Living with a Happy Spirit

Yesterday, I stopped at church to get the meeting info to add to the bulletin. I had the entire bulletin completed except for inserting these items. I walked into a full blown crisis.


The printer wasn't working. Someone forgot to get postage. Postcards needed to be in the hands of members by Saturday. Our poor ministry coordinator. She's a wonderful, cheerful, lady and I felt her tension, though she didn't reflect that onto others.

She showed me "special" paper she'd purchased for the July 4th bulletin. Yikes! I would have to seriously do some realigning to fit everything into the smaller viewing area. But, I smiled, measured the new margins and noted that on my paper. Then I moved on to the book of meetings and wrote down everything that needed added.

Next the children's ministry leader entered the room. She's lovingly known by all as "Barbie." She told me she had something to add to the announcements for the bulletin. Oh, no. Now smaller margins, I'd already had everything in place and I would have to find a way to add one more announcement. I didn't know how I'd manage, but I knew also that I would do it. So, I asked her to email me the info as quickly as possible since I was finalizing the bulletin.

She looked at me and smiled. Then she said, "It's so nice to have a bulletin coordinator who has a happy spirit."

I hadn't thought much about how others perceived me, but that comment gave me a lift.

I did finish the bulletin, with the added challenge of adding more info and fitting the entire thing into a smaller space. And, I did it with a happy spirit.

When God is in your heart, that love shines out for all to see. I'm blessed in so many ways, and I thank God for giving me a happy spirit.







God is good.

Looking at Each Day with Expectation

Every day is a new day. A new beginning. A new chance at making a change in your life.

Life is an adventure. When I go on vacation, I am full of eagerness, looking forward to what I'll see, what I'll do, although I have no idea what that might be. There are so many new adventures we embark on every day if we only look at what is presented with an open, eager mind.

Only God knows what is in my future. Worrying about what will happen tomorrow only takes away time from today.

I'm looking out my window. The sun is shining. My spirit is smiling.

I don't know what God has in store for today, but I know it will be a grand adventure.

When God Calls...

When I began the journey of moving my mother into our home, it was with great trepidation. She hadn't been the ideal mother. I'd never felt loved or cared for. She wasn't demonstrative, except for her bouts of anger and resentment, hair-pulling and fists on the back. But she is my mother. The only mother I'll ever have. So, we made plans and moved her here last May.

Over the past months, God has shown me how to forgive and move forward. In the first few weeks, she lashed out and said hateful, hurtful things. I cried. I wrestled with why I could never be good enough to earn her love. She told lies. She tried to create a wedge between my husband and I. But what she knows, and probably is the source of her resentment, is that my husband and I have a bond of love strengthened through our faith. None of her marriages were the kind I have. I know she's jealous. And I know the devil uses that as a weapon. But satan has no place in our house. Finally, I realized that I had to stand up to her and not let her run over me. I had become a martyr. She's changing. A little at at time. Through it all, I've drawn much closer to Jesus, and my faith has grown tremendously. God always has a plan for our lives, and even in the midst of the darkness, He walks with us and promises us a place in heaven if we accept Him as our only Lord and Savior.

Be still and listen, and when God calls, answer.

Choices at the Fork in the Path

My life has followed many paths and I've had to make choices when confronted with a fork. Which way to go? Many times I chose without first asking God for direction. God knows the complete path of our life. He placed it before us on the day we were born.

I'm now faced with a fork in the road that I once thought clearly defined. There are two different paths branching before me. For the past two years, I've prayed and have heard God answer me directing me to go one way. As the time draws near, many obstacles are being placed along the way. Are these obstacles the devil trying to lead me astray, or are they being given to me by God showing me I've misread His instructions?

I'm troubled and fearful. As I stand here at the fork in the road, undecided, I am praying for God to show me HIs will. With all the devil's handiwork abundant in the world, the noise is so loud that it's difficult to hear God's words. I must be still and turn my ears and my heart to Him.

I share this for others who might be facing similar decisions. Before you run down the wrong fork, take time to pray and then to be still and listen for God. He will provide you guidance if you give your heart and soul to Him.