In All Things…

August 20th, 2013 dsisler

There is a little note on the refrigerator at work that says, “‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…’ (Colossians 3:17 – NIV) Please keep me clean.”

 

I understand that any time there are a group of people who use a refrigerator there will be messes. Even if that group is family. There are times after my grandkids leave that I look at the front of my fridge and wonder where their dirty little hands were before they touched the front of it.

 

But I think it is a good reminder for us. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing (cleaning a fridge or sharing God’s message with the lost), we are to be doing it all in the name of the Lord.

 

To go along with this idea, let’s see what else we should be doing “in all things.”

 

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) we read these words. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

 

Colossians 3:17 (NIV) {the verse listed above}, says “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

 

Paul continues with this thought in Colossians 3:23 (NIV). “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

 

And back in 1 Corinthians, Paul shares just another encouragement. “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58b – NIV)

 

Whatever it is we do in this life, when we offer it all to Him, we can enjoy what we’re doing. And I also know that God will bless us when He is part of the plan. (“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 – NIV)

 

Two weeks ago I was a sales clerk and a barista. Today I am an executive assistant to a lead pastor. That’s a big jump by this world’s standards. But I gave my all to being a sales clerk and a barista and in return, I received some beautiful gifts. Self-confidence. Joy. Responsibility. Belief that I was needed.

 

Remember I had been out of work for nearly 3 years when I started working at Off the Shelf. I wasn’t confident in myself at all. But after six months in my little world of coffee and books, I am now prepared and ready to take on this new task.

 

To be honest, it wasn’t me or the bookstore that brought this surge of confidence to me. It was God. I had given the situation over to Him and He prepared me for something big.

 

And He is able to do the same for you.

 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 – NIV)

 

When we off all that we do to Him, He will do far more than we could imagine. He knows our potential. He knows what we are capable of. He knows us because He created us.

 

Perhaps you are feeling a little down today. Keep reminding yourself that God is working it all out. He has a plan. A good plan and in your faithfulness to Him (of doing all that is mentioned above), He will bless you far beyond what you ask for.

 

So today, I won’t just head off to be the best executive assistant I can be. Today I will do everything for God’s glory and He will make me the best executive assistant.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

To leave a comment, please click here.

Share

“Open My Eyes” – Monday Musical Musings

August 19th, 2013 dsisler

I woke up to this melody and lyric a couple of days ago. With working a lot of hours in my previous job and then transitioning into my new job, I think I’ve missed some pretty important events going on around me. This song helped me to come to the realization that my eyes need to be open at all times and that when I see something that needs my attention, I need to stop what I’m doing and take notice.

 

I think this just might an issue for a large mass of people, for this is not the only song that asks God to help with this situation. It may not be the first song and I know for sure it wasn’t the last, but it one of the first that I remember singing as a young person about this concept.

 

I suspect it didn’t mean near as much as it should have and certainly not as much as it does today, but whether you’re a newbie or seasoned Christian, each of us must ask God to open the eyes of our spiritual hearts so that we may learn something from Him.

 

“Open My Eyes”

 

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

(Refrain)

 

Open my ears, that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear,
Everything false will disappear.

(Refrain)

 

Open my mouth, and let me bear,
Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare
Love with Thy children thus to share.

(Refrain)

 

Refrain:

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine![i]

 

If you’d like to listen to this great hymn of our faith, you may do so by clicking here.

 

What I like about this song is that it asks each of us to do more than just opening our eyes. We also are to listen for truth. And we are to tell others of God’s truth.

 

In the refrain we see how we get to this place of enlightenment. By waiting. Silently waiting. When we are ready, God’s Spirit will open our eyes.

 

If you’re like me, however, waiting silently can be difficult. My mind tends to wander. I think of a list of things that need to be done. And sometimes, I just get up and get some of those things done. Sometimes my “quiet time” is so distracted that I haven’t heard what God wants me to hear for the day.

 

It is difficult to disengage from the world long enough to hear God, but that is exactly what we must do. When we approach God in this way, He will certainly meet us there. He will fill our open eyes, ears and mouth with exactly what we need for the day. And when meet Him, He will prepare our hearts for a day of worship, service, and evangelism.

 

How are you doing with your time with God? Are you days so filled with busyness that you just don’t have time for Him? When you do take the time, do you give God your total, 100% attention? What steps do you need to take to ensure quality time with your Redeemer?

 

I’m not just asking you these questions. These are for me as well. There is nothing, nothing more important than being with my heavenly Father each day. Now I need to work on this statement. There is nothing, nothing more important than waiting quietly for my heavenly Father to speak to me today.

 

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18 – NIV)

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

If you’d like to leave a comment, you can click here.


[i] “Open My Eyes,” Words and music by Clara H. Scott, in Best Hymns No. 2, by Elisha A. Hoffman and Harold F. Sayles (Chicago, Illinois: Evangelical Publishing Company, 1895)

Share

My Today

August 18th, 2013 dsisler

Today is a fantastic day! It’s Sunday. Yes, God’s day and the day I will worship Him with fellow believers. But today is special. I will be with a new group of believers and I am looking forward to my worship today.

 

If you will worship with the same group of people you’ve been with for a while, I pray that you are still excited to be with them today. Anytime we gather with other believers, whether new friends in Christ or weathered warriors, that we find great joy in being in God’s presence.

 

Enjoy today. Praise God today. Today let’s fill this earth with His Name above all others.

 

My Little Garden

 

I gave up gardening years ago. I just don’t enjoy it like I used to.

 

I’ve tried to raise a few vegetable plants since living in Colorado. With the dry, desert climate, my plants simply didn’t survive.

 

An AeroGarden seemed to be the perfect solution. I could grow a few plants next to my kitchen sink and I could gather the goods as needed.

 

It was the perfect solution.

 

Except that I couldn’t grow everything I wanted. It wasn’t big enough to grow large tomatoes. I could only grow a small variety. I couldn’t grow green beans. There simply wasn’t enough room.

 

It was a good solution.

 

Until the novelty wore off. After growing tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers, I was finished with it. The need to grow my own produce was fulfilled. I no longer needed to use my AeroGarden.

 

How many times have you thought you found the perfect solution to a spiritual situation? I know I’ve done it plenty of times.

 

I think I know a passage of Scripture and upon studying it, find that my conclusion had been wrong.

 

Believing I know a certain phrase or idea can be found in Scripture and upon studying it, find that once again my conclusion was wrong.

 

Therefore, I’ve come to the correct conclusion that I must study Scripture for myself and I must study regularly and deeply. I cannot rely on what others feel, think or believe. I must know what Scripture says. I must know what God says.

 

So first I must study to gain knowledge. If you look for yourself, you’ll find passages like:

 

“For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Proverbs 2:10

 

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

 

“This is good and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4

 

These verses lead us to the conclusion that we are to gain knowledge for ourselves, for God, and for others. Using what we know to lead others to God should be our greatest desire.

 

And my knowledge will then lead me to obedience. If I don’t use this knowledge for my own good, it is useless.

 

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:17

 

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:17

 

Knowing God better and obeying His commands bring blessings to my life.

 

Then I must study to become mature. Again, knowledge without any growth on my part is useless. It must transform. It must make me a better person.

 

“Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:14

 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete.” James 1:2-4

 

Mature. Complete. These are goals of those who study God’s Word. God’s Word is life-changing. God’s Word convicts. God’s Word leads me to being a better person, but only if I know what God’s Word says.

 

My AeroGarden sits in my basement. Waiting for a renewed interest in its purpose. Maybe that’s what has happened to your Bible. If you haven’t picked up your copy of God’s Word in a while, why not do so today? You’ll be amazed at what God has in store for you!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

If you’d like to leave a comment, please click here.

Share

And Yet One More

August 17th, 2013 dsisler

It’s nearly over. This week of repeats. But today’s post is so important I knew you’d want to read it again. It’s about prayer. Perhaps after you’ve read it, you’ll agree that we need to be pray-ers.

 

Prayer in the Laundry Room

 

Last year, my dryer went on the fritz. Mason worked on it several times and we thought that perhaps it was repaired, but finally, it quit.

 

I made multiple trips to the Laundromat, and then we decided it was time to begin the search for a newer washer and dryer.

 

We found the perfect set. On sale. In red. So it was purchased and delivered, with the old washer and dryer to be taken out at that point.

 

They were beautiful! My laundry room is quite small and these heavy duty machines take up most of the floor space, but they are beautiful.

 

We didn’t purchase the bases (they were a little costly) so I practically have to sit on the floor to move clothes from the washer to the dryer, but they are beautiful.

 

There is no room to turn around in the laundry room now, but my washer and dryer are beautiful.

 

The owner’s manual was a delight to read. Pages and pages filled with the functions each machine will perform. Many of which I have yet to use. They did send the “CliffsNotes” version for each manual to hang on the side of the pair, in case I’m in too much of a hurry to read the entire manual to determine which setting to use.

 

But the greatest feature of these machines is that if something goes wrong; like if they quit working, or if the lights stay on for no reason, or if the door won’t shut, or any number of issues, I simply call customer service.

 

After reaching a person in customer service, they will ask to speak to the washer or the dryer. Yes, they will.

 

I am to hold the phone up to the malfunctioning machine and then I am to move a knob to a specific location. The machine will then speak to the customer service representative.

 

The machine will tell the customer service representative exactly what the issue is and why it has refused to work. I hope the issue won’t include the pile of towels sitting on top of the machine, or that the door is slammed just a touch to harshly on occasion, or that this family simply does too much laundry.

 

Oh the perils in the laundry room!

 

Isn’t it wonderful that our heavenly Father is waiting for us to communicate with Him? Unfortunately, we take God for granted, believing that He will always be there, even if we don’t speak to Him. And we sometimes wait until something has gone wrong before opening the line of communication with Him.

 

If we only pray to God when there are tough situations in our lives, we will never know the joy of praying to Him when life is good.

 

Psalm 100:4 tells us to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Praising God through prayer is such a freeing expression. Why wouldn’t you want to praise Him? Don’t hesitate to praise Him daily.

 

Psalm 34:1 says that we are to continually praise Him. “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” Praise through prayer is to be continual. Always. Non-stop.

 

I love Ephesians 3:20. It is at the end of Paul’s prayer to the Ephesian church. He says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” When we know God will do more than we could ever imagine, it is much easier to drop to our knees in prayer.

 

Yes there will be trials. Yes there will be suffering, but with God on our side, why wouldn’t we seek Him? Why wouldn’t we run to Him in every situation? To be honest, that is a hard question to answer. Or maybe it isn’t hard, it’s just complicated.

 

For me, I sometimes fail and don’t pray on a regular basis because I’m too busy. Sometimes I forget to praise Him. On occasion it takes a painful situation to bring me to Him. I don’t want to be that kind of person. I want to be in communication with God from the moment I wake up until the time my eyes close in sleep. Praising Him all the day long.

 

Won’t you join me? Spend a moment right now giving praise to your heavenly Father. Thank Him for His blessings and His grace. Let Him know how much you love Him. How you adore Him. How without Him, your life would have no meaning. Tell Him how sorry you are for not praying as often as you should or for taking Him for granted.

 

With great patience, God is waiting. Waiting for you to talk to Him. To tell Him all about your day. The good and the bad.

 

Fortunately, we haven’t had to call customer service for our washer or dryer. Yet. I know the day will come, but until then, I will continue to use this pair as I usually do. But, I will be praying in the process.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

To leave a comment, please click here.

Share

It Will End…I Promise

August 16th, 2013 dsisler

Today’s blog re-posting is again from the time period I was with Mom in Ohio. It was difficult to be away from my immediate family (husband, children, grandkids), but I reconnected with family and friends while finding purpose for my life.

 

But that experience also taught me the importance of relying on God and spending time with Him on a regular basis. I couldn’t have made it through those weeks of separation without God by my side.

 

Walking  and Talking

 

I have been separated from my husband for nearly three weeks while I’ve been caring for my Mom. I miss him like crazy, but it has reminded us of our early marriage.

 

After we were married, we lived in two different states for 18 months. We knew our communications skills had to be perfected if our marriage was going to make it. We managed to work through those 18 months.

 

For a change, I decided to call my husband two evenings ago as I walked around Mom’s neighborhood. I was able to see beautiful flowers in bloom. Trees with fruit beginning their growth process. People doing yard work. Dogs running in back yards. All while conversing with my husband.

 

Walking and talking isn’t new. God has been doing since the creation of the world.

 

Genesis 3:8 tells us, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” God walked and talked with Adam and Eve, perhaps on a daily basis.

 

God also walked with Israel. Leviticus 26:11 says, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” God’s desire was to be among Israel, and He found that walking and talking was the best way to achieve that.

 

Jesus spent 33 years walking and talking with people. The Gospels are filled with such accounts. Being in Jesus’ presence must have been exhilarating. Oh for just a moment, sitting at His feet, listening to His teaching. That would have been glorious.

 

Just as people in Scripture walked with God and Jesus, we are called to walk with God. And there are ways in which we are to walk. Let’s see what God’s Word has to say about our walk.

 

We are to walk in all His ways. Deuteronomy 5:33; 10:12; 11:22; and 26:17 basically say the same thing. Listen to Deuteronomy 10:12-13. “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” There is quite a bit in this short passage, but walking in all God’s ways is right in the middle of it. We must learn His ways. That is the key.

 

We are to walk in the light. Psalm 89:15 tells us, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.” And Isaiah 2:5 says, “Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” As we journey through this life, God’s light can illuminate the path and make it easier to navigate. I have stumbled enough; I want to walk in His light.

 

We are to walk in freedom. “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” (Psalm 119:45) Under the New Covenant, we know what it is like to be free. Free from the laws and rituals of Old Testament living. We can rejoice knowing that we are walking in freedom!

 

We are to walk humbly. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Humility can be difficult, but as we draw closer to God and learn His ways, this characteristic will begin to bloom and grow.

 

We are to walk in obedience and in love. 2 John 6 says, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” Living a life of obedience is our way of showing God that we are walking side by side with Him. Living a life of love is our way of showing others that we are walking side by side with Him.

 

I certainly love to walk and I know I will take more walks around Mom’s neighborhood before I head for home. My prayer is that I and those I walk with (Mason or Mom) will follow God’s precepts. That we will seek Him in all our ways. And that we do it all in love.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

If you would like to leave a comment, please click here.

Share
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

  • Subscribe by Email

  • About Me

    "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18-19


    I am a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. I lived in the beautiful state of Colorado for 20 years where I found great inspiration for my novels and devotional writings. Currently living in southwest Ohio.

    I am passionate about helping women find their way to Jesus through Bible study, teaching, speaking, inspirational writing and creative Bible journaling.

  • Bible Studies & Other Happenings

    Bible studies I’m currently leading:

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    In September 2012 I went to SE Asia on a service trip. For more information, check out preachitclearly.blogspot.com.

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On Linkedin