I Wish You Love

Back in the 60’s my mother used to play a Nancy Wilson album over and over and years later I still remember this one particular song, “I Wish You Love.” It was a beautiful yet sad song of sorts. But now that I think about it, it did reflect love. The song is about two people whose love for each other was never meant to be, but in breaking up, one wished only good things and love for the other person.



I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
I wish you health
And more than wealth
I wish you love……

Wow!! I wish you love. That is huge.

Love means many different things to people at this day and age. I think the world has replaced true love with Lust. I love you only as long as you make me feel good. When that stops, it is time to move on. But in God’s Kingdom to desire for someone to know love is huge.

Sisters…..

I wish you……Love that endures long and is patient and kind; love that is never envious nor boils over with jealousy, a love that is not boastful or vainglorious, and does not display itself haughtily.

I wish you….Love that is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); Love that is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly.

I wish you….God's love in us—a Love that does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

I wish you….Love that bears up under anything and everything that comes, and is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

I wish you….God’s Love that never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. I Corinthians 13 4-8a Amplified [my paraphrase]

I pray that each and every one of you will know the great power of God’s love for you and the power of His love in you.

My dear sisters, I wish you love!!



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you Monday!

Where Has Our Day of Rest Gone?

As a culture we are so busy anymore, especially women. We wear many different hats on a daily bases, and even more so women who have jobs. I didn’t use the term, “work outside the home” because some of us do paid work inside our homes. But it still means that we have certain hours of the day that are designated to work for someone else. So working from home or outside the home it all boils down to work on top of all the other things that women do.

Single women who do not have children or their children are grown often don’t realize how good they have it. I say that because so many of us complain we are not married or don’t have children. But as Paul tells us….single women can concentrate on the things of God, where married women have to concentrate on their husbands and family. But even with more freedom I’m finding that single women are not resting as they should either.

It is a fact that married women or women with children seem to have fuller days and weekends. Those who go to church on Sunday often have ministry meetings after service or some churches try to have church all day long. So I ask, “When do we get to rest?”

Years ago, I ran my life as I had been taught. I worked all week and saved my cleaning and errands for the weekend. (I was not attending church services at that time) But when I think back my evenings were very laid back once my oldest daughter was old enough that I didn’t have to do the homework thing, pack lunch, give baths and entertain until bedtime. But once I started attending church and week day evening services, I found I was constantly on the go and missed some of that leisure time I had.

Problem solved! One day when talking to my spiritual mom about my dilemma, she asked me, “Why are you leaving so many things for the weekend?” Once I thought about it, my only answer was, “Because that’s the way I’ve always done it.” She laughed a bit, because we are of the same era and she too had been trained the same way. But one day she figured out that she didn’t have to continue to do things the same way. It was possible to change and make things more doable for a different lifestyle. That’s when I started doing my food shopping on Thursdays after work. I split up certain chores to be done during the evenings I was home instead of saving them for the weekend. But one of the biggest and most profound changes for me was to put a load of clothes in the washer in the morning before leaving for work, and my daughter dried them when she came home from school. No laundry on the weekends! I even gave her the choice of doing her chores between Thursday and Friday evening so that most of her Saturday mornings were hers.

Attending a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school for 3 years, did give me an understanding as to how to prepare for the Sabbath. It was something you worked toward during the week. They observe the “Shabbat” of Judaism—from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. The family I babysat for in the afternoons had everything ready by Thursday evening. I did help out some on Friday with a few chores while they were at work. Once the sunset we went to Friday evening services, came back to the dorm to rest and meditate on the things of God. Now truthfully, as a teenager that was not what we were doing...LOL!! But there was no TV or music allowed—just quiet. When I spent the night with the family I babysat for, they sat around and talked as a family. I remember we laughed a lot.

Saturday breakfast consisted of cereal, donuts, fresh fruit, milk or juice. We had a morning service and lunch was warmed up food that had been prepared Friday afternoon. Oh, I forgot, Friday night supper was a brown bag we received after lunch. Yuck! After lunch on Saturday we sat around, napped, read and basically bored out of our minds until Saturday evening service and sunset! Then we ran to the TV room fighting for control of who watched what…ROF!! The dorm seemed to come back to life.

As a teen, Shabbat in the dorm was BORING, but as an Adult it is what we really need. It would mean sitting, being quiet and resting after service. Meals (prepared or bought in advance) would be eaten on disposable dishes, no internet, phone, TV and for me only music that inspired my heart in the things of God. No cleaning, washing clothes or running errands. Families would sit around and reconnect from their busy week and Mom along with dad would get to put her feet up for a few and even grab a nap. Or just sit and read for an hour or two.

How do we obtain this day of rest? Well, I guess we have to work it out for ourselves, because everyone’s lifestyle is so different. I’ve been working on it since the New Year, and I’m really enjoying my time of peace, quiet and rest. I’ve carved out a time of not watching TV, no internet, or phone. Even if I must go out, when I get back I do nothing of any consequence. I am not totally satisfied where I am, so I’m going to keep striving to do even better. My day of rest is mainly on Saturday because it works best for me after a long week. But, I wouldn’t have a problem if it were Monday or any other day of the week. I guess I’m trying to get you to think outside of what the norm is for you and if you are one who does not have a day of rest to look at your life and figure out—why not?



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

How Long Is Too Long?

Originally Posted: February 27, 2010…enjoy!


I do not like the word “patience”. At least not when it’s me who is supposed to be patient. The whole sound of the word gives the idea that I’m supposed to wait for something that I want RIGHT NOW! Patience is a virtue that I never feel like I posses and this has always bothered me. I do not want to wait for everything to work itself out. I want to lose those ten pounds right now and I want the college degree and a to die for job tomorrow and (the biggest one for girls my age) I want that guy to ask me out right now!!!

So I started to wonder, after school options began to get postponed and jobs became non-existent (in my state at least) and another year passed with me being single and pretty much I realized that I would have to wait for what I want: what does it mean to be patient? Does it mean that you should feel perfectly content with the way God is working out your life right now? It’s easy to say I’m content but let’s face it; waiting for God to act can get just a little uncomfortable, especially when what you want so badly isn’t what He wants for you at the moment. Does patience mean sitting back and just letting God take care of everything? I really don’t get it.

The dictionary (my old friend) says Patience is: an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay or quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence. This suggests, not a feeling but an action or an attitude. Maybe it’s about learning to look patient when you feel like you’re going to explode? But as I was reading my Bible and different verses and stories on patience I realized something: Trust is an essential part of patience. If I do not always trust the one leading me, how patient will I be when things do not go my way? If I could really, truly trust that God only has good and amazing things ultimately in store for me, wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier to wait for those things (especially if I realized that God’s blessings do not run out like an Early Bird sale at Kohl’s). Anyways I think if we even start to learn how to place our trust in God and not in ourselves, God begins to grant us the patience that we need to make it through whatever situation he has us in right now.


Until next time.....

Blessings,
Lydia


Ponnie will be back tomorrow

What Can You Add?

Living in a world that constantly tells us that we need this, or we should have this, I think has blinded us to what it is we really should be concerned about adding to our lives. It shouldn’t be the biggest house, an expensive car, or the latest electronic gizmo. It should be…..

……2 Peter 1:5-7 "Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love." (CEV)

Some of us have worked really hard to add bigger and better things to our lives, but we fall short on adding those things that Peter talks about.

It seems that Christians are under the delusion that we don’t have to work or strive to improve who we are in our Christian walk. Some of us pray to God to give us self-control, patience and a concern and love for others. Snap….just like that we are changed. Wrong! It is up to us to desire to please God and obey His commands, and then we must work or strive to achieve these things.

Reading our Bibles is the #1 way to get us on the fast track.

In our daily lives many of us do what we have to do to get on the fast track at work. The fast track means promotion, more opportunities and more money. It is a lifetime goal for many. But we don’t necessarily view our Christian walk in the same manner. We won’t spend the time necessary to get on the fast track with God, even though it will mean more opportunities and promotion in His Kingdom. No, we’d rather be envious of those around us who He is promoting and whine and cry, “How come her Lord?”

Spring will be showing up soon, and in anticipation many of us are thinking about sprucing up our wardrobes, makeup and hairdos. And there is nothing wrong with that, but—are we spending as much time thinking on how to spruce up our spiritual walk? Are we as concerned with how we look spiritually to others as we are with our physical appearance? Since the beginning of the year a vast majority of us have cut back on how much we eat and have increased our daily exercise routines. Our goal is to look good for the summer and be able to buy a smaller size than last year—and a healthier us. But have we been as diligent in increasing our time with the Lord and exercising (using) our spiritual wisdom and knowledge? What about a healthier “us” in that category?

Just as we have to work and strive to achieve anything in this natural world, it is the same for our spiritual world.

At the end of the day when you look at your food journal to see if you have stayed on track, are you looking at your prayer journal to make sure you’ve prayed for those you’ve promised? As you sat and pursued the latest issue of Home and Garden and spring fashions, have you been pursuing your Bible? Some of us have started preparing the soil for our spring planting. Are you making sure to work on the soil of your heart by meditating on God’s Word?

When spring rolls around so will many added activities for us. Personally I love the spring almost as much as fall and both seasons bring with them different activities. For me, spring is a time to refurbish and freshen up things, warmer temps, getting outdoors more and strawberry season. Birds chirping first thing in the morning, flowers popping up all over the place and cherry blooms on the trees. But it also means that it is daylight at 6am and prayer time is no longer in the dark or artificial light is needed to read. This makes me feel more energized.

Sisters, as you spend time preparing for the spring season and thinking about what you will be adding—please make “improving your faith” a top priority.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

Fear of the Unknown

I am your problem solver, says the Lord. Bring your problems and questions to Me, and I will show you the way of resolution and direct your steps. Your part is to trust Me and refuse to be afraid or doubt My willingness or ability to bring you through every dilemma. Nurture your faith. This is a paraphrase of Proverbs 3:1-26

Fear of the unknown is something I think everyone experiences at some point in their lives. If can range from being just a little anxious about starting that new job, to a paralyzing fear that causes you—not to obey God. Hindering fear is tricky and very dangerous. I use the term “hindering fear” because all fear is not bad. “Fear of the Lord” is a good thing. Fear of roaming the streets all hours of the night by yourself because something bad could happen to you is a good and wise fear. So, I just want to clarify that all sense of fear is not bad or crippling.

The one thing that I’ve recently come to realize is that fear can pop up from what seems to be nowhere. Recently there have been a lot of fires in my neighborhood. (Mostly apartment buildings but also some houses.) And that’s not the worst of it, there's a large fire somewhere every week to start off the morning news. And now all of a sudden I found myself worrying about fire and the loss of everything. I really had to sit down and have a talk with “self” and find out what is going on?

There’s been a fear of loss ever since I was forced out of my apartment about 6 years ago, due to no fault of my own. It proved to be one of the most challenging times in my spiritual life. Last year when Women’s Bible Study started on “Trusting God” it came up that I really didn’t trust God the way I thought I did. And after looking at why I felt this way, I found I had a fear that He might allow me to lose my possessions and privacy as He had before. It was sort of a surprise that after all theses years, I really hadn’t gotten over what had happened to me. After much prayer and tears I thought I had dealt with it, but I guess not, because now I find myself being concerned about having a fire and losing everything. Not our lives, just our home and possessions. So when I saw the above paraphrase of Proverbs 3, it immediately hit home.

I now know I have more work to do concerning this fear that lies within me. In the reality of God’s scheme of things…so what? I mean so, what if I lose my possessions again? So, what if I have to move when I hadn’t planned for it? Because in the midst of all that went on during that time of trial and testing of who I thought God to be, He never failed me. He never left me. But!! It still seems that deep in one of the crevices of my heart a seed of “fear of the unknown” has taken root. A much deeper root than I first thought.

The good thing about all of this is God has given me the ability to fight this fear and doubt that is trying to control me and the quality of my life. I have His Word to stand on, and Him to lean on. Fear is a defeatable foe, as long as we are willing to acknowledge we are fearful and work to get to the root of why? In order to give it to God and stand it down we must know the root cause of our fear. Because if we don’t get it at the root then like any weed, it will continue to pop up and try to takeover.

Some of you right now are dealing with the “fear of the unknown” because so many things are so uncertain in this world today. And I hope that I have encouraged you in the fact that you are not alone, but mainly that you have the victory over fear. Think of fear as a weed, and the Word of God as the extra strength weed killer. You spray it and walk away, when you go back it is dead. Our faith, (when nourished and feed) can work the same way.

This is why it is so very important that we read our Bibles to really know who God is and how He works. Not what others tell us, but what His Word tells us.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

You Can’t Always Get What You Wanted

This is a rerun from March 22, 2010, hope you enjoy!

Want: a) to desire greatly; wish for, b) to seek with intent to capture

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were always thinking about it? It just consumed your mind and if you could get it then you would be completely happy. I struggle with this feeling pretty much every day of high school. “If I can just do better than this person on a test, I’ll feel satisfied.” “If I can just get this one guy to notice me then life will be perfect!” Sometimes it seems like you just won’t be happy until you get what you want, and this is something that we all deal with from time-to-time.

Why don’t I use an example to clarify? Last week my friends and I were in the cafeteria of our Physical Ed center and everyone was figuring out what they wanted to order. Now, the cafeteria has these large chocolate chip cookies that are absolutely delicious, but they only make about 3 of them a day, and this particular day there was just one left. So, there it was. That scrumptious cookie that had MY name written all over it…or so I thought. Just as I was walking over to claim my cookie, another girl from school snatched it up. Truth be told I wanted to pull a “Oh no you didn’t!” but I held it in. How dare she steal my cookie? That was SOOO my cookie! I wound up getting some other form of dessert but the situation bothered me for the rest of the day. Why did she have to take my cookie? And the sad thing is that the poor girl had no idea that I was so upset over this stupid cookie.

Okay, now you may be thinking, “Tovah, get a grip, it was just a cookie.” But seriously, we all have that little “cookie” somewhere in our lives. “He totally took my promotion.” “No she did not just pick up the last dress in my size!” “I was about to say something, but she just had to interrupt and steal my moment!” Why do we WANT things so much? And right after, “I want” there comes, “I need.” I didn’t just want that cookie, I NEEDED that cookie. In retrospect, I didn’t need the cookie, in fact I’m better off without it, but that didn’t matter at the time. One thing that I’ve learned throughout the past two years is that, when we’re too busy focusing on the things that we want, we tend to miss out on that which we really need.

Psalm 37:5 says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Now don’t start jumping up down saying, “Sweet! If I show God that I’m happy all the time he’ll give me exactly what I want, YES!” Before you begin the happy dance, let’s look at the verse in context shall we? Psalm 37: 4-6 says, “3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.” Now notice this verse does not say, God is going to give you everything that you want. It’s saying that God knows what is good for us and will give the things that we truly need. And I am not talking about that five hundred dollar Prada purse; chances are you probably don’t need that. ~smile~ What I’m saying is that God has so much more planned for us than we could ever want or imagine. Now this may be a hard concept to come to terms with, at times you may feel like, “God, why couldn’t I get this ONE thing that I really wanted, just this once, please!” While we may have wanted that one specific thing, we have to realize that God has something that is so much better in store for us.

I hope this blog helped you to realize that you don’t have to let that cookie ruin your day, because God has an even better “cookie” for you somewhere down the road. So in conclusion, “You can’t always get what you wanted, but you do get what you need.”



Until next time Peace Out!

Love ya,
Tovah


Ponnie will be back on Monday

Oops!!!!

I woke up this morning not feeling my best. I wasn’t sick or anything like that, but had a sluggish feeling about myself. Immediately, I knew what the problem was. Back in December I made the decision to stop eating past 7:30 or 8:00 pm in the evenings. Reason being, I had a problem eating junk food right up until I went to bed. What a difference this one little decision made in the way I felt in the morning! But last night I had a heaping spoonful of dark chocolate icing around 9:30pm.

The temptation to kick myself was crouching by my bedroom door and pounced on my way to the bathroom, but I quickly came to my senses as I was brushing my teeth. Oops—I messed up! Okay, so what?! Yeah, so what?!! Well, I guess the so what was to not give into the temptation to go down the “Woe is me” or “You can’t get anything right!” road, which can open the doors for a pity party. But you know what sisters, we have to get pass feeling bad and depressed when we mess up. We all have our “Oops” moments. Yes, they are an everyday part of life, but the key is to not let it get you down and keep moving forward.

The truth is—I blew it one night out of many others where I did achieve my goal of not eating past a certain time? It has been almost 3 months and that does count for something. Also, I have pretty much stopped eating desserts most evenings. If I’m hungry after dinner and I feel I really must eat something, then I have a yogurt or piece of fruit. As I look back at last night, I just wanted chocolate, (there was other junk in the house to eat). Yet, I could have told my flesh (as I have many times the past few months) “NO! You’re not getting anything else tonight. It’s too late!” But I didn’t and all I can say is, “My bad!” ~Smile~

We all have the potential to fall back into old habits or mindsets when we are striving to make change. It happens! But the key is to not let it throw you for a loop and cause a huge setback or you giving up.

Before Jesus became Lord in my life I was a huge gossip. My best friend (at the time) and I loved to gossip and talk about people. It was our favorite pass time of all. But that was one of the first things God dealt with me about when I joined His Kingdom. My best friend was no longer by best friend because I had to actually tell her that gossiping was a sin and I could no longer do that with her. Also, I stopped smoking, drinking and cussing, which were the other things we had in common and held our friendship together tightly. In fact I lost just about all my friends at that time. The blessing was, in time the Lord gave me a new best friend who was (and still is) a great woman of God. She replaced my phone gossiping with long conversations about the Bible. In fact (after all these years) we still get on the phone and talk a couple of hours about the things of the Lord. But it just didn’t happen overnight for me. I was still tempted to gossip about people. There were occasions when I would say something about my neighbors to my mentor and she would correct me with the quickness. “Well, why are you minding her business like that?” “What does that have to do with the real problem here?” And I would always feel bad about it, and at times even felt like I would never get it. And those feelings would usually lead to, “Well, why bother trying?!”

To make a long story short—God didn’t let me give up! After many “Oops” moments I became a woman who can keep your deepest and darkest secrets. I became one who can sit and cry with you as you share your heartbreaking life and sorted past. See, if I had fought God and given up, I would not have been fit for my ministry of helping woman and children in crisis. I had to be trustworthy for the job. A gossip is anything but trustworthy. But it took time for me to get to that place, and I had to keep moving forward after my many “Oops!”

Sisters, I hope I have encouraged you to keep moving forward in your endeavor for change.

Usually around this time of year, many of us have given up on our New Year’s goals or resolutions because we’ve had an “Oops” moment here and there. But I want you to remember, that change takes time and yes, we do mess up, but it’s all covered by the Blood which gives us what we need to “faint not”!



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

Things Are About to Change!

Last night I was watching the local and world news and finally I heard a great truth. That everything we buy is going to go up especially food. Dah!! I say that because after the New Year it seemed the resolution for the supermarkets was to charge as much as they could for food. That was just how high prices jumped in the course of one week. Unbelievable!

In America they keep trying to sell us a bill of goods that the economy is getting better, but if you are praying and watching as the Bible instructs us, then you know that’s not necessarily the case.

For close to a year, the weather has been horrific all over the world, and if you know anything about how everything is connected then it was only a matter of time until everyone was going to be effected in some way. On average Americans spend about 9% of their income on food, (not sure where they got this statistic from—I spend more than that myself) where other countries spend as much as 80% of their income on food. So this means that a 5% increase will be devastating to them. But not just the cost of our food is going up; you will see higher prices on any and everything we buy.

Gloria Copeland used to tell the story of when she and Kenneth Copeland were first married and broke, how she would go to the supermarket and walk up and down the isles praying in tongues because the little bit of money she had was not enough to feed the family. I think many of us might be taking her lead. ~Smile~

I am very grateful that for the past year Women’s Bible study has been about “trusting God”! It has been a preparation for what’s to come. We’ve really been challenged to read our Bibles and judge our lives as to how great our trust is. The truth is many of us say we trust God, but we don’t live like we do. This past year has opened my eyes as to how I would fret over certain things, but in the reality of God’s Kingdom, if I truly trusted Him, then why was I responding the way I was? I realized it is easy to give lip service and say “I trust you Lord,” versus really believing what I said. But this past year has helped move me into a better place (God’s peace). So, the news report did not put any type of fear in my heart (for one I knew it was coming) because no matter how rough it is going to get, I know that God can handle it and is true to His Word. I will never be out of His sight or forgotten. As I listened to the report, I heard King David say, “I was young and now I am old, but I have yet to see the righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread!”

Sisters, it is time to really know what you believe. If you believe a little then you have little faith. It is easy to say we believe, but it is not always the truth. And the time has come that we need to be sure of exactly what it is we do believe. If you are one who worries a lot, then your faith is little. If you are stressed out, then your faith is little. If you are nervous and upset about life then your faith is little. If you feel desperate and not sure how you are going to make it….your faith is little. Now that’s the bad news, but the good news is…..you can turn that around starting TODAY! How? Read your Bible! Meditate on the Word of God! Pray! This is what will build you up. This will give you security of heart and help you through the trials, tribulations and storms of life. Jesus put it so eloquently in jut two words, “Trust God!”

The world as we have come to know it is about to change. Are you ready?



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

What Really Is A Devotional?

The other day I was pondering the question, “Where did the idea of a daily devotion or devotional books come from?” I did some research, but came up empty handed as to where they originated or who wrote the first one….hum. My reason for asking is because the term “I did my devotions” or “I read my daily devotion” has begun to strike me as odd. How do you read devotion? You can’t. So where did all this come from? Why are there so many books written as devotionals? Are we not to live our lives as ones of pure devotion to God? So how have we come to having a few minutes of daily devotion with Him?

There’s a great possibility that daily devotional books have misled many us into a false sense of security. They have led us to believe that if we spend a few minutes each day doing the “The Upper Room” or “Daily Bread’ that we have done our duty for the day. And now with our vast technology we can open an email and one is waiting for us from a number of different ministries, or we can surf the web and find them in a flash. Our choice.

I guess my problem with all of this is the wording, “Devotional” really what does that mean?

For several years I worked in the OB/GYN clinic of a large city hospital. And many of my coworkers who professed to be Christians would sit at their desk and read their daily devotions before the clinic opened. But they spent the rest of the day stealing time from our employer and God by, talking on personal phone calls when they should be working, gossiping and trying to do as little work as possible. Yet they faithfully did their devotionals each morning for all to see. Somehow, we have gotten into the habit of doing a “devotional” and then not reading anything else in the Bible. That’s a huge problem for us as Believers. It is impossible that any particular devotional on any given day is going to inspire and speak to everyone who reads it. Why? Because it is done by a human and therefore has that person’s perspective on whatever the subject or scripture is for that day. (Just like this blog, it is my perspective.) But the Bible, now that’s a different story. The Bible is here to inspire, and provoke you every time you read it. Why? Because it is God’s perspective, instructed by His Holy Spirit—not man.

Daily devotions have the potential to feed into our laziness to not read the Bible. Take for instance the Facebook link, “God wants you to know today,” don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying not to read them or they aren’t any good, but I am saying that they are not enough! They cannot replace spending time reading our Bibles. Over the years I’ve read many “devotionals” and books to help me grow in the things of the Lord, but my greatest turning points in life have always come from what I’ve read in my Bible. I think for many of us we forget or don’t know that “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Personally I would like to see all devotional books called books of “Meditation” or “Inspiration” and used in that way. Not used as something we do for a few minutes each day and we’re done, feeling we have spent some kind of magic devotion time with God. True devotion to God is a way of life and cannot be squeezed into a 15 minute time frame. As parents we are devoted to our kids, and as wives we are devoted to our husbands. We all know that is a 24/7 devotion as it should also be with us for God.

If you are one who reads a daily devotional, I want to challenge you to read your Bible instead for one week, asking the Holy Spirit to show you what to read. Do that each morning or whatever time you have set aside during your day. See what you might discover on your own being lead only by the Spirit of the Lord.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

Romance, Romance…….ROMANCE!!

This blog was originally posted February 3, 2010

Today is Valentine’s Day (the day for romance) and I’m hopeful there will be at least one single woman out there who after reading this blog will no longer be miserable on Valentine’s Day.

First let’s see where Valentine’s Day originated and why? I thought it would be fun to look at what “Wikipedia” had to say about it.Wikipedia…..Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards, and Valentine's Day has become the second-largest greeting card-sending holiday in the United States, behind only Christmas.

After reading this I was very curious as to what countries celebrate Valentine's Day? And to my surprise, there are not that many. Only the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the United Kingdom celebrate Valentine's Day.

Being a resident of the United States of America, I cannot ever remember Valentine’s Day "not" being a big deal. As a child in elementary school, it was customary to exchange cards with your classmates. You could go to the Five & Dime store and purchase a box of cards geared toward children and there were usually enough cards for your entire class. My favorite thing about Valentine’s Day was the heart shaped cherry flavored lollipops. This was way before I became a fan of dark chocolate. When I was young, exchanging cards in school on Valentine’s Day was just something to do. It was not an era where it was promoted to be girlfriend and boyfriend in grade school like it is today. So if you got a card that said, “Would you be my Valentine?” it didn’t mean a thing.

It wasn’t until high school and boys became more interesting did it begin to take on a new meaning. There was no longer that child-like innocence of dumb cards and candy. It now meant that you were either “in” or “out”! If you were going steady with a guy, then he had better given you more than just a card. Friendship rings were a big deal in my day or some type of cheap jewelry that expressed his “love/lust” for you. And thus began the bad feelings for all the girls whose parents did not allow them to date, the ones who were not cool, or those thought “not attractive” enough to have a guy. If you didn’t have someone to profess their love for you on Valentine’s Day, then something very important was lacking in your life. You just weren’t up to par.

It is hard for me to say this but in many cases it is still the same today. We as woman have been duped from a very early age that Valentine’s Day is something to covet. If when it rolls around you have someone in your life that gives you flowers or takes you out for a romantic dinner and movie, then you are “in”. But if you are not being courted or hooked up with someone, then you are “out”. What is wrong with this picture? Everything!

Over the years in my life as a single woman, I have been “in” and I’ve been “out”! But now I’m FREE! Free from letting a day that man has put some type of value on, dictate to me who I am and how I’m going to feel about myself. Sasha Brown said it all for us on Wednesday (see her blog Feb. 9th) “We are Marvelous” because the Lord said so, and made us to be. I’ve been given beautiful bouquets of flowers, expensive cards and have eaten at some pretty impressive restaurants on Valentine’s Day. But most of the guys who did these things for me were either “Jerks” or great “Deceivers”. So what was the benefit in that? Nothing!

I often talk to single women who are looking for romance. I looked up the word romance, and almost wet my pants laughing, because the dictionary broke it down to being imaginary. I instantly saw the truth in that. Romance novels! Big business for book publishers. There are even so called “Christian” romance novels. All imaginary, all made up, nothing real. Wow!! But as women we keep longing for the made up thing called “romance”. After reading this, I went online to see how the word romance translated in other languages. You would be surprised at all the different languages in the world that do not even contain the word romance let alone a meaning for it. Hum, you have to be shaking your head by now. Oh man, have we been duped!

My dear single sisters, if you have any kind of feelings about Valentine’s Day, other than it is a day that the Lord has made and you will rejoice in it (Psalm 118:24) then it is time you let it go! There will be a day that sums up and defines who we are, but that day is reserved for the Messiah and we know it as “Judgment Day.!” Other than that, there is no one day that makes or breaks us. And since no day is promised to us, we should be glad and happy in everyone that the Lord blesses us with. Sisters we cannot let February 14th make us feel that we are less than what God says we are. So if you are one who is sad on February 14th, then I challenge you to be glad in the year 2011. It is time to change how you view yourself and your-self worth. One day does not make you. You are “Marvelous” every day! Why? Because you are part of God’s great works and His works are “Marvelous.”

There are a couple of things we have to do in order to have a renewing of our minds and the way we view romance. First, please stop wasting your time watching “Soap Operas!” Yeah, I said it. This is a big culprit that cancels out what the Word of God says. There is no way you can take in a daily diet of “trash” and trash not come out. Also, be mindful of the movies you go and see and the books you are reading. Romantic movies and books have the tendency to feed your soul wrong attitudes that negate the good life that you should be living in your position of “single.” It makes you want that which is “imaginary” and breeds discontentment. Keep meditating on scriptures that talk about who you really are. Not who you think you are, not who the world says you are, not who someone else says you are, but who God says you are!

Sisters if you like flowers, please buy yourself some. (In fact they will be trying to give away all the left over roses starting tomorrow.) Don’t wait for any special day, just treat yourself to flowers. Have a craving for chocolate. Buy it. Want a nice piece of jewelry then buy it. I was at a gathering of women one day and I noticed one of my friends had on a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring that hadn’t been on her finger the month before. I made a comment about how beautiful it was and her response was, “My main man Jesus bought this for me!” We all had a good laugh about the way she said it, but it was true. She is single, no children and works every day. She saved up for it, paid cash and got exactly what she wanted. But she knew that the Lord had blessed her to be able to have it. But most of all, she knows that Jesus (Yeshua) is her be all to end all.

Let every day that you open your eyes, be one that you live to the fullest. Bringing glory and honor to our Father. Life is short on this earth and we cannot afford to waste a day being depressed because no one bought us flowers or candy. No one whispered sweet nothings in our ear (even if he didn’t mean it). No one took us out to dinner, (even if he wanted something in return). With every day the good Lord gives us, let us do something beneficial and profitable with it.




Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!

Showing Love Everyday

Valentine’s Day will be here soon, and we’re being bombarded with commercials for flowers, candy and jewelry. It’s nice to celebrate Valentine’s Day if you choose too (a girl can always use a nice piece of jewelry…LOL!), but like many manmade holidays it can often be a time of disappointment and loneliness for some. This time last year; the sisters at “The Table” encouraged us about true love, and since they did such a wonderful job—we are rerunning some of their blogs for our special week of “LOVE”!

The other day while shopping in CVS, our local pharmacy and other things store, I noticed the color red dominated the store. I thought to myself “My mother-in-law would be in heaven!” She loves the color red. Me on the other hand, not so much. I proceeded to walk down the aisles to see what sales I could find. As I approached the candy aisle, I looked up and saw stacks and stacks of candy wrapped in all sorts of red plastic with hearts. Ahhh Valentine’s Day is upon us! (When I entered the store the red should have clued me in, right?)

Oh, does this day bring back memories for me. From grade school to high school there was always someone asking “Will you be my Valentine”. My response was always the same “Um no, because I don’t like red that much and I don’t eat chocolate”. Yes, I know it was rude but hey what can I say. I didn’t get it. Somehow along my journey I picked up the notion that this day was really about getting candy, red hearts and nothing more. What did love have to do with it when any other time you (the asker) treated me like I didn’t exist…boy please! Keep it moving!

One would think that when I married my husband my view of Valentine’s Day would become somewhat different. Sad to say (well, to some it may be sad) I still feel the same way. Okay, well it’s a little different since the (asker is my husband), but not by much. My husband on the other hand feels a little bit more affectionate towards Valentine’s Day than I do. So I decided to ask him what he thought about the “red hearts and chocolate” day. I wanted to know because we never really celebrated in any particular way other than maybe going out to eat. This is fine by me because I love to eat! Also since I figured I knew his answer it couldn’t hurt.

His response was interesting and surprising to me and I quote…“Valentine’s Day does not hold any real significance in itself to me. All year round I like to show love towards you in the little things that are done. But what this day does do, when I see all the hearts everywhere, it reminds me that I love you. Then again, when I see a heart anytime I feel the same way. Because you have not really showed that you like to celebrate this day then I just follow your lead. So taking you out to dinner has been fine with me.”

Well, knock me over with a feather. He was following my lead. He was showing concern for how I felt about this day. This was eye-opening to me because it brought me to the realization that I may need to re-adjust my thinking. I should also show love to him in little ways all year long because it has benefits for our marriage. Not benefits in the way you may think like him buying me gifts or flowers. The benefits I am talking about are God-inspired benefits.

The benefits of showing love, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness and receiving these back in return is a great gift in itself. Galatians 5:22 calls this the “Fruit of the Holy Spirit” which has nothing to do with a particular day. These ‘fruits’ of love are to be shown every day, anytime and anywhere. Yet, I can’t say I always show them consistently enough in my marriage. I do wonder though what it would be like if I did? The good news is that with the power of the Holy Spirit, I still have 330 days left to find out!

His response also made me think of what the Bible says about love. “God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away sin.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

So if I don’t receive flowers, a card, candy or even a dinner out, I know that God loves me. He showed me in a HUGE way by sending His son to save me. But He also shows me EVERYDAY by just allowing me to see another sunrise and sunset. This is not just given to me but to you also my dear sisters and may we remember this and rejoice!




Until next Time….be blessed,
Rita

Ponnie has a special blog for you single gals on Monday...Valentine's Day! Be sure to tune in.

A Child’s Love Can Teach Us Much!

Valentine’s Day will be here soon, and we’re being bombarded with commercials for flowers, candy and jewelry. It’s nice to celebrate Valentine’s Day if you choose too (a girl can always use a nice piece of jewelry…LOL!), but like many manmade holidays it can often be a time of disappointment and loneliness for some. This time last year; the sisters at “The Table” encouraged us about true love, and since they did such a wonderful job—we are rerunning some of their blogs for our special week of “LOVE”!

I think that being a parent is one of the best ways to learn about God’s love. Not just His love but His grace and mercy. My oldest daughter Zoe (11) helps me to remember God’s love for me and teaches me about how to display mercy and to be thankful for the grace that is provided daily. As Zoe gets older she further tests her limits daily. Now she does the typical 11 year old things like keeping a messy room or she loves to leave her clothing downstairs on the living room floor. I have learned over the years to pick my battles and know when I should get frazzled or just slightly dazed. However there are the times of daily disobedience, completely ignoring my instructions, or acting as if she did not fully understand my instructions. I find myself saying “I am sick and tired of telling you the same thing over and over again”. I always pause quietly to myself after saying this because I know that I have my moments of disobedience also but God never tells me that He is sick and tired. In fact he has never given up on me and never will.

I have to always remember that my children need to see God’s love through me. Does this mean that I don’t punish or correct my children? No. In fact in showing His love I must correct my children and that involves punishment and sometimes that includes the rod. The difference is that I must do it in love, not because I am frustrated or angry. (Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits. Colossians 3:21) If I do this out of those frustrations then God’s love is nowhere to be found. My children may not see it at the time but it’s important to take the time to explain why I have responded the way I have and how it will benefit them in the long run. Do I do this every time? No. I am still learning as I learn daily about God’s love for me.

I think the truest display of love is forgiveness. Children have a way of forgiving us when we make mistakes or have to ask for forgiveness for over reacting to their foolish behavior. We hold onto grudges, keep account of past wrongs, and say screw you to those who have hurt us, all of which goes against God’s command regarding loving one another. I love when my middle child Christina comes up to me, gives me a hug and a kiss and says “I love you mommy”. This makes my day especially after a long frustrating day. Just imagine how different the world would be if we would tell our neighbors (even those who hurt us) that we love them. That would be the ultimate display of God’s love and the world would not have half the issues that exist today.

I think of my daughter Christina when I think of love. Don’t get me wrong I love all my children but she has a special gift for displaying love. At the tender age of almost 5 she is forgiving, very loving, encouraging and always has God’s love on display. She can pick you up with a song, dance, or even a smile. I have even seen her forgive a friend who has done her wrong and desire to go back and play with her. I can say that I don’t display this level of God’s love but I strive too. Who says that we can’t learn from our children? I know I have.


Until next time!

Peace & Love
Michele



Tune in tomorrow for Rita's great blog on Every Day Love!

Simply Marvelous!

Valentine’s Day will be here soon, and we’re being bombarded with commercials for flowers, candy and jewelry. It’s nice to celebrate Valentine’s Day if you choose too (a girl can always use a nice piece of jewelry…LOL!), but like many manmade holidays it can often be a time of disappointment and loneliness for some. This time last year; the sisters at “The Table” encouraged us about true love, and since they did such a wonderful job—we are rerunning some of their blogs for our special week of “LOVE”!

Please be sure to tune in each day to see whose blog is posted!

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139: 13-14(NKJV)

A few years ago while getting ready for work I can remember listening one morning to a well-known tele-evangelist reading this scripture during her sermon. The scripture is a commonly quoted one...especially, the “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” part. However this time, the tele-evangelist stressed the very next part of this verse..."MARVELOUS are Your works". Wow, I thought....God’s works are all MARVELOUS and He created me....that must mean...I am MARVELOUS too!

For many years, like many ladies, I struggled with self-image. As a child, I struggled with thoughts of not being pretty enough, not being smart enough...simply couldn’t find anything in me that was good enough...when compared to others. I had issues with everything about me...I was too skinny...I was too dark...my hair was too bushy and thick....I could go on and on. Many of these thoughts I carried into my adult life and I even began to find myself allowing other people and situations to confirm my thoughts through their words and actions towards me. Because of my inability to see my own self-worth and by allowing myself to be defined by others...depression prevailed and I stopped caring. I had lost my true identity and let myself go. I gained weight, isolated myself from friends and loved ones and stopped putting much emphasis on making myself look good and stay healthy.

And then I heard this scripture again and realized- Everything that God creates is Marvelous. He created me and therefore, I am Marvelous! What a life changing thought!

On that day, at that very moment, I realized that the person I had become was NOT the person that God had created to be....my lifestyle, habits, environment and even my relationships had altered the real me. I had to dig deep down and discover the real me and learn to embrace and love the person that God had created me to be. Yes, I had to learn to love the person the marvelous piece of work that God created.

Since then, I have learned to love all things Sasha...my natural hair, my skin tone…everything! I am determined to get back the body that I had abused and the good heath that I took for granted during my time of self-destruction through diet and exercise. I began treating myself to pedicures, learning about skin care regiments and indulging in special treats like scented lotions and perfumes. I began getting out more and enjoying the life that God gave me. Never again will I speak or think negatively against one of God’s wonderful creations and never again will I believe that I am not good enough because of what other people say about me or do towards me! Why, because God’s creations are Marvelous!

Guess what Ladies? You are Marvelous too! Yes, you really are! Go back and read the scripture yourself...this time replace the I’s, my’s and me’s with YOUR NAME because the verse applies to you as well! I hope that you all will begin to see the beautiful woman that God has created you to be and will learn to love and embrace that woman TODAY. I also hope that from this day forward that any “self-destructive acts” towards yourself, because of your inability to see yourself as that beautiful woman will end....not tomorrow...TODAY. Remember God loves YOU, His fearfully, wonderfully and marvelously made creation....I hope that you do too!



Until next time!!


In Christian Love,
Sasha


Be sure to tune in tomorrow.

Complete in Him

Valentine’s Day will be here soon, and we’re being bombarded with commercials for flowers, candy and jewelry. It’s nice to celebrate Valentine’s Day if you choose too (a girl can always use a nice piece of jewelry…LOL!), but like many manmade holidays it can often be a time of disappointment and loneliness for some. This time last year; the sisters at “The Table” encouraged us about true love, and since they did such a wonderful job—we are rerunning some of their blogs for our special week of “LOVE”!

Please be sure to tune in each day to see whose blog is posted!

Hello friends,

I was asked to speak to the unmarried women but I believe what I am going to share will speak to women unmarried and married alike.

As I sat at the laptop trying to figure out how much to share I realized that what I want most is to encourage all you that no matter what stage of life you are in you are complete in Him. That is what Colossians 2:10 says. You are complete in Jesus. Complete according to Webster’s dictionary means full, whole, entire, lacking no component part. Get it, God through Jesus has made us whole, complete, full, entire and lacking no component part. I am not trying to give you a sermon, instead I want to share that this is what God revealed to me in every stage of my life.

I had so many opportunities to gain understanding how God made me complete, before dating and feeling like I needed a special someone to make me feel valuable. While I was dating and feeling like being married was the ultimate goal to making me feel worthy. Let me take a minute to elaborate on this time of my life.

Dating is great especially when you are in God. I had a great time hanging with Brian (of course it was Brian who did you think I was talking about huh?) We enjoyed each other’s company and respected each other’s independence. I was satisfied but between society, my own issues and even the church I still felt like marriage was what I needed to make me complete. Brian and I both went to graduate school, he went off to Illinois and I stayed in Philly. People asked me what I was going to do and if I was going with him. It was as if life as I knew it would be over because he was going away. Don’t get me wrong I cried like a baby at the train station and I missed him while he was gone but at 23 God had some work to do in me and I was not about to let anyone interfere.

I remember being about 24, 25 and almost at the end of grad school and being asked by a well meaning sister in the church what I wanted to do once finished school. I, with excitement shared with her what I was studying and what I planned to do when I was done. She responded by asking me when I was getting married. Are you SERIOUS? That’s what I wanted to say but instead I said "I did not know." That stayed with me because it made me feel like no matter what my accomplishments were all that mattered was whether I was married. Here I am 24 the youngest of four raised by a single mother in what was considered one of the worst sections of Philadelphia, the first in my family to get a college degree and all she really cared about was "when I was getting married"...really! Are you kidding me? I am sure she did not know how this made me feel but that conversation stirred stuff in me I had to fight to get rid of. It boosted that continuing feeling that I needed to be married to be of any worth.

I finished school, Brian came home and we continued to date. All around me however people were getting married. My college roommate, my sister and my best friend all got married within a one year time period. The kicker, I was in two of these weddings as maid of honor. Oh how I was frustrated. I did rejoice with them but I also whined to God about when my turn would come. Brian and I had already determined that it was God’s will for us to marry but when was another story. What made this worse was the difference in our personalities. Brian is the slow and steady type. He takes his time when making decisions and is generally laid back. I on the other hand can be very quick to decide. I have been known to be aggressive and ambitious. So on one hand I was like "Come on let’s do this!" and he was like "Let’s take our time." Since those days however we have formed a great balance, PRAISE GOD!

Eventually after whining to God and bugging Brian and getting nowhere I believe divine intervention took over. I decided to have the best time being unmarried. I began to spend more quality time in God’s presence. I served at my church every chance I got. I hung out with my friends and simply had a ball. During this time God showed me that I was complete in Him. He made it clear to me that it was Him, not Brian that made me valuable and accepted. He also showed me that this mindset that the world gives of two half people coming together and becoming whole was not real. Marriage is for two whole people coming together to become one. So the writers of Jerry McGuire got it wrong, Brian does not complete me (and I do not complete him either).

Life was going along great. I was having a blast in the stage I was in, but guess what happened? During the Christmas season of ’97 Brian asked me to marry him. I was very happy, but at the same time I felt like “DAG! I was just getting the hang of this single life." This was my first lesson in being truly satisfied where you are before you can move to the next level. I had learned what I needed so now God could trust me to get married. We got married 10 months later but you need to know that this lesson came up again when I wanted to have my first child. Once again I whined to God about having a baby because somehow it was not enough to be married, life was not complete until I became a mommy. Well of course the Holy Spirit reminded me of the lesson previously learned and well the rest is history.

Why did I share all this with you because sometimes as women we need to be reminded of what God says about us. He says that we are “accepted in the beloved”(Ephesians 1:6) and we are “precious in His sight”(Isaiah 43:4 Instead of holding on to what God says we look for outside forces to make us feel whole. We gripe and complain about not having a boyfriend, a husband, a child, another child, longer hair, slimmer waistline and the list goes on. God says I am the only One who can give you value and make you whole. So my dear sisters in whatever stage of life you are in...look to God and know that you are COMPLETE IN HIM!

Let’s pray. Father we come to You in the name of Jesus thanking You for how truly wonderful You are. We praise You and honor You. We declare that You are the only true and living God and we adore You. Father we thank You for this stage in our lives. Help us to experience Your love and live life to the fullest in Jesus’ name Amen.



Until we meet again be blessed!

Hugs and Kisses,
Cheryl


Be sure to tune in tomorrow!

THE UNFAILING LOVE OF A FATHER!

Valentine’s Day is one week from today, and we’ve been bombarded with commercials for flowers, candy and jewelry. It’s nice to celebrate Valentine’s Day if you choose too (a girl can always use a nice piece of jewelry…LOL!), but like many manmade holidays it can often be a time of disappointment and loneliness for some. This time last year; the sisters at “The Table” encouraged us about true love, and since they did such a wonderful job—we are rerunning some of their blogs for our special week of “LOVE”!

Please be sure to tune in each day to see whose blog is posted!
Love & Hugs….Ponnie!

Hello Ladies,

I want to share my experience with the Love of God using the topic “The Unfailing Love of a Father”.

Have you ever heard the song “Beautiful One”? The first time I heard it was at a Women of Faith Conference. This song is about how wonderful God’s unfailing love is for us (His love is bigger than you and me!). When you have the chance, I suggest you listen to this song and let me know what you think about it…

When this topic came to mind, the word “unfailing” reminded me of an experience that I had at church. I was at a Women’s Retreat at church. My sister had us sit together in a circle near the pulpit and provided us a piece of paper with a verse on it. We were asked to express what the verse meant to us. I received the one below:
Psalm 36:7 “How precious is your unfailing love, O God!...

While it wasn’t my turn to talk about mine, I looked up the verse and read it so I can prepare myself of what I can say about the scripture. Although, while reading this scripture aloud, I broke down and cried. Reading this verse reminds me of how grateful I am of His unfailing love that never stops, never fails, always available (24/7), and everlasting.

Could you believe that a love that you can depend on, a love that is available to you at anytime and it is everlasting?? I couldn’t believe it at first. It was not easy for me to receive it because love was not easily expressed while growing up. For example: My father said he couldn’t express love because it was not easy for him because he did not receive it from his father. The only way I knew he expressed his love was a little pinch (of love) on my arm. I would tell him that I love him, and he would respond back, but never the other way around.

Inspired poem to share from me to you…

~ The Unfailing Love of a Father ~
My Father saved me from the direction of destruction and chaos I was headed;
My Father adopted me as His own with wide open arms;
My Father has a big heart and provides me with His unfailing love;
My Father protects me by keeping me under His wings;
My Father is Faithful, always there for me when I need Him the most;
My Father is so proud of me and loves me just the way I am;
My Father encourages me to follow and fulfill my dreams and soar like the eagles;
I’m so grateful for My Father being in my life!

Prayer
I pray for the Ladies reading this blog and are hungry to experience your unfailing love. I pray with the help of the Holy Spirit they can experience this love of God (My Father). I pray this love can flow in their hearts and they can share and be a blessing to others. In the name of Jesus, Amen





God Bless You Always,
Maria Guzman


Tune in tomorrow!







¡EL AMOR INAGOTABLE DE UN PADRE!



Hola Mujeres,

Quiero compartir mi experiencia con el amor de Dios con el tema “El Amor Inagotable de un Padre”.

¿Ha oído alguna vez la canción “Beautiful One”? La primera vez que lo oí fue en una conferencia de Mujeres de Fe. Esta canción habla sobre que tan maravilloso es el amor inagotable de Dios para con nosotros (¡Su amor es mas grande que tu y yo!). Cuando tengas un tiempo, te sugiero que escuches esta canción y me dejas saber que to piensas sobre ella…

Cuando este tópico vino a mi mente, la palabra “inagotable” me hizo recordar de una experiencia que tuve en la iglesia. Yo estaba en un Retiro de Mujeres de la iglesia. Mi hermana nos pidió que nos sentáramos cerca del pulpito y nos proveo un pedazo de papel con un verso escrito en el. Nos pregunto que significaba el verso para nosotras. Yo recibe el siguiente:

Salmos 36:7 “¡Cuan preciosa, oh Dios, es tu misericordia!...”
Mientas yo esperaba por mi turno de hablar sobre mi verso, yo busque la escritura y lo leí para si poder prepárame do le que yo iba decir. Aunque leía esta escritura a voz alta, me quebrante y llore. Leyendo este verso me recordó de cuan agradecida estoy por El Amor Inagotable que nunca paras, nunca fallas, y siempre esta disponible (24/7) y es eterno.

¿Puedes créelo un amor que tu puedes depender, un amor que esta disponible para ti en cualquier momento y que es eterno?? Yo no puede créelo al principio. No era fácil el recibirlo porque amor no fue fácilmente expresado hacia mí durante mi crecimiento. Por ejemplo: Mi papa dijo que el no podía expresar el amor porque no era fácil para el porque el no recibió de parte de su padre. La única manera que yo sabia que el expresaba su amor era con un pequeño pellizco (de amor) en mi brazo. Yo decía que yo lo amo, y el me respondía, pero nunca me decía que me ama primero hasta un día…Mi para esta muriendo de cáncer de la garganta y el me dijo “Solo tengo unos días para vivir…pero quiero decirte ¡que te amo siempre! No pudo evitarlo y me quebrante y ahora mismo cuando comparto con ustedes estoy quebrantado.

Esto fue un rompimiento para mí de actualmente aceptar el amor inagotable de Dios. Su amor inagotable esta escrito en la Biblia como una promesa para nuestras vidas. Si no has experimentado el amor inagotable de Dios, créeme tu vas a querer experimentarlo siempre.

Estaba inspirada por el Espíritu Santo a escribir este poema para ti. Pido que toque y impacte tu vida como lo hizo con la mía…

~ El Amor Inagotable de un Padre ~
Mi Padre me salvo de la dirección de destrucción y caos que estaba encabezado;
Mi Padre me adopto con los brazos abiertos para recibirme como su propia hija;
Mi Padre tiene un corazón grande y me provee con SU amor inagotable;
Mi Padre me protege guardándome bajo sus alas;
Mi Padre es Fiel, siempre allí para mí cuando lo necesito más que nunca;
Mi Padre esta tan orgulloso de mi y me ama tal como soy;
Mi Padre me anima a seguir y cumplir mis sueños y volar como las águilas;
¡Estoy muy agradecida por mi Padre que esta en mi vida!

OraciónEstoy orando por las Mujeres que están leyendo este blog y tienen hambre para tener una experiencia del amor inagotable de Dios. Pido que este amor pueda fluir en sus corazones y pueden compartir y ser de bendición a otros. En el nombre de Jesús, Amen.



Dios te Bendiga Siempre,
Maria Guzmán

What Do You Choose?

Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. See Deuteronomy 28 for the Curses and the Blessings.

This week we looked at various scenarios in our everyday lives where we have to make spiritually “life or death” decisions, and how making a poor or incorrect decision can alter the course to our destiny. I am prayerful that you have been prompted to think (ponder/meditate) about some of the life choices you made that were not God’s best for you. It’s not that I want you lamenting over the past, (what’s done is done) but sometimes hindsight is 20/20 and it is a wonderful thing when we can learn from our past mistakes.

God has a great desire for us to live the best life we can here on this earth. Now that will mean different things to different people. And for one, everyone is not going to be rich. The “Prosperity” message that the Church has been spouting for the past two decades is a bit askew. And don’t take my word for it…read your Bible. And when I say “Read your Bible” I’m talking in its totality. Don’t grab a bunch of scriptures on being prosperous for money. Nope. Read it from Genesis to Revelation. Because you will begin to see things like — all the money in the world doesn’t matter if you are feeble minded. Look at Howard Hughes, he was a millionaire but became a recluse, didn’t have heat, wore soiled diapers and boxes for shoes—his mind was gone and his money didn’t help him. Take Michael Jackson for instance, his money truly was his demise. And one great biblical example I love is King Nebuchadnezzar…see Daniel 4:28-33

The truth is, everyone can’t handle having lots of money—even in God’s Kingdom. And our Father knows that. But that is not true prosperity anyhow. True prosperity is one of a sound mind, good health, love, a spirit of gratitude, giving, helping, kindness, longsuffering, patience, forgiveness, favor with God and man. When our needs are met we are prosperous by all means. This is the type of prosperity that God desires for us. To be in “His will” doing things, “His way”! No matter what sacrifices we have to make for Christ’ sake and that could mean a life of luxury—just ask any missionary about that.

There are days when life is hard and you might feel like giving up, or taking things into your own hands because if seems God is taking too long, or doesn’t care. But none of that is true. God cares more than we can really imagine, and He’s never late according to His will. And I say that, because when I look at “me” and my sinful ways and the many struggles I still have, only an all knowing, all consuming, loving God could love and care for me. In all honestly it’s hard to phantom the totality of God’s great love for us. (I don’t think I will ever understand it all until I meet Him face-to-face.) It’s a love that stands in wait for the worst of people on this earth to come to Him. A love that forgives and forgets our transgressions. Wow! That is heavy! That is God!

My dear sisters, God wants us to live a good life. I hope you noticed I said, “A good life, versus The good life!” He has set up His commands and statures to protect us and not to harm us. But with this comes the freedom of "free will". Our ability to choose “Yes Lord, I’ll do it your way” or “Not this time Lord, I need to do it my way.”

I pray that I have encouraged you to look at life through the eyes of “life” or “death” when making choices. To take your time in making life decisions, to hopefully weigh them against what the Word of God has to say and not become impatient and run ahead of Him. Just because we feel passionate about something, doesn’t mean it is what God wants for us, or it could be that the timing is not right.

If you are one who desires “A good life” than the secret to having that is—follow the Word of God in its totality and you will not go wrong.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you Monday!

We Can’t Control The Weather!

The weather has been absolutely off the hook this winter. Not only in the USA but all over the world. Places are getting amounts of snow they’ve never seen before; Australia had a “cyclone” a couple of days ago, only after horrendous flooding just weeks prior to that. About 3 weeks ago all the states in the continental USA had snow except Florida…wow!!! Yesterday, motorist had to be rescued off of Lake Shore Drive, in Chicago, by police officers on snowmobiles, after being stranded for up to 11 hours in their cars! (see picture to the left)

Schools are closed, mail delivery is suspended, there is no public transportation running, electricity is out, air travel is almost nonexistent and businesses are closed. And depending were you live, people have been evacuated from their homes and are in shelters riding out the many storms that are hitting the world. Phew, it is tiresome just thinking about all of this.

There is one fact for sure that will never change and that is—we can’t control the weather—but we do have control over our attitudes. I have never been stranded anywhere in my life, so I’m not about to pretend that I have a clue as to what it’s like to be stuck in a car in the freezing cold and snow for hours. I’m sure it is an ordeal. But as with anything in life, our attitudes can make all the difference in the world for us.

Prayerfully the motorists who have been stranded this winter were prepared to some extent. AAA encourages those who live in areas that get snow to have certain items in your car, ex.: blankets, flash lights, flares, water, and some type of food bars. These things will help sustain you if you are stranded for any length of time. I guess when stranded in a car you have to reserve gas by warming the car and then turning it off. But what would you do for 11 hours if you are by yourself? For me it would seem to be a time to move in real close to God. I would like to think that it would be some of the best praying time I’ve ever experienced. LOL!! I guess my greatest hope would be that I didn’t breakdown and that my attitude would be one of faith and great hope for my rescue. Much like the everyday storms of life we encounter and God always shows up!

I guess because I am getting older, my view of life has greatly changed. I’m pretty sure I have lived more days already then I have left before me. This has given me a greater appreciation for each day I have. Yes, from time-to-time I do have those days, I wish would just hurry up and be over with. But they are few and in between anymore. I no longer start Monday off wishing it was Friday. I don’t whine and complain about Mondays at all. I usher them in with a heart of gratefulness for another day. I love Monday as much as I love Saturday and Sunday. ~Smile~

Snow days have become a special treat for me like when I was a kid and school was closed. Yay! I am blessed to have a neighbor who shovels the hard and heavy snow for me and I just have to do a little clean up, which by the way I like doing. I enjoy having an unexpected day off (grands are home with their momma) or a day where I have all my grands and hanging out with Tovah. But there was a time (not so long ago) that I hated snow days and being stuck in the house. What has made the difference? It’s all in my attitude. It’s all in how I decided to view things. Again, it is about choosing “life” versus choosing “death”.

Choosing to find as much good out of a snow day or snowed in week, is my way of having the best time that I can, in one of life’s situations that I have no control over. It’s my way of choosing “life”. Moaning and complaining only makes the agitation and discontentment grow in our spirits. It is a way of choosing “death” for that particular time, because we chose to be sad and unhappy.

There are many things in life that we have no control over and never will. There are many storms in life, as in nature. Just as we ride out the natural storms, we also must ride out the storms in our lives waiting for the Lord to rescue us in our times of trouble. But while we wait upon the Lord, it is up to us to take control of our attitude. It is up to us to still find good in each day that we have been given, even in the heart of a storm or great tribulation. If nothing else, we should find great comfort in knowing that the Lord is on our side and we are not in the storm alone.

God’s gift of “free will” to choose “life” versus “death” does not just pertain to our salvation, it pertains to our every day lives, and every day circumstances. I think that sometimes we don’t recognize this truth.

Today, God’s children are experiencing some perilous times. There are hardships coming at us left and right. But that doesn’t mean you have to have a poor attitude that kills your joy and that of those around you. You know that old saying about making lemonade out of what seems to be the lemons of life, well sometimes that’s what we have to do — it’s all in our attitude.

Have a blessed day today and choose “LIFE” no matter what your circumstances may be.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you tomorrow!