Good Intentions

Do you remember those resolutions you make at the beginning of the year where you plan to do better? While I didn’t make it a resolution I did plan on using my time more wisely. I had it all planned out. (Mistake number one.) I would do my morning devotional with Charles Stanley before work, while eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. That actually works well for me. When I’m running short on time, I listen to a devotional podcast or to the Bible on audible. Then at the end of the day and after dinner, I would paint, then do evening devotionals and blog. All good intentions mind you but that wasn’t the way it worked out. After dinner I would sit down and relax before working on my well laid out plans. (Mistake number two.) You know the plan where I would paint, do my evening devotionals, and blog. ~ You can see how well that turned out. I haven’t posted in some time. 😦

Instead, I played phone games. I read. I painted. I did my evening devotionals.

Winter wonderland at my sister’s house.

The next day I started over with the same routine except after a few weeks, after dinner, I played games, and painted. I still had my morning devotionals and I justified not doing my evening devotionals by saying…

I’m doing my devotions in the morning…and I’m working on my painting so that I can become a better artist.

Then it started. The guilt. The whispers of not having my evening devotionals, of not blogging. That went on for a few weeks. I knew it was an attack from the enemy and I let it control my thoughts. I let it guilt me into reading my devotionals at night. In fact, it would be so late that I didn’t get around to writing in my blog. Then I stopped again. I stopped with the nighttime devotionals and went back to what I was doing. I recognized the attack from the enemy and I said “enough”! Our heavenly Father does not operate in guilt. Does He convict us when we start down a path not good for us? Yes. When the whispers of guilt started I firmly told myself that it wasn’t the truth. That I was okay not to feel guilty for missing my evening devotionals but I also needed to get back into a routine that worked for me. I am slowly getting there and I don’t beat myself up if I miss an evening devotional. (I do when I miss both devotionals though! 😅 No, I don’t but I do work on making a conscious effort to get back on track.)

So now I have my morning devotionals with coffee. At night after dinner, I still play games or read, I paint, and I have my evening devotionals because I want to read my Bible and not because of guilt. Even though I already knew this I learned or I could say, relearned an important lesson.

It is important to be in the Word. To read the Bible and plant God’s Word deep inside ourselves. We are the light of the world and ambassadors for Christ. There will be times when we may miss reading the Bible but if guilt begins to assail our thoughts we can be sure that it is the enemy attacking us. God does not drop guilt on us for not reading our Bible. He will convict us when we do something we shouldn’t do to steer us back on His path that He has for us. But He will not guilt us into doing anything.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Matthew 5:14

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

By the way, I want to mention when I paint I find myself praising the Lord and humming worship songs. Have a wonderful day and week. God bless you! ❤

Devotion ~ 1 Peter 5:10

God tells us that we will suffer a while. That could mean in any number of ways. From our health to our finances, or even in our relationships. I sometimes wonder if people may think, “why would I want to be a Christian if I am going to suffer?. I can do that without being a Christian.” Except whether we are a child of God’s or not, we will all go through moments of suffering. Of trials that seem unbearable. Yet as His child, we have confidence in knowing that He will strengthen and settle us. He is with us and we are not alone in dealing with our trials.

My prayer for you is that your week will be blessed and that you will see God at work in your life. God bless!

Happy New Year!

Wow, I can’t believe we are at the start of a new year. Where has the time flown? How did 2021 treat you? And how has it helped you to grow? As I look back, I see where God has nudged me throughout the year, preparing me for something new and I am excited to see what He has in store for me in 2022. So I thought I would share some highlights from 2021. I would love to hear from you if you would like to share insights on what God doing in your life.

2021 Highlights

~I moved my text devotionals that I have been doing for over fourteen years to my blog. Although, I must confess I need to work on that. I’ll go ahead and prepare you by saying, if the devotionals sound like I’m talking to family, I am, because I consider anyone who visits my blog, family. November and December had me fairly busy with painting, creating Christmas cards and such.

~Speaking of painting, I am painting more, focusing on smaller sized paintings and cards. I joined two Patreon channels to get more hands-on teaching. I’m learning a lot through the people I follow, how to shadow, mix colors, and paint things that I never thought I could paint. Animals are the theme right now. We moved from dogs to cats. Now that ought to be fun. 🙂

One of our water color challenges.

~During my vacation back in November (I really took one!), I developed a new devotional method that has me spending more time in His Word. I had to do some readjusting when I started back to work, but it has really helped me to grow closer to the Lord and I am excited to see what He has for me in the coming months.

As we ended our year and started the new year, we took a family trip and went to see my husband’s mom. She was diagnosed with dementia the year before last, still in the early stages so for the most part with medication she knew her family. Recently, however, she took a turn and the doctors have given her three and a half months to live. She doesn’t always remember names and will sometimes ask who someone is. My husband has been traveling more often to see her so when we decided to take the family trip to visit her, he prepared us for what to expect. When we first saw her, it was almost as though she were expecting us. She had moments of clarity where she seemed to recognize my husband, and then confusion would set in. But our trip turned out to be a good visit. She enjoyed seeing all of us. But she really enjoyed seeing Lucy, as did the other residents at the assisted living facility. Lucy, though she isn’t trained, did really well with all of the residents that wanted to touch her. She simply stood patiently next to their chair and let them pet her.

Lucy

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Peace, a future, and a hope. These are the things the Lord has for us and His love is wrapped around it for us. So let’s journey together into 2022 looking for what the Lord has for us. Peace, a future, and a hope. When I think about these things, my heart swells with joy, as I take in the love He has for me and you. God bless!

Today’s Devotional: Philippians 2:3

When I read this verse during my devotional reading, I thought about a totem pole. Crazy right? Like the totem pole with its base or support, we become the support for others when we put them ahead of ourselves. We support them by being there for them. At times that can feel like a daunting task because of things we may be facing ourselves. However, when we humble ourselves and put others first, we may find that our situation isn’t as bad as we originally thought. We experience a peace that makes things seem brighter, cheerful, and even a little less stressful. We are focused on others. But sometimes in the back of our mind, a whispered: What about me? pops up rearing its ugly selfish head. So: what about you? Would you rather it be your way or God’s way? Christ Jesus took on the form of a bondservant, coming in the likeness of men. Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth for us. We should follow His example, humble ourselves and put others first. Have a blessed week! Praying for you.

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