Growing Deeper

These days there are alot things that get people riled.    The biggest upset these past few months for many, is the outcome of the election.   First of all, I want to be clear, I am not taking sides on this. I have come to the place where we have a new president, period.     My main concern with any issue is truth, and sadly on the issue of this election, I can't really say for sure who to believe. I don't watch the news anymore. Its so driven by what ever side that station is loyal to, and their opinion, and where they get their  information is beyond me.     I want to focus on The Mark. When I see that word, I automatically think of  "The MARK of the Beast"    But this isn't even what I am talking about.     What I AM alluding to is, another mark.        It is the Mark of the Christian.    What is that? Well, Jesus told his followers this: "By  THIS all men shall know that you are ...

 There is a picture in my mind, as I read a story in the news about a person jumping in a lake off a boat to save someone who is drowning... I have heard that when a person is drowning, and someone is trying to help them, they struggle profusely, fighting the person who is actually trying to SAVE their life. It is a natural response in the victim, because they are in the middle of sinking and trying to stay afloat.  I thought about this and then I also thought about how many times I have, in a different ways struggled with God while He is trying to lift me "out of the deep waters" of myself. I sometimes feel like I am drowning in situations that I am trying to stay afloat in.    The first time that I was drowning was 42 years ago.  I was barely hanging on, barely breathing, taking on lots of "water" due to a deep ocean of self preservation, that actually wasn't working at all!   God jumped into my life and all He asked me to do was, relax, and Trust Him, to...

 What is love anyway? Is it hearts and flowers? Is it romantic music? A hug and a kiss? Well, love can be all of these things  and many other things that come to mind.    Sometimes we throw around that word, " love "without really thinking about all it means. We all have our own ideas of what that is in our mind.  But really... What IS the meaning of   LOVE ?  Gods Word tells us love IS MANY things, and also  what it isn't.   I can say I love you, but if I think I can tell you that and not act accordingly,  it doesn't hold much weight, does it ? If I think I always have to be right, and get my dig in while telling you so...  that is NOT love...  even if I  think it is something you NEED to hear. Gods Word tells us that we can do a lot of impressive things as christians but if we do not do them, with a loving heart, they are essentially nothing at all. That includes things like," speaking in tongues of men and of ...

 It's interesting to me that if we want to get good at anything, we have to make it a priority.  Whether it is  learning how to play a musical instrument, learning a different language, or becoming a  great cook! There are many things we can learn if we intentionally take the time to master  them.  In another sense practicing can be learning a reality we never knew before. .. I am referring to the FACT that God is always with us.   Gods Word tells us that He is always with us.  " I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."  Matthew 28:20  In another verse it says "...for He has said, I will never [under any circumstance] desert you[nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you.  Hebrews 13:5b Amplified Bible These are just 2 examples of Gods Word telling us a fact. God is always with us.  How do we, as believers,...

 I am awakened in the night....with a song on my heart. I decide to get up and find that song,  because for many lonely days  and yes in Christmas Seasons past,  for me it has  been such a reminder of Gods truth and faithfulness...   The song is "I am not Alone" by Natalie Grant. It's powerful! And it resonates in my soul.   Let's face it, this year has been quite a year, in so many, many ways.  An unprecedented pandemic, many lives lost, jobs lost, turmoil, unrest and for many, a lasting loneliness.  For those  this season is not a merry one, but one of pain. Suicides are up even more this year than in years past.   I remember in those days past ,how that deep hole of hopelessness felt. I was there, many times. I was young, and betrayed, by different circumstances and even choices I had made that I thought would be good for me. My days were sad and I felt that I was all alone in my pain.   I did survive,  but barely....

    I found that after I started to read the Bible, it was so thought provoking to me that I could not get enough of it, I took it slow and pondered on many things that Jesus addressed as well as things I came across in the Old Testament.  It answered many questions I had about life. How to treat other people,  What was holy.  Surprising to me was Jesus coming against the religious people of his day.  He came against the way they treated people, addressed being meek and loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself.   I didn't have any close neighbors, but I did have a family. Jesus was using that sermon and others, to speak to me on how I spoke to and treated my oldest daughter ,who was 6 at that time..   To make a long story short, I had a lot of baggage from my own upbringing. I was made fun of as a child from my parents. I was  probably  an overly sensitive child. In any event, I was raised in a dysfunctional family, and married a ...

  The very next week, my friend took me to a Christian Book Store in our little town. She told me that she would like to buy me a Bible. I was very surprised that she would do that for  me. It was a new thing, a friend that would buy me something that would benefit just me. She said it was very important for me to start to have time to read "Gods Word" ( as she called it), the Bible. I ended up picking out a small burgandy leather bound King James Bible. She and I went back to her house and she sat down with me and showed me how to start learning about Jesus. The Bible would not be like any other book I had read. She said for me, it would be good to start in the New Testament, the Gospel of John.  She explained that I should take it slow, maybe a chapter a day. And actually read about Jesus and His ministry.  She also explained something to me that she called a "quiet time." She showed me her prayer journal, a small three-ring binder that she had. In it were section...