WISDOM IN THE WOODS!

SUNDAY’S MONDAY

     I was awakened one morning with this thought buzzing around in my mind. I wasn’t sure at first what to do with it, but I knew God had put it there for a reason. So, I lay in bed quietly pondering the different ways this could be used, and I felt God saying I wouldn’t figure that out if I didn’t get to a keyboard soon. “You see,” I am somewhat forgetful in my old years, and things don’t usually linger in my memory for long. It is one of those use-it-or-lose-it deals. This can also apply to my relationship with Jesus, which can grow cold and distant. I’m a true procrastinator merely by nature, mixed with a dash of laziness. I am one of those people who put things off till tomorrow and then forget to do them at all. I have to do what God places in my mind when I think of it, or it never gets done. I grew up in a house where I spent almost all my time playing in the woods. We lived with the Shuford Gold Mine across the road from our home, and my grandfather (Charlie Loftin) owned a moderate-sized farm that surrounded our yard. Mom couldn’t keep us out of the woods, nor did she try to. It was during a time when kids could disappear for most of the day and yet still show up when supper was called. I never really appreciated what God was doing with me in those woods until years later. Psalms 62:5 (NLT), Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

               I loved to hunt and fish growing up, and looking back on it today, I see God on every trip. My dad and I had a great relationship, but later, as we got older, it turned into that of two good old drinking buddies getting together and telling old stories. I stayed in trouble from the time I learned right from wrong because I usually chose wrong. Truthfully, I only remember experiencing real peace as a teenager when I was alone in the woods. It seemed that I had grown to dislike myself and couldn’t share my feelings with anyone because I was the problem. The woods were filled with noises, critters, and vegetation conducive to peaceful meditation, and even though the surroundings were conducive, there was an element of fear. I was quietly communicating with God without realizing it. It took me 42 years to discover I was living Psalms 62:1 (NLT), I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.  His love is pure and priceless!

     Many will never receive the revelation in Psalms 62:8 (NLT), O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Many have little to no understanding of God’s love because they continue loving with a tainted love for things in this world. Only when one is ready to “sacrifice all to follow Jesus” does God’s love take seed within us and grow to the same measure of our relationship with Him. The only way to know what I’m saying is to seek a relationship with God. Find your place in the woods (a place of peace) and quietly meditate on Him. Be positive and direct with your thoughts! Then, allow time for God’s advice through His Holy Spirit.

     Lord, help us all to learn to be true to ourselves and never be afraid to talk with you. Show us our best place for reaching out to you. May we understand that our spirit prays both mentally and out loud. Prayer then comes to life and serves us well. It becomes a spirit-to-spirit conversation rather than a flesh-to-spirit, which often brings an openness to my prayer. I thank You, Lord, for giving me a place in Your creation and the opportunity to meet and spend time with You. James 4:8 (ERV), Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. Dad, have us set our concerns before you with joyful expectation. Amen

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!

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