Fruit In Its Season

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control….

......all evidence of the Spirit’s touch upon a life.

The Spirit’s fruit, although each different, an origin from One.

For many, the subject lends itself to frustration as we measure each particular fruit, looking to find it on the vine of our lives.

As we inspect, yes, there are short glimpses of each fruit here and there along the vine, but no great harvest.  Suddenly discouragement surfaces, sadness that there is not more peace, more joy, more gentleness, ready for harvest….and let’s not forget patience…long alluded patience.

Spiritual shoulders drop as we turn to leave the vineyard in despair.  I know the Spirit’s within, I feel Him…but why doesn’t Galatians 5:22 trace an image this life?

 

My friend, may I lift your downcast chin? Would you listen to me with your eyes? Listen with the windows to your soul?

Every fruit has a season…….Apples enjoy their abundance in the fall,  some oranges find their peak in winter, watermelon is its yummiest in July.

But they’re not always on the vine.  Not in all places.  Sometimes their vines or trees look bare, almost void of life.

Winter has robbed this small sapling of its beautiful robe of green, but if you listen to the windows of your soul, look closely -

upon what seems lifeless, there is evidence of life.  Evidence of something new growing.  Something that will soon bud, producing a leaf - fruit for the tired branch.

 

Sometimes the leaves grow in what seems like piles of jumbled sticks, making no sense to the heart -

   

Sometimes the tender leaves burst forth in thorn laden lands, but tender leaves they still are.  Evidence of life.  Evidence of growth.  Evidence of fruit to come.

 When traveling to your heart's vineyard,  celebrate the buds, celebrate the tender shoots, for they are evidence of life.  Evidence of a bloom, evidence of a season for a fruit soon to come........Trust the Spirit's work, if you allow it, He WILL BRING A HARVEST.  What now looks bare on these branches in a few short weeks will be covered with lush green leaves.  This little tree will be robed in its green glory, and when the right season comes, you, my sister, will be a fruitful vine.

Every fruit has its season.

Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

I Spy Friday

Remember when we played I Spy a few weeks ago? We all had fun with that post, so I thought we would try it again today.  If you need to be brought up to speed, click here for what we did last time. 

Here goes, my friends -

I spy with my little eye something about our God.....

I spy with my little eye something about our God and it's in Psalms 65:2

Now - you look around in Psalms 65:2 and see if you can figure out what it is.

When you do, post a comment letting us know you found it. Don't say what it is so that everybody gets a chance to play, just say something like "I got it!" or "I figured it out."

I'll post the answer in a few days and you can see if you were right!

Have a great weekend!  Love you all.



Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

It's Not the How, It's the Who.

Earlier this week we got in on a little conversation between God and Job.  Every time I read the words penned in Job describing the strength, power, authority, and majesty of Jehovah God, I am awestruck at the vastness of Who He Is. 

I am awestruck and amazed that this BIG God capable of BIG things is also God of the small, like me. 

Sometimes when my thoughts go to that place of how powerful He is, my heart is quickened to the meaning of the reverent fear of God, but recently it developed into more than that in my heart. 

Yes, He wants me to have the respectful fear of Him, but I think He also wants me to realize how powerful He is, what He is capable of,  how detailed He is - not only so I fear Him, but so that I can completely trust Him. 

Do you get what I mean here? 

If He is responsible for and capable of all those things we read about in Job, there is nothing to big for Him to handle.  There is no situation in my life too great for His steering.

He makes me aware of all of this so that I. Can. Trust. Him.

When I was a little girl, in my eyes there wasn't anything that Daddy couldn't handle, no broken bicycle that he couldn't repair, and no 10th grade bully of his 2nd grade daughter that he wouldn't quickly address and correct.  Somewhere along the way, our little girl problems are replaced with big girl problems that our daddies can't necessarily fix. 

Do you see?  Because I know how BIG He is, I can see how small my problem is.  I can grasp His big hand with my little one, and as a child, walk alongside Him knowing Daddy will take care of it.   We can have that little girl faith again just knowing the strength of our Abba.  There is no problem too big for Him. 

Often we are faced with something that seems too big and our first thought is how is this going to work out, which pulls our eyes away from Who can work it out.   Have you ever noticed the order and similarity of those two words, made up of only three letters?  If you put the "w" in front, you no longer have how, but who.  He is the One who is the answer, and we longer have to dwell on the how.  It's not the how, it's the Who.

Just dwell on Who.

How can I pray for you today? Do you have a problem that seems big right now?




Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

This post is linked with Living Well Wednesdays

With Your Own Eyes

Questions God asks of Job - taken from Job 38,39,&42:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? 

...Who determined its dimensions

and stretched out the surveying line?

What supports its foundations,

And who laid its cornerstone

As the morning starts sang together

And all the angels shouted for joy?

Who kept the sea inside its boundaries

As it burst from the womb,

And as I clothed it with clouds

And wrapped it in thick darkness?

For I locked it behind barred gates,

Limiting its shores.

I said, “This far and o farther will you come.

Here your proud waves must stop!”

Have you ever commanded the morning to appear

And caused the dawn to rise in the east?

Have you made the daylight spread to the ends of the earth,

to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

….Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?

Have you explored their depths?

Do you know where the gates of death are located?

...Do you realize the extent of the earth?

Where does light come from,

And where does darkness go?

Can you take it to its home?

Do you know how to get there?

…Have you visited the storehouses of the snow

Or seen the storehouses of hail?

…Where is the path to the source of light?

Where is the home of the east wind?

…Does the rain have a father?

Who gives birth to the dew?

Who is the mother of ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?

…Do you know the laws of the universe?

Can you use them the regulate the earth?

Can you shout to the clouds

and make it rain?

Can you make lightening appear

And cause it to strike as you direct?

Who gives intuition to the heart

And instinct to the mind?

Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?

Who can tilt the water jars of heaven…?

Have you given the horse its strength

or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?

Its majestic snorting is terrifying!

It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength

When it charges out to battle.

It laughs at fear and is unafraid….

It paws the ground fiercely

And rushes forward into battle when

the ram’s horn blows…..

Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar

And spread its wings toward the south?

Is it at your command that the eagle rises

To the heights to make its nest?.....

Job responds:

I am nothing……..

...I know that you can do anything,

and no one can stop you.

...I had only heard about you before,

but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

Job knew, and so do you that every question could be answered with no other name but God.  This God who questions Job with authority and strength is the very God that is passionately jealous for you.  He is more than fierce about you and your heart and wants to give you His.  He wants to share in this life with you, not just observe you from afar as you go about your days.

Have you only heard about Him before, have you yet seen Him with your own eyes?

Oh, how I pray that not one more second passes before you see Him with your own eyes.  My sisters, He is everywhere.  Look around you. Step outside, see with your eyes, see with your ears, see with your skin, see with your heart, The Heart that beckons you day after day.

Watch for wings that take flight.

Watch for hills that roll.

Watch for the horse's majestic strength.

Watch for the pillows in the sky.

He is everywhere.

See Him with your own eyes, you will never be the same.

Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

It Was Simple Math

A few weeks ago I wrote this post and after exchanging whispers with God.  If you remember, I told you that God did answer my prayer that day and we spent some wonderful time together throughout my work day. 

He whispered back to my heart about a topic that He and I have visited often, but once again I found myself held hostage by this issue and desperately needed His help to break free.  My loving Father is always tender, kind, and gentle when He teaches me things about myself that need to change.  I recently told some friends that I had gotten my share of spankings from my dad growing up, but never did I ask for one.  The funny thing is, the "spankings" I get from Abba Daddy, although they are not easy, they leave me looking forward to the next "spanking" as an opportunity to learn from His discipline. If you find yourself disciplined by The Father, don't forget this verse, because it's important:  Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines...Hebrews 12:4.  After He and I got finished that day, I knew He must love me ALOT!

We talked about many things, but we spent most of our time on one subject.

We talked about simple math.

Mmm Hmm.  Simple math, like 2+2 = 4 simple.

I have struggled all of my life with seeking the approval of people, but as an adult, it has become a bigger problem.  Take a people pleaser and join her in marriage to a pastor, and Oh. My. Goodness.  It ain't gonna be easy.

This issue of where I get my value, and where I find my worth, I thought had been settled, but subtly that same sin had crouched at my heart's door and the moment it could sneak in, the enemy took full advantage of that opportunity.

And he was having a hey day with me.

I knew truth, I knew this verse: 

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?

Or am I striving to please men?

  If I were still trying to please men,

I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10

I knew it, but didn't use it.  I was like a cowgirl going up against Billy the Kid without a gun!  Without a weapon, I was sure to lose.  Truth wasn't leading me, emotion was, and when emotion leads, you do stupid things like show up for a shoot out with no gun. 

The emotions whirling around other people's opinions of myself and my husband were wreaking havoc on my life.  I was exhausted with trying to figure out all of the "why's" and "how come's".

I promise - I'm getting to the math part.  Hang with me.

The learning began at my desk admist piles of papers, patients, blood pressures, kleenex (ha!), and worship music.  Here's what He taught me - 

I cannot change people or their opinions.  My desire for their opinion about me to change is saying that God's opinion about me is not enough. 
  

Ouch, God, I never saw it that way, I whispered back to Him.  I'm sorry.  What You say IS enough.

My value cannot equal God's opinion added to man's opinion.  If that were the case, the result would be flawed because man's opinion cannot be pure because of our sinful state. He went on to illustrate with a math problem, after all, He IS the one who designed me, and He is very aware that I am a visual learner...

I mean, duh, yall.  2+2 = 4.  Add anything else to 2 and you're not gonna get 4, unless some of you smarty britches want to start talking positive and negatives, but that's not simple math anyway! 2+2= 4 just doesn't work any other way, and neither did my twisted equation about God's opinion + man's opinion.

It is what it is.   - as my friend Brittany would say.

My worth, my value comes from what God says about me.
If I am trying to please man, I am not trying to please God.  I can't please both.  If I make pleasing Him my goal, He will take care of the rest.

There was much more I learned from Him that day, and maybe I can share the rest some day soon.  In case you missed it, here's another post that was inspired from what He taught me after sharing those morning whispers.


Do you struggle with being a people pleaser?  If you do, I hope this helps you too.


Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

Part Of The Paparazzi

I clearly remember the gifts I received on my long anticipated 13th birthday.   I got my own clock/radio alarm, an ubber-stylish black purse with a cinch top, and a much coveted cassette tape.  I remember that day, sitting in my dad's truck.  It was parked in the parking lot of the grocery store, as I waited for my mom to come out.  I admired my purse as I played my tape over and over.  I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world!

Just what was that coveted cassette,you ask?

WHITNEY HOUSTON

WHITNEY

Remember that one?  Oh, I do.  From those wound strips of brown plastic, songs like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and "So Emotional", poured from the speakers of my little cassette player. I would go in my room close the door and belt out those songs as if I were Whitney myself.  It goes without saying,  I was a big Whitney Houston fan and I remember a conversation my sister and I had way back when.  We were sitting on the side of the sandbox in our back yard one afternoon talking about what we were going to name our children some day, like all little girls do.  I was going to name my daughter none other than Whitney, of course. 

Time has proven otherwise of that plan, neither of my daughters were named Whitney, however I have always been interested in the stories I have heard off and on through the years about her life.  When I discovered the news of her death, my first thought was, I'm not surprised.  My second was, despite all those people, she seems so lonely.

As I watched a few clips of her life, some of them recent, my heart broke for the life that is now gone, much like it broke when the life and death of Priness Diana was so fresh.  Followed and chased constantly by cameras bearing flashes, voices at a shout, crowds pressing in, security moving in mass, my heart not only breaks for the life lost but for the lost lives that are chasing.

Paparazzi.

They are everywhere, in the least expected places, attempting to capture a glimpse into the lives of the famous, just so we can know one more thing about them.  Extreme measures are taken for one click of a shutter.  Lives are risked.  Privacy is breached.  Money to be had.  Many times it has been said that the paparazzi is out of control.

Yes, I agree, they are. 

But for what?

Isn't it ironic that those with such mobs in tow, constantly surrounded by others, are often the most lonely?

Why, please tell me, are we not that starved, that hungry, that determined, that willing to risk life and limb for just a glimpse of Jesus?  Just to know something about Him to plaster for all the world to see.

Why don't we chase Him in mass, pressing in to the person of Him?

Why don't we set up camp at the next place we know He is going to be, devotedly anticipating His arrival?

If He were here, would we notice?

Would His tenderness and grace make the news?

Would the crowd stalking Him be loud enough, large enough, risky enough to create that paparazzi craze?

When was the last time someone stepped on your foot or elbowed you just trying to get closer to Him?  That's the crowd I want to be in.  I will risk life and limb.

I want to be part of the paparazzi.

Jesus, may my intrigue for more of  You drive my heart to a paparazzi craze.  May it drive me to a place of stalking for one more glimpse of Who You are.  There is not enough of You within me and I need more.  Unsatisfy me with what this world offers and intune my spirit with where You are going to be so that I might meet You there.  My life has no purpose without You.  I need more than a fan club membership, I need that life that You offered the woman at the well.  Let me find myself in a multitude simultaneously pressing in for one touch of  your garment.  My camera and lense is prepared, my running shoes are shod and primed for the chase, my voice is ready to shout over the crowds.  I'm watching, and I know I will see You in a moment - somewhere.

Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

One Word Wednesday

It's One Word Wednesday. I'm giving you one word today with a question, your job is to let God do the rest.  Before we get to that though, the winner of the Hide It In Your Heart verse frame was Cindy!  Congratulations!   Cindy, send me an email at beyondsundaymornings@gmail.com and we'll work out the details of getting this to you.


Here's today's word:

God, where would you like to give your input today?

Royal Princess Daughter Of The King

Just A Crush

I'm guest posting over at Be The Domino today. Feel free to hop on over there to check out my post. Click on my name and you will see it. Be sure to take a peek at the posts from the other team members while you're there!

Here's a tidbit of what you'll read about .......


Can we walk down memory lane for just a minute? Remember your first crush? I sure remember mine, and since my first crush never knew he was my crush, we'll just name him Tommy.

Oh, sure, we were friends, but never more. Some of my fondest memories of him were those where we sat together at lunch. It was Tommy, his best friend, and me. We had the best time "plowing fields" with our forks in our mashed potatoes. His dad was a farmer, so fields were his thing, even if they were made of mashed potatoes, peas, and corn. We both had blue Kangaroo tennis shoes (remember those?) and we kept our milk money in the pockets. Then, in fourth grade Tommy drew my name in the class drawing for Christmas exchanges, and he bought me a horse!

I LOOOOOVED HORSES!


You'll have to click here to read the rest!



Royal Princess Daughter Of The King