Rainfall

Everyone knows hot hot it is in Houston. Blazing Hot! Everyone knows we are going through a drought. There are flash fires, crop damage and water restrictions.  But on Wednesday we received a heavy rainfall.  Growing up in Louisiana I loved to sit on the screened in porch and watch the rain come down as I ate my Popsicle.  There was a feeling of comfort as the soft cool spray of the rain kissed my face as I rocked back and forth on the swing.

As I stood out on the balcony of my apartment, watching the rain fall as I had done so many times before, I realized that God knew we needed rain too.  And most importantly, he knew just when to send it!.

Most of you that are really close to me know that I have been going through some struggles of late. I suppose it has been my season of drought.  It just seems like 10 years ought to be enough time! :) lol I am searching for the rainfall in my life.  I am surveying my life and may be being a bit more reflective than I should. Recently I read in chapter 7 of Feeding Your Soul by Jean Flemming, that when we are going through a season of "Dryness", it's o.k. to be reflective, we simply need to reflect on the right things.

Two things stood out to me in that chapter.  One was we need to visit the alters where God has given us victory in our lives and secondly we should demonstrate our gratitude for Gods amazing grace.  I realize that all of this is absolutely true.  However my sisters and brothers, we are human!  And our Lord knows that all to well because he too experienced dry seasons during his three year ministry.  He was rejected, despised, betrayed, slandered, disrespected and abandoned.  And HE WAS LORD!


But he also knew that we would continue to experience these things in spite of his sacrifice for our redemption. For example, when he told Peter that Satan wanted to sift him like wheat. 

Luke 22:31

The Message (MSG)

 ^31-32"Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start."

Sometimes our trials are meant for just that, to give someone else a fresh start. To demonstrate God's love for us as he brings us through our seasons of dryness.  Although by my own admission, I do not always feel that way!  In fact when I was looking at the rain on Wednesday, I had a huge "Why" moment.  Why me, Why not, Why so long?

I am sure Peter wondered those same things.  Especially after his big denial scene in Luke 22:54-60,  Talk about drama!  So I suppose we are no different. Same ole same ole as they say.  One thing I want you to remember and that is Jesus told Peter he was praying for him.  Jesus praying for us?  Yes he is our advocate before the Father.  He wants us to cast all of our care upon him because he cares for us.  Even when we (I) don't feel he does.  He sends the rainfall.

How? Through a shower of well wishes from friends. Through a sprinkle of love throughout the day by strangers we may never know.  Through downpours of love from persons we did not realize were concerned for our well being.

We must learn to appreciate the rainfall in the midst of the drought. Last night as I was watching the new adventure show, Expedition Impossible on ABC, one of the challenges for the teams was to find water the traditional Berber way. They were in the Sahara desert!  Sand for miles!  But one member of one team said lets dig.  Everyone including his team members thought perhaps the heat had gotten to him!  But reluctanly they agreed to the request.  They were at the end of the road with no where to go, so they dug.  They had to did deep and then a wonderful thing happened, they hit water!  Water in the midst of the great Sahara!  The teams were awe struck and could not believe it.

I saw something else, I saw God's sovereignty over nature.  He created the dessert and allowed life to flourish there; and in doing so he made provisions for survival even in harsh conditions!  The great news is he will do the same for us.  El Shaddai-The god who is sufficient for the needs of his people!

Even though we feel like we are in the Sahara, there is an Oasis there.

 P. S. My tribute to the great Gene Kelly!  Sometimes we have to sing in the rain!

Be Blessed.  TGIF!


“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV

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New Day Dawning

Hello world!  I awake this morning feeling refreshed and renewed.  It is not that my circumstances have changed, but I have changed my mindset about my circumstances.  Attitude can be everything you know.  Don't believe it?  Well how about two women who enter the hospital for the same type of treatment.  One embraces the treatment aggressively, remains optimistic and shares her experiences with others.  The other resists the treatment, is negative and isolates herself.  The first extends her life and lives to fight another day. The second experiences a slow and painful death.

Sometimes family and friends WE can be our own worst enemies!

I believe that it is time for us to embrace ALL that LIFE has to offer, good and bad.  Those experiences make us who we are.  So what if someone rejects us, is rude to us, forsakes us.  It does not define who we are, it simply reveals to us who they truly are.  STOP...think about it! LOL

Last night I made burgers and fries. I know, you say, "What is so special about that!"   Well most of you know I am a self proclaimed culinary wizard!  So I decided to spice things up with the following recipe:


Southwest Burgers

Ingredients:
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 small jalapeno pepper, minced (De-seeded or not if you like it hot)
1 green onion small diced
1/4 cup small diced tomato, De-seeded
Cilantro (minced if you like it)  I didn't have any but the recipe I created in my mind wished I did!
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. Soy Sauce
1 T. Catchup
Season with you fave (I used Tony Chachere's and Slap Your Mama)

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Form medium to large size patties (depending on your the size of buns)
Coat skillet with a small amount of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Cook on both sides for 3 minutes on medium to high heat (these would be super on the grill, Grill Masters!)

FLAVORLICIUOS!

Burgers were dressed with grilled onions, spinach leaves, Swiss cheese (would have added sauteed mushrooms if I had them!)

I served with oven fries seasoned with Italian Seasoning and drizzled with EVOO


Bon Appetit!



The point is, you can always take something old and UPGRADE it!



"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving."
— Amy Carmichael

Matters of the Heart

Well my Mama told me there would be days like this.  An this is one of those days!  I know that God intends for me to grow from this experience. To trust him more.  To allow him to prune things from my life that are stifling spiritual growth.  But the pruning is painful.

Psalm 102:4
My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.

Relationships are very hard work and sometimes in the garden of life, it is very hard to control the weeds!
We often think the neighbors garden looks so much better, their grass is so much greener only to find that they have just as many weeds as we do!  Then why does their garden grow?  They know how and when to prune!  We must learn from the Master Gardener, when to replant and and when to sow.  Some times we sow the wrong seed sisters!

One of my favorite passages comes from Mark chapter 4, the Parable of the Sower and the Soils.

 In parable Jesus begins the story this way...

Mark 4:3-8 MSG
 ^3-8"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.

Then just as we so often do, the twelve disciples retreated and began to discuss what the parable meant. They had the King of Glory right there with them yet they could not understand .  Jesus begins to explain.

^{Mark 4: 13-20 MSG  13}He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way. 
^14-15"The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.

 ^16-17"And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

 ^18-19"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

 ²⁰"But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."

 WOW...is that not like our lives?  God gives us opportunities and it is up to us to act on those opportunities. The one thing we must remember is the opportunities are not for us to prosper, they are to bring God glory and honor.  And thereby we prosper all the more.  The sad thing is many of us recognize this too late.  We believe our live are our own, we shape our destiny by hard work.  We get content with the trappings of this world and what it has to offer.

Even when we know that we know that we know...he is leading us, pulling us towards a higher calling.  We wrestle with the twin sisters Doubt and Fear.  We allow others expectations (or lack) of us to shape our opinions.  Those opinions give birth to beliefs.  Those beliefs develop into actions.  And those actions detour us from our destiny.

Ecclesiastes 10:2
A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left

Today I truly did not want to hear this!  I wanted things to go my way. The way I believed God would have them to go for me.  Well thanks be to God his ways are so much higher than my ways and his thoughts are so much higher than my thoughts. Praise the Lord that he can do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that I can ever ask, think or imagine!

God is so awesome that even with this intense pain in my heart, He guides me, He comforts me and He consoles me.  At His mercy seat His love surrounds me.He let's me know that I am not alone and that He will never leave or forsake me.  What a mighty God we serve!

We all want to experience pure love, true love; something that is real you know?  But one thing we must remember is that man is not capable of giving us that type of love.  That type of love was given to us on Calvary. God even sends people into our lives to love who don't love us!  And that is the hard part; Accepting the rejection in  the name of Love that our light may shine and our savior will be glorified.

It's a tough assignment ya'll and I am not sure that I am up to the task.  My heart is very heavy this evening, my mind is racing with all of the ways I could have handled this season of life in a more excellent way.  But then I remember that the real mission is to live out THE GREAT commission.  To let our life speak louder than our words so that others will know who we truly serve.

Jeremiah 17:9

The Message (MSG)

 ^9-10"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
   a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
   and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
   I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
   not as they pretend to be."

So the garden of my heart is a wreck right now, but the reality is I live to fight another day.  Tomorrow the pruning will begin to heal as the Savior cultivates the garden of my heart once more. The MASTER GARDNER!

Take courage my sisters, HE has OVERCOME the WORLD!

John 16:33

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

³³ These things I have spoken to you, so that ^(A)in Me you may have peace. ^(B)In the world you have tribulation, but ^(C)take courage; ^(D)I have overcome the world.”

Life's Little Surpises

Life sometimes has a way of surprising you.  Today I had a great surprise.  Two of my friends took me out for an after birthday celebration!  It was the best surprise ever!  We attended an awesome play at the Ensemble Theater in Houston, Faces in the Mirror by Barbara Hudson.  Then we jaunted over to Houston's for a fantastic dinner.

Today was living definition of what "friendship" should look like.  People caring for each other when it is not expected.  All to often most of our friendships are superficial or conditional.  We share expressions, exchange pleasantries and a few memorable moments.

Proverbs 17:17a says, "A friend loves at all times". Even when it hurts, even when you have been wronged and even when you have been rejected.

Let's face it, relationships are tough.  It takes a lot of hard work and diligence to cultivate a truly meaningful relationship.  In other words, you have got to put your heart and soul into it.  You have to put in the time it takes to get to know a person beyond hello and goodbye.

Seasons of life bring about different types of relationships.  In our youth, we have our buddies, our pals, our "friends".   After high school graduation we soon realize many of those friendships will dissipate with time.  Some of those " friends" will be out of touch within a few months and few months into college, they will become a distant memory.

During our journey into adulthood the relationships we forged in college and in what I like to call the "formative years" of adulthood, we become lasting ones.  Most of us remain in touch with our college roommate. (if we had a good one!lol)   We stay in touch with neighbors from our first home. We interact with some colleagues from our jobs.

These bonds we share are from our like experiences.  We have "grown-up" together so to speak.  We've witnessed marriages, births, divorces and  deaths. These experiences have intertwined our lives together.

I am so grateful for reliable friends, but I am most grateful for friends (like the ones today) who love me!  In this age of instant everything and faster than the speed of light communication, it is heartwarming to know that two people in my life will set aside a day of food, fellowship just for me!

Thank you sooo much Reena and Tangye! I am eternally grateful for our friendship. I encourage you to  take the time to love your friends!

Peace,

Sheri

Sunny Sunday!

Hello everyone!  It is a three-digit degree Sunday here in Houston.  We have 100 degree sunny Sunday skies today.  I am not really feeling the sunshine inside though, a little too much to take in I guess.  I was just previewing my girl Jill Scott's new album  "The Light of the Sun" due out June 21st and I must agree that the title fits right in with the weather and my mood.

The word of the day is: Challenges. We all have them I suppose; some more than others.  The message at church today encouraged and challenged me at the same time.  The new series is "Sold Out"  and since I am child out the seventies, I thought about the flip side of that phrase.  You know like when you would go out and by that new 45 single only to find out the flip-side was better!

To be a sell out for Christ is the ultimate commitment. But all too often we sell out for everything else.  We sell out for our friends and frienemies alike. Trying to impress people we don't really like by spending money we don't really have on stuff we don't really need. We sell out on the job when we compromise our ethics.  We sell out in relationships by trying to change ourselves for others. We settle when we should not.

If you are a business person the phrase carries yet another connotation.  We you sell out of your goods or services it is a great thing.  Selling out equates that you have successfully marketed your wares and will reap a financial gain. For example, a realtor selling a home places  SOLD over the sign with joy.  The theater manager is elated to hear that the next three shows are sold out.  A newly marketed product is tracked by how many stores "sell out" of the product.

I reflected on this in the context of Mark 12:28-34 and Deut. 4:6.(OT Ref) and I concluded that if I focused more on who sold himself out for me I would be more inclined to maintain my focus of being sold out for him.

The P-31 woman is a classic model of a total sell out.  She was sold out for her Lord, her family, her customers  and her employees.  Proverbs 31 describes her as a noble wife whose worth was far above rubies. Webster defines noble as: possessing high or excellent qualities; superiority of mind, character, ideals or morals. The price per carat of rubies (unlike diamonds which depend on the four C's, cut, carat, clarity and color) depends heavily on the color. Hence the term Ruby-red.  The price can range from $400 to $10K. Historically it denoted passion and power.  Clearly Ms. P-31 had both!

Verse 11 states that her husband ( Mr. P-31) had total confidence in her and as a result lacked nothing. You go girl!  Ms. P-31 was a hard working resourceful business woman who demonstrated good stewardship. Her genuine care and concern for the well being of others began in her home and spread abroad.  Sounds like a Jesus-love kind of sell out to me!

The lesson for me is that amidst all of those accomplishments were great challenges.  However Ms. P-31 did one thing we often do not take the time to do in our busy and hectic lives.  That is gain perspective by surveying your circumstances and prioritize!  When you have the right perspective the view of the challenges come into the focus.  Look into your right side view mirror on the car, the message says, " Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear."!

Peace and blessings!

Sheri Linette

Hebrews 12:2

King James Version (KJV)

 ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Food for the Soul

Well sports fans we are in the middle of the NBA finals, the students have donned their caps and gowns and school is out for the summer!  We have so much to thank God for. Which by the way inspired me to begin this blog!  There have been a number of changes this year; and you know what? Change is good. My daughter likes to say, if nothing changes, nothing changes!

We must begin to look at our lives through the eyes of GRATITUDE!  Think about the last time you actually said the words to someone, I am grateful for...Well here goes. I am eternally grateful for my relationship with the Lord. I am grateful that my oldest daughter graduated this past May from the University of North Texas.  Yeah me! My other daughter completed her freshman year at the University of Houston.  I am also grateful for all of the new relationships I formed and the old relationships I have rekindled this year.  God is awesome!  What a mighty God we serve.

This morning I was reflecting on the amount of time we spend thinking about our problems.  How much more could we accomplish if we channeled all of that energy into moving forward?  Moving into our destiny. Hmm? Exactly what does that mean? Well if means different things for most of us, but it involves the same thing for all of us, trust and obedience.  Proverbs 3:5a states to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." And in 1 Samuel 15:22 we are reminded that to obey God is better than sacrifice.

The story of Deborah and Barak gives us a vivid example of how a simple act of disobedience can alter our destiny.  Be mindful I said alter not change.  Because the days God has ordained for us are according to His will.  However, we can bring about circumstances that distract us from or cause delays in our destiny.

The account of Barak's reliance on the leadership of Deborah demonstrates that there are times when God will only give us the victory if we trust in HIM not in man (or woman!). In order to give the the victory to Barak he had to go into the battle against Sisera without Deborah.  She even told him that the Lord had gone before him.  But he would not go on without her.  Therefore, the Lord gave the victory to Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite.

Isn't that just like us though?  We can clearly hear the still small voice of the God directing us through changes in our lives.  Telling us with clarity to leave that relationship, resign from that job, go back to school or study a specific biblical principal.  And what do we do?  Ask everyone else who can not really help us!  We spend  more time contemplating, consulting and procrastinating rather than acting on what God would have us to do.

It is no wonder so many of us feel "stuck like Chuck" when it comes to our marriages, relationships, careers and spiritual growth.  I want to encourage you this day to take the first painful step to stop stalling and start walking!  Walking towards your destiny. Walking into your future by living in the present and not in the past. Last week I realized I was doing just that!  I was talking the talk, but the walk?  A little on the crooked side. lol

Recently some good friends told me two things that resonated with me. One, everything looks better on the other side of the fence.  Secondly, we can all be the hero (or She-ro) of our own stories. When God should be the HERO.

Let's make a pact today demonstrate  a spirit of gratitude, to let go of past mistakes and trust God to bring us into our destiny!

Peace and blessings,

Sheri Linette

Take a listen to Spiritual by Donald Lawrence
 http://praisephilly.com/music/praiseonline/donald-lawrence-spiritual-new-music/

Spiritual by Donald LawrenceTak