Author: bonniejeancarr

How many times do we second guess or regret decisions we’ve made? Too many! Monday morning quarterbacks are not whom God created us to be. The problem is not that our decisions haven’t worked out to our liking. The quandary is we overlook that the road to God’s blessings for us has pit stops and is not an autobahn speed race to the finish line. On the contrary, God overhauls, rebuilds our brokenness and refuels us via His pit stops.

Regrets and second guessing our decisions lead us to believe we made the wrong choices for our life. The point at issue here is that God, not we Christians, is to be leading us in life. Thus, simply speaking and factually accurate, if we pray over each and every decision in front of us and follow what and where we sense God answering, then no matter where or what ends up, it is where God (for His purpose as well as ours) intends us to be. What we must remember is the pit stops along our life’s journey are not God’s designated destination for us but, rather, stop overs that will grow us in God’s will and way and lead us ultimately to the reward of our prayers.

Thus, if we do pray and follow, we must, also, stop our second thoughts and regrets. Instead, we must completely trust God; and with a believing heart know when God is the compass of our journey, we cannot be lost, in the wrong place or guilty of horrid human err. As God’s Word proclaims: “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” Proverbs 20:24 (NLT)

From a distance, I wondered if anyone could be that blind. Certainly, no one would drive a golf cart into a downward grassy slope with puddles of water sitting on top of it. Or would they? As I neared the scene, my question was answered. Sure enough, two impeccably dressed retired men were sitting in a golf cart, knee deep stuck in ruts of mud. The scenario was immediately clear. The golf duo had gone to the extreme of laziness to locate a lost golf ball. Most golfers simply walk over to the course outskirt in search of what’s lost, but these two retired brains thought they would just save their energy and drive their search, even if it was underwater!

Standing at the site of this fiasco, I was amazed at the hilarious scene unfolding. The twin pair to this foursome (another duo of starched shirts and stogey smokin’ older gents) were riding their gold cart into the scene. Without being asked, I interjected my good old common sense and advised them that two golf carts succumbing to the monster of the marsh might be double trouble. They halted their advance into battle.

As this foursome pondered their strategy, I couldn’t help myself and spoke out again. My suggestion was that before they gave any thought to trying to push their way out of trouble, they might consider removing the two heavy, overstuffed golf bags from the sinking cart. My words seemed to surprise them. It became obvious they were not ones to exert physical labor in life or, most likely, in any other necessity. They were thinking more along the lines of who could wait on them, not how were they going to lift the weight of a golf cart out of the mess they created.

Just then a landscaping gator and its humble servant drove by. After passing the debacle with his eyes and mouth wide open and his head shaking in disbelief, the little man did a one eighty and turned back to help. Soon as they saw him heading back, the foursome took up their natural position. Yep, each one aristocratically perched himself on the throne of a golf cart seat, expecting to be waited upon. I firmly believe it was not manpower, but God power, which enabled the little Latino man to free the entitled old men and their golf cart from captivity.

The privileged did not stop to thank their liberator. They just rode off, puffing on their cigars. I couldn’t help but think their entire life was centered not just in stogey smoke but, also, in the fog of not being able to live or understand Paul’s warning. “For by the grace given me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned.” Romans 12: 3 (ESV)

Before moving on, I thanked my giant Christ-like brother for being the blessing God created humanity to be. He smiled — a gift that made my day and helped lead my way towards HOME…

To many, it’s a badge of honor to help those in need. I actually cringed this week as I witnessed this scenario. It was heart-breaking, not inspiring. You probably are wondering why it was so. The answer, unfortunately, is not descriptive of this isolated incident but defining of a large percentage of help related endeavors. Simply worded, many offer help because they believe the recipient is so “different” from themselves and not because the one in need is the “same” as they.

Neither feeling sorry for someone the world judges as lowly or down and out, nor thinking of yourself as privileged and called upon to bestow your good works upon those you pity and hold less fortunate than you, should be one’s motivation to extend a helping hand. We shouldn’t offer help because the one in need is “different” from us. Our motivation should be to help because we are the “same”. Both the giver and the receiver are a child of God — equally loved by our Father in heaven.

Maybe the world would be more Christ-like if we started seeing Christ in others and not just our privileged selves. Help others because we share the bond of Christ’s forgiveness, redemption and promises. Let’s stop reaching down to help a stranger in need. Let’s start reaching out to help one we recognize is, like us, God’s son or daughter.

On heightened alert in so many areas of life, Children of God are mass flocking to God with their needs. This is exactly as God created man to do. Our Heavenly Father is our supreme fountain of miracles, power, leadership, guidance, strength, comfort, healing, love, etc., etc., etc… Never are we to forget this. Always, we are to “come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”. Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

However, plain and simple, we are, also, charged to “Declare His glory among all nations, his marvelous works among all the people.”. Psalm 96:3 (NIV) Sadly, today there is a whole lot more going begging to God than carrying the promises of God’s Word, and the praise He is due, to our fellow brethren. This is a misstep God’s children need to correct.

How is the world ever to see change from arguing to peace, heated hatred to warm respect, and dissension to accord, if God remains remote from our convictions, conversations and attempts to come together seeking shalom? Of equal contemplation, is it not our (each and every one of us) commission to be God’s messengers. In seeking solutions from God for our implorations, do we not, also, fall under the responsibility and honor of bringing the faith, hope and love of God’s “soul”utions to our world so desperately in need of God’s redemption, salvation, healing and promised reward?

It is way past time for all Believers to ponder, proclaim and practice that we are not called to just go to God. We are, also, called to go from God to man and bring man the awareness of, and goodness that flows from, our Almighty Father. May we begin to do just this before it is too late.

We, human children of God, struggle, at times, trying to read God’s mind. Why is God doing this or allowing that, we try to figure out. Leave it to us mortals to get it all backwards. God has not created and commanded us to read His mind. However, we are born and called to read, and live by, His heart.

Our world has strayed so far from God’s Word. Sodom and Gomorrah describe the cities we call home. “Luv” of fleeting sports and entertainment idols out rank the God who created us, redeemed us and eternally loves us. Where has human waywardness led? It has delivered us to plagues of sickness, wars and, most probably, vicious reckonings yet to come.

My spirit is not one of defeat and repeat. It is borne by God’s Word and promise to bring us back, not cut us off. “Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. They keep saying to me, ‘Where is the word of the Lord? Let it now be fulfilled!’ I have not run away from being your shepherd; you know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my life is open before you. Do not be a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of disaster.” Jeremiah 17: 13-17 (NIV)

For God to change our wayward course, He has to awaken us to how far we have strayed. Soft words and gentle nudging have failed to revise our direction and align our ways to God’s will. Have we left God any rebuke but unpleasant pain and destruction? When we fail to walk away from evil, then evil must be exposed, reined in and defeated in order to release its hold on us and to, once more, enable us to live where God reigns. Might not, today, our world be sitting under this determination? Hence, at this moment, from where does hope arise? Once more, God’s Word speaks. “…’Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 3:7 (NIV)

Rightfully so, our eyes, this day, are fixed on Israel; but our homeland, America, is, also, under evil’s attack. Thus, shouldn’t our souls be focused on God and interceding for God to cleanse us of our idolatries and retore His place in our lives, our society and our world?

We can fear the terror of the present; or we can rest in God’s power, knowing no evil can match its force or final outcome. With hope, let’s accept that God is upending evil, not ending His Fatherly relationship with us. May we seek protection under His wing.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust.’ Surely, He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If I say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation’.” Psalm 91 (NIV)

The saying goes: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”. I think most of the world, today, lacks belief in, or understanding of, this wisdom. Additionally, I fear most are not aware there, also, needs to be an addendum to this maxim – but do throw out the bathwater.

Mankind’s tendency is, too often, to throw the baby out with the bathwater. A situation is difficult, so the way out is to abandon the entire endeavor. The good is tossed out, or abandoned, so as to not have to persevere and overcome a negative. What is of value is lost because there is a price tag instead of a pre-paid gift card attached to it.

The greatest of treasures are received by withstanding difficulty, enduring hard work, holding faithfully to the reward at the end of an accomplished goal and, above all, trusting God to surmount the treacherous mountains needed to be hurdled to gain His promised blessings. However, too often, mankind tosses aside God’s intended gifts under the entitled premise that all should be given not achieved.

Granted, it is easier to let blessings go down the drain than to submerge oneself in the challenge of swimming upstream to conquer opposition and attain a dream. Today, it has become tragically common for humans to throw away their dreams in order to drown the hard work and struggles necessary to achieve a dream.

As sad as the above scenario is, one other is worse; and this storyline is becoming common as society takes on a “woe for me” attitude. The dream (baby) is being tossed out, but the dysfunctional chaos (bath water) is not. It’s almost becoming a trophy to remain swallowed up in defeat and cry victim, over fighting for victory and abandoning the snare of self-pity. It’s time for all of God’s children to realize the ramifications of throwing the baby out and keeping the bath water are totally contrary to a Believer’s heart. For proof, we need only look to Scripture.

Hebrews 10: 35-39 (ESV) confirms “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

Thus, next time any of us are about to get caught up in the web of the baby and bath water adage, let us remember that the promise of God’s words sets us free, leads us through all challenges and delivers us to all blessings.

A child of God once blamed himself for shortcomings, miscalculations and investment concerns. In the world’s estimation, maybe there was some validity in his feelings; but in God’s wisdom, there was no truth in these false claims. Let’s think about this.

This child of God never steps out on his own. Only after prayer (and never before God’s leading) does this man take a single stride in any direction. Neither prayer, nor listening to God’s will and way, is this man’s misleading mistake in deciphering his evaluation of outcomes in life’s situations. His short sightedness is rooted in his overlooking prayer is not a four-leaf clover that magically brings good luck as the deliverer of riches, dreams and successes. Prayer is a compass; and God’s compass sometimes leads us over treacherous mountains, through dark storms, out of deep valleys, into crisscross traffic snarls and in round about dilemmas before delivering us to the open doors of our greatest destinations.

The significant element is not, at this moment, where we are, but rather, did we begin on bended knee, asking God to chart our course and then faithfully follow His guidance. If so, then at every moment and turn of the road, we are exactly where God, not only, desires us to be, but also, directs us to be. God, and God alone, knows how, when and where we will find our triumphs. Defeat is not any, less than perfect, place we visit along the way. These challenging potholes are not detours taking us away from our longed-for destinations. They are, merely, watering holes where our faith and hope grow stronger, our tears might rain but, ultimately, SONshine penetrates the clouds and undeniably reigns.

Sometimes, the greatest challenge we face is not to reach our destination but to realize we are not there yet. Don’t judge the present as the gift God ultimately is giving us. At many moments, where we are might not be where we long to be. However, it just might be a needed stop over on the sole path that, God knows, will “soul”y lead us to our greatest and most longed for reward.

Recently, a well-meaning (but off target) lady approached me with the words, “You are a great influencer. How many followers do you have?”. Completely taken aback, I gently set the record straight and stated in no way at all am I an influencer. God, and God alone, is the soul and soul influencer mankind needs and is to walk behind. In fact, I claim no followers but, rather, am, myself, a follower – a follower of God.

Even a quick glimpse of our world must bring sadness to God in heaven. So many of His creations have fallen prey to lining themselves up with the opinion of worldly influencers over aligning themselves with the truth and guidance of His Word.

I, personally, think the time for wanting our children, grandchildren and, in some cases, great grandchildren to have it better than we had it is over. Instead, we need to hope, pray and make sure they have it as good as we had it. Think about it. No, we didn’t have smart phones while growing up, but we did have a family circle that listened to our needs, encouraged our faith and ability to reach our God-given dreams and, above all, asked God to be our influence and to lead us to be His follower. In comparison, a smart phone is a pretty dumb substitute for the influence of a God-centered family.

Americans are obsessed with keeping up with worldly influencers. What we need is to be challenged and convicted to keep up with being a follower of the Good Shepherd. For this to happen, we need to sideline wanting our children to rank as worldly leaders and begin a full court press to have them identify as being a follower of God. Let’s stop striving to tower over the masses and brag about our young people ranking above the crowd and start, on bended knee, begging God to enable us to turn our family (regardless of age) from wanting worldly influence to seeking to be Divinely influenced.

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ,” Galatians 1:10 (ESV) “…We must obey God rather than man.” Acts 5:29 (ESV)

My Dad (“Granddaddy” to all who knew him) taught me most of everything important I’ve ever learned in life. Even labeling him “full of wisdom” falls short of being an adequate description of him. His sharing of deep and abundant wisdom is, without question, God’s gifted purpose for his life. Throughout his life, he faithfully seeded his God-given wisdom into God’s, lacking in wisdom, children. In honesty, I was Dad’s most needy source for sharing his forte!! My cherished blessing is my Dad always grew me from bone dry in worldly deception to richly overflowing with Divine perception.

If asked to share a time when my Dad’s wisdom most touched and changed my heart and soul, my choice would be to travel back many years in time, when my life was totally in pieces and God sent my Dad to re-cement the pieces.

Anticipating my Dad’s arrival, my human nature yearned for my Dad not only to defend me but, also, to attack the force wounding me. However, as I previously stated, my Dad was God’s gift of wisdom — not the devil’s source of retaliation. God sent my Dad to find and secure a way for me, and mine, to survive and ultimately be OK. Dad knew a fool stays in the mud and slugs it out. A child of God lets both her Heavenly Father and earthly Dad pick her, and hers, up from the mire and safely carry her, and hers, to God’s future. Not retaliation but God’s promises cure one’s brokenness. No greater, or more needed, wisdom has my Dad ever instilled in me.

I look at today’s world and cry as I see society embroiled in the strategy of tit for tat revenge. Why is it so desirable to remain knee deep in the mud and think throwing it at another will make you clean? My Dad sits in Heaven, at the foot of Yahweh’s throne, but all God’s wisdom He infused into me still feeds my life. Thus, my prayer is not for anyone reigning in the mud pit to save and lead me, mine and our Country. Instead, I beg God to send, uplift and lead His chosen, wisdom-filled son or daughter to help America survive and be OK, as our God inspired Constitution was founded to insure. Will you join me in this prayer?

The honor and privilege were mine this morning to watch a segment of God’s Family wander around a room looking for their needed place to belong. Those of us charged with welcoming this flock of “Church Going Believers” into the small group of their choice received far more than we offered. The treasure of witnessing our fellow Christian siblings reach out for God’s nourishment confirmed while the worldly might be malnourished of life giving waters, our Heavenly Father’s creations, walking this planet, seek to feast on the true Bread of Life. Who were these “got it right” people? They were plain ordinary children of God, possessing extraordinary hearts and souls. May I introduce you to a sampling of those who blessed my morning?

With deep shyness, a heavy heart and great love for those who call her grandma, this sweet soul stepped out of the crowd and into the radiance of SONlight. The direction she was seeking was not for herself but, rather, for the sake of her dearly loved granddaughter. A tear trickled down her cheek after discovering there was, indeed, a sisterhood in her Master’s earthly home waiting to walk side by side and folded hand in hand with her to pray her granddaughter into God’s loving arms. The media posts mankind only slanders, envies or kills each other. However, the GOOD NEWS, and those who subscribe to it, pen an opposite reality. Evil might be alive, but God is not dead. “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18: 20 (ESV)

Then there was the young man, I’d guess in his mid-thirties, who escorted (and supported) a little old lady and her cane. In one hand he held a Bible. His other hand was a safety net whenever the senior matriarch let go of her cane to delve deep into the huge satchel, she was lugging around with her. Believe me, to most they were a whimsical duo. His patience, her persistence was an unusual combination, but it truly was held together by God’s Golden Rule. “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’.” Matthew 22: 37-39 (ESV)

As this pair was walking away from me, I stopped the young man. Thanking him for the gift of Hope for the future he personified through his following behind and (literally) uplifting a veteran child of God, he bowed his chin and simply replied, “she’s family”. As his eyes look up, a watery film covered them. Would that somehow every disillusioned sole could have witnessed this young man’s soul testifying that family still leads God’s calling to all He created when life first took a breath.

My being was renewed this morning. Though the fierce storms of many nights have battered and tattered so many, the reflection of the SON, His followers and leaders still penetrate the darkness. It’s more than time we, each and every one, stop blindly seeing only what is trying to fill us with despair and, instead, open our eyes, hearts and souls to the Hope seeded all around us.