lemon AID

“If life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” I know, it sounds like an “old school phrase”. It is and yet, it’s still relevant. Sound dumb? Not realistic? Maybe. There will be sour trials that seem to squeeze the juice out of us. Fighting a health issue?  The sharp zing of a breakup? In the middle of a bitter job situation? What do we do about this stuff? My husband, Brian, has observed, “Almost every older person we know is one of two things-bitter or joyful.” How can we sweeten up?

  1. Take Responsibility – We like to blame others for things that happen-we even blame God. The fact is, we are following Jesus. He chose to give up His rights. We are responsible for our thoughts & our responses.
  2. Choose to Trust God What would happen if we chose to believe that God has allowed circumstances in our lives to HELP us? We must keep the goodness of God at the forefront of our minds.
  3. Realize Every Choice Matters Extreme, but true. We are building our lives right now & every single discipline we implement takes us toward God or away from Him.  True gratitude is never accidental. It will not just happen. Want to be joyful at 50? Want to be thankful at 70? We need to have disciplined responses of gratitude NOW.
  4. KNOW that Jesus Gives us Strength – He’s given you the power to choose and the strength to ask Him for help! Have you invited Christ into your life? He lives in you! He is giving you the ability to respond joyfully in difficult and frustrating circumstances. Experience His strength by asking Him to fill you.
  • In the midst of a cynical world, our most penetrating witness can be our JOY. Lemons are sour without sugar. With sugar? Delightful! Ask God today to help you counter the world’s bitterness with the sweetness of Christ!

Thankful Tension

     \  Many of us, through prayer groups or messaging each other, have discussed the challenges of PAIN AND SUFFERING in life. Whether  emotional or physical, the issue is not whether or not we will experience pain, but the ACUTENESS of it. Pain is a strange surprise to us….we readily receive the power of God to worship and witness but do not know how to depend upon Him in private trial.

How do you trust God when you cannot see Him? How do you cry out for His help when your heart is in anguish?

How do you lean upon Him as YOUR  intercessor? In His goodness, He gives His Word, His church and  the lives of those who have gone on before us.    

 Personally, it is the lives of those who have ENDURED, not ENTERTAINED who draw me the most. Those who have         been through the jungle of physical trial (and therefore emotional) trial with a soft-hearted determination to grow in Him. They have struggles (in the flesh) with self-pity, anger and pride yet, gained VICTORY (in the Spirit) through humility, brokenness and deep private worship of God.

The lives of Adonirum and Ann Judson of Burma and Robert and Mary Moffit of Africa give me encouragement in their constant commitment to “usefulness”, not necessarily personal fulfillment. How glorious to have our mind expanded to worship God not just for what I ask Him for but because HE is! Can He move? Yes. Can He heal? Yes. Can He change us? Most definitely. May we live in lives of “THANKFUL TENSION” . Tension because we want freedom from pain but thankful because He is and we are allowed to see.

Perhaps this will be the week He will cultivate in us a mind of thankfulness and a yielded heart of patience.

Our worship will be a fragrance to the Creator God who grandly hung the stars in the sky and STILL bends His ear to hear my eager, yet smaller, requests.

Love to you in the One who knows you best,

Tristie