LEVEL UP!

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

                                                      -1 Corinthians 10:13  NIV

One night in July I was laying in bed thinking about some awesome insights God had given me the day before when suddenly the phrase, "level up" came to mind out of no where. I had learned this phrase in some of the videos games I play with the girls. As you play you go through all types of challenges and battles and when you go through and complete certain tasks ( in the beginning, as a novice, this usually happens after hours of dying and trial and error trying to figure things out) you 'level up" with new and stronger powers.

I am certain as Christians we "level up" as well.  We level up when we are battling a vicious cycle of addictive habits until they become virtuous cycles, or through prayer and meditation on His word and, naturally, by reading and studying the Bible. One thing I do know... we won't get to experience this sweet sensation if we give up and turn off the game and walk away.

REMEMBER:

 

"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one."  

 -2 Thessalonians 3:3

MOM STORY

I will never forget the time my oldest daughter, Cigi, and I were playing a video game one night when she was probably only eight or nine years old. I was propped up in bed on my pillow watching as she frantically played- fingers and thumbs clicking away ninety to nothing on the controllers. She was sitting on the end of the bed on the edge looking up at the screen as she played. When I could see she was getting overwhelmed being completely surrounded by the enemy I would yell, "Relentless, Cigi! You must be relentless!"

Encouraged to work even harder she put her whole body and soul into it. Her little body was shaking the bed as she leaned left then right to dodge her opponents attack. This one time, however she lean hard to the right... the side of the bed she was on.

I watched in horror as things kicked into slow motion and she begin to tilt off the bed onto the carpet below. I was never prouder of that child...why?

On the way down towards the ground I could still here the clickity-clicks of the controller as she was on her way down! Now that's "relentless!"

WHICH CYCLE WILL YOU TAKE?

I was sitting here thinking about some friends of mine who always are acting La-Tee-Da in the circles we run. Keeping up with the Jones, ya know. Seems like a vicious cycle to me.

This got me to thinking so I decided to look up "vicious cycles" in my Dictionary App on my phone. I couldn't find "vicious cycle" but it did bring up "virtuous cycle." Huh. I had never heard of that. Here's what it said:

             -noun 1.a beneficial cycle of events or incidents each having a positive effect on the next.

Well I'll be...who knew? 

May 3, 2013... that was the day when, what I thought had been a vicious cycle in my life, came to an end after 10 years. Now God is teaching me that as a Christian- a follower of Jesus Christ- when you are going through what may appear to be a vicious cycle you are however, really going through a virtuous cycle!

We, brothers and sisters in Christ, ride our virtuous cycles, our "beneficial cycle of events" that each have "positive effect on the next," straight into Heaven!

Non believers? Without Jesus in your life you are predestined to ride your vicious cycle into Hell.

Please, I pray, get off your vicious cycle and jump on the virtuous cycle to Heaven to spend eternity eternally grateful that you did.

Luke 16:19-28, NIV-  (Jesus Speaking) "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' "

You may be in charge of your destiny now, in this lifetime. But please, don't be like the rich man who found out once your life is over here and now...you definitely will not be in control of your destiny there and forever.

  

For Little Ol' Me?

Isaiah 42: 5-6
"This is what God the Lord says-the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 'I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to fee captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in the darkness.'"

Wow! Ain't that something? The visual, the mental picture of that first part: stretching out the Heavens, spreading out the earth; with all that springs from it; who gives breath to the people!

Sounds like a picnic, a party! God, preparing the world for us- giving us His breath of life to enjoy and fellowship with Him.

He has a bigger plan here, and though I may not be "privy" to it all- everyone of us who love Jesus will be a party to it!

To See What He Sees

Isaiah 64:1-5, 8, NIV
      "Why don't you tear the sky apart and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear. They would tremble like water boiling over a hot fire. Come and reveal your  power to your enemies, and make the nations tremble at your presence! There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear. No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him. You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live... (VS 8) But you are our father, Lord. we are like clay, and you are the potter. You created us,...."

God is sooo good! As I was reading this verse I could just see it...God tearing through the sky-He could! But that's not His plan.

Then when I got to verse 4, "no one has seen or heard of a God like you before," this is so true! Think about it. I have read in books and saw in movies where the god of  such and such is angry for no justified reason and will blah, blah.

This also made me think of the novel God gave me to write for Nanowrimo, "A Little Clay and Terra." He showed me the missing pieces for the novel. God loves us so much- something ( a love) we just can't fathom. I see a tree ( in this fallen world) God knows the beauty and splendor of a tree in the unfallen world. I see a beautiful field of rolling green grass with gorgeous wild flowers and God knows how much their beauty is tainted in this fallen world. He want and waits to show us these sight in a Heavenly World!

I see the beauty and glory in a righteous, God fearing man or woman yet God sees this same person cleared of sin forever in their final destination, final Home-Heaven. Man.
 

STUFF

(From my journal on 12/27/2013)

Stuff. This morning when I got up and let our little beagle dog, Buckeye, out...for some reason I was hyperaware of all my stuff as I walked through the house to get her. My two drawing tables with stuff to draw, paint and cartoon on, my printer on one of them from some of my writings. Video stuff in the "book" room and tons of books. My Batman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Popeye, Charlie Brown, etc., dolls. (Wondering why in the world I have Buffy the Vampire Collector dolls and Batman dolls? Just ask.)

Closet full of clothes I pray that I might fit into again one day. Also in the closet, more journals, writing pads full of writings and stories, quilting material, half made quilt, old computers with my pictures and stories on.

"Stuff." Stuff that I can't take with me when I die. Most of this "stuff" I don't even use on a daily, weekly or yearly basis. Stuff.

What have I stored in Heaven that is eternal, I wonder? (Wouldn't it be awesome if we could peek into our eternal home and see?)

What does this teach my girls?

 

Created To Return

Always

I am sitting on the couch in my living room this morning reading the daily devotion out of Sarah Young's book, Jesus Calling. Once done with this I began to pray and as I got to the part where I asked God to fill our home with His Holy Spirit immediately I was aware that He is already here. My spiritual eyes are opened and though I can't see Him- I do! The air is thick with His presence! My soul is tingling, buzzing with joy! He is here, He is always here; I am not always looking and therefore am not aware of this amazing fact.

Oftentimes I pray with my eyes open-especially when I pray this prayer so I can see the transformation. It's as if the whole room I'm in is filled with a Substance, an invisible Substance but so noticeable to the searching eye! Like the wind!

Seeing into the Realm of God is a humbling experience. My soul is still tingling as I sit here writing this, wrapped in the ever present presence of the Lord.

God is reminding me of all the times in the past He was there; at Church, in Bible Studies, at Youth Camps and Missions trips. Times when the "feeling" was different...special. It was Him making His presence known to me.

As a baby Christian I thought there was a certain formula of seeking Him that would cause Him to appear like this. But now, as I am maturing through the trials I've been through He is teaching me that this was wrong. There is no special formula that will cause this to happen. It is through being sensitive to His presence that I am blessed with this seeing and feeling Him here.

When I was going through my "dark years" I longed to experience this sensation again. I feared it was forever lost to me. How glorious it is now, that He is teaching me to be sensitive to His presence; to look for and just to notice that it is and always has been here. Always.

Rock Bottom

Romans 3:22-24, NIV
"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith."

In AA they tell you that usually for one to admit they have a drinking problem they have to hit "rock bottom." When you are an alcoholic you can't break free while you are still under the delusion that you have it under control or can stop any time you want to.

As an alcoholic in denial you think to yourself, "I will cut down slowly. Wean myself off," or "this is the last one," "one last big binge and that will make me sick enough to finally be determined to quit." And there are thousands more excuses where these came from!

If you are a Christian, you hate yourself for being in bondage to this sin! You wonder how were you ever weak enough to allow this to happen? Voices whisper in your  mind that if you really loved Jesus you wouldn't do this sin (drinking, drugs, same sex relations, etc...any sin) that you are not a true Christian.

So to atone for our sins we try to do more at Church, for friends, family, which in itself is almost an impossible task due to the fact that you are not reliable. Satisfying your sin comes first, taking care of this "master," is priority. But the backlash from this master are terrible side effects that make you ineffective.

(Boy, this posting didn't even go in the direction I had intended when I sat down! Take over, Lord, and complete what it is You want shared here. Push my pride and ego aside.)

Luke 16:13, NIV
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

As an alcoholic you hit bottom and realize you can't get up by yourself.

If you don't already know Jesus as your Lord and savior, you will hit rock bottom sooner or later. Depression, anxiety, the feeling that something is missing or wrong, ect will follow you. You will feel like you need something or someone to satisfy these feelings and needs.

Things may seem to be going fine in your life, and you are happy. But are you willing to bet your eternal soul that you are going to enter into Heaven when you die?

When you give your life over to Jesus, you are no longer in bondage! You are free indeed! Things and priorities in your life begin to align up for the first time. With Jesus as your Lord and master, you are no longer alone! This Master loves you and gave His life for you.

1 Corinthians 10:4, NIV
"And that Rock was Christ."

THIS, HE, JESUS is the Rock bottom we all need to hit in order to begin a fresh new life full of peace and joy!!!!






 

Heaven Came Down

This is one of my favorite hymnals! When my soul begins to bubble over with the joy of the God, this is the song that's spills out of my mouth praising God!  And I love this video I found on You Tube of a mens choir singing it.

Miracle

 This is a post from my Journal dated September 20, 2014.

What a beautiful morning! Can you believe that last night in the middle of the night and this morning at 9 the most miraculous thing happened?! Last night as I was trying to get comfortable in bed and fall asleep I rolled over on my stomach. Great I thought. I felt like I was laying on a golf ball right at the bottom of my right breast. It's gotten bigger I thought. I've got to make sure I go this week and have a mammogram.

For about a year there has been a massive lump...not solid, under my right breast. I kept thinking I'd get around to having it checked. However, this past few months now I could even feel it when I laid on my stomach or when my bra was pressing on it. Last night though, man. It felt like it had a major "growth spurt!"  I said a quick prayer to God that He would remove it.

I finally fell asleep and woke up again about 4 in the morning- it woke me up as I became aware of being uncomfortable laying on my stomach. I prayed again, "Lord, please, You can just reach in an grab it and throw it as far as the east is from the west. Please, take it away, Father." Then I fell asleep.

I woke up at 9 still sleepy. Scott was still in bed, too. So I stretched out and rolled over onto my stomach and laid there...comfortably. In a few minutes my eyes popped open. Comfortably? Really?

I quickly rolled over onto my back and felt the place it had been-gone.  Gone! Did you hear me?

I got out of bed and went to the bathroom feeling for it as I walked. The whole breast felt different-smaller! PRAISE GOD!!! Now I want to have a mammogram-just to hear them say it-There's nothing.