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Posts Tagged ‘Julie B Cosgrove’

Twisted

Posted in Christian, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 18, 2025| 2 Comments »

I put a wooden welcome plaque on my front door. It hangs by a jute string. But occasionally the wind whisks through the corridor of my apartment complex and twists it around. Sometimes I come home to find it hanging backward. The words are not discernable. The message is unclear. Not all the time. It depends on whether the wind has been calm or not.

Proverbs 8:8 states: All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

Can I honestly say that? Well, honestly… No. Can any of us?

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

Each morning, as part of my prayer time, I pray part of Psalm 51- create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Start over with a clean slate, sins confessed, forgiveness received. Let the Light of Christ’s love, mercy, and grace shine through me like a sparkling clean glass. Then out the door I go, into the world once again. And that is when the winds begin to pound my soul.

Though I want to always be a welcome sign to others I must admit that my attitude and the words on my lips do not always convey that. During the day situations and stress twist my thoughts around to the negative. My witness becomes unclear.

Living in this world is hard for those who wish to walk with Christ, especially not succumbing to the winds of gossip, bad-mouthing, or grumbling. It is so prevalent and invasive these days. It whips around us in all directions, and some days it seems so forceful our umbrella of protection against the ways of the world flips inside out.

The only cure is to keep trying. Keep confessing, keep praying. Slowly the Christ in us will grow and the armor of the Spirit will shield us from the winds of negativity, selfishness, deceit, and grumbling that seems so strong at times… almost hurricane strength! But our God is stronger.

Jesus calmed the winds of the Sea of Galilee when He and his disciples were in the boat. (Matthew 8:23-27) He can still do the same for us. All we need to do is call out to Him. Then we can continue on the journey He has set for us… being a welcome sign that draws people to open the doors of their hearts to His ways.

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Burst My Bubble

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , on October 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

A routine eye check revealed something I had not envisioned…literally. I had felt something was wrong…eye strain maybe? A new prescription needed? Little did I know I could barely see out of my non-dominant, left eye. All was cloudy, skewed, and fuzzy. I had a hole in the macular at the back of my retina.

So I had surgery. The eye specialist inserted a gas bubble into my eye and I had to keep my head down for days while it positioned correctly to allow the hole at the back of my retina to knit back together. After the surgery was deemed a success, I had to endure the gas bubble clouding my vision for several weeks while it slowly diminished. The eye surgeon had said he couldn’t exactly predict when the bubble would evaporate. It depended on each individual. But it would happen. I had to be patient and follow his instructions.

At first, it was hard to see around this cloudy black thing. I had to really concentrate. But slowly it began to become less of a distraction and more of just an annoyance. Black floaters began to lift off, and I had the urge to swat them like gnats. By the second week, it reduced to a navy blue opaque dot with a blue veil in the center and it lowered in my vision field to somewhere around my lower eyelid, then my cheek, then mouth, then chin. It became the size of a quarter, then nickel, then dime, and then a bead. At last, this morning when I awoke, it was gone.

Where did I see God in all this, other than Him leading me to an excellent eye surgeon?

This bubble represented a sin in my life that I had not yet dealt with because I wasn’t quite sure I had to. Or maybe it was easier to just ignore it. My dominant faith covered it up and compensated…for a while. But deep down I knew something was not quite right. Once revealed by the Great Physician that I had a hole that distorted my perception of Kingdom living, I was in total dismay, and a tad frightened.

God inserted a “bubble” around that sin. At first, it was all I could see. It became so magnified in my life that it clouded everything else. But little by little, God’s mercy worked in my life. I had to be patient and follow His instructions. My attitude and actions began to slowly change. The hole healed, and the sin’s influence and tendency began to diminish. My thought pattern slowly altered and one day I realized it was no longer part of how I saw the world.

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:19-21).

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Watch, Wait for It

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 (ESV)

Simon and Garfunkel sang about darkness being their friend. It is true that in the middle of the night, there can be a special stillness that can bring peace. But for many, darkness is far from friendly, especially if their emotions hover in a dark place.

The psalmist relates to those who feel uneasy sitting in the darkness. He compares their waiting on God to act on their behalf to a watchman on a lookout tower peering into the blackness. He holds short, quick breaths to stay alert, hoping he doesn’t detect an enemy stealthily sneaking toward the gated community he is in charge of protecting. Come on morning… come on light. Illuminate the landscape so I can see all is well.

And so the watchman waits… so do the many crouched on their beds as tears drip down their cheeks. Or children who cringe at every creaky sound in the house, or the caregiver who is not sure he or she can watch their loved one suffer one more night. The parent waiting for their child to come home, fearing the worst.

Perhaps you are there right now. In the dark. Wait…

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength… Isaiah said that. Believe it. Cling to it.

Lips whisper a prayer, “Shine, Jesus, shine on me–the way the dawn brightens the sky. Let me feel the warmth of Your love on my face and shoulders as Your loving strength penetrates every inch of my body. You will let the sun rise every morning, so I know You will lighten my darkness…”

No wonder many start their day praising the Lord. After all, the dawn does finally come, and with it, the promise that God is there and He cares. He was right there in the darkness all along.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

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Bloom

Posted in Christian, tagged , , , , on September 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

My favorite bush is the purple sage, so against all odds I ordered one online–and a week later, even after being misdirected to New Jersey instead of North Texas, the little guy arrived alive and well. Then one day, as I locked my door to head for work, I noticed tiny green buds at the end of each branch.

As I drove home from work later that day, I noticed every purple sage bush I passed by was in bloom. Imagine my joy when I got to my apartment to see mine in full color as well. Hurray. Well done little plant!

Now, how did every sage bush in my city know to bloom on the same day? Perhaps you can conjure up a scientific reason, but for me, that wouldn’t negate the fact that it had to be a God thing.

There is a lesson in that for us, don’t you think? No sage bush would fold its branches and say, “Nope. I refuse to do it. Can’t make me. I will do things my way.” Nature responds in the way it was created to respond.

The familiar phrase, “Bloom where you are planted” is credited to Saint Francis de Sales. He lived almost five hundred years ago. He is one of my favorite writers. His wisdom is so pure, untarnished, and simple. No matter where we are in life, God can still use us to His glory to bring beauty, joy, empathy, or relief into someone’s life.

Here is another saying of his I love:

What if we chose to respond the way Saint Francis de Sale describes? That no matter what happens, rain or shine, cold or hot, day or night, we could still bloom with a beautiful peace, witnessing to the belief that our Father in Heaven is there and He cares?

Maybe that is why I love purple sages. They remind me of that fact, often just when I need it.

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Shelled

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on June 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I saw this posted on Facebook- there was no acknowledgment so I apologize to whoever captured this for not attributing it to you.

But I found it so very profound. Some people just cannot let go of their past, even if it was not great. They wear their pain as a shield to keep them from ever making a similar mistake or allowing hurt back into their lives. And yet, it burdens their journey in life and keeps them from growing.

Jesus told the crowds, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Why do we insist on carrying our burdens? Why do we allow them to identify us and shape our futures? Anger, hurt and bitterness only shackles us. True peace can only come when we “let go and let God”, as the well-quoted phrase of the 1990’s states.

Shake off your past and walk freely into a future where you can grow as a human being by growing closer and more dependent on our LORD. Our pasts don’;t have to make us chicken!

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Hazard Lights

Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on June 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

A friend of mine relayed her scary story of driving two hours home from her son’s house out in the country through a torrential rainstorm. Even with her windshield wipers on full blast, she had a hard time seeing the road ahead. She prayed as her hands kept a death grip on the steering wheel. She didn’t want to pull off because she couldn’t see if there was a flat shoulder or a bar ditch. Besides, she feared someone might slam into her.

Then, through the sheets of rain, my friend saw two small flashing red lights. She followed those and as she got closer she noticed it was an 18-wheeler with its hazard lights blinking. It traveled at a cautious speed in the righthand lane, a speed she felt comfortable going even though other vehicles whipped by her at highway speeds.

Photo by Valeriia Miller on Pexels.com

She followed that large truck until the rain stopped and the sun peered through the clouds, just a short distance from her hometown. When she pulled into her driveway, she slumped across the steering wheel almost out of breath. “I made it. Thank you, Lord for sending me that truck.”

As my friend told me this story, God whispered, “Always follow.”

Often times in our lives, storms come unexpectedly. We have no sense of direction. Our own attempts prove futile. We don’t know how we are going to navigate our way.

But Jesus is our hazard light. He shines just enough into our lives to catch our attention and show us the way. Our job is to stay close and follow. Let Him take the lead. Don’t worry about what others are doing. Let Him set the pace. Don’t veer off or stop. Keep going.

A few idioms come to mind. Slow and steady wins the race. Only fools rush in.

What is written in the Psalms:
Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. (Psalm119:133)

And then what Paul said in his second letter to Timothy:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (4:7)

If you are in a storm right now and it is difficult to see what lies ahead, look for Jesus’s light to guide you. Keep following it until the sun breaks through. Then, like my friend, and Paul, you can say you made it because you kept the faith. Praise God for His guidance.

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Steady, now

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on July 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

One of my friends repairs and then resells discarded furniture. She found a “Parlor table” that she loved but it wobbled. She purchased it anyway and took it home. She tried squirting wood putty into the place where the top screwed into the pedestal base. It still wobbled. Next, she inserted stints on either side to see if that would hold the tabletop in place. Nope. Finally, taking it to a professional woodworker who inserted two “L” shaped steel braces did the trick.

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

Sometimes in life, our stance can get a bit wobbly, too. Not totally out of control but definitely off-kilter. A call from the doctor saying our lab results were not normal. Our car breaks down and the repairman says repairs will run about a thousand dollars The police phone in the middle of the night to say our child has been arrested for drunk driving. Our employer informs us that we are the victims of downsizing.

We can try to handle it ourselves. We can become anxious and toss and turn. Or escape reality through sugar highs, carb binging, drugs, or alcohol, but perhaps we need more — we need bracing. And that’s okay. Moses did, too.

The Hebrews were attacked unawares. As long as Moses held his hands high they were winning the battle, but when he became tired, his legs became unsteady and his arms drooped. The enemy suddenly had the advantage.


When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Exodus 17:12

God could have supernaturally strengthened Moses’ arms. Instead, He allowed Moses to weaken so his family and friends had the opportunity to come to his rescue. Faith in action. But it was more than simply helping their tribes win. They saw what happened while Moses raised his hands, and they knew this was a divine intervention. They acted in faith and allowed God to use them.

Do we act in faith? When something comes suddenly upon us to off-center our world and after battling it on our own we grow tired and wobbly, do we seek to be braced by God? Do we lean on Him?

He may brace us in many ways – He may send faithful family and friends to pray for us and assist us. He may send an unexpected check in the mail, which happened to me when my car needed Megabucks service a few weeks ago. Perhaps seeking out a Christian counselor is the best solution.

God never allows tragedy or trials to come our way without a reason. He will be there if we call upon Him for divine intervention. And it may be in a way we had not anticipated. One thing is certain, there is always a lesson to be learned. For Moses, and perhaps for us, it is that we need God. We can’t walk this world alone, much less be His advocate, on our own strength.

So, steady on.

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What?

Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on May 5, 2023| 1 Comment »

I had just paid rent and utilities, then I had an unexpected expense. There were ten days left until my widow’s check came in. If I was really frugal I could get by without dipping into my savings. But I needed ink and paper to print 100 funeral bulletins for the church (of which they would reimburse me later) and the guinea pig was almost out of hay. Hay is the main staple of their diet.

I stared into the fridge. Okay, I could still get by without going to the grocery store even if there was a slight echo inside it.

(Okay- it wasn’t this bad…yet!)

So, off I went on my mission … paper, printing ink, hay. I got to the office supply store. Paper was on sale – buy one get one free. Cool. I needed at least 800 sheets and a ream held 500 so that worked. I got the ink, grabbed two reams of paper, and headed to the cash register. The cashier let out a hmmph. She glared at me wide-eyed. “I see you have accumulated enough points to match your total. These are all free.” What?

Yep, all free.

Then I went to get the hay for my guinea pig. The cashier rang it up. “Good news. This is your twelfth bag, so it is free.” Okay. I didn’t even know about the twelfth bag-free offer.

On the way home I get a text asking if I would like a book booth at a women’s conference that weekend. Last minute, she knew but was hoping … YES!! A chance to make a bit of money.

Call it luck, call it whatever you wish, but I call it God’s love. The Bible says the Lord has a heart for widows and orphans. He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows (Psalm 68:5). I can tell you that during these past twelve years of widowhood, He has come through time and again for me. This errand run is just one example.

But He will do the same for any believer, as any loving father would provide for his child. I love it when He quietly reminds me of that fact. It is like a warm hug.

Today I found God in two errand trips. Where will you find Him moving in your life today?

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Harden Hearts

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 2, 2023| 2 Comments »

The Bible makes several references to people hardening their hearts against believing in God’s ability to influence their lives. According to the Book of Exodus, Pharoah hardened his heart against the Israelite slaves. Eventually, after he ignored the five warnings, God left him to the consequences of his actions. Jesus asked his disciples if their hearts were hardened to His teachings. The psalms plead that we should not harden our hearts to God’s voice.

But did you know that hardening your heart, or as some folks say, having a cold heart, is more than just being stubborn or unwilling to listen? Negativity can actually affect us physically. In the HEALTHY HEART BOOK,  BY MORAG THOW, KERI GRAHAM & CHOI LEE, they state that science is learning how our attitudes can either thwart or enhance our bodies’ ability to heal.

“In years gone by, medicine focused on physical health only, but now scientists know that emotions, thoughts, and feelings affect how well the body functions. A positive mental attitude is now accepted as important in recovering from any health problem and living a healthy life… Therefore, for the health of your heart and for your general health, try to stop negative feelings from becoming overwhelming and regularly make time for the things that help you to relax.”*

They explain that feelings of anger, sadness, or frustration are normal, but if we do not deal with them and move on, our physical hearts can suffer.

So, I think we need to develop a holy CPR for our hearts-

C – confess. Knowing we have done wrong and not admitting it can cause stress. The longer we choose not to deal with it, the more it will eat at our conscience, eventually to the point that we either blame God for making us feel this way or we shut off our emotions to keep from feeling this way. Regular confession to God and to others humbles us. But it also opens our hearts to accept forgiveness and start fresh.

P – pray. There is an old saying that a life tied with prayer will not unravel. Handing our stress over to God reminds us that He is there and He cares. He is infinite, all-knowing, and all we can know is “now.” It helps us to get a better perspective on things. But it is also important to then listen for the Holy Spirit’s prompts because prayer should be a conversation.

R – read. Reading God’s Word regularly helps align our hearts, thoughts, and actions to His will. When you read through the psalms, will often see how a beginning negativity ends up in praise. You become aware in the stories and testimonies of how God worked in the lives of others and this opens your mind and heart to the assurance that He will do the same for you. Passages that never hit you before pierce you to your soul as if they were written just for you.

Doctors have discovered that people of faith live healthier lives and heal faster. Keep your heart, and your mind, and your soul healthy. Practice spiritual CPR often.

If you are angry or confused or upset, take that to God. Don’t shove it down. Ask God to turn your thoughts around to focus on Him, not the situation that is causing your blood pressure to rise and your head to toss and turn. Count your blessings. Go serve someone else so you get your mind off your problems and don’t brood.

We all need to jumpstart our attitudes now and then. Holy CPR is the key to health. Who knew?

Well, perhaps God. He made us after all.

*http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/092/40se_Main.jpg

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Clouded View

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , on March 19, 2023| 2 Comments »

I am certain this has happened to many of you. You read a passage in Scripture you have read or heard all your life…then wham! A new thought hits you. Well, that is what happened to me, so I had to share it.

On Wednesday evenings at church, we are studying a book about the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount as witnessed by Peter, James, and John. It is recorded in all of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9.) Moses and Elijah appear on either side of Jesus, representing the Law and the Prophets. Peter, bless his impulsive heart, wants to build a tabernacle for them.

Here is where it jumped out at me: He [Peter] was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5-6).

Did you catch that? God covered Moses and Elijah with a cloud. Now I know this reflects back to Moses on Mt Sinai. God often appears in a cloud. But as I read this verse, it was as if I heard God say, “No Peter. Don’t look at them. You are missing the point. Look to Jesus. He has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets” (See Matthew 5:17).

It gets better … “When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”  And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only’ (Vs 7-8).

This thought made me recall the times God has clouded my vision so I was no longer distracted by what I thought I should think or do. He made the situation so nebulous that I could not see a way out on my own. He distracted me for a reason. To help me refocus on Him and not on my circumstances. He made it to where all I could do was lift my eyes to seek Jesus. As the familiar lyrics by Helen Howarth Lemmel states, “Turn your eyes to Jesus and look full in His wondrous face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

If you feel as if you are in a pea-soup-thick fog right now and you can’t see the outcome, hang tight. Bow your head and pray. Ask God what He is distracting you from. What lesson is He trying to show you? What character is He developing in you? Then wait. At the perfect time, Jesus will call you out of the mist and tell you to have no fear. Concentrate on Him. Let Him lead you out into the clear to see things His way–the best, all-powerful, all-knowing way.

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