Take Goliath Down

by Max Lucado

Goliaths still roam our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression. Super-size challenges still swagger and strut, still pilfer sleep and embezzle peace and liposuction joy. But they can't dominate you. You know how to deal with them. You face giants by facing God first.

Focus on giants—you stumble.


Focus on God—your giants tumble.

You know what David knew, and you do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Goliath. Let your thumb remind you of ...

1. THE STONE OF THE PAST

Goliath jogged David's memory. Elah was a déjà vu. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn't he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes.

"Remember His marvelous works which He has done" (1 Chron. 16:12). Catalog God's successes. Keep a list of his world records. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? How many nights have you gone to bed hungry? Mornings awakened in the cold? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today's worries in sand. Chisel yesterday's victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select ...

2. THE STONE OF PRAYER

Note the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next you must go through it. Let it remind you of David's descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don't face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote, "Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long" (Eph. 6:18 MSG).

Prayer spawned David's successes. His Brook Besor wisdom grew out of the moment he "strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Sam. 30:6). When Saul's soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God: "You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble" (Ps. 59:16).

Invite God's help. Pick up the stone of prayer. And don't neglect ...

3. THE STONE OF PRIORITY

Let your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God's reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David fought so that "all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's" (1 Sam. 17:46-47).

David saw Goliath as a chance for God to show off! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God.

What if you saw your giant in the same manner? Rather than begrudge him, welcome him. Your cancer is God's chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God's opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God's power. See your struggle as God's canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God's name and then reach for ...

4. THE STONE OF PASSION

David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bet on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David's siblings or David's king. But God did.

And since God did, and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant.

Do the same!

Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion.

One more stone, and finger, remains:

5. THE STONE OF PERSISTENCE

David didn't think one rock would do. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they'd come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to empty the chamber if that's what it took.

Imitate him. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two ... but don't quit. Keep loading the rocks. Keep swinging the sling.

David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence.

Next time Goliath wakes you up, reach for a stone. Odds are, he'll be out of the room before you can load your sling.

From Facing Your Giants
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2005) Max Lucado

Thank you God for sending me this message and for another day and for knowing how to use a gun.
Amen

Tender Words to the Tired Heart

by Max Lucado

Brook Besor. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of the place. Most haven't, but more need to. The Brook Besor narrative deserves shelf space in the library of the worn-out. It speaks tender words to the tired heart.

The story emerges from the ruins of Ziklag. David and his six hundred soldiers return from the Philistine war front to find utter devastation. A raiding band of Amalekites had swept down on the village, looted it, and taken the women and children hostage. The sorrow of the men mutates into anger, not against the Amalekites, but against David. After all, hadn't he led them into battle? Hadn't he left the women and children unprotected? Isn't he to blame? Then he needs to die. So they start grabbing stones.

This could be his worst hour.

But he makes it one of his best.

David redirects the men's anger toward the enemy. They set out in pursuit of the Amalekites. Keep the men's weariness in mind. They still bear the trail dust of a long campaign and haven't entirely extinguished their anger at David. They don't know the Amalekites' hideout, and, if not for the sake of their loved ones, they might give up.

Indeed, two hundred do. The army reaches a brook called Besor, and they dismount. Soldiers wade in the creek and splash water on their faces, sink tired toes in cool mud, and stretch out on the grass. Hearing the command to move on, two hundred choose to rest. "You go on without us," they say.

How tired does a person have to be to abandon the hunt for his own family?

The church has its quorum of such folks. Good people. Godly people. Only hours or years ago they marched with deep resolve. But now fatigue consumes them. They're exhausted. So beat-up and worn down that they can't summon the strength to save their own flesh and blood. Old age has sucked their oxygen. Or maybe it was a deflating string of defeats. Divorce can leave you at the brook. Addiction can as well. Whatever the reason, the church has its share of people who just sit and rest.

And the church must decide. What do we do with the Brook Besor people? Berate them? Shame them? Give them a rest but measure the minutes? Or do we do what David did? David let them stay.

He and the remaining four hundred fighters resume the chase.

David and his men swoop down upon the enemy like hawks on rats. Every Israelite woman and child is rescued. Every Amalekite either bites the dust or hits the trail, leaving precious plunder behind. David goes from scapegoat to hero, and the whooping and hollering begin.

And what about the two hundred men who had rested?

You might feel the way some of David's men felt: "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man's wife and children" (1 Sam. 30:22).

A Molotov cocktail of emotions is stirred, lit, and handed to David. Here's how he defuses it: "Don't do that after what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and given us the enemy who attacked us. Who will listen to what you say? The share will be the same for the one who stayed with the supplies as for the one who went into battle. All will share alike." (30:23-24 NCV)

Note David's words: they "stayed with the supplies," as if this had been their job. They hadn't asked to guard supplies; they wanted to rest. But David dignifies their decision to stay.

David did many mighty deeds in his life. He did many foolish deeds in his life. But perhaps the noblest was this rarely discussed deed: he honored the tired soldiers at Brook Besor.

Someday somebody will read what David did and name their church the Congregation at Brook Besor. Isn't that what the church is intended to be? A place for soldiers to recover their strength?

If you are listed among them, here is what you need to know: it's okay to rest. Jesus is your David. He fights when you cannot. He goes where you cannot. He's not angry if you sit. Did he not invite, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest" (Mark 6:31 MSG)?

Brook Besor blesses rest.

Brook Besor also cautions against arrogance. David knew the victory was a gift. Let's remember the same. Salvation comes like the Egyptian in the desert, a delightful surprise on the path. Unearned. Undeserved. Who are the strong to criticize the tired?

Are you weary? Catch your breath. We need your strength.

Are you strong? Reserve passing judgment on the tired. Odds are, you'll need to plop down yourself. And when you do, Brook Besor is a good story to know.

From Facing Your Giants
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006) Max Lucado

I started crying...I must be tired as well.

Now this is an opinion I have not heard before----but I tend to believe...

Jesus came to find us
March 25, 2010
... no one seeks for God.
-- Romans 3:11

Do you realize that religion doesn't seek the one true God? That may surprise you, but it's true. Religion is nothing more than man's frail effort to create God in his own image.

But while religion is man's quest to be like God, the Christian faith is about God's search for man! Isn't that amazing? This is what separates Christianity from the world's religions. Luke 19:10 says, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

So when someone says, "I found the Lord," in all honesty, they didn't. The Lord found them! You and I were lost and he came looking for us. And he found us and loved us and made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sin.

Now some people resent being judged as sinful. And if you feel this way, pay close attention, because this is the very part of our nature that rebels against God. But Romans 3:23 clearly states that, "all have sinned and fall short of God's glory."

We are lost without him and doomed to be separated from a holy God. But in his endless love, God sent a Savior to find us and to pay the ultimate price for our sin.

Don't let your pride stand between you and eternity with our loving heavenly Father. Repent and turn from your sin and begin to follow Jesus today!

"ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF GOD'S GLORY."

"Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night,
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee."

---Charles Wesley

Daily Inspirations from christianity.com

Soil vs. Dirt
by Glynnis Whitwer

"But still others received the seed that fell on good soil. They are those who hear the message and understand it. They produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than the farmer planted."Matthew 13:23 (NIRV)

Devotion:
Being raised in the Arizona desert, I have a different approach to planting than folks in other parts of the country. This was pointed out to me clearly when I was in the beautiful and lush state of Oregon a few years ago.
Some friends and I were discussing the Bible story about sowing seeds and reaping a harvest. I made a comment about planting seed in dirt. "Actually," one of the ladies replied kindly, "seed gets put in soil."
I smiled, and said, "Maybe here it does, but in my part of the country, we've got dirt."
We laughed about that, but it's true. In many parts of the desert, in order to plant, we need to break up the dirt and replace it in part or in total, with good, nutritious soil. This soil is created with lots of additives, or brought in from somewhere else, like Oregon. Without healthy soil, our fruits and vegetables are only a poor reflection of what they could be.
Sadly, our hearts can sometimes be compared to hard dirt, resistant to the truth God longs to plant in it. When a seed of truth is presented to a hardened heart, it is not easily received or embraced. There might be an initial acceptance, but no long term change or "fruit."
Jesus told a parable recorded in Matthew 13 about those who hear the truth, and what they do with it. In the story, some of the hearers did not benefit from the good seed because their "soil" wasn't ready for it. As I read that parable, and considered the hard desert dirt, I wondered if there is any way we can soften hard hearts.
I believe the Bible, and the natural world, give us ways to do just that. Like planting in dirt, the first step is to break it up. We can break up the hardness of our hearts by asking God to search us and reveal the hard places. The psalmist asked God to do this in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me..." (ASV).
Then we can bring healthy "soil" in to those places. For example, if God reveals there is unforgiveness in your heart, mix in God's truth about forgiveness. You might memorize Luke 17:4, "If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him" (NIV).

Finally, keep your heart "watered" so it doesn't harden again. Jesus declared that He was living water, and that when we believe in Him, streams of water will flow from within (John 7:38). This water is the Holy Spirit, who lives in us when we believe and keeps our hearts receptive to God.

I believe God longs to bring many believers into a more mature and vibrant faith, but hardened hearts keep us from growing. Having a heart receptive to truth is an important part of living a life that's productive and used by God. We may have lots of dirt in the desert ... and our hearts ... but where God's living water is, there is always an orchard ready to grow.

Dear Lord, thank You for making a way for even the hardest heart to soften. Help me see the areas of my heart that are hard like dirt. Please replace those places with healthy soil so that Your truth can produce a harvest in my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

For finding this yesterday

For Time Spent with Kelly & Holly Sunday

That there is actually a prayer called Intercession

1st spring buds on a tree

flowers pushing up out of the cool wet earth

listening to the water sounds of a fountain with my eyes closed

Regaining Focus

Thankful for regaining my focus

Have lost focus on my art, which is my soul connection to my God, my Holy Spirit.
I came across a favorite book of mine, it never fails to inspire me and makes me long to be in my creative mode.

To me, Art...it is like breathing...I must or i can't go on

"What is the basic nutrition for the soul? Well, it differs from creature to creature, but here are some combinations. ... For some women air, night, sunlight, and trees are necessities. For others, words, paper, and books are the only things that satiate. For others, color, form, shadow, and clay at the absolutes. Some women must leap, bow, and run, for their souls crave dance. Yet others crave only a tree-leaning peace." (Women Who Run W/Wolves)

Today

Today I am grateful for cardinals.
I listen to them sing to each other almost every day at work.
They have a special song. They make me happy
I am grateful for yellow paint.
While making posters for work, i'm using yellow, and it reminds me of spring.
I am grateful for my friends who call just to check on me.
Thats love.

I'm Learning

In an email to me, my son said this:

"May we not limit God to our idea of Him.
May we trust in his limitless power, rest in His love for His children, and share this love with others bring Glory to His name!"

how cool is that

so true, i forget all the time and limit my God to my idea of Him, which in my mind isn't very big.
I'm learning...

Acceptance

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.

When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.

Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake.

unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.

(BB, pg.449)

Thank you God for blowing on that oscillation over Greenland that has been repeatedly sending snow and cold and suffering to our area.  I thank you for the cold temperatures so that there are fewer flies this coming year but we are all worn down, disheartened, and sickly from the pounding.  Since Washington DC got 3 ft of snow, does this mean that Hell finally froze?  that Congress will work for their constituants as they are intended?  I pray it is so.

Thank you God for putting Mary in my life.  I had never gotten to meet a truly gentle spirit in all the days i have walked the earth in this lifetime until she came into my life.  Her posts have been so kind, patient, and genuine!  I am inspired by her honesty.  Thankfully pruning dead limbs do not hurt and I pray you prune us when the sap isn't running to those live ones that need to be removed to achieve true spiritual growth.

Thank you for protecting me and showing us all the things we need to know---whether we want to see them or not.  With truth, we can not be deceived later on.

Yours truly,
Lori

Walk in the woods

I am grateful Kelly is safe
she gave me a scare for a few days, but its turning out ok
i think she wants to move back to missouri soon
back where people love her

grateful Jimmy, Holly and I went to movies and hung out and had some laughter
no matter what, laughter breaks everything

Rule # 13
you cant be depressed and laughing at the same time

grateful that i have a variety of friends, that if i was ever in a jam or needed anything at all, i have people I can call
am thankful for friends in my life, whether they know it or not

Like a tree, I must be pruned of a lot of dead branches before I will be ready to bear good fruit. Think of changed people as trees that have been stripped of their old branches, pruned, cut, and bare. But through the dark, seemingly dead branches flows silently, secretly, the new sap, until with the sun of spring comes new life. There are new leaves, buds, blossoms, and fruit, many times better because of the pruning. I am in the hands of a Master Gardener, who makes no mistakes in His pruning

Thank you for
the exquisite beauty
fragrance of flowers
and knowing spring is right around the corner

(original photos by mary)

The lifeline, the line of rescue, is the line from the soul to God. On one end of the lifeline is our faith and on the other end is God's power. It can be a strong line and no soul can be overwhelmed who is linked to God by it. I will trust in this lifeline and never be afraid. God will save me from doing wrong and from the cares and troubles of life. I will look to God for help and trust Him for aid when I am emotionally upset.

Thankful for
Lori's Chicks

Thankful for
Song "Grateful" -Hezekiah Walker

Thankful for
"I need you to survive" Hezekiah Walker~ I need you, you need me.
We're all a part of God's body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We're all a part of God's body.
It is his will that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.

I need you, you need me.
We're all a part of God's body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We're all a part of God's body.
It is his will that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.

I pray for you , you pray for me.
I love you, I need you to survive.
I won't harm you with words from my mouth.
I love you, I need you to survive.
(Repeat 6x)

May the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
Be pleasing to You
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer

~from psalm 19~

Lori,

we aren't damaged
i believe we were wounded
by the soul sickness of this sinful world

we walk out of the darkness
into the glorious light
we are chosen
we have been called

His unending love, mercy and grace shower us
we are His masterpiece
we now come confidently and boldly into His presence

listen to this, the most beautiful words I've ever heard
i can hear it with my inner hearing
in my heart of hearts
my soul had been searching for this truth
it was spoken to me almost everyday for months
and then I finally heard

so now i must tell you

"When I think of all this, i fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and earth. I pray that from His glorious unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
Christ will make His home in your heart as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into Gods love and keep you strong.

And may you have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high, how deep His love is.

Ephesians 3:14

(that is some beautiful poetry)

Ditto Mary's post God.
Is it ok to be me, or not?

Didn't you make us?
Trust is difficult for those of us who are damaged.

Love you,
Lori

Dear God,

it's ok if i don't know the answers
it's ok if i dont understand
it's ok to just be me

cause you got it covered
right?

Dear God,

Please whisper

"Blue Springs"
Blue Springs
Blue Springs

to Glory

Dear God,
Thank you for the incredible relationship and long conversations I have with my son, Jim Jr.
He is so amazing to watch and his love for You is contagious.
Thank you for Kelly, letting me into her world on a daily basis. I know you already do, but please walk close with her. Hold her hand, or send her a league of guardian angels. You put people in our lives for a reason, please put someone in Kellys path who has a soft, loving heart. Keep her safe in your arms. Draw her close to your heart. I miss her very much

Dear God,
Thank you for guiding the baler into the shed without damaging it or the shed!  Thank you too for keeping them reminding me to do it.  This out of sight, out of mind mode my brain has gotten into is very frustrating.

Thank you for getting that bonfire roaring even though things out there just weren't that dry.

Thank you for releasing the lawnmower so i could park it in a better place!

I'm so glad you helped me get ready for the next bout of weather.
Please help me get the chicken houses fixed and get those girls in a healthy place.
Thank you,
Lori

Dear God,
Thank you for taking single digits out of the forecast!!!! My horses and i greatly thank you!!!

Thank you for giving me email and the internet to connect with the outside world.

Thank you for telling Nick he needed to talk to me so i do not go crazy.  His knowledge and humor are always tremendously appreciated.
Yours,
Lori

Thank you Father that you allow your grace and mercy to flow and cover me each day. I would be lost w/o you. Every where I turn I am reminded of you and this keeps me going along with everything that you have done and given up for me so that I can show your love to others.
Thank you for blessing me so that I can be a blessing to others. As you have told me to be in your word and in our alone time together. I am in awe of you and all that you do and have done.
Thank you for another day to seek you and follow you. For things that seem hard and difficult and take me out of my comfort zone so that I may grow, rely, lean, and trust more in you. Not in myself because I know that I will make a mistake but thru you I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.

Dear God,
I love your sense of humor.
Thank you for showing me that glaring character defect today we have been working on together.
Omgosh, the joke is always on me. You crack me up how that works out.
His laundry, seriously? I think you have a slightly twisted sense of humor, but then so do I. That's what made it even more funny. Yes, I will be obedient to your word.
Your loving daughter,

God, thank you for not giving me children that i must bury.  My prayers go out to my cousin Karen and her husband John who lost her youngest son Matthew early this morning.

Alicia was gifted with a liver transplant.
Whoever reads this, Please hold her and her family up in prayer.
Mary's (not me) friend is dying of cancer. She makes her mashed potatoes to eat because its all she likes. I thank her for sharing her story with me. I am so deeply humbled. It put me right back in my place. We hold them up in prayer.
Watching her walk in life gives me such a deep appreciation for my life, the people in it, and how precious life really is.
How much I take for granted.
Heavenly Father, Thank you for never letting go.
No matter what or where I may wander, you never let go.