As a parent or grandparent, there is no pain greater than watching our children walk away from our love and God’s path. We see the destruction their choices will bring but, we are powerless to fix it.

THE PATH

We strayed off God’s path and went our way,

We forgot all we knew to be true on that day.

The farther into the abyss we fell,

The deeper the pain experienced in that well.

We thought we were smart and knew it all,

But, that was the beginning of our terrible fall.

Off in the distance, we can see a small light,

Flickering into our souls dark night.

He shines a light to help us see,

Things will improve if we bend our knee.

He welcomes us back with open arms.

And by following his way we avoid those harms.

Lessons we learn can be full of pain,

But when we lean on God, there is only gain.

 

Pray for these young people. The world is a cold dark place and the devil is busy robbing them of their peace and stealing their very souls. He only has empty promises wrapped up in shiny boxes and sadly, many fall into his web.

 

The older I get, the more I see the spiritual war that rages all around us.  Everyday it is there, love verses hate, right against wrong, truth or lies, greed or compassion, selfishness or a giving spirit and the list goes on. The devil is hard at work trying to lead us on a path of destruction. It is a daily battle for our souls.

There is a spiritual battle raging all around,

And often men’s soul dies without a sound.

The devil whispers sweet promises in his ear,

Come to the dark side, you have nothing to fear.

I’ll give you wealth, power and glory,

Come on in, you won’t be sorry.

Like Judas they give their eternity away,

Just to feel powerful and in control today.

They forget to read the words in red,

All the things that Jesus said.

Feed the hungry, clothe the poor,

Welcome the stranger with an open door.

Don’t let pride, anger or lies,

Hide the truth from your eyes.

Eternity is forever and heaven is real,

Inspect your heart, it is a big deal.

It’s 3AM and here they come again. Problems and worries trying to get in.

Awakened from a troubled sleep you toss and turn, Your mind in overdrive making you crash and burn.

They tumble around in your mind and heart, And try as you will they won’t depart.

And finally with clarity you understand, They won’t go away till you grab God’s hand.

You open the prayer line to heavens throne, Turn it over to him and the demons leave you alone.

We all have those nights when our problems and worries rob us of sleep and peace. God tells us not to worry but to put our faith and trust in him.  No one has ever made things better by lying awake and worrying about them.

He was beaten and bruised, Mimicked, mocked and abused.

Hung on a tree against a dark sky, Until he let out deaths final cry.

In a stone cold tomb they laid him down, They didn’t see a king or his crown.

He descended to hell with all our sin, Three days later he rose again.

On that Easter morning God’s promise was given, He conquered death and he is risen.

 

May the blessing of Easter shine in your heart always.

God’s word is clear, we should love our enemy,

When everything inside says you’ve got to be kidding me.

We really, really want them to pay,

But God says no, that’s not my way.

He knows the pain they have inflicted on us,

But, it is in him we must place our trust.

When we learn to love and pray for them,

We transfer our brokenness straight to him.

In his time and way, he will balance the scale,

Justice and righteousness will then prevail.

People have a way of wounding us by words, actions and deeds. We’ve all had those experiences which have left us broken and bruised by people we trusted. It’s hard to learn to love those that  inflict harm, push our buttons and irritate us but, when we reach that point, we find peace.

I have had the opportunity to connect with many people via the internet that I would never come in contact with in my daily life. One such young man is a gay, drug addict with a big heart who has no belief in God. He has been the victim of bulling and judgements by many who claim their Christian faith. This has made me think about the greatest commandment Jesus gave, that we are to love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. We are all Gods children and how we speak and act toward one another should reflect Christ’s love.

Who is my neighbor?

Is it only those who look and speak like me,

Who share my faith and destiny?

Do I only care for those close to home,

And tell the rest to leave me alone?

What about those whose skin color is different,

Should my feelings for them be indifferent?

And the homeless lying in the street,

Should I give them something to eat?

The ones who worship a different God,

Should I tell them their belief is flawed?

Those who are starving from famine and hunger.

Can we help them all we lament and wonder.

Those who are in a war torn land,

Are we really expected to take a stand?

The ones sucked into a drug filled life,

Do we tell them they brought on all that strife.

Those who live a lifestyle we don’t understand,

God tells us to love all our fellow man.

He made no exceptions and no conditions,

He told us this was one of our greatest missions.

 

Living with a compassionate soul,

Takes an anguishing, gut-wrenching toll.

You cry tears each and every day,

As you watch the devil have his way.

Hate against those who are black, red or tan,

Harsh words and actions by unfeeling man.

Cruelty and war, starvation and pain,

The dredges from hell, an endless strain.

We watch in horror as justice dies,

And cringe in agony at the children’s cries.

We know in our heart that God will one day reign,

And relieve us all from this daily pain.

He will judge those who inflict this wrong,

Justice will finally sing a righteous song.

 

“Never judge another until you have walked a mile in their moccasins.”

“There but by the grace of God go I.”

These two gems of wisdom have been a guiding force in my life. God blessed me with a compassionate heart and I feel the pain and suffering of others deeply. It can be tiring emotionally in today’s world as there seems to be so much evil swirling around us.  I read and see  the pain man inflicts on others, the disregard for God’s beautiful creation, the harm done to those who have no voice, the lies, greed and deceit and it can really wear me down. But, I hang on to the promises of God and know that one day justice will prevail. I remember that my savior is the ultimate judge and I am grateful for that promise.

I am grateful in my life to have enjoyed the companionship and love of many dogs. Throughout my years of rescue, I met dogs in the worst moments of their lives. They had been abandoned, abused and let down by humans. Without fail, they offered their trust, their love, their companionship and showed an example of an enthusiastic joy for life. Dogs don’t care what you own, what you look like, where you live or what society thinks of you, they just love you unconditionally. Man could learn the true meaning of life from a dog.

A DOGS LOVE

When a dog reaches out and gives you his paw,

It crashes into your heart and breaks down your wall.

They teach you courage and unconditional love,

Beautiful angels sent from God above.

A true companion and a friend,

They stay by your side until the end.

And when the rainbow bridge calls them home,

They leave you here but your not alone.

You carry their memory locked deep in you heart,

Waiting for the day you’ll no longer be apart.

God sends a glimpse of his amazing love,

Wrapped up in fur from heaven above,

That overwhelming sense of dread,

Telling you that your in over your head.

Fear whelms up and consumes,

Dark clouds and thunder oppressively loom.

Where do you turn, what can you do?

Reset your mind and start anew.

The Lord tells us, Do not fear”,

He’s always here, always near.

The devil will whisper his lies and deceit,

But with God in your corner, fear will suffer defeat.

Overcoming fear is one of the hardest challenges we face. Fear keeps us stuck in a rut, afraid to move forward. Our fear stems from our constant worry about how society perceives us. When we learn to only care about how God sees us, we become unstuck and fear looses its strangle hold on us.  I am grateful that God’s got me, I need not fear.

 

As the morning rays of sunshine warm my skin,

It brightens my heart and chases the darkness from within.

The healing energy permeates my soul,

Binds up my wounds and makes me whole.

The sun gives life to every living thing,

It tells the birds when it’s time to sing.

This daily reminder of God’s love and light,

Assures me that one day, everything will be set right.

One of life’s greatest pleasures is sitting outside on a warm spring morning enjoying the sunshine, hearing the birds song and listening to the breeze rustling through the trees. These are the moments that I connect with God and heal my soul.