Unexpected Opportunities: Seize the Moment

November 5, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Unexpected opportunities can sure mess with our schedules. A moment packed with potential presents itself, and we’re met with the dilemma of either staying on task or pulling away and taking advantage of the opportunity before us. Which will we do?

More and more I’m learning to seize the moment before it disappears. Whether it’s taking time to take photos of beautiful birds at the birdbath or feeder or putting my work on hold to offer some encouraging words, to help someone, or to take time with our kids and grandkids, I’m learning to set aside my agenda and give attention to the things God brings before me.

I admit I feel guilty and frustrated many times when I don’t get as much done in a day as I’d hoped to. But we type-A, goal-oriented people need to learn that God’s plan is sometimes different from ours—and his is better.

Let’s be ready to accept the gifts of potential-packed moments God sends our way. Let’s take time to unwrap them. Let’s seize our opportunities.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

*What unexpected gift of opportunity have you unwrapped lately?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out yesterday, but it’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*My photo

Filed Under: advice, balance, blessing, encouragement, Gift, life, opportunity, time, trust, work Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

When Jesus Touches Our Lives We Are Changed

September 17, 2024 by 2 Comments

Think back today to the years when Jesus walked the earth. When he interacted face to face with those around him, when his hands touched their needs. Those folks walked away different than they were before they met Jesus.

Blinded eyes saw again. Deaf ears opened. People were fed. Fevers disappeared. Shame fell away. The lame leapt with joy. Persecutors became followers. And on and on it goes. All of these things happened because people had encounters with Jesus.

You see, when Jesus touches our lives, we are changed. The people that Jesus met during his days on earth saw not only healings and physical changes, but they experienced spiritual transformation as well.

Consider the story of the jailer told in Acts 16:31-34. He stood guard over Paul and Silas when they were thrown in a Roman prison. In fact, after being told to guard them carefully, he was the one who put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks. They would not escape on his watch.

Little did the jailer know that God had other plans. While Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, an earthquake rocked the prison. All the prison doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

The jailer, gripped by fear and the certain knowledge that escaped prisoners meant his own execution, drew his sword and prepared to kill himself. When Paul stopped him by shouting that they were all still there, the jailer fell to his knees and asked what he needed to do to be saved.

Paul and Silas said, “‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’” (v. 31) They could have turned a deaf ear to the one who had mistreated them, but Paul and Silas extended the love—the touch—of Jesus. The jailer believed and his life forever changed.

Because he met Jesus, the man who had thrown these men of God into the inner cell and put them in stocks now washed and tended their wounds. He took them into his home and set a meal before them. Why? Jesus had touched his life, and he was a changed man.

Jesus is still touching lives today. Lives are still being changed. And I am among them. Because Jesus touched my life with love, grace,  and forgiveness, I can offer the same to others. Because Jesus has given me hope and peace, I can share these precious gifts with those around me. My life is changed, I am changed, because Jesus touched—and continues to touch—my life.

Do you need the loving, healing touch of Jesus in your life today? He’s as close as your next breath. Use it to whisper his name. Call on him. He will not fail you. He will extend his touch to you. And you will be forever changed.

“‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.’” Revelation 3:20 KJV

*How has Jesus touched your life?

*If you don’t have a personal faith in Jesus, you can come to know him today. Just talk to him. Tell him you believe that he died for your sins and the sins of the world and that he rose from the dead to bring victory over sin and give eternal life to those who believe in him. Ask him to forgive your sins and to come into your life and be your Savior. He loves you and is waiting to hear from you!

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early November. Sign-up is FREE. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

Photo by AMONWAT DUMKRUT on Unsplash

Filed Under: change, encouragement, faith, forgive, free, grace, heal, joy, life, love, mercy, pair, peace, salvation, touch, trust, victory, Word of God Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Handling the Ache of Empty Arms

June 18, 2024 by 2 Comments

Don’t you love how we can express ourselves in different ways? For some, their chosen avenue is music. For others, it is art. Still others find their creative outlet in photography or cooking or knitting. The list goes on and on.

We writers use words to share our hearts with the world. But even within that world of words, we can choose different forms of expression. And you know what I’ve discovered? Sometimes a poem says it best. I pray that this one blesses you.

Empty Arms

No one warned her it was coming,
the lost feeling that hovered
when the caregiving stopped.
But a friend brought clarity
with two simple words—
Empty arms.

A different time, a different place,
he never dreamed how deep the void,
never knew what lost really meant
until heaven claimed his love,
until she no longer stood by his side.
Empty arms.

Across the way, a young couple grieved,
brokenhearted and alone.
The cherished dream would never be theirs,
A child of their own they’d never see,
a primal yearning withheld.
Empty arms.

A hurried goodbye on a college campus
and then tears the entire drive home.
Her daughter’s room so empty
yet bearing her mark,
the pain of letting go pours in.
Empty arms.

What can we do when such times come
how do we handle the ache?
Let’s turn to the One ever ready to help,
hand him each hurt until nothing remains
but the welcome relief of
Empty arms.

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 NIV

*How has God helped you handle an empty arms situation in your life?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early August. Sign-up is FREE. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by whatmegsaid, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: comfort, creation/creative/creator, disappointment, encouragement, faith, grief, heal, help, hope, life, poem, strength, trial, trust

God Hasn’t Forgotten You

May 21, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Long term trials have a way of wearing us down—in more ways than one. Whether it’s ongoing illness, unemployment, marital problems, teenage rebellion, or any number of other anguish inducing situations, we soon grow weary physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We eventually wonder if God has forgotten us, don’t we?

If today you feel that God doesn’t hear your cries anymore or that he doesn’t care about you, remember that he loves you so much he sent his only Son to be your Savior. Take heart with these words of encouragement from my poem “Trust in Him”–

“And when you finally feel
Like God has forgotten you,
He’ll show you he hasn’t—
Trust in him.”

Father, show the weary and hurting your love!

“I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:15 NRSV

*How has God shown you his love in the midst of a long-term trial?

*The current issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is FREE. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*Photo by Evie S. on Unsplash

Filed Under: burden, comfort, depend, encouragement, faith, faithfulness, help, life, love, poem, stress, time, trust, unfailing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Waiting for the Proper Time

April 2, 2024 by Leave a Comment

“ . . . you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Psalm 145:15-16 NIV

Like kids begging for candy in the checkout lane, we sometimes tug on God’s coattails with the same impatience and/or insistence. “Please, please, please, God. Please grant my desire . . .”

Don’t get me wrong. I firmly believe that we are to pour our hearts out to God and freely tell him the desires of our hearts (Psalm 62:8). I also remember that Jesus told his disciples the parable of the persistent widow “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1 NIV)

Yes, God wants to hear from his children and out of his great love for us, he will answer our prayers. But many times his answers don’t come when we want them to—or packaged quite like we’d hoped.

Like any good parent—like the perfect father he is—he waits for the proper time to give us our food, our desires. Just as we don’t give a baby solid food before his body can handle it, God waits for the perfect time to bless us with the things we need, the things we desire, the things we plead for. He will indeed satisfy our longings in one way or another, sometimes changing the longings themselves.

God’s timing is always right. I’ve depended on this truth throughout the course of my life and also throughout my writing career. I trusted God for years to bring about book publication at the proper time and he did. And I, along with the rest of our family, clung like a lifeline to the truth of God’s perfect timing as we waited on him in the matter of our daughters and sons-in-law being blessed with the babies they so desperately wanted.

Without a doubt, some answers are harder to wait for than others. Some require an extra measure of faith. But if we continue to trust, if we continue to wait in expectation, one day we will see God open his hand and satisfy our desires. Maybe even above and beyond our dreams, as in the case with our two sets of twin grandsons. And all these blessings—all these answers to prayer—will happen at the proper time.

“In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3 NIV

*How has God encouraged you during times of waiting? If you’re currently waiting on God’s answer, you might like to read an “In the Meantime” Prayer.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early May. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive a $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by aloshbennett, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: blessing, challenge, encouragement, faith, faithfulness, family, life, patience, prayer, provision, time, trust, unfailing, wait, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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