Focus, that really is a very important word. To get anything done in life, it must take focus. How much or how little depends on the task at hand, but it all boils down to what our attention is on. Have you ever stopped to take a look at what your focusing on?
Some choose to focus on anger. I think the extremists in the different religions can be fit into this category. But there may be some you haven’t thought of. Those who can snap at the drop a hat, those who just seem to hate the world and everyone in it. Those who appear to be stuck in their anger of their past. We have all seen them or been around them at some point in our lives. I’m not saying that anger is all bad, it is actually very healthy for us if it is handled appropriately. But it can be very dangerous and unhealthy for us if that becomes our focus.
What about worry?? I think there are those who choose this as their primary focus. Worry about what tomorrow may bring, always scared to try or accept anything new or different. Worried of what they have to lose by opening up. Even worried that something bad might happen to their children if they let go too much (everyone has known an overprotective parent in their lives before.). Fear can be located in this same category.
I could go on for hours with this post. We could bring up focusing on money, focusing on yourself, on possessions, on nothing but having a good time, and on and on....... I’m sure you could even think of a few I haven’t mentioned. But that really isn’t the intent of this post. My intent was to give you something to focus on that would let everything else just fall into place. I want to talk with you about focusing on Jesus..........
Peter and the other disciples got on a boat and were going to the other side, Jesus told them to go on and he would meet up with them later. That night, the wind picked up, causing huge waves, which I’m sure tossed the boat this way and that. The disciples saw something approaching the boat, a dark figure of a man walking on the water!! At first they were terrified, thinking it was a ghost, till Jesus spoke out and told them it was Him.
Peter, being the kind of man that he was, asked Jesus if he could come to Him. Jesus simply replied, “Come.” Without hesitation, Peter stepped off the boat, and began walking on water, making his way to the Lord. All of a sudden, Peter realized he was on top of the water, and just how big the waves were around him. He began to sink, to fall into the abyss of the ocean. He called out for Jesus to save him, which Jesus promptly did. When they got back into the boat, Jesus asked him why he didn’t have faith enough........
You see, when we make Jesus our focus, when we are concerned with nothing but getting closer to our Lord and Saviour, we will walk on water, so to speak. I can’t help but to wonder, how big a decision that was for Peter, to take that first step off of that boat. But you see, when That is our goal, our focus, God will make provision for us to get there. Everything will fall into place. God will not allow us to sink under life’s struggles or problems.......We will walk on water!! It’s when we start focusing on the many different waves coming at us, instead of Jesus that we find ourselves in trouble, sinking under those huge waves crashing all around......
I ask you again, where is your focus today?? Are you sinking?? Or are you walking on water, knowing and having faith that those waves are not out of God’s control? Lord help me to focus on you today, I want to see you Lord, I NEED to see You. I can’t do this on my own, my waves are too big......Thank You so much for always being there with an outstretched hand when I do lose my focus.....when I focus on those waves instead of You......Rev....
My song tonight, speaks directly to my soul.........It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it and think about exactly what it is saying.
Open The Eyes Of My Heart Michael W Smith
“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up Shinin' in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up Shinin' in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy
(Repeat two more times)
Holy, holy, holy We cry holy, holy, holy You are holy, holy, holy I want to see you
Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy You are holy, holy, holy I want to see you
Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy, I want to see you
Sorry I haven't replied to the comments from my earlier post, I promise I will, I just really have this on my mind and want to get it out there before it's gone. Funny how that works, seems the older I get the quicker I better get it wrote down, lol!!!!
I've been asked before (and often wondered myself) how a person passes through a storm. What I mean by this is, everyday I meet and/or talk with those who are struggling with things, whose life has given them a bunch of lemons so to speak. Often times, even though they are totally different people, we go through the same types of storms. Some are just a sprinkle while others bring hurricane force winds with them..... But I wonder why it seems one person can go through a storm and seem to bounce back fairly quick, almost unscathed, while others seem to struggle just to be able to stand?
Of course there can be MANY different reasons for this, but that is really not the intent of this post. This post will hopefully be an encouragement to those who feel like they can't stand under all the pressure right now. For those who wonder why they can't get through thier storm like Joe/Jane Doe who had a storm just like the one they are facing a little bit ago.... It came to me as I was pulling in my driveway from work today.......I want to tell you a story of my rosebushes.
When my oldest daughter was born, my aunt and uncle bought us an Arbor, with two climbing rose bushes to plant on each side in honor of our new arrival. These two plants were the exact same size, same shape and they came from the same place. To look at the two of them, you could not tell one apart from the other.
As I struggled to put them in the ground (our ground is hard as a rock!!!), I was very careful to plant them EXACTLY as it said on their card. I dug to the depth it recomended, and the exact width (I even had my tape measure to be sure, lol!). When I was finished, these rose bushes were only about two feet apart from each other, growing up this arbor.
Well, it didn't take long to realize that the bush on the right just exploded while the one on the left seemed like it was a struggle not to wither away and die. For a year and half we tried everything we could think of on the left side to try and make it grow like the other one. We fertilized, we watered, we put stuff on it to kill bugs (even though we didn't see any). We even resorted to cutting the right side down some so it wouldn't look so lop-sided!!
After two years, the one on the right had almost reached the bottom of the other side, while the one on the left barely reached the top (I think it was actually about halfway over the top.). Despite our best efforts, we really didn't see where all our work had paid off at all, so I decided to just let it be. I mean why waste all that time and money if it wasn't even helping, right??
Well, my daughter turned 3 this past March, and I am elated to tell you that the left side rose bush is almost as big as the right side, almost touching the bottom of the right side now. They are absolutely beautiful!! I'll try and remember to take a picture as soon as they bloom. You almost cannot tell a difference anymore between the two until you get up close to them.
You see, even though they started out the same, even though they both went through the exact same storms in thier lives, the one on the left just needed a little more time to reach the end. It wasn't that the one on the right had a better life than the other, or that the one on the left had it that much worse. In the end, time was all that mattered. It made it, it wound up making it just as far as the other side, and is just as beautiful!!
To those of you struggling right now, wondering why you are having such a hard time, worrying that you'll never make it to the other side like you see others who have..........Hang in there, trust in God, let those around you help you stand when you are unable, and you will make it. You just need a little more time is all. Hope you get a blessing out of this as I did when it *popped* in my head!!
*Special thanks to June for this post for telling me her illustration of roses and life. I think that really helped me come up with the idea for this post. Thanks!!! If you haven't heard it before, drop by her place and ask her, I'm sure she'd be glad to share!!*
Well, we had our first injury where my oldest actually had to go to the doctor yesterday. My wife's parents were finally over the illnesses they were passing to each other and we were over there celebrating Easter with them. One of the presents my daughter got was a necklace that you could take apart and blow bubbles with it. Those of you that know her know just how much bubbles thrill her soul!!
Anyway, she went outside on their covered porch with my wife's younger brother to play with her joyous gift. As he was blowing bubbles, she was trying to *pop* them, just having a grand ole time. We don't really know if she tripped or just lost her balance, but she fell face first onto the edge of the 2X4 that hold the bottom part of the screen tight.
At first I couldn't even find any mark on her. We checked her mouth, head, nose, and just about any other part you could imagine to check. After a few minutes of crying, she wanted to get back down and play with more bubbles. Well, while we were all sitting at dinner, we noticed a bruise form on the side of her nose and trace up across the bridge of her nose and up her forehead. A perfect line of where she hit. We also noticed dried blood in both nostrils, which floored me because her nose never bled.... I checked and re-checked for blood when it first happened.
Not long after seeing the bruise, we noticed that it was also swelling. Not extreme swelling, but enough to cause concern about maybe a broken nose or even concussion. We called her doctor and told them what had happened and of course they said they would like to see her.
Well, they don't think her nose is broke, but they said there was too much swelling to really be sure right now. They said to watch her for 7 days and when the swelling begins to come down, check to see if it is still very tender or looks crooked. If we notice any of those two things, they would like her to go see an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor) for further treatment.
Bless her little heart, I feel so bad for her. I was joking with my mom when I called her to let her know what had happened and told her she was my little boxer baby!! She looks like she just finished a boxing match where the other guy won, lol. The doctor said don't be suprised if both eyes turn black and swell some in the next few days.
Just one of many more injuries to come I am sure. I think it traumatized my wife and I 100 times more than it ever did my daughter!! But hey thats a parents job right??? Anyway, please pray that everything will heal up fine and that her nose isn't broke. Thank you all!!
This is her most recent picture we had taken... Isn't she beautiful?? Well I may be a little biased, but I think that how it's supposed to be, lol.
These are the pictures we took to remember her first injury where she had to go to the doctor...... :(
The Worst Word Of Them All............................WORK!!!!
Hey all, just wanted to put out a quick note and let everyone that all is well. Work has really picked up here lately and been pulling some long hours.
Thank you all for praying for my two girls, they are both doing much better!!
I hope to be on mostly through the weekends with work being the way it is. To those I haven't replied to your comments, I'm sorry, I'll get to them I promise.
I'll still be checking my e-mail so if you need me or need me to pray about something, please let me know ok??? Like I said, I'll be cruising around this weekend to catch up on all I've missed!!!
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