TRUST -- WHY NOT?

Trust of this world is overrated in my opinion.  The reason is because majority of what or whom we trust daily is laughable.  Seriously, we trust people more often than not.  People who make our cars that we trust to get into every single day of our lives only for it to break down eventually.  Do we know when it will break down?  The answer is usually, No.  But nevertheless, we trust it to take us from point A to point B, no matter how long or short of a distance it may be.  We trust restaurants, even though time and again, we hear of horror stories about disgruntled employees taking out their frustration on their customers who trust them with food handling.  We trust the government to keep us all protected from haters who want to kill us or diseases like Ebola to enter into our country and wipe out as many in its path as it can.  You may argue that we need to have a certain level of trust for each other or for people who make this world go round, and I may agree with you in your stance.

The thing that I have trouble with is that we, in our daily lives, fail to trust God.  Why?  Because we don't see Him in the flesh?  Ok, to see is indeed to believe but only if you have no faith.  This world is full of people who are out to hurt others.  We have no control over them.  But trusting in a God that time and time again has shown his strength, power and love has been proving Himself daily, in miracles that happen to terminally ill patients surviving from the disease, in all the world tragedies that tug at our hearts showing kindness by giving aid.  In missionaries who trek to other countries to help the poor.  Anything in your own life that's good is all a result of God's love.  But yet, because you don't see Him you pretend He's not there.

We are all guilty of such distrust.  Christians are not immune either, in that, just because we're Christians we sometimes fail to give God the power to work our problems out.  We advise others to "give it to God" but yet when we are faced with the problems of the world, we stress.

Instead, why don't we trust God like we trust that our car will take us to work everyday, people we are married to will love us forever, none of our friends will betray us  etc.  The only difference between God and the rest is that God will never, ever, ever, in your existence (which is a long time) eventually disappoint us or FORSAKE you or turn your back on you.  Everything else... well... will.

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

Sketchbook Entry

Some nights I am an insomniac.  This helps me sleep.  My two poms relaxing while my jack russell is about to pounce.  Cheekah has the watchful eye on Deedee.  Mango watches me intently in case there's a snack on the horizon for her, lol!

CHANNELING THE MASTERS - VAN GOGH SKETCHES AND MODIGLIANI

 Pen, ink and Copic

The Ladies of Plimouth

In a day trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts, I was inspired to sketch The Ladies of Plimouth Plantation.   The actual village the pilgrims inhabit during the 17th century after arriving from England to escape the tyranny.  They reenact how they lived by very humble means when life was simple, struggles were high but the determination of these people who stand for God were on fire!  They live by the tenets of the Bible and somehow built the strong country, free and powerful which we now enjoy.   In our time today, we are veering farther and farther away from the teachings of the Bible and this is why our country is beginning to get weaker.  Although I was born and raised in a totally different culture, I can relate with the Pilgrims because we have God in common.  Since I am a naturalized American citizen, I am proud to be and American and proud of my country, the country that the Pilgrims built.  

So I believe it is only apropos to draw these two ladies in the style of Van Gogh's sketches in his letters to his brother because like Van Gogh, emotions are high, he for his art, me for my country and my art.  I hope you feel the same emotions I aim to invoke with these two ladies.  

It began when I asked the lady with the book what she was reading.  She said it and the subject quickly turned into how the ladies presented a song they all sang for a couple who was getting married.  She said the song was the wedding gift.  Imagine that?  A wedding gift of song.  She went on to say that whether they were good singers or not, the couple appreciated their song.

I think that I could give up my modern conveniences if it meant that I could live in a world where simplicity was grandeur.  What do you think?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER! 

WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT GOD?

How much do you know about God? Did you learn about Him from faithfully attending church your whole life?  Maybe read the Bible from cover to cover?  Three times over? Or even got a degree in theology?  A pastor?  A Christian advocate?  I could go on and on.

Did you know that you can be adroit in the subject of God but still be in the dark on the things that matter?

Paul teaches us that NO ONE knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  What that means is that no matter how much we spend learning and  knowing about the subject of God, the Spirit of God or the heart of God is the only factor that will truly reveal to us who GOD really is.

What does the Spirit of God reveal to us?  It reveals that the only thing in me that glorifies God is God in me.  It's that Spirit of relationship, the Spirit of favor, the Spirit of faith etc. that can show you what is worth living for, which is what is in His heart.  If you fail to understand God at times, it is because you have not tapped into that Spirit that He is trying to reveal to you.  There is something that is hindering Him from emanating in your heart.  It could be a sin that you have forgotten to ask forgiveness for.  It may be a guilt or fear that you haven't relinquished to Him.  Search your soul and define that something that is blocking the Spirit of God.  

What I fear is that you have never really experienced Him, truly, truly in your heart!  Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and everything will be given to you.  Remember that verse?  Only God's Spirit can show you your place within His body, who you are in Him and the service to which He has called you.  Try as you might to fight that, as long as you know God, every detail in your life will lead you back to your purpose.  Know that.  

We can never figure things out on our own, only the Spirit of God reveals the heart of God.  The Spirit of God knows the things of God.  Since this is true, then it's not about you.  It's about God.  Ask God to reveal His Spirit to you so you can find your purpose in this world.  Live outside yourself and focus on what God wants you to achieve in this world for Him because the prize is not from this world.  It's like playing the tv game show the prize is right... you pick a door and the door you didn't pick reveals a better prize than the one you chose.  That's what God has for us.  It's a better feeling than the best feeling you've ever felt in your entire existence.

Lead your heart to His heart and your life will be the brightest you've ever felt!  

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

The Nesting Doll Principle

Nesting dolls are popular and made mostly in Russia.  I’ve searched the meaning of the nesting doll concept online and the only comparison I found was likened to an onion.  Each skin, as it is peeled is like the one before but smoother and healthier.

I thought about this a little bit more.  As we grow more mature and gain wisdom of the true meaning of life, we begin to get deeper and deeper in ourselves.  When I was younger, the hustle and bustle of daily living was all I could focus on.  My relationship with God was more on the back burner, only to tend to it when I needed a prayer answered.  As I grew more mature in my relationship with God, I have been able to get more and more in touch with the deeper layer of my heart and the deeper I touch, the bigger God became.  I found myself relying more and more on Him, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, all at once.  The more transparent I was with God, the more motivated I was to stay in His lane, meaning detouring from a sinful nature, into a blessed nature.

Just like a nesting doll, the more we dig into each layer, the smaller and smaller we become and the bigger God becomes in our lives.  Each doll in encased in one larger than it, the largest one being God and we are engulfed and protected by Him.

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

GREED

The silent sin that kills.  In a dog-eat-dog world, wherein we all strive to succeed, greed an act that is pretty much undetected because it cloaks itself  as a normal human factor to survive.  We work hard to gain worldly possessions, have the best of the best in life, or even finance some of our lavish habits.  It all boils down to what can we do to gain more and more. 

We all have the fundamental sin of greed.  It is undetected because it feels like everyone is doing it so we do not feel the need to ask God to forgive us for it.  That’s where the danger lies.  In every listing of the seven deadly sins, greed is present and the evidence of greed in our everyday lives is very real.

What most people don’t understand is that you can be a greedy rich person, or you can be a greedy poor person.  Greed is the monster that saps your strength, your energy and your emotions.  Left unchecked, it will dominate your life.  In the late 1970’s a gallup survey revealed that 50% of college freshmen were just as interested in having a meaningful life as they were in achieving financial security.  In a similar survey conducted in 1987, 81% of college freshmen were more interested in financial security than they were in building a meaningful life.  This means the numbers don’t lie.  As years progress, having a meaningful life is overshadowed by financial gain.  The sin of greed has made inroads through the years.

For a culture that is bent on getting and choked with greed there is a way out.  It is called giving.  Greed is killed by giving.  If you own something you cannot give away, then you don’t own it, instead, it owns you.  If you are not satisfied with what you have and instead driven by a desire to have more “just a little bit more,” then you can slay that greed dragon by the virtue of giving.  Give until it hurts!  Then keep giving until it begins to feel better.  You’ll be surprised at the liberating feeling giving brings.

In Luke 12:15 (NLT) he said, “Beware!  Guard against every kind of greed.  Life is not measured by how much you own.” 

Do you have a lot of giving to do?  Until my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!