Spring Song

By Gail Smith

Thank You Lord,
~for bright March mornings
~for blustery spring breezes and chirping birds declaring that
You are Creator and the Giver of Life.

The radiant sun You created shines too bright for my eyes.
How brilliant must Your SONshine be!

I say to my soul, "I must create a song of love for the glory of my Beloved,"
but what could sound sweeter than the rustling of new buds as Your winds move them in the trees.

You have brought my heart from a winter of doubt to the spring of hope.
In summer will come the full bloom of faith.
Soon after, a harvest of blessing and praise must follow.

I thank You for all of these and ten thousand besides.

I praise You--"I Am."

I say "Yes!" to You, dearest Father and Creator.


Blowing blooms create a storm of spring flowers in the air.

"Awake, O north wind, And come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad. May my beloved come into his garden And eat its choice fruits!" Song of Solomon 4:16

Spring is Early!

By Robin Steinweg

In southern Wisconsin, spring is two months early.

Grass greening, daffies dilling, tu lips smacking, crocuses croaking, birds nesting, forsythia frolicking in golden glory… spring is two months early!

                    

Along come sour-dour faces on heads that imitate a slow pendulum back and forth: “It doesn’t bode well. Spring is premature. You wait and see. There’ll be a killing frost. We could still have blizzards. It’s all gonna die.” 

Huh. Maybe so, maybe not.

As for me, I’ve got a Book in my hand; here’s what it says (emphasis mine):

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 ESV).

 In southern Wisconsin, spring is two months early.  

Rejoice!

     

Hello Spring

By Lori Boruff

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Psalm 94:19 NLT

           Have doubts filled your mind leaving you frozen in your faith? Renee Swope, author of  A Confident Heart—How to Stop Doubting Yourself & Live in the Security of God's Promises, writes “Doubt keeps us from believing things can get better.  Doubt convinces us that it's not worth the effort.”

Well, I have good news. Winter is over. Spring is here. It's a new season!

            Like daffodils and dandelions popping through thawed ground, the comfort found in God's word pushes through dead thoughts of doubts and despair .

            Hope blossom in the light of God's word. Cheer grows in the garden by His fertile favor.

       Good-bye Winter Blues                            Hello Spring                           Look in God's Garden

You say: “It's impossible”	God says: All things are possible	Luke 18:27
You say: “Nobody loves me”	God says:  I love you	John 3:16
You say: “I can't figure things out”	God says: I will direct your steps	Proverbs 3:5-6
You say: “I can't do it”	God says: You can do all things	Philippians 4:13
You say: “I'm afraid”	God says: I have not given you fear	II Timothy 1:7
You say: “I'm not smart enough”	God says: I give you wisdom	I Corinthians 1:30
You say: “I'm always worried”	God says: Cast all your cares on Me	I Peter 5:7

Thank you, God of Hope, for new seasons.

 I declare this is the first day of spring in my mind and heart.

Whenever doubt and despair creep in, I say Hello Spring!

I trust You, Lord, to give me comfort through Your word.

I'm excited to watch my garden of faith grow into something beautiful for Your glory!

In Jesus' Name – Amen.

GOING RAW

By Sharon Wilhite

I'm going on an all raw diet. No cooked to mush veggies, no fruit cocktail and cobblers, no gravy smothered meat, and no calorie laden snacks and drinks with zero nutritional value. Yes, I'm going raw - to reacquaint my taste buds with the flavor of real, unadorned fruits, vegetables, and water.

 

Actually, although that sounds very healthy, my self-imposed diet isn't food based at all but literary based. No mushy romance novels, no fruity fad books, no Christian truths smothered under suspense and no books with zero spiritual or practical value.

 

My mind is fat and lazy; I find myself jittery, unable to concentrate, craving instant gratification of the flesh -withdrawal symptoms for sure! I'm going raw, and the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is so weak.

 

  ("For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:5-6)

Make Anything Happen NOW

By Kathryn Lang

"If you want something to happen in your life then you can't sit around and wait for it to come to you." The words were for my husband, but they smacked me pretty hard as well. There are things that I dream about and hope for, but what am I really doing to make them a reality in my life?

The answer is nothing.

Stepping out into my dreams can be like walking in Alabama mud. It saps the energy and fills the mind with dread that at any moment I can fall. My own thoughts about pursuing the dream are soon crowed out by questions and fears. It seems easier to stay where I am than risk not getting to where I want to be.

Fear of failure cannot be an option. After all, the only guaranteed way to fail is to not even try. It may be scary to jump out with nothing but faith holding me up. The road ahead may be dark, intimidating and even overwhelming. The mountain may look impossible from this vantage point. One step small step out, just one little piece of the puzzle at a time, and a long, deep breath will get me going in the right direction.

Martina McBride has a song called "Anyway." In it the lyrics talk about dreams so out of reach that they might not ever work out but that you should dream anyway. It's one of those songs that sticks in my head and encourages me to dare to believe.

Believing and dreaming are only part of the equation. Like I was telling my husband, I have to do. So today I will do more than dream. Today is the day that I leap.

What are you letting anchor you to the ground so that you are unable to fly towards your dreams?

Dare to Dream

By Michael Elmore 

Back in 1989 a movie which was later to become a cult classic was released in theaters nation-wide. It was called “The Field of Dreams.” You can watch the movie trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKL-j0vXzqI&feature=related  .  In the film, a disembodied voice speaks to Kevin Costner through a dream. He hears a voice that tells him, “If you build it, he will come.” Of course the dream was about meeting his father whom he only slightly knew and experiencing a relationship with his dad that he had missed as a child. Kevin Costner’s character, “Ray”, had a significant dream that changed his life and impacted the lives of countless people around the globe making them realize the importance of having a dream.

Psychologists agree that the ability to dream is vital to the well-being of the human psyche. Dreams are at times full of meaningless drivel that doesn’t really matter in the scheme of all things and at other times they are have significant value. The pages of the Bible are filled with accounts of important biblical characters that God spoke to them through relevant, meaningful and significant dreams. Genesis records the life of Joseph whose dreams affected not only his destiny to become second-in-command of all Egypt, but saved the lives of his family as well as the future nation of Israel. In fact, we often refer to him as “the dreamer.” Joseph’s dreams and the dreams of scores of others throughout the Bible impacted countless lives. They continue to do so to this very day.

Dreams can be significant and can be pathways through which God speaks to us. He continues to speak to us today through the dreams he places in our hearts. Joel 2:28 tells us this very things, “In the last days,” the Lord says, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions.” The Bible says that God still puts dreams in the human hearts!

I believe that God speaks to us many times by putting dreams within our hearts. I ask you today, “What dream has God placed in your heart?” God has a vision, yes even a dream for your life. If you only have faith, I believe that God will fulfill the dream that He has given you. The secret is that God’s dreams do not just remain dreams but with the empowerment of His Spirit, our dreams will become reality. Even broken, crushed or unfulfilled dreams can become reality if we simply put our trust in God.

The Will To Believe In Yourself

By Marvin Ferguson

"The Will To Believe In Yourself "is an idea that I have often taken for granted. With all the human effort I can muster up along with being constantly bombarded with information (television, internet, and more), in this age, what else do I need?

When I first heard Frank Sinatra's rendition of "I Believe For Every Drop Of Rain That Falls," it brought a new awareness to my mind. Listen to the words: I believe for every drop of rain that falls; A flower grows; I believe that somewhere in the darkest night; A candle glows; I believe for everyone who goes astray, someone will come, to show the way; I believe, I believe. Needless to say the emphasis is on the word "Believe." And the song goes on.

The Denver Broncos made it into the 2011 NFL playoffs through blood, sweat, and tears along with a lot of hard work. However, their efforts wouldn't have been complete without Tim Teebow, quarterback, encouraging all the guys to believe in themselves.

Throughout my childhood and early adult life, I'd occasionally meet with discouragement at my front door. And to learn to cope with it, my mother, bless her heart, would say to me, "Just say you'll do it, and it will get done." Now, years later, reflecting over those words of wisdom, I think she was trying to say to me in her broken English, European background, to have confidence in whatever I do and wonderful things will happen.

The moral of this story is that people must have "The Will To Believe In Themselves." And if they carry this idea in their mindset, all things are possible.

Please don't construe "The Will To Believe In Yourself" with Spiritual Security. That's a topic to discuss on another day.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS SUMMER?

By Narola Grady

Several  years ago, I had a camping experience that changed my life.  It was sponsored by a group called CFO, which stands for Camps Farthest Out.  It is a nondenominational organization where people go deeper in their walk with the Lord…literally, farther out than they have been before.  This blog gives you a taste of what it’s all about.

The other day I thought about my first CFO camp experience.  Friends invited me for three years, but I always said no.  It was 1999 and money was tight in Davenport.  I was trying to hang onto my ‘togetherness’ when it was falling apart.  A vacation sounded wonderful, even if it meant visiting Cedar Falls, Iowa.  That’s how I said yes to CFO.  Thank God for scholarships!

All hell broke loose the week before.  The transmission went on the car.  A friend tried to commit suicide, so I spent time in the hospital with her.  Someone loaned me a car so my son, Sean, and I could go.  Forget the Martha Stewart approach.  I threw clothes in a suitcase, grabbed the sleeping bags, and we hit the road!

My picture of Christianity focused on Bible knowledge and faithfulness in duty.  It was important to know the right answers for any situation.  Doing instead of being.

CFO didn’t fit that mold.  My mind worked overtime trying to figure this place out.  In the midst of that struggle, people were accepting not only me, but each other.  My spirit was soaking in the love, but my brain wanted to nail down every jot and tittle.  Intrigued, I kept coming back.

Every time I found the same mix of ingredients:  All kinds of people, an emphasis on prayer and kingdom living, and unconditional love from Spirit led folks.  And every time I went, I found myself changing.

For several years, I struggled to explain this experience.  Finally God gave me the right words in a letter to my brother.  “People from all different backgrounds come to CFO, but that’s not really important.  What is important is being the Body of Christ together.  I had to drop my title as Bible expert and realize it’s not my job to change everyone.  Instead, we all focus on Jesus and let the Holy Spirit be our teacher.  For me, it’s like stepping into Jesus’ world instead of trying to squeeze Him into a small corner of my existence.  I learn to actively practice His presence all day long.

As we focus on the Holy Spirit, the place comes alive!  In prayer groups, we adore the Lord in His beauty.  We are the Body that washes His feet with our praise and admiration for who He is.  When needs come up, we find the basis of our unity is a love He has poured into us.  We in turn pour that over the person in need.”

Are we perfect?  No, not by any means.  Sometimes the needs are great, but as we humble ourselves before God, He fills us with healing love.  We learn with others through a practical show-and-tell way what it’s like to be children in the Kingdom.  You get simple.  You drop pretenses.  You laugh a lot.  We share intensely what God is doing in our lives.  There is no TV or radio to break the rhythm, so we can focus on ‘Emmanuel’ – God with us – and practice what is to be the daily tenor of our lives.

CFO is a recipe for healthy Body Life in God’s Kingdom.  At a Winter Retreat, I wrote: “I feel at home in Your Body, Lord.  I haven’t always felt at ease in my physical body, but that’s changing.  Now I marvel as I watch each person ‘be’ who You made them to be in Your presence.  It’s so rich.  Thank You that in CFO, there really is no place like home.

(For more information about Iowa CFO, contact me and I’ll send you a brochure.  My phone number is 563-381-3980.  You can also go to www.acfona.org  for a list of 2012  camps and retreats in the U.S.