Feeling a little weak? Get Connected!

Danny and I love coffee. He actually loved it before I did. Back when we were first married he drank it every day but I had no desire to even try it. After about 10 years, he finally talked me into it. What I liked about coffee the most was that it gave us time together. We had that in common and drinking coffee together especially in the morning gives us time to visit and discuss the day’s plans and talk together about God’s plans for our day.

We’ve gotten to like coffee so much that we’ve even begun to try gourmet coffees from various countries. We finally bought a more expensive coffee maker so that we could get hotter coffee quicker!

I got up yesterday morning to make coffee and the machine ran through a pot of coffee but when I went to pour a cup I found just colored water and it wasn’t even hot. I was concerned that our newest more expensive maker had already bit the dust. I tried everything. I carried it from plug to plug and yet no power. No light came on and no sizzle could be heard. Quickly, because we have to have our coffee you know, I told Danny something was wrong. He asked me if I’d checked everything and I said I had. But when he came downstairs to check it, he reached to the back and flipped a small switch. I had forgotten all about that switch. Sure enough with the main switch on the machine then lit up and began heating the reservoir so we could have our coffee!

How often do we take our life for granted? We just assume things are going to work well and instantly get things done when we need it. We flip a switch and we’re ready to go. Headlong we enter into every day, enjoying everything we can. We get busy and we start to leave things out. No time for things that are important to our life. We find that we start feeling powerless and the things that once gave us enjoyment don’t seem to be working anymore.

Without taking time to make sure that the power is on we are going to find ourselves disconnected and weak, just like that pot of coffee. We’ll get frustrated, confused and fearful. Where’s the power? Where’s the connection? Why isn’t my life working the way it’s supposed to?

You have a life that is full of wonder and delight. You probably can go on your own steam for the good days – at least we think so don’t we? You and I both, if we admit it, try to make it on our own power when things are going good. We don’t even check the connection we just go on our merry way.

Unfortunately life also has those times when we’re not sure how we’re going to make it. Troubles come in, problems arise and we feel as though we’ve thrown a breaker. We’re powerless and we are frantic. What will we do? Where will we go? Who’s going to fix it for us?

Oh beloved, today before you leave the house , take a moment to make sure the power switch is on. You could run on your own steam temporarily, but it’s much better when you’re connected to the Lord first thing, every day. If the connection has already been established, through the Word and prayer, then when a problem arises you’ll remember the connection and run right to the source of your power. You won’t have to scramble to find out what’s happened, you’ll keep brewing your life of faith even in the hard times.

God promises, because He loves you, that He will give you His wisdom, power and might. He’s always full of His power and always ready to pour out His Word to meet your every need. He’s never confined to the world’s power grid – He is ALL Power! He won’t turn you away, He won’t limit your use and you won’t go away wishing for something else.

God loves you and He’s for you and that’s the power you need to make each day flavorful, robust and fruitful all the days of your life!

Ephesians 6:10 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Matthew 22:29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

1 Corinthians 1:24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Get Recharged and Receive Full Power!

My cell phone is not staying charged. I keep it hooked to a charger most of the time and yet it just never wants to hold full charge. Danny says I use it too much. But with those smart phones there’s so much you can do.  Check facebook, pin to pinterest, text friends,  post photos on instagram, check emails and even talk on it! The grandkids also like to use it to play games. So the battery gets depleted quickly.

Since I can’t seem to keep my battery charged, Danny has bought me a new charger with 2 extra batteries. He figures I at least ought to be able to use the charge of the extra battery to help me get through the day.

Our walk with the Lord is better than a smart phone! There are wonderful things available to us when the Lord changes our life.  The Word tells us we can overcome obstacles, reach out to others, walk in forgiveness, mercy and grace.  It also says we can fight the enemy, live for God and be a victorious warrior in Christ. Best of all, we can talk to the Lord 24/7. Anytime. Anywhere. 

Because we have much available to us in Christ, we have much responsibility to stay connected and full charged. Without a daily connection to the Spirit we lose our power. Without being full charged in the Lord, we will start running on the flesh. When we run in the flesh we get tired, fatigued, cranky, despondant. We lose our motivation and become self-centered. Before long all power seems gone. We wonder what happened. We try to “use” our blessings and find that we’ve hit a “dead zone”. Without the reconnection to God’s power supply we’re useless and frustrated.

Unlike cell phones, which require a physical battery to stay going, we just have to step back into God’s presence and recharge.  We just have to get alone with Him and let Him adjust our spiritual batteries so that He is fully in charge and we are fully recharging in Him.

Oh beloved,  do you feel like you’ve been running on empty? Have you been trying to use the gifts God gave you but they’re not working properly? God knows how busy you are and that everything you do is important. But He’s planned it so that you must spend time with Him and He wants to spend time with you. It‘s His joy and pleasure to recharge you, renew you and give you a fresh boost of faith, joy and peace.  Even if you have to stop and plug in from your busy day, it will be worth it. For the life of faith is impossible without His connection. But a life fully connected to Him, charged to the max – will give you all that you are running around trying to find, trying to do and trying to be.

Stop this morning and let God recharge you beloved. It is the best time you will ever spend in your busy day. It sheds light on your walk, lightens your load and gives you the power to live in the light of His Word! He loves you and He’s for you and that’s why you will always be blessed when He recharges your life.

1 Corinthians 1:30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Colossians 1:10-12 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:5 …so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Psalm 63:2-3 I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!

Psalm 73:26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.

Sweet Spot to Tight Spot? God is With You!

For some reason, my name was chosen to lead praise and worship at church Sunday, like a name pulled from a hat. Not much rhyme or reason there. I can sing, but I’m not a singer. It’s just not my calling. I do play the piano, but an accompanist is not a leader. Our praise and worship leader was going to be out of town and he called out my name to our pastor. Really.




I was fretting about it for... several days. I did pray, but mostly that God would intervene! My pastor said if God told me not to he’d find someone else. Well, I never heard from God on that, so I fretted some more! Then right in the middle of my wondering about it, Danny just made a little suggestion. He reminded me that he had bought a praise and worship dvd a year or so ago at a greatly discounted price. We’d watched it once, but never done anything with it. After all, we don’t “lead” praise and worship, so why would we ever need it?



Well, that dvd was the icing on the cake of God’s making. I was relaxed and ready – how could anything go wrong when it was all laid out. I wouldn’t have to do much except share what God had spoken to me about praise and worship and let the dvd do its work.



Except our praise and worship leader was there! I thought for sure I was off the hook, but no, he said that I had prepared all week (he didn’t know what all I had done lol), so I needed to go ahead. Now it was worse – the worship leader would be PRESENT! With sweaty palms I proceeded. One of our elders asked me if I was leading the worship service and I so “no, God is!” I figured since God got me into this I’d just blame Him!



I got up and shared what God had shown me – that while I was not a worship leader, I was a praiser and a worshiper by nature. The dvd began, I stepped over beside the worship leader and then God did what God always does – He took over! I asked our song leader to lead and stepped into the pew by my husband. It was awesome!

We all have gifts from the Lord that are meant to be used to edify the church body. But sometimes God nudges out of our comfort zones. I’m not sure I know why, but I know He knew it would happen when He prompted Danny to buy the dvd. I know He knew the outcome while I was trying to prepare. I know He had a plan and I was allowed to be on it in some small way. Get ready, because God may ask you to get out of your sweet spot and into a tight spot so that His glory will shine through!



Oh beloved, God says to you this morning, Let Me use you! Let Me guide you! Know beloved, that even when others ask something of you that’s out of your realm of possibilities, God might just be asking you to let Him perform the impossible through you. Every opportunity given to share the Gospel, love on God’s people, serve Him in unusual ways or shine His light is from Him! Sure it might be a little uncomfortable, sure it might be beyond you, sure it might take great faith to proceed, but those are God’s working plans! He takes you beloved, out of your comfort zone and into His blessings. He promises always to use you, bless you and guide you so that you can grow in faith and He can be glorified! He loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth saying, “Yes, Lord, Yes!”



Matthew 14:29 "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.



Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.


Acts 9:10-16 (v.13 “But Lord! exclaimed Ananias…”



2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.



I Corinthians 2:5 …so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.