Why Would God Want Me?

“I'm not perfect. I have all kinds of problems. I have no ability. I have no gifts. I'm just not worthy. Why would God want me?

Well, did you know that:

Moses stuttered.

David's armor didn't fit.

John Mark deserted Paul.

Timothy had ulcers.

Hosea's wife was a prostitute.

Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.

Jacob was a liar.

David had an affair.

Solomon was too rich.

Jesus was too poor.

Abraham was too old.

David was too young.

Peter was afraid of death.

Lazarus was dead.

John was self-righteous.

Naomi was a widow.

Paul was a persecutor of the church.

Moses was a murderer.

Jonah ran from God's will.

Miriam was a gossip.

Gideon and Thomas both doubted.

Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.

Elijah was burned out.

John the Baptist was a loudmouth.

Martha was a worry-wart.

Noah got drunk.

Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?

So did Peter, Paul - well, lots of folks did."

Why Would God Want Me? // Author Unknown

 

Boundaries

Tonight as my husband was mowing our grass, he noticed two of our boys way down the road. Even though they are 15 and almost 13, we have a very small stretch of our road they are allowed to walk on. The reason is this, we live on a 1 lane country road that has many curves and hills and speeding cars. You can't see around the curves or over the hills. In fact, just 2 weeks ago the person that lives at the house that the boys had gotten to, had to put their car into the ditch to avoid being hit by a car speeding over the hill.

 

$3000 worth of damage.

 

Several years ago we saw a car flipped upside down just a few houses down. It was those hills, curves, and speeding cars. We had told the boys a while ago how far they were allowed to go but, as teenage boys, they weren't paying attention. We asked them if they thought we would let them walk the whole road and they said no, that they had determined where they thought we would let them go and didn't go any farther than that.

 

They had decided where the boundaries were.

 

They couldn't understand why that wasn't ok. It's kinda like us with God. God has set boundaries but, in our humanness, we don't listen. Then we make up “religion” with all its rules on what we decide should be the boundaries and wonder why God isn't pleased with us. God is our father and when we listen to Him and pay attention to His boundaries, we stay safe. When we try to do it our own way, we walk right into harms way as Satan is just waiting for us over that hill and around that curve.

 

God knows where the safe boundaries are and has given us a guide for living in the Bible. When we don't follow what He says, we are just asking for trouble. We have to follow the whole Bible, not just pick the parts we want to listen to. God only wants the best for us, just as parents, we only want the best for our children. But just like our children, we have to listen and obey.

 

 We may not always understand the reason but God does and we need to trust Him. Then we will live fully within the safety of God.

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY time!!

Oh, I am having a GIVEAWAY on my new Facebook page

 www.facebook.com/RikkiGblog. 

 

All you have to do is "like" the page to be entered into the giveaway!! 

 

When I get to 30 "likes", I will be giving away one of my ribbon necklaces from my Etsy store, www.etsy.com/shop/RikkiGdesigns. 

 

You will get to choose from one of these necklaces. 

 

So, head on over to Facebook, "like" the page and you will be entered into the giveaway!!

 

Good luck!!

 

So, I went last week to the eye doctor and got some new contacts. They didn't seem to be right but I know that sometimes eyes have to get used to new prescriptions. It could take a couple of days.

Well, it's been a week now and I can tell you, this prescription is waaaay wrong!!! I have been in migraine/headache mode for a week now and have not been able to think or focus. I'm going to go back to the doctor to have her recheck my eyes and get me a new prescription. I can't even see across the room without things being blurry!! I hope things get back to normal.

Do everything in love and compassion

I'm having a hard time today. It seems like everywhere I turn, I am getting hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. I know that no one is out to intentionally hurt me, but it is happening anyways. Some people are just going about their day and I am a little extra sensitive. Others, well, they are not caring about others so they don't care how they treat people as long as they get to voice their own opinions or get their own way. I know I need to adjust my attitude a little and not be so sensitive. I'm tired and frustrated and that makes my attitude a little off but I shouldn't take that out on others. Knowing this, I try to keep the hurts to myself. Most are not doing it on purpose and would feel terrible if they knew they had hurt me. I don't want them to feel bad because of my off day, so I keep it to myself. I will get over it. But it got me thinking, we always think about how we got hurt but how often do we stop to think about how our words and actions hurt others? We may be in the right in what we say or do but the manner in which we express it could be very wrong. We need to do everything in love and compassion. Even when we are disagreeing with someone.

What is wrong with those beads?

Silly me! 

I ordered some beads to make some new jewelry and was anxiously awaiting them.

They came in the mail yesterday.

I opened the package up and was oohing and aahing over all the pretty beads....going over in my head what I was going to make out of them. 

Then I came to a package of beautiful gunmetal colored beads. They are lovely.

But they seemed a bit odd.  They were all sticking together. 

I looked at my invoice and realized I had ordered Hematite beads!!! 

They are naturally magnetic!! 

Guess I need to pay better attention to descriptions and not just find the pretty beads! 

Well, I guess I have something new to work with!  lol

 

Being alone...

Alone

 

That word can either sound wonderful or scary. If you are a mom of several young children, some alone time sounds heavenly! If you are a teenager at a party, alone is very sad. If you are a single person in the midst of couples, alone is awkward. If you are walking in a dark unfamiliar place at night, alone is scary!

 

We all feel alone at times, even in the middle of a crowd.

 

Alone is more of a state of mind than physical presence. As humans, God has created us to be with others, to need others. In Genesis 2:18 God said “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” God put it in us to need others and be needed by other. But unless we care about others, we can make others feel alone. Unless someone cares about us, we can feel alone. There will always be times in our lives when we feel alone when we don't want to be alone. It's just how life goes. In our human, physical bodies, we may be alone.

 

 But our spirit never needs to be alone.

 

If your spirit is alone, if your soul is alone, then you need to connect with God. With God, we are never alone. Yes, we will feel the human aloneness at times, but if we have God in our lives, we will never feel total aloneness. When we are children of God, when we have accepted Him into our lives and made Him Lord, God will always be with us. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We will always have times when we have human aloneness but we will never have times of true aloneness.

Safe with God

Had a bit of a scare over the weekend. We went to a family get together and at one point we couldn't find my cousin's 13 year old daughter. We searched everywhere for her. She had been seen at the creek, but she wasn't there. She had been seen at the pond, but she wasn't there. We yelled her name and got no response. We were hoping that she was just hiding somewhere. We were praying the whole time. Just when we were about to gather people into search parties to search the woods, she comes walking across the lawn. She had been at the creek and forgot which way the house was and went a mile or so in the wrong direction. She was yelling but no one could hear her. A neighbor found her and brought her back. She was terrified. We were so thankful to God that a nice person found her and not someone who might do her harm.

 

Reminded me of our Christian walk. Sometimes we are at a place that God wants us to be but for some reason we lose our way and end out miles in the wrong direction. We are trying to find our way back but are lost. Then God sends someone in our direction to help us. It may be a friend, a relative, a pastor, a song on the radio, a story in the news, something that helps us get back on the right track and back where we belong. The difference, though, is that God never loses sight of us. HE always knows where we are. If we just stop, pray, and trust Him, He will bring us back.

 

I'm glad my cousin's daughter is safe back in her mom's arms. Are you safely in God's arms?

Prayer for Colorado

Lord, we lift up in prayer those in Colorado. 

The flooding there is overwhelming.

Many have died, over a thousand are missing, and many thousands have lost their homes. 

Please be with the families of all the victims and give them peace and hope

and give strength to those who are giving aid.

Let Your light and glory shine in this devastating event.

Guide the rescuers to the places that need them most. 

Let people know that You have not forgotten them and that You are there for them during this storm.

That Your arms are there to hold them and Your spirit to guide them. 

Let this tragedy be changed to glorious by bringing many to You.

Let the water cede quickly. Let Your love be shown.

We thank You for everything and praise Your name.

Amen.

Prayer for the morning.....

Lord, I need you.

 I need you to help me forgive and move past the hurt.

I need to forgive those in my past who have done things to hurt me.

Holding onto the pain is holding me back and to serve you, I need to more forward.

The hurts of the past are real but they are the past.

I need them no longer.

I want to serve you completely without hindrance.

I'm ready to let go.

Good morning!

Have a joyous, compassionate day!

 

 

Time is strange....

I found out tonight that a guy I graduated high school with died of a heart attack yesterday. I didn't know him, either in high school or now, but it just seems strange that someone I graduated with died of a heart attack. I just don't feel that old. Time is strange. It goes by so quickly without me even realizing it. But yet, I don't feel older. Yes, my body has more aches and pains but in my mind, I still feel quite young. I don't know that I will ever feel old in my mind. Just seems strange.

Always be joyful.....

Always be joyful.

 

Never stop praying.

 



Today is a new day....

Today is a new day!!!

 

 

Wonderful Relationship With God

Our God is not a god of wood or steel. He is a living, breathing God who speaks, interacts, and desires to be with us. A living God who is with us. True Christianity has never been about religion or rules, but instead it is about a relationship with God, having God's presence in our lives. God is with us during trials, temptations, and struggles and because of this, we know He will help us. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil. 4:13. Jesus promised His presence “I will be with you always to the end” Matthew 28:20. Make your consuming passion in life to experience and enjoy the presence of God. This world is not our home and we need to stop living our lives like it is. Our lives should look different from others. If it doesn't, then you need to examine it. Maybe you really aren't a Christian. If not, then either make the change and become a Christian or quit faking it. And if you are a Christian, you probably are not relying on God as you should. We need to die to our old life and become a new creation in God. How do we do that? Everyday, from the beginning to the end, we need to desire His presence above all. That is first and foremost. If you don't desire it, you won't pursue it. Next, we should never settle for the trappings of religion. We should always only be craving the presence of God. Don't be a “Sunday Christian”. Making sure that you put in your time at church each week and that you put the right amount in the offering plate, and serve on the right committees. Yes, those are important but they do not bring you into the presence of God. A personal relationship with God is what He is looking for. Man was not created by God to serve on a committee, man was created for companionship with God. A wonderful, exciting, joy-filled relationship. Being a Christian in a relationship with God is so full of joy that it cannot be contained. You will jump, sing, dance, play, scream with the joy inside you. Bad things may still happen in your life, but God is there to help you through them and to bring joy to your spirit in spite of what is happening. People will see the difference in you and want what you have, and then you will have the great pleasure of sharing God with someone. Many people in this world say they are Christians but their lives show no joy. If you are truly in Christ, joy will overflow out of you regardless of your circumstances. Commit to being a Christ-follower in a relationship with God instead of being religious.

Good Night

Good night everyone! 

 Have sweet dreams and peaceful sleep. 

May the Lord bless and keep you as you sleep.

 

Silly Little Chickens!

My silly little chickens!! 

Look at what they do!

I have 5 nesting boxes for them

and they all use the same one!! 

Most Important Relationship

"A relationship with God

is the most important relationship

you can have. 

Embrace it every day."

 

 

 

 

Ya know, I really should label things in my freezer!!

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

I love this verse, don't you? Jesus was very clear about how to have a relationship with God......through Him and Him alone. As Christians, we sometimes let the world tell us how to have a relationship with God......doing good things, being a good person. But none of that matters if we haven't gone through Jesus. As sinners, we cannot approach God without a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, they had sacrifices for everything. Read through it sometime and count how many different sacrifices they had. Whew, I would never have been able to remember it all! Rams, doves, sheep, wave.....agh! But we don't have to do that now. Christ on the cross was our ultimate, and final, sacrifice. And all we have to do is surrender all to Him. No messy carcasses or blood. No remember which to do when. Just accepting Christ and surrendering. Sounds easy but for some, it is hard because they do not want to give up their “power”. Living in Christ is freedom. Our worldly “power” is a facade. It's not real. Power in Christ is everlasting. It doesn't end with death. In fact, the best part occurs after death. Our everlasting life with Christ in heaven. A mecca of perfection beyond our imagination! That in itself would be enough to surrender our lives to Christ but there are benefits here on earth. We will have peace and joy in all situations. Yes, I said ALL. No matter what you are going through, God will be with you. I have been through emotional, verbal, and physical abuse, cancer, a life threatening illness. I have 3 disabled children. And a father and brother who have disowned me. God has been with me through it all. No, it wasn't easy but with God's help, I survived through it all and I give Him the glory. Jesus really is the way, the truth, and the life. I have experienced it and it is wonderful!!

Princess

Good morning!!

My Father God is the King of Kings so I am a princess. If God is your Father, then you are a prince or princess, too! Thank you Jesus!

                                                

Homeschooling year started!

Our homeschooling started today!  Well, we went through and organized the books and folders and went over how school is going to go this year.  (Hopefully, less stressful than last year!)  And we only did it for half a day.  We get down to the nitty-gritty tomorrow.  They start their real lessons!  But we have a plan on making this year much smoother and easier. I will be telling the boys which lessons they need to get through in a week and let them decide what order to do them in.  As long as they have the lessons done by the end of the week, does it really matter how they do them?  What are some things you do to get through your schooling easier?

Encouragement for the day

Sometimes the emotional burdens are tough to bear and almost impossible to lay down, especially when they are a day-to-day occurrence such as a job you don't like or the caregiving of an aging parent or disabled child. This can have an immense emotional toll on a person. Giving it to God is often difficult. Here is what I have found that helps-put on some worship music. My favorite right now is Matt Maher and Brandon Heath. Turn it up and sing and dance around! If you are in an office, sing and dance in your head!! Also, find a little time for yourself, even if only for 5 minutes. Use it to pour out your troubles to God and ask Him to give you strength. Take a deep breath, and return back to your chores. These things won't take all the burdens away, but they might just make them a little easier to bear.

Labor Day

Started our Labor Day with a big breakfast.  Homemade cinnamon pancakes, fresh scrambled eggs, and homemade raspberry yogurt!!  Yum!  Plan to do a few projects and relax.  How are you spending your Labor Day?

Beautiful!

Wow!  Saw a most beautiful sight tonight.  As we were sitting on our back porch, there were about 10 dragonflies flying around us.  It was wonderful!  They were too fast to get a photo, but I assure you, it was breathtaking!  God made some beautiful creatures, didn't he?