Just for fun...

If you'd like to read something with a touch of humor, click here to read a piece on Penwomanship called "Thanksgiving - a Day in the Life of 'The Cook'" by yours truly. Something different that might cause you to chuckle. Thanks!

Spiritual X-Ray

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

Luke 6:45 niv



Several years ago, my son fell on his arm while skating. From the outside, his arm looked fine, but his cries of pain told a different story. When the doctor held the x-ray up to the light, even my untrained eyes could see the jagged edge of his small bone sticking out.



I can still hear my brave little soldier’s cry of “Ow-ow-ouch!” when the doctor needed to ‘set’ the bone back into place. They had ushered this nervous Mom out of the room for the procedure, and when I came back in, I saw my baby’s freckles standing out in stark contrast to his paler than usual complexion. After being fitted with a bright orange cast, he recovered enough to ask when he’d be able to skate again!



From the outside, we cannot see everything happening on the inside of a person’s body. But God can. Not only does he see beyond our skin, He sees our hearts. And God doesn’t see just arteries, vessels, and muscles, but knows the intent and spiritual condition of our hearts.



Jesus told the Pharisees, the hypocritical religious leaders of His day, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.” (Luke 16:15 niv)



What if God administered a ‘spiritual x-ray’ and held the condition of your heart up to the light so all could see the results? Would you be ashamed? Would the sickness of sin be evident? Just as the doctor set my son’s bone back into place, God wants to ‘set’ our sin-sick "hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1 niv)



God knows what you think, what you feel, and most importantly, if He truly is the Lord of your life.



I’m sorry to say my son fell less than a year later and broke his other arm!



Prayer: Lord, I love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thank You for loving me. Lord, help me to keep my heart set on things above and serving You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Hallelujah, What a Savior

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. - Ephesians 2:8 niv



My husband walked into the family room clutching a yellow receipt. He had just filled my car with gas. “Well, we broke the record with that fill-up.”



“I told you I was driving around on fumes.” I said, grinning. I have a bad habit of being totally oblivious to that tiny light that says, “You’re going to be walking soon!”



When I saw how much it cost to have the car filled, I realized I’m old enough to say, “Remember when you could fill your car up with $10.00 and get change?”



We’ve all heard the saying, “Nothing in this life is free.” I know you’ve been inundated, as I have, with commercials or flyers offering something free. You call the 800 number only to find out you receive something free IF… If – that’s the key word. You have to participate in some way. IF you try a product or buy something else, you’ll get your free gift.



Salvation from God depends on something, too. Romans 10:9-10 says, “IF you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”



The gift of salvation is free to you, but it did not come without a price. Jesus paid that price with His blood. He became the perfect sacrifice, pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, on our behalf. This is one gift we receive with only one prerequisite. IF we confess Jesus Christ as Lord of our life, and believe in Him, we are saved.



I need to pay more attention to the warning light on my dashboard. Perhaps this message is your warning light. The next time you see one of those flashy commercials advertising free gifts, remember- Jesus offers YOU a free gift- eternal life with Him, and there are no strings attached. He already paid for it! Have you received the gift of Jesus Christ?



Prayer: Lord, I thank You for my salvation and the promise of eternal life in Heaven with You. I’m so grateful for Your amazing grace. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

I Can See Clearly Now

All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. - I Corinthians 13:12b nlt



Big, sparkly watches are in vogue. While watching the shopping channel recently, I saw the prettiest, most sparkly one yet, and as a bonus, it came with several different colored straps to coordinate with outfits.



When the watch arrived a few days later, I tore open the packaging. It didn’t sparkle like I thought it would, but I liked it anyway. Running late for church, I chose the appropriate strap, donned my new watch, and ran out the door to church.



I sat down in the pew next to Rachel. She’s thirteen and spotted my purchase. “Cool!” she said, and I felt less like an old lady for just a second. The backside of the watch felt clammy, so I took it off and handed to Rachel for inspection. She giggled, and said, “Donna, you forgot to take the plastic wrapping off the back.” We laughed, and then I whispered, “It’s not as sparkly as I wanted, but it’s cute, isn’t it?”



Upon hearing my observation, Rachel dissolved into laughter. “Didn’t you notice you’d left the plastic film on the front, too?” With that, she peeled back the protective piece of film put on to protect the top during delivery. I put my glasses on and watched as she revealed the brightest, shiniest face I’d seen. It did look like the one on television! Without my reading glasses, I’d been clueless. I felt like an old lady again.



When Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, he said, “We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” (I Corinthians 13:12 msg)



I hate having to wear glasses. I squint, and sometimes feel as if I’m looking through fog. This comes in handy when I’m inspecting for wrinkles, but not so convenient when trying to tell the time.



God’s glory shines so bright we cannot look upon His face. We peer through a mist. For now our understanding is limited. But one day, we will see God clearly. And as the old song goes, “We’ll understand it better by and by.” When we’re in heaven, we’ll know things instantly and our knowledge will be full and complete. We will know God just as He knows us. Won’t it be wonderful when we will be able to see God clearly – face to face! And in heaven- I won’t need glasses. Praise the Lord!



Prayer: Lord, thank you for the promise of Heaven, and the anticipation of seeing You face to face. Help me to be faithful to share Your love with others. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

My Praise

I wrote this off the cuff a while back, and then looked at it. It came out like three triangles, and I'd like to think it reflects the Trinity. Anyway- I know it reflects my heart. Have a great week, everybody!

My Praise



How marvelous you are, my Lord and Savior!

My mouth speaks praises to You.

I feel the warmth of Your love.

My joy overflows.

I am blessed.

The cost of my salvation has been paid.

Your Spirit sanctifies my spirit.

My eternal home is prepared

Because I’m Your child.

I am waiting.



May my life reflect Your perfect love.

Open my eyes to your purpose.

Help me to see Your will

And strive to fulfill it.

I am yours.

Redeeming the Time

I trust in you, O LORD ; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands. - Psalm 31:14-15a niv



The secretary at my church publishes a monthly newsletter detailing church events and news from the congregation. I expressed an interest in writing an article to be included.



My suggestion was met with great enthusiasm. What she didn’t know was that she would be dealing with a procrastinator. Sure, I start putting some notes together at the beginning of the month, but I always intend to get them together ‘later.’ And next thing I know – it’s the end of the month. Does anyone else do this? Am I the only one who thinks if it’s worth doing, it will be done better tomorrow?



In high school and college, I always wrote my reports at the last minute. When I started working my first job, I inevitably clocked in late. The only spots on my record were for lack of punctuality.



As I’ve grown older, I’ve worked towards becoming more punctual, but on a daily basis, I find trivial things I can put off for just one more day. Won’t that laundry still be there tomorrow?



The Bible says in Colossians 4:5 – “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” The American Heritage Dictionary says that to redeem is to “purchase back; to regain possession of by payment of a stipulated price; to repurchase.” It takes effort to redeem time and laziness to waste it. I’ve noticed when I make the effort to give God a portion of time at the start of my day, often the day’s events go much smoother, so that the end result is – I have more time.



As a Christian, I hope you agree that we don’t want to be guilty of procrastinating spiritual activities. We always intend to witness to our neighbor. We always intend to read the Bible more and memorize the scriptures that help us to be that dynamic witness we want to be. When was it we decided to be more faithful in our attendance to the church services? Was that back in January? It is all too easy to turn the alarm clock off and say, “Oh, I can always start going next Sunday.” How often do we say, “Where did the time fly?”



The time is at hand. The time to start reading the Bible is now. The time to witness to your neighbor and pray for your family is now. My prayer is that I will redeem the time as I live each day to its fullest for the Lord.



I’m going to go tackle that laundry now!



Prayer: Lord, I thank You for each day. I pray I will be responsible with the time You grant to me. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.



*Originally appeared in WorthFinding Christian Media

Love and Laughter

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 niv



We went to a Mark Lowry concert Saturday evening. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I enjoyed the sounds of laughter echoing through the gigantic church auditorium.



Mark started the concert by asking which denominations were represented. From Catholic to Charismatic, almost any church you could think of had a group in attendance. He then proceeded to tell some jokes highlighting the differences between denominations in what I considered a good-natured and harmless fashion.



In the midst of all the laughter, I heard one older woman complaining. She said, “We’ll all need to go to the altar in the morning.”



I couldn’t believe it. Since I’d rather focus on relationship with God than religion, I found the jokes particularly funny. I tend to think Jesus might have found them humorous, too. After all, when He lived on earth, He rebuked the ‘religious’ many times, choosing to establish loving relationships with people.



On a trip to Gatlinburg two years ago, I saw a painting of Jesus. He had his head thrown back in laughter. It’s my favorite way of picturing Jesus. Children were drawn to Jesus. What type of person do children like? Certainly not someone with a sour expression and a judgmental attitude.



Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” I’d like to think some healing occurred in the Church Saturday night.



I know God has a sense of humor. As Mark says, “I’ve looked in the mirror.” Have you?



Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of laughter and a merry heart, for all good things come from You alone. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.