Show your faith!!

http://www.pixteller.com/img/78616

For a few years I was an active member of the LDS (Mormon) church.  One of the beliefs I was taught is that there are levels to heaven, and according to our works – what we do in this life – it will be determined what level of heaven we go to.  It took a while for me to get past that, but now I say . . . EXCUSE ME??

It may seem hard to believe, but no matter what your sin, once you confess your faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, all your sins are forgiven .  God won’t put us on a certain level because of the level of goodness we are/were at here.  Everything is wiped clean – a new slate as it were – once we are immersed in baptism.  “Where we go” is not dependent upon what we do after baptism.

https://emanuelrendas.wordpress.com/author/jesusandhisgrace/page/2/

BUT….God does want us to perform good works.  Show your faith by your works.  Ask yourself these questions:  What is my involvement at church?  What can I do for my community?  How do I behave around others (do you walk the talk)?

At the church I just (re-)joined, one of the steps of becoming a member is going through an inventory of your gifts, abilities, and things you enjoy so that you can discover a ministry program in which to fit.  You are not forced to do something within the church family, but any family works better when they work together.  You need to take part in things and contribute.  As for me, I might be a door or parking lot greeter.  I would love to put my great office skills to use in the seminary that is operated by my church; while I don’t feel I’d be good at evangelism, I would love to support those who are studying to do God’s precious work.  I feel a great call to aid in spreading His word.  I would also love to be a catalyst to starting a community garden to be used by church; there is no such thing in place right now.

The thing is…

…without demonstrating our faith, it is nearly, if not completely, impossible to show our faith to unbelievers and to spread His message of love and forgiveness without showing our faith.

I am so looking forward to how I can contribute to my church and community.  I will go beyond my contributing at the community garden in my neighborhood.

Some of the things I am thankful for today:

1. Desiree is having the triplets tomorrow!!! I am beyond excited, and so thankful to God for her having a great pregnancy.
2. It has been very hot this weekend, but I can stay comfortable in the house with the fans.
3. I’m going to make a cooked breakfast today.
4. Iced tea!! Gotta have it in this weather.
5. Ice cubes!
6. Clara Belle, my housemate’s dog, was sick last weekend. She is back to herself.
7. I released another Monarch yesterday.
8. A grumbling stomach – and God’s provision to satisfy it.
9. I applied to be a substitute classroom aide; I know there will be a list of others, but I am very excited about this new opportunity. It is my prayer that God will allow me to be an influence upon children.
10. All the great images you can find in Google. (I always like to give credit, of course, to individuals who provide these images.)
11. My friend Lorraine and her family. They are always so kind and good to me.
12. Lorraine has a new dog, Theo. I pray Theo will settle in soon; he is still a bit nervous.
13. My friend, Laurel
14. My friend Dee
15. Food from the food bank

Well, while I don’t like putting the earthly over the spiritual, my stomach is begging for attention, so I’m off to fulfill #3 above.  Have a blessed week!   (and remember, all comments and suggests are appreciated)

Faith and pain

This week brings to me a great challenge.  When I lost my job in June, I filed for unemployment and expected no trouble with my claim.  Two months on – still no income of any sort.  Whether it be EDD or my former employer, I don’t know (though I suspect the latter), but my claim was denied.  I filed an appeal, and this Friday is my hearing.

Does it ever seem that pain in this world is unceasing?  That your troubled heart and mind will never find joy?  I do have faith that things will be found in my favor, that I will again have income whether it be unemployment or work.  But there have been times when I wondered if my troubles will ever cease, if I will ever have continual peace – if I will ever stop feeling pain.

In this life, who knows.  But God is faithful¹, and in eternity I will feel no pain and not remember any pain I’ve experienced in this life.  I Corinthians 2 says we can’t imagine all the joy we will have, the things we will see and experience.  Isaiah 65:17 says:

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Just a few of the things I am thankful for today:

1. A next door neighbor’s home was broken into yesterday, and jewelry stolen. I am thankful this house is safe.
2. God gives me His strength.
3. It is a sunny morning.
4. I can express love to others through cross stitch.
5. I get to experience God by working in my garden today.
6. A great volunteer opportunity – a nearby community garden
7. As I was volunteering yesterday, I was able to help someone with a couple questions
8. Color
9. Dvd’s from the library
10. Books
11. Clara Bell, my housemate’s dog
12. I’ve been able to save a lot on gas by driving slower
13. God forgives, always

Clare didn’t care to have a camera pointed at her

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

1. I Corinthians 1:9
2. I Corinthians 2:9

The Most Intimate Relationship

(image found on Google images)

When you think of loved ones who have passed, who are you most looking forward to seeing again when it is your time to return to God?  I miss my Grandma Cron; she is my guardian angel.  My father passed in 2008 at 91 and it will be so wonderful to see him.  And my cats – Mozart (2003), Jack and Bella (2009) and Sebastian (2014) – I’ll be overjoyed to be reunited with them.

But wait; I’ve got things mixed up.

Yesterday I read a blog by my niece, Danielle, which is about the most important and intimate relationship that each of us should have. (**See link below)  She wrote of how she had been putting her trust, attention, and love for her husband in God’s place.  Above your spouse, children, parents – and beloved pets – you need to be most excited to see God when it is your time to return to Him.

I have been through quite a few problems in the last few years, and I often wonder why these things keep happening to me.  “God, please stop!  Why do these things keep happening?”  Last year I heard Him loud and clear – Trust Me.  I had heard God speak.

Now, it is happening again.  I have been without employment and income for two months, and even with my depression medication, the anxiety is hard to control at times.  I remember Him speaking to me last year, and it controls that anxiety.  This morning I looked at Danielle’s blog again, and re-read her quote of a passage from “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” part of the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.  The following section from her blog tore at my heart:

~~~

C.S. Lewis provides such beautifully rich imagery in his Chronicles of Narnia series. A passage from the “The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” resonates deeply within me. Eustace, a rotten and annoying boy, finds himself in possession of a huge fortune. Gold and rubies were everywhere and he couldn’t help but imagine a rich life and the new comforts he could enjoy in the midst of this treasure. He lies down in the midst of his vastly great possession, utterly satisfied and falls asleep.

While sleeping on a cache of gold and fortune with “greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart,” he woke up and to his own terror he had become green personified… a dragon himself. He was transformed into a miserable, lonely beast, cut off from humanity. Over and over, he tried to scrape off the skin, but there was absolutely nothing he could do to shed his rough, scaly dragon skin.

In mercy and grace, Aslan the Lion appeared one night while he was lying helpless and hopeless. Aslan said to him, “You will have to let me undress you.” Eustace was afraid of Aslan’s claws, but he was terribly desperate. In anxiousness and humility Eustace lied down flat on his back for Aslan to undress him.

“The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.

~~~

Wow – this is one of those lightning bolts from God.  God has trying to peel away the ungodly exterior to my soul.  Yes, I need to trust Him, and yes, I need to build a much more intimate relationship with Him.  But how do you do that?  Read scripture; pray; pray for the Holy Spirit to be with you for guidance; these are just the tip of the iceberg.  I may never know why I keep going through these things, but as I experience ache and pain, I know I am on the path to a more intimate relationship with Him.

A few of the things I’m thankful for this week:

1. God drawing me closer to Him.
2. Heavy rain on Saturday.
3. Heavy rain on Sunday.
4. My container veggie garden
5. Food banks
6. Shadow Mountain Community Church
7. Danielle
8. Desiree
9. Des’ pregnancy with triplets has safely to 30 weeks
10. I was a victim of fraud a couple weeks ago; the bank fraud detection people called me early on a Saturday morning to question some transactions.
11. My checking account was emptied, but I got it all back.
12. I get paid on Sunday for a house-sitting job.
13. My housemate brought me some treats.
14. Got some food at a church food bank last Saturday.
15. I found a recipe for some delicious banana bread; I’m not a fan of that fruit unless it is mixed into something.
16. I made a couple modifications to this recipe and IT WORKED! Delicious!!
17. There is an extra distribution at the food bank this Thursday evening – some produce.
18. My housemate paid me to help her with yard work.

I have a list of 22 things I want to blog about, but #23 will be part two of sharing my journey to a more intimate relationship with God.  Stay tuned!

** https://my10000reasons.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/cheating-on-my-husband-with-my-husband/

~~~

Provision Through Experiences

As I began to ponder what to write today, I originally considered “what defiles” (Matthew 15:11) as my subject. But as I began to turn towards that scripture, a thought regarding how God provides entered my mind. “Oh, that’s a good one; I can’t forget that.”

It occurred to me that God provides in many different ways. He doesn’t just provide basic necessities (Matthew 6:31-33), but He provides through experiences. You may be given difficult times to grow your spirit, or you may hit some unwanted traffic to keep you from getting into an accident farther up the road or some other unpleasant encounter. Indecision may even be one of those experiences, causing you to pause instead of bolting headfirst into a bad choice.

Jesus told His disciples not to be concerned about what they needed in Luke 10:3-7. He instructed them to go out and preach and not take food or extra clothes. They were given all they needed by those they ministered to, those they had experiences with.

Backtracking a little bit here . . . I’ve wondered about those who don’t have the provision of basic necessities. Each time I see a homeless person begging at a street light or freeway off-ramp, or sleeping on a sidewalk, I feel it deeply in my heart and thank God I’ve never had to do such things. One time I mentioned to a Christian woman that just because you are Christian doesn’t mean you won’t become homeless; she agreed. But why do such things happen to some Christians?

I wish I could tell you. [Insert heavy sigh here.] But I can tell you that while some of those experiences are deeply painful and unwelcome, I am glad for what He teaches me. I have faith that He will continue to provide all that I need.

God bless you this week! Here are some of the things I’m thankful for today:

1. The birds outside my window that entertain as I write
2. My expanding garden; I’m going to have such great veggies!
3. I am now going to concentrate on the wildlife garden aspect of my garden; this is a large part of His calling for me. I’m thankful for the space to help His creations.
4. There was a plumbing issue in the kitchen last night; sorry my housemate had to deal with it, but I’m glad I wasn’t here!
5. Since I couldn’t fix dinner here, I had the money to go out for dinner.
6. Yesterday was a better day at work.
7. It was a busy day and went quickly.
8. It’s a clear and sunny morning.
9. Skype, for talking to a friend in England
10. Hilary was sick last week; she’s much better this week.
11. The Bible
12. Flowers
13. Tea
14. Herbs
15. Veggies
16. Desiree and Ryan’s trio are the size of grapefruit right now; the pregnancy continues to go very well.
17. A grad party to go to on the 14^th.
18. I was able to delight a friend in Georgia who I surprised with a phone call.
19. I’m blessed to have a friend who is so delighted to hear from me! J
20. I found some genealogy clues last night that filled in some gaps. Yahoo!
21. Desiree and Ryan’s friends shower them with love and gifts to help the babies.
22. Desiree’s blog “Our Journey to Parenthood.” http://ourjourneytoparenthoodblog.com/2015/06/04/fortin-trio-update-23-weeks/

…to keep it holy

11 January 2015

“Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”

In this day and age that command from the Lord has largely been forgotten. Many of this population are required by their jobs to work on Sunday. I have struggled for some time not to do grocery shopping on this day, although lately I’ve had success.

When I was a Mormon and lived in the Salt Lake City area, pretty much NOTHING was open on Sunday. I’ve been away from there since 1981, but from what I understand that has changed a great deal.

As I opened the internet to do a little research on this topic, I found an excellent article on this site, which I encourage all of you to read:

http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2004/january/lauren-winner-sabbath-holy.html?start=1

The next habit I’d like to change is not go to the library on Sunday. I suppose there is really no harm in that, and going to the library any day of the week is an enriching and wholesome activity. An even more important thing for me to do would be to find a new church home. I haven’t attended for some time, and I’ve discovered a church not too far away that has services only on Sunday. I think that’s a good thing – to me it says, ‘Hey, make time for God on Sunday, His designated holy day, not on Saturday or Friday night when you don’t have to get up early on a day off’.

Many people go about this day as though it is just any ‘ol day of the week. I’m going to strive hard to change that within myself.

Things I’m thankful for today include:

• We had rain last night.
• My driver side window was down a little, but the seat barely got wet.
• PBS dvd’s – I can borrow them from the library.
• Hot cocoa mix that I got as part of a Christmas gift; I love to mix some in coffee and take to work. When it cools down it is still pleasant to drink.
• Yesterday was a great work day.
• Last night I discovered a lot of new information in my genealogical research.
• It is almost always a great work day at the store I work at on Fridays. The manager there is great (and a Christian), and I always get eight hours.
• I get to walk Rocky and Mimi late this afternoon. Since my income doesn’t allow much in the way of entertainment and getting out, I love being able to do this for my friend.
• I love dogs!
• Yesterday at work I played a brief game of catch (with a wad of paper) with an 18 month old boy. It gave me joy to entertain him for a few minutes, and it gave his parents joy to watch.
• The manager of my Wednesday-Saturday store was in a good mood yesterday. He has been in a good mood lately.
• Blueberries
• I got a 6-pack of young spinach plants for 90% off (damaged); way better than my employee discount!
• I’ve been able to grow a wee bit of my own food at this apartment.
• Tried a great recipe for vegetable broth; cost a lot less than buying.
• Hot showers on a cold morning
• God needs me.

God bless – have a great week!

Why Call Him Jesus?

11 December 2014

I recently started re-reading “Why the Nativity?” by Dr. David Jeremiah¹, and daily I receive revelations in the words. Today’s chapter is titled “Why Call Him Jesus?”

In the age in which Jesus was born, Jesus was a very popular name for boys. Jesus is the Greek equivalent of Joshua. He took over as leader of Israel after Moses’ time was done, and Joshua became a national hero leading the Hebrews into the Promised Land. What stunned me this morning is that Joshua means “God saves.” I get cold chills just thinking of that realization.

JESUS SAVES!! The most timeless of all messages and the reason we as Christians celebrate with great joy His birth.

I pray that all of you, if you have not already done so, come to the realization of God’s great love for us, and the boundless joy of the birth of Jesus.

Love,

Gail

P.S. Get a copy the film “Nativity Story” and watch it with your family this season. Whenever I see the scene of his birth I am filled with such awe!

¹ Jeremiah, David. Why the Nativity? Orange, CA: Yates & Yates, 2006.

1. JESUS SAVES!
2. I got a new dog sitting job today to last 1 ½ wks, and another lined up a few days ago.
3. God provides – I have healthy food in my kitchen.
4. Yesterday wasn’t as bad a work day as I thought it would be.
5. Kelly Clarkson Christmas CD I got on loan from the library
6. Discovered a couple of “Vegan on the Cheap” recipe books; I’m vegetarian, not vegan, but these books are going to be very helpful in saving money.
7. Got to make a neighbor feel better the other day. He just lost his job, and I invited him over for pizza and beer and to watch a movie.  His spirits seem much lifted.
8. It is a sunny day.
9. Bargains
10. Christmas bells
11. God has been powerfully making His presence and love known to me this week.
12. Of the three branches of my garden-center employer that I work at, tomorrow I get to work at my favorite….
13. …and it is a closer drive.
14. Gas/petrol for just $2.79 on Monday . . . .
15. . . . . and I shared a laugh with another patron of the gas station over how I marveled that I was marveling at paying such a “low” price! lol
16. Had the money to buy some birdseed.  I love helping wildlife.