Lessons Learned

God Is Love

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There is pain…we will have trouble…things will not go as we plan…what are we to do?  Everyone is facing something, something big or difficult.  Trying to overcome obstacles and find their way.  Some will fail and some will succeed…any failure and any success is better because of love.  Love powerful it is not weak, it can overcome pain, suffering and the troubles we face in life.  Love begins and ends with God.  We are created out of love, we are intended to live in God’s love while we are here and when we die Jesus Christ gave up His life to save us because He loves us.  I am convinced that love conquers all and if you need something, turn towards God and speak with Him, because He loves you and He is waiting to hear from you.  May the Lord bless you and keep you safe with love.

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“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

1 John 4:15-16

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Family

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We don’t choose them, we are born into them.  It is meant to be a place where we find unconditional love.  Like many aspects of life there will be pain, frustration, embarrassment and we will fail each other…over all of that there is love.  No matter what we must go through we need to remember love.  It won’t be easy and we all need to turn to Jesus through the most difficult of times for peace, for wisdom.  My own family is facing an unexpected death as of yesterday afternoon and all I can do is seek peace from the Lord.  Please pray for us as we work our way through the coming days, and tell the members of your family how much you love them.  May we all find comfort in Jesus Christ.

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“Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Exodus 20:12

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 by a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

God’s Workmanship

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We are His creation…we are created out of love…we are created to do good things.  When we are willing to come to The Cross and surrender, our plans, our ways, our timing for events in life and trust in Him to provide all we need, when we need it, then we will experience true joy.  It sounds so simple and yet it is extremely difficult to execute in everyday life.  We are made with free will, meaning we have a choice to pursue the sinful nature or to pursue a life following Jesus Christ.  God’s plan is so much greater than our own because He is the original Creator of all things.  Turn towards God and ask Him for wisdom about how He wants you to follow His plan for your life.  May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you.

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“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 by a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Joyful, Patient, Faithful

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Happy Friday…you know when you are having one of those times when it feels like something is going wrong with everything?  When you are able to take a step back and review you often find the one common thing is your perspective…I know, I know not what you wanted to read.  When things seem to pile up like this I have learned to immediately turn to prayer…stop what ever you are doing and ask God to intervene, to guide you and to cleanse your perspective.  Maybe it’s time for a new approach to something, to look at it differently or just to open your mind to new possibilities to old issues.  Whatever it is we don’t have to do it alone.  May God be with you and provide you comfort.

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“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:12

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 on a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

Give Thanks

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Grateful…to show appreciation…gratitude…content with what you have…to recognize others.  It is important to pause and to give thanks for what is good, for what we have been given or for what someone else has done for our benefit.  It is a choice of attitude to be thankful instead of feeling you deserve somethings or demand and expect things.  Choosing an attitude of gratitude focuses our thoughts the positive, the good and helps to drive a feeling of greater appreciation for something or someone.  Take a moment to look around you and around your life…who needs to know you appreciate them, who are you thankful for in your life.  Tell them, and remember Jesus Christ and what He did for you so that you could be reconciled with God…and tell Him how thankful you are for what He did and is doing.  May the Word of the Lord be planted in you.

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 in southern New Mexico)

Cast All Your Cares On Him

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We are all searching for something or someone in life.  A way to know the answers to some of the most difficult questions.  We look to archaeologists and historians to tell us about the past, we look to leaders in business, technology and politics to inform us about the present and we look to scientists and other predictors to provide information about the possibilities in the future.  Through it all we take on worries, anxiety and frustration about all of these things…the past, the present and the future.  Yet here sits God the Father, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord with the Holy Spirit and they have a handle on all of it.  God has forgiven us our sins of the past, Jesus Christ has reconciled us with God for our present day and the Holy Spirit will guide us to live with eternal values for life in the future.  Take your worries, your fears, your burdens and all your frustrations to Christ, He will gladly carry the load if you are willing to trust in Him.  May you sense comfort and peace trusting in our Lord.

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“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:7

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Take Some Rest

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We can’t keep running at top speed in our minds or in our daily lives.  We must plan down time.  To fill every moment with activity and planning and scheduling will lead to exhaustion.  Mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion and spiritual exhaustion.  We all need time to recharge, to be restored and renewed.  When Jesus was here on earth He often would go off alone to pray.  Before feeding the five thousand He told the disciples…“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  (Mark 6:31)  In order to be at our best we need to plan time to rest and that means resting our minds as well as our bodies.  If you are someone who always has to be busy, plan some quiet time in small increments to get started.  We all should pray about it as that time in prayer can be restful too.  May the love, joy and peace of the Lord be with you.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

Stewardship

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Guardianship…upkeep…safekeeping…managing…cherishing…protecting…preserving.  We are asked to be good stewards in our lives.  We come into the world with nothing and when we leave we can take nothing with us.  All that we receive is from God.  God owns everything and we receive so that we can be cared for and share with others.  The sinful nature would have us go after gaining more to keep and store up this turns us away from faith.  The world has been filled with more than enough resources to feed and clothe everyone, yet the human race has not distributed things properly so there is poverty everywhere.  Do what you can wherever you are to help those who need it most.  May God’s joy and peace be with you.

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“Remember this:  Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each one should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands)

With All Your…

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Distractions are everywhere.  Our focus shifts from one thing to the next so quickly, especially in the age of social media.  When I was young I remember people using a phrase attributed to Mark Twain, ‘If you don’t like the weather; wait five minutes!’  Well in today’s society it could be ‘if you don’t like the top story of the day; wait a few minutes!’  With schedules and activities; things to do; places to go and see and access to so much information, it is no wonder people are filled with worry, anxiety and feeling exhausted.  We end up putting any time with God and prayer as a line item in our never ending busy lives.   God is not looking for you to be a social media friend or follower, who checks in on your feed to see what’s what…rather He is asking for your full attention, daily.  Your all…your everything…everyday.  May God bless you with wisdom and courage.

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“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.”

Deuteronomy 6:5-6

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin)

Humility

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To say there seems to be less and less of this in the world is an understatement…more then ever we are hearing about people shouting about their individual rights or their me and my group first mentality, which just drives the motivation of others to put themselves first, which does nothing more that create division and violence.  Imagine if more people were working for fairness for all people…instead trying to push and pull others down to get a step up.  My guess is that this is because of a lack of trust in society.  People can’t trust that other people will be honest and work for the best intentions of all.  Selfishness.  Think about what it felt like when someone did something kind and generous for you that had no benefit for them.  That is where God is.  The only one who can overcome the rule of self in the human race is God.  He can be trusted, He has kept every promise He has ever made and He has one promise left.  Turn to God and pray, trust in Him and He will bring you peace.

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“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:3-4

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin)