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Archive for the ‘Christian’ Category

In a Dot

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences on January 21, 2013| 1 Comment »

A large white block – shining in front of you. 2013-01-21_09-20-17_999

Just off center, a tiny dark spot.

Off to the other side, a glimpse of a glimmer.

Which one  captures your focus?

My church is still in the growing stage. (But, really, shouldn’t they all be?) We rent facilities and use a power point presentation to display the words to the songs and hymns, the prayers we say out loud and the Scripture verses.

On the wall is a hole, or maybe a large black nail. Anyway, it is a black dot which is just a bit larger than the power point period or dot over and “i”. Just enough to stand out and trip you up as your eyes scan the Scripture verse or the hymn.

After a while you learn to ignore it, but each time the slide changes, there it is again, black spot against a white background.

What black dots are in your life are distracting others from the message our Lord is illuminating through you?

Or do they see the glimmer  of His presence as well? The walls are painted  with a sheen so, every once in a while,  when the congregation looks at the verse, prayer or hymn on the wall, there is a slight reflection from the projector’s glow.

Today, will people see Him reflecting through your words and actions?

One slide our church always uses displays a graphic which is at first blank, then the face of Jesus slowly comes into focus. When it does, the black spot disappears.  May it be the same in my life, O Lord.

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In a Gathering

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on January 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

It’s been a while since I joined in a small group Bible study. I’d missed it horribly,  but the times offered at my old church never jived with my schedule. So, it was a desire of my heart I never really prayed about even though I’d mulled it over in my head a few times.

After I joined this new church, I was surprised when one of the ladies came up and asked if I was the Julie Cosgrove who wrote Bible studies. She had seen my one on the unnamed women in the New Testament called What Can She Tell Us? and thought the church’s older women Bible study group on Thursday mornings might want to do it.

At first I was very flattered and said, “Well, sure.” Then that nudge in my soul occurred. Thursday mornings –  fits my schedule. Older women – I guess I qualify.  A way to meet people – okay. But going to a Bible study using my own work? Sure I’d led retreats and given workshops on it, but . . . talk about exposure. What if they didn’t like it?  Who would be more embarrassed? Me or them? Would it taint my acceptance in this new worship group?

Sometimes our answers to prayers come in ways we do not expect. I reminded  myself of my vow this year to be unexpectedly surprised at God’s blessings.  I asked her, “Would it be awkward if I came? I would love to join a Bible study.” Her eyes lit up. “NO. Not at all. Please come!” She bought one copy to preview, flipped through it, and passed it around the small group to get a consensus. I sucked in my breath and slithered away.

The next Sunday, several  of the older ladies approached me. “We love it. Exactly what we were looking to do.” The first lady who had approached me touched my arm and leaned in. “By the way, will you lead it?”  I scanned their faces. The others smiled and nodded.

We met for the first time yesterday. A small gathering in a home. It felt so good to be sharing my faith with other ladies again. The Holy Spirit, like a masterful  tailor, began to interweave us into a bond. I was immediately accepted into the loving friendship of these Christian women who had known each other for years. The knot in my stomach loosened – this isn’t the elementary school playground revisited, Julie.  We were all one in the Spirit and one in the Lord, as the hymn says. God, in His plan, knew this was what I needed.

bible_study[1]We need to gather.  Women with women. Men with men. Young parents with young parents.  Teens with teens. Too many times we think it is all about God and me. But the cross is not just a vertical stick. It is also horizontal. Jesus spread His arms out on the horizontal part to the cross not only to take on our sins but to bind us in Him.  If you are not currently in a small group Bible study, please find one – or start one!

We need each other’s faith to strengthen us, each other’s prayers to bolster us, and each other’s ears to hear the Spirit moving in our lives. This earthly battle is not to be fought alone.

 

 

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In Laundry Day

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on January 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

003 Happy dance! It’s Laundry Day.

I know because I have one pair of underwear left in the top drawer of my dresser and the basket will not hold any more clothes no matter how many times I push them down and cram them together.

So, sigh, I begin to sort. I sort by color and by fabric weight- heavy cottons like sweats, jeans and towels, perm. press, lighter weight delicacies, bleachable whites, etc. Each has to be washed a special way with a certain temperature of water, agitating speed and spin. Then each has to be dried per the instructions on the label. Oh, sure you could dump them all in together but then colors may bleed and some won’t get thoroughly clean. If tossed together in the dryer, some may get too hot and others come out damp. Some may shrink and no longer fit.

Can you see the analogy yet?  When it comes to my faults, sins and imperfections, I want God to zap them all at once. Let’s get this over with, I have things to do. Clean me up, dry me off and send me out. I want to be a super Christian,  always walking with You and filled with Your Spirit.

But God knows that is not for the best. He sorts out the things in my life He wishes to revamp into a more excellent way. He knows how to handle each fabric of my being. He has it figured out and knows how long it will take to wash each category clean and get it ready for the task ahead. Some stains in my personality may need a very long soak and extra care. Some areas of my heart should be on the delicate cycle. Some need more vigorous agitation to break loose the grime.

Here is the light bulb moment. Cleaning is only half the job. Everything has to be dried, maybe pressed, in order to be presentable. Some clothes need to drip dry. Others can take the heat. Some need the wrinkles ironed out. Is that not true with the areas of our lives God chooses to work on? He washes away our sin, doubt, grime and negative thoughts. But that is only the beginning. Before we can wear this new aspect of our lives into the world as witness of His mercy and grace, we must go through more. We must be transformed back into the original, fresh-from-the-store state.

So our All-knowing LORD hangs our issues up to dry, or applies the swirling heat in our lives, not out of cruelty, but out of care and love. That requires time, patience and the knowledge of what each area of our lives needs.

Praise God-  may every day be Laundry Day!! May I no longer cram things down, assuming I will bring them to Him later to clean and prepare. LORD, let me not wait until I have only one little thing left to cling to before I bring the situation to you.  Teach me to be joyful in the knowledge that You are taking Your time and handling each load as it should be handled. Thank You that, through Your blood, You wash us white as snow and through Your Holy Spirit, you prepare us for what is next by giving us the spiritual clothes we need. Amen.

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In a Drop and a Verse

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on January 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Remember staring at a slide under the microscope in school?  Look what is in one drop of drinking water –

I get what is called the daily Lectionary– verses for the Psalms, Old Testament, Epistles (Apostles’ Letters like Paul, Peter and James) and four Gospels – each morning on my computer. It is designed to take you through the Bible in 3 years.

The first line of today’s Old Testament passage caught my eye –

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand? Isaiah 40:12a

Mediate on that for a moment.  How much does God handle each day? Yet Scripture tells us He knows it all. He knows every hair on every head of His people, billions of them.  Tenth Avenue North is a Christian band I like and they had a song about three years ago which stated they felt like they were just one drop of rain in a tropical downpour.  One tiny drop out of all the waters God holds in the hollow of His hand.

And yet, God know not only each drop but the movements of each of those microscopic creatures. Surely He knows each thought, each breath, each move I make as well. I may be just a tiny drop in the seas that fit in the hollow of my Creator’s hand, but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t notice me. Nor does it mean I will slip trough His fingers. I am tucked away inside the palm of the One who knows all that ever was, is and will be. So are you. And that is worth more than a drop in the bucket, isn’t it?

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In a Wag

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on January 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

dreamstimefree_209775Visiting a friend, I noticed a little  dog in the backyard. When she heard her master’s voice she came to the slider and perched, ears cocked, and waited. She was unable to reach up and open the sliding glass herself. But she knew her master would come over and let her in.

However,  my friend waited until everyone at the gathering had come through the front door and found a seat. She didn’t want wilds of the street to be too tempting, or for the little dog to get underfoot. My friend knew when the best time to open the door would be. The dog sat there patiently and didn’t even bark. That is trust.

As my friend made her way to the glass door, the little dog sat up and wagged her tail back and forth so rapidly that it became a blur of fur. She stood, her weight shifted from leg to leg and her eyes were fixed on the hand as it reached for the handle. With each wag I could almost hear the doggie’s enthusiastic thoughts –

“My master is here. My master noticed me and is coming to meet me. My master is opening a way for me.”

Dearest Lord, May I be so eager to receive You. Your death on the cross opened a way for me to enter into Your presence. My prayers summon You to the Heavenly slider between earth and eternity. May I have the patience of that little puppy to know You will open doors for me in Your timing when it is right. May I wait in trust and obedient certainty, then be quick to respond in thanksgiving and praise. Amen.

 

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In A Motto

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on December 31, 2012| 1 Comment »

new yearsIf you are like me, your emails are flooded with people listing their New Year’s Resolutions. Somehow, I guess,  if you put them in writing, then there is a sense of commitment involved.

Personally, I loathe New Years Resolutions ( click to see top ten) because they are generally very “me” centered. Some resolutions can be worthy – be nicer to that person at work that gets on my nerves, I won’t belittle my spouse, I’ll pray more, read the Bible in a year, etc. Even lose weight or exercise more are worthy goals.

I’m not saying we should not have personal improvement goals. Sure we should. But this year, spend some quiet, quality time with your Heavenly Father who created you to be you. Ask Him what He wants you to work on this year.  Then be bold enough to ask Him to help you do it. Odds are you will have a much easier time keeping this year’s resolutions if you do because they will not be yours, but His for you.

I belong to an order of women prayer and service warriors. Our motto has a phrase in it –

What I can do, by the grace of God I will do. Lord, what will you have me do?

What if we all prayed that before our feet hit the floor each morning?

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In a Traffic Jam

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on December 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

43 QueingToday I was taking my son to work, which is usually a three to five-minute trip. But there must have been a wreck or something up by the highway because our side of the street was bumper to bumper for as far as we could see (which was pretty much the car in front of us).

We crept along at 5 miles an hour max on an otherwise 35 mile an hour road. Then we stood still for almost a full song on the radio. Creep a bit more, stop. Inch a few more car lengths, stop.

In  the rearview mirror I saw a ribbon of cars behind me in both lanes. There were no side streets to provide a detour. We were stuck.

That seems to describe my life at the moment. I am creeping along at a speed that is far slower than I want when it comes to my writing recognition, career and monetary situation. I should have gotten to the destination of being where some of my writing friends are by now. I have worked hard for years, studied techniques, attended conferences, hobnobbed with publishers and agents, read “how to write the best novel in the world” books, promoted myself over and over. I want ot stand on the car top and sceam “Here I am! Look at me. Let me through.”  But that would only make me look foolish at best.

I get a commission to write for a missionary society and they like what I wrote, so I creep forward. Then stop. I get a letter saying I am published in a magazine. Creep forward. I get a royalty check off my one of my Bible Studies – under a $100. Creep some more. Had another radio interview. The tires roll a few more rotations. Yet, I feel stuck.

But, just like the traffic jam today, I can’t see what is up the road. I can only see directly in front of me. There are no detours. So, I must plod along only as fast as the car directly in front of me moves. That car is God’s will. He made this road, He made the road blocks, He is setting the pace. I will try my level best to be patient and not blow my horn, or my cool. Neither would accomplish a thing.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  Psalm 62:5 NLT

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Still in Christmas – even if it wasn’t merry

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , on December 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Christmas should be a time of joy, laughter, family and friends. It should also be a time of quiet worship and thanking God for the

© Winterberg | Dreamstime.com

© Winterberg | Dreamstime.com

fact that he chose to become a man and walk in our shoes. As my minister said in his Christmas sermon, “The watchmaker became the watch so He could understand us fully from the inside out.”

But this Christmas there were parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters in Connecticut who had children brutally taken from them. In my own corner of the world was a wife at bedside of husband who had emergency surgery, a friend with shingles, a priest who hurt his knee and couldn’t tend to his flock over Christmas, people stranded by freak Texas snows who couldn’t be with family, a family whose house burned, a friend who fell and broke her shoulder while tending to her husband recovering from a knee replacement – the list goes on.

Where is God? Right in the manger, right on the cross, and also in Heaven above preparing a place for us all before He comes back for His own. He is in our hearts, in our tears and in our hands as we help each other down this less than fairy tale life.  The world as a whole didn’t end on 12/21/12.  For some, though, it may have well had.  Let us reach out, and then get down on our knees to show them God is there to bolster them through another day- as He is for us all if we choose to believe.

Tidings of comfort and joy.

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In Sayings Abounding

Posted in Christian, tagged , , , on December 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

 This has been the week of sayings and poems – must be the season. The first two are from a principal at an elementary school in a speech he gave – not sure if they are original or quoted – but they hit my heart.

Inch by Inch with God its a cinch.

 

There are many things that seem impossible to man.

But with (Hope) the ability to conceive it,

The faith to believe it,

God can set you up to receive it.

 

Then a friend forwarded this in an email – it is long, but worth the read.

Twas’ 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.

their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say….

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

“Where are we?” Asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

“This is heaven.” declared a small boy. “We’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

but Jesus, their Savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring

those children all flew into the arms of their King

and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”

then He looked down on earth, the world far below

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”

“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools”

“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.

“Come now my children, let me show you around.”

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Written by a Gentleman in Southern Pa

 

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In a Blog Request

Posted in Christian, tagged , , , , on December 16, 2012| 2 Comments »

A fellow author, Anne Sanders, http://blog.annesanders.net/2012/12/works-in-progress.html has forwarded on this “Next Big Thing”. Yes, it is a blatant attempt for us autors to advertise, but then it is also to show we support each other and our goals are the same – Tell of God’s love, grace and redemptive mercy.

Hi Anne- in response to Your Next Big Thing –

which I am to then forward on to other authors (who will

journalinghopefully respond back so more of you will see what cool things God is leading them to write in order to spread His Word.) So here goes:

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book? Hush in the Storm

Where did the idea come from for the book? My sister actually. She said, “you love to read mysteries, why don’t you write one. I didn’t think God wanted me to m bump anyone off, so I went for suspense with a hint of romance instead.

What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary Christian Suspense

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Perhaps unknowns, like me, so they can make a name for themselves.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?Jen, a young widow tossed in a storm of grief is kidnapped by a coworker named Tom, at the request of her late husband, or so Tom says.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Have a publisher “nibbling” now. Wathcing the string bob in the water – bite, please bite hard – hook, line and sinker!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Five weeks- remember, you asked about the first draft. The second…and third…and fourth took much longer.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Vengeance Squad by Sid Frost, Deliver From Evil Trilogy- Kathi Macias, Terror by Night  by R.W. Ley  (all are  recently written Christian based novels worth reading.)

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My sister, and believe it or not, God. Really. He took it in a direction I never expected. As I wrote I kept thinking, where is this going and why are You leading me into these subplots? At the end, I knew.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Tom kidnaps Jen and fakes her death to protect her from the cartel whom he says caused her husband’s fatal car accident. As Tom and Jen dodge human traffickers, the Feds and the reporters who discover she is alive, clues surface to suggest Jen’s husband may not be so dead after all. 

Yes, I am starting the first draft to the sequel = Legitimate Lies

I am forwarding this onto these Christian authors and bloggers – so, please check out their sites as well.

Diane Gates, Joy Brooks- Prayer For Freedom, Peggy Consolver, Lynn Hobbs and R.W. Ley

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