Two Horses - Walk by Faith!

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing.....
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.
This alone is amazing!

If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.
Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owner of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse Being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way....
Friends are like that... You may not always see them, but you know they are always there.
Listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
And remember...
Be kinder than necessary - - - Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly........
And leave the rest to God!
FOR WE WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT! --Author Unknown

Angel Comfort

In a world that puts limitations on God’s power, the reminder, to quote John Page’s letter to Thomas Jefferson, “that an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm” is not only very comforting – but also very true. --Jim Daly, Focus on the Family

Protect Your Heart!

“Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with those who are reckless with yours.” -Mary Schmich

The Waiting Heart

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. --Psalm 27:14

Thank you, Joni, for this wonderful blog today!

Worth the Wait

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. --Psalm 27:14


Waiting on the Lord means putting his desires before our own, believing that he will meet our needs with generosity and love in his good time. But it's difficult sometimes. You may find yourself mightily tempted to do something on the spur of the moment. It may be an important decision. A desire you want gratified. A choice you don't feel like putting off, or something you just want now. Your itchiness to have things your way has you ready to settle for something of lower quality or less value. It could be a special purchase. Or a choice in jobs. Or a relationship. It could be a crossroads in your ministry. And the truth is... you really don't want to check in with the Lord, discern his mind and his desires, and wait for his green light.

Ah, but while we may regret a hasty decision a million times over, we will never regret waiting on the Lord. You can never go wrong as you wait and pray and still yourself in his presence, seeking his mind and heart. He'll end up giving you something better. He will give you wisdom as well as himself. And when you have apprehended him in a new, fresh way, it will all come clear. The choice will be obvious. The waiting will be worth it.

What you might provide for yourself by your effort, in your wisdom, and in your timing cannot be compared to what God has for you in his plan and in his timing. Are you at a crossroads of decision in your life? Are you dealing with a desire that's pushing you to hurry? Fight the temptation to run ahead of him. Lay your desires and petitions at his feet, and wait for his peace (Philippians 4:6-7).

Father, how could I not trust you-you who gave your own Son so that I might become your child? I bow before you today, yielding up my hopes, dreams, desires. I know you will give me what is best.

Blessings,

Joni and Friends
www.joniandfriends.org

What's Up with the Grinch?

Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot ...
But the Grinch, who lived just North of Who-ville did NOT!
The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, plese don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small! --Dr. Seuss

Over 50 years ago Dr. Seuss created his wonderful villain the Grinch - that is, if villains can ever be wonderful! In fact the cultural connection with the Grinch is described as: "The term Grinchy shall apply when Christmas spirit is in short supply." (quote from the Book of Who also by Dr. Seuss)

The Grinch appears in Seuss' children's book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" The Grinch is an evil, self-absorbed, greedy thief of joy in any season! The Grinch is willing to go to ANY lengths to derail joy for the entire generic town of Whoville.

The Grinch is ugly green with uglier yellow eyes. He lives in an isolated cave on a rocky slope high above Whoville. He despises Christmas simply because his heart is "two sizes too small" and, I might add, rotten to the core! Grinch hatches a plan to steal Christmas and all its trappings from the Whos in Whoville. He dons a skinny Santa suit as disguise.

Christmas 2011 will soon be here. If the stores are to be believed Christmas came sometime around September 25th this season! Dr. Seuss wrote clever stories to entertain children. Like C.S. Lewis and others, Seuss' stories have grown-up lessons hidden beneath the story for children. The Grinch has some lessons for us:

• It's Christmas! There is a REAL Grinch who tries to steal Christmas - Satan. AND his heart is MORE than 2 sizes too small! It's totally twisted much worse than the Grinch's! The Bible describes the Satan Grinch as one who prowls around looking for ways to destroy and people to fatally attack much like the Grinch plotting against Christmas and the Whos of Whoville.


• Our hearts are twisted by sin and brokenness! NOTHING works the way God intended when He set the stars in place and created man to live in a perfect place!

Because of sin and brokenness there is desperate need for Christmas and for the Christmas Savior! God looks down from His heaven (high above the Grinch's cave and the village of Whoville) and sees a world irretrievably broken. And the only hope for this kind of brokenness is the Christmas Savior! O, come let us adore Him! (from O Come All Ye Faithful carol)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. --2 Cor. 4:16-18

The magnificence of this promise is stunning in such a broken, sin-stained world!

• Why God would choose to set His love upon me is astonishing and radical beyond comprehension!



• Why God would care about my heart "losing heart" after all my acts of rebellion against Him is only due to His utterly amazing grace!



• Why God would plan for eternal life and send His one and only deeply beloved Son to accomplish that plan is the marvelous message of the Gospel!

Think of the rest - "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
A week after His resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples as He had a week earlier. Thomas was missing the first time and he doubted that Jesus was really alive. Jesus encouraged Thomas to put his finger into the wounds in His hands. Thomas proclaimed Jesus as "My Lord and My God!" Then Jesus makes a statement that is perhaps keyed to these verses from Corinthians. Jesus said, "Thomas, you believe because you see. Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed." --John 20:19-31 Jesus is the unseen eternal One in Whom we have believed! He had me (and you) in His heart when He spoke to Thomas! He knew that God would draw us to believe in His Son and that we would fix our eyes on what is unseen but eternal! Therefore, we do not lose heart because our focus is on Him who walks with us thru every trial and difficulty and knowing HIM makes ALL the difference!

Dark Night of the Soul

There is a dark night of the soul! I know! I've been there!

I read recently that Mother Teresa describes the pain of the soul's dark night: "I am told God loves me—and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul …. What tortures of loneliness. I wonder how long will my heart suffer like this?"

Pray for men and women in ministry especially. Pray for those groping thru these dark nights of the soul! Pray that every one will feel the hug of God in the darkness!