Category Archives: Saints of the Faith

Apr 29 2013

Ever have a day like this?

I took my daughter to school today. She was running late. The alarm went off at 6:00 am and I woke her up, like every morning, to a case of grumpitis. I went back to sleep, until 6:40 am, prepared the daily brew, and knocked on the bathroom door to announce she had 10 more minutes. She then replied that she wasn’t going to make it. Really? Fifty minutes is not enough time to dress, straighten hair, apply makeup, brush teeth, grab your backpack and catch a bus ride? “It is every other morning.” I grumbled, as I trudged up the steps to grab a sweater, tell my husband I would see him at dinner, declare his coffee was waiting for him downstairs, and I was on taxi standby!

“Mother, you are prepared for takeoff!” someone must be shouting at me, from somewhere, to let me know my actions are not without merit. This must count for something, somewhere. I wonder how I can phrase the past 25 years of experience on my resume?

I Thessalonians 5:16-19 NIV Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances; this is the will of God for your life.

Let this verse ruminate through your mind today, and let us live like we mean it!

Jan 2 2013

To Life in 2013!

Is your life complicated? Do you have power over your circumstances?  Do you feel as if you are floating on the water, waiting for the crashing waves and the rains to begin to fall?  Or have you found a solution to the mounting despair, loneliness and despondancy.   

Isaiah 6:1-3To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. NLT2007

What a promise! This is certainly what my blog is all about. Finding the promises of God, applying them to our personal lives, and finding true peace in our hearts and minds, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us.

Navigating the waters, whether they be rolling rivers, choppy lakes or vast bodies of open water with no sign of land for days, we have a Book to take with us, to give us counsel and guidance. Applying the Word from that Book will prove enormously fruitful. Be patient. Take heart. Have faith. ©Jeannelizabeth

Aug 13 2012

Remember this and forget that

Carousing through memories, I happened upon a dream of mine.  I recall chasing rabbits down holes and found myself on the other side of reality. Life is mysterious.

Adventuring through my mind, trying to piece together a coherent picture of what I want to be when I finally emerge from this caterpillar stage, I found unpleasant recollections. I thought I had become a butterfly many times before, only to find myself tied to my past. Since 1967, 1985, 1990, and then 2008, my world has been turned upside down and inside out. Those years are significant to me and like a mad rollercoaster ride, I hold on tightly, while I page through the files locked away deep in the corridors of my soul. I have been ravenously journeying into philosophers like Kirkegaard, psychotherapists like Jung, theologians like Francis Schaeffer and heroes like Corrie ten Boom, looking for answers. As I explore, I find myself questioning over and over again, tenants that I held onto as being the end game, to find the ante has been upped. My life is alot like a poker game. I have alot to lose but I also have alot to gain.

The Bible has alot of dreams to explore. I am looking to see how my dreams fit in with how Bible characters dealt with their dreams. Have you struggled with dreams and reality? How do you merge the two so life can move on?

Once you become a butterfly, do not look back ever again.
Do not allow ghosts of the past to come back to haunt.

Forgivneness is the ultimate ointment to a bleeding heart.

Feb 2 2012

Feed my Sheep

Who are those that have gone before us, that lived deep in the Word of G-d,  that can teach us today? For encouragement, admonishment and friendship, as well as understanding how we should live as Christians, the first American theologian we will examine is Francis Schaeffer.

Born January 30, 1912, Schaeffer went on to graduate from Faith Theological Seminary in 1937, moving to Switzerland in 1948 and starting L’abri in 1955. L’abri (a french term for shelter) is Schaeffer’s lasting influence. The L’abri movement spread throughout Europe and the United States, and even today, many seek shelter from this world in community. Francis Schaeffer, and his wife Edith, have also left us with numerous written works that outline their theology and philosophy of life. Their conclusion is that Christianity is the highest understanding man can comprehend, of our purpose as people.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV, 1984).

Is that not a lovely thought! Imagine allowing God to mold us from the broken vessel we were before we accepted Jesus as our Savior. YOU can be made into an instrument, capable of doing His work He had prepared for you to do, even while you were unborn. How special we really are Christians! Claim that for yourself today.

I pray that you find shelter under the Almighty’s wings so that you can dig into His Word. Soak it up! Write it on the palm of your hands! Let it mold and melt into you! I pray for the Holy Spirit to create a new creature of you, capable of understanding, hearing and doing what G-d has planned for you to do.  I pray for protection, perserverance and joy to surround your soul everyday…march on!

“When we understand our calling, it is not only true, but beautiful—and it should be
exciting.
It is hard to understand how an orthodox, evangelical, Bible-believing Christian can fail to be excited.
The answers in the realm of the intellect should make us overwhelmingly
excited.
But more than this, we are returned to a personal relationship with a God who is there.
If we are unexcited Christians, we should go back and see what is wrong.”

Francis Schaeffer

©All rights reserved. Please contact me if you would like to share this. Jeannelizabeth©

Thank you to the following websites:

http://www.christianworldviewofhistoryandculture.com/francisschaefferquotes (great selection of quotes)

http://www.worldwide-classroom.com/courses/info/cc578/  (free online college courses)

http://francisschaefferstudies.org/francis-schaeffer-studies/index.php (very thorough site under construction)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Schaeffer (good ole wikipedia…It cannot be used in academia but it steers an inquiring mind to new sources)