Sacrifice and the Cross

I had some thoughts in mind to share this morning,

and I like to always post a picture for you too.

But when I chose this picture, I realized suddenly,

that my message would be different.

So, I'm going by the Holy Spirit flow.....

These crosses are made by my husband,

and sold at my store, for various fundraisers...

They are beautiful. A labor of love...

Hand selected wood, mastering a design so they

would fit together perfectly;

routed on the edges for an added touch,

then finished with stain and oil 

to preserve them.

This time when I saw them, they looked so small....

so....incomplete, so not representative of Jesus,

of the sacrifice of His life, for us.

Of the suffering, the pain, the rejection, the death

that He took at the cross for us.

 But is there any cross we can make.....

 

Whether painted on paper......

made of wood, or even scraped into rock,

that can ever be big enough, beautiful enough, perfect enough.....

to represent the cross of Jesus?? 

To equal Jesus Love and sacrifice for us???

No, but we can use them

to help us Remember...

Jesus Love

 for us......

During this season we use to remember Christs birth....

let's do that.

Let's take a moment....to

Remember whose season it is,

and celebrate His birth.

Blessings in Him

barb

A Labor of Love

This is the flagstone patio my little brother made for me years ago.

He did not just go buy a pallet of flagstone,

he drove out to the mountains and gathered it himself!

And you know that stuff is not just laying on the side of the road.

It was down steep banks....He climbed down, and carried each piece up....

 over and over, till he had enough for this 10x10 area.

It was a true labor of love.

 Here is the patio today.

It has not changed much.

The leveling job he did lasted well,

though the moles have tried several times over

the years to make it an uneven mess.

 The garden area around it does not look much different

but it has grown up, been cleaned out,

 and grown again several times over the years.

There is a bit more moss on this old cement bench...

but still home to the same bunnies as before.

It is truly something I love, and have enjoyed for so many years.

But even more than the patio itself,

is the blessing of knowing it was made  with so much love.

So, my thought, after all this, is, how much labor am I willing to put in for the Lord?

And, am I doing it with love......

Cause, whatever I do in love, whether big or small,

will bless our Lord's heart, and make Him smile.

blessings on your day everyone.

barb

The Power of I AM

 

  I have met a new blogger..

Her name is Sherry, and her blog is

The Rusty Pearl.

  She has great tips on this and that, and wise words to share.

 I especially enjoyed this post from a few days ago.

  The Power of I AM !!!!

Happy Sunday everyone... .This evening I watched the life class with Oprah and Joel Olsteen and I must say that It really moved me. I thought I would take the time to blog about it. ... Have you ever said I am this or I am that.. I am poor, I am fat, I am tired etc...The list of our recordings go on and on.. However If we will wake up each day and simply start off with THANK YOU !!! See what they mentioned was true (GOD HAS ALREADY WRITTEN OUR STORY) .. So if you dont like the page you are on...SIMPLY hang on and turn the page. We really are where we are supposed to be. It is truly (I THINK ) how we handle it that matters. Start your new I AM"S .. tell yourself that your amazing, Fabulous, ...Even beautiful. ( When I heard them say ..Tell yourself your beautiful !!!! I was like WHAT ? ?  ? WHO does that ? ) God does. When we honor and respect ourselves, I think we honor GOD.... SO having said that I hope that you change your recordings that you play in your mind and start new positive ones... I will start my day when I wake up from now on with simply ...I AM THANKFUL.... Tell me what you think ... Have a blessed week everyone .

Posted by Sherry at The Rusty Pearl

Thank you Sherry.
So glad to have found your blog. 

Blessings to all of you!

barb 

Roller Coaster of Life

 

I'm beginning to understand that life really is a roller coaster, and that it is OK for it to be that way.

I have tried for years to get to a place of a "high evenness" or 'consistency', or level of joy, for lack of a better way to put it.....
Trying to avoid the low times, and just coast along on a cloud of loveliness.
Finding that level of highness, especially being bi-polar, and staying there, has been an often frustrating, and seemingly impossible task.

I certainly did think that as a Christian, who knows and loves the Lord, that the  high level should and could be reached.
And not just reached, but able to stay there. Always that mountain top feeling. Always that peace....that joy....

But what I am discovering now..... is that reaching that level and staying there is quite difficult, and....maybe even impossible, in this frail human body, with these human emotions, and on this temporary home called earth, where we live with other frail and imperfect humans.

Having said all that, I will share what I have learned, especially of late.

I have learned that I have boxed up a lifetime of emotion that I thought was not right to feel.
I have learned I am not the only one who has had all these emotions.
I have learned it is impossible to float along on a wonderful cloud of joyfulness.

I have learned that God cares about each and every feeling we have, good, bad. happy, sad.
They are all OK.
It is what we do with them that counts.

Knowing that God loves me, no matter how I am feeling, has been a great blessing to me.
I have found, that the more I let myself feel the sad of hurts....the more I let my self cry before the Lord, and pour out my heart to Him, the more He sets me free to feel His joy.... I am able to see His beauty all around me,  and know His peace....and share His love with others.

I may have days of struggles, hurts, tears, pain, but  I can pour my heart out to Him. I know my God, who hears every word, who cares about every part of me, will turn my mourning into dancing. He will use what has caused me pain to help me grow. And more than anything, I want to grow. I want to hear His words someday: "Well done good and faithful servant."

blessings

barb

Back to sharing...

I don't seem to get around to posting on here much any more.
Life has become busier......
and honestly, FB is such a quick way to jot a thought
down without feeling like you have to have a lot to say.

But I think it is time I started sharing my heart on here again.
Updating you with the direction life, and the Lord is taking me.

I know this blog hardly gets any traffic any more, but
I do know, that if I am sharing, and encouraging others,
God will be faithful to bring those who need to see it.

This is short.....but I'll be back.

blessings to all
barb

He is Risen

He is Risen indeed.

Thank you Lord.

Easter Blessings my friends.

barbara jean

A Grateful Heart

 Today I am thankful.
I do not feel that way every day...but today I do.
I find, as I know my Lord more and more,
and spend more time with Him,
my heart has grown, into a more thankful heart.

So, today I am thankful for a husband who buys me
raisin bran and bananas for my breakfast.

 I'm thankful for my little brother,
who made this 10x10 patio for me years ago.
It is flagstone...not bought at the local quarry,
but gathered from way out in the woods.
He had to climb up and down banks,
and carry it one slab at a time.
It took a few trips out to the woods as
it is so heavy, and his truck was little.
A true labor of love.

 I am grateful for this back yard,
that although it is full of weeds,
it is our back yard, and it is what I see each
morning when I sit with the Lord for a time.
He has given me an old maple tree to look at, and a squirrel
and birds each day. Thank you Lord.

 I'm grateful for this messy pile in the back yard.
It shows I have a husband who is healthy enough to
cut off dead tree limbs, big limbs, and cut them up for fire wood.
To heat the house God has provided for us.

and I'm grateful for our old car.
Lost hubcaps, missing trim, dirt and all.
It has over 200,000 miles on it, and still plugging along.
I use it to haul grandkids, and loot for my store.
This car has made many trips, and been part of many memories.

So,today Lord, I am thankful......
for you,family, for provision, for a hope and a future.
For knowing you love me, no matter what.

Thanks for coming by friends.

blessings to you all.
barbara jean

Comfort in Loss

I'm fine. I really am fine, tho' you might have wondered
after me not posting on this blog for awhile.

My last 3 posts were about my dad's passing in November, and steps in processing that.
Steps of grieving, confidence, confusion, and repentance of my pride.

Now, I will share some of grief's process again.

After about a month of just being in a daze.... I mean a real daze....
as in not even knowing what was real, and what was a dream....
of sitting and looking at a tree, and wondering if I went out and touched
it would it be real. Of driving down the road and wondering if I was really there in the car,
or was it just a dream?
of trying to think but everything was all muddled inside my brain. All mixed up.
Not being able to think clearly to make even the simplest decision....

Yes a month of that.

 I shared those thoughts with others.
Some thought I was crazy, but too kind to say it.
the look on their face made it quite clear they had no clue what I was talking about.
That was....OK.

But when I told others I found comfort.....They had experienced the same thing.
Oh so comforting to know I was OK. To know this was part of the process.
To know I was not crazy. To be able to comfort each other.

Comfort: that seems to be the key word right now.
Had I not shared how I was doing, what I was feeling,
I would not have found that comfort........
and I would not have been able to comfort others either.

And I know that part of why we go thru things is so that we can help others.
To let them know they are not alone. To let them know how ever they are feeling is OK.
To walk thru the process, and grow because of it.

Thank you Lord, that you are the Great Comforter, and that your use your children to show your love.

blessings all,
more soon
barbara jean