Remembering the good things

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases." (Psalms 103:2, 3 NLT)

I imagine the author of this psalm (song) repeating this line to himself over and over again.

"may I never forget the GOOD THINGS... the Good Things... the good things..."

The BAD things are what he mentions in the next line- sins and diseases. We live in a constant awareness of sins and diseases. Personally, I live daily in my sin. I am always aware of my human limitations and how far I have to grow to be like Jesus. I also live in my diseases. These are my addictions and the affects of the sin on my life.

I like to think about the "fruits of the Holy Spirit," or the characteristics of a godly life. They are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I PRAY that I would live constantly in these good characteristics but I fall short, so short. I pray to be loving- because I expect love from God and others. I pray to be patient- because I expect patience from God and others. I pray to be gentle- because I expect gentleness from God and others...

I fall so short.

So let us remember the GOOD THINGS. God is in the business of (daily, constantly, always) forgiving our sins. He is in the business of (daily, constantly, always) healing our diseases. He is in the business of making us new.. renewed each day.

So let ALL THAT I AM praise the Lord.
Let the good and the bad of me praise the Lord.

Let my sins and my diseases...
the good character and the bad...
the trying exceptionally hard and the half-assed part of me...
the faithful and the faithless parts of me...
let ALL THAT I AM praise The Lord.

Amen and until soon,
b.

Writing Retreat continues here!

To my Writing Retreat friends:

Well, I apologize for being so busy! I have decided to offer some prompts here on a regular basis. I know it's not the same as a comfy room and a warm wood stove but maybe, just maybe, it will be a good option for us. Please feel free to share your journal entries below or email them to me! Let's write together! Don't forget the wine and cookies!

How would you draw a little girl's laugh? What colors and shapes would you use?

until soon,
b.

Love your enemies... Ugh

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you." (Luke 6:27, 28 NLT)

Ugh. This is one of those verses that I don't like to "listen" to. The truth is, we don't often use words like "enemies." I don't even have people that "curse me" or even "hate me." I just have people in my life that bug me... or piss me off... or get on my nerves... or that I try to avoid... or have hurt my feelings...

Let me tell ya.. This is why I don't have Christian bumper stickers on my car! Besides being cheesy, I don't want other drivers to know that I'm supposed to be loving them and praying for them... Instead of cutting them off and giving them nasty looks. Just saying.

You think those annoying, mean people would still apply? Of course. Because just like I said a few sentences ago, I can be just as annoying, mean, cursing, hating, biting as anyone else. It's not supposed to be that way because I have the Holy Spirit within me but I still sin. As much as I hate the sin, I still live in it. Ugh.

You too? Well, pray for me. I'll pray for you. We need each other and some day we will all be in perfect peace with the Father. That's a "yay!"

Until soon,
b.

Does God tweet?

Did you know that a Bible verse has about 25 words on average?  That's about the same amount as a Tweet or Facebook stat.  God has been Tweeting us for a long time!

Here's a challenge for you.  Take any random verse- only one- and meditate upon it.  Can you find anything in that one verse that may apply to your life?  Or some new insight into the character of who God is?

Here's one that I tried:

"And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 NLT)

I picked it apart and this is what I found...

Everyone has a job.  Mary will give birth.  Joseph (to whom the verse is spoken) will give the child a name.  Jesus will save the people.  The people will sin.

It's our job to sin.  It's what we're good at.  Mary and Joseph were sinners as well and God was making quite a gamble by giving them such a risky job.

Fun, huh?

Try one for yourself!  It's the best Tweet you'll read all day.

until soon,
b.

Happier

I found this new app that I just love: Happier. It makes me think about the positives in my life and steers clear of the Facebook negativity. It really makes me happy!

Today I read through some other posts that also brightened my day. One woman was happy to be talking to her father after his heart attack yesterday. Another woman saw people picking litter off the highway. One man said he loved his wife's cooking.

I loved the weather today. Playing with my baby ducks and chicks. Seeing the colorful birds on the feeders. Hearing my son laugh while reading. Spending the morning with Eric.

Hoping you feel Happier today!

Until soon,
b.

Things I too often forget...

I have an amazing chiropractor and massage therapist. I look forward to visiting them every month (just for maintenance- which works great!) for health reason but also for fun and great conversation. My massage therapist always offers great advice and life counsel along with my body work. During one session, she was having a particularly hard day and said, "You know, it's times like this when I envy people like you- people of faith. I just can't comprehend believing in God, believing that you can just give problems away to someone."

I was reminded of this a few weeks later when I was having a particularly hard day. Her words came back to me.

I've been a follower of Jesus for a long time and how often I forget this simple, wonderful truth.

I have God.

Faith is hard. I don't always give my problems away! I like to keep them and struggle with them on my own! But how true, and how beautiful, that I can give them away and He takes them.

Good news.

until soon,
b.

Simple Things

I know, I know.  I'm back.  It's been forever since I have blogged.  Can you ever forgive me?  Okay, I'll make it worth your while... I'll tell you a great story.  Ready?  

So I was at Walgreens yesterday and I noticed a little lady, about 80 years old, standing in front of the Easter stuffed animal section.  She was pushing the button on a little pink bunny, listening to it sing a sweet song in a miniature child's voice.  She stood there smiling.  A little lady, about 80 years old, in a brown trench coat, her left arm clutching her handbag, bent over a small pink singing bunny.  Smiling.  It was one of the most precious scenes I have seen in a while.  She did not just push the button once.  She pushed it again and again and was still standing there when I went to checkout.  

But before I reached the cash register, I walked up to her and thanked her for bringing so much joy to my day...

It's the simple things.  

Last week I took three days of retreat with my dog, Sasha.  We stayed at a friend's cabin by a lake in nowhere, Kansas.  It was quiet, secluded, and perfect.  We had no cell service and no Wifi.  We slept a lot, took long walks through the prairie grasses, mucked in the lake mud, and ate granola bars (Sasha's not too fond of them but still begs for bites) in the morning sun.  On one morning, Sasha woke me at 6am, whimpering to be let outside.  The morning was brisky bitter cold.  I waited maybe 3 minutes and jumped back into my warm bed.  I lay there half asleep when I felt the nudge... the "wake up and sit outside with me... watch the sunrise with me..."  The Lord's sweet whisper.  The Lord "bidding" for my attention.  So I went.  I sat out in the tall grass, the morning sunlight on my face, and listened.  I hear a woodpecker.  A swallow.  A dog bark.  Wind through the branches.  

Nothing else.  All was quiet.  Sasha bounding through the morning- chasing hopping bugs...

It's the simple things.

until soon,

b.