God's mother, Mary

This Mary - the mother of God - has always been so important in my life. When I was growing up, I often felt alone and unloved. I would go and let Mary, whom I imagined as my Mother, hold me, comfort me. I would even talk to her, and I knew she was there, stroking my hair, and being my "Mother". I prayed to her. She was who I could relate to as someone who would hear me and care about me and I felt comfort from that.

Then one day, I was "baptized in the Holy Spirit" after a Life in the Spirit Seminar. Everything changed. I knew God, the creator of the whole universe, the God who supposedly sat on His throne in the heavenlies and was so untouchable - I knew HE loved me. I felt His love. He became my heavenly Father. And Jesus was alive!!! The Holy Spirit was revealing truths to me - then and He still is. The Bible came alive to me. It really is the word of God. He speaks to me through it. What an amazing life this is! One of the readings I read and still read often is Chapter 2 of the book of John. Verse 5 is important: "His mother instructed those waiting on table, 'Do whatever He tells you.' "

That is what I feel Mary did for me. I know she was with me through out my life, but when the time was ready she led me to Him and said "do whatever HE tells you to do." I believe that is Mary's role. Leading us to Jesus. She gave birth to Him - brought Him into our world. She was with Him to the bitter end of His life. She buried him behind the big stone. She was there when He came out of that grave. She was among those who witnessed Him walking amongst us. She was in the upper room with the other followers of Jesus, praying in the spirit for the Holy Spirit to come down on them as Jesus had promised, and they would receive power from on high.

Mary is a model for my life. And I do try to do whatever He tells me. Jesus is my Lord and Savior! Mary pointed the way.

Isaiah 46: 3-4

In my prayer this morning, I was lead to this scripture! I was amazed and blessed, as usual.
Here is what it said to us:

"Listen to me, House of Jacob
all you who remain of the House of Israel,
you who have been carried since birth,
whom I have carried since the time you were born. (I see this as the Lord speaking to me
directly, and you, too! God wants us to listen to Him. He wants to let us know how
He has always been with us, and has carried us. Reminds me of the poem "Footprints".)

"In your old age I shall be still the same,
when your hair is grey I shall still support you.
I have already done so, I have carried you,
I shall still support and deliver you."

Isn't this wonderful? God is so good, and so awesome.

I can remember going through tough stuff when I was in high school, and I leaned heavily on Mary, the mother of God. (I hadn't met Jesus, her Son, yet). I felt my Lord was there, protecting and leading me as long as I can remember. I didn't realize this at the time, but now as I look back, I know HE IS STILL THE SAME, and HE IS STILL SUPPORTING ME! And He means this for all of us! Doesn't that just give you goose bumps to know the God we serve is so wonderful and cares so much!

I do feel the aging process harrassing me these days. I told Linda the other day that I I'm getting older, but I'm tired of it, so I don't think I'll do it anymore. I get depressed when I hurt so much, and can't do what I used to do, and then I hear these words through the Bible from my Lord and Savior! This lifted me all day, and I read this scripture several times today to remind me of God's love.

Hallelujiah!

QUIET TIME WITH GOD

Psalm 23 is such a beautiful, peaceful psalm with lots of powerful and beautiful thoughts in it. It is a good one to meditate with often.

I find that a daily time of Bible reading and prayer is essential in my walk of faith. Quiet time with God - a time away from the busy-ness of my day - away from the phone, the TV, the computer, yes even time away from Phil - helps me connect with God. "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:2) The "green pastures" and "still waters" are more than a perfect country scene. They speak of our communion with God whereby He "restores our souls and leads us in His paths" (verse 3).

All of us can make time to meet with God, but do we? Here is a suggestion for a way to begin: Start with a short prayer for guidance, ask The Holy Spirit to lead you, then read the Bible for a few minutes, and close with a short time of prayer that includes adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and prayers for others. It's vital to take time today to connect with the Lord, who is our life.

I like to think of it like this: I have an appointment with my doctor. I would never think of not going with such excuses as "I'm too tired today", "it's too cold or too hot", "I'm sick", "I need to go shopping" . . . . No, I would not do that. I keep my appointment. That's what I need to do with My Lord. And that's the most important appointment I could ever have! Keeping a daily appointment with GOD is a vital part of the Christian life. The more time we spend with God -- reading His Word, conversing with Him in prayer, meditating on thoughts from His Word - - the better we get to know Him and the more our lives begin to reflect His image and His truth. It's so worth the effort and the time.

I like to have a journal at my fingertips so I can jot down thoughts and scriptures, etc., that I receive when I'm praying. Later when I go back and read these journals, I see God at work in my life. I know My Lord is sitting with me. Sometimes I feel His presence, hear His words to me, feel His touch - Other times, I feel like He has forgotten me. But, I know that the rest of my day (or night) will go a lot better, and somehow everything I wanted to get done, does get done.

I also like to listen to music during this time. A very wonderful gift from God for us. Music seems to chase the blues away, seems to chase the devil - and all he thinks he's going to do - away.

I will be doing a time of teachings on prayer - what I have learned through the years - and I will be posting it here. Please share your thoughts, your prayers, your opinions whenever you want to.

God bless you!