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.

Mark 4:39 – then He arose & rebuked the wind, & said to the sea, “peace be still”!

“Father, the sea is big & my boat is small, but I feel safe because you are here in the boat with me”.  Daniel Schantz

Do you ever feel your boat is a kayak & you are peddling with all your strength to keep it moving?  Back in my days in Dallas, TX, I used to work with the Chaplain at the V.A. Hospital.  He would send me to different floors where people were in dire need of healing & a message of hope.  It seemed every room was filled with death.  I struggled with being there & what to say until I came to the conclusion I wasn’t there for me but for others.  I crawled out of the kayak & got into the boat with Jesus.  Each room I enter, I would say “you know the need of this person, give me the words to comfort them & give them hope”.  I volunteered there approximately 1 – 2 years sometimes 3 times a week.  I thought I was helping them but truly listening to their life stories, they ministered to me.  When you know your time is near & if Jesus doesn’t heal you, it’s amazing what is important & what isn’t to you……Many lost their fight for life but others made it.  The V.A. Hospital was like a big sea of swirling winds until I saw Jesus move within the hearts of mankind & bring peace to their souls.

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

Ezekiel 34:26 I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.  

I will send him showers not drops.  Look up today, oh parched plant, & open thy leaves & flowers for a heavenly watering.

I can remember as a child, my mother would pile all of us into the car on Sunday & take us to church.  It was a small country church.  Not many people attended.   Mostly, a small group of “country folk”who  made their way there from their farms tucked away in the hills of Fredericksburg, Tx.  We were of that group.  I don’t think anyone was endowed with money but one would think that heaven was showering down blessings on us when the song book was opened to “Shower of blessings”.  “

“Showers of Blessings, showers of blessing we need;

Mercy drops round us are falling

But for the showers we plead”…

We sang – with gusto- with expectation – with hope – with belief even though circumstances were dire, a shower of blessing was on its way.

Quote: Ed Grinnan

“Is it any wonder, Lord, that when I force myself ahead of you, my way becomes so difficult”….

Enough said.

I love testimonies as they build faith and hope.  The following testimony was sent to me by one of my readers.  I met her at the Cancer Center.  We sat side by side taking “drips”.  She was taking a chemo drip and I was taking something to build up my bones.  We got to talking and sharing.  I added her name to my list of Just a Thought readers and through them we kept in touch.  Yesterday, I received the following testimony from her.  It blessed me, and I knew it would be a blessing to you, so I asked if I could share it with you.  I loved her reply.  “Hi Coppi , yes , of course you may !!!!  Please do, this needs to be shared .  Jesus is everywhere we need him to be .  What a life changing blessing I will always hold on to.”   Following is her testimony:

“I will be  a 3 year , stage 3 , breast cancer survivor on January 29th !  I want to share something with you.  One day when I was receiving chemo , a woman was seated not so far away from where I was sitting.  She kept looking at me.  When I got up to leave , she stopped me and said she was sorry for staring at me but wanted me to know she saw Jesus sitting with me while I was getting my chemo.  She said she couldn’t help herself to keep looking at what she was seeing .  She wanted me to thank  Jesus everyday for healing me, which of course I do ,sometimes many, many times a day.  This has most certainly changed my life .  I break down in tears of joy every time  I think of that day.   I love our Lord with all my heart.  Not a day goes by that I’m not thinking of him and praying to him.  It is so nice to read your messages that you write .  Thank you for sharing them with me and so many others !”

Yes, Jesus is everywhere.  He lives within our heart.  We are his ambassadors.

“What is so Amazing About Grace” by Philip Yancey.  This book was recommended to me by two different individuals & finally I purchased it.  I am so glad I did.  Growing up in a very legalistic religion, Grace was never heard from the pulpit –  only dos & don’ts & some of the dos & don’t are not even in the Bible.  I am so glad I decided to find out what the Bible said for myself. Grace, wonderful Grace is not earned, it is free. One can draw a red line from Genesis to Revelation and will note the pattern of redemption…He is coming, the One that will set us free by His blood.  He came, he died, a very cruel death at Calvary, but death could not hold Him.  He was resurrected so we might have eternal life.  How good is that and that is Grace.

I recommend the book “What is so Amazing About Grace” by Philip Yancey….

Leave the planning and leadership up to him, and simply follow him to green pastures and still waters every day. Seek relationship with him and allow daily, consistent encounters with him to mold and fashion you into a greater reflection of your Good Shepherd. May you find peace, joy, and patience by living in the present today.  (Greg Denison First 15, September 10, 2017

1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  (Ps 23)

When I was reading the first three verses of Psalm 23, three words stood out to me.  Want, leadeth, and restoreth.  I remember years ago, a young man I met related to me that Ps 23 saved him from committing suicide.  I asked “how is that?” His reply was –  “I was going through a divorce and I had two young girls and my wife was giving me problems on visitations rights.  I became very depressed and decided to take my life.  I picked up the Bible to Psalm 23 and the word ‘want’ stood out in neon lights.  It seemed to say to me I will not want in seeing my little girls.  I did not take my life and I see my girls whenever I want.”  ‘Leadeth’ –  if I let my Shepherd lead and direct my life, I find myself to be more at peace.  It took a lot of mistakes and wrong choices to come to that decision.  I now try and go to him before I make a decision.  When I don’t I regret it.  ‘Restoreth’ – as they say in Alcohol Anonymous “I have come to believe there is a power greater than myself that can restore my soul”.  I know for a fact that I cannot restore my soul it has to come from my Shepherd, but I first must come to him with what I need changed in my soul. He will if I am willing.  Three words – want, leadeth, and restoreth are very powerful but if the Shepherd is in control,  I will lie down in green pastures and he will lead me by the still waters.  And, that to me can be summed up in the word ‘

God loves you simply because he loves you. You don’t have to work for his affection. You don’t have to set yourself straight before God can pour out his love over you. The father in the prodigal son story ran out to meet his son before anything had ever been set right. He didn’t know his son was there to apologize. He didn’t care. He simply wanted to love his child. Your heavenly Father feels the same way about you. He longs to love you right where you are, as you are. He longs to fill you with love to overflowing. He longs for us to experience this love and oneness just as Jesus did when he walked the earth.

As you enter into guided prayer, open up your heart and allow God’s grace to settle in. Allow him to free you from works-based religion and guide you to a lifestyle of relationship. God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a loving Father who will always love you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his love for you today. Allow his love to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give.

“To love is to be vulnerable.”

—C. S. Lewis

“a study conducted by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine concluded that social media is both our greatest opportunity for social connection and our greatest source of loneliness.” 

It’s hard to be vulnerable.  It’s hard to allow anyone in your walls of protection.  I heard someone say once when they were asked to give a speech “I am three persons – one who I want you to believe I am – one who you think I am – one who I really am.  I will tell you now that being up here getting ready to speak, I am the last person.  I am nervous, fearful, and afraid.”   Vulnerable and honesty is hard as you want people to love you, and if they see flaws they just might not.  My dear friend, used to say to me “Coppi, everybody has clay (easy to fall apart) feet- no one is perfect”.  Over the years of my life, I have tried hard to be who I am realizing we all come from different backgrounds and are individuals reflecting hurts and pains from happenings in life.  But, to be real, one has to be vulnerable.  Not an easy task but necessary to become you.  

“God finds us in the holes we dig for ourselves. We see failures; He sees foundations.” — Bob Goff

When I think of holes, I think of the holes little-creates dig to hide from mankind and other dangers to them.  The most well-known burrowers are probably mammals, especially the mole, gopher, groundhog (also known as a woodchuck), and rabbit. Bears are most likely the largest burrowing animals.  I think the holes I dug to hide my pain, confusion, rejection, etc, would compare to the bear hole, because whatever I hid from was that painful and big for me.  An example:  “ I am tucked deep into my bear hole, journaling my emotions and feeling, praying to Jesus to help me through the agony I have caused myself or another caused, I then sense my Shepherd, Jesus, looking at me through this bear hole saying “Coppi why are you hiding?  “I am hiding because I can’t deal with the situations that are engulfing me.”  “Jesus I have been praying asking you to help me”.  Then Jesus gives me an example from the Bible.  It was about when Lazarus died.  Jesus said to Lazarus when he died and was buried” (John 11:38-44): “Come out!” and the dead man. Lazarus,  came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”  And, just as Jesus said to Lazarus “take off the grave clothes, He is saying to me “take off your sorrows, angst and anything else that is causing you grief give them to me and leave them there, I will help you”.  And as the scripture says “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. (Mt 11:28-30).  Leave your hole filled with sorrow and come out and trust and believe your Shepherd will do what He says.