blessing Archives - Lynn Mosher

God is There for You: You Never Climb Alone

July 31, 2017 By Lynn H Mosher

“When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.” (Matt. 5:1-2 Msg)

Isn’t that a beautiful paraphrase? Are you one of Rabboni’s committed, climbing companions, capturing the mountain heights of His teaching? Do you take time to meditate on His Living Word? Can you say as Job, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread”? (Job 23:12 NIV)

And that treasure includes more of His companionship. When you are faced with a heart-wrenching mountain-climb situation, the Lord is there for you, sometimes to teach you and other times to bless you, to comfort you, to guide, to uplift you, and to share His presence with you.

You never climb alone.

God is there…for you.

To bless you.

For “when you’re at the end of your rope,” God is there for you, blessing you with His fullness. “With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” (Matt. 5:3 Msg)

“When you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you,” God is there for you, blessing you with His comfort. “Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” (Matt. 5:4 Msg)

When you are full of too many cares, God is there for you, blessing you by lifting your burdens and “You find yourselves cared for” and you “will be shown mercy.” (Matt. 5:7 Msg, NLT)

“When you can show people how to cooperate instead of” competing or fighting, God is there for you, blessing you with peace. “That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.” You “will be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9 Msg, NLT)

“When your commitment to God provokes persecution,” God is there for you, blessing you with His kingdom. “The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” (Matt. 5:10 Msg)

And when “people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit” the Lord, it means “that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.” God is there for you, blessing you. “You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.” (Matt. 5:11-12a Msg)

Jesus says…

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
“I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.”
“I will never fail you or abandon you.”
“I will never abandon you.”
“I will never, never fail you.”
“I will never leave you or forsake you.”
“I will never leave you alone.”
“I will always be by your side.”
So we can say with confidence…
“God is there, ready to help.”
(Heb. 13:5 NKJV, Msg, CJB, ICB,
TLB, NRSV, WEB, Voice, Msg)

God is there for you.
You never climb alone.

If you’d like to subscribe and receive each new post, that would be happiness!

Christmas in July?

July 7, 2016 By Lynn H Mosher

I love watching old TV series, especially when there’s nothing else to watch on 900+ stations!

I watched an old episode of the series Good Times the other day. A Christmas episode. I l-o-v-e Christmas episodes. Don’t you?

Anyway, the Evans family had relatives over to their apartment to celebrate with a Christmas dinner. James and Florida were standing, saying a prayer. I’d heard this prayer before but, this time, it truly touched me.

Unfortunately, prayers like this no longer grace the airwaves. Christmas will be here before you know it, so I thought I’d share it with you. However, a prayer like this knows no season.

Lord, we thank You for this feast

but let us not forget those who are hungry

we thank You for our health

but let us not forget those who are ill

we thank You for our friends

but let us not forget those who are lonely

and let us not forget our blessings so they can be shared by all.

Amen!

May the Lord bless you that you may bless others! And say to you as He said to Abram…

“I will bless you…and you will be a blessing to others.”Gen. 12:2 NLT

Hooking up with…
Jennifer Dukes Lee
Holley Gerth
Carissa Shaw
The Missional Call
3-D Lessons for Life
Equipping Godly Women
Sandra Heska King’s Still Saturdays

Just Passing Through

August 11, 2014 By Lynn H Mosher

Source: Finetooth at Wikimedia
Pondering again! This time on this…

“Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You.
Selah
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.”
(Psalm 84:4-6 NKJV)

The Masoretic (Hebrew) Text states verses 4 through 5a the same as the NKJV and states the rest of it this way…

“The highways are in their hearts.
Passing through the valley of weeping,
they will make it a fountain;
yea, the rain clothes with blessings.”

You know I love to dig. Digging always brings to light some gems of the Word. So, let’s dig…

*Still: always, continually.
*Strength: in various applications, such as force, majesty, security, and praise.
*Pilgrimage or highways: a thoroughfare, staircase, a raised way.
*Passing through: cross over or to cover.
*Valley: a vale, broad depression, or lowland.
*Baca: weeping.
*Spring or fountain: a source of satisfaction.
*Rain: an archer, also teacher, teaching, early rain (comes from another word meaning to flow as water, to point out, to teach).
*Covers or clothes: to wrap, veil, cloth, roll, enwrap, to envelop oneself, a mourner as one who covers.
*Pools: actually means blessings.

So, this is what I dig out. The Word says that happy and blessed are those who remain in the Lord’s dwelling place, for they will continually praise Him, celebrating and giving Him glory. Here, David inserts his selah rest, his stop-action, in his song for the reader to stop and think on that.

Question: What does this mean to you?

He continues to say that happy and blessed is the one in whose heart has found security and praise in the Lord, whose heart is set on God’s highways, His pilgrimage, His ways.

Question: Have you found your security and praise in the Lord, and is your heart set on God’s ways?

As they pass through the valley of weeping, that lowland can even be the vale of mental depression, they make it a fountain, a spring, as a source of satisfaction, because their strength is in the Lord and their hearts are set on God’s ways.

Question: As you pass through your valley of weeping, do you make it a fountain, a spring of satisfaction in the Lord?

The light-hearted need no comfort; only the hurting need comfort. So, those who go through the valley of weeping, those whose hearts rest in the Lord, make that valley a spring of comfort, not only for themselves but for others as well.

As they rely on the Lord, His refreshment flows as water, pointing out or teaching the way through the valley and covering the mourners with His comfort, and springs of blessings overflow.

When darkness and despair gather around your soul and you find yourself in that valley of weeping, God’s precious gift of comfort, as a fountain of blessings, will see you through.

If peace, praise, rest, and strength reside in you, even through the valley of weeping, then you can share with others this same fountain of comfort in their times of need.

Questions: Do you know this comfort, this fountain of blessing, in your valley of weeping? Have you camped out there, or are you just passing through?

“Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.”
(Is. 43:20 NLT)

How Good Are We to Others?

October 3, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

I can’t help eavesdropping on their conversation. I’m only standing two feet away. The shopper in front of me is, um, shall we say, less than kind to the cashier. And yelling.

I recognize her. She goes to our church. But she doesn’t know me. She doesn’t even see me.

The rude customer spews out venomous diatribes and rips the cashier into shreds for something that wasn’t the cashier’s fault. Yet, said-rude-customer unloaded on her anyway and, then, stomped off. Now, the cashier’s eyes are showing signs of leakage.

I’ve been pondering something. No, not a verse this time. Human nature. I hope you don’t mind if I grumble a little bit.

Have we lost our attitude of compassion and courtesy? Have we no love or care for our fellow humans?

A lack of kindness. Have you noticed it?

Everyone seems to be in such a hurry and absorbed in their own lives that they fail to be kind and caring. Even saying those two little words, “thank you,” seems lost.

The disciple John wrote, “Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God, and that they are getting to know Him better.” (1 John 4:7 TLB)

He said that, “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…We know that we have left death and come over into life; we know it because we love others.” (1 John 4:11 NKJV, 1 John 3:14a GNT)

Encouraging the Galatians, Paul wrote, “So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family.” (Gal. 6:10 Voice)

He exhorted the Thessalonians, “Don’t be hateful to people, just because they are hateful to you. Rather, be good to each other and to everyone else.” (1 Thess. 5:15 CEV)

Why do we have to tear down one another? I don’t understand it. Paul also encouraged the Thessalonians, “So encourage each other and build each other up…My friends, we beg you to warn anyone who isn’t living right. Encourage anyone who feels left out, help all who are weak, and be patient with everyone… (1 Thess. 5:11 NLT, 1 Thess. 5:15 CEV)

Jesus tells us just as He told the disciples, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 NKJV) Those are red-letter-words. Are we obeying them?

I think we have too many year-round-Grinches! Their hearts have shrunk two sizes. Let’s show others how hearts filled with the love of the Lord can grow more than three sizes.

“And now I want to urgently remind you, dear friends, of the old rule God gave us right from the beginning, that Christians should love one another.” (2 John 5 TLB)

So, my sweet friends, my heart today says…
seize any opportunity to do good and love others.
Support one another. Keep building each other up.

Come into the Ark

August 26, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

“Come into the ark, you and all your household,
because I have seen that you are righteous
before Me in this generation.”
(Gen. 7:1 NKJV)

I have always loved this verse. I find it very comforting.

Let’s go a-pondering again.

Come. . .the Hebrew word means come or go and is also translated as bring, going down, bring to pass, lead, carry, gather, went, etc.

In Noah’s case, the word is used again in Genesis 7:7, “So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.” (NKJV) The word and the verse are reiterated in verse 13, “On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark.” (NKJV)

After all the years of obeying God’s commands for building the ark, Noah hears God say, “Come.” As though God is waiting within the ark to welcome him and his family. It is as if He says, Come join Me. The Noah family enter the ark, and “Then the Lord God closed the door and shut them in.” (Gen. 7:16 TLB)

Though some versions translate verse 1 as “go into the ark,” I love that some say “come.” Knowing the Lord awaits my coming into His presence touches my heart with peace and contentment.

After Jesus has entered a heart as His ark, His vessel, He awaits that intimate companionship and He whispers, Come. Come join Me and I’ll shut the door.

We come before Him because we are righteous in his sight. We join Him by entering into His presence, as David said, with thanksgiving and praise, meeting Him with blessing, singing, and joy. (Ps. 100:4, 95:2, 100:2)

The Lord sits and waits for us to worship Him in the beauty of holiness, to give Him the glory due His name, to bring Him an offering, a sacrifice of praise, and to give thanks to His name. (1 Chron. 16:29, Heb. 13:15)

This is where He joins us, where He dwells, where He inhabits and abides with His loved ones, setting His throne upon the praises of His people. (Ps. 22:3)

If you have taken the name of Jesus upon your heart, that Name is inscribed there, in blood. Your heart is the home of the Lord and He says, “I will come to you.” (John 14:18 TLB) And “In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.” (Ex. 20:24 NKJV)

The Lord comes to us. And shuts the door, eternally. He never abandons us, never leaves us alone.

And blessings await.

Come into the ark. Come join Me, He whispers.

I join Him. And I am comforted. And I am blessed.

Do you heed His whispers? Do you join Him?

Hooking up with…
Mondays…

Tuesdays…

Wednesdays…

The Story of the Three Vases

May 23, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

“God does not want us to be like vases of glass or porcelain.”~unknown

“Here comes a prospective customer,” whispered the cut-glass vase to the porcelain vase.

“She’ll pick me. I’m the prettiest and I can tell she likes the best of everything,” the hand-painted porcelain vase muttered haughtily. “You’re just cheap ol’ glass.”

Though a lovely cut-glass vase, Glass felt inferior.

The customer left with a mixed bouquet of delightful flowers…but no vase.

The two vases felt dejected again. But the porcelain vase didn’t let the cut-glass vase know it, for she was too proud.

Their stay on the shelf would last a little longer. Day after day, the beautiful, and not so beautiful, vases sat on the shelf, continually hoping themselves worthy enough to be used.

Then, one day, the owner of the store bought a rather insignificant looking, pottery vase made of clay and brought it to the store, setting it on the shelf with Porcelain and Glass.

As he did so, Porcelain whispered to Glass, “How cheap and plain!”

Glass just snubbed the new one.

Clay felt self-conscious, yet bowed in humility to the other two.

“On second thought,” said the store owner out loud, “I really like this vase. I think I’ll use it in the center of the store to display a lovely arrangement every day. With no beauty of its own, it will showcase the flowers wonderfully and bless others as they come in.”

I’m honored my owner has chosen to use me, thought Clay, and humbled that I may be useful to him and a blessing to others.

For the rest of her life, Clay served her owner gracefully, exhibiting the beauty of that which was placed within her.

So it is with us. Paul said, “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay.” (2 Tim. 2:20a ESV)

We each have our own external presence, but it makes no difference to the Lord. What matters is not the outer appearance but the inner contents, as Samuel said, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7b NIV)

Each of us, as a vessel, can be useful to the Lord. However, if pride, haughtiness, and self-glorification stand sentinel at the door of our heart, we may find ourselves unusable, sitting on the shelf. Therefore, Solomon warns us, “Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov. 4:23 NIV)

What does the vessel of our heart reveal? Is it the kind of life that gives glory to the Lord or glory to self? God desires us to be humble, usable vessels that He “might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory.” (Rom. 9:23 KJV)

Do we exude the beauty of God’s grace? God finds those useful who have a humble heart, filling them with His beauty to be a display of His grace. And a blessing to others.

What kind of receptacle are you? Are you…

* an outwardly beautiful, hand-painted vessel, puffed up with pride?
* a lovely, cut-glass vessel, with feelings of inferiority?
* or a humble, usable clay vessel, one the Potter reaches for to use for His purposes and to convey His blessings?

Do you exhibit the beauty which has been placed within you?

“Become the kind of container God can use to presentany and every kind of gift to His guests for their blessing.”(2 Tim. 2:21 Msg)

Hooking up with…
Thursdays…

Fridays…

Sundays…

Are You an Abraham or a Jonah?

May 17, 2013 By Lynn H Mosher

“That very same day, as God had said to him.”Gen. 17:23 NKJV

Abraham. When I think of him, I think of obedience.

God asked him…

*…to go to an unknown place, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1 NIV) “So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed.” (Gen. 12:4 NLT) Without questioning or “knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8b NKJV), he went.

*…to circumcise his son Ishmael at the age of thirteen. and every male in his household. Abraham was also circumcised…at 99 years old. Abraham obeyed, “On that very day.” (Gen. 17:23 NIV)

*…and the biggest commandment of all…to kill his only son of promise, “offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen. 22:2
NKJV)

Luther wrote that a “true believer will crucify the question, ‘Why?’ He will obey without questioning.”

Abraham “believed in the Lord” and the Lord trusted Abraham, saying, “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” (Gen. 18:18-19 NLT)

Abraham did not delay his obedience. And the Lord blessed him mightily.

Delayed obedience is disobedience; however, it is still better than not obeying at all. Just think Jonah!

God asked Jonah to do one thing…

*…go preach to Nineveh.

As the center of the Assyrian empire, Nineveh was a great and wicked, but beautiful, city. Because Nineveh was Israel’s enemy, Jonah didn’t want to see them spared, so he refused. He turned left out of Nineveh and went in the opposite direction, two thousand miles away to Tarshish. Major runaway!

However, he didn’t get to see much of the city as his accommodations ended up being in the dark crypt of an enormous fish. With seaweed in his hair and the smell of plankton on his skin, he changed his mind and decided to obey.

God spared Nineveh when all the people repented and turned to Him. The book of Jonah ends abruptly, as if part is missing. It ends with Jonah in a huff over God’s goodness to Nineveh.

When God gives a command or a duty to perform, He expects immediate obedience, unless He has specifically given a timeframe.

When God asks us to do something, we need to ask ourselves…

*Who suffers if I do not obey?
*What will not get done if I procrastinate?
*Will God give the task to someone else?
*What will be my discipline for not obeying?

What makes God’s heart happy? His child with an Abraham-heart of obedience. What breaks His heart and puts a kink in His plan? His child with a Jonah-heart of disobedience.

Immediate obedience is the only true obedience.

Which outcome is preferable: Abraham’s or Jonah’s? Which do you choose?

“So all who put their faith in Christ share the sameblessing Abraham received because of his faith.”Gal. 3:9 NLT

Hooking up with…
Thursdays…

Fridays…

Sundays…

The Blessing of the Thorns

November 20, 2011 By Lynn H Mosher

Maybe you’ve read this story before, maybe not. It is a wonderful reminder to be thankful. Enjoy!

Sandra felt as low as the heels on her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and opened the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.

During this Thanksgiving week, she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren’t enough, her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then, her sister, whose annual holiday visit she coveted, called to say she could not come.

What was worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

She has no idea what I’m feeling. “Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?” she wondered aloud. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

“Good afternoon, can I help you?”

“I….I need an arrangement,” stammered Sandra, “for Thanksgiving.”

“Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special?” asked the shop clerk. “I’m convinced that flowers tell stories. Are you looking for something that conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving?”

“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.”

Sandra regretted her outburst and was surprised when the shop clerk said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”

The door’s small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, “Hi, Barbara…let me get your order.” She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses.

Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped…there were no flowers.

“Want this in a box?” asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer’s response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers? She waited for laughter but neither woman laughed.

“Yes, please,” Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. “You’d think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn’t be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,” she said, as she gently tapped her chest. She thanked the clerk and left.

“Uhh…” stammered Sandra, “that lady just left with, uhh…no flowers!”

“Right. I cut off the flowers. That’s the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t tell me someone is willing to pay for that?” exclaimed Sandra.

“Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery.”

“That same year I had lost my husband,” continued the clerk, “and for the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel.”

“So, what did you do?” asked Sandra.

“I learned to be thankful for thorns,” answered the clerk quietly. “I’ve always thanked God for good things in life and never thought to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I always enjoyed the “flowers” of life, but it took “thorns” to show me the beauty of God’s comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. “I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.”

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

“Hey, Phil!” shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

“My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement…twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!” laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

“Are those for your wife?” asked Sandra incredulously. “Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?”

“No…I’m glad you asked,” Phil replied. “Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord’s grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from “thorny” times and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific problem and give thanks to Him for what that problem taught us.”

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the special!”

“I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life.” Sandra said to the clerk. “It’s all too…fresh.”

“Well, my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don’t resent the thorns.”

Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. “I’ll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,” she managed to choke out.

“I hoped you would,” said the clerk gently. “I’ll have them ready in a minute.”

“Thank you. What do I owe you?” asked Sandra.

“Nothing.” said the clerk. “Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” She smiled and handed a card to Sandra.

“I’ll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you’d like to read it first.”

Sandra took the card and read, “Dear God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to you along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look much more brilliant. ~George Matheson”

Jenny said, “Happy Thanksgiving, Sandra,” handing her the special. “I look forward to knowing each other better.”

Sandra smiled. She turned, opened the door, and walked toward hope.

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns. God bless all of you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.

*the author of this piece is unknown

Faith, Fun & Food Blog Party

Today only!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to see another blog in the Faith, Fun, & Food Blog Party!

Blessing Your Enemy

September 16, 2010 By Lynn H Mosher

The next verse in our Romans 12 series is verse 14, entitled Bless Your Enemies and written by another cyber friend Teresa Criswell. Be sure to visit Teresa’s blog, Triumphant Victorious Reminders.

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
~ Romans 12:14 ~
My shift was over. Getting ready to leave, I went into the office area to retrieve my check. As I approached the glass window of the door, I began to knock but stopped suddenly, when I realized that my manager was on the phone. She turned around to give me a look that revealed frustration and yelled, “What do you want?!”

Taken back by her reaction from her body language, face, and words, I stumbled over my words, as the ‘jab’ of her words took me by surprise. I finally said, “I apologize, I didn’t realize you were on the phone. I wanted to pick up my check.”

Suddenly, with great power this petite, thin woman violently opened the heavy door, which then ricocheted off the wall, slammed, and opened again. Frustrated, she had her phone resting between her shoulder and face, as she held the door open with her foot, picking up the pile of checks and, one at a time with extreme motion, shuffling through each one as she threw each one on the desk until she finally found mine.

As she finally found it, she jerked her arm towards me, extending my check towards me and finally said, “Here!” I turned around walking away when I heard an associate say, “Teresa, can you let her know that she has a phone call on line 2.”

I said, with a stunned chuckle, “This probably isn’t a great time to do that.”

Tempted to scream at the top of lungs, I walked outside, looked up at the sky, and through violently gritted teeth, I yelled, “GOD BLESS HER!”

I fought with the agony of wanting to leave. The ‘runner’ in me tried to talk to myself and say, “Get out of there!”

To make matters easier to leave, I worked at a particular restaurant chain in which this store was known to have the highest turnover rate in the whole state. The turnover was mainly due to her lack of ability to manage and coach people. It was quite overwhelming as this woman was someone you didn’t want on your bad side.

That moment, as I released a blessing over her, I had peace, even through the frustration. Within three hours, I realized I had a missed call and a message on my voicemail. Upon checking my voicemail, it was none other than her!

This woman, never known to apologize, was calling me to apologize for the way she acted and pled with me not to leave, explaining to me the events that led to her exploding. At that moment, I realized that the blessing of God that was released over her was also released over me.

I got to see God’s hand of favor and provision work on my behalf as His Word manifested making a way, getting through the uncomfortable situation. To hear her apology made me realize her need of wanting to be understood even through her embarrassing outburst.

I came back that same evening to work my double shift when I was able to hug her, watching God’s love be poured out upon an unlovable person.

Now, I realize this doesn’t happen often, but for me, through this situation, we became close friends and people that I worked with saw another side of this woman that none of us knew existed. It was amazing to see God utilize me to cultivate and experience the way God saw her as His loving embrace began to squeeze His life out of her.

There have been other scenarios in my life where I decided to bless my enemies, and I can confidently say, every time I had peace. I must say, most of the time, I was literally amazed watching the power of God move on my behalf, influencing the heart of the one who was considered my ‘enemy.’

The other times I didn’t see anything on their part change towards me; however, and most importantly, I saw change in my heart as compassion for that person came forth from the Holy Spirit of God.

The power of blessing our enemy is not because we decided to bless someone. It is because we have decided to become obedient to God and His Divine Nature who is The Blesser. We have been equipped to utilize God’s power of blessing over another person as we are able to sow righteous seed, seeing the righteous harvest of life from Almighty God, revealing His glory upon the earth!

I am reminded yet again, that to curse an enemy is to curse oneself; however, to bless an enemy is to bless oneself.

Anniversary!

July 19, 2009 By Lynn H Mosher

Welcome to my celebration! What am I celebrating? My first blog anniversary! So I guess it would be my First Blogaversary!

Where has the time gone? Here we are…one year later! I cannot believe it! I posted my first blogpost on July 20, 2008. This comes as my husband and I just celebrated our 43rd anniversary on July 15.

When one celebrates an anniversary, one usually looks back over the variety of events that have taken place over the years. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, for the blog, only a couple of times blipped the “bad and ugly” radar. The real bad and ugly happened behind the scenes as I tried to write!

I’ve shed tears of joy, and a little pain, and brain cells of thought. Writing is sometimes very difficult as I deal with the symptoms of fibromyalgia, which causes foggy thinking through impaired comprehension, difficulty in concentration, and temporary memory loss.

My first blogpost was Stepping Out in Faith, which said it all. (If you’d like to read it, you can click here. It was a huge leap for me. Questions plagued my mind, like…

* Who will read what I write?
* What the heck will I write about?
* How in the world will I keep this up?
* Will I write what is pleasing to the Lord?
* Will others want to come back to read again?
* How will I ever draw others into this little world of Heading Home?
* Will I write the things that will encourage others or touch a need in their lives?

Because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I always know there is at least special person, and sometimes more, for whom my words, or rather His words, are meant to minister.

Through my blog and other networks, the Lord has truly blessed me over the last year with countless, precious cyber-friends, all a part of God’s family.

So many of you have encouraged my heart, sometimes so beautifully that I have been overwhelmed and touched by your kind, caring, and encouraging words.

I want to thank each and every one of you, my readers and followers. You are very precious to me. I pray daily that the Lord will guide my heart, my mind, and my fingers to write the words that will be of benefit to you by touching your hearts in whatever you need.

In appreciation for your faithfulness in reading, I have a new give-away. I asked on Twitter what others would like in the way of a give-away and I got too many different answers. Therefore, I am making this the Winner’s Choice Give-away! It consists of $100 that can be received in one of these ways…

* 1 – $100 pre-paid card
* 1 – $100 gift card to one store of winner’s choice
* 2 – $50 gift cards to two stores of winner’s choice
* or divvied up in any configuration of winner’s choice

If you’d like to join in the celebration, please sign up in the comment box on the right close to the top of the sidebar.

I leave you with the verse on which I hang my life…“Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40 Amp)

I pray a blessing of peace, provision, protection, and the presence of the Lord in all things for each of you.

~~Blessings…Lynn~~

God is There for You: You Never Climb Alone

Christmas in July?

Just Passing Through

How Good Are We to Others?

Come into the Ark

The Story of the Three Vases

Are You an Abraham or a Jonah?

The Blessing of the Thorns

Faith, Fun & Food Blog Party

Today only!

Click here to see another blog in the Faith, Fun, & Food Blog Party!

Blessing Your Enemy

Anniversary!

Google translate

Notices

Faith, Fun & Food Blog Party Today only!

Click here to see another blog in the Faith, Fun, & Food Blog Party!

Google translate

Notices

Faith, Fun & Food Blog Party

Today only!