February 24, 2013

Two Hands

        Psalm 138:7 says, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me:  thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.”  I really like that verse, but it made me think, why did it specifically say that we are saved by the “right” hand.  I began to think of the significance of the right, and left, hand in the Bible.
        Throughout history, when a person would go into battle, they would hold their weapon in their right hand and their shield in the left.  That is the reason that the person they were battling would target the right hand…in order to disable the weapon.  That makes perfect sense to me when comparing those battles to this verse from Psalms.  It makes me believe that if He is saving us with His right hand, then His left hand is the one being help against our enemies…in other words, He is shielding us with His left hand, and holding us in the right, doing everything He can to protect us.
        The Bible says that the Lord has two hands:  one of verity and one of judgment.  The word verity means truth.  If you look up different verses, everything good and true is associated with the right hand.  At many places throughout the Bible, when the Lord would separate the strong from the weak or the good from the bad, the lesser is associated with the left hand. 
        I’m so glad that I have felt both of His hands at different times and situations in my life.  I have felt His judgment on my life and His chastisements from His left hand.  But I have also felt His saving hand from the right:  the one that demonstrated power and strength when I had neither.  Thos precious nail scarred hands have such significance in my life, as I’m sure they do yours.

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: 
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.”
Psalm 138:7  KJV

February 15, 2013

Keep Your Eye on the Guide


Several months ago, John and I went on an adventure…zip lining.  It was a blast!  We had to fill out the paperwork (saying we wouldn’t sue them if we died, lol) and got a short lesson about how to hold onto the line and how to stop.  The guide showed us that in order to brake, you simply put your left hand on the line and pushed your palm down.  That would create resistance and slow you down.  He also showed us the hand signal that he would give when it was time to start braking.  He said to keep our eyes on him so we would know when to brake…simple enough.

    The first several zips were amazing!  We were over 100 feet up in the air, going between trees, over lakes, and having so much fun!  I would make sure to watch the guide and stopping was not a problem.  Until we got to the “race” zips.  These lines were side by side and John and I went at the same time to “race” each other.  I’m normally not a super competitive person, but when John started talking smack (in a loving way, of course, lol), the competitiveness came out of me and came out big.  I was devising a plan in my head:  I am smaller than him so I knew I wouldn’t go as fast, BUT I also knew that if I held my legs up to my chest as close and tight as I could, I would have less wind resistance than him.  So that was the plan and off we went.  We were pretty much side by side the whole time. I looked up and saw the guide signal for us to brake.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw John start to slow down, but I chose to ignore the signal so I would get a few more seconds of speed than him.  I started braking way later than I was supposed to, and I ended up flying to fast onto the platform and hitting a tree…BUT  I WON!!  Lol!

    I have so often thought about that experience in real life situations.  God wants us to keep our eyes on Him, to see His signals.  So many times we are focused on getting to the top or being better and faster than someone else that we ignore His signals to slow down.  When we eventually do adhere to Him, it’s too late, and often times, we’ve hit a tree.  I never want to take my eyes off Him for a second.  It’s not worth it. 

    Lord, please help me always remember to watch for Your signals in my life.  If and when I get sidetracked, help me refocus on You…for You are always there:  waiting on me at the next stop. 
 
    By the way...that was a total WIN but John says I was disqualified for not following the rules...I'll still take it!  :)

 

"In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.”

Proverbs 3:6  KJV

February 10, 2013

Celebrating His Love

       The dictionary definition of ‘celebrate’ is to “observe or commemorate with festivities; to make public and proclaim”.  The synonym is ‘rejoice’.

We celebrate many things throughout life.  We celebrate life-altering milestones like a marriage, birth of a child, career opportunities, relationships, and family.  These are all usually events that are made public by having parties or showers.  And then, if you’re like me, you also hold some “personal” celebrations day to day like a good hair day, a pair of jeans that fit again, and a great pair of earrings.  I’m not one to make these celebrations public (I would definitely throw a party in honor of a good hair day, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate!  J), but you better believe I commemorate with a little festivity of doing my “happy dance”! 

These are the things, big and little, that the Lord blesses us with in and He wants us to enjoy them.  However, the Bible tells us of the true reason to celebrate:  His love.  It is simple, yet so overwhelming.  It is life-altering, yet day to day.  Sometimes we feel like proclaiming it and making it public.  Other times His love fees personal and maybe we just do our own little “happy dance”.  Whatever the case, take some time to celebrate it!



For our heart shall rejoice in Him…”
Psalms 33:20-21

February 3, 2013

“Hope in a Jar”

        I have used the face lotion by Philosophy “Hope in a Jar” for quite some time.  My older sister gave me words of wisdom a long, long time ago… “You can always PREVENT wrinkles, but you can never UNDO them, so start early.”  (She probably doesn’t even remember saying that, but I have live by those words!  Lol)  Anyways, I was putting the lotion on the other night and I happened to look down at the fine print on the jar, which I have never paid much attention to.  It read:
Hope in a Jar
Philosophy:  where there is hope there can be faith.
Where there is faith miracles can occur.
*Original formula for all skin types”

        I didn’t really know whether I should laugh…there’s hope for my face and wrinkle prevention…or cry…I’m only 30 and I need a miracle?!?!?  LOL!  HOPE, FAITH, and MIRACLES do go hand-in-hand when you think about it.  If you HOPE something will happen, there has to be a little bit of FAITH.  FAITH in the idea that whatever it is you are hoping, might really happen.  If you have the FAITH that it might happen, that’s when MIRACLES occur.  And then there was the disclaimer that that is the original formula for all skin types. 
        Just like in the spiritual sense, we start out HOPING things will happen:  we will get an answer we’ve been praying for, a friend of family member will get saved, etc.  It’s then, the Lord reminds us that it takes FAITH to back it up and you begin to see MIRACLES come about.  And there, there’s the disclaimer that that is the original formula for all mankind that the Lord gave us in His word.  So remember, whether you are HOPING for a blessing, an answer, or even just less wrinkles, put a little FAITH behind it…you might just get your MIRACLE!

“…if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”
Matthew 17:20 KJV