Invisible Cross

By Pat

Ash Wednesday was last week, the day that marks the beginning of Lent. In churches worldwide, Christians receive the mark of a cross on their forehead and wherever they go, they are seen as followers of Christ.

I hope the world around me can label me a Christian after I have washed off the remnants of that cross, because it takes a lot more than that to show your faith and to proclaim your Christianity. In fact, the things most effective are not visible at all, but yet they speak volumes and can change the world.

Let me have the invisible cross of loving-kindness, generosity and gratitude. Let me give love unconditionally and forgive without hesitation. Let me be quick to hold another's hand, and just as quick to hold me own sharp tongue. Let my actions, words and thoughts be Christ-like. Let me be an empty vessel, ready and willing to be used by my Lord every moment.

The cross on my forehead on Ash Wednesday is nice, and I like it. But the unseen cross, the one I carry in my heart and soul, is the one that really matters. Nothing can wash it away. I pray that God will help me to be more like Jesus, so that people know I am a Christian not by what is on my forehead, but by how I live my life.

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." (James 2:18)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Timing

By Pat

We have had a very mild winter and, as a result, there are some spring plants that have already started to pop out of the ground. Crocuses are blooming, daffodils are coming up all over my neighborhood, and while it is a wonderful reminder that spring is right around the corner, it's not time yet. It's too early. And it will affect them later in the spring when it's actually the right time for them to be blooming.

Everything has been designed by God to bloom and grow at it's appointed time, including us. If we try to trust our own timing on what we're supposed to be doing, we usually find ourselves out of sync in our lives and unable to succeed in our service to God. But if we wait on the Lord, He will prime the conditions around us to enhance our growth. He always knows best...and His timing is always perfect. But our inability to be be patient and to truly listen for God's instructions causes us to take matters into our own hands, and we find that we are unable to bloom properly when the time is truly right.

Diligent prayer, frequent scripture reading, and learning to tune out the distractions of life will help us greatly in our quest to bloom properly for God. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it!

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Ripples

By Pat

As a child, I loved to skip rocks across water. I was never very good at it, and usually lost the "rock-skipping" contests, but I still had fun doing it. Although it's been a long time, I still remember that each time the rock skimmed the water, it left a ripple wherever it touched, so that the ripples were plentiful all the way to where the rock would sink.

Our lives are like those rocks. No matter where we are or what we're doing, our actions make ripples. What we might think is insignificant just might not be. It affects others in some way, who will affect others in some way, and so on and so on, thus creating ripples in the world. God's world. For you see, God uses each of us to make the ripples that make or break the lives we touch.

Never be afraid to skip across the water and make positive ripples in your life, for you never  know who you are affecting, or in what way. Be a shining light. Spread God's love and goodness wherever you go. If were were each mindful that every word we speak, every deed we do, is a ripple, we can as a team make this world a much better place.

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise you Father in Heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Wait for God's Moves

By Pat

I have just recently begun playing an interactive word game very similar to Scrabble, with my phone, that I just love. My opponents and I take turns making our moves against each other at our leisure, each trying to out-score the other. It's great fun for me. I love the challenge and I go to great lengths searching for just the right spot for my letters, especially the high point ones.

There have been several times I have had my eye on a particular spot, one that I am determined to use... lots of points! I wait, just like a spider for the perfect time to move in for the kill. I want that spot! I wait for just the right letter. And wait... sometimes in vain. The opportunity never pans out. But if I move my eyes around and check to see what else is available, many times I see chances for my words to be made in different spots, maybe not exactly what I had in mind, but even better! If only I would just shift my focus.

I have been the same way in my day-to-day living and I know I'm not alone. I see my life and the moves I should make MY way, while more often than not God sees it entirely differently. What looks perfect to me becomes my focus, and God has to remind me to shift my focus and allow Him to make the moves. His ways are always better. He knows just where to place me, and when. It's not always easy to let go of my focus, but if I allow God to move me, I win every time-for Him.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

God is in Control

By Pat

The past several years have been very trying for my family, and I know I am not alone in this. Many of my friends have also recently had some very difficult, stressful, and in some cases life-changing situations. And my mother, once vibrant and healthy, has had some serious health issues that continue daily, with no end in sight. We have all asked ourselves and God why... it just doesn't make sense. We can easily become discouraged. We want answers and resolutions. We seek the missing pieces of the puzzles that are our lives, forgetting that we are not the puzzle-makers. God is.

It's at these times we need to remember that no matter what it going on, God is in control. Always has been, always will be. We do not walk alone, and these times of turmoil can and should be used to draw closer to God. No one builds muscles by continually walking downhill. Personally speaking, it's through the deep struggles that I grow closer to God.

This life we lead and our reactions to the problems we face are what will determine our future in God's eternal kingdom. Instead of constantly trying to make sense of our circumstances, we should just accept that sometimes there IS no sense, and just use our struggles to become better children of God. Someday...someday it will all make sense, and it will all have been worth it!

"Therefore we do not lose hope. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.