Her thoughts,,,

“Her thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.” Jane Austen Mansfield Park

I think most women can relate to this quote.  Some people call it baggage, some call it thought life, some call it overwhelming, and some just say it is the way it is.  But we are continually thinking and planning and sometimes if you are like me I have more plans than I have time to accomplish said plans.  But as I was thinking about this quote some scriptures came to my mind. 

“My thoughts are nothing like your thought,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9 NLT

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  Psalms 139:23 NLT

“No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. “ I Corinthians 2: 11 NLT

So this got me thinking more, and by the way thank you Lord that no one can know my thoughts!  That is a gift! 

We have access to God’s Spirit, if we accept Jesus as Lord and redeemer we have access to the very Spirit of God living within us.  We must walk with the Spirit of God to know the thoughts of God.  My thoughts, epiphanies, and plans are NOTHING compared to God’s plan.  God’s plan is so much bigger, brighter and encompassing of all mankind.  Not just little o me. 

Then there is this verse:

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered! Psalm 139:17

I don’t know about you but I don’t always feel like God’s thoughts about me are positive and precious.  I often think they are more like HE is shaking His head going…”What is she thinking?”  hahaha

So I end today’s post with this prayer of scripture:

May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Psalm 104:34

It is not easy, but submitting our thought life to God is a daily and sometimes minute by minute process.  Let God release you from your anxious thoughts and grab a hold to God’s.  

Her thoughts,,,

“Her thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.” Jane Austen Mansfield Park

I think most women can relate to this quote.  Some people call it baggage, some call it thought life, some call it overwhelming, and some just say it is the way it is.  But we are continually thinking and planning and sometimes if you are like me I have more plans than I have time to accomplish said plans.  But as I was thinking about this quote some scriptures came to my mind. 

“My thoughts are nothing like your thought,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9 NLT

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  Psalms 139:23 NLT

“No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. “ I Corinthians 2: 11 NLT

So this got me thinking more, and by the way thank you Lord that no one can know my thoughts!  That is a gift! 

We have access to God’s Spirit, if we accept Jesus as Lord and redeemer we have access to the very Spirit of God living within us.  We must walk with the Spirit of God to know the thoughts of God.  My thoughts, epiphanies, and plans are NOTHING compared to God’s plan.  God’s plan is so much bigger, brighter and encompassing of all mankind.  Not just little o me. 

Then there is this verse:

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered! Psalm 139:17

I don’t know about you but I don’t always feel like God’s thoughts about me are positive and precious.  I often think they are more like HE is shaking His head going…”What is she thinking?”  hahaha

So I end today’s post with this prayer of scripture:

May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Psalm 104:34

It is not easy, but submitting our thought life to God is a daily and sometimes minute by minute process.  Let God release you from your anxious thoughts and grab a hold to God’s.  

Ten years: Trials, tears and triumphs!

In 2006 as a wife and mother to a 12 year old girl, and boys 2 and 4 years of age, we found out that my husband had another daughter.  It was a little surprising.  But at that time I thought we stepped right into the proper course, two weeks later we packed up our little family and trekked from San Antonio up to Amarillo, Texas to attend his daughter’s high school graduation.  George Strait singing, “Amarillo by morning up from San Anton” chorusing through my mind during the drive.

I was somewhat nervous, meeting not only an 18 year old girl, her son and her whole family.  It was a good visit.  Plans were soon made for us to go on a vacation the next month.

To say I was ill equip to deal with the feelings, emotions and behavior of an older teenager was actually quite accurate.  There is not a one of us that would like to re-live that vacation for many reasons.  It was a time that ended poorly and to this day it is one of my regrets.

After many PRAYERS, when I say many I don’t mean once a month prayer.  I mean focused prayers regarding this situation.  My husband you see did not meet his father until he was 21-and there was no relationship after his meeting.  So you see there was an urgency to not repeat the mistakes of his father.  There was a need, desire and passion to do the right thing.

Little by little, one phone call, one visit, one message a relationship started to grow.  Many things have changed we are still no closer geographically then we were before.  But relationally we are family.  There is no doubt in my mind that the next 10 years will be greater than the last 10 years.

A few weekends ago we went to Amarillo from our current location in Kansas-no romantic song chorusing through my brain.  But the realization that after our vacation together 10 years ago-this is a miracle.  We have taken several mini trips but most of the communication is via text, Facebook, telephone and good old stamp on a card!  We have made a difference in each other’s lives.

Our desire to see her have faith in God is now very evident in her life.  Her commitment to her son and family is very true.  I hope she sees the commitment in my heart to her.  Because today I am proud to say she is MY daughter.  I love you Izzy!

“Is this good for my heart?”

Oh dark chocolate you say, ok give it to me!  Yes, I read dark chocolate is good for my heart.  You have to have a good heart to live productively!  Dark Chocolate for everyone!!!!!!!

So for the last 2 years as a nurse I have taken care of approximately 50 patients close to my age that have had a heart attack-blood flow is blocked to heart and chest pain is a common symptom.  Thankfully, most of these patients responded to pain timely, reported to hospital, underwent intervention and are doing very well at this time.  But this made me look at things that were bad for my heart:  my physical beating heart. There are many studies out there and many claims to what is good or beneficial for our hearts. 

I started with exercise, yoga, walking, jogging or going to the gym and getting my heart rate up on a treadmill or elliptical machine.  I started watching mostly what I ate and I lost some weight.  After 40 the weight does not come off easily!  But it made me ponder our hearts.  In the Bible, the word heart is used over 1000 times.

“Trust the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

“So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.” Genesis 6:6

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23

The word heart in these references is talking about the inner man, the mind and the understanding according to The Strong’s concordance of the bible. 

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9

God wants our hearts, wants us to put his words into our hearts, he wants to consume our hearts.  It is all we have our heart our inner most self.  God wants to be in the “midst” of our being. 

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

While I want my physical beating heart arteries to be clean free from plague and other things that clog the arteries.  How much more important is it to have a clean biblical heart.  A clean inner most self-only God in HIS absolute power can do that.  So we must love God, rely on HIM with everything we have!  Do not trust our hearts-let God lead us.  Think on things that God wants us to ponder, pray, read his word, follow HIS commands, confess our sins, lead others to HIM and trust him.  

Dear God, Help me to love you with all my heart, soul and mind.  Help me to trust you with my inner most self.  Help me to keep my heart clean-renew me as needed. (And help those coronary arteries stay clean).  Thank you for all you do and are doing for us daily and moment by moment. Help me to ask myself, “is this good for my heart?”

Miss Mary Mack


 

Over the weekend, I was in a converted old school house from the 1920’s.  This unique brick building was restored in great condition.  The floors in the banquet room and a couple other rooms were original to the building.  While we were waiting for dinner and music to start I was in the banquet room sitting on the stage with the original wood floors.  As I was there looking at the beautiful old floors, it took me back to  many years when this same girl many years younger was sitting on a very similar floor.

I instantly remember playing clapping games, “Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack.”  Hundreds of memories came pouring in.  I remember saying other rhymes as well but I do not recall them until I did a little research. “Miss Susie had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell, and Miss Susie went to heaven…”  Memory triggers can be anything, a smell, a picture, a sight or music. 

It made me ponder.  Something as simple as an old wood floor can make the memories of elementary years long ago come back.  What a gift.  You know they say we remember moments not days.  I do not remember what days I sat on the old wood floor in the gym at Theresa A. Mulvey Elementary School, Westbrook, Connecticut, but I remember some of those moments. 

What things has God brought into our lives to help us recall simpler times?  What moments are the most precious when you look back and see God’s hand on your life? What moments are we making for our children?  What moments will we remember as our time draws short?

Cathedrals

Last year I was blessed by being able to travel to the U.K. The land of Harry Potter, the Queen, the Beatles, London and yes Cathedrals.  My family and I stayed in a town in Cambridgeshire, Ely pronounced Ee-lee.  Ely is famous for having one of the oldest and most unusual Cathedrals.  It does not matter what part of town you are in you can see the octagonal tower which makes it unique all over the village.  It was after my daughter visited this town that I decided to use this town as our hub for our stay. 

Ely is located about 1 hour north of London (via train) it a quaint village with a river front town and it is a very quiet village.  The people are very quiet and reserved.  I was blessed to attend 2 church services during my stay.  The first service was at a non-denominational church people were friendly and spent a lot of time before and after church talking to us and giving us hints on where locals go to eat.  The second service was at the Cathedral for the Sunday evening service –“Evensong”.  This service was very liturgical and very reverent.  I was so blessed to be among the attendants that evening.  More than 50% of attendants that evening were the ministers and the choir. 

In this Cathedral that dates back to the 1300’s it gave me pause to think of all the services and the reverence shown to God over the centuries.  It was such a solemn time.  I praise God that I was able to attend.  I was able to walk through several churches, abbeys and cathedrals during our stay. 

In the beautiful village of Bury St. Edmunds, we were able to walk through the gardens, ruins and abbey.  To say breathtaking is an understatement!  The experience still gives me pause when I recall it.  The abbey is in process of some restoration.  But the way men expressed their love and faith through the stained glass windows, the beautiful details of windows and passage ways gives my heart a boost.  These buildings took people not years but several life times of service to create. 

When I returned home from my trip I did a little more research on Cathedrals.  But then as life goes, it got really busy.  It was not until I attended a women’s conference some 7 months later and one of the speakers mentioned Cathedrals was my mind and spirit once again refocused on the detail and reverence within a cathedral. 

I ordered a history book on the Cathedrals of Great Britain.  I read with enthusiasm the minute in was in my hands.  (This is a type of book that only gets printed for now. It is not available on Kindle.) But sometimes there is a special purpose when holding a printed book.  Being able to see pictures, look at places I will probably never get to see in person.  I will be honest a lot of the vocabulary was more for an architect major but I made it with looking words up on my phone to understand a clearer meaning.

Just this past weekend, here in the states I got to see a chapel built in the 1950’s at College of the Ozarks in Hollister, MO.  This Christian college is very unique in that all students work on campus for their tuition.  I was captured by some of the gothic elements in this chapel that I had seen in U.K.

What captured me this time was that even though the chapel was beautiful from the outside, it is not until you enter a chapel or Cathedral that you do not get to assess its true beauty. Once inside the stained glass windows come to life. The colors and details are almost overwhelming.  The care and detail of each window must have taken years to create. 

Isn’t that how God is?  The outside of relationship looks beautiful and interesting, but it is not until you enter into a relationship with God that everything is stunning.  He opens our eyes to the world he created and the gifts he gave to men.  A relationship with God is breathtaking!

My love for Cathedrals is new.  I am a little obsessed that men dedicated lifetimes to respect and worship God through their crafts.  I am honored that I can visit them and be blessed. If you have a chance to visit one a Cathedral please do!

Hello my name is Thomas…

You might have heard of Thomas the disciple of Jesus Christ.  Oh! You mean “doubting Thomas”.  Poor Thomas gets a bad rap!

Dear Thomas, he is human.  He doubted.  He thought that there was no way possible that Jesus was alive.  He from some vantage point saw Jesus, Rabbi and friend crucified.  Yes, he saw the details of Jesus’s death.  If he did not see them personally he sure heard a lot about it because Jerusalem was crawling with tales of the crucifixion.

John 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

John 20: 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

If we are real honest with God and ourselves we too will admit that we doubt.  We doubt that God would forgive us.  We doubt that God is who He says he is.  We doubt that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  We are human, we question and we doubt.  There are 30 some words that mean doubt, distrust, ambiguity, skepticism etc. That is where faith comes in.  To have faith in someone you have to trust, accept, believe, and rely on someone else. 

I am Thomas.  I have doubted and I have had faith.  I believe in Jesus. We must have the most trust in God for him to work in our lives.  If we believe we will see many things come to pass for His kingdom.

Faith takes a step into the unknown. But with God all things are possible.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26

“My LORD and My GOD!”  Help us in our unbelief! 

Aaron Smith

May 15, 2016