Holy Smoke!!

Have you ever said that or heard that said...holy smoke, or holy cow, what about holy crap? I use to say them all the time, in fact, these words were habitual exclamations in my vocabulary for many years.  I know there are a lot of other people who use these phrases, remember Robin from Batman and Robin? Everything was holy to Robin, even peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!  I didn't think about what these words were implying until just recently, so blurt them out I did.

A cow is not holy, smoke is not holy, unless God is in it, and well you know the other word is completely unholy. The definition of Holy according to "Attributes of God #8, Holy" at www. parentcompany.com, says holy is the pure loving nature of God; separate from evil. Another site, BrainyQuotes.com, says the definition of Holy is; "set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use."

 I believe, and now understand that all the things we loosely call holy were originally designed to hurt the heart of God and that is what it's doing. His holiness is beautiful and pure, something to be admired and desired. His holiness is not to be mocked or belittled but rather to be honored.

Lord God please forgive me for all the times I have called unholy things holy, I am truly sorry and I ask you to please help me break that habit.Your holiness is beautiful, Your holiness is wonderful, Your holiness is something I adore and aim for. Please give us, Your children, spiritual discernment to know when what we are saying is hurting You. Help us to bless You dear Lord and fill us with concern for your feelings always. We love You and Praise You forever! Amen

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come."

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being."

"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!"

Revelations 4:8,11, and 5:13

Find A Penny...

"TRUST ME"

In those times when it seems like God is not answering my prayers, because in my mind, it's taking too long, my Father tells me to trust Him. Each time I "find a penny, pick it up," I don't really believe in luck, but I do believe God is telling me to trust Him. It says so right on the coin, "In God We Trust!" He says, "don't worry, I will provide everything you need" through a picture, a figurine, or a real live bird. The Bible says Jesus told the people long ago when He walked the earth, "look at the birds, they don't sow, or harvest, or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them, aren't you far more valuable than they?"


The Lord surprises me, in some way or another, everyday. He really is attentive to His children and everything about them! Today after going on in my prayers as usual do you want to know what God said to me? He said, "one voice does make a difference!" In such a giant world, my prayers, however small or insignificant I might think they are, really do matter to the Father.

Our heavenly Father is always listening and answers the prayers of His children, I promise! It might not always seem like it because we don't always know how God will respond to our requests and situations. His wisdom is far to great for us to understand most of the time, but trust me, trust Him, God really is listening and He really does care! So don't ever stop praying!

You are far more valuable than they...

The next time you see a penny (or any coin really) laying around, don't think about luck, but rather hear our Father God say, "trust Me." And whenever you see a bird or lots of birds close by, be reminded that God is watching over you and will take care of all your needs.


We are so valuable to Him and so Loved by Him that He gave His all and His Best, He gave His One and only perfect beloved, begotten Son Jesus, for us so that we could be with Him forever. All we have to do is believe, ask for forgiveness for our sins, and invite Him into our life. My life has not been the same since Jesus came into my life and that is such a wonderful thing cause my life before Jesus...I Hated it!! He is real and He is for everyone, He want's to have a relationship with us right now, not after we die. Jesus is my Best Friend in the whole world and I've never been happier, ever...

What special way does God speak to you?

The King Of Glory

The precious blood of Jesus washes away all
our sin and makes us white as snow!

He had it all;  power, wealth, a kingdom, angels to worship Him, and the love of all He created in Heaven. He was Royalty of royalty, the King of Glory! But He gave it all up for you and for me. Our creator became His creation so He could save us from ourselves and the devil. He was the richest of all and became the poorest so He could relate to us in our poverty. He willingly came to earth and suffered persecution and rejection like no other. His creation spit in His face and called Him a liar, a blasphemer! Even His own brothers didn't believe He was who He said He was. Can you imagine God in all that He is being denied the glory that belonged to Him?  He knew how He would be treated when He got here but He came anyway. Why would He do that? Because of Love. God is Love and Love is stronger than pain, fear, rejection, and death. His Love for you is so much greater than you can even imagine!

"Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all and kings will surrender their crowns to Him!"

"The whole earth is full of His glory!"

To say "Thank You dear Jesus for all that you suffered for my sake" seems so inadequate! You have made my life truly beautiful with Your perfect Love! I will praise You forever my King!

Hidden Treasure

I was reading a weekend post by Ann Voskamp, author of "One Thousand Gifts", and  blogger of  "A Holy Experience," when I noticed at the bottom of the page there was a link to a tutorial on how to draw the human eye in pencil only. I thought, that sounds like fun, I've always wanted to take art classes, only this is even better because it's free!

I remember hearing the Lord tell me some time ago, "Lori, you have gifts and talents that you don't even know about yet. That was exciting news because I've never really been good at anything that I can think of, but I always wanted to be.  I don't have a degree. I'm terrible at math beyond the basics and quite often I have to ask my husband, "how do you spell....?" Fortunately for me, my husband is very smart! I've never been good at sports, they require coordination and self confidence which I never had growing up.  I'm vocally challenged and can't carry half a tune half the time, and I have no rhythm in the dance department. I'm the one who claps totally out of sync during worship time at church on Sunday mornings.

My Grandma is an artist as is my great grandpa whom I never got to meet.  However, I do have a large beautiful picture of a light pink dahlia he drew in pastels that was handed down to me by my father. And my grandma has painted many beautiful pictures over the years. I've always hoped that I might have some of that talent to draw and paint like my grandma and great grandpa.

 We will never know if we can do something if we don't try so I did. The instructions for that human eye was very good and I was pleased that my drawing came out pretty good. Looked real to me and my husband agreed, at least that's what he said. :)

Shortly after I drew that eye, I got the urge to try and draw the object of my passion, the One who has stolen my heart, my magnificent obsession, my reason for being, Jesus. So I found a picture on Facebook from Jesus Daily's Page and began to draw what I saw.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! I had no idea I had this in me! Praise the Lord, I have a gift  after all just like the Lord told me I did. It was there all along, hiding, just waiting to be discovered, like hidden treasure!

Thank You Lord for giving me this wonderful gift! I'm so grateful for it and I will cherish it as the precious gift from You that it is! I give You all the glory for it Lord, I couldn't have done this without You!

What gift and talent has the Lord given to you? Please do share! :)