God

by

Running around … and around … and


Hurry, hurry, hurry ... running around in circles

Every one is running around … like chickens with their heads cut off … hurry, hurry, hurry … get out of my way I’m coming through …

We are always out of time it seems.  As a result everything is done at the last-minute … in a rush, with little thought sometimes.  I have customers daily that run in and need a gift in a hurry; or they are attending a Bible study at their church that night and “What?  You don’t have a members book?”  I guess they thought they could walk in and catch up later.  How about the ‘leader’ that comes in the day of a meeting needing something to present?  And what of the parent with the out of control teen that they need a book on what to do?  And then sadly the marriage in the courts that they want a book on how to deal with the results? All of these examples I see daily … they’ve waited too late, ran out of time because they “did not have time when it mattered”.  Of course when we are out of time we make others pay for it rather then admit we are at fault.  The sad part is that our children are watching always … and learning patterns for their lives.

We seem to rush around doing things that do not matter, neglecting what really matters until it is too late and we are all out of time.  It is the times we live in … right?   No, it is the decisions we make on our priorities.   We CAN slow down … at a sacrifice.  Usually, we do not want to accept the cost.

Good news!  God’s GOT TIME!  Always.  He is never short of it and He never runs out of it … He takes HIS time with us (sometimes to our chagrin).  Maybe if we took our time with Him each day, setting the pace and the structure for the day, then we would find time to prevent the disasters we cause when we hurry through life with no time for Him.  That toddler won’t become a wayward teenager if you are investing living time in them like God does in you.

Stop and take time today … for your love ones… slow down …allow patience and compassion to be part of your day … with family, friends, sales clerks, strangers ….

God is taking His time with you.

by

Soul Safe … “It is WELL with My Soul!”


Grieving over the recent death of their four-year old son to Scarlet Fever, the family was further devastated by the Chicago fire of 1871 that destroyed much of  their holdings.  The father decided to get away with his  wife and four daughters on a ship back to England where they were to join up with Moody in his evangelistic meetings.  At the last-minute the father had a business complication and sent the wife and daughters on ahead.   Their ship collided with a French ship killing 226 on board.  Nine days later Horatio G. Spafford received a telegram from his wife that read, “soul survivor”.   He booked passage  to join his grieving wife and while passing over the spot where the ship had gone down with his daughters, he penned the following hymn that we sing.

Soul Safe

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well,
with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
Refrain:
But, Lord ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain

There is nothing new under the sun … nothing has changed since Job’s time in the Bible … day in and day out good people suffer.  Our children should be raised to know that no matter WHAT happens, once we are Christ’s, “it is well with our soul”.  NOTHING can take that away from them … from us .. EVER.  And that is all that matters.

This was true for Job, it is truth on which we can stand.  The Psalmist penned:

Psalm 46: 1-3  ” 1 God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found  in times of trouble. 2 Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple  into the depths of the seas, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah”

What happens when you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel?  When the end is not in sight?  When it DOESN’T get better.  How fair-weather is our faith?  Is our faith dependent on our circumstances? 

Twice yesterday I heard “It Is Well With My Soul” played on the radio.   And then at church we sang, ” Great Is Thy Faithfulness” .  The Chorus of this great hymn is also a truth on which we can stand.

Chorus
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Our needs are provided … the problem we have is that we let our wants get in the way.  Acceptance of Christ =  SOUL SAFE.  That alone is all anyone needs. God, however, provides our needs.  When you look at your life, and when you teach your child to look at their life, each of you realize that you have your needs met and provided for … Know Christ = it is well with YOUR soul.

by

G.R.I.T.S.


My sister-in-law from Chicago taught my niece and nephews to call me “Aunt Scarlett”.  Being raised in Atlanta, you were considered a Georgia Peach, a Southern Belle … and the fact my last name was “Belle Isle” added to the stereotype.  I enjoy being Southern … the gentile way of life, the courteous speech, the hospitality and the way the men treat the ladies.  It is a sign of respect to be called “ma’am” and “sir”, to open doors for ladies and the elderly, to remove your hat in a woman’s presence or stand when she enters the room.  I think in today’s hustle and bustle, we have lost so much and I believe the lack of respect for others stems from our lack of respect for ourselves, which is simply disrespect of God, the creator.  It is funny to me that the ‘spell check’ wants me to change my word ‘ladies’ to ‘women’.  Even the computer wants to do away with gentile-ness.

As Christian parents we need to raise our children in the gentleness of the Lord; teaching them respect for others and themselves.  We have to teach them to respect God first though.  To do this we need to understand all that He gives us.  We need to get down to the basics, the nitty-GRITS-y.  With that in mind I would like to submit for your consideration another meaning for the acronym G.R.I.T.S:

Grace – God’s grace is sufficient.  Teach a child this truth and they have security for a lifetime.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

Righteousness – God’s righteousness is infallible; you cannot hedge on righteousness.  Things are righteous, or they are not.  There is light or there is darkness.  There is right and there is wrong.   Teach a child that and they have integrity and wisdom to take them through their life.

Intercessor  = God gave us the Holy Spirit as a guide and Jesus as our High Priest.  You need nothing else.  Once you teach them this truth, they can face life’s circumstances in His Power, not their own.

Talents – Everything they have is from God.  Just as they are God’s gift to you, your children need to be taught they all their talents, spiritual gifts, material processions …. everything they have in this life, is from God!We are stewards, raise them to be stewards.  When they learn this truth they will allow God to be in control of their life with no strings attached.  Take care of what He gives you and give back your first fruits.

Salvation – God sent His son … a gift of salvation given freely.  When you lead your children in the ways of the Lord and teach them about Jesus, you have not only given them a lifetime of truth and guidance, you have given them eternal life.

I am a G.R.I.T.S. girl and proud of it and I pray that God uses me in my husband, children, and grandchildren’s lives. May I be used as well to all those I come across, as an example of God’s G.R.I.T.S. of spiritual living.

RBGreenDesigns.com 2021

by

Need to know basis …


Curiosity killed the cat …. curiosity gets us in a pickle …

When we think we need to know ... we don't.

(ask the cat in the picture to the right).   Growing up I heard these sayings and I repeated them to my children as I raised them.  You probably have said them yourself.  My other favorite comment was, “that is a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know.”  We know these truths on one level but on the spiritual level we do not live them.

Sometimes we treat God with the attitude of “I NEED TO KNOW … and I NEED TO KNOW NOW!”.  It is a struggle of will power, of who is in control.  I would be lying if I said I do not struggle with wanting to know God’s plan NOW.  Waiting is hard.  But, He says in  Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” ESV

We are like the reader that wants to look ahead to the back of the book to see how it ends.  We look for the answer sheet to the crossword puzzle in the paper.  We want to cheat because we want to know.  We think we NEED to know.  We have to know or …. or what?  Truthfully, there is nothing you or I can do to hurry God’s plan.  All we are doing is adding to our anguish by not letting go and letting God.

God is on a need to know basis … He gives you His word for guidance.  You have prayer and the Holy Spirit to lead you in His will for your life.  If you are in control and demand to know … if you are constantly striving to figure things out on your own, then you are going to get yourself in some pretty tight jams (just ask the cat).

All we need to know is He knows.  Trust Him and wait upon the Lord…

“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 ESV

remembering that in His time (not yours), all things work together for good. Romans 8:28 says,

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” ESV

by

When God closes a door ….


“When God closes a door, He opens a window!”

CLOSED Do Not Enter

Ever heard that?  It always bugged me when people said that because it was as if they thought God sneaks us out a side window, the backdoor, or through the attic and onto the roof for a jump ….

Huh? I don't think so.

What I think is that we are facing the wrong path, which is the side window, the backdoor, the attic; and God is closing all exits but the front door.  We are turned around, not Him.  We place God where we want Him and tell Him that is the door.

When Phil lost his job through the buyout of his company, God shut a door.  We did not shut it, God did.  Through the past three years as Phil has looked for work and been interviewed we have asked God to show us His path.  Each time the door has shut.  Sometimes there is NOT another way out because God has not opened the front door YET.  Sometimes you stay where you are and WAIT.  We do not wait well as humans.  We are impatient.  We want our fingers in the pie and we want to stir the pot.  God has plans for our lives and if we allow Him to direct our path, then IN HIS TIME He will show us the front door.

Waiting on Him is the hardest part.  Three years seems forever to us, but, considering it was over 2000 years ago He promised to return, well … three years is nothing in the light of eternity.

Are you faced with choices?  Are your children needing direction?  Tell them to BE STILL and WAIT on Him.  Accept WAITING and enduring as lessons of patience and character growth.  It is not always what we think, feel or want.  However, when we do wait and He closes all the doors, windows, and steps to the attic … the front door will be in front of us and it will be opened in His time.

Psalm 46:10 (HCSB)“Stop—and know that I am God,exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 (HCSB) “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.”

Psalm 37:4 (HCSB)“Take delight in the LORD,and He will give you your heart’s desires.”

When we are willing to allow Him to have His will …. “Lord, help me to delight myself in You.”