Update!

Hello Friends!

I am trying something new and I am not one that likes change very much.  It's an experiment.  I have started a new blog:

simplycalling.godaddysites.com  (Two new blogs posted there!)

I am going to see if this new site will generate more traffic and I can get some followers...

If anyone of you regularly read my blog-It would be great to follow me, or comment and leave me a message.  I would love to hear from you!

I have a 30 day free trial and If I decide to stay with it, I think my new address in the future will be:

simplycalling.org.

I will keep you updated and wish me the best of luck!

Cathy

Heads not tails!

“Yours is the Kingdom!  You are exalted as head over all!”  1 Ch 29:11

It’s important to remember that God is sovereign and head over all!  Sometimes we forget this, because we look to very real people who are authority figures in our lives.  We look to our spouses, our parents, our pastors, our CEO’s at the job; people who have authority and can say yes or no to us very easily.  But truth is they are not God.  We need to pray for these people and pray that God would be sovereign and head over them, so they can lead with a compassionate authority that loves and serves the individual people that submit to them and look to them daily. 

It’s wonderful when God-fearing people are our bosses, but that’s not always the case, but truth is if you, yourself are God-fearing you can pray for God’s sovereignty and headship over your boss and I’m sure God will honor those prayers.

Don’t just get mad, leave, and get bitter at authority figures in your life.  Trust and Pray that God will work in these men and women and in your behalf. 

Personally, I’ve never been a manager of other men and women.  I have only had the privilege to lead children and that was tough enough.  Children will challenge your authority daily, and there are highs and lows, times when you really connect and encourage a child, and other times when you just miss the mark!

 It’s important to know that God is sovereign still over those times.  We are all imperfect people, that sometimes miss it, but thank God for His covering and that he works on behalf of all people regardless.

The truth is- “He’s a Good Good Father, and He’s perfect in all of His ways!”

Winning!

I heard a sermon by Joyce Meyer and she talked about the Biblical hero, David in it.  There is something about the character of David that makes you want to smile. He was a nobody- out tending his Father’s Sheep, but he had some experience with danger in defeating a lion and a bear.  This gave him confidence that he could go against the Philistine and smite him dead.  David was confident and bold in the Lord.

David was also himself.  He didn’t try to be like other soldiers, wearing their garb.  He had to use what he was accustomed to.  So, he took 5 smooth stones and when his time came to fight the Philistine, He didn’t sneak up on him, He ran to him.

David said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defiled!” 1 Samuel 17:45

And the Lord delivered Goliath into David’s hands..

David and Goliath is such a good ‘ole story Americans love to hear about the underdog coming back and winning.

We root for David, a young cocky kid that nobody ever knew about.  With one brave act, he left a life of obscurity and entered into public life in the King’s service.

But Goliath was peanuts compared to what David would face with King Saul at his back for years on end.  David grew accustomed to having an enemy, but he would sing and write and produce the most poetic psalms that many run to today to find comfort and solace.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life-whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

The difference between David and Goliath and David and Saul is that the Lord was with David.  And eventually his enemies would fall.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ” Romans 8:31

If God be on your side, it’s a win win!

New Englanders...

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:  Eccesisastes 3:1

For us, hardy New Englanders we know the seasons very well.  We know that each season builds on each other. The buds of spring break forth in songs of summer.  The falling of leaves prepares our hearts for the bareness of winter.  I always laugh and enjoy the closing of one season, and the entering into the other, because it’s like a battle for one to end, and for the next to embrace.  Such is our lives.

For many die-hard New Englanders that love the seasons, like my mother. She would only be bored with just one.  The seasons make it exciting and each season capitulates a beauty and uniqueness all of its one.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Eccesiastes 3:11

I will be as bold to say that the seasons of our lives is what makes life beautiful.  As we age, we become seasoned with our grays, and worn out sweaters.  Our eyes still bright, but with a deepening caused by age.

Spring brings gardens that we tend to with the hope of fragrance and abundant life to surround our modest homes. 

Summer bring sun and beach and a slowing down to the rhythms of waves and quiet waters.

We wear the seasons of our lives inwardly and outwardly and they tell our sacred story.

Our story that breaks through with song, and laughter, and even a chasing after the wind! Right, Solomon?

The seasons is what makes life beautiful.  Your life and mine, your story and mine unfolding since the beginning of time…

It is Finished!

“It is Finished!”

What did Jesus mean when he said, “It is Finished”  at the Cross?  It is finished is a Greek word, tetelestai, an accounting term that means, “paid in full.”

What did Jesus finish?  He paid the debt that mankind owed to God, the debt of sin.   He finished the work that God had given him to do, (John 17:4).  That work was to seek and save that which is lost, and be a messenger of reconciliation to the World. 

At the Cross, Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies that He was who the Father said He was, The Chosen Messiah for Jew and Gentile. 

And lastly, the suffering of Jesus while on earth was finished there at the Cross, too!

Completion, Fulfillment, It is Finished!

“There at the Cross” talks about our debt, what work we are called to, who we are in Christ, and our present suffering that will not compare to the “Glory that will be revealed in us.”  Romans 8:18.

All of this was accomplished at the Cross through the blood of Jesus!  We are not called to accomplish this again, but to allow Jesus to live His life through us.   

We are not called to endless suffering, but to a Glory that will be revealed in us!

We are not called to live in-debted lives, but to a freedom as children of God!

We are not called to shrink back, hide and play small, but to be bold, beautiful, and confident in knowing who we are as chosen ones.

We are not called to live purposeless futile lives, but we are called to be messengers of reconciliation, and pursuers of those who need God!

There at the Cross is our ticket!  It’s our freedom!  It’s our inheritance!  Do not be afraid to go there and behold Jesus, but not in terror, but in Triumph.  He triumphed over death so our future could be brighter!

At the Cross, Jesus advocated for us in a way that no one ever could.  Let Him advocate for you today.  Let Him be your Father….

Just another day at work...

Why is work so challenging?  The workplace can become a toxic environment when negativity surrounds you.  The workplace can sometimes feel like a pressure cooker just waiting for someone to “blow their top” with stress and demands placed upon you.

What is required to work a job?  I think strength is required.  I’ve never considered myself a physically strong person or a strong personality like many we can think of,  but I do have one kind of strength- I have moral strength.  It’s a unique- one-of-a-kind strength.  It’s a tender strength; A strength that preserveres over adversity and with a smile. 

The work world is really not about the work, it’s about the people!  Jesus actually called the disciples out from the “world of work” and said, “Now let’s go fish for people.”  If the disciples thought hauling fish was challenging wait until they encountered those who opposed Jesus!

If you want an easy job, go work alone! 

And truth be told, that is what many of us would do if we could.  But Jesus knows there are many people out there in the cold, sometimes hostile world of work that need a Moral Strength that displays the cost and character of Jesus Christ,  who laid it all done on the Cross and Overcame the most challenging obstacles, so we too could enter into His Glory.

“If you would, Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12:13

With all things considered, Jesus- It’s just another day at work!

My Legacy-Here on earth as it is in Heaven!

I woke up today and I wasn’t excited to go to church, and I have my reasons why, but I decided to go anyway because I need God.

 When I got there I began to worship the Lord and experience His presence.  I thought to myself, “At this point in my life, I don’t have time for resentment.  I don’t have time for unforgiveness.  I desperately need the Living God!”  “I need His Presence, I need His Life, I need His Word, I need His Healing touch that makes all things well.” 

I need God! 

I realized tonight, I need God’s presence more than anything else in this life.  More than the best therapy, more than the most money, more than the loveliest home, more than the most well-meaning people, more than the most successful Job… I need God.

What else is there?

I really don’t know.  I’m not the smartest, most gifted, most articulate, most functional, most social person there is.  Quite possibly I have one claim to fame- I know that I know that I need God..

And God in all his Grace and Glory is more than enough for the likes of me.  Let that me my testimony, Let that be my legacy….Here on earth as it is in heaven!