The Peacemaker and The Pyromaniacs

Let's discuss this cliche:  "I'm at the end of my rope."
Well....what happens when you are at the end of your rope and then suddenly you are surrounded by pyromaniacs setting the end of your rope on fire, loosing precious strands in seconds...and each time you get one fire put out, then another person prone to starting fires lights it up again! THEN WHAT?!

When is enough- enough?
Where is rock bottom? Because I thought I found it and then....fell another 20 feet...and then another...
When do I get my superwoman cape- because I would be rockin' that for sure! Because if I am suppose to be able to bare all this, then I should bare the title Superwoman too! And get the perks of her super powers- flying would definitely come in handy since I can not afford airfare to see my family!!!

Which straw is the last straw?
Which stone is the one that has the final say in your destruction and doom. What do you do when every where you look you see the stones being cast as you are pleading for escape, only to be left in the dirt crying out alone, buried beneath the weight of boulders with your name and all that is wrong with you engraved in permanent ink!

How do you persevere with pyromaniacs leaving you no rope to hold onto?

You turn to The Peacemaker.

This is one of my favorite passages from the Bible, and one I think of often:

Philippians 4:4-7

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Allow me to summarize what these verses mean to me and the present fires that I face thanks to the pyro people in my life-

"Rejoice in the Lord, always" - NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE FACING, NO MATTER HOW MANY STRANDS ARE LEFT ON THE ROPE, NO MATTER HOW HOT THE FIRE- SING PRAISE TO THE LORD!

"Let your gentleness be evident to all."- WHETHER TO THE FIREFIGHTERS OR THE FIRE STARTERS- SHOW THEM KINDNESS AND SHARE WITH THEM THE LOVE OF GOD!

"Do not be anxious." - STOP WORRYING!!!!!!!! STOP SINGING "IT'S MY PYROMANIACS BURNED MY ROPE AND I AM LEFT FALLING INTO THEIR FIRE, PARTY- AND I WILL CRY IF I WANT TO" SAD SONGS AND JUST SING PRAISE SONGS INSTEAD (which goes back to the first part of this passage)

"but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God."- STOP TRYING TO PUT OUT THE FIRES, STOP FOCUSING ON THE FIRES,  AND START PRAYING- TURN YOUR FACE TO THE ALL POWERFUL GOD WHO IS BIGGER THAN THE BONFIRE THE ENEMY HAS STARTED IN YOUR LIFE!
AND DO THIS WITH A THANKFUL HEART BY THE WAY! THIS IS EASIER TO DO WHEN YOU FOCUS ON THE FATHER AND NOT THE FIRES :)

And....here we go...this is just the most amazing part of that passage, in my opinion...and hey...since it is my blog- and I am typing this message out because I am speaking to myself after another long night of tears and turmoil....I am allowed to give my opinion :p

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
NO MATTER WHAT FIRES I FACE- MY FATHER AND HIS WONDERFUL PEACE TAKE PRIORITY OVER THEM! HIS POWERFUL PEACE REPLACES THE PAINFUL BURNS! AND ALL THOSE THINGS I HAVE FACED- JESUS CAN USE TO CREATE A STRONG WARRIOR WHO CAN PERSEVERE NO HOW MANY PYROMANIACS THERE ARE ON THIS PLANET!

So...even when all strands of that string are burned and I think I have no where left to go....I forget that I can fall into the strong hands of my Heavenly Father and find His strength to keep hanging on. His hands are far better than any rope in the first place! So, I guess I need to stop thinking of strings, straws, and stones and think of the One that can Hold me and protect me against all things! I need to turn to the One who even the cross could not keep Him from conquering the enemy! I need to focus on the One that death could not keep down! I need to remember the One that stood in the furnace with three Hebrew boys and rescued them leaving not even a trace of fire on them!

When we face fires or feel like we are falling off the end of a rope- we need to turn to the powerful Peacemaker allow Him to pull us through- BECAUSE THAT POWERFUL PEACEMAKER- JESUS CHRIST IS FIREPROOF!

Worship Warriors

Luke 19:47-30

"When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!'

'Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples!'

'I tell you,' He replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.'”

Now, I am a competitive person....I believe I have written about this before, and anyone who has ever played a game with me knows that when the game begins- the kindness comes to an end! LOL...just kidding...sort of. I just tend to have a big mouth when it comes to bragging about my skills at the game table! And my victory dances are a little over the top at times....and I am a bit proud to say that the apple has not fallen far when it comes to my youngest son on this matter...lol...although I will admit his dance moves are a little smoother than mine- but do not tell him I said that!  The point is: I do not allow others to beat me without a fight. The muscles come out and the mouth opens wide for retaliation! This is all in fun of course....

But I was just thinking of my retaliation tactics when it comes to the battle with the enemy....have I had my A-Game in tact?  Have I sent him slithering away in crushing defeat lately? Have I danced on the Devil with delight? Have I utilized the powerful source of praise in order to persevere in the face of persecution?   Or when my mouth has opened....has it only added to my destruction?

I was just looking up the word worship in the Bible.  Finding many familiar verses, I was reminded of the calling we have on our lives as Christians. We are to glorify an amazing, all-powerful God!  Even the name of Jesus sends Satan sprinting! Imagine Satan's despair and destruction when I begin shouting praises from the rooftops to Jesus- my Savior, my Father, my Friend, my Healer, my Provider, my comforter, my ALL IN ALL! 

In all that we say and do, we should be showing the power of Christ in our lives. Yet after reflecting upon my words and actions over the last few years....I think there are more times when I lesson His power with my pity-parties instead of pouring out praise that promotes powerful promises from a God who is more than enough to handle all my mess!

Reading through so many verses about worship, I remembered the verse quoted above and a song that stems from it about not allowing the rocks to out-praise us!  Well...I sense a challenge here....it could just be me though...but if it is me versus the rocks- they better be ready to be crushed into sand, because this shortie will sing praises louder than any little pebble- whether on pitch- or way off pitch- I will remember to sing praises to my Heavenly Father who has given His life for me.  I will proclaim His unfailing love, His faithfulness, His abundant mercy and grace and His promises that stand true every day- no matter what I am facing! 

Forgive me Lord for downplaying Your power in my life lately. Help me to worship You whether on the mountaintop or in the pit. Help me to joyfully sing Your praises even if I am facing persecution from every corner; as I feel like I have been this last few weeks.  Allow your love to shine through me even in the darkest moments in my life! I also thank You Lord for the awesome people that You have put in my life to remind me of Your promises! I thank you for all the ways you speak to me and remind me, not only of who I am- Your beloved child, but more importantly of- WHO YOU ARE! I thank You, Jesus, that no matter what I go through- because of Your amazing power and Your perfect plans for me- I can always do the victory dance- and You know how we love to dance in this house! I pray Lord that the words of my mouth be pleasing to You! Help me Lord!

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 
Worship the LORD with gladness; 
come before him with joyful songs. 

Know that the LORD is God. 
It is he who made us, and we are his ; 
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving 
and his courts with praise; 
give thanks to him and praise his name. 

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; 
his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 100:1-5

WORSHIP WARRIORS FOR CHRIST

DO NOT BACK DOWN IN THE BATTLE- 

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

 WITH SONGS OF PRAISE AND 

POWERFUL PROMISES FROM 

THE WORD OF GOD!

Octopus Inspired

While at an over night trip to an aquarium with the scouts, I learned a lot of interesting information about sea life.  We got to stay the night at this aquarium and sleep in front of the shark tank! This incredible experience was not only a lot of fun, but very educational! The girls who taught/led this experience did a great job with the scouts.  Although, I did not get much sleep...but how could anyone sleep when enormous sharks were staring you down like a yummy appetizer all night! Just kidding, it was just so relaxing to watch them swim around gracefully all night that I will now never want to sleep in my boring bedroom again!

One fact that I found very interesting was that an octopus only lives for about 18 months.  They are born, grow for about 18 months, produce babies, and then die! What kind of life is that?! It seem to me that they have no purpose...

I am so glad that God has created me with more of a purpose than he did the octopus- although as a mom and a teacher, the eight arms would have come in handy! But God has great plans for my life, this is promised in Jeremiah!

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future.'

I may not see all that He has in store for me, and it may get frustrating and confusing at times- But I know that I can trust this promise, and I know that when I cannot see, God can!  Our long drive to the aquarium was a scary, dark, foggy one over very, very long bridges (seriously long, thought we were crossing the Atlantic). The fog brought anxiety and fear to my boys since nothing around us could be seen, and the knowledge of being over deep, dark waters only added to the situation. And if I am honest, I was a tad bit terrified as well.  Riley said, I don't understand because I am praying for God to clear the fog and why is he not doing it?

I said, Riley God may not always clear the fog, calm the storm, or change the situation, but we must trust and understand that even if we cannot see the path- HE CAN! And, He is a powerful God who has us in His hands along this journey.

God has a purpose for our lives and as we take each step along the way, He also holds our hand guiding us to find His purpose. We cannot allow the enemy to trick us into confusion, clouding our vision of His plans worse than the fog over that bridge.  We must keep driving forward in the fog focusing only on the Father as He speaks to us, pours His love on us, and faithfully helps us find our way.  You are a child of God, wonderfully created with a purpose!