(August 20, 2024) Mama Lava shares some thoughts… and asks some questions…
Variety… the quality or state of being different or diverse; the absence of uniformity or monotony.
How do you, dear reader, feel about variety? Is it the spice of life? Or is it overrated?
When my husband Michael and I took a short road trip last weekend, I couldn’t help but notice the cars around us throughout the day. They lacked character. Why? So many were all the same colour!
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(August 17, 2024) Wayne Swift again calls it as it is…
Focus—
Now that’s a word meaning ‘the main or central point of something, especially of interest or attention.’
Did you ever realise that your salvation depended on Jesus’ focused resolution to suffer the cross and all that that entailed? That before Christ even went to the cross He had to focus on His commitment to the task ahead.
Jesus’ Origins
It’s amazing really that Almighty God had made the incredible decision to come to this world in human form as Jesus Christ for our sakes!
(August 14, 2024) Norman and Margaret Moss share another precious meditation…
Through the years we’ve been blessed with good hearing.
Recently I (Norman) have noticed that my friends have a tendency to mutter and this led me to experiment with a redundant hearing aid belonging to someone else. I was surprised to find that wearing this device attracted a number of song birds to sing beautifully outside my window.
I recalled the old story of the elderly lady who had just been fitted with a hearing aid. She returned to report to the audiologist.
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(August 08, 2024) Carol Round encourages us to make wise choices…
The choices I made sometimes led me down the wrong path. It was like tripping over a small pebble that eventually led to a rock slide down a mountain. I didn’t always learn my lesson, either.
There were times I’d find myself in the same situation, making the same wrong choices. However— once I chose to follow Jesus, reading scripture and praying, my stumbling feet remained on solid ground.
Standing on Solid Ground
In Psalm 26:12NLT, David writes, ‘Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.’
In a recent daily devotional at The High Calling website, the author states the following about Psalm 26: ‘David proclaims that he stands on the “solid ground” of righteousness, the result of God’s mercy in his life and that which is demonstrated in his rejection of evil and his love for worshipping the Lord. Thus, in the final line of the psalm, David proclaims, “I will publicly praise the Lord.”’
(July 29, 2024) Richard Winter shares food for serious consideration…
A long time ago — that is before Amazon Prime — people actually went to brick and mortar stores and bought the necessities and joys of life.
Amazon and Covid changed much of how we live —
Covid no longer has its tentacles on our lives, but Amazon does! Amazon has increased our expectations about delivery— ordered yesterday; delivered today. And if it takes four days, most people are having a fit.
Four Days!
That can seem like a lifetime! And in fact it was for two sassy sisters… they had a brother whom they loved, as did Jesus, but he became quite sick and although Jesus had been informed He hadn’t come to see him. And now he’s dead — dead and buried!
(July 29, 2024) Mama Lava admits an issue, sharing a challenging thought…
I am a stuffer, how about you? Do you have stuffed stuff?
Let’s talk about craft supplies. Feel free to substitute whatever it is you tend to stuff out of sight and out of mind.
Stuffing Stuff!
My issue is that I threw away some craft supplies when I moved a few years ago. And since then, I’ve needed them. That’s the way it works, right?
(July 21, 2024) Michael Ashcraft shares a great testimony…
The year was 1979, and Eric Strutz was earning U.S. $400 an hour. But he left lucre to serve Jesus full-time in visitation ministry.
‘I survived,’ he quipped on a Door Church Tucson conference video on YouTube. ‘Actually I thrived. I went from making $400 an hour to 250 bucks a week!’
Pursuing Ministry, not Money
Now in the sunset of his pastoring career, Eric exemplifies counting the cost for ministry. Time after time, he pursued ministry, not money. And time after time, God came through for him.
(July 12, 2024) Carol Round shares encouragement regarding trusting God…
Writing in my journal this morning, I poured out my heart to God. I was feeling like a failure. Hoping to accomplish some major tasks in 2024, I’d made four goals at the beginning of this year. I had set deadlines for three of the four goals. So far, I’d accomplished zilch!
Well… that isn’t completely true…
As my pen flowed across the lined pages of my journal, I asked my Abba Father, ‘Does that mean I’m a failure? Why didn’t I follow through?’ I could make all kinds of excuses but in my mind, there were none. Then, I heard that still, small voice reminding me of something I’d forgotten: ‘You were trying to accomplish those goals in your strength.’
Doing Things in Our Strength
Hearing that still, small voice, I was startled. I quickly wrote in my journal, ‘I’m sorry, Father, for not asking for your help. I tried to do it in my own power. Thank you for the reminder.’
I’d fallen back into my old ways, pushing forward and trying to do things in my strength. For me, it was a wake-up call. A reminder.
Philippians 4:13 – ‘I can do all this through Him who gives me strength’ – was one of the first scriptures I memorised after rededicating my life to Him in my 40s. It’s a scripture I found myself clinging to at a critical time in my life. I was lost, needing direction as my life took a different path – a path I chose but never planned to be on.
Where Our Paths Lead
I was led this morning to reread Philippians 4, as well as the commentary. Growing in Christ these past 20-plus years, I know this verse is often taken out of context. Paul, the author of Philippians, was specifically referring to the ability of a Christian to endure hardship and persecution.
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Christians often take this scripture to mean they can do anything with God’s help. However, this verse does not teach us that we can accomplish any task simply because we’re saved!
Instead, in chapter 4, Paul emphasises he is just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. He is content whatever the circumstances. Paul knows that whatever he has, wherever he is, he can make it through anything with God.
Making it Through Anything
While lamenting the failure concerning my goals, I realised I’d set those goals without asking for God’s direction. Maybe that’s why I feel like a failure. Focused on what I wanted to do this year, I didn’t seek God’s guidance.
Or maybe, my four goals were too lofty. Maybe God is trying to get me to slow down. I admit my propensity to tackle too much – a holdover from my younger years when I pushed and pushed to get things done. Focused on my agenda, I often overlooked the needs of others.
Looking over my goals again, I realise my excitement and confidence when I wrote them did not factor in interruptions, health issues, and worldly distractions!
So – instead of feeling like a failure, I cling to this: God loves us whether we meet our goals or not!
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Carol Round is an author and inspirational speaker. Her encouraging articles have appeared in national and international publications, and she especially loves hearing from readers, saying ‘Feel free to share this post.’ For more inspiration, visit my blog at https://carolaround.com. Link: A Matter of Faith weekly column: carol@carolaround.com
We recommend these two books by Carol: Journaling with Jesus and companion The 40 Day Challenge, knowing that they will help readers draw close to God – (See: http://bit.ly/2LGOvKN and Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/2pP5Yr6).
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(June 29, 2024) Mama Lava again shares her heart encouraging readers…
What is your definition of home – where you hang your hat? Is home where your loved ones are? Is it where your heart is?
Home – Consistent Topic
Recently, two of my daughters needed to find new homes. My son’s health scare had him confined to his home. My travels took me away from home. Home has been a consistent topic of conversation and prayer.
If you’re a regular visitor to the Back Porch, you read about how my plans for the blog were stifled last March, and you know I expected God to shine through with His truth this spring. Wow! He really drove something home (pun intended) for me, and I cannot wait to tell you about it.
The anticipation has been growing, as I’ve waited for the ability to type it out. My shoulder might be angry at me for the length of this post today, but my fingers can barely contain what my heart is bursting to share! I badly needed a break, a holiday! And we went to Hawaii.
Home – Embracing Memories
It was our first day back in Hawaii on vacation and with the time change, we were up before dawn. We wandered down to the beach to watch the sun come up. From Waikiki, the sun rises over the famous Diamond Head crater, and it is a sight to behold. We were in crowded company, on a volcanic rock jetty, as the sky began to brighten. Everyone had a camera of some sort, trained to the east.
That is everyone except me. I stole away alone, to the other side of the jetty, focusing my eyes west with my emotions. It was my first glimpse of home. For 10 years, I lived on the west side of Oahu. We raised our kids there and served God in many capacities there. I had left a chunk of my heart there when we’d moved to the U.S. mainland. And I hadn’t faced this in years.
Now, as I stood there, looking westward toward home, with the rest of the crowd facing east, my heart racing as if it would run across the water to reunite with the lost pieces of itself in an embrace of each memory living there, tears running unabashedly down my face, God spoke. He whispered to me, ‘That’s right. Keep your eyes on home. It is where the sun will eventually set.’
Home – Heavenly Citizenship!
I knew He didn’t mean the west coast of Oahu, but heaven! It was picture perfect reminding me that ‘… our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Phillipians 3:20).
While so many are distracted by the glitz, glimmer, and gold that arises in this world, sparkling and wooing the masses, you and I need to keep our eyes on our eternal home, my friends. We must stand alone and face away from the popular directional pull. At the end of the day, the sun will set on our lives and the Son will draw us home.
God pressed that message into my heart on day. Over the following couple of weeks, He reinforced it!
My husband Michael and I talked about the mountains we currently call home. Our town, nestled in the pines, with daily antics of chipmunks, birds, squirrels, deer, and other forest creatures, feels like home… except when compared to Oahu. We feel more at home on the islands than we do in the mountains.
Home – Jesus’ Forecast
But Hawaii is not our home either. We do not yet understand what home means. That level of contentment – that kind of belonging – will only be ours when we arrive at the home Jesus is preparing for us in heaven.
Jesus said so in John 14:2-3: ‘My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’
The subject of home came up several times in Hawaii, as we reminisced with friends and family. I shared the story I’ve just told you.
But God had more up His proverbial sleeve. Only my husband knows this part of the story. It is why, shoulder limitation or not, tears flowing down my face (because of God’s goodness, not surgery pain), I had to type this out for you today.
It was late afternoon on our last day of vacation. I wanted to put my toes in the water one last time. We walked from our room to a not-so-crowded portion of the beach, where I left my husband to swim and I did my favourite thing; I walked the shoreline, feet in the water, occasionally getting splashed by the waves up to my waist. I was facing west, with home in view, struggling to fathom goodbye.
Home – Heart Centred
Suddenly, I kid you not, a heart-shaped hole opened in the clouds and light from the late afternoon sun streamed through, landing on that earthly spot where my heart feels most at home. If you know me, you know the significance I place on hearts in nature. It was all I could do not to sink to my knees in the surf. God lovingly reminded me, on my last day of vacation as He had on the first, the value of keeping my eyes on home.
I took this photo of the light from the heart-shaped opening in the clouds alighting on my heart’s earthly home so I wouldn’t have to wonder later if I imagined it. I was reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:11a, ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.’
Our earthly ideas of home are beautiful because God has placed a longing in our hearts for the home Jesus is preparing for us. And just as the sun was lower in the sky this time than the dawn of that first day, the Son is getting set. We can’t lose sight of what matters.
Do you find yourself distracted; aligned with the crowd, gawking at what beckons most glamorously? Are you overly obsessed with your home on earth? Or, even more dire, have you failed to ever turn your heart toward a heavenly home?
Joshua’s warning to Israel speaks to us today! ‘But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord’ (Joshua 24:15).
Home – Choose Today!
What’s your definition of home? Mine has changed! Home is where my Saviour is.
I’m keeping my eyes focused there until the sun sets. Will you join me? Do send me sendsendyour email address.
My friends, thank you for coming along on this journey of truth, hope, and faith. If you aren’t privy to the events that led to this series, you can catch that here: I’m Looking Forward to Looking Back… Will You Join Me? I’ve been so appreciative of your grace and prayers during this time in my life.
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Mama Lava delights to share openly and honestly from her heart. She sincerely believes in making the big world a bit smaller through caringly connecting, that Jesus wants to remove our anxieties and give us His joy. In her encouragements, Mama Lava regularly tells of life experiences from an unapologetically Christian viewpoint. Link: Mama Lava’s Back Porch (Doses of Maternal Love).
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(June 03, 2024) Norman and Margaret Moss share a precious valuable meditation…
There was a room in the Russian Catherine Palace called by some to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. It was known as the Amber Room. Looted by the Nazis in 1941, it has become a lost treasure that may never be found.
Amber is an interesting and valuable gemstone. Yet not quite a gemstone as it comes from a kind of resin found in ancient trees which became fossils. We get the name electricity from it because it has static electrical qualities.
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Connecting with You! 