The Game of Life

The Game of Life

If you’ve ever attended a Little League baseball game, you’ve heard the parents and the coaches encouraging their sons and daughters with shouts of, “Attaway to go! You can do it! Show ‘em your stuff! Come on now!

Hasn’t God, our Father, encouraged us in our game of life with His promises and love? “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.” “You’re more than a conqueror.” “Fear not, I am with you.” “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” “With God all things are possible.”

We know we have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on, but I believe our Heavenly Father is also saying, “That’s my boy! That’s my girl. You can do it.” If He knows when even a sparrow falls, and how many hairs are on our head, don’t you think He cares about our every challenge? Next time you face a hard decision or an onerous task in the game of life, think of Jesus who endured so much shame and pain for the joy set before Him. His joy is us—our salvation, our victories, our lives.

So let us run our race with patience, without faltering, or whining for all of Heaven is cheering us on. “Come on, Katy! Come on Brian! Come on Janet! Tom! Brandon! Terry! You can do it! Don’t give up. Don’t quit now. You’re almost here. You’re my girl. You’re my boy.

And to Him be all the glory for a life well-lived and a race well-run

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13 NKJV)

How's Your Love Life?

How’s Your Love Life? I’m talking about your love life with your Bridegroom Jesus. Has the fire gone out? Are you just saying the right words, but there’s no passion behind them? Maybe you’re having a dry spell where there is no enthusiasm or joy. Or maybe you’d just like to draw closer to Him, to share a greater intimacy. At various times I’ve been in all those places.

  I’d like to recommend a remedy that has worked wonders for me—Love Letters to Jesus. If you’ve ever been separated from the one you love for any period of time, you’ve probably written love letters. They’re special. A text message, phone call, or e-mail is not the same. There’s something about putting your sentiments into words on paper that etches them in your memory, and theirs. I kept my husband’s letters from Japan in a box in a trunk for many years.

Since you’re betrothed to Jesus, your Bridegroom, wouldn’t you like to tell him how much you love him via a love letter? When I began to write love letters to him, the strangest thing happened. I began to love him more. I felt closer to him than ever before. I sensed his pleasure and love for me. Writing to him became the high point of my morning devotions. I couldn’t wait to start expressing my love and appreciation for all he has done for me. Sometimes he replies, and I write his thoughts into the letter, too. You don’t have to write anything fancy. This is just heart-to-heart communication with Jesus.

Below is a sample, one of the first Love Letters I wrote back in October, 2011:

Jesus, dear Jesus,

I am excited about writing a daily love letter to you. I love to praise you and tell you how wonderful you are. This gives me an opportunity to express my praise, thanks, and love and to write about the many little surprises you bless me with each day. Just as my son-in-law surprised my daughter with some leopard print booties trimmed in hot pink the other day, I get little (and big) surprises from you. By writing a love letter, I can express my thankfulness and appreciation for all you do for me. I want to bless you because you bless me.
I love you.

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This Love Letter tells of one of his early morning surprises:

Dear Jesus,

This morning I opened the door and stepped outside to see what you, the love of my life, had prepared for me while I slept. There it was—a newly minted morning, fresh and crisp in the early dawn. You had spattered the lawn with millions of sparkling jewels. The cardinal called a musical cher-up, cher-up while a gentle breeze brushed my cheek like a kiss from heaven. My heart swelled with joy. What an extravagant, princely Lover you are. Your gifts are priceless, precious beyond measure. I delight in your love.
Thank You, thank You, thank You!

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This Love Letter concerns Glory House, a women’s rehab program I helped establish:

Emanuel, my dear Emanuel,

What a precious promise is in your name—God with me. I can hardly fathom the thought that you want to be with me. It makes me feel special, honored, and so humble. Well, my darling Emanuel, I want to be with you, too. I’m committing this day wholly to you. I’m teaching the final class on Christian Character Traits to the residents of Glory House today. I pray you will help them, and me, develop a more Christ-like character. We want to be more like you in all we do, and we definitely need your help. Thank you for blessing Glory House and enabling it to continue all these years. It’s been a beacon of light to many people. May their lives bring you glory now and forever.
You are so wonderful!

Is Stretching Biblical?

STRETCHING
Did you know stretching is biblical? Isaiah 54:2 says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.”
Both Peter and Paul refer to our earthly body as a tent.* So if I think of my body as a tent, then my paraphrase of Isaiah 54:2 would be: “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch out the muscles of your body; do not spare; lengthen your hamstrings, and strengthen your backbone.”
Upon awakening, while lingering over those last few scenes of my dreams, I begin stretching. Easy stretching pulls the kinks out of my muscles; it activates my organs; and it engages my mind. I have made stretching into a little routine I do every morning, well, almost every morning.
If you’d like to try it:
First, stretch one leg toward the end of the bed, then the other. Repeat a few times, carefully. You don’t want to cause a muscle cramp. Next, point and flex your feet and rotate your ankles.
Then sit up in bed, and bring one arm straight across your body while supporting it with the other arm. Gently stretch until you feel the pull across your back. Do the same with the other arm, repeating a time or two. While sitting upright, slowly turn your head and look over your shoulder, first one side and then the other. I like to roll my eyes at the same time. Since I wear glasses, I always turn my head to look sideways, so I figure my eyes need a little exercise, too. Now it’s time to exercise your face. “A, E,I,O,U,X”, I say this several times with vigorous exaggeration, so that I am working my facial muscles. If you decide to try it, you may want to wait until you’re by yourself.
Next, take a few deep breaths. That clears the stale air from your lungs and oxygenates your brain. The last thing I do before getting out of bed is to lean forward and try to touch my toes. This gives the backbone a good stretch. Did you ever watch a cat stretch their back after taking a nap? They do it slowly and usually give a big yawn at the same time.
Your tent is almost ready to resume its functions for the day. Sitting on the side of the bed, try to touch your elbows together behind your back. You can’t, but it gives the chest muscles a good stretch. Stand up and reach for the ceiling with first one arm, then the other, and taking another deep breath, start walking. It’s a new day; “the day that the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)

*“Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.” (2 Pet. 1:13-14 NKJV)
*“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Cor. 5:1 NKJV)

The Importance of Spit

The Importance of Spit

Scripture from I Cor. 12: 21 NKJV “And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you.”

Read I Corinthians 12:14-31

This morning I woke up with my upper lip stuck to my teeth, the front half of my tongue was dry and numb, and the inside of my mouth was so dry you could have struck a match on it. It happens to me frequently because as soon as I go to sleep my mouth flies open. (OK, I snore.) Usually after a few tries I get my tongue to working, lick my teeth to unstick my lip, and lick the inside of my mouth, but this all depends on how much spit I can generate.

It got me to thinking about the importance of spit. You know the Bible talks about the importance of each member of the body, “the eye can’t say to the hand I don’t need you,” and so on, but did you ever think about the importance of spit? If you don’t have spit, you can’t get your food moist enough to swallow. I don’t know about you, but eating is pretty important to me. Without spit your tongue would clave to the roof of your mouth, and you couldn’t talk. Talking is also pretty important to me.

I looked up spit on the internet and found out it is generated by the salivary glands, and there are three major ones and a bunch of minor ones in most folk’s mouths. So next time you’re having a hard time trying to find something to be thankful for, how about thanking the Lord for good old spit. 

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, How thankful I am you made all the parts of the body to work together. May we all support each other, because we are all important to one another─and to You.  Amen!

Love Letter to Jesus

I hadn't met my husband when he was in service the first time, but when he was called back into the Navy for the Korean War, we wrote letters to each other almost every day. It was the only way we had to communicate and to keep our love glowing. For years I kept his letters in a trunk because they were so dear to me.

Since Valentine Day is fast approaching, I wanted to share with you a love letter to Jesus. I've been writing letters to Him for several months. Through my letters He has become more real to me. I have drawn closer to Him than I ever dreamed possible. I invite you to express your love by writing a letter to Him. It will bless Him and you, too. There's something about putting it in writing that focuses your thoughts and attention like nothing else.



O Jesus, precious One,

Before I even got out of bed this morning, I began writing to you in my thoughts. You are the Light of my life.  Daily, I walk in the light of your presence. I see your light in others and we are drawn to each other. We find fellowship together in the light of your love. You are de-light-full, and I love you dearly. I’m so glad you love me with an unchanging love. I don’t have to work to please you. How I look doesn’t matter. Your love is a steady flame, a warm fire, and I bask in its glow. Just to sit in your presence is a treat. It’s comfortable, but also refreshing and rewarding. You daily load me with benefits. How fortunate and blessed I am to know you, my King and my Lord.

Yours always,

Katy

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. I John 4:16 NLT

Resolutions

Resolutions

Have you made any resolutions for 2012? I haven’t. At least not any I have put in writing. So I invite you, along with me, to make a few. After all you can’t hit the basket if you don’t aim for it. My aim this year is to get published. For two years I enjoyed writing a column for the Ready Writer, a publication of the Fellowship of Christian Writers in Tulsa. It made me write and it was published! I like to write because then I have to organize my thoughts. Otherwise, all those vague ideas, memories, and facts making little grooves in the old gray matter just keep rambling around up there, but when I sit down to the computer and begin to write. Voila! They get organized and one idea leads to another. I guess that’s the right brain taking over and being creative.

 What are my writing goals for 2012? I would like to publish 5 devotionals, plus a series of articles for the Victory Newspaper. I want to post at least 24 blogs on Salt and Light, maybe more. I’d like to write one per week, however, 52 sounds a bit daunting.

Last year I talked to Jim Stovall about how he and his wife set their goals. Jim is the creator of the Narrative Television Network (NTN) which offers programs for the blind and visually impaired. He is a prolific author having written The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life, a follow-up, and The Lamp. He has two movies, The Ultimate Gift and A Christmas Snow, made from his books and has 8 million books in print. His wife Crystal is also a writer. He told me they set aside 10-12 days during the holidays to review the past year and to make plans for the New Year.

I’ve shared some of my writing goals for2012, but there are other areas of life where we can set goals e.g. spiritual, financial, educational, and so on. I write my goals on an index card and put it on the bathroom mirror. There’s something about seeing them in black and white that makes them concrete. I got the idea from a friend who wrote each goal on a separate index card and carried them in her purse. She would read over them often. She said it helped her stay focused. She went from a size 14, her goal, to a size 10. That certainly encouraged me to stay focused on my goals!

Send me some of your goals for 2012. We can encourage each other.

It's a First

Well, I did it! I just dived into Blogland. I've been feeling the urge for some time, but finally got the go ahead from my friend, Emanuel. I asked for a confirmation and received encouragement and a bit of prophecy at church last week that it would be an adventure. How exciting! I love adventures. To me an adventure means exploring unknown territory. Writing a weekly, or maybe even a bi-weekly blog is going to be a new experience. So dear friends and readers, please bear with me while I get started. Who knows where the Holy Spirit will lead us?


Why the title Salt and Light? Salt, good old NaCl, is a simple compound with multiple uses. Among other things it's used for seasoning, for preserving, and for healing, too. (Did you ever gargle with salt water? It works.) I remember reading somewhere that the Roman soldiers were even paid in salt or given money to buy salt, and that is how the word salary was derived.


Light comes from the Light of the World, Jesus. Did you know that God said, "Let there be light." and there was light, (Gen.1:3 NKJV)  before He created the sun and the moon on the 4th day? So who or what was the Light? The first chapter of John gives us some insight into this mystery in verses 3 and 4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John  1:3-4 NKJV) Comprehend is also translated overcome or understand in some versions, if that helps make it clearer.


Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? In verse 14 He continues, "You are the light of the world." and He concludes in verse16, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."


So that is why I called this blog Salt and Light. It is my hope that this blog will both enhance the flavor of our lives and be a lamp lighting the path of all who read it.


The following is a devotional from my book, For His Glory:

Orderliness

Read Genesis 1

“So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” 

Psalm 90:12 KJV

Following my retirement I felt like I was drifting until I made a schedule for the weekly household chores and then a daily list of to-do‘s. As a goal-oriented person, having a schedule promoted orderliness and gave me a pleasant feeling of accomplishment. I think it is because God created an orderly world that operates on a timetable.

In the beginning the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep when the Spirit of God began to move to bring order. Light was divided from darkness, boundaries were set for the waters and dry land appeared. Each day the Lord worked, then He examined His work and saw that it was good. The next day He began again.

It’s a good program for us to follow. Work in day-tight compartments, rest, then tackle the next day’s work. “Sufficient unto the day is the “work” thereof” to paraphrase Matthew 6:34 KJV.

　

Thought for the Day: No matter our time or place in life, there is still work to be done.

Prayer: Dear Father God, Bless the work of my hands. May all be done for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen


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