Disclaimer: Distortions Abound

(photo courtesy of wordoverpixels.com)

Don’t confuse my personality with my God.

I can be withdrawn. I can be rude. I can be oblivious to your problems and concerns.

But don’t allow that to cloud your perception of my God.

I can be cheerful and complimentary. I can be caring and attentive.

Don’t allow that to influence the picture you have of God.

Though I was created to reflect the image of God, I can warp that image tremendously, because He’s given me the freedom to do so.

I can manipulate what you see; I can persuade you to drop your guard.

I can also drive you away or draw your focus to things that appear to be unfair.

As a human being, unconditionally loved by the God that created the universe, I have the advantage of a gifted mind and the good I’ve gleaned from what I’ve gone through in life, but I also have the flaws brought on through human experience and emotional roller coasters.

The bottom line is – I’m not God.

But, I’m not the only example of His love; He’s surrounded you with His beauty and grace and mercy and compassion and forgiveness. Remove your hands from your eyes and your fingers from your ears. Look. Listen.

Surrender.

To surrender to love is not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean you lose, it means you win! When you yield yourself to all the good you’ve ever longed for, you become immersed in God Himself.

I’m not making excuses for my failures; just pointing out that your answers are not found in me or in any other Christian, but in Jesus Christ only.

John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (KJV)

A New Year, A New Season

Another year comes to an end. Already.

 

I think this past year has been a year of waiting; sometimes not even knowing what I was waiting for. Sometimes waiting for a break from caring for my father-in-law, some of the time waiting for new grandbabies to be born and yes, another is due in a couple of weeks!

 

But here lately I’ve been feeling more thankful to God than ever, for all the wonderful blessings in my life.

 

On a good hair day, when you’re on time for your appointments and the perfect parking space opens up everywhere you go and people actually smile at you – it’s so easy to be thankful for your life.

 

But on those days when you have to hide your hair under a hat, do your best to cover a gigantic pimple, sit carefully all day because your jeans are too tight and you’ve got a case of the clumsies and everything you touch falls apart – it’s too easy to forget about all we have to be grateful for.

 

Why is that?

 

My friend Stacy Voss has the perfect reminder for me – the beautiful coffee mug (pictured above) that bears the tag line, Seize the Gratimoment! (Contact her here to get your own.)

 

Sometimes we need to purposefully look for gratitude in the moment. We need to focus on what we do have; we need to take our focus off the things that are bringing us down or “ruining our day” – and seize the opportunity to turn things around with our attitude by finding something to be grateful for.

 

This year, I promise myself to be more thankful and to discover what it means to “live in the moment”!

 

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. – Isaiah 43:19 NIV