faith, family, friends + farming = abundant life

Today I worked at the ball field all day…along with lots of other volunteers.  I spent a lot of the day at a gate that was used for handicapped access and officials, etc. This was not the main entrance. Many times throughout the day I heard the same comment from those passing through that way…a reference to me being the gatekeeper …

I wanted to allow everyone through that gate but that couldn’t happen. I started thinking about John 10, Matthew 7:13-14, and John 14…Jesus is the gate, He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Christ. Jesus is our Shepherd, He calls His own sheep by name, the sheep follow Him for they know His voice! 

There is no greater peace than knowing Jesus as my personal Savior! Rescued and redeemed by His sacrificial death on the cross, I can approach the gate with the confidence that the Shepherd knows my name and I can enter by that narrow gate…for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life…

Do you know the One who is the Way, the Truth, the Life? The One who gave His very life for YOU? Have you heard His voice?  

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God never ceases to amaze me…how the little pieces of my day, while seemingly haphazard to me, have been ordered by my Creator! Psalm 90:12-teach me to number my days that I might gain a heart of wisdom! 

Let me be straightforward, it is imperative that we cultivate our love of God’s Word and develop a habit of prayer during the ‘good times’ in our lives; so that during ‘crisis times’ we can draw strength and comfort from Christ as naturally as drawing our next breath! 

Earlier today, I had a family emergency…my daughter, who is an hour and a half away at college, had a severe allergic reaction to a medication and had to go to the ER. As I was heading to the hospital, I texted a few friends/prayer warriors to please be praying for her. For reasons unknown to me, not one person got my texts… So for an hour and a half, I drove (rather quickly)…and wondered why none of my friends had responded…I couldn’t open my Bible while I was driving…but I could pray and pray I did! God used this time to remind me that He Alone is sufficient. How grateful that events from this past year had reignited a passion within me to pursue His Word! God’s truths were etched on my heart and He brought them to mind as I prayed. His promises brought me peace.  And not by chance, I had just attended a funeral service where Hope was proclaimed! Those words of hope and truth soothed my soul. 

God is good. God is faithful.  God heard the prayers of a mother’s heart and He alone was the answer to my prayers. 

As I traveled back home this evening, this song came on the radio…nothing is more true…

“Your Words”

Let me hear Your words  Above all other voices 

Above all the distractions in this world

Let me hear Your words  Above all of the voices 

Above all the distractions in this world

For Your words bring life

And Your voice speaks promises

Lord, Your love offers more

Than anything else in this world

Your words give us life that’s never ending

Your words bring us love that never fails

Everything else will fade away

But what will remain

Are Your words

Let us speak Your words

More than ours, more than ever 

Let us share Your love with all the world 

The grass will wither and the flowers will fall

But the word of our God will last forever

The grass will wither and the flowers will fall

But the word of our God will last forever

Am I a person of integrity? God has been speaking to my heart this week…

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely

The integrity of the upright guides them

The righteous walks in his integrity, blessed are his children after him

Those who act faithfully are His delight

Do not swerve to the right or to the left, turn away from evil

By this I know that you delight in me, my enemy will not shout in triumph over me! You have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in Your presence forever.  Psalm 41:11-12

Act honorably in all things. Hebrews 13:18

…till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I will hold fast my righteousness…Job 27:4-6

May my conduct be honorable and glorify God. 1 Peter 2:12

A pure heart and sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5

Hospitable, lover of good, self controlled, upright, holy, disciplined.  Titus 1:8

Trust in my Lord without wavering.

Hearer and doer of the Word!

And if I want to claim the King as my friend… I should strive for purity of heart and gracious speech…
Oh how I fail in my own strength, but oh how You are magnified in my weaknesses…   God search my heart, mold me, break me, and fill me with your Holy Spirit…may my integrity be founded in a passionate pursuit of prayer and seeking You in the Word!