KINDNESS ...WHAT A GIFT

Hi everyone,

Well, have I ever been tested since my last blog! My goodness, plenty of opportunities to offer songs of worship through the stuff of life ;)

Amongst all of this I have enjoyed the kindness of friends and family.

What a difference kindness makes.

• A daughter who has become so much more... a friend.
• My husband, who knows me better than anyone else could.
• A great work environment where its OK to get it wrong sometimes
  

Kindness is a wonderful gift.

A favourite verse is Psalm 18:35 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great."

Why are gentleness & kindness so powerful?
Because it brings healing to our bruised and weary hearts & emotions; and because it gives us space to 'breath', space to try, space to fail, space to recover and space to grow.

For someone like me who can be very 'black & white' and pretty hard on myself and the people around me, this verse came as a lifeline years ago, and I have often returned to it, especially to allow kindness towards others to grow in me!

If God Almighty, who has so much power and righteousness can be kind to me, surely I can be kind to others?

Well, all I can say, is thank God they have been kind to me!

Until next time,
Blessings,
Lynda

A Breakfast Blog....

Hi everyone,

I'm really enjoying blogging....little thoughts and somewhere to express them. And I am most grateful for you who read them!

So here's another thought... What happens on those dull days when you have stuff to do -

THAT YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE DOING!!! :(

You know, boring errands instead of a fun shopping spree, a heap of housework that you know you will have to revisit again and again and again, so what's the point anyway?
How about getting alongside one or more of your children who are struggling with homework... and super stressed over it as well (which tends to make them unreasonable)

OK, maybe there's a husband in your life.... He could have any number of requests for you....
You know, "can you pay this bill for me", "can I bring ______ home for tea", "I know you want to watch this, but there's a really big game on and I was planning to watch it", "why, you look lovely tonight!...."

Come on ladies, this is not the earth shaking major things in life, it's the small stuff, the stuff that makes up the fabric of your life.

How we respond will determine the level of joy in our lives and in our homes, but some days its really hard to live with.

WHAT DO YOU DO??

Turn it into worship. David said that he wouldn't offer God that which cost him nothing. And to do the dull stuff of life with joy does cost.

So next time you are faced with a day of dull duty offer it up to the Lord and say, "Today as I do this stuff, it's not really stuff Lord, it's my heartfelt song of worship to you - please enjoy xxx"

I promise you, there is no place this doesn't work.

Rich blessings to you,
love, Lynda

WARNING ....RELATIONAL WHITE ANT!!

Hi everyone,

Just had a great weekend - full on busy, but very fruitful and enjoyable. Now I am enjoying a very quiet day at home ...in the quiet... even better the stillness. I'm catching up on some housework, (deliberately not much), and avoiding the office like the plague. WONDERFUL!! :)



As I poke around my home I'm thinking about something Pastor Murray often says... "The opposite of love is not hate, it's selfishness." Well in the context of marriage & home - I believe that is true.



The times when our relationship has been most 'eaten away' has been the times when we have been selfish.

• "My way or the highway"


• "I'm right, you're wrong"


• "I don't feel like co-operating with you"


• "I've got my own plans thank you"


• and of course that song that we all relate to so strongly, "What about me....?"
  

The dark patches that feel like hate don't start off with hate, they start off with selfishness. And that sense of hatred can quickly be dissolved and replaced with love when we 'with faith that works by love' serve one another; honour one another; treat one another and simply choose to be kind.

I remember reading somewhere once (I'm so sorry, it was a while ago and I don't remember where I read or heard it)... that it is a great idea to let your first words to your spouse be "what would you like me to do for you today?"

I admit, I don't think to do that every day, but when I have it has a wonderful effect on me... I actually do feel more loving! It has a wonderful effect on Jeff. He feels loved! Now that's a great way to face the day.

"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."
Phil 2:1-4 (The Message)

So rather than thinking of love as a great feeling, lets think of it as a powerful gift that we are free to hand out every day of our lives!

Be blessed! :)

Lynda

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE....

Reading in Ruth this morning...chapter 4 v10 "......This way she can have a son and carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today"


Dear believer, this reflects the Spirit of Jesus. He came to redeem us not just for Himself, but so that we could enjoy an eternal, magnificent inheritance with Him.


Boaz was a good man who was committed to the well-being, freedom and honour of Ruth.

Let me get personal....
Jesus is way far and away better than Boaz....and He is interested in your well-being, freedom and honour.

Boaz's plan wasn't just to rescue Ruth off the fields and out of poverty, but that she would share in all that was his.

Jesus plan is not just that we escape judgement, but that we enjoy all that He has prepared for us, in this life and the next!


WHAT AN AMAZING EXPRESSION OF STRONG, INTELLIGENT LOVE - FOR US!!

till next time,

Blessings :)

Lynda

SHUT DOORS & OPEN DOORS...

Hi there everyone,



I was reading in Ruth chapter 4 yesterday. And Verse 13 really brought something precious. "So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son"



Ruth had already been married, back in Moab. Her normal natural expectations that things would go well, and she would have children was blocked, for ten years, then her husband died.

She must have had some gut-wrenching questions.



BUT GOD



... knew that an answered prayer in Moab would have forever closed the door to the better plan in Bethlehem. Because of that 'twist of fate' she is in the line of King David, who is in the line of Jesus Christ, King of kings & Lord of lords. She has an eternal inheritance.



SO WHAT??



When you are struggling with apparently no answers, and delayed hopes remember that God does have a plan for you, its a good one, and maybe a 'yes' now will shut the door to the better, richer plan He has waiting for you up ahead.

TRUST HIS LOVE FOR YOU

Have a great day,

Lynda

A WAKE UP CALL....

Ever wonder how amazing it is that when you think of giving up on something little reminders come along to keep you moving along? Well as you would be aware it has been a long time since I wrote on this....slack, I know!

In the last couple of weeks I have been thinking, why would I do this blog? Is it something I really should be doing? Are my motives right? Is it something that is part of God's plan for me to do? Would it really make any difference to anyone?

On Monday I read, 2 Tim 1:6-7 "This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline"

Is it coincidental that last night we watched "Julie & Julia" (all about a Julie's struggle to finish something she started...a blogging project!) Then today someone rang and asked me, "How's your blog going?" ..... WHAT! Someone else was thinking about my blog?! I got home and a twitter comment on facebook gave me a sharp poke...

So I thought I better revisit the blog, and I find I have two followers, and some other comments!

OK, I get the message. I need to not be timid, and activate some self-discipline, all motivated by love.

So for all those who may happen to stumble on this blog, and especially for my two followers, whom I am sorry to have disappointed....

Rich blessings, ..... and lets keep up at whatever our dreams are!
Lynda :)