Snow White, Psalm 19:1

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

For those that know me, you know winter has been my least favorite season. Growing up in Ohio, I'm no stranger to cold temperatures and snow.  It took me a long time to realize that not everyone is "blessed" with snow.  Oh how I wished and wished that I had been so fortunate.  Give me the warmth of the sunshine and warm temperatures anytime over the cold dreary days of an Ohio winter.  Sigh... why o' why do we have to have four seasons?  Winter to me was a time of shutting down, piling on warm layers of clothing, eating more than I should, moving around less than I should and overall just a cloud of sadness covering me.  I just could never figure out why every winter I became ready to become a bear versus a human...afterall; hibernation sure sounded good to me on those cold nights! 

Something changed this year though, still not a big winter fan, but I guess you can say I've begun to appreciate what winter has to offer.  This winter we were in awe of some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets backed against a blanket of white snow.  Vivid oranges, purples, reds and yellows bursting across the sky.  People started snapping pictures of God's incredible artwork and posting their shots all over Facebook.  It reminded me of Psalm 19:1... "the skies proclaim the work of his hands."  WOW, all of nature sings of the glory of God.

Let's not forget the snow... oh my goodness, so white, so pure, so breathtaking as it glistened on the tree branches and bushes across the lawns. For some reason, I took the time this year to really look at the different snow flakes... how often have I taken for granted the uniqueness of a single fallen flake, handcrafted by God himself?  "The heavens declare the glory of God".  We seemed to have had a number of times this year that we had strangely large flakes, much larger than I have ever seen before (perhaps because I wasn't looking).  The design work in each, how could something so small be so detailed and create such beauty? 

The more I saw winter for the beauty that it brought, far different than any other season for me, the more I began thanking God for four seasons.  I thank him that he sees fit to give us beauty in all seasons and creates a uniqueness in nature that none can duplicate.  As many pictures as I saw this past winter of the sunsets or the trees covered in the beautiful white snow, none of them could compare to the real thing... standing with the slight sting of the crisp cold air against my face before God's creation.  A creation he gave us as a precious gift.  God could have chosen to leave us at just a single season, but instead he gave us four.  He gave us a season to plant, to grow, to harvest and to rest.  God knew as he formed creation that we'd need these seasons in our life.  Some places don't get to see the vast differences of weather, but they still have seasons... seasons come no matter how they look.

I think I've begun to see myself as a snowflake of sorts.  Not because I'm flaky (I probably am to some degree) but because I am a unique work done by the creator's hand.  I am a creation so small, so detailed by my very genetic design.  Look at all that it takes to form a single human being, let alone take into account the twins, triplets, etc. born that although look so much alike, are so very unique and detailed by the artist of all creation.  Nature in itself can cause me to stand still and slightly take my breath away as it surrounds me with all the glory of God's works. 

What do you need to see this season?  Have you, like me, been so focused on the "ugly" of a season of life that you failed to stop and recognize the work of God's hands?  Have you recognized how very small you are in this vast universe and yet, how very important every unique detail of you matters to God?  You are one of God's most beloved creations.  He loves us enough to give us four seasons; a time to plant, grow, harvest and rest.  How blessed are we that we have winter; a time to rest.  How blessed are we to have such an Awesome God?

Under His Wings,
Heather

Doormat; Micah 6:8

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I love this scripture, have from the moment I read it for the first time.  But what does it mean?  Does it mean that we walk through life so humbled that we allow ourselves to be treated like doormats, something that others simply wipe their feet on?  No... such a misunderstanding and intentional twisting of the word in my opinion of how Christians are to behave.  Are we to be humble, absolutely.  Are we to love mercy and to act just... you betcha... but it doesn't tell us that we are to be doormats in this life.  God never intended for us to be abused or taken advantage of by others.

I asked my girlfriend a month or so ago why is it so hard to be honest sometimes when the truth needs to be said?"  She replied, "because we never want to hurt anyone's feelings".  She was right, we don't.  I think we are so sensitive sometimes to hurting someone's feelings that we allow ourselves to become victims.  Micah 6:8  says for us to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with God.  But in Proverbs 28:1 it talks about the righteous being bold as lions.  Hard to find that line isn't it?  To be bold yet humble.  How do you think that's possible?

There is only one way to be both humble and bold.  We are to be bold in HIS spirit and humble in our flesh.  Daily we die to the flesh and walk in the holy spirit, or at least that should be our heart's desire.  Our flesh-man can sometimes be pretty powerful.  Our egos, our pride our determination to be heard and to matter in this world can sometimes override what our spirit-man knows is just and true.  But again the word tells us to be bold in our faith and in our speaking of the gospel of Christ. 

How do we display righteous boldness without coming across as arrogant and uncaring?  How do we stand firm in what we believe without cutting down another in what could be perceived as a shortcoming or fault?  It is not our place to judge or condemn... we are told to love, period, end of story.  Again, that fine line of being the doormat to treating another as a doormat.  I know that I have so much work that God still needs to do in my own heart that I don't have time to criticize or belittle another.  I am so far from being perfect but I am precious to my Heavenly Father and for that I can never allow myself to be a doormat in this life.  You and I are his beloved children who are to walk boldly in the spirit of the one who created us and yet walk humbly in knowing we are still a work in progress.

There is much work to be done in this life, reaching and feeding God's sheep.  We can't continue to be timid in our service if we are expecting to hear Well Done at the end of our journey.  God is counting on you to reach the one he's called you to reach.  That may call you to be bold in your testimony and share with someone about your relationship with Christ.  Sitting on the sidelines, filling the imprint of where you sit each week in your church service, checking off the checklist of "duties" of being a Christian isn't being bold...it's being a doormat because those things are just as effective as lying in front of a door allowing people to come along and wipe their feet because you cannot stand for what you believe boldly.  Don't be a doormat but walk boldly in faith and humbly in spirit along with our Jesus spreading the word, breathing life into all that surrounds you.

Are you being a doormat?  Are you treating someone as a doormat in this life?  Are you just, showing mercy and not condemnation?  Are you walking humbly yet boldly within the Holy Spirit?  Be bold yet just and merciful as your Father in Heaven shows you.

Under His Wings,
Heather

Something to get excited about; John 4:23-24

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

You have to pardon me for just a moment as I have chills from immediate affirmation!  Praise God!!  I have felt a tugging on my heart all day to sit down this evening and write on this blog but wasn't sure what the blog was going to be about.  The Holy Spirit often waits for me to quiet myself to give me the words he'd have me share with you.  I came to the computer and got some of my resources out and I found John 4:23-24 and instantly I thought, this is it!!  And then, I go to my favorite source online to look at some parallel translations and what is the scripture of the day... John 4:24!  SCORE! 

How appropriate of a scripture at this time when so many are focused on the "big game" coming up.   Football pools and parties are being planned even as I type this.  How I long to see that excitement in the body of believers over a far greater "big game", the one most refer to as life.  More importantly that we'd all be the best cheerleaders we could be praising and shouting, dancing and clapping for a Savior who came to do much more than win a game but to win our souls for eternity.  I don't know about you, but I can get far more excited about my Jesus and about all he has done for me than I can for anything else in this world.  Don't misunderstand, I love watching a good game and if I had a team in this Superbowl you can bet I'd be pretty happy.  That's all fine and good, but how can I, a daughter of the King, get more excited and show more enthusiasm about something so temporary as a night of football than I can about eternity and the one who made it possible for me to have that?

The scripture says, "...has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."  I pray that I'm a worshiper that is pleasing to the Father.  We were made to worship God, not this world, and yet we do it over and over again with misplaced priorities.  There is nothing more praise worthy than our God.  There is nothing here on this earth I hold more valuable than my relationship with Jesus Christ.  And there is nothing more powerful than the spirit welling up in my soul shouting out Thank You God!  Thank You!  Thank you for never giving up on me.  Thank you for loving me even when I'm my most unlovable.  Thank you for desiring to spend time with me.  Thank you for bringing others alongside me who support me, who care about me and who are simply there whenever I need them.  Thank You!  Thank You! 

My prayer is that I never place any thing, any relationship or my own life above God.  Everything I am and everything I have came from God and its in his hands that I return them.  One of the hardest days of my life was the day that I turned over my son and placed him in God's hands to take home.  That's what I'm talking about... that's what I hope you get.  Worship God with all your being and hold nothing back, even the most precious parts... give him all as he has given you and praise him for the mighty blessings. 

How have you worshiped your God today?  Have you shown him that he is everything or have you placed him low on your priority list?  Are you more interested in preparing for the "big game" or are you set on a greater victory already won through Christ Jesus?  Worship him, believers, worship him.  Be the kind of worshipper that he seeks.

Under His Wings,

Heather

Junk Food; 1 Corinthians 10:31

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

You would think at some point in my ingesting of the word, I would have gotten the message from this scripture loud and clear but somehow it has been totally lost on me.  I'm giving myself a big DUH right now.  Do it ALL for the glory of God.  The word tells us that our bodies are a temple, but most of the time we treat it as anything but.  Now for my exercise and health enthusiast, this doesn't mean you've been getting it right and the rest of us have been getting it wrong, because let's face it, sometimes we don't take care of the temple for God's glory...  Amen?  But for those that truly have embraced this form of living and understand that EVERYTHING we do for his temple is for HIS glory, I commend you.  I'm a bit of a slow learner sometimes so show me some grace, I'm trying to get there.

This time of year people begin thinking about change and about resolutions and it seems only right that God would share this scripture with me on a personal level.  It's not just about losing weight or even about me being healthier (although being healthier is respecting the temple which I was given charge over).  It's about presenting myself as a holy and living temple for the most high.  Everything about me should state boldly that I am of my father and my father in me.  From the expression on my face, the words I speak, the actions I exhibit, the clothing that I wear (or don't wear...come on, you know sometimes those necklines and skirt lines are bit too much) We are to be HIS GLORY at all times.  This temple that I have been given responsibility for is just another example of taking care of my father's business... I am his business.  Have you ever seen a company let their property go to ruin and their business just thrive (if they are ligit)?  NO... they maintain it, keep it up so that it reflects what the business has to offer.

We have been given specific instruction to take care of all that is of God, WE are of God. We need to take care of what he has given us, to be good stewards of what we have.  I've been blessed with two functioning arms, two legs, eyes to see, ears to hear and a mouth to speak.  Those are the very instruments, my arsenal in the temple to use.  Well done are words I long to hear from my creator and if I can't even keep up his temple how can he trust me with anything else?

I see my husband's eyes light up when I've gone the extra effort to put myself together and being one of the lucky ones... he never fails at telling me how beautiful I look.  I can't imagine my God, the very one who designed me, would look at me any less than the one he designed for me when I am doing right and being a good and faithful steward of the temple he gave me.  If I'm aware that something is not right for my body whether it be junk food, junk drink, junk words, junk thoughts, junk attitude or whatever the junk is then I need to stop it before it enters this temple (or leaves it).  I wasn't designed to hold junk, I've got something far more precious than gold inside me and so do you.

I started a new daily reading plan with my Bible through an app on my phone. I picked it moreso for the title than any other reason because it just reasonated with me... it's called "Eat this Book".  How appropriate?  We are what we eat, isn't that the old saying?  I'd rather be something that gives God glory than be junk.  Of course we can be just the opposite and become obsessed with doing everything for the temple that we fail to see all the other crumbling temples around us needing care... but I'll save that for another blog. 

What junk is God asking you to stop placing inside his temple?  Are you eating, drinking and doing all things for the glory of God or for the glory of self?  Not always an easy task and not always an easy answer when responding honestly.

Under His Wings,
Heather

The Perfect Gift; Isaiah 9:6

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Many around the globe today are shopping for what is perceived as the "perfect gift" for their family or friend.  Frustrations run high because too many never do find that perfect gift either due to insufficient resources or just the mere fact of not being able to locate something that seems to be "perfect".  My hope is that those reading this who are already Christ followers recognize the perfect gift was given to us all those years ago in the form a precious baby born in humble surroundings, giving us the greatest gift of all... life.

What would life be like today if Jesus Christ was never born in that manger?  What would our future, our hopes or our dreams look like if he hadn't willingly came to this earth in human flesh to walk among us to understand our weaknesses and give up his life for them?  I shudder at the thought of my life without Christ... the void of the perfect gift is more than I can imagine.

Every year it seems that I hear people say, Christmas has just become too commercialized and I will agree with that statement 100%, but the fact of the matter is that we say it and then we rush to the local mall to pick out those perfect gifts to give in hopes to bring a smile to another's face.  We have those who choose not to exchange gifts as well.  Are either of these wrong according to scripture?  Are we hurting another by giving or not giving a gift to someone at this season of hope?  If only we could make it about the giving and not the gift and pray that the gift has already been received by the acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord. 

Love comes in a variety of packages, gifts you might call them.  There is no greater gift we can give one another than to give our love.  I happen to enjoy the act of gift giving, to see my loved one's faces light up when they see the brightly packaged present before them.  I don't know, I can't help but think that Jesus just might be smiling knowing that his birthday (or the day we set aside as his birthday) is the day we choose to give more to one another than any other day.  It's not just in the gifts that we can touch and feel, but the gifts of our time and opening up of our hearts to set aside times to fellowship and do charitable acts for others.  Gift giving isn't the problem... the problem is in forgetting the greatest gift, the perfect gift, we've already been given.

I pray this season you focus on the perfect gift and recognize you will never find it in the mall.  Jesus gave us all a life changing gift the day he took on flesh and chose to be the perfect sacrifice, the perfect gift, to save us from a life void of God.  Jesus came to be our wonderful counselor, our prince of peace, mighty God and everlasting father to us all. 

As this year closes and a new year fastly approaches, I pray that we see each day as an opportunity to give to others the perfect gift, the gift of life eternal through the acceptance of Jesus as Savior.  If you haven't already accepted the perfect gift for your own life, all you need to do is confess your sins to God and accept him as savior in your life.  Simply pray a prayer such as: 

"Dear God, I know that I am a sinner weak in flesh and spirit.  I ask that you come into my heart and forgive me of my sins and wash me clean again.  I pray to receive the perfect gift this season in accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life.  Amen."

God Bless you and keep you firmly in his hands this coming year.  Continue to count the blessing of the perfect gift found in the acceptance of Christ Jesus and the love shared with one another.

Under His Wings,
Heather

Bloom; Isaiah 35:1-4

"The desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom in the wastelands. The desert will sing and shout for joy; it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon. Everyone will see the Lord's splendor, see his greatness and power.  Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness.  Tell everyone who is discouraged, "Be strong and don't be afraid! God is coming to your rescue,..."

I don't know about you but these verses in Isaiah make me feel strong and make my heart glad because I know that God has and will always come to my rescue.  In the dry dormant seasons of life when winter begins to freeze the earth around us; we can begin to focus on the spiritual scenery in our lives as well.  When the world becomes void of the vivid colors that the great artist has displayed for us throughout summer and fall we can begin to see things as bleak and without hope but Praise God that his very word tells us that the flowers will bloom in the wastelands.

Some of you reading this may say, Heather... I love winter what are you talking about?  Praise God for my winter loving friends.  I think you see a beauty in nature that not all of us can see and focus on, but I'm getting there.  I know this is a great shock to many who know me personally as winter has often felt like a prison to me.  It has frozen me in my tracks and many times I've felt that perhaps I should have, as they say, been born a bear and just wake up in the spring after a long winter's nap.  But in all seasons, ALL SEASONS, we bloom.  Did you know that there are some flowers that break through during the winter season such as the Star of Bethlehem?  Imagine that... the star of Bethlehem emerges just as we begin to see all else fade away.  The irony of that isn't lost on me, how about you?

Although we are entering winter here in the United States, we can rest in knowing that God tells us that he will continue to strengthen us and give life even during the seasons that seem nothing but a vast desert land.  God is always with us, he never leaves us and he never forsakes us.  When you feel like you've hit the desert sands... Praise Him.  When you feel the valley has no waters left to draw from, Praise Him.  Our God is bigger than our deserts and has living waters that will never run dry and he will see you through your season.

Do you feel like you have landed in the middle of the arctic and see no hope in site?  Do you feel like life is just an empty wasteland swallowing you up and taking all away from you?  Be like the Star of Bethlehem... break free and bloom right where you are inspite of the conditions and let the Son shine through you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hjRLfvf0xg

Be Strong and Don't be Afraid,
Heather

If You're Happy and You Know it...; Job 8:21

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy".

Well first let me say it's good to be back on here and writing again, it's been a while.  It's not because God hasn't been sharing with me... but sometimes it's just between He and I.  :)

This week has been a difficult one for many along the east coast of our beautiful nation with the onset of Hurricane Sandy.  Perhaps someone is reading this right now that has suffered a direct impact from this mighty storm.  I hope that you know that we have all been praying for you as each day has passed.  It's hard to talk about joy when there is such devastation but the word tells us in Philippians 4:4 to rejoice ALWAYS.  I know... easy for me to say as I didn't just survive the storm of all storms; but there have been times that I was the survivor of a great storm in my life although it appeared in a different manner.

Life has a way of knocking us down, tossing us about like we are nothing but a small boat on the vast ocean.  But off in the distance there is a grand lighthouse casting it's light and giving us a beacon of hope guiding us safely ashore.  The waves continue to crash around us, the storm beats hard against the hull of our little boat where we are clinging on barely to one oar to keep moving.  But we hold on because we know if we can just navigate into the path of the light that we will make it safely.

Can you just picture all of this for a moment.  As all seems lost.... there He is.... our lighthouse, King Jesus, cheering us on and saying don't give up, I am with you my child, let me give you strength to keep pushing through.  Nehemiah 8:10 says "The joy of the Lord is your strength".  There is strength found in keeping joy in your heart even in the midst of the storm.  I find sometimes the best medicine to help me break free from sinking deep into sadness or dispare is to find laughter.  Proverbs 17:22 tells us that a cheerful heart is good medicine.  There is great healing power in laughter.  Have you ever tried to be sad and laugh at the same time?  It's hard!  The laughter starts to cast out the sadness if even for a little while. 

Last Sunday our church did a lifesize Candyland game.  I wasn't sure how many families would actually show up as the weather had already begun to get windy and cold but when have you ever met a kid who would give up an afternoon of joy and laughter over a little wind and dropping temperatures?  One by one the kiddos came, one by one they touched the hearts of us watching as they lit up like little lighthouses, big beaming smiles casting away all the cares of the weather, the approaching storm as if it didn't exist at all.  Oh to be be like a child again.  We all should take time to be like children again... lighting up the world around us with big beaming smiles filled with joy and laughter because we have a lighthouse in our Savior that will always bring us through our storms.

Are you struggling to make it to shore, lost in the darkness of the storm around you unable to see the light trying to guide you safely through?  Has your joy and laughter been replaced with sadness and discontentment?  Look to Jesus, He is the light of the world breaking through the darkest storms to reach you and guide you safely home.

Blessings,
Heather