Reflections of the Heart

While trying to get my five year old to express how she was feeling about a separation in her life, she proceeded to cover her ears while saying "Bla, bla, bla, bla."  I lost all eye contact with her and thought "Where did this come from?" "When did she learn to block out what she was not comfortable thinking and talking about?"  Really, she is five - not fifteen! The Lord has created mankind with all types of emotions both positive and negative.  Our emotions alert us that something uncomfortable is about to happen.  Anxiety!  Although we all experience the feeling of anxiety to some degree, we do not all manage it the same way.  Many times children's anxiety will be expressed in inappropriate behavior.  Yelling, stomping feet, throwing tantrums, hitting, hair pulling, etc. are all signs of anxiety in children because they do not know how to deal with their overwhelming feelings of frustration. Adults must learn to manage their anxiety i...

Self-respect lets you own up to your mistakes without feeling shattered by them. Self-respect lets you notice the harm of the hurt you have caused so you can do something about it. ~ Stephanie Dowrick Making amends is about trying to repair or compensate for something you did wrong that harmed another person in some way, causing them to feel insulted, or to suffer a loss, injury, or some sort of damage. When you are in the wrong, clinging to misguided notions of a need to "preserve your reputation" at all costs, or simply being stubborn, are poor options when a relationship is at stake and the ball rests in your court to do something about it. While it is never pleasant to feel ashamed about your own poor behavior, shame does have a place in life if it makes you acknowledge your wrongdoing and seek to make amends for it. And if you're in the situation of needing to make amends, there's no place like getting started.

Isaiah 55:8 (NIV) declares: " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD".  Have you ever sat and wondered about your life?  What if I had finished college?  What if I had waited and had my children later in life?  Where would I be if I had accepted that other job offer?  On and on we go.  At some point, we must stop wondering about the what if's of our past and begin trusting Jesus to shape our future. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).  The Word is full of promises from our Lord.  Proverbs 3:4-6 (KJV)  "So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." So, the next time you find yourself cryi...

Healthy hearts require a daily regimen of diet and exercise.  Likewise to keep your spiritual heart healthy you must have a daily portion of the Bread of Life, God's Word.  Exercising spiritually is the fulfillment of the Word that you ingest daily.  Daily consumption of junk food will lessen the effects of the healthy food you consume.  Likewise, a diet of unhealthy living will decrease the effect that the daily reading of the Word brings to your life. Chapter 6 of the book of John declares that Jesus is the bread of life.  Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:36.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51.  Unfortunately, we live in a fast paced world and rely heavily on foods that can be prepared in a ...

"Beauty is in the eyes of the Lord, the Beholder of all." Joanne Almsteadt

Early one morning while driving to work I stopped at a traffic light and was immediately drawn to a young boy who was on the sidewalk walking and crying. Approximately one half block in front of him on the incline of the sidewalk was this boy's dad, slowly but steadily walking. My first inclination was to criticise this young man for not paying attention to his crying toddler who certainly had no means to catch up with Dad. I was appalled, and my thoughts were "How could this dad be so mean and inconsiderate of his son's crying? Didn't he realize that the boy would never catch up to him?" Tears welled up in my eyes as I wore my grandmother hat that morning. The nerve of that young man to make his son fear that his daddy was leaving him behind! "How could he be so insensitive?" "What's wrong with society today? " On and on my thoughts raced until in one split second the dad finally stopped and turned around to wait for his son. Oh what a mom...

Beauty is the early sunrise as the Lord paints the sky with colors that He creates each and every morning. Perfect are the primary colors in the evident rainbow that reminds us of His promise. Oh how awesome is the setting of the sun and the pastel skies that bring peace and relaxation to a long, stressful day. Constant is His love for us. Constant is His Word. Constant is His law. It is good to know that there are constant, unchanging promises that we can rely on. Life has no constant's except those the Lord has given us. "Seek the Lord while He may be found!" Live consistantly within the precepts of God's Holy Word and peace and salvation will be your reward.