The Last Breath

Recently while listening to Steve Brown's You Think About That, I heard an analogy that I just had to share.

He mentioned that he was a former lifeguard.  One of the biggest concerns to lifeguards is having a large, mean man start to struggle and drown in the water. The lifeguard has to wait until he takes one of his last breaths and then reach out to save him.  If the lifeguard doesn't do this, the person could fight to stay up on his own and, in doing so, could drown the lifeguard.

The drowning person must have meekness and complete trust in the one who is attempting to save him.

Are you fighting?  Are so full of pride that God has to wait to save you until you hit rock bottom OR until you are on your last breath?

..or until you are crying out to God as David once did in Psalm 51....

" Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.... Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit...

There is a Savior for every area in your life.... but have you finally given up on YOU and trusted in HIM?

...and as Steve Brown says "You think about that." - Rejoicing in the Present

Our Neighbor

His name was Doug. He was 57 years of age. He was our neighbor and a good one at that.

My husband grew fruit trees and he grew tomatoes and the two would exchange their produce. We used to joke that we were going to set up a fruit/veggie stand.

We talked about a lot of things. We talked about the fact that he was a Michigan Blue fan. He knew J. was a pastor. We talked about church. He used to attend a church years ago. (He grew up here.) We invited him to church. He shared a Christmas-lights timer with us. Once, he even gave us a cup of salt when I was low. He was just a nice guy.

About 3 weeks ago, he went to the hospital in pain and found out that he had cancer in his colon. We knew something was wrong when there was a bunch of cars at his house. That was not Doug. He lived alone and not many people came by. (He liked it like that.) We heard about it later; we were told that the doctors said he had 2-3 years.

One day, when my son came running upstairs to tell me that there was a fire truck in front of our house and an ambulance that took Doug to the hospital, I knew it couldn't be good.

J. went to see him and prayed with him. However, because of the presence of other people in the room, he wasn't able to have any serious gospel conversations with him.

Of course, we thought we still had more time, but we didn't. He died only 3 days later.

On the day we found out, "A" was in a talkative mood and wanted to talk about Mr. Doug. (He had been praying for Mr. Doug, because he knew he was sick.) Every time he heard a fire truck he would say, "is that Mr. Doug in the ambulance?" Then he asked if Daddy had gone to see Mr. Doug again in the hospital. He just wanted to know where Mr. Doug was.

Every question kicked me in the gut until I had to just go remove myself and weep

....because I had no clue where my neighbor was.

This is a bitter lesson to swallow. Doug could very well be in heaven, but, all the same, he might not be. I don't know, because I thought we had time to talk about that. God loves us but He is also a righteous God. He judges our sin and if we do not have a Savior, then we are lost...forever.

What would you do differently, if you knew that your neighbor had only 1 week left? - Rejoicing in the Present

Sing it, Girl!!!

I just love my sweet & spicy little drama queen of a daughter but sometimes her drama is too much for this mama.  I don't know about you, but if the teenage years are anything like toddler-hood, I may just lock myself up in an insane asylum.  :-)

I have learned, though, that if she is having a huge melt down, one of the things that calms her down is singing, either myself or via the radio.  In fact, I sang at the top of my lungs just to block out her "craziness" and then noticed it started to calm her. 

In the Bible, we see how music can effect people.  One of the most famous stories is that of David, who played for Saul to calm his spirit.  There is a whole book filled with his psalms (songs) of worship. 

...and the Bible commands us in Psalms to sing.  It doesn't say if you want to bless or if you want to sing.  It says BLESS, SING.  Do it!!!!  :-)

Worship through music is powerful!  I love what Beth Moore says about what worship does. 

Worship...

1. Exalts God to the highest place
2. Relieves the sojourner of the backbreaking burden of ego.
3. It defeats our enemy. 
4. It answers grace with gratitude
5. And it ends in joy. 

Girl, when you feel like you don't want to sing, THIS IS THE TIME!!!! God will be glorified through our gratitude and the devil will get kicked in the britches.  Friend,  it helps us to "get over ourselves", while at the same time, it gives us joy.

So, sweet ladies, as Psalm 134 says..."Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord." - Rejoicing in the Present

ALERT!

I was sitting at my computer working when my phone went off. It vibrated and beeped loudly to tell me that another child was missing. It was the Amber Alert. Once again, my heart sank to know that another mother or father was heartbroken and another child was without his/her parents.

At these moments I feel the most helpless. If I am in my car, I look around at other license plates but there is a very little chance I will ever help. So, I just pray for the parents and the child.

But then it hit me, THAT IS what I can do. I don't "just" pray. I pray!

I can pray for comfort and peace. I can pray blessings over that family. I can talk to the One who can actually do something about the problem.

Dear friend, when you hear that someone is hurting, when you hear a siren or your phone alerting you, pray. Give that burden to God. He is the best Protector, Healer and "Finder." Pray? - Rejoicing in the Present

Free Activities for Your Tikes

I've always enjoyed "activity", so as a mom of young children, I enjoy taking my children out to do fun things.  One of the drawbacks for a young mom is not having the extra money to do "memberships" or classes.  So I have learned to do free or inexpensive activities.  I wanted to share some ideas with you today.

Activities at the local Library

Libraries are a great source of fun and education for your kiddos.  You can borrow books, puzzles and videos, bring your kids to events, and even let them get their very own library card. 

Most libraries have events like...

1. Story time for toddlers and preschoolers
2. Summer reading programs
3. Crafts
4. Holiday events like puppet shows

Hiking

Most towns have bike paths or sidewalks where you can take walks.  Also check out the beach, the mountains, or a nearby wildlife sanctuary to go hiking with your kids.  It's a great time to point out and teach about animals and flowers.

"You Pick"

This is not exactly free.  If you buy fruit from the store, think about going to a local farm or orchard to pick your own.  The kids love this and it's a great tool to teach them all sort of things about plants, fruit and the great outdoors.  Growing up, I remember apple and peach picking. Now, where we live, we go berry picking.  We can also get fresh oranges as well.  Google your area and find the "pick your own" farms.

Fire house tour

Did you know that most of our local firehouses give free tours?  You can call ahead or just drop in and ask if your kiddos can see the fire trucks.  The fireman love to show off their equipment and vehicles to your kids.  Your kiddos might go home with their very own plastic fireman hats.  They might even be allowed to sit in the truck and see the lights. 

As an added bonus, bakes some brownies or cookies and take them with you to share your appreciation for our everyday heroes. Teaching your children to love and respect these guys is important!

Our fire stations in town had an event at the local park and "A" got to "tour" their helicopter. It was AWESOME! (See picture)

Local park

Check out your local parks.  Kids are ALWAYS up for a slide and swing. More than likely, you will get the chance to meet other moms this way as well.

Splash pads

Many towns are getting these so check out your area to see if there is one. Splash pads are fun water areas where the water shoots out of the ground. Bring a bathing suit or strip them down to their underwear.  Your kiddos will LOVE THIS.

Church events 

From Vacation Bible School to Harvest festivals and Christmas parties, A LOT of churches have fun FREE events.  Call or visit local churches and find out what they have going on. Even if you are already a part of a church, you can still visit events at other churches when they don't conflict with your church events. 

Nursing homes

Does your child enjoy singing?  Call ahead and ask a local nursing home if your child can come and sing for the older people. I'm sure the people would LOVE this. 

Holiday Events

During the holidays, most towns have a lot to do. From Easter egg hunts to firework displays to Christmas Parades, there is usually something fun for the kids. Check out events on your town's calendar. 

Building Workshops (Lowe's & Home Depot)

Depending on the age of your children, Lowe'' free workshop is amazing! Your child gets a free apron and goggles and a project. He get's to build this project and take it home with him AND he gets a patch (to put on his apron) for each project he completes. It's completely free and fun! Check out their website here -> Build and Grow. Home Depot does it too but I have yet to go to theirs. 

I hope this gave you some ideas.  Do you have any others????  Leave them below in the comment box. - Rejoicing in the Present

Lukewarm Tea

I am seriously a HOT-beverage drinker.  I love the feeling of hot liquid going down my throat.  It's like a warm blanket to the soul.  Especially on cold mornings.  I love to sit under a blanket and drink something hot.  I love coffee, tea, hot chocolate, choffee (chocolate coffee) and hot apple cider. 

Unfortunately, coffee doesn't like me anymore, so I only drink sips now and then. I've always drank coffee for the taste so it was a sad day when I had to stop. 

Right now, I am drinking a lot of herbal tea. We actually have a "tea" room in our mall. They have lots of different teas. You can order a cup or buy it by the ounce. A while back I was out shopping with J., I stumbled onto them and became hooked.

So anyway, A few days ago, I was running out the door to a doctor's appointment.  But before I actually left, I made myself a cup of tea.  It was super hot and I couldn't drink it so I poured it into a to-go cup.  I called a friend on my way there and hung up before I got to my appointment. When I hung up, I reached for the cup to drink some liquid goodness.  I took a large gulp and, immediately, was disappointed.  It was lukewarm! Yep that nasty, in between taste, not hot and not cold.  It was a sad morning!

It made me want to spit it out.  My expectations of that yummy hot-ness were immediately dashed. 

Most people do NOT like lukewarm.  When your coffee sits too long, when your coke loses its crispy coldness, it's become trash. 

Sweet friend, we are not the only one that dislikes lukewarm.  God says He will spit it out of His mouth.

Revelations 3:15-16 "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

Don't be on the fence.  Not with God. We are either for Him or against Him. 

I am either actively following Him or actively fighting him. Lukewarm is nasty!

Lukewarm Christians ...

1. Are not on fire for God.
2. Are more afraid of what the world thinks then what God thinks.
3. Are followers of the "popular".
4. Are always harping on people not to "judge".
5. Don't really have a desire for God.
6. Are just "saved" because they are afraid of hell.

Does this sound like you?  

Dear friend this doesn't have to be us.  

God, our Father wants a REAL relationship with ME.  

Take your temperature.  Are you lukewarm? - Rejoicing in the Present

Taking a Break

Dear Friends,

I am taking a break from writing for a few weeks.  It's been overwhelming lately with a few different life situations so I need this time to be renewed.  I have never wanted to write just because I felt like I had to.  My writing comes out of my heart and what I am learning on my journey to Heaven...and at this time, I need a water break.  :) 

While I am on break, feel free to read some of my old posts.  Below are some of my readers' favorites:

Much love,
J.

Where Are Your Eyes?

Virginity Vs. Purity 1-4 (For singles and married woman)

Helping A Widowed Heart

Gifted To Be You

Religiosity and The Church

It Makes Me Happy

I Have A Secret

Taking The No-ah Approach