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Posts Tagged ‘Julie Cosgrove’

Come

Posted in Devotional, tagged , , , , on December 3, 2014| 2 Comments »

Advent is here– the season where we prepare for Jesus’ coming. In fact, adventus means just that- come.   

 ID-10057677As a babe, God in human form. One analogy is the watchmaker became a watch.  HE came to show us a better way. HE came to guide us into Truth. And HE was born who HE could die- for each of us.

 

 

As the eternal jujudgedge at the end of the ages when HE returns for his own. Often referred to as the Second Coming, this is when HE will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the shaft, the faithful from those who have yet to believe. But HE is also our advocate, who offers up our defense before the throne of Heaven. Since we know not when this age will pass away or when Our Savior will return, we must be prepared. Advent reminds us to both be the voice crying in the wilderness for others to repent, and also to prepare our own hearts and souls.

 

 

Woman MeditatingThirdly, His Spirit comes into our hearts, dwells in us and through us. Advent is the beginning of the Christian Year, and it is our time to make resolutions. Are we diligently praying? Do we carve out time for reading HIS word and reflecting upon it? Are we disciplining ourselves with good habits and sloughing off the old ones that lead to sin?  When others look at us and to us. does Christ shine through?

 

 

 ADVENT is more than preparing for Christmas – it is preparing for eternity.  This is something we should do each and every day – Advent is a reminder to look for God’s  shoulder-tapping in your life, and to ask Him to come into your heart, your day and your life.

                       MARANATHA – Come Lord Jesus 

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Why Gather?

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on November 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

MAY YOU FIND GOD AT YOUR TABLE THIS THANKSGIVING…and every day. He is waiting to be Invited.thanksgiving

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Grace is Grits

Posted in Devotional, tagged , , , , on November 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Note: this was an article I received in an email from Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders – Julie

By Amanda Scott

Our priest years ago told a story about his time in seminary school in Virginia. He and a friend from up north decided to travel to Georgia, his home state.  Along the way they stopped at a Waffle House.  They placed their orders and continued chatting.  When the waitress brought their orders, the friend was surprised to find a mess of grits on his plate.  “Excuse me, I didn’t order these grits,” he said. “That’s okay,” the waitress replied. “Well, I’m not paying for them.” The waitress looked puzzled.

It turned out that every meal came with a free side of grits.  Finally, the mystery was solved and the seminarians realized that Grace is like grits.  You don’t have to ask for it and you get it for free!

A recent article by LifeWay Research revealed that 71% agree that people first seek God then He responds with grace, meaning a majority of people don’t know grace is like grits!

graceisgrits2If I ever forget that, I have Jasmine to remind me.  She shared her story with our most recent team. As a child, Jasmine was sexually abused by her father.  Eventually, she escaped the continued abuse, drugs, beatings, and prostitution that engulfed her life.  Today she is almost two years drug free, she is working for the LAMB Institute, and is volunteering for our Alonzo Movement.  “I always believed God loved me,” Jasmine says.  No one had ever told her that, so how could she know God loved her?  Pure grace.  This grace, a free and unasked for gift carried her through her worst times, and it lifts her up today.  Jasmine’s unconditional love shines through and impacts others around her.  She passes God’s grace to her son, Lester.

I urge you to be among the 29% who know that grace is like grits.  Give thanks to God that we don’t have to ask or pay for his grace in order to receive it.  God makes the first move.  He offers His grace first and always. And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  John 1:16-17

 

Amanda Scott is a SAMS missionary serving in Children’s Ministry at the LAMB Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

 

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Tea Time

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on November 7, 2014| 4 Comments »

Would you think me crazy to say I found God today in my tea cup?

IMAG0126As many of you know already, I ‘m an avid Anglophile. I was weaned on Earl Grey and milk…well, almost. It has always been my comfort drink. When I am hurting, physically or emotionally, just wrapping my fingers around the warm mug and inhaling the soft scent of the tea relaxes me. Then that first creamy sip…hmmm. The world is a better place.

Now, I can drink tea without the cream, but somehow it is not as the same. The swirling white liquid changes the color, the texture and enhances the taste in my opinion. It makes it oh, so much better.

This here is where the God part enters the picture.

My faith acts in much the same way. When I am hurting or frustrated I can wrap my soul around His Spirit. It envelops me and  swirls through me. Immediately, I feel as sense of calm flow over my shoulders and down my back.  When, through prayer, I drink in this holy peace, I begin to feels its effects from the inside out.

I suppose I could exist without my faith. Many people do. They drudge through life with a fatalistic, self-orientated attitude.  But like the cream in my tea, faith enhances my life. It recolors it, IMAG0127enriches its flavor, and makes my day more appealing, no matter what happens.  I really prefer having that dash of soul-cream in my day.  When I pray to my Lord and read His word, it as if I am swirling goodness into my life.

As the tea warms my belly, faith warms my soul.

Of course, there are times I just want to bask in a good cup of tea–just because.  Nothing is making me anxious. My aches and pains are minimal. Life is chuggin’ along just fine. Get the connection? I knew you would.

Enjoy some tea time with your Lord today.

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In a Word…thanks

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on October 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

ID-10031659I prayed, “I need to blog today. God, show me where to find You so I can lead others to now Your Truth.”  The Spirit nudged me to  open to Philippians – my all time favorite book in the Bible.  A warmed smile slid across my lips as I logged into the Bible app on my e tablet, selected 1:1 and began to read. Then, verse 12 jumped off the page into my heart.

                              Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

Paul was imprisoned, in chains. Roman jails were not the best places in the world to be. Dank. Damp. Rats. Stink. But Paul’s attitude certainly did not match his surroundings.

Does mine? When something unfair, or wrong, or bad happens to me, is my attitude like Paul’s? Is it yours?

When life happens, do I point to my Lord in trust, believing He is to be glorified in every situation, instead of whining and turning the attention to poor little me?  Not to step on toes, but I’ve read a great deal of bellyaching on Facebook lately: aches, pains, pity me for my chronic syndromes, flat tires, flooded laundry rooms, bad politicians…. What if we all instead posted, “I wait with anticipation on how God will bless me and others through this.”

What if we truly, as Paul states, give thanks in all circumstances (I Thessalonians.5:18)  (Philippians 4:6) ?

Right now, things are great. I have signed a contract for a third novel in 18 months and am soaring on the blessings of my dreams being fulfilled. Requests for my lectures and workshops are increasing. But, this life is not perfect. Tragedy will hit. Heartaches will come, and so will the getting-older aches,pains and illnesses.

I have this prayer today. May I advance the Gospel in each and every incident, good or bad. Join me in that prayer, won’t you?

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Hazed

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on October 22, 2014| 2 Comments »

It seemed clean. I could see through it just fine…until I turned my car into the rising sunlight. IMAG0118

Oooh, the hazy smudges, minuscule dead bug guts, road dirt. It glared at me — literally.  The brilliance of the rays accented the dirtiness of my car glass, making it hard for me to see beyond the filminess. It clouded my view.

So, as I waited for the light to change to green, I pushed the button on the wand to the right of my steering wheel, and squirted window cleanser on the outside of the shield. Then I flipped my wipers on full speed. Back-forth, back-forth, back-forth.

Well, that worked a bit. But, I realized there was haze on the inside as well. It was a residual of my breathing, mixed with fumes from the plastic dashboard, dust that slipped through the AC filter, and lint off my clothes. (Yeah. I Googled it to find out.)  Okay, maybe a few fumes from the cheeseburger and fries I got  at the drive-thru last week as well. I confess.

I grabbed a sleeve of my sweater (I didn’t have a rag) and wiped over the inside of the windshield in a tight, circular motion. Aha. Clarity. No more glare. Both sides cleaned…not perfect, but definitely a vast improvement.

Is that not indicative of our lives? Some dirt gets slammed into us- the offensive language or scenes on our TV shows that slip into the script. That touch of gossip we overheard in the restroom at work. The local news that has to relay all the ugly details. The younger coworker who is dressing in too tight clothes that accent the fact they work out–a lot.

Other things dirty us from our inside. Anger, jealousy a revengeful thought, a slight pilfering of office supplies, forgetting to pray before we dash out the door to face the world. negative self-talk.

Both work to form a haze over our witness. People cannot see Christ as clearly in us. And as each little thing accumulates over time, it may be hard for us to notice the view has become obscure.

It works both ways. Our view of the world may not be as clear. We begin to think –  Is it really all that bad nowadays? Perhaps times have changed,and so should my opinion. People seem more tolerant, maybe I should as well. It’s okay if I sleep in on Sunday, again. Everyone else does.

Our judgement has become clouded. That is until the Light of His Truth blares into our lives.

It may be a sermon, a passage in Scripture, or wisdom from a well meaning friend. Perhaps that small inner voice you know is not from your brain waves. Something throws a glare onto the filthiness you have collected in your life.

Time to wipe it clean…

  • On the outside by being more diligent to keep away from temptations.
  • On the inside to make sure we wipe the slate clean before we retire and seek God’s forgiveness, and perhaps other people’s as well, for any wrong we have done.

Next time the Son shines, it will be clearer to others, and to ourselves, that we are truly His followers. No more haziness.

 

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UpRighted

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Nature, tagged , , , , , on September 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

IMAG0086Here in North Texas we are plagued with black beetles. Our cleaning crew at the Church can sweep diligently, and within hours, the sidewalks and floors are spotted with them again–all on their backs, wiggling their little six legged bodies. (Obviously the bug man’s spray works.)

When I first began to work here, my heart bled for these poor bugs who crawled over the invisible poison seeking water and shelter. I hated to see them suffer. So, I would diligently take a leaf or piece of paper and try to flip them over. Maybe if they had enough life left in them to keep flaying their legs, they’d be all right if they could just crawl away. Inevitably, the little guys would flip on their backs again and flay away.

I don’t know why God designed them to die on their backs, and I hope they are spared suffering- that it is just instinct to wiggle to the end since they have no emotions. But, it brought home a valuable lesson. Often, I see others suffering. Many are Christians. They seem to be flaying and are unable to right themselves, just like these beetles. No matter what I do– pray, help, talk– they seems to be stuck in that situation or slump.

I know now that God has placed them there for a reason even though I don’t know why. It may be to draw them to Him, to diminish their pride, to correct their path… that’s between them and God. But I ‘m confident He never takes His eyes off of them, because when I was flaying on my back, unable to upright myself, I felt my Lord’s presence hovering nearby. I heard His whisper, “Hang in there. I’m here.”

No matter how hard I try, I can’t turn my friends upright.  But I know the One who can…and will in His own timing if they can just hang in there and keep having faith. It may happen on this earth or in Heaven. In the meantime, there is one thing I can do–pray them through it.

Like the beetles, we may not be able to flip over on our own, or even with the help of a well-meaning friend. Unlike the beetles, we have a choice of how we spend our time on our backs. Will we wiggle and squirm, or peacefully rest in the assurance that God has purposed our struggles? Our destiny, if we have accepted Jesus into our hearts, is not death. It is life beyond this world. That is the when all will be righted for good. We will never be flaying on our backs again.

 

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Cat Walk

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on September 17, 2014| 5 Comments »

Many of you who read my blog are aware I have cats. One is getting up in years – he is edging into his 14th birthday in December. So, he isn’t as spry as he once was.IMG_20131202_092238_869

Some evenings, I like to veg out on a good Netflix mystery.  I sit on my couch, legs stretched to the ottoman. My old kitty can hop up onto the ottoman with effort, but the leap to the couch is more and more beyond his capability. So, smart cat that he is, he has discovered he can use my outstretched legs as a bridge to walk across to my lap.

Jesus died on the cross to bridge the gap between us and God. We now have access to our Father’s lap through our Lord and Savior’s sacrifice. But we must make the walk, right? We must first take the hop of faith by confessing our sins. Then over Jesus’ stretched out arms on the cross, we can come into the Holy presence of our Almighty God. At times it may seem quite an effort, but that’s okay. Christ is more than willing to be the conduit that lead us to the throne of grace if we will only make the effort to come to Him first.

For my cat, that first leap onto the ottoman is the hardest part of the journey, but he knows he wants to feel secure and loved in my lap, so it is worth it to him. And when the time comes he is no longer able to hop to the ottoman, my hands will be there to lift him up when he comes to me and meows..

I am no different. I want to feel secured and loved in my Father’s presence. Each time I sin, I choose to make that leap of faith in order to ask Christ to be my bridge. Not saying I am as smart as my cat, but I know I am incapable of doing it on my own. I also know I can call on Jesus. He will always be there to lift me up and encourage me to cross over into my Father’s lap. He will do the same for you.

 

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In Amazon

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on September 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This week I found God in Amazon. Not the jungle, the website…the king of book titles.

A small voice whispered from the inside out, “Go look at your stats for Hush in the Storm, (my newly released novel.)” I  questioned why, since the last time I’d looked a few weeks ago, right after it launched, it was in the 127,000th rank.  But, okay, God. I clicked on the website.  Here is what it said on 9/9

#3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Christian > Mystery & Suspense

#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Mystery

#4 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Suspense

Tears filled my eyes, clouding my computer screen.  Of course it was short lived. Now I am #25, but out of over 500 in that category… I’m okay with that.  For three days I was a best selling author!

ID-100286871But here is the message – I am always #1 in God’s eyes. So are you, if you have claimed Him as your Lord and Savior.  Human popularity is fleeting, but God’s admiration is eternal.

He cares so much for this one author that His Spirit prompted me to look at  my book listing at just the right time. For me, it was a pat on the back to tell me I’d “done good” for Him.

Two years ago, I obediently began to write this suspense romance novel with an under plot of an ugly, but pertinent social issue – human trafficking. God led me down that path.  I won’t go into the ways He did that, but my Lord sent me so many signals, I finally had to laugh and say, “Okay. I’ll do it.”  Many Christian publishers pushed it back in my lap. But one took the chance. Not everyone likes it, but evidently enough do. It continues to get 4-5 star reviews.

The point is- I followed God into this endeavor and let Him use it for His glory. He has blessed me with my greatest  heart’s desire as a result.

Where is He calling you to use the talents He has bestowed upon you?  He will do the same for you as He has for me if you just step out there for Him. No matter what people say or do not say, God will always speak positive truths to you. Will you hear them? Or will your self-worth rely on the level of applause from other people?

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Tossed Togehter

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , on August 27, 2014| 5 Comments »

IMAG0073I munched on my salad for lunch today. Made by a friend who runs a gourmet shop, it was a special treat. Spinach, strawberries, fresh slivers of Parmesan cheese, candied pecans, and poppy seed dressing all blended into something that joyously assaulted my taste buds and made my eyes roll into the back of my head with bliss. She knows what foods enhance each other. She is a Master.

It made me think of what God does with our lives. Totally separate things can combine together in His timing to become delectable in a whole new way. Think of the individuality of each of your friends and how they enrich your life. Think of the experiences you’ve had, good and bad, and how they have shaped you into who you are today. God can use that for good as well.

You see, I am usually not a fan of Parmesan- my nose is very sensitive – but with the nuttiness, sweetness and a touch of tartness in the rest of the salad, it was just right. The same is true with my life. Experiences I thought not so great at the time have blended with others to the glory of God. People who may have not been my favorite when we met have enhanced my path or helped me make the decision to change directions. Sweet moments and biting remarks have combined together to make me look honestly in the mirror.

God said in the Psalms to taste and see that He is good. (34:8) So are all the things that happen to us: the encounters we have and the people we meet. Even if some of them make you scrunch up your nose, be patient. Swallow each down. Let them be blended into your life by the Master…Taste and see what God does with it!

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