Picking up my cat and pulling her close, as I stroke her head the purrs get louder. It’s her way of telling me she’s pleased; well at least I'd like to think that.
Cupping her fuzzy head in my hands, it reminds me that
hope is present …hope Jesus. The event of Christmas may be over, but Emmanuel,
God is always with us.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Hastings, England, United Kingdom;Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh, India; Lesotho; Namibia; Portugal; Palestine; Botswana; Gibraltar;
Israel; Iraq; Morocco; Turks and Caicos Islands; Estonia.
USA – Riverside, CA; Magnolia, DE; Perth, WA;
Appleton, WI; Davenport, IA.
I am so happy for your visit and hope that you come back
each week to participate in the weekly challenges. God has been faithful and we expect His favor
to abound in the lives of those who chose to Journey with Jesus on Daily Favor Blog.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
For Tradition Sake
 |
| Christmas Day - tree up ... |
The holidays are over and people have gone back to their
regular routines for the most part.
School busses are buzzing about and all the city activity is in full
swing.
Our holiday seemed a little short lived with our
Christmas tree lasting only twenty hours before one of the rescues decided to
take it for a joy ride to the floor.
Hubby shouted for me to “Quick catch it”, but it and the
 |
| Christmas Day - tree down! |
newest kitty were
already in flight before I could do anything about it.
The entire matter was hilarious to watch, especially as
the other pets scattered as if they knew the “baby” would be in trouble. (I
shared the photos on my Facebook page on December 28th, 2015. Just look for the crashed Christmas tree).
We felt it best to take down the tree when we discovered
the same “Oh she’s so cute” kitty chewed through the light cord on New Year’s
Day (thank the Lord it wasn’t plugged in at the time).
I believe it’s the
shortest time we’ve ever had our tree up for the holidays, but sometimes
changing what you’ve done in the past is a good thing.
Having to put away our tree decorations early shed light
on some of the traditional things I do “just because I’ve always done it that
way.” Oh I wish I didn’t fall into that
category, but I do with certain things.
Not wanting to stay in the rut of tradition in my journey
with Jesus, I began thinking about my life as a sojourner in the world. Up until 2004 I thought I was a great
traveler.
Days on the “road” have really changed over the
years. When I first traveled I carried
loads of luggage, wanting to be prepared for anything. It didn’t matter if it
was a short or long trip; I always carried more than I needed. You know the “just in case … better be
prepared” syndrome that shapes the way we travel. The added pressure of “did I
forget anything” everywhere I went took the joy out of the experience.
It has taken lots of trips in all sorts of circumstances
for me to learn that I no longer need to travel with the burden of heavy luggage.
Learning to let go of some baggage didn’t come easy at first, but over time it
has been a blessing.
New Things
As we begin the New Year there are things I’d like to do
differently. I don’t write down
resolutions, because I think they are setting people up for disappointment if
they don’t work out as planned.
Instead I set short and long term goals that allow for
“life” to happen along the way. I learned how to do this through writing lesson
plans for my classes that had to be submitted to the school authorities.
When my life course changed to teaching special needs
children, it became important to set many types of goals to help them succeed at
various levels. It proved to be more
helpful to me in all aspects of life, not just in the classroom.
If goals aren’t met at the exact time, I keep plugging
away but don’t browbeat myself which invites negative feelings. I developed an attitude of “I’ve never failed
at anything … I’m just not done yet.”
You would be surprised how it changes the way you think
of yourself with this mindset. It sort
of places one in the Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, George Washington Carver, Marie
Curie, Harriet Tubman or Eleanor Roosevelt category. What fun!
Last year I learned to quilt (semi-learned anyway). This year I’d like to learn basket weaving.
There isn’t any particular reason, just ‘cuz, as they say.
Like my sister who is setting her journey to include at
least ten minutes of vigorous daily exercises, I also have health goals figured
in on my journey travels this year (along with other things). Keeping my focus on “new things”, I began my
first day of the year by cutting my very
long hair for a “new do for a new you” (referring to myself) attitude I
would embrace.
With scissors in his hand I cried like a baby as I heard
the snipping sound of my husband chopping away at my valued asset. One word from me and he wouldn’t have gone
through with it, but alas hubby took it well. (Picture shows after the cut! I held up a blanket so you could see it better.)
Trying to lessen my anxiety he took my now detached13
inch ponytail, stuck it in his nose and then the ear as if they needed major
trimming. His humor distracted me from my sudden loss of brownish locks. It was time to look at things in a new way,
including how I perceived myself through God’s eyes inside and outwardly.
“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! (Job
14:1 NLT)
Last year was a tremendously trying year in laying hold
to what I believed by faith. Hubby undergoing five operations along with being
back and forth from the hospital over fifty times (not counting doctor
appointments and cardio rehab). We were
physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. Through it all we were incredibly favored by
God and man with blessings, mercy and grace beyond what we could ask or think.
Every time something tried to pull me off my faith walk,
something happened to direct me back to where I could rest in the Lord. That something was a someone - the Holy
Spirit. God also used His children to
encourage, uplift and pray for one another.
This is why I am so pleased to be starting a new year with you whom my
husband and I have come to love and cherish.
Hope for the “New” Journey
Sitting here at my kitchen table I’m reminded by my kitty
that hope is by my side for this journey.
There’s a song we sing in church called “Our Hope Is in the Lord.” I rephrase it when I sing it to her, “My Hope is from the Lord, she is a gift from
Jesus Christ.”
It’s true. The gift of hope is to help us stay in faith
as we travel each new road God has set before us. We often don’t recognize what’s happening
right before our eyes.
“Behold, I will
do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and
rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 NKJV)
It is not new to Him, it is new to us.
“For I am about to do something new. See, I
have already begun! Do you not see it? I
will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry
wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)
We’re getting prepared for another “trip” by faith; one
that will take us into new adventures as a believer. I am so ready to see God do amazing things in
the Body of Christ this year. There is something I have to ask though before we
set out on this quest…
What kind of traveler are you?
Are you the type of traveler where the luggage is weighted
with heavy burdens that should have been left at the foot of the cross? Do past
sins, unforgiveness, guilt, envy and strife cause your suitcases to weigh in as
“additional carry-on baggage?"
Are you tired of collecting these badges along the way and it resulting in excess beyond what you can handle?
Until we learn to travel “light” with Jesus by casting
our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), we’re going to constantly be detoured away from our life’s
goals. As part of our New Year’s life
plan, we’re going to stay focused on the prize of the High calling (Philippians 3:14). It starts with unloading our emotional
and physical luggage.
All of Me, Nothing Else
“He commanded them
(the disciples) to take nothing for the journey except a staff. No bag, no
bread, no copper in their money belts nor a change of clothes.” (see Mark 6:8 and Luke 9:3)
Jesus told His disciple to take nothing with them on
their journey. You can imagine how flags went up in their thoughts and the
“lack” mentality crept into their thinking. I can hear all the questions that
flew out of their mouths as they tried to rationalize with the Lord about what
He was asking them to do.
Didn’t the Master realize they had expenses and
families? Certainly this was an
unreasonable half-baked idea that couldn’t possibly work to their benefit. Nonetheless, that’s what Jesus commanded.
Already knowing God’s ultimate plan, Jesus really wasn’t
concerned about the material aspect of what they would need, but used it to
prove He would provide and supply for their every need for the road
trips in life. (Philippians 4:19) That
promise hasn’t changed as long as our journey includes God’s plans.
“And He (Jesus)
said to them. When I sent you without money bag, knapsack and sandals, did you
lack anything? So they (the disciples)
said, Nothing.” (Luke 22:35 NKJV)
As time went by, daily events were to take a turn …
Along their journey with Jesus the “game plan” and tides
had changed. Times would be harder, but Jesus needed the disciples to trust Him
like they did when they first followed Him.
By following what the Lord said, it allowed God to give
the disciples all they needed for their journey with Jesus. They learned to trust Him to provide whatever
they needed. I mean come on… Jesus even
used a fish to help pay their taxes! (Matthew 17:27) Now how much more
evidence did they need that God would always be there for whatever they would encounter?
In other words, first hand they became well-educated on how
to travel light with Jesus in confidence and without fear. The disciples discovered how to be travelers
for, of and with Jesus. Obedience made a
way for His favor.
This Week’s Challenge:
Learning to Travel Light
Learning to “travel light” to be a “traveling light” for
Jesus may be a play on words, but it isn’t play when it comes to trusting God
for everything.
As in any trip, one needs to prepare for the
journey. First let’s begin with reading the
third chapter of Hebrews as a base for our route.
There are three main aspects we are to retain
from this passage concerning our travel plans with Jesus.
1 - Jesus was, is and always will be faithful.
2 - We need to be faithful and listen to the Holy Spirit’s
direction.
3 - Learn what happens to those who wander off the path.
For the next few months we’re going to focus on being
better prepared travelers for our journey with Jesus in 2016.
Although we know life comes with trials and tests, we
don’t need to keep piling them into our luggage. Instead, we should be emptying
them out between destination points.
Our challenge this week is to unpack our burdens and
start this part of our journey with nothing, but faith, hope and trust as our
suitcases. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden (load) is
light.” (Matthew 11:30 NKJV)
Why do you think He made that statement? I believe it’s because Christians have failed
to empty their burdens on the Lord in prayers of confession before Him. We want to question the decisions of God like
the disciples may have done in the beginning of their fellowship with Jesus.
In order to be ready for next week and move forward in
hope, we have to unload, unpack and unleash what we’ve been dragging with us
for years. God promised He will be with
us for the journey while on this earth, never leaving or forsaking us. (Hebrews
13:5)
Spend time focusing on what God has already said in His
word rather than always waiting to “hear” something your spirit wants to hear.
Stop being deceived by satan and get rid of all sin
(Galatians 5:7-10) and love God’s Truth (Jeremiah 9:3).
Start out with a new approach like we’ve done in the
past. No more B.A.R. Hopping either. (If you don’t know what that is you’ll
find it here.) It’s time we become earth travelers God can use. Right now take
your first steps of this journey with Jesus on bended knee, at the cross of forgiveness, to help
you become a better and more fit traveler.
Our journey with Jesus isn’t always going to be “Heaven
on Earth.” By stepping out in faith we understand
that there are going to be both good and bad times as scriptures declare. We
cannot escape what God has already said and He will not do anything against
what He has already ordained.
A “feel good” message isn’t what I present on Daily Favor,
but one of “be not dismayed or discouraged, for I (Jesus) have overcome this
world.” (John 16:33) Trusting the Lord has its rewards of new favor and firsts
for all of us that will help us through it all.
That is what I truly believe.
It’s a time to get excited! We’re beginning our travels with hope by our
side (I’m not referring to my feline companion) and renewed joy, as we venture
into uncharted territories with the Lord together.
Your journey may include cutting you hair, losing weight,
writing a book or song, joining a ministry, changing jobs, opening a new
business or moving to a foreign country, who knows but God?
This is what I know: God wants our undivided attention. Our journey will involve change, people,
movement, traveling light, staying close by the Lord’s side and include FAVOR
for the end times.
Believing God for new and greater things for my fellow
travelers who take on the Daily Favor challenges, I leave you with a prayer and
blessings of favor as you prepare for this year’s Journey with Jesus.
“Christ be with you always through the precious gifts of
the earth and its fullness, and the favor of God who appeared in the burning
bush before Moses, I declare these blessings to rest on your head as it did
Joseph’s, crowning you royal above others as you obey the call of God on your
life.” (*See below)
Goal #1 – Travel Lighter with Hope Jesus.
Journey with Jesus, He calls you friend.
If this article has encouraged or helped you please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until
next time, look for new favor to unfold!
“I will show new favor you have never seen!”
Jesus Christ
*My prayer is not to take away or change what God instructed
Moses to do in Deuteronomy 33 as the Blessings of Moses on God’s people before
he left earth, but to encourage, exhort and uplift the Body of Christ in Journey
with Jesus.
*The names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: The
words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him no
place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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Scripture
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