GCR Women

Thursday, we spent an hour or so on our back porch enjoying a soft cool breeze as we watered the backyard. Just taking it easy. Next week, John is scheduled to have back surgery and I’m pretty sure that’s going to keep us busy for several weeks to come.  So for now, we sit and enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon and each other’s company. God has woven our lives together over the years till we can hardly remember a time when we didn’t know each other. Our thoughts, our preferences - they’ve blended together to make one new person. Now the desires and needs of the one can be anticipated nearly perfectly by the other. A look, a comment and we know what each other is thinking and likely to say. We’ve shared so many adventures together, too, that have created beautiful common memories. These pass between us often without a word. We tell each other the same old stories over and over to the point that we can add missed details or just tell the whole story as if it were our own. ...

Our daily life has changed into a surreal existence of waiting. In the waiting, we have a choice. Where do we stand? It’s hard to know where to stand when we don’t know who the enemy is. Are we fighting a virus? Uncertain financial times?  Fear?  Isolation?  Who is our enemy? The battle lines are drawn on many fronts but it’s clear to me who the real enemy is. Ephesians 6 reveals their true identity: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ These are not enemies we can fight on our own. But we know the One who can fight them and be victorious:  God!  So if we can’t fight, what should we do? “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:13‬ ‭NKJV So here are your order...

What do we do when the world is swirling around us?  Right now, many things are in upheaval and little seems normal.  It’s times like these that reveal who we really are and what foundation we stand on. Jesus told us to build our lives on Him and how to build our lives on Him. When we hear His words and put them into practice, we are building our lives on the Rock. When we build on the Rock, we will not be shaken. He also said in the storm, we should keep our eyes on Him. He centers us. He is the calm in the midst of the storm. There you are. Nothing can shake the Rock, our foundation. When we’re standing on Him, nothing can shake us either. No fear. Patrice ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:1 NIV God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Once, when my boys were little, we went to the Abilene zoo.  We saw flamingo, polar bear, giraffes, turtles – all the typical zoo animals.  As we were walking from exhibit to exhibit, seemingly out of nowhere came one of the zookeepers followed by four young elephants trotting down the walkway, one behind the other without any rope or chains.  Thru training, discipline and trust, the elephants had learned to follow their leader. Years later, on another vacation, this time across the country in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, we saw a re-enactor portraying a farmer.  His companion was a large ox.  The ox wasn’t tethered or tied to anything.  He walked the crowded streets of Colonial Williamsburg controlled by voice commands & a tiny whip.  A word from the farmer, a slight flick of the whip and the ox responded by calmly moving in the desired direction. All our lives, we follow someone.  As children, we play “Follow the Leader”, mimic older...

I want it and I want it now! That’s how I feel lots of times about lots of things. I want to lose weight, all of it - overnight. I want to lower my cholesterol so my doctor will be happy with me at my appointment - tomorrow. I want to get in shape by tomorrow. I want to stop my bad habit by tomorrow. I want my situation to improve right now. There’s nothing wrong with wanting things to get better. That’s where change begins. But most things that last don’t change overnight with little or no effort on my part. I want to loose weight, reduce my cholesterol, get in shape?  I need to eat wisely, exercise consistently for the rest of my life and not quit after a few days. I want to change my bad habits?  I need to replace them with positive behavior and not rationalize or excuse giving into temptation to go back to the same old bad habit at the first turn. I want to improve my situation? I need to take steps to move in a better direction and not give up at the f...

Yesterday one of our granddaughters turned 8.  Tomorrow another turns 6. What blessings they are along with our other granddaughter who’s 11 and our grandson who’s also 11. One of Maddie’s birthday gifts is a journal with a scripture on the cover and on each page. “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”  Psalms‬ ‭25:5‬ ‭NIV‬ And that is my prayer for all of those I love. Too many times, I decide which way to go on my own. Sometimes that works and sometimes... If we let God guide and teach, we won’t get lost. We won’t take a wrong turn. And best of all, we’ll make it home. Learning to follow, Patrice Psalms‬ ‭25:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. ‭‭

It occurs to me that I keep repeating the same patterns of behavior over and over.   I heard it said that if we keep doing things the way we’ve always done them, we’ll always get what we always got. So what makes me think that I can achieve the results I want without changing the way I behave? In my plans, in my mind, in my dreams, it all seems so simple. But when it’s real, when it’s time to act, I can come up with excuse after excuse, one rationalization after another about why the time’s not right, I need to wait to begin, it’s not my fault, I’m not ready, the change isn’t worth it, what’s one more day and on and on. What am I waiting on?  Who’s going to “fix” me if I don’t?  Certainly, God is the source of my strength and He will help me. But He won’t do it for me. He won’t give it to me. He expects me to do my part. So, as I said it, occurs to me I need to change my way of thinking and doing to change my outcome. Then, God’s transforming power will renew my min...