Is this what God's saying to you?

Good morning, dear friend! How are you today?

I'm dragging my feet. Why? Because I DO NOT want to write this post! It's not a warm fuzzy today, but I think it's part of why you haven't heard much from me lately. I have a word for some of you, and it's a call to action. Kind of. :)

I've kept in touch with many of you personally, and know some of the struggles you've been going through. I know a lot of you are looking for direction from God: What should I be doing? Am I walking in His will? What should I be doing to help my family?

Dear ones, I also know that some of you are like the leaves, being tossed by every change of direction in the wind. As soon as a door opens, you think it MUST be God, and try to run through it - and then another door opens, and IT must be God.

HE WANTS YOU TO STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be STILL, and know that He is God. What does that MEAN????

"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." John 10:4-5.

We NEED to know His voice. We need to know the difference between God's voice and a stranger's. And that means being STILL. It means being WITH Him. It means reading His Word, so you know what He SOUNDS like, what the truth of His Word says to your spirit - and how that "feels".

Dear one, how can you know His voice to follow HIM if you're not intimately involved with Him?

I want you to know that I struggle with this, too - and I don't spend nearly as much time with Him as I should. But I'm READING. I'm PRAYING. I'm trying to be STILL as much as possible, to LISTEN.

It's easy to think that every opportunity that comes your way is from God. But it's not TRUE. Everything may look PERFECT, but if you're listening, there MIGHT be a check that says WAIT.

Please, dear friend, HEAR ME. I'm not directing this at any one person. We ALL struggle - and if you're into your Bible every day, YEAH!

Still, I will say: LISTEN. Be STILL, and KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. Then, you'll be able to MOVE, and know you're following the Master's voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He says:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."

I love you! I am praying for you! And if you want to share with me, PLEASE do so - you can leave a comment if you'd like others to pray or celebrate with you, too, or you can email me at pooh0612@aol.com.

BE BLESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU can make a difference!

After you read this story, you'll realize the SMALLEST act of compassion can change someone's life. I encourage you to look around for random acts of kindness YOU can do. If you see it, DO it!

It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith
We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies..' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey &Meredith and this note:


Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by..
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

Our GOOD NEWS email today....

If you'd like to receive an email containing a photo with Scripture and a short thought for the day, please email me at HeavnlyPhotos@aol.com or leave me a comment here. This is TODAY'S email that went out this morning. :) You can remove yourself at any time from the mailing list, no hassle, no problem! (The photo is bigger in the email; here, you can click on it to see the original size - but it doesn't take long to open at all!)

Look full in His wonderful face!

I spent some time in a local park yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the flower garden was still very lush. Usually the heat of summer takes its toil, and by late August, Tennessee looks more brown than green.

But not so this year! With plenty of rain, the ground is actually soft instead of brick hard. This is a bloom from a Rose of Sharon bush, related to the Hibiscus. These blooms open up to the sun; at night they tighten up. During the day, when the evidence of the sun and of God's creation is so abundant, there is no need to hide yourself! There is far more to be thankful for than to be feared.

If you find yourself getting depressed, and being filled with anxiety, open yourself to the Son.

Photo:Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee, August 20, 2009.

It's been too long. :)

Please forgive me for seeming to drop off the face of the earth where this blog is concerned. I think I've kept in touch with most of you personally. I started this blog to be able to communicate about the daily struggle of being a Godly woman, and haven't posted in two months! I do ask your forgiveness. I lost my message for a while - but then, I realized, we ALL do sometimes. Sometimes God changes our message, or we refuse to listen to the message He wants us to share (as a wise woman admitted in her study last night at church!:D)

So, I might as well jump right in with a tough subject, right? :D

I've been feeling lately that I'm sleepwalking through my personal walk with Jesus. Let me tell you what I mean, and I hope you'll share whether I'm crazy :D, whether you've gone through something like that yourself, or whether something in your spirit is testifying the truth of what I share.

I read my Bible. I read devotionals online. I read REALLY great stuff that's being written by my friends and contemporaries.

I pray. I pray with my husband. I pray throughout the day. I do devotions with my husband.

I listen to praise music. I sing praise music - and worship music. I sit in stillness and try to listen.

I minister. I help my friends. I give them tough love and we have real communication about what God wants.

And some days, it's GOOD. Some days, I feel GREAT about where I am, what I'm doing, and what God's using me for.

And yet.

There are MORE days when I don't feel like I'm moving. When I feel NOTHING. When I know God is moving, and moving ME, but I'm not being MOVED. Does that make sense?

Like I'm sleepwalking through when I should be WIDE AWAKE. Like I'm not engaged in what God is doing to me or through me.

Or is that the way it's SUPPOSED to be? Am I being a vessel, poured out and used by Him?

So tell me, dear one. Does this strike a chord for you? Which do you think it is? And can you give me some Biblical backing for what you think?

The picture of the cat, above, is one I dearly love. I took it in Kalama, WA, outside a little restaurant. It's one of the prettiest places that's not directly on the ocean that I know of. :D This cat was sleeping on the handrail outside the restaurant. He wasn't phased by ANYTHING or ANYONE. He was content, comfortable, fed, and on his own turf.

But I don't want to be found SLEEPING. I want to be awake, alert, and AWARE. So talk to me!!! :)