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Honoring Memorial Day With Gratitude


It had been pouring rain. I thought our Memorial Day remembrance by the lake would not happen. (Oh me of little faith!)

But God cleared the sky for a short time so we could stop…to remember the sacrifices of our heroes and their families.

I was moved to tears as the High School band played the Star Spangled Banner. (Yes, our flag is still there. In spite of wars and rumors of wars.)

Tears were still in my eyes as the VFW honor guard stood at attention. Most in the crowd saluted or had their hands over their hearts throughout the remembrance time. (They honored the flag of our country. It’s not just a flag, but rather a symbol of the COST of freedom.) The raising of the flag by our local Boy Scouts (but only to half mast…to honor the fallen). Then, a prayer by the Chaplain of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). That prayer included honoring the Name of our Lord Jesus. Openly. Without hindrance. Another reason for tears of gratitude: for wonderful small town Iowa with its “old-fashioned values”!

And then the band played TAPS. More tears. More emotions of gratitude. More hands over the hearts. More salutes from veterans. I am thankful for those in Clear Lake, Iowa who organized the remembrance.

I’m glad I had stopped to remember. I wanted to share my thoughts of joy and gratitude with you.

Yes this is celebrated as a HOLIDAY in the United States, but there is a reason why we have a “holiday” to celebrate. Today, I am not taking that freedom for granted. It came with great price.

I am thankful to God for stopping the heavy rain long enough for us to draw together as a community and remember with gratitude those that suffered much so we could stand there together openly praying and remembering. To be FREE to do so. THANK YOU seems small for such a great gift!

Please share YOUR thoughts and remembrances about Memorial Day in the comment section below.

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Until next time,

Personality and Jesus

Do you know who God created you to be? Have you ever stopped to think about how your personality affects the way you interact with others? Find out more in this new book by Pamela A. Taylor.

Personality and Jesus

Let's Connect!Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Christian Life Coaching,Holidays — Tags: , , , , , , — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Acknowledge He Is God.

Loaves & Fishes Coaching

For many years, I have added to a list of requests for God. I pray through the list daily. However, I was beginning to realize something.

First, I’ll give you the prayer list. Then, at the end, I will share with you, how God opened my eyes. Ready? Here goes…

Father, Please…

  • Make me a blessing (to bless means to bring out the best in another)
  • Give me favor
  • Give me wisdom
  • Give me understanding (of that person/situation)
  • Cleanse me of anything not of you
  • Lord, refine and purify my motives
  • Protect me, Lord, that I may be your “yielded vessel”
  • Give me integrity and contentment
  • Don’t give me the desires of my heart if it brings leanness to my soul
  • Give me discernment and knowledge
  • Don’t allow me to enter into temptation
  • Give me strength for today
  • Bring me to the one you have prepared
  • BE my strength
  • Lord, what would you have me do today?

He opened my eyes

I was beginning to be aware of something new.(Of course there are specific things that God tells us to ask Him for.) But…these things on my list…subtly, without realizing it,  I had been believing if I didn’t pray these specific things, they wouldn’t happen. Then, this last week, I suddenly realized, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I already have all those things. He promises to provide all our needs in these earthbound lives.

Then, I remembered…As with any gift anyone gives us, we have to reach out and receive what has been given.

My suddenly was to realize… My prayers needed to be tweaked. They have now become prayers of gratitude for each of those things in my list–for what He has already given. And to believe He means what He says.

 

Thank Him for His blessings

My prayers are now...Father, Thank You that You have already supplied all I need for every situation. You have blessed me beyond measure. You had already given me what I had all those years been asking for. Forgive me for thinking it depended on my asking for them. I just needed to receive what was already offered. (A small “tweak” but so very important.)

Rather than “GIVE me…” or “I need… I say “Thank You Father, for…”

I now choose to believe and embrace what my Father has already given.

I still go through the list daily, but now it is a reminder of my blessings rather than a list of requests.

I thank Him for His patience with me as I continue to learn what it means to be a fully devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank Him that He continues to convict me, teach me, disciple me, forgive me, and love me through the many seasons of life.

What about you?

Has God tweaked your prayers, or has He taught you something new lately? Please share…

Until next time,

Personality and Jesus

Do you know who God created you to be? Have you ever stopped to think about how your personality affects the way you interact with others? Find out more in this new book by Pamela A. Taylor.

Personality and Jesus

Let's Connect!Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Christian Life Coaching,Spiritual Life — Tags: , , , , , , , — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Open the Shades

Loaves & Fishes Coaching

Random thoughts. Journal entry:

“Good morning, God. I’m here—(it is very early a.m.)—SHOW me YOU! Be near! Love me in my love language, Lord. Heal me.”

“As I opened the shades this morning, I said ‘I want to see YOUR world. Not THE world, but YOUR world. And then I spontaneously began to sing ‘For the Beauty of the Earth….LORD of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.’ ”

((All spontaneous! Worship! Dear friend reading this blog post, I hope you let God be God in your devotional times. Have a basic plan, but let Him lead you where He wants to take you.))

The devotional I was reading said: “Let God’s Spirit–not the world–shape your mind.”

The Lord was preparing me for the opening of the shades.

For the beginning of the day. For what was ahead. How many times do we let the world, the news, friends, family, or circumstances shape our mind? And yet, when we open the shades and look for HIM, He shows up. He’s always there with us, but we become aware of His very presence when we actually LOOK for Him.

Wow! God is so great to bring it all together like that. The devotional, the song, the opening of the shades. He loves to connect the dots for us.

What a way to start the day!

Glorious! That’s it, isn’t it? Whether we realize it or not, we choose our mood for the day. The Lord says BE content. CHOOSE joy. GIVE thanks in all things. BE STILL and KNOW that HE is GOD. BE not afraid. You CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you. PUT your hand to the plow and don’t look back. REJOICE in the LORD, ALWAYS. Again, I say REJOICE.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.Today has enough trouble of its own…

Matthew 6:33 & 34

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Nehemiah 8:10

SUBMIT to God. RESIST the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

SUBMIT to God.

There is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to TRUST and OBEY. Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you…From your mind…From your thoughts. Choose to deny the devil the chance to rob you of JOY. The JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH.

Here ends my random thoughts. 😃

Meant to encourage and remind you to keep your eyes on Jesus. The author and finisher of your faith. To God be the Glory. Great things He has done…and He will continue to do…IF you Open the Shades and Seek Him above all else!

Until next time,

Let's Connect!Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Christian Life Coaching,Spiritual Life — Tags: , , , — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Mothers’ Day. Walking a Tightrope.

I love you, Mom

A new twist on discrimination.

It has been said that celebrating Mothers’ Day actually discriminates against the rest of the population. So, am I recommending that we eliminate Mothers’ Day? Not on your life! Let’s look at this through the eyes of the child…

My own mother

After numerous illnesses and many long periods of hospitalization, my Mom died when I was 12. And now she is out of my life forever. We never think that can happen to us and yet it did! How I wish I could spend the day with her on Sunday. (Does anyone ever stop missing their Mom?)

Unsung heroes

Mom’s are unsung heroes most of the other 364 days of the year. We just kinda get used to them being there whenever we want them to be. Taking them for granted. Sometimes we want our “Mommy” and other times we want to be an adult and stand on our own two feet…without their “interference”. And that can change back and forth even within a five minute time period. Being a mom is like walking a tight-rope.

Moms sacrifices go unnoticed

Many don’t realize their Mom’s sacrifices until they have a child of their own. T H E N … they understand and grieve the lost opportunities to connect on a deeper level all those years before the birth of their own child/children. And Moms must again walk a tightrope of wondering which hat they should wear at any given time, when–even as their children are parents themselves–they are back and forth between wanting their “Mommy” and standing on their own and making their OWN mistakes.

Challenges vs rewards

Sadly, many would love to be a mother and are unable for one reason or another. That is heartbreaking. I was barren for 12 years myself. So I understand that longing. But this post is not about what we lack, but about the mothers that we have been given. God chose our mothers. We mustn’t forget that. How do we think about them? How do we treat them? As a gift or as a curse? I am a mother and I am grateful. It has been a privilege praying with and for my children and my grandchildren. Glory! Praying for them through each phase of their lives. Has it been a challenge? YES! Every step along the way has been a learning process. And each step has its own reward, as well.

A mother’s influence

It has been said, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” I was fortunate that my mother was a Believer and Follower of Jesus. My mother had a great influence on me. Her faith in the Lord made me hunger for what she had, even though I didn’t really understand it at the time. We never had a chance to sit down and talk about it, but I knew she had something very special that I wanted…and…after her death, I searched and searched until I found the Source of her strength – Jesus, the Christ.

Is perfection even possible?

Nope! Are mothers perfect? Not on your life! Yours wasn’t and mine wasn’t and I am not. Moms are sinners and their kids are sinners. Do Moms and their kids make mistakes? Numerous ones and often! Even if the relationship is strained for whatever reason, would we die for our children? In a heartbeat! Isn’t that what childbirth proves?

Back to the original question:

Should we eliminate Mothers’ Day because it is a discrimination against others? Or rather, should we decide to make EVERY day Mothers’ Day, forgiving her for her mistakes and all her sins and choosing to enjoy her with all her warts and flaws…every day. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. I know. I was not guaranteed even the 13th year of my life with mine.

Onward…

Let's Connect!Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Holidays,Spiritual Life — Tags: , , , , — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Do You Ever Feel Like a Failure in Your Relationships?

Loaves & Fishes Coaching Logo

that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You;
that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 17:21 NKJV

What did Jesus mean?

When Jesus speaks of oneness, is He telling us to be in oneness with each other? That is what I had been taught for many years and I simply could not measure up. I have tried and tried to be in unity/oneness in thought and deed with all Christians. Jesus and God are ALWAYS in total agreement/unity/oneness about every single thing. Did he mean Christians would be able – even in the Spirit – to be in total agreement with each other about every single thing? If so, we have failed miserably!

Or…

is He telling us to choose to make it a priority to get to know God in such a deep personal relationship, so that the mind of Christ rules our thoughts. So that we are one in thought with God and Jesus. Is He calling us to a relationship that is like the oneness that only comes through surrender/submission to the Lordship of Jesus over us. As is between God and Jesus.

Jesus Himself

was not in unity with all the leaders or people in the “church”. He was not in total agreement even with His disciples. He was in total agreement only with GOD HIMSELF. As we are to be…

Is TRUE unity even possible human to human?

Have we been striving to make it happen? Does that striving kick God off the Throne and put ourselves there instead? Have we been thinking we are capable of being in unity with another person? Or with a group of people?

What if our goal is actually to be to SUBMIT to GOD and seek ONENESS with HIM only…To choose to seek friendship and fellowship in true Christ-like relationship with Him. And then, HE—working THROUGH us—will allow us to be a conduit of HIS power, HIS love, HIS mercy TO those He puts in our path. That would be UNITY/ONENESS with God, right? What is impossible with men is possible with God, in God, and through God.

Unity wasn’t forced in the Early Church.

People walked in unity only as a direct result of each one having a close personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. That caused them to experience times of having one heart/one mind. And, truthfully, they often failed miserably. STRIVING for UNITY doesn’t work. TRYING TO HAVE UNITY doesn’t work. Only SUBMISSION to GOD “works”.

UNITY cannot be the GOAL.

The GOAL is JESUS HIMSELF!!! Looking unto Jesus…personally, individually…each one for himself/herself is the ONLY WAY to UNITY/ONENESS. There are no shortcuts. There are no “programs”.

It is only through deep personal relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And then, we become LIKE HIM whom our HEART LOVES because it is actually HIM shining THROUGH us!!!

It is a journey we travel daily all our earthbound years!

Like John the Baptist stating that he, himself, must decrease, so that JESUS might increase. He knew that JESUS HIMSELF is the GOAL!

Isn’t that actually what our heart longs for in our human relationships? Jesus Himself. Unity with God, which then brings about HIS unity with us to human relationships. Because our eyes are then directed off of humans and onto God Himself. Isn’t that when the devil FLEES from us?

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

James 4:7 (NKJV)

After all these years of following Jesus, since 1975, I am still struggling with the “submit” to God part. I think I have it and then He shows me another layer of ME ON THE THRONE. UGH! But, I get back up, dust myself off, ask forgiveness and realize He has not given up on me. What a blessing!

What about you? How are you doing?

Personality and Jesus

Do you know who God created you to be? Have you ever stopped to think about how your personality affects the way you interact with others? Find out more in this new book by Pamela A. Taylor.

Personality and Jesus

Let's Connect!Until next time,
Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Christian Life Coaching,Spiritual Life,Strengths Mentor Coach — Tags: , , , , — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am