August 26th, 2015 
dsisler
I was reminded of this verse this morning so thought I’d do some much needed doodling! I pray that regardless of the situation you face today that you will remember these two verses.
Remember:
You are not crushed
You are not in despair
You are not abandoned
You are not destroyed
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Donna
August 25th, 2015 dsisler
I’ve recently been reminded of my age. My oldest child turned 33 years old last week and my middle child turned 30! How is this possible? I know how hold I am but I guess what I was reminded of is how long I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing.
You know, you hear of people retiring from teaching and then start all over again with another organization and soon the person has been teaching for 70 years. Or the couple who has made the Guinness World Record of being married the longest at over 85 years.
As a high school student, we “majored” in certain areas. I majored in music, home economics and business. Throughout my business courses, I picked up on the skills pretty quickly (except for the accounting classes…I always seemed to struggle in those). I was the fastest in my class at taking shorthand and then transcribing and typing what was dictated. I enjoyed being a secretary!
My first job came when I was 16 years old. I worked 14 hours a week at the church where my Dad ministered. I had my own office. I loved using the printing press (that would later be replaced by a copying machine). The hum of my IBM Selectric type writer was beautiful. My, how things have changed.
Through the years I have found myself as a secretary in many areas of businesses and fields. I’ve been a secretary for Clairol (the hair coloring people), an auto workers union, a group of attorneys, for hospice, and several churches along the way.
I’ve managed to do a few other jobs along the way, but for the most part, I’ve been a secretary for 39 years. And for the most part, I’ve loved every minute of it.
I’ve worked through the years at keeping my skills up with newest and greatest equipment. As mentioned earlier, that old printing press would soon be replaced by a copying machine. That Selectric typewriter was replaced by a word processor and ultimately a computer…the computer has even changed through the years from large, bulky pieces of equipment to slender laptops!
Shorthand has been replaced by typing meeting minutes or notes on a laptop. Most phone calls go to a personal cell phone, not the business line. Files and folders are now located on a computer not in a drawer. Even styles of writing and editing have changed. And there are probably a few other things that have changed through the years that I’ve had to keep learning.
My point is that even though I have had the skills for all these years, I’ve never been able to just say, “I’m done.” I’ve had to keep working toward the next element of technology to be a viable worker in my field.
It’s no different with our spiritual lives. We’ve accepted Jesus. We know to expect His return someday, but what are we to do in the meantime? We are to prepare ourselves for that coming. We are to keep learning. We are to work in field to bring others along. There is much work to be done.
So let’s look at a few verses that teach us what we can do to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ return.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – NIV)
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 – NIV)
“In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble purposes. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Maser and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:20-22 – NIV)
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22 – NIV)
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope.” (1 Peter 3:15 – NIV)
These are just a few things we find in Scripture that we can be working on while we wait for the Master to return. Let’s be prepared for that day. Let’s just do it.
I’m not a secretary any longer. I’m an assistant…even the name has changed. But to be honest, I like this change. I want to more than just a gal who types out memos. I want to make a difference in the work place.
I want that same thing to be true of my spiritual live. I will always want more. I will always want to grow a little bit more. I will always want to be better at what I’m doing. I’m getting ready and will be prepared when Jesus returns. Will you?
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Donna
August 24th, 2015 dsisler
I’m feeling blessed today. I have no complaints. I have no emergencies. As far as I know, I have no unpredictable occurrences lurking on the horizon. It’s just a good day to be alive and at work in God’s Kingdom.
But I know that things can change in a moment. A phone call. A revelation. An action. And to be honest, it’s inevitable that something will happen to flip my world upside down.
But here’s the thing. I can’t live my life waiting for the other shoe to drop. I must live each day in the moment. I must do what God has called me to do and allow Him to direct my path.
The song I’d like to share with you today gives us the scenario of good days and bad days. You know them well friend. You’ve had overwhelming days. You’ve weathered storms. You’ve been on steep roads.
You’ve also lived hope-filled days. You’ve known beautiful promises. You’ve basked in God’s grace.
And the beauty that we find in this song is that we are to react in the same way regardless of the situation we face today. We are to believe God. We are to thank God for the gift of His Son Jesus. We are to remind ourselves that we belong to Jesus.
Why? Because love came down. Those three little words sum up the wonder and beauty of God. God loved you and I more than we could ever imagine.
Regardless of what you face today, know, remember, believe and live a life that reflects the dynamic love God has shown to you. And regardless of what you face today, you will know that you are truly blessed.
“Love Came Down”
If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice
I’ll hold on to what is true though I cannot see
If the storms of life they come and the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe
I remind myself of all that You’ve done
And the life I have because Your Son
Chorus:
Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours I am forever Yours
Mountain high or valley low
I sing out remind my soul
That I am Yours I am forever Yours
When my heart is filled with hope
and every promise comes my way
When I feel Your hands of grace rest upon me
Staying desperate for You God
Staying humbled at Your feet
I will lift these hands and praise
I will believe
I remind myself of all that You’ve done
And the life I have because Your Son
(Chorus)
I am Yours
I am Yours
All my days
I am Yours
I am Yours, I’m Yours forever
I am Yours, I’m Yours forever
I am Yours, I’m Yours forever Lord
(Chorus)[i]
Click here to listen to Brian Johnson’s version of “Love Came Down.”
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Donna
[i] “Love Came Down,” Words and Music by Jeremy Edwardson, Brian Johnson, Ian McIntosh and Jeremy Riddle, Brian and Jen Johnson Music, Bethel Music, Mercy/Vineyard Publishing, Ian McIntosh Publishing, and Jeremy Edwardson Music, 2009.
August 23rd, 2015 dsisler
What a week I’ve had. I’ve been sick (either with a very short cold or a severe case of allergic reaction to the junk in the air). I’ve missed two days of work. My son turned 33 on Friday and my daughter turns 30 today (this just doesn’t seem possible!). My emotions have been all over as well. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Joys and sorrows. It’s been like a roller coaster!
Through it all however, I’ve had the God of the mountain with me through the valleys. This journey of life is not one that I would want to take without God by my side. I pray that you have peace in your life because you’ve asked God to join you as well.
I find my choice of repeat blog posts interesting this morning. It seems I am at a crossroad with Full Measure of Joy again. I am finding it difficult to put the effort into writing a daily blog as I once did since going full-time at church. No decisions have been made yet…I need to spend some time with God and allow Him to do His work and share His vision. So until that time, I’ll still be writing every day and sharing my thoughts with you. It is one of my greatest joys.
My Failures
I have accomplished so much in the past 12 months. I write an inspirational blog every day. I moved my blog to a beautiful new website. I have an e-published book.
But, I have had a difficult beginning to the New Year. I was feeling sorry for myself. Yes, I write an inspirational blog every day, but I rarely hear from others, so I have no idea if I am making a difference in this world. Yes, I have a beautiful new website, but I lost all of my followers from the original blog site. Only one person followed my move. Yes, I have an e-published book, but I’ve only sold six copies of the book.
And to make matters worse, someone who I have mixed emotions about has a published book and I was told about it…again. So add jealousy into the mix and I found myself in a pretty bad way a week ago.
I felt like a failure.
I picked up two books to read. One was Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. If you have read any of my blogs, you know this is a book that has made a huge impact on my life. I certainly needed an attitude makeover and I knew this book would help with that.
The other book I chose to read was a book I’ve had for two years. It is In the Blink of an Eye by Michael Waltrip. Michael is my favorite NASCAR driver and I bought this book before going to the Daytona 500 in 2011. I took it to the race track each time we went in hopes of getting an autograph. I never saw him. So the book was placed on my shelf upon my return to Colorado.
Until last week.
According to Michael, he started 463 NASCAR Cup races before he went to victory lane. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many laps he made around the great race tracks of our country before winning a race. But it is a lot. Thousands.
Suddenly, my year’s failures didn’t seem nearly as large. Michael Waltrip had inspired me. Surely I could keep going without all the baggage that I had picked up along the way.
And here’s the crazy part. When I started writing my blog a year ago on January 30th, I hadn’t set any goals. I just wanted to write. I didn’t care if people read my blog. I just wanted to write about God. So I have been successful at it. I have written about God every day for nearly 365 days.
My first blog post was a reflection on fear. I conquered the fear of writing and offered my words to the world. I have been successful at that as well.
I have grown closer to God and have deepened my relationship with Him throughout this year. I have been successful in that regard.
So you see I am not a failure. At least not by God’s standards. I offered Him my writing when I started my blog. And He has honored my gift with some great insight into His world. God has opened my eyes to concepts and ideas that I had never thought of before. God has been in the middle of my blog from the beginning. That makes me and my blog successful.
This is the final paragraph of my first blog post.
“I’ve conquered this fear of blogging. You may not agree with me. You may not like my style of writing. You may never return for “Day 2” of this blog. But I know that whatever tomorrow holds, my God will be with me. And because of that truth, I have nothing to fear.”
From the beginning I wasn’t sure who would read my blog, but I did know that God would be following my blog and that He would be with me each day. And He has been.
So I will continue to hold onto Moses’ words to Joshua and believe He is doing the same for me, because God has made this promise to believers throughout Scripture. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 – NIV)
My fear is gone. My discouragement is diminished. My feelings of inadequacy have vanished. I am facing this New Year with a new resolve. To write about God every day and not worry about being successful by the worlds standards.
What have you resolved to do?
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Donna
August 22nd, 2015 dsisler
I have another confession to make. I love searching for unique and fun fonts to use for work and play. Don’t ask me why, but a font that can place a doodle or create a glorious letter on a page is just amazing to me. I have even created my own font. Yes, my own handwriting font. It would be much better if my handwriting was pretty though.
Of course, my mind goes to Scripture and I wonder what God’s handwriting font would look like? Would it be embellished with swirls and twirls? Would it be straightforward and clean-lined? It’s hard to say, but I do know that we have instances in Scripture where God’s hand was at work. Take a look.
We first see God’s handwriting in His encounter with Moses. When Moses was given the Ten Commandments, we see from Exodus 32:16 (NIV) that God did the writing on the tablets. “The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.” Wow! What a work that must have been!
The next time we find God’s handwriting is in Daniel. King Belshazzar had given a great banquet and brought in the gold and silver goblets from the temple in Jerusalem. The crowd drank from the precious goblets and worshiped false gods. Well, God didn’t take too kindly to this gesture and He showed up at the banquet.
“Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.” (Daniel 5:5 – NIV)
Of course, we know that these words were condemning to King Belshazzar. He had foolishly allowed his power to go to his head and that very night, King Belshazzar was slain. God’s handwriting in this instance was frightening and truthful.
And finally, we find one last instance of God’s handwriting in Scripture. While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees reminded Jesus of the Law of Moses and that such an act was punishable by stoning. They wondered what Jesus would say.
“But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.” (John 8:6b – NIV) This is the one instance where we don’t know what was written, but in His beautiful handwriting, Jesus extended grace to this sinner.
Three instances of God’s handwriting in Scripture. Commands. Judgment. Grace. How thankful I am for each moment in history when God showed up in this miraculous way. What an interesting thing to think about on a Saturday morning in August.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Donna
