Out In The Sea

I'm floating along in a little boat in the middle of the great big sea...
I can't see land on any side... I don't have any oars to paddle... I'm drifting and being tossed about... and I don't know where I'll end up...
Out in the far off sky it is dark... I don't know which direction anything is going because I forget which way the sun sets and rises... just drifting
There is a mist in the air but I can't tell if it's coming from the water or if it is starting to rain... I have no shelter from the storm and the boat is becoming tumultuous...

Peter was out in the boat when the storm was raging... He saw something coming walking on the water... he realized it was the Lord...
Jesus called him out onto the water... he stepped out... in faith...
Do you believe this really happened? Have you ever been by the seashore and stepped out... did you walk on the water?
Peter stayed afloat while he kept his eyes on Jesus... then suddenly he turned away and looked at the storm... the raging sea... the impossibility of it all... and he started to sink immediately...
"Master, master, I perish... save me!" Peter cried out!

Jesus simply held him up and said, "Oh ye of little faith..."
How it must have grieved Him... here Peter was walking on the water... it should have been exhilarating... but he caved in, shall we say.

How do we stop from caving in?
How do we keep our eyes on Jesus when the storms are bashing so hard and all the walls are crashing in?
How do we keep the faith...

"Master, master, I perish... save me!"
Until next time,
Jean

Will It Bloom?

When you walk through the garden, do you ever wonder if they are going to bloom?   Do you look at the beautiful bud and ever even dream it won't open into that magnificant rose you've been waiting to see... to smell... to touch... 

When you wake up in the morning do you wonder if the sun will rise?  Do you go through the day in a haze thinking if it will set?  I've sat on the edge of the lake and watched this magnificant wonder happen several times, and never once did I wonder is it would quit...

These are roses in my pergola garden... I planted it two years ago and they are by far my favorite. One morning as I was strolling through the gardens, this duo caught my eye... it was just perfect... It reminded me immediately of how I feel as I trust that the Lord Jesus is walking by my side...

Last night I doubted... I laid in bed and I questioned... you see my little boy lost his glasses after only a week and we cannot find them. Evan and I held hands and we prayed and asked God to show us where they are... we still haven't found them... I laid in bed last night and questioned why... why wouldn't He answer this little boys prayer...  then this morning he gave me this...

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. Hebrews 3:12

 

"The Bible tells about man's being alienated from and an enemy to God. Should this sound harsh or extreme, you have only to imagine your closest friend coming to you and stating in cold seriousness that he no longer has any confidence in you.

"I do not trust you. I have lost confidence in your character. I am forced to suspect every move you make"—such a declaration would instantly alienate friends by destroying the foundation upon which every friendship is built. Until your former friend's opinion of you had been reversed, there could be no further communion.

People do not go boldly to God and profess that they have no confidence in Him, and they usually do not witness publicly to their low view of God. The frightful thing, however, is that people everywhere act out their unbelief with a consistency that is more convincing than words.

Christianity provides a way back from this place of unbelief and alienation: "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). God took the wrong upon Himself in order that the one who committed the wrong might be saved!" Tozer

 

"Father, You have pursued us passionately and diligently in order that our relationship with You might be restored. Yet so many have turned a cold shoulder to You. Jesus, I love You and appreciate all that You have done for me and my family and friends." Tozer

 

... we still haven't found them... but I believe with all my heart we will...

this is my testimony... He is faithful,

 

Until next time,

Jean

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness." Matthew 5:6

"There is no way that any of us can talk ourselves into getting a "longing for God." Spiritual desire and hunger must come from God Himself! It cannot be whipped up."  Tozer

This was a quote from one of my daily devotions today that struck me. As I thought on this I became so aware of how blessed that I am to have that desire deep within my soul.  So often I have felt as that hart on the mountainside panting after the water brook, my soul has longed after Him.
I remember as a youth, before I would have been a professing Christian yet still knowing and fearing God, although in a different way... I had a longing for Him... I just didn't know how to get to Him.   I remember as a small child talking to Him in the storms. So childish was I when I would ask Him questions and ask Him to answer in one lightening and two claps of thunder... then I would know the deep secrets I was asking of Him... but He always seemed to answer.  He never dismisses a child... one looking to Him for reasurance.   I remember driving after my grandmother died and wondering why... I was angry with Him back then...
...but after a long journey He brought my soul home to Him...
Now my life is a training ground... one where there are valleys and plains along with the mountain tops...  It seems like it's been a long time since I drifted in the clouds... but I know they are there... waiting for me.

"But it is a different story when we consider the spiritual life. No one but God through His Spirit is able to stir up spiritual desire among us. Those who have accepted a common state of spiritual living and have no deep desire for Him will never be stirred by human means." Tozer

Until next time,
Jean

He Knows...

He Knows...

This was a poem a dear sister in the Lord gave to me today... she is a blessing and such a help.

He Knows
Author Unknown

He knows it all - the winding path,
The sky o'ercast and gray,
The steepness of the mountainside,
The roughness of the way.

He knows it all - the haunting fear,
The doubtings that distress,
The wond'rings and perplexities,
And all the strain and stress.

He knows it all - each troubled thought,
Each anxious wave of care,
And every burden, every grief,
Or cross that you must bear.

He know it all - your weight of woe,
Your often tear-dimmed eye,
The stabbing pain, the slow, dull ache,
And sorrow's broken cry.

He knows it all - He understands
The struggles that you face.
He knows it all!  He'll clasp your hand,
And help you win the race! 

Until next time,
Jean

Utterly Alone

"Alone", photograph by Jean Smith

Have you ever felt so utterly alone that you don't know where to turn to?

"I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE NOR FORSAKE THEE."



...so sad that even when the sun is shining all you can see is darkness?

"TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART,

AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UDERSTANDING." Proverbs 3:5

...so betrayed that you can't see past the hurt?

"THE LORD HATH DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US,

WHEROF WE ARE GLAD." Psalms 126:3

...your shoulders just don't feel like you can take another weighty burdan

"WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE" Mark 10:27

 

Until next time...

Jean

Let The Healing Steams Abound

Things can seem to be going just pretty good and then all of a sudden you hit a wall. 
These walls can come into your life wearing many different disguises...  
You know life is filled with challenges that don't get easier when ignored... they just get bigger because one mess keeps piling itself on top of the last one. 

Sometimes people like to put a band aid over festering open wounds that actually require stitches... but the band aid just keeps falling off because it never stops bleeding...
Wounds need to have the proper care taken to have the proper healing happen...

some people are too prideful to accept the healing that is needed and offered...
some people are too stupid...
some people just like to be victims and entertain them selves with self pity...
some people try but just can't stop picking at the scab...
some people try but just can't get over the pain...

Jesus is the ultimate physician and all you need to do is accept the healing balm He offers... but all healing is a choice...

Until next time,
Jean

"Two Hearts That Beat As One", photograph by Jean Smith