Dec

11

Net Gains

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Psalm 31:4

Life can seem like a net, can’t it?  All we need to think about and do in a day can snare us and get us so tangled up, we feel caught. “They” are pulling us in too many directions.  Things happen that mess up our routine that we did not see coming. A child wakes up with fever, the car has a flat tire, a deadline is bumped up to today,  the computer crashes, the washer stops running when it has just filled with water for the rinse cycle,  a loved one is rushed to the ER, your teenager has locked themselves in their room, again.

 It appears that the more we struggle to get free, the tighter our obligations, worries, and predicaments wrap around us.  Just when we wiggle a hand or a foot free and get a little breathing room, the net flips us upside down.  “Really? What’s next?” we sigh. “ Can it get any worse?  When will it get better? HELP!”

Then just when the struggle seems to be out of us and we lie spent in the tangle, we hear Heavenly footsteps crunching in the leaves and giant hands begin to work, slowly unwinding us from the net.  Thread by thread, the tensions begin to release from around us. The weight and pressures  in which ”they” have caught us release bit by bit.   We begin to sense that we may just get free. Problem after problem begins to resolve. There is hope.

So what will we do? Run like a scared animal back into the forest and into another snare? Or fall to our knees at the feet of our Refuge and Deliverer, receiving comfort and protection – in other words,  the “better” we so desperately prayed for?

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Dec

1

Morning Watch

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you [direct my prayer to you] and watch.  Psalm5:3

What a great way to start the day.  I once heard you should sandwich your day in prayer – praying once when you rise, once when you lay down to sleep.   But so often we hit the ground running, don’t we?

The day starts with us “getting”.  We begin by getting ready, getting breakfast on the  table, getting the family out the door with all of their last minute crises and paraphernalia. Then we move on to getting first to the pets’ needs, then the world’s.  Finally, getting into traffic for the daily commute before getting to work.  ”Maybe I can squeeze in  time for an arrow prayer- but that is all I can give you right now, Lord. Catch you later. Love ya. Bye.”

I see Him sigh, shake His head and say, “Child. Don’t you get it?  I thirst for time with you. I want to bless your day.”

 God is the most important person with whom we can spend time, because our time with Him is the monitor for how we spend the rest of our day.  I am hardly a morning person.  I need to wind up before I can even grunt a civil word.  But I know my attitude is better, I see more blessings and I have less stress when I take time to turn the day back over to the One who created it. If I take the time to listen for instructions from the Commander of my life, there will be less wandering off the path into my own devices and desires.   When I start my day sacrificing it back  through prayer to Him who has made it , it just goes better.  Then, during the day, I am always amazed how He orchestrates it- even the things that go “wrong” seem to get better.

For one week,  take time out, even if  it is in the shower, to spend time with God. Recall how you have been blessed,  offer up the day to His glory, and  ask for Him to give you wisdom, compassion and patience as you go through the day. Ask Him to use you to spread His kingdom in some way that day. Then watch what He does.  He never disappoints!

Aug

21

Daily Direction

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.  Psalm 143:8

I have never been a “morning person”. God just didn’t design me that way.  But I have learned before I sit down to my at home job of freelancing, that I need to  first sit down with Him.  Somedays when I am meeting deadlines, that is tough. It is tempting to jump right into my work, until I remember my work is first and  foremost for Him.

No matter what your “work” is, whether you are a stay at home Mom, or an executive with 200 employees or a cashier at a super market, you primary job is to serve Our God.  When you strive to do that, then everything else falls into place- usually. And  if it  doesn’t, He is still there to help put Humpty Dumpty back together again. God’s mercy is the glue that holds us together when we feel shattered, His grace is the protective coating to keep us from the world. 

Every morning, even if it is in the shower, commune with Your Creator and Savior. Psalm 51 prays for God renew a right spirit within us. It is chanted daily as part of an ancient morning prayer service, has been for centuries.   I like that, because every morning I need that renewal. I need daily direction to remind me that the next 24 hours are in His hands. I need Him to set my course for the day.  Don’t you?

Good Morning Lord. Thank you for another day and for safeguarding me and those I love through the night.  Give me direction today. Help keep me from bumping into stumbling blocks or my ears and mind filled so much with the din of the world that it drowns out Your voice.  Whatever happens today, I put You in control of it. Give me my daily direction on the course You have set for my life. Teach me more about Your love, and let me show it to others I encounter today, so they are drawn to You through me. I pray this through Your Son. All glory and power and praise be Yours forevermore . Amen.

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter till the full of the day.” Proverbs 4:18

May

29

Only One Thing is Needed

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” Luke 10:41-42a

So many sermons have been written about Mary at the feet of Jesus while her sister Martha was busy making all the preparations. Most speak of the balance between service to God and time to be with Him, in prayer and the Word.

It is also about attitude. Martha was not getting anything done because her anxiety about all she had to do was zapping all her energy. She was in a huff.  I can relate to that,  can’t you? There are just not enough hours in the day. Pressures can build up and suddenly the tasks seem monstrous.

But that is the key. They just seem monstrous. Once we let our emotions take control, the negative thoughts take rein.  Jesus is saying, there is a better way – Him.

When we focus on Jesus and His Word, our whole attitude changes. He is the one thing that is needed in order for us to accomplish what needs to get done.  On the days I do not start out with prayer and reading the Bible, my day gets all lopsided. Few things go as planned and I get tripped up with stress and frustration. Then I ask, why in the world did I not sit at His feet first?

Dearest Lord, forgive me for not sandwiching every day with You- for not starting and ending my day in Your presence. You gave all so I could have access to you.  You are all I need.  When worries and stress begin to creep in, help me to take time out to sit at Your feet and receive Your peace. Only then, will my day go right. I pray this through Your mercy. Amen.

“Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”  Psalm 116:7

May

7

Hold It Together

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


“…all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together.” Col 1:16-17

If I just keep it together, I’ll be fine. Every woman has said that in times of stress and trouble. It seems that is our lot in life. We juggle so many balls in the air that when one threatens to bounce of our hand and roll out of our reach, we hasten to grasp it and pull it back into sync with the others. Keep everything running smoothly. All ducks in a row.

If only that would happen all the time. But life gets in the way. Someone comes down with a fever or stomach virus, the car breaks down, the washer spews all over the floor, the computer crashes, losing half a day’s worth of work that happens to be due in two hours. And those are just the little nagging things.

Then the biggies come along. Death. Divorce. Disability. The “3-D’s” that give life dimensions in ways we never fathomed. Then there are debilitating illnesses, loss of job and income, a betrayal by someone we love, a child that seems destined to head down the wrong path no matter how hard we try to stop them. How do we hold that together? We don’t.

Once on a retreat, we were told to put God f-i-r-s-t – in finances, interests, relationships, schedule and troubles. In the little and the big, it is comforting to know the Creator of the Universe is holding it all together, so we do not have to try.. He is before all things, so when they happen, He is right there to guide, comfort and love us through it. The little stuff and the big stuff. Put it in His hands. It’s Okay- they are big enough to hold all your problems and still hold onto you.

Holy Father, help us to cast our cares onto you knowing you can keep our lives together and see us through whatever comes our way. For we are not without hope, but fully trust in You. Then hold us tight and comfort us through it until we can fully see your Glory on the other side. For You purpose all things for the good just as you purposed your Son’s suffering and death on the cross. It is through Him that we come to Your Throne and crawl into your strong arms of love. Amen.

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