27 Miles

May 17th, 2013 dsisler

I heard a tag line in a car commercial that I thought was interesting. “What good is 27 miles per gallon if the miles aren’t interesting?”

 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve driven some stretches of 27 miles that have not been interesting…some, downright boring!

 

Property of Twin Aspens Photography

After my first visit to Colorado some ten years ago, I told my husband that there is no reason to drive east here. If you’re driving east, you can’t see the mountains and that is where the true beauty of Colorado lies.

 

I guess there are times when we need to be entertained or be visually inspired as we go through this life. But what about the times when we are on a boring stretch? What are we to do then?

 

I believe as we are on our spiritual journey we encounter the same realities. At times, we are on an interesting stretch of the journey. We may be on a learning streak or attended an uplifting conference.

 

But then we reach a section of the journey that is a little boring. Those “ho-hum” moments. We feel parched. Dry. Maybe we simply aren’t looking for ways to grow spiritually and the excitement is not visible.

 

Again, I ask the question. When we are on a boring stretch on this spiritual journey, what are we to do then?

 

Might I suggest that we make it exciting? Jump into a word study. Or perhaps find a topic you’re interested in and see how often it is mentioned in Scripture. Get into a Bible study with fellow believers.

 

And then there is the possibility of serving in some capacity. I generally find that offering my talents to others is a great way to bring excitement back into my spiritual life. And, oh the people you will meet along the way!

 

And of course, spend more time with God in prayer. Make it a conversation with Him. Don’t get bogged down on the words. Give Him your heart. Let God see you as your truest self. You will find that your spiritual journey will come back to life.

 

I still enjoy going west instead of east in Colorado. But I also know that I can only get home by heading east from just about anywhere I go here. And I also know that I am never under enthused when I see the mountains as I turn and head west. They still take my breath away and I appreciate them so much more.

 

It’s the same with my spiritual journey. I know that there are times when I’m just not where I should be in my excitement of being in God’s presence, but when I arrive, it is more glorious than I remembered. My breath is taken away and I appreciate that time so much more.

 

It can be the same for you. Is it time to head home? Why not take the time today to be in God’s presence? Ask Him to join you on your spiritual journey. Ask Him to meet you there. “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” (Micah 4:2a – NIV)

 

And just to make myself clear, He isn’t the One who moved.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

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Six-Word Memoir

May 16th, 2013 dsisler

A friend of mine mentioned that her 6th grade students were ending the school year by writing a six-word memoir. She asked her friends on Facebook to share what their six-word memoir might be. There are some serious responses, some funny replies and some thought provoking memoirs. I thought it was an excellent exercise.

 

So I started thinking of my six-word memoir. I came up with several. Okay, more than several, but I got on a roll and just kept going.

 

What’s done for Christ is worthwhile.

I will follow wherever You go (Luke 9:57b).

My life is in You, Lord.

All my heart, soul, strength, mind.

Daughter, Sibling, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Friend.

Salt and light in this world.

May others see Jesus in me.

Heart felt thoughts. Words to paper.

Be kind. Speak gently. Love unconditionally.

Christmas is just around the corner.

Sinner, saved by grace. Living gracefully.

Love to cook. Love to eat.

 

I then wondered what some of our Biblical character friends’ six-word memoirs might be. Here are a few I came up with.

 

Abraham – God will provide all my needs.

Moses – Floating. Fleeing. Herding. Leading. Wandering. Encountering.

Ruth – Your God will be my God.

Peter – You are the Christ, God’s Son.

Paul – Chief of sinners. Saved by grace.

Ananias and Sapphira – Greedy plot that didn’t end well.

 

Obviously, there is more to our lives than just a six-word memoir. Just look at how many different six-words I came up to describe my life. And to be honest, this is just a fun exercise. But it does make me stop to think about what I want others to know about me.

 

What do you want others to know about you? What would your six-word memoir be? Then after you’ve come up with one (or 20), think about what Jesus wants others to know about you. What would your six-word memoir be as a Christian?

 

This is not my typical blog post, but it does cause me to reflect upon my life. Not just my physical life, but also my spiritual life. So today, why not come up with your own six-word memoir (or multiple memoirs)? And once you’ve done so, ask yourself if it is pleasing to God.

 

I pray that your day is filled with God’s abundant blessings.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

If you’d like to share your six-word memoir, please click here. I’d love to see how you’d like others to think of you.

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Whatever!

May 15th, 2013 dsisler

You’ve heard it before. That word. You may have heard it from your teenager, your child, a co-worker, or even your spouse. Perhaps you have used it in the past or use it on a regular basis. And, you know, the word cannot just be spoken alone. There must be rolling of eyes, perhaps a hand gesture, or even someone walking away from you.

 

WHATEVER!

 

It is a word that clearly says, “I really don’t care about what you are saying and you can’t make me care!”

 

If you are like me, it is a word that sucks every bit of life from me. Especially when it comes from someone that I love. I want to shake them and say, “Why don’t you care?” “Am I really that unimportant to you?” “You need an attitude adjustment!” Now, I may not have tons of wisdom, but I do have some. Please give me that much!

 

Regardless of their reason for saying that word, my feelings get hurt, I feel as if I have no value, or it makes me angry. So how can that one little word mean so much? I believe it is because it is the final word.

 

The apostle Paul gives us an alternative use for this word that may help when we are in this situation. Philippians 4:8-9 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Puts “whatever” into a completely different light doesn’t it?

 

When we are faced with a situation where the conversation ends with “whatever,” think about the things God wants us to think about. What is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. These thoughts will fill us with life! Abundant life! They will restore us so that we might be able to move on with our day.

 

And what does God promise? Peace. Peace in an otherwise hostile situation. Isn’t it wonderful how God knows exactly what we need? How He knew over 2,000 years ago that that one little word, “whatever,” would take on a different meaning and supplied a way for us to react to it. I can now thank God for the “whatever’s” in my life and rejoice that I can use that very same word in a positive way. Whatever!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

Please feel free to leave me a comment by clicking here. I’d love to hear from you!

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He Owns the Cattle

May 14th, 2013 dsisler

Colorado weather has finally decided to warm up. After months of cold and snow, we are now enjoying warmer temperatures…perhaps a little too warm for some. But we are at least able to enjoy the outdoor patio.

 

As I woke to the birds singing and a beautiful sunrise, I looked out my window and saw the open space behind our property. It was green! It looked like a rolling meadow and I was awestruck.

 

I then told my husband, “This is beautiful! Without my glasses I can’t even see the junk yard.”

 

This field is green now, but just a few weeks from now, it will be dry and it will turn brown. My beautiful green meadow will be gone.

 

As I snapped photos of the field, I remembered an old song we used to sing. “He Owns the Cattle (on a Thousand Hills).” There isn’t a cow to be seen, not even a chicken. There is an occasional prairie dog or coyote, but still no cattle. So why would I think of this particular song?

 

Because that song goes on to share an even greater message. Take a look at these words and if you’d like, you can listen to a medley of songs by the Gaither Trio that includes “He Owns the Cattle (on a Thousand Hills)” by clicking here.

 

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
The wealth in every mine;
He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,
The sun and stars that shine.
Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell –
He is my Father so they’re mine as well;
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills –
I know that He will care for me.[i]

 

It’s not that God owns all of His Creation. It’s that He has shared it with me! I am His heir and therefore all that He owns belongs to me as well.

 

But the earthly portion of it isn’t even the best part. Oh we have some beauty in our world to see, but my future home is far greater and more wonderful than anything this world has to offer.

 

Because God is there. Jesus, my Savior sits at God’s right hand. I will be able to sing praises to them forever without my voice cracking or feeling weak. I will be able to stand in their presence without my feet hurting. I will never grow weary of worshiping.

 

And unlike my green meadow that will turn brown soon, nothing in heaven will grow old or fade away or die. Forever, it will be green.

 

And unlike the drought season that will return to my small portion of this earth, there will always be water in heaven for there is a river that runs through it.

 

And unlike the small amount of trees that line the landscape from my view, there are trees that produce crops of fruit and they are on either side of the river of life.

 

And all of this will be mine one day for I have Jesus’ promise that He will return. I find great hope in John’s final words after seeing the vision of heaven. “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20 – NIV)

 

I believe that sometimes I get too comfortable in this world. I love its beauty and the people I am blessed to have in my life and I forget Jesus’ words that He is coming soon. And I rarely ask for Him to come as the Apostle John did.

 

And because my mindset isn’t always as it should be, I miss opportunities to share God’s grace and message with the lost and dying world. I am too focused on the now instead of the eternal future.

 

I must be determined to live my life with urgency. The urgency Jesus felt in those three short years of ministry. The urgency of His mission “to seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10 – NIV)

 

We find these words in Psalm 50:10 (NIV). “For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” But I find greater joy in knowing that I am His and that He cares for me.

 

Do you belong to Him?

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

I would sure love to hear from you. If you would like to leave a comment, please click here.


[i] He Owns the Cattle, Words and Music by John W. Peterson

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A Cut Wire

May 13th, 2013 dsisler

Yesterday was such a good day. A celebration of motherhood is always enjoyable. But the day had possible threat looming over it.

 

On her way to work, my daughter Candace called and said her engine light came on and that her car wasn’t running well. So we knew when she returned home, we’d have to see what the issue was.

 

So at 8:30 last night, my husband pulled out his handy gadget that told him the fourth cylinder had misfired. And after looking at the engine, he knew why.

 

Somehow the spark plug cable had been cut, possibly by the fan.

 

I know there are times in our lives when we aren’t running on all cylinders. Illness may be hindering our function. Young children may be zapping energy from us. A busy schedule may be keeping us from releasing our full potential.

 

But it can be downright dangerous if we allow this to happen in our spiritual lives. Perhaps we’ve “taken a break” from church attendance or group Bible study. Perhaps there’s no time to add personal devotions to our lives. Or perhaps we’ve grown lazy in our spiritual development.

 

Whatever our “good” reasoning is, it isn’t.

 

There is a reason Jesus gave us the command in John 15 to remain in Him. Jesus is our life source. Without Him, there is no life. It’s not just one cylinder misfiring, it is your entire life misfiring.

 

And according to Jesus, apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). That may seem a little dramatic to some, but I’ve lived on both sides of this command and it is so true.

 

There is nothing outside of Christ.

 

However, Jesus doesn’t want us to just remain in Him. There is something we are to be doing in this state. We find this in the same verse mentioned above (John 15:5 – NIV).

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

We are to bear much fruit. And you’ve heard of this fruit before from Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

 

This is the fruit we are to bear.

 

Jesus also mentions in this section what happens to the branch that doesn’t bear fruit.

 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2 – NIV)

 

Looks like we’ve come full circle doesn’t it? We aren’t the only ones who cut ourselves off from God. If we are non-fruit producing followers of Christ, God will do the cutting for us.

 

Remember God’s words about being lukewarm? To the Church at Laodicea He said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16 – NIV)

 

We cannot be happy with mediocrity. We must be working diligently to grow spiritually and by remaining in Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to produce an abundance of fruit.

 

Mason had a spark plug wire. He replaced it in 5 minutes and Candace’s car now runs smoothly again.

 

We have the source and power to be great followers of Christ. Reach out and grab it. Repair that broken line between you and God. Then, wait to see what God produces in your life and what wonderful things He has in store for you.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

If you’d like to leave me a comment, please click here. I’d love to hear from you!

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    "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.

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