Father, Lord...my Daddy

I grew up without a father. My mom and dad got divorced when I was very young, less than five I believe, and I didn't see him after that. I have very few memories of him and none of them are good. I didn't know it until much later in life that a lot of the issues I had with relationships with men were because I didn't have a good relationship with my father. In some respects that is very sad but in others, at least I didn't have to overcome an abusive father...just no father.

So, when I became a Christian it was hard for me to relate to God the Father. I could easily accept Jesus. He seemed loving, caring, compassionate, smart, sacrificial, and on and on. But God the Father, well he was just plain scary, right? Wiping out people in the Old Testament because they didn't listen to Him or weren't perfect. Right? Wrong!!! My perception of God the Father was totally off-base and that is because I was thinking of Him in terms of a worldly father. Also, apparently when Jesus said:

John 14:9

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

 

I guess I just breezed over that part....

 

You see, Jesus is the embodiment of the Father. He is our physical representation of everything that the Father is. Until you come into a personal relationship with Him it is truly hard to comprehend, at least it was for me. But now, each and every day I grow closer to Him, because of Him!

 

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

 

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

 

When I first became a Christian I prayed to Jesus because I was afraid to pray to the "Father". Those times that I did pray "Father" I felt a distance, as though I was not being genuine, as though I was just reciting something to an audience. I started to then pray by saying "God" instead of saying father, because I couldn't relate to father and it sounded so distant and harsh to me. One prayer I asked, and He has responded hugely, is God please let me grow closer to you, let me see you and love you as a father, not a father as one of this world, but the father you truly are. Friends, let me tell you something...He loved that prayer! You know how I know? Because now when I talk to Him not only do I not feel a distance, I now feel love. I still don't call Him father because for me that sounds so formal. To me He is Daddy.

 

I pray for you also to have a relationship with my Daddy...for Him to be your Daddy...Come to Him, He will take you on His lap, hug you tight, listen to your prayers, hold your hand, and guide you. He loves you and has provided for you the best friend, mentor, teacher, and above all, saviour that you could ever hope or dream for in Jesus.

Lessons from a gopher

So this weekend I was sitting outside and off in the distance something caught my eye. I looked over and realized it was a gopher pushing up dirt. I sat and watched him (or her) for the longest time. He was working so hard, for such a long time, and the pile just kept getting bigger and bigger. Periodically I would see his little head pop up and then just as quick, back down he went to keep working.

Later on I went in the house and told my husband about the gopher and shortly after that he went out and shot it. Brutal. Then he flattened out the mound.



Ok, so here are some lessons I've learned from the gopher:

1. Work hard even when no one is watching

2. Some people will love you and some people won't.

3. Some people will destroy all the hard work you've done.

and lastly, and most importantly

4. Just because we don't see something doesn't mean it isn't there. There is a whole world right under our feet that we don't see....and there is a whole world right before our eyes that we don't see either.

My Alarm Clock

For those of you who know me you know that I have not used an alarm clock in years. I mentioned that I don't need one because God wakes me up. I'm not kidding, He does. Every night when I go to bed I say, Lord I trust that you will wake me up in time. I also ask that if He doesn't wake me up here on earth that I am with Him in heaven. This might seem silly to a lot of you but for me it has been huge. To me it is a small test of my faith. I have to trust in Him to wake me up instead of trusting in a man made object. Now this might not be for everyone but I believe that this was one simple first step that He gave me, years ago, to practice my faith in Him. He has never failed.

I can hear some of you now, yeah but what about those times you told me you overslept, where was He then? Huh?!!! I'll tell you where He was. He was right there, saying C'mon Danielle wake up and I was right there, laying in my bed saying, No Lord, I don't want to right now, or No Lord, I don't want to today. He was there. I was ignoring.

You see the Lord is not like a human parent. He isn't going to jerk me up by the neck and shake me and say, Hey! I said get your lazy butt out of bed!! No, He isn't like that at all. When He wakes me in the morning it's a gentle whisper in my ear......Danielle.....wake up.....If I choose to ignore, most of the time He will whisper again.....Danielle....wake up. If I chose to ignore again He lets me sleep and deal with the consequences of oversleeping. That day they might be no big deal. Maybe it's the weekend and I'm not busy. But then again, maybe it's a workday and now I have to hurry up, be stressed out, possibly deal with traffic, whatever. But the point is, if I choose to ignore Him, He will let me. He doesn't force Himself on me for ANY reason. Get that? ANY reason!!

The Lord loves me, and He loves you. He has shown Himself faithful to me over the years with the little things and now He is telling me it is time to trust Him with the big things of life. I don't know exactly what these "big" things are, and honestly it's always a little scary to jump out in faith but I will.

I hope you also realize that you can trust the Lord with the tiniest things in your life and with the biggest things. Let me ask you a question, if we can trust Him with the biggest thing ever...paying for our sins and getting us to heaven...after all, He is the only way...if we can trust Him with that why can't we trust Him with the little things? Why do we continually think that we are the one's to make the decisions are run our lives? Why do we think that we know better or can do better? Is it because we think He isn't there and just doesn't care? Really??? If He didn't care about the little things in our lives why would He care enough to even save us?

Think about it. And I dare you, tonight, when you go to bed, turn off your alarm clock and ask the Lord, Lord will you wake me up tomorrow at such and such a time? I bet you he will!

Prophecy and the End Times

Lately I've been hearing a lot, and I mean A LOT, about prophecy and the end times. Probably the most prominent one I've been hearing is that something big is going to happen between September 2015-August 2016. I've also been hearing different views on the rapture. Some say believers will be raptured before the tribulation and same say not. Now, I have to remind you, I was raised in an atheistic home. There was no bible teaching and I never even heard about the "rapture" until after I became a Christian in 2000. All of this contradictory talk can be quite overwhelming and a bit scary. I don't know what the answer is. I don't know when Jesus is returning. I honestly don't even know exactly what I believe about if Christians will be raptured or not. I used to think I did.....

Anyway, this is what I do know:

 

John 15:10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 5 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

 

Matthew 24:36 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

 

and lastly, a letter from Paul to Timothy:

 

2 Timothy 1:6-14

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

¹³ What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.


So, let us not get caught up in all of the "when's" because no one knows for sure. Instead, guarantee your safety by putting your trust in Jesus. Admit you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. Admit Jesus is the Son of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and know that no one comes to the Father except by Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, accept His gift of grace and mercy through Jesus, then turn from those things that are against God. Put your faith in Him because He is the only way.

 

 

 

KISS

I don't know about you but I sure have a tendency to make the simplest things complicated. For example, I'm getting ready in the morning and I think, ok, today's the day for a one shadow look....fifteen minutes later I'm still working on my eyes....a little of this, a little of that...turns out to be an eight shadow look with two different eyeliners...LOL...and then of course, you can't have just one blush, you have to combine contour, bronzer, three colors of blush AND a highlighter. OMG!!!

I find I also do the same things with God. Even though I know I've been saved by His grace and I don't need to do anything to "win" His approval, I still find myself, periodically, falling into the trap of I better do this, or I better say this, to win His approval. God doesn't work that way. He loves me, and you, just because He does, just because His character is love. He loves us because He created us and because we are His children.

You don't love your child any less when they make a mistake do you? Well, you might be mad at them, or disappointed in them, but you still love them. God is even better than that.

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

So today, go for that one shadow look, and remember KISS.....Keep it Simple Stupid!!! LOL

 

Have a blessed and beautiful day.

A forced break

Well obviously I haven't posted every day like I had hoped but I have a good reason....my internet kept coming and going and more often than not it was down. It was very frustrating but of course, a really good thing came out of it. With me not being constantly on Instagram or YouTube I was able to focus on other things. One of the most important was to just sit back and relax. I spent a lot of time outside over the weekend just enjoying nature and quiet prayer time. I also got to catch up on some reading. It was very relaxing and refreshing and was a great reminder to me that the world is a busy place and we need to take a break from all the mental stimulation and just spend some quiet time with God. I often forget that Jesus started his day in prayer and he prayed a lot. As he is my example for everything I should follow him in this also.

Mark 1:35

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed

 

So, with that being said, I hope you also get a chance to take some time off during your day and just sit quietly in prayer with Jesus. You will be refreshed and blessed.

 

Have an awesome day!

Inner Small Voice

Yesterday my stepson arrived to stay with us for a visit. He was trying to access the internet through his phone and couldn't because he didn't know our WiFi password. So, I give him the password and it doesn't work. He tries again...nope. Again...nope. After seriously about two hours of messing with the network, setting up a new password, that not working, trying everything I could think of my husband tells me it's time for me to go to bed because I have to get up and go to work the next day. So I do. I get up, get ready for bed, and lay down knowing I won't sleep until this is resolved. So I pray....Lord, I know this is not important but if I don't get this fixed I won't be able to sleep. Can you either tell me how to fix this or at least let me forget about it so I can sleep? What comes to my mind...password. I'm like, Lord, I know it's about the password it's not working. Again, password...then it dawns on me. I run out to the computer, go to the router setup and type in password and boom! It's up for me to reset the router and set up a new password. He was able to login and I was able to go to sleep soundly. Moral of the story? Pray for everything, even the little itty bitty irrelevant things and then, here is the key.......listen! Wait for His answer. God is AWESOME!!

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

 

1 Kings 19:12

After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Will I Ever Learn?

So last night I was thinking in my head, ok if I buy this I get so many points, add that to what I have it will give me this many points, now I have so many what will I buy. I'm online putting stuff in my cart for points I don't even have yet to see what I will get when I get those points. Eventually I listened to the voice in my head and put the phone down.

Then this morning while driving to work I was thinking what if something happened to my hubbie on his drive today what would I do? I would do this and then that, and have to call so and so. I really believe I heard my inner voice yell ARGHGHGHG! No, not really....but you get the point.

What I heard last night, and what I heard again this morning was this:

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

I've been told this lesson so many times over the years...when will I ever learn? The thing is, I do know it, and I guess I am getting better because I can put down the phone or the list in my head a little quicker than before, but I still keep on doing it. So I guess I just have to remember, progress is progress, even if it's in baby steps.

 

So, if you're like me, today try to focus on today....one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time, one step at a time.....

 

 

Have a blessed and beautiful day!!