Facing life like a gladiator!

We have daily challenges that we face some more so than others.

Our challenges differ from day to day and from each situation to the next. However we always get through to the next day.

Some challenges could be financial, marital, emotional and even medical.  This is part of life, not necessarily a part we like but a necessary part as it shows us a couple of things.

Firstly, it shows us at the end, just how strong we really are. We might feel like giving up but as the saying goes “you don’t know how close you are to the finish line when you give up”

Once you have crossed the “mountain” we often find that we were much closer to the end than we realized.

Secondly: It also helps us appreciate the times things are going well (It may feel much less in our current economy) but there are times where our worries escape our attention, even if it’s just for a little while. Concentrate on these times.  If you relax while watching movies, or a picnic, or perhaps while having a braai with friends, arrange to have them on a regular basis. Concentrate on what feeds your inner being. Find out what it is and make a place for it in your daily life.  (For me for example it is my silent time, one of the first things I give up yet the main thing that gets me through any hard time) It is important to also give yourself this distraction so you have the strength to get through your next challenge.

Also if you are facing challenges at home being stable at work helps give you the strength and determination to hang on a while longer. When there is trouble at work having a stable marriage can help you deal with that stress also. Having stable or reliable friends can help with family problems. It is very rare that problems not of our own creation go through ALL areas of our lives. Most times when problems are everywhere, we either have the wrong perception or have caused them indirectly. (There are some exceptions to this rule, we all know Murphy and how he works)

With the challenge you are currently facing, remember it makes you stronger! Braver! And more Resilient! Keep heart and charge on to your next one! Your challenges are for YOU and no one can handle your challenge better than yourself. So the next time you feel like giving up, remember you will eventually become your own life’s GLADIATOR!!!

Think of David and Goliath, Little David became a very prominent person because he chose to believe and not to give up!

Family

We all have them and know we can’t choose our family.

I have recently seen how people are extremely nice to friends and acquaintances but not family. Yet if there is trouble the first people we contact is family.

I have seen how people bend backwards to help family and in the process get stabbed in the back yet with friends it’s not the same, we will never dare disappoint a friend.

Why is this, do you think?  Is it because we are so used to our family always being there? Because they are family we assume they will always help us and be there for us?

Whatever the case may be I want to remind people to take good care of your family.  The better you care for them the better they will care for you.  The more you show them how important they are to you the more important you will become to them. I am not talking about earthly importance but the general day to day importance. Like just a text to say you were thinking of them, a quick mail to catch up etc.

The little things we do for our friends that is not necessarily also done for our family. 

Taking a gentler tone when talking to someone you don’t necessarily like (hopefully just that point in time)

Maybe consider the reasons another person may be super sensitive.

Listen to what is not being said as well as being said out loud.

At the end the only people who will stick by you is your family, that is if you treat them right.

Your friends can leave at any time, some are fickle, and some stick through the hard times and sometimes life just throws you in different directions but the only ones who remain are family.

So treat your family with love and respect and dignity after all you can’t choose them but you can make the best of them.

Power Of Dreams - Author Unknown

Some dreams are so clearly about a person who died. Here is an example of such a dream by a young child.

With his brothers and friends he went to bathe in a mill pool. He was only four or five at the time, and could not swim. In the recklessness of their-play, one of the children pushed him into deeper water. At that moment, the mill gates opened and water rushed through carrying him along. He was drowned – but some adults who were hastily called to the scene managed to pull him out and revive him.

As his father carried him home in his arms, the boy talked about his mother, who had died some years earlier and at first his father smiled at his story.

The boy said that as he went under the water he felt himself sinking down and down into darkness. Then there was a change and he felt himself rising up slowly until at last he rose to the surface.

He was in a huge sea. Around him, other people were also surfacing, and all were being gradually washed towards the nearby shore. There on the beach, people waited, and greeted those who were brought to them by the sea.

And as he himself drew near there on a small promontory were his grandparents waiting to welcome him – and in front – his mother, and she bent to draw him into her arms. She took hold of his hands and as she did so, a cross around her neck swung before his face. Sparkling in it were seven stones. But at that moment, something seemed to pull him away, and he sank into the sea and at last awoke on the riverbank.

The other half of the Story

At the conclusion of the story, his father’s condescending smile vanished. They were now at home and his father left the room, obviously deeply moved. Only years later did he tell his son the other half of the story.

The boy’s mother had died when her son was tiny and she had died on her birthday. For many weeks before, her husband had saved for a special present which he had kept secret. On her death, heart-broken, he had crept down to the coffin in the middle of the night, unscrewed the lid and given the present to his dead wife. It was a cross with seven stones, and the secret of it had been buried with her.

Pieces of the Pattern

Pieces of the Pattern
by Barbara Rainey

Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
Exodus 25:9

Back when I used to do a lot more sewing, I enjoyed looking through pattern books. It was fun to select the style I wanted and then cut out the small pieces of tissue paper that indicated what went where and how everything fit together.

But that's just it--all those little shapes that represent the sleeves and the bodice and the front and the back don't mean anything unless they eventually come together to form an article of clothing. Until the parts are applied in the context of the whole, they never achieve the purpose that was intended for them by the dress designer.

Many times in marriage, all we can see are the pieces. We see the romance part. We see the conflict part. We see the housekeeping part. We see the bill-paying part. We see the parenting part. But because we spend so much of our time focusing on the individual parts of our marriage, we don't always see them in the bigger picture our Designer had in mind

But the pattern is there nonetheless, and it's contained in the package of God's Word.

I want you to be encouraged that the pattern for your marriage isn't something you were responsible for creating. It's not based on feelings that can be strong today and much different tomorrow. The biblical pattern and plan for your marriage was created in the mind of almighty God, whose wisdom is unrivaled and whose love for you is beyond all bounds.

If you keep putting the pieces where they belong, His pattern will start to show. His design will take its beautiful shape in the form of your marriage.

Discuss
How might one of your current marriage issues fit into the pattern God has designed for you? What is the lesson He is trying to teach you?

Pray
Whatever part of the whole you're dealing with today, ask the Lord to help you handle it faithfully, according to His Word. Together as a couple, thank God for designing a master plan that incorporates your good with His glory.

What kind of sirt are you - by pastor Greg Lathe

"What kind of dirt are you?"


"And be sure to put into practice what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand what I tell you." Mark 4:24

In today's reading in Mark, Jesus tells the story of the farmer who sows seed. We know that the seed lands in different places. 1. path (which the birds ate) 2. shallow soil (grew quickly, but roots weren't deep enough) 3. among thorns (which caused seed to produce no grain) 4. Good soil (which produced great crops)

We can often hear parables or familiar bible passages and we kind of nod in acknowledgment of their point & move on, but we really should take the time to pause and evaluate "what does this mean for my life?"

Let's look at a few points we need to take away from this parable.

-Each of us are dirt. The Word of God has been planted in us. The question then remains, "Which kind of dirt am I?

1. The footpath. verse 15 says, "The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message only to have Satan come at once and take it away." What happens when you hear the word of the Lord? Is your mind so well worn by worldly influence that the voice of God is snatched from your hearing?

2. The rocky soil. "The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word." (Mark 4:16-17) This doesn't describe someone living the balanced Christian life, it's someone living the "emotional" Christian life. There are tears at the altar, and jumping during the exciting worship, but because of lack of roots, it's the waves of trial that cause them to lose what they have. Are your roots deep? Are you connected to the Body of Christ in such a way that you can weather the storms of persecution?

3. The thorny soil. "The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced." (4:18-19) So many times I hear the stories of those who are "too busy" working or wrapped up in other concerns to do what God has gifted them to do. Some are paralyzed by worries and insecurities, and others are lulled to ineffectiveness by the lure of the illusion that things will be less busy "soon". God's message is crowded out.

4. The good soil. "And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!" There's one way to tell if you're good soil. Are you producing fruit? If not, what's the problem? What's holding you back?

Hosea 10:12 says "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you."

It's your job to keep your soil in good condition. Only God can bring about a fruitful harvest in your life, but he has promised that if you care for your soil, he will do it.

Be GOOD dirt!


Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

Pastor Greg Lathe

Words by Julie Bowles

Words
Julie Bowles


Proverbs 12:18 - Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (NIV)

The words we speak to one another are very powerful, and at times, we toss them about carelessly. I was recently on the receiving end of careless words tossed my way. The words that were spoken to me attacked my character and made me question if they were in fact a true representation of who I am. You see, those words had been true of me before coming to accept Jesus, but the person who spoke them did not know me back then. So when those words came my way, I began to question whether they were still an accurate representation of me now, in my walk with Jesus. I had prayed and sought the Word for an answer to this, but when no answer came immediately, I began to retreat and withdraw from people. Why did I do this? To protect myself from further hurt and also to protect others from the possibility that I was still of that character.

So how does God reach us and heal us during these times? He can speak to us through many means: the Bible, a Sunday sermon, a phone call, a note from someone, or something a friend says. At times, it happens that we just know that we know that God has spoken to us. For me it came through a simple three-word change that the Daily editor made to one of the sentences that I had written in another devotional, so that it read, "Am I like the cereal box, all flashy and showy, but giving friends a hard time seeing who I really am inside?" The Lord used this change as an opportunity to speak volumes into this situation.

Yes, I have been holding people back and not letting them into my life. I have been guarded with the people who have tried to come alongside me and help me through this time.

Psalm 12:6 - And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. (NIV)

Thank God that He is not limited in His ability to speak to us!

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You that You work through others to bring healing into our lives. Help us, Lord, to come quickly to You and leave it at Your feet. We thank You that Your timing is always perfect in our lives. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen

Tips for moms

ometimes life runs ahead of us at 100 kilometres per hour and we struggle to keep up.

Here are a few tips I found helpful on staying on the road and in the running for God’s gift as a mother. (these come out of A mom after God’s own heart by Elizabeth George)

1.      Take time to nurture your heart.

You can only teach what you know; you can only teach faith by showing faith. Faith can only be had if we spend time nurturing ourselves (sometimes your quiet time will be on the floor with kids all over you but so be it, take the time, they need to see you do it too)

2.      Teach your children God’s word.

As we learn the verses we can teach our children to remember them with us.

3.      Talk to your children about God

Talk to them not just about what He is, but Who He is.

4.      Tell your children about Jesus

Tell them about Jesus and everything He did, and how much it all means.

5.      Train your children in God’s ways

This is fairly easy; His laws are what we need to teach our children and not the laws of the world.

6.      Take care of your children

Again do the best you can, give them your whole heart and take the time to give the hug when needed.(or even when it’s not)

7.      Take your children to church

8.      Teach your children to pray

Talking to God will help them feel connected to him, praying is not a difficult thing but it is extremely powerful.

9.      Try your best

God expects nothing more from you!

10.   Talk to God about your children.

You can share with Him too, about everything.

These are fairly simply guidelines but our lives sometimes interrupt our routines and we get side tracked.  I am merely posting this as a reminder for us all.

Sometimes our quiet times are spent in between doing dishes or in the car on the way to work, but we have to remember that our children need to see us practice it too, not just as a family but in private too. This helps them understand the position in your life too and not just as lessons for them to learn.  God is not an institution but a life line.  Some have not accepted his blessings yet, but we can show our children that we have and teach them the blessing they are and we receive as a family.  The little hugs and kisses and talks die too quickly as sincere talks and turn into a role that must be played out of responsibility.

Enjoy sharing His love with yourself and your family.