ThinMint

-5- Is He telling you to keep at it? To keep trying to wake others? Or is He asking you to be still and know? To show you trust Him by just lifting those sleeping individuals in prayer. Has He asked you to turn those you love over into His caring, capable hands? If we believe it’s up to us to do this or that then we’ve already excluded the Lord. If we are stressed, over-analyzing, constantly worrying, snappy… sliding into despair and hopelessness… Then we are making the object of our focus an idol. Our idol. The only One Who should be capturing our affections, thoughts and time is the Lord. Our enemy would have us tied up and torn away from what really matters. He wants us distracted, divided and disheveled. He wants us to neglect our families and forget our blessings. God would have you enjoying His creation. Celebrating your family. Fellowshipping with other Believers. Spending time with Him. When you do what He created only you to do, He is delighted. Turn it over to Him. All of it. The hard stuff, the ugly stuff, the weepy stuff, the exhausting stuff. Stop. Close your eyes. Let the world whirl around you while you rest in His Sonshine. When your spiritual ground is dry, cracked, flawed, and The Well seems out of reach, stop where you are. He will always meet you there to pour out His Living Water. Ask then accept.

-4- In my case, when the crushing sadness hit, after a while I felt a tugging. Soft, soothing. I could not stay in that intemperate misery any longer. I had three year-old twins needing their mom. My husband missed me. The Holy Spirit pointed out that focusing all my attention in the direction it was placed, was keeping my eyes off Jesus, and I was neglecting the amazing gifts God gave me. I am beyond blessed to have my husband and four children. I resolved many years ago to make where we lived, home. To make our home cheery, fun, cozy, warm. A place where laughter flittered and love flooded. And I was going to homeschool. He didn’t call me to faraway places to witness, rebuild and rescue. He has divinely appointed me to make the home safe and nurturing for my family. He asks me to educate my children. He directs the Holy Spirit to guide me with the when and how and where. He asks me to trust Him. That’s what I do. I am my husband’s wife and my children’s mom. I am the daughter of the Most High.

-3- That’s the best advice I can give you. Do what He called you to do. Is He calling you to faraway places? To witness, rebuild, rescue? Or is He telling you to stay in your hometown? Does He have a divinely appointed spot for you in your home? If you are obediently following His plans, which sometimes means we must take great leaps of faith, then everything else will fall into place where He wants it. Your circle of friends will be exact. Your life will be full and lively. His peace will be your peace. He will give you the words, and the when and the how and the where.

-2- What does God create the bird to do? Sweet little birdy things like building elaborate nests and they warble, trill and chirp. When birds do what they are created to do, this pleases the Lord. What does God create the sun to do? Invaluable little sunny things like providing light and warmth. When the sun does what it is created to do, this pleases the Lord. What does God create the flowers to do? Magnificent little flowery things like making His canvas brighter and providing nectar and pollen for His other creations. When flowers do what they are created to do, this pleases the Lord. What did God create humans to do? What did create you to do?

Q: In a world where wrong is right and right is wrong I try to find my place where I fit into all this and spend many nights crying myself to sleep. I know I’m being refined but the process hurts. I yearn to be with my savior and don’t understand why God has awakened me. Especially to what is being done to the children. I don’t know where I belong anymore and most of the time I find myself either angry or crying. Even my children are deceived. My friend group has gotten smaller and smaller. And I must remain silent with those that remain as they don’t understand or believe me. A: My heart has been grieving with yours. I’ve sat at my favorite keyboard many times in an attempt to write something (anything!) that may help. The starts and stops of this writing process tied to the ebb and flow of emotions provoked long moments of needing to divert my attention. There is nothing but the healing power of Jesus that can lessen the horror that grips the mind when we learn about the children. Remembering when I first learned of it… Well, it’s still raw and powerful, and it takes the Holy Spirit to help me crawl out of that bleak pit. How many of us know, but have to bear this knowledge in silence? For me, the discovery of what was happening was like being plucked from a garden teeming with life then being flung thoughtlessly among the weeds. I had roots, but was surrounded by shadowy hues. Where was my light? How would I be nourished? Lots of tears, many sleepless nights then finally gentle Holy Spirit whispers sheltered me so my mind could heal. You look upward to the One Light, the Only Light, capable of nourishing. Soon you find that He causes beauty to grow among the darkened stems and shoots, that He is The Light that will penetrate and permeate the pitch. Yes, you grow where He plants you. I stopped trying to climb out of the unfamiliar, and with His help, I made my little patch lovely. The weeds could not overtake me. The dim stalks did not block my Light; they moved away from me because of The Light.

Please be patient with me as the below rolls out. May want to grab a cookie and warm cup of your favorite. I was asked the following a few months ago and just needed time to stew because it deserved a serious, thoughtful answer. Though I prayed for the Lord to guide the words, any shortcomings are obviously mine.

Hello Sweet Friends! God is on the move! Stirring hearts, healing, bringing about reconciliation, changing, getting rid of, adding to, blessing... He is so good! Some of y'all have asked questions -hard questions, but really good ones. I haven't forgotten you! I look forward to sitting down at my keyboard to write what He's inspiring. (I have scrapes of paper everywhere -things I write down here and there when He gives those amazing ideas.) Also, just a friendly reminder to keep Comedy Wednesday clean'ish as there are sometimes older teens who take a peek 🙂

TM: Jesus first.

Good morning! This is the day the Lord has made! I've been ruminating for days about forgiveness and letting go, how the Lord's mercies are new every morning. Though I cannot recall where I came across this message, it caught my eye and I wanted to share.

Thanks to a tip from a Telegram friend, I was able to pick up a quarter bushel of fresh peaches earlier this week. I gifted a few to neighbors and the twins Track and Field Coach. Think I will try a new Peach Crisp recipe with the remaining. No big surprise that these peaches are superior to anything one would find in the local grocery store. Makes me reflect upon how spectacular the fruits in Heaven will be! Just curious what is your favorite way to enjoy peaches? 🍑

Trump delivers remarks in New Hampshire - 8/8/23 https://rumble.com/v35q3mm-live-president-trump-in-windham-nh.html

From Elise R: So good! As long as we are always seeking Him saying…”Speak, Lord, Your servants are listening.” He’s gonna speak…it may be into my bones or into my feet. He may recharge my unseen cells to do what they do. But some way, somehow, He’s changing me and forming my spirit through His Word! Such a good reminder to stay steady. I’ve been asking God lately to fill me with steadiness (faithfulness), which is one of the fruits of His Spirit. I used to think that the fruit of the Spirit was something I had to produce (think young children singing the fruit of the Spirit song). But I’ve come to understand that the fruit of the Spirit is something HE produces in me as a result of what this lady is saying. Sitting at His feet. Feasting ourselves on the Bible. Resting in our Lord and letting Him shape us. Day by day. Submission by submission. He’s the one working it out. He makes all things new. Glory to God!