What is BEST?

My mind has been bombarded lately with a lot of good thoughts and ideas.  The Lord has opened my eyes that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and he could even use good ideas to distract us from the good works that God has planned for us!!  

"And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:14

I don't want to be busy doing good things..I want to be busy do the BEST THINGS.  The things that God has preplanned in advance for my life.  I don't want to miss it!!

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 

Lord, please help me to see through the things that are good that Satan might be even dangling in front of me and look past them to what you have for me that is BEST.  Please show me Your will for my life Father and in the days of the New Year to come.  I want to walk in Your plans Father.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Pinpricks of Light

God did an amazing work on our trip to Kentucky! We came there to bless the people and the Lord ended up blessing us so abundantly!!!

The devil is such a liar. He loves to make us believe that we are insignificant and that we are not making any difference in the lives of the people around us.  He will also tell us that other people are not that important and it's better to just focus on ourselves.  He talks out of both sides of his mouth and seeks to take away life and purpose.  I experienced a great deal of spiritual warfare the days leading up to the trip.  The enemy had a hold on my mind to discourage me and try to thwart God's plans but the One that is mightier prevailed!!  I didn't give in to the lies and pressed on with the trip.

It was so beautiful what the Lord showed me while we were there.  He gave me eyes to see the difference that members of the team were making in the lives of people in KY and the love that was given back to them in even greater measure than they gave!  Sometimes we can think we are not making a big impact on the world if we aren't reaching whole groups of people but the power of the love of Christ life on life is deeply meaningful and transforms hearts.

Ministry doesn't always look like sharing the gospel or doing something elaborate.  We can share Jesus with a person by a warm smile, a cup of hot coffee, serving a scoop of hot food or sewing a tear in a sweater.  We can share His love by sitting and listening to a person's story, sharing a word of encouragement or delivering a pizza.  Each act of kindness is a pinprick of light that can make all the difference to the heart of the one on the receiving end of our generosity.

We should never underestimate the power of our presence in another person's life.

Matthew 25:31-40 says,

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Let's make our lives count for the King!

Angela

My Second Mission Trip

So I am heading out of state right now traveling to Elkhorn City, KY to stay at the Freeda Harris Baptist Center to minister to people who live in Appalachia. I am excited for how the Lord is going to use my daughter Kalista (15 & 1/2), her friend Erin and I and the rest of the team. This is my first ride in the church van and it’s quite comfortable! Jim Clore is an excellent driver. There are 11 of us riding in the van..Pastor John Wallace has his car, I think Jim Hall is driving the big UHaul truck with Christmas gifts in it for the poor and another gentleman is towing a big RV with all our stuff in it! Stopping for lunch in a little while. Reading, praying and resting. For now..

Romans 10:15 (NKJV) And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Can’t wait to report what God does on this trip! Blessings in Him!

Angela

I am reading this amazing book! So encouraging!! 😁

Tic Tacs, Tracts and a $10 Bill

Don't you hate it when you lose something?

I had bought a brand new box of white minty tic tacs a couple months ago and within a few days the whole little plastic box went missing.  I kept thinking one of the kids took them from me.  I like to have them for when I go to church and serve on prayer team.  And here the whole container goes missing right after I buy it.  Ugghh.

Then I had purchased some tracts from Christian Book Distributors and misplaced one of the packs of tracts by Adrian Rogers a few weeks back.  Frustration again.

Finally, I was with a friend on Sunday and she gave me $10 for a book she bought from me.  On Monday I was rummaging around trying to find the $10 bill and thinking about how I have been losing a lot of stuff lately...

But God...……….

So then I am in the back of my car and as I am searching for the money, I find the tracts AND the $10 bill in the pocket of my Jansport backpack!!  Praise Him!! And then within the hour I ALSO find the little pack of tic-tacs in the bottom of one of my bible bags up in my closet.  How cool! GO GOD!!!!!!! I love it when I find stuff that is lost.  All feels like it is well in my world. How amazing that God revealed the whereabouts of all three on the same day.  He is awesome.

"For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light." Mark 4:22

Just wait on the Lord.

In Christ,

Angela

Be Careful

Do you like this flower? Do you think it's pretty?

This flower is blooming off of a plant that is growing out of the crack in the curb near my driveway and the rest of the plant looks like this!

Yikes!! This plant is pokey and has sharp points all over it that will hurt you!

This reminds me of some people we meet.  They may be attractive or have some admirable qualities but then as you get to know them you realize you are in an affair with a sticker bush!  Be careful.  

"The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." ! Samuel 16:7 NLT

God Cares About Your Little Lost Dog

Oh how amazing the Lord is and how He can do the impossible- including returning your lost dog!

I was at church on Sunday and my husband and I ran into our friend Jim in the Fellowship Hall.  Jim lives right outside of our neighborhood.  We asked how he did with the storm the previous night and he told us that a little cute pug dog showed up on his neighbor's porch and they didn't know who he belonged to.  We didn't think very much of it and went along with our morning.

On the way home from church I was looking up on my neighborhood's Facebook page and trying to find out the hours for the pool.  Low and behold I stumbled upon this picture concerning a lost dog!

Could it be the dog that showed up on Jim's neighbor's porch? I texted Jim and he sent this--

 I couldn't believe it- It was the SAME DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was able to let the gal know and they went to get the dog.  Only God! He is the One that orchestrates our circumstances and our conversations.  Nothing in life is random.  Every exchange has a purpose.  Be attentive to your surroundings, the people that the Lord wants you to connect with and what they are saying to you.  No conversation is insignificant.  You never know when it could lead a lost dog home!! 😃

"Ah, Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17

Blessings on your day! 

Angela

A God of the Impossible!!

I am in awe at how amazing the Lord is in my life!!

So we had a dinner party here at our home this past Saturday and invited a few couples from church that we wanted to get to know better.  I was preparing for the evening last week and getting the table ready.  I have a favorite spring placemat set that I got 15 years ago when I was living in my first townhouse.  I still LOVE the pattern on it but the only problem is that I only had six of them.  Our dining room table used to be smaller- now we have a table that seats 8.  I thought, "Oh, how nice it would be to go to the store and pick up just 2 more of these placemats so the table would look complete" but of course with it being 15 years ago, there is no chance it is going to be sitting on the shelf at the store anymore.  Likely the pattern has been long discontinued...

But then the Lord dropped it into my mind to check on Ebay.  So I typed in "Liz Claiborne placemats"and to my astonishment, there were 3 Liz Claiborne placemats sets available and my beloved pattern was one of them!!!!!!!!!!!!  I couldn't believe my eyes!!  And to make it even more overwhelming..I looked at the name of the pattern and can you believe it was: ANGELA.  No way!!! And the set came with 8 placemats PLUS a runner!!!!!!! 😲

I believe this was a miracle of the Lord and it shows me how much God cares for me and the little things in my life.  It bolsters my faith knowing that if He cares enough about the placemats at my dining room table He mosts certainly cares deeply for the people sitting around my table and all the more important things in my life!

God can do anything He wants to in our lives.  He can create something new out of nothing.  So don't be discouraged if something is missing in your life, broken or not complete.  God can provide!

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26

Blessings on your day!

Angela

Can I have a bite of your sandwich?

God teaches me a lot about Himself through my relationships with my children.

I have been noticing lately that my children are stingy about sharing food with me or even thinking about my need's being met.  Today at the table we were having our morning devotions and like usual, I did not come down in time to eat breakfast so I was pressing through with a stomach that was rumbling.  My 5 year old Sammy had a yummy looking egg sandwich that he had gotten full from and he had practically half a sandwich left that he pushed away.  I jumped at the opportunity for his remaining breakfast and kindly asked if I could have what is left and that I was hungry.  He said No and to save the rest for him for later. UHHH!! That hurts my heart that I care for him every day..3 meals a day since he was born and he can't even share the rest of his breakfast sandwich with his hungry momma  (By the way..I got that rest of that sandwich- I reprimanded him for his selfishness and my husband made sure I got the food).

But very quickly the Lord directed my thoughts to Him and how as our Heavenly Father He has done so much for us (given us His life!!) and how we fail to obey Him in the smallest of requests.  He doesn't need anything from us, He doesn't get hungry but He longs for us to obey Him and walk in close fellowship with Him.  With all He has done for us- coming down from heaven as a man, dying on a terrible cross for our sins, interceding for us forever at the right hand of God- the least we can do for Him is offer Him half of our Jimmy Dean egg sandwich.  What is He asking you to give Him today?

And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive".
Acts 20:35

Manna- my Daily Bread

The other morning I had woken up and there was a word from the Lord on my mind..He was speaking to me that He only gives me each morning what I need for that particular day.  He does not give to me in advance, so the times when I am worrying and fretting over things that do not pertain to today, I am trying to do life in my own strength and without His grace.

I got out of the bed and prepared to have my morning devotions.  As I sought the Lord and starting working in my workbook for the Hospitality Study I am doing (Just Open The Door by Jen Schmidt) I couldn't believe it- one of the verses confirmed exactly what the Lord was speaking to me personally that morning..

Exodus 16:13-21

So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.  And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.  So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.  And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.  This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: "Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent."  Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.  So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.  Every man gathered according to each one's need.  And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."  Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses.  But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank.  And Moses was angry with them.  So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need.  And when the sun became hot, it melted.

And so the Lord was confirming in my heart that He knows what I am going to face each day of my life.  He knows the challenges and struggles.  As I get up early and seek His face, He is going to fill me with His Presence and the strength and wisdom I need to face whatever comes my way that day.  He knows ahead of time what that will be and He prepares me to get through victoriously.  Worrying about the troubles of another day is lunacy, it is worrying about something that God has not given me the strength for yet! Yikes!  May it never be.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  Matthew 6:34

A New Season Begins!

Well as the Lord would have it, I am back to my blog.  My Mom continues to do well and I am still overwelmed at His goodness in healing her and giving us all of these special years together! He is truly a God of miracles.  She celebrated her 70th birthday this past January.  She was only 63 years old when she came to live with us.  I love her so much and am excited about all that the Lord still has in store for her life.  She is young yet. 😀

I had an amazing experience this morning in my garden.  I prepared the ground a couple of weeks ago and got rid of all the dead limbs and leaves and stuff.  I had a lot of flowers planted in my garden from last spring and to the best of my recollection they were all annual plants (the kind that die at the end of the season and do not come back next year) so I cleared it all up and starting thinking of what I will plant this Mother's Day.

Today when I went out front to go on a bike ride with my children, I noticed that in several spots there were new leaves coming up!!  Apparently the Lord kept me from recalling that some of the plants I had in the ground were actually perenniels- the kind that die but come back the next spring! I was very upset because when I was cleaning out my garden before, I was not being careful to protect the roots of the plants that would be returning.  In God's mercy, despite myself, the Lord protected them and they have still survived.  I am so glad that He protected those dear plants from me.  I was appalled at how careless I was and not realizing that I could have been unearthing something that still had life in it.

God really used this experience in my garden today to also teach me something about friends.  We might have a difficult situation with someone and be very upset thinking that this person might not be someone we should have in our life anymore.  We need to be careful and seek the Lord and turn over our burdens to Him.  This might be someone that He has planned to be a lifelong friend in our lives.  It would be terrible to uproot a friendship that God has dear plans for in the future.

Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Have a blessed day in the Lord,

Angela

P.S. Here is what the plant looks like NOW- So glad I didn't uproot these!