CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO DR. PATRICIA HOEFT who won a copy of my novel, The Rose Journal, by correctly guessing the word puzzle!
Watch for another contest in a few weeks!
Have you signed up to receive your free e-book, Joshua's Story? See the box on the upper right corner!
KEY #8 opens the door to GIVE LOVE, which expressed in other words could very well say "sacrifice." There is no greater way to demonstrate love than by sacrificing.
When did the word "sacrifice" become socially unacceptable? I was a teen-ager in the sixties, often referred to as the "Me Generation." Commonly heard phrases were "Look out for number one," "Put yourself first," and "My way or the highway."
Yet as a child, I grew up in a culture where people who gave up their own comforts for the sake of others were regarded with high esteem. For example, motherhood was generally considered the most noble career a woman could choose. Today, many women are encouraged to murder their unborn baby if the added responsibility would interfere with their self-centered lifestyle.
Hollywood exploits a distorted version of romantic "love," with the result that entire generations of young people have now been persuaded to accept the concept that they should focus their lives on one goal: to see their own desires fulfilled.
I saw true love expressed in sacrifice when my 95-year-old father struggled against pain to maneuver his way around the end of the bed just to be able to sit beside my mother and hold her hand when she was suffering.
I am proud of my husband, Gary, who nearly paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War when he willingly chose to risk his life in an attempt to save a fellow soldier and good friend, receiving multiple wounds in his own body.
If I live for myself, I'll never be content. There will always be a bigger house, a shinier car, a grander vacation.
No, most contentment is found when I give myself to a cause greater than myself.
Jesus understood true love and sacrifice more than I ever will. He paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, when He permitted His blood to be poured out, His body to be beaten and torn, His life to be surrendered . . . for a time. . . so we can live for all time! All we need to do is to confess to God that we are sinners and accept His death on the cross as the punishment He took in our place and give our own lives to Him.
What is my reasonable service to Him? What can I---what dare I---hold back?
"I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1
NOTE OF INTEREST: Compare the verse for this week (on the right) with John 3:16!
*specific phrases taken from The View From Eternity, Bible study by Linda Ruth Stai.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
KEY # 7: RESPECT LIFE!
How are you doing with the contest? Soon ready to make a guess? You only get one chance, remember! Just put together the letters of the first letter of each Key we have used to determine the phrase. See what words you get so far . . . a total of ten letters.
A free Rose Journal novel to the person who guesses correctly!
God highly values life because He is life and He gives life to us!
How highly do I value His gift of life? To me? To others?
Considering several questions I need to ask myself:
Have I ever entertained thoughts of taking my own life? Of throwing it back in His face instead of trusting God to bring me through my difficulties to even ground?
Do I waste the time He's allotted to me. . . beyond what is reasonable for necessary relaxation and restoration?
Do I condone the act of abortion. . . killing an innocent child that God made in His own image?
(*Please know that if you have aborted a child, you can always find forgiveness from God and the assurance that your precious baby was placed in His care.)
Do I honor the elderly? (Guess I'd better. I'll probably be one some day!) Do I treat them with dignity and consideration, the way I want to be treated when I am old? Do I value elderly adults for the person they are even when they are not able to do the useful things they once did?
Love Comes Full Circle
I have images in my mind that are etched as vividly as if they were imprinted on a camera lens.
Memories. . .
I was staying with my family at my parents' home on a lake years ago, where I had spent most of my childhood. The early morning sun waved its magical wand over the waters and multitudes of glittering silver jewels appeared where moments before had merely existed a hazy mist.
My mother and I watched from the kitchen window. Just beyond the dock, my Dad's boat drifted on calm waters. In it were 2 figures. One was my 89-year-old father . . my strong, capable "can do anything" Daddy who was sitting patiently while my 15-year-old son, Kaleb, bent down before him to fasten the latches on his grandfather's life jacket.
My father's tender but worn old hands had built the roof over our heads along with two other houses. . .
His hands had designed and crafted an entire well-drilling rig as a means of supporting his family. . .
had carried his little girl from the car when she'd fallen asleep. . .
had sat by her bed night after night when she was ill . . .
had mended her dolls when no one else could . .
had dried the tears of a teen-ager daughter with a love-struck heart.
These hands were shaking now and needed help to simply fasten a life jacket.
His teen-age grandson who had spent his life observing an old man's example of unselfish love was now ready. Ready to extend the same gentle hand of concern and respect.
Role reversal? It's more than that. It's love going the full circle.
The love that gave gets back and keeps giving.
A free Rose Journal novel to the person who guesses correctly!
God highly values life because He is life and He gives life to us!
How highly do I value His gift of life? To me? To others?
Considering several questions I need to ask myself:
Have I ever entertained thoughts of taking my own life? Of throwing it back in His face instead of trusting God to bring me through my difficulties to even ground?
Do I waste the time He's allotted to me. . . beyond what is reasonable for necessary relaxation and restoration?
Do I condone the act of abortion. . . killing an innocent child that God made in His own image?
(*Please know that if you have aborted a child, you can always find forgiveness from God and the assurance that your precious baby was placed in His care.)
Do I honor the elderly? (Guess I'd better. I'll probably be one some day!) Do I treat them with dignity and consideration, the way I want to be treated when I am old? Do I value elderly adults for the person they are even when they are not able to do the useful things they once did?
Love Comes Full Circle
I have images in my mind that are etched as vividly as if they were imprinted on a camera lens.
Memories. . .
I was staying with my family at my parents' home on a lake years ago, where I had spent most of my childhood. The early morning sun waved its magical wand over the waters and multitudes of glittering silver jewels appeared where moments before had merely existed a hazy mist.
My mother and I watched from the kitchen window. Just beyond the dock, my Dad's boat drifted on calm waters. In it were 2 figures. One was my 89-year-old father . . my strong, capable "can do anything" Daddy who was sitting patiently while my 15-year-old son, Kaleb, bent down before him to fasten the latches on his grandfather's life jacket.
My father's tender but worn old hands had built the roof over our heads along with two other houses. . .
His hands had designed and crafted an entire well-drilling rig as a means of supporting his family. . .
had carried his little girl from the car when she'd fallen asleep. . .
had sat by her bed night after night when she was ill . . .
had mended her dolls when no one else could . .
had dried the tears of a teen-ager daughter with a love-struck heart.
These hands were shaking now and needed help to simply fasten a life jacket.
His teen-age grandson who had spent his life observing an old man's example of unselfish love was now ready. Ready to extend the same gentle hand of concern and respect.
Role reversal? It's more than that. It's love going the full circle.
The love that gave gets back and keeps giving.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
KEY #6: OVERCOME
Anyone ready to make a guess to win a copy of my free novel, The Rose Journal? A 10-letter phrase, with the first letters from each of the 10 Keys to Abundant Life!
Now that we are on the road, we'll find our next key opens Door #6: Overcome. Let's find a spot nearby to park our vehicles. There's a nice, shady place by a little pond. Please come and join me!
Now that we are on the road, we'll find our next key opens Door #6: Overcome. Let's find a spot nearby to park our vehicles. There's a nice, shady place by a little pond. Please come and join me!
As we open the 6th door and hesitantly step inside, we encounter a drastic change in environment so different from the sightings behind previous doors. An icy, foreboding mist of darkness rushes at us, taking our breath away and and threatening to crush us under its tremendous weight. We stand at the door, trembling with sudden fear, wanting to turn and run, yet drawn forward by a power beyond our own.
Have you been there? I have! I've been overwhelmed many times by circumstances that I had never envisioned becoming part of my life, grasping onto me like leeches that drained my blood. Paralyzed by confusion, uncertainty and doubt. Wanting to find a way out from whatever was hurting me, yet knowing that for a time, I was trapped. Frantically trying to hang onto the end of my rope, yet desperately yearning to let go!
Are you there now?
Don't give up! Don't give in to fear!
Take your heavenly Father's hand and walk with me. Look at His face. He's not worried. And I see a glimpse of Jesus just ahead. He's beckoning us to come. Once we push our way through the confusing haze of trials and pass through the prickly fingers of pain that are reaching out to touch us, we will come to the end of the path, not completely unscathed, but infinitely wiser and more compassionate. Then we will turn around and gaze at the obstacles we have overcome with the help of the Master. And we will realize that all of this has happened for our good.
This 6th Key is the location of God's training ground, where He strengthens and teaches us to prepare for more rewarding adventures ahead! Sort of like a class entitled "Suffering 101."
Yes, I agree. If I had my choice, I'd avoid the training ground and take the safe way around it. But God knows better; He will always does what is best for me, just like when loving parents bring their child to the doctor for the painful prick of an inoculation that will hurt for a time, but prevent more serious harm.
The good thing is that God promises to walk with us every step of the way and never to give us more than we can handle. His intention is to make us more like Jesus and . . . I truly believe . . . to make us more able to receive and appreciate the surprises He has waiting for us at our home He is preparing in Eternity!
God would not allow any painful circumstances to touch us if He did not plan that a greater good would come from the very ones that threaten to overflow and cast us down. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 (emphasis mine)
The best way to overcome:
Trust. I can't see the road ahead, but my heavenly Father knows all the curves and twists, mountains and canyons that await me. He sets aside scenic parks for me to rest for a while on my personal journey and people to help carry my loads.
Isn't is amazing that God cares enough about me. . . and you. . . to be personally involved with the planning and training stages of our lives?
In our back yard, we have a "Footprint Garden." One thing that appealed to me when we chose our new home in the country several years ago was the beautiful landscaping already in place. But there was one problem. Right smack in the middle of the back yard was a row of ugly, white, box-like projections . . . the site of our sewer. . . that stood out like a sore thumb! I just could not live with that monstrosity in the center of our beautiful yard! But I got an idea. So I told my husband and he laid out black rubber tubing all around the little white "boxes" and filled the area with mulch. I planted perennials and annuals; Gary added a couple of birdbaths and voila (!) the yard was transformed! The area that had previously been an eyesore became the focal part of our lawn! A wide variety of birds entertain us there with regular visits to our birdbath.
Later on, I noticed that the shape my husband had formed with the tubing appeared to be the shape of a giant footprint. I began to call it my "'Footprint Garden," for to me it symbolizes God's footprint in our lives. God personally "steps" into our lives. Only He can take the monstrosities of our past . . . the ugly things we don't want displayed. . . and use those very things that caused shame and pain to produce something beautiful in our lives that would not have been there without the very "sewer" that caused us so much sorrow!
I am thankful that God doesn't give up on me when I have trials. Rather, He turns them into blessings!
See you next Wednesday for the next key!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
ABUNDANT LIVING KEY #5: FIND FREEDOM . . . FORGIVE!
Have you ever thought about how much freedom comes with the act of forgiving someone?
Here we are with the key to the next door, which is the letter "F": Find Freedom . . . Forgive.
Add the letter F to the last four. Anyone ready to give the phrase a try? You only get one chance, however! So you may want to wait until you are certain.
Bible verse for the week: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions (sins) from us." Psalm 103:12
"We cannot put off the act of forgiveness indefinitely and still honor our Savior, who went through inexpressible torture to make forgiveness available for us." (The View From Eternity)
Are you having any trouble getting your vehicle up to speed? We need to talk about one difficulty that can hinder our journey along the Road of Abundant Living. . . Unforgiveness.
Refusal or procrastination to forgive has the potential to keep us in chains, blocking the progress of true freedom.
I think of the commonly heard phrase, "forgive and forget." Often, God is the only One who can completely forget our sins. . . because He chooses to "remove them as far as the east is from the west."
It is often hard to forgive. Is this the understatement of the year? I don't mean to simplify the process here, because I, too, struggled for years with the concept of forgiveness in my own life. But God tells us in His book, the Bible, to forgive those who have hurt us. Why? Because He wants us to have freedom and peace of mind. When we don't forgive, we are continually bound to the one who hurt us.
One common misconception is that forgiveness means to let the guilty party off the hook. This is not a true statement. Let me quote again from my Bible study, The View From Eternity: "When we extend a pardon to others, we are very well aware of what they did, how they hurt us, yet we are taking them off of our "hook. Then they will get on God's hook, which is a much more serious place to "hang out!"
Remember the 3 Ps of last week? Engage them right now and ask God to help you start the forgiveness process. It may take time, but God will help you reach your goal and find freedom. He has done it for me!
"Forgiveness boils down to a trust issue with my heavenly Father. Do I trust God's love enough to know that He will bring about His justice? That He will eventually, in His time and way, defend His precious child?" (The View From Eternity)
To forgive is not easy. To make forgiveness possible for me cost my heavenly Father the life of His precious Son. "But I believe we must set our minds to tackle the hard stuff of life and discover how to go about it." (The View From Eternity)
If you are interested in further study and discussion of this critical topic, you may want to order The View From Eternity, a companion study I wrote to go along with my novel, The Rose Journal.
HOW ABOUT YOU? If anyone wants to share a personal story of how they found freedom in forgiving, please comment on my "Meet Linda" page.
I look forward to continuing our journey next Wednesday!
Here we are with the key to the next door, which is the letter "F": Find Freedom . . . Forgive.
Add the letter F to the last four. Anyone ready to give the phrase a try? You only get one chance, however! So you may want to wait until you are certain.
Bible verse for the week: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions (sins) from us." Psalm 103:12
"We cannot put off the act of forgiveness indefinitely and still honor our Savior, who went through inexpressible torture to make forgiveness available for us." (The View From Eternity)
Are you having any trouble getting your vehicle up to speed? We need to talk about one difficulty that can hinder our journey along the Road of Abundant Living. . . Unforgiveness.
Refusal or procrastination to forgive has the potential to keep us in chains, blocking the progress of true freedom.
I think of the commonly heard phrase, "forgive and forget." Often, God is the only One who can completely forget our sins. . . because He chooses to "remove them as far as the east is from the west."
It is often hard to forgive. Is this the understatement of the year? I don't mean to simplify the process here, because I, too, struggled for years with the concept of forgiveness in my own life. But God tells us in His book, the Bible, to forgive those who have hurt us. Why? Because He wants us to have freedom and peace of mind. When we don't forgive, we are continually bound to the one who hurt us.
One common misconception is that forgiveness means to let the guilty party off the hook. This is not a true statement. Let me quote again from my Bible study, The View From Eternity: "When we extend a pardon to others, we are very well aware of what they did, how they hurt us, yet we are taking them off of our "hook. Then they will get on God's hook, which is a much more serious place to "hang out!"
Remember the 3 Ps of last week? Engage them right now and ask God to help you start the forgiveness process. It may take time, but God will help you reach your goal and find freedom. He has done it for me!
"Forgiveness boils down to a trust issue with my heavenly Father. Do I trust God's love enough to know that He will bring about His justice? That He will eventually, in His time and way, defend His precious child?" (The View From Eternity)
To forgive is not easy. To make forgiveness possible for me cost my heavenly Father the life of His precious Son. "But I believe we must set our minds to tackle the hard stuff of life and discover how to go about it." (The View From Eternity)
If you are interested in further study and discussion of this critical topic, you may want to order The View From Eternity, a companion study I wrote to go along with my novel, The Rose Journal.
HOW ABOUT YOU? If anyone wants to share a personal story of how they found freedom in forgiving, please comment on my "Meet Linda" page.
I look forward to continuing our journey next Wednesday!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
ABUNDANT LIVING KEY #4: ENERGIZE
Have you signed up yet for your free e-book, Joshua's Story?
You can also sign up in the box on the right side to get all my blogs delivered to your inbox!
I once heard someone say, "You can't steer a car that isn't moving." So true. Today we'll use Key #4 to find out how to ENERGIZE our vehicles as we journey on with Jesus.
*Note for those in participating in the contest: Add the "E" from Energize to the previous key letters and see what you get!
Bible verse for the week: "For in Him we live and move and exist . . ." Acts 17:28a
Instead of gasoline (which has gotten way too expensive), we'll fill our tanks with . . .
. . . the 3 Productive P's: Power, Praise and Prayer.
The first "P" is Power. First of all, let's pour some power into our tanks by plugging into the source of power, the almighty God. When I unplug my television set, the picture doesn't appear. I plug it in, and voila! The show begins!
Likewise, we won't produce positive results for eternity (remember the pulp from Key #2?) if our spirits are not "plugged in" to God. We plug in. . . leave the cord attached. . . as we connect to God's Spirit through submission to His will, Bible reading and conversation with Him. And watch out for sin. Sin is a great "cord-yanker!"
The second "P" is Praise. Praising God comforts and encourages me because it turns my focus away from my problems and difficulties to remembering who God is. . . the awesome Creator. "For nothing will be impossible with God." Luke 1:37
A phrase in Psalm 116:17 stumped me for a long time. It refers to the "sacrifice of praise (or thanksgiving)." How, I wondered, can praising God be a sacrifice? Then it occurred to me that when I find myself in tough circumstances. . . even painful circumstances. . . and I choose to "sacrifice" my feelings of despair and cancel my pity party to simply praise God for who He is, I give Him a great gift. Whenever I let my anxiety go and sincerely praise and thank God, He gives me a gift in return, the "peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension. . . " Philippians 4:7a
The third "P" is Prayer. Through talking with God and trusting Him, we unleash His power. . . the power that can move mountains and bring strong men to their knees, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, according to Ephesians 1:18-20.
So let's fill up our tanks with the 3 Productive P's and get those vehicles running!
You can also sign up in the box on the right side to get all my blogs delivered to your inbox!
I once heard someone say, "You can't steer a car that isn't moving." So true. Today we'll use Key #4 to find out how to ENERGIZE our vehicles as we journey on with Jesus.
*Note for those in participating in the contest: Add the "E" from Energize to the previous key letters and see what you get!
Bible verse for the week: "For in Him we live and move and exist . . ." Acts 17:28a
Instead of gasoline (which has gotten way too expensive), we'll fill our tanks with . . .
. . . the 3 Productive P's: Power, Praise and Prayer.
The first "P" is Power. First of all, let's pour some power into our tanks by plugging into the source of power, the almighty God. When I unplug my television set, the picture doesn't appear. I plug it in, and voila! The show begins!
Likewise, we won't produce positive results for eternity (remember the pulp from Key #2?) if our spirits are not "plugged in" to God. We plug in. . . leave the cord attached. . . as we connect to God's Spirit through submission to His will, Bible reading and conversation with Him. And watch out for sin. Sin is a great "cord-yanker!"
The second "P" is Praise. Praising God comforts and encourages me because it turns my focus away from my problems and difficulties to remembering who God is. . . the awesome Creator. "For nothing will be impossible with God." Luke 1:37
A phrase in Psalm 116:17 stumped me for a long time. It refers to the "sacrifice of praise (or thanksgiving)." How, I wondered, can praising God be a sacrifice? Then it occurred to me that when I find myself in tough circumstances. . . even painful circumstances. . . and I choose to "sacrifice" my feelings of despair and cancel my pity party to simply praise God for who He is, I give Him a great gift. Whenever I let my anxiety go and sincerely praise and thank God, He gives me a gift in return, the "peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension. . . " Philippians 4:7a
The third "P" is Prayer. Through talking with God and trusting Him, we unleash His power. . . the power that can move mountains and bring strong men to their knees, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, according to Ephesians 1:18-20.
So let's fill up our tanks with the 3 Productive P's and get those vehicles running!
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