Goodness&God

I have been pondering God and HIS goodness the last day or so.Steve had been really enjoying his hot shower yesterday due to a sore back and neck.He'd been in there awhile and said"Though I'm really enjoying this,all good things must come to an end."Without a second thought I said"God's goodness never comes to an end."A quick study of God's word proved me right. :-)Psalm 52:1(NKJV)says"Why do you boast in evil,O mighty man?The goodness of God endures continually.Think of that people of God!His goodness endures continually.Everlasting and eternal goodness!I find that incredible and worthy of praise.That even when our lives appear to be void of HIS presence much less HIS goodness we have HIS promise that HIS goodness is eternal.Neverending.Another scripture that speaks of HIS goodness is Psalm 27:13(NKJV)which says"I would have lost heart,unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living."I love that one in particular for God gave it to me years ago when we first entered the refiners fire.Those who know my husband and I know we have been through ALOT.I thank God for HIS word.I thank God for HIS goodness.I have continued to hold on to Psalm 27:13 as HIS personal promise to us.That we would see HIS goodness in the land of the living.Are you facing something that is causing you to doubt HIS goodness?Run to HIM!Memorize these promises in HIS word.Look for something,anything in your life(no matter how small)that is proof of HIS goodness!I'm not asking you to do something I have not had to do myself!:-)

Prayer:Father,I ask that you pour out your tangible goodness on those who read these words.Especially on those who may be feeling as if their very life is being sucked out of them by their circumstances.I'm asking as your daughter and as one who's been there.I love YOU.

Blessings,Sharon

Buddy

There is a male in my life other than my husband and step-son who loves me.He is someone other than God too.In fact he is not related to me at all.He is black.And short.And he has loved me from the moment we met after we moved into this complex in June.He lives in the next building to the west of us.And he is crazy about me.His name is Buddy.Every time he sees me he runs to greet me.He has four legs and is a part Terrier,part Bichon Frise puppy owned by our neighbor Robert and his wife. :-)From the beginning Buddy was never afraid of me much to the amazement of Robert.One of the other long time tenants called Buddy cute once.Buddy ran away from them as fast as he could.But he has never done that with me.I think Buddy knows I love animals of all types.He knows I would never hurt him in any way or any animal.Buddy is simply adorable with black,slightly out of control fur and huge brown eyes.He fills me with joy every time I see him.I love to see his enthusiastic response to my presence.On more than one occasion Buddy has almost choked himself with his own leash while straining hard to get to me and just lavish his puppy love upon me.He is usually out of breath and panting some by the time he reaches me but he still lavishes his love on me.I do not know why he loves me like he does.He just does.I have not given him food or shelter or puppy treats.He just loves me because he sees something in me that perhaps only a puppy can see.God is like that.He simply loves us because.We cannot earn His love.He delights in our presence.And I think it makes Him happy when we come to Him and just lavish our love on Him like Buddy does me.Our desire to lavish love on God should be with the same passion that Buddy exhibits with me.Straining with all that is in us to be in His presence and lavish our love on mGod.We should have the same excitement about being in God's presence.Psalm 42:1 says"As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you O God."If your longing to be in His presence just because is or has been waning ask Him to fill you with that love and passion once again.A passion to just love God again.No strings attached.Just because.
Blessings,Sharon

Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says"There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under heaven."I thought of this particular verse recently as Steve and I were heading to a garage sale(did I mention we love garage sales? :-) ).It was out in the country and was on a road called"Irish Glen Lane."Now,being of Irish ancestry on my dad's side of the family,I really love the name of that lane.It conjures up lovely images of green,windswept countryside and ancient,crumbling castles.As I drove us to this sale I was noticing our own countryside.Large clumps of evergreen trees and shrubs dotted the landscape broken up only by large,yellow patches of freshly mowed hay.The hay had not been bundled(baled?) yet.Acres of it lay strewn about the ground like wounded soldiers after an intense battle.I liked the look of it.It reminded me that autumn is just around the corner.Yes,I know summer has not been here very long weather wise in Oregon.But I just love autumn.I love it's cooler weather.The misty mornings. The riot of warm color that falls from the sky when a brisk wind detaches leaves from their delicate hold on trees.These things fill me with joy and anticipation.As I observed and pondered all this I realized something else.That more than my love of autumn I liked watching the change,the transition of one season into another(my favorite though being the summer to autumn due to being born and raised in Sacramento till moving to Oregon at age 30).Each season has it's beauty.It's joys and blessings.It also has it's pitfalls.It is just like the seasons of our lives.We have our joy-filled times and our times of sorrow and even death.But seasons change.We do not live in an endless summer.And winter is not a permanent fixture either.And through all these changes in the seasons whether on the calendar or in our lives Jesus is there through summer and winter.Good times and bad.He does not change.He says in Malachi 3:6"I am the Lord,I change not.... ."He is ever faithful.Always loving.Always there.HE can be trusted to be there for you no matter what season you find yourself in at this time in your life.Blessings to all.
Sharon

Grief and Loss

Last night was a rough night for both my husband and I.Sleep just eluded us both for awhile.It may have been the heat.Most apartments in Oregon have no AC as we generally have mild weather in our area year round.We have to be content with fans which sometimes offer small comfort.It was also a rough night with my atrial fibrillation.As we lay there trying to drift off my mind wandered here and there in between prayers to the Father for sleep to descend upon us both.I thought of losses and how we grieve losses in one way or another.I have faced some losses in my lifetime as all of you have.I never knew my earthly father.Loss.My mom went to be with Jesus in 2001.Grief and loss.I still miss her.After marrying in 1992 at almost 31 I faced years of infertility.Loss of a dream however small.In 2004 I faced major surgery for endometrial cancer that forever sealed my fate as a woman who would never have children of her own.More loss.Currently I have to be careful just how much and how heavily I exercise as I must not get my heart rate too high until after I am cardioverted for this atrial fibrillation.I see this as a temporary loss of freedom to exercise as hard as I want to.There have been other losses too in our lives such as jobs and my husband's first marriage.Now please don't think I lay in bed nightly and think such sad things beacause I don't.That would cause insomnia for sure.I thought of all we have faced as a couple and I just had to praise and thank God for we are still alive.We are still here.We still find things to laugh about.We can still find joy in a sunrise or a flower or the smell of a summer morning.Our grief and loss has not and will not consume us because God is still in control and HE still loves us and we HIM in spite of what HE has allowed in our lives.I know there is an end to all this.And we can say with Jeremiah"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,for HIS compassions never fail.They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness."(Lamentations 3:21-23)No matter what you are facing right now remember this...God does love you and as long as you are still living and breathing there is always room for hope in your heart because God can be trusted to carry you through!God bless all.
Sharon

Devotion

I've been thinking about devotion and committment in recent days.About the need for such things whether it involves a job,a ministry or a spouse.Or most importantly God.I have also been thinking alot about dogs.My husband and I,though renters,love dogs.Alot.As renters of an apartment we cannot have pets of any kind.Some places allow them if you are willing to pay an extremely high deposit.We are not.So,we spoil other people's dogs.Mostly at garage sales.I have been known to stop at a sale just because I saw a big,friendly looking dog out front. :-)And on more than one occasion a garage sale dog has tried to come home with us.Occasionally we run across dogs that are less than friendly.Not mean.Just not focused on us or our attempts to get their attention.I saw one such dog in a vehicle recently at a local store.No matter how much I called to him he ignored me.He was focused on his owner.His master.At that moment I thought I heard the Lord whispering to me.I heard him say "that's devotion."That dog's main focus was seeing his master's face.I realized at that point that I was merely a distraction to that dog.His focus was elsewhere.It was on the one who loved him,fed him and cared for his daily needs.I saw how that is exactly like the Lord in our lives.He is the ONE who loves us and cares for us and feeds us.Both physically and in our spirits.But unlike that dog there are many distractions that pull us away from our devotion to our Master.Even ministry can be a distraction if we are so busy ministering that we forget the ONE we are doing it for.It can happen.Divided loyalties.Misspent time.As I watched this dog I also thought of Anna the prophetess.In Luke 2:36-37 it says"There was also a Prophetess,Anna,the daughter of Phanuel,of the tribe of Asher.She was very old:she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,and then was a widow until she was eighty four.She never left the temple but worshipped night and day,fasting and praying."Now that to me was devotion.I admire that lady.In the midst of her grieving she remained devoted to God.She remained in the temple night and day fasting and praying.There are times in my life I have found it difficult to pray for one hour.But not Anna.I also thought of the Apostle Paul.Acts 20:24 says"However I consider my life worth nothing to me(KJV says but none of these things move me;I like that version best),if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."Paul was able to say this after the Holy Spirit had warned him that prison and hardships faced him.But he was devoted to God and God's call on his life.And therefore he was able to endure anything he faced knowing the ONE who called him would also equip him to endure.I don't know what lies ahead for any of us but I do know God can be trusted.He will enable us to endure if we keep our focus on and committment to HIM.May God richly bless and encourage you this day.
Much Love,Sharon