Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi – written in 2015

A light house does not blow fog horns but it only shines.  

When I read the above I thought of our walk as Christians.  Does our life reflect the light  of Jesus.  St Mark 4:21: and he said unto them, is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick?  A candle beams its flickering light so we may find our way in the dark as does the Lighthouse.  As Christians we should let our light shine & walk in the light of Christ.  We need not blow fog horns but just shine & let the Holy Spirit beam through us.  Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord……i grew up in a very legalistic religion & if we did have a little light, it was totally blown out with dos & don’ts & lots of fear. 1 John 4:7: Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God….10: herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us & sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4 is filled with scriptures of love.  The pendulum swings both ways but should be in balance.  I guess my desire is not to be a fog horn but a flickering light for our Lord.

Just a thought by coppi

There’s a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14 TLB: “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us”.

Isaiah 43:18 -19 says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!….”

God says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” This is where God changes the past of all who commit their lives to Him. He forgives our sins and forgets them!

Have you ever regretted something in your past? Gee, I have. My past regrets weighed me down when I dwelled on them. I finally had to seek the Lord and I truthfully said to him “ there are so many things I regret in my past, I am so sorry for them and wish I could go back and have a “redo” of my actions”. I would have hugged more, loved more, have more understanding, laughed more, and the list goes on and on. But I can’t. But as Warren W. Wiersbe says “Most Christians are being crucified on a cross between two thieves: Yesterday’s regret and tomorrow’s worries.” I do not want to crucify myself with regrets – I want to make amends when I can and when I cannot, I will commit the “undo” to God with a contrite and thankful heart to Him for healing. Reading Scripture with the Holy Spirit brings God’s word to life. The Bible isn’t just a book of rules. It’s not just a list of do’s and don’ts. It’s meant to be read with the understanding that its words were inspired by the One who dwells within you. “May your heart be stirred to meditate on God’s word that it might produce peace and joy in your life today.” Greg Denison

I want to look through the windshield and not the rear view mirror. That’s my desire. My regrets are in God’s hand and so is my future.

Just a thought by coppi

““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 is a chapter which I felt was given to me years ago when I was in     Albuquerque, NM, studying a new technique in art.  I usually did not get home until late.  I would immediately go take my bath and go to bed. But, before going to sleep I would read a chapter in my Bible. John 17 was the the one that I was impressed to read.  I do not know about you, but,myself, I always wanted to know I was loved as much as God loved the Jewish people as well as he love the chosen disciplines.  Even though I knew He sent His son, Jesus, to be the lamb slain before the foundation of earth.  He, Jesus, was sent to earth to become our way back to God.  I knew all of that but I still looked for every scripture in the Bible for reassurance. The above scripture was one of my findings – “Is not for them alone”.  Jesus was sent for mankind.  He was our “ladder” that Jacob saw leading to heaven.  He loves us – all of us.  I am climbing that ladder and by His grace will eventually get to the top.  That’s what the scriptures relate and I believe in them – and that settles it. 

Just a thought by coppi

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬

Psalms 32: 3: When we sin, that small voice inside will bother us. But, when we pray to our Father, and admit our sin, God who loves us will understand.  “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭32‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I remember vividly when this scripture was given me. I was in Dallas, Texas, my husband had died, I had sold our home, and was now living in an apartment closer to where I worked.  I was lonely and confused about the world wind of happenings of heartbeats surrounding me.  I remember going to my bedroom falling on my knees sobbing.  I prayed honestly about everything I thought I did wrong in my life.  I  had read  32:3 and David’s confession of a sin he thought he was hiding from God, and not until he was honest before God did he get peace. I wanted to make sure I covered all my actions good or bad, because I wanted peace in my life. I look back at that time and wondered what God thought of this lonely mixed-up person.  Anyway, He flooded me with peace and love.  My life did not change immediately, but in time it did. Until that time, my Lord carried me.  I know because there was only one foot print in the sand (or devastation) I was stumbling through..,He brought me through the storm to cool gentle rain drops of His love for me…..and, my life began to change for good. 

And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. (Matthew 20:29-34) or (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43)

“What do you want me to do for you” are the words that beamed light into my being when I was reading this passage of the Bible – “We want to see” was their response. 

What do you want Jesus to do for you?  The blind men wanted to see, but what is your need?  I looked up the word need and one of the meanings is : Circumstances in which something is necessary, or that require some course of action; necessity!  That is true; however, there are deeper wounds developed through, just living, which you will harbor in your emotional being that cause pain and hurt and will need healing.  Jesus says in Mt 11:28:  “Come to me, all of you who are ·tired [weary] and have heavy loads [overburdened; (heavy-laden], and I will give you rest. Mt 28:11.  I have through my life accumulated painful hurts, which blinded me from experiencing the life Jesus wanted for me.  “What do you want me to do Jesus asks” – “What do yo want Him to do for you”?  Tell Him, trust Him, have faith, and then give your hurts, pains, and burdens to Him and leave them there.  Leaving them there is a tough order, but a necessary one!

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi 

In his book The Furious Longing of God, Brennan Manning describes a method of prayer that has helped me greatly in learning what it is to enter into God’s presence. He says to pray this simple prayer: “Abba, I belong to you.” As you inhale, pray the word “Abba.” As you exhale, pray, “I belong to you.” This idea of breathing and praying is an incredible depiction of what it is to receive the presence of God. He is nearer to us than the very breath that fills our lungs, and he will always respond to our desire to be filled with him. May this practice of God’s presence fill you with a greater awareness of how real and near your God is to you today. (First 15 – Sept 22,2017)

He never moves….we do.

“Don’t measure the size of the mountain; talk to the One who can move it. Instead of carrying the world on your shoulders, talk to the One who holds the universe on his.” — Max Lucado

“Do you love me?” (John 21:17)

Jesus asked Peter this question three times, and each time when the answer was yes the response was “Feed my sheep.” Talk is cheap. Love is everything. What do you do to show your love? 

“Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

Jesus asked this of the disciples when they were repeating what other people were saying about Jesus’ identity. So much for what other people think. What do you think? That’s what counts.

Elijah Meets God at Horeb

“He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

(I Kings: 19: 11-13)

Silence alludes me.  I try.  I get up early daily.  I have plans to sit in my recliner and be still and allow silence to engulf me.  Maybe I am still for thirty seconds before my accumulated thoughts start drifting in. You have to do this – did you do that, and before long I am doing and not being.  My dear friend, Stan Carter, would get up at 4:00 A.M. daily,  grab a blanket, wrap it around him, head out to their screened-in-porch, close his eyes, and mediate in silence.  Whenever I visited him and his wife, I was so impressed with his consistency and desire to be in God’s presence, I would say to myself – “When I get home I am going to do this”.  Stan would say to me “Coppi, when you start the mornings being in the presence of God, you will be amazed how smoothly the day goes by”.  Stan is in heaven now, and I am still working on being still and silent in God’s presence.  Winston Churchill’s famous saying ““never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in……”.  Is my mantra as I preserve to be with God in silence.

I have done a painting expressing solidarity – a tree all alone on a mountain top reaching out to God in silence.  It’s done in pastels with many colors which are examples of the many ways we are pulled from being alone with God in silence.

“Being consumed by what people think of you is the fastest way to forget what God thinks of you.” – Craig Groesche

Of course I like people to enjoy me and to be accepted by them, but the fallacy is when I am consumed by if they do or if they don’t.  I remember what a dear friend of mine told me – “Coppi let your expectations come from God, not man, and you will not be disappointed”.  The world is full of snow flakes (mankind) with different personalities: “Personality: refers to the enduring characteristics and behavior that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.” Acceptance of people and their way of life is unconditional love – the other is trying to mold yourself into their life by not being who you are and being a people pleaser.  I think I was a little of both – a friend told me once and I quote him “what difference will it make forty years from now”.  Twenty some years ago, I wore myself out trying to be the ambassador of the world; it wasn’t until I gave that position over to God that my life was not filled with so much angst. Yes, today I still desire to be loved; however, my biggest quest is to please God and let his guidance direct my life, and I believe if I do that God will take care of all my desires.  Ps 37: 4 – delight yourself in God and He will give you the desires of your heart”.

Written in 2022

If the grass on the other side looks greener it’s probably AstroTurf!

So many times in my life, I thought the grass was greener on the other side – I had the “if,only”.  If only I had that car, house, diamond, etc that would be what makes me happy.  I was in “a way out” class in Dallas, Tx & remember vividly the teacher calling me out in front of the class.  She would hang a string with a car on the end of it & say “are you happy” now, then she would hang another string on my neck with a beautiful home, big diamond, etc & voice the same thing….when she finished I had so many “wants” hanging around my neck that I was weighted down.  Her point was if you don’t deal with the core of pain, you will weight yourself down with wants.  There is nothing wrong with having blessings in life, I did & do, but my problem was the blessings had me & I seemed to want to pile on more thinking that would ceased the pain inside.  It never did.  In that class, we had to dig deep within & find the core issue of what was causing the pain that caused us to act out.  “A human doing, not a human being”.  “God is passionately committed to the kind of woman I will become not to what I do.  He is the one who speaks to storms & they have to obey.  He is the one who brings order from chaos.  No matter how out of control my storms may feel right now.” Shelia Walsh

“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.” — Rudyard Kipling

I have been stymied by my own fears most of my life.  Fear was a dark cloud looming behind me.  I told myself as long as I hide behind this darkness and not turn around and face the fear of whatever was holding me captive; light was blocked.  Do you know how hard that is when you live under the circumstances of low self-worth and thinking that accomplishments is the way to acceptance.  If you fail in what ever it is that has a grip on you, devastation moves in like a tsunami and if you succeed, the pain that comes from struggling to learn something hard followed by the delight in knowing that I can still surprise myself through learning is satisfying.  It’s a dichotomy.  “The division of two things that are completely different:   The dichotomy between what people think they are and what they do.”  To simplify me, I had to dig up the root that was choking my life.  Face the reason, acknowledge it, work at uprooting it, (I am a believer in Christ) and asking Jesus to help me move on with Him as my guide and director.  I gave up being the ambassador of my life.  I wanted to walk in light – not darkness.