Author Archives: Matthew, Karen, and God

Special moments

I’m a very spontaneous person, I love to surprise my family doing and saying different things. Sometimes my wife will be in the middle of a sentence and I will stop her staring deep into her eyes and tell her, “I love you and couldn’t imagine my life without you.” Or I will just drop what I’m doing and take my family somewhere spur the moment. Every chance that I get especially if I’m feeling down I try to do something spontaneous to lighten the mood and make my family happy as well. Sometimes in the morning I will wake my 8-year-old daughter up very early and we will go outside and play zombie invasion. This is a game we play with squirt guns and nunchucks running around on our 7 acre property zapping all of the bad guys and making forts. This morning I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and around 4:45 decided to go outside and barbecue some chicken for the week. I placed a walkie-talkie in my daughter’s bedroom in the on position and went outside and started talking to her to wake her up. She slipped on a jacket and some Crocs and joined me outside saying,”What are we going to play today Daddy!” I told her that we were just going to be hanging out this morning enjoying each other’s company and the stars seeing as though it was pitch black outside. We grabbed a couple chairs and while the chicken was cooking we talked for a little while then decided to make some early morning s’mores. We laughed and joked and had some heartfelt conversations while enjoying the starlet sky. I even pushed her on the swing for a little bit while we watched the sunrise. I turned to her and said,” You know, today is a brand new start to a brand new day and there’s no telling what the day will hold.” This really touched my heart and intrigued my daughter. Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it’s springs up; do you not perceive it? We only need to worry about the present today and all the gifts that God has placed in our lives. He is an amazing God full of miracles, love and understanding. We have the opportunity to follow him today in all that we say and do. We need to take time and cherish all the little moments that God has given us because tomorrow is not guaranteed. I had a great start this morning being able to spend time with someone that I cherish so deeply. I challenge all of you today take moments out of your day where you would normally be playing a video game or stuck on a computer or doing things by yourself, to go and appreciate something special in your life. If you accept this challenge today then please join me in prayer. Heavenly father thank you so much for yet another beautiful day. Thank you for the opportunity that we have to be able to walk in your footsteps and follow your lead. You have placed so many good things in our life and in our path Lord help us to recognize All these little miracles today. Thank you for everything that you do and say. In Jesus precious name, amen.

You are a gift from God

Good morning dear brothers and sisters it’s time to wake up! Forget about yesterday and tomorrow just focus on today. Keep your eyes on Jesus no matter what you’re doing and no matter what you’re going through. Take heart in knowing that you are beautifully and wonderfully made. God has planted a seed in you and is slowly growing it day by day. Reflect on him and his words only, commune with him in everything you do helping to grow that seed bigger and bigger filling your spiritual needs. Remember that you are extremely special and loved immensely in God’s eyes. He has placed you here for a reason that only He knows and that he will show you on your walk with him. On this journey you will uncover a strength that you never knew you had inside of you, a love that is unconditional, and empathy that is unmatched. Do not be discouraged, a lot of these things take time but day by day we get stronger and better. Do not worry about stumbling or following an exact straight line because we will fall on occasion. When we fall God is waiting there with his arm extended to pull you up out of despair and put you back on his righteous path. God loves you with his whole heart but if you need to hear it from a person today then I will tell you that I love you brothers and sisters and I haven’t even met you but I know that you are an amazing gift from God, and I have faith in you. Have a great day and God bless you in your journey.

What does it mean to lose your life to preserve it?

Have you ever wondered what this verse means?

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Like 17:33

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it.

“Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:16‬ ‭AMP‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1588/rom.6.16.AMP

Whoever loses his life will preserve it.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:23‬ ‭AMP‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1588/rom.6.23.AMP

We are all born in sin. If you do nothing, the wages of sin is death. If you surrender your life to Jesus, you will have eternal life with our savior Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dear God, I surrender my life to You. You can have it all—every thought, action, behavior, and desire. I want You to be glorified through me. So here I am, Lord. Take me, use me, send me, change me, clean me, transform me, love me, and love others through me. Take all that I am, and use it for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I will Fear No Evil!

Psalm. bible/psalm-23-4

Are you going through a dark valley? It may be financial problems, health issues, being a caregiver to someone, broken relationships, or death, the storms of life are many, and the valleys seem so long. Remember, God is with you. He will bring you through the valleys. Call upon Him and trust that He is with you.

My husband always says,

“God will bring us through this, he always has, and He always will.”

May God bless you abundantly!

Are You cleansed in the blood of the Lamb?

Last night, my Bible study teacher brought beautiful purple flowers to share with everyone. When he brings flowers, he separates them, so we each get a few. The bunch of flowers was still wrapped in the cellophane at the end of the study. Then I heard someone say, “ look at the stems of the flowers; they are black with rot.”

In his defense, the teacher said, “I only looked at the beautiful purple flowers. I never looked at the stems.”

Praise God. That’s how God sees us. We are beautiful flowers, precious jewels made in his image. Even though our roots are mired by sin, He still loves us. And calls us to serve him. He cleanses us from the filth of sin. He washes us white as snow. Have you been cleansed by the blood of Jesus? It makes me think of this old hymn that we sang when I was growing up.

🎶Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

🎶When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

🎶Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

Made in God’s image

I used to fight a lot when I was younger due to negative feelings that I had inside that hadn’t been dealt with yet. Fighting felt really good giving me a sense of peace even though it was temporary. I had liked boxing ever since I watched it on TV and thought that I could be a boxer myself. Thinking that I really wanted that in my life because it made me feel good I practiced as much as I could on a heavy bag and on people. An opportunity had presented itself in 2003 at the California’s tough man competition. I trained as hard as I possibly could for this fight and when I showed up there was 2500 people in attendance and 13 fights that were to happen that night. I was very nervous walking through the crowd to the ring and never seen that many people in one place before, it was very intimidating to say the least. Once I got into the ring however I felt a little bit better knowing that I could accomplish something great. I ended up winning by TKO and was exhausted. I gathered up my things from the back room and watch the last couple of fights on the TV and when it was all over started heading through the crowd to the doors. Walking through the crowd people were patting me on the back congratulating me for a job well done but it was like it didn’t phase me at all. Even though I wasn’t following God at the time I felt like I heard him through all those people talking. He was telling me that I no longer needed to fight physical fights and this feeling had rushed over me in agreeance. The next couple of days we’re really strange but I felt this peace and no longer wanted to fulfill my dream of becoming a boxer. It was still hard dealing with people though and whenever I had a disagreement with someone my fists would start to clench but I didn’t really want to hurt anyone. A couple of years later I was reading the book of Genesis and something caught my eye. Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Then I read Matthew 5:38-39 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. This was really difficult to wrap my mind around but took it to heart. I still get upset with people and sometimes get angry but I no longer clench my fist to harm anyone. I couldn’t imagine willingly want to hit someone who’s made in God’s image and how many years I spent doing just that. Thinking about that verse help me with the verses in Matthew on turning the other cheek. It’s hard when you get upset with people who are really mean but those are the people who need God’s love the most. It’s not showing that we are weak,” Which I thought initially,” it’s loving others who are struggling and don’t know how to deal with their anger. If you are struggling with this issue today and need help then I challenge you today to lift it to God to help massage your hardened heart. Heavenly Father thank you for yet another beautiful day. Please forgive us for our sins and trespasses. Lord we lift up to you our hardened hearts today in hopes that you will massage it and soften it so that it will be filled with the love that you have for us. Help us to look past the anger and hatred in others knowing that they are just lost and need love also. In Jesus precious name, Amen!

God supplies our needs!

bible.com/bible/1588/2pe.1.3.AMP

For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Dear God, thank You for giving me everything I need to live a godly life. Because of Your Spirit within me, I can have victory over every addiction, fear, or mistake that tries to hold me back. Thank You for being enough for me. I am so grateful that I get to know You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.