Poem - Our Lives are Like Stories

Our lives are like stories acted out in a play.

Yet at times those stories get jumbled in some way.

Maybe we read the wrong script or misread how it goes,

And then find ourselves caught in the middle of life’s throws.

To him that overcomes is victory living.

Our strength comes from God and He keeps on giving.

No man can go down where God cannot go,

And God is a jealous God, His love He will show.

If we miss out on the best, that’s not the end to our story.

All things work together for the good to God’s glory.

He came to give us life and life abundantly.

It’s a joy-filled life He’s given both you and me.

He knows we’ll get hurt and experience life’s stings,

So He reminds us not to focus on these things.

But to focus on Him is life evermore,

And He’ll bring us to that glorious shore.

The story is not over, it’s just begun.

The race is not finished till the crown is won!

By Christina Morley

I took the above photo during my teen years while at a Fest in Heidelberg, Germany. On my page My First Cameras at my photography blog 1camera1mom are two more interesting photos from my childhood.

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Thankful in Light of Our New Covenant – Part 2 of 3

The moment we believed in Him He took our unrighteousness and gave us His righteousness. The more we understand this, the more victorious we’ll be in receiving true freedom. It’s crucial that we get this truth. It’s what makes true Christianity different from all other religions. Every other religion has rules and regulations to follow in order to reach Paradise, Karma, Reincarnation, or whatever their goal may be. However, no one can achieve God’s standards on his or her own merits, and with Christianity that’s just the point: we all fall short of God’s standards and need a Savior.

Christ’s blood makes us right with God and transports us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. This New Covenant is better than the Old because God guarantees it no matter how we feel about ourselves or to what degree we’re able to keep His commandments. Even though we’re imperfect, we receive Jesus' one-time sacrifice to pay for all our past, present, and future sins. Righteousness no longer has anything to do with us, because it has everything to do with Him.

One simple prayer of faith makes us right with God and forever allows us access into His presence. With that prayer, He gives us new life by His Spirit. However, we still make mistakes. That’s because our old nature is at war with the new. The old nature wants to do everything its own way, contrary to God’s way.

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Poem - Desert Flower

I’m walking on hard ground
I’m not wearing a frown
No matter the circumstances around

Like a desert flower
I’m blooming where planted
No matter if the ground’s hard and dry
Like a desert flower
Whose petals touch the sky
I’m reaching high
Won’t let this life pass me by

When I feel tired and worn
Can’t see the flower past the thorn
And my dreams feel tattered and torn

Then I remember…
It’s just a little while
And then I will smile
As things take a turn
For this I yearn

Like a desert flower
I’m blooming where planted
No matter if the ground’s hard and dry
Like a desert flower
Whose petals touch the sky
I’m reaching high
Won’t let this life pass me by

by Christina Morley

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Thankful in Times of Drudgery – Part 5 of 5

After everything the Israelites had gone through with God, they still missed out. They were stuck with old mindsets and refused to be reprogrammed. That entire first generation never made it into the Promised Land, except for the two scouts that had come back with a good report. God rewarded the two faithful scouts for having the right attitude. Those that were complaining, however, only got more misery.

Sadly, that generation had toiled their whole lives long, but had nothing to show for all their hard work. The end of their lives was as sad as the beginning. Sure, God had given them a few victories along the way, but they died without enjoying their inheritance. The Israelites never completely entered into His rest because they misunderstood what it was about. They thought it was just another one of God’s rules so they missed connecting with His heart.

Fortunately, it’s never too late to have a change of mind. The fact that they didn’t believe they could make the total transition into Kingdom thinking doesn’t mean that you can’t. So, even though we are no longer living under the Law, the Sabbath day is still a valuable part of our faith. We need a day off in the week to refuel and to stay connected with Him. However, if you have little children, they don’t miraculously become self-sufficient one day of the week so that you can just rest. They remain a full-time job. But we can choose to slow down and let go of all the other tasks clamoring for our attention.

His desire is to see us living out of His rest every day. We can achieve this by living from a place of peace rather than from a frantic frenzy. We do this when we give our cares over to Him and trust Him in every situation of our lives. We don’t have to strive in our own strength any longer.

God’s plan was that entering His rest would be a lifestyle. As you nurture a vibrant relationship in Christ, and live out of His rest, you’ll have all you need to thrive.

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Thankful in Times of Drudgery – Part 1 of 5

Mother's Day 2008

Do you often feel weighed down, even overwhelmed, by the nitty-gritty of daily life? Does it sometimes seem as if there is nothing you can do to make the job of motherhood any better? Maybe you’re even ready to throw in the towel?

For those of you who are new to this blog, I’ve been following the lives of the Israelites in the time of Moses, mainly their time in the desert as they journeyed to the Promised Land. Life out in the desert wasn’t much fun. There were no shopping malls, no TVs, and no books or magazines to read. Life went on, and there were daily chores to be done. Of course, a few miracles and a few curses broke the monotony every now and again.

Forty years was a long time to be wandering. It was, of course, meant to be a punishment for the unbelief of the parents. Their children, however, had to go with them through this experience. There must have been hundreds of days that felt like drudgery to them. My few years spent stuck at home caring for a family felt something like that to me. Minutes dragged into hours and hours into days.

I spent most of my time trying to make the kids happy, preparing the meals, and cleaning the house. The down-side was that it was never-ending. It was a constant cycle of kids, meals, house, kids, meals, house, kids, meals, house, and on it went. There was little variety and a lot of work.

On my poetry blog Consider the Lilies, I have posted a poem for Mother's Day called "Gifted, Talented Woman." Here is one stanza from the poem: Without women there would be no children to see - There would be no you and also no me - No different cultures, no different faces, - No different colors and no different races...

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Joy and a Thankful Heart – Part 1 of 3

We have an enemy called the devil, who goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour (1Peter 5:8). We ought not to underestimate his craftiness because when our guard is down he’ll try to blindside us. Whether we like it or not, the truth is that we are engaged in a war twenty-four hours a day.

Every team wants to know its opponent’s strategy so that it can win the game. That is why I may mention the devil’s strategies now and again – not to give the enemy glory, but to expose his game plan.

When God gave Adam and Eve authority over creation, life was good. However, when they disobeyed God they lost that authority. They didn’t just eat “an apple.” They took hold of something much bigger than just a piece of forbidden fruit. They took hold of the knowledge of good and evil, which had far-reaching consequences. In fact, everything was affected negatively in that we died spiritually, as God had warned. We no longer lived with God as our source, but tried to live apart from Him. We all failed at this miserably, but God had a plan to rescue us.

Jesus came to put things right. Through His authority, we have the advantage and the victory over sin and its consequences. The devil doesn’t want us to walk in that authority so he cons us into thinking that we don’t have it. He tricks us into thinking that we are losers and failures.

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A Busy Day

Keeping Focus

We are living in an extremely busy society, but what are we spending our time and energy on? Are we carrying all that stress and strain for the right reasons? Our motives determine whether we’re being busy for the right reasons or not.

The result of being distracted is that we lose focus. When we lose focus, then the enemy finds ways to steal our joy, our hope, our future, and the fruit of our labor. Our labor produces spiritual fruit when it’s endorsed by God, but becomes meaningless when it’s not.

How can we lead busy lives and still keep our focus? How can we live in a natural world where dishes need washing, meals need cooking, or laundry needs doing and still feel like supernatural beings in the sense that we are part of a spiritual kingdom too?

Living a Balanced Life

Whatever the work is that we are committed to, it’s not meant to rule our lives. We need to live balanced lives. By allowing God to lead us in our activities, we won’t be jealous or feel unfairly treated by others. If, however, we continue to live like Martha, we’ll run out of steam and eventually burn out totally.

Jesus knows that without Him we can do nothing. Just as the vacuum cleaner cannot work until it is plugged in and switched on, so we too need to get plugged into Him and switched on. He wants to be our Source and our Life.

It’s His holiness working in us and through us that makes our work of lasting value. It’s not about having the perfect day, but it’s about doing our best and leaving it in His hands. When our lives are flowing out of a relationship with Him, then we’ll live victoriously and successfully.

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