Stones of Remembrance...

We got good news yesterday.  Actually, three things happened that made me stop and thank God each time.  One was a reprieve from the storms once they passed over our home after thunder and heavy rains.  It could have been much worse.  I was thankful.  Benny our puppy was also very thankful once they ended.  He is very afraid of thunder and storms.

The second news received was a gentle reminder from a friend who was thinking about me.  A quick text that made me smile.  It wasn’t a big text.  Just a quick reminder.  But, what a blessing. 

How often it is the little things that bless us.  (This is also your gentle reminder to reach out to someone today…)

The third blessing yesterday was much larger.  We were reminded by God that He doesn’t do things halfway.  When He makes a promise, He completes it. That one brought me to my knees, and I was thankful once again. 

When things go amazing - I need to remember what God did for me.

When things go badly – I need to remember what God did for me before.

When my husband and I get away, we spend some of our time remembering.

Remembering what GOD has done in our lives since we have been together.

Stones of remembrance.

Each stone is a reminder of what GOD did.

Each stone is a reminder of GODS faithfulness.

Each stone is a reminder of how GOD will NOT fail us in the future.

When we do this, we are reminded in our valleys that God is Faithful even when we don’t hear Him.  Even when we don’t see Him working.  He is working.

He is faithful.

He is GOD.

Set aside sometime and create yourself stones of remembrance...

Remember the things GOD has done in your life.

Then go back from time to time and reflect on the Goodness of God and what He has done.

Each time you do this, you are also doing warfare!  Remembering and Praising Him for what He has done.

Praise and worship are our weapons. 

Use them to defeat the enemy who is trying to discourage you.

Remember what GOD did for you.  Then Praise Him for who HE IS.

He will take care of the rest.

Go fellowship with our God.

Remember who wins in the end.

Remember we know how the book ends….

 'When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day. '

Joshua 4:1-9

Some worship songs to get you started…

Brandon Lake – Gratitude - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQdfs5S6jyA

Brandon Lake – Count ‘Em - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Ti41hJ5fQ

 

                                                   Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

Forgiveness.

 

I received an email recently from a very bitter person who has unforgiveness in his heart from something that happened many years ago.  Reading that email broke my heart.  The amount of bitterness was overwhelming.  I wanted to respond right away. 

I wanted to ‘fix’ it. 

I know Lord…

Back to my “fix it” mode. 

Instead, I sat on it.  Then I prayed.  Then I asked the Lord what to do.

What a concept - right?

What came from my prayer time was this message.

• 1.    Unforgiveness causes cancer
• 2.    Forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation 
• 3.    Forgiveness is a lifelong process  
• 4.      Forgiving yourself in in this equation  

First – Unforgiveness causes cancer in our soul.  It not only breaks us down physically, but it breaks us down spiritually.  When I am unforgiving towards someone I hurt physically.  My body aches as I carry that anger towards someone.  It hurts all the way down to my toes. 

Then it hurts me spiritually.  My relationship with God is hindered because I have unforgiveness in my heart.  It says in scripture:

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  Mark 11:25

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6:14-15

I need to forgive.  For my health, but most importantly for my relationship with my God.  My prayers are hindered if I have unforgiveness in my heart towards someone else. 

Honestly - all I really need to do is get a little perspective. 

Look what He did for me.  He sent His son to forgive my sins.  He forgave me when I was unforgivable.  He still does every time I ask.  Who am I to not forgive someone for anything they have done to me?  No matter what.  Is it easy?  NO.  Sometimes it is not.  Sometimes it takes GOD to step in and give me the strength to do it. 

But all I need to do is take the first step.  He does the rest.  Yes, it is hard, but yes it can be done.  With God.

Next – Forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconciliation.  God Always calls us to forgive.  However, that command doesn’t always come with reconciliation.  The rest is up to God and that other person.  The situation may be unstable, unsafe, or otherwise.  It takes prayer and discernment to take the next steps of reconciliation… or not.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you.  Sometimes it takes time.  Time can heal the wound.  Other times, it may take an intervention of the Lord. 

Either way, we serve a BIG GOD so leave it in HIS hands.  Never give up on reconciliation. Never give up on GOD.  PRAY for that person. 

I have SEEN MIRACLES in my lifetime.  He can do it in Your life too!

Next – Forgiveness is a lifelong process.  This was a shocker for me.  I thought once I forgave someone, I would never feel those feelings of frustration again.  Wrong.  I am human.  It is an ongoing process.  It creeps up on me at times and I have to hand it over to HIM once again. 

A good word picture is holding a bag of ‘schtuff’ as I often call it.  I hand it to God and tell Him that I am giving it over to Him to fix.  I turn around to go about my business and look down.  Lo and behold, in my hands I am once again holding my bag of ‘schtuff’ again.  “How did it get there?”  I must have picked it back up without even thinking.  “Here God, I am giving it back to You, again.”  And the process continues. 

We are human.  We cling to our things.  We need to give our baggage to God.  He’s got this.  He’s got us!

And Finally – Forgive yourself.  I left this one for last on purpose.  We tend to extend grace to others easier than we do to ourselves.   My husband and I held a small group over the weekend and our topic was laughing at the foolish things we did in life.  I thought it would be a great funny topic.  Well, it backfired on me because I realized I have a hard time laughing at myself sometimes because, again, giving grace to myself is harder than to others.

What a revelation.

Forgiving myself was harder than I thought. 

Extend grace to yourself.  There is only one perfect ONE.  Don’t expect perfection in yourself.  Lean on the one who is Perfect.

 

Back to that person who sent me the email.

I will be praying for him.

I have seen miracles.  I serve a VERY BIG GOD. I believe for another one.  Will you pray with me?

Love you all!

 

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18:20

                                                   Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

Listening for a word...

 

Each year my husband and I take a break from the daily grind of our business and get away to an event called: The KLove Fan Awards.  This is a big thing for the two of us because we go during the busiest time of our business year. 

Now we didn’t plan it that way back in 2019 when we first attended.  We had seen the awards played on television in 2018 and it caught our attention.  My husband proactively registered us for 2019 and said, “I know we are going to be busy, but the business will always be there.  We need to take time for us.”  This was a first for him, so I didn’t argue.  I was just excited to get away!

That first year was a blast!    Both of us love to listen to worship music.  What we didn’t realize is that the event was an entire weekend filled with music, events, and worship which ended in the Fan Awards at the Grand Ole Opry.   Each day morphed into a time of worship with thousands of our “best friends”.  To sit in the convention center, listen to the music and the many voices lifted up to Him was an incredible experience.

I also discovered something new from that experience.  When I take the time to get away from the world and spend it with the Lord worshiping and praying with no distractions, I hear Him better.  Each day was a mountain top experience for me.  I loved the musicians, but that is not why I was there.  It was like tuning into a radio station with no interference around. 

Clear reception.

Just me and my God.

Then He could speak directly to me.  Then He could give me a word.

And He did.

I was blown away the first time.  It was just two words.  But they were very clear.  I clung to those words throughout the year after the event. He showed me what the words meant as I prayed and sought His will over the next twelve months.

That became my new habit.  Each year we would go back, and I would spend time with God in worship and prayer.  I would ask Him for direction and a word.  Each year, He would show up and direct me. 

Faithfully.

Even when I wasn’t.

He always showed up.

This year it was different.  He gave me the word the day before I left for our trip.  Then while we were away, He spend the weekend sharing with me what the word meant.

He is ALWAYS Faithful.

He is always here for us. 

We just need to step away from the world sometimes. 

Walk away from the noise. 

Be still. And listen.

You got this!

Because He’s Got You!

Love you guys!

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 

Psalms 46:10

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

Jeremiah 29:13

https://www.klovefanawards.com/

                                                  Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

Picking up papers off the floor...

 

This may seem like a completely random topic but hang with me for a minute.  How many times have you walked past something in your house that fell on the floor and just left it there?

Well, most people don’t do that unless you are playing 52 card pickup and are waiting for the other person to pick up all the cards.  We used to play that with the kids when they were little.  It didn’t last long, and they didn’t play it more than twice.

 

Back to my subject on paperwork…

My husband and I recently prayed to reevaluate our priorities and came to the realization that we have been picking up papers on the floor that were not ours to pick up.  We have been picking up papers that God wanted left on the floor for someone else to pick up.  Now that was a hard lesson for me to learn.

Let me explain. 

I am a bit OCD and when I see something out of place I immediately go into ‘Fix It’ mode and want to adjust, fix, move, it.  Whatever it takes to ‘right’ the situation.

On one occasion my daughter and a friend were joking around making snacks in our kitchen when my refrigerator magnets caught his attention.  When he asked my daughter why they were so organized, she mentioned her mom’s need for order.  He took that as a challenge and immediately rearranged the magnets on the fridge.  They both thought it was funny and couldn’t wait to see my reaction when I returned to the kitchen.

I am sure you could guess I wasn’t happy at first.  But I did appreciate their sense of humor because it took a lot of effort to rearrange those magnets.  There were a lot of them.  We all laughed, they walked away, and then I immediately rearranged the magnets into their ‘correct’ order again.  All was well with the world once again.

Having those magnets in the wrong order was like the papers on the floor.

It was like having an itch in the middle of my back and I couldn’t reach it no matter how hard I tried.

But this was a lesson I needed to learn.  God often allows things to be placed at our feet, not for us to pick up, but for us to ask Him whether we should pick them up. 

You see - if I keep picking up the things at my feet that are not mine to pick up, then my hands are full of everything I think I NEED TO DO.  However, they might not be what God is CALLING ME TO DO. 

Do you understand the difference?

The papers are there.  Yes.  But they are not necessarily mine.  And if I pick them up.  I might be missing out on the blessing He has for me because my hands are too full of MY CHOICES.

I have to be honest here - the first thing I did was bargain with God when He gave me this revelation.

“The papers are right next to my big toe God!  That means I should be the one to pick them up right??” 

“This one is just a small paper God.” 

“This one won’t take long.”

“This one is just a tiny…”

I am looking down…

I am not looking up.

I am not asking His direction.

Again.

So, thankfully His Grace is Abundant.  So, I begin again. 

When my husband and I realized we were picking up papers that were not ours recently we sat down and prayed over each thing we were holding onto.   A reassessment so to speak. 
Lord, give us direction on each of these things we are holding.

Are they ours, or are they Yours?

Then lead us to the path YOU want us.

New Directions.

No more looking down at papers at my feet.

Well, at least not today.  I will fail again.  I am human.  But for today, I am doing better.

Love you guys! 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalms 46:10

'My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. '

John 10:27

'But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. '

2 Corinthians 12:9

And to complete it for those who want to FIX things...  Here is something to make you smile...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg

                                            Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

God's Timing

 

I am impatient. 

I wait in grocery lines and pick up my phone and scroll through social media. 

I stop at a red light and pick up my phone and see who called.

I sit on the phone waiting in que for my turn to be helped with a problem.  Instead of waiting, I go to my computer and begin to do other work while I wait. 

I can’t just sit still.

I am impatient.

I believe I am multitasking. 

But if I am being honest. I am impatient.

I want the grocery line to move faster. I want the light to turn green faster.  I want the person on the other side of the phone to pick up faster.

Can you relate?

When I pray, I tend to do the same thing. 

I pray for something.  I want God to move faster too.

I know better. But I will still try.

I rationalize that what I am asking for is urgent.  He knows.  So, He will move fast, right?

I rationalize.

You know what rationalize really means?

Rational - lies.  Moving those thoughts around in my head until they make sense to me.

TIMING.

 Now God move.  In His Timing.

 It is not in my timing.  It is always in HIS.

Sometimes when I pray, He answers right away because it is in His timing.

However - Sometimes He doesn’t.

For example, I recently asked the Lord for some volunteers for a specific position in our marriage ministry.  I woke up the next day and it was filled. 

JUST LIKE THAT!

Wow God, THANK YOU!

The next day He showed up.

However, we have been praying for workers in our business for quite a while now.

God’s answer has been quiet.

He said wait.  Not yet.

I need to be patient in the waiting.

God is never late.

God is the God of Just in Time.

He will not be late in bringing the right employees to our business. 

He has a reason why we are waiting.  The timing is not right.  His timing is not right.

I need to be patient.

I need to not force it.

I need to Trust His timing.

The sooner we learn this - the easier life will be.

When the time is right, it will be perfect.

Trust His timing.

Trust Him.

Pray for me as I pray for you!

 

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

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

More scriptures on God’s timing:

https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God~s-Timing

 

                                            Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

Be a Berean...

 

So many things influence our daily life.  We don’t always notice these things around us.  But they do creep up and influence our decisions.

You might disagree with me but give me a moment here.

You got up this morning and brushed your teeth.  What toothpaste did you use?

You got dressed.  What clothes did you put on?

You then ate breakfast.  What did you eat?

You may have packed a lunch.  What did you pack your lunch in?

You drove to work.  What did you drive?

 

 Are you starting to see the pattern?

 

Everything we purchased was influenced by an advertisement, a friend, a billboard…

We are influenced by everything around us, even when we don’t realize it.

It is easy to fall for the social media ‘influencers’ if we aren’t careful and not paying attention.

Be a Berean. 

You can listen to the message.  But make sure you research the message and make sure it is biblical based. Don’t let a ‘feel good’ message lead you astray.

There are a TON of good messages on social media.  But there are also a TON of incorrect messages out there. 

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment.  

Let Him be your Greatest Influencer.

Sometimes I need to take a break from it all and refocus on who is influencing me.  It helps to remove all the ‘noise’ and ask the Holy Spirit for clarity and discernment.

Who is influencing you today?

 

 

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Acts 17:11

 

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— '

John 14:16

 

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26

 

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

John 16:13

                                            Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

Work in progress

 

It’s easy to compare our progress with our neighbor’s growth in the Lord.  The problem with that thought is we don’t know what is going on behind the scenes in their life.  Their walk is taking different steps than ours.  Let me repeat that statement in a different way. Their path is not the same as ours.  We are all a Work in Progress.

I was given a cool analogy recently by the Lord I want to share with you here. 

A new believer comes to Christ.  They are a bit rough around the edges.  But then again, aren’t we all when we start this process? 

I know I was… 

I know I still am…

That believer is taken in by Christ, flaws and all, and slowly He works on them to become more like HIM.  That is the goal.  Does it happen overnight?  No.  If it did it would destroy us or worse, we might walk away from the pain of the change.

Instead, in His patience with us, God works in and through us each moment of our lives from the time we accept Him into our heart. 

The work is slow and steady. 

Like going along on a train track and there is a slight shift in the track.  Just a small railway junction.  Not too noticeable.  But we continue that path with the small change He made.

Then there is another small junction.  Again.  Another change.

Then another one.

God moves us through tiny bits of change. Like a train going down the track moving with the railway junction ever so slightly to the right or left making those small changes.

Next thing you know the changes are larger when finally, you turn and look behind.

Look HOW FAR YOU CAME??  WOW!  How did that happen?

BUT GOD.  He did it.  One small step at a time.

If we did all of them at once, we would not do any of them.

So, God does them in small increments.

Be patient with each other…

We are all works in progress…

God is not done with you yet…

God is not done with your neighbor yet either. 

Please have patience with them.  Remember they are still a work in progress too.  Next time you start to judge where your Christian brother or sister is in their walk, remember, it is not your job to ‘fix’ them.  They are on the track with the Master.  He’s got this!  He’s got them!  Be patient with their rough edges and flaws.  They haven’t smoothed out yet.  They are a work in progress.

God was patient with you.  Remember?  

So next time you see a set of railroad tracks... remember to be patient with them.

 

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

 

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

 

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

                                            Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.