Black and White...

Psalm 119
1 Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. 2 Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. 3 They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. 4 You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. 5 Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! 6 Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. 7 As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! 8 I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!

I've been meditating on the words in Psalm 119 that tell us how to be happy. It tells us the things we should do if we want peace and contentment in our lives. It also tells us what we should stay away from...

I have heard several people say "How could God have allowed this ..... to happen?" When I hear that phrase I want to be sensitive and understanding about their situation, because I do care about them. But as I've been reading and meditating on Psalm 119, I have to ask the questions "Did you ask God what he thought of this BEFORE you made the decision that has found you in the situation for which you are so distressed?" or "Have you followed the commands of the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?" or "Have you walked along the path and not compromised with evil?"

Our "Happiness" status should not be situational but we all know that we are somewhat controlled by our emotions. The Bible says that " Joyful are those that obey his laws and search for him with all their heart."

Can we honestly say that we search for God with all our heart? Does the Lord consume your thoughts? Do you ask what he thinks before you make a big decision and then WAIT until he answers? Or do you not even include him in your decision making process? Are you controlled by the way you feel about something instead of knowing what you believe about it and doing the right thing instead of the wrong thing?

The whole HUGE chapter of Psalm 119 tells us how we can be happy and joyful... One way is knowing the commandments of God...

I've tried to tell my kids that you have to know what you think about something before you find yourself in a situation where you have to decide based on how you feel about it at the time... That is not the time to make a decision.

Here's where things can get sticky. I'm a black and white kind of person... Something either is right or it is wrong... Now I believe that something can be okay for one person but wrong for someone else, but if you know what is right and what is wrong for you, then there's no question as to how you should respond to it when you're faced with that circumstance.

I think that we as a society have so many socially acceptable things, that it doesn't matter what God's word says about something, the majority of people will do whatever the crowd does. That, in my opinion, is called compromising... which, as the word clearly states in the passage from Psalm 119 we shouldn't do, in order to be Joyful or "Happy" as some versions say.

I'm saying all this to say that I want each and everyone of you to be happy... I know that God wants us to be happy and he has clearly given us the guidelines of what can make us happy... Are we willing to do what it says?
Are willing to take the stand on either the Black or the White side of things? We have to take a stand for something or we'll fall for anything.
Don't be deceived... Right is always right, and wrong is always wrong... What is right for you can only be determined by your convictions and that conviction comes from the free gift of the Holy Spirit that guides us into all righteousness... That leads us down the path to happiness (if we are following it) What side are you on?
Lea Anne

Winning Favor...

I am two weeks into the study of Esther and I have deduced a couple of things from just the first chapter. The first thing I've discovered is that it isn't a person's spiritual beliefs or particular status in life that determines whether or not you win favor with others... It is mostly our Character of person... Your Character will shine through regardless of your position or status. It doesn't matter whether you are the leader or a follower... Integrity, accountability, and constancy is the thing that makes up the character of a person. You can't buy character... you can't pretend to have character... you can't hide behind character... It is the essence of you... If you have good character, that is what comes out. If you have bad character... that is also as obvious...

Esther Chapter 1 starts off with Anger, Pride, and Arrogance being displayed by the King of Persia...I'd like to suggest that anger, pride and arrogance are not character traits... They are emotional expressions displayed during situational experiences... The character trait would be identified as inconsistency, rash, and self-serving... these "traits" are not emotional outbursts... these underlying traits are what make up the person's character...What is on the inside of us will be evident in the way we live. The Bible clearly states in Galatians 5 what life without Character looks like. I encourage you to read it.

But Esther Chapter 2 introduces a new character trait... Beautiful, lovely, spirit-led, good... And it states that she "impressed Heggai and won favor with him"... How does one "Win Favor"... It doesn't go into detail as to how she won his favor... It doesn't say that she "tried" to win his favor... It doesn't say even what she did that was so impressive to him... So it leaves the door open to speculation as to what a person should do to win favor with those in authority over them... I would speculate that the only thing she did was demonstrate the strength of character that people without it look upon with longing and wish they had... She was a person of integrity... she did what she said she would do and didn't do what she shouldn't... She was accountable... She had maids and those in authority who watched every move and she was constant... What is that you ask? She didn't waffle from one decision to another... she stayed the same... she stood her ground... she was stable... The bible says in James 1:8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways... If you talk out of both sides of your mouth, you lose credibility... You slack a little in the integrity department... You aren't constant...

If you aren't a person of good character.... You can be... It starts with an internal decision to plant the seed of goodness in your heart. Ask the Lord Jesus to take over and recondition your character traits... A changed life on the inside will demonstrate good fruit on the outside... Go back to Galatians 5:22... the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, long suffering, and self control... These are the traits of good character.

I'm being changed by the renewing of my mind... daily...
Lea Anne

Being thankful...

Today, I'm thankful... I've been thinking over the last week of how to put into words what I'm feeling and the word I want to camp on is "thankful". I could sit and commiserate all the things that don't seem to be going my way, but I'm not going to do that. I'd rather find a reason to be thankful.

Today is the eve of the 9/11 event that brought terror to our nation. I remember exactly where I was and what we were doing that day and as I reflect back on it, I'm thankful that there weren't more deaths, more disaster, more terror. I'm thankful for family and friends that are still here and available to talk to or zip an email off to. I'm thankful that the Lord gives us the wisdom to keep us out of harm's way or redirect our steps when we are asking for that wisdom. He won't lead us into harms path and so many stories were told about how someone just changed their plans that day instead of getting on a plane or going into the office... Or they had a delay in getting there. Sometimes a traffic jam is simply put there to protect us from an unknown harm. God knows everything that will happen to us and if we are listening, he will lead us away from harm.

That doesn't mean that nothing bad will happen to us... Just that if we are listening, we might avoid a whole lot of unneccessary pain and suffering.

I watched John Maxwell this past weekend and he told a story about this little boy that was reading a book and was so devastated by the events that were happening in the book that he had to flip to the back to see how the hero ended up. Then as he went back to the intensity of the story, he was able to encourage that hero with these words..."Don't worry, I read the end of the book and you'll turn out okay. Don't give up." That is how our Lord looks at our current situations... He knows how we end up and he promises to never give us more than we can handle. You just have to trust that whatever it is you are going through can be used to teach you something about yourself. Let God teach you something as you go through the trials. As a Christian, I've read the end of the book... Guess what? We win!!!

So as you evaluate your life and situations, just remember that the problems we face are usually short lived and overcome-able. (is that even a word?)

I choose to remain thankful. And always keeping an ear intune to what the spirit is up to. I ask for a special revelation of His goodness today.
In rememberance...
Lea Anne

Removing the LOG from my eye...

I was humbled today as I laid my cares upon the Lord in my quiet time. I was quick to think back over the last few hours as I always do and ask God to reveal any wrong thing that I might not have noticed that I did. Sometimes our sins are very evident when we intentionally know we are sinning. But other sins, sins that are of an attitude nature aren't as easily recognized in ourselves. That was the case with my sin from yesterday.

You see, I caught an attitude of excellence... You know what that is, don't you? I'm sure we're all guilty of this type of sin... Although I'm not trying to cast aspersions on any one else and I'm taking full responsibility for my thoughts and comments from yesterday, I'm sure we've all had this type of attitude...

It's the "holier than thou"... It's the "I would never"... It's the "How could they have missed that blantant misspelling?"... It's the "Why weren't they more welcoming?"... You see where I'm going with this?

The attitude of Excellence. We think everything we do is PERFECT and are quick to criticize the "incompetence" of others. The "mistakes" made. The failures and faults. I needed this word from the Lord today and it quickened my spirit within me. Whatever measure I use to judge others will be meted out on me... Father, forgive me for my attitude of excellence.

Luke 6:37-38"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot
easier. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity."

39-40He quoted a proverb: "'Can a blind man guide a blind man?' Wouldn't they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice
doesn't lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.

41-42"It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

Go easy on someone today... they may really need to see the best side of you instead of the "excellent" side of you.

I Love you!!
Lea Anne

How to tell if a desire of your heart is of God or of your own nature

I did a little research on Bible Gateway and typed in desires... There were 48 different references for "Desires" in that search. 40 of those 48 searches had to do with sinful desires... only 8 specified a desire from God. This tells me that most of the desires we have are of a sinful nature. So how do we discern whether our desire for something is good or bad? This scripture spells it out loud and clear...

Romans 8:5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. How do we live in accordance with the Spirit?

We can start by learning the right way to live by following the specifications of "Holy Living" found in Leviticus Chapter 19. If you read this chapter, it pretty much spells out what God considers right and wrong. If you are doing the right things in accordance to what the Word of God says, and if you are praying and seeking God's face before you make decisions, and if you are earnestly waiting on God for the answers... you can be assured that the desires in your heart are of God.

Now what happens if you read this chapter, which is just one of many that teaches us what God thinks about things, and you recognize right off the bat that you aren't living out these attributes? What do you do then? If you continue in the act that is clearly spelled out as being wrong then you are living in complete disobedience to the Lord. God does not reward disobedience...

But, God is full of grace and mercy to forgive us as soon as we call out to him in confession and repentence.

Deuteronomy 28:1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.

It doesn't matter what you've done, or how far you strayed... All you have to do is TURN from those acts and follow after the commands of the Lord. God's word is not a book of rules that keep us from having any fun in our lives or tells us "we're doing it wrong". It is a loving guidebook that tells us about blessings and curses...Life and Death... We get to choose how we live... Either in the blessing or the curse...Or life, abundant and ever-flowing... or death...

So back to the desires and knowing without a doubt if the desire in your heart is of God or your own fleshly desires... Are you following the commands of God? Is your heart earnestly seeking God? Are you obeying the laws of right and wrong in accordance to the Word of God? If you are... then follow the desires of your heart.

Proverbs 3:1My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Knowing the will of God in our lives starts with knowing what we want. Truly knowing what we want... Then trust that God will direct your paths to that want. He wants to give us the desires of our hearts because when we are seeking him, he places them there for us to instill hope.

Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by
faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

I hope this helps someone who is seeking to know the will of God in their lives.
I love you!
Lea Anne

Worked the Young at Heart EXPO

I might have betrayed blogger by joining facebook. But I did. I already have 127 friends on facebook, but I won't neglect you friends on blogger. I'll keep posting especially since I haven't figured out how to type more than a couple of lines on facebook. You know that I can only speak in a hundred words or more...
Just kidding... but not really...

I find that this is a place where I can just lay it all out there. I'd like to think that I might help someone else by what I have to say, but it's mostly just a part of my random thought processing...

Today was a good day. We served the community with about 2000 people coming to the Young at Heart EXPO and it just reminds me of how thankful I am to be able to work for this great company. I love the people I work with as well. I've posted the 2009 photo booth photo for you to see. I haven't changed much in the last year. In fact, we are in a health challenge at work, and I haven't moved more than a couple of ounces in both directions since this same time about 5 years ago... I really need to change as I'd like to lose a little weight. I have to resolve in my mind that I will before I do... and basically I just haven't made that resolution...

I just wanted to say hi and I have a lot of thoughts I need to organize before I post anything worthy of reading... That will come soon...
I lOve you!
Lea Anne

A walk in the right direction...

I have been meditating on a specific foundational belief of the Christian faith lately. That is the belief that God is in Control and He actually directs our steps as we walk along in life.

How do you feel about that?

Do you believe that God directs us and speaks a clear word to us, or not?

I believe He does.

I was reading the prophet Isaiah this past week and this scripture spoke volumes to me...

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

And further on in Isaiah...

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

So why do so many people struggle with knowing God's will in their lives? Do you struggle with knowing what path to take, which direction to go, which job to persue? Do you wonder if there really is a God that can speak to you and tell you which way to go? Have you ever thought, "Does he even care about me?" Maybe you are like the Israelites in this passage of scripture... Isaiah 30

1 “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. 2 For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. 3 But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced. 4 For though his power extends to Zoan and his officials have arrived in Hanes, 5 all who trust in him will be ashamed. He will not help you. Instead, he will disgrace you.”

Are you putting your trust in other people to help you make your decisions?

Another foundational belief of a Christian, is that God's word is true... Either you believe it in its entirety or you don't. You can't pick apart the Bible and get to choose the things you want to believe is true and discard the things you think can't possibly be true. You take it as a whole... And that is a lot of the reasons why so many people struggle with their decisions, because they don't believe that God can speak to them through His Word...

Have you even consulted the Bible to see if JUST MAYBE God's word is true... For here it says this in Hebrews 4...

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Okay, enough preaching... How do you actively apply the scripture to your current situation and then know that God is directing you down the path he wants you to walk on? I'll share with you what I am currently praying for and seeking an answer about...

I have my house for sale... (the whole story of this is on the home page if you want to read how it came to be.) I also have a houseguest that needs to find a place to stay. I have been praying that I can handle this in the right way with sensitivity. I was reading the Psalms and I read this...

Psalm 91:9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no
plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his
angels to protect you wherever you go.

Now this might not mean anything to you, but it brought me peace to know that God will protect my houseguest wherever she goes. I don't have to be responsible for her wellbeing... She does love God and serves Him, but I don't know how strong her faith and trust is in how He provides for those who trust in Him. However, my faith is strong enough to know that He will provide the right place, at the right time for the right amount of money. I do have to be proactive in that I have to look for that opportunity... I have to do what I am able to do and then trust God for what I can't do... But we have to start somewhere, and I choose to start with trust in God. I have a peace that I wouldn't have if I were stewing about the situation. God gives us a choice as to whether we subject our will to Him or not. We make that decision every day. Will we Seek His Will?

Will we ask Him for Wisdom?

Will we do what He says?

God's will is the way we CHOOSE to live each day of our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord.

Here's the ending of this thought for today... God keeps in perfect peace, those whose thoughts are steadfast in HIM. If you aren't seeking God, you probably aren't walking in His will.... So I ask you again, have you studied the scriptures to see what God says about what you are doing?

I love you!!
Lea Anne