Karen's Crossing~~~That Little Bit Of Light

Church service was going well. Praise and worship to my King of kings were strong and vibrant. The presence of The Lord could be felt filling the far corners of the sanctuary.

Unfortunately also present were the feelings of pain and weakness that followed me into the room. Emotions that needed dealt with that refused to stay home while I went to church.

After singing praises to God it was time for communion. As I reached for the bread and cup to participate the light reflecting from the communion juice caught my attention. Instantly there was a message there for me. The message being no matter how much light shines up at me it doesn't matter. God loves me and I got proof.

The proof being that little bit of light shining up at me. The light that says no matter how small, it carries a big torch. It has a lot to offer me as it lights my path, gives me hope and strength for tomorrow.

It doesn't matter where my cancer spreads I will always have that little bit of light shining back at me. The only light I need to see me thru. Days come and go, darkness comes and go but that can't be my focus. My focus needs to be that little bit of light shining back at me.

Communion is a time of remembrance of what Christ did for us but that light shining back at me has its own memories to give. Memories of how God has often rescued me from the dark many times. It didn't take much light to walk me out, what it took was me being willing to follow it out instead of complaining about the lighting system.

Cancer is a dark thing to face as many other chronic diseases. Such as the teenage girl back in the hospital fighting her heart failure. The parents who hurt painfully as they make arrangements for their little girls funeral who died of cancer.

We need to stay strong and not give up hope in God and that little bit of light that shines back at us. The light is still there. It may have shifted around in the cup but it never goes out. Let it capture your attention. Let it draw into your heart and always remember no matter what darkness in life we may encounter we still have that little bit of light shining back at us.

Praise the Lord!

Copyright 2015 Karen J Gillett at Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing


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Packaged Deal

 Micah 7:7,8 As for me, I look to the Lord for his help, I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord Himself will be my light.

Recently at a county fair I was talking to a veteran about my grandpa’s military things I have from WWI. I told him I have the trench coat he wore, the dagger off the end of his gun, and the New Testament Bible he carried in his pocket. The coat was used to keep him warm and protected, the dagger was the tool he used to defend himself and the New Testament Bible was his weapon of choice to fight against his spiritual enemies.

This scripture in Micah are those three things to us and more. It is the trench coat used as a shawl for ourselves for warmth and protection. The dagger-like tool needed to defend ourselves and the weapon required to fight our spiritual enemies. Three in one wrapped neatly in the package of a few words that carries a lot of power and strength.

 Starting out with the snug fit of, “As for me,” you can just see Micah as he stood before the crowd claiming his coat. This was his pelt, his thing that he must have covered himself in frequently. It was a strong statement from him like it was from Joshua when he said it before the Israelites. “As for me and my household we will serve the Lord!” What a wonderful thing to use to wrap your family in, a one size fits all kind of a deal.

 The first layer of wrap is in the fact that he looks to God for his help but he doesn’t stop there. Another wrap of the snuggly fit coat is how he waits confidently for God to save him. As you stand there wrapped in those two things you can’t help but feel the warmth and protection it gives us. This is what gave Micah his confidence and it can do the same for us as well. Indeed the assurance in the Lord that serves as a part of this well-fitting garment for us to snuggle into.

 Once fully dressed in the trench coat of his confidence in God Micah now makes sure he has the dagger needed to defend himself. The dagger or sword used to pierce his enemy as well as our enemy today which is the devil and his evil workers. As Micah stood firm so can we as we speak out against the evils of the world making the exact same statement, “Do NOT gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord Himself will be my light.”

 Oh man, you can just hear the power behind his voice as he stated these words. “Do not gloat over me, my enemies, though I fall I will rise again!” We need to know that although Satan can knock us down or trip us he can’t make us fall to the point we can never get back up. Why? Because we have the third part of the package and that is the weapon of God’s word to keep us spiritually safe as we carry it around in the pocket of our heart.

 There’s no doubt about it there will be times when we find ourselves sitting in the darkness of a gloomy world. We will experience what it is like to be surrounded by it to the point it feels like it overtakes or overwhelms us. However, our hope is in the fact that though we find ourselves there the Lord himself will be our light. In other words we have no need to feel overwhelmed; God’s light will pierce the darkness every time.

 We don’t have to wait at the end of the tunnel for the light of God to pierce our darkness He does it in the midst of our hard times. Our responsibility is to look for that light and go towards it, to maintain our confidence knowing that though we fall we will rise again thanks to the Lord. Though we sit in darkness the Lord himself will be our light. Thanks to Jesus.

Wow what an honor to know that the Lord himself will be our light. We are that special to Him that He is willing to be the light in our life that gets us through the darkness. I don’t know about you but His light has helped me through many hard times. It has shined in the darkest of places and lite a path that guided me out to where I needed to be. He is my confidence, my help, and I know He most certainly will hear me, He always has. He may not answer when I think He should or the way in which I wanted but that’s okay.

Yes, as for me, God is it. He is the strength I need to endure, the light I need to walk in, the security blanket I cuddle next to in the promises of His word. The reason I can rise again when life knocks me down. The sharpen tool capable of piercing the lies and schemes of the devil. He is the package deal that will see me though life itself forever and ever amen. Selah! So be it!

Thanks for joining us today. Be sure and visit everyone and see what they have to say about today’s scripture. In the meantime think about the invitation God puts out for us, “The Lord himself will be our light.” You can’t get any better than that. This scripture is a big sword but not too big that we can’t carry it around with us and draw it out when necessary and lean on daily for strength and support. Put on your trench coat of confidence, your dagger of defense and your weapon of God’s word and fight the good fight of faith. God bless.

**I tried several times to get Mr. Linky to work and I don't see it. If he doesn't show up put your link in the comments and we'll take it from there. Watch all the Mr. Linky's I put on here in an attempt to get it to work will show up. If so pick your linky and take it from that spot. Ha Ha

Link up to:

Nina at

http://mamaslittletreasures.com/in-other-words-can-you-see-the-glimmer-of-light-on-the-horizon

Laura at
          http://www.laurarath.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-light-of-lord.html

>

Lighter and Brighter

We need to walk out of our worship time with God lighter than when we came in. Lighter because we left behind at the foot of the cross the things that needed to go. Left behind in preparation to learn and lean on the promises of God. Wayne Corderio


I don’t know about you but there have been many times I have gone to Sunday worship heavily burdened. The extreme weight from the week just seemed to follow me into the church building. The sanctuary was my refuge as I sought the strength needed to endure another week out in the world. What a blessing it was to see God at work as the promise of Matthew 11:28,29 came true. The promise where Jesus offered the invitation of, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”


Running to the foot of the cross with my arms held high and my hands waving in the wind I cried out in my heart, “I’m coming Jesus, I’m coming!” Each step closer to the cross of Christ allowed me to draw nearer to my ability to lighten the load my heart was carrying.


The more I worshipped, the lighter my load became and the brighter my light for Jesus shined in this domino affect of faith, trust, and obedience. What a praise it is to be able to have that place of refuge and strength to see us through life’s struggles. It starts with removing what doesn’t belong and replacing it with something of worth like the valve found in trusting in God’s promises.


As we eventually learn how to bundle up before going out in a snowstorm or severe weather conditions we need to learn how to bundle up in God’s promises. Wrapping ourselves tightly in God’s promises to protect us from the intense weather of the world. The world where storms are rougher, burdens are heavier, where no one is immune from extreme damage to their spiritual heart.


It’s not good enough to dump our burdens onto Jesus and run. What we need to do is learn how to lean on His promises. Making the decision daily to carry with us the strength they put out in order to face the world and the battles we come across.


Yep, lighter and brighter is the only way to go and it begins at the foot of the cross.




Thanks everyone for participating today. Happy November!!!!

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Let the Gardening Begin

“Oh Lord, take Your plow to my fallowed ground; let Your blade dig down to the soil of my soul; For I’ve become dry and dusty, Lord I know there must be; Richer earth lying below; For I’ve been living in Laodicea; And the fire that once burned bright, I’ve let it grow dim; And the very Word I swore that I would die for all has been forgotten; As the world’s become my friend” Lyrics by Steve Camp “Living in Laodicea”


Reading this quote and looking at my dry and rugged hands from the weekends planting of the garden I see the two coming together with a lesson for me to learn. In order for my garden to produce anything this year it needed to be re-plowed. But we just plowed it last year, that doesn’t seem to make sense. That’s just extra work!

Like it or not the plowing began. Calling in our friend who had the proper equipment to do the task we asked him, “Loren could you come over and plow up the garden area?” Coming to our rescue he loaded up his equipment and did just as we asked. Sure enough the plowing of the garden area brought up new rocks and old weeds that had come to occupy our area of harvest.

How pathetic can we be? We are quick to call someone to plow up our garden in order to start fresh with a newly planted crop but we fail to call on God to do the same with us. Deep down in the soil of our soul is richer ground that needs to be worked, re-planted, and harvested from on a regular basis.

Over the years I’ve seen many a Christians who once shined brightly for Jesus start to go dim. The flame that formerly was there to serve the Lord was forgotten as the world became their friend. To them it was all in the name of, “well God wants me to be happy.”

We need to learn to recognize what lights the light and keeps it going. Our love for Jesus, our desire to serve and please Him is the match that lights the flame. It’s not “whatever makes ME happy.” But it doesn’t stop there. We need to keep the flame going like the trick candles you can buy for a birthday cake that can’t be blown out. We need to make the decision in our life that we are going to be that kind of candle for Jesus, one that Satan can’t snuff out no matter how hard he tries.

The way to accomplish this is through asking God into our lives frequently to plow up the old ground of our hearts and replace it with richer soil. Richness that comes from watering ourselves well using God’s love, His wisdom, strength, and guidance via His word in order that we will never dry up.

As we keep an eye out on our garden, yard, or flowers we need to keep an eye out on our spiritual hearts. Is it dry? Does it need more of the Living Water from Jesus? What nutrients can I add to make the soil of my soul richer in Spirit for Jesus? It comes down to just what kind of harvest we want. We get to pick and as we put all sorts of thoughts into what we want to grow in our garden let us do even more of the same regarding our Spiritual garden. Once we make that decision for Jesus, let the gardening begin!

Mary when she returned to the tomb after the crucifixion thought who she saw was the gardener but it turned out to be the resurrected Jesus. If you think about it Jesus is the gardener that wants to show up in our hearts if we would just call Him up like my husband and I did with Loren and say, “Can you come and plow up the garden of our hearts today?” It’s from there…. once again…. that the gardening begins!


Our host this day is none other than Miriam over at her blog, Miriam Pauline’s Monologue. As Bob Barker always said, “Come on down” and share in the fun of reading, writing, and commenting on today’s quote.

Mirror or Candle it Doesn't Matter

October 7, 2008 IOW

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.~Edith Wharton~

I don’t know about you but I found the comparison of the two ways to spread light to be very intriguing. Both have their different roles when it comes to the technique of shining and spreading the light of Jesus to a dark and dismal world.

If you think about it, the two need each other. Without a light to reflect, a mirror is useless. We could sit for hours in the dark in front of a mirror totally naked and not think anything about it. Well maybe some people can but if someone was to flick on a light we go scrambling to either get away from the mirror or dowse the light. Our central theme being “the mirror is not my friend.”

I felt that way when I was in Junior High and had my head shaved for a brain surgery. The thought of a hairbrush made me cry. Try as I might to stay away from mirrors or anything that would reflect my image I couldn’t escape the reality of my baldhead. It was there whether I wanted to look at it or not. Used correctly the mirror can be our friend if we are willing to accept what we truly see, not what we think we see, or what we want to see.

My granddaughter at the age of 3 found a friend in a mirror. We were staying in a motel on the coast that had a full-length mirror on the hall closet. She loved running down the hall and turning the corner to find her friend waiting there to play with her. They played for hours her friend and her.

It’s interesting to think children never seem to get enough of mirrors. They love to play with them and see themselves. However as they grow up and get to the age of accountability they lose all desire to look in the mirror. Instead of a friend they see something that is showing them things they would rather hide. In today’s society we are taught to dress in order to hide things to make ourselves look good in a mirror. If you’re fat “don’t wear stripes that go horizontally,” they say. Wear baggy shirts that hide your hips. Then there is always the trick of makeup and cosmetic surgery to hide other things we don’t want to be seen.

Whether we want to admit it or not we need the light to see ourselves in a suitable mirror. In order to use the mirror properly we have to be honest with ourselves. Too often people will refuse to look in the mirror and therefore they don’t see the light they need to see, Jesus Christ. Just like me when I was young ignoring seeing my reflection didn’t make what I was avoiding go away. I had to deal with it. We need the mirror to show us what we need to see whether we like what we see or not.

A mirror in front of the face can be bad enough but what if they surrounded us. Wherever we would turn there would be a reflection of us from all sides. Sides we would rather didn’t come out in the light. For example the human side of us that seems to creep out long enough to leave a bad image in our mirrors and in the mirrors of others. Before we know it we have created a faulty mirror, a defective one that others see and use that is doesn’t reflect the true picture of Christ. One distorted as to what we should look like in Him.

I have to ask, “How long would a defective mirror last in your bathroom if you had to stand there moving up and down and sideways trying to get to a true picture?” Not very long I’m sure as it would go back to the manufacture in a heartbeat.

Why aren’t we as adamant about the defective mirrors the world puts up for us to look at? Ones done in bad and distorted ways reflecting the images they want us to see on what a dad is, what a mom should look like, how the average kid behaves. Reflecting a bad example that is false, distorted and, should be, far from “fun.”

Being a candlelight or right mirror for Christ needs to be a non-negotiable item in our lives. Daily we should be doing things that progresses the picture of Christ to those around us. It starts with a single light that bounces off the mirrors or reflections from others to add to the picture.

No matter how hard Satan tries to creep in with his darkness our light counts, never doubt that. It doesn’t matter if we have a little light or one that shines brightly for many to see. Even a small light that pierces the darkness only a few hours a week can be something to look forward to. The lights of God’s love, His forgiveness, joy, beauty, strength, and peace shining through a friend, stranger, or love one.

Without the mirror and the light working together we would never be able to make the right corrections in our lives. Think about, I bet you put make up on or comb your hair the same as anyone else. You apply it to you not to the mirror itself. Am I correct? Yeah! After all, trying combing your hair in the mirror literally! Boy I can hear the sound now! It doesn’t do a thing for your true hair style or face.

If we know better to not make the corrections to the mirror why is it we try to change the mirror in which we see ourselves spiritually? We think we can change the Bible and Christ to reflect us instead of changing ourselves to reflect Christ but that’s not the way it works.

We’ve got a job to do! Mirror or candle, it doesn’t matter. Do both! Shine for Jesus, reflect His light. There’s a darkness out there that needs pierced and thanks to Jesus we can do it. Take your light with you, don’t leave home without it!!!!!


Copyright 2008 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing