Pinch an a punch for the first of the month and no returns!!

Ok I'm really sorry I didn't do mine last week... I clean forgot about it. I remembered today though - thanks Katy!!

So. Today I'm gonna ramble on about death. I get really bad dreams sometimes and wake up horrified by death. Now I don't believe a Christian should be scared of death at all. So why do I freak out? Well I'm sure Archie has something to do with it. No mother wants to think about their child dying. Or getting hurt. Heck, I was worried when we had a thunderstorm the other night. Being a mum does strange things to your heart!!

Anyway, I get dreams about people dying and people hurting others - and I get so saddened by the nature of humankind. Sadly humans do horrible things to each other - think the Holocaust, Vietnam, Japan vs China. Rwanda... the list goes on and on. It makes me sick. Will always tells me that God has everything in control and whatever happens will happen for His glory and His purpose... but that doesn't stop the horror. I have no fear of what happens after I die, because I know the Lord will take me home - but its HOW I die that terrifies me. BUT I know I shouldn't fear. So I'm going to post a few scriptures that speak about death and dying and hope it encourages you as much as me!

Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

2 Chronicles 32:7
“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him.

Revelation 2:10
Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

There are so many that relate, but here is Psalm 18 - I hope it strengthens you!

Psalm 18
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
1 I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

4 The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.[a]
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.
19 He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

28 For You will light my lamp;
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

31 For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38 I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.
45 The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

46 The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

50 Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore

I've been working on reading through my Bible this year. This morning, I was reading in 1 Samuel. Yesterday, I read the story of David and Goliath. Can you imagine what David must have felt like after just taking down Goliath? I know I would be so full of adrenaline and absolutely on top of the world. God would be so big to me, I mean HUGE! Life would seem so surreal. That was chapter 17. In chapter 18, David gets his princess.

But... in chapter 19, things start to go sour. Now, Saul is trying to kill him. He tries repeated times to nail David to the wall with a spear. He chases him all over the countryside trying to find him. He has henchmen camp outside of David's house, and David's wife (Saul's daughter) sees them, so she helps David escape during the night and pulls the whole pillows in the bed trick. She tells the bad guys that David is sick. Saul is so insistent that he has the henchmen bring the bed that David was sleeping in.

I wonder how big God felt to David then. I wonder if David wasn't thinking, "Ok, God. What is the deal? What did I do? Am I not where you want me to be? Did I do something wrong? What is this guy's problem?"

It just reminded me of my own life. I'm not always going to live in a Goliath moment. There are going to be moments when nothing is making sense. When I have done nothing wrong but people are throwing spears at me. In those moments, I have to remember God has not become any smaller. The control He had in the Goliath moment is the control He has in the moments when my life is being threatened. Grant you, no one has ever chucked a spear at me, but there are still trials, and we can be tempted to say, "Ok, God. What is going on here? I thought I was in your will. I thought I was following You! I thought You brought me here! Why is this so hard??!"

Our life is not always going to be full of Goliath moments. There are times when we must be proved and tried. It doesn't mean we are out of God's will. It means that sometimes, life is hard.

This is a little illustration that my sister-in-law sent me and I thought it was appropriate considering the thread we have going right now about how some of us are struggling with feeling 'dry' spiritually... I hope this blesses you all!

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the water close to Japan
has not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population,
fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the
fishermen went, the longer it took to bring the fish. If the return trip
took more time, the fish were not fresh. To solve this problem, fish
companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish
and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and
stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between
fresh and frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So, fishing companies installed
fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin
to fin. After a little thrashing around, they were tired, dull, and lost
their fresh-fish taste. The fishing industry faced an impending crisis!
But today, they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan. How did they manage? To
keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put
the fish in the tanks but with a small shark.

The fish are challenged and hence are constantly on the move. The
challenge they face keeps them alive and fresh!

Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of
the time tired and dull? Basically in our lives, sharks are new
challenges to keep us active. If you are steadily conquering challenges,
you are happy. Your challenges keep you energized. Don't create success
and revel in it in a state of inertia. You have the resources, skills
and abilities to make a difference. Put a shark in your tank and see how
far you can really go!

"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character" - Albert Einstein

Proverbs 2:9
Then you will understand what is right, just and fair,
and you will know the right path to go

I don't know about you, but I'd like to know which path to take - which path in life, in relationships - I'd really like to know!

This verse begins with the word "then", so what came first? What must I do to know the way?

Proverbs 2:2-4
Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.

If you want to find out which path to take, stop looking for it! Choose instead to go on a hunt for wisdom! Don't hunt for silver or hidden treasures which do not last (check out Matthew 6:19 - Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and wehre thieves do not break in and steal ). Instead, search with that same enthusiasm and passion for wisdom. Don't search for sparkly things, search with a sparkle in your eyes. Be passionate! Be proactive! Search!

This is a treasure which can be found. Better than than, it is given to us! We have to begin the search, but our Heavenly Daddy won't leave us looking. He will give us wisdom! How cool is that?! (Proverbs 2:6-7 - For the LORD grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.)

I've had this song ("Who Am I" by Casting Crowns) running through my head today...


Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
I am yours...
I am yours...


I'm sure I've said this before, but God--the whole concept--just awes me. The LORD, the CREATOR, knows my name and cares about every little thing happening in my life. Maybe this is a little odd, but most of the time I usually forget to pray about the major things... like the need for a new car! It's the little things that I end up praying about. I really like the verse in Psalms that says, "Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour our your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us." It amazes me that I can come to "the LORD of all earth" and pour out my heart before Him. Who am I that He should care so much?

I have sat staring at this screen for a long time. I had no idea what to write! Then I looked out the window and saw the trees losing their leaves and the bare branches. The leaves are all brown on the ground and the lawn is muddy from Winter rains. The other day I put on a kiddies CD for Archie of songs we listened to as kids... Steve Green. There is one song that has been going through my head a bit recently:

'God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha...
God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha...
God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha...
God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha...

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly
Whoever sows generously will also reap generously...

God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha...
God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha...
God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha...
God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha...'

Then there is another of his songs that is linked:

'Let us not grow weary while doing good
In due season we shall reap
Let us not grow weary while doing good
In due season we shall reap

If we don't lose heart, if we don't lose heart
In due season we shall reap
If we don't lose heart, if we don't lose heart
In due season we shall reap'

So... even though its winter (or summer), there is a season for everything! Even though right now things are dead and brown and cold - we should not grow weary! We should not grow weary of doing good... and we should learn to be a cheerful giver. We should not grow weary of giving and we should learn to do good cheerfully. The two are inextricably linked and have the same end result: reaping a harvest. For who? Well God blesses us, but ultimately it is for Him and His glory.

So... lets use the talents and gifts and abilities He has blessed us with and continue to do good and to give of ourselves and these things!

Ok, this is for Saturday, July 11... for some of you, that is now, for others, it's in an hour... deal with it

Something that God has really laid on my heart lately is the concept of a hush-hush hope. It can apply in so many different ways, and I really don't have a verse for it other than this:

Quote:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15

From my thoughts, there are two different kinds of hope here. One is the hope of salvation. The other is the hope of abundant life. It is one thing to be saved from something, but it is another thing to be saved to something.

Quote:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

The problem is that we, as a church, are sharing neither, really. We are not reaching out to the lost as we should. Neither are we reaching out to our own.

Christians are not perfect. We are not above hurt and not beyond healing. We need each other. We need hope. Yet, how often do we turn a blind eye to the hurting all around us? How often do we make it a point to go out of our way to say hello to the widow in the next pew over? How often do we search out to find someone who has asked for prayer and make sure they are doing ok? How often do we, ourselves, act hopeless?

But we aren't hopeless! We aren't! We just lose focus. When we focus on hope, we talk about hope. When we focus on pain, we talk about pain, and don't really talk about hope at all. It becomes something taken for granted. Something assumed. We just assume that we have hope, and we shove it in our back pocket while we try and wrestle with hurt. But we should be drinking it in, like living water and sharing it with those around us. We have hope!

I'm really sorry for not posting my devotional last week... somehow it always becomes one of those things I'll 'do later'...

This week I've been thinking a bit how sometimes we Christians do our Bible study with the wrong perspective... we look always at either how it impacts MY life TODAY, or what it meant back THEN when it was written.... but both of those are far too narrow! We need to look at the big picture!

Archie has a kiddie Bible - and on the back it says 'The Bible is a Big book about a Big God who keeps a Big Promise' and then it says its a Big Picture. I've been reading through it and I think there were 12 chapters in the Old Testament. It is WONDERFUL! You see the huge big picture of what the Bible is all about and it has refreshed me! I get so caught up in the life of David or Hezekiah or Paul that I forget to think about the Big Picture.

And the verse I have to tie this all together is John 10:10. It is a tad out of context but here we go: 'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly'. The illustration in this chapter uses sheep... WE are sheep. Ever watched a sheep? They can be so stupid! The other day the sheep in the paddock next door to my parents carked it. She fell over and couldn't get up. Granted, she was pregnant, but still, she was stuck on her back with her legs in the air and the farmer had to come and right her. How often are we stuck on our backs where only Jesus can right us? We are not just lone sheep - we are part of a flock and the Shepherd is there, wanting to right us and set us 'free' so we can graze to our hearts content. He wants us to have a life lived to the full. So lets look beyond our noses and ask the Shepherd to show us the Big Picture - in the message of the Bible, the Cross, and our own life purpose!

Nobody Panic

The ladies will know the roots of this devotional. It's a concept that has been on my mind all day today. One I skipped youth group and sat outside discussing with a friend.

The whole idea of giving God control. Of having faith. Of trust. Of just fully relying on God.

Trials drive us there often (I love the analogy of the shark Brittany shared). Sometimes, though, God surprises us, and what we do with that is just as important as how we respond to a trial.

We all know Proverbs 3:5-6. They tell us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and to not lean on our own understanding, in all our ways to acknowledge Him and He will make our paths straight.

Meaning sometimes His path isn't going to make sense to me. It's not like there is a roadblock (trial) in the way. It is like I'm all of the sudden careening down this hill in the entirely opposite direction of where I thought I would be. At that moment, it's easy to want to bail out.

We don't often have a hard time trusting God with decisions we do not like making. It is easy to trust Him with college choices. We always want a bright shiny orb from Heaven to help us with the not-so-pleasant decisions. It is natural to run to God when trials face us. But, how easy it is to want to snatch back control when we feel God has lost it.

But He doesn't lose it. I am the only one who loses it. God has always been and will ever be in control of my life, unless I take that control from Him, and that is the moment I crash.

It is easy for us to trust God with little pieces. But faith will not grow if it is built of only little pieces. It is a gradual growth. He asks for bigger and bigger pieces, bigger and bigger chunks and the key is to acknowledge Him in all our ways. In every choice we make, keep an eye on Him, and He will make the next step very clear. We won't have to plan it or engineer it. He's got it covered.

A song I have clung to today,

"My Hope" by Skillet

"Times are hard
Times have changed
Don't you say
But I keep holding on to you
It's hard to keep the faith alive day to day
Leaning on the strength I've found in you
You're the hope of all the Earth

You are my hope
You are my strength
You're everything
Everything I need
You are my hope
You are my life
You are my hope
You are my hope

Far beyond what I can see or comprehend
Etching your eternity in me
Nations scream and angels sing, "Jesus reigns"
And every knee bows down
You're the hope of all the Earth

You are my hope
You are my strength
You're everything
Everything I need
You are my hope
You are my life
You are my hope
You are my hope

Carry on and I sing of how
You love and I love you now
All the times that I start to sink
You come and you rescue me
You are my hope
You are my hope "

Psalm 127:1 - Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain


What is your house? What is it taht you are trying to acheive? Do you want to own an actual house? Are you trying to build a career? A relationship?A habit?

Have you submitted it to God? He si the only ONe who will sustain it, without Him, all your work is pointless. That sounds harsh, but it's true. We cannot do anything in our own strength. And why would we want to? He's strength, His power is so much more than we could have hoped for, with the results far beyond what we could have dreamed.

Why not take a moment to think about what it is that you are trying to establish, and submit (or re-submit) it to God. You can trust Him with it all.

This is just what's on my heart this morning so I thought I'd share..

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" James 1:2-4

If you're struggling with something or going through something and it just feels like too much to handle..don't give up. God is right there, waiting to take the load from you. There were so many times in the past three months where I'd literally tear up at work and go "it's too much! I can't do this!" and God would say "Let Me". This was the biggest test of trust I've ever gone through and every time God took my load and helped me handle way more than I ever thought possible. Stay strong and know you will come out better on the other side, that He knows what He is doing and He's using it for your good.

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Hey I read this today and thought I'd share cos its very true and struck a chord with me!

Quote:

"The pattern of Christ, as set before us in the New Testament, is in every case a pattern of humiliation, suffering, sacrifice." "In every case." This made me search for confirmation or otherwise of so strong a statement, though I knew that the writer (Westcott) would not have made it unless he had been sure that it was true. Perhaps the question comes, We have common work to do (gardening, sewing, cooking, and so on), what have these three great words, Humiliation, Suffering, Sacrifice, to do with us? Humiliation: Do we like to be praised? Do we find it difficult if mistakes are shown? Which matters most to us-that the work should be well done or that people should knew that we did that work? Is our "I" in the dust? Suffering: What comes first in our choice-our Lord's wish or our own? If we answer these questions honestly I think we shall understand how we can begin to learn to follow the pattern set by Christ our Lord. He must have begun to follow that pattern when, to the eyes of the village, He was just a boy in a carpenter's shop.

Amy Carmichael - Edges of His Ways, July 30.

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