Write Them Down

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 103.. King David wrote it, and it is so awesome! The first five verses, alone, just get your spirit stirred up. Beginning with verse 2-5: “Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Forget not His benefits. Make a list, just like the one in this psalm. There’s more all throughout the psalm. Those verses just kind of sum it all up for us.

The rest of the psalm lists more of those benefits, and tells us how much God loves us, and how compassionate and tender He is toward us. (V8-14) “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”

I had an incredible experience in the spirit, over this very psalm. My father-in-law was in a nursing home, and dying. He was afraid to die, because He didn’t believe that God could really forgive Him for the things he’d done. My sister also happened to be his daughter-in-law, and she visited him regularly. I never went to the nursing home, myself. I referred her to the 103rd psalm, when she expressed concern about his being afraid to die. She visited him twice more, but each time, he was asleep, and didn’t wake up. I copied the psalm down on a piece of paper, and put it under a prayer candle. I would light the candle and pray that psalm for him. One night, approximately 1: 30 a.m., my baby girl woke up for her bottle, and since I was awake, I decided to pray for him again. Laying beside her, I began to pray. I almost always say the Lord’s prayer before I pray other prayers; so I began to pray the Lord’s prayer. Suddenly, I was standing in my father-in-law’s room at the nursing home. I called out His name, and He said, “Who’s there?” I called out His name again, and then I said, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, your sins are forgiven; accept your peace.” Right then I woke up, and it was about 7 a.m. My father-in-law passed away at approximately 1:30 a.m. the next morning. Verse 19 of the psalm says, “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.” That includes time and space.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Declare It Every Day

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 96, and I can tell you from personal experience, it is life changing.

Verses 1 & 2 are a key that empowers us to make those positive changes. “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.”

Did you get that part about the new song? No more, “poor me, I can’t, I don’t know how, etc., etc., etc.” “I can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens me,” is the new tune we’re singing. We can, and will proclaim His salvation day after day, by sticking to those standards and boundaries. We’ll proclaim it by making it (salvation from those old ways, etc.) a priority; top of the list.

Now we’re going to get to God’s sanctuary, and our sanctuary. We’ll find this in verse 6: “Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.” Do you know that your space(s) is your sanctuary? Your home, your personal space-like your bedroom, your office cubicle, etc., are all your sanctuary. When we make those spaces like God’s sanctuary, we get the same effect-splendor, majesty, beauty, and strength. That splendor is the peace and joy within, resulting from knowing who and whose we are. The majesty is the authority we have over our spirit, and over the spirits; the authority we have over any and every circumstance, and over our personal spaces/sanctuaries.

This is why we strive to make our spaces strengthening, by keeping them orderly and clean, peaceful, and conducive to productivity and progress. And, in case you didn’t know this, progress is also destressing and taking that breather in your space, that helps you shift gears and get on to the next task. -Like that cup of Chai tea upon your arrival back at home from work. LOL

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Foundations Are Crucial

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 11. Psalm 11 is King David stirring himself up in the LORD. He says, “In the LORD I take refuge! How can you say to me flee; and if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?!” In other words, “I am not afraid!”

That foundations thing got me. That’s right where the enemy strikes! You see, he loves to bring the house down. When I read that, it’s verse 3, by the way: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”-I see a warning there for us. We need to protect the foundations (standards and boundaries). Jesus is our foundation; He is the Word of God. (Luke 6:47-49)

Proverbs 11 gives us a list of some things to think about. 11:3 tells us that integrity guides the upright. Integrity is that adhering to truth, keeping your word, and knowing when to keep quiet, etc. We’re told that righteousness keeps our paths straight. This makes it harder to get lost or distracted. 11:6 tells us that the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. (pornography, illicit sex, greed, etc.) You can get yourself into some real trouble trying to be a people pleaser, or needing to be “in” the “in” crowd, too. 11:9 -Knowledge delivers us from falling victim to those things. This is where the knowledge of good and evil, and the wisdom to discern between the two are important. But, more important is the knowledge of God, which is wisdom. We have the Holy Spirit as guide and counselor. thankfully. Verse 11:30 tells us that the fruit of righteousness is a tree of life. When I read this, I think of Jesus’ words in (Luke 13:19) “Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Poverty Of The Poor

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 10. Psalm 10 is another list of the devices of wickedness and evil. We are warned about how evil lurks and slinks into our paths.

Proverbs 10 is a list of the blessings of wisdom; with some wise admonitions thrown in. Verse 15 of this proverb catches my eye. “The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.” What?! Didn’t Jesus say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Yes, He did. But, (3John 1:2) tells us: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” You cannot give what you do not have. That’s why everything begins with receiving, and within. ” (Matthew 3:4-23) – Verse 19 “When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the poverty of the poor. Being poor in spirit actually describes humility meekness; or willingness to learn and take guidance. Some things included in the list of poverty of spirit, or lack of and in spirit, include: courage, truth, instruction, discipline, knowledge, wisdom, diligence, perseverance, patience. Yes, lack of the desire to learn, to grow also fits in here. The wealth of that rich man, by the way, is a fortified city that evil cannot prevail against. He gets the knowledge, instruction, and guidance he needs regarding whatever he has his heart set on, so he achieves his goals, etc. He knows his God, and seeks God early; in other words, before the boat’s sinking.

Thank you, Hillsong, for this beautiful song!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Gifts Of The Quiet Times

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God does indeed redeem the time. Quoting directly from the message: “Your simple daily tasks done in My strength and Love will bring the consciousness of all your highest hopes.”

The message speaks of adding beautiful peace and joy to our golden years. But, when I thought about this, I thought of weariness that clings at times. I thought of disappointment and doubt in self, in my progress, even in the Lord, in those times I just could not understand that He was working all the while. There are many times it seems like not a prayer one is getting through, and not a thing one is being done about our complaints, our weariness, our frustration, etc. It’s in those times, that we need to seek that quiet time with Him, and get refreshed and strengthened.

I found a list of scriptures about being refreshed, renewed, and strengthened in spirit. I’m going to list them so you can look them up. Isaiah 40:31, my favorite: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness. Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 31:25, Psalm 29:11, Psalm 68:35, and Psalms 92:10. I’m sure there are so many more, but this is a pretty good start. These are the gifts of the quiet times. They empower us to just live our God’s will for us in His strength and love. When we do this, almost unconsciously we will rise, step by step, one step at a time, to new glories, and new triumphs.

Here’s Paul McClure with Waymaker. I hope you get stirred up in your spirit by this song-and remember, you’re not walking alone!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

One Accord, Accordingly

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that when two or more are gathered together in Jesus’ Name, nothing shall be impossible for us.

We are, however, admonished to ask wisely. Being of one accord is not just unity of our love for the Lord. Being of one accord is being united in the decision(s) regarding the wisdom of what we’re asking, united in the decision about whether or not it is according to God’s Word, and united in the desire(s), results, goals we have in regard to what we’re asking.

I can, from my own experience, recall a few times a group of people just went gung-ho for something, only to have it go completely wrong. This happens when we’re not all on the same page in regard to the things listed above. Even when we pray alone for things, we’re not really alone, because we have the Holy Spirit and the Lord both helping us. But, it’s always best to look further down the road and try to picture what results we might get then, before we pray and get going full tilt on anything.

I’ve found, over the years, that my strongest prayers and best results come when I just ask God to work His will in me and in my life. He always reveals Himself and His Will. We just need to be more attuned to His answers.

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

He’s Been There So He’ll Be There

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, speaks to us of the loneliness we will deal with at various times in our lives. There are times we’ll feel deserted, times we’ll feel betrayed, times we’ll feel like failures…the list goes on and on. The truth, however, is that we are never deserted, never betrayed, and never failures; not in Christ Jesus. This is the truth we must hold fast to during those times. Jesus promised we will never be left or forsaken by Him. He, Himself suffered betrayal, desertion, looking to the world like He failed. He’s been there so He could be there for us. He’s been there-so He’ll be there! I hope you’ll read the message at twolisteners.org for yourselves. It’s so encouraging; especially in this time of trouble and distress for us all.

I love this song by J.D. Souther! It’s an oldie, but such a goodie; and it says it all exactly.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Make Them Empowering Ones

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that it is negativity, fear inspiring things and words, and harshness that create distance between us and God, and us and others.

Spirit knows no distance in terms of miles, because Spirit can transcend any number of miles instantly. An example of this is those greeting cards we send and receive. Don’t you almost feel the hugs and kisses from those loved ones when you receive them? And isn’t your heart aglow with love and joy when you send them? See? You’re transcending the miles.

The way we change negative thoughts, words, attitudes, is to replace them with love inspired ones. God always seeks to empower us to overcome adversity, fear, impossibility. We need to do the same. We’re told to lift one another up and encourage each other. When we do this, we truly can overcome the world, just as Jesus did. The trick is to stop and think first. I’m so weak in this area sometimes! But, thank the Lord, He’s patient, and empowering. He always leads me to the right scriptures and gets me back on track. When it isn’t an “in the heat of the moment thing,” I’ve been making lists. I write down what I’m feeling, thinking, what my attitude is. Then I write down the opposites, or the empowering attitude, feeling, or thoughts. How do I bring love and life into this? I ask myself that question, and go from there. God always shows me the way. I’m reminded of the little boy with the few fishes and loaves. He put them in Jesus’ hands, and thousands were fed. That’s a powerful revelation about how much of an impact we can make, too.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

I Am Thankful For…

eden08122015

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that praise is the way to move mountains. Praise can make a molehill out of a mountain.

I used to write down ten things that I was grateful for, every evening, before bed. I learned this from a book titled “Simple Abundance,” by Sara Ban Breathnach. From this practice, I began to discover some beautiful simple pleasures, like that first sip of my morning coffee-especially Amaretto Coffee. LOL

What does this all have to do with praise moving mountains? Well, I got into the habit using that same technique, only, saying “thank you, Lord,” when faced with a difficulty-great or small. If you make the same list, citing the little difficulties that were smoothed out for you, the things God does that we take for granted…like waking up and having one more day here with loved ones, etc., you’ll see just how much God is there for us, and does do for us. This helps to get you into the habit of, not only blessing consciousness and thankfulness, but also of God consciousness and gratitude. You begin to become more and more conscious of His Presence in your day.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu