tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370384906688084892024-03-12T20:26:01.264-07:00God TreasureThe world has its trinkets, and then there are the treasures of God.Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-34006676832196379422012-11-01T13:09:00.000-07:002012-11-02T01:12:37.291-07:00We've Moved!Hello Friends! <br />
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God Treasure has a new home at <a href="http://godtreasure.net/">godtreasure.net</a>. Please come join us there and sign up to continue receiving God Treasure by email or your favorite feed.<br />
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God bless you on your journey with Him,<br />
Dorci Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-83837918269043645312012-08-06T23:25:00.001-07:002012-08-07T07:35:49.337-07:00On Hiatus<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Beginning immediately I'll be on hiatus. God willing (and the creek don't rise), I'll be back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">May God bless you abundantly,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Dorci</span>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-15485638166488058222012-08-05T19:40:00.001-07:002012-08-05T19:44:28.205-07:00I'd Love to Pray for You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">As we give our needs (known and unknown) to Him, we give Him permission to enter the circumstances of our lives and allow His wisdom and power to prevail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">As we do, we are filled with His peace, knowing that our God loves us and desires all blessing to abound in our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 19px;">If you have any prayer requests, I'd love to pray for you!</span><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">God bless you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 14pt;"> Pray without ceasing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-70996841791151359392012-07-25T18:47:00.000-07:002012-07-26T17:15:31.746-07:00Serenity Now!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sDQei8AiIlE/UBCb5Jom2_I/AAAAAAAABRk/yZjEGEWUWns/s1600/surfer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sDQei8AiIlE/UBCb5Jom2_I/AAAAAAAABRk/yZjEGEWUWns/s320/surfer.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 24pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">he sound of waves gently breaking on the shore. Seagulls and pelicans flying peacefully overhead. Iridescent shells lying in wait in the sand. A thrilling book and surfers as entertainment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">These are the things I’d been looking forward to for years. A chance to get away to my favorite place in the world and de-stress, unwind, unravel. Be still. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">It started the week we were supposed to leave. My son’s car needed a repair. And before his was back from the shop, our car decided to join it. For three or four days, four of us juggled one car for rides to work and back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">The day before we were to leave on my long-awaited, much-needed dream vacation, my husband’s foot seemed to reinjure (how he didn’t know) and at 2:30 am, T minus 6 hours, he was in the emergency room with an extremely painful, right foot. It was broken. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Somewhere around 9:00 am we managed to load up our rented vehicle and hop on the freeway. Finally, we were on our way. Here I come, peace and quiet! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">We were out of the city, well on our way. Traffic wasn’t bad. A pick-up truck pulling a trailer and boat passed us. I was talking to my husband who was doing his best to drive on his gimpy foot, when I saw his eyes suddenly grow wide. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">I turned to the road to see a tire roll off the trailer and fly up in the air fifty or sixty feet. My husband swerved to avoid it when we heard something come down hard on the roof of the rental car. We pulled over and looked. Something—a nut, a hubcap, something had dented the roof about a foot back from the windshield. We still have no idea what it was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">We got back in the car and headed on our way. At long last, we were headed toward rest and relaxation. My mind could let go of the world and all the problems that come with it for a little while. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">We finally arrived at our heavenly retreat. The moment I’d waited for. Nothing but time spent in the tranquility of the sand and sea. Nirvana. Xanadu. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Serenity now!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">During our week at our refuge from the world, the garbage disposal broke, a toilet broke, the rental car was dented twice by a huge, square pole sitting in our parking space and while our sons were out on a solo trip to a comic book store, a ladder fell out the back of a truck on the highway and my son was forced to run over it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">I wanted so much to run away from the world, even if only for a week. Seven days of peace from bills, pain, work, t.v., the horrid news. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Seven days with my family. Seven days to exhale. Seven days to rest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">And there were some definite times of rest and relaxation. But I found I couldn’t leave all my troubles behind. Going away was no magic cure-all. It wasn’t the answer to my weary soul. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Jesus is.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30</span><br />
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jesus invites us to come to Him to find rest for our souls. And He is wherever we are. </span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">It’s not the sand and the waves, or the mountains and stars, or an exotic city where we’ll find true rest.</span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">It’s in the person of Jesus Christ. </span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">We can lay our burdens down at His feet and know He’ll give us rest, peace, joy and a way through our troubles. He is the rest our souls are longing for. </span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">So if you dream of going away on a fancy vacation to get some rest, remember vacations aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. And even if it goes off without a hitch, it's only a temporary solution to our permanent need for Jesus. </span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">He loves you and He's waiting.</span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">God bless!</span></span></div>
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<span class="woj"><span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 18pt;">The Treasure:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;">What's your favorite place to get away with Jesus?</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-7444639827360560932012-07-04T08:44:00.001-07:002012-07-04T08:44:26.115-07:00The Freedom We Will Never Lose<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RounGlcA9jQ/T_OatddqitI/AAAAAAAABRQ/mXznUyO-C4A/s1600/American+Flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RounGlcA9jQ/T_OatddqitI/AAAAAAAABRQ/mXznUyO-C4A/s320/American+Flag.jpg" width="320" /></a>Today is July 4<sup>th</sup>, a day when we in America celebrate our hard-fought independence, giving us freedoms we otherwise would not have known. </div>
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Our country was founded on great and godly principals by men who dared to fight for them. Over two hundred years later, we still have a lot to celebrate. We have (and sometimes take for granted) freedoms that other countries can only dream about. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I still look on our soldiers and all they've accomplished with deep gratitude. </span>I am still filled with pride when I stand and listen to the inspired lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner. I am proud that we are a people still free to use our voices to speak out against injustice.<br />
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And I am still proud and overjoyed when I see immigrants who've worked hard to have the privilege to stand in ceremony and receive their citizenship.</div>
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I am still blessed beyond words to live in a country where I have the freedom to speak, walk, build, grow, do and be just about whatever I wish. It’s not a perfect country, but the land we walk on is unique in its vision, birth and development. And I believe it’s been blessed by God. </div>
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But the full scope of our Founding Fathers’ vision is eroding. As the government seeks to rule over our country more and more, facing the loss of certain freedoms can get downright depressing. </div>
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The first amendment to the Constitution guarantees us, among other freedoms, the free exercise of religion. And yet people are spending time in jail for hosting Bible studies in their home. Kids are told they aren’t allowed to wear “religious” t-shirts or pray within the walls of schools.</div>
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And that’s just the beginning. </div>
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That’s minor compared to the persecution Christians face in other countries. But the reality is we don’t know to what extent we will yet see persecution in this country. We’ve strayed a long way since The Bill of Rights gave us those freedoms. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18pt;">But there is one joy we can be sure of.</span><br />
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No one can ever take the freedom we have in Jesus. We may someday go to jail for speaking about it. For carrying a Bible. For gathering in His Name. But our freedom will forever be imprinted on our hearts.</div>
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<span class="text"><span style="color: #783f04;">Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="color: #783f04;">2 Corinthians 3:17</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r_ZbTH_pnVE/T_OcQo_LahI/AAAAAAAABRY/tVC98w6TLt8/s1600/Cross-FS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r_ZbTH_pnVE/T_OcQo_LahI/AAAAAAAABRY/tVC98w6TLt8/s320/Cross-FS.jpg" width="320" /></a>Those freedoms were hard-fought for, too. They cost us nothing, but Jesus paid with His life in pain and suffering. </div>
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No matter what happens to our Constitutional rights, in Christ we will forever be free. </div>
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Free from sin. Free from spiritual poverty. Free from condemnation. Free from eternal judgment. </div>
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Free to know God. Free to be loved and to love. Free to walk in the Spirit. Free to serve the Lord.</div>
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Free to live with Him forever. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Faith in Action:</span></b><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></div>
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While you're out there celebrating at the grill with steaks and burgers and cake decorated to look like the American flag, let's celebrate by using our freedom and tell somebody about Jesus! Let's do it for believers in China and Laos and Iran and other countries where people are not free to openly talk about God. Where men and women are imprisoned right now simply for speaking the gospel. (You can read more about the persecuted church at <a href="http://www.persecution.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #660000;">Voice of the Martyrs</span></a>.) </div>
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And then tell me how it went!</div>
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And let’s pray for our country. It is up to us, the Church, the body of Christ, to lift up our nation before the Lord. We need His grace and His wisdom. We need Him to open the spiritual eyes of every leader in this country. </div>
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We need a revival. </div>
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We need to seek our first love—Jesus Christ—in our own hearts first. Then we need to take the joy of our salvation and fill our nation, one heart at a time, with the love of Christ. </div>
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God bless and Happy 4th of July!</div>
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Dorci</div>
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<br /></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-51831104769987394122012-06-27T18:14:00.000-07:002012-06-27T19:01:55.111-07:00What To Do If You Suspect Your Child Has Been Abused<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my last blog, <a href="http://godtreasure.blogspot.com/2012/06/truth-about-parenting-and-what-kids.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #660000;">The Truth About Parenting (and What Kids Want More Than Their MTV)</span></a>, I talked about the need for discipline from a very young age. I talked about how kids who are without discipline and training will begin acting out as a way to find the attention and love they crave so much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I also touched on the fact that sometimes, despite our very best efforts, our children can begin acting out as a result of getting in with the wrong crowd, or if there's been some type of abuse. <span style="background-color: white;">Sometimes parents will chalk up the changes in attitude and behavior to adolescence. But if those changes are sudden, there may be something else going on. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I wanted to share with you <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?MediaId=%7BB2A73E79-803F-4CDA-B9A4-E42BB86D9B4B%7D&FAMILYTYPE=null&Tab=Shows&subcategory=FocusontheFamilyDailyExtras" target="_blank"><span style="color: #660000;">this excellent discussion </span></a>with </span><span style="background-color: white;">Psychologist Dr. Dan Allender on Focus On The Family's website that speaks to this very thing. Dr. Allender discusses what to do if you notice a sudden and negative change in your child and you suspect he or she may have been abused. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The only thing worse than having to go through a situation like that as a child is having to go through it alone. But there is help and there is hope. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Psalm 147:3 </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">God bless, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dorci</span></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-18773518693822686602012-06-26T18:54:00.000-07:002012-06-27T17:34:09.259-07:00The Truth About Parenting (and What Kids Want More Than Their MTV)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TyvnEf2aJQY/T-tZBu8ozYI/AAAAAAAABQc/-HpKP0qNgZU/s1600/MTV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TyvnEf2aJQY/T-tZBu8ozYI/AAAAAAAABQc/-HpKP0qNgZU/s320/MTV.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was 19 and had already lived on my own for two years. I had worked as a cocktail waitress the year before. My routine was set: come home late (or early as the case may be), and wind down on the couch watching a brand new cable channel: MTV. In those days MTV was all about the music and the videos were just plain fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Circumstances forced me to move back home temporarily. Yet my routine stayed the same. Late at night I’d curl up on the couch with my onscreen friends, VJs (video jockeys) Nina Blackwood and Martha Quinn. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They’d tell me about the music and the four-minute movies took me away from my problems for a little while. I’d listen to The Pretenders lament about being back on the chain gang. Rod Stewart inspired young hearts to be free. I’d have taken Rod Stewart’s version of life over Chrissie Hynde’s if I could. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shortly after moving back, my mother came and sat next to me on the couch for a chat. And then she just came out with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What she said was, “I don’t care what you watch, but I don’t want your younger sister watching MTV.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What I heard was…<i>she didn’t love me.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What I heard was…<i>my worthless ways were a threat to my sister.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What I heard was…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she loved my sister enough to believe she was still worth saving.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On the outside I was 19 and a legal adult. But on the inside I was still a child waiting for her mother to give her the discipline she never had…the love she never had. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I moved out shortly after. And for the next six years I behaved as someone who believed she was hopeless. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">The truth is kids want to be disciplined. </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">God created us in His image with an inward need for order, for discipline. We desire structure and boundaries. A well-lived life depends on it. Our flesh may rail against it, but our soul feeds on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No matter how much our kids complain about it, they want boundaries. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They crave boundaries. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With them they find security and peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When we discipline our kids, we send the message that they are loved, cared for and nurtured. That they are worthy of our time and attention. Without discipline, they are left feeling unloved, inadequate, unprotected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Without those boundaries they can begin to act out with erratic or violent behaviors, drugs or alcohol and/or sex. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Acting out is a flashing neon sign saying:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“PLEASE, SOMEONE LOVE ME ENOUGH TO SPEND TIME WITH ME</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">AND TEACH ME HOW TO GROW UP!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I see a lot of kids who are craving boundaries making headlines. Children are brazenly and brutally bullying other children and even adults. Victims, some as young as 6, are taking their own lives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cyberbaiting is the coined term for a new and brazen spin on old-school type of bullying. It’s become a form of entertainment for bullies equipped with a smartphone. Students will continually harass and provoke a teacher until he or she breaks down. Students then easily and ruthlessly take pictures and videos of the teacher and post them online. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes even the justice system backs up the child who has bullied. That was the case in Florida when a student started a Facebook group for people who hated a particular teacher. She encouraged other students to post comments about how much they hated the teacher, too. The group was eventually deleted and the child was suspended. But the student sued, saying her right to free speech had been violated. She won $15,000. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These are students. Children. How do they go from being innocent babies to such ruthless and destructive young people in such a short amount of time? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As parents we think we have 18 years to shape them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But here’s the kicker: we don’t. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">The truth is we have a good 7 to 10 years to instill discipline.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Maybe less.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">God tells us we need to begin early. </span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Train up a child in the way he should go, </span></span><br />
<span class="text"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and when he is old he will not depart from it.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Proverbs 22:6</span></span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The word child in this verse refers to the time between infancy and adolescence. A child’s character is largely molded by the time they’re 7 or 8. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So what is discipline? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Loving…Exampling…Respecting…Guiding…Training</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Teaching…Communicating…Listening…Leading…Correcting</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">PRAYING!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jesus gave us the perfect example. He discipled twelve men for three years. Through eleven of them and Paul, God radically changed the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(Let me just say this as an aside, not because it's less important but because it's off the main topic: the fact that Jesus was the perfect mentor and still one of his disciples, Judas, went astray, is a perfect example that we can be the very best parent possible and yet one of our kids can choose the wrong path. Sometimes they get in with the wrong crowd. Sometimes there's been abuse from outside the family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you see a sudden behavioral change in your child, I urge you to not simply chalk it up to adolescence or a phase. Pray God will show you the truth. Then sit down with your child and and talk. They may be reluctant to talk at first, or even for a while. Keep trying. Hopefully you've had the lines of communication open all along and they'll come around, knowing how much you love them. Keep reminding them they can trust you with anything they have to say. If you need to, reach out for counseling.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Parents, Grandparents, Foster Parents, Aunts, Uncles, Guardians:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We need your children. A lost and dying world needs your children. We need them to grow up to be loving, responsible, respectful, hard-working men and women of integrity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We need children who will grow into adults who care more about contributing to the well-being of the world and those in it than their own comfort and entertainment. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">The truth is we have get back to parenting. </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Real parenting. The kind where we take a real interest in our kids and what they’re doing. Even if they’re watching MTV. Parents and kids have gone their separate ways in America for too long. We can’t be too busy, too lazy or too afraid to discipline our kids…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to disciple our kids.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They won’t tell you, but what kids really want, more than their MTV or anything else, is a parent who cares about them...who cares <em>for</em> them. A parent who loves them enough to be involved in their life. A parent they can look up to. A parent they can go to for advice when they don’t know what to do. A parent they know will have their back. A parent who’s on their side, for better or worse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So what if your child is older? Say, 19 and beginning a life of rebellion by watching MTV?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember: on the outside kids can appear hardened, but it's all a ruse, a protective mechanism. They don't want you to see they’re vulnerable...and hurt. And a lot of parents don't get that. They don't look past the anger and rebellion to the hurting child they are on the inside. But we have to. That's what love does.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So what can you do? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Read God’s Word. Daily. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pray. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pray some more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Keep praying. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Love through the attitude.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Don’t give up. Ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is hope. I am living proof of God’s grace and mercy and redemptive power. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can do it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let me know how it's going!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Blessings,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dorci </span></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-6165139496834730572012-06-17T11:36:00.000-07:002012-06-26T13:22:42.646-07:00Lessons Learned ~ An Open Letter to My Dad<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Dear Dad, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">W</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">hen I saw you last you laid in a comfortable room all of your own in a beautiful home. The first time I walked through it I knew Jesus had hand-picked that home and that room just for you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Dad, you would have loved it. Your room kept watch over a gorgeous collection of plants and flowers in the big backyard. Oh, how I wanted to be able to walk through the gardens with you, enjoying the sunshine and the beauty of every rose and daisy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">No doubt our conversation would have meandered with the gardens. We’d eventually ponder much weightier issues like the world’s problems and how to solve them. We always had the answers, didn’t we? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">And our conversation would have invariably settled on the mysteries of the universe, and of God. This conversation would have gone very differently than all the others, though.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">For thirteen years I prayed for you.</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">And when we were finally able to enjoy those weekly gabfests on the phone I did my best to steer as many conversations as possible toward the Lord. I tried to explain to you historically, intellectually, logically and emotionally why Jesus is the only way to salvation, the only way to heaven. And you’d always say you were trying. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The end of every conversation would come, and I’d let my words offering you Christ hang in the air as a gift, desperately hoping you’d take them, but you never did. I always hung up thinking if only I’d said it differently... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">If I could have I would have forced them on you as a parent forces a child to eat his broccoli and drink his milk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Soon after you had gone, I realized the mistake I’d made all those years. And all I wanted to do was grasp one day to do it over. If I could I would have done it all over. I’d trade in some of those conversations, some of those awkward attempts at apologetics, and take a meal to you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I’d take a jar full of jelly beans to your apartment and set it on the table next to your chair. While I was there I would have cleaned your apartment and done some laundry, if you’d let me. I’d frame some pictures of your grandsons and hang them on the wall. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I’d buy you a proper journal so you didn’t have to write your soulful words on the scraps of paper and backs of old envelopes we found scattered around your apartment. I’d have you over for dinner more often so Eric and Sean could get to know you better. We still grin and tell each other your favorite joke: So a horse walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Why the long face?” I can still hear that high-pitched almost giggle you reserved for jokes you thought were especially hilarious. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I would have shown you the love of Jesus I tried so desperately to tell you about. I thought I’d have enough time, but I didn’t. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Time is always short.</span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">You might not have let me do those things, but I wish I had tried. I wish I had used the short time we had together to show you how much I loved you and how much I appreciated you. I would have shown you that you were worth loving and you were worth dying for. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I loved our conversations, but I wish I had used the time putting feet to my words, enriching both our lives even more. And maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t have taken until just five days before you went to be with Jesus to give Him your heart. Maybe those acts of love would have opened your eyes to the truth sooner. But they were opened, and I am so grateful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">You taught me that lesson, Dad. I don’t always remember it, but you taught me that life is short, and sometimes it’s over much sooner than we ever thought it would be. And sometimes our words are just words until we bring them to life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I can picture you now, tending the garden of your dreams and having long conversations with everyone who stops by to smell the roses. I'll be there soon. And when I am, I’m coming to your house, Dad, the one prepared just for you. I’ll clean it, top to bottom. I'll set a crystal vase overflowing with fresh flowers on your table. I’ll bring you some jelly beans and we’ll talk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Your loving daughter, @</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Dorci ~\~</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span class="text"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span class="text"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">1 John 3:18</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bWMsoUy2z3k/T94hbjn2p0I/AAAAAAAABO0/EeX3sBOidi0/s1600/DorciandDaddy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" pca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bWMsoUy2z3k/T94hbjn2p0I/AAAAAAAABO0/EeX3sBOidi0/s320/DorciandDaddy1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-78878341164129231972012-06-07T16:00:00.000-07:002012-06-08T12:18:05.699-07:00Life's a Crazy, Peculiar, Beautiful PuzzleSome of us are straight-edged, some are curved on all sides. Some stick out more than others. Seems just about all of us have holes. Some see part of a clear picture, others' are a bit fuzzy-some glitzy and some not. Some are bright and cheery, others are muted and mysterious. <br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">But one thing's clear.</span></em></strong><br />
<br />
We are each an important piece of a grand puzzle, interlocked with countless other lives. None of knows quite how we fit in or exactly how we'll look when this is all over. As time goes on, we may catch a glimpse of the picture. Only God knows for sure. <br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7LCwRB6UvDo/T9EUEKKvT9I/AAAAAAAABOo/Ubc8TVQsJWI/s1600/puzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7LCwRB6UvDo/T9EUEKKvT9I/AAAAAAAABOo/Ubc8TVQsJWI/s200/puzzle.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<strong><em>We are His masterpiece...His magnum opus.</em></strong><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Sometimes we try pushing our way into someplace we're not meant to be. Sometimes we feel like we've been off to the sidelines for a very, very long time. But we're each an integral part of His grand plan. <br />
<br />
And if we'll trust Him, and go where He tells us...or trust Him, <i>and</i> <em>wait</em>...<br />
<br />
<strong><em>He'll make something beautiful.</em></strong><br />
<br />
Right now things may look like just a jumbled up mess of shapes and colors. Circumstances don't make sense; the people we have in our lives don't always make sense. But we fit into their picture, and they in ours.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And the final scene will be more beautiful than we can ever imagine. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><em><br /></em></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;">He has made everything beautiful in its time. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-17371C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup>He has also set eternity in the human heart; </span><span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;">yet</span><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;">no one can fathom</span><span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;"> </span><sup class="crossreference" style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-17371D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)"></sup><span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;">what God has done from beginning to end. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;">Ecclesiastes 3:11</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #783f04; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Lord, help us to go where You tell us and do what You've designed us to do. Help us to wait when You want us to wait. Help us to trust You through all our trials. Help us to love the people You've put in our lives. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Help us to put our faith in You more and more each day, knowing that You are not a God Who doesn't care. You love us and You're actively involved in our lives with good and godly purposes in mind. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">You are our Master. Do with us what You will. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">In Jesus' Name,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Amen </span></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-2572969080413862922012-06-01T08:57:00.000-07:002012-06-01T08:57:48.515-07:00Max Lucado on ForgivenessI found <a href="http://vimeo.com/38804276" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">this excellent teaching by Max Lucado</span></a> on forgiveness, focusing on the life of Joseph. In true Max Lucado fashion, he pulls together nuggets of truth from God's Word that help us see even more clearly Joseph's journey to forgiving his brothers, and how we can forgive, too. <br />
<br />
He expounds beautifully my last blog on forgiveness, so if you struggle in this area, and I think most of us do, I hope you'll be blessed by it.<br />
<br />Dorci<br />Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-79339199409322541002012-05-30T16:00:00.000-07:002012-05-30T16:00:04.272-07:00Forgiveness is the Key<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
The room is dark and every surface hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cold chill blows in from the tiny, barred
window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s dank, and there’s a
constant dripping from the ceiling that echoes through the room as it falls
against the unforgiving ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
relentlessly interrupts the peace of the one who shares the room. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<em>Drip…..drip…..drip.</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Someone’s in prison because you put them there. We all put
someone in prison when we choose not to forgive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the parable of a man who owed his
master ten thousand talents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not
able to pay so he begged for mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
master had compassion and forgave a debt he could never repay. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
That same servant then went and confronted a fellow
servant who owed him a few hundred denarii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The second servant also begged for mercy but the first servant refused,
and had him thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
In Greek mathematics, ten thousand was the highest possible
number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A talent was worth approximately
six thousand denarii, and one denarii was the amount of a day’s wage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ten thousand talents would be equal to
sixty-million day’s wages, or about 164,384 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, it is an impossible debt to repay.
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Our debt as sinners to God is impossible to repay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only could we never know the amount to be
repaid, but even if that amount could be counted, we would never have the
proper currency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only payment is
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So God sent Jesus—the sinless Son
of God—to pay our debt in full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when
we accepted that payment, we were set free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
And then someone sins against us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pain is significant but the debt is
nowhere near what we were forgiven for—every sin we will ever commit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, sometimes we stubbornly refuse to
forgive.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Jesus finishes the parable by saying, </div>
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">“<span class="woj">Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked
servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.</span>
<span class="woj">Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I
had on you?’</span> <span class="woj">In anger his master handed him over to the
jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” This is how my
heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or
sister from your heart.’” Matthew 18:32-35 NIV<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRAyJ-6oAbU/T8XL4xkhptI/AAAAAAAABOc/blyeqTD-3Oo/s1600/prison+door.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRAyJ-6oAbU/T8XL4xkhptI/AAAAAAAABOc/blyeqTD-3Oo/s320/prison+door.png" width="213" /></a><br />
<span class="woj">You walk up to the darkened room and stand at the barred
door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj"><em>Drip…..drip…..drip.<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj">You see the shadow of the person inside. Only your
forgiveness can unlock the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj">You choose to forgive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj">The lock snaps free and the door swings open with a
creak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You strain to see who’s inside. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one you've set free walks forward to greet the light and breathe in the fresh air. You recognize the face only there's a new joy dancing in the person's eyes and a new love in the heart.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<span class="woj">It’s you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-75700727907202228032012-05-20T22:00:00.001-07:002012-05-21T02:26:47.860-07:00The Journey to Becoming a WriterI loved English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
loved dissecting sentences and putting them together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved reading novels and poetry and all
kinds of non-fiction. But I never thought of being a writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never considered a blank page. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I grew up, got married and had two kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I became a Christian and got busy
serving at church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cooked and baked and painted
and sewed and read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I never
contemplated writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Then I was asked to teach, and then to write short
devotions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I still didn’t consider
myself a writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And then God slowed me down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a way of doing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I found more time to sit at the computer.
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
A friend suggested I start a blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said I was a writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t sure if I should believe her. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
God slowed me down even more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t stand for long to cook or bake or shop
anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Painting was out of the
question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I began to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remembered the words of my friend, and I
started a blog.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I didn’t think of myself as a writer, but God did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He slowed me down so I could see what He
saw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanted to show me some things so
I could share them with you.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
God has brought me to this place to show me that I am a
writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has made me so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not for myself or my purposes but to glorify
and magnify the Name of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for
that privilege I will humbly say, I am a writer!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Blessings!</div>
Dorci<br />
<br />
(This is my submission for the I Am a Writer contest for the blog<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><a href="http://goinswriter.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Jeff Goins Writer</span></a>.)Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-40875229080367517202012-05-13T07:04:00.000-07:002012-06-18T13:28:54.790-07:00Glorifying God in the Daily Challenges of Being a Mom<div class="MsoNormal">
Moms face more challenges than they ever would have expected
on the day they first met their child. It
starts out easy--bottles and naps and diaper changes (quick ones if it’s a
boy). And the crying, oh yes, the
crying. One of mine had a shriek that could
crack a window pane. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then the challenges graduate to making sure every drawer and
cabinet and toilet seat is securely locked.
And there are the temper tantrums, in the middle of a store or restaurant
no less, with every judgmental eye glaring in your direction. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there are the school lunches, the peer pressure, the
homework left until 10 pm on Sunday night.
There are pre-teen crushes and sometimes bullying, either on the giving
or receiving end. There’s the time they get lost in the store for a full 7 minutes and 18 seconds. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s the first time your child lies to you. And the first time they say, “I hate you!”<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are threats to run away to live with a friend who has
much better parents than you. There are
struggles about what to and what not to watch on TV. There are the late nights wondering who they’re
with and what they’re doing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes the challenge is losing a child far too soon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes there’s shoplifting or drugs or alcohol. You
listen for sirens or a knock at the door. You wonder for long stretches if anything you’re
saying is sticking between the ears.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And through it all you love them with a love that is indescribable. They are not just your child but a part of
yourself. They are your heart living on
the outside. And you’d do anything for
them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a wholly beautiful mystery, this relationship between
mom and child. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And some moms face challenges that others of us will never
know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would be with
child, being an unwed mom would be just the beginning of the many challenges
she’d face. She had no idea what else was coming. Seeing her son crucified would be the
greatest challenge. But she accepted
those challenges with grace and humility as she told the angel, <span style="color: #783f04;">“</span><span class="text"><span style="color: #783f04;">I am the Lord’s servant.” May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke
1:38)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="text"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="text">And in the end, that’s really the greatest
challenge of all--to accept the unique challenges given to us in each child every day with grace and humility unto the Lord. And when we do, and we train them up in the way they should go, a</span>nd never give up (okay, maybe for a minute or two), we bring God glory.<br />
<br />
<span class="text">What you do does not go unseen, dear mom. God sees it all and He smiles on you. What you do matters, and in the end it will all be worth it. God will make sure of it.</span></div>
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<span class="text"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.godvine.com/Mother-s-Inspiring-Video-About-her-Blind-Baby-Boy-1484.html"><span style="color: #990000;">This</span></a> is the story of another mom who has accepted the
challenges of the precious child given to her by God with grace and
humility. I am strengthened by her inspiring story
and I think you will be, too.<br />
<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy Mother’s Day and thank you for all you do!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-53926856383390915212012-05-03T16:33:00.000-07:002012-05-03T19:23:34.381-07:00A Prayer For Our NationNational Day of Prayer 2012<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Heavenly Father, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
We come to you today, not in our strength, not in our
intellect or anything within ourselves, but solely on the grace afforded us by the
blood of Your Son. We acknowledge our sin before You and ask that You would
forgive us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive us for turning away
from You and Your righteousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive
us for turning away from morals, for justifying our sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ask for Your mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need You and invite You into our nation
and ask that You would once again make us a nation whose God is the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Woo us back to you, Father. Draw us back into
your safe and loving arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn our
hearts back to you. May we come back to you as a prodigal child returns
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Father, I lift up our leaders to you and ask that you would
prick their hearts to desire You above all else in their lives. Give them a boldness
and courage to do the right things, not right according to our own human
reasoning, but right according to Your Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only You know what the future holds and only
You know the direction we need to go as a country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father, open our leaders’ eyes and may they
receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and may you give them Your
wisdom. Open their eyes to see the fruitlessness of going their own way. Help them to make the right decisions for the people of this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Father, make your people sensitive to Your Holy Spirit that
we might follow You no matter how difficult that may become.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Light a fire within our hearts again to
follow only You rather than the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May
be we be sick of the world’s ways and come out from it to be a separate people,
holy unto You.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May we be of one mind, serving You and doing the work of the kingdom while we still
can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn us back to our first Love,
that we may love the Lord with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our
minds, and with all our strength. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
I pray for the people of this country, those who are
homeless, without jobs, sick and without healthcare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lord, please show your loving kindness to them and
help those who earnestly want a job to find a job. Please provide shelter and
medical care for those who need it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Where we, your body, can help, give us hearts to help and the means to
do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help us to be known as those who
are actively, lovingly reaching out to people in need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May we set the example to the rest of the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray that you would raise up
well-trained and loving teachers to put in our classrooms and that our schools
would be a safe place for our children to learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Father, help us to see how foolish we’ve been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give us a vision for the far-reaching
consequences of our sin and may we quickly repent of our sins and turn our
hearts and families and businesses and nation back to You.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May we seek to glorify and magnify the Name
of Jesus in all we do and say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father,
please hear our pleas through the blood of Your precious Son, Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We love You and praise Your holy Name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen.</div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-29535770356300520862012-04-08T07:30:00.000-07:002012-04-08T07:30:00.047-07:00Our God's Alive!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"I am the Living
One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rev. 1:18<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">~Jesus the Christ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="301" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N2X64EEEij0?rel=0" width="400"></iframe></center><br />
<br />
<br />
Happy Resurrection Day!<br />
DorciDorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-3633333264811680922012-04-06T16:45:00.000-07:002012-04-07T14:28:13.815-07:00Lessons From the Cross<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As Jesus hung on the cross, bloodied and bruised and
agonizing, His thoughts and purpose for us remained steadfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are the words He chose to speak as His
last before His work was done and just a few things we can learn from them. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ol_L8CUcNBE/T397Bd-zGvI/AAAAAAAABOE/Dyzg6BK_630/s1600/Good+Friday+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ol_L8CUcNBE/T397Bd-zGvI/AAAAAAAABOE/Dyzg6BK_630/s320/Good+Friday+4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing." <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Luke 23:34</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">He showed us mercy and forgiveness and gave us hope that we can forgive no matter the
circumstances, too. </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Luke
23:43<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He showed us grace and the hope of
heaven.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here
is your mother." <o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">John
19:26-27<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He showed us His compassionate provision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You
forsaken Me?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Matthew
27:46</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He showed us that even when we don’t understand we are to cling to the
Father in the midst of our suffering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"I am thirsty."<o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">John
19:28<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He showed us humility.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"It is finished!"<o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">John
19:30<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He showed us His completed
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing left for us to
do. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><strong><em>"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."<o:p></o:p></em></strong></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black;">
</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Luke
23:46<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He showed us complete dependence and
trust in the Father for our <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">eternal souls.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Question4U: What lessons do you learn from Jesus' last words on the cross?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333;">Love and blessings, </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;">Dorci</span>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-3420353692093643702012-03-19T18:32:00.001-07:002012-05-21T13:22:32.706-07:00The Way of LoveTommy’s taken some time
out of his successful life as a doctor, spending the day out on the golf course
with his buddies when he receives an alarming phone call from another part of
the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<em><strong>His son, Daniel, is
dead.</strong></em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>And all at once, a life that
seemed to have every duck carefully placed in a row was upside down. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
And thus begins a
father’s journey in the movie The Way with Martin Sheen and Emilio
Estevez.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a poignant look <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">at a man who has been c</span>aught
up in the world’s version of success and has, ironically, become somewhat
cynical and bitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And w</span>hen
the unthinkable happens we see the <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">ensuing inner struggles of a man </span>who
suddenly realizes he doesn’t have things figured out quite the way he
thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">FYI - If you haven’t seen
the movie yet, this will contain some slight spoilers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
The last time the two men spoke t<span class="st"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">hey were engaged in an awkward
conversation as Tommy drove his son, Daniel, to the airport. Daniel tells his
dad about the journey he’s going to make and, in an effort to try connecting
with his dad, asks him to come along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tommy cynically laughs it off, saying that not everyone has the luxury
of taking time off from work to do such a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<em><strong><span class="st"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
now the time was gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Tommy makes the pain-staking trip to<span class="st"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> St. Jean Pied de Port, France
to retrieve his son’s body and his belongings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Daniel had just begun his journey on the road of </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">El
camino de Santiago, The Way of St. James, a pilgrimage that millions have
traveled over the last thousand years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The journey can begin on any of a number of paths, but the destination
is always </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Galicia, Spain, where
some believe the remains of the apostle James are buried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on the origin of one’s journey, the
pilgrimage can take weeks to months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tommy arrives in France and decides to have his son’s body
cremated for the return trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He begins
looking through his son’s backpack at the things he’d chosen to take with him
on his journey of discovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
perhaps the first time in a long time that Tommy had taken a few moments to
really study his son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<em>And we can’t help but think about how we’re spending the
days of our own short lives.</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Tommy decides to honor his son by taking him on the journey
anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He throws the backpack over his shoulders,
the box of ashes tucked safely inside, and he sets out to make the 500-mile
trek in his son’s stead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Tommy reluctantly picks up a few friends along the way, each
of whom has their own reasons for traveling The Way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But their reasons seem rather selfish and
superficial compared to the heavy burden that Tommy carries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
The others approach their goals half-heartedly, but Tommy
remains steadfast in his mission to do this last loving act for his son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
As they all reached their destination together, it occurred
to me that the only one who successfully accomplished what he set out to do was
the one who, in love, set out to do something for someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
It was too late to reconcile with his son, but through
choosing this unselfish and loving act he gains much more—a heart of forgiveness,
humility, love, and peace. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span class="woj">"A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that
you also love one another."</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John
13:34<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Alhd0xWmSik/T2fbelp7rfI/AAAAAAAABN8/a5r1LFYMqWA/s1600/heart+path.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Alhd0xWmSik/T2fbelp7rfI/AAAAAAAABN8/a5r1LFYMqWA/s320/heart+path.png" width="206" /></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus made this statement to the
apostles the evening He had washed their feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He didn’t just say He loved them, He became their servant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what God says love really is and this
is the way we’re to live our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s love that gives us the
strength to do the hard thing--the ability to lay aside our pride and our own
lives in order to finish what God’s called us to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We are all on a journey called
life, and loving others is what makes life worth living. The specific ways we’re called to sacrifice throughout our lives may sometimes go against all
common sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we may just not
feel like it, just like Tommy didn’t
feel like going on the trip with his son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But God says that by choosing to live a life of sacrifice we’ll gain a lot
more that we ever gave up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As I watched the movie I
couldn’t help but also make comparison to Christ and the road He walked in our
steads, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the story, while we
were dead in our sins, Christ embarked on a journey for us, a journey we
couldn’t take ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He journeyed to
the cross and laid down His life for us to purchase our souls from hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It was His love for His Father
and for us that kept Him steadfast on the road to an agonizing death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to Him, the reward of giving us eternal life made
the journey worth it. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Question4U: What is one thing
you can do to live your life more unselfishly?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Blessings and Love,</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dorci</span></div>
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<br /></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-46283269553286206832012-03-12T16:45:00.000-07:002012-03-12T17:02:47.651-07:00The Arrow Zone<em>It's my pleasure to be joining a great group of women authors blogging for </em><a href="http://innerfulfillment.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><em><span style="color: #990000;">Inner Fulfillment</span></em></a><em>, a devotional blog for women. I hope you'll check them out. </em><br />
<br />
<em>The following is my first installment.</em> <em>Enjoy and God bless!</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>The Arrow Zone</strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mRp6gkpCefI/T16L3h0z24I/AAAAAAAABN0/VnD3RRgobiI/s1600/fiery+arrow.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mRp6gkpCefI/T16L3h0z24I/AAAAAAAABN0/VnD3RRgobiI/s320/fiery+arrow.png" width="210" /></a>Trials seem to come to me like attacks in an Indiana Jones movie: everything is copacetic (or at least doable) one minute and the next I find myself on a battlefield in a barrage of arrows coming from all directions.<br />
<br />
A rude word screams in from over there, a rejection flies in from that place, one of the children faces his own crisis, the car and the house vie for which will break best and biggest. Add to that a health crisis and I want to run and hide behind a rock and nurse my wounds.<br />
<br />
The attacks catch me off guard every time because my tendency is to get my eyes focused on the circumstances and/or people who shot the arrows. That would be a good thing if I were in a physical war, but I’m not.<br />
<br />
<em>I am, and you are, in a spiritual war. </em><br />
<br />
Please continue reading <a href="http://innerfulfillment.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/the-arrow-zone/"><span style="color: #990000;">here.</span></a>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-64545424518010732362012-02-24T17:57:00.000-07:002012-03-12T14:12:44.155-07:00The Day Jesus Came In a Tiny, Little Package<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black;">I stood at the counter listening to the whir of the
blenders thinking about the day ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dreading the day ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
going to be one of <em>those</em> days, a day you’d hoped would never come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, here it was.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Our dog, Jake, seemed to have gotten old overnight. His
eyes were cloudy and his hair was thinning. He no longer pulled the toilet paper from off
the roll and into the hallway to chew on for as long as he could get away with
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Food didn’t interest him
anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except cookies. He always had
an appetite for cookies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His body had
lived a good, long fifteen years and now it was time to let him go. </span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">So I stood there, choking back the tears, waiting to
drown my sorrows in an iced three-shot espresso with milk and lots of
chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then I heard a tiny voice behind me say “hello.”</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">I turned around and saw a little round face sweetly smiling
up at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t help but smile back
and return the greeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for a
moment my tears were kept at bay.</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The kindness of this three-year-old boy shined a light
into my dreary day. </span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">He didn’t move mountains; he didn’t lead an army; he didn’t
preach a great sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He simply smiled
and helped me through a painful day. And to me, that was a lot. </span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">I left with my drink and an unexpected shot of strength and hope to get through the day.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1fRuqy4ne-A/T0gryimwENI/AAAAAAAABNU/r0DrCQpIEBU/s1600/Jake+and+Eric.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1fRuqy4ne-A/T0gryimwENI/AAAAAAAABNU/r0DrCQpIEBU/s320/Jake+and+Eric.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I'll never forget Jake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
I'll </span>miss the way he got under my feet while I was trying to make dinner. I'll miss the
ridiculous mess he made in the three-foot radius around his food dish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But mostly I’ll miss the unconditional love he gave that got me through many difficult days and </span><a href="http://godtreasure.blogspot.com/search?q=Jake" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">how he taught me about Jesus.</span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black;">And I'll never forget the day I made
another little friend, a friend who helped me smile even when I didn’t think I
could.</span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">He’ll never know what that meant to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I hope someday he knows he was Jesus for
me in a tiny, cute, little package.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">“Then the
righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and
invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or
in prison and go to visit you?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #783f04;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">The King will
reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for me.’”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;">Matthew 25:37-40</span></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-49487626572233851672012-02-10T16:15:00.000-07:002012-02-10T16:15:19.099-07:00A Li'l Tim Hawkins Talking Marriage for Valentine's Day<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;">Yep, Valentine's Day is next week. Aw yeaaaahh.....</span><br />
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;">You either love it or you'd rather go croc hunting. Either way, you gotta keep a sense of humor about marriage and Tim Hawkins is here to help us out with that. Plus, you get a guaranteed ab workout.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">"A joyful heart helps healing..." Proverbs 17:22 </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Guys, gals....enjoy! </span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="246" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gh_lDHyEEHU?rel=0" width="425"></iframe></center>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-11287653891735458442012-02-06T17:26:00.000-07:002012-02-06T19:39:38.946-07:00Perfect Love Drives Out Fear<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">“There is no fear in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But perfect love drives out fear, because fear </span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;">has to do with punishment.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;">1 John 4:18</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w88fC781waE/TzBr7cMcI4I/AAAAAAAABNM/t8bETDI3aRM/s1600/heart+bible.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" sda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w88fC781waE/TzBr7cMcI4I/AAAAAAAABNM/t8bETDI3aRM/s320/heart+bible.bmp" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">God recently drove this truth home in a very personal way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">If you haven’t been with me since I started writing about my <a href="http://godtreasure.blogspot.com/2009/03/long-and-winding-road.html" target="_blank">long and winding road</a>, I’ve been on a journey of sorts for the last several years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started with God telling me plainly, four times in one month, to be strong and courageous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew I was going to face something but I had no idea how big the battle would become.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The circumstances don’t matter much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all have difficult times in our lives. If we become fixed on the details of the trial we miss what God wants to do in our hearts and in our lives.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">My instruction was to be strong and courageous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Translated, that means to hold onto something, or in this case Someone, Who is stronger than myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hold onto God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I had a hard time doing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I struggled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As the years went by and my prayers for the specific circumstances of my trial seemed to go unanswered, I felt more and more confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would God leave me here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t He care?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As I was working on cleaning out my house last month, God was cleaning out my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I’ve searched my heart these last eight years and have seen more than I wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are things hidden in the attics of our hearts that only God knows are there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And sometimes He’ll take your hand and lead you up those ominous steps into the darkened, creaky room and uncover a pile of dusty old attitudes, some worthless misunderstandings and some poisonous character flaws that He wants to throw out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">He wants to heal us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As I cried out to God again, He took me up those stairs and uncovered a root cause of a lot of my issues: fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Now I knew I had fear, but in that moment God began to connect some dots in my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He reminded me that perfect love drives out fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew that, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what was I missing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I went to my concordance and looked up those words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perfect means complete, mature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we receive God’s love and it matures in our hearts, there is no room or need for fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">God knew the fear in my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew, more than I did, how much that fear ruled my thoughts, my actions and my decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew that not only did I grow up with a lack of being loved, I grew up among circumstances that instilled fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that fear was cemented over and over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The combination of being unloved and filled with fear really was a form of punishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">God wanted to fill me with the love that I lacked to drive out the fear and heal my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as long as I was holding onto Him--talking to Him, getting to know Him by reading His Word--and allow Him to love me, that fear would be driven far away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">God had never left me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the contrary, God was in the trenches of spiritual warfare with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God loved me, perfectly and unconditionally, and He wanted me to be filled with love, not fear. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Your issue may not be fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be something different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The circumstances don’t matter much. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Be strong and courageous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">It’s when we’re in a trial that we’re keenly aware of our need for Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We reach out, we pray, we learn more about Who He is than we otherwise would have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We open our hearts and let Him fill us more and more with His love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And His love matures in our hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">And that’s when healing begins.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Let God love you even more than you think you’re worthy to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take your eyes off your circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re only a vehicle for God’s grace and healing in your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Trust Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust Him to know what He’s doing in the middle of your trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Trust Him to see what’s up in your dark and dreary attic. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because hidden beneath the piles of junk that God wants for us to throw away are treasures of godliness that lead to a rich and full life in Him. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Blessings!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Dorci</span></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-30812755421241833232012-02-03T06:38:00.000-07:002012-02-04T00:15:02.710-07:00Friday Funnies ~ Dream Big and Pray Bigger!<br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span style="color: #444444;">We don't need to settle for small dreams like Bo. God has big plans for us just around the corner if we'll only ask! Plans that will fit us perfectly.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"> Glory to God in the church! <br /> Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! <br /> Glory down all the generations! <br /> Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!" </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message</span>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-15359108839687129892012-01-02T13:28:00.000-07:002012-01-02T15:51:58.108-07:002012 Possibilities<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Hello Friends! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">I'll be taking the month of January off to get my house in order. A decluttered space is a decluttered mind I always say. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">I'll still be posting verses, quotes, thoughts and all-around good and godly stuff on my Twitter and Facebook pages as God puts them on my heart. If you haven't subscribed to the blog or "followed" or "liked" the the pages yet, please do! You'll find the links at the side and at the top. And please share with your friends!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">I'm excited about 2012 and all it holds--the good, the bad and the ugly. We all love the good--the blessings and joys, but we learn and grow from the "bad" and the "ugly." No matter what comes our way, God already knows about it, has a plan for it and He'll be with us all the way. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">I know God has great plans and I can't wait to share what I learn through them with you. And I can't wait to hear from you. Let's go through this year together. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">In the meantime, I'd love to hear how you are planning to be intentional about your relationship with Jesus in 2012. Successful, thriving relationships don't just happen, they're lovingly cultivated. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">So, what's your plan? How will you walk closer with Him? How do you plan to know Him better? How will you develop your faith in Him? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Getting closer to Jesus will affect your heart, your mind and every aspect of your life. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">"<em>with God</em> all things are possible." </span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Matthew 19:26b</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">So how will that deepening relationship with Christ manifest itself in your life? How will allowing Jesus to live His life through you affect your attitudes? Your relationships? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Let me know what God is doing in your life and what dreams He's given you for the new year. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The past is gone. Time to forgive, let go, refocus, look ahead. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PrSmV-syuvg/TwIJ_U5W0cI/AAAAAAAABNE/B_dWCyrJ7bc/s1600/etchasketch.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" rea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PrSmV-syuvg/TwIJ_U5W0cI/AAAAAAAABNE/B_dWCyrJ7bc/s320/etchasketch.bmp" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">The new year has a clean slate. How will you fill it up?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Let's make it a year rich in God's treasures as we know Him and love Him more and more each day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Blessings!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Dorci</span></div>
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<br /></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-33541289782040052202011-12-30T08:32:00.000-07:002011-12-30T08:32:04.036-07:001...2...3...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How many<em> </em>things can you thank God for today?</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I0_jB1H0VT0/Tv3YGX3hnyI/AAAAAAAABM4/j8dwsGYJvLM/s1600/thank+you+on+beach.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I0_jB1H0VT0/Tv3YGX3hnyI/AAAAAAAABM4/j8dwsGYJvLM/s320/thank+you+on+beach.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>Dorcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09814426436131129760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537038490668808489.post-1382146936787522272011-12-24T10:10:00.002-07:002011-12-24T23:12:24.513-07:00Arise, shine; for your light has come! Isaiah 60:1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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