Seeds

We have had a revival going on lately. I'm loving that I'm hearing Ken Freeman. I really felt led to share this one. I'm not preachy, even here. This blog is to help show the rainbows in the storms. Always has, always will, even when my storms are bad. I really need to share this though. Please read this.

Especially when our storms are bad, we are more likely to get bitter, hard, cold, isolated, even feel hate. It's a struggle sometimes, it really is. It's easier to envelop ourselves in darkness then to cling to the light.

Yet we have to guard our heart the most. It's all about the heart. What's in your heart comes out of your mouth. What you say, is what you mean. Seriously. That's why we have to guard our hearts the most. It determines so much, not just our outlook on life but on how others see us. (Proverbs 4:20-23)

The other reason to guard our heart is to consider Matthew 13 and the seeds. Let me explain that the way Ken did. I knew some of what it meant but not like this. If you dont know this chapter, I encourage you to read it. It is about how the Word is taken. 

Soil = Hearts        Seed = God's Word        Bird = devil

We are to plant the seeds into the hearts of others but there are five types of soil.

1. v. 19 Calloused heart - cold, hard, unresponsive
2. v. 20 Careless heart - shallow, impulsive, Sunday Christian, Holiday Christian, rarely reads the Bible, rarely prays,
3. v. 22 Crowded heart - clutter in life, preoccupied, confused, fearful, worries, consumed with the things in life
4. v. 23 Christ-Like - full of fruit but some don't give as much. Seen HERE Fruit being things we do, works to show the love of Christ. Do we serve like we should? Do we love others as Christ loved us?
5.v. 24 to 32 Counterfeit Heart - act everything like a Christian but NOT saved. 

Here was the revelation I had: Listen! That's why the narrow road has so few yet the road to destruction is so wide...... 

God gave us his Son's heart so that we may live. I don't mean live physically but to live spiritually. How will you choose? The narrow, hard way that leads to Heaven or the easy way with the majority of the crowd to destruction? In order for us to live, someone had to die. Christ died for every single one of us. Every single one.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV)
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.


Whether you are old or young, rich or poor, a liar, a thief, an adulterer, a murder and so on, if you truly repent with a sincere heart and accept Jesus, YOU WILL BE SAVED…. It begins with faith in God, confessing we are sinners and that we mess up...., professing faith that Christ is our Lord and savior, and saying it.

We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

Pray with me: "Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

 I now encourage you to find a local church where you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible. Pray about where God wants you to be.  

 
Please leave me a comment if you were touched by this post or accepted Christ.

 Most of all, don't be worried about what the world thinks, only of God. So hard but we will stay better on the path that way.




Blessings!
~ Special Momma ~

My next post will leave you never looking at things that glow in the dark the same.

Broken Solace

Most would see this open field and see weeds. I see quiet solace, I see peace and quiet. I also see where the night brought dew but the morning light will nourish. Darkness comes but the light will be back.... If we can survive the darkness, we will see the glorious light. If we can survive the storm, no matter how bad it is, we will arise out of it with the sun shining to our face and a rainbow outside the storm. 

Yesterday morning I was walking my son in his stroller when I saw this. My mind was flooded with thoughts. We didn't get the best news on his MRI and my thoughts were all over the place. When I get words in my head, I like to write. At this moment I am doing better then I was. In time I will adjust to this "new again" normal.

What I'm having a hard time with is wondering what I did or did not do to cause this for my son. What could I have done different? Was playing with him in some of the ways I have made it worse?

What is our new normal again? That is when I thought of broken solace. Solace means peace in times of trial. Right now I don't feel peace but in time I will adjust to this, like I have everything else over the years. I will adjust, the shock will wear off and life will go on. No rest for the weary, really except in the peace that only God can give us.....Yet once something is broken, it is never the same. Glass once broken shatters. Even if you put every piece back together in it's proper places, it doesn't look the same. It's been broken. Yet sometimes in that brokenness, beauty can be found in the most unlikely places.Think of a glass mosaic. All pieces of broken glass intended likely for something else. Yet put together with glue, plaster, etc. to make the most interesting creations.

Yet I can find peace in that my children are happy, God has a plan and I know all will work out for the best, in time.

A quote I will end this with was one that was shared in Bible study last night. We were talking about the wisdom of God.

God: As He Longs for You to See Him

"until we grasp what it means that God is all-wise, we will never be able to trust and rest in his wise plan for our lives."
"If there were a better way to do it, then I would be experiencing those other circumstances instead of these. If there were a kinder, faster, more expedient, or gentler way, God would be using it." Chip Ingram

Hard to believe sometimes..... Honestly the first thought I had last night when I read that was, "Well then, why my son? If this was the easy way, I would hate to see the hard way....."

There is much I'll never understand on this side but someday I will......

Blessings!
~ Special Momma ~

Ronald McDonald House

I can't tell you how many times I have walked these halls.





Or how many times I have seen this lighthouse at night

Or how many times I have sat in the rocking chairs either here on the porch or upstairs near the teen room. I have made calls that I hated to make and others that I was excited to make. Tears have fallen at times in these chairs......

I can tell you though that many kids love playing outside, including my daughter over the years and soon enough, my son. He already loves the playroom inside.

And many families enjoy seeing the meditation garden. Sorry for the glare.... It's a peaceful spot to just think... As if we don't do enough of that....

Many families are grateful for the beds to sleep in. Yes, that's an older pic of my daughter.

And many more are thankful for all of the staff and volunteers who run and cook for the House.

So many of us parents have watched our kids play in the playroom and seen the DART train whizz by the nearby rail yet all the while hearing and watching the Southwest jets taking off from nearby Love Field.

So many can look out and see the Dallas skyline at night and also see the nearby Children's Medical Center's blue lights illuminating the night sky.

I can't tell you how many late nights I have had here where I anxiously awaited d-day appointments or the nights before surgeries, yet in the quiet of the night, many of us find solace here.

To me the House is a place of HOPE. It is also a place of miracles, as my children are. 

It is a place I have been to more times than I can count in the last eight and a half years. I still have many years to go before our journey with Dallas is over. As I wait on news of what is next for my son's journey tomorrow, I wanted to reflect today on what the Ronald McDonald House means for families like mine.

Please support your local Ronald McDonald House. The one in Dallas costs a flat 15 a night without assistance, meals covered. A hotel is around 80-90 after taxes. No meals covered except maybe breakfast. For a 5 night stay, that equals to 75 vs 400 minimum. That's just to sleep, let alone eat. Often families have to stay much longer than that. Think on that.

Blessings!

~ Special Momma ~