Inspirations from the Funny Farm

I could not locate the original author of “Being a Christian is like Being an Pumpkin,” but I love to share this analogy every year in October. It is a quite simple way to share the truth of Christ, and I love simple. Someone once asked the question, what is it like to be a Christian, and the answer given was, “Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God picks you up from the patch and brings you in. Then He washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, fear, hate, and greed. He carves you a new smiling face. And then He puts His light inside of you for all the world to see.” It can’t get much simpler than that! Let’s break it down just a bit more.

First of all, we recognize that God chooses us. Can we even comprehend the significance of this? He picked me. He loves me. We wants me. God knows all the ugly details of my heart and my life, but still He selected me to be His very own. The thought of this always amazes me. I know I’m a mess and a handful, yet our heavenly Father looked down and said, “I want that kinky headed girl. She’ll be a challenge, but I don’t shy away from challenges.” He picked me, and oh how happy I am that He did! “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” John 15:16

Next, He washes all the dirt away. Yep, God cleans us right up. God knows that we could never earn righteousness, so He devised a great plan to unite us with Him. He sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins so that we may be made right. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we get a heart change. We are changed from the inside out. The changes may be gradual at first as we learn to walk with Christ, but once our hearts belong to Him, we become clean. He shed His blood so that we might be as white as snow. Clean! We become a new person in Christ. We are no longer that old person, and we begin to walk in the newness of life with Christ. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

When God cleans us up, he gets rid of all that yucky stuff that keeps us down. He will remove all the seeds of doubt, fear, hate, and greed if we allow Him to. We may try to hang on to these seeds, or we may find it difficult to let those seeds go, but with Christ, we can rest assured that He’s got it. Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ. We don’t have to be slaves to sin any longer. We can pray to our Father, and let that stuff go! Doubt, fear, hate, and greed are from the devil. We don’t need those things in our life. As we grow closer in our daily walk with Christ, we can slowly but surely turn away from our old sinful selves, and no longer be slaves to sin! “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” Romans 6:6

Then He carves a smiling face on us. This is one of my favorite parts. I love that movie “Elf”, and my favorite quote from the movie is “I just like to smile. Smiling’s my favorite.” The reason I love that is because smiling is my favorite too! I love to smile. We have been masked up for six months now, and it’s hard to see a smile, but guess what? Mask or no mask, if someone is truly smiling, you can see it in their eyes. It’s called a Duchenne smile. When someone is truly smiling, their mouth turns upward and their eyes light up. Their whole face smiles. That is the kind of smile that Christ puts on the face of a believer. When I think about all that Christ has done for me, I can’t help but have a great big old goofy smile on my face. The gift of salvation is truly something to smile about! “I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me.” Psalm 71:23

Finally, we let our light shine. We just can’t keep all of this good news to ourselves. When we are full of Christ, we can’t help but let the goodness of Christ overflow to those we come in contact with. Everyone that sees us should see a light. They should see the reflection of the Son within us. Non-believers should look at a believer, and say, “there is definitely something different about that person. I want some of what they have!” When our light for Christ shines brightly, the world will see. They will know that we are His children, and our light will plant seeds! Let your light shine! “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:16

Today, I ask you, “Are you God’s pumpkin?” If you aren’t today is the best pumpkin picking day I can think of. Go to the Lord, and let Him know you are ready to be picked. It’s time to be cleaned up and get rid of that yucky stuff. Let Christ put a smile on your face that lights up any room! I am so glad that I am God’s pumpkin!

Judges 6:11-16 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

Judges 6 begins with “the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight.” The Lord had handed them over to the Midianites for seven years, and the Midianites were very cruel to the Israelites so much so that they caused the Israelites to hide in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. The people were literally stripped of their crops, their livestock, and their homes. When they finally recognized their mistakes, God chose Gideon to rescue them. Where do you suppose He found Gideon? He was literally hiding in a hole. The hole was originally a wine press, but Gideon was in the hole threshing wheat to hide the grain from the Midianites.

I love the story of Gideon because it reminds me so much of our human nature. The angel of the Lord came and told Gideon that the Lord had chosen him to rescue Israel from the Midianites. How does Gideon respond? “But how? My clan is the weakest, and I am the smallest. ” Gideon first looked around and within, but he wasn’t yet looking up. He even gave God a few tests, you know, just to make sure God had chosen the right person. He ran home, cooked a goat and baked some bread, and brought it back to the angel. The angel touched the food with the tip of his staff, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed the food. I don’t know about you, but that would’ve been enough proof for me, but apparently not Gideon.

Then as God prepares to send Gideon to fight the armies, Gideon starts thinking, “what if this is a mistake. Maybe I’m not the one.” So he asks for God to give him a sign. He told God that he was going to put his cozy fleece blanket outside that night. He told God that if he was the one to go, to let the blanket be wet but the ground around it dry. The next morning, the blanket was soaking wet, but the ground was dry. Old Gideon was still not believing so he asked God the next night to keep the blanket dry, but the ground around it wet. The next day, the blanket was perfectly dry, and the ground was wet.

Finally, Gideon is convinced, and he gathers up a huge army. They head out to battle, and God says, “Whoa. You’re army is too big.” Gideon had to be thinking, “I need a big army!” But God told him, I want the people to know that they were rescued by God and not in and of themselves. Gideon started out with an army of 32,000 warriors, but God reduced the size to 300 men, and He gave the Israelites victory over the Midianites.

Gideon was from the smallest tribe of Israel, and he was a small man. He was hiding in a hole threshing wheat, but God chose him to do a great and mighty work. He picked Gideon out, just as he was, right where he was, hiding in a hole under great oppression. God definitely works in mysterious ways, but rest assured, my friend, when He decides to call you, He will take you just as you are, lift you out of your hiding place, and use you for His glory. God blesses each and everyone with a unique set of gifts and talents, and He desires for us to use these talents to glorify Him. I am willing to guarantee you one thing. If you aren’t using your talent, or if you haven’t yet discovered it, talk to God and He will reveal it to you. When we humbly submit to the calling of Christ, He picks us up, right where we are, just as we are, and He does miraculous things. We only have to be willing.

I Peter 1:3-9 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

I am not a writer by profession, but writing this devotional blog has become one of the passions of my life. I go to bed at night praying and asking God for words, and I wake up each morning asking for words. I feel such an urgency to write. I feel a need to share the gospel. I don’t know how many people are reading my ramblings, but my prayer is that these words could just reach the heart of even one lost soul and plant a seed. I know that my God will send someone else along to water that seed, and the Holy Spirit will make it grow.

I woke up this morning reflecting on my own day of salvation. I was thirteen years old. I had been going to church my whole life, literally. Daddy had us in church the first Sunday after we were born. It was an important part of our lives. At the age of thirteen, I sat in a church pew and heard a sermon and felt the tug of the Holy Spirit. I was lost, and for the first time in my life, I felt the depth of my lostness. I realized at that moment that I was not truly saved, and I recognized my need for salvation. I realized that if I did not ask Christ into my heart at that very moment, the opportunity may never come again. I realized what it meant to be separated from Christ for eternity, and I did not want to be separated for even one second longer. I asked Christ to be the Lord of my life that day. To say I was extremely shy at that time would be a great understatement. I didn’t walk the aisle and make a public profession of faith that day. I knew Christ was in my heart, but I was afraid to walk that aisle. Over the next week, the Holy Spirit gave me the strength and courage. As a matter of fact, I was so excited the very next Sunday morning that I could not wait to run down that aisle to our pastor and let the whole church know that I had been saved by the grace of our Savior. I remember it like it was yesterday. I picked out my prettiest dress. It was white with royal blue flowers and ruffles. I was still scared, but I knew that I had to share my new found faith with my church family.

Now, I could sit here and tell you a bunch of lies and cover everything with sugar and honey, and tell you that life has been super easy since that moment, but I won’t. Life gets hard, and lately it’s been a bit harder than usual. In I Peter, chapter 1, Peter is writing a letter to the people of Asia Minor who are being persecuted. This is the area now known as Turkey. The people were being persecuted for their faith in Christ. There were some women who were married to men who were not believers in Christ, and these people needed encouragement in a big way. He begins this letter encouraging them with praise to God for their salvation. He takes time to remind them of the greatness of salvation and an inheritance that will never fade. He reminds them of the greatness of salvation to encourage them as they are going through the difficult times of persecution. We may not be going through physical persecution, but each day brings troubles of its own, and we have to fight those daily battles remembering our great salvation too.

Jesus Christ took on the sins of you and me that great and dreadful day on the cross. Why would He do such a thing? We weren’t even born, yet He still died for us. It is because He loves us so greatly, and because of that love, He wants us to have the assurance of eternity with Him. Salvation is truly the greatest gift in the world. It doesn’t cost us a dime, but it cost Jesus an agonizing death on the cross in order to fulfill the prophesy and be resurrected to the Father. Many times, we forget what a big deal this gift of salvation is. It’s not merely a “get out of hell free card” that we carry around in our wallet. Our salvation was bought and paid for by Christ, and given to us as the best gift that we could ever receive. Christ died for me. He died for you. He gave us a gift of truly unmerited favor, true grace, true mercy, and it was given from the purest heart of true love.

When things are going good, it’s easy to be joyful, but when the going gets tough, we have a bad day, life throws us great big obstacles, or perhaps we are even feeling the pain of persecution, we can still find joy. We simply have to go back and remember the joy of our salvation. We must remember that no matter what battle life gives us, Christ has already won. He defeated death. He overcame. He is my rock and my salvation, and I am so thankful that He cared enough to save me. Take some time today to reflect on your salvation. Do you know Christ as your Savior? If so, reflect on the wonderful glory of knowing Him today. If you haven’t made Him the Lord of your life, don’t wait any longer. Make today the day of your salvation!

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies’ you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:1-6 (ESV)

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; All the day and all the night they shall never be silent You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.”  Isaiah 62:6-7 (ESV)

The following is an excerpt from my book, “Inspirations from the Funny Farm.” I’ve been thinking about my sweet Daisy May, and the lessons she taught me. She was a true friend to the very end, and I loved her.

The best farm dog we ever had was Daisy May. I loved that girl in a big way. She was a Great Pyrenees. After we began raising chickens, we tried several dog breeds before we found Daisy May. I did my research, and many people told me that the Great Pyrenees breed was the way to go as far as farm protection. However, my research results made me think that this was not the breed for us. I read on-line that these dogs roamed, and by roam, I mean they wandered far away from home even into another county, and owners reported that they frequently had to go and pick their dogs up miles from their home. Well, I didn’t want any part of that. I also was told by other owners that these dogs were not social animals, and that they were strictly herd animals. They were to reside with the animals and tend the animals, and they were not “people” animals. That was another strike against this breed.

However, one day, my husband traded an Eastern Wild turkey for a great big ball of white fluff with a cute little pink nose. She was adorable, and she was a people dog. I knew that we were supposed to pen her up with the animals and house her with them, at least that is what the research said I should do. We named her Daisy May. This was a name that she quickly outgrew as she grew into a massive, beautiful 100 pound ball of white fluff. She didn’t look like a meek little friendly Daisy May, but rather she looked like a beautiful lion with a long flowing white mane. She was a true beauty.

She was our pet, but she was a working pet. She had a job. Her job was to protect our animals.  We did not train her for this job. She never even spent one day in canine school, and neither my husband nor I ever spent even one day training her. She truly had a natural born instinct to be a protector for our animals. Prior to her arrival on our 80 acre farm, multiple predatory animals visited, and we lost animals on several occasions. One day I came home from work and found 29 dead chickens that were killed by a pack of local dogs. After Daisy May came to live at Hodge Lodge, we never lost another chicken or any other animal to a predatory animal.

We pinned her up with the chickens the first couple of days, but then we felt sorry for her, and let her out. I worried that she would roam off our property, but she never did. She roamed all over our eighty acres, but she never stepped a foot in the road, and she never left our home. She knew from day one that she had a job, and her job was to protect Hodge Critter Lodge. Under her fine supervision, we acquired a great menagerie of animals. She never tried to harm a feather or hair on one single critter head. I talk to all my animals, and Daisy May was no exception. She seemed to really understand me, and whenever we brought a new feathered or furry family member home, I showed the new critter to Daisy May, and would say, “Daisy, this is one of ours.” She seemed to understand me, and she would guard that animal as if it had lived here forever.  One Spring, we had new baby chicks, and we were letting them bounce around the yard. Our Yorkie, Diego, was a puppy at the time. He was bouncing around and playing a little too roughly with the young chicks. Daisy May loved Diego, but she also knew her job was to protect the chicks. She gently plopped her giant front paw on Diego’s head as if to say, “that’s enough little buddy. Leave the chicks alone.”

She slept a lot during the day and roamed our property at night. She reminded me of a night watchman keeping guard. She barked occasionally and made sure that all the locals knew she was on duty and Hodge Lodge was secure. She didn’t just protect the animals; she also kept a watchful eye over her humans. I could walk anywhere I wanted at night without a worry in the world because I had my great big old sheepdog with me. While Jeff worked overseas, I felt perfectly safe under Daisy May’s watchful eye. I’m a natural born country girl and walking outdoors during the dark of night has never bothered me. I can remember hearing a noise and walking out onto the porch to explore only to have my body physically pushed back into the house by my great big old sheepdog. It was if she was telling me, “I got this, Mama. Go back inside and let me do my job.”

We lost our sweet Daisy May a couple of years ago. She died protecting one of our cows that was calving. Wild dogs were trying to attack the calf, and Daisy May gave her life doing what she did best: protecting our farm. I have put a lot of thought into Daisy May and being a sheepdog, and I have arrived at the conclusion that I want to be a sheepdog just like Daisy May. Sheepdogs are bred to protect sheep. Sheep are not very smart critters, and they really don’t realize when they are in danger. Sheepdogs, however, recognize danger, and they instinctively know what to do to protect the sheep from the danger. Therefore, farmers put sheepdogs in with their sheep to protect the sheep from predators. When a sheep dog is on duty, the sheep are safe. In the world of Daisy May there are sheep, and in her case the sheep consisted of actual sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, deer, pigs, and so many other animals, and then there are the wolves, and in her case the wolves consisted of any predatory animal that decided to visit Hodge Lodge. Our animals may not recognize danger, but Daisy May always kept a watchful eye over them to keep them safe from harm.

As Christians, we can fall into one of these three categories. There are people who are sheep who are part of the flock of the great Shepherd, Christ, or who are new in their faith, or even those who haven’t yet come to know Christ as their savior. And then there are the wolves. The wolves are those people that try to draw the sheep away from the great Shepherd. This would include anyone who is working against Christ and trying to make a person doubt their faith or doing things to try to persuade a person to do things that are not Christ-like. The wolves work very hard to keep Christians from being all that they can be for Christ, and sometimes, the Christians, also known as the sheep, don’t recognize the danger of the wolves or perhaps the sheep are not prepared to handle the threat of danger. Finally, there are the sheepdogs. Sheepdogs are those people who stand in the gap. The sheepdog stands between the sheep and the wolves. It is our duty as Christians to stand in that gap. The wolves try diligently to draw the sheep away from the Shepherd, and we must stand in as sheepdogs to prevent this from happening. Many times, we will feel ill equipped, and we won’t feel like we are strong enough to be a sheepdog, and we just want to be a sheep. But as a sheepdog, we help lift other Christians who will become stronger in their faith and relationship with Christ, and in turn, that person will encourage us and help us to become stronger. I pray that I can be a great sheepdog like Daisy May one day. I want to stand in the gap and protect people from the evil in this world. I want to help strengthen fellow Christians, but I also want to spread the gospel to others. Yes, I want to be a sheepdog when I grow up!

Jeremiah 32:36-41 “Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

The scripture for today’s passage was a portion of our nightly Bible reading last night. Jeremiah the prophet had been warning the people with the word of the Lord that they would be overtaken by Babylon. The people had angered God. They were living evil lifestyles and worshipping false gods, gods that they had made with human hands. God was tired of the people living evil and corrupt lives, and He had promised to intervene and allow the king of Babylon to overcome the people for a period of time. He said that He would scatter the people. What we see in portion of this scripture, however, is God’s promise of restoration.

When we are in the midst of failures, sins, mistakes, and we are feeling broken and alone, we must remember that Jesus Christ restores. The term restore means to bring back or reinstate. When Jesus restores, He brings us back to Him, and we aren’t taken back to the way we were before we experienced the brokenness. No, Christ does much more than that. When He restores us, He leaves us much better than we were before. Christ will take away the pain and brokenness, and put our lives back together. He gets rid of what is wrong in our lives, and brings us back to a fullness with Him. Restoration is an amazing place to be. When restored through Christ, what is broken becomes whole.

I have heard a great number of times, “I can’t wait for this pandemic to end. I want things to get back to the way they were,” I’m not sure that we want things to get back to the way they were. Things weren’t going so great in this big old world prior to COVID-19 and have only gotten worse since the pandemic began. I don’t want to go back and settle for how things were. No, I want to see the restoration that comes from Christ. I want us to come out on the other end of this pandemic restored in Christ. When we go through difficult situations in life, we can either fall under the pressure, or we can grow from the experience. I pray that we are all growing. I pray that we are learning that God is in control of every situation, and I pray that we see His hand in the solutions.

God will restore us, if only we will turn our hearts back to Him. “I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.”

We can begin the restoration process now. If we could simply turn our hearts back to God. We must stop living for the world and start living for things eternal. We must have one heart and one purpose which is to worship Christ forever. I pray, “please, Lord, put a desire in our hearts to worship You. Please, Lord, bring us back to you. Restore us.” We know that restoration comes through the blood of Christ. Our Savior has already paid the price. We can not continue to take advantage of the love and grace of our Lord and Savior. No, we have to turn our hearts back to Him.

Today, I ask that we pray for restoration. Let us be restored in Christ, individually and corporately. We need Christ now more than the breath in our lungs. We don’t want to simply get back to the way things were, we want to be restored. I know that my God can do that. He is bigger than anything in this world. He’s got our attention now. So what are we going to do? Shall we continue to live as we are, or are we going to pray for restoration? Are you satisfied with the way things were? Are you okay with the way things are now? I pray that you are not willing to settle for any less than God has planned for your life. Yes, let’s pray for restoration today!

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Go, go, go, go, go….STOP! That seems to be the way we go about each day. We are constantly on the go. I usually wake up around 5:00 am to do my morning Bible study and write my devotional blog. Then it’s go, go, go. On my clinic days, I run for twelve hours taking care of my patients. It’s a great job, and it’s my passion, but it is definitely a busy one most of the time. Then on my days off, there are always a million little projects to complete…clean the house, crafting, family engagements, church activities, tending the critters and the farm. Yes, it is safe to say that we are some busy folks. Don’t get me wrong. I love it. I am not one to just sit around and be lazy, at least not for a very long period of time. I love to be busy, but sometimes, we have to slow down. We need to hit the refresh button in life.

This week, my husband and I did just that. We hit the refresh button. We left Wednesday morning for an archery hunt a couple hours away from home. We treated ourselves to a nice hotel room, a few good meals, and FOUR days in the woods together…just God, Jeff, and me. Oh, my it was so very nice. We did not kill a deer. We didn’t even see a deer that was legal. Only a couple of young bucks stepped out on us, but that is okay. We aren’t starving for meat, but we were starving for refreshment. These past four days have been truly wonderful. I spent time in beautiful hardwoods, lovely white oaks, and a whole bunch of other trees with leaves gradually changing from green to gold. I saw a multitude of birds, and they sang their carols loudly and proudly as I sat there under a big old oak tree. The squirrels were having a convention there this weekend. I giggled inside as I watched them frolic and play. They chased each other around the trees and through the woods. The weather cooled off the last two days, and it was absolutely perfect. I felt all of the tension of the previous weeks leave my body as I sat there with God, nature, and my favorite human in those beautiful woods.

Life gets too busy sometimes. We get carried away doing what needs to be done, and we tend to forget about taking care of ourselves and our relationships. Jeff and I spend a great deal of time together on a regular basis, but it is always good to get away for a bit for a husband/wife retreat. Four days in the great outdoors, away from all of the everyday chaos, was just what the doctor ordered! I can not express how refreshed I feel this morning and how excited I am about spending the day in the Lord’s house.

Sometimes, we don’t simply need to hit the physical refresh button. Sometimes, we need to also need to hit the spiritual refresh button. I think Psalm 23 is a great place to go to get some spiritual refreshment. The scripture I quoted above is from the New Living Translation. It is very easy to understand, and I think we can easily see that refreshment is oozing from these words. Verse one reminds us that God gives us all that we need. In verse two, we see that God lets us rest, and He lead us. In verse three, God renews us, and He guides us. In verse four, we see that He keeps us company, and we see that He protects us. In verse five, God raises us up, and He honors us. Finally in verse six, we see that God pursues us, and that we will spend eternity with Him. Wow! Isn’t that refreshing? Knowing that God is there beside us at all times should renew us daily, but knowing that He is actually pursuing us and that we get to spend eternity with Him, well my friends that refreshes our souls! The thought of it is so soothing. These words were written many years ago, but they still come to life each time that we read them. God’s Word truly is alive and active. God longs to have a close relationship with each of us. He wants to change us for our own good and His glory. We must make time for Him.

Take some time today to sneak away with God’s Word. Go to your favorite quiet place. It may be an old worn out chair, or it could be outdoors under a great big old tree. No matter the place, turn everything else off and tune in to God. I can guarantee that you will walk away feeling refreshed and renewed! God is so very good. Spend some time with Him today!

Revelations 3:17 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 

We stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast early this morning, and as I was asking the Lord to give me words to study and write about today, the church of Laodicea came to mind. It has to be a God thing. Who else can come up with this stuff?

We arrived at Waffle House and the restaurant was empty. It was early and still dark outside. The temperatures dropped last night, and it’s currently in the mid forties. All three employees were outside having a smoke break, but quickly finished up and returned to their stations before we got to the door. The cook was a middle aged man. He had two braids in his hair that fell just below his shoulders. He greeted us with smile, and exchanged pleasantries. The waitress was a good bit older. She was a frail looking, small little thing. The years had worn on her, and her face was laced with wrinkles of a hard life. The other waitress was a young, fluffy lady. She had a rather large white, bouffant hairdo. I’m not sure if it was a wig or not, but it didn’t look like it belonged to her. So here we have our three workers. They are near the end of their night shift. I’m sure they are tired, and they are probably ready to go home.

I bet you are thinking, “Okay, KK. What in the world does this have to do with the church of Laodicea?” I’m getting to that. It was their attitudes that brought it to my mind. The cook greeted us warmly. He wore a smile on his lips. He even danced as he cooked our meal, and he graciously placed our food on our table. Our waitress took our order. She was missing a smile. She was doing what she had to do, but she sure didn’t seem to be enjoying. Her affect was flat, unwelcoming. She was serving us, but she appeared to be just carrying out the motions. She definitely wasn’t enjoying herself. Finally, I noticed the other waitress with the white bouffant hair. She repeated that she was cold a couple of times. She took a seat at the far end table, and played on her phone. She made no effort to interact with anyone. She was just there.

So this morning at Waffle House, I saw the representation of three different images of spiritual behaviors. That last waitress represents a Christian that’s gone cold. She even repeated that she was cold a couple of times. Her attitude was cold, distant. She didn’t interact with anyone except her phone. There was no joy in her heart or her eyes. She was just cold. Cold is a very sad place to be when we are considering our relationship with Christ.

The lady that waited our table represents the lukewarm believer. She was there. She did what she had to do. There was no joy in her actions. There was no smile on her face. She was following the rules of her job, but she wasn’t giving it any extra umph. She didn’t really seem to care. She just seemed ready to go home and call it quits. She wasn’t cold, but she wasn’t hot. She was just lukewarm. It appeared that her fire had gone out many years ago.

The cook represented a believer in Christ. He was excited, happy, and on fire. He seemed so full of joy, and it was contagious. This is the person God desires for each of us to be. When strangers meet us. They should see the joy of Jesus within us. We should be reflecting Christ in our behavior and actions. One should be able to easily see that we are a child of God.

The church of Laodicea was lukewarm. They weren’t hot or cold. They were merely lukewarm. God said because they were lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, that He would spit them out of His mouth. Unfortunately, I believe we all go through different phases of warmth, but prayerfully, each day of our walk with Christ, we become warmer and warmer until our hearts are on fire for Christ.

Remember the two men who were walking and talking on their way to Emmaus in Luke 24 just after the crucifixion. They were talking about all that occurred when Jesus began walking with them. It wasn’t until later that their eyes were opened to who Jesus was and, “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Can we not be like those men? Can our hearts not burn within us for Christ? Jesus is not physically walking beside us, but He is ever present. His Word should set us on fire each and every day. How can we live on fire for Christ? We can study His Word, talk to Him regularly, serve others gladly, and worship together in a Bible based church. Reflect the Son in all you do. Share the Gospel. Love God and love others. When you heart is full of Jesus, you can’t help but be on fire for Him! Now, go check your temperature. Don’t be cold. Don’t be lukewarm. Be on fire for Christ today and every day!

Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Psalm 8:1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.

It’s bow season here in South Mississippi, but the weather hasn’t been conducive the last couple of days, and the deer have been hiding out. Yesterday, it was hot and the temperature rose to 85 degrees. The wind changed direction every hour. This was not agreeable weather for deer hunting for sure. The mosquitoes were plentiful, and the day was long. We excitedly looked forward to this morning. The forecast showed a high of 66. Ahhh, cool weather. My husband & I both thought, “the deer will be moving for sure.” But guess what? We geared up, walked outside to a misty wet dark morning with winds of 12 mph. We know one thing for sure. Deer do not like windy weather. They can’t hear their surroundings when it’s windy, and it spooks them. Today will probably not make for a good hunt yet again.

Even though we know we probably won’t see a deer, we’re still going to be out here all day. Why? First, we are getting to enjoy God’s beautiful creation all around us. We get to see God’s handiwork, up close and personal, undamaged by human hands. The other best thing about being out here is that we get to enjoy spending time together as husband and wife doing something we love. It is always fun to spend a full day in the woods with your sweetheart, even if the deer are hiding out.

I took this picture yesterday as I was looking up and thinking about all of blessings God has bestowed upon our family. He’s such a good, good God. I think we tend to forget His greatness in the midst of our chaos. When trouble comes our way, we tend to look within ourselves for solutions. When the answers don’t come quickly enough, we begin looking around for a solution. Finally, after exhausting all other avenues, we look up to the heavens for the answers.

Why does it take us so long to look up? Our heavenly Father is here for us 24/7. He is never hiding out. He’s better than the postal service. Rain, sleet, or snow will not deter Him. John 10:28 tells us that no one can snatch us out of His hand. He desires our praises, but He also desires for us to lean on Him not just when we can’t figure things out on our own, but always and in all things.

We don’t have our usual hurried agenda today. We are both off work, and we get to play in the woods like a couple of kids. Our only concern is the wind, but rather than get disheartened or discouraged, I’m just going to keep looking up. I’m going to look up and praise God for this beautiful life He has so graciously given me. I’m going to praise God for a few days of no work. I’m going to praise God for His goodness, grace, and mercy that I surely do not deserve. Yes, today, I’m going to make sure that I keep looking up.

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a two mile hike into the woods. The last few weeks have been a continual rollercoaster of activities. Between working, farming, and family responsibilities, we have not stopped. But I decided to take a vacation day. I was long past due for a day to just be still and spend some time with my sweet husband, nature, and the good Lord.

As we began our hike, we were immediately greeted by a juvenile raccoon. He scampered through the woods without even giving us a second glance. I think we probably saw about a hundred squirrels. They were running about merrily, up and down trees, and barking over our heads. There must have been about 200 birds flying around, and at one point the birds were singing so loudly it sounded like we were in the jungles of the rain forest.

After about two miles of walking, I found the perfect spot. I made a make shift seat under a big pine tree, and I just sat there for a couple of hours taking in the fresh air and the beauty of God’s creations. The leaves are just starting to turn here, and as I sat quietly, I caught a glimpse of a golden yellow leaf turning loose and flittering gently to the ground. I even watched one squirrel race about 20 yards in front of me. He dove into a pile of pine straw and a little golden leaf flew over his head as he landed on the pine straw. I’m sure he was in squirrel heaven as there were white oak acorns covering the ground.

As the sun began to set, a different type of orchestra began. The locusts began their soothing buzzing sound as the tree frogs quietly croaked. Every once in a while, the sounds would get louder, almost deafening, yet extremely peaceful. Yes, this was definitely the most peaceful day I have had it what seems like an eternity.

Twelve hours a day, three days a week doesn’t sound like a tough work schedule. However, when you couple that with four days of working even harder at home, you can bet that a body can get warn down. It’s not the work that wears me down. I enjoy hard work. It’s the busyness that makes it tough. It’s the noise, the chatter, the constant running here and there. It’s the absolute, total lack of “peace, be still.” The distractions of everyday life can be overwhelming, especially when those distractions are distracting us from Christ.

I don’t think that God designed us to be this busy, and my hike confirmed this. I love nature because I can see God in all of it. We have to take the time to slow down and look around and see God’s handiwork. He designed all of the animals, birds, and even the 9000 mosquitoes that I saw. I’m still not sure why God thought we needed those suckers, but I’m sure He had a reason. Nonetheless, when we take time to truly be still, we find peace, and that peace really does transcend all understanding.

If you are feeling lost, overwhelmed, or maybe just tired of all the racket and noise of the day, how about taking some time today for peace? Be still, and know God. We can feel His presence and see Him a whole lot more clearly when we turn off all of the distractions and just be still with God for a bit!