Free To Be Clean

Sometimes we need to take a break, get alone with God and let Him show us areas of our life He wants to deal with. I was led to take a little hiatus this summer and really sit at the feet of the Lord and LISTEN. Well, some of it I liked a lot, some made me cry tears of repentance and some left me saying, "Wow God."

No matter who we are, or what we do, we all have a primary ministry if we are married or mothers or both. That is a ministry to our family. I have always known that, but knowing and doing is sometimes different. For example, praying for my husband and giving him encouragement from the Word is easy for me. Keeping a very clean, and organized home, is NOT easy for me. In all of my busyness over the past couple of years of conferences, new book releases and helping others start their ministries, I had neglected the thing that makes my husband happy; a clean and organized house. And boy, when you begin to let things go, they snowball pretty fast. Those were the tears of repentance. Personally, my home was a disaster and my family felt neglected.

Thankfully, God always provides what we need when He sends us to a task. He provided a wonderful friend, Tabatha, who is amazing at organization and cleaning, and she, Melissa (my personal assistant) and I went to work. We donated, we threw out, we organized, and we scrubbed. I cannot tell you how much freedom there is in a clean house. There are still a few nooks and crannies to de-clutter and clean, but overall, it is transformed to what it should have been in the first place. My husband is already happier and I am so much happier.  Now, rather than having a huge cloud hanging over my head when I walk in the door, exhausted, and see the mess. I can spend 15 minutes a day keeping things picked up, swept, etc. And when my husband walks in, he can see that I love him, even if I’m not here to tell him.

The summer hiatus for renewal is almost over and I will be back to writing and ministry full swing, with my short cleaning breaks in between.

I write this because I know I’m not alone. As I posted updates on facebook, there was an outcry from women saying how much they admired my energy, or organization. They wanted to get motivated, but they could not; they didn’t know where to start. The responses went on and on, often from women I thought were far better in this area than I am. Most of them were private messages because they were too ashamed to admit their lack of zeal for their homes in public.

It broke my heart for my friends and for women in general. When did we go from June Cleaver to master hoarders? How did we allow the enemy to inflict something into our homes that would burden us with such guilt and feelings of failure?

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

New King James Version (NKJV)

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Does this scripture apply here? I believe it does. When the enemy of our souls uses something to heap guilt and shame upon our minds, it is spiritual warfare. Cleaning my house was not the weapon that freed my mind from the guilt. Time with God, time in His Word, and surrendering this area of my life to the Holy Spirit is what resulted in freedom. I then had the release to ask for help. It was only after the guilt was not holding me in chains that I could do the things in the physical that needed to be done. It all started in the spiritual.

 We, as women, get so busy doing all of the things we are supposed to be doing, that we often forget the most important parts of our life. We forget that everything in the natural is directly affected by things in the spiritual. It’s not a battle over dust-bunnies. It is a battle for our families. There are six things I have to do each day, no matter where I am or what is going on. When I allow God to lead my thoughts and actions toward my family, I defeat the attack of the enemy that says to neglect them before it even comes my way.

• 1.       I must pray for my heart to be right in every situation.
• 2.       I must forgive any offense I have encountered from my family.
• 3.       I must pray for my husband; that God would guard his heart, prosper his work and cover him with protection. (If you have children, pray the same for them.)
• 4.       I must consider first, what the needs of my home are for the day.
• 5.       I must communicate my love for my family in a language they will understand.
• 6.       I must take personal inventory of my heart and allow God to purge anything that would get in the way of what HE wants to do in me that day. 

As women, especially wives and mothers, we are given a responsibility to be the caregivers of those in our homes. It’s not just about a clean house.  It’s about showing them our love through the giving of our time and our commitment to them. It’s about knowing that they are the most important to us because they are so important to God. It is truly the ministry of being a wife, or a mother, or both. We are called and ordained to it, now, let’s do it. 

Power Without Wisdom

Okay ladies, is there anything more romantic than a moon lit boat ride on the river? Just you and your husband, hand in hand, talking, floating, just enjoying spending time together? John and I were enjoying such an evening, floating down river with the engine shut off. We suddenly realized that it was 1 a.m. and we both had to get up for work the next morning. John fired up the Evenrude and started back toward the main channel. All at once we heard a loud thud and the boat took a swift turn left. It only took moments to realize that the thud was the sound a steering cable makes as it breaks. We were a few miles from the boat ramp with all the power we needed to get there, but no way to steer the boat. In the current of the Mighty Missouri River we were spinning in circles and drifting further down-river.

We cut the engine so that John could think and I began to pray. My mind was taken to our walk with the Lord. So often we want to use God’s power in our lives, but we don’t want Him to be in charge of the steering. Then we wonder how we end up spinning in circles or on the rocks. Direction from God is in the Wisdom he gives when we are willing to listen. That Wisdom is like our rudder that keeps us going in the right direction. 

One of the reasons I am wildly in love with my husband is his creative mind and the wisdom he exhibits in a crisis. He went into the water and straightened the rudder, then handed me one of the oars. Then he started the engine and took the other oar to the bow. With some teamwork and constant communication about our direction, we were able to steer to boat back to the dock and use a rope to pull it onto the trailer. From a broken state, we were saved from peril; oh how that spoke to my heart. I will never forget that power, without wisdom, is never a good thing. 

But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile). Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24. (AMP)

We Will Rise

 I started this century with months in a wheelchair after undergoing hip replacement surgeries and bone grafting. People were so supportive and caring. A day never went by that someone didn’t ask, “How are you doing under the circumstances?”

Seven years ago this week, I was diagnosed with cancer. I praise God that it was discovered in early stages. After surgery and a few days with a radiation implant I was on my way to a speedy recovery. People in my life were very supportive. Concerned friends and acquaintances always wanted to make sure I was doing okay physically, emotionally and spiritually, under the circumstances.

Five years ago I was laid off from my day job. I prayed that freelance writing and speaking would meet every financial need that I had, but at that time, it seemed impossible. I prayed for God to open another door, according to His purpose. Again, our friends were concerned and asking how we were doing, under the circumstances.

Today I walk. Today I am cancer free. Today God blesses my life with His provision so that I may work for Him.

We all experience circumstances in our life.  Often, through no fault of our own, life hands us one circumstance after the other until we are treading water barely able to keep from being swallowed by turbulent tides.

Many would say that, as believers, we have a life preserver for the times when we feel like we cannot tread water for another moment.  When our circumstances have overtaken the depths of our soul we can cry out to God for help and He will be there. Under the circumstances we will be okay, if we just have faith.

There is a sweet assurance in that idea. However, I don’t believe that it is the way God intended our faith to be exercised. When we wait until we are drowning to call out to God our faith is used as an insurance policy. Not just fire insurance, but flood insurance.

If we look at Romans chapter 8, verses 35 through 39 we find that our circumstances are opportunities for us to display the conquering power of Jesus Christ, through our faith.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NAS)

I have not personally experienced the persecution that was present for Christians in Rome at the time of Paul. I have not been through a famine. My poverty level has never reached nakedness and my life has not been threatened by another person because of my faith in God. Yet those around me continue asking how I am surviving, under the circumstances.

No matter how things have looked from the outside, every circumstance I have been through has been used for the Glory of God if it was given to Him, for His purpose, from the beginning. Each time I have learned invaluable lessons. Every victory strengthened my faith and fervor for the Lord. Through each triumph has come opportunity to reach out to people I would have never been able to understand without the circumstance I walked through.  

The times in my life, and there have been several, when my circumstances swallowed me were the times that I kept trying to cope with my circumstances or try to fix things myself. Spiritual bruising happened every time. I was riding my circumstance like a bull, trying to make the 8 second buzzer. And, like the cowboy who holds on after he is in trouble, I have gotten tangled in the rope and been beaten more severely than if I had just let go. It took me years to realize that we are not called as believers to live under our circumstances or to fix situations on our own.

What if Christ would have been swallowed by His circumstances? Defeat looked absolutely imminent from Golgotha, yet we know that He reigns victorious. What if the circumstances of the cross would have been the end? What if Christ would have waited until He could no longer “fix” things to cry out to God? Even as the divine Son of God He had free will and could have refused to complete the plan.

The reason that Christ could take every step through His circumstances was that He knew from the beginning that whatever He would endure was for the Glory of the Father and the salvation of the creation that He loved. He knew that everything meant for evil would be used for good when it was done with a pure heart, giving all honor to God. He did not walk to Calvary under the circumstances of the cross. He walked to Calvary knowing that He was born of God, and would be victorious.

1 John 5:4 & 5 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (NAS)

As believers we are born of God. We are called to walk victoriously through every trial that comes our way; not to be under our circumstances, not in spite of our circumstances.

We are called to live each day, each hour, and each minute by faith, knowing that no matter what we may be going through God will use it for His Glory and our good when we give it to Him completely. The victory in our lives is what shines as a beacon to the rest of creation, telling them the good news of the resurrection plan. By overcoming the world and every circumstance in it, in the name of Jesus, we rise again, with Him.

** This article was oringinally written before the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We are all shocked by the horrific scenes and the life threatening conditions. Truly many thousands will not survive this disaster. Under their circumstances seems like an understatement. But, God will use even this disaster if people hand Him their broken pieces an allow His will to prevail in their lifes. 

 I pray mostly for those who do not know the Lord Jesus. The thought of those who did not accept Christ’s offer of salvation is heartbreaking in these situations. Please keep the families of those lost, and the people who are still displaced, injured or sick in your prayers. I don’t know how I would have survived anything in my life without the Lord and the prayers on my behalf, and my circumstances are trivial by comparison.

He Will Meet Me On My Knees

I don't usually post poetry on my blog, but I wanted to share this one with you. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that we can come to Jesus and let him restore our broken hearts.

He Will Meet Me On My Knees

By Pamela Sonnenmoser ©2007

©2010 The Salt and Pepper Stone: The Poetry of Pamela Sonnenmoser (Party Line Press)

My white dress fluttered gently

As the breeze went through my hair

And the congregation waited

As I met the preacher there

Standing at the altar

I pledged my heart to stay

With each soul present as my witness

I would never walk away.

And my hungry heart surrendered

Knowing He would never leave

As I let His love enfold me

And He met  me on my knees.

But after years of faithfulness

I met temptations sting

And I wandered into darkness

My first love, no longer seen

As I wandered through the wilderness

A new love locked my embrace

We ran together through the darkness

Far away from Heaven’s grace.

And my wild heart offended

The one who said He’d never leave

As I pushed His love away from me

And refused to bend my knees.

No longer guided by compassion

My new love met the sting

And his wayward heart betrayed me

As life brought me to my knees

On my face before my Father

Not knowing where to turn

I begged for the forgiveness

That I could never earn.

And my broken heart remembered

That He said He’d never leave

When I let His love enfold me

He would meet me on my knees

And my healing heart repented

Thankful, He would never leave

When I let His love restore me

As He met me on my knees

We Must Let Them Go

My heart broke, when a friendship of almost 30 years ended because my friend thought I had gone overboard with my faith. I considered our friendship unconditional. We always had different views about religion. I didn’t think it was that important. We both believe that Jesus is the way to reach the Father, so as a teenager I didn’t worry about semantics.

As I went through a long journey in the wilderness of rebellion, she was always there for me, although in later years she admitted it was hard to see my self-destructive behavior. She was happy for me when my life changed and I no longer walked those roads of rebellion. She knew I was a Christian. She will readily tell anyone that she is also a Christian. I was so thankful to have her in my life to set a high moral standard.

A couple of years ago, she asked me if something was wrong because I seemed to be talking about God a lot. I didn’t realize I was talking about him any more than I had in the past 15 years. Of course, until she joined facebook, our contact during that time had been a few phone calls each year. Because we live in different states now, we only saw each other a few times in the past decade or so. Our friendship was strong, and no matter how many months between our conversations, they picked up as if no time had passed.

As my facebook friend, she was privy to my life. I share my faith openly, and the things that are most important in my life are things of God.  Sometimes I ask tough spiritual questions to get the viewpoints of my friends. Once in a while I express my opinion about issues, entertainment and current events. That’s what got me into trouble with my friend.

She was already concerned about my level of Biblical study and the references to what God was doing. But when I said that we as Christians should not be entertained by evil, the decline of our friendship began. During the posts on the thread, we came to a point when we agreed to disagree. But I knew that would be difficult. She posted on my wall less, and didn’t always reply when I posted on hers…but I hoped it was because we are both busy.

I still kept up with her and participated in conversations on her wall with mutual friends. I never brought up my faith on her wall, out of respect for her beliefs. Although I pray for her heart to be open to the Lord.

Today, I went to her wall to tell her I hope she has a great day. But I couldn’t. I have been unfriended. Without so much as a word to me, I have been deleted from her life. I’m pretty sure it was the post last week where I said that the Bible says we should live a holy life, no longer slaves to sin… But since she didn’t say anything, I really don’t what caused the complete obliteration of our friendship.

I do know I will always love my friend. I will miss my friend. I will always pray for my friend and I will always be ready for reconciliation with my friend. But now, I have to realize that we were not equally yoked in our friendship. As teenagers it didn’t seem to matter. In our twenties and thirties, as we started our lives and families, our friendship was not as close, so we didn’t notice. But with today’s technology we have the ability to know people like never before. We are not so guarded on social sites like facebook, and while there are people who are completely fraudulent on those pages, I think most of us are more ourselves from the keyboard. We are less cautious about who hears what we have to say. Our friends have more of a chance to know who we really are; sometimes they won’t like it. Sometimes they will choose to end the friendship. But if serving God means that some of my friends will reject me, then I must be following His will for my life. And that trumps any fleshly hurt or worldly disappointment I could experience. It also makes me appreciate the friends He puts in my life that love Jesus and want to serve Him and know Him.

Luke 18: 29 & 30 (ESV) And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come - eternal life.”

If that is true about family members, I'm sure it applies to friendships as well.

Speed Traps and Sin Traps

I got a speeding ticket the other day. Yes me, the one people pass all the time because I won't drive faster than the posted speed limit, unless I am driving on a freeway in some parts of California where it would be life threatening to drive the posted speed...but in general...I don't. I was on a road I don't travel often, and I missed the sign that told me the speed went from 55 to 45. I was only a few feet into the new speed zone when the Highway Patrol officer turned his car around and turned his lights on. I pulled over, unsure of what I had done, and half expecting him to go flying by me. He didn't. As he wrote the ticket I thought of how I might get out of it and get that mark off my clean driving record. Then I realized that even though I didn't know I was breaking the law, I was guilty of speeding. It is my responsibility, as a driver, to know the rules of the road, and to pay attention to the posted limits.

It's the same way with us as Christians. It is our responsibility to know God's word - to hide it in our heart - but we also have to pay attention so that we don't miss the trap Satan sets for us to fall into sin before we realize it.

Read Psalm 119:9-12 and 2 Tim 2:15

Hopefully, if I go to court, they will be merciful and reduce my penalty to a non-moving violation, whereby they get their money, and I can have the black mark taken off my record. That's where We need God's grace - when we fall into sin - but we need to bring those things to the advocate. Just like I will probably have my lawyer take my ticket before the court, we need Jesus to take our appeal to the Father. He is our advocate. But that does not mean we should go on sinning willfully. Our entire relationship with the Lord is based in His love for us and our love for Him. That love, requires our fidelity, not putting anyone or anything before our relationship with Him.

Read 1 John 4:19

Time Out

I spend a lot of time with my nephew, Rowan. I visited his home in Arizona over Christmas when he was four. We enjoyed going Christmas shopping, but like most 4 year olds, there were a couple of times I had to correct his behavior as we shopped. As I told him not to touch something in one of the stores, he turned on his heel, and said, "You're not the boss of me." His bold tone was a little less emphatic as he sat in the quiet seat and our shopping trip came to a premature end. Of course by dinner time he was my buddy again.

The following summer, he came to spend several weeks on our farm. He was here for just a few days when I walked to see him taking the dirt from a flower pot and laying it on the coffee table. As I said his name, in an oh-so-stern voice, he jumped. Then he brushed off his hands and said, “Here I come quiet chair,”

As I fought back laughter, and watched him take his seat on the time out stool in the dining room, I asked him why he was digging in the plant. He said, “I wanted to know what was under the dirt.”

He wasn’t trying to make a mess, in fact he was keeping his pile of potting soil pretty neat, with hopes he could put it back. But, he admitted knowing it would have been better to ask what was there, or to ask me to help him discover the mystery of the flower pot.

Thinking it over that evening, I thought of the times my curiosity has gotten me into trouble. Sometimes I’ve needed a time out because I simply wouldn’t listen to God’s voice telling me to stop. Sometimes, my disobedience told God, “You’re not the boss of me.” I may not have admitted it out loud, but walking in disobedience, or avoiding the things we know God has asked us to do, is just like Rowan’s proclamation of my lack of authority in his mind.

Today I value my time in the Quiet Chair. It is important to take a time out each day and sit quietly, thinking about my actions, and God’s voice of authority in my life.

Maybe today it’s time for you to take a time out. Or maybe you have a great way to listen for God’s voice. I would love to hear from you in a comment or email.

Life, Grace, Truth and Consequences.

In my reflection over the trip to Israel, one thing kept speaking to my heart. I was looking at the pictures of my companions and I stepping out of the Garden Tomb near Golgotha. The photos actually spoke to me even more than actually standing in the tomb. As Christ stepped through that threshold 19 ½ centuries before I was even conceived, He won the battle over sin. He paid the price for my shame and made the way for me to be forgiven. Dying on the cross was the most vivid part of the price He paid. It is the part we focus on the most it seems. But had He just died, it would not have been enough. His resurrection is where the victory is most revealed. His resurrection is why we have hope in Christ, no matter how big we think our sin might be. His LIFE, after it seemed that all was lost, is the miracle of the Christ!

I am so thankful that my savior lives.

Most of my friends, relatives, readers, and those who have ever heard me speak know that I have a prodigal past. I talk about it pretty openly when it is appropriate for sharing what God has done in my life. Until recently, I thought those horrible things I did as I walked further away from God only affected my life and my family. I knew some of my choices hurt my parents deeply.  I never thought of others I might have touched with the wake of my out of control sin.

 During almost six years of living from one desperate act to the next, I made many stupid choices. I was desperate to be loved and accepted. I was desperate to survive and often, I was desperate for something that would make me feel okay with myself. I longed for peace in my spirit, but I didn’t believe that it was as simple as trusting in a God I could not see or feel.

I surrounded myself with people who seemed to love me and put my trust in the latest group of friends. Only to be disappointed when they couldn’t give me what I needed to be at peace with my life. No matter what I tried to do it was never enough.

One night, close to the end of my rope, I contemplated my life and the worthlessness of it. I already knew how much I would drink so that I would have the courage to end the pain I was causing my family and everyone I touched. My only fear was that if I took my life, my pain would never end. There was no doubt in my mind that God was real, the Bible was true, and Jesus was the savior of the world. I just did not believe that God cared about me. I had been disappointed too many times, so perhaps, I thought, I was not one of the elect that would get to spend eternity in the presence of a God that seemed to pick and choose which of His creation he would love. (That was not what I was taught growing up, none the less, it was my frame of mind as the enemy closed in on my soul.)

I’m sure the low-cut jeweled shirt and short skirt I wore said more than I realized at the time. I didn’t recognize the bus driver, but it wasn’t unusual to find a sub on the route. As I took my seat at the front, he turned toward me. He didn’t say anything, but his sideward glance made me incredibly uncomfortable.

We were about half way to my stop when he looked my direction again. This time he spoke. “So, what do your parents think of your lifestyle?

“What they don’t know, doesn’t hurt them.”

The cliché felt like acid in my throat. I knew I had hurt them, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“Okay,” He looked me straight in the face as he waited for a red light to change. “What does God think of your lifestyle?”

I wanted to tell him what I thought of his questions. But I didn’t.

“He probably doesn’t like it too much.”

The light turned green. I was glad this intrusive driver had to put his eyes back on the road.

“So, if you died tonight, would you go to Heaven or Hell?”

I wanted to ask him who he thought he was. But I didn’t.

“I don’t really want to think about that.” I turned toward the back of the bus, hoping he would stop asking questions.

“You know, God loves you. He wants to bless you and he wants you to trust him.”

His words came just as we reached my stop, but I didn’t ring the bell. He stopped anyway. Opening the door, he asked if I was getting off. I wanted to. But I didn’t.

I rode the entire route with the substitute driver until we got back to my apartment. He handed me a scrap of paper with scripture references on it.

“Do you have a Bible?”

“Yes, I think it’s on the shelf in my closet.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about the bold bus driver, but I knew I had a lot of thinking to do.

That trip through Vista and Oceanside, California with Gary the bus driver was just the beginning of the amazing people God was going to put in my life to bring me to His grace and mercy through Jesus Christ.

Eventually, I turned my life over to God completely. It was difficult to understand at first, but knowing that God’s grace was sufficient, and that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was big enough, even to cover the sins in my life was hard for me to receive at first.

The first time I realized that my sin was gone, cast as far as the east is from the west, and that God would never hold it against me again, I cried for hours. The love that filled my soul at that moment was like nothing I had ever known. I was on my way to becoming whatever God had planned for my life. A life He created for a purpose in His plan for mankind.

Walking with the Lord, being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit and trusting God for my life, even during tough times brought me through more trials, temptations, sickness and struggles…always knowing God had me in the palm of His hand. I rarely thought of my six year journey through godlessness. Even when I gave my testimony, I was careful to talk about things I did that my audience would understand. I talked openly about my alcohol abuse, my promiscuity and the financial binds I put my parents through. There was more, and I knew it, but I didn’t think it mattered since nothing I had done ever really hurt anyone else. I could be honest and transparent without dredging up every sin I had ever committed. After all, they were forgiven.

I have always known that forgiveness does not mean that we don’t face consequences for our actions. In fact, while God’s grace is sufficient to bring us through those consequences, they do exist. It is the natural order of the world as God created it. No action is benign. Sometimes, even years later, we must face our past mistakes in order to make restitution, amends or to let God work in our life, or the lives of others.

As I said, I knew my life had caused pain for my family. We worked through that years ago, and my parents forgave me, actually showing me the perfect example of God’s forgiveness and unconditional love as I was finding my way back to the faith they taught me as a child.

What I did not know, was that someone else had been hurt by my horrible choices and the stupid things I did out of desperation. That is, until I reconnected on facebook with an old friend from “those days”. After a discussion about the Lord, and how much I knew I would be dead, were it not for Christ and the Grace of God, I mentioned that he probably remembered the person I was back then. He did remember. In fact he also remembered the pain I had caused someone else who had been a mutual friend of ours.

My heart broke that something I did had caused pain to someone else. Pain, he said that lasted until the past couple of years. But I didn’t know what to do about it. More than 20 years later, there was nothing that could change what I had done. I asked him to help me find her.

He located her quickly, and I sent her an email. I don’t know what will happen through this, but I do know, that His Grace is sufficient for me. More than anything, it was imperative that she know how sorry I am that I hurt her or affected her life in any negative way. The Word of God is clear, if we know we have offended someone, or caused harm, we must go to that person and try to make restitution.

I pray that God will use this to not only show me more of Himself, but to reach out to her in a supernatural way. Not because of me…but because of what He is still doing in my life and my heart. There will never be a day that I can say God is finished with the process of perfecting my faith, until I stand before Him at the threshold of eternity. Until then, as he calls to mind any sin or hurt in my life, that I have not given to Him, I must have integrity in repenting before God and in expressing my contrition to anyone I may have hurt during my unfaithfulness.

Thank you God, for giving me the chance to repent, and turn from every wicked thing that has ever been in my heart or life.

But, do we submit to the fallen?

At a conference, a woman asked me if she still needed to submit to her husband if he was not a Christian and not interested in attending church with her or reading the Bible, praying with her, etc.

One Door and Only One

I have a weekly meeting that attend in the same location each Monday. Recently I arrived to find that the location had been changed due to a scheduling mix up. The new occupants of our meeting room pointed me in the general direction of my meeting and I went to find my crew. I walked the halls of the building trying every door with no success. After searching for about 40 minutes I was about to give up, I decided to try one more time. As I walked the first floor, a security guard walking in front of me abrubtly stopped and faced the wall. The wall slid open and he went in. I hurried to where he had been standing and there it was. An elevator, painted in such a way that it was completely camouflaged with the wall. I pushed the button and waited for the car to arrive. In minutes I was with my group, who had been wondering where I could be. I still have know idea where the stairway to that floor was hidden.

Some people go around trying every spiritual door, finding them locked or finding the wrong group occupying the room. Jesus said knock and the door will be opened unto you. Seek and you will find. The door is right there but so often people walk right past it. I might have never found my group if someone else would not have used the elevator, but because he led me there by example, without even knowing I was watching, I was able to find the way. Who are you being an example to without knowing? Who is going to follow your path out of desperation, hoping it might be the way? ©Pamela Sonnenmoser Ministries

I love the Fall. The weather begins to cool down. Fall color tinges the trees and brush. Grass slows its growth and pumpkins ripen. As the world around me changes from green to gold I am reminded that the change before us will usher in a new thing in God's plan. But that new thing; the new growth, cannot happen until the old has fallen away and been purified through the cold of winter. Fall is the first reminder of God's Promise to renew and bring life from the earth.

And I love fall decorations, gourds and pumpkins and bales of straw. Perhaps a happy scarecrow sitting nearby. I have enjoyed decorating the front yard this month. I changed my flower pots from pansies and petunias to bright orange and deep red mums. I cut my own corn stalks from our fields and tied them with a beautiful fall bow. It is so much fun to go and pick the perfect pumpkins for display. It is like preparing for a celebration.
But what are we celebrating? Is it a celebration of change? Yes, but more than that, fall is easily the celebration of Christ's work on the Cross. You see, at that moment things changed, defeat fell like dead leaves and in His resurrection we were given the opportunity to have new life that pushes past the death in the world around us. What an awesome thing it is to be a most loved Child of the King. ©Pamela Sonnenmoser Ministries