The other day, in conversation, a friend apologized for having what they thought was bad breath.
“I’m so sorry” she said, guarding her mouth with her hand.
“For what?” I replied.
“My breath!”
She immediately explained that what she ate for breakfast had so much fresh garlic, cilantro and onions in it that it seemed to be lingering and ruminating in the air and between her and I, though she brushed and did all she could to prevent it from having that effect, she was embarrassed that it was affecting me. But it wasn’t. I wondered if I made a face or gesture that triggered her concern but in the end she said it must only be her that smells it or I am just too nice to say that it’s putting me off. I thought to myself, I love the smell of those three things, so I am not sure it would have put me off anyways, but I didn’t smell anything still.
We laughed it off together, and I did my best to try to reassure her that the evident experience she was having, as a result of her morning choices, was in no way impacting me the same. However, she remained self-concious about it afterward and still continued to cover her mouth and apologized with explanation again as another approached to join our coversation.
This made me think…
How often am I hyper sensitive to the lingering effects of my prior choices? And… how much does it affect my interaction with others and most important of all, my interaction with my most significant other… God?
It’s funny how we can tend to focus on all the wrong things and do so often in our relationships. Especially, the most important ones; the one with God, our spouses or significant other and ourselves.
Dale Carnegie, one of the leaders and experts on relationships, in his amazing book “How to win Friends and Influence People” speaks a lot on the topic of focusing on what’s positive in our interaction with others. His very first principle is actually “Don’t criticize, condemn or complain” and it is first for a reason.
God knows and apparently Dale Carnegie does too; it’s extremely hard not to focus on the negative but whether we do or not has the greatest effect on us and everyone we interact with. We are easily drawn to the negative and are critical and offer complaint more often than anything else in our relationship with Him, as well as ourselves and others.
So on this Sunday morning, as I prepare to go to His house, where I hope to meet with Him and am looking forward to Him speaking to me… I’m thinking of what, if anything, will have an affect that may hinder our conversation.
Will it be what He is focusing on or what I am? He already knows all that’s on my plate and what I have to put out on the prayer table this morning. I think He is preparing me for what He has cooking.
Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Just a little food for thought this morning. Hope you enjoy what is served up enough to join me again!
Lord!! Help me in my prayers and praise to you. That what I bring before you focuses on all that you are doing that is good. May it fill your house with a pleasant aroma that revives you’re spirit in me. In every sense, REVIVAL is what I need!
Thought on love #12:
If you are spoken for….
Reviving your love takes more than just focusing on what you are doing in love. It involves focusing on what the one who truly loves us all has done, is doing and has promised to do.
His love is good, all the time. All the time, His love is good! I AM Spoken for.
“Good evening folks… this is your captain speaking….” statically coming over the loudspeaker.
As the flight crew pauses from their routine, he continues “We have some adverse conditions currently that are causing some delay of our on-time take off.”
“Just great!” Exclaims the man in the seat behind me. “Excuse me, do we know exactly how long this delay will be?” Asks another. “I have a connecting flight!!! This is going to make me miss everything!” A disgruntled voice yells from across the aisle.
Not going anywhere for a while?
Sometimes there are times we must weather events that cause great delay in us getting where we planned to go. Usually, we focus on all the wrong things during these times… and those things result in us really going nowhere.
We can tend to focus on the event, saying… “Why is THIS happening?”
Or we can start to examine our past and present faults and failures exclaiming “Why me?” And “Of course…this was bound to happen to me!” As if the line up of your evident errors in your circumstantial past has led to this subsequent event preventing you from reaching your final destination because everthing is all about YOU. I’m guilty!!!!
But in reality the time spent focusing on why this is happening or who caused it to happen just takes away from the experience of what is actually going on. The subsequent event may be just what is supposed to be happening. If you are not careful… you will miss it entirely!
Staying grounded in the stormy times
We are in a love-hate relationship with everything in life. When adverse conditions hit us and we are faced with dealing with a stormy outlook, we make decisions with the flip of a coin as if there are only two outcomes to our present situation. Good or bad. And we usually don’t lean toward the good. However, there are eight-sides to every coin. If you never knew that… they are:
The right side, wrong side, left side, up side, down side, in-side, out-side and the ever unrecognized “be”side. We’ll get into all of this in more depth later as we take a look at change in our perspective of all that we wholly love and hate in life, but the point I’m trying to make here is: there is more to what you’re experiencing than just what you’re choosing to look at.
I say all of that to say this… my beloved,
Thought on love #10
complete and true love is fully experienced through an entire course of events. The take-off and arrival to your desired destination is such a small part of it all. Don’t get stuck where those two alone are stalled.
You need to be present in every moment that you are in. I read somewhere that the present is “pre-sent”. It’s an opportune time for you to take advantage of the time you are suddenly afforded. Know who God is and who and what you are in Him, then look around to see who you are with and “Be” what you are meant to be with and for them in the moment.
You are where you are for a reason
When you’re in a place where you have nowhere to go… flip your perspective to a brighter side! Make your decision on how to be by considering every side of the situation, not just the side you’re standing on. You may need to change your view by looking at what’s right, wrong, left, up, down, in and out in this moment. You may find you are beside yourself when you see how God uses that time to change things with you in it.
Ultimately… He is the master planner behind the scenes and when we feel like our plans are thrown of course, often we are suddenly right where we need to be for His plan to take course.
Psalm: 46. 10. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
“No ordinary man has the strength to wait soooo long for love… but His love endures and goes to great lengths; my Lord, He is extraordinary”
ME IN THE MIRROR
Okay kids… I may only be one single woman but my aim is to get us to lift-off and let love take flight. So I’m going to save this day by sharing the power of a love that uh….waits.
Let’s face it… even with the shedding of excess baggage from our past experiences, our strength to carry on for the long haul of true love is easily weakened by the weight of the wait.
It’s easy to feel and share the love during times that you see the mountains moving and feel the ground shaking beneath your feet. I’m sure you can think back to one or two of those times. However, perhaps today you lack the strength because you feel like you have been waiting forever to see something move.
It’s times like this that we have to remind ourselves of the sweet benefits of waiting or as the bible perfectly describes it “long-suffering”. In our undercover search for love, we touched on the power of this super love secret before and now it’s time to tap in to the source of this”super” fruit of the spirit.
Finding the strength in the power of the word… “WAIT”
The bible is filled with great examples of believers, like Abraham, Job and Joseph, who waited and held on firmly in their faith, even when it seemed that God had forgotten them. You may say… that old testament stuff is history and I boldly agree. Respectively… if you take a good look at “His” story, you’ll find that it has a way of repeating itself. That’s because just like every child… the children of God (you and me) need to be told some things more than once to see the need to apply it. It’s called the book of life and truth for a reason, and through the stories of the lives revealed in it, we are also encouraged to hold on.
“Wait for the Lord; be of good courage and He shall stengthen your heart; Wait, I say on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
If you’re a believer or wanna be and are struggling with the strength to believe… remember christianity is nothing without the weight of the wait. So…
when you catch yourself saying… “it is taking forever” or “God, I feel like I’ve been waiting a thousand years for the answer to my prayers…” He has not forgotten you..
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8
Keep looking up! When you lift your eyes in long suffering as you wait, with firm expectation, on the Lord. You can trust that He will give you the strength to rise!
Isaiah 30:18 – “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
Today is the day of salvation!
Thought on Love #9:
The true power of love lies at the heart of what you do when you just don’t feel the love at all.
In all my travels…I have never been where I am…today!
No greater time to seize the day.
Carpe Diem!
ME in the Mirror
Wondering what’s new? A fresh perspective of what is behind for a greater vision of what lies ahead. God reminds that it’s not just a new day we are in… it’s a new place… and I want to put it on the map so that you can find the way too!
God says to be on the look out… no matter where you are right now.
Isaiah 43:19 Behold! I will do a new thing. Shall you not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness and a river in the desert.
You could call that my pilot verse… because it’s no surprise to me that God can do what seems impossible. I have been blessed to witness him faithfully move mountains for many. However, it’s not what has been moved in or out of my life that is giving me a new found love for the future. It is the fact that He remains unmovable in it that is taking my heart to unbelievable heights in this new year! In my loves past I have been through some pretty dark times (perhaps you have too). I look back at long desert days, spent wondering how I would survive and many mornings where I woke up still “in the woods”, only to wander aimlessly, stuck in my circumstances. For a good while, every time I looked at where I’d been I resented the time wasted and the investment lost from everything I gathered in effort to find my way. Today though, I have a new appreciation for where I have been because He has shown me that He was always there through all of it, I was just focused on where I’d been rather than Him, which meant I couldn’t see where love was leading the way. I am in a different place now, but today I know, no matter my location, He remains.
This past year, the best thing I learned to help me on this journey is how to travel light and let go of excess baggage. As I think about going the distance for love, my past decisions and experiences certainly carry some weight but I now know the final destination I hope to reach requires nothing outside of what is secured in my heart today.
Thought on Love # 7
Let love lead the way, check your baggage and let it take flight today!
Then one day that girl received a word and that word became her… “everything”.
John 1:1 In the beginning…. was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.
In this brand new year, as I sit and sip my morning tea to break fast, I think about what is placed before me on My Whole Plate. I am a bit hesitant, due to the fact that I know (because my mother told me so), that the first things you choose to consume in the morning or at the start of your day, if it’s not morning for you, are important because they will be what your body pulls from to get fueled to get going.
So I ask… what do you choose to start off with?
After taking an overdue break from all the spoils of 2018, I want and need what’s good for me to march forward. What does the one that made my day have to say about facing it?
I’m glad to say….
Joshua: 1. 9. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Let this be a reminder for me and you… God is the Maker of all things new and He is there no matter where you have been or what you’re going through! Those are words you can count on.
When is it too early to talk about betrayal? Do we have to wait until after supper?
Still open? Trust that I am not trying to close the door on any extended invitations but we have been on a getting to know one another basis for almost two months now and I am not one to wait until all the guests have had their fill to bring out what’s best for all at the table. So, let me just say; I keep trying to put this behind me but from where I am sitting betrayal is not a thing of the past.
The question of the day; when I know I have let go of what I lost and I have put the circumstantial evidence of how it was lost in its place (the past) why does the betrayal remain? Is the one who betrayed me still seated at the table or worse… on the throne of my heart?
Break it down…Who betrayed who?
“I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart” as Michael Corleone plainly put it in the movie “The Godfather”….
….It was not God, The Father
We all want love that is true, right? The first step to discovering the truth about love is to reveal who the liar is. When dealing with betrayal the concern most of us immediately address in our mind is “who done it.”
When someone has done me wrong I want to pin point where the fault lies so I can put more than my finger on them. (cough-cough) When I discover who did the dirty deed, with an extended index finger I bring it to my attention to make sure I don’t forget. However, when pointing out the fault of another, there are three other fingers pointing right back at me.
Know this…
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
As a result, I feel exposed, busted and disgusted with the thought that the real culprit is me. The questions that follow go something like this. “How could I be so naive? Where did I go wrong?” and finally, “What did I do to deserve this?” The last question made the list by popular demand.
When wanting to learn more about love, questions are good, but the most important question of them all (I’ve had to ask myself) “Who are you asking?” When inquiring within… who am I expecting to get the answer from… me or Him?
Let me just put it all out on the table.
True story… if you’ve already had the misfortune of experiencing betrayal, like I have… it’s near impossible to reverse it. Whether you were betrayed by yourself or by another, it will be constantly in the rear view. Anytime you reflect, it’s right there to skew your view of love for yourself, others and God in the future. So how do we see past it? We have to remember two things: Who prepared the table we sit at and where they are seated.
Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart…”
Knowing someone is capable of betrayal is inescapable, each and every one of us is. Our own hearts tell us we can never trust ourselves again, much less anyone else. It’s a lie meant to decieve us into believing there is no hope. What I am trying to get the answer to is….how do we protect ourselves from the enemy that lies… if already inside the gates? Here is the whole truth…
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know…
Getting back to the bread about to be broken… God knows what is about to be served. If we are able to recognize that we need to feast on what he has for us alone… He can handle everything else, liars and thieves will get their just dessert!
Just trust who is on the throne of your heart. Jesus, the chosen gatekeeper, is seated at the table with us… right in the place we have given Him. He knows us and our guests better than anyone. No need to worry. If you have invited Him… there is no second guessing!
Note to self…. I am on a journey into the deep, distant galaxy of my heart’s desires. It may be lightyears from now before I see everything I want to come to fruition. My aim… to fulfill more than my belly while I am here on this earth. My thought is, with everything I have been served I know there is more to my life to come, as a whole. While I wait, I am learning to find myself still and at rest with the one I have for searched for forever.
With my sole-mate…
At the soul of the matter, I’m told if I abide I will dwell in His house… where goodness and mercy flows… all the days of my life Psalm 23:6. So I am following His lead, navigating through a sea of stars, wading a bit outside of my comfort zone, as He has taken my hand and made His promise to never let go.
So… as I sit and watch for what’s coming next, another day and one more taste of what life and love has in store; I am starstruck with every spoken word He speaks and I am sustained to remain at the table He has prepared. With present company in attendance I want to be getting the message across. I hope to share more than what you see at first glance. Go ahead and grab a bite, the bread of life is broken and placed at the center for us to partake of it.
Once again… it’s time to sup with the king! Being fed is what makes my heart sing!!!
The message easily missed, while in search of a sign.
His ear to my heart, is always inclined.
The whispered answer to my question
“He knows that you’re mine”
Psalm 23: 3
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
And verse 5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
When I ask why the fight for love has to be such a battle and I want to retreat, God is there to remind me why it has to be such a fight. The enemy knows who I belong to and so… I can only rejoice. That’s why he tries, with all his lies and tactics to steal and destroy. He sought me in the desert, and the dimly lit secret places I went to hide and escape. He makes every effort and still takes aim in the midst of the week, but discernment is a gift given to help determine which voice I hear speak.
Don’t just stand there… the message is ready to be received. I am glad it’s where it can be retrieved. Thank you Lord for putting Wednesday where you did to help me survive another day and the end of this…. WEAK!
My whole plate 
You must be logged in to post a comment.