How Heavy Are Your Burdens?

How heavy are your burdens today? Do you feel impatient for God's answer to your prayers? Are your days spent in worry full of anxiety and stressed out, because you can see no end to the valley you are in right now? Maybe God has given you an answer to your prayers. Maybe you just don't want to deal with His answer. Has He given you the command, "Have courage and trust Me. Wait on Me. Hold strong to your faith and I will be there for you when you have patience now." If this is the case and you are seeking guidance check my blog tomorrow for my Sunday post titled, Lord Give Me Patience, and I Need It Right Now!

FaithfulToOne © 2007


Burdens

I do not carry my heavy burdens alone
Though fragile and weak I feel strong
My gracious Lord be with me now
Give me courage not to stumble or fall

I am fully aware that it is your love
Coursing faithfully through my veins
Once a lost soul without you Lord
With no direction, courage, or strength

Terrified I would run and hide

My Lord when I am with you
Dark shadows do not scare me
Your grace lights my troubled path
A Heavenly light so pure and bright

Shadows that cast fear can’t survive

I praise you Lord
For your merciful peace
Contentment calms my heart
Allowing me to focus on you
Discouragement fades away

Lord walk with me
I feel protected close to you
I do not carry my burdens alone
With prayer your spirit
Fills me full


FaithfulToOne © 2005


2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

The Bible As A Soap Opera On Day Time TV?

Back when I was in college, I can remember walking through the Commons (A central campus building for students to come and hang out) on my way to classes every afternoon. I started to notice the same people there every day glued to the television sets. What were they watching? Soap Operas! You know- All My Children, General Hospital, etc. Now, I had never watched soap operas and never had any interest in them to start with, so I had no idea what the obsession was all about. Oh and yes for some it was a real obsession.

Not to long ago when my daughter moved back home to live with me for a while she started watching the soap opera Passions. She would tape it every day to make sure she would not miss it. A couple of times she was watching it when I was home and I sat down to see what the big deal was. This person was cheating on that person, then this person was plotting to kill that person, then this person was caught in a love triangle with that person, then this person was not really the father of the baby that belonged to that person, then this person was blackmailing that person for the indiscretions they committed and did not want anyone to know about, etc.

Oh my gosh, the drama of it all! I could always guess pretty well where the story lines were going, but it took forever for them to get there. They would drag what would normally be one episode on a night time drama, and then drag it out for weeks. Still, I could feel the way people get pulled into these soap operas and I stopped to think why?

Why are we so easily pulled into other people’s tragedies? Are there really so many drama voyeurs out there addicted to other people’s drama, sins, and miseries? Well, sadly the answer is yes. It is a whole lot easier to escape into someone else’s drama than to stop and face your own. I hate to tell you this but sin is in thought, word, and deed. Where is your mind going while you are watching all of this? Is it glorifying Him?

Then I got a great idea! Who knows maybe some big Hollywood screen writer will read this blog and I can say it was my idea first. Ok, I’ll stop the dreaming LOL. Well, my idea is why don’t they take all the dramatic stories in the Bible, put them in a today soap opera format, and spread God’s word that way. Hey, it could work.

My vote for part of the pilot show is The Book of Job. Wow, now if you want to read some drama at its best, read The Book of Job. (This is a very loose translation) So, here you have a man that is tested to his limits with one tragedy after another. Oh, the things that this man has to go through and endure are phenomenal. No, I am not going to tell you the whole story that would wreck it for you. I will tell you that the story has some powerful characters in it like Satan, God, and several more. If they put this in a soap opera format they would have people biting their nails waiting for the next day’s episode. OK, I am a sucker for happy endings, so I will tell you it has a very blessed and happy ending. You say that you have already read Job before? Well then I challenge you to go back and read it again with the soap opera format in mind. It sure made me look at it differently.

Have you ever been like Job? Has there ever been a time that you feel you just can’t take it anymore? You pray and nothing happens? Have you ever lashed out at God in anger? Have others ever been harsh with you when you are ready falling apart? Has God ever had to set the record right with you on an issue? Read Job and there you will find REAL DRAMA!

So often we are so caught up in learning the scripture, decoding the messages given to us in God’s word, listening to sermons about God’s word, and always seeing it in such a sterile setting that we miss what awesome characters and stories there are in the Bible. The Bible has it all people: Murder, mystery, adultery, betrayal, lust, friendship, love, sacrifice, etc. Forget the new television show Heroes, we have the best super hero character there is. The point that is even more totally awesome is that God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit are all real and not just a bunch of fiction.

I’m reminded of a quote my mother had with a picture of a candle hanging on my younger brother’s wall when we were younger. My younger brother could show out with a very bad temper when he was younger. So, to remind him to think first she had this picture hanging up in his bedroom. It said, “Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason!” This quote has a much deeper meaning to me now that I am an adult.

Oh, I almost forgot a couple of things since I was so excited about Job. First, if you want a bit of entertainment listen to Carman’s song, Soap Song. He incorporates the names of many of the soap operas into his song. It is a great entertaining and inspirational song. I have posted the lyrics to the song below with a link to his website. His music and messages are reaching so many people. Second, I have posted 2 poems from when I was going through so tough trials. It is so wonderful to know that if we have faith, trust, and patience in God when a window closes He will open a new door to a place that was even better than before. I look back on these poems now and can’t believe I was ever that low. I am so thankful for God’s love and His many blessings He has given me. Take care and God Bless.

Heavenly Father, I pray today for your continued wisdom and guidance in my life. Keep me from jumping to conclusions when I don’t understand or can’t see things clearly. I want my light to shine for you. Keep my light of reason burning bright so that I may not fall in Satan’s traps showing anger or doubting you. Keep my eyes and life always focused on you, so that my life may always honor you. Father, I praise you for the many doors you have opened in my life already and I look forward to tomorrow committed to my walk with you. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.



Soap Song

By Carman

Gone are the days of Leave it to Beaver,
Matt Dillon and his sidekick Festus.
Now we survive on the immoral lives
Of those of the Young and the Restless!!

It's not that they're young,
They're just uh, restless!
Not doing at all like they should!
So they go to the General Hospital,
And The Doctors can't do 'em no good.

So they keep on with their Search for Tomorrow
Not doing one thing that's right!
And they all end up in Another World,
About to fall off The Edge of Night!

But that shouldn't matter,
Cuz after all, As the World Turns
You only have but One Life to Live!

There remains a blessed hope for you
And All your Children,
More Hope than Ryan could ever give!

If we want true contentment, peace in our homes
With an end to marital strife
We must live for Jesus Christ
The Only Guiding Light
Not one, but All The Days of our Lives!

For more information about Carman's music and mission click here-
http://www.carman.org/index.shtml

If you have just made a decision to follow Jesus or if you want to put a prayer concern on a global prayer chain click here- http://www.carman.org/faith/



In Darkest Hours


I stared lost tonight gazing up at the ebony sky
Wondering why time seemed to keep passing us by
Hopes and dreams like stars once sparkled so bright
Clouds of doubt overcast the damp cold darkened night

There was neither the welcomed heat nor fiery glow
From the reassuring gentle touches felt long ago
And like the blazing sun and summer’s cheerful days
Those precious warm feelings seemed so very far away

The dark lonely winter that now brings a brisk shiver
Satan’s constant jabs causing scarred skin to quiver
His chilling cold touch penetrating deep to the bone
Stirring faithless doubts into the lingering unknown

Still pondering hard on the many thoughts you wrote,
Piercing cold rushes quickly now through my thin coat,
As evil’s grip tightens at my heart urging fright and flight,
With tears falling on my cheek like the rain into the night.

Has God’s gift to us so quickly become last years present,
A lack of faith jeopardizing precious love and commitment,
Have feet strayed from the path stronger legs once traveled,
Faltering and weak seeing hopes and dreams soon unraveled.

Sweet man let us not lose focus on His bright glorious light,
Like the stars His love can pierce through the cold dark night,
I need my “Real Man” his head bowed now with mine in prayer,
Strengthening our faith through the trials we united must share.

Together let us renew our faithful commitment to our loving Lord,
His strength can then be our battle’s shield and unyielding sword,
With prayers and praises Satan’s grip will relinquish to His powers,
We can walk safely comforted through these long stressful hours.

God forgive me for the faithless worries making me falter and weak,
Your heavenly leadership is what I still need and lovingly seek,
I pray humbled for God’s wisdom to still be my blessing and guide,
I pray that His will for you is standing strong in faith by my side.

FaithfulToOne © 2006



I Now Know A Different Path


Lost now forever in the far away distance
Where even straining I can no longer see
Connections your heart once lovingly made
Tenderly in faith reaching out to me

There I stood in faith on our path
Once feeling so lost and alone
Left to wonder why it’s your heart
That felt such a need still to roam

This ring a symbol of undying love
You proposed and asked me to wear
It came with promise and commitment
The same ones you asked me to share

Then came trials of patience and that of time
Commitment must always face the true test
Your faith failed to place love on the altar
Valued and cherished above all the rest

Then to discover your heart so unsettled
It was clear you felt a need still to roam
Your choice sacrificed our hopes and dreams
With it our future, our family, and our home

The time came and our paths were parted
Still I offered this forgiveness and I pray
That in your search someday you’re given
What you chose so freely to take away

May God now bless you and keep you
To guide you in faith each day from above
Seek Him in prayer to lead your search
For the one in faith you really should love

It is Almighty God that now directs me
And fills me full with so much love
His words healed me and now protects me
As I honor his will and direction from above

Oh it’s what He’s really given me now
And not what you chose to take away
With His love in patience I wait on Him
Because I know His love’s here to stay

I have neither worries nor a shed of doubt
My heart feels the anguishing pain no more
Because I see now when He closed a window
He chose to bless me with a new open door

FaithfulToOne © 2006


Job 1:20-22
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Giving God The Tools To Do The Job

Have you ever had the rug pulled out right from under you? If you have or if you are experiencing it right now then you know it is a very devastating experience. Your whole world the way you knew it is changed forever in an instant. You are lost, scared, and in a lot of emotional pain. The experience may come from someone betraying you, from life threatening health issues, from divorce, from the death of a loved one, from the loss of a job, etc. There are different things that can cause this unbelievably stressful time in our lives but the feelings that we deal with are the same. We feel crushed, not knowing where we are going to even find our next breath, or if we even want to sometimes.

I can remember people trying to offer me kind words and encouragement as I was dealing with my divorce. I would smile and thank them. For a moment or for a while I would feel better but then the empty darkness would return and the pain would roll over me again like the tide coming in, flooding me with anguish and desperation.

All that was left was my desperate cry in faith for peace. At first I cried out in faith for peace, but found none. Why was God not answering me? “God you are my only chance! I can’t take this anymore! Please help me!” The problem was I was asking Him to help me but I was not giving Him the tools to do so. How can you expect a surgeon to operate on you and remove the cancer if you don’t give him his scalpel and other tools to do it with?

First we need to throw one tool away. This tool is fear. Fear is Satan’s tool. Fear is the doubt that Satan puts in our mind to mislead us and pull us away from God. Fear is our lack of trust in God’s ability to take care of us and handle what we are going through.

Trust is the first tool we need to turn over to God. How can you expect God to give you peace if you don’t fully trust Him and turn it all over to Him.

Prayer is the next very powerful tool that we need to give to God. We need to keep our connection to God open. How can we expect to be able to deal with things if we do not have a close prayer relationship with God?

Thankfulness is another tool we need to give to God. Yes thankfulness. When we are suffering we often forget or loose sight of the wonderful blessings that we DO have. For me, the one I focused on was my children. If nothing else, I could thank God every day for the blessing of my children. Take time and make a list of your blessings big and small. It may be hard at first to think of them, but after a while it gets easier and more joyful too. Then when you are feeling down you can read over them and offer a prayer of thanks.

The more tools we give to God the more He blesses us. When He blesses us, new tools appear for us to turn over to Him. Hope is one of these tools. When we have faith in God and trust in Him during difficult times we find our hope again. When we turn it over to Him, God fills it up until it is overflowing. Then more tools will appear like peace, contentment, courage, etc. We forget sometimes when we are in pain, that the greatest tool of all is God’s love. To give God this tool to use all we have to do is reach out to Him and call on Him.

You see the real story is that God always had the tools and always will. You just needed to believe this and believe in Him. I have three poems that show the way God can heals us if we trust in Him. They show a progression that I went through. Where are you in your progression today? I pray that you will give God the tools He needs to make you stronger in your walk with Him.



Sound Of Light

Down and at my lowest I take this time to pray
Lord speak to me please
I’m alone now and I don’t know what to say

In silence I wait impatiently listening for Him
Lord speak to me please
The door is open and I want you to come in

FaithfulToOne © 2005


Psalm 37:3-10
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.



Survive

Unable to get a good night’s rest
The weight presses heavy on my chest
It threatens to take my very breath

Can I survive…

A future bleak from all lost hope
Pulls tighter on the noose’s rope
Loneliness choking me inside

Can I survive…

A desperate cry that no one hears
Now all that is shed are silent tears
Defeat shadows with no help in sight

Can I survive…

Depression’s poison flows in my veins
Addicted to my brokenhearted pains
Each new day’s unrest I can’t dissuade

Can I survive…

Exhaustion’s reward shows little peace
I pray each day that this pain will cease
Gripping tightly to my faith I cry

I will survive.

FaithfulToOne © 1998


Psalm 34:15-19
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;



Safe

My past a whisper in the wind
A tranquil quiet gentle breeze
Gusts no longer howl or blow
God heard my weakening pleas

Angels were sent to block the gales
Through the storms of raining tears
And now like the waters washed away
They have vanquished all my fears

I once stood frayed and frightened
In piercing winds and roaring thunder
Then lightening stuck in raging anger
Its target missed I stood with wonder

Still dazed I felt heaven’s warm embrace
My faith looked up into eyes of love
Safe and secure my head bows in prayer
God has heard me and smiled from above

FaithfulToOne © 2006


Matthew 2: 27
27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Is Satan Pulling You Down Today?

My father once told me when I was younger, "Nothing worthwhile is every easy or free." I thought about that the other day and how it pertained to my faith. If anyone tells you it is easy to be a Christian they are wrong. For me taking the leap of faith when I finally heard God calling was easy but since then it has been anything but easy. For me it is easy to have faith but not always easy to live in faith. The things of this world are constantly trying to dilute or dissolve your faith. Satan is very subtle in His ways too. He knows how to eat away at our faith. He will find our weaknesses and use them to take our focus and time away from putting God first in our lives.

Absence does not make the heart grow fonder when it comes to God. It distracts us, cuts off communication, and misdirects us from following the plan that is God's will for our lives. One of Satan's favorite ways is when he puts thorns in our relationships with others. Lust, distrust, betrayal, anger, fear, grief, and emotional pain all suck the life out of our faithful walk if we are not careful.

To me though there is nothing that is more distracting than a broken heart. Nothing is more distracting then when you are so wrapped up in your own grief from a relationship that has ended. The pain and bitterness can be overwhelming if we do not turn it over to God so that He can heal us. When we don't turn it over to Him that is saying to God, "I don't trust you God. I don't think you can do anything about it anyway." God can turn all bad things to good if we only trust in Him. He can bring you a peace and a comfort to allow you to deal with things and to heal you too.

Each day should be started in prayer turning it all over to Him. Each evening should be ended in prayer, before we go to bed turning it all over to Him. You would start your day in a much better mood and get better night's sleep too. I personally can't imagine how I would have survived divorce without my faith in God. The pain at times was so overwhelming but it was my faith that gave me the courage to stand up again. It was faith that healed me.

I said that my father once told me, "Nothing worthwhile is ever easy or free." No it is not easy to be a Christian. There are times that I feel Satan doing his best to pull me down. We can praise God for His love and care because He is there for us if we have faith and trust in Him. It is not free either, but the price was already paid long ago when Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. If you feel Satan pulling on you today, trust God and turn it over to Him.

Resolution

Haunted…
Recollections like ghosts from the past
Returned with a malice melancholy mask
Sleepless lonely nights that woke to somber days

Escaping…
With shallow diversions eluding the unwanted truth
Bringing temporary comfort to the crippling pain
But no lasting relief to depression’s void

Reaching…
Desperately seeking my armor of strength
I tentatively tried to slowly stand again
Finding faith’s promise and prayer my protection

Shaking…
I seek to take my first transcending steps
Patiently to live today without always knowing why
With new found hope I search for love and peace

Healing…
I’ve found learning to understand backwards
I must now face the obstacles to dream forwards
My eyes are open again to the promising new light

Knowing…
I’ll never completely dispel my haunting ghosts
I’m learning now to see transparently through them
Resolution brings to my life new goals and hopes

Living…


FaithfulToOne © 2001


Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.



Praise God for His glorious gift to us. Our Savior's light began to shine for us the day He was born, It shines on us as soon as we accept Him by faith in our hearts, and it will never stop shining. As our faith focuses on Him it just keeps burning brighter.


My Savior’s Light

There is no colder deeper hole
Nor empty darker place
Than to live without my Savior’s light
Shining brightly on my face

My Savior’s light now guides me
Each day begins in Heaven’s care
Footsteps taken to honor Him
In His will I watch and beware

For worldly things drag us down
With shadows that block His light
But my Savior’s love never leaves
His life line shining burning bright

I now search God’s words of wisdom
His plan I continue to seek in prayer
Till the day when Heaven calls me
To finally go to join Him there

FaithfulToOne © 2006

Who Do You Play Your Music For?

It seems that sometimes when we need to hear from God the most He is silent. Sometimes God is silent because He wants us to wait on Him and trust him. Sometimes it is because we are so overwhelmed with painful feelings that we shut and lock our doors afraid to be hurt more. When we do this we sometimes lock God out too.

As I was dealing in the past with a broken heart I felt my pain shutting that door. What a blessing it is that God loves us so much that He never stops knocking. I wrote the poem Fatal Mistake when my heart was in pain. I wrote the second poem Play For Me (God's response) when I heard Him knocking. Are you so wrapped up in the pain you are feeling that you can't hear Him knocking?


Fatal Mistake

You’ve played me like a fiddle
Hearing music from my strings
The kind of beautiful music
That only true love brings

But as the melody played
With a passion sweet and clear
I made the fatal mistake
Because I never stopped to hear

That the music I was playing
Came from one and never two
The music I was hearing
Came from me and never you

The fiddle now sits quiet
And the bow lies very still
The music hasn’t played again
And I guess it never will

No never will that music play
With a melody just for you
No never will I ever again
Give anything to you

Because the music that was playing
Came from one and never two
The music I was hearing
Came from me and never you

FaithfulToOne © 2004


Play For Me

One day gazing at the clouds
I heard Heaven’s music play
Humble I fell to my knees
Then I closed my eyes to pray

Dear Jesus, yes I hear you
He said, “Now, pick up your bow.
I want to hear your music
The new notes are seeds you’ll sew”

“It’s time you play a new tune
Playing for one, no not two
The music that I want to hear
Is played for me not yet you.”

The percussion was my heart
My breathing was the strings
When my soul cried out to God
I heard angels flap their wings

Now Heaven was rejoicing
As they heard sweet music play
God said, “Patience wait on Me
You’ll be blessed if you obey.”

“I have searched the world over
For someone to play for you
But first he must play for Me
Before he can ever play for you.”

FaithfulToOne © 2004

2 Thessalonians 3:5
May the LORD direct your hearts
Into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

Are You Hiding In Your Ivory Tower?

I think a lot of times it is easier to approach someone by reaching through the computer. I know when I was first healing from my divorce I did not want to reach out to anyone because I did not want to take the chance of getting hurt again, yet I still wanted that human social contact. Communicating through the computer was my first chance to reach out again and I was amazed to see how many people were just like me in that respect. Some posted pictures and some didn't worrying if everyone would judge beauty only by what was skin deep. It was safe if you only contacted people that lived far away from you because then you never had to worry about meeting them or running into them. You could meet people and communicate with them on your terms. You could feel in control of the relationship.

There is a danger though with getting wrapped up in a Internet relationship. Actually there are several. First of all are you and the other people you visit with being truthful and up front? Even if you are being truthful, you have to beware because there are a lot of scammers and people that wear false masks for their own selfish reasons. Next, a lot of times people fall into cyber-love. I am not saying people can't find true love on the Internet, but usually if you are only reaching out from your Ivory Tower you are not ready for a real relationship again and this kind of love is not a real faithful true love that will stand the test of time and commitment. It is a love based on two needy people searching for a safe love. They only judge by what they read (and see sometimes) without being able to live the whole story. People write and respond with what they think the other one wants to hear whether they live it or not. Last, the Internet should never be a substitute for interaction with real people. We need to put our trust in God and he will heal us. He will give us direction to find faith, fellowship and friendship with real people that we can interact with in person. God does not want us to hide up in our Ivory Towers. That is Satan's call. If we are hiding in our Ivory Towers we are not able to follow God's will for our lives. We are not able to use our gifts to glorify Him. We are not able to reach out to those that are closest to us. We live in fear and lack the faith and courage to live lives to the fullest with our faith. This is a poem I wrote about my experience.

IM Safe

IM safe
Behind my cyber-walls
Fingertips Caressing the keys
With a familiar
Gentle touch
Translating
Fleeting thoughts

My small mouse
Guides me
Through cyber-time
Clicking cyber-space
To play love and seek
Where IM safe

Hopes and dreams
Flicker like the cursor
On my monitor
Camouflaging reality
Searching the intangible
Invisible

On-line chats
Emoticon and Avatars
Puppet my moods
As I receive flirts
And messages from
Distant places

I can smile and LOL
Available
Feeling close
Message sent
Untouchable
IM safe

FaithfulToOne © 2004