What Does Jesus Want To Multiply In You?

 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (some call it Tiberius). A huge crowd followed him, attracted by the miracles they had seen him do among the sick. When he got to the other side, he climbed a hill and sat down, surrounded by his disciples. It was nearly time for the Feast of Passover, kept annually by the Jews.

 When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered, “Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece.”

One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this.”

Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.

When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.   (John 6:1-13  – The Message)

We’ve all heard the story of Jesus feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fishes … but have you ever pondered how this concept could be manifested in your own life?

No … I don’t mean that you have to try to feed an army with breadcrumbs … but what has God given you that he can multiply? 

Jesus took what was available that day, blessed it and it became more than enough. 

He’s given you gifts and talents … are you allowing him to multiply what’s inside of  YOU??

Food for thought …

Father … thank you for the gifts that I have been given.  Teach me Lord to use them for your good.

I love you Jesus!
   In Your Name I Pray,
   Amen

God’s Blessings Upon You!

Love,
Joyce

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…
   it’s about learning to dance in the rain!

Overwhelmed By Love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
I John 4:7

Today I turned 50 years old. When I was a child, 50 seemed pretty old. As I’ve aged, the number still seemed to be a pretty significant number, in my mind. A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded that my birthday was approaching. I really didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to say I was 50 years old.

Maybe because if I was really 50, I shouldn’t still mess up so much?

Oh, I mean well, but some days I feel like a kid with my ups and downs and life stuff.

Maybe someone who is 50 should be more responsible – more mature.

Maybe being 50 would mean that I shouldn’t bounce so much?

Maybe it would mean that I shouldn’t drink too much coffee and be silly?

Maybe it would mean that I was on the ‘down’ side of life?

I’m not really sure what I thought would happen. I just knew I wasn’t looking forward to it.

What if? …  always an interesting question.

But then … I felt God saying to me .. “EMBRACE YOUR DAY … EMBRACE YOUR LIFE … EMBRACE ME!”

Okay … I can embrace God .. I want to embrace God. But … do I want to embrace 50?

Okay God … I’m diving into 50 – HEADFIRST!  It’s only a number, and if you gave me this number, for this day, for this year, for this time. I’M IN!

I accepted dinner out with my two best friends … MEXICAN … a good time PROMISED!

Okay … that was easy enough.

Dinner cooked by Bobby … I can invite a couple of friends … okay … I always enjoy that.

Then I decided all I really wanted for myself was to have a pedicure … I LOVE PRETTY TOES.

So … Thursday, after work, I went and got my Pedicure … and I was happy!

I came home to cards in the mail … surprise money! WOW … how very special that someone loved me enough to remember my birthday with a special gift.

Then my friend, who had had to leave the country suddenly two weeks before arrived back to her home. I was so excited to see her when I went to take care of her dogs. Even though she was leaving again shortly, I felt relief that she was back and ready to close the chapter of her life here in Naples.

I can go on and on …. from the time I awoke today, to even now sitting here on the couch beside my Bobby, I have been surrounded by love, people who I love, people who love me, people who love Jesus.

Dinner out with my friends turned into a WONDERFUL SPECIAL EVENING!  They threw me a surprise party and instead of dinner with 2, God turned it into a blessing of dinner with over 30!! I was tongue tied, I was so surprised. I’d never had anyone throw me a surprise party before and it was just the BEST evening … spending time with so many people that I love and appreciate!

I believe God gave me a glimpse of heaven today and I am so very thankful …GOD IS LOVE.

Today … LOVE FOUND ME.
TODAY … LOVE FLOWS FROM ME.

Father … thank you for filling me with LOVE … thank you for such a special family that you have given to me. Thank you JESUS for giving me a New LIFE through You.

And thank you to all my friends … I truly do love you!

God Bless you!

Love,
Joyce

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

A Chance To Be Different

God directed my attention to a set of Scripture verses this morning during my Bible Study time.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says: “But mark this. There will be a terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

Wow. How relevant those words are!! If you ever doubt how close we are to the Lord coming again – all you need to do is read those words. For they describe the world we live in — the world we live in TODAY.

I was watching the “Today Show” this morning and they had a segment on “are we becoming too rude?” I wanted to say “DUH?” I mean, are people just now realizing this? The fact that people think it’s cool to act rebellious, that manners are rare and stand out instead of being the norm, or even the fact that everyone is in too much of a hurry to be polite and courteous to strangers anymore? They are just now seeing this?

And we’ve done it to ourselves. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

It’s not too late to change and make a difference though. As I was out today, God showed me that there is still good in the world and there are still good people out there. There was a man at the gas station who was getting gas right next to me. He smiled, whistled, chatted with me, and was just nice. Do you remember “nice?”

Do you know that no one ever speaks to me at a gas station? Not even to smile or say hello? This man stood out. And then after getting my groceries, I saw a man on the corner with a sign that he was ill and wanted money. I was just going to reach into my purse and give him a couple of dollars when I saw a man approach him, bend down on his knees and start thumbing through dollar bills in his wallet. Let me tell you – I got tears in my eyes! Do you know that this is the first time I have ever seen someone do this?? It stands out.

Oh why have our hearts grown so cold? Why are we so protective of what we’ve got that we’ve lost touch with what others don’t have anymore?

Since when did it become “cool” to not be polite? Or fashionable to not care?

The holidays are here. And I know how rude people can be at this time of year. But we have a chance to make this season mean something different for us this year – and possibly mean something different to someone else, as well. How about letting that driver cut in, in front of you? How about picking up your trash, giving away a little money to someone who needs it, obeying your parents, having self control (and feeling good about it), thinking of others before yourself, being slow to anger (or letting an issue go altogether), and encouraging others?

The Lord IS coming again. And it’s sooner than we think or realize. I don’t want to be the person He speaks about in 2 Timothy. Do you?

 

~ Dionna Sanchez

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Serving Despite Inconvenience

Have you ever offered to help someone else? It goes something like this, “If you need anything, anything at all, let me know!”   Does that sound familiar?
 
You had good intentions.  But then things come up, life gets busy and that phone call comes at an inopportune time.  You see if they can handle the situation on their own first or you see if you can pawn it off on someone else. 

I just wonder, why do we offer to help others in the first place if we don’t intend to follow through with what we say? Even if you had good intentions, good intentions don’t go far if you can’t put action behind your words.  If you say something, you should mean it – DESPITE the inconvenience it might cost you.  You see, that’s what true service is. It involves sacrifice. If you have to wait until a convenient time to help someone else – then no one would ever get your help!  We have to make the decision ahead of time, to be willing to be there for someone else at whatever time he or she might need us. Otherwise, we shouldn’t offer.
It hurts to have people offer to be there for you and then realize that they didn’t really mean it.  It hurts to have to go through things on your own when your load could be lightened by the love and time of friends and family.  It hurts to feel alone.
 
There are times in life where people are going to need you. Maybe some more often than others depending on what hand they are dealt.  Be the kind of person who is truly there for someone else – not just in words, but also in action.  Because some day, you might be the one who needs someone to be there for you.  And if you have been a “taker” most of your life and not a “giver,” at some point, people are going to get tired of the one-way relationship your friendship offers them.
 
It’s not up to us to evaluate someone else’ “need.” It’s only up to us to fill it if we are able to.  God wants us to serve others with our time.  Don’t let a little inconvenience get in your way of serving on His behalf.
 
 
 
 
~ Dionna Sanchez is the Founder of the Emphasis On Moms Ministry at http://www.EmphasisOnMoms.com

Victim or Victor?

On Sunday night we were reading the story of the healing at the pool, from John, Chapter 5.  As the story goes, Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for one of the feasts, and he was walking through the pool of Bethesda, where many disabled people hung out.  It was said that once a day, an angel stirred the water of the pool, and if you could get into the water, you would be healed. So this was a popular hangout for those with infirmities.  Jesus came upon a man lying by the pool who had been an invalid for 38 years.  He asked the fellow an interesting question, “Do you want to get well?”

 And the guy had an even more interesting answer, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Okay … So this guy made the effort to get to the pool every day, but when the water got stirred, he could never get into it for the healing. 

Seems to me, if I had someone help me get to the pool, after 38 years, I’d be asking them to stick around one day and help me get into the water.  Or something?  But the guy had determination, he hadn’t given up … he was continuing to make the effort to get there.

At first the guy’s response sounds like he’s a victim to his situation, but then we see the evidence of perseverance – he continues to come to the pool, in spite of the lack of  healing.  I believe this guy has some character.  How difficult would it be to continue dragging yourself to those waters day in and day out with no positive results?

There are always two ways to look at our situations.  We can be the victim, blaming others for what is going on in our lives.  Sometimes it just feels good to have that pity party for ourselves – but does it do us any good?  Do we feel better afterwards?  Are we any closer to Jesus?  Are we any closer to freedom or healing?

Or we can be the victor … taking responsibility for our actions and our reactions.  Although no wrong doing on our part caused the situation, we are looking for a positive way to remedy it.

Paul tells us:  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

So … am I a victim – living in the unfairness of my past, or a Victor, straining towards what is ahead! 

Father, help me to let my actions and my life portray the victory that I have already won through YOU!  Thank you that YOU are the Prize … life eternal with you. 

 I Love You Jesus!
   In Your Name I Pray,
   Amen

od Bless You!

Love,
Joyce

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

Bad Morning

I like to send my girls off to school with a smile on their face and hugs in their hearts. So it’s especially frustrating when they seem to be grumpy, and irritated with one another all morning.

“How rude!”

“Stop it!”

“Don’t!”

Grrr! It can make ME grumpy just listening to them!

That’s the kind of morning we had today. My heart just deflates at the thought of them leaving for school with the last memory of me being one of a chastising mother getting on their case about their attitudes!

The world is a tough place and school can be such a tough environment for our children. I want mine to have warm thoughts and feelings of home and of me. I want them to know that someone is in their corner. I want them to have the base at home to give them the courage and self esteem they need to navigate their own path and stand their ground against peer pressure.

If they leave for school feeling grumpy and frustrated with me, then I don’t think they will be very confident to go against the pack (should they need to.)

As I was watching them load up onto the bus this morning, my heart was saddened at the thought of sending them off to school on a sour note. But I thought, “I can still pray for them.” I can pray that their moods and their day will change. I can pray that somewhere, somehow, the things I teach them will permeat their hearts and lives and give them the roots they need.

As I was watching the bus take off – I saw a shadow of my oldest daughter in the backseat waving to me. I waved back and continued to see her waving at me until the bus was out of sight. It made me feel good. Maybe who I am and what I stand for is outlasting the few bad moments we had on one morning. Because my face and my hand waving at her — was the last thing she was concentrating on as she pulled away.

That’s gotta count for something.

 

~ Dionna Sanchez/Founder – EmphasisOnMoms.com

“There She Stands”

Never forget:

Shared by: Kristine, author, blogger, humorist, homeschooler, professional mom and chief kid wrangler.

The Parable of the Lost Teddy and Goose

There once was a little boy who loved a soft blue teddy bear and a plush green goose with all of his heart. They went with him everywhere he went, tucked safely under his arm. Like the velveteen rabbit, they showed signs of the little boy’s love. The bear especially wore his wounds as badges of honor. From his patched up eye and nose to the many surgeries necessary to keep his body put together, that bear was literally loved to pieces.

One day, the little boy lost his favorite stuffed friends. The search was frantic. The tears were many. The house and car were searched from top to bottom to no avail. The little boy curled up into a ball, inconsolable. Where could they have gone? A prayer asking St. Anthony for help finally led to the missing toys. They were sitting on the bottom of the slide where they were left when his friend next door invited him over to play. The little boy ran out to them, scooped them in his arms and kissed them with all his might. What was lost had been found and there was indeed great rejoicing.

Chapter 15 of The Gospel of Luke shares three parables of items lost and found: the lost sheep, the lost drachma, and the lost (prodigal) son. In each case an item of great value is lost. Great sorrow and searching ensues, followed by celebration when the item is found. We all know the experience of loss. Whether it is a child losing a favorite toy, a worker searching for a misplaced paycheck, a mother searching frantically for a child who has wandered away in a department store, or a person missing a long-lost friend, we all know what it means to be sick with fright and worry over something missing. We are not the same until the missing something is returned to us. When it is, we want to celebrate! We share the news with all who are within earshot! What we lost has been found! Come share in our joy!

And so it is with God. Like the Good Shepherd, the woman searching for her lost coin, and the prodigal son’s father, God searches for us when we are lost. He knows the state of our hearts and waits eagerly for us to return when we stray away. When we do, there is great celebration! Like the little boy squeezing his stuffed friends tightly, God holds on to us with joy and welcomes us back into the fold. There is much rejoicing in heaven! May we give them cause to celebrate!

- Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com

Feeling Lonely

I’ve been feeling lonely lately. You see, several of my closest friends have left my life within the past year. And I’ve been praying for a long time for God to bring some new Godly women into my heart and life. We are such social beings – we need that close, intimate socialization and friendship. We need other women in our lives to hang out with, to talk with, and to rely on.

Don’t get me wrong – I still have friends. I have friends both here where I live – and those who don’t live near me. Yet my heart desires a few “best” friends nearby. Those who you can laugh and be girlie with – those who are there for you and your family when you need them – those who you just “click” with. They can see you at your best, and see you at your worst.

I have always been blessed to have very precious people in my life. I still have them. The thing is, that most of them aren’t able to be here “in the flesh” for me right now.

I have been praying about this for quite awhile. And I’m not asking for anyone to feel sorry for me. Deep friendships can’t be forced – they will take time and God will bring those dear friends into my life at His timing (which is always perfect) and in His way. Yet, I think that it needs to be okay for women to say “I’m lonely” without feeling like a reject. It’s not always a reflection on you – sometimes it’s just circumstances that have taken intimate friends out of your life. And it’s okay to desire best friends in your life. You don’t have to act needy or desperate to acknowledge that you need that in your life.

I know that God will teach me great things about relying on Him through this “dry spell.” HE will somehow use what goes through my heart, to write and help other women. But I sure do miss having women that I can count on. I miss having a girlfriend call me up or check in on me. I miss being able to laugh and be all “girlie” with someone else by going out on the town or just hanging out with one another’s families. I miss close girlfriends! Plain and simple.

I seem to have been a friend for the most part – that has been there for others when they’ve needed me. I love being that kind of friend – dont’ get me wrong. My heart has always wanted to be that kind of friend for others. But now – I just really desire an equal friendship with a few other women. Women who inspire me in the Lord and who I can inspire. Women who love their husbands and are trying their best to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord. Women who can come to my home and not have to be “entertained.” Women who don’t already have best friends so that they don’t have room (or time) for me or my family. Women who don’t mind how far away their house is across town from mine. Women who respect the differences in our personalities and character – so that neither one of us has to judge the other – but can enjoy one another. Women to cry with, laugh with, be sick with, and be embarrassed with.
They say it’s lonely at the top. And although I don’t really feel like I’m at the “top” of anywhere – I do feel that I’ve been used by God in a certain forum and manner. And for whatever reasons – He is walking me though this time in my life without a best friend – or two – or three!

I will wait on the Lord… and I will trust in Him and His plans. But I also want to be honest. And for today – I just want to aknowledge that I need some best friends in my life. It would sure be great if God chose to send them to me soon…..

~ Dionna Sanchez is the Founder of the Emphasis On Moms Ministry. Visit her blog weekly at http://emphasisonmoms.blogspot.com