In Udder Words Our Original Picture; God's Original Plans

You have everything you need to be everything that God wants you to be but its not going to happen overnight. Don’t give up! Joyce Meyers

Recently a friend of the family was caught in the downward tread of her spirit feeling sorry for herself. She just couldn’t believe “this was her life.” It wasn’t what she ever dreamed about or pictured. Where were the cruises she would have liked to have gone on, the travels she often dreamed of. Her only thought was how in the world did she get from one point to the other and have everything totally different than what she originally pictured it.

 First of all, the most important thing to remember is “life happens.” We may have all sorts of dreams but things happen that we have no control over. Things such as a car accident that leaves us crippled, or cancer that is eating away at our health or other things life throws at us. Suddenly we stop, look, and think, “This isn’t what I dreamed my life would be like.” Maybe its not but our responsibility is to keep on going and make the most of what we have.

It’s important we constantly remind ourselves that in spite of life’s circumstances God has equipped us to be everything He wants us to be spiritually. World tours, ocean cruises, climbing Mount Everest, scuba diving in the Pacific Ocean are all things that will come and go. Things we may or may not get to do. But what remains forever are our spiritual adventures. The becoming of the person God wants us to be. Just like taking a world tour doesn’t happen over night, it takes months of planning and saving up for our spiritual life is no different.

We don’t make a trip to the baptismal and instantly come up changed forever and the perfect saint God would love to have in His family. Wrong! It takes time and effort and the willingness to stick with it until the very end. To never give up on ourselves or God when we don’t see the results we pictured in our minds that would happen instantly.

We are as equipped as the architect is equipped to start the house he was hired to build but it doesn’t go up in a day or overnight. It’s something that takes time if we want what we are building to turn out to be a good structure. Our spiritual lives are similar. We can keep our dreams and original pictures of what we think we’d like to be in Christ and sooner or later we will get there.

Eventually we will arrive. It can’t be done if we give up on God’s original plans for us or if we turn away from where we need to be heading. The excitement of the journey is finding out that what God may have in mind for us turns out far more beautiful that our original picture as a part of His original plans.



 © 2014 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing In Udder Words Tuesday

Udder Words~~~~~~~~~~~~~Live It Out

Hebrews 4:3a For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those (who did not believe) should not enter…..v11 Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves), that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell).

They say it’s not the anniversary of your baptism you should be remembering or celebrating but the actual day you “repented” and turned your life around unto the Lord as you live out your new life in Christ. Same thing with believing, if you’re anything like me I’ve believed in God and Jesus all my life but just recently at the age of 54 I told myself it was time I really started to believe. In others words, it was time to live out what I had believed all my life.

I needed to start to strive for that zeal talked about in Hebrews 4 in all areas of my life not just parts of it. A good place to start was to take the definition of believing found in Hebrews 4 and then toss in the meaning of faith and trust. After stirring well I came up with this guideline to live my life by. It goes like this:

“As a Christian I need to adhere to, follow and obey, and rely on God trusting in Him by the leaning of my entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness. Committing my all to Him and confidently looking to Him with my whole being. Believing in who He is and having the faith to know He will carry out His promises as I trust Him to guide me thru all things.”

Indeed recently through my actions, my worries, my feelings of defeat I wasn’t doing what I needed to be doing as someone who believes in God. I was shortening my “all things” list by not trusting that God could see me thru certain areas. All things such as my cancer, the salvation of my love ones, marital obstacles, the true and honest repentance of myself and those around me, caregiving for my parents, my writing skills and enduring life itself one day at a time.

Truly there was no time like the present to start to follow and obey God and rely on Him to walk us through it all. We need to lean our entire personality on God not just the part that goes to church on Sunday. The evidence against us often shows us holding back parts of our lives and it’s time we give to God our absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.  

 

Daily we need to make the choice to approach every situation believing and trusting in God as we zealously exert ourselves and strive diligently for the rest found in God. The rest received in His grace, mercy and forgiveness. The rest Heaven has to offer. After a long journey on earth that rest in Heaven is going to be simply divine. It will all be well worth the effort we were willing to put in to living out our belief in God, walking out our faith in Him. Striving to make sure our actions speak louder than words all from the day we truly first believed enough to show it zealously, in our choices and attitudes in life.

Live it out, walk it through. There’s a rest stop just ahead! Praise the Lord.

© 2013 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing       In Udder Words Tuesday

In Udder Words~~~~~~~~Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

Psalm 24:3-5 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

 

In this passage a question was asked, “Who may ascend to stand in God’s holy place?” The answer given was direct and to the point. Those with clean hands and a pure heart who haven’t lifted their soul to an idol or lied basically will be the ones. In other words it’s important we aren’t caught with dirty hands or a heart that is not pure.

 

As a child growing up one of the requirements before eating a meal we needed to wash our hands first. Living on a ranch and being outdoors all the time it was obvious our hands were in need of cleaning first before eating. The slobber of the horse, the smell of the pigs, and the mud from the pond all needed to go. A quick run over with the bar of soap and the job was done and it was meal time! Luckily we didn’t have to stop and work on purifying our hearts first as well each time. If that was true I don’t think we ever would have been able to eat.

 

Because of the rules of mom, dad, and their parents before them we understand why we need to clean our hands before we eat or wash them after we do something like going to the bathroom. It’s just good hygiene that is necessary to prevent the creation of an illness and the spreading of various diseases. Too bad this isn’t more obvious to people in regards to their spiritual lives. Is it the fault of our parents and their parents before them for not passing that information along? In some ways yes and other ways no. We need to take responsibility for our own cleanliness.

 

Indeed we have failed to emphasis the importance of clean spiritual hands in our quest for good spiritual hygiene. Just like mom wasn’t going to let us eat with dirty hands God isn’t going to let us ascend into the hill of the Lord with dirty hands either.

 

At the door of our heart God has placed a wash basin for us to use to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts all in one easy step. The step of accepting Jesus into our lives and living obediently to His standards, His house rules, His word. He gives us the “how to,” the bar of soap needed to get cleaned up but the rest is up to us to do.

 

Daily it’s up to us to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts by asking the Lord for forgiveness for the things we have done against His will. To repent and turn our lives around to follow Him wholly instead of the idols we erected to satisfy us until we make up our minds what we want in life. Instead of dirtying our hands with the lies we tell and the poor choices we make we need to wash our hands of these things.

 

As mom would often have to check our hands to make sure they were totally clean God will be checking our hands at the door of Heaven to see if they are clean as well. The slobber of our addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex, money, food, and such has to go. The smell of the aroma of our bad attitude has to go. The mud from the sins we committed large or small has to be washed off first.

It’s best to be cleansed now instead of just before the next meal because we don’t know when Christ will be returning. I said we don’t know “when” He will be returning but the fact of the matter is He will be here again and we need to be ready.

Don’t be caught with dirty hands. Idols, things that stand between us and God don’t save us. It’s God who is the Lord of our salvation. It’s important we clean up and look our spiritual best for His next and final arrival. Forever ready on the spot to show what He already should be seeing in us, clean hands and a pure heart.

© 2013 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Sticky Notes from God~~ Fear, permission denied

Fear is a jail cell locked from the inside. False evidence appearing real; do it afraid what is right

 

As an adult I still remember the words of my mother who always said, “There’s no reason to be afraid, go ahead and do it.” Sometimes I believed her and other times I didn’t. Little did I know at the time what damage fear can do in your life if you give it permission to.

 

Fear is a jail cell locked from the inside and we are the ones who hold the key. Often what we fear is nothing but false evidence appearing real. Good disguise, right? Whether it’s false evidence or something very real like the fear of water after almost drowning in it we need to not let it control our lives. We need to do what we know is right even if we do it afraid and not give fear its permission to stop us.

 

Recently as I flew to Arizona to the Cancer Treatment Center of America I sat next to a gentleman flying home after a business trip. When I asked him if my husband could trade seats with him he said “No, I’m claustrophobic that’s why I book far enough ahead of time to get an aisle seat.”

 

When we finally landed in Salt Lake City I wanted to praise him for doing so well facing this fear he dealt with. He most certainly could have chosen to stay home but he chose to face it afraid.

 

With Christ at our side we can face anything afraid or not. As I told our congregation one Sunday the benefit of having Christ over the years has given me strength to endure and a great traveling companion. A friend at my side that helped me face the fear of seizures, the fear of cancer, the fear of the unknown, the uncontrolled.

 

There are things out there that are going scare us and that’s natural but we can’t let it lock us up in a jail cell with us holding the key. We need to deny fear its permission to control in such a way. To do what is right even if we do it afraid. The best possible way is having the Lord traveling with us, walking along beside us telling us what He told Joshua in the Promise Land. “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Praise the Lord it is true, Praise the Lord we can face our giants even if we do it afraid because we have the Lord who is forever with us if we so choose.

 

When we say to fear ‘permission denied,” and to Christ “permission granted” we can almost hear the clanging of the jail cell lock as it’s released.  All we need to do is hand over the key that locked us up in the first place, our fear of evidence not true, and our fear of fear itself.

 

© 2012 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Classroom in Session

His word is a book of instructions, guidelines, and boundaries. If we study the Word, learn His ways, and submit to His Word, we are protected. –Lara Velez, Psalm 91 – He Who Dwells…




Praise the Lord that God’s Word is a textbook for the classroom of life. It is full of instructions, guidelines, and boundaries. Boundaries? Yes, boundaries. The God who set the boundaries for the ocean telling it where it can stop and go has boundaries for us. Unfortunately this is where the secular world likes to make Christianity look unappealing. They claim we have no freedom with all the rules and regulations God has placed before us. They think we are so old-schooled that we haven’t had a modern thought in centuries.


Much to the world’s surprise we are way ahead of them. We not only have the layout for the future but for all eternity as well. Studying God’s word, learning His ways, and submitting to His Word is what will get us where we need to be in our journey forward. It protects us spiritually.


Some would think, ‘a lot of good that does me right now, I need protection from bad people, disease, mother nature, and other things first.’ No, if you ponder the idea when it comes to protection we have our priorities. We protect those things that are the most valuable, what we love the most, what means the most to us.


We need to start to realize that our spiritual lives should be the most important thing we set out to persevere and protect. It’s the one thing we will take with us into eternity. In some ways the condition of it going into eternity is what it always will be. Thankfully it will be minus all the worldly traits we don’t have to fight anymore but we still are responsible to get it in shape here and now.


Getting it into shape is what takes us back to the classroom of life and the lessons and growth that needs to take place there. Psalm 91 that is being studied begins with, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” In other words, we are under God’s protection but we have our part to play. We have to attend the class of life with the attitude that we want to learn and grow from what we have been taught.


It should never be good enough to simply pass but to advance with a maturity goal that can be seen in our actions, attitude, and availability to God. Indeed the formula we have to use to accomplish this is the three in one, 1) study, 2) learn, and 3) submit. Once properly applied we get to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty, under His protection, engulfed in His love, surrounded by His wisdom.


I’d hate to burst any bubbles out there but school is never over. There will always be a classroom that demands our attention and gives us a lesson or a test we have to pass. It would do us well to pay attention to our Teacher, Jesus Christ. Doing so with the determination needed to study hard, learn well, and submit frequently all we have learned.

Our spiritual classroom is in session, where is your seat? Are you out in the hall waiting out your punishment? In the principals offices waiting for mom to come and get you after you’ve been expelled? Or are you sitting in classroom day dreaming of “after school? Or are you paying attention to the Teacher and taking serious the things needed to learn to move forward and achieve improvement.


Truth be known, I’ve probably been the student that has been in each of those positions at one point or another. A time or two or three or four or…… I’ve found myself up by the chalkboard writing 100 times the thing I did that I was told not to do.


No matter what area in our spiritual classroom we are currently in we need to continue to move forward and not to drop out and quit. We need the determination to better ourselves and to learn from our mistakes, to seek God’s protection. The Teacher has put a lot into the lessons we need to learn, it would do us well to do our best to learn them, to actually be teachable. It’s protection for our souls, its peace for our minds.




Our host today is Twinklemom at her blog, SunflowerFaith, you really need to get over there and see the wonders she has in store for us in this mini series of quotes from a study of Psalm 91.

Perfect Peace

True peace comes from embracing what is, not from ceaseless striving to change everything around me to make my life more safe, secure, comfortable.” Dan Meadows in the Mosaic




Recently making a comeback from the 60’s is the famous peace sign. My grandkids love it. For every picture we try to take someone can be seen giving the peace sign to the camera. One day I told them, ‘You know what? You guys have no idea what that even means. What true peace is all about?”


Stunned at grandma’s bluntness they stared at me like lost puppies. “It means no wars, doesn’t it grandma?” one of them quietly spoke up. “Yes and no,” I replied. During the times in which we are not involved in wars, that is called a ‘time of peace.’ But the main thing about peace is the peace we receive from within. Peace that comes from God alone.” I told them. Still looking like they didn’t understand I went on to explain.

Just like those 8, 10, and 11 year olds many people don’t understand what true peace is all about. The peace that is everlasting and untouchable. Peace that stems from embracing what is so we don’t have to think we need to change everything around us that can’t be altered.

Truth be known, probably everyone can pinpoint a time in their life when they couldn’t feel the peace of God. I know I can. Like it or not life can get complicated and Satan uses these moments to blur that vision of finding God’s peace. In my case, one day as I shared my tears with the church secretary she shared with me a scripture. It was a verse someone showed her when she was going through a similar situation that cleared her vision.

The scripture was found in Isaiah 26:3,4 that says, “You (God) will keep in perfect peace him (anyone) whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You (God). Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, THE Lord is the Rock eternal.” Perfect peace! Doesn’t that sound appetizing? At the time I was struggling in my turmoil the idea of perfect peace was the key I was looking for but the last thing I could find.

I couldn’t find it because I wasn’t doing my part. I needed to trust the Lord to deal with my situation that would in turn eventually accomplish the steadfast mind leading to the promise of perfect peace.

Wow, it’s that simple. Trust God and receive a steadfast mind. A mind that is unwavering, unfaltering, committed, persistent, dedicated, and unswerving. I can do that! Wrong! In the midst of our troubles and turmoil’s the last thing our mind feels like is, “unwavering.” Thrust into a tailspin by the world and all that comes with it we easily get caught in the undercurrent and it makes it difficult to get out and establish that steadfast mind.

No matter what the struggle we need to stand by the fact that we can trust the Lord. It’s our job to claim daily His promises to never leave us nor forsake us. Allowing the knowledge that He is with us to dominate the feelings we may feel inside that have us in our wild and crazy and exhausting spin zone.

The truth is found also in Phil 4:4-7 when it says, “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 everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We have our part which is pretty minimal when compared to what God does for us when we are willing to do what we need to do. Trust in the Lord. The Lord who is the Rock eternal!

Peace! God’s kind of peace, the perfect kind. Amen? Amen!!!!!

Our host today is Tami over at The Next Step. Run on over there as usual and get to sharing and reading what others have to say about today’s great quote. In the process stay out of the spin zone and stick with God.

Picture compliments of Cody, Anthony, Brooke, Aubrey, and Marissa

Job Description

“We are women, and my plea is Let me be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give me, receiving with both hands and with all my heart whatever that is.” ~~ Elisabeth Elliot

Sometimes at work when things get hectic I feel like hanging a sign on my back that says, “Leave me alone and let me code.” My plea to people is that they would just leave me out of the day’s politics and let me do my job.

That is the cry of Elisabeth in this quote when she said, “We are women, and her plea is for people to let her be a woman.” End of story. No, it’s just the beginning of the story. The story of figuring out what it means to be a woman. There are so many different definitions and visions that the picture often gets blurred.

At work we have what we call a “job description.” Well, we are supposed to have one. They have been written and re-written, forgotten and remembered time and time again. When properly done they describe what my job is. In the Bible there are two prominent areas where job descriptions for women are posted, one in Proverbs 31 and the other in Titus 2.

You can read them, re-write them, forget about them, remember them over and over again but they remain the same as the day they were written. They don’t need to be updated every century or 10 years to go along with an ever changing culture.

Indeed when you go to read those scriptures you often feel overwhelmed and this sign flashes before you in your mind that says, “Need not apply.” You think, “Wow I could never fill that position. Especially the part in Proverbs 31 that says ‘she opens her mouth with wisdom’ ” For someone who has never had any coding experience they need not apply for a coding job but we don’t need “experience” to apply for the godly woman position. What is required is the willingness to strive for the goals the Lord has mapped out for us.

Some qualities will come easy, some come with tears, some come with years and years of practice but if we continue working on it eventually we will get where we need to be. I may never speak with wisdom as other women of God do but that’s okay it’s still something to strive for. With God as our coach, our boss, our teacher, our mentor we can’t miss.

How many times have we stopped to remember our piano teacher, our football coach, our shop leader, our sewing instructor, and anyone else who worked hard at teaching us what we needed to learn? Be honest, at the time of learning you probably grumbled about having to practice, you couldn’t see the point in doing some of the things they required of you. After all who cares if the button hole didn’t line up exactly with the button we just sowed on.

Why do we treat God any different? He is there to teach us what we need to learn but we need to be willing to be a student. We have our moments of grumbling about the things He asks us to do but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to do it. Down the road we should look back with frequency at the things He taught us and the things we learned in the hands of His guidance.

Eventually when we stay with God we will reach that goal of being holy through and through asking for nothing but what God wants to give us. Truly welcoming all He has to offer with both hands and all our heart.  The world will try to stop us from receiving these blessings but we need to be willing to stop it even if it takes hanging a sign on our back saying, “Leave me alone and let me be a godly woman.” Amen? Amen!!!

Our host today is Nina at Mama’s Little Treasures, hurry on over there and join in. Share and care what God has to tell us as women of God.

The test of Time

“Inevitably, the calendar crowds out the Spirit and the face of the clock hides the face of God. Prayer ceases to be the free breath of a ransomed soul and becomes a duty to be fulfilled. From “Transforming Prayer” by Daniel Henderson”

Busy, busy, busy, we always seem to be busy don’t we? Our calendars show it; our amount of time spent on the run shows it. We don’t need to be someone on the road traveling across the country to be “busy” we can be too busy watching TV or being lazy to spend time with God.


It is said that if we look at our checkbook we can see what the most important thing in our life is. It reflects where God stands. Our time and how we spend it does the same. If we would stop and take a long look at what we have done with our time would our actions pass the “test of time?” How many times do we grab for our cell-phones verses grabbing for our Bibles. How important is it to us to read our emails than read God’s word. Do we talk more on the phone than we talk to God? Are we a lot more excited about getting a text message from someone than we are a message from God?


With my head bowed low I raise my hand in guilt admitting I’m one of those people that are anxious to see if I’ve got any “new messages” on my phone, facebook, or email. I have to stop once in awhile and ask myself, “How many times in a day do I do that with God. Anxiously looking to see if He had a message for me, eager to hear what He has to say.”


It’s important that our reverence for God be reflected in our time and on our daily calendar. If its not then soon our conversation with God becomes more of a duty to fulfill, “Oh I forgot to pray today I better hurry up and get it done,” rather than a random act of keeping in touch with our Heavenly Father.


As our calendars on our cellphones are set to remind us of an appointment or special occasion we need to add God into the mixture. “Need to add” is the key. It would do us well to remember the only things that get on our calendars are the things we put there. They don’t get there by themselves; we are the ones who have to make the effort to load it with its information. So the next time we are putting something on our calendars why not add, “Remember to spend time with God today!”


We can’t be throwing God the crumbs and leftovers of our time, efforts, energies or money and expect to get His full blessings. It just doesn’t work that way. It will never pass the test of time but adding God to our social calendar instead of taking Him off will. It’s a test that will show where our priorities are and where the waste begins.

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Setting Into Motion

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” ~ by Oswald Chambers ~




Just as Oswald Chambers said faith indeed is an unhurried, slow, carefully thought out confidence in the Lord and His character. It begins with the knowledge of God and grows with experience as we spend more and more time with the Lord.


Our level of faith in God should never be tied to how well we understand what He does. Understanding and faith should never be required to fly together. We need to release the one from the other. We may never understand what God is doing but it should never stop us from having the kind of deliberate faith in Him we need to have. The more we’re around God the greater our level of faith will become in spite of whether the intensity of our understanding grows or not.


This is why the wise Solomon told us in Proverbs 3:5,6 to trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. If you think about it we would never move ahead in life if we waited for understanding to arrive to take us forward. We need to accept the fact that it’s not for us to understand God’s ways. Some days we will, some moments we won’t and we need to be okay with that.


I would still be an epileptic to this day if I tried to understand why I had to be that way, why was I chosen, why did I have to deal with these out of controlled seizures. The stress of racking my brain for answers to my questions of why only would have created more stress seizures. My job wasn’t to find the understanding to the why but to set in motion my faith in God to see me through. Same with the diagnosis of cancer I carry today. It’s natural for the “why” word to come up but it should be just as natural for us to quickly bury it. Bury it not under the blanket of denial or fear but under the cover of having deliberate confident faith in God.


Yes indeed intentional, premeditated, conscious assurance in the character of God needs to be our walking stick to keep us moving. As God set into motion the rotation of the earth around the sun, the waves in the oceans, and the wind through the trees which continue without ceasing, (especially the wind, according to my mom here in Central Oregon. Right mom?) we need to set into motion our faith in God. When done confidently without leaning on our own understanding it too will continue on for all eternity. Praise the Lord!

© 2010 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Real or Plastic

So with a painted grin, I play the part again, So everyone will see me the way that I see them…Are we happy plastic people, under shiny plastic steeples, with walls around our weakness and smiles to hide our pain, but if the invitation’s open, to every heart that has been broken, maybe then we close the curtain, on our stained glass masquerade…. Casting Crowns in Stained Glass Masquerade~ by Casting Crowns lyrics from the songStained Glass Masquerade

When I read these lyrics from Casting Crowns they make me think of two things, the issue of hiding behind and the one of covering up. There was a time in my life when I came to church on a regular basis a broken woman. It was a weekly event because my week, month, and year was full of nothing but brokenness. My trip to church was my opportunity to gain back some of the strength life was draining from me throughout the week. Tired of always finding myself in tears, crying in the halls, bawling in the bathroom I would often try to put on what I called a “front.”

One evening as I was having a hard time keeping that front or painted grin in place at the church’s Thanksgiving Dinner celebration I asked someone next to me, “How much of a front do people want?” Stunned by the question I asked I had to answer it myself. Although people might not realize it there are some who like others to put up a front. After all, by doing so when they don’t deal with what is going on in their lives then I don’t have to either thus it prevents fewer interruptions in the perfect church services, the quiet evening Bible study, and social event of the year, the annual dinner.

The other way to view this is behind the cover of makeup. The physical preparation of going to church, at least for women, can often dominate over what is done for our spiritual preparation. For every physical feature of the face there seems to be some kind of makeup we can use to enhance it to make them look good. Once we get to church we find we’re not finished yet as we add the final touch, the painted grin. Sitting within the walls of the sanctuary we appear as happy plastic people under shiny plastic steeples, the perfect little angels lined up in pews of angels.

In spite of all our efforts of putting up a front and covering our flukes and flaws so others can’t see them God sees it all. He already knows what is behind curtain number one, the make up job, the plastic grin. The church wasn’t meant to be the place to hide, to cover up, to sneak in our flaws, and be phony for the day. It needs to be a place where brokenness is repaired, healing is discovered, makeup is not needed, and shortcomings are overcome as forgiveness, repentance and self-improvement are found.

Praise the Lord for those who see past our masquerades, who don’t fall for our cover jobs. People following in God’s footsteps who are not going to give us a chance to choose between real or plastic like some “paper or plastic” store clerk in a mall.

We need to be real people, dealing with life’s real problems, using the real church to help us through. When properly assembled God’s church is a place where plastic needs to be melted away and painted grins are replaced with real ones. No more makeup, no more fronts.

© 2010 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Living Out Our Thanks

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” by ~ John F. Kennedy


As I sit here and read what John F. Kennedy had to say I also hear the phrase, “words are cheap.” We can talk all we want but unless we live by the words we speak they are worthless. God didn’t create us to be a source of hot air with no actions to back what we are saying. He wants us to put action behind our words instead of words of excuses behind our actions.

John F. Kennedy wasn’t the first person who recognized the fact that we need to put what we say into motion. Many people expressed it before and after him as well. Actions are the meat that gives substance to our words. We can have actions without words but words without actions just don’t seem to work.

With Thanksgiving two days away we need to not only take a look at our thankful list but our list of actions as well. Is our thankfulness showing up in our lives? Would anyone know we were thankful people by looking at what we do or say? Is our thankfulness seasonal or situational?

Years ago when life was at its worse for me I had myself convinced that 1 Thes 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” did not pertain to me. Paraphrased to fit my actions it came out looking like this, “In everything give thanks if things are going well for you, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for everyone but Karen. She’s excused because her situation is unique.” Yeah right! Satan had me wearing blindfolds and I helped tie them on. My thankfulness was seasonal and definitely situational.

I’m amazed looking back at the time and energy I wasted in being “unthankful” or not putting what I was thankful for into action. “In everything” means just that. There are no exceptions to the rules. If we look long and hard enough behind every mundane thing there is we can find a reason to be thankful. Once we get to looking we can see God at work as hidden blessings pop into view from behind the scenes.

Thankfulness is something that often needs to be taught. Instead of showering Heaven with our complaints we need to start flooding it with our thanks. Thanks with substances behind them showing our thanks instead of living off the “utter only” method we so often adopt.

Sadly enough it seems like we often fight against being thankful, I know that was what I was doing. After all if we are thankful for the situation of a spouse being without a job, a friend with cancer, prodigal children then we are “accepting” the situation as being okay with us, therefore, we think God is going to freeze us in it since we are thankful for it. Good gravy! Get ye behind us Satan!!! Remove those silly blindfolds!

Being thankful, and turning to God with our thanks for all the things He does for us and what He is, is the energy that gets us through situations not frozen in them. Being thankful tells Satan to buzz off that our focus remains on God no matter what. It becomes our responsibility to show that appreciation for God’s behind the scenes work and that which He does full-stage by living out our thanks in our actions, attitudes, and attributes in our day to day lives.

Thank you Lord, Thank you!


© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing