ON A LIGHTER NOTE!

I JUST COULDN'T RESIST . . . looking back on last year, I wondered if there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  We were having some grey days, but the weather was 36, 46 - 50.  Our time change is in two weeks.  On that day last year, it was 68 degrees.  I had set the deck furniture up and then we had that really hot spell in the middle to third week.  This week I would have said, no way - are we going to repeat that - but its fun to think about.

As I talked about on the other blog, what a day yesterday.

Met Maggie - the house sitter and dog sitter.  If you ever need someone who takes care of your house and animals, even the stray cats get noticed by her, call Maggie Carpenter.  She is the best.
357-8143.

We have had ole yeller for two years, but he won't have anything to do with us.  Then the big black and white male who comes around on occasion.  But, now ole yeller and Bandit eat together.  Yesterday a third one has arrived.  He will be Mr. Grey.  Everyone saw him, but me.  I have looked today for him but can't find him.  The deer come and eat the salt block, the coons come and eat the peanut butter and sunflower seed, and the poor birds watch for the Hawk who comes now.  We are officially the Souder Farm with Turtle Lake and Souder Zoo Resort.

GOING BEYOND!

Jeremiah 17: 7,8, and 14

Everyone has thought at least sometime in their life about getting on an airplane and escaping into the great beyond!  Yep!   Sometimes I have that thought several times a day, depending on what the circumstances are.

Where is your great beyond?

"Jesus, come and get me!"  or  "Give me a ticket to Hawaii, Cancun, Switzerland. . .anywhere!"

Or maybe it is. . ."Wait, What?  You don't really think I can go there and do that, Lord Jesus.!"

Okay so I can't go any of those places.  Maybe He would make a house call?  Have you ever thought how fantastic that would be,  if we could call Him on the phone,  and He would come right over?

Actually, He does.  His Word is our house call.

Jeremiah 17: 7, 8 :    But blessed is he (put your name in there) who trusts in the Lord whose confidence is in him.  He (your name) will be like a tree planted near the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when the heat comes;  its' leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

His Word tells us everything we need to know about going beyond our comfort zone.  It tells us everything we need to know about going through those tough seasons we are asked to experience.

In these verses it is comforting to know that no matter what if I just don't panic and instead trust the Lord, I will stay fresh and make it.  If I just don't worry and instead trust the Lord, I will be blessed with bearing the fruit of standing on my ground.  Upright and whole.  Our part in all this is to send those roots of trust, love, confidence, and belief deep down into Him.  He's got it, he always does.

Jeremiah 17: 14   Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed, save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

Psalm 25: 1  Unto you, O Lord, do I bring my life.

DOES GOD ALWAYS GIVE US. . . .

OUR DREAMS IN LIFE?

JEREMIAH 29: 11/15 says that He has a plan for our life.

"For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome."

Let us start with this idea and expand on it.  When you interview people in their older years you will get mixed opinions.  "Did you have a dream to do something in specific?"  Like travel when you retire, or build a house in the woods and live a much quieter life.  Maybe you even put money back and wrote your plan down about how to execute it.  Some of those dreams start early in life.  I remember hearing my parents talk about things they wanted to do.  It was quite interesting to observe their surprise at how so many of them came true even before they were 60.  So, in my mind I start forming career ideas and retirement ideas.  I was told you get to 65 and you maximize your dream.  You stop working every day and get in the RV and start traveling.  You must see the world that you didn't get to while you were busy.

Today, however, when I listen to friends who had a dreams are seeing them change and or be totally rerouted.  Some are angry, some are perplexed.  "So my plan and dream wasn't God's?"  "I thought He answered the desires of our heart if we delight in Him?"  Psalm 34: 4 and 5.    "And, while we're on the subject, my career goals and dreams didn't go the way I had planned either!"    "What about that?"

This is a subject we could hash over for a very long time.  In one of my small groups we are studying how to tell when we want to do something, or need to make a decision about something;  is it us hearing the plan or does it line up with God's Word?  Does it line up with God's character,  does it line up with other messages we are hearing, or is it beyond our ability to do right now.  Is God trying to talk to me and I am not listening?  If we know He has a plan for us to bring us peace, hope and success, why aren't things going that way at all?

I am not the end all to having answers here, but this is just one woman's ideas and experiences.
Had my dream for having a "on the road" speaking and writing tour come true, I would have been sent home years ago or been put in the hospital miles from home.  Since I was born with Tuberculosis that brought on all kinds of immune deficient diseases that I have incurred over all these years and culminated in the early 90's.  It would have been a disaster.  When I realized that things were never going to be as I had "dreamed", I asked the Lord for another plan, His plan, but one that have some of the things I felt so led to explore and do in my life time.   Now when I look back on all that, I see that life can throw you curves.  The dream was strong, those abilities still there, but God just channeled in a dialed back version.  I couldn't have ever had the strength to do all I believed in doing.  The neat thing here is, that I learned how to let Him re-channel that dream.  We all do.  Life happens, things we didn't plan on spilling over onto us.  Taking care of a loved one.  I could name hundreds of examples.

Pastor Stuart was explaining the beatitudes today and how being humble was such a part of learning about changes in our lives.  Being flexible.  Meek isn't weak.  It is picking up your pieces and re-stacking them according to what you hear TRULY believe He honors those dreams by turning you down another road.  Please don't be obsessed with your dream and vision.  If you are - you will miss the road sign to another adventure.   Life isn't always fair, that is true, but it is still your life and God formed you.  He clearly formed you.  Psalm 139.  So He knows.  He knew you would come down this road.  Do it with a Joyful and Glad heart.  He knows what He is doing.  It could be better you know.  How will you know if you don't try it.

OUCH!!!!!!!

Read Numbers 22: 10-34.  In fact I would recommend that you read further into this book on this story of Balaam and his donkey.

Perhaps you have read this story before:

The short version of what is happening here is that Balaam was a sorcerer.  People called on him to place curses on individuals or countries so they win over them or steal from them.  The King of Moab wanted Balaam to use his powers with God to place a curse on Israel.  In doing so, that magic might just cause God to turn against His own people.  The King of Moab (named Balak) wanted to have complete power and he was sure he didn't have the resources to win out over the Israelites.  Balaam had mixed feelings about God.  He believed and talked with God, yet he had his other foot across the line in magic and Idolatry.  There was money involved here after all too!  He went to God three times to ask about going.  God told him three times - do not curse these blessed people.  Finally God got irritated and allowed him to take his trusted, long time favorite donkey and proceed to Balak's country to get the goods. 

I don't know about you, but wouldn't we have heard God after three times?  Or did he hear him, but then the almighty God decided to basically say "Whatever!"  Go!  So, we would have done the same.
This passage of scripture has always made me nuts.  God stopped him on the trail three times.  He even gave voice to the donkey to tell him -"STOP!  You fool STOP!"   Well, maybe not like that, but pretty much.

What did Balaam do.  He beat the donkey up.  The donkey even ran him into the side of the mountain to get his attention.  He beat the donkey again.  Idiot!  When I read this story this week again from the Daily Bread, I get so impressed with the whole flesh thing we have going on.  Our way.  We will do anything to twist things around to make it turn out to benefit us.   And, so I settled down and thought about how God sets up obstacles sometimes to remind us of our foolishness.  We an blame the enemy all we want.  However, I agree with the idea that we need to look at how is God trying to get our attention in His mighty effort to protect us.  The ouch was multi-purposed here for me.  I felt sorry for the donkey even though he was just the messenger.  "Don't shoot the messenger!"  Good thing to put in your mind somewhere for further use.  Asking God for His truth as it stands, is first and foremost.  Asking yourself - "What is my motive for this adventure?"   "Will it bring glory and honor to God, or is this glory and honor just for me?"   

Are you dealing with some obstacles in your path?  Good time to put your God glasses on and not your rose colored glasses on. 

Donkeys were all-purpose vehicles back in those days - used for transportation.  Balaam looked at his donkey with great anger for not only saving his life, but for making him look foolish.  Beware at who or what you are getting irritated with when a message comes through an obstacle.  It most likely is God wanting to protect you from yourself. 

God is an awesome Father figure!  Trust Him, with everything.