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Posts Tagged ‘Julie Cosgrove’

I Need More Light

Posted in Christian, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , on December 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

icon_1_image_x16 IMG_20131202_092238_869Our cat kept scratching his notched ear. He’d rub it against the carpet. Not all the time, just every now and then. Still, obviously  something in that ear was bothering him. So I held the squirming fur ball as my son peered into his ear cavity. But because of the curved folds, my son couldn’t really see.

“We need to carry him into the light so I can see deep inside of his ear,” my son suggested. So, we went  into the bathroom where the light was stronger. The cat really squirmed now.

“Hmm. I think there is some gunk in the cat’s ear, but I still need more light.”

My son got the pen flashlight and  aimed the beam deep into the cat’s ear canal.  “Aha. No wonder he was scratching it!”

He got a Q-tip and gently ran it along the inside folds of the cat’s ear as our beloved fur ball wiggled in my arms. One hind leg began to thump, as it tried to to stop him. But success.The Q-tip came out full of dark, yucky wax.

I let our cat down and off he skittered to hide under the dining table. I bent down and sweetly reminded him we loved him and we did that not to be mean or cruel, but for his own good.

okay- I know some of you are squirming right now as much as the cat did. Some may say, “Oh, they shouldn’t have stuck a Q-tip in there.” But instead of going there, read on…
 

Where did I see a God message in this? Am I not the same way when it comes to sin? It bothers me now and then, but do I really want to have it exposed to God’s light? Do I want Him to dig deep down inside of me to get it out?  Do I squirm in the process? And, like my cat, do I then hear Him gently tell me it has to be done because He loves me?

“This is the verdict: the Light has come into the world.. Everyone who loves evil hates the light,.and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John 3:19a,20

None of us want our faults exposed. But God know they are there. His Holy Spirit will keep reminding us of that one little area we have yet brought before the throne. Like  the gunk in my cat’s ear, it will irritate us now and then. Is it not better to let God hold us in His arms of love and gently pry the sin form deep inside of us? Sure, it will be uncomfortable, but it will be worth it.

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The Time I Refused to Wash My Hand

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on November 21, 2013| 5 Comments »

This is my true story – I can’t believe it has been fifty years…

It was 1963 and school buzzed with excitement. I wore my Sunday best, just as the teacher told us, with two petticoats billowing my skirt like an umbrella, and my lace-edged socks peeking up over my shiny black patent leather Mary Jane shoes. Mommy made me wear my finest sweater with pearled buttons and roses embroidered on the front.

The bell sounded and, just as we practiced twice, we paraded single file across the playground and through the chain-link fence to stand along Broadway. Fifth graders lined up first, then on down the line to the kindergarteners. I was nine, so my class was in the middle. Teachers handed out little American flags for us to wave. We waited. The sun bared down on us from a cloudless sky—it was November, and that meant Indian summer in Texas. I sweltered in my sweater. Excitement mounted when we heard the roar of motorcycles and the honking horns coming around the bend.

San Antonio, Texas was known for parades, because every year there was a celebration of Texas Independence called Fiesta Week. Bands marched as twirlers tossed their batons high in the air. King Antonio rode by in his Cadillac convertible and threw Fiesta coins and candy for the school children. But today wasn’t anything like that. Today, President Kennedy was coming.

“I wonder what color it will be?”  Sherry, my best and fashion conscious friend asked.

“What?” I had to yell over the din of the motorcade.

“Jackie’s pill box hat. Think it will be pink? Maybe blue, like a robin’s egg.”

I barely had time to respond when there she was, prettier in person than on television, waving next to her husband—the President of the United States. And Governor Connolly, too. I sucked in my breath.

The motorcade stopped. President Kennedy got out, walked over to our class and shook children’s hands. Jackie followed, smiling. So did men in sun glasses and dark suits. They were not smiling. The President shook my hand. I dropped my little flag. My teacher picked it up and whispered some stern words. I didn’t care. I still felt his strong, warm grip.

I had heard about people who meet movie stars and didn’t wash their hand for a week. I figured a president deserved at least a month, but I doubted my mother would approve. Still, she agreed to make an exception and excused me from washing my hand that evening at dinner. When I took my bath before bed, I held my hand on my head so it wouldn’t get wet. The next morning, I didn’t wash it for breakfast either.

When I went to school I was determined to keep that hand as clean as possible. Since it was my writing hand, I knew that wouldn’t easy. In fourth grade, we were using real ink cartridge pens instead of pencils. I didn’t want to smudge my thumb. When we stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, I put that hand over my heart and felt extra proud.

Then, during Spelling time, the principal announced over the loud speaker for all children to report to the auditorium and all teachers to come to his office. Dutifully, we filed into the lecture hall, seated in assigned rows as we always did for assembly. We sat in silence wondering what was going on. A few students dared to whisper. The wooden curved back of the  auditorium chair no longer felt cool on my spine. The upholstered seat itched under my knees. My feet were too short to touch the floor so I swung my legs back and forth to keep them from tingling. 

The doors to the auditorium opened. I turned and squinted as the light from the hall pierced the darkened room. Our teachers walked slowly down the aisles. Several were crying. My teacher blew her nose into her laced handkerchief and stood silently besides our class. The principal stepped to the stage.

“Children. May I have your attention.” His voice cracked. It didn’t sound like him. He cleared his throat.

“Today in Dallas, the President was shot. He is dead.”

Sherry grabbed my hand. I squeezed back, then looked down. I remembered the feel of his big hand on mine and I was glad I hadn’t washed it.

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Divided and Enslaved

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on November 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your
well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that
the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and
brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

 

If you ever watched one of the Three Musketeer movies, you’d see them all with swords raised high and points touching as they cried, “All for one and one for all.”  Another saying, often used for the United States, is “united we stand, divided we fall.”

Satan wishes to divide. God wants to re-unite us back to the right relationship before sin entered the human heart. That is the story from Genesis through Revelation, and on into today. But why does sin divide and enslave?

Sin divides because it causes each person to put him or herself as the center of focus. I once heard a speaker on a retreat say both sin and pride have “i” in the middle. But the other deadly sins focus on the “me want” factor as well-  gluttony, envy, greed, wrath, slothfulness. Lying has “i” in the middle as well, doesn’t it? People lie to try to get out of messes they have caused, or to look more important out of envy and low self-worth. The more people do it, the stronger the chains of sin wrap around them, making it harder to break free.

Yet, through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, He comes to restore each of us back to a state of grace- free from sin. He frees us from the guilt, the anger, the isolation, the misguided pride that so often rule our thoughts and actions. Of course, this is still a daily battle  because our human nature wants to crawl back into those chains. Why? It is the norm. Change takes effort. But God knows that- that is why He sent His Spirit to guide, correct and comfort us in this effort.

With Christ as our center, our focus is now off ourselves. It is on loving God and our neighbor (the two greatest commandments onto which all else is hinged). Some call it servitude attitude. Since all find worth in Him- all have a common bond, so there is no more envy or greed, pride or a need to lie.Low self esteem won’t lead to gluttony or slothfulness.

As Chris Tomlin sings in his version of Amazing Grace from the movie by the same name- “these chains are gone, we have been set free.”

Click on it. Listen, and then pray. Be released.

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Have You Mooned Anyone?

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , , on November 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Think back to your school days. What did you learn about the moon?

It revolved around the earth, which revolved around the sun.ID-10077869

It doesn’t have the ability on its own to create light, but the sun reflects off of it to shine upon the earth.

It goes through stages. Sometimes it is full of light, while at other times it is just a slivered crescent.

It makes the dark not so dark, but sometimes it even appears in the daytime, though then it is not so shiny.

It has pull on the tides, and some say on human behavior.

And of course, there is a man in it – or so it appears!

 

We Christians should be like the moon. We revolve around the Son and even though we are not of this world because our world is His Kingdom in Heaven, we are called to be His shining Light to this world. Our purpose is to reflect His love. Our Lord uses us to shine into the darkness of others’ lives. But even when their lives are fine and they do not think they need our directional light, we can still be hovering as an example that God is ever-present.

As the moon has pull on the tides, we have the ability to pull others to Christ. However, let’s be honest. Like the moon, we also go through phases, don’t we? Sometimes we are not so full of His Light as other times. But, we will always reflect Him in our lives, even if it is just a sliver. No matter what we are going through, or how sure our faith walk is at the moment, Jesus still is evident in our lives. We can still be a beacon to others trapped in darkness.

And just as people look up and envision a man in the moon, so can they envision the Son of Man in us.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Who have you “mooned” today?

 

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Vets- Thank You

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on November 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If you served your country to ensure I can cherish the freedoms I have –

Thank you just isn’t enough of a response for all you sacrificed – in battle and afterwards. May the one who sacrificed Himself for us be a comforting presence in your hearts today, and always.

GOD BLESS YOU! You are in my prayers today.

pray for our nation

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Out on a limb

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , on November 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

“Whoa, he  went way out on a limb with that proposal.” A businessman carrying a briefcase laughed as he left the boardroom.

His colleague shrugged, “Well, it must have been important to him, I guess. ”

To go out on a limb is to take a chance, isn’t it? One man in the Bible did that, literally. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus as He walked towards town.  Zacchaeus was too short to see over the crowds, so instead of putting about how unfair it was for God to make him that way,  he found an innovative, and somewhat risky way, to make sure he got a better view. It was that important to see Jesus. (Luke 19)

Are you willing to take such a daring action of faith to seek your Lord?  That as the question I heard in a recent sermon on this passage. Zaccheus crawled as far as he dared out onto a limb, the preacher suggested. Jesus noticed him for his faith.

Many of us believers become comfortable with Jesus after a while. We stay near the ground with our feet well planted in our daily lives. We enjoy the canopy of His grace, and seek protection there from the elements that may beat down on us – heat of controversy, storms of life, winds of change. We might even say God made us to be where we are, and since we are human, complain about that a bit too much.

ID-100210229What if we climbed up to get a better view of the way Jesus sees things? What if we risked standing out instead of blending into the crowd? If we stopped making excuses and turned them into opportunities?

What if we stretched ourselves, inch by inch out onto that limb, and even when it began to bend, held on because we knew that was where God would touch our lives in a new way?

The Good News is that Jesus meets us wherever we are.  We don’t have to win His attention. But what if, out of faith, we stretched ourselves  and scooted out of our norm ? We just might get a whole new perspective.

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Red Letter Day

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

IMG_20131030_091447_725Have you ever heard the term, “it’s going to be a red letter day?”

It means the day is going to be special, outstanding, worth remembering. Here is what the source of all sources (hmmm) Wikipedia says:

The term originates from Medieval church calendars. Illuminated manuscripts often marked initial capitals and highlighted words in red ink, known as rubrics. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed the saints’ days, feasts and other holy days, which came to be printed on church calendars in red. The term came into wider usage with the appearance in 1549 of the first Book of Common Prayer in which the calendar showed special holy days in red ink.
 

My first real Bible- the one I was given when I confirmed Jesus as IMG_20131030_075636_787my Lord and Savior- is precious to me. It is the first one I read cover to cover, eager to absorb all the heavenly wisdom it contained.  In it, all the words attributed to Jesus were in red letters. They were special. Our Lord had uttered them. They stood out from the page and made the rest of the words fade into the background. The red letter words were the ones worth noting.

As I grew, I began to realize they were not just words. They were not just wisdom. The Bible is alive, a breathing extension of my faith. The old acronym – Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth –  is true. With the Holy Spirit’s help, these words are God-inspired,  breathed into me to guide, instruct, correct, convict and comfort me. (2 Timothy 3:16)

I want today to be a red letter day- a special holy day because I choose to include the holy in it.  I want it to be a day where I  read, hear and act upon the words of Jesus. A day where He dominates the page of my life. A day where my thoughts, words and actions, solely for my benefit, fade into the background while what I think, say and do for Him and for others stand out.

Who knows? Maybe that will make it a red letter day for someone else- someone I least expect!

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Worry’s Growl

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on November 1, 2013| 1 Comment »

My guest blogger today finds God, even in scattered worries. Please check out Kathy Collard Miller’ new book- just released:

I headed out on my jog, eyeing the storm clouds that threatened rain above me. Oh, I so want to run, and I can’t run tomorrow. I’ve got to do it right now even if it rains. But by the time I’d run a mile, the drops started and got bigger and bigger.

Oh. I’m so disappointed, I mourned, as I turned and headed back. But then, a new resolve overwhelmed me. By golly, I’m going to run even if I get wet. It’s just too important for my health.

I continued running and the drops fell continually but were not drenching. As I ran, the rain slackened, yet clouds off in the distance were a dark, threatening color. Will it hold off? By the time I’d passed my three-mile mark, the sprinkles stopped, and when I looked up at the sky, the dark clouds were gone. Where did they go? I turned to look for them, but they had dissipated, though the sky was still overcast.

For the next two miles, no rain fell. As I reached the last half mile, the storm clouds opened up again and my clothes were reaching the wet category. But I didn’t care that my hair was wet; it had been an exhilarating run. Walking for my cool-down, a few rays of sun broke through the clouds, splashing the luscious, colorful hues of a rainbow across the sky. Wow. I would have missed it if I hadn’t risked getting wet.

My run could have been a really unpleasant experience but the warning of rain had turned out to be a worse threat than the actual rain. In the end, I was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow that I would have missed had I not run.

That day as I ran, I saw an analogy to worry. Its growl is worse than its bite. Worry can easily cause us to focus on disaster while taking away our ability to trust God. Yet even if what we fear happens, it’s often not as bad as we thought it would be. We might even experience the “rainbow” of God’s blessings in some unexpected way.

k collard bookBOOK SUMMARY AND BIOGRAPHY:

It is possible to worry less through trusting God more. Regardless of the storms of trials, temptations, worry, uncertainty, confusion, or regrets that you’re facing, you can trust God more. Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries offers a conversational style, personal testimonies, practical illustrations, and solid biblical teaching for breaking anxiety and the devastating effects of worry. Each chapter includes Discussion Questions for individuals or groups, along with a “Letter from God.” In addition, a profile of a woman in the Bible who struggled with or experienced victory over worry is featured in each chapter to inspire every reader to see God’s hand in her life.

Kathy Collard Miller is a speaker and author. Her passion is to inspire women to trust God more. She has spoken in 30 states and 7 foreign countries. Kathy has 49 published books including Women of the Bible: Smart Guide to the Bible (Thomas Nelson) and she blogs at www.KathyCollardMiller.blogspot.com. Kathy lives in Southern California with her husband of 43 years, Larry, and is the proud grandma of Raphael. Kathy and Larry often speak together at marriage events and retreats.

Order at: http://www.amazon.com/Partly-Cloudy-Scattered-Worries-Collard/dp/193849976X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380319647&sr=8-2&keywords=partly+cloudy+with+scattered+worries

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Saints Alive

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on October 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

“I sing a song of the Saints of God,patient and brave and true …”

I grew up singing that song in church. Did you?

lay handsNovember 1 has for centuries been designated as the day we honor and pray for  the saints. In the Bible, the “saints” mentioned in the Psalms and the letters of Paul and John were living, breathing humans for whom we should pray, support, and emulate. Not the ones who are long gone with formal names and days venerated to them like St. John, St. Paul and St. Francis. Not  the dead– that is reserved for November 2, All Souls Day.  But, All Saints Day is the day we honor and thank God for the ordinary saints – folks just like you and me – who live their lives trying to live out the Gospel.

“They love their Lord so dear, so dear, and His love made them strong; and they followed the right, for Jesus’ sake, the hole of their good lives long…”

You know who they are. They may not have three miracles attributed to them or have been blessed by a pope, but their lives have influenced others to turn to Jesus. They are the ones we recall have been strong in times of turmoil, and positive even when it seemed the worse was happening to them.  They are the ones who are there when we need them, who reach out a  hand, and take the time to call even when it is not convenient for them. They are the ones we go to when we need clarity. The ones who know the Word because it is so a part of their lives. They are the ones who will wear out their knees in the wee hours for a stranger they heard or read about. Thy are the ones who silently scrub the commodes in the church or mow the lawn and never want any recognition.

“…you can meet them in school, or in lanes or at sea,  at church, or on trains, or in shops, or at tea…”

Think of the saints who have influenced you.  If they have passed on, thank God for them. If they are still on earth, why not write them, call them or even text them. Tell them you are praying for them. But above all,  thank them for being a shining example of what defines being a follower of Christ.  Let them know how much they have meant to you in your faith walk. Tell them, it is partially because of them that you can sing–

“…For the saints of God are folk just like me, and I mean to be one, too.”*

*Words by Lesbia Scott (b. 1898)

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Fall Back

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on October 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

????????????????????????????????????????This next Sunday, November 3rd,  at 2:00 a.m., most of the U.S. will be prompted to turn their clocks back one hour. It is called “Fall Back”, to reverse the hour we lost in the spring when we went adjusted our clocks forward one hour for Daylight Savings Time.

Many,  like me, crumble about this whole concept originally joked about by Benjamin Franklin 200 years ago and conceptualized by George V. Hudson in 1895. We not only relish that precious one hour of sleep, we applaud that we are finally getting back to “God’s time”.  Good riddance it’s about time! (Pun intended.)

But, we don’t have to wait until Congress deems it is time to go back to God’s time. His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 2:3) Each day, we can choose to fall back into His ways and not rely upon our man-made choices. Each moment,  we can choose to follow His timing instead of trying to manipulate things to march to our own schedule.

Scripture tells us He is working His purpose out, (Romans 8:28, Philippians 2:13)  and that His ways are not our ways. But our limited view often blocks us from realizing this. We want it all to happen now  — our way, please.

We only have this present second — God has all of eternity. We can only make our decisions based on the now, and our skewed version of the past as seen through our eyes and experiences. God sees all, knows all.

Who will you fall back on today?

 

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