I Want to Be Under His Wings

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.     

Psalm 91:4 NIV 

I'm a farm girl.

 As a young girl,  I would go into the hen house with my mom and see the baby chicks trying to peep out from underneath the mother hen's wings and feathers. Mother hen would patiently tuck each little head back under her feathers. 

When I read Psalm 91:4

 I get a mental picture of myself under God's wing, covered by his feathers, in a safe place to rest, and shielded by his faithfulness. Security is the word that comes to mind as I think about this picture. The security to be free from fear or anxiety. God has me covered with his feathers. Everything will be okay. After all, all things are possible for God.  I think I will continue to place myself under his wing and let him take care of each situation as it arises in my life today. If I try to start doing things my way, I want him to tuck me back under his wing. 

His Faithfulness

This verse also says his faithfulness will be my shield and my rampart. Do you see his faithfulness as a shield? I do. He sure has gone to great lengths to rescue his people from all kinds of situations in the Bible. Slavery in Egypt, fiery furnaces, lion dens, victory over much larger armies, ...etc. If he can do all of these things, I KNOW he can take care of every situation that I am going to face.  His faithfulness walls me in like a buffer zone. I am shielded and protected. No matter what is going on around me, He will be there, surrounding me and protecting me. I don't know about you, but I feel safe and secure as I read these words. 

Turning to God in all things

Running to the shelter of his wing

Under his wing I will find refuge

Shielded and surrounded by God's faithfulness

Trusting his faithfulness in every situation

Psalm of the Week - 28:7

Put God First, One Day at a Time - Matthew 6:33-34

Easy to Worry
Isn't is easy to get caught up in worrying about bills, food, and clothing instead of trusting God to take care of everything? My natural tendency is to be a "worry wart." 

Trusting God to provide for my needs isn't my natural tendency. No, I have had to learn how to do this by focusing on today and today only. 

Replace Worry Thoughts with God Thoughts
Once my focus is on today, then I have to consciously make my thoughts turn to trusting God. I do this with self-talk. Yep, I just kick those worry thoughts right out of my head and replace them with Jesus and God thoughts. 


Here are some examples:

1. Worry Thought - Hmmmm...I wonder if I will be able to buy a new pair of jeans after I pay the bills.
God Thought - I know God will take care of everything I need. He has taken care of everything so far and he is faithful. 

2. Worry Thought - I don't know if I will have enough gas to get to work this week.
God Thought - Lord thank-you for taking care of my needs. I know you will make sure I have enough gas to get to work today and every day. 

Once my focus is on God; worry, stress, and anxiety go away and are replaced with calmness and peace. 

Barnes Notes on the Bible states it this way:

• But you, who have a knowledge of your Father in heaven; who know that He will provide for your needs, should not be anxious. 
• Become interested in His favor, and all necessary things will be added to you. 
• He has control over all things, and He can give you what you need. 
• He will give you what he deems best for you.                                        
• Commit your way to God. 
• God will be the same Father then as today, and will make then, as he does now, proper provision for your wants.
• Though you will have needs, yet God will provide for them as they occur. 
• Do not increase the cares of today by borrowing trouble from the future. 

Adapted from Barnes Notes on the Bible

Scripture Prayer
Thank-you Lord for taking care of my needs and smoothing out each trouble that is in my path today. Thank-you Lord for helping me to stay in today and helping me to seek your kingdom and righteousness. Father God, help me to continue seeking your kingdom and righteousness first, not last. Help me to stay focused on today. I ask these things in the mighty name of your Son, Jesus Christ who died on the cross for me and is my Lord and Savior. Amen. 

The Pit of Doubt and Fear - Psalm 40:2-3

Jesus is My Rock 
 My experience with being in a horrible pit of fear and doubt, feet slippery with miry clay, is a distant memory. However, I know that the minute I stop letting Jesus be in charge of my life; I am in danger of slipping back into the pit of doubt and fear that he took me out of. I am glad that he is firmly in charge of my goings, today and every day.

Jesus did indeed put a new song in my mouth.  
I continue to praise Him daily. Today, my worst day is still better than the best day of my pre-Jesus, pit-dwelling life. 





Doubts and fears are a horrible pit and miry clay to many a beloved child of God. 

• There is power enough in God to help the weakest and grace enough to help the unworthiest of all that trust in him. 
• The psalmist waited patiently; he continued believing, hoping, and praying. 
• This verse is applicable to Christ. His agony, in the garden and on the cross, was a horrible pit and miry clay. 
• Those that wait patiently for God do not wait in vain. 
• Christ is the Rock on which a child of God can stand fast
• Where God has given steadfast hope, he expects there should be a steady, regular walk and conduct. 
• God filled the psalmist with joy, as well as peace in believing and he will do it for all of his children.
• Multitudes, by faith beholding the sufferings and glory of Christ, have learned to fear the justice and trust in the mercy of God through Him. 
• Many are the benefits with which we are daily loaded, by the providence and by the grace of God.

Adapted from Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary

Psalm 40:2 Scripture Prayer
Fill in the blank with whatever doubt or fear you see as a pit in your life and pray this prayer to Jesus.

Lord, I need your help. I know you can hear my cry. Lift me up out of the slimy pit of________________that I find myself in. I know you will lift me out of the mud and mire because you are faithful. You will set my feet on a rock so I will have a firm place to stand. Lord Jesus, put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to you. I will praise you Jesus so that all will see how you helped me and be in awe.  Amen.

.

Trust God - Psalm 56:3-4

David was not bragging, he does not claim never to be afraid.

• He saw the imminence of his peril, or danger from the Philistines, and was afraid.
• He feared, but that fear did not fill the whole area of his mind, for he adds, "I will trust in thee."

It is possible, then, for fear and faith to occupy the mind at the same moment. 

• We are strange beings, and our experience in the divine life is stranger still. We are often in a twilight, where light and darkness are both present, and it is hard to tell which dominates. 

If I fear man I have only to trust God, and I have the best antidote. 

• To trust when there is no cause for fear, is but the name of faith, but to be reliant upon God when occasions for alarm are abundant and pressing, is the conquering faith of God's children.

Though the verse is in the form of a resolve, it became a fact in David's life, let us make it so in ours. 

• Whether the fear arises from without or within, from past, present, or future, from temporals, or spirituals, from men or demons, let us maintain faith, and we shall soon recover courage.

"In God I will praise his word." 

• Faith brings forth praise. 
• He who can trust will soon sing praise. 
• God's promise, when fulfilled, is a great subject for praise.

It is in or through God that we are able to praise. 

• We praise as well as pray in the Spirit. 
• Or we may read it - in celebrating the Lord one of the main points for thanksgiving is his revealed will in the Scriptures, and the fidelity with which he keeps his word of promise. 

"In God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do to me." 

• Faith exercised, fear is banished, and holy triumph ensues, so that the soul asks, "What can flesh do to me?" 
• What indeed? He can do me no real injury; all his ill will, spitefulness, or hatred shall be overruled for my good. 

Man is flesh, flesh is grass - Lord, in thy name I defy its utmost wrath. 

adapted from The Treasury of David by Charles H. Spurgeon

Take Joy in the Power and Protection of God and Jesus Christ

Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.               

• Be glad when I take refuge in the Lord
• Sing for joy that God is there for me
• Keep a bubble of your protection over me
• I love the name of God and rejoice in the relationship

Ephesians 3:20-21 
20 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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.          

• God can do more than I ever think to ask or imagine. He is infinite and I am not.
• His power that is at work within me
• I will glorify God in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations - forever and ever 

Jude 24-25
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.                                                                                  

• Jesus is my salvation forever and will present me before God without fault
• Jesus will take great joy in my presence before him.
• Thank-you Jesus for keeping me from stumbling.

Joshua 1:5
5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.       

• God will not be separated from me.
• What God did for Moses and Joshua, he will do for me. 

Psalm of the Week - 146:3 - June 19, 2017

There is a Son of man ...who is also the Son of God, who will not fail those that trust in him.                                                                                            Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary

Rely on God rather than on man, however rich, wealthy, or high in society that he may be. There is a work of protection and salvation which no man, however eminent and elevated he may be, can perform for you; a work which God alone, who is the Maker of all things, and who never dies, can accomplish.                                                                                       adapted from Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Be a Believer AND a Receiver

A New Person
Today, I know and understand that I am a new person whose entire life changed once I told Jesus I would do anything he wanted me to do if he would just take away the pain of living life my way. 

I gave my life back to Jesus, but I didn't let go of the guilt, shame, and remorse that were caused by my alcoholic actions and attitudes. I believed it was my job to make myself into a "good" person. 

In early sobriety and the resumption of my childhood faith, I didn't truly understand that I didn't have to try and fix myself, or turn myself into a good believer. I couldn't grasp the simplicity of God giving me what I needed, in return for living a new life of faith. Instead, I strove to make myself a better person by fixing my own faults. That didn't turn out well because all I was truly doing was mentally beating myself up over past behavior that I couldn't change. This misconception caused me trouble for over 15 years. 

Freed from Misconception
Finally, the scriptures that I studied began to make sense. What changed? I started praying for the wisdom and discernment that I needed to understand the Bible. Slowly, I came to understand that as a believer in Jesus, I was freed from the baggage of my past. The alcoholic fueled life that I led for 33 years was washed clean by the blood of Jesus and all I had to do was try to be the best Sallee I could be today. God would fix me himself.

Equip Me and Fix Me
First, I came to believe that God would equip me and fix me as I walked down the path that best served him. That's right. I learned that my life isn't mine to live. My life belongs to Jesus Christ and Father God. 

I began to ask God to shape me and mold me into his will for me. I repeated this over and over to myself in order to let go of the urge to control my own life. I'm stubborn and change is difficult. 

My heart's desire became to be a good servant and do the will of God. As a new person through Christ, I choose to be a servant of Jesus Christ and God. Everything I have in my life, is through, from, and for Jesus Christ. 

I am a Receiver of Blessings 
Today, I am a receiver of blessings because, "the commandments of him we keep, and the things pleasing  before him, we practice." I believe the Bible and I keep the Word of God in my life, and do what is pleasing before him. Therefore, I know I will receive his blessings when I ask. 

Honestly, you just have to make up your mind that you belong to Jesus Christ from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. Make your heart's desire to be a servant. Give your life to him daily if necessary. Every day, look into the bathroom mirror and say,"I can't, He can, and I think I'll let Him." 

Live in Joy Daily! 
The only life any of us truly has is the moment in which we are alive right now. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Be joyful in your faith. You are beloved by Jesus and he wants to take care of you. Live his way and you will be equipped in everything good. 


Hebrews 9:14 NASB
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:10 NASB
but He (Jesus), having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,

Hebrews 13: 21 NASB
equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.


1 John 3:22 NASB

and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

Romans 11:36 NASB

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Running to Jesus Like a Child!

What an irresistible smile!

Early last week, I stopped in to see my daughter and grandson. Ashley knew I was stopping in, but Ashton didn't know Grammy was going to be visiting. 

My little grandson sat straight up and a HUGE joyful smile appeared on his little face when he saw me step through the door. He exclaimed, "GAM!" and lifted both of his arms straight up so I could pick him up for a big Grammy hug.

What an irresistible invitation! 
I scooped him up and held him close to me. Two, little arms wrapped around my neck and hugged me back. At the end of the hug, I looked at Ashton and he leaned his head toward me and said," Wuv u Gam." My heart swelled and overflowed with unconditional love.

I smile and my heart fills with love and joy every time I think about Ashton's greeting.
My three year old grandson's greeting will remain imprinted on my heart forever! What a treasure I was given; the gift of unconditional love from my three year old grandson.  

This morning, I applied my interaction with my grandson to my relationship with Jesus. 
I know I am Jesus' daughter. My love for Him fills me with love and joy. When Jesus shows up, I am going to sit up straight, smile a HUGE, joy-filled smile and exclaim,"Jesus!" Then, I am going to run to him with my arms uplifted for a big, loving Jesus hug.  

I know his heart will swell and overflow with unconditional love for me.
Every day, I am going to greet Jesus with a big, joy-filled smile as I run to him in prayer and tell him what is in my heart. 

• Matthew 18:3  And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
• Matthew 22:37   And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
• Luke 18:16   But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
• Luke 18:17  "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."
• 1 John 5:1    Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

Safe By God's Grace and Jesus Christ

It is completely dark as I drive down the highway. 

Ahead, on the road shoulder, two flashing lights catch my attention. It's some type of delivery truck with the flashing hazard lights on. Without warning, the light of my low beam headlights reveals a large, brown shape lying in the center of my lane. 

My brain screams, "DEER!" 

My eyes search for oncoming traffic. None. The car literally seems to jump sideways even though I am not aware of having turned the steering wheel. I feel the right front tire graze something. At the same time, the car slips sideways slightly. However, lightning-fast reflexes turn the steering wheel slightly to the right. The car's front end swings right and the back end stops sliding. 

Now, I am heading south, BUT I am in the northbound lane. My hand seems to be moving independently and steers the car back into the southbound lane as I take a deep breath. Suddenly, I am aware that I have been holding my breath. Shakily, I let out the oxygen-depleted air and take a deep breath to calm my frantically beating heart. Safe.

Then, I realized that I was still holding my phone in my right hand. 

Yes, the entire incident happened in a split second, AND I was holding my phone in my right hand the whole time. Why?

I had wanted to call my husband and tell him I was on my way home. Normally, I call him while the car is still parked. Tonight, I forgot until I was on the road. I hadn't wanted to stop on the road shoulder in the dark to call. However, I am not writing this to tell you about my poor choice. 

I am writing this to praise God and Jesus for protecting me from a potential disaster. 

Thank you, Jesus, from the bottom of my heart for keeping me safe. You kept a crowd from stoning an adulterous woman. Thank you for keeping me safe from the consequence of my action just as you did for her. 

Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a wise counselor who can tell my reflexes what to do instantaneously, without thought on my part. 

Jesus, you calmed a storm, walked on water, fed 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and fish, and turned water into wine. Miracles are your business. Thank you for intervening in my life and for keeping me safe.  

Thank you, Father God,  for arranging the timing so that no one else was involved in this incident. I know you have a plan for my life, just as you had a plan for Jesus' life. 

Thank you Jesus for being faithful to God's will. I will continue to be faithful to his will and to your will. My life is yours, to do with as you will. I am your grateful servant. 

Coincidence or God's Plan?

Poet and Blogger Sallee Bonham with her 2009 PT Cruiser.

Coincidence or God's plan? You decide.
Today, 9/15/15, at 3:35 PM, I (SalleeB) was driving home from work in Vienna, MO on Hwy. 42E. As I approached the Gasconade River bridge, a large doe bounded up the right hand slope toward the highway. I veered toward the left, but for no apparent reason the large doe spun around and ran back down the embankment. I said,"Thank-you Jesus!" Due to the incident, I began driving about 10 miles an hour slower than normal.

Five minutes later, as I was driving down a steep hill toward a sharp, 35 mph curve, a man on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, going west, rode into the sharp curve. Halfway through the curve, the motorcycle crossed the center line and entered my lane. Quickly I stepped on the brakes of my PT Cruiser and dropped 10 mph of my speed. The motorcycle rider regained control and got his bike back into his lane. I again said,"Thank-you Jesus!"

Is it coincidence that these two incidents happened 5 minutes apart? I think not. I believe God has a plan for the rider of that Harley Davidson motorcycle. If I had not encountered the deer, I would have been driving at my normal speed, I would not have been able to avoid hitting the motorcycle. I am convinced of this.

I already belong to Jesus and am his servant. I know I am going home to Jesus when I die. However, what about the rider of the HD motorcycle? Or, does God still have an important task for me to do? No matter what the answer to either question, I believe God was at work today.

Psalm of the Week - 37:7 - August 31, 2015

 PATIENTLY: AN ACROSTIC POEM by Sallee Bonham

Pray for the unrighteous
Always know that God has a plan
Trust in God's plan
I will not fret, I will pray
Earth is not my home, heaven is
No one will escape God's notice, do not fret about wrongdoing.
Turn to the Bible and read God's promises
Love the unlovable
Yes, God will take care of everything. He always does.

Verse of the Week - Isaiah 45:9 - July 20, 2015

As a small child, I loved Jesus and did not question my relationship with Him. My faith was childlike because I was a child. This childlike faith was apparent until I was in my late teens. As a teenager, I became a questioner. However, this adult personality characteristic separated me from my childlike relationship with God and Jesus for many years. 

I want to know "Why?" about everything that crosses my path. As a life long learner, this is not a bad quality to have, BUT as a lover of Christ it kept me separated from HIM.  

Faith means to trust without proof. Faith in God and Jesus requires trust without proof. For a questioner like myself, this was a hard concept to accept after I left my childhood behind. 

Today, I have quit questioning God and Jesus. How did I do this you ask? I made three decisions:

1. God is good and Satan is bad. God is in heaven - Satan is on earth. 

2. I am a servant of God - I am a wrench in the Lord's toolbox - I want to do his will, not mine. 

3. No matter what happens, I trust God for a positive outcome. 

These three decisions have simplified my life, have kept me on God's path, and have deepened my relationship with Him.

Psalm of the Week - 136:23 - July 20, 2015

God remembers his promises. He delivered the Israelites from slavery. He provided manna in the wilderness. He provided quail in the wilderness. His mercy endures for ever. 

He remembered me in the depths of every crisis in my life and delivered me the moment that I called on him. Free will means that God waits on us to call on him. Are you going to call on God today, or are you going to continue to live life on your own? 

Asking God for help does not mean that you have failed, it means you need help. I do not believe in failure. I believe in having a learning experience. Let God help you learn from your experience. Let God help you have strength, peace, and serenity as you walk down the path he has chosen for you. 

Psalm of the Week - 40:2 - July 6, 2015

Jesus is my rock and I am glad that he is firmly in charge of my goings today and every day. My experience with being in a horrible pit, feet slippery with miry clay, is a distant memory. However, I know that the minute I stop letting Jesus be in charge, I am in danger of slipping back into the pit he took me out of. 

Alcoholism, bulimia, self-centeredness, and anger kept me company in that horrible pit for almost sixteen years before I decided to appeal to the Lord and he heard me. He helped me out of the mud and mire of a life that was dedicated to doing everything on my own, without any help from anyone, or anything. 

Jesus did indeed put a new song in my mouth and I continue to praise Him daily. For the last twenty-two years, my worst day is still better than the best day of my pit dwelling life, preJesus in charge. 

Who is in charge of your life? You or Jesus? 

Why Scripture Prayer 

 "Praying Scripture acknowledges the preeminence of the Bible as God’s revealed Word, and expresses faith that it has power to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. Praying through Scripture with a teachable, humble heart can remove roadblocks to answered prayer such as unforgiveness, lack of faith in God, wrong motives, or sin in our lives. As we read God’s Word and talk to Him about it, His Spirit will guide us in prayer."                                                                                                     StonecroftMinistries:https://www.stonecroft.org/elithica/documents/pdf/Praying_Scripture.pdf

Psalm 40:2 Scripture Prayer
Fill in the blank with whatever issue you see as a pit in your life - worry, fear, addiction, unfaithfulness, anger, etc. -  and pray this prayer to Jesus.

Lord, I need your help. I know you can hear my cry. Lift me up out of the slimy pit of________________that I find myself in. I know you will lift me out of the mud and mire because you are faithful. You will set my feet on a rock so I will have a firm place to stand. Lord Jesus, put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to you. I will praise you Jesus so that all will see how you helped me and be in awe.  Amen.

Verse of the Week - Romans 9:21 - July 6, 2015

A potter has a plan for each lump of clay that he uses before it is put on the potters wheel.  The potter already knows what type of vessel it will be in the end. The illustration in Romans 9:21 is to show us that God has a plan for each "lump of clay" that belongs to him. 

Charles Haddock Spurgeon preached a sermon on this verse called "Vessels of Mercy." In his sermon, Spurgeon made the following points:

1. A vessel of wrath (dishonor) and a vessel of mercy are both made from the same lump of clay. 
2. A vessel is a container.
3.  At one time they (the redeemed) are full of themselves, but grace empties them, and then as empty vessels they are set in the way of God's goodness, God fills them to the brim with His loving-kindness, and so are they proved to be the vessels of His mercy. 
4. all that God asks of you in order to have salvation is, not to do anything, but to holdout your empty hand and take all you want.(from Him)The elect of God are vessels only. 
5. The redeemed may afterwards give out to others, but they can only give out what God has put in them. They may run over with gratitude, but it is only because God has filled them with grace; they may stream forth with holiness, but it is only because the Lord keeps the supply overflowing.

Psalm of the Week - 37:7 - May 18, 2015

I Am The Storm

I have had the feeling that I was forgetting something all morning. Then...I realized today is the 16th of May and I should have posted a new scripture on the Living Proof Ministries Blog...yesterday. 

I sat thinking,"Oh, I will just use the Psalm of the Week, 4:4,  that I posted this week." Since I was already online, I just typed in a search for the psalm, clicked on a the Bible Gateway link, and the King James Version of Psalm 4:4 appeared on my computer screen. 

The KJV Bible has a little different wording than the NIV Bible version that I used this week.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.  KJV

Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. NIV

Two words in the KJV verse caught my attention - be still.
Be still, not silent.  All week I have been busy. Busy doing everything except spending time with Jesus. Busy at work, busy thinking about work, busy being sad, busy baking a cake, busy thinking about me, busy talking about how I feel, busy trying to accept the situation, busy, busy, busy.  I have not been silent, or still. 

Do not misunderstand me. I have been engaged in prayer. I have read scripture. BUT I have also had an internal storm inside of me all week  - an emotional gale with an occasional calm in between the squalls. 

As I sat looking at those two little words - be still
I knew in my heart that my Lord and Savior was reminding me of a previous time. Two years ago I wrote a post called,"A Command From Jesus - Quiet! Settle Down!" In that post I was in a similar situation.
Click here to read the post.

I am sitting here in awe at how my Lord and Savior works in my life. 
With two little words - be still, he reminded me of what I need to do. I have to tell myself to be still because, I am the storm and Jesus is in the boat where I need to be!  Are you following me? 

In Mark 4:39,  Jesus calmed the storm by saying, "Peace, be still."  and I think I will. Yes, I am joining Jesus in the boat.
  

Job Stress and Change

I have worked in my current job position for thirteen years. Next year, my position is going to be in another department that I started in seventeen years ago. I wish I could say that I put this in Jesus' hands and left it there, BUT I did not. Prayer was the first action that I took and the Lord spoke to my heart and told me to stay where I am.

Change is hard for me to deal with - leaving it up to Jesus is easy to say, hard to do. For a week or so, I have been alternating between acceptance, sadness, and anger. The Serenity prayer has come to mind two or three times.

God grant me the serenityto accept the things I cannot changethe courage to change the things I canand the wisdom to know the difference.

The moment the Lord spoke to my heart I should have let things go, but I keep picking at the issue like a child picking at a scab on a healing sore until the sore is bleeding again. 

The position change is not a demotion. My head knows this, my heart doesn't. Part of the problem is that I love my job. Yes, LOVE it. The satisfaction is part of what keeps me going even though the pay is low.

The department I am being sent to isn't quite the same. The five previous years I spent in that department had me feeling burnt out. The gains and goals were much lower. However, you can see that I am still trying to weigh the pros and cons.

The pros and cons keep bouncing around in my head even though the Lord spoke to my heart and told me to stay and it is not time to change. He always has a plan for his beloved, even when I can't see it.  My finite brain trying to understand an infinite God just doesn't work. Acceptance is the answer. HE has spoken. 

As the refrain from the old hym says, "Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 
Proverbs 3:5-6

Psalm of the Week -37:8 - Week of May 3, 2015

In context, this psalm says to not fret because of evil doers. Wrong doing surrounds me today. I turn on the television and see shows that completely disregard the biblical model for living life. Developers displace the poor, widowed, and orphaned to create a new mall.Alternate lifestyles have become so common that they are being pictured in family television viewing. People of every color and culture are compartmentalizing themselves instead of living a life of faith that overcomes all barriers. Christians are heckled, jeered, and persecuted for speaking up about God's word and its model for living our lives. 

Do not be angry about wrong doing, or evil doers. Fretting is something that I can fall into easily. I am a soap box woman. My mom called me, "Sallee, Defender of the Faith" when I was still in elementary school. My being vocal about wrong doing isn't necessarily God's will. In fact, I may actually be doing evil myself, if I allow myself to argue or become angry myself. My test for these circumstances is a single question to myself,"Can I change this in anyway?" Usually, I cannot. 

Focus on living your life for Jesus. Let your life be all about Jesus and let the ripples of your faith expand and touch the lives of those around you. Small actions reap huge results in God's world. A word of kindness, a smile, a monetary gift at the right time, a supply of household goods, a "just because" card, random acts of kindness, are all ways we can let our faith touch other people in love.