Watching All Creatures Great And Small, we came across an episode where a beautiful spaniel had an absess in the skin of his ear. If your dog has long ears you need to clean them regularily to avoid this.
The vet was forced to drain all the blood from the absess and then sew buttons on the ear to cause the veins to distribute the flowing blood in the ear evenly. Gross yes, hang in there, here’s my point. Sometimes it’s like we have absess on our soul. We haven’t cleaned it properally, we havr let dirt and wet get in there and the infection has grown. Suddenly it hurts all the time so we run back to God and He drains all the inpurity out of our lives once again, but if we don’t let him clean it up and sew on the buttons then the infection will just keep coming back and growing. We need to let God distribute our lives in the way that He knows best, we need Him to be our guide and to control the flow of how we live, only then will the pain be gone.
Category: searching
In the quiet
In the quiet.
With the new Covid lock down we are having to change things up. Walking my dog has been one of the things I have had to change, he still needs walks but I can’t take him where there are people. Last weekend I took him on deer paths instead of following the main trails. The further you walk down these trails made by generally shy and flighty animals you draw further and further away from the people noises around you. You can’t hear vehicles any more and the sound of noise fades away, no more construction or five different people’s music competing against eachother and suddenly the birds are the only song you hear, a bubbling stream rolls past you and you feel peace. That is the moment you can worship without even trying. We struggle to fill our souls with God and to be in the moment because there is so much noise pollution in the world, you can’t concentrate on God because there are too many distractions. So get out of the noise, go into a place of quiet and see if your soul doesn’t take a deep breath and starts seeking God hungrily, it’s not your fault if you struggle to seek God, you just need to get away from all the noise.
Just like mom
Mother’s day.
The tones of laughter drifts up the stairs and a small bark from a white poodle shows the little girl that her mom is taking care of her dog so she doesn’t need to rush. It’s Sunday, Mothers Day, and she wants to look good for mom. Her black satin shoes click as she climbs on to the stool at the bathroom sink. She has her mommy’s makeup kit, and had watched mommy put it on so many times that she was sure she could to do makeup on her own face, she wanted to look her best for Mommy. So she leans in close to the mirror and ‘poof’ face powder sparkles over everything, ‘it’s like fairy dust’ she thinks as she poofs more powder on to her face. Next mommy would use the red stuff, she finds the blush powder brush in with the powder and dabs some on each cheek. What next? Now the stuff for the eyes. She can’t find the eye shadow brush, frustrated but determined she grabs her tooth brush and uses it for the eye makeup. She looks at herself, ‘close enough,’ she decides. ‘Now, how do you work the curling iron?’ Thankfully this is when mommy comes in, alerted to her daughter’s bad idea by the silence from the bathroom. “Oh no!” Mommy shrieks, “sweetie what have you done?” The question is rhetorical.
The little girl smiles big, “look mommy, I made myself pretty for you.”
Mommy is a mix of emotions, she is relieved, horrified, a little irritated, but loves her little girl so much. She picks her daughter up and kisses her -inch thick powdered- cheek, “you are always pretty sweetheart!”
Mommy sits the little girl on her knee and wipes her face clean, as she removes the cloth from the pouting lips mommy does what mommies do and offers to show her sweetie how mommies put on make up. This brightens up the disappointed face and mommy and daughter laugh as they put their ‘faces’ on together. Though they walked into church a little late, the little girl in her swishing cream dress with soft pink flowers, holding to mommy’s hand and smiling loved mommy all the more for her kindness that day. The day was about mommy, but that didn’t stop mommy from taking care of her little girl that day, and they had such great memories.
Thank you Jesus for our mothers. We have ups and downs as parents, but if we cling to the happy memories than we will see that our lives really were good.
Feeling a little splashed?
Jesus being in your boat doesn’t mean you won’t face storms, Him being there means that your storms will not overcome you❤
-Pastor Dennis Shram
I don’t know what storm has hit you, or if you’ve gotten to the – ‘but I have Jesus, so why is this happening?’ – Point or not, but I hope that this encourages you, because it often encourages me. Jesus sometimes has to let is see the storm and feel the waves before saving us so that we are more aware when He causes a breakthrough, now we will see His miracles more clearly because we are looking for them. Sometimes we have to ride out a storm too, because God knows that it is growing something necessary in us. But never forget, that Jesus will never let you drown.
What makes Him a King?
I don’t want to be a Christian in name alone.
There was once a story about a prince who loved his people more than anything, he would dress up as them, leaving behind his royal clothes to dress as a soldier or a peasent so he could be with them, and in being with them he learned more about them and was able to be a better prince because of his love for his people. He said his reason was that he didn’t want to be a prince in name alone, but instead in action and record as someone who cared for his people. He is so like Jesus in that way. Our king came down from Heaven and went among us, caring for us, and loving us so we would know Him better. He has never been a king in name alone, but are we Christians in name alone? We claim to be Christians but we don’t act like it. I never want that to be me, but I know that there are days when it is. We need to have people be able to know we are Christians by our actions, by our love. Just like we know our God is good by His actions and love.
Listen to the voice
You know how when you’re watching a mystery, and you kind of get a feeling for who the bad guy is right away? That’s because the author has put small hints throughout the show as to who the criminal might be to guide us to the right guess. In life, God who is the author of all things, puts feelings in us in relation to situations and people who might be dangerous. God is always working to keep us safe. He knows when you shouldn’t walk your dog after midnight down a dark street, He knows when that turn of phrase of facial expression with that person you were just with is more than just your imagination. God will always work to protect you, and if you have a feeling that something isn’t safe, pray about it. Maybe you have watched too much crime TV and now it’s in your head, but maybe it’s the Holy Spirit warning you about something. I remember walking my dog and feeling that I shouldn’t go our normal route, I also recall thinking that that was stupid and doing my route anyway. What I didn’t know was that the owners of one of the houses in that route had let their kid take care of their dog instead of the parents, so this large, aggressive dog was off leash on the road. She saw my dog and came at him, I was on my knees wrapping myself around my dog to protect him. He was so traumatized that he had never been the same. I should have listened to that voice because it was the Holy Spirit warning me. Sometimes however, even when we don’t listen to The Voice, God protects us anyways. That dog had attacked another dog recently before mine, so the owners had been forced to pull out all of her teeth, (which I feel is a little mean,) that meant that instead of her actually killing my dog (which you would have done if she had had a mouthful of teeth) all she managed to do was traumatize him mentally and bruise his body and pull a few of his ligaments. You could say it’s a coincidence, but I say that God knew I probably wouldn’t listen to that Voice so He made sure the attacking dog had no teeth to attack with. Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit, it will always end badly if you do.
Earth Day means clean up day
So today I cleaned the trash out of the ditch out front of our house, we are on the highway so we get more garbage than I like to think about. I found myself thinking ‘I wonder if any of this could be worth something?’ None of it was.
Today, I also saw a news report on the growing cases of homeless people in the city. To be honest, it was pretty clear that the government was very politely saying that they had no way to deal with them, and they very subtly referenced them as trash. Oh, that word wasn’t used, but it was certainly implied. I grew up in Vancouver so homeless people aren’t strange to me, and due to my time spent there I learned a lot about the homeless, in fact we had lessons on them in school. Yes some were trouble creators, but many were just people who had no where else to go, and frankly I know a lot of non homeless people who are trouble makers, their status doesn’t make them bad people. I say them, but they could easily be us. A lost job, an abusive relationship, a family that is broken, suddenly you have no place to go and end up on the street. You don’t need anyone else to say you’re trash because you feel it everyday. But even the people that we as other people see as garbage, and don’t stand there saying you aren’t like that, most people see someone as trash; adulterers, addicts, your neighbor, your brother, that homeless guy you see ducking into an ally because people scare him, that prostitute who was born into the brothel and doesn’t know how to get out? Any of these make a bell go off? I’m just naming the ones that I have heard spoken against first hand, I am sure there are many more that people tend to look down on. But even if we see a person as trash, God doesn’t. That atheist who has turned his back on God and ridiculed Him, is still loved by God. The homeless lady who drinks away every dollar she has so she is starving but still uses her hand outs for more drink, she is precious to God. Just because we sin, or make mistakes, or are subtly referred to as waste that the government doesn’t know what to do with, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t value us. He loves all people! Just because the beer cans, random rag, empty cigarettes box, single gross sock and so on that I collected out of our ditch wasn’t capable of being worth anything to me, outside of the satisfaction of knowing that no garbage would blow into our farmer’s fields from our side of the road, doesn’t mean that someone more thrifty than myself wouldn’t find a purpose for them. God is greater than all of us and sees our purpose, potential and possibilities and more than that He sees all of us for us, no matter who we are or what we do. Never forget that.
Grapes of forgiveness
You never know what another person is going through, and you never know why they react poisonously towards you. I would never justify somebody mistreating somebody else for a personal reason, but when you think that maybe they’ve had a rough day, or a rough week, it helps you to not feel so hurt by their actions. It’s not right to take out your own personal problems on somebody else, but lots of people do it and like the person standing too close to Godzilla’s tail you may be the one who gets crushed under their wrath. Again I’m not saying that that’s good or okay, but if you consider things from their point of view and, instead of reacting Let It Go-I say that one more time because it hurts-Let It Go, then not only will you not cause more problems for yourself but you may also cause that other person to feel a little bit guilty, and that guilt may cause them to re-evaluate their actions and they may even later apologize…..and they may not; just remember that the other person’s problem is not your fault and if you can, try to walk away without carrying the sting from how they’ve treated you with you because it’s not your burden to carry. If you can, try praying for them, not only is it biblically correct but you’d be amazed at the times when simply asking God to help the other person will cause that other person to react better to you. Again not always, but even if they don’t react better to you, you have still done the right thing.
Solitary life
This is a world that has ended. In this world, nothing is born….anymore. That which is alive doesn’t stay that way for loong. In this world lives a solitary girl who wishes to become… something, but what is it? Alive perhaps? Or maybe human? maybe she wants to be more than what she is? Do you live in a solitary world where nothing grows, nothing begins, everything has ended? Don’t we all? Don’t we all live in a world just like that? Don’t we need somebody to reach down and bring us out of world of decay? Don’t we all need a savior?
what’s your next step? Where are you going from here? Will you stay in your world that has ended? Sad, alone. A solitary figure, wanting more but more of what? Or will you branch out, find God, ask God what you should do next? and then what?
Who knows!?! The possibilities are endless!
Why? Because God’s possibilities ARE endless.
In this solitary world where it feels like nothing good is ever born and that which is withers and dies quickly, that’s just the wrong perspective. Some people see only god as exisisting and nothing bad is ever born in their worlds, now that’s not realistic either, but a world where everything is dark is not the kind of world you should live in, you should live in a world where everything is light, because the darkness has been illuminated by Jesus and He has expelled the darkness.
Lent devotional 40
Dinner with family
I can’t imagine the last supper’s emotions for Jesus. You are sitting at a table surrounded by friends, everyone is smiling and laughing and having a good time but you know you need to prepare them again for tomorrow, so you take a deep breath and let it all go. The smiles turn to horror as each begs to know who the traitor is. You smile sadly. You can’t tell them. There are too many hot heads in the group that would take down the traitor, and tomorow needs to happen. The meal goes on, sadly, quietly, ‘will they be ready? Can I prepare them more?’ A healing hug of comfort or two would help but none come, you know the only true comfort you need is God the Father, your Father and that when you seek Him He will strengthen you.
Just think, Jesus died so that you could also have the comfort from God, God will also strengthen you. Our friend and savior suffered so that when we suffer we can go to him. Before there was always a curtain, now there are open doors beckoning us in, ready to show us love.
Carried in the cross 