An Afternoon Swim

An Afternoon Swim

A family outing on Lake Michigan, South Haven Beach.

Bunny

Eggy Easter Bunny

Picture I took, then edited in my Kodak program.

Bull

On my way to work one summer morning, about four years ago, I was blessed to view this beautiful sunrise, along with this majestic bull. Fortunately, I had my camera with me in the car to capture this awesome view to share with others. I think it was a year or so later that the bull had passed on, and I don't mean through the field, but as in not living here on earth any longer.

Missing in Action?

Do we take the time to choose to equip ourselves with God’s Armor when we start our day? Do we allow the busyness of our schedules to forget we are not alone, no need to pray?

With purpose we should tighten His belt of Truth around our waist; for it is not a noose like some may think, for ourselves or anyone else, all our lives are at stake.

When girded in His Truth, His belt in its proper place, the breastplate of His Righteousness will then fit perfectly, as we are seen in Christ. Beware of imitations though, for they tend to try and steal God’s Glory, using mirrors for their magic tricks, basking in the reflection of their own selfishness.

To be able to stand firm, to be ready for battle, our feet must be fitted with the Gospel of Peace, which helps us to want to move about Christ like; spreading the Good News of Christ’s Peace to the ends of the Earth; to be on guard and protect; looking forward for His return.

We should never give up. We have His shield of faith to keep the enemy from piercing our hearts, which could otherwise render us immobile without His hope. God gives us grace for the day when we take refuge in Him; we are not alone, He is with us. The battle is the Lord’s, one He has already won, and we should live like we know this.

In case we should fall (and we all do sometimes), we should put on our helmet of salvation, which helps to keep His Truth, His Living Word of Jesus, intact in our brain; this will help prevent the lies of the enemy from setting up camp in our minds, giving us clarity on whether we are following His Truth, or following a lie (the façade of sin is usually thought of as being alright, and sometimes feels oh so good).

To keep fighting the good fight, we need to take up the sword of the Spirit, His Word. We need to keep renewing our minds with His Word, letting Christ bathe our thoughts in His Righteousness, for in our minds is where our actions are conceived. And if we let bad thoughts continue to grow, they will spread to our hearts, giving our actions an unhealthy birth.

So, Armor up! And be of good heart; don’t let fear rob you of His Joy in life. God gave us His only Son to help us; His Holy Spirit is provided to be our Helper by God Himself. Don’t miss out on His sacrifice. We can experience His Peace right now in this life; no need to wait for an eternity, for His Eternal Life is within us.

© Sheri * September 2012

About the “Missing in Action?” poem:

While contemplating how a person can change from being in a war, fighting in combat, killing another person, or watching others die from the act of it, made me wonder what affect it would have on me, which is one of those things you would not know for sure until you experienced it yourself. And thankfully, so far, I have never had to do so. But there are many people that have experienced it, and their lives have been changed because of it, and for most, not in ways they care for…if only people could just get along.

Thinking about the effects of war also made me think of the spiritual war we fight every day, which many of us seem to be unaware of, or tend to forget about at times, hence came the poems name “Missing in Action?”…which refers to just that, being unaware of the battle we are in, WE are missing in action so to speak, blinded by the visible of the invisible. We tend to put out of our minds what we cannot see with our eyes.

It takes a conscious effort to live life with a purpose. With the constant whirlwind pace of life so many of us have niched out for ourselves, or bang our heads together trying to do so, we seem to forget what life is really about…people (processed from another great sermon from Pastor Jeff Arnett at TVC ~ Soul Shift #2)… http://thornapplevalleychurch.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=779). After all, God gave His only Son for us, so we may live eternally through Him with God. I would also say that means GOD LOVES PEOPLE!

Inspiration imbedded in this poem, and most others that I write, contain verses or meanings from Scripture, which is part of the process of letting Christ renew our minds; some verses are from the Bible, I don’t always remember where exactly.

God’s Word helps us see God’s love for His people, and in reading Ephesians 6 we can clearly see that we were not designed to do it all on our own, that we need God, and in His strength, we can do anything God calls us to do. But we do have to make a choice…to let Him be our only God, to receive His help, and live our lives as His children; to not cultivate our own selfish pride and be too grown up and self-sufficient that giving God glory is removed from our minds, our hearts, and our souls.

(Photo by: Google Images)

A Season in Life

Throughout our lifetime here on Earth, we go through many seasons, depending on how long one lives. My favorite season of the year is autumn, for all the beautiful changes of color, the smell of leaves, and the crispness of the air. Even the dishes we cook will change...Yeah! It's not too hot for stew anymore!

So far, my favorite season in life has been in raising my son's, Nick and Jack; with all the changes throughout their rapid growth...it all goes so fast...they are now in their mid 20's! How fast those years fly by is why I give the advice I do to others raising their children...enjoy each day as it comes, love them right where they are at, in the presence of them being a God given present. I gave away time with my son's by looking too forward for their next stage in life; time I could have spent in that present moment.

This painting I had started years ago, but the background was different, and I didn't care for it; was mostly green except for some flowers I tried painting here and there and ended up looking like a bunch of bug splats. The doe was also in a different position. She had her neck turned back, looking behind her...although from the way I had painted it, she looked like her head was on backwards, which by the way, can happen if you spend too much time living in Regret Land. So, after finding a video on painting trees, I thought I would practice painting them in this painting...adding the foliage was fun using a sea sponge, and I repositioned the doe. She is resting while her two fawns are napping.

The season of life I am least fond of is traveling on the downside of the hill....Ha! From living most of my life identifying myself with my body, to see the effects of aging is rather disturbing at times...most days I have a grip on it all, but there are some days when I find myself really struggling with the physical changes. I then remind myself of how God works all things, even the bad (or so it seems), to His Glory...and God's Glory is beyond the best we can even comprehend. So, from learning from the mistake of not living each day as it comes, I can choose to be thankful for His gift of life, which helps me to accept His love, so I am able to love others as myself; letting go of the identification of the exterior, and becoming one within, in the One who has created us with purpose.

"Power of Prayer"

"Power of Prayer"

A friend of mine challenged me to paint this from a print plakit he came across at a garage sale. Come to find out the original artist is Danny Hahlbohm; what an awesome inspiring artist! His paintings look so lifelike it's amazing...here is a link to his website if anyone is interested in checking out his artwork, and his artist archives about how his faith in God has inspired him.
 http://www.inspired-art.com/inspiredartworks/home.html

My painting is done in acrylics (Hahlbohm uses oils). I'm just uncomfortable breathing in the toxic fumes, even the odorless brands of brush cleaner, and then there's the storing of flammable chemicals. Maybe if I had an art studio with exhaust fans, I would want to work with oils too.
***Update**** July 2013
But because I had purchased some oil painting products years prior, I decided to give working with oils on a painting I wanted to try.... mainly after checking out Hahlbohm's art site, purchasing a video to try and get me inspired. Here is one I did, turned out okay...better than I anticipated it would. My son, Jack, really liked it, so gave it to him. Was fun to paint, would like to do another, but this time would like to try the new water-based oil paints...I'm pretty sure I didn't just dream them up.

God's Word

In a world that makes it so easy to desire to be our own gods, doing so at times unwittingly, and at times purposely, casting aside His Word, His Love…neglecting to test His Wisdom, thinking we alone suffice, not needing His advice.



When living in our arrogance, we set ourselves up upon a pedestal, denying our foolishness in setting ourselves up for the fall. But the laws of time will show us of our quarry; the reaping of our sowing, in hindsight, the harvest of it all.


I am so thankful for God’s Word…thankful that our Father loves us like He does, providing us with such an awesome navigational tool to guide us throughout our journey. The Bible is a never-ending and reverent source of God’s passion for His creation; His Truth to draw us closer in Him through His Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus.

© Sheri * February 2012
Clip art by: Microsoft Office

About the “God’s Word” poem...



After praying, praising and thanking our Lord for the sale of my house, these thoughts in the poem came to mind. Because of my fallen inner insistence of resistance to let God be my only God, I still at times suffer the consequences of being my own god...seeking to develop my own will, instead of seeking God’s.


Thankfully though, I am discovering God’s unconditional love, letting His grace set me free from my regrets of those unwise decisions, and having victory through His strength. And because we do reap what we sow, sometimes we tend to learn the hard way.


We are blessed by learning of His character through His Word, applying His love, His wisdom, in our life through His strength; allowing God to bless others through our actions through His Holy Spirit.