Faith For the Journey

There used to be a little ol’ Baptist preacher by the name of Reverend Banks.  Reverend Banks would often sing a song called, Father Along.  It is a beautiful song but as  a youngster attending church I did not fully understand or appreciate exactly what the words to that song really meant.  Since I lived some more of life I have come to know and appreciate the lyrics of this song.  The words are a comfort to me on days when life just doesn’t make sense and there are no answers to comfort the worries of…..why?  Ever been there?  Well let me encourage you today, to cheer up my brother, my sister… live in the sunshine and know that you will understand all by and by.  Now, you can make yourself crazy and sick trying to understand and find answers, and sometimes that is okay to a certain point, but after you have hit some bricks walls followed up by headaches in search of these answers, then you have to trust in the by and by. It is not easy, but there is peace in the by and by.  You might still be hurting, but there is a soothing balm in the by and by.  Folk might be smearing your name from one end of town to the other, but God knows the truth and by and by we will all know the truth of ourselves and each other.  Cheer up!  Live in the sunshine!  In other words, keep hope for better days alive in your mind and know that you will understand it alllll by and by!  Hallelujah!

Peace

Here are the lyrics to the song:

1. Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder
   Why it should be thus all the day long;
   While there are others living about us,
   Never molested, though in the wrong.
   • Refrain:
     Farther along we’ll know more about it,
     Farther along we’ll understand why;
     Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,
     We’ll understand it all by and by.
2. Sometimes I wonder why I must suffer,
   Go in the rain, the cold, and the snow,
   When there are many living in comfort,
   Giving no heed to all I can do.
3. Tempted and tried, how often we question
   Why we must suffer year after year,
   Being accused by those of our loved ones,
   E’en though we’ve walked in God’s holy fear.
4. Often when death has taken our loved ones,
   Leaving our home so lone and so drear,
   Then do we wonder why others prosper,
   Living so wicked year after year.
5. “Faithful till death,” saith our loving Master;
   Short is our time to labor and wait;
   Then will our toiling seem to be nothing,
   When we shall pass the heavenly gate.
6. Soon we will see our dear, loving Savior,
   Hear the last trumpet sound through the sky;
   Then we will meet those gone on before us,
   Then we shall know and understand why.

Just a word of encouragement today….please do not allow broken people to break you.  I have lived with some heartaches and disappointments, and at one point that pain was pushing me into places that I was not designed or destined to be in.   The devil will make a fool out of you, but God is a keeper for those who want to be kept.

It was either my mother or father that once told me that no matter what you do…stay on the right side of the road.  That is what I am telling you today– stay on the right side of the road  This is a road that I have walked for a long time and recently I thought that the right side was not leading me to where I want to be.  Let me tell you right now that the left side of the road and all of the rabbit trails that leads from it –  may look appealing and may seem to answer all of the questions of your heart, but there is a scripture in the Bible that says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” – Proverbs 14:12.  Don’t allow what God has purposed for your life to be devoured by your lack of trust in God and all that he has for you. 

Too often people think that you miss out or you suffer too much when you try to do the right thing.  Well, the right side of the road is not a picnic, but there is freedom in good clean living.  As you walk on the right side of road, you will cry sometimes, you lose friends, folks will talk about you, folks will lie on you, you may have to date yourself, you will be lonely….but I would rather be lonely than to be a feast for the world.

This is not popular, I  know.  We are trained to make Christianity appear to super positive and you should never have any problems otherwise you are not doing your Christianity right lol, weird but true.  I don’t want to set anyone up for disappointment, it does rain on the right side of the road, but the sun is always shining somewhere and it will shine on you again too.

Don’t allow what broke you…..to break you.

Peace- Helen

Think for a minute – what is slowly fading you today?  Drugs, sex, lying, stealing, food (yes, food ), pornography, countless empty relationships, jealousy…..?

What is stealing your victory in your Christian walk today?  We allll have something and part of healing is being honest with yourself.  In order to get right, you have got to be real!

Remember, people never crumble in a day…..

Odd title huh, but we all have a “this”.

“The voice of truth says THIS is for my glory”…..I love that line in this song.  What is your “this” today?  What giant are you dealing that seems unconquerable?  What is telling you today that you will never complete a goal, that you will never accomplish your dreams, that you will never be well, what is telling you that no one will ever love you and cherish to no end, what is keeping you from getting out of bed and putting purpose in your feet for the day, what is keeping you locked up in fear….in the world of “I can’t”????

I want to challenge you today to listen for that voice of truth.  Notice I did not say a voice of truth, I said the voice of truth, the voice of Jesus.  There are a lot people that will speak into your life, but they did not author your life and redeem your life as Christ did and often what you are told by others can be contaminated and meant to serve their purpose, not yours.

There is a “different story” to what you see in your life right, but you have to make the choice to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Helen

I went to bed last night feeling rather down.  I received the same news about three different people yesterday and by the end of the day I just didn’t even know how I felt.  I wasn’t mad, I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t sad or even frustrated.  I went to bed feeling some kind of way…..ever been there?   I didn’t ask God for an explanation, or to help me understand my path…. I just went to sleep.

God is sooo good!!!  I woke up this morning from a dream  or I call them glimpses from God.  It was incredible.  There was no knight in shining armor to soothe away my cares.  I was not rich with extravagance at my fingertips, but I was standing in my destined place and the presence of God was all around and there was one word in the atmosphere that was repeated over and over again.

That dream was my divine marching order from God, telling me that it is not going to be easy, but also never to give up…..there is a destined place for each of us and every day is filled with opportunities to draw us that much closer into alignment.  Don’t give up……cry, feel the disappointment, betrayal will come, laugh when you can, play when time permits, balance rest and work, but never forget that you have an assignment, an appointment with your destined place…. train your ear to listen to God’s cues and get there…..you HAVE to get there.

Helen

As I was driving into work this morning I was blessed to hear this song on the radio and it really got me to thinking.  So many people, are looking for the place that this song speaks of and all I can say is keep living, keep trusting the Lord, and keep your eyes on Him and one day before long you are going to look up and find yourself in “this place”.  Those of you who are going through heartaches today from losing a loved one, a bad relationship, an illness, rejection or simply not being where you know you should be… the pain will stop, the tears will cease to fall, and one day you are going to feel a flutter in your chest and no, it will not be a bubble!  lol… it will be your heart coming back to life again, it will be coming off of cruise control and will start to feel again.  The key is not to let the storm clouds keep you from your journey.  Get an umbrella, put on a parka, gather up your rainboots….do whatever you have to do but keep pressing on.  Don’t sit back and watch others bask in the sunshine of their journey, if you give up now the only thing that you can do is wish that you were there.

I see my “this place” on the horizon and I am pressing on…….

I stumbled across this beautiful worship song. I completely forgot that I used to sing and play this song on the piano….time to get back to that.

It is funny how the adversary will continue to do the same things in an effort to knock you off course. The things that I used to get mad at, irate at…..I just kind of shake my head now and move on.

This afternoon a notion passed through my mind that said in order for me to “have anything healthy”, healthy relationships, healthy affiliations… etc. that I was going to have to completely separate myself from a person that I have known for almost 20 some years. I kind of tucked that away in the back of my mind until stumbled across something this evening that confirmed that notion.

I have come to the conclusion that there are people who don’t want you to okay, because they are not okay themselves and sometimes you have to leave people where they are at and pray that they look in the mirror…… not to straighten the mask that they wear, but to take it off and look at themselves and the things that they knowingly to do others to cause pain, division, or just being manipulative.

The holiday season or what is often called the season of giving is coming to an end. During the month of December thousands of people had warm fuzzies across the world as they gave to those who have less than most other people. Hunger does not end at Christmas, abuse shelters and homeless shelters still have needs beyond Christmas, and a child that is living at a local children’s home would still appreciate a toy or coloring book beyond the season. What am I rambling on about?

It is this….please consider allowing the spirit of giving to continue in your life through the remainder of the year and into the next. Yes, there are people who take advantage, but there are a lot more people who don’t and so many times those are the people who never ask for help.

Find a cause that you are passionate about, one that gives you butterflies and help that cause. You don’t have to help everyday or not even every week. Perhaps once a month or once every few months…. as long a you give.

Come on, let;s keep those warm fuzzies flowing. Any act of kindness or thoughtfulness counts!

Peace,

Helen

I so completely love this song that is sung by Point of Grace.  This song paints such a vivid picture about Mary giving birth to Jesus.

I am so glad that Mary did not act a fool when the Angel came upon her and told her what was to come in the weeks and months ahead.  I am sure that she wasn’t completely thrilled, but with a yielded heart she walked out this magnificent purpose that God ordained especially for her.

The song speaks of Mary and Joseph, and then describes the baby in her womb as the …..

Maker of the Moon, the Author of the Faith, one that can make the mountains move…..wow

Makes me wonder…. what I am holding in my spiritual womb that has yet to be birthed?  What are you holding dear friends that will affect your community, the nations, perhaps the world?    While it is an honor to be used of God, sometimes we are not completely thrilled, it is uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Talk about inconvenient, Mary was to be married to Joseph and then boom!  She is pregnant.  Joseph probably looked at her crazy at first and you know how people talk….creating a past that you were never even an active participant in and you have to live with the lies.  Ohhhh, but the grace that is bestowed by God!

Sometimes we don’t even think that we can do what we are being called to do.  The absolute truth is that you will not experience the grace until you start walking it out.  God’s grace is not active in our hesitancy, His grace becomes active when we begin to fulfill the purpose that He has laid before us.  He gives us the grace to do what he has purposed…..

Think…..what is your labor of love?