Why My Backyard Fence?

When I was a child, neighbors would visit with one another over their backyard fences. There would be a fence on either side and one in the back. These fences were not barriers to keep others out, but rather a means to define one's property. Sharing with a neighbor a smile or perhaps a story, or even a piece of pie was not uncommon. I love people and hope to bring joy and encouragement to my Friends and Neighbors over "MyBackyardFence." And, yes, I now live in the Oregon Outback. Beautiful place.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Through our God...

This entry is a copy of a recent "Backyard Fence" I sent via email to my "list". Now that I have a new blog, I felt it warranted being posted for hopefully a wider audience. Spreading my "Passion"...

What a great promise for us in this day of turmoil and uncertainty for the entire world!!! "Through our God we shall do valiantly; it is he who shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 60:12. So many are fearful of the future. We are hearing this from all quarters. But, we as God's people need not fear! We are hearing that also from all quarters. We can make those Words real or just allow them to be lip service. WE NEED NOT FEAR!

I am not extremely educated regarding our armed forces. However, I know there are divisions involved. The words come to me of units, platoons, ranks, etc. I am sure a lot of you can define them better. As I was sharing thoughts with the Lord the other day, these are what came to mind. We are all, as God's people, part of an army. There are many, many scriptures relating to fighting; battling. 2 Timothy 2:4 is one of them, "No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier". As soldiers for the Lord we need to fight first to not allow ourselves to be distracted from the battle. Of course, our battle is so different than that of the world. We have the most powerful Commander in Chief, the Alpha and Omega! Our weapons are so different. Now, back to the divisions. We can look at people we see and hear about as being so influential for Jesus and think, "I want to do more for the Lord and the Gospel and people." God has placed us all in divisions. Some divisions seem to cover the whole world, some whole nations, some cities, some small rural communities, some, families and yes, some simply a spouse or family member as a caregiver. God is God and he has placed each one of us exactly where he wants us, to influence our "division". The size of our individual unit may change from time to time depending on the season of our lives. Hearing from our Commander and obeying His instructions is what is crucial no matter what the sphere of our influence. No one division is more important than the other. The important thing is the unity in purpose.

The Lord is reminding us daily to keep our eyes "...fixed on Jesus...". No matter how long we have been in the army, the commands change daily to fit the strategies for that day. "Present interpretation and fresh revelation are always needed for life with a living God." Paul Billheimer.

Watching & Listening for orders for this day... Christ's love compels me.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

"I'm Sorry"

Have you ever thought about how many times you hear or say, "I'm sorry"? I work retail and every day I hear people, mostly women, say "I'm sorry". They may be removing their items from their cart or writing a check and in their opinion, not moving fast enough or whatever. Men apologize for not taking their wallet out of their pocket fast enough. They may not use the exact words "I'm sorry", however, you can tell by their body language that they are feeling pressured to move faster. People apologize for coughing, sneezing, handing something to someone "the wrong way", using a cane... You can add your own here. It all boils down to the fact that we seem to be forced to feel like we are inconveniencing those around us. If you look up the word "sorry" it really doesn't fit in those situations. I spend a lot of time telling my customers they don't need to be sorry. Are we actually apologizing for being part of the human race? Are we apologizing for living? Where does the need to say "I'm sorry" or have an apologetic attitude all the time come from? Psalm 103:14 says that the Lord remembers we are "dust". We are ALL dust... from the least to the greatest. From the poorest to the richest among us. No one is better than the other and we all "...have been given the right to become sons of God, to those who believe on His name." John 1:12. So, I think we should stop "apologizing for living" and just "live".