direction – Prayers and Paintbrushes

Stuck in “ASSUME” mode

How stressful that email was! I didn’t understand the cryptic words or message and my initial reaction was dread. The thorns of those cactus were prickling my spirit! I felt as if I was being called into the principal’s office and we know that can never be good. I could not imagine one reason I would get a communication so vague with such a seemingly dark shadow attached. I was instantly in stress mode!

As I have lived a lot of life and learned a lot of “life’s lessons”, I knew right away I was assuming… and the worst, at that. So I did some self talk and tried to find logic in the mists of my mind. No good! So I finally did what was the best thing and I shut off my mind and prayed. I laid my concerns at the feet of the Lord.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV

I soon realized I not only needed to be quiet before Him as I gave Him all my “what-ifs” but I needed to be quiet so He could speak to me. I do believe we can hear from our Lord when we ask to hear His voice. I felt Him urge my spirit, ‘Leave this with me.’ Immediately I felt my anxieties begin to ease and the wicked voices that made me imagine the worst, begin to quiet.

Within minutes of this happening I received a call from a dear friend who is also a strong believer in Jesus and I shared my experience with her. We prayed together and, not an hour later, I heard from someone who was able to clarify the cryptic message and yes, I HAD assumed something totally unrelated to reality.

I share this because this kind of challenge has happened so often in my life. Before I trusted Christ as my Savior I was doing life on my own. Something would happen and I would fall into that dark pit believing the worst and be stuck there until reality showed up. As I’ve lived life as a believer in Jesus, I’ve learned not to do that! But sometimes~ well, sometimes we just forget and get caught.

ASK HIM. ASK HIM to breathe His peace over You, to take your concerns and to manage them for you. I trust these words will encourage you when you get stuck in “assume mode”

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

…and one of my favorite “go-to” verses is – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths.” Prov 3:5, 6

When we go it alone, we mess ourselves up, Lord. We need You. Without You we flounder and often find ourselves our own worst enemy. Help ME to remember this lesson today. I pray, in Jesus’ powerful name. AMEN!

Are you an Ocean or a Mountain Person?

Everyone seems to be drawn to one or the other. I suppose there are some of us who are drawn to the desert as well (who would have ever thought), but usually when you take off for parts unknown it is to the beaches or to the high places.

Here are some of my paintings from my Gallery entitled Ocean Breezes

Arizona does have mountains so I share some of these with you as well. I invite you to take a look at some more of my Arizona Dreaming gallery.

Praying for you as you start this new year! Believe good things for your life, step out in faith, trust the Lord and seek after the direction that tugs on your heart.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Finding Purpose in Your Now

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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 ‭43:18-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What a POWERFUL statement the prophet Isaiah made so long ago – Forget the former things – do not dwell on the past. As our Pastor Chad Moore said, we can’t move in any direction except forward. We are only able to LIVE in the present. When we are stuck looking behind us at the “if only’s” or trying to imagine the “what ifs,” we lose sight of what actually IS going on in our lives in the present. And the Lord said He is making a way of renewal and revival for us in this time. So take hold of those words of encouragement and truth and hang on for the ride!

Happy New Year to you who took the time to stop in and connect. Thank you for that gift! And I pray a blessing of renewal over you as you begin this new year. Keep your eyes and your heart open for signs that the Lord is guiding and gifting you. His blessings come in many forms. No one is exempt from His great redeeming love and matchless grace. . .regardless of what you’ve done, where you’ve been, or what’s been done to you.

Take WING in this new month/new year and seek ways you can be blessed to be a blessing to a friend or a stranger, a family member or even a FB member. 😄 Someone needs something you have that likely costs nothing to give that may completely turn their day or even life around. Help us Lord, to be Your hands and feet in this chaotic and often discouraging world. Truth CAN be found in You and Your Word. And that is where I seek my direction.

“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭139:9-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When Life Gets Hard

“God won’t give you more than you can handle…” Odd, I can’t seem to find that verse in the Bible. I’m guessing Job would take exception to that cliche. So would Joseph. Paul certainly did. “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself…” II Corinthians 1:8 Why would God allow him to experience hurt more than he could handle? Read on. “…so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God.” II Corinthians 1:9 Truth? Cancer is more than you can handle. So is infidelity. So is caregiving. So is rejection. So is death and loss and grief and prodigal children and 101 other life struggles. God doesn’t expect YOU to handle it. He expects you to hand it over to HIM. He doesn’t want you relying on your strength, but on His. If we keep walking around thinking “God won’t give me more than I can handle,” we’re setting ourselves up for heavenly disappointment. Good news? He beckons for your burdens, “Cast your cares upon Me…” I Peter 5:7 You will never know relief until you do. For this hard place, I have Jesus! –courageouslivingbooks.com

I take no credit for the powerful words written above. But these words really resonated with me so I saved them. The only credit I could find appears as Courageous Living Books, so I gratefully acknowledge them for this message. When I first read this a few years back I was struck by the many cliches we tell ourselves. The writer of these words referred back to some seriously impressive heroes of the faith to point out that no, we cannot always handle what life throws at us. We were never created to be that self-sufficient. We need Jesus! He is our hope, our Rock and Redeemer. Our hope lies not in ourselves but in the God who is always waiting to carry our burdens and set our feet on solid ground. The Apostle Paul said, ”But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair.” 2 Cor 4: 7, 8. We are the jars of clay, but the power to make it through comes as we reach up to God in prayer seeking His power and His presence to help us through, often one painful step at a time.

I paint a lot of paths, probably because one of my favorite Bible verses (maybe one of yours as well) comes from Proverbs 3:5, 6, ⁵“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Thank you, King Solomon, for your wisdom that resounds through the ages. I may not know what lies in the distant future or even what decisions I may face tomorrow, but I acknowledge the One who knows all things. And it is to Him I entrust the outcome.

Lord, this world is often very hard! We are discouraged at every turn it seems. We truly want to do this life WELL and receive that powerful word from You at the end of our life, ”Well done, good and faithful Servant!” So we acknowledge we struggle and admit we wrestle with fear and uncertainty. We confess we are often faithless — but You, O Lord, are eternally faithful. We have no strength or wisdom in ourselves, but You promise not only wisdom, but your strength and power, if only we’ll ask it of You. So we ASK, Lord! Help us to REMEMBER and to RELY on You when the going gets hard. We can’t do life without You.

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even

youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:28-31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

INTENTIONAL!

This is the word for my life these days. INTENTIONAL. For me, this involves paying attention, living in the moment – and remembering to turn my brain ON! I get so tired of walking into a room to do something and forgetting what I was there for the second I crossed the threshold! Can anyone relate? I often go back where I came from and sit down…for some reason my back side seemed to trigger my memory banks to kick in…Ahh, yes! That’s what I wanted! And then the countless times I leave home without my cell phone which doubles as a wallet – thus, no driver’s license, credit cards OR phone. Thankfully I’m not yet at the place where I get in the car and forget where I’m going~ 😆

As we get older our minds seem to get foggier and the path seems to get rougher. But I choose to battle this senioritis, with the Lord’s help. One way that I stay focused and INTENTIONAL, is by remembering some of God’s promises. There are many Bible verses about seeking WISDOM and I believe WISDOM is valuable here. The verse below is just one of many that is worth remembering:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5

I reasoned that asking the Lord to help me ramp up my brain cells equals seeking wisdom in my book! And He has been faithful. I find I am living with more focus, noticing things I had ignored before. And now my husband has joined me in this Intentional lifestyle and he’s playing along.

I share this because I know I’m not alone in the “forget it the minute I hear it’ group. I seem to remember learning that we only use about 10% of our brain, but that is evidently just one of those myths. Our brains are impressive machines running all the time even when we sleep. Thus, my plan is to call the Lord on His promise to give me wisdom in order that I might spend more time living in the moment each moment of my life. By being intentional!

Some promises from God’s Word to encourage you: An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Proverbs 18:15 * The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! Psalm 111:10 * See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Col 2:8

I plan on sitting down and doing some fall paintings in the next week, as the Lord inspires me. The Lord is the Master Artist and His colors are jaw dropping. I hope you will let me know what you might like to see. Do you have any favorites above? They are all available on my website through Fine Art America. I invite you to stop in – click on the Visit My Website link and pay me a visit. Any comments would be a blessing.