God's Will For Me

Rejoice always

Pray without ceasing

In everything give thanks

For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

                        1 Thess 5:16-18

Simple, Profound, Direct. Doesn't leave much room for questioning does it?

Clear as can be.

~To the Glory of His name

THE DASH

I just read a post on http://www.lovingtherun.com/  about a shoe salesman.  I thought it was a very good reminder of the importance to Live Life ~ every moment God gives us. 

I thought of when you walk through cemetaries and see the dates on the headstones.  There is always a dash between the dates.  Yes, life begins and ends, but it's the dash that gives it all meaning. 

So we must ask ourselves each day - how am I living my dash today? Is my dash glorifying to God or to myself? 

That's easy to answer if the sun is shining and no one has misunderstood us, rejected us, beaten us down, or embarrassed us. But what if it is a cloudy, stormy day - internally.  What if we are hurt, sad, feeling loss, grieving the death of a dream,  or experiencing deep loneliness? What if we are dealing with health issues, chronic pain, mental decline, financial ruin, painful relationships? What then?

We were created to glorify God in all things. No matter what our circumstances or our feelings, when we do all things as unto Him and for His glory then we will be living the abundant life that He talks about in John 15.  Our hearts will be settled, our minds renewed and our spirits refreshed. Out of the overflow of the Living Christ inside of us, we will be able through Him to rejoice and to pour His love onto others.

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to Him to God the Father. "  Colossians 3:17

So let's live every moment of that dash for all it's worth! For His glory and our joy!

~To the glory of His Name!

Back on Task

You have no idea how much I want to write on this blog and how hard it is to find time to do so! I feel God prompting me in my spirit and yet I don't take the time to do it. It isn't that I think I'll earn points with Him by sharing my thoughts and treasured findings with you, it's just that He is so amazing and my heart is so filled with a passion, an inner pushing or compelling, maybe that's the word, compelling, to get some things out in word form for you to read. Maybe it's because it helps ME to understand it better when I see it in writing.

The reason for this little big of info today is that it helps me to get back to my commitment to write. I have been pondering greatly on the subject of a Thankful Heart.  I will be writing about that soon. I have a long, LONG list of verses to share with you. So hopefully very, VERY soon, there will be some more interesting posts for you to think over.

Until then - may we live every moment in the awareness of His presence dwelling within us.  May we say Yes to all He wants us to do today and NO to all He does NOT want us to do.


Shalom

Gratitude

I Corinthians 10:10 – Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.

John 6:43 – Jesus answered and said unto them, “Do not grumble amongst yourselves.”

The definition of the word grumble (Strong’s 1111 – gon-gu’-zo) is:

1) to murmur, mutter, grumble, say anything against in a low tone

a) of the cooing of doves

b) of those who confer secretly together

c) of those who discontentedly complain

While I really like the sound of doves cooing – I do not like to hear grumbling, muttering, discontentment or complaining.  Do you? And yet, how often I am guilty of grumbling.

It’s one thing to honestly communicate our feelings to God – it is quite another to complain and grumble about our circumstances to and with others. And what does it do?  It just pulls us into a downward spiral.

Psalm 95:2 says – “Come before His presence with thanksgiving.”

Obviously God doesn’t like grumbling either. He tells us to come before Him with thanksgiving! An attitude of gratitude!  A heart of thankfulness! It pleases God when we have thankful hearts and it brings us great joy!

Let’s choose to look at life through the filter of thankfulness, yes, even our difficulties.  No, it doesn’t mean our circumstances are always pleasant, but it does mean that we are aware that He uses ALL things for His purpose and His glory! His ways are not our ways and often things don't make sense to us. But once you begin to be thankful– you find myriads of things to be thankful for and it truly does lift your spirit and draw you into His presence.

Oh Father PLEASE help me to develop a thankful heart so that I might become more aware of Your goodness and Your love for me.

~To the Glory of His Name

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus ~ Pt 2

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,

Love of every love the best;

‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing,

‘Tis  the source of peace and rest.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,

‘Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me;

And it lifts me up to glory,

For it lifts me up to Thee.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,

Spread His praise from shore to shore;

Sing of His greatness, sing of His goodness,

Sing of His love, forevermore.

How many ‘loves’ are there in our lives?  What kind of ‘loves’ do we have?

But God ~ Is He our BEST LOVE? He wants to be. He wants to be the love of our life! Over and above all relationships and all things and all activities!

Zephaniah 3:17 tells us that He rejoices over us with shouts of joy!  He is crazy about us!! 

What a reason to sing of His greatness! Sing of His goodness!

Sing of His love, forevermore!!!!

May He be our BEST LOVE ~ for now and always! And in His love we will find peace and rest.

Ephesians 2:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

~To the Glory of His Name!!

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus ~ Pt 1

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,

Vast, unmeasured, boundless free!

Rolling as a mighty ocean

In its fullness over me.

Underneath me,

All around me

Is the current of His love;

Leading onward,

Leading homeward

To my glorious rest above.

As I sang through this hymn last night, my heart began to think about this incredible love of God. VAST – UNMEASURED – BOUNDLESS – FREE!!!

I don’t think most of us have a really good handle on God’s love for us.  UNDERNEATH ME – ALL AROUND ME – IS THE CURRENT OF HIS LOVE!!

We often make comments when we are so busy like – I am BURIED or I am DROWNING with work, housework, cooking, cleaning, paperwork, homework,  laundry, phone calls, emails, errands to run, kids activities, church activities– etc.

Do we ever think about being totally engulfed (or buried) in His love? ROLLING LIKE A MIGHTY OCEAN – IN ITS FULLNESS OVER ME.

Do we allow the current of His love to move us through this life – heading us homeward? To our glorious rest above!

I just had a picture come to my mind of someone floating along in an inner tube, going with the current – totally dependent on the direction of the current.

God is love – I John 4:8b

He Himself is our peace – Ephesians 2:14

Love and peace ~ Sounds good to me!

~To the Glory of His Name!

Pause

I read the following this morning in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young:

"Let the Spirit take charge of your mind, combing out tangles of deception." And "I want to inhabit all your moments - gracing your thoughts, words, and behavior."

Oh how I want Him to comb out the tangles of deception in my mind. Don't you?  I want to hear only one voice - HIS! And then I want to obey it without hesitation.

May we allow Him to inhabit all our moments and grace our thoughts, words and behaviors today. He is our source of life!

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."  ~ Galatians 5:25

~To the Glory of His Name!

A purpose

Now I need to address the purpose of this blog. What exactly is the definition of ‘purpose’?

PURPOSE

1.      An anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions

2.      what something is used for (like this blog)

3.      The quality of being determined to do or achieve something ( as in being a person of purpose)

I’m really not sure about the purpose of this blog.  I just knew God wanted me to start it up. I have no idea where it will lead.  If you are reading it then you have been “INVITED” to do so. At some point, however, He may ask me to open it up to anyone who happens upon it. 

As I began this adventure God directed me to this verse:

2 CORINTHIANS 11:3          

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

I began to see that since we are so easily led astray by the craftiness of the enemy, we need reminders, verses, words, phrases, paragraphs, that will draw us to ‘the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ” and help us to stay there.

So I would say that is the purpose of Country Shalom.  It is to share what He brings our way to help and encourage one another in our walk with God.  It’s about what He is teaching us through others, circumstances and most importantly through His Word.

Country Shalom is a place where we can go to be fed.  So get your cup of coffee (or tea J) and visit Country Shalom to be encouraged to live totally devoted to Christ!

~To the GLORY of His Name!

 ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.                                                 Romans 15:13 (NIV )

A name

COUNTRY – I live in the country, in a little cabin-type home.  It is small (and yes in some ways cluttered) and it’s old, but it is a lovely place to me. It is simple - a woodstove for the winter and a swamp cooler for the summer. No automatic dishwasher or garbage disposal. Roses, irises, whatever I can plant that will bloom! It is simple.  Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to live on the top of a mountain – and I do.  Well, ok, a foothill, but the view is wonderful. I see part of a lake in the distance, a valley, trees, large granite rocks and a great open sky at night.  A few years ago a friend of mine gave it a name: Shalom House - house of peace.  And so it is, the moment I walk in the door. Simple.

SHALOM – The Hebrew word for peace. Isn’t everyone looking, searching for peace.  We want global peace, national peace, peace from war, peace at work, peace in our families and most of all peace within ourselves, where we can be so restless, fearful, and alone. I love the definition of Shalom: It is peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment, completeness, wholeness. Peace.


So Country Shalom is really another way of saying Simple Peace.   

And to think that one of the names of God is Jehovah Shalom. He Himself is our peace.

~To the glory of His Name!

A first

Well, this will be a new adventure for me. I have never done well with a journal. I don't have a lot of time to write. Yet God has placed it on my heart to have a place where I can jot down things that He teaches me from His Word and that He teaches me by being in His Presence. I am not a writer but my prayer is that somehow the things expressed on this blog will touch the lives of those who read it - with eternal value. ~To the Glory of His Name!