Transform your thoughts and life to a new normal of living for God!

So, the question is: are you normal?

Till next time!                                          Keela

BE STILL

Well, my son (who lives with me) went and did it! He got a six-month-old golden retriever puppy! Those of you who have ever had a puppy realize there is a lot that goes with that energetic ball of fur. I had a headache yesterday and tried to lay down and take a nap before work. You notice I said I tried! He kept getting down and getting into something. So, I put his leash on him and got him up on the bed. Then I started to gently scratch his head, his face and his legs, just like I use to do to get my human babies and grandbabies to try to get them to be still. It worked! It calmed him down and he drifted asleep. I closed my eyes and semi-slept as I knew how much trouble he could get himself into if I went into a deep sleep. He really is a good puppy and did not take long for me to fall in love with him. (If any of you who know me well are thinking, what about your baby dachshund you are getting in the spring? Well, no worries, I am still getting one and looking forward to her. I am sure there will be a few blogs coming in the future about her shenanigans!)

Being still! That is hard for energetic children, puppies or kittens. But have you ever realized that it is hard for us as adult humans to be still also? We live in a technological time in history. So many things to help us save time, but then we pile on more things to do. In pioneer times, they had to wash and dry their dishes. We have dish washers. They had to wash their clothes and then hang them out on the clothesline. We have washers and dryers. They had to go out and catch the chicken, kill it, then pluck the feathers off. Then cook it on a wood stove that they had chopped that wood. We go to the store and buy chicken that has already been cut up, even the skins taken off. Then we put it in the oven that we only have to turn a nob to get it to come on.  Or we have bought a frozen dinner and just have to follow the directions and put in the microwave. I just recently got home from visiting my daughter. I got on an airplane and flew thousands of miles to get to her. In pioneer days, when a daughter left in the covered wagon, the mother and daughter realized that they might never see each other again in this life. We are blessed that we can actually text back and forth, talk on the phone and skype, actually seeing each other. I am so thankful for these time saving inventions! It makes my life so much easier. But yet, even after all those time saving things, we end up in bed ready to go asleep and are so “keyed” up, because we are so tired and stressed after a busy, long day of physical and mental activities. We just lay there and stare at the ceiling. Then, we realize that we did not save any time to be still with our God!

Let’s look at a few illustrations in the Bible that help us to remember that God wants us to be still and just meditate, read the scriptures, pray and think about God. After all, He is who actually created men and women with amazing minds that they can figure out how to save us time with these inventions.

Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” God is telling us to be still with Him first thing in the morning. If you do not have time to read scriptures or your daily devotional then, there are still things you can do to be still with your God during the day. When you get in the shower, talk to God from your heart and pray for others and your day ahead. While you are driving, pray to God about that person who “flew” in front of you and you almost ran into him. Pray about that person on the corner who is down on their luck and asking for money. When you take your walk, don’t walk reading all your text messages or Facebook. Put your phone in your pocket and look around you at the amazing creations God has given us. I try to pray for one member of my family or someone at church who is going through a difficult time, while taking my walk. It gives me peace and energy to face whatever the future holds! Be Still!

Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” When we stop and think about God, we realize we can do anything through His power and might! Just stop, breathe and think about the blessings God has given you. Praise Him in the middle of the storms of life, because no matter what you are going through, God is always right by your side helping you take one foot in front of the other. We need to praise Him, knowing that heaven will be waiting for us after we die. God should be our everything, in any joy or sorrow of our lives here on earth. Be Still!

1 Kings 19:11-13, “Then He (God) said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a STILL SMALL VOICE. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave (where he had been hiding). Suddenly, a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here Elijah?”  We have all felt and heard the power that the wind whistling through the trees has; the power to destroy trees, property and lives. My brother was in an earthquake in California. He saw all the power that earthquake had and the noise associated with it. I have never personally been in a devastating fire, but because of the recent fires in several states, we have all seen the devastation and noise that a fire creates. The loudness and power of the wind, earthquake, and fire did not signal to Elijah that he was in the presence of God; even though we know that God is in the midst of that power. But it was not until all got quiet, that Elijah truly heard God. In the middle of a hurricane, is what is called the eye of the storm. The hurricane is swirling causing devastation. In the middle of it, is peace-calm-beauty. God is not just a God of the spectacular, but also in the quiet-gentleness-stillness of our lives! He is always and has always been with us. If we let Him, He can help us find that calmness, that peace in the middle of our storms of this life. We just need to reach out & up to Him! Be Still!

We have all of these time saving inventions to help us along our path on this earth. I am thankful for them! But we need to encircle ourselves with God. We need to be able to turn to Him and hear the still small voice that He gives us in the quiet times. If we don’t have a quiet time, make one. My daughter, quiets her little ones after baths and before bedtime, by a little snack and watching a cartoon. They are to be quiet! This helps their energetic little bodies to calm down, to be still! We need to calm ourselves down by all the thoughts about what all I need to do today and tomorrow, and take a deep breath. Be still and think about our God! Then, we can get our priorities straight, catch our breath and focus on what is truly important. In those quiet times, I feel God’s presence. I do not believe that the Bible tells us that God talks to us directly-physically like He did in Bible times, but I feel the presence, His voice, through studying His word and when I stop and just let myself be engulfed in His love. Be still!

God’s way of calming us, to get us to be still, is not like I talked about at the beginning of this blog; by gently scratching, as I have done with my son’s new dog or my children & grandchildren. God’s way is for us to read & meditate on His word, the Bible. If you only have time for one verse each day, that is good. A great start! Think about that verse during your busyness of your day. Of course, you still have to work outside and inside the home. Sometimes I get so stressed at work or home. I have found at those times, if I take a deep breath to calm me and I turn my thoughts to a favorite verse or particular verse, I had read that morning or evening; that all of a sudden, my thoughts are still and I am thinking of my God and His promises! When the disciples and Jesus were in a boat in Mark 4, there came a great storm. Jesus, who had been asleep, in verse 39, tells the wind “…Peace, be still…”  God is in control! We just have to learn how to Be still in His presence!

If you have a new puppy, take my advice and try gently scratching them to get them to settle down and be still. The same concept applies to us. Let the “gentle scratching” of reading, thinking, praying and meditating about God, cause us to stop, breath and remember that God IS in the spectacular, but He is also in the quietness of our lives! That is when we can truly focus on Him and His promises!

Be Still! Try it sometime. You will realize the joy and peace that it can bring through God!

Till next time!                                           Keela