ritasalomon

Today I took my grandchildren to a Spring Festival. There was the traditional egg hunt, petting zoo, and a couple of small roller coaster rides. There was an arts and crafts section and popcorn, snow cones, hot dogs and other goodies to eat. 

I must admit I took the kids because I had promised them I would earlier in the week, but I really didn’t want to go. These old bones ache and creak once in a while and today was one of those days where the discomfort wouldn’t let up. I just wanted to quietly rest!

Nonetheless, we went. I listened to and observed their excitement. Their happy chatter seemed to irritate my bones and I just couldn’t get into their frame of mind. I was just “grumpy grandma!”

We got to the grounds and they immediately took off for the egg hunt. There they were with their little bags looking for eggs. Their laughter was sound of happiness. They were jubilant and carefree.

“Grumpy grandma’s” heart began to melt and without realizing it I began to cheer the kids on, “over here and look over there and you just passed one, keep looking, there’s more etc.” It was simple delight helping them hunt; something I hadn’t done since childhood.

My entire mindset changed! As the kids got on their rides and went from one to another, I sensed their joy. Their joy was infectious and I began to laugh and enjoy my time with them. Their smiles were priceless! I thought, “I don’t have to take them to Orlando or to Anaheim, to give them a good time. This simple country bumpkin community has brought families together to enjoy time with each other.”

The reality of sharing quality time with my grandchildren was humbling. Their hugs of gratitude were priceless. I rested completely when my focus diverted to my grandkids.

The lesson? Joy is beyond price! It is usually right in front of us and we don’t recognize it. It is a gift from God; who offers it every morning.      

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to The Lord! Sing to The Lord; praise his name…tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! Psalm 96:1-4

This is joy! Whether we feel like praising, singing, telling or not; we do it anyway by faith because He is most worthy of all the praise we can give! Sing for joy before the Lord, for He is coming! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

The other morning I was driving my grandson to the bus stop. He turns to me, and asks, “Nana would you like me to be a blessing to someone today?” “That would be nice,” I responded. Then he asked, “what if the person you are trying to be nice to is mean to you?” “Well, I said, “just remember what we’ve talked about before.” “You mean,” he says, “stop, and think about what Jesus would do?”  

“Yes,” I replied. He quickly adds, “so when someone doesn’t treat us ‘good’ we still do good to them, that’s being a blessing?” “Yes!” I answered him. 

He got off the car, to get on the bus and turned to tell me, “I’ll do it.”

As I watched the bus go down the road, I thanked God for the lesson he gave me through my grandson’s questions.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all you can to live in peace with everyone.”

The Psalmist wrote, “My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.”

I say, “Smile to those that don’t. See the “good ” in those that aren’t. Love and bless those that won’t. God does the rest!”

I look back at my life. And, as I reminisce I try to remember the times of joy, fun, happiness and of victories. And, it doesn’t matter how I look at these specific times, I realize that in between there were junctures of challenges.  Some were much more difficult than others. I would call (and still do) on God for help.

But, I must confess there were points where I would complain. “Why Lord do evil individuals who curse you, move along their life painlessly without some of the problems I have faced?” I can’t remember how many times I would cry this question out to the Lord.

Asaph in one of his Psalms asked the same. “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” 

I certainly relate to that sentiment and had to do what he did. He tells God, “So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.”

A contrite heart and spirit realizes aside from all we encounter; it is better and so good to be near God! I find it a generous gift to be able to call on God when I’m in need and even when I’m not. He is my place of refuge and safety. He protects, loves and cares for me.

The Psalmist wrote, “I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”

I find when my emphasis is on the Lord it makes all the difference!

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalm 73:26
During the time my husband’s health failed him; I became resentful, fearful and oppressed. It was a challenging time in my life to say the very least. 
I would go through the motions of daily life. But, I could not savor and enjoy it. One day, during a walk where I would cry out to God in my distress, I felt a gust of wind hit my face with fervor. It was a moment that triggered my heart to break.

And I repented from a bitter heart. Later, God spoke to me; “Then I realized my heart was bitter and I was torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant-I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.” Psalm 73:21-25

In this lifetime, I have experienced and have learned that it is good to be near God. It is good to trust him. It is good to call him out on the promises he has made. It is good to subject and submit myself to him whether I understand the why of it or not. It is good to not be afraid. And, it is good to grow from the experience and to tell everyone of the wonderful things he does!

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on Him now while He is near. Isaiah 55:6

In reflection, I used to think that I had truly dedicated myself to the Lord’s service. It was my youthful desire to ” work the fields” and to serve in the church. Don’t get me wrong, I did give my life to the Lord and “served it” if you will. 

But there were those times that I was so involved in the work, I lacked time for the God of the work and that was a constant and unsafe mistake.

I had to renew and restore my desire to love Him and serve Him and not just His work. I had to seek the Lord and to this day I seek Him because He is still near and I can find Him as needed, which by the way is often.

I’m so fortunate that God doesn’t say, ” I only love you when…” I’d be in a state of misery and despondency! I’ve been there and don’t “even” want to remember the experience.

It’s a discipline that I cannot disregard nor take for granted. God is always there. He is always available; it is we who aren’t and we only hurt ourselves. 

We can’t handle the opposition when it attacks because we aren’t in condition to do so. We lack the spiritual strength to fight back. And, it is because we have become lax in our seeking and finding the Lord. We become too involved with the “everyday” and are too exhausted to seek and find. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink.” And he continues writing in the same chapter, “Listen, and you will find life.”

Our thirst in life will never be quenched without the Lord; it’s a daily and constant discipline of listening, seeking and finding!

That’s life!

Give thanks to The Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Psalm 105:1He is the Lord our God…Psalm 105:7

He always stands by his covenant…Psalm 105:8

Isn’t that a wonderful thought? God is committed to us! He stands on his covenant; commitment, promise, pledge, need I go on?

Now, I pause to consider my commitment to him…I’m still in pause mode.

There’s much to really and thoroughly consider. God have mercy on my negligence. Sure I have sung praises to Him and shouted my worship as well. I have believed his promises and yet, and still, and regretfully I forget his many acts of kindness, love and mercy. I sometimes don’t wait for his counsel nor response to my requests in prayer. I doubt, I whine, I even disbelieve and complain and what’s worse, I don’t trust. 

I’m sure I’m not the only believer that goes through such “drama.”

And, the reality is, I don’t have to go through this. But, in all honesty, I do. 

I’m still a work in progress, even at this stage in my life.

But, thank the Lord, he is faithful, and he is the same, ” yesterday, today and forever!”

He is, the Lord, our God! Oh, blessed be the Name of the Lord!

You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees, please do not give up on me! Psalm 119:4-8
As the sun is the center of the solar system; so God is the center of my life. What I do daily revolves around the center. All the fragments of my life are equally distant from the center.
The center is what actually keeps me focused so that I may perform as necessary and determine what to prioritize for the moment at hand. We can plan our day, and as soon as it begins something happens to subvert it. In an instant things change and priorities are reorganized. However the core and center of who I am in life remains the same.
Sometimes, I react to subversive changes and truthfully I am shamed. No excuses, I’m human after all and some days are worse than others. But, because the center of my life does not give up on me, I move on, get focused and act accordingly. 

Because of His love, He’s available to help me clean up the messes I make. I recently read, ” God submits to the decisions I make…and love doesn’t protect me from the consequence of my choices, but it also does not abandon me to them. Nor does God’s presence in the midst of our stupidity justify any of it. God is opposed to anything that is not of Love’s kind, but God is always ‘for’ us in the middle of the mess.”

So when my actions do not “consistently” reflect God’s decrees; He’s still there patiently waiting for me to “get back to the program He has developed for me.”

Really? I don’t deserve any of God, but I’m so thankful for his patience with my inconsistencies. I’m so glad and blessed that he doesn’t give up on me! I’d be totally doomed! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Give me a helping hand, for I have chosen to follow your commandments. Psalm 129:173I have been trying to teach my grandchildren the value of making choices. I explain as simply as possible that we all make choices. Sometimes we choose with knowledge and understanding and sometimes we don’t. 

I explain there are good choices and of course bad ones as well.

They seem to understand that part of the concept.
Then we get into the discussion of consequences that result as part of the choices we make. Again, there are good consequences and bad consequences. And, I explain further that discipline most of the time comes with the bad choices we make even if we are sorry.

“But, why?” they ask. “Isn’t being sorry enough?”

“Not necessarily,” I explain. I give examples of disciplinary actions and the one that turned on the light was my example of running a red light while driving and we cause an accident and someone gets seriously hurt. We get a citation and we have to pay for that and sometimes there is more involved. We can be sorry we ran the light but the consequences of that wrong choice still prevail. 
They know that stopping to think before making a choice is probably a very good practice and we go over this quite often. And, just as our children’s choices and grandchildren’s choices affect their relationship with us; so do our choices affect our relationship with God.
I have chosen to serve the Lord. I have chosen to live for Him. I have chosen the Lord as my Lord and King. I have chosen to follow Him and take up my cross. I have chosen to love Him with all my heart. I have chosen to live the best life that is offered so freely to me. I have chosen to trust Him. And I have chosen to call on Him whenever and wherever and He promises to be there. I have chosen to improve the development of my relationship with the Lord.
And, as a result of these choices I am promised an everlasting life…what other “consequence”can “beat” that?

Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithfulGod who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9
I don’t think of it often, but when I do I am still amazed how God works in my life. I am who I am and where I am today is due to the faith in God of ancestry of years before. I truly am thankful for my predecessors who passed on to generations including mine the importance of faith in a Real God.

Our God keeps his promises and additionally gives in great amounts a love so unfailing to us. He is relational and dwells upon us hoping that we adhere and live by his every word.
His Word tells us to be careful and during those plenteous times we not forget him and disobey his instructions. And, not to forget that we are, because of his strength and energy and not our own. He is the one who gives us the wherewithal to be successful in life. 
He alone has provided all that we need. Just as he did years ago for his chosen; providing, protecting, keeping, listening and loving, he does for us today.
He has done this from one generation to the next. He expects our real devotion in return. A life dedicated to a special relationship with him.
If we would but remember rather than forget all that he has done for us and live by every word coming from him; we would truly realize how blessed we really are.

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory! Psalm 50:14-15
Does God do enough for us? Do we appreciate him sufficiently? Are we truly thankful for all he does for us? Do we remember what he has done for us?

Do we keep the promises we have made to him? Has he been there in our time of need?
The Psalmist has acknowledged many times over that The Lord, the Mighty One, is God. He also has written that God aspires to relate with his faithful people; those who made a covenant with Him by giving sacrifices.  
He tells us to make thankfulness our offering to God! It should be a sacrifice of praise! He also tells us to hold on to the promises we have made to the Most High!
God wants us to call on him in times of distress, trouble, or need and he promises to deliver us. We, in turn give Him the glory, the honor and the praise. And, when we do this we are building and solidifying our relationship with Him.
Giving God the thanks he so daily deserves is a way of giving him honor. If we keep to his path his salvation is revealed to us. We receive all that we need and the joy of our salvation is restored.