IGNORE THE EVIL BIRD

When we are bombarded from every angle by the evil that runs amok on the earth, we become weakened and frail.  The stronger our bond with God, the harder the devil works on us.  he doesn't really bother with those who have turned away from God because the are shoe-ins to hell.  he worries about the ones who are focused on God and gets angrier and angrier the closer to God they become.

Case in point.  Yesterday, I received a couple of good news that would build up my art business in my community.  I was praising God, the one who I give the glory to.  One of the requirements of me was to fill out this form that I can only fill out using my laptop.  It cannot be done on my phone or my iPad, just the laptop.  I procrastinated a little last night even though God was nudging me to do it. I admit, I ignored His voice.

This morning, when I tried to fire up my computer, I realized it ran out of charge.  I attached the charger only to find that it would not charge.  I had a whole day planned for Saturday.  I was going to the gym, sketch all day for my blog and then plan my upcoming classes.  So all of my plans were now put to the back-burner.  Beeecauusseeee.... now I had to take my computer in to the Apple Store, the closest one about an hour away. 

Great!  Of course, according to the Apple tech I spoke with, I had to call the store to make an appointment, otherwise I would have to wait 3 hours before someone could get to me.  So, I called the appointment center and while I waited 15 minutes for one to pick up my call, I was told that there was only ONE appointment time left.  It was an hour from now.

We now had to get out the door likety split in order to get there in time.  Once there, lady genius at the Genius Bar took my sick computer in the back to get tested.  I felt like a worried mother, excitedly awaiting lady genius to come back with some good news.  In the meantime I am praying to Jesus, "please let it be a simple fix, in Jesus name I pray." Alas, lady genius came out and told me that my baby was ok again! Yay!  I gave her a huge hug!

You see, satan has already been defeated.  The only reason he still wreaks havoc in our lives is because he is trying to get as many souls away from God.  he has a rock-hard head still fighting God all the way.  The ones he recruits and falls for his tactics are the ones I feel pity for.  They are his victims.  This is why he doesn't have to fight for them, he already has them.  his powers are underestimated, and even the most righteous humans, if not careful, can fall.  It is a good thing God is a merciful one.  God's hands are tied when they turn their backs on Him because we have our own wills which God will never violate.

In your life, what situations have you experienced regarding the wiles of satan, your challenges, your sins?  

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

STRESS? WHAT STRESS?

I am not going to try to minimize this word... wait, no, I will minimize this word.  Stress is a condition which we allow into our lives by choice.  In further analyzing the source of stresses in our life, we need to get to the root of it, not just what is staring us in the face.  It is almost an instant reaction to a situation we deem negatively, which doesn't fit into the normal calmness of our everyday lives.

What worries us is that something in our otherwise peaceful existence is ruffled and shifted to something uncomfortable.  As if we expected our normal course to never be redirected towards a different route.  But nevertheless, we stress about it.  

But most of our stress is fueled by fear.  Fear that people around us would find out and all of a sudden our pristine stance is now marred and the focus shifts in our direction.  It then becomes uncomfortable because we would rather be seen in a positive light... all the time.  But we all know this is impossible, we all know that everyone has stress in their lives whether or not they are the focus of people around them.  It is the curse of humanity.  It is virtually impossible to avoid.  

Stress is now followed by the frantic search for a solution.  We need it and we need it now!  But oftentimes we don't get the instant solution to our problems and we desperately settle for a quick fix, which are oftentimes the wrong decision.  The biggest mistake is to rely on another faltered human being, it just depends on his or her stature in the game of life.  Now the erroneous decision becomes another feat because we now create brand new stresses.  And the vicious cycle begins again.

The difference between impressing other humans and God is that God doesn't need to be impressed. He already loves us.  It is knitted into our DNA, God's love.  Why we continue to try to impress other imperfect humans like us is beyond me.  The one who deserves the impressing is the one who loves us whether we are impressive or not.  As long as we love His Son and claim Him to be ours is enough for God.  The ONLY ONE who can calm our stresses and help us through this unfair world is God, ironically, the one we don't try to impress.  All I ask is why?  While I understand that stress is a human condition, would you rather sit and stress or understand stress and handle it according to God's guidance?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

LIFE IS BUT A DREAM

In analyzing the children's song, "Row, row, row, your boat, gently down the stream.  Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream,"  have you ever thought about the origin of the lyrics and what the writer meant by it?

I've often wondered.  We were all born in this life and although we don't have the same life experiences, the growth of our human experiences are pretty similar.  The terrible twos, the awkward age, the teenage years, the list goes on.  But as we age and near the end of our days, we reflect back on the experiences we have been through.  We muse on the regrets, people who have hurt us, and most of the time, we think about death and what is beyond this lifetime.

We row through our life without even a mere thought of its meaning.  What is the purpose of being alive?  In our youth, we push death to the back burner because we can never imagine how it could ever happen to us.  We feel invincible.  So we keep rowing, some of us with full force and gusto to achieve fame or fortune.  Some of us don't want to row at all because we haven't found the significance of life maybe because of bad experiences we were born into or may have been through.

Regardless, we all row.  The lesson I think this song implies is that we live each of our days as if it were the last.  Make it full of purpose not for ourselves but for the life that is to come that has no ending.  This life is our practice field.  It is not more important than the next as far as achievements that cannot be transposed.  It is said you cannot bring anything with you to eternal life but you certainly can send it on ahead.  This means spreading God's word to as many people so that many more would turn back to Him.

Our job is more important because we operate via straight faith, unlike the apostles and the thousands who have met and seen Jesus.  But even they were doubted, how much more for us?  We push through though because eternal life is our goal.  So row, row, row that boat merrily down the stream that leads to the REAL and never-ending life because this life, in perspective, will be but a dream.

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

WHY ARE YOU STILL UP?

There are many reasons why we are kept awake at night.  I am an insomniac.  I'm awake more than I am asleep most nights.  Sometimes the reason is that I'm worried, but most times it is because my brain is just on full throttle and difficult to shut off.    As an artist I am constantly bombarded by ideas of creativity.  I don't dislike that part of it.


However, most people really do stay awake at night due to worry, stress, unforgiveness and the like.  During those times, I choose to attack the problem in a way that, to most, may seem unconventional.  The default justification is oftentimes "because I'm only human and that is why I worry."  While this statement is true, it is also controllable.  When God says, "give all your burdens to me and I will give you rest,"  you have to take it at face value.  Sometimes, you need to visualize yourself with something tangible in your hand handing it over to another pair of hands representing God's, and then washing your own with soap and water.  That is what works for me.  Sometimes, in my mind's eye, I take a deep breath, blow out really black smoke into a bubble and let it go up into the sky to God, never to think about it again.

When we were children, our imaginative and innocent minds allow us to visualize this, but because garbage comes into our minds and our hearts as we go through pain, life lessons, etc. as the years pass, if we don't maintain that innocence, soon they will be suppressed farther and farther down and actually kill us.  However, we are reminded about that child again as we lead our own children through life's pain and then we wonder what happened to our own hearts.  

God is our parent, at least He is mine.  As a parent, He wants us to give Him our pain so we don't have to suffer with them ourselves.  And who better to be our parent than the one, the only one who can actually fix and solve our problems for us?!  Let that sink in.  The problem is that we don't think we are worthy, and newsflash!  We're not.  The thing we can't grasp is why such a powerful God who can do and make things happen for us, would actually do and make things happen for us?  Our scrawny little human minds cannot and will never ever know the kind of love God has for EACH AND EVERY ONE of us!  But He actually does have a super love... Agape.   Yes, there is actually a word for it.  But instead of trying to understand it, we should just accept it.  It's always available for the taking, because Jesus gave up His life for it!  Acceptance is much easier to do, donchathink?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

HONESTY AND THE TRUTH

MIXED MEDIA PEN AND WATERCOLOR WAX MARKERS

How does it feel when your conscience is fully clear and your integrity intact?  I would submit to you that you feel liberated and rightly so.  There are times when we go rogue and maybe tell half truths and later feel the guilt that it naturally brings, but then it is more difficult to correct and we wished we just told the truth to begin with.

I'm sure you are all aware that God sees all.  Sometimes we do forget this and are in denial as if we can really hide our discrepancies from God.  It's amusing to think but yet we continue to deny it.

Our own guilt prompts us to hide the truth from God.  The truth is, God can handle our truth.  He can handle our transgressions, our guilt, our stresses, our cries for help, etc.  We are human and humans come with the vileness of life and God is fully aware.  The degradation of humans doesn't get better, it actually gets worse.  But even then, it is just part of God's great plan.  It's amazing that God, in all His power, chose to let us make our own choices and therefore, He is still unable to control one human spirit.  That spirit He can only love unconditionally so that one spirit, that one lost sheep, can love Him back.  He has the overall power to do whatever He wants to do except to make us love Him.  That part is our part.  To love Him wholeheartedly is all He ever desires.  This is why He is full of mercy, He is full of grace and this is exactly why He sacrificed Jesus for us, so that roadblock can crumble between us and God.  What limitless love He has for us, and all He ever wants in return is for us to choose Him.  Who do you choose?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!