Inspirations from the Funny Farm

Matthew 6:29-34 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights is not a song you will hear in a Sunday morning church service, and it is unlikely that you will hear it on your gospel radio station. No, it is an old twangy country song by the late Freddy Fender. In case you aren’t familiar with it, let me share a bit of the lyrics. Wasted days and wasted nights, I have left for you behind. For you don’t belong to me, your heart belongs to someone else. Why should I keep loving you
When I know that you’re not true? And why should I call your name when you’re to blame for making me blue? Old Freddy isn’t talking about a relationship with God here, but rather he’s singing of an old flame that apparently burned out before he was ready. So why I am even writing about this old song today? Because I can relate to the idea of wasted days and wasted nights.

It saddens me to think of how many days and nights I have wasted in my lifetime. I’ve wasted much time worrying about things that were out of my control. I’ve wasted hours upon hours during the daylight and into the night trying to solve the problems of the world. Not only have I wasted days and nights with worry, I’ve wasted days and nights pouring all of my energy into things that turned out to be unworthy of my time. If that old devil had his way, we would be wasting time thinking about our regrets and our mistakes all day long every day. He wants to steal every minute he can possibly steal away from God, but once we become aware of how truly precious our time is, we soon realize that we can’t afford to waste it.

We don’t have time to waste worrying about the mistakes of yesterday or worrying about the fears of the future. We don’t have time to lay around beating ourselves up for past regrets and feeling sorry for ourselves. We must put those things behind us, and do as old Freddy did and stop calling out the names of those mistakes and regrets because we know that those things will make us blue. And not only that, living in the past keeps us from receiving the fullness of the future that God has in store for us.

Scripture reminds us that worrying won’t add even a minute to our lives. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:27) This scripture also reminds us that we have a loving Father who cares about the details. He takes care of the birds, and He creates beautiful flowers that last but a season, yet He creates them with such intricate detail. If he is going to feed the birds and decorate our fields with beautiful flowers, I think we can rest assured that He will meet our needs.

Let’s flex our faith muscles today. Don’t let the enemy steal your time and energy. Instead, let’s use our energy to build our faith in Christ. Let us not waste our days and nights with things that make us blue and do not bring glory to our Father. Let us replace the fear that grips us with faith that binds us to our Father. It is time to take our time back. Don’t waste any more days or nights, rather choose to spend your time doing what matters for the kingdom. Choose to spend your time doing what matters to you and to Christ. Don’t let the enemy steal another second of your time. Invest your time. Don’t waste it. When the enemy tries to put you on the endless path of worry or regret, call to mind the promises of God and meditate on Him and His faithfulness. We don’t have to waste another day or night if we trust in Christ!

Hebrews 11:8-10 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

Consider for a moment when you have traveled to a place outside of your comfort zone. It may have been to begin a new job, it may have been for a fun, filled vacation, or perhaps it was for a mission trip to a foreign land where people speak in a different tongue. All of those situations are uncomfortable at first. Although we may be full of excitement, at the same time there is that awkward awareness that we are a stranger in this place. We do not quite know what to expect, and that may cause a bit of fear. Now, consider where we are right now. We are sitting here in the middle of a pandemic that has been ongoing for a year. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never lived through a pandemic before. I’ve never practiced medicine in a pandemic. At first, it was awkward and strange, but now curbside patient visits has become common place. We still do not know everything that we need to know about this virus, but we are learning a little more each day. But still…I’ve never practiced in a pandemic. My teacher friends have not taught in a pandemic, and their students have never studied during a pandemic. Our preacher has never preached through a pandemic. Local businesses have never functioned during a pandemic. Come to think of it, no one that I know has had to function in the middle of a pandemic before this past year. Well, that’s not totally true. I know God, and I know He has continued to be God through many pandemics, plagues, and such. But, I’ve never been here before.

This season may be new to you, but it is definitely not new to God. Perhaps God has placed us right here and right now in this place we have never been so that we remember to rely completely on Him and trust Him like never before. God isn’t experiencing any of this for the first time, and the very best part about all of this is knowing in my heart of hearts that even though I am feeling overwhelmed, confused, and more tired than a cat with ten tails at a rocking chair contest, God already knows how all of this will work out, and because I have faith in Him and His plan, I know that it will all work out for our good and His glory.

I’ll be completely transparent with you, my friends, and tell you that this mess has worn me down! It has given a whole new definition to the word tired. A couple of weeks ago, I felt like I was on the brink of tears every single day. I felt lost in this strange land of COVID-19. I’m still learning the language, and I feel like every time a get a handle on this thing, it starts speaking in a whole new tongue. Although a few things seem familiar and have become second nature, other things continue to change on a daily basis. I have spent much time in prayer, and I begged God to show me the way and return me to my place of joy in Him. This past week went by with a winter storm, shortened work days, icy roads, and a big old mess, but guess what? I felt the joy of my Savior. I smiled through it all. He never left me, and he renewed my joy in His Spirit. Yes, I survived again, but i didn’t just survive, I thrived in the Lord.

You may be feeling like Abraham right now. You may feel like God has called you to leave your home and go into a foreign land. You may feel like you are not sure where you are going or where you will end up. We may feel lost in this land of COVID-19, but we have NOT been forgotten. This is indeed a confusing season, but we can all rest assured that even though we don’t know where we are going, God does. And when it is all said and done, we will reside in our heavenly home, and all of this will just be an old memory. God has got you! He always had kept you in the palm of His hand, and He always will. God’s got you!

Philippians 4:8-9 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

There are way too many times in life that I have wasted hours upon hours worrying about something that I had no control over. It took me years of prayers and conversations with God to finally accept this one small fact. Although I like to be in control of every situation, I am NOT in control, and worry as I may, my fears and worry will not change the outcome of a situation. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:27) I’ve also discovered that worry itself is not the only thief of joy. The way we look at things plays a big part in how things go.

If we look at a certain situation and make up our minds that the situation will end badly, in all likelihood it will. We tend to look at things and determine an outcome perhaps based on past experiences. Fear sometimes drives us to see only bad results, and unfortunately when we see bad results we get bad results. But that is not the way the our Father designed us to live. No, He has much better plans for us than that. And when we fill our hearts with Christ and things of Him, our whole perspective changes.

In Sunday School, I started a new routine with our class. Before we begin each week, we have to list one pit (bad thing that happened during the week), one peak (good thing that happened during the week), and one praise (something that we want to praise God for). I think this is a helpful reminder to put the events of our week into a godly perspective. We all have bad days, some weeks more than others, but it is important for us to remember that no matter how bad the week was, there is always something good, and there is always, always something to be thankful for. We must reflect back on the events in our lives from time to time and remember to truly be thankful and praise God for the blessings that he has given us.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Paul reminds us in the book of Philippians to fix our thoughts on what is true and honorable, right and pure, lovely and admirable. This comes naturally when we fix our eyes on Christ. If we look around and look for Christ in everything, we begin to see Him in everything. If we are searching for things that are excellent and worthy of praise, we will see those things, and when we honor Christ with praise that He so deserves, we find peace in all of our situations. I have experienced this first hand more times than I can possibly count.

This past year has been a trying one for all of us in many different ways, but there have also been a vast number of blessings. Let us not sit around and count the heartaches and the trials, but rather let us count our many blessings and in turn praise our Father for each and every one!

Matthew 24:42-44 So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

Revelation 1: 7 Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!

I’ve noticed the grayness this week on my early morning drive to work. Yes, it is a gray world right now. Winter is slowly coming to a close, but the world around us doesn’t know that yet. The skies are gray. Except for the multitude of pine trees and a few live oaks and magnolias, the trees are even gray. They have shed their leaves, and all that remains is the gray bark on the tree and its limbs. The grass is brown and appears dead and lifeless. I have quite a few patients who suffer from seasonal affective disorder. They become depressed during the winter season, and as I look around, I get it. I can understand how all of this grayness can get a person down.

It is quite easy to let the gray engulf you and bring you down, but we’ve almost reached the end of winter this year. God has given us a week of frozen temperatures so that we get at least a little taste of real winter, but y’all, spring is coming. If I stand on my tip toes, I can almost see it. Here on the farm, we live for spring. We can’t wait to prep the ground, get our hands in the dirt, and plant our spring garden. Spring babies are being born, and the barnyard is full of life. The trees begin to bud out with new leaves and blooms slowly develop. The sun that has been hidden for far too long behind a sea of gray clouds begins to overcome the clouds and shine down brightly bringing new life to all that was gray and brown. In just a little over a month, spring will arrive and with spring, the sun is coming! All of the dead appearing trees and grass will come to life again, and everything will be beautiful. We will enjoy green leafy trees and grass, blooms and blossoms in our pastures and flower beds, and fresh vegetables from our garden to our table. Yes, the death of winter will be overcome by the new life of spring. The sun is coming to bring new life to our lives. Just you wait and see.

The coming of spring is exciting indeed. It is definitely my favorite time of the year, but there is one event that should have us shaking in our shoes with excitement. The Son is coming! Oh, the date isn’t on our calendars. We don’t know the day of His great return, but we can start planning for it now. We can prepare our hearts by accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior, and we can prepare others by getting out there and getting busy. Just as we prepare for our spring gardens on the farm, we can prep the soil in the lives of others to prepare the way for seeds to be planted. Get to know your friends, neighbors, and even strangers. Share yourself with them, and listen and learn who they are. If they don’t know Christ, share your testimony. Plant a seed. If you’ve planted a seed already, but you can’t see a seedling springing forth, plant another seed. Then, don’t forget to water the seed. Continue to share the gospel and pray for that person. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Perhaps you are in a gray, dark place this morning, and you can’t see the sun. Let me take a moment to remind you that it is still there. In this great big universe that is too awesome for me to comprehend, I know that even on these dark winter days when we can’t see the sun, it is still there. It is somewhere behind those gray clouds just waiting to peak through and shine down on us. The sun is there even on the very darkest, coldest days of winter. It doesn’t leave us. We are just a little further away from the sun during these dark, gray months. If we are feeling like we are in a dark, gray place in our hearts today, may it is because we have moved a little too far away from the Son. I can assure you that He didn’t move. He never left. He is always there watching, waiting, and ready to shine down brightly on you. If you can’t feel the brilliant light of the Son, move in a little closer. He is there, and some day soon, the Son is coming back to call the children of God home.

Can you even imagine what that glorious day will be like? Oh yes, my friends, the Son is coming, and when He does, all the dead in Christ shall rise. We will be swooped up and taken to our heavenly home. We will see the newness of life at the feet of our Lord and Savior. All of those dark, gray days will be behind us, and nothing or no one can dim the glorious light of our Savior. We will walk through those pearly gates and tread on streets of gold. We will sing praises to the King of kings. There will be no more tears, no sadness. The Son came to earth to give us life, and the Son is coming again to give us a new life in our eternal home some day! The Son is coming my friends! Are you ready?

Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Romans 8:28-29 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Do you ever wonder why we are still here? Why does Jesus linger? The older I get, I ponder this a good bit, and lately, I feel sure that we are closer now than we have ever been to the return of Christ. Why does He delay? Well, only God can answer that question. The scripture tells us, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” (Mark 13:32) What if He is waiting for us to finish the good work that He has started in each of us?

No, God isn’t finished yet, and for whatever reason He is choosing to delay the return of Christ, we can rest assured knowing that it is because He isn’t finished. He isn’t finished molding me and making me to be the person that He desires for me to be. I have grown much closer in my walk with the Lord over the past few years. He has definitely changed me. He has given me a desire to serve Him, to study and read His word, and a yearning to share the gospel with others, but I am still lacking. I know that I am not yet the person that God created me to be. I fail Him daily, yet He always picks me right back up, dusts me off, and helps me start all over again. No, He isn’t finished with me yet. I’m a handful, but thankfully, God has big hands!

God isn’t finished using me yet either. Consider this for a moment. What if God has added one more day to our lives, not because we need it, but because someone else needs us? Have you ever considered that? God not only wants to do a good work within each of us, He also wants to use us to do a good work for Him with others. He desires for us to be a reflection of His love, to show grace and mercy, gentleness and kindness, and most importantly, to share the gospel. Right this very moment, there is a person in your life who needs you more than you realize. That person sees that radiance of God’s love in you, and they want what you have. God is using you to touch that person’s life with His light and love. But what about the bad times we go through? What about all of the trials we are enduring? Oh, my friend, God is using those too! Yes, He most definitely is. Through our faith in Christ and with the strength that only comes from Him, we endure our trials differently from the non-believer. We struggle, yes, but we endure. We don’t get mad and give up. Instead, we learn to lean even further on the Lord, and in doing so, our relationship with Him strengthens as He carries us through trial after trial. We come out refined like pure gold and stronger than we ever thought we could be. The funny thing to consider is that God sometimes uses those trials to not only strengthen our relationship with Him, but to bring others to Him. When we share our testimony of just how faithful our God was during the storms of life, our testimony will bring others to Him. Also, when others see how we weather the storms with the grace and strength of Christ, it makes an impact!

I know God isn’t finished with me yet, and I am so very thankful that He has never given up on me. I’m thankful that He continues to refine and purify me, strengthen me, and use me for my good and His glory. God isn’t finished with you yet either! Like that old hymn says, “We’ll work till Jesus comes, and we’ll be gathered home.” I can hardly wait to be gathered home, but until then…I’ll keep working because I know God isn’t finished!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die,

Hebrews 9:27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  We had a bit of a winter storm here yesterday. It probably wasn’t much of a winter storm for those who live in the northern climates, but for us folks down here in the deep, deep south, it was significant. We aren’t prepared for weather like this with frozen roads and ice everywhere. As a precaution, many businesses closed early yesterday, including my clinic, and we are even having a late start today to allow the sun to come out and hopefully melt away a bit of the ice. So what is a girl to do with a few extra hours off on a freezing cold work day? Oh, I know! Let’s gather up all of the information for our taxes and get everything ready for our accountant. That’s always so much fun…NOT! It is actually a bit of a chore. We don’t have simple household taxes. We have our personal income, rentals, farm expenses and income, and we have to gather all of the information from all of these ventures once a year because as I said earlier, two things are certain in life: death and taxes. Preparing everything is a chore, it isn’t very fun, but it can thankfully be accomplished in one frosty cold afternoon. If you work in these United States of America, you must pay taxes…some years more than others. It’s inevitable. Although it is a bit of an aggravation, we are accustomed to the process, and we only have to gather all the receipts and paperwork up once a year.

But what about that other certain thing: death? How can we prepare for that? That isn’t really something we can prepare for only once a year, nor is it something we can just ignore. No, my friends, unless Jesus Christ returns beforehand, we will all ultimately die. In fact, from the day we are born, we begin the process of dying. Our body forms cells, and cells die continually. It is inevitable. We can’t stop it. There is no fountain of youth that will give us eternal youth. We can color our hair, slap on some wrinkle cream, and try to appear younger than our years, but the body will continue to age. Yes, we will all die some day, but the thing is, we don’t know when that some day will be. Will we die young? Will we live to be 102? Only God knows the answer to this question, but we can rest assured that one day our days on earth will end and eternity begins.

Life is short. Death is certain. Eternity is forever. And where we spend eternity depends on how we prepare while we are still living. Peter gives a little insight in I Peter 1:17:21, Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Our life on earth will end in physical death, that death is followed by judgement, and judgement is followed by eternal life.

We all get to live, and we all get to die. We will all be judged, and we all get an eternity after this life on earth. The big question is, “where will you spend eternity?” I pray your answer is heaven, and I pray that you know this without a shadow of a doubt. How can we know for sure? Well, we can’t gather up all of life’s receipts of our good deeds and turn those in. That won’t work. No, my friends, it is very simple. Too simple, in fact! We must only accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Believe that He died for our sins and was resurrected, and confess that He is our Savior. It is then after we ask Him to be the Lord of our hearts that our eternity is assured. Then, all those good works come naturally. The good works won’t get us to heaven, but it is because of our faith in Christ that we begin working for Him.

Get those taxes together in case Jesus doesn’t return by April 15, but even more important than those taxes, get yourself together today. Just remember this fact. If you owe taxes, you have to pay taxes, but with death there is a loophole. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but the gift of eternal life is free! Jesus already paid the price. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) Make sure that you know where you will be spending eternity. You may have until April 15. You may have fifty years left on this earth. You may only have today. There is no better time than now to choose Jesus!

John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

It is lambing season on our little farm. We have already been blessed with two sets of twins and two singles this month, and we have one mama ewe who is holding on and holding out on us. I’m a bit worried that she will decide that today is the day, but I sure hope she holds on for a couple more days at least. The weather man is predicting that the temperature will drop to 16 degrees tonight. We are in for some freezing rain throughout the day today, and then we will have frozen temperatures for the next 24 hours. It looks like it is going to be a very cold week. Maybe that doesn’t sound cold to some of you, but to this Mississippi girl, that is C-O-L-D! Besides that, even though our animals are semi-used to the bipolar weather of Mississippi, they aren’t used to those kind of temperatures. Yes, they are in a nice big barn, but still, that’s cold!

Today, I woke up with my sheep on my mind. I began thinking back to the many times that we have had to bottle feed a baby lamb, and I’m quite thankful that I’m not bottle feeding one at the moment. It can be quite a task. When there are babies on the bottle, I have to roll out of bed at 4:30 instead of 5:00 am. It’s tough to get those little boogers to take a bottle at first. They know that the nipple is artificial and is nothing like their mama’s. So I work with the baby. I give a little bit of formula at a time. The lamb will play with the nipple, chew on the nipple, and try to suck for just a moment or two, and then it will become aggravated and start bucking and bouncing around on my thighs like a wild deer. So I have a little talk with the baby lamb, and I try again…and again…and again. When I don’t think the baby is getting enough, I feed the formula little by little with a syringe. Oh, the lamb will take some of it happily and readily, and then it will fight and stomp all over me. We do this 3 or 4 times a day, sometimes for several days, until the baby finally learns to latch on. By the time I finally get the baby lamb to suck the bottle correctly, I’ve got about 75 little black and blue hoof prints bruises on my legs. Why do I do this? It’s simple. I love the baby lambs, and I refuse to give up on them until I am sure that they have received enough formula, not enough to merely sustain them, but enough to keep the babies alive and well.

When I consider this, I realize how much this is like our great Shepherd caring for us. He is such a good, good Shepherd. He lets us try to do things our way. He allows us to struggle. We fight Him. We get aggravated with life. We gladly receive some of His blessings, but we refuse others. We fall, and He picks us back up. If we start slipping away, He offers us the love, nourishment, and the gift of eternal life, not merely enough to sustain us, but to keep us alive eternally. I can’t help but think about all the many times I fought Him, and I sadly consider how many little bruises I may have left on His heart. Yes, I know I’ve left a few bruises on the heart of my Savior over the years, and for that, I am eternally sorry. However, I am so very grateful that He has never given up on me. Just as I won’t give up on that baby lamb who needs me, Christ will never give up on me because He knows that I need Him so much. I rejoice knowing that He loves me, and that He will never give up on me!

Today, I am thankful for the good Shepherd. Do you know Him? Have you bruised His heart a time or two? Don’t let that separate you from the loving care of the good Shepherd. He is ready, willing, and able to nurse you back to a wonderful, loving relationship with Him! Call on the good Shepherd today!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes: in him shall not perish but have eternal life.-

Romans 8:1-4 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends! Today is the one day of the year that we celebrate love. I have no idea why only one day was chosen for this spectacular celebration, but I am glad that we do set aside at least one day to remember and reflect on all the things of love. For many, today is one of celebrating their great romance. We share gifts and chocolates and romantic dinners with our sweethearts. We give chocolate filled hearts to our children, family and friends. We think about how much we truly love the person that we are doing life with. But for some, that special person has been called home to Jesus. Others haven’t yet met that special someone. Yes, for some this is a very lonely day, but it doesn’t have to be. For you see, there is one true, eternal love of our life that has been with us all along and who will never leave us.

I feel the love of my husband, my family, and my friends on a daily basis. I really do, but some days (most days actually) I really, really need to feel the love of my Savior. I am so thankful that He is always there. Life has been a bit stressful this past year. I’ve never worked in a pandemic before, and I pray that when this COVID pandemic ends (if it ever ends) that I never have to work through one again. I’m speaking from my heart when I say that I am so tired that my tired is tired. This whole thing has been very wearing on the body and the mind. It is easy to get dismayed, but then there’s God! My first true and forever love shows up and reminds me that He is very near. He reminds me that He never left me and that He is still in control and that I only need to be quiet and still.

A Chris Tomlin song came on the radio on my way to work yesterday. It is called Take My Life, and somehow, that song was exactly what I needed to here for this Valentine’s weekend. Let me share the lyrics with you: Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect and use every power as You choose. Here am I, (here I am) all of me, (all of me). Take my life, (take my life) it’s all for Thee, (it’s all for Thee). Take my will and make it Thine. It shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thine own. It shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord. I pour at Your feet its treasure store. Take my self and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

If you are feeling not so “Valentiney” lovey, dovey today, or perhaps feeling sad or alone, don’t give in to those feelings. Go back and reflect on your first love: Christ. He is the one who gave up His life for each and every one of us. When we begin to comprehend what Christ did for us, how much He gave up for us, and how much He truly loves us, we learn what true love is. Let us recline in the joy of our salvation. Let us celebrate this true love we have for the Savior and this wonderful, unconditional love that He has for us. Let us give of ourselves fully to Him today and every day. Let our hands and feet be used for His glory. Let our lips be filled with His words. Let us give of ourselves to others, and ask the Lord to use us as He see fit. Let us show the love of Christ to this lonely, crazy, chaotic world we have found ourselves in. I know that Jesus can loves us through this pandemic, and we can love others through ti as well.

Today seek out and remember your first love. Celebrate Christ today and every day! You are loved so much more than you could ever imagine! I hope that you have received that precious gift of salvation. There is no greater gift than the eternal love of our Savior. Share that gift with someone you love today!

Psalm 105:4-6 Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

Jeremiah 29:13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

A couple of years ago, my husband bought a camera for me for Mother’s Day. It isn’t a professional camera, but it is definitely the best one that I have ever owned. It has an excellent zoom lens, and that lens has allowed me to zoom in on things that are at a great distance and draw them in so that I can see even the minutest detail. I was able to give my new camera a work out a couple of months after receiving it when we vacationed in Costa Rica. It enabled me to see beautiful flora and fauna and many beautiful creatures. Even though I am far from being a professional photographer, that camera makes me look pretty good. I’ve spent hours outside at night trying to get a great shot of the moon and Jupiter and Saturn. I have searched the night sky trying to find the perfect shot. As soon as I get a glimpse of the moon in my camera, I zoom in and bring the moon up close and personal. I can even see the craters of the moon. The moon is 238,900 miles from earth, but I can seek it out and find it, and I can photograph it in detail. It is quite amazing. It makes me feel so close and yet so small.

It is humbling to realize that God sees us up close and personal. He zooms in on us and is aware of every single detail that is going on in our lives. His zoom lens is oh so much better than mine! He sees all of those happy moments, the sad ones, the fun moments, and the aggravating ones. He sees us. He knows us. He wants to be up close and personally involved in every aspect of our lives. He seeks us out, but are we seeking God? Scripture tells us that we are to seek the Lord continually, but many of us struggle with this command. We are so busy with the multitude of daily tasks that we feel the need to accomplish. Our own interests and duties consume our lives, and our priorities get out of whack.

The psalmist reminds us here that we are to search for the Lord and seek him, but how do we do this with all of the busyness we have to deal with on a daily basis? Scripture and prayer are always good places to start. How better can we seek the Lord than through His word and through conversation with Him? I’ve prayed for God to give me a craving for His Word, and He gave me a hunger that can’t be satiated. The more I seek His word, the more hungry I become for it, but on the other hand, the less I seek His word, I find that my appetite diminishes. If we want to seek the Lord, we have to hunger for Him!

The problem we have in this society is that we aren’t hungry. We are all fat and happy, and we aren’t craving the Lord. We live in a fast food society, and we expect for our relationship with Christ to be served up in the same manner. We go to church, but we glance at the time while we think of what we have to do next. We drive the short distance to church in a comfortable car. We sit on comfortable pews in air conditioned and heated buildings, and we complain if it is too hot or too cold. We take a minute here or a minute there to read scripture, but we aren’t really studying or getting anything out of it. We pray before meals and when we find ourselves in a bind. Many times we may even take our salvation for granted. We keep it in our wallets like a “get out of hell free” card. We aren’t seeking God. We aren’t hungry for Him.

God deserves better than this, my friends. He deserves our full, focused attention. We should be seeking Him with a giant zoom lens, and looking for Him in everything. We should be seeking His will in our lives, and we should be spending time with Him on a regular basis. It seems that this world is falling apart. The chaos is too much to handle. We are sinking in a bed of quicksand, and we can’t find our way out. There is a better way, y’all. We don’t have to live life on the sidelines. We should be living life to the fullest, but the only way that we can truly live life abundantly is through a close, personal relationship with God.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4) Consider the awesomeness of our Lord and Savior. Consider His wonderful creations, and realize that you are one of His miracles. He created you to glorify Him. We can’t glorify Him if we aren’t seeking Him. But if we seek Him–we will surely find Him! But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. (Deuteronomy 4:29) Zoom in on the Lord today. Start searching. Begin seeking. He is there…waiting…patiently. Seek the Lord today, and I guarantee you that you will find Him!

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Jeremiah 30:17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds declares the Lord.

I Corinthians 10:13-14 No temptation has overtake you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.           

My husband, Jeff, and I have a small farm in the north end of the county. Jeff has raised beef cattle for much of his life, and a few years ago we decided to buy a few chickens. At the time we didn’t realize that the chickens would be the gateway drug to this way of living that we now call life. Through the years, we have obtained, bartered, sold, bought, and traded a menagerie of animals. We have or have had fainting goats, sheep, cattle, ducks, chickens, geese, guineas, pheasants, 2 kangaroos, deer, skunks, possums, a fox, lemurs, coatimundis, raccoons, flying squirrels, squirrels, Patagonian cavy, prairie dogs, alpacas, peacocks, rabbits, dogs, cats, and the list goes on and on! Through my experiences as a nurse practitioner, farmer, wife, mama, and grandma, God has blessed me tremendously. Every year, I have found myself growing closer and closer to God, and every year, He just keeps on blessing me more and more. It’s amazing how that works, isn’t it?

From the outside looking in, it looks like my life is a bed a roses, right? I mean really, I’ve got the best husband in the world, a lovely home, farm, critters galore, children, family, friends, an awesome job, and I was allowed to publish a few books. Roses! Well, yes, but everybody knows to get to the rose, you have to encounter a few thorns. Boy oh boy, have I encountered a few thorns.

At the age of 11, my mother and father divorced. I think that my mom thought that she had missed out on life by marrying at a young age and having four daughters practically back to back, and she wanted to get out there and live it up. She unfortunately fell into the trap of alcoholism, and alcohol then controlled her for most of her life. I watched my mother tragically go through so many different relationships, and she struggled to keep a relationship with her children and her family. She was able to function as a nurse for many years despite the alcoholism. I saw so many things in her life that just scared me to death and made my heart hurt to the core. My mother wanted to be free of the alcohol, but the alcohol had control over her life. I prayed for her and her addiction, I cried over it, and I wanted to see her break free of those chains that bound her. It was a very long, hard road for her. There was so much loss in her life, so many trials that defeated her, but still despite all of the terrible things going against her, she had two things in her corner: the love of children that just wouldn’t go away and prayed over her daily and a God that is bigger than any addiction.

At age 57, (that’s just 3 years older than I am right now), my mother finally broke those chains. She finally went into a rehab after making a heart decision. She wanted to stop drinking for herself and for her family. She wanted to break free of this dependence so that she could enjoy her family, her children, and her grandchildren. She didn’t go to rehab this time because someone made her. She did it for herself and her family and it worked. She remained alcohol free for the last two years of her life. I lost my mom at the age of 59. She fell down her steps and broke both ankles and subsequently suffered a pulmonary embolism. I received a phone call from my uncle at 10:30 pm on April 3, 2004. She was staying at my uncle’s home after her fall down the stairs. She was in cardiac arrest. I arrived at his home and performed CPR on my mother until the paramedics arrived, but it was too late. She was already gone. Oh, I’ve cried my share of tears over this loss, but more than tears I rejoice because in her case, I know that the arms of the Lord are around her right now, and that one sweet day, I will see her again.  That gives me peace that transcends all understanding. I know she was a believer. I’ve read the journal that she wrote through rehab, and I have no doubt that she is in heaven, and I praise God that He gave us those last two years we had with her before her death.

Addiction has touched all of our lives, but we must remember that nothing is too hard for God. He will take what is broken and restore it. He is there, waiting, waiting for you to call on Him. I didn’t plan to share these words today. I actually kind of fought it, but the Holy Spirit kept nudging me to write this so I think perhaps someone needed to see this today. Whether you are one that is currently struggling with addiction, a recently recovered addict, or you have a family member dealing with addiction, I have found through my life experiences that there is only one cure and that cure comes from FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you are overwhelmed with health problems, bad news, or relationship struggles, the Word of God can be your source of supernatural help. Praying and talking to Jesus about my problems gives me strength that I could never finding in myself alone! So don’t give up! Always remember that the road to transformation must run through the tunnel of tribulation. This is so true! Remember my earlier reference regarding roses and thorns? It’s kind of the same thing. What I’m saying is this time may be painful, full of trials and tribulations, but just keep remembering in the end the transformation will be like that of a beautiful rose. God promises greater things in store – a future filled with promise and hope!