Friday, August 12, 2011

Calgon Take Me Away or On The Wings........

     What if we could escape the stress of the day and could be protected from all harm, kinda like on the wings of an Angel
or on the wings of a snow white Dove? We would be carried away from harm and the stress that this world so often brings, and just think about how much peace and security that would bring to us!
It reminds me of the scripture below:

Psalm 55:6

King James Version (KJV)
 6And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

But then I thought about being vulnerable to prey and exposed to harm if we were openly rising on the wings of an Angel or a snow white Dove. As I thought for a minute, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to be not "ON THE WINGS", but, "UNDER THE WINGS"!  

I took a few minutes and looked out across the farm and as I noticed a beautiful Robin with her 3 babies in a nest not too far from where I was standing. I noticed the closer I got to the nest, the more the mother bird spread her wings over the babies and pulled them in near to her side,to protect her babies and not let any harm come to them.  I assured the mother bird I would not harm her or the babies, for God was just teaching me a lesson and I had to learn it from her actions!

Many days this week, stress seemed to come at me from all directions- physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. I mention spiritually for we are in a spiritual battle constantly against evil (more about that on another post).  When stress hits me, it usually comes to me physically- neck and shoulder muscles begin to knot up causing massive headaches, emotionally- by seeing others hurt and not treated right hurts me emotionally, financially- the burden of the rising cost of living in a very weak economy.  All this seems to compound into a tense, exhausted, stress-laden body that is not meant to be this burdened. I thought many times this week of the commercial "Calgon take me away!", where the woman finds respite through a calming and relaxing bubble bath!  However, even when she is through with that bubble bath,
she walks out the bathroom door and stress is their waiting to greet her, so I thought how nice it would be to just ride on the wings of an Angel or of a Dove and refresh our minds and hearts just for a few minutes before being dropped back into this rat race called life.  My newly learned lesson from the Robin and her babies was God's way of speaking to me today.  


I now wanted to be UNDER THE WINGS and not just any wings, but UNDER HIS WINGS! Under God's Wings! For only when I run to Him and get under His wings will I find true shelter, peace and rest.  God reminds us to run to Him and He will give us shelter, rest and peace: Psalms 91:4-

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his
wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.



The strength that I could receive under His wings would be a feeling of love, patience, security, and peace from the stress of the world. He would allow me to leave the stress with Him so we may have rest within our mind and heart.  As the Lord would spread His wings and gather me in from the stress of the world, I will be renewed and reminded of His truths and promises.

He will be "my calgon" but when the stress reappears, I will have a
renewed outlook, peace in my mind, heart and soul and will claim God's promises!


As you go about the day, think of what stressor you could leave......under HIS wings!


Be Blessed!


 



Never Take a Person For Granted-


Never Take a Person For Granted-

by Tammy Smith on Monday, August 8, 2011 at 8:44pm
Much too often we take for granted those that are close to us, those who have helped us and give of their time
and dedication without hesitation, often without even saying a simple "Thank you" or "I appreciate you".  We
fail to show them how much they mean to us and often forget them for they diligently are working in the
background for us to keep us in the spotlight and supporting us.
Many times people wait until it is too late to show those who have always been there for them, just how
important they are to them. With so much disappointment in this world and not enough optimism and
encouragement, many people fall short of showing appreciation to those that have helped them to
become the person they are today. No matter if it is in a classroom, office or home, we should all
take inventory of the people we are around, associate with, work with or live with and see
how much impact they have made on your life. 
Another assessment is to answer the following questions truthfully-

* Have you put yourself in their shoes and put them first? Oftentimes this world is so "all about me" driven that
we fail to see the people that have been placed into our lives to help us. These same people have put you
first to help you and watch you flourish, but have you done the same for them?

*How is it that others can bend over backwards to help you, yet no one (especially you) gives them a second thought?

Think on these things today and realize that life goes by way too fast and we can never get that time back. What
are you going to do to acknowledge the people in your life that support you, love you, help you and are loyal to you?
Will you continue acting as if they are invisible or will you lift them up, acknowledge them and their accomplishments
that have made a difference in your life and praise them for sacrificing their time and energy they have put into you
to make you shine?  I hope so, for what you reap you also will sow and we want to sow love and appreciation to
those who have made us what we are today!

Remember we are not promised tomorrow and if we put off what we should do today, we may turn around and
find them gone.