spiritualgrandmother.com Blog

SLIPPERY SLOPES

Some time ago I viewed a special on TV where tourists on burros in Mexico were being painstakingly maneuvered over
mountainous, treacherously narrow dirt paths allowing no other direction but to proceed ahead. On one side was a wall
of jagged rock, on the other a steep cliff sloping sharply downward. One slip on the part of the burro might dislodge
the mass of stone beneath the thin layer of soil, hurtling rider and animal to certain destruction far below. There are places
and times in each of our lives just like that. Maybe it is too close a description to  true to life scenarios for many of us as
far as present situations are concerned.  There are things we can’t seem to change.. but that doesn’t mean that such
circumstances are set in stone. While there may be near mishaps where burros are concerned, there  are no errors
when we choose to let our Savior God take full control of the reins of our lives. He encourages us not to quit. He knows how to
lead all the way through the winding, dusty paths of this life. These days overload us with news of wars, terrorist attacks, and
economy concerns. The Words of our Bibles accurately tell us that “men’s hearts will grow increasingly fearful when we see
the things that are coming on the earth Luke 21:26.” But He also has a world of comfort and guidance as we seek a personal, intimate
ongoing relationship with the Lord of life throughout the Psalms. As we get alone and allow Jesus to quiet our thoughts,  He will
speak to our inner selves  and show us His perfect plan for us individually. Isaiah 26:3…Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is
focused on Thee. SpGrandmother Lois

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THE WINNER & STILL CHAMPION

These are days when we are called upon to lace up our spiritual boxing gloves and step into the ring of  life with confidence  that
through Jesus Christ, we are winners!  This is true if we have been undergoing training to become mentally fit and fully equipped
with the Word of God. Through the knowledge of His Word we come to realize that there is a formidable foe who seeks by fear and
depression to squeeze the feelings of well-being from our very lives. This hostile enemy is not in any way a figment of our
imaginations, nor does he play by any set of so called civilized rules…..his motto is “all is fair in war.”  He does exist and uses tactics
that are obscene, contemptible, cruel and nasty! We are not shadow boxing with some imaginary opponent. When the Apostle Paul
mentions  “keeping under my body”..I Cor.9:24-27. In those Scriptures  he speaks of disciplining the mind as well as the body. His readers knew that in
that in the Isthmian games, the boxers wore gloves consisting of ox-hide bands covered with knots and nails, and loaded with lead and
iron. To prepare for such an event, an opponent would have to brace himself to endure all forms of physical abuse….not unlike the
abuse suffered by Jesus for our sakes. There is continual, serious warfare being waged on the battlefield of our minds, but our
strong and sure defense is the Word of God and fervent, effectual prayer. Ephesians 6:12 points this out so graphically, leaving no doubt
as to Whom we must look in order to come through every battle victoriously. The Lord God has supplied us with full armor so that we
need never fear. In every trial He shields us with His Love. Take time to read of  His continual comfort in Psalm 91. SpGrandmother Lois

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BALANCING ACT

It’s not necessarey for anyone to announce to us that times can be tough.  These present times are, without a doubt,
very challenging!  But now is the time for us to draw on the unrealized strength that has been implanted
within us by the Lord of all creation. It difficult to understand how some other persons 
seem to cope with all the “stuff” that ordinarily would trip us up. Adding the present pressures and
responsibilities of today to the excess baggage from the ghosts of our past make for what would seem
a nearly impossible burden to carry on one’s own shoulders. That could account for the glazed over
look in our eyes when we aren’t really living for the moment, but must always be taking a
backward look to see that we’ve tied together all the loose ends. So often trouble can blindside
us to the joys that our Heavenly Father has planned for us in the now of our lives. Even trials of   life
are His invitation to us to take His Hand and let Him lead through some dark tunnel into the light
of day. We may think that our situations are too hard even for Him to handle. Of course that
cannot be so!  He is totally in control. As we quiet our troubled thoughts, we will remember this is so.  He is
God! We are His children. He loves us and He proved it by sending His Beloved Son to the cross of
Calvary where in agony He took all our sin and sorrow on Himself…for us!  He knows the way we take
and, if we let Him, He will open our eyes to new understandings of His deep love for us in wanting
to bear life’s burdens for us. He is our Father! We belong to Him! He knows the difficulties. He sees the
lines of worry on your face, He sees the falling tear. He lovingly speaks to us through the Power of His
living Word, the Bible. Those Words we read are in actuality His tender Voice expressing His love to
us. Daily reading will more intimately acquaint us with Him Who is the Savior of our souls so that
we are able to become familiar with that love. His written Words, His Voice to us, will renew our
thoughts and will shut away the worry that before had occupied our thinking. Then, instead of us
carrying the load of our burdens alone, we can look to our Lord Who promises that “He will hold
us up as we cast our burdens on Him.”  Matthew 11:28 – Come unto Me all of you who are heavy
burdened and I will give you rest.”  SpGrandmother Lois

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KEEP PADDLING!

Thoughts and feelings will either be your friends or enemies. They can either take you on “flights of fancy”or dump you deep into what

might compare with a fling on a bungee cord. There  is a bright side in that you are in control and have the right to choose which it will

be. But beware, because unless you call a halt in the very first moments, those two  will double their efforts and start you on an emotional

roller coaster. At one time or another each of us is faced with some particular  difficulty requiring  a definite choice to be made.

Most of us are familiar with the nonsensical tale of two frogs. The story goes that two frogs, finding themselves dumped accidentally into a

bucket of cream, had a critical decision to make. They were in big trouble and there could be no doubt about it. How each chose to 

deal with this major crisis was a matter of  life and death. As we know, one gave up.  The other used his webbed feet feverishly to

stir up the cream until it was paddled  into the consistency of  butter which became a launching pad for his escape. In this life we will have

times where there seems to be no way out. We are presented with the choice either to throw up our hands in a gesture of despair or to take the

high road offered to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.  As we look to Him,  He will reveal the way out by the means of  His Written Word. Thoughts

are stimulated and renewed as He speaks to us through those Words,  and in turn we speak from our hearts to Him. I  Cor. 10:13 -  No test

that comes our way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All we need to know is that God will never let us down.  (The Message Version) SpGrandmother Lois

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BETTER, NOT BITTER

Are you stumbling in semi-darkness over recent changes you are compelled to make? Economic cutbacks have forced you to evaluate every turn of your once comfortable living. Perhaps you are feeling that the rug has been pulled out from under your feet. The “magic carpet”  which you had trusted  no longer carries you high above others not so furtunate. We don’t interact with others for very long without realizing that there are tangled threads involved in this thing called “life.” Oftentimes we may discover that these changing times are actually God’s invitation for you to choose just how you will  handle such unexpected opportunities for personal growth. If we stop to push aside  the doubts and fears of uncertainty, as God’s Word instructs,we find that we haven’t left anything behind in such a change. We are actually taking with us all the God-given skills and invaluable work experiences necessary to start  all over once again. Looking through the eyes of  His love for you, He is leading you forward. He speaks through His written Word as well as through circumstances and we find that together those two are a winning combination. Have you known of  others who have suffered through various upheavals in their lives, whether through financial difficulties or the loss of someone dear to their hearts, and yet have been carried to a new place. They were brought to a position of fulfillment they may never have known had they remained where they were. If you will set your mind on the Lord Jesus, as written in Isaiah 26:3, He promises to keep you in perfect peace so that your mind can be renewed. He will encourage you to know that you are not a failure. In the course of events, things “happen.” Jesus encourages you to stand above the circumstances and plan with Him for a brand new beginning. If you choose to let Him, the Lord will take every bitter thing and bring you out better for it all.  SpiritualGrandmother Lois

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THIS IS ME, FATHER……..AGAIN

Since the last message, have there been additional times when you find that you have needed to run to your Heavenly Father to cry out to Him in your need? You can never run to Him too often. In a previous message, I had printed a portion of Psalm 139, where can be found the prayer of a child of God, whose you are. These verses are from the Message translation of the Bible. Perhaps you recall part of it from the last Spiritual Grandmother site.  I will print it here in its entirety. If you will visualize yourself as praying this prayer to the  Lord on your behalf, you will find comfort, peace and strength flowing forth from the Lord to your own soul. Psalm 139: God, investigate my life, get all the facts firsthand. You know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back. I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and You are there, then up ahead and You’re there too, Your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too wonderful. I can’t take it all in. Is there any place I can go to avoid Your Spirit, to be out of Your sight? If I climb to the sky You’re there. If I go underground, You’re there! If I flew on mornings wings to the far western horizon, You’d find me in a minute-You’re already there waiting! Then I said, “”Oh, He even sees me in the dark!” At night I’m immersed in the light!.”It’s a fact: darkness and light, they’re all the same to You. Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out. You formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank You, High God-You’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration- what a creation! You know me inside and out. You know every bone in my body: You know exactly how I was made bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You. The days of my life were prepared before I’d even lived one day. Your thoughts-how rare, how beautiful! Lord God, I’ll never comprehend them! I couldn’t even begin to count them-anymore than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with You! And please God, do away with the wickedness for good! Investigate my life, oh God, find out everything about me; cross-examine  and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m all about; see for Yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong-then guide me on the road to Eternal Life in Jesus Christ. Amen  SpGrandmother,Lois

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FATHER, THIS IS ME……….

FATHER, THIS IS ME…….He knows so well that it is you, just as any loving father knows the heart of his child. But with all the weight of pressure forced upon you these hectic days of ups and downs, you may forget that your Heavenly Father is not some etherial being who is completely unaware of situations  like the diciples in a boat on a wild and stormy Sea of Galilee  crying out in terror for fear of sinking to certain death, had nearly lost hope. They needn’t have……..Jesus was on board.  Maybe you feel that you aren’t  only near sinking, but are about to go down for the third time to eventually drown in the black sea of present trouble. Maybe you think that it all comes down to the truth (only in your thoughts) that, however hard you’ve tried……..once again, in spite of your best efforts, you have failed…..You haven’t.  But the truth is, we each need to rethink our standing as children in the heart of  God, who is deeply touched with the trials that may have been thrust upon us by the acts of someone outside of ourselves. How often we have longed for a sounding board….someone to listen who really cares, who really understands. Times of trouble needn’t be wasted for they are your Lord’s invitation for  you to bare your heart and soul to Him. That is the deep longing of  His heart. So often we share everything with others who have no idea how to comfort us and who may be consumed with their own problems. But help is available as close as your Bible in Psalm 139. It is conversation between a child of God….like you….and your Father who is as close as your sighs and your tears that are never unseen by Him. He longs to have you know you are never alone. He never will leave you nor forsake you. In sickness, in health, for better, for worse, in success or failure. Listen to the prayer of one such child in Psalm 139 (The Message Version) and make it your own. “Father God, investigate my life, get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to You, even from a distance. Father, You know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of Your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start my first sentence. I look behind me and You are there, then up ahead and you’re there too—Your reassuring presence, coming and going.” ……………. There is more, and all of it so encouraging, that in my next message I plan to share the rest of this beautiful pattern of prayer describing  the freedom we have in expressing our heart’s pain or joy and all in between with Him alone. He longs to share these things with you and has shown it by sacrificing Jesus, His Beloved Son ……for You.  SpGrandmotherLois

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IT MATTERS TO HIM ABOUT YOU

Today is a good day. Chuck  the  negative economy stuff overboard. We’ve already wrestled with all that long enough and now it’s time to take a fresh breath of air and recognize that there’s a whole lot of  joy waiting  just by turning our focus on to what we’ve been missing because of distractions that have been demanding our attention.  It’s time to recognize that we are important and our life has great significance. Out with insecurity that for too long we have allowed to steal  from us. Insecurity thinking  hasn’t succeeded so far, so why not try something different? Maybe we have failed to realize that we are personally related to Almighty God who, Himself, calls us His child. He has written our name on His Heart in indelible ink of the Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. He has openly declared His undying love for us in giving His Son to live, die and rise from the dead so that, in confessing our sin and believing in Him, we might receive the greatest Gift He has to offer in granting Eternal Life forever with Him. He knows that there will be times in this life when trials will nearly overwhelm us, threatening to overflow and wash away all we hold dear. We may face fiery circumstances with the fearful possibility of  having to bear the load of difficulty alone. But if we choose to let Him, He will go before us to clear the pathway ahead. He wants to be there for us in every situation, however twisted that way may appear to our sight. We may ask ourselves, “where is He when I need Him?”  If we will  quiet ourselves before His Presence in His Word, the Bible, we will hear Him answering those questions that disquiet our troubled minds. We will come to know the power of deliverance He has promised us. Ephesions 3:20 stands as a beacon of  light on a storm-tossed night, reminding us that He will do for us exceeding, abundantly above anything and all we could ever ask or even think, according to how we allow His power to work in and for us. If we wait patiently, trusting that the answers we long for are presently “in the works”, we will come to know how very much “it matters to Him about you..” Spgrandmother Lois

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LOVE IS……

Love can mean various  things to different  people, but may best be  described as expressed in I Corinthians, chapter 13. Here we find that the numbeer 13  is anything but “unlucky”. We are told there that without love, all  the good intentions we might have falls flat lined, seemingly dead. As concerning close relationships, we may be at a loss to understand why, when we have tried so hard to please,  our efforts  may fall so woefully short. In this portion of the Scriptures, we understand that there’s so much more to love than just good intentions or warm feelings, though both will be evident where genuine love is present. As we read what is written in Chapter 13, we might be tempted to throw up our hands in frustration from what seems impossible demands…..Love is patient, kind, not prideful. It isn’t jealous or suspicious. It doesn’t brag about itself nor keep track of the others shortcomings. In other words, love  not only is, it does. Love is giving as well as forgiving. This would be impossible if at first two people had  not built their love relationship on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We know from God’s Word that it is He Who is the Source of  all real love. In the beginning God’s answer to Adam’s aloneness was the creation of Eve and the institution of marriage. Intimacy does not mean that we lose our individuality. But when we love we will take time to listen to the thoughts, feelings and the desires of the companion God has chosen for us. Love says, “I want to help you,”  “I want to know you.” “I want to understand you.” With the Lord as the perfect pattern that binds two hearts together, love truly is attainable and will never fail. Spgrandmother Lois

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DID I SAY THAT?

 You may have heard the saying, “it takes only a series of little digs to make a marital grave”. Of course that could apply to any relationship, we know. The pain brought about by the burning arrows of thoughtless words can last a lifetime. When situations arise that pile stress upon stress, as in the present economic downturn, the exchange of angry words brought on by frustration can open the way to domestic warfare. In God’s written Words of our Bibles, He has taken special effort to write in plain words His instructions to enable us to handle the “hot potato” issues that, as kindling  grows  into a raging fire,  results in  unforgiveness and bitterness in the heart of the persons involved. Often what was meant to be a simple exchange of words becomes a heated disagreement that, at first,  neither person ever intended. It doesn’t take too much shuffling through our memories to put our “emotional finger” on some hurtful experience in life that has left us feeling helpless as to how to cope with the injury brought about by thoughtless words; some of which have never been resolved. Proverbs 18:21 tells in a nutshell the truth, “words kill, words give life-the choice is up to you.”  We are in control of the words we allow to emerge from our thoughts. The combination of words we choose to speak comes forth wrapped in emotions that may be difficult to keep in check. The seed of a thought grows from small to tall and yet only a moment’s hesitation can bring an atmosphere once charged with anger,  into one of peace that will save from a lifetime of regrets.  Sp.grandmother, Lois

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