No Time For Patience

Confession Time

Ssshhh, let’s just keep this private between you and me.

I have no time for patience.

It takes too long.  🙂

Seriously, practicing patience is hard.

There’s my timetable of when I think things should happen, (silly human), and then there’s God’s timing.

We know Who controls the outcome of everything in our lives, and it isn’t you and me.

Hurry Up, And Wait

As hurried and busy as we all are, it still seems we do a lot of waiting.

Waiting on this person, waiting on that thing.

It doesn’t matter what it is, even the little stuff sometimes.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Years ago, I worked for a female executive who was very generous with her gift-giving. That’s a good trait for a boss to have, right?

I’ll never forget one birthday of mine.

She gave me a nice gift certificate for a facial at a fancy beauty salon.

I was excited.

It wasn’t just any facial. It was nine layers!

Facials come in nine layers?

Who knew?

nine layer facial

I’ll never forget it. The day arrived, and I lay there on the salon table in a small backroom as the esthetician smoothed each layer on my face. There were layers of seaweed and clay, plus lots of other rejuvenating, moisture-producing, ingredients mixed in.

It felt good, and it smelled good.

Time to close my eyes and relax.

This facial is great.

Aaahhh, so great.

Truly.

#reallygreat.

The Reveal

The tech told me to relax for the next hour as the facial mask did its work.

She then abandoned (I mean left) me alone in that little room.

Everything was fine for a few minutes, and then the ingredients started to harden on my face.

The nine layers stiffened up like concrete.

My head, weighing about a thousand pounds now, started to hurt.

The new age music she piped into the room began to creep me out, and the blanket on top of me was getting all kinds of warm.

Where was she? How long has it been?

I tried to move my concrete head. 

Fear took over.

The Bible says many times not to fear.

No time for patience

Does that command include suffering through a nine layer facial mask?

Where was she?

What if they all leave and forget about me back here?

After one of the longest hours of my life for the sake of beauty, the tech finally came back and took off my constricting layers.

I silently assured myself that I would never go through that again.

No Time For Patience? Practice Makes Perfect

I am not a fan of feeling out of control.

Roller coasters scare me.

On a serious note, how often does that happen to us in life?

We go into a situation, and it doesn’t quite turn out the way we planned. In fact, things can go terribly wrong. Layer builds upon layer of disappointment and we feel suffocated in misery.

Turn Your Impatience Into A Strength

We can get ourselves into so many predicaments, and then we want God to bail us out.

It could take awhile.

While we’re waiting, whether it’s a few minutes or even years, God hasn’t gone anywhere.

He’s still in control, loving us with His perfect love, and He knows full well our real pain and suffering.

Sinclair B Ferguson quote

Restlessness Is Another Opportunity To Pray

God always has a reason and can use our trials for His glory. We may not understand the reasons for our predicament at the time, but when impatience hits, instead of grumbling about it, why not stop and pray silently?

Pray for God’s will, His timing, and His grace.

Lord, please help us with our lack of patience.

Help us to trust You more, no matter what.

Don’t Move Ahead Of God

My husband and I talk about how often, when we’ve blindly rushed headlong into making a big decision, it turns out to be wrong every time. On the other hand, when we’ve specifically prayed, waited on God’s timing, what we thought was good for us either rightly fell into place or it didn’t. We know God was with us throughout and we trust His ways are best, even when His answer is No! Perspective and perseverance are essential.

Whether it’s waiting for the right job or trusting God through our illnesses, we should seek His comfort through the valley of frustrations.

The Apostle Paul encouraged believers in the book of Romans to remain firm in their faith.

Faith is living and active. It represents our confidence in God’s grace.

**12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12, ESV.

Keep your sense of humor, and know that the One who created that beautiful sunset outside, also created you. God never makes a mistake.

God created the sunsets

I hope this post has brought you a smile and some encouragement.

God bless you.

# # #

*Sinclair B. Ferguson quotation, public domain and as quoted from Christian quotes.info

**Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Selflessness: Where “Less” Is More

Big ego

“What an ego!”

Do you ever feel that way when you’re flipping TV channels, and you see another celebrity bragging about their reality show?

Specifically, I’m talking about reality shows where foul-mouthed, combative people take each other on in a shout fest. There doesn’t seem to be an ounce of humility in these folks.

People can be so awful to each other, and it’s all displayed right there on TV where kids might see it.

This past week, I heard two separate celebrities talk about how funny it is when they let their young kids curse, even though the kids don’t know what the words mean.

Is it funny?

Backwards-thinking is more like it.

*The world’s smallest package is a man wrapped up in himself.
– Chuck Swindoll, Christian pastor, and educator

The Value Of Selflessness

The people who get my respect are the “real” superstars in my opinion. They are genuine heroes from everyday life.

We hear about their stories sometimes on the news. Their stories of heroism are like sweet music to my ears.

It doesn’t matter how old they are.

Here’s a glimpse of a young heroine, that still brings a few years to my eyes.

It’s refreshing to hear that story again, even though it’s an old one from a few years ago.

Little Savannah is a shining star.

Selflessness: Where “Less” Is More

Have you noticed that when many heroes are interviewed, with all humility, they steer the praise away from themselves and give the glory to God?

I love that!

God providentially knows who the heroes and heroines are in our world. Will you be one of them?

Selflessness: Where less is more

No Greater Love

In John 15:13, Jesus said to His disciples,

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13, KJV, King James Version, public domain.

Agape Love is the highest form of love.

There is no greater example of Agape Love than that of Jesus Christ and His selfless death and Resurrection on the Cross for an undeserving world.

God bless you this week!

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*Chuck Swindoll and A.B. Simpson quotations, as quoted from Christian quotes.info
**Scripture Reference: King James Version, (KJV) Public Domain.

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Singing In My Soul

Have you ever heard a Christian song that’s so good, you can’t seem to get it out of your mind?

Singing in my soulYou may find yourself humming it throughout the day.

I admit it, I constantly have a song in my heart.

I’m not only singing it everywhere, I’m singing in my soul!

Why not?

Share your joy.

Go ahead, grab that hairbrush, use the handle like a microphone, and sing like no one’s watching.

Disclaimer: Someone may be watching.

They might even say you’ve lost your mind.

It’s okay. They probably don’t like rainbows or puppies either.  😉

Singing Along With Zach

When I first heard Zach William’s song, “Old Church Choir,” I just knew I wanted to share it here on my blog.

You may have heard of him. Williams is a Grammy-nominated Christian vocalist, musician, and songwriter.

Here’s “Old Church Choir” from his album, “Chain Breaker.”

Please enjoy.

Love the melody and the uplifting words!

*I’ve got an old church choir singing in my soul
I’ve got a sweet salvation and it’s beautiful
I’ve got a heart overflowing cause I’ve been restored
No there ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy

 

– Zach Williams from the “Chain Breaker” CD

Zach’s Life-Changing Testimony

Zach Williams has a beautiful testimony of God’s grace.

A former rock star, he spent years following a dangerous path, fueled with drugs and alcohol. Through God’s grace and providence, Williams eventually found his way back to God.

He shares some of his life story in this short video.

William’s album “Chain Breaker” has received rave reviews – 4 1/2 stars on Amazon.

You can find his latest cross-country tour information here. http://zachwilliamsmusic.com/

Love and God bless

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*Williams, Zach. “Old Church Choir.” Chain Breaker. Provident, 2017. CD.

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When Life Gets Absurd

Hello, everyone!

Does life get absurd for you sometimes?

Don’t worry. You’re not alone.

At one time or another, things start to zigzag, and we get a little hitch in our get-along.  😉

Maybe a good belly laugh might help you feel better.

Do you love to laugh?

I sure do, especially those moments when something is so funny, that I almost fall off my chair.

when life gets absurd

Amen to some laughter therapy.

Sign me up!

First and foremost, we must remember that Almighty God is in control. Secondly, and for our own sanity, we need to make time to laugh.

Make Time To Laugh

Laughter can equal joy.

Have you laughed yet today?

Let me see if I can help.

Have you ever seen a Tim Hawkins concert in person?

Hawkins is a Christian comedian, and he’s hilarious.

I’m talking laugh-out-loud funny.

My husband and I saw him perform live, and – no kidding – I was laughing so much that my jaws hurt.

I love that Hawkins finds comedy in the most mundane things of life. His humor reminds me a little bit of Seinfeld, except it’s safe for the whole family.

Besides his hilarious view on life, Hawkins is also a talented singer and guitarist and incorporates musical parodies into his act as well.

Just in case he does not appear in your area, I’ve attached a few of his clips below.

This first one is about moms and the things they said to us as kids.

Men and women couldn’t be more different. Whether it’s how we order food or the things we dream about, sometimes it gets hysterical, right?

I think this is one of his funniest skits.

Tim Hawkins plays to sell-out crowds all over the United States. If you get a chance, check out his website to see if his latest tour is coming to your area.

Sending love and the hope that these clips may have brightened your day!

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*Chuck Swindoll quotation, as quoted from Christianquotes.info.

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The Movie The Case For Christ

The Movie, “The Case For Christ.”

Have you seen Pure Flix’s new movie, “The Case For Christ?”

If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend it.

What are you waiting for? 🙂

Go! Go!

Seriously folks, you never know how long movies will last in the theaters, especially good Christian films.

You may remember the title is also a best-selling book written by Lee Strobel.

By the way, Strobel’s book was one of the first I read when I converted to Christianity 20 years ago.

The movie The Case For Christ

It’s an awesome book and, in my humble opinion, the film is just as compelling.

An Intriguing Movie

Who is this Strobel guy anyway and why is his story so appealing?

Lee Strobel is a former award-winning journalist for the Chicago Tribune, among other publications.

He’s also a former atheist.

Whoa, the “A” word.

In the blogging world, atheists are often the same men and women who will pick a fight over any mention of God just for the point of arguing and name-calling.

I love to see how God works in people’s lives, especially former atheists.

Strobel’s early cynicism and eagerness to disprove Christianity was the exact provocation that eventually, in God’s perfect timing, ended up leading the author to Christ.

Strobel is another great example why we need to pray for the atheists in our lives. There is hope for their salvation. (See the beautiful account of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9:1-22.)

A Skeptic’s Skeptic

In the early days of his marriage, Strobel was a skeptic’s skeptic, as far as Christianity was concerned.

He didn’t even want to hear about his wife’s newfound faith.

Strobel tried to avoid all things Christianity, but God is providential and bigger than any man’s resistance to God’s plan for his salvation.

*On November 8, 1981, I realized that my biggest objection to Jesus also had been quieted by the evidence of history. I found myself chuckling at how the tables had been turned. In light of the convincing facts I had learned during my investigation, in the face of this overwhelming avalanche of evidence in the case for Christ, the great irony is this: It would require much more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to trust in Jesus of Nazareth! – Author, Lee Strobel.

I don’t want to ruin the movie or the book for you, so I won’t give out much more information than what I’ve already shared. The book provides a lot more detail than the movie can in a little over an hour long, so it’s worth taking the time to check them both out.

I believe this movie is a must-see, despite what the jaded mainstream critics say.

Bring Kleenex, Just In Case

Is the movie a tearjerker?

For me, it was. (The lady in front of us was also dabbing tears!)

The film’s list of actors includes Mike Vogel, (also appeared in “The Help”), Erika Christensen, and Faye Dunaway.

The movie, “The Case For Christ,” is currently playing in select theaters nationwide.

God bless

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*Strobel, Lee. (1998). The Case For Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Quotation from page 265. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House.

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