Tag: #life

My Mentor(s)

“Mentor – An experienced, trusted advisor….”

Throughout most people’s lives, there will be numerous mentors; people we trust, people who mold us and shape us to the best of their abilities. I’ve had wonderful mentors, and I’ve had just the opposite of wonderful, people – mentors? – whose evil and destructiveness I almost didn’t escape with my life.

Our parents are our first mentors, guiding us through our childhood and teenage years. Parents can be be good mentors, showing us how to deal with life in a positive manner, or they can teach us how to live in ugly, disfunctional ways. Growing up, we – my siblings and I – were taught right from wrong, we were taught that actions have consequences, and we were taught discipline. (Yes, I rebelled against those teachings.)

Our teachers can be our mentors. I hope I never forget my first grade teacher, Mrs. Alexander, or my art teachers, Mrs. Homer in Sand Springs, OK, and Mr. Bond at OBU. They loved what they did, and they loved their students, drawing out the best in each of us. Jorge and Cynthia Fick, who taught me much about the elastic arts and life in general.

Some of the people whom I looked to as mentors hurt me; scarred (that’s scarred, not scared…) me, emotionally and physically. Eventually – I’m a slow learner! – I remembered the One Who wants to mentor me / us, and Who will never hurt me / us in any way. When we accept JESUS as our Saviour, we become a new person. At the moment of Salvation, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, becomes our Mentor and Protector for the rest of our lives.

“This means that anyone who belongs to CHRIST has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new Life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

Jesus becomes not only our Mentor, but He becomes the best friend you could possibly imagine, and better. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Happy is the house that shelters a friend,” and “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere and before him I may think aloud. The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.” Walter Winchell defines a friend as “one who walks in when others walk out.”

That’s exactly what JESUS does. He is the One that we can be completely honest and sincere with, because He will never disappoint. I can tell Him my deepest secrets, confess my most heinous sins, and He won’t reject me. He doesn’t judge me, He just Loves me. He is the One Who walks in, and stays in, when our human friends and family don’t. He is the One True Mentor, the One we can trust as the most experienced, most Trust-worthy, and Who will never advise us wrong. In 1855, a man by the name of Joseph M. Scriven wrote a song called “What A Friend We Have In Jesus.” The first verse goes like this:

  1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
    All our sins and griefs to bear!
    What a privilege to carry
    Everything to God in prayer!
    Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
    Oh, what needless pain we bear,
    All because we do not carry
    Everything to God in prayer!

“Fight the Good Fight for the True Faith. Hold tightly to the Eternal Life to which GOD has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” – 1 Timothy 6:12 NLT

My prayer for you today is that you have the Ultimate Mentor in your life!

My Happy Place

The ocean calls to me with the rhythm of the tides as they ebb and flow. It’s something inexplicable; a feeling deep in my being. The sound of the surf breaking, the distinct smell of saltwater, the wind blowing in from the water, the incessant sound of seagulls….. it all serves to ground me; it’s my Happy Place. I’ve heard many people express their dislike of the sea, saying that it’s humid, noisy, dirty. Oh, the sea can be those things, but it is so much more. There’s a primal quality with the tides; a siren song as they call to our innermost beings. I’ve read that the sea is a harsh mistress, and I can understand that, but it can be a gentle lover, too, caressing and soothing. When I am at the ocean, and I experience the tide continuing it’s course, inexorably constant, the outgoing tide washes away my stress and worries while the incoming tide brings peace and contentment.

The tide is an apt analogy for how GOD works. When we accept Him, He washes us and caresses us with the gentlest tides. He washes away my cares when I rest in Him, while bringing serenity and peace into my life. The enemy throws storms at us, sending huge tides and monstrous waves at us, trying to wash us away – our LORD is our Anchor in the riptides and the maelstroms of life; without Him, we become like the wrecks at the bottom of the sea. Jesus said,

“I tell you the Truth, those who listen to My Message and believe in GOD who sent Me have Eternal Life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” – John 5:24 NLT

“This Hope is a strong and trustworthy Anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into GOD’s Inner Sanctuary.” – Hebrews 6:19 NLT

Who Do You Trust?

“Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery. ….. Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.” – Proverbs 29:1‭, ‬25 NLT
“Then JESUS said, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.‘ ” – Matthew 11:28 NLT

I have learned who and what to trust the hard way, in the school of hard knocks called Life. That’s how I’ve always done it: physically and verbally abusive relationships, demeaning bosses, condescending ‘friends’. I’ll probably continue to have lessons on trust for for the rest of my life. I have learned that there is ONE person that you can trust, implicitly and wholeheartedly, and that person is JESUS. He will never leave me, He will never forsake me, and He will never, ever, hurt me. Hear what the psalmist says:

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is Good! His Faithful LOVE endures Forever. The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” – Psalms 118:1‭, ‬6 NLT

What can mere people do to me, he asks. Compared to what my GOD can do, people have no power. They can do harm to my physical body, they can take all of my worldly goods, they can hurt me emotionally, all in this life on earth – but in the overall scheme of things, anything that happens to me here pales in view of eternity with my JESUS. I may moan and cry and complain because that’s what we humans do, and I may ( okay, I do ) pray and even beg for deliverance from the circumstances. Deep inside me, I know that whatever is happening is temporary. Even events that drag on for years, uncomfortable things and memories that last a lifetime – it will all go away and turn to ash when exposed to the GLORY of my Saviour!

I may never trust another man, and I will continue to be cautious with new friendships because of my experiences. It is incredibly freeing to know that that ONE, the CHRIST, has my back and my complete trust. I pray you can experience what real trust through JESUS CHRIST means. As the Apostle Paul says, “May GOD our Father give you Grace and Peace {and TRUST}. We always pray for you, and we give thanks to GOD, the Father of our LORD Jesus Christ.” – Colossians 1:2‭-‬3 NLT

AMEN.

Oops.

“….. make every effort to respond to GOD’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.” – 2 Peter 1:5‭-‬9 NLT

Sidewalk Prophets have a song called “Come to the Table,” that has a line that says “Come meet this motley crew of misfits…. ” Doesn’t that just ring true for about any group of Christians coming together? I wonder, why is is that people who claim to follow CHRIST, people who are Christians, are so harsh on people who are broken? How is it possible to go from utterly broken sinner to self-righteous judgemental ‘Christian’? When we become that person; when we do life our way, are we truly in love with our Saviour? No matter how hard we try, we will always fail when we try to do life on our own. Doesn’t it mean we are taking on the role of GOD when we don’t defer to Him? If you are able, read the book of Romans, especially chapter 12, because it is laid out very clearly how CHRIST-followers should live.

“Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of GOD. For the Scriptures say, “I WILL TAKE REVENGE; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.” – Romans 12:17‭, ‬19 NLT ( Deuteronomy 32:35 )

When we take on the role of judge and jury, deciding on our own what we can do to that person to punish them and get revenge, we sink to the enemy’s level. He – Satan – wants us to be judgemental. He wants us to be ugly to others, because it takes us away from our LORD. Even if we get physical revenge, we hurt ourselves much, much more than the person we do it to. Forgive them, pray for them, and rather than ‘getting even’ with them, do this instead:

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” – Romans 12:20‭-‬21 NLT ( Proverbs 25:21-22 )

We may not see the ‘heaping coals’ on their heads in this life, but GOD will punish them. He will also punish me, and you, for the judgement, revenge, and evil thoughts we have had on our enemies ( and I am guilty, guilty, GUILTY! ). Not a great thought, but this blog is about telling the truth, and the ULTIMATE TRUTH is this: JESUS will return and vanquish the enemy, once and for all, and then GOD the FATHER will sit in judgement of every one of us. I’m so far from perfect, and I am such a sinner, facing the ALMIGHTY GOD should – and does – have me scared and shaking. I can’t think about the judgement I should receive, or the judgement I deserve, but I can think on this: When that time comes – and it is coming, no doubt about it – I don’t have to face it alone! Because of the sacrifice JESUS made, and because I have given my life to Him, He will be my Advocate, my Saviour, showing GOD the FATHER where my name is written in His Blood in the Book of Life. Are you in it, too? I pray it is! I can’t even contemplate or consider what happens to those who aren’t represented by JESUS, with their names written in the Book. I pray that you aren’t an ‘oops,’ left out for eternity.

( Picture credit to Lamb and Lion Ministry )

Thirst No More

“I have seen Your Salvation, which You have prepared for all people. He {JESUS} is a LIGHT to reveal GOD to the nations, and He is the Glory of your people Israel!” – Luke 2:30‭-‬32 NLT

Listen to “Come to the River” by the Rhett Walker Band

What an outstanding message. JESUS, the LIGHT of the world, reveals GOD to us all! When you have seen JESUS, you have seen the Face of the Almighty: the Creator of all things, the Holy God, YHWH, Yahweh, Elohim, El-Shaddai, Jehovah, Adonai, Ancient of Days, Father, Abba, ….. “Most High.” The LORD is given many names, but today, I believe the ONE Name that is most important to us is the Name of JESUS. He alone has the power to save us from the certain death subscribed to us by the first man and woman, Adam and Eve ….. and yet so, so very many, even countless people, deny that JESUS is the CHRIST, the Messiah. We are such a GLORIOUSLY stubborn group! What was GOD thinking, as He formed Adam from the mud of the new earth? Since He is Omnipotent and Omniscient, He KNEW that by giving Adam, and by extension, Eve, free will, they would choose to betray Him. The LORD gave free will to them, and to us, in spite of knowing the outcome. He wants us to choose to love Him, without being forced or coerced.

Short but sweet, GOD created us to Love Him. He then gave us the choice of Loving Him or not. He gave a part of Himself through JESUS to be sacrificed to cover our sins, and He gave us His WORD in the scriptures to show us exactly how we should live to optimize His Love for us.

“For this is how GOD Loved the world: He gave His One and Only SON, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have Eternal Life. ….. All who do evil hate the Light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the Light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” – John 3:16‭, ‬20‭-‬21 NLT

To My Dad

“The LORD is my Shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His Name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for YOU are close beside me. Your Rod and Your Staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely Your Goodness and Unfailing LOVE will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” – Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 NLT

My Mom gave me the ultimate compliment. She said I sound like (write like) my Dad. I am so unworthy of that statement! My Dad was one of the strongest Christians I have ever known, and he and my Mom are forever my heroes. Through adversity that would have felled a lesser man, he persisted in preaching the Gospel and telling everyone he came in contact with about his Saviour, JESUS. He wasn’t afraid to talk about our LORD, and he delivered many scathing sermons – not always in the pulpit, either. I have been the direct recipient of a few of those sermons, and I can say without any hesitation that he went straight to the point (or you could say, the jugular) so that there was no chance of misunderstanding. He believed so strongly in spreading GOD’s Love that he walked away from a lucrative family business, and alienated his own Dad in the process. He was an incredible teacher, making a tremendous effort to ensure that everyone, without regard to age, education, or station understood what JESUS and the scriptures meant.

Was he perfect? Oh no, far from it. He was often an absent parent, because he would be at someone’s house or hospital room, ministering to their needs. He didn’t made a decent wage for most of our childhoods, but we somehow always had food and a roof over our heads (GOD provides, always!). He let my Mom juggle housework and 6 kids and school and shopping and church-work, because he was gone so much. He could be rigid in his ways, and we (all) butted heads over things. I never doubted that he loved us or Mom, but it was evident he loved his LORD even more, and he made sure that we all knew about JESUS and Salvation. I would’t trade the way I was raised, although I would have given quite a lot if he would have gotten me the pony I wanted 😎 …..

He ensured that all 6 of his children understood what it meant to partake of the Living Water of JESUS CHRIST, and he had the privilege to lead us to the LORD. He mellowed quite a bit as he got older, but his focus stayed on his LORD. Although most of us rebeled and strayed from what we knew what was the Truth (thus leading to those scathing sermons….. ), most of us have returned to the LORD as we have matured. My parents lived this proverb:

“Train a child in the way he should go. When he is old, he will not turn away from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 NIRV

We may turn away from GOD, but when we have a strong Foundation, one reinforced by JESUS, we will eventually return to the Living Water. Even though my Dad has been with his JESUS for a number of years, the legacy of his life lives on in countless souls who found Salvation in JESUS and partook of the Living Water of His Salvation. There will be a tremendous celebration in heaven when we all get there! Will you partake of the Living Water of GOD and join us?

Listen to Mercy Me sing ‘Greater’ …..

Authentic

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?” – Luke 9:25 NLT

Are you looking for something to complete and fulfill yourself? A man or woman, the right job? Are you at the top of your profession, proud of your accomplishments, bragging to your peers? Are you a phony, acting out like a proud peacock, ostentatious, or are you authentic? I like to think that I am authentic, real, not faking or pretending, but I know that in reality, I fake it a lot. I know lots of overachievers, people who have lived their lives with focus and with their faces to the future. My focus is easily fractured, leaving me going in many directions…. I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things. See, I can’t even seem to keep to my train of thought on one track today!

“To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” – Matthew 25:29 NLT

Growing up, our piano teacher pushed me because I had ‘pianist’ hands and a good ‘ear’ for the music. Well, piano didn’t work for me – it required too much practice (short attention span + easily bored don’t equal good practice time!) My art teachers pushed me to develop my drawing and painting and plastic arts. The art came easy, only it frustrated me that my hands wouldn’t – and still won’t – accurately depict what my eyes / brain sees. I love music. Choir was great fun, both in school and church, but I became discouraged that my physical voice didn’t match what I heard in my head. Then there were all of the English classes. J’aime l’anglais! (Heehee!) I got to read every book in the library! There were grammar and punctuation and spelling tests….. no problem.

Like the third servant in the parable JESUS tells us about in Matthew 25:14-30, I buried my musical talent for years, and consequently lost whatever good sounds I could make while singing. Of course I still sing, but it’s more like mak8ng a joyfull noise 😂 . I have continued to dabble in the arts by applying the things I have learned in different disciplines, including practicing my drawing by designing houses and kitchens. Had I focused on just that, there’s really no way of knowing how far it might have gone. Instead, I let myself be disillusioned by any perceived (or real) criticism, and bounced around to many other distractions. I became the Jack (or Jill 😁 ) of all trades, master of none. Obviously, I haven’t gained the whole world, and I’ve lost more financially than I’ve gained, although I am incredibly blessed in what I now have. I know these Words from Jesus are pure Truth:

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?” – Luke 9:25 NLT

I will probably continue to struggle financially, and I may struggle physically and mentally, but I KNOW the Truth. The Truth of JESUS CHRIST and His Love for me, and the Truth of my Salvation. The authentic JESUS. I know this world is not my home because my home is with Him, my Saviour. Are you authentic in JESUS?

Simple

K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple….

Don’t get so convoluted.

Sounds easy, right? Common sense isn’t complicated. In some instances, knowledge makes things difficult because there are so many choices. GOD kept it simple for us. Listen to Paul’s words:

“For GOD saved us and called us to live a Holy Life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His Grace through CHRIST JESUS.” – 2 Timothy 1:9 NLT

“…. NOT because we deserved it ….” What we deserve is death; eternal punishment for our thoughts and actions, our sin-filled lives. Adam knew not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden (“The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” – Genesis 2:9 NLT). He knew better, but he did it, anyway. Sound familiar?

Thankfully, from that time forward, the LORD helped us out by keeping it simple for us. He did hold the priests to a higher standard, because they set the standard for the rest of humanity. He saw that their human-ness got in the way, so He made it even more simple by sending His Son as the ultimate sacrifice. While JESUS was here teaching, He was asked to name the most important commandment. He condensed the Ten Commandments into two with His reply.

Jesus replied, “‘You must LOVE the LORD your GOD with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37‭-‬40 NLT

Sounds pretty simple to me. What do you think? Complicated, or simple?

Photo credit to The Positivity Blog.

Courage

“Courage is understanding the consequences, and choosing to do the right thing anyway.“*

I almost think this is an understatement of what courage really is. Throughout history, we have millions of examples of courageous men and women. These are just a few:

Moses stood up to Pharaoh, who was arguably the most powerful man in the world at the time, at the risk of his own life… but it was the right thing to do for the Israelites in order to free them from generations of slavery. David, a young man who had spent his life as a shepherd in a kind of bondage to his father, stepped up and out of his comfort zone when even the most hardened soldiers were afraid. He fought and killed a mighty warrior, a giant of a man, in the face of daunting odds to keep his people safe. Amelia Earhart broke the bonds of traditional womanhood and was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. This act of courage paved the way for other women to follow their hearts instead of staying at home in the role of housewife. The men – and women – who crossed oceans and mountains and deserts to find a better life for their children; people who stand up to dictators and despots to create better societies. Men and women in battle are courageous warriors. The woman who takes her children and nothing else, to flee from an abusive situation…. this seemingly simple act is one of the most difficult acts of courage that I know of. People who haven’t experienced that kind of bondage don’t understand and might consider the woman as stupid and cowardly. No, any woman breaking free from that kind of slavery deserves accolades.

God knows that I am not very courageous. I talked big and swaggered about for years, but I wasn’t courageous enough to walk away from dangerous situations. The true courage of a woman comes forward if her children are threatened. That’s when the submissive posture ends and the mama grizzly bear comes out. Trust me, it can get ugly fast if any of my family is threatened. This courage I might find is nothing compared to the ultimate act of courage, shown by our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

“Though He was GOD, He did not think of equality with GOD as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges ; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to GOD and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, GOD elevated Him to the place of Highest Honor and gave Him the Name above all other names, that at the Name of JESUS every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that JESUS CHRIST is LORD, to the Glory of GOD the Father.” – Philippians 2:6‭-‬11 NLT

I will never be able to match His courage, so I let Him carry me through the ugliness of life on earth, and I cling to His Word…

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT

Listen to Stand Firm In The Faith by Ablaze Music. *Quote is from Right From The Heart 1-Minute Devotions.