Long Story Short

Painting and Poem by Samarazone

Long Story Short

God created the earth and the seas.

He brought forth Adam then he made Eve.

They messed things up and now we all die.

So He sent Moses to help us see why.

He gave 10 commandments, to all of his people.

They built up churches and threw in a steeple.

They made more rules and called it religion.

God shook his head and knew he'd forgive them.

Then He sent Jesus who lived without sin.

He died on the cross, and now lives again.
Yet, there is one catch, it's a bit of a shift,

You can accept Jesus,  He is your gift.

After you do you'll be known as a Christian.

You won't be perfect, but you'll be forgiven.

A change will take place deep in your spirit.

You'll want the kingdom, it's what you inherit.

You will try to be good, helpful and kind.

People may hate you with God on your mind.

You'll still have free will, and use your own brain.

The choices you make may cause you some pain.

But when your life ends and you stand before God

Jesus will be there and towards Heaven he'll nod.

Where's the Love?

To Believe or Not to Believe

Photo Copyright of Sue Lamos

Used by permission

My friend took this photo while spending time in New York. At first glance, the flower appears to be incorporated into the building, but in reality, it was stuck in the concrete. This picture is an illusion, a depiction of something that is not true.

Many people today have come to believe that the Holy Bible is untrue. When one states this, are they calling the Bible an illusion? When I think of illusion, magic is the first thing that comes to my mind. Some magic is for fun or entertainment purposes,  and is harmless, but the magicians/illusionists in the Bible were ones who gained power from the demonic, told fortunes or made predictions. So I have to wonder if those who claim the Bible is no longer true, are they stating that it is for entertainment purposes or evil?

God's book, The Bible,  provides us with some hard to pronounce names, spanning many generations, and going through various experiences. The connections within are genius.  His book contains wisdom for all the ages, until the end of time. His truth is solid, firm, and unchanging. People's ideas may change, but it doesn't mean God's do. Most invaluable, He gives us the greatest gift we could ever receive as he invites us to accept that his only son, Jesus, who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins; past, present, and future. To accept the gift of Jesus gives us hope that one day we will be with our Father in Heaven. How much better does that sounds than to spend our eternity with the Master Illusionist; Satan.

If you are questioning whether the Bible is outdated, untrue or an illusion, do yourself a favor before making a final decision, ask the One who inspired it for His opinion.

Love on Assignment

Do you have a person in your life who just always seems to yank your chain? You know, that person you try to be nice to, but they are so difficult to be around.

Mean people and easily offended people are hard to be around. No matter what you say they never seem to like you. Some of the ones I know would probably find something wrong with Jesus himself. If you attempt to be happy or pleasant, they seem to have a need to put you down. If you are having a sad day, they accuse you of feeling sorry for yourself. If you ask them questions, they are overly suspicious. If you give them an honest compliment, they think you want something. If you speak of something good in your life, they think you are bragging. There is no end to the contrary responses they will give you for trying to be a kind, caring and well, just a friend.

In John 13:34, NLT,  it states, "So now I am giving you a new commandment. Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. As Christians, we should take this very seriously.

The saying that hurt people, hurt people, is true. Many responses from others come from a place of pain. Instead of letting these people infect our hearts I believe Jesus would want us to pray for them. We could ask God to wrap his loving arms around them, fill them with his love, and give them peace. It's a much better way to handle difficult people than what our natural instincts would have us do.

Love is an assignment God has given to all his people. He never said it would be easy, but as we all know, it's always worth it. 

Passive- Aggressive

If they often lie to you, they may be a Passive- Aggressive.

If they don't keep their promises, they may be a Passive- Aggressive.

If you say you want it, and they make sure you don't get it, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If you say you don't like it, and they do it more often, they may be a Passive Aggressive.

If they don't tell you what they are mad at, but punish you, they may be a Passive -Aggressive.

If everything is always your fault, they may be a Passive- Aggressive.

If they give you the silent treatment, they may be a Passive -Aggressive.

If they look at you with haughty eyes, they may be a Passive -Aggressive.

If they often speak to you in a mean tone, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If they don't mean what they say or say what they mean, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If they are often late or, "forgetful," they may be a Passive -Aggressive.

If they are blaming, and won't take responsibility for their actions, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If they make you out to be the evil person to their family and friends, while portraying themselves as the sweet one or victim, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If the majority of the time they are only nice to you when they want something, they may be a Passive -Aggressive.

If they are making you out to be the crazy one, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If they are easily offended by the trivial, they may be a Passive-Aggressive.

If they accuse you of being demanding, controlling, always putting them down, they may be a Passive -Aggressive.

If you aren't married to your Passive Aggressive, I suggest you run! If you have however taken the marriage vows then, you should realize there is probably nothing you can do to change them. They will never admit they are wrong. They will find ways to blame everything on you and nothing, and I mean nothing, is ever their fault. They will not take any responsibility for the relationship. They do whatever they want to do.

Over the years, you may have found that you can communicate with everyone in your life except the PA.  You may suspect your PA punishes you, but you don't ever have an understanding as to why. That's because they never tell you. They don't have the courage to speak what they want or mean. Instead, they make you suffer when you disappoint them.  Most likely by now you feel exhausted, confused, and broken-hearted.  The PA may have become your obsession. Before you give up or just leave, I have a few suggestions for you to try. I hope you will find these things helpful.

First, you need to refocus. You need to stop obsessing about them. Start thinking about yourself, and what it is you can do for you. You may already get accused by your PA of being self-centered because this is one of the many tactics they use to get at you, so this will be nothing new. Begin to focus on your needs and quit thinking so much about them.

Pray and ask God what it is you can do to move on with your life, to show you what you are good at, and how to restore your confidence. You could even ask Him how you could serve His kingdom.  God wants to be with you and to help you.

Another thing you need to stop doing is trying to fix your relationship with the PA. Yes, you heard me right, give up.  Give up and give it to God. Surrender. He knows what to work on first. Let Him do it.

If your PA gives you the silent treatment, go on with your life, and enjoy it. Don't waste time feeling sorry for yourself because they won't talk to you. Plenty of people out there will. If you don't have anyone else to talk to, then find someone.

I would suggest you keep your conversations to the necessary. Do not let them know anything you want, or don't want, because they will use that against you. If you find you are being punished, trust God to handle them. It was never their right to punish you in the first place. God commands that we love one another. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to punish.

Finally, Speak God's word often. His words are living and powerful. Find his promises in the Bible and say them out loud.  Pray for your PA too, and watch what God will do. He doesn't want either of you living pitifully. Our Lord didn't send his only son, Jesus, to die for you, so that you could live pathetic lives. He desires for you to live great lives, having big impacts on other people while filled with the Holy Spirit. And don't forget the most important thing of all, God loves you so! He will never leave or forsake you.

Blessing or Curse?

Have you ever felt as though you were like Daniel in the lions den? That no matter how hard you try to do things right they just seem to be going wrong?

Perhaps it's during times like these that our faith is truly tested. How much are we relying on God? Have we surrendered?

Christ lived on this earth with so much faith in God He was willing to trust that God's plan was perfect. He allowed himself to be hung on a cross because he believed, he suffered and then he died. He went to the depths of Hell and told Satan that in the future. anyone who accepted his death, as a gift of forgiveness, would be with him in Heaven forever. He then rose again and now waits for us to join him.

We who have accepted Christ have our salvation and we have our faith, but wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have our faith grow? Maybe instead of seeing all that has happened to us as a curse, we could see it as a blessing, an opportunity for our faith to grow and to become closer to being as faithful as Jesus.

Walking in His Word

I have been engaged in many conversations regarding people's beliefs that The Bible must be untrue, is outdated, and is no longer valid.  One major reason I hear this repeated seems to stem from people who believe that God loves everyone, therefore, if he created people gay, he must love them the way they are, and what The Bible states about being gay just can't be true. Therefore if this can't be true, The Bible is not true, and has to be disqualified.

This provokes many questions for me. First, I'd like to know who the specific person is that has proven that people are born gay. What is their name and where is their proof that God created them this way? I know God. I do not know this person who has claimed that people are born gay. How am I to believe an unknown source? Does he have a special book?

Second, Do I think God loves gay people? Of course I do. I think God loves everyone but, God does have rules. He guides us with His Word, the Bible, and even though we may fail, it is in our best interest to try and obey Him. To reject God's Word and worship a god that is only pleasing to us, our desires, and our senses is in essence creating and worshiping an idol god. This shows no respect towards God, as God, but instead, places him closer to the level which we are at; as human. In Proverbs 8:17 NASB it reads; " I love those who love me, and those who diligently seek me find me." We find God in the Bible and we learn about God's character from the Bible. God's Word never changes. People's opinion of God do."This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me with their lips, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" Matthew 15:8,9 ESV

As I walk through this life with my faith it is my hope and prayer that people will Love the Lord thy God with all their heart, soul and mind, and that we will love each other a we love ourselves; just as The Bible says. The Bible is a book of love, not hate. We should never cause harm to anyone because they are gay. We should pray for them just as we would pray for any other. Each one of us, alone, will have to answer to God one day so it's important to do the best we can to follow Him and seek forgiveness when we fall short. The Bible is and always will be the true source for finding out what God wants for us, what all He has given us and the plans He has for us. Many may say that the Bible is outdated and untrue. One day these people are going to have to stand before God and when he asks the question, "Why did you reject my Word?" I wonder what they will say.

Who is your God?

I recently came across this photo and Billy Graham quote and couldn't agree more with what it reads. People have their priorities mixed up. They are putting people before God.

Adolf Hitler said, "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." Unfortunately, the advice from this evil man has become used today and is true. It's very difficult for us Christians to listen to the propaganda that is brainwashing so many. Our hearts break for the lies that are being told and for the people who are being deceived. But this is all no surprise to God. He knows the tactics that Satan will use and the games that he would play. We are all living in a time of spiritual warfare but, fear not for Christ has already conquered Satan.1 John 3:8  NIV.

In the movie ,"The Great Debaters," with Denzel Washington, these words are repeated.
Who is the Judge?
The Judge is God.
Why is He God?
Because he decides who wins or loses, not my opponent.
Who is your opponent?
He does not exist.
Why doesn't he exist?
Because he is the mere dissenting voice of the truth that I speak.

I love this as a Christian. It reminds me of how unremarkable Satan is and how great our God is.

Mother Teresa once wrote the poem, "Anyway," and the last verse reads as follows. "You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway. 

We as Christian's need to remember this.

Clouds

I have become very intrigued with the sky over the last few years and amazed with all the pictures that God has provided me with. I took this photo today from Michigan. Thank you God, I heart you too!

This picture also reminds me of the bible verse, "Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds." NLB  

God, Can you hear me now?

Have you ever prayed from the deepest of desperation you have ever known only to find that God doesn't seem to be listening? Have you ever been brought to the brink of your faith, wondering why God isn't helping?

Not so long ago, I went through an excruciating time in my life.  I prayed that God would come to help me, but he was silent, and I was wondering why he seemed to be gone.  I went through many emotions during this time. I became angry with God, confused by his silence, and wondered what it was that I had done that was so wrong.

Before long, I went back to my bible and searched for God's promises to hear me. These are some of the things that I found out.

Our God is not in a hurry like we are. He already has things worked out. I began to see this as an opportunity for me, a chance to practice some patience. When the time is right we will all see what God has been doing. In Psalms 40:1 it states, "I waited patiently for God to help me;then He listened and hear my cry.TLB

We need to see that our God is bigger than our problems and not the other way around. Crying and whining about our difficulties must seem almost humorous to Him.
Be still and know that I am God.  Psalms 46;10 TLB

We need to learn that God is working on our behalf and He does hears us when we pray. Our attempts at begging and pleading over and over are unnecessary. Take for example when Moses brought the people out of Egypt and Pharaoh's army had them trapped on one side, the Red Sea had them trapped from the other. God already knew what He planned to do. He knew how He was going to save the people.That's why Exodus 14:14 makes sense,  The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still. NIV  


To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1NKJ
This verse describes why it is that God may seem silent during times of desperate prayer. He has His own timing, His own way of helping us, and His ways are absolutely perfect. The next time you pray and feel that God is not listening, just step back and know that He has already worked the problem out and while you are waiting to see your results, thank Him for the opportunity to gain some patience. Thank him for being bigger than your problem and thank Him for being your loving God. If you, like me, don't hear from Him right away, don't let yourself become fearful that God may not chose to help you or that God will be too slow and be too late. I have also held these fears and doubted, but I pushed past them to hold onto my faith and in doing so I have never once been disappointed. I have seen God work in mysterious ways, providing solutions I could have never even thought of, and he always comes though in perfect time. It's an exciting adventure to watch God's work and to see all the glorious things that He can do! Yes, I do believe that God hears me, and you need to believe that he hears you too!

The Benefit Package

These last few years have been very difficult for many people and those looking for a job are certainly no stranger to the benefit package. Everyone wants to have the best they can get. We all need to have insurance to protect our heath and a good retirement plan secures our future, right?

There is another benefit package that we all should be taking advantage of though and it comes from the promises of God in the bible. His promises will get you through the good times and the bad. Did you know that God has promised to never leave you or forsake you? You may have the best boss in the world, but I doubt that they would ever tell you that.

I have come to understand that when I pray, instead of asking or complaining, I thank God for His promises. I thank God for loving me and for giving me His only son, who took away all my sins. I thank God who in John 14:27 says," Peace I leave with you, peace I give unto you. I do not give as the world gives (Praise the Lord!). Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

God wants us to live in His grace, which is His undeserved goodness and kindness. Would you sacrifice your son on the cross for all the people you know? Would you consider them worth it? God loves us so much that He did that for us so He absolutely considers us worth it.

I would challenge you to go about your prayer time for the next week or so giving thanks for the promises of God. I will list a few at the bottom of this writing, but if you would like a specific promise for a certain difficulty then perhaps you can look some up. I believe that it won't take long before you realize what a great benefit package it is that God offers. I pray that you will enjoy all the benefits that you have been promised and live a life that truly very blessed!

I suggest that you begin your prayer something like this," Dear Lord, I thank you for your promise of  _________.


For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord." Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, for the Lord they God is with you wherever you go.   Joshua 1:9

I waited patiently for God to hear me then he listened and heard my cry. Psalms 40:1-3

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:6-7

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should,go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalms 32:8

Spirit in the Sky

I recently took this picture of what I thought was just a beautiful sunset, but when I uploaded it onto my computer I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There in the clouds is the Michigan Mitten, and of course, I live in Michigan, so this was really a hoot for me!

Then today, my husband viewed the photo for the first time and he noticed something else, a face of a girl in the clouds, in the center, right above the trees. He said that she must be our guardian angel.

Is it any wonder that I think God is so cool? Oh, the miraculous things he does for us!

Keep your eyes to the sky and you may be surprised what you will see. Happy Easter!

Hearts and Love

I wonder how much of our lives are spent in an attempt to get others to love us, to accept us, to appreciate us? Do you think it's ten percent, fifty percent; more? If I had a dime for every time time I let someone get to me and take away my feelings of being valued and loved I'd be rich. If I had a dime for every time I allowed myself to become offended I'd have even more.

People talk about loving their families, but I don't know too many families that are very loving. I did not come from a particularly loving family and I certainly did not marry into one. But inside my heart I felt love, and I always seemed to have enough to give out. So this being the case, where did all my love come from?

We tend to associate love with the human heart, don't we? For the most part we believe that hearts are red. Red is also the color of spilled blood. We mostly think of spilled blood when one is hurt or wounded. When one is hurt or wounded is it generally because of an accident or incident, both of which lead us to believe that the spilling of blood is not good. So if all this is true then why do we associate the human heart, with being red, and with love?

There can only be one reason. Because God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us, to shed his red blood in forgiveness of our sins, because He loves us from His very big heart.

If you are not loved by a single soul on this earth, you can always know that God loves you. He fills your heart with His love even if you don't ask for it and refills it as you need it. It doesn't take another person to fill your heart with love. It only takes God and Jesus!

Reasons to love being a Christian

Reasons to Love being a Christian

I love being a Christian because we can believe in what the bible says. It never changes and never will. Because it never changes we can rely on it. If it changed to satisfy us, it would be no more dependable than the daily news or our government. We may not always understand it, but it does have the answer for everything. It shows us the character of God and allows us to decipher His voice from ours, and from Satan's. We may not like what it says, but if that's the case, we are not seeing it from the heart of God's love. God's word always has our best interest at heart.

I love being a Christian because we can know how much God loves us! We can really know this! He loves us so very much even though we're so imperfect. We make so many mistakes. We do so many things wrong. We hold on to so many wrong thoughts. If I was Him I would be disgusted by all the things we have done. But He loves all his children and wants to save us from ourselves. That's why He gave us His son, Jesus. God wants to see us in Heaven! I truly believe that he leaves a whole in our heart that can only be filled up by Him.

I love being a Christian because we can know and love Jesus! He died on the cross-for us! He took all our sins with Him when he died, and He gave us the opportunity to accept his death, as our gift, as our means to get to Heaven. It's the only way to get there. And when we arrive, because we accepted Jesus gift, we will all arrive sin free!

I love being a Christian because God gave us Jesus who understands our human experience. Jesus lived in this world, but was not of this world. Some people didn't like Him, Jesus was tempted, some rejected Him, some betrayed him, some didn't understand Him, some didn't appreciate Him, some were downright cruel to Him, some wanted to see Him dead, some killed Him. Jesus understands what we go through, so I love it that as a Christian, we can all get through this life with Him.

The Holy Spirit! Oh, how I love The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit tells our hearts when we are doing something wrong and it prompts us to do many things right. We as Christians benefit so much by listening for this voice. The Holy Spirit is powerful! The Holy Spirit gives us gifts! The Holy Spirit lifted up Jesus and transported Him up and into Heaven. The Holy Spirit is a powerful friend!

I love being a Christian because God allows bad things to happen so that we can learn good things from every bad situation. This helps strengthen our character. Being a Christian is not for the weak because you will come under Spiritual Warfare with the dark side. For anyone who thinks that only weak people believe in God, they couldn't be more wrong. Satan doesn't come against those who are already his. Satan comes after Christians. We are only weak in that we allow God to aid us in fighting Satan; in this, God becomes our strength. Jesus defeated Satan at the cross! Jesus has already won! Satan had already been conquered! Now, Satan is just a big nuisance!

I love being a Christians because there is so much to know and understand about God that it would take more than just this one lifetime to get it all. Christianity is an exciting journey of learning and growing and becoming better than we were yesterday.

I love being a Christian because God is all about Grace. Grace is God's goodness and kindness, directed at us, as undeserving people. He doesn't want us to live in condemnation. He gave us the 10 commandments to show us that none of us could keep them, on our own strength. He gave us the 10 commandments to show us why we all need Jesus. Jesus was sent to provide us with forgiveness for our sins! Jesus is the only way for us to get into Heaven! It's because of God's grace that we were given Jesus! As Christians we have the abundance of God's Grace everyday and we have the gift of righteousness through Christ blood on the cross.

I love being a Christian because I am living in this world, but I am not of this world. This can be difficult at times. It encompasses everything we encounter in this life. Each of us will have to fight our own strongholds such as addiction, anger, fear, jealousy and offense, but the Trinity is here to help us. It should be our goal to proceed in life with faith, and to become as Christ-like as we possibly can. This makes the life of a Christian exciting!

Sadly, I know many who have given up their walk with God. They felt their prayers weren't being answered during trying times and they lost faith and gave up on Him. But giving up on God is never the answer. It is never okay just to quit! Just because you quit God doesn't mean that he doesn't exist, it only means that you quit! God will see you through your tough times, but you have to keep your faith and your hopes upon Him. Don't blame God if you give up before he chooses to help you. One more day of faith could have made all the difference!

Afterlife

Someone recently posted this on my Facebook wall. At first I felt very offended, then sad for the ones who believe this.

This is hard for me to understand. If there were only a chance, a slim chance, that God exists, and that there is an afterlife, wouldn't it make sense to strive for the best life possible? Isn't this a truly perfect opportunity? Isn't hell on earth enough for them?

Kathy Lee Gifford recently referred to how we will all become dust one day. This is so true. No healthy living plan is going to keep our bodies living on this earth forever.  We are all going to die.

Some people believe at death we will all turn into nothingness. But, just wonder if this is not true. Is it really worth taking a chance on? 

Why is it that some folks put all their eggs in the earth basket, which is profoundly limited? Why wouldn't they strive for the life that lives on forever, and offers them the best of everything?

These and other questions I can never answer. But I believe God has. In His book, he calls them Fools.

Encounters

Each time that I have an encounter with the wind, I'm reminded that it exists.

Each time that I have an encounter with God, I'm grateful that He exists.

Let it be said of us...

Recently, God has put on my heart a concern for what is going on with our relationship with Israel. I truly believe that God wants us to be in support of that small country and for us to help keep it together.

Nowhere in history has a civilization survived and thrived like the land of Israel. In reality it should not even be alive. But God's own hand has protected that land and I believe he wants us to help protect it too.

I do not believe in coincidences. I believe that coincidences can often lead us to a truth. In saying that, God has put upon my heart that Jerusalem contains in it's center, the letters USA for a reason. I believe it is our responsibility to help keep that small country together. I pray that we will do the right thing and I hope you'll pray with me too.

For Crying Out Loud!

I woke up early one morning and all I felt was pain.
I looked outside for sunshine, but all I saw was rain.
I grabbed by navy checkbook and sat to pay some bills.
There wasn't any money and my life just felt like hell.

I screamed for God to help me, but I heard not a sound.
"You don't care about me! You're nowhere to be found!
Then lightning struck a tree;I watched it catch on fire.
I felt God was angry; my thoughts had gone haywire.

I stayed real still and waited, to see what he would do.
Then He spoke unto my heart and said,"Yes, I do, love you!"
He said that we can chose, to use our better words.
Nowhere can be now here, and prayers are always heard.

Can your Heaven Wait?

Photos By: Ben Teunissen

My son recently took these pictures while flying above the clouds. This view especially touched me because it lends to the promise of the beauty that awaits us in Heaven.

Heaven is the gift that God made available to us all. He gave us his only son, Jesus Christ, and when he died upon the cross, he took with him each and every one of our sins. His death was an extreme payment for all we have done wrong and all we will do wrong in the future.

None of us can be perfect, no matter what we do or how hard we try. God knew this. So he provided us with a way out.

Will you take the Jesus way? Will you accept Christ's death on the cross as payment for your sins? The choice is yours; you have to make it.

I hope to see you all one day in Heaven.

Autumn in Michigan

Photo by Brent Nollar

Aristotle's Law of noncontradiction states that," One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not at the same respect and time." But, this is how I experience the season of Autumn here in Michigan.

For me, the fall season is all about contradictions. It begins by providing relief from the summer heat, but I don't need that kind of relief. I much prefer the comfort of warmer weather. Soon, the trees begin changing with colorful leaves, but I would rather change colors by way of paint, and prefer to look outdoors to see shades of green. Then the low, cumulus clouds begin to hide our beautiful sunshine and nature will become stripped down to her feet.

For many reasons, I associate God with our Autumns because he Is and can seem as though he's Not, all at the same time. I always know that God is with me, but sometimes it feels like he is not. Many times I don't appreciate his reasons for change, but I find that if I wait, and I am patient as I go through it, that God brings about a new season. And my favorite season happens to be Spring.