Amie's ponderings...

Bear, Tater, and Bitty

The Mommy in me says...
~ get out of the rain ~ you're going to catch a cold ~ you're dripping on the floor ~
The child in me says...
~ sing in the rain ~ how can so much fun make you sick? ~ I'm not dripping, Mommy ~
The Mommy in me says...
~ eat your meat and veggies or no dessert ~ wash your hands ~ don't run in the house ~
The child in me says...
~ ice cream first ~ dirt makes stuff taste better ~ I can't slide if I don't get a running start ~

How often do we reprimand our children in their best interest? How many times a day do we say "no", "get down", "don't touch"? We don't enjoy it. In fact, there are days when I wish I never had to say "NO" again. It seems so unfair to take away the "fun". But when the fun is dangerous...how can we NOT say "no"?

Proverbs 3:12 (New King James Version)

¹² For whom the LORD loves He corrects,
      Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

God disciplines us because He loves us. We discipline our children, because we love them. How could we possibly turn a blind eye to them when we care so much? God cares so much that He sent Christ to die for us. And Christ loves us so much, He didn't walk away, but He walked forward...straight to the cross. 

  

     

1 Kings 9:3

The Lord said to him: "I have heard the prayer and the plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there."

Years ago, I did a Bible study by Beth Moore called, "A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place". Through the indepth study of the Old Testament Tabernacle, I learned what the Temple of God truly is. ME! My body! This human form is a living, breathing temple for my God to live in. He can work through me, talk to me, heal me, love me, carry me...He has heard my prayer and my plea...He has consecrated THIS temple and placed His name on me for eternity! I am never alone.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

This is what the Lord says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

On whom, do I depend? Man? God? Am I a bush in the wasteland always fretting? Or am I a tree near the stream that is confident in the promises of my Savior?

How do we stand tall and strong when faced with droughts in our lives? Do we have faith that God will really provide all He promised? Is it a pipe dream?

I believe in the promises of God. I turn to Him in all my needs and have found Him to be reliable and faithful in response to my faithful belief in Him. It sounds so "religious" to say that! How do I explain that to someone who doesn't believe? My biggest fear? My biggest fear is that my unsaved friends will die without knowing the ONE way to heaven. I am afraid that my life does NOT bear fruit...that I am appearing to my friends as a bush and not a tree.

My daughter asked me if being baptized as a baby meant you would go to heaven. It was hard to tell her the truth. Yes, I told her about the age of accountability and all that. But when she actually understood that some of the people we know may go to Hell, even though they are good people, it really seemed to scare her. The advice I gave my sweet daughter was to share the GOOD news with everyone. She is so innocent in her love for Jesus, that she just shines with it. I want to be like that. A city on a hill. Not hiding my light under a bushel, or letting Satan blow it out.

What is next? Where do I go from making this decision, to acting on it? How do I get "transplanted" from the wastelands to the lush valley stream?