Musical Monday Break

I don’t know about you all, but I need a little break to catch my breath. First day of the work week, and this song will get us in good shape to get going. Thank you Bethel Music, for this kick start.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Your Holy Attire

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 29. Verses 1&2 “Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. *(or, in holy attire)-(ESV) The whole Psalm is beautiful; written by King David, of course.

When I think about holy attire, especially on Sunday, when we gather to worship the LORD/Lord, I’m looking at my heart. I must admit that my heart has not always been right before the LORD, in church on Sunday morning. Praise and worship poured out of my mouth; but my heart was far from Him; more times than I can count, I’m afraid. I had to actually go before the LORD/Lord, and ask Him to give me His Heart. I’m so thankful for His mercy and grace. He is so very patient with us. Yes, He answered that prayer for me. I still ask for His Heart; every morning! Believe me; it helps tremendously; and on a daily basis!

The rest of the Psalm speaks to us about God’s Voice. Verses 5-8 are really awesome, and touch on exactly what I was talking about above. “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.”

Think about your hardened heart, on a Sunday morning, maybe after an argument with your mate, or fighting traffic all the way into town, etc. Sometimes, everything that can go wrong does, doesn’t it? There you stand…going through the motions…JESUS, HELLLLPPPP! Am I right?! He steps right up, and speaks to the storm; doesn’t He? Fire purifies and that wilderness just vanishes. When I think of that wilderness, and how it took them forty years to make a three day journey…I think I’m pretty sure that I’m gonna holler right away, Lord! I want to hear that “Peace be still!” The LORD’s voice is stronger than COVID! Have a beautiful day!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – January 16, 2021

My goodness, what a week it’s been! I had my cardiology appointment; hit the floor running to make it on time. I don’t know why, but it seems as if the buses are crawling along at fifteen miles an hour whenever you need them to hurry. Then, some of them go at breakneck speed, only to jump on the brakes with both feet and all their body weight behind them. Passengers and baggage come up out of the seats. LOL I think they need to serve cocktails on some of those buses, just like they do on airplanes. Speaking of airplanes, I was on a bus the other day, and there was a car wash just short of the stoplight. This guy was out front waving a white rag like crazy. I couldn’t figure out if he was trying to flag us down, or land a plane…we are right by the Air Base.

There are some characters on the buses, too. We passed a construction site, and someone asked what they were building there. A lady on the bus said, “Its an Amazon Warehouse.” “Oh,” replied the guy, “what’s if for?” “It’s where they’re going to lock up all the strong and angry women,” replied the lady. LOL

I got my ID renewed recently. I couldn’t believe it when I got the new card. My goodness; I need to get some good facial serum and face cream. My grandbabies will be calling me Grandma Sharpei. Sure enough, I sent a friend a selfie – of myself, and he texted me back: “Can she sit up and beg?” Hmm, maybe I could get one of the kids to take me to the dog shows; I could use the money. Ah, never mind…I can’t wag my tail like that anymore. Besides that, I’m not going to sit up and beg for anybody!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Rule Them, Indeed

First, back to Psalm 2:9 -“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter’s vessel.” If you look at all the nations of the world, all the different cultures, beliefs, religions, standards and boundaries (moral, social, familial, etc.), you’ll see why it’s important that you be able to break them and dash them into pieces.

This verse tells us a couple of things. First, the nations and the ends of the earth are our heritage. That means they can be of benefit to us. We can learn from other cultures, beliefs, and religions. We can also be led astray by them, as the nation of Israel was through intermarriage with people of foreign cultures. (The lands they journeyed through and were supposed to dispossess) Some cultures have very different standards and boundaries, social and familial practices, and some religions are idolatrous, and may even involve witchcraft and sorcery. Some of the ancient religions involved human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of children. We know that this is not Godly. We also know that some things considered the norm for others, are not going to work for us. Just because a bunch of folks do it, doesn’t make it right; or even beneficial. This is where the rod of iron (Word of God) and dashing things into pieces comes in. The things that are of no use to us, those that will harm us, those that go against God and Godly wisdom, etc., are the things we need to throw out. This works the same way in generational curses. Those things that are/were harmful need to be thrown out and replaced with God’s ways, according to God’s standards and boundaries.

That brings us to Psalm 3:1-7 “Oh, Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Have you ever been laughed at by peers because of your faith, or because you wouldn’t do something they thought was o.k. to do? Many will try to tell us that God’s ways are old fashioned, outdated, actually even oppressive and hateful. But God is a shield around us, and the lifter of our heads. It almost always turns out in the end, that obedience to His Word, and sticking to His ways, was the right thing to dos. I say, “almost,” only because some of those results we won’t know until we get to Heaven. Verse 7 of Psalm 3 tells us that God will silence and disarm the enemy. It never fails, when the enemy causes you to doubt or fear, God’s Word will show you the truth, and empower you to stand on the truth; dispelling the fear and the doubt.

Finally, Proverbs 3 gives us a lists of all the benefits we gain from allowing God to teach us, and keeping to His teaching, and keeping His commandments in our hearts. Whenever I read about God’s commandments, I think of Jesus’ words: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Thank you, Casting Crowns, for this inspirational song!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Today I Have Begotten You

Today’s message comes from Psalm 2 and Proverbs 2. I hope you’ll feel closer to the LORD/Lord when you finish with it. See how much the Father loves us.

Psalm 2:7-9 tells us: “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Is that awesome?! This is David speaking by the Spirit. He was speaking of Jesus and you and me. Jesus is the One who gave us the power to become God’s children in His Name. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” (John 1:12-13)

Proverbs 2:1-5 tells us: “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” One must accept the offer Christ gives us, and receive Him in our hearts. Jesus taught about receiving God’s Word into our hearts and applying them, in Matthew 13:3-9. Proverbs 2:6-15 explains to us why we need God’s wisdom to live by. We are kings and queens in the Earth, and if we are to rule over our lives according to God’s Word, we need His wisdom to overcome the evil and darkness Satan has brought to the earth. Jesus called him the “ruler of this world.” –The world that does not know Christ Jesus, or has rejected Him; that is. It’s also the world that we may have grown up in, or may have gotten ourselves into. With God’s love and His wisdom, we can overcome all three. Here’s Red Letters by David Crowder. I hope it blesses you as much as it does me-every time I hear it. If you don’t know Jesus, you don’t know what you’re missing! He loves you so very much! Don’t stay in that darkness; call out to Him and come out into the sunshine of His love, His peace, His joy! He loves yo, and so do I!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful break…I know I did. Sometimes, you don’t realize how much you need a break until you get one. At any rate, Inspirations is back for another year; God willing.

I’ve been studying Psalms and Proverbs during my generational curses study. I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned from them. The Bible is filled with stories of good kings who were followed by bad ones, and vice versa. Generational curses can affect anyone of us at any time, because we’re all under the original curse brought by Adam and Eve. I’m actually studying, and learning about parenting according to the admonition of the LORD/Lord.

We don’t really think much about it, but God is the absolute best parent anybody can have. When I began to deal with my issues according to God’s Word, I became able to actually make the right changes. I’m going to start with Psalm 1 and Proverbs 1.

Psalms 1:1-3 tells us: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Sometimes the counsel of the wicked is the things we learned and habits we adopted in our own families, growing up. If you had parents who were alcoholics, drug addicts, or perhaps suffered from depression or some other mental illness, you probably were exposed to “counsel of the wicked,” to sin and maybe even scoffing-if you’re parents were non-believers and maybe hostile to Christianity. The key phrase in this scripture is: “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” This is what keeps us on the right paths, what teaches us the right ways, and what shows us when we’re going wrong. The promise is that we will prosper, or have success, in everything we do.

In Proverbs 1:1-7, we get the reason why we want to study God’s Word, and learn from Him, how to raise our children. When you grow up wounded within, you need to be the parent to that wounded child, and allow God to raise you up. That means you deal with the child within, the way God does; in the admonition of the LORD/Lord. The first thing I did was to study 1 Corinthians 13 – Love is…because God is love. I think this fits the message perfectly. Thank you, Chris Tomlin, for this beautiful song.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Torn Veils

Today’s (12/06/20) message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that the way to conquer temptation is to see it as temptation.

As I read this message, I thought about Jesus, Satan, and three veils. I did a study on the veils recently. One veil is the one Satan wraps sin in, or covers our eyes with, to obscure the truth. He did this with Eve in the garden of Eden, when he told her that God knew she would be like Him when she ate of the fruit. Eve was already like God. She was created in His image; after His likeness. (Genesis 3:5) Jesus unveils our eyes so that we can see, not only the truth about the sin, but the truth about how to overcome it. (Luke 4:18) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed..” Through Him we have recovery of sight. When the temple veil was torn, it became possible for us to realize God’s glory, or divine nature, power, and authority, and ours, in Christ Jesus. Before that, God had to veil our faces so that we would not die when we saw His glory. (Exodus 33:17-22) (Luke 24:26) “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Heb. 12:1-2) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:18-29)

Temptation always comes with a veil. It will wrap the sin to make it appealing, and will obscure your vision, so you can’t see the truth clearly. I’m not talking about that 3 cookie break while you’re on your diet. Although, if you’re not careful, that can lead you right down to bondage. But, you’d be surprised how much you can learn about your enemy (Satan) when you look more closely at what’s behind the veil.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

It Helps Us To See Their Hearts

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J Russell, reminds us that we must not dwell on our failures, or those of others who have failed us. Philippians3:13-14 is referenced by the message. That scripture tells us that we are to forget those things which are behind us, and press on to the the goal that lies ahead. That’s the Kingdom of Heaven; it’s the freedom we have in, and through, Christ Jesus.

This message builds a little on yesterday’s post. When we become able to see ourselves the way God sees us, and love ourselves the way He loves us, we will be able to better see the hearts of those who have failed us. My mother was a vicious drunk. When she started drinking, people found places to go, or tip-toed as if walking on eggshells. She had her favorite “sparring partners,” (aka) also known as victims) too. There were words that stuck with me for years, pain that brought blinding tears to my eyes with each remembrance of past hurts, and a whole lot of confusion, as well.

Let me tell you what Jesus did for me, in regard to all that. He helped me to see myself, my connections, my failures and falls through His Eyes. That’s the Holy Spirit empowering us by shedding God’s love abroad in our hearts, to help us see ourselves the way He does. Then, as I began to heal from my own failures, I was able to get past my mother’s failures. I was able to put both behind me. Recently, I had occasion to think about my mother. There was not a night I worked late, that Mom didn’t leave dinner warming in the oven for me. There were times she sneaked into my room when I was sick, to check on me-during my teens, and when I was an adult. And, when she talked about me to others, I was a jewel in her crown of motherhood. She was always proud of me; those people have told me.

Whenever I read the story of the woman at the well, I think about my Mom, and myself. That woman asked Jesus is He was greater than Jacob, whose well He was sitting at. Jacob, who drank from that well, as did his sons, and their sons, and so on, and so on…Jesus told her, “Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst. The water I give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) Generational curses come through the Jacob’s wells in our lives. The wellspring of God’s Word, of His love, and His peace, breaks the generational curses off of us.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Furnish & Refurnish Them

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to furnish the quiet places in our souls; thereby, building our spiritual homes. Of course, spending time with God in prayer and praise is the most important part of that. But there’s more to this than meets the eye. We need to nourish the gifted parts of our beings, as well. God doesn’t give us gifts and talents for no reason.

At first glance, you’ll say, “What?!” Look at that again, though. God really did form your inward parts (heart and soul) “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13) Furnishing the quiet places in your soul, then, is furnishing that creative part of you, that craft-loving part, the author/storyteller, the artist, the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? It should. These are gifts/talents that bring us peace, joy, purpose, little pleasures. I’m not telling you not to seek God and spend time with Him. I am telling you not to get so caught up on the one road that you miss the whole country-side surrounding you. Whenever we traveled, my Dad would try to take the scenic route whenever possible-and he would actually pull off the road and take a break when the highway traffic got heavy. Sometimes, we need a little change of scenery. You may be surprised at how much peace and joy you can find in a cook-book, and an afternoon spent in the kitchen. It stirs up creativity within, it brings comfort and joy to you and those for whom you’re cooking, and gives you a little glimpse of a gift God has given you…and maybe inspiration will take you to new heights.

I’ve said this before, I know; but one of my favorite little daily inspirational reads is from a book titled: Simple Abundance. It really does reach the creative part of you. Not only that, but you will be surprised at how much more you will appreciate all you have, and all you already are. I refer back to it from time to time, when I’m feeling out of sorts and frustrated along that same road.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Break Through The Bars

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, speaks to us of the imprisoned God. Praise, we’re told again, brings God on the scene. Praise opens the doors to the throne room of God, giving us a glimpse of who He is, who we are in Him, and all that He has put inside of us. I hope you’ll read the message for yourselves at twolisteners.org -this is one we all need from time to time.

When I read the message, this scripture comes to mind: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12) We often don’t reach our full potential in things because we’ve imprisoned the son of God within us. I’m not talking about Jesus; I’m talking about you and me. Although, we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We’re created in God’s image and after His likeness. That means we can be awesome when we’re working with God, instead of against Him. (Psalm 139: 13) tells us: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” God knows each and every one of us, our strengths, weaknesses, gifts, favorite things, things we don’t like, etc. He knows us intimately; even better than we know ourselves.

Here’s where that fallow ground comes in. Quite often we are, from birth, guided and led, coaxed and cajoled, and yes, often coerced into becoming people we really don’t want to be. We end up becoming people pleasers, suffering from anxieties, harboring resentments , and living bitter and unfulfilled lives. We spend most of our lives trying to become someone else’s version of awesome. When we sow righteousness for ourselves, we’re sowing God’s thoughts about us, and His Word to us into our hearts. We reap His steadfast love within us. We grow in His love for us, and we learn to love ourselves like He does. The Word of God, and His love will even break up all that fallow ground (hard, unplowed), if and when you can’t do it yourself. Breaking it up involves tearing down the strongholds and wrong attitudes and thoughts that we’ve been fed. Then, God can come in and rain righeousness on us.

Here’s a short list of some bars that surround us and keep us locked away from our full potential: “You’re never going to amount to anything.” “You can’t do anything right.” “Your brother’s/sister’s the smart one.” “I don’t know why I bother; nobody cares anyway.” “It’s too late in my life.” “I’m too old, young, shy, stupid, fill in the blank.” Are you getting the picture? These all come back to that fallow ground; to the lies we’ve allowed to be covered over, and allowed our potential to be packed down under.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu