Seeds

Are any of you like me?  You like to see a little growth from your planting efforts?

Well, Jesus spoke to this in Mark 4.  Jesus shared that some seeds will last, but not all of them will produce.  Check out the parable for yourself today.

The last several years many of you know that through the ministry I've had the joy of teaching many women that have faced addictions, abuse, and more difficulties than one truly is able to imagine.  Honestly, after a couple of years I had to step away because I was taking it so personally when the seeds did not grow or I wasn't able  to see the growth.  I was actually becoming very depressed with the situations and the circumstances.  I was not coping very well.  The women were struggling with very difficult situations and many were by things they had no control over and others were bad choices, but all of it was very, very sad and difficult.  No easy answers.

One Sunday morning at Summer Grove Baptist I was speaking to a Sunday school class that had requested I come to share about what was happening with the ministry.  Frankie was attending with me and we were sharing with this class.  We were sharing the good, but also the bad.  I guess our feelings of sadness were showing through and one man gently reminded us that all we could do and all our job was...is to plant the seeds.  It was such a moment to be reminded of Jesus words and it was so loving, because truly I felt Jesus speak through this man's reminder.

Well, last night I was sitting in a restaurant when I ran into one of the ladies.  I spoke to her and ask her how she was and she began to share the little seeds that were planted in her journey through our time together in Bible study.  I truly didn't believe she would remember a word with all of the addiction problems, but God taught me in that moment that He is able to use the seeds through any situation.  It was also such a wonderful moment of healing for me.  All of the feelings of doubt, of sadness seem to ease with the realization that indeed we will not see whether the seeds produce, unless God gives us a wonderful gift at the most unexpected moments.  God gifted me that indeed some of the seeds were planted!

I share this today with encouragement to continue to plant the seeds and allow God to do the rest!  Check out Mark 4 and be reminded about "the planting of seeds".

Planting the seeds,

Deb

Sharing with friends

I just want to tell you that I love God's Word!

I also love my friends!

Put these two together and it is a great time!  Last night I had a few friends over to share salads and then desserts!  Yes, we had salad first and then some awesome pound cake and red velvet poke cake.  Yes, it was too good.

I have had a new thought for some time that God placed on my heart about sharing God's Word and I wanted to try it out on a few people before the fall.  It was truly a special time of laughter and honesty.  I treasure the things that God does through these special times with opening my eyes and my heart to new thoughts and concerns.  We are women that look different, come from different backgrounds, some are married, some are not, some are mothers, some are not, some are well...we are all different, but we have one thing in common ~  OUR FATHER!

Thanks friends for your feedback and most of all for your love!  

I can't wait to the fall to share with more friends!

I want to close today with an encouragement to all of you reach out and find a bible study group that will soon become some of your best friends!  Be brave, take the first step.  Call some local churches or watch on Facebook, when friends invite you and take a step of faith by attending and grow together in God's Word.  It is a wonderful gift that you give yourself, just by showing up!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Jump

Okay, would it be easier to jump if the seas were calm or if they looked like this?  Would it make a difference to you?

Peter is one of my favorite people in the Bible.  Peter speaks before thinking so many times, yet he loves so deeply, he wants to do something now, he is so human like you and me.  

The story is found in Matthew 14 of Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water.  I love this story and today I was given a new thought by the Holy Spirit.  Would Peter have gotten out if the waters had been calm?  Peter was a fisherman, so he knew that storms like this caused a lot of people to die by staying with the boat.  Another thought is did he jump out or carefully get out of the boat?  Did he jump right into the water?  If the waters were calm, would he have felt the need so deeply to get out of the boat?

Do you remember when you were learning to swim?  I do.  It was a local swimming pool with a Coach that I trusted.  I knew he would catch me, but the waters were pretty calm and I was still very nervous when the day came to jump into the deep end. Even with Coach Mitchell  right there to catch me, if something went wrong.

Well, all of this got me to thinking.  Did people swim during biblical times?  Only thing I've found so far is not much, if at all.  So Peter was a fisherman that couldn't swim that jumped into the water.  Don't  you love him?  Yes, he was flawed, but so am I.  He was impatient, so was I.  He was willing, but am I?

How willing are we to jump into the sea?  How willing are we to begin the adventure that God is asking each of us to take?  Are you ready to jump in the water?  Are you waiting for rough seas before you jump?

God is asking all of us to jump in to wherever He is calling us to serve.  Don't compare your place to jump.  He calls each of us to our own individual journeys and they all look different.  Don't play the comparison game just jump where He is calling you...calm or rough go for it!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Full of flavor

Ever ordered a meal and it had no taste at all?

What about on the other hand you order something and wow your mouth is filled with all kinds of wonder?

I am reminded this morning of the text from Matthew 5:13 ~

"You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses it saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

Jesus is in the middle of sharing the Beatitudes with the crowds.  The BE's as I like to call them.  Jesus is sharing things we need to be, which requires action.  It means taking care of business.  We have to do something.

Simple verse it seems taken at face value.  Let's pick it apart together.

Do you still have your flavor?  Are you still effective?  Are you still serving your purpose?  Are you still adding some wow to the dish?  Are you still making people think?  Perhaps your message is par for the course no flavor, no challenge, no stepping on toes, well perhaps we might need to add some salt and even a little pepper to our service.  We might need to even need to add some new flavors to the dish...something a little outside our comfort zone to allow God to grow us even more.  Growth is not always comfortable or easy.

So today I leave you with this thought...are you adding flavor to the message?

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Rejoice and be glad...

The past few days I stepped back in time or it seemed I did to relax and enjoy!

Yes, I went with Kenny and our doggies to Oklahoma.  It was wonderful.

Every night I went to sleep with the birds chirping or singing, the wind blowing and the windows open.  It was wonderful and I woke up the exact same way enjoying the sounds of nature.  

Thank you Lord for the gentle reminder to step back and rejoice and give thanks for everything.  Yes, the simple things of life sometimes bring us the greatest joy!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie