Psalms 27: 3-4
When besieged, I'm calm as a baby. When all hell breaks loose, I'm collected and cool.  I'm asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I'll contemplate his beauty; I'll study at His feet. The Message Bible

I can only imagine what it will be like in heaven to sit at the feet of God the almighty.  No more sin, no more tears, no more strife, no more problems.  What a glorious time that will be.

We don't have to wait for heaven to sit at the feet of God.  He is asking us to do that now.  When all hell breaks loose in our life we can be as calm as a baby, if we sit at His feet.

Or we can look at our troubles, be worried and anxious. This is our choice.

 
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I was talking to a lady in our church who was lonely. She wanted to invite ladies over for lunch.  She loves to cook.  As soon as she told me this she said, "But the ladies are too busy and they have husbands. They won't want to come."  Was this the truth or her fear and insecurity?

A pastor once told me if you want to have a friend you need to be a friend.  In other words if you have a problem than do something about it, don't complain about it.  This lady is lonely because she is afraid to make friends. She is not sitting at the feet of God soaking up God's truth and strength like Paul did.

Philippians 4:11 And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. Paul who had been beaten, tossed into prison, whipped, shipwrecked had learned to be content.  He went from persecuting the church to sitting at the feet of God.

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Fear of our circumstance keeps us from living our whole lives in the house of the Lord as calm as a baby, no matter what happens in our lives.

Fear is nothing more than False Expectations Appearing Real.

Do you have a fear that is keeping that is preventing you from sitting at God's feet?

“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:7-8 (ESV)

For years I've written a journal of my thoughts, prays and concerns.  One day as I was writing in my journal I noticed how relaxing it was for me. Since no one would read it I wasn't concerned about my spelling, punctuation or if it was legible.

It is quite different when I write a blog or this devotion.  I reread it several times before I push the publish button. I want it to flow smoothly, with proper grammar and correct spelling, because others will be reading it.

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This can be  a lot like our lives.  When we are alone or with people we are comfortable with, do we care what we say, how we act or if our language is appropriate. Yet when when we are in the public our language and behavior might be different. In church we might behave especially good. 


If we don't think some of our behavior is appropriate for church, why do we think it is appropriate to for our family, close friends or when we are alone. 

God isn't a god who just sees us in church.  He sees us all the time.  One day I was in the shower and realized he even sees me there.

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Psalm 139:1-   God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I'm and open book to you: even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your site. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too-- your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is to much, too wonderful -- I can't take it all in! (The Message Bible)

God created us and knew all about us before we were conceived. He didn't bring us into the earth to leave us alone.  He is always watching over us, his pride and joy.  

Our goal is not to please people, but to please God who sees us all the time.

"Careful little tongue what you say.  For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little tongue what you say. Careful little feet where you go...."  A popular Sunday school song with a lot of meaning to it
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My dad loved to golf. One of the saddest parts of the diabetes was when it robbed him of his ability to see that little white ball fly through the air.

One of my favorite memories, though, was of him teaching me to swing a club in just the perfect way to send the ball flying straight and true to the intended goal.  The lesson was fairly short and sweet....once we got through that stupid very important grip.

Here is what I know...You have to commit to the swing.  Giving it your all.  Suppose you check the swing midway?  You are going to pull the ball to the right or the left.  Think you can get away with hitting the ball and then stopping the club?  Nope.  This is going to cause you problems as well.  Somehow the science requires the beginning, ball hit, and end of the swing to be as committed and fluid as they can be.

And so it is with our daily walk.  How does it work for you to be "half in" to your commitment to Christ?  It just isn't good.  Bad things happen.  There are so many things vying for our attention and not all of them are good.

As Believers we know the beginning, the day to day living and the end.  It is vital that we are committed to the entire journey as each part has impact.

I am not talking about a list of things that we must do.  I'm talking about our heart attitude.  One that earnestly follows after Him.  A constant dedication to finishing strong. One that knows that it must keep the end goal in sight to reach it.

Swing hard, my Christian friends.  Allow your testimony to fly straight and long.  Finish well at the spot of your goal.

Never give up.  If you end up in the sand trap of life....get busy and chip out of that thing.  Don't stay there or despair.  Grab a wedge...it is designed to lift that ball up and out.  Have a few "wedge" scriptures and friends handy.    :-)

Stuck in the trees/woods?  This is tricky....but you can carefully come out with prayer and support of those who love you.

Constantly seek the advice of your Caddie....The Holy Spirit.  It is even better than having someone walk beside you with encouragement and advice....This gift is in you with all the advice and tools you need to succeed.  Be practiced at hearing and obeying that voice.

So, while this may seem a silly exercise in comparisons I hope it comes back to you from time to time when you are tempted to care a bit less than you should.  Be committed....to the end.

Becky-Good Neighbors Candle Co.

Jeremiah 29:11  I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

My father has always said get a job you enjoy doing because you will spend most of your life doing it.  He loves animals and has been a farmer all his life. Even when he retired from his lively-hood of raising chickens and pigs he joined the rare breads club and bought a handful of rare sheep, black chickens, white ducks and assorted other animals. Last winter, at the age of 91 he decided his physical health didn't allow him to walk to the barn for chores so brother took over. He has lived his life with peace and contentment because he loved his work.  
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Unfortunately Mother, had more of an influence on me. She was raised during the depression and feared poverty. Having a job to support you was more important than being contented.  Despite that I spent my youth daydreaming and wanted to go into the arts I took a construction technology course.  I was told to get my head out of the clouds, get grounded and an education where I could make money.  

For a few years I had construction jobs and the next one became worse than the previous one.  I was frustrated and not happy.   

Then along came God and told me to quit construction for he had a better plan for me.   I became a stay at home mom and God began to reveal things about me that I did not know. 

In 1994 I took a folk art painting course and wondered what I was doing there since I believed I had no art talent at all.  

Then God gave me an interesting dream.  I was in a room painted yellow, with an art critic.  My art work was on the walls and the art critic  was complementing it.  

My Painting of My Dog Lacey

The only art I had done was cute bears and flowers from patterns, not this art work.   I asked God what this meant and he said to forgive my mother for criticizing my painting and I would be blessed.  The interesting fact was, I started folk art painting 6 months after she died.  How could she criticize my art?  God knew best so I forgave her. 


I was tired of painting someone else's design in  folk art.  I join and art club and took an art lesson.   My first painting I did was a picture of my dog on the frozen lake.  As I painted this picture I was amazed that I could do it and wondered where this talent had come from.  God showed me that as a child I helped Mom paint, paint by number oil paintings.  I didn't stay in the lines and she would yell at me and tell me I couldn't paint.  This put a curse on me and told my child mind I had no talent.


The paintings gave me the confidence to do pottery and then paint on the pottery.  Having more confidence I decided to do something I wanted to do as a teen, play the drums.
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When it was time to learn pottery, art and the drums the supplies and teacher was there when I needed it.  God knew I needed these and he provided them.

If I wasn't a Christian I don't think I would be doing my joy and my passion.   No more frustrations and anguish. 

God is an awesome God.  He created us before the beginning of time and he created us all with different talents and gifts.  Our gift to him is to do what he has planned for us, for God cares for us and has a plan, a hope and a future for us.  

If you are struggling with a direction to go ask God, he'll direct your path as long as you have the faith to follow.   A word of warning, Satan won't like you getting out of bondage and for a time will attack, but the battle belongs to the Lord.

George Muller was a mighty prayer warrior. He obtained great sums of money for his orphanage, not by fundraisers or asking people but through prayer.  I have heard that it has been said of George Muller that he was never long in prayer but never long from prayer.
The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Is prayer an important part of our day?  Can we go to God at any moment - while cooking, driving, crafting - to make our requests known? Do we begin our day on our knees seeking the One Who loves us, keeps us and knows our future?  Sometimes we may be at a loss of how to pray or what to pray for. Here is a short list of three things that should be a part of our prayer lives.

The First Thing - Forgiveness
Sin in our lives must be confessed in order for us to have a right relationship with God. 

Psalm 51 is a great passage on asking for forgiveness.  David, the man after God’s own heart, had failed miserably. He wanted to be right with God and he knew that meant confessing his sins and asking for forgiveness.  

The Best Thing – Wisdom
God told Solomon, David’s son to “Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5)
Solomon could have asked for anything.  God had not limited him.  Solomon’s request was for wisdom.

This pleased God and He also gave Solomon great riches.  No one on earth has ever had the wisdom and wealth that Solomon had. The book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of wisdom.
 
The Final Thing – Personal Needs
Of course we can pray for our own needs and that of our family, friends, and others.  But too many times we start and end there. We cannot ignore the first two on the list and skip to the third.
There are many places in God’s Word that teaches us to bring our needs to him.

The study of prayer cannot be learned in one short devotional.  This little lesson is just a place to begin. Let us follow the example of George Muller and never be long from prayer.

Our family lives in Southern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Our weather in the "Southern End" is often quite different than that of the rest of the county.  This often leaves us at a loss as to know what to believe about the forecasts that are given for the county as a whole.

Yesterday I noticed a township truck putting cinders/gravel down on the streets in our small development.  It registered as a surprise since it didn't appear to be precipitating at all.  A bit later I noticed that my dogs returned from their morning trip outside kind of wet.  Ahhh....so there was something going on out there.

Still, the weather reports weren't grave.  So we headed out the door to go to church.  We go early because I make the bulletins and practice music with the worship team before most others arrive.  As I headed out the door Warren cautioned me that the driveway was very slippery.  He was right.  But even so we got in the van and headed on our way.  We are very used to our roads being less than perfect here in our development but as we passed a car headed our way from the main highway Warren kind of joked about terrified drivers....they were going about 5-10 miles per hour.  Well, it took us about 30 seconds to figure out why.  As we pulled out onto the main road we found it to be just a huge sheet of ice.  There was no grip, no patches to get a grip, no nothing but slippery ice.
The rain was coming down at a pretty good pace and every drop just became ice as soon as it hit the road.

I immediately began begging Warren to turn around at a local business.  He did....sliding all the way. We went home even as I called our Pastor to report our findings.  Pretty soon we were calling every member of the church to tell them that Sunday School, at least, would be cancelled.  With these calls came the information that some ladies had gone out of their way to make a lot of food for our scheduled fellowship meal.  They were quite concerned that this might be cancelled as well.  One of them went so far as to suggest that we meet at lunchtime to eat together and then have an afternoon service.  Gasp!  Could we do it?  You know, step outside of the routine?  Worship at an unusual time?

It would be a problem if we felt we had an appointment for church. You know, this is the acceptable time and place to have church.  God shows up at 10:30 am on Sunday mornings at churches and He is done at noon.  Off to other places to meet with others, right?

As ridiculous as this sounds it is often how we act.  There are certain things we do at certain times and in certain ways and places.  It is good to mix it up every now and then.

We met for our lunch and those who were able to come found it to be a bonding experience.  The strangest thing was, though, that our experience was unique.  Even though we live about a mile from the church, as the crow flies, those who came from other directions met with no ice...none...zero...zilch.  So...of course....some had to really brag on their ability to get there.  Haha.  We are such a family.

After lunch we began our "Morning" Worship Service.  Perhaps we were even a bit more into it for the excitement of the change.  Some families didn't make it due to bad weather where they were, or other reasons, but those of us who were there very much enjoyed worshiping God in the afternoon. No question about it...He was there!

Now...I've kind of gone out of my way to stress the point.  So often we get into ruts.  You know we do our devotions in the morning, we say our meal blessings, perhaps we whisper a prayer when we see a prayer request on Facebook.  We, in our own ways, have appointments with God.

God doesn't live in time.  He doesn't need an appointment.  Schedules help us to know when to show up corporately and that is a good thing.  But I challenge you to think outside the usual worship box and just visit with Your Heavenly Father just any time at all.  Shake it up a little.  Be intentional about it.  Routines can be helpful or they can be boring and legalistic.

There is joy in Worship....any time!

Hugs, Becky (Good Neighbors Candle)