Author Archives: Matthew, Karen, and God

I have been having a lot of trouble lately with quick anger due to others while driving which isn’t like me. I usually let things roll off my chest when driving. Other people always look so ridiculous when they are throwing a fit in their cars and I’m usually the one smiling and waving mouthing the words, ” I’m sorry,” even when I’m not at fault. A long time ago I was the one cussing everyone but changed once my journey began with God. Not sure if it was the horde of drivers going off to their vacation destinations on the 4th of July holiday but it really got to me. I’ve been resorting to instant anger then immediately letting the curse words fly! I couldn’t believe how frustrated I’ve been instead of letting the Holy Spirit lead my voice and actions. The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning of a scripture that should be read every morning to help me stay on track. Proverbs 26:11 as a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. If we’re not in prayer and reading through our scriptures and asking God to help us curb our attitudes each day then we start falling short on things like this. It’s a constant reminder to myself that I cannot let anger control my life and be walking with God, it’s either one or the other. I challenge you today to avoid the vomit that’s in your life and if you’d like to do so then please join me in prayer. Dear heavenly father thank you for yet another beautiful day. Thank you for the opportunity that we have to be better than we were the day before and realize all of our shortcomings and bring them to you in prayer. Help us to be slow to anger today and slow to actions. Giving us patience to trust in you. In Jesus precious name amen.

I know you! I know that you are feeling bogged down so much so that you want to cry yourself to sleep. Feeling as though you can’t take another step. The amount of stress that you place on your shoulders is so overbearing that your knees are about to buckle. You don’t want to tell people, “NO”, because others are counting on you to be the strong one. So you do and do until there isn’t any room left for you and your basic needs. This causes you to worry, stress, and fill your mind with doubt which is wear the devil wants you. I know this person because that person is me. Please don’t stress because there’s a way out and He’s closer than you know. God is with us in every situation and in every moment. Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with You; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I know that in my case I pile too much on my shoulders, God never does. Imagine if we came to God with prayer asking him what we should do? Do you think we’d be burdened down as we are at this very moment? Philippians 4:4-7 rejoice in the lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus. We are to come to Jesus with all of our problems, all of our worries, stresses and fears laying them at his feet and asking him to take control of our day. Asking what He wants us to do and not what we feel obliged to do for others, because his plan is way better than any plan we can lay out for ourselves. So if you are feeling extremely frustrated today and overwhelmed and I want you to remember this scripture. Matthew 11: 28-30 ” Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble and heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This is a beautiful piece of scripture! It reminds us that no matter where we are or what we’re thinking about we can always trade our burdens with His. I challenge you today to unload your shoulders giving you lighter feet and ease in your mind. Join me in prayer this morning. Dear heavenly father thank you so much for yet another beautiful day. We ask and pray that you organize our day for us showing us what to do and when to do it that way we are not taking on too much for ourselves and others. Help us to look to you in any and all situations for guidance and understanding. We give you all of our worries, stresses, and fears, so that we can better serve you. Thank you for always being with us, in us, and around us, and for always answering our prayers. In Jesus precious name, Amen!

Luke 10:38-42 as Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” ” Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered,” you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” I love this brief story only because it plainly tells us what we should be doing. Here Martha is in the kitchen piling on way too much stuff for herself to complete. Mary on the other hand is sitting at Jesus’s feet absorbing everything he has to offer at that moment. How many times a day do we put our focus on the world instead of Jesus. Getting on social media every couple minutes or every hour to check our social status. Going to work and creating too many jobs for us to do and complete when we could be putting our day in God’s hands. Sometimes we even have problems saying no to people when they ask for things. This can be a challenge also because we want to help others. But even Jesus throughout his journey here on Earth took multiple times throughout the day to have alone time with God to fully understand what God wanted from him and what he wanted him to do. Without our spiritual connection to God then what are we doing in our life. The answer is whatever we want to do and not God. I would like to add that usually all of these entries are things that are going on in my life also. I have to constantly do a check on myself and make sure that I’m doing the right thing. I try as hard as I can to pray as much as I can but I do fall short most of the time. It takes the need and want to be with God and have him leading us to make us stronger in our faith. Constantly reminding ourselves that we need to check in and make sure that we’re doing what God asks us to do and not what we want to do. We are only on this Earth for a little while so paying attention to details in our walk with God is super important and something I need to work harder on. I challenge you today to be with God as much as possible. Be prayerful and patient taking the time out to be still and listen. If you would like this in your life today then please join me in prayer. Heavenly Father thank you so much for yet another beautiful day. Thank you that we have the opportunity to take the breath of life and go out to do the things you have set out for us to do. Help to lead us and guide us today in our journey and our walk with you. Show us where to go, what to do, who we can help, and who can help us. We know that you protect us each and every day and you encourage us to have more faith in you. Thank you for all the help each and every day. Thank you for being with us, in us, and around us. In Jesus mighty name amen.

Yesterday I had gotten off work early in the morning and couldn’t wait to get home. My friend and landlord is in his mid 80s and was in need of help even though he would never ask for it. We all live on a seven acre ranch and the weeds can get out of hand. I hadn’t seen him outside for a while cutting his grass and weeds because his lawn mower was broken so I decided to use mine. Luckily I saw him before I started and he told me that he had fixed his finally and it was ready to go he just hadn’t had time to get out there and do it. Plus I believe that the last 7 Days of over 100° weather hasn’t helped him either. So I jump on his lawn mower and took my time because the grass and weeds are almost 18 in high. As I finished the main part which was the heavier part I decided to jump over to where all of his fruit trees are. As I started driving around the trees I heard metal bumping against the bottom of the lawn mower so I drove it over to a shady spot so that I could check it out. Joe my landlord is really good at mechanicking so I called him over to help me take a look at it. I am a bull with natural brute strength so I grabbed the bottom of the ride on lawn mower and turned it over on its side and held it up while Joe investigated the problem. Even though I could hold this in position all day Joe asked me to put it down. I went over and grabbed a jack stand while he went and grabbed some tools. I picked up the machine again and Joe placed the jack stand underneath. Apparently it wasn’t in a good spot but didn’t notice until Joe was underneath trying to fix what was wrong with it. I turned away only for a second and Joe’s elbow had hit the jack stand kicking it out from underneath and the lawn mower had started to fall! I had just turned my eyes back toward him as it did this and was able to catch it with one arm! I told Joe to get out from underneath and the look on his face was solid fear. After he got out from underneath he asked me if I was okay I placed the machine on the ground and I had a large mark on my arm but nothing bad. Everything was okay so I went and grabbed some blocks and put those underneath the tires which helped a lot more. After a couple of laughs and a little bit of work we ended up fixing the mower. I told him that we should go into business together I would lift all the equipment and he could fix it, he laughed at me and just shook his head. I jumped back on to the lawn mower and worked a couple more hours before finishing up. I was so happy because this property is so large and it takes a lot to keep it up. I get so busy with work sometimes that I don’t get a chance to help out with different things and I love helping people. It brought joy to my heart that I was able to make him laugh and be able to fix his machine. I got to thinking about it and if I hadn’t have used the machine Joe would have ended up using it and breaking it and I probably would have been at work not able to help him fix it. I asked God to place someone in my path that needs help each and every day and I praise him at the end of the day when I’m able to help someone out. I look for any opportunity to be able to help someone in this life, not only does it help them but it encourages my journey and my walk with God as well. We ask God for help quite often but do we look for a chance to help others? Romans 12:10 be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. It can be something as small as telling a joke or listening to someone, even sharing your lunch. I tell you the joys of helping others is beyond comprehension and it feeds your soul. I challenge you today to make a difference in someone’s life. Ask God to place that special person in your path today. Do not be discouraged if you feel as though you hadn’t helped anyone. Sometimes doing our work to the best of our ability can help someone else who is watching you and you wouldn’t even know it. If you would like to start implementing this into your life and please join me in prayer. Dear heavenly father thank you so much for yet another beautiful day. Thank you for the ability that we have to be able to get up and go out and do the things you have set out for us to do. We ask you to open up our hearts as wide as you can Lord so that we can go out and love others. Please place a special person in our life today that needs our help. Give us a strength to be able to help that person whether it be physically mentally or spiritually. In Jesus precious name amen.

God loves us and wants us to walk and talk with him daily. You will never hear God say, “Not now, I’m too busy,” or “What do you want now?” or even “ I’m on vacation, can I call you back.” God is available to us 24/7. You can talk as long as you want about any topic you must share with Him. He already knows our circumstances. God sees and knows all things but looks forward to communing with you daily. What would God say? May be this 👇

Dear child of mine,

Thank you for coming to me with all of your struggles and difficulties. I also want to thank you for coming to me with all of your praises. I know that you have been going through hard times. Persevere and never give up; things will be better. It may feel as though I am not with you every second through your struggles. I assure you I am always with you. I know in my heart that you have it in you, as a great disciple, to overcome and endure in my name’s sake. Continue to fight these battles, lifting your problems to me, and I promise you I will expand your knowledge of me, give you patience, love, and wisdom with understanding, making you a stronger Christian.

Love you with everlasting love,

God

Over the years things have been said about Christians that have really been bothering me and I’d like to clear the air. When we go to church what are we looking for, “God”, and we are looking for Him because we are spiritually sick, wounded and lost. Taking the first step through those double doors can be nerve racking, first off you may not know anybody there and maybe not even used to being around people all that much, so the thought of having to introduce yourself and meet new people can be a challenge in itself. Giving yourself over to God is another challenge also, letting go and trusting that someone else is going to have control over your life is very hard for a lot of us. In this blog I am speaking to new Christians, existing Christians, and people that aren’t in church at all. I have said this in quite a few of my other entries but no one is perfect and no one should be expecting others to be either especially Christians. Romans 3:10 as it is written:” There is no one righteous, not even one;. So that being said we should not be judging others since we are not perfect either. It can be hard at times but we need to forgive people for their sins and trespasses knowing that we all make mistakes. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you. There’s a huge misconception about how we are supposed to present ourselves before we walk through the church doors and this really needs to be said. I hope that all the readers out there take this to heart. YOU ARE NOT TO BE PERFECT BEFORE YOU WALK THROUGH THOSE CHURCH DOORS!!!!! We are all seeking God whether we know it or not, it’s like God has a homing beacon in his pocket and all of our lives we are meant to find him. Most of us don’t even know that we needed to search for God and just stumble upon Him. Some of us may have heard about him and want to see what all the hubbub is about. But the majority of us search for God because we know that our lives are unmanageable, we’re lost in drugs, alcohol, gambling, sadness, depression, spiritually broken, and not having any hope. We want something better in our lives than our current situation. Remember this, IF WE WERE PERFECT WE WOULD NOT NEED GOD IN OUR LIVES! And since we just established that no one is perfect then that means we all need God in our lives. We are searching for God because he is the great physician. Mark 2:15-17 When Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ” Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them,” It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” So basically what Jesus is telling them is that you don’t have to be perfect to come to him. He is going to meet you where you are in whatever condition you are in so long as you’re willing to open your heart to Him. The Bible is absolutely full of scripture like these. If you were looking for a church and the pastor or some of the congregation tells you any different than what I have written then you may want to look for a different Church. Even after we start our journey with God we will continue to make mistakes. There are a couple people that are apostles and just regular disciples that walked with God and made mistakes after they gave themselves over to him. Peter was one of the apostles of Jesus and had denied Jesus three times after he had been walking with him for so long. Jesus was then crucified and Peter became one of the stronger apostles after realizing his failures and shortcomings. He was actually the first apostle to produce a miracle. Acts 3:1-10 one day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer- at 3:00 in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the Temple gate called beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said,” silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the Temple gate called beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. So what I’m trying to tell you is that even after we start our journey with God we are going to stumble and we are going to make mistakes, but it’s up to us to pray and ask for forgiveness which God freely gives and continue on our journey with him. Please join me in prayer this morning for a little bit of strength. I would like to challenge you to walk through those Church doors after this prayer or if you were at church and were discouraged at what someone said please give it another shot. Dear heavenly father thank you so much for being there for us each and every day even when we don’t fully know you we can still come to you in prayer no matter where we are in life. Help us to find you Lord, help us to notice you in our surroundings. Help to soften our hardened hearts from all that has happened in this world. Hold us like only you can Lord we are sick and in need of your guidance. Please pick us up out of the dirt and embrace us and hold us comforting us like only you can. Help us to know you more and everything that we do and see and say. In Jesus precious name, amen!

How do we talk to people? Are we arrogant and stuck up? Are we discouraging and damning? Are we bossy and controlling, passive-aggressive, or just plain rude? I don’t know about you, but I can be all these on any given day if I choose to be. I don’t always pray that I have the best attitude, but I do pray that the Holy Spirit would use me as his Temple speaking through me to people when I come in contact with them. It helps to build people up and encourage them in this life.

I also ask God for good listening skills, like listening and pausing before I speak. When I stop and think about what’s being said, I have found instead of just shooting things out of my mouth; the conversations usually turn out very well. I am very quick-witted and love jokes, but not everybody does, and most people don’t understand my humor. It’s like if you brought a 15-year-old to a grown-up party. Proverbs 16:23-33 the hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction. Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end leads to death. The appetite of laborers work for them, they’re hunger drives them on. Scoundrels plot evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire. The perverse stir up dissension and gossips separate close friends. The violent entice their neighbors and lead them down a path that is not good. Those who wink with their eye are plotting perversity, those who pursue their lips are bent on evil. Gray hair is a crown of splendor it is attained in the way of righteousness. Better a patient person than a warrior, those with self-control then those who take a city. The lot is cast into the lap but it’s every decision is from the Lord.” If you would like to curb the way that we speak then please join me in prayer this morning. Dear Heavenly Father please forgive us for any of our sins and trespasses. We lay our worries, stresses, fears, and struggles at your feet. Lord, we would like to have your Holy Spirit dwelling in us, using us as your temple. Please help us listen and pause before we speak, and give us the words to encourage and inspire others. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Wouldn’t it be tragic if a disaster was declared and the only way to be safe was to get on a ship at a specific time to take you to safety? What if, because of your unbelief, you missed the ship? Maybe you thought it would be too difficult or painful . Would you be willing to do whatever it took to be there even as the ship pulled away?

There was no catastrophe on why we needed to be on the ship. We had planned a cruise to Alaska long before we knew my husband would have a total knee replacement. He dropped me off on the dock with our luggage as he went to park our car. We had plenty of time, so I was not concerned. Gary was going to flag down a cab to bring him back to the port. Time flew by, and Gary had not returned. He did not have his phone, so I could not call him. Was he mugged? Did he have a wreck? What happened to my husband? About that time, I heard over the loudspeaker that we needed to board the ship. It was pulling out to sea in 20 minutes. Gary had been gone at least an hour.

I told my situation to the lady who announced that the ship would be leaving. Gary was nowhere in sight. She told me that I needed to board soon. I responded with fear, “ I can’t leave my husband behind.” She said we will be leaving in ten minutes. They told everyone they had to board. I looked up, my husband was far away but I could see him limping as he came down a steep street to the port. I ran to the porter yelling, “ there is my husband. He is coming.” I ran over and showed Gary’s passport to the lady as she smiled and checked him in. They started taking up the ramp as he was walking up the plank. He was able to jump on with help from the crew. Everyone was clapping and celebrating that he had made it.

It reminds me of our spiritual walk with God. We will have pain, suffering, and trials but never give up. God is our help in times of weakness. He will give us the strength to overcome anything that comes our way. “Because of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”

2 Peter 1:5-7 NLT

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 24:13 NLT

psalm.bible/psalm-113-3

www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/10864

A friend sent me this Bible plan this morning. As I read the devotional it made me think 🤔.

What do I value the most in my life? What do I spend most of my time doing? What do I spend most of my money on?

I challenge you to join me in examining your heart and genuinely discover if God is first in your life. Is something or someone else on the throne that belongs to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Dear Heavenly Father, We humbly come before you today to examine our life. We do not want to deceive ourselves. Open our spiritual eyes to see if you and only you are first in our life. Please help us to knock down anything that we have put above you. Father, forgive us. We love, worship, and praise you. I ask this all in Jesus’ name, Amen