This week there was a clear and very present awareness from the Lord about His presence. I don’t know about you, but I want to be in His presence at all times.  There was a message from Bill Johnson entitled,  “Praying from Presence”, God showing me that His Presence and the condition of my heart determine how effective my prayers are.  Bill said something that made me really think this week. He said we should have a burning in our hearts toward God.  I thought does my heart burn for the Lord?  Is my affection and love directed toward the Lord?  I dug deep as I listened to Bill’s message.  Why would we want to burn toward God?  Read Leviticus 6:12&13 and remember that we are the altar now as we come before the Lord and don’t need the priest to do it for us.  Praising and worshiping the Lord brings His presence, if the condition of our heart is right.  You can mouth the words to a praise song and never mean it in your heart.  A going thru the motions praise and worship gets you an enjoyment of the music, but doesn’t bring you into the presence of the Lord.   The disciples as they walked on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus, but later they said, didn’t our hearts burn within us!  As we turn our attention to Christ, our hearts will burn with that desire to be in His presence. 

I found that often times I let the circumstance/problem take my full attention.  If I find myself looking at my problem, I find I feel disconnected from the Lord.  If I will stop and get into worship and praise, I will find myself drawn into His presence and in that presence, I feel the Lord and know that He hears my prayer.  I never correlated the condition of my heart to the effectiveness of my prayers, but it finally came together this week.  If I turn my affection, my attention to Christ, I get in His presence.  I know that listening to praise and worship often encourages me to spend time with God and now I know why.  It is my heart longing for the intimacy that I get with spending time with God.  I love that closeness when I get alone with God.  It fills me up!  I want to be filled up all day everyday!  In order to do that, my heart must burn with affection and love and in worship of the Lord!  In that close connection, I become aware of God’s presence.  Bill said something that I thought long about and I believe it is true for me.  If I am outside of God’s presence and I pray, I pray long drawn out prayers that often leave me feeling empty and wondering if God heard me.  When I am inside His presence, I pray short, directed prayers and I know God has heard me.  I can’t explain it, but I am sure many of you will know just what I mean.  It is that few words that make all the difference because of the condition of my heart!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Rejoicing (worshiping) and thanksgiving should sandwich an effective prayer life! *quote Bill Johnson 

Sometimes our thoughts and affections are anchored in things that are inferior.  Sometimes we walk out of God’s presence by getting distracted by other things and being busy or we become jaded thinking we had some role in our own salvation and in our own blessings!  When we take the glory or we assign the glory to something other than the Lord, we open ourselves up to the enemy.  As we open ourselves up, we find guilt and condemnation.   When we stay connected to God, we stay in righteousness, a rightness with God, and when we have yielded hearts to Him, we can touch everyone around us.  Something happens to us when we stay in God’s presence.  We aren’t offended, we don’t worry, we don’t have fear of the unknown or the known.  Just as the Syrophoenician woman who came to the Lord asking for her demon possessed daughter to be healed.  Even when He said to her the bread shouldn’t be taken from the children and given to the dogs, she wasn’t offended because of His presence and the condition of faith in her heart.  And because of that faith, He healed her daughter.  That presence and burning in her heart for the Lord, kept her from being offended.  Matthew 15.  Don’t give fear or worry a seat at your table because in crisis or victory, we should be in His presence.  Where do you go to first when you come to a crisis or victory?  If it isn’t God, then you are losing the battle of capturing your thoughts into the obedience of Christ.  Keeping our thoughts on the Lord daily, keeps us focused on Him.  The battle has already been won!  I have found this year that I need to remember that the Lord has won all the battles, the victory is ours!  We have become a new creation when we are saved, and as such, I need to remember that the old is just that, old and dead and gone!  Graham Cooke brought to my attention a correct way of thinking about our old and new life.  As that old life is dead, we shouldn’t try to resurrect it and the old problems, the old way of thinking. We don’t need to try to reform our old self, counsel it or even fix it.  We should embrace our new creation, that new man/woman that we have become through Christ.  Don’t try to fix the old you, God killed that one and gave you a new spirit!  The new one that is Christ like, the one where Christ lives on the inside of us!  We should do like Paul in Phillipians 3:13-15,… But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.  All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view..” 

So embrace your new man, your new creation in Christ!  Press in for His presence today!  Does your heart burn with affection for the Lord?  Are you worshipping and praising the Lord?  Who do you go to when your in crisis?  The Lord of Course, but who do you go to when there is a blessing or victory?  It should be the Lord.  I pray that you seek His presence! 

To give me confirmation, the Lord had our pastor ask if anyone had anything to share and I shared this and God had given him some things that tied in with the message of Presence and Praying in His Presence and when I got home, my sweet friend, Shaunda Sims, had shared the song, Refiner by Maverick City Music, I had never heard before and WOW what confirmation!  One line in it says, I wanna burn for you, only for You! 

This is a link to the both messages and the song I have referenced will be in the comments. 

I pray that this will touch you as it did me!  I encourage you to listen to the two messages and the song!  I pray your hearts will burn toward the Lord and you long to be in His presence!  Have a great week, my loved ones in Christ!  Choose Joy, Capture your thoughts unto obedience and pay attention to the condition of your heart!  You are who God says you are and not who the devil tries to convince you are.  You are made in God’s image and as such we aren’t made with a spirit of fear, but with a spirit of power and love and of a sound mind! 2 Timothy 1:7

Song Refiner – https://youtu.be/E8j_rf5bmvA

Message, Praying from Presence, Bill Johnson – https://youtu.be/6CZjCcsDCOY

Message, Graham Cooke, The Language of Heaven (I think that was it) https://youtu.be/mi6nZA2wUqo

As I prepared to feed the cows this morning I stood and watched them for quite a while.  They were looking everywhere for food because they are hungry.  They have hay, but it just isn’t enough to satisfy them.  Let me preface to say I have 8 cows and I feed them out of a bucket every other day.  I call them to a different place every time to make sure they will come to feed.

As I watched, they roamed from one spot to another where they had previously been fed in search of a morsel that might be left. They also foraged along the way for a stray blade of grass that might actually still be growing. 

I was thinking as we hunger and thirst to fill up that place that can only be satisfied by God, we often do that same thing.  We wander from this to that to see if there is a way to satisfy that hunger.  Many of us stay busy so we don’t have time to notice that we are hungry.  Myself, and others, have gotten so busy doing God’s work that we (I) didn’t make time to fill up with the food that only comes from a relationship with God and reading His word. 

We should be like those cows going from one place in God’s Word to another to fill up that place in our heart that only God can fill. Unlike the cattle, we have free choice on when we feed, what we feed on and how much we eat.  How hungry are you for God’s Word?  Are you so busy that you neglect food and drink for your heart? 

What things are you feeding on?  Is there something that you are trying to use to fill yourself up emotionally, physically or spiritually?  Examine the things you place first in your life.  What we put first instead of God can be things like work, kids, friends, sports, TV (my shows), electronics (FB or games), and even volunteering to help others.   

As we start the New Year, I encourage each of us (myself included) to take a few minutes to examine your heart.  What are your priorities?  I pray the Holy Spirit show you any adjustments in priority that is needed to place God first in all you do. 

If you don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, I would ask why not?  I encourage you do that right now!  Tomorrow is never guaranteed.  It only takes a minute and there are no requirements and you don’t have to clean up to come to God.  He wants you just as you are!  You can pray a prayer like this:

Lord, I know that I have sinned.  I accept that Jesus died on the cross to forgive those sins.  I want you to be Lord of my life and in accepting forgiveness I am a new creation; risen just like Christ to a new life.  The old things and sin are dead and gone.  I give you my life and thank you for the new life that Your Son dying gave me!  Help me learn more of Your ways, to come into relationship with You and help me turn over every part of my life to You.  In Jesus name, Amen.  Now pick up a Bible, if you don’t have one, buy one, if you can’t afford to buy one call me, 979-324-0112, I’ll give you one!  Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Choose joy! Have a great weekend!

2 Samuel 6:6-7, “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled, And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.”

Wow! Even good intentions have to be coupled with the proper reverence (respect) when it comes to our dealings with the Lord.  How often are we irreverent or disrespectful to the Lord?  As I read these verses, I was so thankful that with our new covenant, Jesus took the payment for our sins.  So we won’t be put to death for being disrespectful.  We do however, have consequences to our sin.  What types of things happen when we are irreverent to God? 

Well let’s define irreverent first.  Webster says lack of reverence or respect.  There are also some words that are closely related to irreverence.  They are impudence, cheek, impertinence, mockery, blasphemy, profanity, impiety, ridicule, discourtesy, insult, derision, sauciness, rudeness, heresy, sin, flippancy, sinfulness.  To understand irreverent we must understand what reverence is.  Reverence is a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration, the outward manifestation of this feeling.

So being reverent to God is more an attitude and outward manifestation, so when are we irreverent?  When you read scripture, you need to be praying, “God show me what this scripture means in my life.”  So that is what I did.  Lord, show me where I am irreverent to you.  He revealed to me that I was irreverent by putting my electronics before Him first thing in the morning.  I used to be good about getting up and not being distracted but spending my time with the Lord.  Here lately, I have been distracted I don’t know why, I just get up and check my e-mail, my text message and FB before I sit down with the Lord.  He really convicted me of that when I prayed and asked where was I irreverent?  Wow, that explains a lot now.  I have been feeling disconnected or hindered in my prayers and when I am sitting and reading His Word.  I see now that hindrance is because of my irreverence toward God.  I have also noticed my attitude lately hasn’t been as loving toward others as well.  I’ve been more critical, which is something I was delivered from when I gave the Lord control of my life.  So for me this scripture has been an eye opener, even though it was from the Old Testament and most people don’t even look in the O.T.  It still does speak to us today if we will let it! 

We all must remember that irreverence, in anyway, does have a consequence, thank the Lord it isn’t death like for Uzzah, but it can be a disconnect or hindrance.  I encourage each of you to sit down and ask the Lord, where am I being irreverence or disrespectful Lord?  Show me!  Then just sit and listen, He will be faithful to show you.  It doesn’t even have to be as big as putting something before your time with the Lord, it can be our attitude toward the Lord or maybe disbelief in His timing, His faithfulness or His goodness because something we wanted, we didn’t get or something we needed to happen didn’t happen and now we are angry or unhappy.  It is so hard to trust in God’s timing.  We must encourage ourselves with the way God has provided in the past.  It is so much easier to see God’s hand after the fact!  Keep a journal of all of your blessings to go back and encourage yourself on a day when doubt sneaks in and discourages us!

One of my favorite sayings is, Don’t doubt God, Doubt your doubts.  I am who God says I am!  It doesn’t matter what I think about myself or what someone else says but what God says! 

My prayer today is Lord, forgive me for my irreverence, I ask you to forgive me and I will put you first!  Strengthen me Lord to be able to say no to the temptations that want to distract me from my time with you and strengthen me to put You first in everything I do.  I ask strength for each person reading this to put You first in everything they do. Lord your word says, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Thank you Lord for your promise that if we seek you first, that everything else will be taken care of!  Lord show us where we lack understanding and show us where we are irreverent to You in anyway.  Thank you Lord for Your forgiveness and faithfulness, Your grace and mercy!  Help us choose Joy everyday! In Jesus, precious name, I pray.  Amen!

Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you!  Great verse!  Meditate on that today, choose Joy!  Have a blessed day!  Encourage someone today or encourage yourself if you need it!

What a beautiful morning! The sun is peaking out from behind the clouds to thaw out the frosty ground. I am reminded that our Father warms us from the cold of a bad situation, it’s always there, God’s warmth and presence. Just like the sun is always in the sky, but sometimes we can’t see it, God is always there. When we don’t feel like He’s listening or even there; He truly is. We have to wait on the sun to come up to feel it. All we have to do to find the warmth of God’s love is talk to the God. The Holy Spirit, that great Comforter, Jesus spoke about will comfort us and strength us. John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

This morning is so peaceful. My deer were at ease because there is no wind. As the winds pick up they usually grt nervous. If anything is different they are nervous. How many of us are nervous when we feel the wind of life changing? When something is different or unsettling? Choose not to be, I know that is easier said than done for some; but it is a response that with practice, that becomes a way of life. I encourage you to feed yourself with His word. You are a new creation. That new creation you became when you accepted Christ. Don’t feed the old nature. It is possible to completely walk in the new creation. It is your choice which one you feed!

If you haven’t accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, what are you waiting on? It truly is a wonderful life! Is it easy? Nope, but like anything worth having, it takes effort on your part! Read these to help you finally decide that you want peace to rule and reign in your life. John 3:16, Roman’s 6:23, Roman’s 10:9, read all of John.

Those of you who have accepted Christ, live like you know Him, nothing can keep you from His peace or joy except by your own choices. John 14:27 Peace, John 15:11(read all of John 15 today). Just a hint, we already have victory, so work from victory not toward it!

I pray Shalom, God’s peace, over each of you today! I pray God strengthen each of you to reach out for all Jesus died for. You are the righteousness of God in Christ, you ARE who God says you are, so act like it. Hold your head up and ask God to help you every step of every day. Talk to Him, He is the best Father and friend you will ever have!

I love each of you, choose joy today and everyday. Kick the devil in the teeth and don’t give him your joy.
Have a blessed, warm day nestled in His peace.

As I sit and enjoy a great cup of tea, in a precious and special cup my husband gave me, I look out and the sun is beginning to awaken from behind the clouds. The golden shimmer among the leaves and the gold kiss upon the dew in the grass awakens me to how truly blessed I am!
As I sit enjoying the Lord’s presence, I find tears of joy come easily. Such a sweet peace and beauty surround me.
It is so easy to be distracted by the ugly things in this world and the chaos of busyness. God draws me to Him and I feel His sweet embrace and love reminding me I am His child. I am so glad He never leaves or forsakes me even when I don’t lean on Him or follow His guidance.I am blessed to have had an earthly father and to have a husband who show(ed) me what love feels like and I am sure Jesus is their shining example that they follow. I sure miss my Daddy, this time of year especially, I can’t believe it’s been 18 years. I feel so blessed that God gave him to me and that I will see my sweet Daddy again!I encourage you to find time or make time to sit, even a few minutes to let God embrace you, wash away all the negative and bring you peace. It will energize you in any situation. Reflect upon all your blessings and be thankful and content right where you are. God has amazing plans, if you just follow His direction.I pray peace, joy, a refreshing and a stillness that lets you see God in all around you.
Love to each of y’all and choose to rest in God even in your busyness.
Love,
Donna

I had a dream last night. I was watching mostly. There was several people completing a project and some were not happy with the way that others had completed things; it was done, just not in a way they would have done it. As the meeting broke up people were going to their cars in the parking lot. One lady was very upset and angry and was mumbling as she got in her car. She got a text message and got very angry and got out of her car and began to quickly walk away. As she walked away, I could see a man leaning on a light blue car, I could only see him from the waist down, as she went by he stepped in behind her. I heard her scream. She said no, don’t hurt me and I woke up.

As I lay there I began to talk to God. First thing he said, don’t concentrate on the fear. This is a message for you to share with all the women in your life to keep to keep in constant watch. Do not be so consumed by the moment that you lose focus on what is right now and what is happening around you! Stay vigilant, not only in the physical, but in the spiritual, lest you be blindsided by an enemy.

1st Peter 5:8, The Message version says it wonderfully, “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up”. Luke 21:36, Ephesians 6:18, Proverbs 4:23, Psalms 25:15, 2nd Timothy 1:7

As I looked up being vigilant this great message came up! https://www.enidnews.com/news/lifestyles/god-does-not-want-us-to-be-blindsided-by-the/article_86615304-edda-5449-b7e6-aee4694ffee0.html

Choose joy! Stay alert to your surroundings and guard your heart! Many blessings to each of you my friends!

In James 5:16, it says “… The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth (accomplishes) much.” HMM, that scripture brings up many questions in my life and may bring up questions like this in your life. What constitutes an effective fervent prayer? Why do I have to pray? Am I righteous?

So why do I have to pray? Remember when something is repeated in scripture it usually means pay attention, your missing it! Well many times, we as Christians have been taught or just accept that God is in charge and what will happen will just happen. Just so ya know, that is totally not in line with God’s word. He doesn’t want us robots. Now does God know what is gonna happen? You betcha! Does he orchestrate it? Nope! Otherwise, it wouldn’t be in the Bible multiple times, “they prayed and God changed His mind”. Just a little theology here, God’s character NEVER changes, but He certainly does change His mind. His character is things like, God cannot lie, God will not ever leave you or forsake you, His nature is one of a loving, caring God and that doesn’t change either. Anyway back to asking! There are multiple scriptures over asking, Mark 11:24, Matthew 7:7-8, James 4:3, Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14, John 15:7, Philippians 4:6-7, John 16:24, Luke 11:13, James 1:5 (one of my favorites!)

Prayer is just a conversation between you and God. Just because God knows something doesn’t mean he will act on it until we ask. This is where prayer comes in. The Lord’s prayer is a model but, often times we say that prayer without even stopping to think about what we are asking. It is routine and we just spit it out. I have found that when you aren’t close to your earthly father or possibly don’t have a good relationship with an earthly father, it can be difficult to have a relationship with our heavenly Father. The one thing we need to remember and focus on – God sent His ONLY Son to die for us. You can’t get more loving than that. His word says that He will never leave or forsake us. Deut 31:6 / Heb 13:5 Now, that is a promise that we can count on, and is comforting in times of trouble or need. In order to feel closeness, we must spend time with God. When you start a relationship with a new love, don’t you spend every available minute with that person? Or if you already have a deep love, don’t you spend time with that person to continue your relationship? God is our love and Jesus died for us, that should lead us to know God and Jesus love us. So, ask yourself, how much time do I commit to my relationship with Christ? Be honest with yourself. John 3:16, John 15:9, 1 John 4:9-10, Prov 18:24, John 15:15

So now that we know we are praying to God our Father who loves us and will never leave of forsake us, what exactly does it mean when He says, the effective fervent prayer? John Gill said it wonderfully; “Fervent prayer is the breath of a spiritual man after He is filled with the Holy Spirit. And is no other than the reverberation (echo, sound, noise, boom) of the Spirit of God in him. It is a prayer wrought (formed, created, produced) in the soul by the Holy Spirit.” The key to an effectual fervent prayer is the condition of your heart. There are many examples of fervent prayers in scripture. Samuel’s mother, Hannah, prayed and prayed so much so that the Eli thought she was drunk. 1 Samuel 1 Elijah praying for no rain and then again for rain. 1 Kings 17 John Gill also said the prayer of a righteous man is like a shovel, the shovel turns corn on the floor and so prayer turns the Holy blessed God from wrath to mercy.

What is constitutes a righteous man? We have Christ living on the inside of us which makes us “the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 5:21) We are unified with Christ and all He is is inside of us. Now whether we tap into and access that and walk in His way is totally up to us. A righteous man (woman) is gracious, upright, sincere, and loving and following the example Christ gave us. Though we are not without sin, or we wouldn’t have needed Christ to die for us. We just have to examine our heart and see where it is focused. When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, that old man died and we rose again a new man. Instead of focusing on that old man and trying to resurrect or counsel him to be a better man, just let him die and concentrate on your new man. The new righteous man. We should pray as a new man, repent as a new man and live as a new man. Remembering to forget what is behind and press on to the prize of God’s calling in Christ. Philippians 3:13-14

So now that we know who we are praying to, what fervent prayer and righteousness are, we can choose to walk in our new man and forget what is behind and pray fervently for our present and the future God has for us. Jeremiah 29:11 . Praying daily let the Holy Spirit guide you to pray for your husband, your children, your boss, your co-workers, someone who thoroughly pushes your every button (also pray for yourself to exhibit the new creation which has patience as a fruit!), pray for those children that are mean to your children. Remember pray for anything and anyone that you speak of or about either in a positive or negative way. Replace any complaints that come forward with a prayer to thank God for them/it and to ask Him for wisdom to handle the situation so that only Christ in you shows out. Before you freak out, step back and see where Christ is and how He is looking at this situation and think of the possibilities, promises and provisions that come with this situation. I know it’s hard as I too have the same struggles that everyone has, but if you make it the focus of your heart it will give you freedom and joy that you have never had before. After all practice does make it easier each time.

The Joy of the Lord is my strength! Choose Joy! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite sayings, “Doubt your doubts, don’t doubt God, He will never leave or forsake you”.

As I sat here with the awakening of the day, I look out and see the deer waiting to be fed. That makes me wonder.  How often do I hang around church or with other Christians waiting to fed and draw knowledge from them. 

If these deer had access to free feed and didn’t have to wait to be hand fed, how fat would they be?

We have free access to God, but how often do we go to get fed?  Do we gorge ourselves or do we just wait to be hand fed by someone else?

God’s word is a harvest, a feast set before us in front of our enemies. (Psalm 23)  We should fill ourselves until the Word of God spills out of us.  So when we face our enemies, our situation, our dilemmas, we can spill the Word of God on them.   Those enemies like – a diagnosis from a Dr., a financial problem, our children (our worry over their safety, friends), worry over our marriage, job, grief, sadness, depression, the list goes on and on.

The Word of God can fill us so that we can fight the enemy when he lies to us.  When he tells us we are unworthy of God’s love, that we are beyond saving, that nothing ever works out for you, that you will never be happy, whatever it is that goes against what God says about you is a total lie from the devil.  God’s Word says we are the righteousness of God in Christ, (2 Cor 5:21), That we are chosen and blessed!  (Eph 1)

DON’T DOUBT GOD, DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS!  YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE, Period end of story! 

Go fill yourself to overflowing with God’s Word and His presence.  The Word of God puts the devil on the run away from us! (James 4:7) So when bad or unforeseen things come up and you know they will, speak God’s Word that you have already hidden in your heart or pull out your bible and read the Word out loud.  Don’t run away from God, run to Him, He is your Fortress, your Strong Tower!  God LOVES you and wants only good for you.

Have a blessed day in Christ!  Seek His face and choose joy!

Abiding in the Shadow…..

As I sit on the porch enjoying this wonderful cool weather in July!  Yes it is July, it just doesn’t feel like it. Thank You Lord for such a blessing!  It was 62 this morning when I came out on the porch.  I drug my recliner out and just sat, read Psalm 91 and enjoyed God’s beauty and wonder.  Listening to the birds in their symphony of praise to the Lord inspires me to praise and worship Him!  It inspires me to have a grateful heart as I watch the hummers buzzing the hummingbird feeders, the hawks overhead and listening to the deer call to their fawns and watching them nursing.  Such wonderful things God has given me to enjoy and to inspire me to dwell with Him!

Where are you dwelling?  Are you abiding with the Lord?  Are you confident in the promises of God?

Where are we spending our time?  What are we spending time thinking of?  What do we spend time listening to and watching?  I ask that not only of you but of myself.

In Psalm 91:1, it says He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  The word dwell in the Hebrew has several meanings.  – to sit down, – abide, – inhabit,  -remain.  The Webster dictionary defines it as – attention directed to, – exist, – lie, – to remain for a time.  The biblical definitions are – to live or stay as a permanent resident, and – to live or continue in a given state.  Dwelling in Hebrew is shakhan or shakhen and it is derived from the word shekhinah, which is means God’s presence – In Exodus 25:8, he dwells among us.

As we dwell with God, He dwells with us as it says in the 2^nd part of verse 1.  It says SHALL abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  That is a promise – that we shall abide under His shadow, if we dwell with Him.    

So it is up to us to dwell with Him.  Where are we dwelling?  Where do we spend most of our time?  What do we spend most of our thinking on or doing?  Are the things we are doing drawing us to abide with God?  To dwell in that secret place or is it drawing us away from God?  What we think on is where we are drawn.

So today as you go through your day analyze what you are dwelling on.  What is foremost in your thoughts.  What are your eyes watching and your ears listening to.  Are they dwelling (your attention directed to and remaining on) things of God?  Are you putting your thoughts to the Philippians 4:8 test?   Are they true? Noble? Right? Pure? Lovely? Admirable? Or Praiseworthy?  Think on these things Philippians 4:8 tells us.

In order for God to abide (draw near) we MUST draw near to Him. 

I encourage you to exam, if you are dwelling daily, even hourly with the Lord.  It is just like anything we truly want or desire, we find a way to make time for it.  Why not do the same thing with the Lord.  Desire Him, draw near to Him, it is a wonderful, peaceful and blessed place to be!  It is truly liberating and gives such freedom to be who He made you to be.

Choose joy!  Choose where you dwell with your thoughts, where you place your eyes and ears.  Choose the Lord, He is waiting with open arms to hold You close!

Have a blessed day in the Lord! Love you my sisters and brothers!

I feed deer.  I love to watch them and they have their fawns every year at my place.  I feed in different pastures depending on where the cattle are and where the fawns are.  The cows aren’t prone to share and they run off the babies.  So, I try to keep them separated at feeding time.  I usually call to them, but if I have the babies up close I try to stay quiet so I can enjoy watching them after I feed them.  They run and kick and it is quite a show!  The fawns this year aren’t really afraid of me.  I’m guessing because they have been around me since birth.  They stand a ways off and watch and unless a doe runs, they stay put.  I have gotten very close and it is so cool!  I fed in two pastures this morning.  The cows were in the woods and so the deer had it all to themselves.  I didn’t call out to them like I usually do because I didn’t want the cows to come up. 

After I fed this morning, I was sitting on the porch watching the fawns in the pasture closest to me and the does and bucks in the second pasture a little further out.  I had given a pretty large amount to the does and fawns.  The second pasture got about an equal amount, but there were about 8 deer to share all of it.  As the does with the fawns grazed contently, one doe began to watch the other pasture while she ate.  In a bit, she just stood and watched, then she jumped the fence into that pasture.  That got me to thinking….  The Lord gives us all we need, he tells us he provides for us.  That doe wasn’t content that she had enough in the first pasture where she had more than enough and no competition; she was longing for what she didn’t have, even though it was the same.  How true is that of us?  We have more than enough, we don’t lack, but yet we want what someone else has?  Not even just physically, but spiritually. We want more and sometimes we are willing to compete for it.  We are willing to jump into the fray that God hasn’t called us to.  We want to jump in and get what someone else has, even though that wasn’t what God had for us.  We want, We want, We want….  If we are to truly get what God wants for us, we often need to stay right where He has called us to be and not try to get ahead of Him or try to get what He has for others.

I encourage you to pray and ask God where He wants you, what He has for you to accomplish and before you step, pray God, is this the right direction?  God will direct you, but you have to be still and listen.  Spend time with God today, pray, but then just sit and listen to hear what He has to say.  Sit on the porch or just sit by the window, early in the morning, I guarantee you. if your quiet, you will hear God in all that is around you.  I pray that His presence brings you the peace that only He can bring.  That peace is how you truly know that you are going the direction God has intended for you. 

Have a blessed day, choose joy and find God’s peace!