This video by Merrill Bagwell was made Sept 30,2014. I recently saw it on Facebook.
It beautifully explains how often we miss God trying to get our attention during the day.
The whole purpose of my blog in a nutshell, so I had to share!
Posts Tagged ‘Where did you find God today’
in a Video
Posted in Books, tagged A Merrilll Bagwell video, Julie B Cosgrove, seekign god, Where did you find God today, Where is God on October 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »
SANDWICH BOARD
Posted in Devotional, tagged god first and last, grace, Julie Cosgrove, message, point to God, sandwich board, Where did you find God today on October 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Today I read a prayer that asks for God’s grace to precede and follow us.
I had a visual image of the old way of advertising – the sandwich board. People used to wear them and walk the streets so people saw the message coming and going. People noticed the message, not the bearer of it.
Perhaps if I sandwich God’s grace around me, people will see Him first and last while I will be in the middle–shielded and covered.
Lord make me your visible message that points to You and not myself. Amen.
Germ Warfare
Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged antibiotics, germ warfare, God heals, Julie Cosgrove, probiotics, spiritual warfare, Where did you find God today, Word of God on October 2, 2015| 1 Comment »
‘Tis the season for germs- flu, colds, bronchitis…your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. But what about the spiritual germs lurking about, ready to weaken your immune system?
Last week I picked up a virus, most likely among the 500 authors I was in close proximity to for three days at a conference. Bam- within two days of returning home it had invaded my tired, worn-out body to the point that I felt the $30 copay for the visit to the doctor was warranted.
Yep- bronchial pneumonia has settled into my lungs. Steroid inhalers and antibiotics were the key to helping my body defeat these germy invaders. Warfare was waged. At first, it looked like my lungs were losing. But after a few skirmishes, the meds kicked in, the fever lifted, and my hacking eased. My lungs began to expel the gunk – victory!
In the spiritual realm, we can pick up little germs as well. None of us are immune. They may lie dormant for a bit, but soon we realize we in and of ourselves are too weak to combat their influence. Sin can invade us in so many ways. It is everywhere. You can’t avoid it combating your ears and your eyes, much less your thoughts. Even the Apostle Paul admitted this in his letter to the Romans. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (7:19)
We need help. Holy help. And the Great Physician is ready to send in the troops. Through a prescription of prayer, Spirit guided thoughts and Scripture, we can defeat those sinful germs and slowly expel them from our souls. God provides His strength in us. War is raged and the treatment is assured because Christ has already won the battle. Proven, tried and true, the prescription works.
However, when it comes to being on a routine of antibiotics, nutritionists will tell you you need to re-plenty your body with the good germs through probiotics. Same with our souls. Don’t let there be a void. Refill with the good stuff- the Word of God. Cram it in so tight the nasty germs of sin will find it hard to invade. Paul also gave the Romans this advice: Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (6:12)
So, take your soul meds, folks. Stay strong in Christ, absorb His Word, go to Church and pay your copay in the offering plate with thanksgiving that He has the cure. You may get through this germy season unscathed.
Go Deeper
Posted in Life Experiences, Nature, tagged a different way, against our nature, Erin Taylor Young, follow, Go Deeper, God's will, Julie Cosgrove, not instinctual, Where did you find God today on September 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Author Erin Taylor Young smiled and said, “It was against it’s nature to go deep. But that was the only way out.”
At the American Fiction Christian Writers Conference, September 17-19, Erin told us an analogy to not being afraid to go deeper in your faith. She noticed a moth 
caught between the window pane and the screen in her home. It’s predicament wretched her gut. But she also saw a lesson, one that helped to form her website theme.
It kept trying to fly up to get out. That is it’s nature. However, it forgot it got in through the dent in the bottom of the screen’s frame as it flew towards her bedroom light.
Now, to get out, the moth had to go against everything it had learned. It had to go deep into the dark corner of the window and walk at an angle through some cobwebs to reach that dent again. Against it’s instinctual tendency and through a bit of danger. It could get caught up in the sticky web remnants. It could crash.
For several minutes the moth kept flying towards the top of the window, only to whack into the top sash each time. Over and over it tried. It’s little wings flapped as hard as they could. Same path, same result. Over and over and over.
Erin asked us if God is calling us to go deep. Are we flitting around trying to reach His light by still following our own instincts, or will we hear His call to fly down and discover the one way out into His will? It may be dangerous, and a test of faith. It may get a bit tough, and the devil may put up obstacles. But, if we stay true to God”s course and follow His will, we will experience freedom, peace and the reward when we trust and obey.
Is God calling you deeper? Are you willing to say, “yes” and follow His path, even though it seems convoluted and not the normal way of doing things? It maybe keeping your cool when you want to yell back. Perhaps it is turning the other cheek. Maybe forgiving someone who has deeply hurt you. Or taking on a ministry in which you feel totally inadequate. Facing a tough circumstance like a death of a family member, a divorce or the big C diagnosis. Your instinct may be to escape the easy way. Let your human nature guide you. Rely on your own know-how, experience and strengthen.
Or, you can give in and follow God’s promptings, even if they seem contrary to everything else.
By the way, the moth finally caught on. It slipped through the dent in the screen frame and went on its way. No longer trapped.
Will you follow the moth?
If You’ve Liked the Blog Posts…
Posted in Books, Devotional, tagged books, devotionals, Experiencing God PResence, inspirational, Julie B Cosgrove, The Present of His PResence, Where did you find God today on August 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Perhaps you will enjoy the book…
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Reflected
Posted in Life Experiences, tagged family, Julie Cosgrove, reflect Christ, see them through God's eyes, through God's eyes, Where did you find God today on August 17, 2015| 3 Comments »
Every morning I curl up on my couch with my coffee and my Bible. (Only way to start the day…I make sure the cats are chomping their kibbles so they leave me alone.) Today, the sun’s angle shone onto my son’s photo on the book shelf catty-cornered to my line of vision. I noticed the crystal cross I had sitting on the shelf near it reflected upon him. Ah!
I love my family. I am sure you do as well. But families are very human. That means we can rub against each other’s nerves at times. We have histories together and we know each other’s faults, mistakes and stumbles. That can color our view of them.
On the other end of the scale, our loyalty and love can obscure who they really are. We develop a tendency to overlook actions or tolerate attitudes we wouldn’t in friends or coworkers because they are, well, family. “Oh, that’s just Uncle Joe.” “My sister can be like that, but you don’t know her as l I do.” “My little nephew can do no wrong. Sweet and smart as a whip.”
How much clearer when we see them through the cross. When we see them reflected through God’s vision, we can not only see them as His child, as sinners like us in need of a Savior. We glimpse the potential God envisions and strives to mold our loved ones be. We become more tolerant and more realistic in how they appear in our minds. Hurts dissolve. Jealousies no longer cloud the issues.
We are also no longer blinded by love and can truly lead the family member to come to know our Lord, who also sees us for who we are. By seeing them through Christ, we can love them in a healthy, productive way and help them to seek forgiveness, change their lives and grow in His will for their lives.
We just have to see them reflected through the cross more often and ask the Son to shine through onto our relationship.
In a Name…Amen
Posted in Christian, Devotional, tagged amen, God's will, Julie Cosgrove, name, needs, Where did you find God today on August 10, 2015| 2 Comments »
I love word games, you probably realized that by now. While playing Scrabble, I noticed I had several choices when it came to playing my tiles M-E-N-A
Two jumped out at me – NAME and AMEN. Why? Because one puts the “N” at the beginning while the other word has it at the end.
God showed me a lesson. It is up to us how we choose to arrange the letters. It all depends on where we place our values.
If we put ourselves first, our name is important.
Shove our needs to the back behind those of others and God’s will for our lives and we have the word Amen.
What is your “N”? Is it notoriety, making a name for yourself, or do you think of yourself as nothing? Perhaps the “n” is a negative attitude, or the feeling you will never amount to anything. Maybe it is neverneverland– a pipe dream. It could even be being noble. nice, or natural. Whatever it is, the emphasis is still on you, not God.
Think what would happen if you flipped that “N” and thought less about it and more about your blessings, your purpose, and your Savior?
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. MaAtthew 6:33
Two Letters, Two Ways
Posted in Biblical, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged bound, Cephas, I vs. them, Julie B Cosgrove, loose, servitude attitude, unite, Where did you find God today on July 28, 2015| 1 Comment »
Hi, my name is Julie and I am a word-aholic. I play Scrabble with the computer, and have at least fifteen Words with Friends (WWF) games going at once. On my smart phone are four word games to keep me occupied while I am waiting for my friends to send me their word entries. This morning as i sipped my coffee, after my prayer and devotional time of course, I had a few minutes to play a few of the WWF puzzles. Starting a rematch this is what popped up in my tile selection:
Yes, I didn’t use the blank. (A strategic move on my part, heh, heh.) But I realized, another word could be spelled with the very same letters simply by flipping the letter “i” and the letter “T”. UNTIES can become UNITES.
It brought to mind Jesus’ words to Peter when he told him his name would now be Cephas, the Rock on which He’d build his Church.
…whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19b
That has been passed on to all Christians in the Great Commission. We have two choices with the times, talents and treasures God had provided us. We can use them to untie ourselves from others, i.e separate us from them. We can strive for the bigger house, better car, more toys, and more expensive vacays. We can also use our God-given talents to shine the light of pride on whatever we do, thus distinguishing us from the crowd. We untie (loose) the ropes that binds us to others so we cab be set apart.
Or, we can use our God-given abilities to unite (bind) ourselves to others. Through loving God, and serving Him as an expression of that love, we act as a binding force to draw others into the fold. Bound together in His goodness and mercy, we are strengthened, supported, and secured. That’s the servitude attitude Jesus displayed while on earth.
God gives us the letters to play. It up to us to determine how we use the “I” (me) and the “T”(them).
Clearly
Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged John4:10, Julie B Cosgrove, Living Water, quench, thirst, water, Where did you find God today on July 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »
I saw a picture of a glass of water. Pure, thirst quenching, clear. Water is something we need to survive. We can’t go very long without it. Our bodies have water running through them. No wonder Jesus said He is the Living Water.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10
God’s blessings overflow, providing us what we need to make it through the day. But, like a glass of water, sometimes we can see right through them, and so we don’t really “see.” Or what we see is distorted by the container- us.
Other times we want to add something to the water to make it taste better. Sugar, lemons, mint, cucumbers, even those small packets of energy boosters of flavorings. We brew coffee through it, or steep tea in it. We add seltzer and make it bubbly.
But your doctor will tell you there is nothing better for you than a plain, pure glass of water. The same is true with God’s blessings. Receive them, drink them down and quench your soul.
Have I made you thirsty? I pray God makes you thirst for more of Him today. Drink in His blessings. Clearly, they will be there if you look.
Through Missionary Eyes
Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged conversions, hope, Julie B Cosgrove, persecuted Christians, pray, Where did you find God today on July 16, 2015| 2 Comments »
This week, hundred of missionaries and faith leaders from all over the world descended on Fort Worth, TX to pray over each other, learn from each other, and support each other. I have met amazing men who minister to persecuted Christians in a predominately Muslim environment – unfortunately, I can’t say who they are over cyber space or show their pictures because they and their families live under the threat of execution.
I can tell you what I gleaned from their talks:
1. People are being converted to Christianity at alarming rates – the persecutions have drawn others to the faith. God does bring good out of evil. (Romans 12:21 –Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. ) Rejoice in this.
2. The best thing we can do is PRAY – pray for holy leaders to spring forth to guide the newly converted. Jesus is coming to thousands in dreams, but they don’t understand who the “man in glowing white” is. (Romans 10:20 –And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”
3. Befriend Muslims here in our countries because they are curious about our faiths and freedoms, but fear us because of the prejudice we have due to the terrorist sects. They are humans looking for peace and salvation and because secularism is foreign to their mindset, are easier to convert. Many do not realize Jesus is proclaimed as the Son of God in the Koran because they have never been allowed to study it! (Colossians 1:25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—)
I found God moving in places in the world where hatred, persecution and strife are part of a daily existence. But out of that cesspool springs of hope are gurgling up, and the stream of Living Water cannot be dammed. Their testimonies brought tears to my eyes and a new fervor in my heart.
Please join me in doing these three simple things.
JULIE B COSGROVE Scribe , Speaker, and Servant
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