Sunday, February 17, 2013
MeccaMusing: A Tsunami of Voices, but Ponder Anew!
MeccaMusing: A Tsunami of Voices, but Ponder Anew!: Dear sweet family and friends - It's been a beautiful day, about 50 for a high and in the 30's for a low, crisp, sunny, and a bit breezy. ...
A Tsunami of Voices, but Ponder Anew!
Dear sweet family and friends - It's been a beautiful day, about 50 for a high and in the 30's for a low, crisp, sunny, and a bit breezy. I walked in the sunshine, and it was glorious.
It's been awhile since we communicated, and I just need to share some of my recent life's discoveries. I noticed today that my thumb joint has a bump on it. Reckon it might have arthritis? I looked at my wrist, and there was a massive bruise on it, and I have no idea when or where I got it. That means my skin is getting thinner.
I noticed an age spot on my arm and face (ok several age spots), and I have been making weird noises when I try to get up, bend over, or heaven forbid, come back up after bending over. The other day I sat down in a chair that was a little too soft, and I had to have help getting out of it. Now, that made me feel old. If I hadn't been laughing so hard, it might not have been so hard to get up.
I don't wear a cup size anymore. It's mostly just 38 Long. Ok, I know that might be too much information; but hey, I just needed to share because I was wondering if any of you were experiencing some of the same symptoms, or if it were just me? Let me know. I need a plan - one for growing more beautiful on the inside, because my outer shell is failing me. LOL!
Here's the big one. I hear voices in my head. I have always heard voices in my head, but in this age of information at warp speed, their magnitude and ferocity are unparalleled in my lifetime. It is a tsunami of voices telling me how to look, act, feel, live, what car to drive or not to drive, telling me who's hot, what's hot, who's not, why they're not, why I'm not (hey, wait a minute). Then, I ask myself why any of that matters anyway since none of those messages are from my Creator, my Heavenly Daddy.
Sometimes the voices get downright personal and start talking to me about things that matter deeply, things that are real areas of weakness in my life and telling me I can't be victorious so to just quit worrying about it; that I've been struggling all of my life with a thing, and the Lord hasn't helped me so why bother.
Then through the tsunami of voices - comes the one Voice with messages of hope, telling me I'm important and worthy of the sacrifice of God's Son for my salvation; that I am chosen, redeemed, set apart, loved with an everlasting love, perfect in Christ, that my weaknesses are made perfect in Christ's strength; that He knew me when my members were yet formed (Ps. 139); that He created a plan for me long ago before I was even born (Is 25:1); that I am precious to Him.
But - why is it that the negative and the bad are so much easier to believe? The key is staying in the Word. His Word. I do not believe my Heavenly Daddy speaks audibly to me. I believe He speaks through His written Word that comes alive in my heart as I read it, learn it, apply it, and continue to search out its riches, which I don't believe I will exhaust in my lifetime.
The more I know His Word, the more I know Him. I recognize His voice amidst the clutter of the voices of the world, including those who say they represent Him. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27
Oh dear one, may there never be a day that we don't recognize His voice amidst the clutter of the voices of the world. Lord Jesus, let me listen for, hear and recognize your voice always. Thank you that you know me. Sweet Shepherd of my soul, I will follow you.
Quoting from the glorious old hymn, "Praise ye the Lord the Almighty ..."
"Ponder anew, what the Almighty can do, when with His love, He befriends me." I will sleep sweetly tonight while I ponder anew and approach the dawning of a new day with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." Love to all, Mec
Sunday, February 3, 2013
MeccaMusing: "I Just Wanted to be Sure of You."
MeccaMusing: "I Just Wanted to be Sure of You.": Good Evening sweet friends. I hope you have had a great day. Mine started out with a call regarding a situation for which I am responsible...
Friday, February 1, 2013
MeccaMusing: Corners, Crevices, Cracks, and all of 'em Clean
MeccaMusing: Corners, Crevices, Cracks, and all of 'em Clean: Dear Ones: It has been a busy week. Do any of us ever have a week anymore that we can say is not busy? I think there might be something ...
Saturday, January 26, 2013
MeccaMusing: A Snip Snip here, and a Snip Snip there
MeccaMusing: A Snip Snip here, and a Snip Snip there: Good Evening sweet family and friends - I had a restful Saturday. For the first time in a long time I laid around, watched a couple of movi...
A Snip Snip here, and a Snip Snip there
Good Evening sweet family and friends - I had a restful Saturday. For the first time in a long time I laid around, watched a couple of movies, and drank ice tea on crushed ice (sweetened with saccharine like my mother and daddy have made for us all of our lives).
I napped a bit, gave myself a manicure, ate a little bit here and there and just rested. Frank needed to go to work for awhile and called when he was about to leave work to ask what I had done today and to see what was going on.
When I told him, he said, "well, do you think you could get around and paint that barn and put on some clothes before I get home?" To which I replied, "No, and you are gonna have to fix your own supper, too." Of course, he laughed, and when he got home, he fixed his own dadburn supper.
Ladies and Gentlemen, some days just have to be like that. I thank the Lord for every moment today. It was great. The added value is that I don't have to remove my makeup tonight. I'm still "ready for bed." Yeehaw!!
My last blog was about the wonderful hope I have in the Lord Jesus, and how I don't ever have to be disappointed if my hope and expectations are placed in Him.
He continues to teach me profound lessons about the simplest principles from His Word that I have known all of my life. The precious thing about belonging to the Lord Jesus is that as His child, I am consistently learning as He provides guidance, wisdom, and clarity when I have a teachable spirit and long to know more.
There has been a great deal of change for me at work. I am not a fan of change. Frank and I often joke that if I had had my way, we would still be living in the house on Sinclair in Midland, Texas.
I am a nester and a homebody, and the Lord usually has to pry my hands away a finger at a time from the thing that holds me back when He wants to unsettle and grow me. Amazingly, He is always patient and never hurts a single finger in the process. I might be reeling because I wouldn't just let go, but He is always there to steady my walk and point me in the right direction.
He is currently affecting change in my life by pruning me. I feel the "snipping." I also feel the loving tenderness of my Gardener. He is doing it for my good and His glory. While there is discomfort, there is no pain or fear.
"I am the true vine (The Lord Jesus), and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. While every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be more fruitful." (John 15: 1-2). What a blessed thought. One of the ways He confirms that I "am in Him, and He is in me," is that He prunes me.
I googled the reason plants need to be pruned. I was amazed at what I read and how it paralleled spiritual pruning. First, pruning must take place for Safety - not for the plant's safety, but for the safety of things around the plant - covered signs, overhanging branches that could cause harm to people, or intrude on another plant's ability to flourish. Spiritually, I need pruning so I will not be a spiritual hindrance or do spiritual harm to others.
Health - to prevent the spread of disease, improve circulation, and provide more exposure to sunlight. What a beautiful picture of what we need as Christians for spiritual health - freedom from the disease of sin so that the Holy Spirit has free flow, and we can be a light in a dark world because we walk in light.
Production - to encourage more fruit bearing. Without pruning, most of a plant's energy goes into growth instead of yielding fruit or flowers. What good is height and depth, if there is no joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control? (Gal. 5:22-23)
Keep trees to a pickable size - I loved this. Pruning keeps a tree from being so tall that it is really hard to reach the fruit or so short that it is physically hard to pick - having to bend over, etc.
I thought about thinking so little of my position in Christ that my light was dim, and my fruit was too much trouble to pick or not sweet enough to use or eat; or being so "heavenly minded I was no earthly good." Either one keeps me from exhibiting the fruits of the spirit the way the Lord wants me to.
There are many more, but the one that really caught my attention was: Pruning avoids weak tree whips and dual leaders.
I am going to actually quote the google source. "Most fruit trees come with "whips," which are tall and slender. Proper pruning avoids weak whips that split in a storm, and instead limits the tree to a single leader strengthened by a strong root system."
Now, just think about that, pruning ensures that there is only one Leader (The Lord Jesus), that the source of the strength of the tree or plant is provided in the strong root system (rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith - Col. 2:7), so that as I grow, I am not a weak whip that splits in the storms of life, but I am a fruit bearer because I am a branch that remains or abides as an outgrowth of the Leader drawing from His strength. "If I remain in Him, and He in me, I will bear much fruit; but without the one true Leader, the Vine, I can do nothing." John 15:5
Listen, sweet family and friends, I would welcome more than just a snip snip here and a snip snip there if it would continue to give me the joy, peace, gentleness and forbearance I have experienced in the last week of "pruning."
Now I will have to admit that the self-control fruit or flower in some areas of my life is really struggling to blossom. Maybe that means that when it finally does, its beauty will be beyond compare as it is with the butterfly.
Lord Jesus, thanks for the strong connection to my Heavenly Daddy, my Gardener. Thanks for showing your love for me and ownership of my life through pruning. Thanks for the gentleness of the snip. Thanks for the beauty this pruning will produce.
Most of all, Lord Jesus, let the fruit produced within me as I grow in You - glorify You and point others to You, so that at the end of this season of pruning, I will have greater treasure to lay at your feet.
Pruning - a marvelous reason I can continue to approach each day with the joy of the Lord. Love to you all. Mecca
I napped a bit, gave myself a manicure, ate a little bit here and there and just rested. Frank needed to go to work for awhile and called when he was about to leave work to ask what I had done today and to see what was going on.
When I told him, he said, "well, do you think you could get around and paint that barn and put on some clothes before I get home?" To which I replied, "No, and you are gonna have to fix your own supper, too." Of course, he laughed, and when he got home, he fixed his own dadburn supper.
Ladies and Gentlemen, some days just have to be like that. I thank the Lord for every moment today. It was great. The added value is that I don't have to remove my makeup tonight. I'm still "ready for bed." Yeehaw!!
My last blog was about the wonderful hope I have in the Lord Jesus, and how I don't ever have to be disappointed if my hope and expectations are placed in Him.
He continues to teach me profound lessons about the simplest principles from His Word that I have known all of my life. The precious thing about belonging to the Lord Jesus is that as His child, I am consistently learning as He provides guidance, wisdom, and clarity when I have a teachable spirit and long to know more.
There has been a great deal of change for me at work. I am not a fan of change. Frank and I often joke that if I had had my way, we would still be living in the house on Sinclair in Midland, Texas.
I am a nester and a homebody, and the Lord usually has to pry my hands away a finger at a time from the thing that holds me back when He wants to unsettle and grow me. Amazingly, He is always patient and never hurts a single finger in the process. I might be reeling because I wouldn't just let go, but He is always there to steady my walk and point me in the right direction.
He is currently affecting change in my life by pruning me. I feel the "snipping." I also feel the loving tenderness of my Gardener. He is doing it for my good and His glory. While there is discomfort, there is no pain or fear.
"I am the true vine (The Lord Jesus), and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. While every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be more fruitful." (John 15: 1-2). What a blessed thought. One of the ways He confirms that I "am in Him, and He is in me," is that He prunes me.
I googled the reason plants need to be pruned. I was amazed at what I read and how it paralleled spiritual pruning. First, pruning must take place for Safety - not for the plant's safety, but for the safety of things around the plant - covered signs, overhanging branches that could cause harm to people, or intrude on another plant's ability to flourish. Spiritually, I need pruning so I will not be a spiritual hindrance or do spiritual harm to others.
Health - to prevent the spread of disease, improve circulation, and provide more exposure to sunlight. What a beautiful picture of what we need as Christians for spiritual health - freedom from the disease of sin so that the Holy Spirit has free flow, and we can be a light in a dark world because we walk in light.
Production - to encourage more fruit bearing. Without pruning, most of a plant's energy goes into growth instead of yielding fruit or flowers. What good is height and depth, if there is no joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control? (Gal. 5:22-23)
Keep trees to a pickable size - I loved this. Pruning keeps a tree from being so tall that it is really hard to reach the fruit or so short that it is physically hard to pick - having to bend over, etc.
I thought about thinking so little of my position in Christ that my light was dim, and my fruit was too much trouble to pick or not sweet enough to use or eat; or being so "heavenly minded I was no earthly good." Either one keeps me from exhibiting the fruits of the spirit the way the Lord wants me to.
There are many more, but the one that really caught my attention was: Pruning avoids weak tree whips and dual leaders.
I am going to actually quote the google source. "Most fruit trees come with "whips," which are tall and slender. Proper pruning avoids weak whips that split in a storm, and instead limits the tree to a single leader strengthened by a strong root system."
Now, just think about that, pruning ensures that there is only one Leader (The Lord Jesus), that the source of the strength of the tree or plant is provided in the strong root system (rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith - Col. 2:7), so that as I grow, I am not a weak whip that splits in the storms of life, but I am a fruit bearer because I am a branch that remains or abides as an outgrowth of the Leader drawing from His strength. "If I remain in Him, and He in me, I will bear much fruit; but without the one true Leader, the Vine, I can do nothing." John 15:5
Listen, sweet family and friends, I would welcome more than just a snip snip here and a snip snip there if it would continue to give me the joy, peace, gentleness and forbearance I have experienced in the last week of "pruning."
Now I will have to admit that the self-control fruit or flower in some areas of my life is really struggling to blossom. Maybe that means that when it finally does, its beauty will be beyond compare as it is with the butterfly.
Lord Jesus, thanks for the strong connection to my Heavenly Daddy, my Gardener. Thanks for showing your love for me and ownership of my life through pruning. Thanks for the gentleness of the snip. Thanks for the beauty this pruning will produce.
Most of all, Lord Jesus, let the fruit produced within me as I grow in You - glorify You and point others to You, so that at the end of this season of pruning, I will have greater treasure to lay at your feet.
Pruning - a marvelous reason I can continue to approach each day with the joy of the Lord. Love to you all. Mecca
MeccaMusing: This Princess is Shouting.
MeccaMusing: This Princess is Shouting.: Dear Friends: I have missed you. I hope you have missed me. We have a special connection because we know and love the Lord Jesus and belo...
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