True Victory!

As I watched the Winter Olympics, and witnessed the palpable, exuberant, overflowing JOY of those who DID their personal best ~ it was a reminder that we, too, are in the Olympics.

Our performance may not be televised, but we certainly have an audience of ONE.

As followers of Christ, our "sport" is to run the race He has set before us with endurance and excellence.

Each of us have our very own unique race that God has designed, but the "game plan" is the same:

* "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your might." And love your neighbor as yourself."

* Be humble

* Be obedient

* Be surrendered

Athletes must be humble, odedient and surrendered to their Coach, in order to be the best that they can be.  In order to be a champion.  In order to be victorious.

As a Christian, God is our coach. And He guarantees the victory.

"But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 15:57

Are we listening to our Coach?

Are we being the athlete God called us to be?

Are we being victorious?

Oh, to have that joy of winning the "gold"....but for an audience of  "ONE."

"But He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."  Job 23:10

Whose Your Valentine?

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.


She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.
Beautiful Love by Jô Angel div>

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

Love Vintage by Jô Angel
She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

Beautiful love 02 by Jô Angel on Polyvore.com

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

Vintage Princess by Jô Angel featuring Disney Couture jewelry

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.'




Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word. His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend,'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No!', replied the third boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!'

Her heart sank and turned cold.

Love 02 by Jô Angel featuring Juicy Couture accessories

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and
you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'I'm sorry , I can't help you out this time!', replied the second boyfriend. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'

His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.'

The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as
he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when
I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:

Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others.

Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you wherever you go.

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish your spirit now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Which boyfriend do you LOVE the most? Nurture? Spend time with? Lavish upon?

Your heavenly Father so longs for your spirit to be one with His. He never loses His vision for whom He designed you to be, even if you have fed the wrong boyfriends, and starved the right one.

So, in this season when we celebrate love, give your spirit the greatest gift of all ~ you!

The throne of God, full of mercy, grace, love, goodness, compassion, kindness and forgiveness, will seem closer than you think ~ for eternity is now.

The Holy Spirit is waiting for yours....the PERFECT LOVE, the PERFECT VALENTINE!

An Offer I COULD Refuse

So, I had an interesting proposition pop up recently.

We received a letter from a "location scout" for a movie that is being filmed in our area this Spring. (They liked the look of the outside of the house ~ supposed to take place in New England and our house is traditional, red brick).

Curious, I thought it would be fun to explore further. Since my niece's boyfriend is in the business (Apollo 13 and Blindside), I called him and he said he knew her, everything was legit, and gave me some coaching.

I called her and we chatted and she said to e-mail her and she would come out and look at the house.

After we hung up, I thought I'd better find out more about the movie.

I "googled" it, and everything came to a S.C.R.E.E.C.H.I.N.G halt.

Here is what I find out:



New Line has picked up the Farrelly brothers comedy "Hall Pass" from turnaround from Fox, signing up Owen Wilson to topline the picture. Jason Sudeikis is also in negotiations to co-star.

The story centers on a married couple who find themselves in a lull in their marriage and just going through the motions. The wife then gives her husband (Wilson) a "hall pass," a free ticket to engage in extramarital encounters. Sudeikis would play the guy's best friend, who also gets a free pass.

The movie begins production Feb. 23 in Atlanta.

With the Bible being my plumbline and my compass, and knowing God's heart on this, I knew immediately that this was something I could not and should not pursue.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure,... ~ Hebrews 13:4

Of course, I have no idea how the movie ends ~ does the "Hall Pass" allow them to live happily ever after? But, the END certainly does NOT justify the means.

So, needless to say, I did not e-mail her.

It will be interesting to see which house they end up choosing.

Not ours ~ "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

(Please know that this is JUST not right for our family ~ for whatever family that chooses to participate...I wish you nothing but the best.)

Recipe for the New Year

Take twelve beautiful, full-grown months;
see that they are thoroughly cleaned from....any and old transgressions of ~
bitterness,
strife,
malice,
rancor,
hate,
jealousy
Scrub them completely from any clinging impurities of....
spite,
picking off all specks of ....
pettiness
foolishness
empty conceit
idols
self

....in order that these months ahead are unhindered from the past, so that they are as FRESH and CLEAN as when they came from HEAVEN'S great "PANTRY of TIME.

Cut these months into batches of thirty or thirty-one equal parts (February, accordingly.)

Do not attempt to lump the batches together, but prepare one day at a time, as follows:

One part QUIET TIME with the Lord (preferably in the morning)
One part READING of GOD'S WORD (preferably in the morning)
One part LISTENING for GOD'S DIRECTION (preferably in the morning)
All parts PRAYER
All parts OBEDIENCE
All parts LOVE
ALL parts FAITH
ALL parts HOPE
ALL parts HUMILITY
ALL parts PATIENCE
ALL parts KINDNESS
ALL parts GOODNESS
ALL parts GENTLENESS
ALL parts SELF-CONTROL
ALL parts FORBEARANCE
ALL parts REJOICING
ALL parts THANKSGIVING

Next, spice up this recipe with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and compassion. Dollop in a teaspoon of whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellence, and praise. A dash of laughter, a pinch of fun, a sprinkling of friends, and a smidgen of tears and silence are important additions.



Stir vigorously with Jesus' forgiveness, freedom,
joy, peace, comfort, mercy and grace.

Place in a bowl of GOD'S FULL ARMOR, and bake continually with PRAYER.

.

Serve with a warm portion of gratitude and a wonderful over-flowing cup of GOD'S GLORY for the year ahead, and may His favor flavor your every day with blessings beyond measure.






(I adapted this from a devotional
I read 1-2-10 by Harold M. Smythe)