Lord????? Here I am....

 Lord, some times I just do not know what to say to you.

Maybe I am tired......or cannot quite figure out just how I am feeling.....

or feel a little stunned by life....  like a little birdy just learning to fly,

and not making it on my first effort.

Maybe I am puzzled about how to even go about it all...

this walking with You,

this soul searching, this walking day by day.

I'm not sure just what it is....

Maybe it is the sad of life around me.....

people I know, and don't know, suffering through things.

So, I'm quiet.   I think of You, and what your Word says.

I know you are here with me.....

I know you have a plan for me....

You chose me......

You created me,

You know me better than I know myself.

You have created in my heart and empty place,

that can only be filled with You.

Lord, thank you, that even on the days I feel like

I cannot fly, you are here. Your hand feeds me, You love me,

You wait for me.......

I will be nourished, by your word and your love.

And tomorrow, I will try to fly again.

One day at a time.

Thank you sweet Jesus.

Update For You- Newness of Life

Newness of Life.

Yes, that is what Christ gives us.....

We muddle along, doing the best we can.

We wait, try to rest, call upon His name....

each day may seem the same as the day before, for awhile.

Sometimes He sends someone to help point the way,

or to say an extra prayer for us.....

He is so good that way.

Friends prayers, encouragement and support, 

and most of all quiet time with God,

have brought back my smiles.

I am hopeful.

I believe God has a plan for me.

I know He is with me...

And, as one sweet friend said it, 

"God has a plan for me, and I am smack dab in the middle of it".

Have you ever thought about that?

No matter where we are, 

we are "smack dab" in the middle of God's plan.

I find great comfort in that,

knowing God will use whatever happens in my life,

even lostness, loneliness, and grief, to

make me into who He wants me to be.

Be blessed sweet friends, and know you are not alone.

He is right there with you.

Taking one step at a time.

barb

In the waiting room

yep. in the waiting room.
hard place to be.
things change....and we have to figure our whether to persevere through it, or put it aside.

My store, which I have had for almost 5 years, and have loved so much,
 has had some very abrupt changes.
Or, maybe it is me who has changed....or needs to change.....

So, I am waiting....energy sucked out of me....lots of tears,
 lots of trying to trust the One who loves me and has a plan for me.

and, in the midst of it all, I am right where I am supposed to be.

loving all of you...
barb

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