The Art of Getting Off the Ride and Not Looking Like a Wimp

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Have you ever been on a ride that you were terrified of, that you wanted to get off THAT minute, right now?  I’ve been on many of those kind of rides, from rollercoasters that I got talked into, to the Dinosaur ride in the Animal Kingdom (terrified me!) , to a rocking and rolling ferry ride from St. Maarten to Anguilla and back(another story for another day).  But in all those instances, the only way I could see to get off was to finish the ride.  Set my jaw, grit my teeth, and try to laugh through the fear a bit.  The best part of course, is the getting off, the being back on familiar terra firma, knowing that I survived, and even better, have a wonderful new tale to tell.  🙂

Life can feel like a scary ride, and many times you feel like shouting, “Enough!  I want to get off!”  But it’s best to ride it out, and keep remembering that it will pass, that things will even out, that the Maker of the all things can also calm storms with one Word.  And that maybe, when I get off, I can help someone else with my story of the ride.  Blessings, Lisa

“Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples.     In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’ ” ~Luke 8:24b-25

 

Rest For Your Soul

“This is what the Lord says:

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‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ ” ~Jeremiah 6:16

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” ~Psalm 42:11

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”  ~Psalm 94:19

I pray that these verses bring peace to your soul this morning.  Take a moment and just rest beside Jesus.  Blessings, Lisa

 

Who Do You Say That I Am?

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Questions are good.  They make me think, make me stop and form thoughts about what it is I believe, and try to answer the best I can.  Jesus asked Peter, one of his followers, a question.  “But what about you?  Who do you say that I am?”  It doesn’t say how long it took Peter to think about his answer, but he responded with, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

When soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, He asked them, “Who is it you want?”  They responded, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  When he said, “I am he,” the soldiers drew back and fell down to the ground.  Why?  The power of his words, the truth of who Jesus really was, left them unable to stand.

When Jesus stood before the chief priests and teachers, they asked Him, “Are you then the Son of God?”  Jesus replied, “You are right in saying I am.”

The question for me, for you, is still the same.  “Who do you say that I am?”  Your answer makes all the difference.  Because in Jesus there is hope, there is life.  “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  ~Romans 6:23

Take the time to stop, think, answer the question.  Jesus is waiting for your answer.  Blessings, Lisa

 

Resurrection

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This beautiful flower is a Resurrection flower.  In the early spring, clumps of long foliage appears for several weeks before wilting. After several months, a single stalk shoots up almost overnight and a lily-like pink bloom opens.   They remind me every year that though we don’t see the flower for a time, it’s alive and coming back in full force and beauty.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  ~John 11:25-26

Hold on to this; believe it; believe in Jesus.  And you will never die.  Why?  Because He loves you, He made you, and He wants you to be with Him forever.  This is hope; this is life; this is resurrection.  Blessings, Lisa