"WEEDS"

By: Donna Selma Lind

Weeds . Unwanted, undesirable, aggressive and damaging.  Left unattended, weeds can spread like a wildfire . Weeds can turn a beautiful garden like this....

Into an ugly mess like this in no time at all.

Weeds are a lot like bad habits and sin in our lives.  At first glance it looks attractive and inviting.  Like a Wildflower , it usually starts out to be beautiful and enjoyable before it gets out of control and turns into a bad habit and sin.

And then before we know it WHAM!  It has taken over our life and now we have become a slave to the "Weeds."  Little by little we allowed them to creep in until they have taken over .

We all have different weeds that have infected our lives. Some are simple surface weeds that are easy to see such as being messy, bossy or late all the time. These weeds are easy enough to pull out and stop from growing any further by making a conscience effort to change and try to become better.
Some weeds have deeper roots and require digging beneath the surface to find where the root took hold in the first place.  The deeper the root the more power it has to spread and grow over into other places in our lives. These are the weeds that affect our attitudes and relationships. The seeds from these weeds take advantage of the bad soil and reproduce more and more ugly weeds in our lives.

The Good News is .....

Jesus is the "Master Gardener".  He has the power to remove every weed from our life!  All we have to do is ask Him to help us. Softly and tenderly He will cut away the weeds and get rid of all the ugly things that have taken over our lives until we are beautiful once again .

What are the Weeds in your life?

What habits and hindrances  need to be removed?

Will you invite the "Master Gardener" Jesus into your garden today and allow him to tend to your weeds?

John 15:1-10 

" I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful... I am the vine; you are the branches...This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit....As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you... Remain in love, so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

HALLELUJAH!

PRAISE THE LORD AND SHARE THE GOOD NEWS!

                                                                           Donna Selma Lind

"HEART BURN"

By: Donna Selma Lind

This past Saturday our Church hosted a community outreach called "Lot of Love."

We partnered with "Convoy of Hope" and created an event that helped nearly a thousand people in need.

Here I am before all "Heaven" broke loose!

We were able to Bless people with free services such as : Haircuts, New Shoes, Clothes, Medical and Dental assessments, Vaccinations, Toiletries, Diapers, bags of Groceries and much more. There was a Pampering room for Women to have their nails painted and we had Carnival activities for kids along with a Fire truck spraying water hoses up in the air like a fountain for the kids to run under. Our Awesome Worship Team gave a great Concert while folks enjoyed a nice lunch and enjoyed the fellowship of one another.

I am the "Prayer Ministry Coordinator" at our Church so my role was to have a team in place to pray for the needs of the people coming to our "Prayer and Resource Tent."
Our team prayed with  hundreds  of people!  There are so many folks that are hurting out there! They were so thankful to know we cared and took the time to listen to their stories and pray with them .
When you know Jesus as your Savior, you can offer Love, Hope and Joy to someone who can't see a way out of a dark place.

Hundred's of people came and sat for prayer in our tent that day.
There was however one special lady who never came into the Prayer tent. 
She is the one who touched my heart the most.
I saw her sitting in a parked van for most of the day. She was in the drivers seat so I assumed she was waiting to pick up someone who was in the church.
I walked over to the van and introduced myself.  Her face , neck, arms, and hands were covered with severe burn scars. She must have had many surgeries to graft the skin on her face and body. 
I asked How I could pray for her and she mumbled under her breath;
 "Where do I begin? There is so much."  I placed my hand on her shoulder , she tensed up and pulled back at first. I could tell she wasn't used to people touching her. As I  prayed out loud I asked God to heal  her heart and something broke inside of her. She slumped over the steering wheel and began to weep uncontrollably.              
 A river of tears that were dammed up for  many years broke forth as I told her how much God loved her and how God still had a purpose and plan for her life.
I could see years of hurt and shame in her eyes.  Though her face and body were covered with horrific scars from a fire ,  it was her heart that was burned and damaged most.
 Scalded with scars from years of abuse, rejection and shame , she felt unlovely and unloved.
I held her and hugged her as best as I could through the window of the van, she held on to my shoulder and as she wept I could feel the years of pain melting away.

It wasn't anything that I did that erased  her "Heart Burn."  It was Christ alone that washed away her pain. It was he who bore her grief and sickness.  

Sometimes the scars on the inside hurt more than the  scars on the outside. We have all experienced " Heart Burn". Some of us have carried it around for our entire lives.



As I said goodbye to her she mustered up a smile. I could tell she hadn't smiled in a while .  Her voice cracked as she said , " You will never know how much this day has meant to me.       I feel free for the first time in a long time. Thank you so much."
 ~

Today I ask you, just as I asked the lady in the van...

"Won't you give your heart to the Lord and allow him to heal your pain and scars from the past?"

Let Jesus take away the hurt and heal your "Heart Burn."
~
May your Heart be grafted into the heart of Jesus!

~

" I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take HEART!
I have overcome the world."

John 16:33 ~

BE A ORGAN DONOR...GIVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS!



Hallelujah!

"Praise the Lord and Share the Good News!"

Donna Selma Lind

                                             

" AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING"

By: Donna Selma Lind

It started out to be just an ordinary Saturday morning. We had breakfast , watched the sun come up and listened to the weatherman give the forecast for another hot and humid week.
 The morning sky grew dark as a flock of Buzzard's circled overhead and landed on some fence posts. They took turns spreading  their massive wings out and soaking up the warm sun rays.




"A Bevy of Buzzards"


A while later I glanced at the window to see if the "Wing Competition" was still going on.

The Buzzard's were gone but I noticed "Angel" our Llama coming out of the woods.  She was strolling  slowly with one big lamb behind her. Without my glasses on, the lamb looked strange. I grabbed the binoculars for a closer look and I could not believe what I was seeing. It looked like a baby Llama!
How could that be? Angel couldn't have a baby because we didn't have a  male Llama.
She wasn't pregnant,  I must be seeing things. 
I hollered for my husband " Honey, it looks like there's a baby Llama out in the field walking behind Angel. "

 "Mother and Child"

"Nooooo, are you kidding me? How can that be ? You must be seeing things."
He teased. "It must be a fox or something."
He nabbed the binoculars from my hand.
"Honey" he squealed " There is a baby Llama walking behind Angel!"
"How can this be?" we both chimed together "Angel couldn't be  pregnant. We have had her almost a year and there are no male Llamas anywhere around here."
No matter how much we debated back and forth, nothing could change the fact that Angel was proudly parading her newborn daughter down to the pond for a cool drink of water.

"Hope"


We learned that the gestation period for Llamas is 365 plus days. Unbeknown to us Angel was pregnant  when we brought her home.

What an unexpected  Blessing  !

 Grace  is the free and unmerited favor of God. It is kindness from God that we don't deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift and a blessing from God.

To us  this baby Llama that we named "Hope" is an unexpected blessing and a gift that is filled with  the favor and Grace of God!

Our Heavenly Father loves his children and delights in blessing us.

Psalm 37:4

"Delight yourself in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart."

James 1:17

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father."

Everyday is filled with "Unexpected Blessings" from God. Some go unnoticed like a front row parking spot or a refund from a medical  bill. Some are easier to recognize such as a physical healing or  a prodigal child who returns home. And some come in the form of a baby Llama.

Open your eyes and begin to see all the gifts that God has given you.

Now, open your mouth to Praise and Thank God for His "Unexpected Blessings"

THE END.

Hallelujah!

"Praise the Lord and Share the Good News!"

Donna Selma Lind