To all of my followers and those who have kindly looked in on my blog

Dear Ones Who Have kept up with me theses last few months:

Thank you for looking in on my blog.
I apologize for the delay in writing.
The Lord has been dealing with me greatly.

I have found a peace that I have not had for a long time.
I hope to get back to writing on this blog.
I have been growing in the Lord and I hope you have also.
My prayer is for you to be encouraged and built up for the Lord.

Thank you again for being faithful to look for me.
God Bless you and keep you in his loving arms.

Lanell

P. S. There is a new post below. Please read and enjoy!

Finding The Dignity

February 17, 2018

There is a dignity with coming to know Christ. It is not pride but a fulfillment of the Holy Spirit that resides in us.

“Be dressed and ready for service, keep your lamps burning,” (Luke 12:35 NIV) for the day of the Lord will come sooner than you expect.

“Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom.” (Luke 9:62 NIV) We can’t keep looking over our shoulders, wondering, “Where did things go wrong?” Jesus wants us to look ahead and to the possibilities of the greatness of his kingdom.

Will he find me lacking in faith to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me in a loving attitude? Or will I be found moaning and groaning? Will he find me in peacefulness that only he can lead me to; or will I be found in fearfulness of the enemy? I should have faith to believe that I will reap if I faint not and continue studying his Word to show myself a workman that needs not be ashamed.

Life can be challenging in the day to day living for Jesus. Live wholeheartedly for him. We are admonished not to be slothful servants. The Bible tells us to be bold in teaching the principles Jesus taught and they are found in Paul’s teachings as well. The lessons of fruitfulness: “rid yourself of all malice, slander; put on the new self of compassion kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:8, & 10 (my paraphrase).

So keep Jesus in your heart and on your mind and you will have a dignity to stand for Christ when the time comes. And my prayer for you today is to look forward not backward. Keep looking for Jesus to return in his glory, so he can say, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.”

By Lanell Stuart

The Tangled Web

By Lanell Stuart

     Have you ever been caught in a spider’s web? Ewe, we react, “How quick can I get rid of this thing!” It’s sticky and the more we try to resist the more determined it tries to stay on you.

     Life can become entangled like a web. “Just stay away from me,” we tell Satan. The more determined we become to live for Jesus, the more determined he is to make you stay in a sad, miserable state of being.

     We can become entangled with others lives to the point we just want “out”. But God is urging you onward. “Don’t give up on the unlovely. Keep loving them and showing them the way back to God.” I think that is what God would say to us.

     Remember you were once unlovely in God’s sight. Someone took the time to invest in my life to bring me to the a fullness of loving God again. Someone took the time to pray for me that I may be brought to the point of saying, “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.” (Psalms 51:12, KJV) And it has been restored.

     My web is unraveling, slowly. I am returning to Lord’s way for my life. Returning, to escape the spider’s web that promises rewards for my life, but never succeeded.

    The Lord is restoring to me the joy of my salvation. You also can obtain that reward through loving friends and family.

     Everyone comes into your life for a season and a reason. We can learn through each incident in life. The Lord leads in mysterious ways, Paul announces in his word to the Colossians in Chapter one, verse 27. It says, “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” God makes known the mysteries of our life, which is to know Jesus better.

     He says in Ephesians 6:19, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”

     I pray you will not get caught in the spider’s web of deceit that promises rewards that are not there in the end.

     The promises of grandeur and fulfillment do not lay in the promises of man but in the promises of God. Seek God and all will be added unto you. (My words paraphrasing from Mt. 6:33 NIV)

“Love the Lord with all thy heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)

Being A Child Of God

You are a child of God! You are to be respected as such. It does not mean that you are to be run over by people. Just let people go if they tend to run over you often. Vengeance is mine says the Lord! What goes around eventually comes around.

God can reassure us that He is by our side in our quest to reach people for Him. “Staying in the word”, what does that mean? It means learning how God works in the lives of believers. It means getting to know who Christ is and applying the scripture to learn how to be more like our Savior.  Even though we fail in our human form we are not lost, only ready to ask forgiveness and keep on living for Christ.

For years I wondered what the Old Testament stories had to do with Christ.  The stories I thought were just childhood stories. NO! They were stories of how God worked in the lives of believers. Yes, the Holy Spirit did come upon people on special occasions. It means the Holy Spirit did exist from the very beginning, like Christ did.

Jesus brought the Holy Spirit on each person at Pentecost after He had gone to be with The Father. He brought the Holy Spirit that we could have an abundant life of freedom. Not just a mediocre life but also a blessed life. Even in the mundane daily life, we live with joy in our hearts that others do not have.

I do not believe God intended us to be so caught up in life that we become discouraged. I believe He gave us His Word to lift us out of the discouragement. Everyday we are to look for the interesting things God has given us to do. Study the Word, memorize it, love it, and practice it. “Stay in the Word.” Learn that The Word is Jesus and he does not condemn us but gives us freedom to be ourselves and love ourselves. Not because of something we’ve done or will do but because He loves us just the way we are.

Remember who you are! You are a child of God! I am a child of God.

NEW HABITS

When we begin a habit we are not conscious of it until we see that habit may be harmful to our health. We became aware of our unconscious habit of overeating salty snacks on our four months check up with our doctor. We decided we had to do something about it.

A new habit can be formed in seven days. I know because my husband, Tommy, and I learned to quit a habit in seven days.

With God’s help and a little determination we managed to see our bad, salty, snacking after seven in the evening in a new consciousness. We began not to think about our salty snack. Our thinking pattern had changed from mindless eating to thinking more clearly about what we were doing. We were not distracted from one another. We began thinking about each other and the evening TV show we were watching. As a result Tommy lost three pounds in six days, I lost two pounds.

Hopefully we can continue our good habit and have a better health report from the doctor on our next visit with him. With God’s help we can consciously continue our good habit of not overeating salty, high carbohydrate food. With God’s help we can gain self-control and be effective and productive in our endeavors.  

7. And to knowledge self-control and self-control, perseverance and to perseverance godliness 8. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter1: 6 & 8 NIV)

Lanell Stuart

May 13,2017

He Reveals

As I sit here in this chair
reading book after book
that tell of Jesus' love
as on the cross He stood
loving me forever.
His love never fails
my life should reveal
His light shining through.
In lovingkindness He forgives.
Unconditional love abiding
throughout eternity
His glory He reveals.

LIFE'S TWISTS AND TURNS

He understands
how life's twists and turns
can discourage and deplete us
and emptiness we feel.
His love returns
through reading
The Holy Bible, His Word.
Praying and seeking
we find His love once again
standing forever
through life's twists and turns.

HEAVEN

We leave a life well known

to that one up above.

Where Christ is King

and the victory won

on heights we don’t comprehend.

We stand on solid ground,

as our heart beats to another drum,

on green, green pastures of daffodils

or in the streets of gold.

Where Jesus is told of long ago:

the bittersweet taste of dying

from this earth to a place well known.

Where God and Jesus and the ones we love

who went on before reside.