Tag Archives: Heart

Saver~Day 24~Write 28 Day Challenge~+ #FMF Assume

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Day 24: Saver + #FMF Assume
Singing My Way Through Write 28 Days
http://www.anitaojeda.com

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)

Saver of Treasure

“I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today
~I’d Rather Have Jesus~

I’m a saver. Not so much of “stuff,” but rather of memories…cards, letters, photographs, drawings, newspaper articles…you get the idea. Somewhere along the way, I began tucking my most precious keepsakes into my Bible to preserve them. It seemed like a great place at first. But as time passed, it became so full of treasures that it was impossible to effectively use my Bible anymore. So instead of opening it regularly to study, there it sat, stuffed full, closed on the table. Those cherished bits and pieces slid between the pages of God’s Word now assumed a more important place than, well, God’s Word. 

Isn’t that what can happen in life too? We are savers of what’s important to us…money, status, followers, our appearance, our homes, our skills…or a multitude of other things. We fill our days protecting these things until we become so crammed full of the world, that our hearts are closed off to what’s really important. We’ve placed so much between ourselves and our relationship with God, that we’ve allowed those things to assume a more influential role in our lives than, well, God.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

So, where is my heart? Where’s yours? Clinging tightly to the past? Working hard at all cost? Desiring more money, attention, or possessions? Obsessed with coming in first, keeping up with others, or always being right? Jesus tells us in the verses above that these worldly “treasures” are temporary, here today and gone tomorrow. Filling all the spaces of our lives with them just leaves our hearts ineffective and closed off just like my Bible sitting on a table.

I am glad to say that I finally decided to stop stuffing my treasures into that Bible. I put it away and got a new one so that now, I can be a saver of the wealth of God’s Word. The good news is we can do the same with our hearts.

“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3: 1-4 (NIV)

When we decide that we’d rather have Jesus and an eternity with Him in glory, all that we’ve been clinging to, the moth chewed, varmint destroyed, thief stolen things the world affords today don’t seem nearly so valuable, and our hearts? They can now assume the most incomparable position of all, “hidden with Christ in God.” Now that’s the perfect place for our treasure!

Day 3/31: Coffee

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31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23

Day 3: Coffee

Recently in the news I read studies are showing that drinking multiple cups of coffee each day is beneficial for your heart. I’m glad to learn this because one of my favorite things about being retired is to be able to linger each morning. Most days my routine remains the same. I wake on my own (no alarm is another plus to being retired), get up, open the blinds so I can see what’s happening around me, adjust the thermostat for comfort, and pour myself a hot, rich cup of coffee. I then enjoy a second one and sometimes even another. I savor the aroma, warmth, and flavor of every sip. I must admit, I’ve become quite protective of the time I devote to my coffee consumption and now I can reassure myself it’s OK because my heart health depends on it.

Guess what? There’s something much more important to my (and your) heart health and that is lingering with God, drinking in His presence.

“Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.” Psalm 86:11 (NLT)

So, here’s the bold, full strength, dark roasted question: Am I as devoted to protecting the time I spend in prayer, the Word, and praise, as I am to my coffee? Are you? We each need to answer for ourselves, but for me, I need to adjust my priorities.

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Matthew 6:21 (NLT)

A Fixed Heart~Five Minute Friday

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“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1 (NIV)

Last year, my sister had to have heart surgery.  A faulty valve was interfering with its blood flow and rhythm to the extent that it would begin to effect her health. As amazing as it still seems, robotics were used to fix my sister’s heart and remarkably, she was able to leave the hospital just a few days later! With rehab and exercise, I’m happy and thankful to say that she was completely released a few months ago and now can go on with her life knowing her heart is as it should be. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a robotic fix to keep our spiritual hearts working as they should?

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10a (NLT) 

I don’t know about you, but what flows from my heart into my mind or across my lips is NOT always what I want God to find there! Sometimes the rhythm keeps time with the cadence of angry thoughts, it can pound with worry and fear, or pulse in other unhealthy ways. If we let it, this world will interfere with the effectiveness of our heart for God. David understood this heartsick feeling as he pleaded:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”Psalm 51:10 (NLT)

 David knew exactly where to take his broken heart. He cried out to the only One who could bring restoration: God, the Great Physician. Long before robotics, He perfected the Way to fix our faulty heart situation:

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 (NLT) emphasis mine

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 (NLT) emphasis mine

No, we aren’t able to repair our hearts on our own. (I know. I’ve tried. How about you?) Amazingly, it takes the flow of Jesus’s blood to fix OUR hearts and release us to live a new life! Of course, we still must do our part to keep our hearts beating for God. With daily exercise in things like faith, forgiveness, kindness, thanksgiving, patience, prayer and most of all, love, we can be assured that one day, our hearts will be just as they should be!

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

 I’m joining the wonderful group at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com today writing to the prompt “fix”. Click on over to read other offerings or to learn more about joining in on the fun! I am humbled and grateful you’ve stopped in to read my ponderings here. You are always a blessing to me! 

 

 

 

 

 

What You Do

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“Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path. Proverbs 23:19 (NIV) / Pixabay

What You Do

What is it that you do
When Jesus calls your name,
To step in deeper waters
Where you’ll never be the same?

What is it that you do
When He knocks at your door
Beckoning to enter in
And change your life once more?

What is it that you do
When God meets you on the road
Giving new direction
Offering help with your load?

What is it that you do
When you see Him on a tree
Realizing without a doubt
He died for you and me?

Answer yes!
Invite Him In!
Follow His lead! .
 Repent of your sin!

That is what you do
When for Him you want to live.
He’s asking for one thing, my friend
Our hearts to Him we give

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A Divided Heart ~Wise Wednesday 6/28/17

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“When a child is born, so are grandmothers.” ~Judith Levy Pixabay

Divided: separated; shared; to diverge; cleave………..

I have decided that being a grandparent causes you to suffer from a “divided heart”. Beginning at the instant you learn your child is having a child, it’s as if a magnetic force immediately draws your thoughts, dreams, prayers, and overwhelming love in the direction of that tiny, beating heart, hidden from the world. 

Fast forward to that breathless moment when the miracle that will call you “MiMi” (replace this with whatever your grands call you or will call you) is placed in your arms.  Everything else fades away. Cradling this precious armful, older heart to brand new heart, it seems they beat in unison, filling a place you didn’t know was empty, and nothing is ever the same again.

Time is both precious and tormenting. The longer you want to savor the sight, breathe in the scent, and caress the tiny fingers and toes of this new person in your life; the faster the minutes, hours, and days seem fly by. All too soon you’re faced with saying goodbye. Your stomach clenches.  Tears flow.  A heart divides.

A temporary condition?  Afraid not. A one time thing? Nope! Carson is two now: my heart?  Still  pulled in different directions.  We’ve recently been blessed with Owen: my heart? The chasm has grown.   The struggle is real! While my very being wants to wipe every tear, experience every milestone, calm every fear, and read bedtime stories every night with my grandsons; I’m also drawn home. My normal: the routine, responsibilities, schedule, and those that wait for me, beckon. Yes, a heart divided….wanting to cling to one place while yearning for the other.

Pondering this heart situation, it has occurred to me that we suffer in a similar way as Christians.  

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)

Above?  Earthly Things? Earthly things? Above? A heart divided! I  often find myself torn between a heart that is focused on me and my wants and one that is looking to follow God’s plan for my life. Maybe you do, too. And while we want to be home with Christ, where our fears will be calmed and our tears wiped away; to get there, we are faced with saying goodbye to THIS home. We cling to our earthly life and yet yearn for Heaven. Thank goodness God sent Jesus to bridge the gap of our broken hearts! Jesus said:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.” “I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:1-4, 6-7 (NIV)

I wasn’t prepared for the powerful love that comes with being a grandparent. I’m blessed to only live four hours away from the boys and technology helps keep us connected in-between visits.  Goodbyes will always be hard. As my heart continues to pull me in different directions, I pray it reminds me to always stay connected to the One who, with the greatest love of all, is preparing a place for me where my heart will be divided no more.

 

 

 

 

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Plumbing 101

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"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-think about such things.' Philippians 4:8-9

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-think about such things.’
Philippians 4:8-9

It’s been cold, no frigid here lately! There’s been snow, wind, and ice! Our furnace has run overtime and the house still isn’t warm. It’s been so cold that we’ve had to leave the water in our faucets moving so the pipes wouldn’t freeze. The song of drip, drip, drip filled the house and it also got me thinking. My husband likes to tell me; “you’ve got to watch that thinking”, even so I do a lot of it these days. Anyway, in the midst of churning thoughts in my little mind, I wondered how we can keep our own pipes from freezing?

In today’s world it’s easy for me and I would guess for you too, to let our hearts become hardened, frozen if you will. We help others only to find it was a scam. We need help but no one comes to our rescue. We do our best yet our efforts go unnoticed. People we respect disappoint us. We disappoint others. Senseless violence and hatred fill the news and maybe our lives. Little by little our defenses go up, our enthusiasm diminishes, the flow of love and compassion slows as our heart slowly solidifies.

The Bible warns us about having a hard heart. Having a hardened heart clogs up our ears so we don’t really listen and shuts up our eyes so we don’t clearly see . Our lives lose joy and we move through our days on autopilot. Our feelings become frosty and backed up. No longer do we function as we were designed to. It is a bleak, bitter place to be.

So, back to my question. How do we keep our own pipes and hearts from becoming frozen? Believe it or not, I think the answer is the same for us as it has been for the plumbing in my kitchen sink. First, we must keep moving in the right direction. Even when everyone and everything around us tells us to stop, we must continue to drip, drip, drip:
Do right
Resist quitting
Invest in others
Pray, Praise, and find your Passion.

In addition to keeping the water dripping, I also opened the cupboards so that warm air from the furnace could surround the pipes. We too, must be open to the warmth around us. Whether it’s generated by the love of our family, caring friends, the beauty of nature to name a few, we must not close ourselves off from the glowing possibilities around us.

Finally, in my attempt to keep the water running, I closed all the blinds to put a barrier between the rooms and the threatening temperature outside. Pulling a blind is easy compared to turning a blind eye to the grim side of life, but I find when I’m focused on the cold, harsh happenings around me I tend to develop a frosty attitude, freezing me in my tracks and making it pretty much impossible to accomplish anything worthwhile. I was blessed today to hear an excellent sermon on this very thing. (I love when God does that!) The message of the sermon was to seek out the positive. Look for the good in people and situations even when they are small and hard to find. The message also included the importance of acknowledging our blessings and expressing our gratitude for each one. And maybe most importantly, sharing our positive attitude with others. The lesson isn’t an easy one. It’s something I’ll have to work at everyday but I truly believe it’s the secret to keeping our hearts on fire and being able to radiate that warmth into a chilly world that desperately needs it. And who knows? Maybe our spark will ignite a flame in those around us and before we know it, we’ll feel the hope of Spring and our plumbing problems will be solved!