Category: Elisa’s Journey

For all of July and August, and now starting September, I have been sending emails to someone three time zones away,  as we both were reading Charles Stanley’s Daily Devotionals from In Touch Ministries (ITM).

I enjoy this exercise and I want to keep track of these thoughts, so now, I include them here as I believe we should surround ourselves with other believers who want the best for us, like Charles Stanley 🙂 and we should track our journey, for so many reasons!

In Charles Stanley’s, daily devotion today, September 1^st, titled, The Struggle With Temptation, he calls temptation the most troubling and defeating struggle we go through here on Earth.

He refers to scripture, James 1:13-15, which is powerful. Continue reading “Struggling with Temptation – ITM 09/01/2018”

When I heard God’s call and accepted His free offer to travel to an amazing destination where He lives with His people; where there is no tears, no death, no grief, crying, or pain, for these things have passed away, REVELATION 21:3-4, I lifted my arms and cried, ‘YES!  He loves me. Take me as I am, flawed and all.’

Well imagine my surprise when I tried to check-in and the gate agent said, ‘Sorry, this trip requires you to travel light.  You have far too much baggage!’

Continue reading “Lightening the Load: How to Prepare for the Journey”

When I stopped posting last year, there was a coinciding, faltering, step in my spiritual journey. A conflict through which, I would have to struggle. The conflict was a familiar one, but one I started seeing in a new light. Self-reliance, once worn like a crown and a badge of honor, was now being recognized as the sin of PRIDE, and this would continue to be my weakness.

This conflict grew to ridiculous proportions, as I struggled with questions… Is this MY understanding?  Is this Divine Revelation? Is the devil using my Pride to detour my spiritual development? Did God really call me? Am I just bluffing my way in and hoping to fool God?

I know Christians are called to The Great Commission.  But I suddenly found myself questioning my ability to answer the call.  Do I KNOW God? Do I KNOW Jesus, my savior? Does the Holy Spirit REALLY live in me?  Or, do I just think I know? Am I letting the devil have a foothold in me? Is he appealing to my sense of Pride, convincing me that what I KNOW of the Triune God is good enough to spread the ‘Good News’ of salvation.  But, really, my limited knowledge would instead only allow me to be complicit with the Great Deceiver, the Father of Lies! Continue reading “A Day in MY Life”

Dear Friends,

If you are hearing these words from lips other than mine, then know that I will do what is in my ability to save you a seat at the table that has already been prepared for us.

I spent far too much of my life here looking around distracted by the many shiny objects promising happiness. I bought into the lies, the marketing, the smooth talkers… even joined their ranks and wore the robes for a while.

I wandered into too many territories of temptation only to find the Wizard wasn’t really a Wizard at all!

I looked around and around and around, but I had forgotten to look up.  Jesus, the Good Shepherd loves every one of His sheep and this wandering sheep heard his call.  When I finally lifted my gaze upward, it was impossible to look anywhere else.

When I moved to Florida, to be near family, there was immediate, overwhelming happiness in my life, it was the closest feeling to home that I felt in many years.  It also brought the realization that I had just experienced a glimpse of the JOY of Heaven – our eternal HOME.

My friends, my family, I pray now that any grief or sadness that you feel, over the departure of me from this life, is fleeting.  Indulge my selfishness and let me say, your loss is my gain.  Therefore, until I see you again, love me by rejoicing for me and focusing on Him. Don’t honor me, honor the One who gave me and continues to give me abundant life!

All glory, honor, and praise to my Savior and my Lord – Jesus. 💕

Almost a year ago, I was searching for a new church to call home.  Since I had made my move to Florida, I felt it was necessary to find a local  church.  There are some great churches in this area and I had found two that I was pretty sure would be my new church home.  I had intended to make a decision after my next trip back from Las Vegas.

I still travel  for work.  Last July, I brought C.S. Lewis with me on the plane, which triggered a conversation with  my seatmates, Darlene and Dan B.  They were moving to Atlanta from the Tampa area; the only thing they were going to miss was their church, theChapel, and Pastor Q.   Sometimes you have to smile at how awesome God is.

I had not heard of theChapel, even though it was fairly close to where I was living.  I promised Darlene I would try theChapel when I got back to town.   (And yes, she texted me to check and make sure I had gone!)

I do love this church.  When I’m out of town, I watch the service on-line, or catch a recording of the message the next day.   The first time I asked my teenage son to listen to a live-stream service, Pastor Q just happened to say that he wished that our local Christian radio station would just one time slip in a Metallica song.  Again, smile at how awesome He is! My son has deemed Pastor Q, ‘relatable’.  In one week, Saturday, June 9th, I will formally commit my life to Christ through Baptism.

 

This will be a quick one.

I added a page to the Resources section today… The Bible Project – Old Testament.  All content from thebibleproject.com.

I’ll get the New Testament links available as soon as I can.

I LOVE THIS WEBSITE… Visual Storytelling Meets the Bible.

Their YouTube videos of each of the books of the bible are wonderful.  They are 5 to 8 minutes long… there are 70 in total… do the math… Less than 10 hours to get a high level overview of the entire bible.

Meet the talent behind the magic… https://thebibleproject.com/team/

Enjoy!

Occasionally you run across a message somewhere, verbal or written, where you have to respond… EXACTLY! 

Ozona Community Church in Ozona, FL handles the following topics on their webpage ‘What We Believe’, to which I respond, EXACTLY!

1. The Scriptures
2. God
3. Man
4. Salvation
5. God’s Purpose of Grace
6. The Church
7. Baptism
8. The Lord’s Day
9. The Kingdom
10. Last Things
11. Evangelism and Missions
12. Education
13. Stewardship
14. Cooperation
15. The Christian and the Social Order
16. Peace and War
17. Religious Liberty
18. The Family

 

This is My Story

Before: I wish I could remember exactly when it was that I walked into Green Valley Lutheran Evangelical Church after an extended absence only to hear our pastor’s sermon regarding our Facebook witnessing!  Sharing an inspirational quote or bible passage with a photo that clearly affirms God’s awesomeness and we feel good about ourselves, right?

We were told in Matthew 28:19 ‘Go and Make Disciples!’  I shared those FB photos… even added that I was ‘feeling blessed’… so I was good, right?  😊 Continue reading “This is My Story”

It is difficult to think about the concept of ‘TIME’ without wandering off into enemy territory, ‘Distraction’, but I will try.  Imagine first, you wake up and are given $100 to spend on yourself and a child.  You make breakfast first, (you still have $100).   You get in the car only to discover you need gas.  After stopping to fill the tank and picking up a convenient snack, you’ve spend $25 and now have $75.  You head to the toy store and find the exact toy your child wants on sale!  $10 well spend… you now have $65.

You head to the park while your child plays with the perfect toy.  Hours later the ice-cream truck calls to you, you now have $60.  Your child is ready to go home where you both nap, have dinner, say your prayers and go to sleep.  You look at the clock, it’s midnight, “Nice, I still have $60.”

Such is the commodity of money.  TIME however is different.  It cannot be ‘saved’… it is only ‘spent’.  With or without your approval; with or without your involvement… time does not wait for you. Continue reading “It’s About TIME – Your Past, Your Present, and Your Future”