Tag Archives: Christian

28 days of Grace – day 12

Just some thoughts, looking around the world, and looking around a grocery store…
comparing worldly lusts of sin with fleshly lusts of food….

  • everywhere you look there are bread sellers…. sugar sellers… poison peddlers.
  • everywhere you look there are sin sellers
  • ecstasy at worship, then crash monday morning
  • sugar highs, then sugar crashes
  • too much crap for adrenals, thyroid, insulin. and ends up in insulin resistance
  • too much crap exposes you to itchings ears, newest music, latest teaching, and ends up in worldly resistance
  • Eventually, one is numb, scarred, toxic, and unable to see what is pure.

I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Timothy 4:1-4

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 Timothy 3:1-5

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 3:19-21

We have a choice….laid out from the beginning –

  • Death or Life
  • Evil or Good
  • Poison or Pure

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20

The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psalm 12:6

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15

WE have to make the choice…the natural shadows the spiritual…we are not created for this world…but for another.
By GRACE are we saved, and that not of ourselves!!! Ephesians 2:8
My prayer….I need YOUR GRACE, LORD JESUS!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or ‘like’ me!

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Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

Barbs Drawing

Naomi's Heart Mission

 

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

28 Days of Grace – day 9

Today is the first day of the rest of my life!

The First Day

I stole this image from a blog called Today is the First Day….

I don’t know anything about this person, except what is in this blog.
She and her husband have health issues.
They are tackling them with diet.
They are having some success.
It’s not easy.
The point is, I have made a connection!

In the midst of checking her out…I am amazed at her blogging connections.

Connections….do they help or hinder our desire to move forward?

For the last few years, because of homeschooling and T-Tapping connections, I have been listening to a friend of mine talk about several diets that have changed her life:

The Schwarzbein Principle

The GAPS Diet

And then, I have shared, and now am sharing, my own personal experience with The Yeast Connection

Some friends have also shared their experiences with gluten free, with one even doing a review of gluten free products on facebook.

Jim, because of Nerd Fitness Connections, has been checking out The Paleo Diet
Robb Wolf explains it better, What is the Paleo Diet?

Recently, a friend shared prayer concerns for a little girl that was having seizures every 5 minutes and there was no solution. Until The Ketogenic Diet was recommended. The episodes subsided and eventually left, unless she is given sugar! All because of connections!

I have done various diets in the past, and the times that I’ve been the most successful is when I have connections with others doing the same thing. We can share ideas, products that help, recipes, whatever. We can share our struggles and our successes.

I’ve done various types of counseling in the past, and the most successful was when there was a group session aspect that let me know I wasn’t the only one suffering. We shared ideas, medications that help(info about, not the meds themselves), and doctors, whatever. We shared our sadnesses and our joys!

The church is made of connections.
Without them, it is very hard to walk as a Christian.
We can wake up each morning, with His mercies being new, but without someone to hold our hand, it’s very lonely.

Not everyone is going to find the same diet is the right diet for them.
In the case of the Ketogenic Diet, it is said 1/3 have no response, 1/3 have some response, and 1/3 seem cured. Praise God this little girl, Autumn, is part of the last 1/3!
Not everyone is going to find the same church fits for them.

But everyone needs connections.

Those folks that I met in the counseling sessions? I’m in contact with two of them only.
Folks on the email lists? Some have come and gone.
Co-Dieters in WW, JC, and other varieties come and go.
Churches? Things change, folks move.
There is only one connection that can help us with all our needs – and that is Jesus Christ.

I thank Jesus Christ for the connections that I have obtained over the years…a steady diet of some foundational friends sprinkled with the sparkle of short time friends that enter and leave for whatever reason.
Even more so, I thank Jesus Christ for giving me the opportunity to constantly grow stronger and healthier and more like Him. Whatever diet he puts in front of me!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
What are we going to do about it?

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or ‘like’ me!

If you like The WildBerry Patch, follow me with the RSS feed.

We have email subscription! Or sign up for an account and you can manage your subscriptions by password and the dashboard!
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

Barbs Drawing

Naomi's Heart Mission

 

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

28 Days of Grace day 3

Take a little wine for your stomach

1 Tim 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

Yesterday, I was reading about the GAPS diet.
One of the differences between the GAPS diet and the YEAST FREE diet is the fermented items in the Introduction Diet…

“Increase daily amount of homemade yogurt and kefir, if introduced. Increase the amount of juice from sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley.”

Dr McManus warned me that the GAPS diet was MUCH more strict than the Yeast Free diet I am on, but the principles are the same:
Heal the Gut so that the Body can be nourished.

Paul’s exhortation to Timothy may very well have been to avoid the water….as in Montezuma’s Revenge…and drink fermented grape juice(what wine was back then). The goal was to help Timothy be healed so that he could be used for God’s glory.

verse 22 says:

Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

verses 24-25 say:

Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some [men] they follow after.
Likewise also the good works [of some] are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

It’s as if, in the middle of exhorting Timothy in his ministry, Paul remembered and just said, “Oh, by the way – stop drinking that water, dude! Drink some wine and heal that stomach so that you can get over all these infirmities! We gotta get you better, man!”

I was asking God yesterday, after the whole discussion about Peter getting out of the boat, should I ask you to ask me to get out of the boat?

now, understand, I had an hour drive…and I use this time to listen to the Lord…so, He had time to deal with me!

I could hear a faint ‘yes…..here I am’
I didn’t want to ask…
I didn’t want to hear “come”.
I knew what getting out of the boat meant…
It meant moving ahead with the art and writing!
It meant challenges to face,
It meant scary opportunities,
…people saying no…
believing for funds and helpers and provisions and ideas and HEALTH!!!

I finally got quiet…
“If it’s you Lord….”
‘YOU ARE ALREADY OUT OF THE BOAT – STOP LOOKING AT THE STORMS!”

WHAT???? When did I get out of the boat?
“when you signed the lease to the studio! STOP LOOKING AT THE STORMS!”

WHAT???
“When you said you trusted me with your whole heart, now STOP LOOKING AT THE STORMS!”

Stop Looking at the storms – WHY?
THEY ARE MAKING ME SICK!!!
…WITH WORRY
…WITH FEAR
…they are paralyzing me!
…they are preventing me from moving forward to do the work that God has prepared beforehand that I should walk in them! (Eph 2:10)

What about the wine?????

Psalm 4:7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time [that] their corn and their wine increased.

Then, HE reminded me of this verse:

Isiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

The point is, I have a job to do, I have good works that I am supposed to be doing so that God would be glorified. I have words that God has placed in my heart that need to be shared…
I’m NOT Christ, but I am CHRISTI, AND:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3

I’m already out of the boat – it’s my old nature that is looking around at that storm…
DRINK NO LONGER WATER – don’t pay attention to the things of this world…they are NOT PURE!
TAKE A LITTLE WINE FOR YOUR STOMACH – get your body healthy, with what I say!
AND FOR YOUR OFT INFIRMITIES – One preacher defined infirmities as those things that constantly come up and we constantly struggle with.
Mine is fear.
Lack of self confidence, even in my ability to hear the voice of the Lord.

Matt 26:27-28 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The woman at the well asked Jesus for the Living Water, from which one would never thirst.(John 4:10ff)

Here is His reply:

John 14:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

My Father has provided, by His grace, a physical program to heal my stomach and gut. I need to follow it.
My Father, through Jesus Christ, has provided cleansing for my sins, and living water, pure and alive, for my ability to do HIS WILL to HIS GLORY.
I need to drink of HIS wine daily. I need to drink ALL OF IT!

I need to remember that sin is all around me, and always needing to be dealt with,
but in the middle of the storms of life,
God has provided me with PURE WATER – Water that HE turned to WINE by HIS BLOOD at the cross.

In a way, I need to give up my whine for HIS WINE…and drink freely from the fountain of living water!
And HE has provided the strength by HIS grace!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or ‘like’ me!

If you like The WildBerry Patch, follow me with the RSS feed.

We have email subscription! Just sign up for an account, and you can manage your subscription from the dashboard!
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

Barbs Drawing

Naomi's Heart Mission

 

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

My response in Light of a 13 yo’s suicide in MN

A post I wrote on May 10, 2012, in response to hearing of a young girl’s suicide – and complaints that no one did enough:

I survived a suicide attempt…I was considered dead at the scene(beyond non-responsive)…and God revived me…in the ER on 11/17/2009
I know what goes on inside the mind of one that does this….
I did everything I could to prevent it from happening to my mom
I did everything I could to keep Anna from succeeding (can we spell familiar spirit????)
And, yes, those around me missed some things, but I kept them hidden.
Those around me were tired…and made a few missteps…but, in their minds, they did everything they were able to do –
My voices were voices from the past…doubled by some ‘bullying’ in the present…but mostly, my voices in my head were voices I’d believed, and had internalized…and any external voice just made the internal voice scream louder, and validated that internal voice.

No, those dealing with this precious child probably didn’t do ‘everything’ they could…because they probably could not conceive of what goes on inside a head that REALLY believes that suicide is the only way. But, they may have done ALL that they knew to do.

I have had to forgive those that were not able to hold my hand and pull me up from the sinking sand that sucked me into suicide that day.

I have had to forgive myself for thinking that my mom had gotten over her voices. I have had to thank God that Anna never succeeded, and yet, I’ve had to forgive myself for whatever brought things to that point(I know some of them now, and each time I learn of something new, I go through horrible grief, and have to take it to the Lord again).

Bullying will never stop…though it needs to be dealt with. The battle is to strengthen the minds and hearts of these wounded ones, so that they have an armor against the attacks of the enemy!

I think I’m supposed to be speaking to people about this…and the death of this child has stirred up an urgency in my heart.
I will be preparing my talks ASAP – and I pray that I will have an audience – and if I can save ONE from suicide…then, I know that my life has had purpose in Jesus.

Praying…praying, praying…..
~Christi

5/16/2012 – once the mind is made up to commit suicide, it is too late, unless the person is placed into a mental hospital that will protect them while helping them get past that mental state. There is nowhere safe enough to prevent a suicide, other than those places created to do just that.

I don’t know all the details about this young person, except that she was apparently at home, doing normal family things and walked out of the room with the family, and went to her bedroom and hung herself. At what point could the family have intervened? I don’t know…Once the hopelessness takes over, then the plan to protect others from having to listen to you anymore sets in, and then, the hiding, and the secrecy takes over….and unless someone can read minds, it is probably too late.

The time to intervene is MUCH earlier…IF there is any indication.
Sometimes, as in another suicide of a young man, there is NO indication, at least, not enough to add up to ‘suicidal thoughts’.

Prov 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.

This is NOT an answer for WHY
This is NOT an excuse for those that ignore
This IS a reply to the guilt of those that didn’t SEE because the victim chose to keep it hidden.
For those that read this, please pray for me to know what I am to do with my experiences…to follow God’s calling in my life.
The answer to protect children from suicide is to instill in them their worth, so that they have the armor to stand up to bullying, and have a positive mental sound track to take down the negative voices.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or ‘like’ me!

If you like The WildBerry Patch, follow me with the RSS feed.
Soon, we’ll have email subscription, and maybe a newsletter.
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

Barbs Drawing

Naomi's Heart Mission

 

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

100 Spiritual Walking Steps #51 – Listen AND WRITE IT DOWN

This morning, in my prayer time, I KNEW I had something I was supposed to write.
I KNEW I had a word from God to share.
I also knew that I have a few things to do in order to get up, and come to my computer, and sit down and type it up.
My problem with that is my mental illness – my mental disability – my ‘handicap’ if you will.
In order to write a blog from the LORD – I NEED TO WRITE IT DOWN WHEN I GET IT!

Sometimes, I have written down the scriptures – but not today.
Even when I write down the scriptures, I may not remember, once things have cycled through my rolodex of daily duties, what it was that God was giving me.
If I don’t write it down – I may as well have not obeyed at all – and forget even sitting down at my computer.

That is why there is such a huge time and date difference between some of these steps…
Some, I started writing, and life happened, and I couldn’t remember what I was writing. Those are in drafts…waiting for my mind to remember.
Some, are in notes on a notepad – when I was obedient and wrote something down – but I cannot remember what my notes meant.
Sometimes, I get so busy editing the blog so it looks pretty, and easy for someone to read, and I forget what God’s voice is saying.

Do I stop hearing God’s voice after my morning prayer time? NO!
This has been a lesson I have had to learn.
But, in the quiet of the morning, I hear so much clearer…when I am lying on my bed, only focusing on Him, and my prayers.
It is then, that the writer in me is able to write what she hears – not being distracted – not having the weeds of the world and life float in and distract.

I need to be quiet, body, mind and spirit, to write.
Writing is an act of worship for me – it’s between me and God…and the fruit is what gets shared with others through this blog.
When I am in the ‘God zone’ – there is something that happens to my hands, and I rarely have typos…and I can type VERY fast.

This blog is an attempt to just be obedient to the call to write.
I can ‘feel’ the message in my mind…but I cannot get ‘eyes’ onto it in order to bring it out and share it…my heart will hold it, I know it’s not lost to me, spiritually, but because of my challenges, I cannot type it out. I cannot get it out of my head, and onto the computer screen – or even paper via pen.

Why would God call someone with such a difficulty to write?
I don’t know…and yet, I do.
Anything that I write comes from the Lord…that is, anything that is glorifying to Him! I do write garbage sometimes, later in the day…but early in the morning, when I write things that are blessings to people, those come from the Lord.

I feel like the full field in which the sower sows seeds.
In the morning – the seed falls on good ground…ground prepared by prayer, and worship.
In the afternoon – the weeds of the world start choking it out…I can’t hear as clearly..oh, I hear the basic stuff…but not the things that folks think are really insightful and gifts from God.
By evening…well, the ground is harder…and this is the time that is hardest for me to hear the Lord’s voice…and, it’s not always because my heart is hard, it’s because my inner voices have been telling me all about the things I failed to do that day, possibly starting with, not writing the blog the Lord laid upon my heart.

Moses argued with God that he was not a good speaker…
Gideon argued that he was not courageous…
Peter argued that he was not worthy….
I know what God has called me to do…I have spent time arguing…HE WINS the arguments with “Who made your mouth, ear, mind, hand, legs, back, neck?”
He wins with “who called you?”
He wins with “Do you love me? feed my lambs”
He wins with “If you love me, obey my commands”
HE WINS WITH “I HAVE LOVED YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE!”

And how could I say no to that?
Well, I have. over and over.
But, HE continues to reply to me, over and over, with the paraphrases above, and others.

You see, My God is a personal God – and I call Him, Abba, Father!
My Jesus is my personal savior, and HE calls me friend.

Ps 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

It breaks my heart that I cannot remember what God shared with me this morning…and that I cannot share it with you.
Some will say “Then it obviously wasn’t supposed to be shared” and they will miss the point.
When God calls a person to do His will, and they refuse, or delay, or object, or whatever….His will is going to be done, but not through that person.
The thing is, what if there was someone that would have read this blog – and had their heart turn, and because I did not speak to them, their blood is on my head?

Ez 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

Ez 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take [any] person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

These chapters in Ezekiel do not give much leeway for the watch(wo)man that does not choose to stand in the gap, nor shout out the warning to draw in the children of God.

On the other hand, maybe this is the blog I was supposed to write…
What has God called YOU to do?
Be about YOUR Father’s business…the time is short…we know not the hour or the day, and it doesn’t have to be the rapture. Every moment of every day, we are called to speak the truth and shine a light….

I pray that my confession has touched your heart…to turn to the Lord – not take your hand off the plow, and to press on towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or ‘like’ me!

If you like The WildBerry Patch, follow me with the RSS feed.
Soon, we’ll have email subscription, and maybe a newsletter.
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

Barbs Drawing

Naomi's Heart Mission

 

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

Wilderness Wanderings at WildBerry Patch Step #48

I am sitting in a truck, with a laptop rested on my overly large stomach, with my arms tucked beside me, elbows sort of like chicken wings, and my hands right at my ribs, plugged into the thing that makes the lighter power thing go from 12 volts to whatever I need for this laptop to run. It is hot outside, and the sun is shinning down on my arms through the glass…and Gabriel is sitting in the back seat, hoping that I will quit playing with the computer, and go outside, in the 87 degree heat…I have no idea what the humidity is.
I want a studio/office!

Why are we always wanting something other than what IS?
When I was young, I wanted long straight hair…
the girls with long straight hair, wanted curly hair.
So, I straightened mine, they permed theirs, and we both ruined the beautiful hair God gave us.

I can paint. I can’t paint like Thomas Kincaid, or Michael Angelo, but God has given me a gift to paint that some folks find appealing.

Some folks are willing to say, I don’t know much about art, but I know I like what you have done.
Some folks are willing to say, I don’t like what you have done(though, thankfully, I have not heard that very much, probably because I throw those paintings away!)
What gets me is when someone that is not an artist, wants to seem like they are an artist, and comments on things in a piece of art that make no sense, but they say them with conviction, as if they actually understood perspective, shading, hue, and tint! And why is it always that when someone has to pretend they know what they are talking about, that they say negative things???? Can’t they just talk ignorant stuff and say good things with them? They aren’t comfortable with appearing as if they don’t know anything about art.

The 10 year old wants to be 13;
the 13 year old wants to be 16 or 18;
the 18 year old wants to be 21;
the 40 year old wants to be 21….or 29!

I am 51.
I don’t mind that I’m 51.
What I mind is how little I have to show for it, and how much I have to show for it!
I have very little in the way of what I have done for the Lord…and therefore, I am concerned about the talent parable…I’m not going to be the o0ne that gets praised like the one with 10 talents…I just want to not be the one who hid her talents!
I have way too much to show for my 51 years – in the area of waist, waste, and health issues.

In my 50th year, I started writing again.
In my 51st year, I started painting again.

Now, in my 52nd year, I need to figure out what God wants for me to do with these things.

The Parable of the talents lends itself to business mindedness.
The talents that God has given, haven’t been given for our benefit…they are His investments in us…and the parable gives us an idea as to what type of return He is expecting on His investments. In fact, it is VERY CLEAR that HE IS EXPECTING a return on His investment!!!

We are his workmanship….We are created for good works….that God prepared before hand that we should walk in them!

God put the talents INTO us, HE created us with talent, for the good works that HE intended for us to walk in!

The key is – what am I doing with HIS talent?
Am I dedicating HIS talent to HIM?
and, just an aside…what is a talent compared to a skill?
Could there be a difference between innate talent, and a learned skill…and yet, both have some responsibility to be given back to HIM?

Some folks are gifted to do…and not to teach.
Some folks are gifted to teach…and not to do.

My husband can read a book about painting, and very clumsily show me what it says…and then, in his words, I take the brush out of his hand, and create something really special with it.
I’d like to be able to teach – but I can ‘t.
I’m not sure about him wanting to paint…..but I KNOW he can TEACH!

There are things about the WildBerry Patch that I can do…but i’m not gifted to do.
There are things about the WildBerry Patch that I cannot do…but need to be done.
And then, there are things a bout The WildBerry Patch that only I can do…or it wouldn’t be The WildBerry Patch.

What is it that only YOU can do?
THAT IS YOUR GIFTING! Within reason!
If YOU are the only one that can do what you do in the way you can do it, and in doing this something, you will bring return, fruit, then that is YOUR CALLING!!!

I have several drafts sitting waiting for me to finish, because there are things that I needed to do…things that only I could do…and I didn’t get back to these drafts.
How much time is there in a day? 12 waking hours, that would be safe.
I write and I paint in my sleep, but since I don’t get that stuff out there…I guess sleeping doesn’t count.
I need to let those others do what they can do, so that I can be about doing what only I can do.
We are all me ant to be uniquely fitted together so that we can all be one body.

If my wavy, frizzy hair is not good enough for you…too bad. It’s the hair God gave me!
If my four eyes that cannot wear contacts bother you…too bad. They are the eyes and glasses that God gave me.
If I never walk a marathon, that’s not going to change what I, and only I, can do!
It doesn’t matter if I ever do another sprint triathlon…it won’t affect my writing or my painting.

I am created with a gifting for writing and painting.
God created me to be an artist and an author.
God has provided me with a mobile studio and office!

What has God put into you? What are you doing about it?

In His hands and under his wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7

I’m still a terrorist – to America as it is today, 3/12/2012 – reposted 11/11/2016

note – 11/11/2016 – In this election, I’ve been branded an uneducated, ignorant, deplorable, KKK lover, xenophobic, misogynist, bigot because of my vote.  In 2008 and 2012, I was branded as well.  This is to state, on Veterans Day, some of my beliefs as an American.

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I took an oath –

“I, My name, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

I have never rescinded that oath.  Here is what my country has thought of me.

note – 3/12/2012 I wrote essay this April 2009. Today, there are youtube videos being shared that the CIA is watching us on Facebook. Even a news mimicking satire is scaring people!

There are anti Christian, anti Biblical things going on all around us, and Bible believers are the bad guys…and I don’t mean the whack jobs that kill abortion doctors or protest at veterans funerals!
Here’s my original post – and I did send it to Washington, DC. when Obama asked for us to turn in our neighbors.

This is in the Washington Times news – April 16th, 2009. You tell me if I’m over reacting.

Napolotano Stands by Controversial Report
PDF of the publication is available.

Original, written in 2009.

My country now considers me a terrorist.

I am commenting on the Department of Homeland Security report on “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” Dated 7 April 2009 note:”(U) Prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division. Coordinated with the FBI.”

The report starts with this clear statement:
“The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence,
but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues.” pg 2/9

The report also clearly defines Right-wing extremism:
“*Right-wing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.” pg 2/9

I don’t hate, but believe that other religions are not inline with what I believe to be truth.

  • I am antigovernment, in the manner of rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority.
  • I am against abortion as a flippant convenience, or birth control option.
  • I am against illegal immigrants getting monies without paying taxes, and benefits that should be given to the families that are legal, and do pay taxes.
  • I agree “with the “belief in the prophecies of a …one world government” pg 3/9 based on Revelation and end-time prophecies in the Bible.
  • Our family has purchased a gun since the election of Barak Obama pg 3/9
  • I “perceive” and “discuss on the internet the economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures.” pg 3/9
    Doesn’t everyone?

While I would not say I am antagonistic toward the new presidential administration, I am antagonistic toward its PUBLISHED “stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms, ownership and use.” pgs 3&4/9

“Antigovernment conspiracy theories and “end times” prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition, and weapons.” pg 4/9

I believe that it is prudent to have resources to provide for your family in the event of a crisis,
and I believe that an economic collapse, or an end-time apocalypse, or even an unbelievable hurricane would be a crisis.

I held these views in 1990, 1980, & 1970…
“Prominent among these themes were the militia movement”s opposition to gun control efforts, criticism of free trade agreements (particularly those with Mexico), and highlighting perceived government infringement on civil liberties as well as white supremacists” longstanding exploitation of social issues such as abortion, inter-racial crimes, and same-sex marriage.” 4/9

…and hold the same ones today….and will until the day I die. I have never been part of any more of a militia than the United States Navy.

“The dissolution of Communist countries in Eastern Europe and the end of the Soviet Union in the 1990s led some rightwing extremists to believe that a “New World Order” would bring about a world government that would usurp the sovereignty of the United States and its Constitution, thus infringing upon their liberty.” pg 6/9

I do believe that the United States is giving over its sovereignty to various organizations such as the UN, NAFTA, NATO and others rather than protecting the rights and liberty of Americans.

“Rightwing extremist views bemoan the decline of U.S. stature and have recently focused on themes such as the loss of U.S. manufacturing capability to China and India, Russia”s control of energy resources and use of these to pressure other countries, and China”s investment in U.S. real estate and corporations as a part of subversion strategy.” pg 7/9
While maybe not a subversion strategy, I believe we are weakening the US with these practices. I believe that is why we are in the crisis we are in today. We haven”t taken care of our own house first – then gone outside.

I am appalled that our government would consider the men and women that return from fighting battles, giving various degrees of sacrifices as potential terrorist threats. This is explained under the heading Disgruntled Military Veterans, pg 7/9. H

  • Have YOU tried to get medical service at the VA????
  • Have YOU experienced the VA and the Military mysteriously losing YOUR medical records?
  • Are YOU suffering from something that should have been taken care of before you were discharged, but you were just a kid and didn”t know any better?
  • Have YOU been homeless because of PTSD from a war that the military is refusing to acknowledge????

Just ask me about Disgruntled Military Vets. I’m one of them. And I’m not alone.

Then, page 8/9 blames the internet as providing the “information related to bomb-making, weapons training, and tactics, as well as targeting of individuals, organizations, and facilities, potentially making extremist individuals and groups more dangerous and the consequences of their violence more severe.”
The internet has made it easier for child porn, child abductions and stalkings, but I don”t see it blamed for that!

I’ve read all 9 pages of this Department of Homeland Security report on “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” 7 April 2009 (U) Prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, Coordinated with the FBI.

NO WHERE Does it Talk about the REAL TERRORIST THREATS, those that have repeatedly been committed against our people.

  • I don’t care if our president is black, white, green or purple.
  • I don.t care if our president is male or female.
  • I do not want race to be a card played – though it has been played so often since the preliminaries I am ashamed that we have not come farther, on either side.
  • The only thing I care about is our Constitutional Rights – and how we are losing them day by day – and now, I could be watched as a potential terrorist threat!

Ok, let me use my 1st amendment right while I still have it.

  • I believe the Bible from the very first verse….
  • And all the way to the very last verse.
  • I believe that we are all one blood, we all have pains inflicted upon us, and some have familial pains and generational pains – no matter what color our skin is, or how rich or poor we are, or whether we are legal or illegal in this country. We all need healing, forgiveness, and to let go of bitterness and open up a dialogue for trust.
  • I believe that when God is finished with His plan with this earth – there will be an Armageddon and many will die.
  • I believe that it will center on the middle eastern lands, with a horrific nature we have never seen.
  • I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that HE is the only way to heaven.
  • I believe that life begins at conception, and responsibility begins before consummation.
  • I believe that everyone will face a day of judgment, and on that day, they will face the Creator God as supreme judge, and defend themselves or have Christ defend them.
  • There is only ONE judge – God the Father.
  • There is only one choice for a defender, and there is only one fee to be paid – your life.
  • There are only two rulings on that day – Heaven, or Hell.

2nd Amendment –

  • I have a gun in my home, and ammo. I know how to use it.
  • And if the colonists did not bear their own arms, they would not have been able to pull together a militia to fight an oppressive government. That was called the Revolutionary War…..when we became the Americas!

4th Amendment should give me the freedom to do whatever I want in my home….secure in my person, house, papers and effects. So – most of my papers are online now….and they should not be searched or seized without probably cause and a warrant.

10th Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The US Government has many fingers in the state government”s oversight. This is unconstitutional. Oh, that may include federal taxes as well, but that is taken care of by giving up our rights and ratifying the 16th amendment.

13th Amendment – everyone likes this one – the abolishment of slavery. But if the government can tell you what you can think, what you can say, and what you can do…..and enforce discipline upon you, or martial law….doesn’t that sound like slavery?

And for some great quotes for our times, and not from the Bible for those that would be offended, I have chosen these from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

  1. An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  2. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  3. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  4. Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  5. One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  6. Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  7. The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
  8. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

And my favorites for such a time as this:
9. The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
10. When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I AM AN EXTREMIST!

If you want the version with Bible References added – give me a day or two, and I’ll have the verses in place….there are so many to choose from! Of course, I don’t want to be recruiting anyone to my terrorist cell of those who might happen to think like me.

Team Wildman

Team Wildman

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
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Daniel Fast – Day 3 – Storms

~I am not sharing these to get glory, I’m sharing these to encourage those that are participating in the Daniel Fast.
Bring the Rain

Yesterday’s blog was my heart crying out.
I gave up several things that I was ‘fasting’ – and I gave up on the fast.
I had my husband bring me “Wendy’s” with a large fry. Wendy’s fries are my ultimate comfort food.
I also gave up my fast from TV shows, and just sat and watched TV while I was in pain…

…but something happened…

NONE OF IT HAD ANY SATISFACTION TO ME!!!

The hamburger was just blah in my mouth.
The fries were just salty warmth in my mouth.
The shows that I had previously enjoyed were just noise in my head.

My flesh was weak, but God strengthened my spirit!

Two verses that are very important to me are:

Is 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Is 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

But today, this is my passage from the Lord:

Isaiah 40:27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.

THESE VERSES PRECEDE MY LIFE VERSE!

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

I am praying to be set free from the things that hold be back, that poison my attempts to be Christlike.
The first day of this fast, my flesh gave up – but God, by the Holy Spirit, took the pleasure out of those things.
I have heard of Him doing that for drug addicts, smokers and such – but I never thought he would do it for me.

I am humbled.
I am convicted by:

Is 40:29 -He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.

Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I know that verse is referring to ‘things’ needed – but I needed strength to go on.

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I have always seen this as ADDING strength to me….and yesterday, I was without strength.

Is 40:29 and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.

I prayed – oh yes, I prayed…and there was a time in my life where I would have quit, in a very ugly manner.
But this time, there was NO thought of quitting…just praying, and confessing that I had no strength.

Ps 30:5 For his anger [endureth but] a moment; in his favour [is] life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy [cometh] in the morning.
Ps 30: 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
:12 To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Why is there darkness in the world?
So we can desire the LIGHT!
Why is there sadness in the world?
So we can appreciate JOY!
Why are there wars in the world?
So we can desire the Prince of PEACE!

My signature verse is….

Ps 63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

the next verse is:

Ps 63:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
A nod back to the verses in Isaiah.

It reminds me thaqt God will never leave me nor forsake me….

Heb 13:5 [Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

And that ties it all back to BOLDNESS.
I have been snared by things that are preventing me from being the Christian God wants me to be.
I have been snared by cowardice and fear.

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

God is FOR me – Whom shall I fear? What shall I fear? Why shall I fear?

Ps 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

I have a life that causes some people to ask why – and I love this song as an answer, an answer that I need to remember:

~Thanks to me dear friend, June Stephens, for helping me find this song again!

100 Spiritual Walking Steps #41 – John 3:16, football and boldness

Tim Tebow - www.timtebow.com

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Tim Tebow – the wonderful young man that is quarterback for the Denver Broncos – threw passes for 316 yards against the Steelers.
They said he couldn’t do it…but God is the one that writes the story of our life.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This young man is an example to all who call themselves by the name of Christ:
Tim has embraced the reality of John 3:16, along with the following passages from John 3:

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

I have posted my testimony as “Who Is ChristArtist?”

But here’s a question for all that want to ride on Tim Tebow’s coat tails…Do you think you’re going to heaven?

If you are a Christian, why aren’t WE being persecuted in the same manner as Tim Tebow?

Tebow has done what we as Christians are commanded to do – encourage one another while it is still day….Heb 3:13;
and

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Can we say:

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

And do we believe:

Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father’s, and of the holy angels.

or

Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

I wrote about boldness in Step #37 New Beginnings, Again!

I have been challenged to be BOLD this year…BOLD for the LORD…and Tim Tebow has been a beautiful example of that this year.
You can see a ripple of boldness in the other football players, and the teams…being unafraid to share their faith.
I challenge anyone to live like Tim Tebow – imitating him as he imitates Christ.
We could all follow much worse.

Thank you, God, for bringing Tim Tebow into our lives for such a time as this! Bless him and his family, as they have blessed us, in Jesus’ name.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
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100 Spiritual Walking Steps #38 Choose to Move

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

These 100 Spiritual Steps are all about moving from one place to another – in the spiritual realm, which effects the physical realm.

The other day, I wrote about a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
Today, I’m taking a first step.
Today, I am starting the Daniel Fast – because I can’t fast with no food, and because I need to bring my body under subjection.
This is a first step for this year, to effect change in me.

There are changes that need to be made in me:

  • Heart
  • Soul
  • Mind
  • Strength

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.

Everything and everyone changes.
Moving is Change and change is moving!

Some change just happens.
Some change is a choice.

Change is scary!
Sometimes change is because of a lack of a choice.
Not choosing is giving up your power to allow someone or something else to choose for you.
SCARY!

In this context, CHANGES could be replaced with CHOICES.
We have a CHOICE about how we react or respond to CHANGE.

From our birth, things have changed – in us and around us – and for the first years, we had no choice in the matter.
When we started becoming aware, we started to make choices, and our choices brought consequences, whether desirable, or not.
WE SHOULD HAVE LEARNED FROM OUR CHOICES.
SOME CHOICES DETERMINED THE DIRECTION OF OUR LIVES.

You can choose to move….

Gen 12: 1 & 4 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Or be moved….by your choices:

Gen 3:23-24 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The key is – the choices have their consequences:
Abraham:

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Adam and Eve:

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;
:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

We are asked to make a choice for our heart’s devotion, and that gives us a direction in which to go.

God, through Moses, asked the Israelites to make a choice before moving on towards the promised land:


Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

God, through Joshua, asked the Israelites to choose whom they would serve before moving forward:

Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Jesus asks us to make a choice, and change our direction, and follow Him.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.

Jesus asked the rich young ruler to make a choice:

Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Jesus lets us know there is a cost:

Matt 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I think of that poor rich young ruler. He’d done everything right, EXCEPT give his HEART to Jesus – his heart was tied up in his things.
I also think about the 10 virgins – they were all waiting for the bridegroom to come, they had all fallen asleep – but when it all came down to when it counted – there were five that had paid the price to have enough oil….

Matthew 25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

When the cry went out that the bridegroom was on the way, they all awoke, and five realized they didn’t have enough oil. Five refilled their lamps. The foolish five had to go buy oil – and while they were off doing that, the bridegroom came, the door was opened, the wise five went in…and the door was shut. Not to be opened again. Those that had not paid the price to be prepared, were left out.

The moral of the story?

Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Choices have consequences, and determine where we can go.
In our spiritual life – choices have spiritual consequences, and determine where we will spend eternity.

I am suffering the consequences of choices that I made many years past.
Some are visible, some are not.
Some are physical, some are not.

But the first step is to move away from those choices, and to choose to make a change.

Matt 3:2 Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The word repent here, in the Greek, means:

to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

That is also the first step of salvation.
It is also, the first step for change.

In Christ, I am a new creation. (2 Cor 5:17)
In Christ, I have gone from darkness into light. (Eph 5:18)
I have to choose to put off the old man, and put on the new man. (2 Cor 5:17)
But, thank God – I can do it just one step at a time.
This journey, of however many steps, starts with ONE STEP.
I just have to be stepping in the right direction!
I have to CHOOSE to MOVE!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or ‘like’ me!

If you like The WildBerry Patch, follow me with the RSS feed.
Soon, we’ll have email subscription.

Barbs Drawing

Naomi's Heart Mission

 

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!