Mothers and sons

The Mother/Son dance was WONDERFUL. I had so much fun going with Zeke and my friend, Michelle, and her son, Sam. The boys looked soooooo handsome in their suits; Sam with his pink shirt and tie (which 1/2 way through the evening was wrapped around his head as a headband and Zeke with his black suit, black converse high tops, green shirt and green highlights in his hair (given at the salon with his dad). It was absolutely delightful to see all these boys on a "date" with their moms. The mother/son relationship is precious, a brilliant idea, and can be incredibly powerful AND challenging. There are many examples of the mother/son relationship given to us in God's word. We are going to look at two. Let's first look at how this relationship can be powerful;

"The sayings of King Lemuel- an oracle HIS MOTHER TAUGHT HIM:
'Oh my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. (ouch!) It is not for kings, O Lemuel- not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.............Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:1-9

What influence we have as mothers in the lives of our sons. What responsibility we have to teach them what is right. It was the weight of that knowledge that drew me into God's words." AHHHHHHHHH- God! If I'm going to teach my children about you, I've got to know you and your words, first, for myself. God, I looooove to sleep in, but I really want to know what you say in the Bible. I really want to spend time in your word before my day gets started, but I am going to NEED YOU to do a work in me by helping me get up and causing my desire for your word to be greater than my desire for sleep. I NEED YOU, GOD. HELP ME!" He answered my plea. He helped me. After 11 years of spending time in God's Word I cannot describe the passion, and the deep joy I have of knowing His words and passing them on to my children. What meaning and purpose I have in teaching my sons and daughters about their Creator. I had so much fun last night teaching Zeke how to treat a woman ( a precious creation meant to be treated as very special), by opening the door for me and pulling out my chair (for me to sit on, not to pull it out from under me so I fall on the ground which might come more naturally for my boys). Our time with our children is so limited. May we, like King Lemuel's mother, teach our sons while they are "still tender" (Prov.4:3). Our God and their future wives will be soooo thankful. I know I am. I am reaping the benefits of all that my mother-in-law taught my husband while he was young. It was her that gave him a love for God by teaching him about God and reading books to him that stirred that desire. It was her that taught him to wait to have sex until he was married which he listened to and now I am blessed. It was her that prayed him through his life and was there to love him, comfort him, discuss life with him. THANK YOU, MOM! I WILL BE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU POURED INTO MY HUSBAND!

This relationship can be as equally challenging. Sam and Zeke were ALL OVER last night. You should have seen these two dancing. They were dancing fools; from leap frog to dance "tag" to break dancing all over the dance floor. One minute I would be watching them and dancing with them and the next I would not know where they were. All within a minute, actually probably a second they would be out of sight. I was comforted this morning to read about Mary and Jesus. Listen to this story:

"Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old( That's almost my Jake. Isn't it weird to think of Jesus as a boy),they went up to the Feast, according to custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home,THE BOY JESUS STAYED BEHIND IN JERUSALEM, BUT THEY WERE UNAWARE OF IT. (Ahhhhhhhhh- I'm not the only mom who isn't aware where my child is sometimes? Mary- the mother of Jesus was unaware he wasn't with them? There is something about that that brings a little relief to me own soul.) Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for A DAY. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem ( a day's journey...can you imagine?) to look for him. After three days (okay- so not knowing where Zeke and Sam were for a few minutes no longer feels so bad) they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. HIS MOTHER SAID TO HIM, 'SON, WHY HAVE YOU TREATED US LIKE THIS? YOUR FATHER AND I HAVE BEEN ANXIOUSLY SEARCHING FOR YOU." 'Why were you searching for me?' he asked. 'Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?' But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them AND WAS OBEDIENT TO THEM. BUT HIS MOTHER TREASURED ALL THESE THINGS IN HER HEART. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Luke 2:41-52

Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew the exasperation a son/child can bring at times. She knew what it felt like to sometimes not understand why your son/child does what he does. I wonder how she felt when Jesus responded the way he did, "why were you searching for me?" Jesus, her son, it seems expected her to know some things about him. He said to her, "Didn't you know?" It makes me wonder what things I should know about boys and who they are and what they need. What does it mean that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart?"

Treasure- to accumulate and save for future use. To highly value; appreciate

I don't know for sure, but I wonder was this her simply being a student of her son and who he was? Was she "accumulating and saving" experiences with her son for future use? Am I student of my sons/children observing what God has placed in them; their passions, desires, personalities, ways, and likes/dislikes so I can be helpful in the process of them becoming all that God wants them to be?

My favorite verse in this whole chapter is this, "Jesus GREW in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

GREW- past tense of grow- to develop by a gradual process or by degrees; BECOME

Ahhhhhhh! Jesus "grew"???It's a GRADUAL PROCESS - this "becoming"? My sons / daughters don't have to be perfect NOW? When I help my children grow in wisdom and stature (level achieved;status) they can have God's favor first as well as men's favor?

If you are a mother in the thick of parenting sons or daughters right now may I encourage you to know God's ways for yourself first and then teach them to your children. May you find find great comfort in knowing that Mary, the mother of Jesus, had parenting issues as well and our children's growth is a "gradual process." If you are a " not-yet-mom ", may I encourage you to store up these words in your heart for future use. If you are a mom past the raising children stage- may I encourage you to encourage those young moms you see(it is not easy raising children- especially if you're a single mom) and may you "adopt" some of those "momless" children- young and old.

None of us are going to be the "perfect mom." (although mine was pretttttty close )So we need to try our best, take one day at a time, feed on God's words and obey them, seek forgiveness when we fail, and NEVER EVER GIVE UP ...."though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again."-Prov.24:16.

Blessings from Bombadil! May your soul be watered and may you water another's soul. Kristy Joy Link

Appropriate Attire

Tonight is a big night for Zeke and I. We are going to our very first Mother/Son dance. We are both extremely excited and have been practicing our "running man" dance. Zeke has had his "cool" black suit set out for days and I have had my red dress (thanks Holly) hanging on my bedroom closet door reminding me of this special evening to come. It's a semi-formal dance. I wonder what they would do if we showed up in our regular clothes? I wonder if they would let us in or send us home to put on the "required" clothing? Hmmmmmmmm......I wonder. I wonder what the Bible says about "appropriate attire."

"Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a King who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had ben invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' But they paid no attention and went off- one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who WAS NOT WEARING WEDDING CLOTHES. 'Friend, he asked, 'HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE WITHOUT WEDDING CLOTHES?' The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
-Matthew 22:1-13

"These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you may become rich; AND WHITE CLOTHES TO WEAR, SO YOU CAN COVER YOUR SHAMEFUL NAKEDNESS; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." Revelation 3:14-18

"Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'TAKE OFF HIS FILTHY CLOTHES.' Then he said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I WILL PUT RICH GARMENTS ON YOU." Zechariah 3:3 & 4

"The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkeness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissesion and jealousy. Rather, CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Romans 13:12-14

"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has CLOTHED ME WITH GARMENTS OF SALVATION AND ARRAYED ME IN A ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS." Isaiah 61:10

According to Scripture, my friends, God has planned a fantastic, wonderful, "you don't want to miss it" kind of "dance"/"banquet"/"party"/"feast"/"reception"/"celebration". The time we have on this earth is our time to look for, find and put on the "perfect dress". The perfect dress is JESUS CHRIST. Scripture teaches that it is only through slipping on His perfect white dress that we will be allowed to enter His wonderful "dance". Appropriate attire is required. If we are not dressed and clothed in Jesus we will not be allowed to enter His party.Please, Listen to His heart,

"He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?......Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Isreal; Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?"....Therefore, O house of Isreal, I will judge each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Isreal? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! Ezekiel 18:23 - 32

He's already given you the perfect dress. It's there /He's there ready and waiting. You just have to make the choice to slip it on or not.

God doesn't want ANYTHING OR ANYONE to ruin his party. He is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good and pure. He is such a lover of everything truly beautiful, and right. He says,

"Nothing impure will enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:27

"For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." Rev.19:7 & 8

May I encourage you on this morning of Zeke's and my dance, to consider what dress you will wear to the "eternal dance party". You know what it's like when you are searching for that perfect dress, wedding (Keisha ) or banquet, and you slip it on and announce, "This is the one!" There is ONLY ONE dress for you. His name is Jesus. The dress is ready and waiting and all you have to do is slip it on. SLIP ON HIS WHITE, PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL DRESS and prepare yourself for the party of a lifetime. Maybe I should be wearing a white semi-formal dress tonight. Does anyone have one I could borrow?

Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another's soul. Kristy Joy Link

He compares you to no one!

I LOVE to have things around my home that whisper to me of God's words. Something that when I see it I am reminded of one of His truths. So I was in Hobby Lobby (oooh- say it again) the other day in the 80% off section (does it get any better?) when I saw from a distance this beautiful, large 'jar of clay' with a cross on it. I knew immediately this was a "must have" for Bombadil. As I picked up the jar, admiring the beauty and price, I could hear God's truth ringing,

"But we have this treasure in JARS OF CLAY to show that this surpassing power is from God and not from us....." 2 Corinthians 4:7

I began dreaming of how I will teach my children the wonderful truth that Jesus is the treasure living within our bodies that are so weak and temporary. It was that truth I was excited to share with them when I noticed the tag on the jar that had ANOTHER wonderful lesson. BONUS! A two for one deal. The tag read:

"This product is handmade. Variations add to the uniqueness and character of each piece. Therefore, no two will be exactly the alike."

Do you know God does NOT compare you with ANYONE ELSE? You are handmade "By Him, for Him." All the variations add to your uniqueness and character. In this sea of billions of people no two are exactly alike. AMAZING! I don't mean "Do you know God doesn't compare you?". I mean, "Do you KNOW God doesn't compare you? Do you believe that............deeply? Do you KNOW it, not because of just some nice words someone says to you to make you feel good, but because that is what SCRIPTURE teaches?

Have you ever been compared to someone else? Have you ever compared yourself to someone else? How does that leave your soul feeling? I know how it leaves my soul...............MAD. EMPTY. SAD. JEALOUS. HOPELESS. OVERWHELMED. UNPEACEFUL. BOUND/NOT FREE. I love my own soul and I do NOT love feeling that way. So, I pull out my sword and get ready to engage in battle fighting for peace, joy , truth, and freedom to return to my innermost being. These are the first two swords I use:

"He who gets wisdom loves his/her own soul." Prov. 19:8

and

"The truth will set you FREE."

So let's get some wisdom. Let's get some truth so that your soul may soar.

"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
1 Corinthians 4:7

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men....Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good...........and He gives them to each one JUST AS HE DETERMINES.......Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say 'because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body......But in FACT God has arranged the parts in the body, EVERY ONE OF THEM, just as HE wanted them to be." 1 Corinthians 12:4-18

"You shall not covet (envy- a feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by contemplation of another's desirable possessions or qualities, with a strong desire to have them for yourself)your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife (husband), ...or ANYTHING that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:17

"It will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability."Matthew 25:14 &15

There are many more to share, but I am running out of time as I hear a bed banging above me. E-mail me, ask for more if you want, or simply do your own study. The fact is- God compares you to NOONE. If someone compares you to someone else- they are lacking wisdom. If you compare yourself to someone else- you are lacking wisdom. You are unique, with your own God-given gifts/talents, your own history which God has been a part of every single second,and your own unique purpose of how God wants to use you. You are made for ONE, accountable to ONE, and He says,

"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. AND HE WILL STAND, FOR THE LORD IS ABLE TO MAKE HIM STAND." Romans 14:4

May I encourage you today to "eat" the words of God and BELIEVE them so that your soul may be free. May I encourage you to engage in the battle. When you hear a condemning whisper, "You aren't like her. You'll never be like her. You have nothing to offer. Too bad you don't have her organizational brain. You' ll never be the mom you want to be. You'll never be the wife you want to be. You'll never be the servant of God you want to be........." FIGHT! ENGAGE! Use the words of God.

God's voice is NOT CONDEMNING! That is the voice of the evil one. You are so precious to Him. He has a plan and a journey unique for you unlike anyone elses. If you listen to those comparing, condemning voices it will bring death to your soul/spirit. The only one He wants you to be like you and His Son. He gives you His Son- to live within you and to help transform you. "You will stand, for he is able to make you stand."

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27

Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another. K.J.L

Discipline

As my 3 yrs old daughter, Reese, and I were packing lunches for the boys, yesterday, she decided to tell me that she is going to like spankings now. As the reader, you might not have the slightest inkling of why she would say that. As her mom, who has the great honor and privilege of being with her all the time and who is seeking to train her in God's ways countless times throughout the day, I knew exactly what she was talking about. When I discipline my children I teach them to come back to me and say, "thank you." This has not been easy for Reese, as you can probably understand. Who wants to thank their mom for giving them a swat on their bum or makes them sit in the "check your heart" chair? You may wonder why I would even teach my children to do that. Well, let me share with you what I understand from Scripture. Ready to "tremble"?....Isaiah 66

"Blessed is the man you discipline, o Lord, the man you teach from your law; you grant him relief from days of trouble." Psalm 94:12 &13

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." Revelation 3:19

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, BECAUSE THE LORD DISCIPLINES THOSE HE LOVES, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son......We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. (THANKS DAD & MOM TOO! I DO HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR YOU.) How much more should we submit to THE FATHER OF OUR SPIRITS AND LIVE! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us FOR OUR GOOD, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and PEACE for those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:5-11

"Fools despise wisdom and discipline." Prov. 1:7

"At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say,'How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly." Prov. 5:11-14

"He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly." Prov.5:23

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is CAREFUL to discipline him." Prov. 13:24

"He who ignores discipline despises himself." Prov. 15:32

"Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." Prov. 19:18

"Don't withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and SAVE HIS SOUL FROM DEATH." Prov. 23:13 & 14

"Discipline your son, and he will give you PEACE, he will bring DELIGHT to your soul."
Prov. 29:17

Do you see it? Can you hear it? The depth of the love of God jumps out from the pages of Scripture. His desire for us to know peace, to have an abundant life, to be a delight to those around us, to have hope, and to have no regrets is bursting forth. HE LOVES US! HE LOVES US! HE LOVES US!

So before I discipline my precious little "rewards" ("Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him." Psalm 127:3) I ask them, "Am I disciplining you because I love you or because I hate you?" Their first response is often, "BECAUSE YOU HATE ME," to which I seek to gently respond with, "I know it may seem that way. The TRUTH, however, is that I love you sooooooooo much. If I did NOT discipline you I would hate you. If I left you to yourself, according to God's word, you would be a "disgrace"(Prov. 29:15). You don't really want me to just let you get away with anything, become a brat and have noone enjoy your company, do you? So I know it may feel like I don't love you right now, but that is not what is TRUE. The truth is, I love you soooooooo much, I HAVE to discipline you. So when you are ready, I want you to thank me for taking the time to "save your soul", to help you become "delightful" and experience PEACE. I am doing something VERY BENEFICIAL FOR YOU."

If you are a parent, may I encourage you to engage fully in the disciplining process. May I encourage you to study God's word to know how to do that better. Disciplining in anger IS NOT GOOD! May I encourage you to keep up the good work!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest IF we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

To those of you who are not yet parents, may I encourage you to submit to the discipline of the "Father of your spirit." He is very involved in your life. Perhaps life is very painful for you right now. Could it be that you are being disciplined by the One who loves you more than you or I could ever imagine?

"Before I was afflicted, I went astray, BUT NOW I obey your word.....It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees." Psalm 119: 67 &71

Could it be that the affliction you are experiencing right now is meant to teach you that you are not living God's way. Might He be drawing you into His word so that you may learn his decrees and obey them so that you may know PEACE. If that is the case, PLEASE, DO NOT HATE HIS CORRECTION! LISTEN TO HIM. CHANGE YOUR WAYS. HE LOVES YOU! Don't you forget to THANK HIM for doing what is best for you in the end. You don't neccessarily have to "like spankings" like Reese, but rather like the fact that your Father in Heaven loves you enough to discipline you. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another's soul. Kristy Joy Link

p.s. Please know- I have failed at times/often. There have been times I should have disciplined and didn't or didn't do it the way I should. I am often tempted to spurn God's correction and my father's when I was younger (just ask my dad) The Important thing is to keep going. Don't give up. Know God's words, seek to put them into pracitce (His word is a sword to engage in the battle) and when you fail- seek forgiveness and don't ever give up!

The goal

Have you ever tried to push yourself hard ,either physically or emotionally, and searched for something to preoccupy your mind? I know you have because many of you are moms and that mind had to go somewhere when you were pushing that baby out (unless of course you enjoyed the wonderful, highly recommended epidural for at least one of your deliveries- I liked experiencing natural as well). Well, yesterday, as I was running on the treadmill at the "Y "( you might start thinking I live at the "Y". I'll have a non-"y" story tomorrow) I wanted to push myself at the end. As I was struggling, my eyes searched the room for something to fixate on. Although there were four t.v.s in front of me nothing seemed inspirational ,but rather like contamination for my soul. So as my eyes roamed, they were drawn into a quote on the wall right in front of me that said, "Keep your mind fixed on the goal." Ahhhhhh- that's something I can cling to for a few minutes while I push myself.

"Keep your mind FIXED on the goal."

Sounds like something I've heard before in my favorite Book. Listen to the Words of God (and don't forget to "tremble"- Isaiah 66:2) that involve the words "fix" and "goal":

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can NEVER PERISH, SPOIL, OR FADE- KEPT IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, who through faith are SHIELDED BY GOD'S POWER until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. IN THIS you greatly rejoice, though for now FOR A LITTLE WHILE you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come SO THAT your faith- OF GREATER WORTH THAN GOLD, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved GENUINE and may result in praise, glory, and honor WHEN (not IF) Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you BELIEVE IN HIM and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the GOAL of your faith, THE SALVATION (the preservation or deliverance from evil or difficulty...redemption...rescue)OF YOUR SOULS." 1 Peter 1: 3-9

"We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our GOAL to please him...."
2 Corinthians 5:7 & 9

"I would like to learn one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your GOAL by human effort? ....Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you BELIEVE what you heard? Galatians 3:2-5

"One thing I do: Forgetting what is BEHIND and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the GOAL to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 3:13 & 14

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES, and let us run with PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us. Let us FIX ( to direct steadily;concentrate; fasten securely) our eyes on JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, SO THAT YOU will NOT GROW WEARY AND LOSE HEART." Hebrews 12:1-3

May I encourage you today to fix your eyes on Jesus.

May I encourage you today to make it your goal in this life to be on a quest to find out what pleases God and then DO IT!

May I encourage you this day to forget what is behind- Press on! Move forward! God loves you. He forgives you. When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, when you say "Yes! I want and need the Spirit of God to live in me and to wash me clean from all my wrong doing" you become NEW! God no longer sees the sin that had seperated you from Him, but He now views you as PERFECT because of what Jesus did for you. It's a new day. You have a clean slate.

May I encourage you to not obtain the "goal of your faith which is the salvation of your souls" by human effort. Simply believe that God has made you perfect through the sacrifice of His Son, receive His gift to you, Thank Him profusly that all you have to do is believe him and receive him, surrender your life to him and allow Him to make you holy/perfect. Allow Him to live His life through you. Be like the soft clay that is moldable in the hands of the Potter. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another's soul. Kristy Joy Link

p.s.Take great joy in believing there is an inheritance kept in heaven for you who have bent your knee to Jesus!

p.s.s- Perfect timing-the Link children are beginning to stir.

The fight!

I got into the biggest fight, yesterday, that I think I've ever been in. Thankfully, I think I won (or should I say "we" won) It wasn't the kind of fight you might be thinking of, but rather the fight spoken of in Ephesians 6:10-13;

"Be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle (battle, fight) is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil (wrong-doing) comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

So, God says He goes after His precious "lost sheep" right? He teaches us in His Word that He often uses His followers to do that, right? Well- let me tell you a story about a woman we'll call "Tat." I noticed "Tat" from the moment I entered the YMCA. She stood out to me as a beautiful woman with "empty eyes." Every time I would see her I would simply talk to her Creator about her asking Him to help her know He loves her and sees her.

After a few months of being at the YMCA ,a woman I was running on the treadmill next to, invited me to come join a class with her. When I asked her who taught the class she said it was a woman named, "Tat". I knew immediately that was a class I NEEDED to attend.

I began attending the class faithfully and have been enjoying it very much. "Tat" is an awesome instructor. During this class, an opportunity opened up to attend a workshop for women to discuss "loving their bodies through the seasons". I felt very prompted in my spirit to attend this workshop and be ready to be a voice for the Creator of our bodies so "Tat" and other women who might be there may hear His heart. I went not knowing who would be there or what I would say or if I would have the courage to say anything. I prayed before I went asking God to give me wisdom and boldness. I fixed my mind on His truths that say;

" A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions." Prov.18:2.......................MY PRAYER "Oh God- help me to be a good listener."

"The more the words the less the meaning."- Ecclesiastes 6:11
MY PRAYER- "Oh God, don't let me talk too much."

"For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter." Ecc. 8:6
MY PRAYER "Father, help me to know the right time to speak"

"For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me WHAT to say and HOW to say it." John 12:49

MY PRAYER- "Father- I believe You are sending me here. PLEASE tell me WHAT to say and HOW to say it."

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9: 25 & 26

MY PRAYER- "Jesus- do not let me be ashamed of you. I love you and I know your truth leads to life. I want these women to know you and have LIFE, JOY and PEACE."

"Let the one who has my word SPEAK IT FAITHFULLY......'Is not my word like fire,' declares the Lord, 'and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?'
Jeremiah 23:28 & 29

MY PRAYER- "I have your words in my heart, God. Help me to speak them."

So after preparing my mind and my heart I set out ready to be His "messenger" and to be "useful to the Master"(2 Timothy 2:21).

When I arrived I knew the resistance would be THICK. Thankfully, as we went around and shared our names and what season we love and why, an African American woman spoke with great boldness about her love for summer with the sun because it reminds her of the "son of God- Jesus christ". I thanked God in my heart for that woman! At the intermission, I approached this woman telling her I shared her love for the "SON" and we hugged as only "SISTERS" can hug.

As I sat listening to the hearts of these women, hearing their need and deep desire to be loved, to be accepted, and to be cleansed I knew I had to speak at some point. This, however, was where the "Fight" came into play. It was that picture we've all seen on cartoons with the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. In one ear I kept hearing, "Don't you speak. They don't care. It's only your "opinion". No one will listen. You don't have what they need. They are fine without Jesus- look - they are smiling." I could go on and on with the "voices" of the spiritual battle taking place. In my other ear, however, I kept hearing, "Oh Kristy- this is why you are here. I love these women so deeply and they are all searching. You know me. You have what they so desperately need. Remember my words, "This is eternal life; that they may know you, the ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, whom you have sent."(John 17:3) "Do not be afraid of them...What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear proclaim from the roofs." (Matthew 10: 26 & 27) At this point, a woman had just come in and shared a story, which, Jesus always taught in stories. It is the language of the heart. My heart began beating soooo fast and I could hear His voice saying, "Speak. Tell them what I've taught you." So- I DID IT! I said, "May I share a story with you guys?" I Listened to the "angel voice" sitting on my right shoulder. I listened to the voice of God as he helped me fight this spiritual battle going on within with His Words which he describes as "a double edged sword." As I spoke the battle raged. Most of the women wouldn't look at me. However, My God goes before me and I know He sent those four beautiful African American believers who as I spoke gave me "come on!" and "That's right!" like no else could. Their words and presence gave me such strength to speak what I KNEW I needed to speak. At the end, I left early (leaving them to process what I just said without me there), feeling like I had just been in the center ring and came out with my boxing gloves held high above my head knowing whether they believe and take to heart anything I said, I had been faithful to my master to whom someday I will give an account.

May I encourage you this day to NOT BE ASHAMED OF HIM AND HIS WORDS. Paul knew the temptation and the battle in this world, and he said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." Romans 1:16. May you listen to His voice! May you fight the good fight and come out VICTORIOUS. And for my friends out there who may not know Him yet- HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU....He says it is only in HIM and through a relationship with Jesus that you will find what you are looking for to fill that ache/that void within. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another's soul. Kristy Joy Link.

Taking Sundays off...

Decided to take Sundays off to give myself more time for personal worship and time with Him. Chat with you tomorrow. Enjoy the Sabbath. May this day be rich with worship and rest for your body and soul. Blessings from Bombadil. Kristy

p.s. May I encourage you to review your week BEFORE you go to worship Him. Look at each day, closely. Who did your paths cross with? Why? What questions did you have? What was painful this week? Why? Were you peaceful this week? Why not? His kingdom is peace. Is He trying to teach you something? What opportunities did He give you to love and grow? He is the gardener- where is he "pruning you to make you even more fruitful?", What do you have to be thankful for this week? Where did you see beauty? What caused your heart to stir?He is speaking and working ALL THE TIME! Listen, reflect, be still and be in His Word,so much for taking Sunday off .

He sees you!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Prov. 3: 5 & 6

"Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you Fishers of men." Mark 1. 17

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and GO AFTER THE LOST SHEEP UNTIL HE FINDS IT? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together asn says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner tho repents than over ninety- nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:4-7

I BELIEVE IT! I AM CONVINCED OF IT! I KNOW HIS WORD ARE TRUE!

Yesterday, was just another confirmation of what I already KNOW to be true. I have had HUNDREDS of encounters with people (some of you are those people and I believe you know who you are) where I know God is directing our paths and He is using me as his servant to go after his lost sheep. I begin most of my days acknowledging Him and asking Him to direct my path. I tell Him:

" I am your servant. I desire to be "useful to the Master". I believe your words, God, that you love people with a depth of love I will never be able to completely fathom and that people need you. I believe the depth of your love and the disastrous effects of sin and life without you. I believe you know all things, and I don't know much ,so just open my eyes to whom you are drawing to yourself. Show me, God, who you are pursuing. Show me who is hurting, alone, empty, purposeless, afraid, enslaved, blind, burdened, and love-starved. Show me who you love and desire more for.;More peace, more joy, more hope. Open my eyes, God."

So, I went to a party back in November. There was a man there who stood out to me. I don't really know how to explain it except he just stood out. So I took notice of him, and said to God, "I see that man. You know him. You know what he needs. I don't. Give him what he needs. May He know your wonderful love and the reality of your existence." I thought to myself, after having this be my experience countless of times, "I will see this man again."

A few weeks later, I was stopped at a red light on a random road. When I looked over to see who was in the car beside me, guess who I saw? My new friend. I smiled and waved and more prayers went up on his behalf (to the One who says He gave up his life for this man.)

Yesterday, as I was coming out of McDonalds a kind man held the door for me. Guess who that kind man was? It was my new friend, the man I "noticed" at the party.

Notice how out of my own control this is? I simply was going to McDonalds. However, as a servant of God, always ready to be used and always seeking to be alert to where God might be working (because I REALLY BELIEVE HE IS ALWAYS WORKING!!!!!) as soon as I saw him I once again began praying for him. And just to be clear, I am NOT saying "I am always the 'prayer for'". I have also experienced my path crossing with people who when they see me, are compelled to pray for me which I glady embrace as I will be the first to admit that I NEED prayers. Did you also notice the "perfect timing involved." A stop light? Going through a door? It's a matter of being in the right place at the right time for a matter of SECONDS. Who does that? How does that get arranged? It's beyond me.

So- on this day, may I encourage you to believe God's words that say that he wants to use us to "fish for men." Believe Him when he says He goes after the one lost sheep. Believe Him when He says He loves his people sooooo deeply that He willl go after them. Believe Him when he says to just acknowledge that this is His earth and that He is in control and He is a God of perfect timing. Believe Him when He says He wants to do that through us- the ones who have received Him and have His spirit living within us. His word says,

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2: 20

May I encourage those of you who may be reading this and know that our paths have crossed in "unusual", perfect timing, on several occasions kind of ways to consider that I have nothing to do with it. Rather, there is a real, live God who loves you, knows everything about you and desires to have a right relationship with you. A real live, Unbelievable Creator who wants you to know peace, joy, and righteousness- the "kingdom of heaven." You are not alone on this earth! He has soooo much more in store for you. I love you all! Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another. Kristy Joy Link

Beauty

Beauty is one of those hot-buttons for us women. We all want it! Why????? I read a possible reason in a book entitled, "Captivating" by Stasi Eldridge. Stasi's husband, John, as a counselor, noticed that every woman he counseled dealt with the same question of "Am I beautiful?" Noticing this and knowing God's word that says;

"God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and FEMALE he created them,"

he was given a revelation that women want to be beautiful because God himself wants us to notice His beauty. We, as women who are made in His image are given a part.of God- His desire to be beautiful. That idea really resonated with me because it's true- every woman that I know wants to be beautiful. I had an experience yesterday that confirmed this for me again, led me to fight for some truth and wrestle with God which in the end provided me with a very intimate moment with my God. Before I share that experience, I'd like to share some truths from God's word so you don't think I am completely crazy.

"I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind....." Jeremiah 17:10

LESSON LEARND/BELIEVED- God is aware at every second of the day what I am thinking about


"You know me, Oh Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you." Jeremiah 12:3

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- God knows me, sees me, and knows how I feel about Him.


"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- God cares about and sees my heart.

"You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.In the same way on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Matthew 23: 27

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- People have always cared about beauty, but focus on "outward" appearances. God sees and cares about our inside beauty.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the lord is to be praised." Prov. 31: 30

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- Outward beauty will not last. I better seek to be beautiful by fearing (respecting and loving) God.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment......Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves BEAUTIFUL." 1 Peter 3:3-5

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- Beauty of the spirt is unfading, God notices it and finds it to be of great worth!

"...God, for whom and through whom everything exists." Hebrews 2:10

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- I exist for God and for a relationship with Him

"The Lord said, 'God out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a GENTLE WHISPER. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face......" 1 Kings 19:11-13

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- God speaks to us in "gentle whispers"

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING." Zephaniah 3: 17

LESSON LEARNED/BELIEVED- God is with me. He seeks to quiet me with his love. He sings over me.


Okay, so now the story. As I was walking into the YMCA (is the song ringing through your ears? Go ahead and do the motions if you must) a friend of mine and I were having a light and fun conversation. She began talking about her gray hair and somehow the conversation landed on the fact that her husband just verbalized that he likes bikinis. This got my friend a bit fired up (she is Irish). As we were dropping our kids off in the Tot Spot, still talking (actually, I was just listening) others began to join the conversation. It all focused on "beauty" and that desire us women have and the frustration that comes from never being as beautiful as we want to be. My friend was mad that her husband liked bikinis because admittingly she felt like she could never be what he wanted her to be. So, I left the conversation pondering much in my heart. My thoughts turned more into a prayer that sounded like this;

"Oh Jesus, here we go with this "beauty" thing again. It runs sooooo deep in the heart of a woman. We are all going to get old. We cannot base our beauty on our bodies- such a temporary thing. If we do we will be depressed most of our lives. Oh God- that conversation would leave me so depressed if I did not know you. I am a much happier woman if I focus my attention on how beautiful you are and see my desire to be beautiful as really- your desire for me to notice your beauty. When it becomes all about me and my beauty my spirit is left wanting. But when I focus on you- my spirit soars. I believe your truth God----about how beauty is fleeting. A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

All of that went on inside my heart and mind from the walk from the Tot spot to the cardio area. Isn't that crazy how so much of what happens is really going on on the inside- the place where none of us can really see. So, I began singing a song with the words from that verse. After I sang it a few times (I actually was singing out loud, although I did keep the conversation between God and I quiet knowing I could be admitted to a Psych. ward for being crazy) I found the cry of my heart to be "Oh God- I want to be beautiful to you. I want to have a beauty that doesn't fade."

As I sat down on my first piece of exercise equipment, the song, "You are so beautiful to me" began playing. There I sat, listening to this song, after JUST having had this conversation with my Father in heaven SECONDS AGO telling him I desire to be beautifl to Him. Knowing all the verses I quoted above, that He is very involved in my life, knows my heart, sings over me and actually speaks to me on this earth through a gentle whisper, I sat on that machine crying (oh yes- once again) soaking in all the words believing that somehow (I have no idea how this all works) that song was dedicated to me from my Father. I was "quieted with His love." Whether it is ABSOLUTELY TRUE or not I will not know unitl I meet Him face to face- but for now my spirit believes it. It is scriptural. It was "perfect timing" (which is always His way), It brought me amazing blessing and gave me life (he is called a "life-giving spirit"), it was a gentle whisper of "I see you Kristy Joy Link and I know that you fear me." Hmmmmmmmmmmmm???????


May I encourage you today to seek to be beautiful by fearing Him and putting your hope in Him which is of great worth in His sight- everything else will leave you depressed and vain. May I encourage you today to seek to make the connections between your prayers and what is on your heart to what is happening around you. God says He is always at work seeking to reveal Himself to the people He loves so dearly. May you hear him sing over you. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you water another soul. Kristy Joy Link

clean

I spent WAY TOO MUCH time in my laundry room yesterday. My oldest son, Jake, decided it would be great fun to play in the mud at school in his light colored khaki pants. When he came home his light colored khakis looked more like dark brown courdoroys. They were FILTHY! I have a new appreciation and understanding of Isaiah 64:6 (go look it up.) So, I first soaked them for quite some time. Then I got out my scrubber and scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed for at least 1/2 hour. Next, I put them in the wash on the highest cycle it could go. Guess what! THEY ARE STILL NOT CLEAN. I suppose I will have to do more scrubbing and perhaps a few more rounds in the washing machine. Jake and I have had a "nice little chat." I needed to explain to him all that I went through to try to get his pants clean so that he would not take those clean pants for granted. He now knows that if they come home like that again he will be the one washing his pants.

Someone else likes things clean and was willing to go to a much greater extent to wash the filth away. His name is Jesus. After working on Jake's pants for much of my afternoon and thinking to myself, "He better not take all my work here for granted" I found myself saying to my Creator, "Oh Jesus- if this is how I feel after only a few hours, trying to clean PANTS, I cannot imagine how you must feel when you gave your whole life to cleanse my SOUL making it whiter than any bleach ever could." Scripture says;

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19 &20

"You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." 1 Corinthians 7:23

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST,a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1:18 & 19

"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing." Galatians 2:21

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

May I encourage you today to seek to understand what Jesus really went through for you to wash you and make you clean. May I encourage you to fall on your knees in love and appreciation for all he did. May I encourage you to keep God's mercy in the forefront of your mind today (and every day) NEVER taking his sacrifice for granted. May I encourage you to go into your day offering your life to him, not because you have to but because you are soooo thankful to him for making you clean and are aware of the price involved.

Remember the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." After scrubbing, scrubbing scrubbing...................Jake's pants, I know I would not be too happy if he did not honor all that I went through to get them clean. Blessings from Bombadil! May your soul be watered and may you go water another soul out there somewhere today. Kristy Joy link

p.s.- Can I just say, some of you guys out there are really, really great at doing laundry. I tip my hat to you. Maybe you could offer a class for us "laundry impaired."

suffering

If it is true that we are "sanctified (made holy; purified) by the truth. His word is truth,(John 17:17)" then I suppose we ought to make sure that truth gets DEEP into our souls. So, here is a little truth today on SUFFERING.

SUFFERING- to undergo or sustain something painful, injurious, or unpleasant. To feel pain or distress, or endure evil, injury, loss, harm, or death.

"In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, FOR WHOM AND THROUGH WHOM EVERYTHING EXISTS, should make the author of their salvation PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING (read that phrase again). Both the one who makes men holy, and those who are made holy are of the same family." Hebrews 2:10-11

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with LOUD CRIES and TEARS to the ONE who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his REVERENT SUBMISSION. Although he was a son, he LEARNED OBEDIENCE FROM WHAT HE SUFFERED......" Hebrews 5:7 & 8

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, ARM ( prepare oneself for warfare) YOURSELVES (no one else can do it for you) also with the same ATTITUDE, because he who has SUFFERED in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly (indicating there is another life coming) life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." 1 Peter 4:1 & 2

"I consider that our present SUFFERINGS are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

My friends, according to Scripture here is what is true:

1. You exist for God. You exist through God

2. If Jesus was made perfect through suffering, guess who else will be made perfect through suffering?
3. There is one who is making you holy (that is, if you've given him permission and asked him to)
4. YOU ARE BEING MADE PERFECT! HE IS VERY INVOLVED IN YOUR LIFE.
5. Jesus knew way more suffering than you or I will ever know. How did he handle it? He cried out to the ONE (there is only ONE) who can save us from death.
6. Jesus "reverently submitted" ( yielded to God's will and plan without complaining,trusting completely that His All-powerful, All- loving Father knew what was best)
7.We learn obedience through what we suffer
8. We have to make a conscience choice each day to engage in a battle of the mind,having the attitude that if my Master suffered - I will accept suffering as a part of this life as well. If we call ourselves, "Christians" which means "Christ followers" we must know how he lived and we must seek to live as he lived.
9. If we learn to deal with suffering in our body we will be done with sin (any wrong doing. Anything that doesn't bring life, beauty, peace, joy....)
10. We have a choice. We can live to please Him (do His will) or please ourselves (do our own will).In the end, which one do you think will reap greater reward?
11.The glory that will be revealed in us in the end is going to be sooooo great all our suffering will be worth it!

So, may I encourage you this day to MEDITATE ( reflect on;ponder) on God's words all day long, cry out to God with loud cries and tears, engage in the battle arming yourself with the attitude of Jesus, embrace suffering as part of life this side of heaven, and "set your hope FULLY on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
1 Peter 1:13.

Blessings from Bombadil! May your soul be watered and may you go water another's soul for the sake of His Name!

Beyond the created.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! My soul is stirred. Vibrant colors, images of sunsets, oceans, butterflies (symbol of transformation) soaring through the land, fields of grain blowing in the wind, beautiful voices and the most amazing violin music aroused my senses last night as I sat next to my husband at a Celtic Woman concert (a surprise Valentine's gift ).
I left with a heart full of Worship for my God, the Creator of all these things (and Rob got a little adoration himself with a small "w"). As I worshiped Him in my inner being, my mind filled with the following truths:

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." James 1:17

Thank you God for the good gifts of music, singing, color, dance, and all the things you've created. You are brilliant; soooooo creative, powerful, and GOOD.

'Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:1

Another truth dwelling richly in my soul was, ".....They worshiped and served created things rather than the creator." Romans 1: 25

I hoped as I left there that the other hundreds of people that had just experienced what I experienced and saw what I saw were as stirred in their worship of God rather than the "created things". However, my guess is, they probably weren't.

May I encouage you today to always see beyond the "created" to the ultimate "Creator". Everything on this earth is whispering to us of Him; His beauty, His goodness, His passion, His romantic and creative heart,His love of all things right and beautiful and hatred of all that ruins and destroys.

As I end this, my daughter Reese is sitting quietly on the floor next to me kissing my leg over and over and gently rubbing my arm. Whose idea were "kisses" anyway? Oh Creator- you made us with the ability to express our love through soo many ways. May we express our love to you today and worship YOU! May we see beyond all the created things to YOUR GLORIOUS MAJESTY! Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered.
Kristy Joy Link

Sorry...

Sorry about no encouragement for the last two days. Our watergirl list keeps getting bigger and I encountered a problem where it wouldn't let me send my notes because our list had gotten too big. So now, we have two lists and we will see how that works.

Some day, I am going to have a "word wall". On that wall, I am going to have all kinds of "God Words". One of the words that will be on the wall will be, "REPENT". Perhaps when you hear that word you hear this crazy, southern, preacher voice yelled in a passionate, angry tone leaving a sour taste in your mouth. Last night, I encountered the word, "repent" in an incredibly beautiful experience.

REPENT- To feel remorse or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do;Be contrite;to feel such remorse or regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it; to be sorry

Last night, as my youngest son, Zeke, and I were interacting at bedtime (ahhhhhh...that time of night for me that seems to be one of my weakest) we were encountering one of those "wonderful" attitude issues. My children KNOW the command of God for children to obey and honor and respect their parents. Yet, we ALL know that battle of knowing what is right and DOING what is right. As I was prodding him along in his bedtime routine I was getting this lip-smacking, saliva-filled sound coming from his mouth. It was one of those mannerisms that you know he has heard somewhere else from someone else. I had never heard this sound come from Zeke's mouth before(although there have been many other sounds I've heard) and I DID NOT LIKE IT! It sounded VERY disrespectful (the sound came when I would tell him something and he didn't like it) So- I told him how that felt in my heart and if I heard it again there would be a consequence. Well- guess what...surprise, surprise....unlike the rest of us, he pushed the limit and made that wonderful sound AGAIN. So I squeezed his little lips together firmly in a nice puckering shape. Hoping that would be the end of it, I went on to tuck another little Link in bed. Unfortunately, we encountered this sound "one more time." This time, tired from my day, anxious to spend alone time with my husband, and very frustrated with his disrespectful attitude, I responded to his noise in anger and made that same lip puckering squeeze but this time, it was very harsh,very long, and with some angry words from his mom. I'm telling you, bedtime is my weakest time. As I approached him to make this right, his response to me was, "get away from me!" Afraid of doing or saying something foolish in the heat of the moment, I decided I would do just what he requested which was probably what was best for both of us at that time. I chose to blow off my steam and process what had just happened by finishing up that never-ending laundry of ours. Probably 10 minutes after that sour encounter I heard Zeke coming downstairs crying, asking Rob "where's mom?" Rob, thinking Zeke was avoiding staying in his bed said, "Zeke- get back in your bed." "Dad, I've got to talk to mom, where is she?" Zeke said. At this point, as Zeke began sobbing, Rob realized something else was going on and directed him to the laundry room. He came into that laundry room and hugged me sooooo tightly not letting go for at least 3 minutes. I caressed his precious head telling him I forgive him and telling him I was sorry for my own anger and harshness. He went back up to bed. As I went up to simply make sure he was okay, he ran to me again hugging me like it was the last hug we would ever have. Then, with a very emphatic tone he asked for some paper. What I received last night, from my very, VERY, repentant son will go in his "box" and will hold a special place in my heart forever. I received a picture of him and I together with the words, "I love you so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so (8 "sos") much mom."

May I encourage you to first of all, make your relationship with people soooooo rich, so full of love that any rift in that is hard on the soul- leading to repentance.

May I encourage you to deepen your walk with God and your love of God so that you will be sorry and remorseful for anything that breaks his heart and disrupts your fellowship with him. He loves you so much. Nothing is sweeter than "walking in the light and having fellowship with him and one another." (1 John 1:6 & 7)

May I encourage you to "repent" like Zeke, being truly, truly broken for the way we hurt each other and turn in the direction of love. We are on this earth for such a short time to learn to love. May we do it well! Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered.

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 4:17

p.s.- Now Zeke and I can go to our mother/son dance next Friday with everything well between us.....ahhhhhh....repentance......ahhhhhhhh.....fellowship.

snow

Happy Valentine's Day! Although it would seem very appropriate for me to share something about love, that is not what is on my heart this early Saturday morning.
Rather, I desire to speak about snow.

It snowed last night. After being teased with that "glorious" (Karin) spring like day earlier this week we might not be welcoming this white dusting with a very thankful/cheerful heart. So, on this "love" day, let me encourage you to cultivate a heart of love for our Creator because of the snow.

May you remember how no snowflake is the same. AMAZING!

"He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the SNOW, 'Fall on the earth.'" Job 37:5 & 6

"Have you entered the storehouses of the SNOW" Job 38:22

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be WHITER THAN SNOW." Psalm 51:5-7

"Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet ( like red on Valentine's day) they shall be WHITE AS SNOW;...If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Isaiah 1:16-20

As you experience your day, refuse to complain about the snow! Be thankful. May your heart rejoice in God's truth about the snow. May your spirit soar believing that because of Jesus Christ and His blood shed for us, you will be presented to God "whiter than snow."

Or, in other language of the Bible;

" He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, WITHOUT BLEMISH AND FREE FROM ACCUSATION-(ahhhhhhhhh.....I love that! WBAFFA!) if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel." Colossians 1:22-23

And;

"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence WITHOUT FAULT and with great joy....." Jude 1:24

"....by one sacrifice he has made PERFECT FOREVER those who are being made holy." Hebrews 10:14

So maybe this snow dusting is our (well- for those of us who live in Michigan, anyway) Valentine's gift from our greatest lover. Maybe it's a gift to serve as a reminder that;

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

He loves us. He laid down His life for us to present us as white as this snow before the Creator of the Universe. And all we have to do is believe it and receive/accept the gift.

Happy Valentines day loved one! Perfect one! Faultless one! Blameless one! "Whiter than Snow" one! Go lay down your life for someone today and show them the love our Father has shown us. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered. Kristy Joy Link

restitution continued....oops!

I heard I got cut off....oops...sorry....more computer problems .

......But after having followed God's ways, I am convinced once again that He is the Most wise God. All His ways are best and all his paths lead to peace.

May I encourage you today to know His ways and follow His ways. His heart and desire for all of His children is peace and He longs for us to have good relationships with each other. May you give restitution to those whom you've offended. May you make things right in all of your relationships. May you have the courage to speak what is true ,but may you ALWAYS DO IT IN LOVE! His Word says:

"Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin' Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Ephesians 4:25-27

Blessings from Bombadil my friends. May your soul be watered. Kristy Joy Link

Restitution

Restitution- the act of making good or compensating for loss, damage, or injury.

The other day, after receiving valentines with a few dollars enclosed from grandma and grandpa, the children and I decided to head to the Dollar Store. Having "two" dollars to spend at the dollar store, for a 3 years old little girl, is quite a dream come true. So for half an hour, Reese, walked around all the aisles trying to decide the "perfect" two things to get with her valentine money. After much laborious looking, she settled her little heart on a carebear ball and cute little hair bands (for that "beautiful" new haircut ) While we were sending our items through the checkout, as Reese's ball crossed the scanner it rang up as a item that had been recalled. So the cashier took the ball and said, "I'm sorry, we can't sell this to you." As I stood there a bit shocked, Reese's second item that she spent half an hour searching for also rang up as an item that needed to be recalled. We sent 20 items through the checkout (Quiz: 20 items at the "Dollar Store"- would be how much $?) but only two were recalled which happened to be the two things my precious little 3 years old daughter had desperately wanted. As I stood there, holding Reese in my arms as she began to sob realizing that she was not going to get her precious "two" things, my heart was a bit disturbed. There was a line of people behind me. I was in a bit of a hurry needing to be home soon. I had 4 of my 5 children with me (crazy, I know.) We had already been there for probably 45 minutes. I had to think fast. So I paid for my now 18 items. Stepped out of line and prayed that desperate prayer, "Jesus! How do I handle this?"It felt so wrong. There I stood with my daughter sobbing, and the clerk simply said, "sorry." At that moment I thought, "I have 3 options.

1. I can go express my anger at the situation and "go off" on the management.
2. I can simply leave, not saying a thing, but having an "issue" with my beloved Dollar Store
3. I can follow the teaching of my Creator, who cares deeply about justice, relationships, and our hearts, and go "speak the truth in love" and seek restitution.

So, I gathered my four children, one of them still sobbing, and calmly approaced the management (who knew me a little since I happen to spend a "little" time there). I said, "Sir, you know I love this store. However, something just happened that has left a sour taste in my mouth and I was wondering if we could work something out to ease the pain in my heart. I told him what happened. He asked what would "ease the pain?" I said, "Maybe you could give my daughter a special balloon or give her some coupons for the Dollar store." And so, Reese received a special, big Monkey balloon. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Peace. Now, certainly, it was still a bummer. We still had to walk around and find 2 new items she desired. However- God's ways are best! If I had approaced the management in a fit of anger- our buyer/seller relationship would have been destroyed and he may have not given me restitution. If I had left there without "speaking the truth in love" I would have had a "seed of bitterness." But after having followed God's ways,

soul

My Bible is back! My Bible is back! It has yet to be rebound, but it is back and I am happy!
So this morning as I sat at my dining room table, wondering where to go in my time with God I began with, "There is an ache in my soul, Father." My spirit felt dull, restless, anxious, polluted, contaminated, and unpeaceful. No sooner were those words out of my mouth when the tears began to flow (I just heard someone say tears were good so I decided to let them flow). I didn't even know what this "ache" was. As I sat there quietly, in between sobs, with my Bible (my precious, wonderful, I know where everything is, Bible) opened to James, I began to read James 4. I began at verse 4;

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?....Or do you think that Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely....Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts you double-minded."

Other verses kept coming to mind as I simpliy sat, cried, listened to His whispers and read His words. He brought to mind;

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:..........to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

and;

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."
2 Corinthians 7:1

So, my interaction with God looked like this:

"Oh God! I feel polluted. I feel contaminated. I just need to be with you, to draw near to you. Am I adulterous? Am I double-minded?Jesus- Nothing on this earth satisfies my soul like you. This ache, this dullness alerts me to my need to be with you and decontaminate. You really care for my soul don't you? It's you and you alone that gives life, peace, and joy. I can pretend to be peaceful and joyful on the outside, but you, my Father, want it at the deepest, most real, most inner place. According to Scripture, you are the, 'Overseer of my soul" 1 Peter 2:25

I am happy to say after 1 1/2 hours of "decontaminating"- My ache is gone. Well, the intensity of it. I think I will always have a little ache this side of my true home.

May I encourage you today to be very in touch with your "soul". It is how God alerts us to issues that need to be addressed. He is the "overseer of you soul" and cares about it deeply. You will only be truly, deeply happy when He is your first love, when you are NOT double-minded, when His words dwell in you richly and you allow His healing presence to minister to you.

Proverbs 19:8 says, "He who gets wisdom loves his own soul." May you love your own soul. May you be wise and "decontaminate" regularly as this world is full of pollutants. May you have deep, pure peace and joy. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered.
Kristy Joy Link

"I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will OVERFLOW on account of me."

-Phillipians 1:26

Just like my home has a name and a mission, I have a name and a mission too. My name is

"Kristy Joy Link".

I was reading this Scripture above one day, when as soon as I read it my spirit was so alive, everything was so clear, and I deeply desired this verse to be true about me. I said,

"Oh Jesus, this is what I want. I want to LINK people to You (JESUS) through JOY. I want people's JOY in YOU to overflow on account of me. May I be that "missing LINK" helping connect people to you. As I am a Christ follower (which is what Kristy means) seeking to obey your command to be "Joyful always", and "Joyful in Hope" may people want you on account of me."

So it is my mission to know and understand more and more who Jesus is and all that he did. Let me share a verse with you that I think about a lot to stir up my own "Joy in Jesus";

"Remember that formerly you who are Gentiles (everyone who is not a Jew....that's us) by birth....remember that at that time you were seperate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Isreal and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, WITHOUT HOPE AND WITHOUT GOD IN THE WORLD. BUT NOW IN CHRIST JESUS you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2:11-13

May I encourage you this day to reflect on that truth. According to Scripture, without Jesus ,you would have no hope and you would not have God in this world. Sounds like Hell to me. "But now",...."But now"......"But now"......all because of Jesus we can have God in the world (ahhhhh....sounds like the beginning of heaven to me).May you have a little bit more joy in your world today, knowing that because of Jesus- there is hope! Say, "But Now!" a few times throughout the course of your day.

May I also encouage you as you read Scripture to ask God to give you a "life" verse. A piece of truth that resonates with who you are and what you want Him to do through your life. Your life is a gift. You are here to know Him and make Him known through your own unique, special way. If you already have "your" verse- please know I would love to hear them. What's your name and your mission? Blessings from Bombadil. Kristy Joy Link

Yesterday, I mentioned that I would give some time to pondering "tears", as I shed a few the other day. WOW! I've spent most of my "God time" this morning looking up tears on the internet. Below are some of my findings;
William Trey, a bio-chemist spent 15 years studying tears.
*There are 3 types of tears; Basal(help keep eyes clear from dust), Reflex (irritation of the eye), and psychic (emotional/crying)
*tear fluid contains- water, mucin, lipids, lysozyme ("one of the most effective anti-bacterial and antiviral agents known....w/o it eye infections would cause most people to go blind") ,lactoferrin, lipocalin,lacitrin, immunoglobulins,glucose,urea, sodium, and potassium
*Humans are the only mammals to cry "emotional" tears
*They have found that crying is beneficial to health and mental well- being
*"Scientific studies found that after crying people feel better and feel worse by suppressing their tears."
"An amazing discovery; tears may be a way to aid a person to deal with emotional problems."
"Crying emotional tears contained far more toxic biological by products and weeping removes the toxic substances that build up during emotional stress."
"The seemingly simple response of producing tears is enormously complex. Without tears life would be drastically different for humans. Life would be enormously uncomfortable and eyesight would be blocked out all together."
Now, Listen to God's words:
"He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things (tears are a thing) were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM AND FOR HIM"- Colossians 1: 15 & 16
"Through Him (Jesus) all things (tears are a thing) were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.....He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." John 1:3 & 10
I am worshipping my God, my Jesus, this morning because of tears. How brilliant He is! How scientific! How much He cares for His creation that He would give us tears. How much He must love us to give us a tool to help deal with the pain down here this side of Heaven. How amazing how everything is connected in our bodies that when our heart, which is the center of everything and the one thing God is after, is touched either positively or negatively tears are ready to slide down our cheek (that is, if we let them). How much He must care about the health of His people. Every person in this world has tears. How sad He must be when we succumb to the lies of the evil one, who whispers that crying is for babies, when he has given them to us to aid in our healing.
I remember being in California with my parents a few Decembers ago. My mom and I witnessed a Mother and Father, playing and dancing with their 12 children. As I observed their joy, the children's obedience to their father, the love they had for each other, and their generousity I could not keep myself from crying. I asked my mom, "Why am I crying?" We both simply admitted it was, "Beauty", a "God - thing". Oh, how God wants to touch our souls and convince us of His incredible goodness and love for all that is truly beautiful.
So my fellow journey-women, May you cry today! With every tear may you KNOW that you were given them by the creator of the Universe, Jesus Christ. With every tear that falls, may you sense His presence, His love, and His care for you. May your crying help heal your precious heart.May you not succumb to the world and it's whispers that you should not cry. May you cry, cry, cry until that wonderful day when:
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more ....crying"
-Revelation 21:4
Blessings from Bombadil! May your soul be watered. Kristy Joy Link

Bedtime story

Have I told you all how much I LOVE being a mom. I LOVE BEING A MOM! I am soooo incredibly thankful and will never ever ever take it for granted. (I have walked with too many women who for some unknown reason have yet to be given this great honor. I have seen their turmoil, the intensity of desire, and my own soul mourns with them......hang in there my friends). To be given this great honor and privilege of having 5 precious souls to love and to teach about Jesus is indeed, humbling.
Last night, I sat with these 5 (actually 4- Elyse was in bed) little souls reading them all a bedtime story. The story is by Max Lucado entitled "Tell Me the story" (I highly recommend it to all you moms out there). As we were reading a chapter called, "Resurrection Morning" I kept getting choked up. I was reading sentences like;
"If you'd seen Him do what we've seen Him do, you would stay, too" and
"I noticed He was different. He didn't demand we let Him go. He didn't shout or resist. And when we hammered the spike into His hand, He held his hand still. He didn't fight." "Sounds like something He would do." "He never seemed angry...He never blamed anyone. People were cursing and laughing at Him, but not once did I see His eyes lose their calm."
Near the end of the story I read, "Who is this man?Who is this Jesus?" "Is there any doubt?" Mary said. Her eyes were bright. She jumped to her feet as she spoke. "I saw Him! I saw Him risen from the dead. He is who He said He was. He is the son of God!"
A story that should have taken 15 minutes to read took about 25 because I could not stop crying. Reese, who was sitting next to me began wiping the tears from my eyes asking, "Mommy, why are you sad?" Max, sitting next to Reese, said to her in a gentle voice, "Reese, why don't you go get mommy a "nina" (Reese's word for kleenx). Zeke, sitting in a chair across the room, comes running towards me, jumps in my lap and just hugs me. Jake, sitting in another couch across the room building cool things with his legos, sat quietly I'm sure hoping his mom would pull it together.
My response to Reese's question was, "Oh honey, I'm not sad. I just love Jesus soooo much. He is soo awesome. I can't help but cry when i read about His life and goodness." I was so deeply touched by my children's concern and compassion for me. It was one of those experiences I will record in my book so I never forget it (I probably better record it today or it will be gone ,the way my mind forgets things). However, I was even more deeply touched reading about my Jesus. I was reminded, last night, of the depth of longing in my soul for God, for The One who is perfect love. What is it about God's beauty and His ways that bring me to tears. And what are tears, anyway? (maybe I'll ponder that tomorrow). For today, may I encourage you, if you are a mom ,to enjoy the gift you've been given and give those little souls a taste of Jesus today. And to all women, may I encourage you to read or meditate upon the beauty of Jesus. If He doesn't affect your soul, ask yourself, "why?" He, surely is, soul- affecting. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered! Kristy Link

Light

Happy Sunday. Last night we watched the movie, "City of Embers." I would not recommend it, however, it did have one positive affect on me. In the entire movie there was no natural light. It was an incredibly dark movie. At one point, Jake said, "Ahhhhhh- I hate this movie. I hate the darkness." At the very end, they escaped this dark city and awoke to the sun rising and natural light abounding. As the credits rolled I found my soul alive and thanking God for light. I went to bed aware of His incredible goodness and brilliance. I have a skylight in my room which we have positioned our bed directly under. As I ended my day alone (Rob is speaking at a retreat @ CHR) the bright nighttime light of the moon shone directly upon me leaving me with a wonderful nighttime whisper of "you are never alone."
As I awoke this morning to prepare my heart for worship, my first thoughts of the day were, "Oh God, thank you for the sun. Thank you that it will come up today as it does every single day." My time with Him has been centered around the word, "light" and thinking about the sun. It would be AWFUL to live in darkness every day. Even on those dreary, cloudy days of winter we still have natural light- it is not complete darkness which it would be if our God wasn't soooooo goood to us. He has created ONE sun to light up the ENTIRE WORLD. AMAZING!!!!!!

"He causes his sun (I love that! The sun is His.) to rise on the evil (have you ever noticed that evil backwards is "live"?) and the good...." Matthew 5:45

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is NO DARKNESS AT ALL......" 1 John 1:5

If it "feels like" you have no other reason to worship Him this morning (which would not be true!) thank Him and praise Him for light, for the sun, that someday, as believers in Him and worshippers of Him, we will live with Him in "unapproachable light." (I could tell you this verse if I had my other Bible).

Look up all the verses that talk about light and living in his , "Kingdom of light."

May your hearts, "Overflow with thankfulness for the SON." Blessings from Bombadil. K.Link

watch out for traps!

Unbelievable! I'm still in shock. I know there is evil in the world but there are times I'm still surprised by it. So, a few days ago I was sitting at my computer checking my e-mail when all of a sudden this thing pops up on my screen called "Antivirus 360". It says, "Warning, warning, 45 threats dectected- take action NOW! If you don't you may lose all your data." It's got a little shield by it which is a symbol of protection to ward off blows and to make safe from danger. So, in my limited computer knowledge, when it asks me if I want to continue and "get protected" I click "yes." Of course, I want to be protected. As I keep clicking "yes" and getting further and further I start to feel a little more uneasy because it just keeps going and going. I felt trapped and stuck and I could not get out of it. After about half and hour of this I decided to ask Rob about it. He couldn't get out of it either and so we were left with calling the experts and bringing our computer into a shop. When I went to pick the computer up in my unbelief I asked the knowledable computer man, "So- this was all a scam even though it made it look like it was totally there to help me." He replied outwardly with, "Yes, maam," although inwardly I'm sure he was thinking, "wow! This woman is really naive." I just still am surprised that people would do that. So, $45.00 later, 2 days without a computer and all the frustration involved I have my computer back and am reminded of a spiritual/Scriptural truth;
"For such men are false apostles,deceitful workmen, masquarading (disquise, false outward show, deceptive outward appearance) as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
I asked the man before I left the store how am I suppose to recognize this "Deceitfulness" when it all looks so helpful? He gave me the one signature I am to look for and if it does NOT have that name, it's a scam and to simply click the "x" box.
So, may I encourage you today to be alert and not as naive as myself (you all could probably teach me a few things here).May you go forth in this day aware that according to Scripture there is one out there, "prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" 1 Peter 5:8
May I encourage you to not fall for the evil one's traps(b/c Scripture is clear that there are traps set for us.) Go immediately to the "expert" and His Book which is a "lamp unto our feet and a light for our path."
May I encourage you to get to know Jesus and His word sooooo well that you are able to detect falsehood.
If what you experience does not bring life, peace, doesn't acknowledge Jesus Christ as come from God, love and more freedom- click the "x" box and get out before you get trapped. Blessings from Bombadil.
P.s.- I am sending this a little hesitantly as i'm sure you all already know this lesson and truly could be teaching/reminding me.
May I encourage you to get knowledge and wisdom. For God's word says,"Though it costs all you have get wisdom."

The story of Bombadil

I have been leaving you with the words, "Blessings from Bombadil", and although many of you know the story of "Bombadil" many do not. So this morning I want to simply share a story with you and perhaps it will encourage you in your own prayer life , waitng for God's perfect plan for you, and what it is God may want to do through your home;

Before we lived here on Ruthin street ( which one day when I was on a run I noticed it says, "R U Thin?"...how wonderful to have that in your face all the time) we lived in a home 1 mile down the road on Evanston. Rob had wanted to move and I wasn't sure about that. So, as God encourages us to do in everything, we began praying about it. I made a list of my heart's desires in a home and presented them to God....and waited. ...... and waited. God had done a great work in my heart by this time and had truly given me a heart to go where people needed him. I trusted Him completely to lead us to the home he had for us and the neighborhood He wanted to use us in as His representatives. After many, many months of house shopping (which I'm sure many of you know WAY TO WELL....hang in there) we "accidentally" came upon this adorable little home tucked away in the oakridge neighborhood. My heart melted immediately upon discovery of this cottage/castle type home. The home was for sale by owner and so before I approached my little "dream home" I asked Rob what was the highest price we could offer. When the "castle" door opened and I spoke to the owner of the home, the price they were asking was the price Rob quoted me. The owner invited me in for a moment while she got a paper for me and I will never forget thinking, "if I ever live in this home, I will be convinced my God really, really knows me....deeply and personally." Everything I had asked for on my list was wrapped up in this little gift of a home ....and then some." After many, many more months of waiting and praying we moved into my little dream home.
After living in this home for a few months Rob made a comment that he wanted to name our home. I found that intriguing but having no idea what kind of name he was looking for I decided I woud leave that up to him. Months went by with no mention of this "naming our home" conversation. Late one night, while we were in bed sharing about our day I shared with him the devotional I had read that morning. It was a devotional based on the book and film, "Lord of the Rings" (which I highly recommend Kelly Luke). It described a man by the name of Tom Bombadil who took Frodo and Sam into his home when they were so weary from their journey having encountered much evil. It described his home as a place of light, music, and food for the body and nourishment/refreshment for the soul. Tom Bombadil refreshed them and then sent them back out to continue their journey. I said to Rob, "This is what I want our home to be. A place with light, music, good food for the body and soul. I want to refresh people who are weary on their journey and encourage them to keep going." Immediatley, he responded with, "That's it! That's it. That will be the name of our home........Bombadil" And so it is, the story of "Bombadil." Blessings from Bombadil my dear sisters in our Lord, Master, Savior Jesus Christ. Kristy Link

Be alert!

Just finished writing a note to the parents of a friend of mine who took his life back in November. My heart feels very grieved right now. There are people walking all around us who carry such deep wounds. There is soooo much pain in this world.May I encourage you in two areas:

First- please, please, please, go out into your world today alert. Be very aware of those with whom your path crosses. You have no idea what has happened in their world, what is happening or what will happen to them the moment you leave them. People NEED the love of JESUS! May we be the tools He uses to spread His love EVERYWHERE WE GO. Smile, be kind, be selfless/put others first, be generous, walk with the SPIRIT OF GOD and be ready to speak His word with much love when He prompts you, care deeply, love mercy (kindness to an offender), and forgive.

Secondly, listen to what Jesus KNEW;

" Jesus knew ...that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he............" John 13:3

May we KNOW this .....deeply. We have come from him and we are here to know Him and make Him known. And someday.....who knows when....we will be returning to Him, to "paradise," (Kelly Haak) where "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

It was this knowledge that Jesus walked this earth with that enabled him to endure what he endured.

"Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:3

Fill in the blank with your name:

"________________knew..that she had come God and was returning to God; so she_____________."

Now go out into your world with this knowledge, may you "Be Joyful in Hope" (Romans 12:12), and may you love everyone you encounter. Blessings from Bombadil. May your soul be watered and may you go water another soul! Kristy Link

May our hearts be pure...

I was so proud of my husband, Rob, yesterday. It takes a very brave and honest soul to confess a weakness. It's hard enough to admit our weaknesses to ourselves let alone in front of hundreds of people.Yet, God makes it very clear in His Word that;

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
-1 John 1:9

One of my favorite stories is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector found in Luke 18:9-14.

May we NEVER be confident of our own righteousness.
May we guard our hearts diligently being careful to not let pride enter in any way but rather may we be a humble people. May our deepest most desperate prayer be;

"Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139: 23 & 24

May we be a people who understand these words of Jesus, "Why do you call me good? No one is good- except God alone." Mark 10:18. May our church be a place that honors honesty of the heart that we may be on our way to a pure heart. Purify us from all unrighteousness Oh God! For your promise to us is this:

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!"
-Matthew 5:8

May our hearts be pure so we can see Him. I want to see Him! Help us to desire to see you more, Father.
Blessings from Bombadil. K.Link

worship!

WORSHIP-
1.reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity.
2.Religious forms by which this love is expressed
3. reverent and adoring (love deeply, like very much, profound love.)

Reasons why I love Him this morning (thought about BEFORE I go to "worship" so I can truly worship Him):

1. Grandparents are a brilliant idea
2. Husbands that love Him & obey Him are priceless!- brilliant idea
3. Friends- another brilliant idea
4. Fellow believers- priceless!
5. Movies- stories- the language of the heart
6. His work in the human heart- stories of transformation
7. E-mail- Have I mentioned how much I love this thing? I know it's really His idea.
8. He directs our paths when we acknowledge Him (I have had many divine encounters this week with people I KNOW He is pursuing)
9.He is a lover and pursuer of people. He is a "fisher of men"
10. His perfect timing! He is soooo in control.
11. sleep- the renewal it brings is priceless! Brilliant idea!
12. His Spirit in man- it makes all the difference!
ie: Max lost his brand new shoes. We looked everywhere,called everyone for 2 weeks. nothing. Scott Polowski approached us at a game with Max's shoes and asked if we knew whose shoes these were. I was sooooo thankful and I wanted to show my thankfulness through giving him a gift certificate. With absolute conviction- He would not take it. "Absolutely Not! It is the right thing to do and I will not take anything for that" Scott said. I knew, I knew, I knew that this man, that I did not know, knew my God. His light was soooo bright. I was blessed because of Jesus' Spirit in him. Isn't that what heaven will be; "God will be all in all"(I'd be able to tell you the reference of this verse if I had my other Bible)

I'm in love!

Why are you worshipping Him this morning?