The Imperishable Seed

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

I noticed something peculiar about the seeds as I grinded the chili peppers. No matter how fine I grinded it, the seeds remained unbreakable. I’m sure if I put them in the ground they will grow. How unique, I thought.

This must be what apostle Peter talked about us being made from the imperishable seed, the Word of God. The Word is the seed, thus when we put the seed in us, it is indestructible. It lives in us and instructs us how to live like Christ.

Though there may be many trials and temptations that we may face, the Word of God remains changeless, just like the chili pepper seeds. This indestructible power within us is what will reproduce itself when planted in good grounds. The blender may mix us all around, tearing our physical being apart, but the seed in us lives on.

This is powerful, because this means that when God pronounces a promise for His children through His living Word, the promise germinates and grows. And whoever claims the promise-learn the word of God, memorize it until you can speak it in your regular conversations-will produce fruit.

The Lord is good. I am so glad to learn this simple and yet powerful lesson. I am emptying myself of my self-doubt and unbelief and fill myself with more of His words, the living seeds. God bless you.

Lord Jesus, I am in awe of Your mighty power. You are so good to me. Help me to believe in the power of Your living Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Come Let Us Sing Joy to the Lord

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Psalm 95:1-7)

Last week, we witnessed one of the deadliest storms. Although, the citizens of Houston and Galveston were directly affected by this hurricane, it devastated people all over the USA: In just a matter of hours gas stations all over Columbia, South Carolina jumped record high. People along the coast are still unable to return home. Last night I was reading an article about Hurricane Ike and how authorities may have to order a mandatory evacuation for Galveston residence. Heart-wrenching decisions, yet it must take place for the safety of the people.

Hurricane Ike may have been strong and it killed 48 people, devastated many homes and cities, islands and businesses. But, when I closed my eyes, I saw God carrying the hurricane in His hand, carefully placing them in certain places. In doing so, many people were spared. They may have lost their earthly belongings, and we may have to pay higher gas prices, but God spared all who heeded the warnings.

This brings the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (I’m not claiming that Galveston or Houston sinned against God or did evil deeds-that’s not my point here) to my mind. When God was going to destroy them, He came to tell Abraham and he pleaded with God and Lot and his daughters were spared. When Hurricane Ike was far off the coast, God revealed it to meteorologist who warned people way ahead of time and those who took heed of the warnings left and their lives were spared. Not only that, but many prayed for mercy, and He quickly turned a category 3 hurricane to a category 2. God is indeed sovereign and merciful.

Though we may not see it as God’s love and mercy because of all the damages, much worst could have happened. It could have claimed more lives and Ike could have remained strong throughout all of the states that it touched, but it didn’t. God was merciful and He quieted the storm.

As a woman who desires to fear the Lord, I marvel at His authority and mercy. As we dig through our purses and cabinets to relieve some of the pains the victims experiences, I pray we will remember to praise our God who is the author of people, mountain, sea, and land. He is mighty, merciful and loving. He is our salvation. He is still in control. Let us lift our praises to Him. And, in due time, I believe He will restore the victims’ fortunes. God bless us all through this difficult time.

God, I praise You. You are worthy of glory, honor and praise. Though we may have the wrong focus and lose sight of You, You are faithful to save us. I pray for all the victims along the cost who were directly affected by Hurricane Ike. I pray You will bring joy, peace and happiness their way and You will restore their fortunes, for You are a compassionate God. I thank You for Your mercy and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Fear?

Lately, there have been many fears stirring up through the media. The increase of gas prices, the increase of grocery prices, the sky rocketing interest rates of credit cards (they creep up on you like roaches-you don’t know where they rest during the day, but they sure know how to find you at night), and the foreclosures. And, America is destined to make political history this year. I never watched politic conventions before, but because of this year’s history making politics, I’ve been following the presidential candidates. It mesmerized and gravitated me toward fear: fear of financial burdens; fear of who is going to sit at the White house chair; fear of uncertainties, and fear of losing my house and my loved ones. Fear.

Fear drove me to worry and confusion. I know I shouldn’t worry. And, I know God is in control so I shouldn’t be confused because God is the God of clarity. The God of vision. The God of surety. The God of supreme authority. The God of all good things. If all good things come from the Lord, then where do all bad things come from? I sat and contemplate my situation. I dreamed about my situation. And I lost focus.

I began to wonder what others are thinking. Surely, other people don’t have the problems that I have. Or do they? The media pictures are full of black holes-everything is uncertain: not even the direction of Ike. How hard would Ike hit if it hits our southern borders? All the oil companies shut down. Gas prices jumped overnight. Earlier, when my husband called to tell me to go and fill up the cars with gas, I was at the pump and there were lines of cars. There was one lady waiting behind me, then she decided I took too long so she thought there was an open pump and drove over, but then she los the spot there. She swerved back to wait for me, only this time she was in front of me. As I was pulling my car forward, there was a van behind me and she started to yell at the driver that she was there first. You move you lose, I thought, wait a minute, that’s not very nice. We’ve heard a lot about road rage, but now we have gas pump rage. Fear.

So, I guess I was not the only one afraid of uncertainties-and I didn’t even know I was afraid. I was not sure of this feeling of not wanting to do anything-until I read Tracy’s blog. Tracy was talking about worry. It finally dawned on me that I was simply afraid of the wrong things and persons.

God instructed us not to be afraid of anything that can kill the body but cannot do anything afterwards. Rather, we should fear the Lord our God. He promised us He would take care of us if we fear (honor, respect, and reverence) Him. Isaiah 33:6 says, “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” In Him, I have salvation. In Him, I have knowledge. In Him I have wisdom. And if He is for me, who or what can be against me? The condition or the price I pay is reverence, fear God. All I have to do is acknowledge that He is the Sovereign Lord. That’s my key to this treasure.

So, how can I show Him respect if I keep in constant fear of the earthly uncertainties? Things and people who could only kill my body and not my soul. Isaiah 54:14 says, “In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.” I am made righteous by the blood of Christ. I am whole. I am complete in Him. I have nothing to fear.

God is still God no matter the circumstances of this world. God can change the circumstances. But, the circumstances cannot change God. Fear not, for God is with us.

Lord, God, thank You for Your grace and mercy over me. I am fearful of things and fail to acknowledge Your authority and presence. Forgive me. Instruct me in Your truth, whether I turn to the left or the right, let me hear Your voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Things Mothers Do

Have you ever wonder what other mothers do on a daily basis? What do they do all day long? All night long?

Let me share with you a few happenings of mine and I hope to hear yours:

For weeks now, my son has been asking to go to his cousin's house to play. I didn't want him to go and impose on his aunt and uncle's busy schedules, so the answer was always no-until yesterday, that is. I finally caved in and let him go because my two oldest were going to have their youth family night and since we didn't want to drive home after our afternoon service, we decided to stay at church until their meeting. So, my husband and I agreed that he could go home with his uncle and we'll pick him up later. What I discovered when we picked him up was he got burned from his grandmother's hot chicken soup liquid. Doctor said it is between first and second degree and patched his burn with bandaid. So, instead of picking weeds out of my garden, I spent my morning taking him to the doctor.

Oh yes, instead of taking two children to the doctor, I ended up with a third-my nephew. His mother was in training for her first day on the job, so she asked me to watch him for the morning. Well, I should have asked his mother to leave his carseat with me. I ended up using my daughter's for him, and well, it was kind of small, but I didn't have time to adjust his straps because I was running late for the appointment. The poor child had to travel to the doctor's office in a tight strap carseat. Then, the doctor took longer than usual and we were a little late getting back in time for his mother to pick him up. So, we rushed and he had to travel back with a tight strap carseat. She picked him up and I have not fed him yet. What a babysitter! I don't let children leave my house without being fed under normal circumstances. But this morning was a little hectic.

More about last night. Yesterday at the grocery store, my daughter gently tugged my shirt reminding me that she needed a snack for school. I told her to trust her mother's motherly instincts. Needless to say, her instincts failed and she forgot her daughter's snack. As I sent her to bed, she said, "but mom, what about my snack?" Ooops! I promised her that I would do something about it and when she wakes up in the morning she would have snack for school. Well, when she went to bed, I sat there looking from cupboard to cupboard for ideas to make fast and easy snacks, avoiding the baking cookies.

I went through this particular cupboard with a box of cereal, a box of ice cream cones, and a container with tiny little marshmellows. Guess what I did? That's right. This adventurous mother decided she would make crispy cornflakes in the cone. The problem was she put too much butter and not enough marshmellow so she sat there and stared at the cone filled with marshed crispy cornflakes wondering when it would cool down enough to test it's edibility. She feels kind of bad and afraid that it would not be good and her child would be upset in the morning, so she proceeded to make cookies-soft sugar cookies. Yes, she stayed up and mixed all the ingredients together and chilled the dough over night. She woke up early this morning to bake her child's snack so she wouldn't be the only child without a snack during snack time. What kind of mother would leave her child snackless? Definitely, not this one.

What does a mother with a princess who decides to eat applesauce with her finger do? Her face covered with applesauce. She walked in, looked herself in the mirror and left. As she was walking by, I noticed her smacking her lips together, I looked at her and scooped her in with my right hand, and wow! Applesauce.

My eight year-old is begging for a cellphone and a mp3 player. He thinks I'm growing money out of my ears. He's humming at me.

Well, I can go on and on, but I think you get the gist of what I deal with daily. I used to pray for a large family...I had no idea God has a sense of humor and would provide me with more children than I planned. LOL. Pride and Joy, they are. Please, share a few of your happenings with me. I love to hear what you do everyday.

Lifehouse Everything Drama

My daughter just show me this. If you haven't seen it, it is worth watching. This is how we are distracted daily and taken away from our Father. Enjoy!

I Can Get Used to This

I walked into the high school office, went past station 1, 2, & 3 and no one said a thing to me. Then, I went to station 4 and the gentleman asked me if I was a parent? I said, “yes”. Then, he directed me to station 9 which was a much shorter line (God's grace was on me). The lady then directed me to pick up my daughter’s ID. I walked around the loop as there was no short cut to him. When I arrived, I announced my presence and asked him for my daughter’s picture ID. He looked up at me and said, “Okay, look for your ID?”

“I don’t see it” I said as I put the papers in my hand down on his desk.

“Oh, okay, are you a freshman?” he ask.

“Yes, she’s a freshman. She had her picture taken last year during the tour,” I answered.

“Okay, let me look quick,” he said looking at the role of id’s, “Oh, here it is,” he said as he handed me the lanyard and a blank ID with my daughter’s name on it. “You’re have to get in that line (pointing behind him) and take your pictures.”

I took the lanyard from him and wondered to myself, feeling kind of good because I’m mistaken for my daughter. To be almost 40 and be mistaken for my daughter of 14, feels pretty good. Don’t you think? Then, there I was after I’ve received my daughter’s books in my arms standing behind these two girls (I think they were sophomores), carying on their conversation as though I was one of the students. Boy! That just made my day.

As I was driving my daughter back to school this morning, I told her of the incident and she said, “That’s just sad.”

“What do you mean, sad? I felt good, because that meant that I looked young. When you’re almost 40 and mistaken for 14, that’s a good feeling,” I said while combing my hair back with one hand.

“Yeah, I know,” she chuckled, “it’s funny, when you’re young you want to be old and when you’re old you want to be young.”

What a true statement she made. We’ve never been satisfied with our ages. We always see the grass greener on the other side (well, that is until we get there). But, I don’t mind being mistaken for a high school student one bit. Whatever I was wearing must have covered my muffin top. No one seems to notice it. I don’t have a Biblical application. If you have one, post your application on the comment below. I am interested to hear how y’all apply this to a Biblical truth. I was just so touched by it that I had to share with you. Maybe, I should start working out, I will look even younger and next time, become my daughter’s sister. Who knows! I can get used to being young.

You have yourself a great day. Now, that I completed my children’s school registrations, I am going to get back to being almost 40 because I have to face reality.

Contractions without Birth

When we give birth, we may have contractions anywhere between 30 minutes to 30 hours. But, sooner or later, we give birth to these beautiful creatures and suddenly, our pains disappeared. We are left with this beautiful jewel that beholds our attentions for the rest of our lives. We are forever changed through this excruciating experience. The reward is the child, or children.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always have too much month at the end my money. I feel like I’m in constant financial contractions with no birth in sight. And, yet the contractions continue to push stronger than ever. Sometimes, I try to remind myself that when the contractions are over, I’m going to receive this beautiful jewel. Sometimes, regardless of my positive declarations, I feel like the contractions will end up with a financial stillbirth. It is then that I feel alone and depressed. I could sleep for hours and the contractions continue to throb painfully through it all.

It is then that I cry out to my God for relief. And I am reminded that He is with me. He cares for me. He loves me. I will not be destroyed. I will not lose. I will not be disappointed as long as my hope is in Him. The contractions are there to keep my heart beating for Him. He is my God and Savior. He has promised me that when I pass through the waters, He will be with me. When I pass through the rivers they will not sweep over me. When I walk through the fire, I will not be burned (Isaiah 43:2).

Father, Your promises are true. You are faithful to all You have made. I give You glory and honor and praise. I place my hope in You. I know You hear my painful cries. I know You have not forgotten me. You are with me. You are I AM. I love You. Let these financial contractions be glorifying to You. Bless all my sisters in this world who are experiencing some kind of contractions today. Remind them that they are not alone, just as You have reminded me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.