Author: bonniejeancarr

God trusts us to listen and carry out His purpose through the individual talents He created and seeded within each of us. Vice versa, we trust God as we endeavor to carry out His call on each of our lives. However, do we ENTRUST the outcome to God, or do we fall prey (instead of pray) to trusting ourselves to accomplish everything through our wisdom, our power, our action and our effort.

If God trusts us enough to assign us a purpose, aren’t we supposed to confidently see our hands carrying the assignment through to completion? Absolutely, not!!! We are to see God’s Hands, not ours, as the means of accomplishment. Our hands are merely puppets on a string, being steered and controlled by the puppeteer — the Hands of God. Too often, we humans take pride in God trusting us with His work. Instead, we need to ENTRUST God to achieve His work by maneuvering us in a way that results in His mission being attained.

There is an additional insight into trust and ENTRUST which we would be wise to ponder. We trust God to solve our problems, but do we ENTRUST God with our problems. To trust, often, centers on trusting for a positive desired ending. To ENTRUST God with our problems is to rest in His peace, no matter what the end result is to be. If all a child of God knows and practices is trust, then when their faith is worldly shaken, it is possible for them to turn and walk away from God. If God’s child understands and lives by ENTRUST, then when their faith is worldly shaken, they rest in knowing God will never walk away from them.

Mine is the prayer that you, me and all God’s children stand not only on trust but also kneel firmly on the rock-solid foundation of ENTRUST.

Lately, I’ve found myself not only coming and going but, also, bumping into myself in the middle of coming and going. I doubt I’m alone on this collision course. Children of God, everywhere, are on this same burdensome treadmill. Wait a minute!! Instinctively, I penned burdensome. Does not Scripture guide me otherwise?

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV).

My soul having been refreshed by these verses, my mind entered conversation with God. This daughter of His, needing revelation and re-routing, God minced no words in delivering His aha moment. Both a light bulb and enlightenment went on when God filled my being with His fundamental inquiries.

Am I running ragged doing God’s work for me or my work for God? Do I even know and understand the difference? Let me declare, since I needed to even be asked these questions, I obviously was not scoring a 100% on my answer sheet.

What God was wisely helping me comprehend is His work for me will never exhaust my heart and soul. However, my self-proclaimed work for God, most often, will exhaust my body. What’s more, my self-decided work for God is not even what God is calling me to, needs me for, or even wishes me to do. Plain and simple, this child of God (and probably all children of God) needs to let God create and assign His list (not my list) designating the work I’m called to do for Him (not the work I’ve personally chosen to do for Him).

Choosing to do God’s work for me over my work for God does not translate into never being pushed beyond my physical strength or an eight-hour workday. What it does promise is that God’s strength will carry me, sustain me and refresh me when I endeavor to answer the call of His work for me. My work for God carries no such guarantee. If God calls me to it, He will carry me through it. If I call myself to it, my own efforts often fail to get me through it.

Not possessing divine knowledge, how best can we decipher God’s work for us from our work for God? Prayer and accepting and adhering to its answering guidance best solve this question.

Our human plate gets overloaded when the “work meal” handed us by God is supplemented by servings of our own added “work desserts” that we surmise God surely wants and needs but just forgot to put on our plate. We all need to ask ourselves if we are starving to stuff ourselves with our work for God, or are we well nourished by the food of God’s work for us? The former will wear us down into a grave. The later will lift us up to the heavens. The “starving to stuff” or “well nourished” choice is each of ours to make.

Last week, after a month of framing a storybook to thank a very special woman of God, the gift was presented to her. Honestly, I felt relief that the mission was accomplished, and a sole heart was applauded for the work of her soul. God’s inspiration and influence was felt every stroke of depicting her storybook. Throughout the writing process, there was no detail too insignificant not to be under the eye of proof-reading scrutiny.

Post presentation, the draft copy was being filed away when my thought was to enjoy one last read. I didn’t get beyond page one when my stomach dropped in dismay. There was a blatant name “autocorrect” mistake I had not caught. Imposible, I thought; but there it was glaring at me. My reflex reaction was “God, how can this be? YOU were the composer/writer. I was merely the pencil pusher.” God’s response not only spoke His wisdom but, also, led me to His overlooked message that my pencil holding fingers had failed to grasp but now longed to be included.

In honoring God’s special lady, I pictured only what reflected the Divine. God’s message to be inserted was the grace to re-define. Those who walk most close to God rest in the understanding that God does not expect (nor intend for) them to be 100% perfect. At the start of many of the greatest stories of life, a mistake is often present, but by its end all can be corrected. God’s greatest of creations grasp that He does not expect nor measure them by being every moment perfect. Exceptionally giving and gifted does not mean without mistake. Those, who best walk in God’s image, understand their footprints do not (and cannot) fill His shoes. With grace and mercy, God loves and values them both in their weaknesses and their strengths. God’s tallest standing children lean into the security of realizing mistakes are part of all lives; but as the pages of lives are turned, flaws can disappear. The page of a life’s story that best defines a special child of God is not the first sheet but the last leaf.

Having absorbed God’s lesson, one declaration repeated in my heart. “As the pages of lives are turned, flaws can disappear.” Could it be, I wondered? The “autocorrect” misspelling on page one of the storybook impacted my heart as a major downfall. This same word appeared once more on the last page of the narrative. Was it possible the final prose would correct the “auto” misdirection? Would God so boldly write this story? Amazingly, God did just that. Upon the final page, the worldly mistake was divinely corrected and restored.

Indeed, our Heavenly Father’s hand had written an epilogue to the storybook honoring this very special woman of God. It reads: “Though there are times when you suffer worldly failure, your success is knowing the beginning from the end. You diagnose the disease of imperfections not as a final misspelled word but rather as a first humanly flawed page in a chapter story of life on earth. Yours is the heavenly understanding that by the last page all mistakes are able to be washed away through your caring heart, your humble soul and the cure of God’s forgiveness, grace and mercy.”.

May this epilogue be one God might also pen for each of us.

One need only glance inches, not miles, to see fellow children of God under attack. Diseases, fractured families, broken dreams, etc., etc., etc. surround our lives. My hunch is you, like me, out of loving hope encourage God’s hurting children to “HANG IN THERE” and keep faith burning in their hearts and souls.

God corrected me and challenged me to see the error of my words. I share the following not as a put down of my (or your) good intentions gone astray but as a reminding re-commitment to what God calls us to impart to His hurting children. Plain and simple, God’s children, no matter what trial or tribulation they are enduring, are not supposed to HANG IN THERE. Christ did all the HANGING that was, is or ever will be needed for any, and all, of us to be freed from our trials and tribulations. We are not to HANG IN THERE but to REST in the accomplishment, truth and promises of Christ HANGING IN THERE.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:38 (NIV). We are called not to HANG IN THERE but to REST in our Lord. HANG IN THERE implies clinging to a thread while the garment of our belief and hope is being frayed in a fierce storm. REST proclaims we are sheltered by our God in even the most savage of worldly furors.

I don’t think God calls us to wash away the word HANG from our mouths and memory. Quite the opposite, He calls us to share the reality of HANG IN THERE in a different and completely accurate connotation. We are to recall for others, who are facing the hardest of battles, that the trial of Christ and the unrighteous verdict rendered Him the one to HANG IN THERE so we could be proclaimed righteous and granted the security of being able to REST in God’s protection when worldly tribulations engulf us.

Christ conquered HANGING. We are to grasp REST. Next time we offer words of heavenly Hope to one going through worldly hell may they be ones not from our mortal mouths but from God’s eternal love, protection and promises. “The Lord replied, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14 (NIV)

Lately, I have found myself lamenting what God sees as He gazes upon our fallen world. How disappointing and upsetting it must be for our Heavenly Father to see mankind plummeting farther and farther away from His way and will. What an ugly picture for His eyes to behold. Truthfully, my sight has been locked on this vision. That is until yesterday when God showed me His more insightful perspective.

God is multifocal. When looking at mankind, He is not tunnel visioned on the evil illuminated in many and much of planet earth. Yes, He is fully aware of how far society has strayed from His laws and love; but He also sees all that His children do which is good and reflective of His character and care. Our hateful and sinning nation is not overlooked by God, but neither are the acts of faith, hope, love and outreach that are depicted in the lives of those who follow God’s commands and commission.

Our God is a God of judgement but also a God of reward. He views in mankind both who will be judged and who will be rewarded. It is extremely shortsighted of me to limit God’s eyesight to only staring at what is evil. The apples of His eye, His children living for Him and in Him, are never blurred by pictures of evil.

My eyes, now being opened to this, have new illumination. Like God, the wrong doing glaring forth in this world will not blind me from seeing all the God seeded goodness happening in my midst. I no longer give way to discouragement from seeing who and what are fallen but uplifted by viewing who and what have risen up, defy the worldly trend and reflect the grace, mercy, compassion and love of God.

God never overlooks His future saints because of present sinners. May this be a guiding light of hope and inspiration which helps us all secure our sight beyond the darkness of the moment.

If my Hubby was not tending the gardens of Heaven, today would mark his 70th birthday. As I meander through the day, my heart re-listens to some of his comical, but never forgotten, wisdom. One of my favorites was his understanding that all careers/ jobs, be they successes or failures, are best measured by the scale of the significance of their outcome. I still hear his voice proclaiming “if a pizza maker ruins the dough, he can discard it and start over. No significant loss occurs. However, a surgeon is not allowed the solution of tossing the failure and freshly starting over”. For the pizza maker, opportunity and results are a luxury that can always be granted a do over. For the physician, outcomes do not get a replay but rather stand alone as only one chance to help render the miracle of God’s healing.

By now, I’m pretty sure you must be wondering where on earth am I going with this! Actually, I’m not going anywhere on earth. I am navigating a route from, and to, heaven for Christ’s disciples. When we, as Christ’s ambassadors, take up the role of representing God, defending Christianity and delivering spiritual food and health to others, are we pizza makers or members of the surgeon’s team? Honestly, I’m seeing a lot more dough thrown into a trash can than souls saved through M.D.’s (“M”essiah’s “D”isciples) hooking those in need to Heaven’s Healing Surgeon’s lifeline.

The question is when given the opportunity to touch another’s life for God, do we see ourselves as pizza makers or M.D.’s — “M”essiah’s “D”isciples? Who we see ourselves as, in truth, reflects not our profile but God’s image.

We live in a world where the vast majority are not seeking responsibility for their own needs, let alone the needs of others. None the less, God calls us to make a difference by being different than the world. We are charged to serve God, care for others and help change the earth from selfish to selfless; and all is to be done with God, in God and for God.

Satan loves for us to approach this calling with pizza dough in hand. On the contrary, God puts our hand in His and solely asks us to bring lost souls to Him, the powerful Physician who will cure all addictions, heal all afflictions and lovingly feed all His hungry flock Christ’s lifesaving bread and wine.

We are not commissioned to think of leading others to their Divine Maker as our being a maker of pizzas. No soul can, or should, ever be thrown away and another reached for. Our job is to value and lead all who are lost to Heaven’s Surgeon, who alone can save each and every soul in need of eternal life.

Thanks, Hubby, for using your sense of humor to remind me of my responsibility in the employment of helping lead lost souls to God’s redemption. Happy Birthday; you are loved and missed.

“So, we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God’!” (2 Corinthians 5:20) NLT

T’was bright and early one morn, when a little lassie jumped out of bed. She had a mission to do. As her mommy was contemplating what to make for family breakfast, this petite miss raced past her toward the kitchen door announcing, “I promise I won’t go out of my yard, but I need to do something important for God”.

In curiosity, her mommy peeked out the window and witnessed her daughter picking up garden stones and plopping them into her tiny bucket. With a chuckle, the mother accepted that dirty stones were about to decorate the breakfast table.

Pancakes grilled, mommy poked her head outside and announced breakfast was ready and hands needed to be washed before the first bite was eaten. The little lassie, still clutching her bucket, raced inside. Her morning task resulted in a very hungry tummy. Hands cleansed; she parked her bucket under the chair into which she plunked her diminutive frame. Mommy sighed relief that dirty stones were not perched upon her table. Their presence in a bucket on the floor was much more appetizing.

Hands folded and head bowed, this small child of God sang Grace for her family. After a unison Amen, all reached for the flap jack platter.

Between yummy bites, daddy was curious and inquired what motivation led his little girl to her early morning adventure. In a matter-of-fact explanation, the apple of this daddy’s eye replied, “I was obeying God”. Her mommy added, “I’m glad you, also, honored me and didn’t put those dirty stones in your bucket upon my clean table”.

Puzzled, the wise youngster inquired, “what stones, Mommy?”. With a loving, factual tone, the mother interjected, “the ones I saw you putting into your bucket”. “Oh Mommy,” the lass responded, “those stones weren’t for my bucket. They were for God. His wish is for me, for you, for everyone to give the stained stones in our lives to Him, and He will carry them for us. So, I gave God all our messy rocks!”. Lifting her bucket up for all to examine, this child of God exclaimed, “See, my bucket’s empty! God’s hands, not mine, now carry them all!”.

What about my and your bucket? Are they overbrimming with the rocky issues of our lives, or are they empty because, with trust, we have poured all our rubble boulders into God’s almighty palm? “Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)

No matter where I am or where I go, the conversation seems the same. Be they politicians, corporate executives, media analysts, sports enthusiasts or average Americans, each and everyone proclaims their knowledge, wisdom and expertise would change our broken, dysfunctional world. Only ones not preaching this message are the vast majority of preachers. This ordained segment of our population, sadly, might be America’s last chance for hope, yet their guidance seems silent.

Not as an attempt to usurp anyone, but as one who fully knows and accepts I, myself, have no power to change the world, may I boldly declare I do know from whence comes the power for change to happen.

Truth be told, man can only rearrange. God alone can change. Man can rearrange till the Kingdom comes, and though, the overrunning of evil might change its course, the downward direction of society will continue onward. Only when mankind returns to God and dons Godly character will the world return to peace as its core value. Solely returning to God can change the souls of mankind from hate to love, war to peace, death to life and enemy to brothers and sisters in Christ.

God can change the world, but for this to happen, man must elect God as the leader they choose to follow. There is no other way for change to happen than for humans to rearrange their lives to honor God and plea for God to save His flock.

How might our Country go from failing in personal self proclaimed power to returning under the almighty power of God? There is only one answer, and it is found in the Bible. There’s not a joint chief of staff assembly, cabinet meeting or voting booth that holds the direction needed. God’s word, and His word alone, can chart this course.

Call me a dreamer, but I long for preachers to lead us back to God to find our way going forward. In today’s society this might not be the popular thing, but it might be the only lifeboat that will save our land, our families and our souls.

Recently, while preparing for a Grammy Prayer gathering, I asked God to share His wisdom. I inquired how we, Grams, could pray deeper and more in accordance with His intentions. God’s answer, at first, confused me. The guidance He shared was to meditate on the reality that humans tend to “PLATE” pray; and while doing so, the majority completely miss the deep message contained within this form of intercession. My response informed Our Lord that I had asked Him for clarity, and He answered with confusion. God retorted back for me to ponder His words, and so I did.

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:2). In “PLATE” prayer, humans ask God to “take stuff off” and “put stuff on” their platter. God intends for prayer to, additionally, wash the plate. Let’s think about this.

We all come to God in prayer as plates. God, please take ______ off my plate; or God, please add ______ to my plate. This is not wrong prayer, but it is incomplete. The greatest power of prayer is not a give or take. It is a cleansing of the remaining tidbits of stains in our lives — the crumbs of sin left over from our choosing to, at times, allow “Satan to put “a forbidden apple” in our diets and on our plates. With plate in hand, we pray to God for takeout and delivery of our nourishment needs. God longs for our prayers to, also, include (and even prioritize) the washing of our plates through our seeking the continual flow of baptismal waters over our lives.

Do I, you, we see prayer only as a “remove or put on” plea? Truthfully, upon examination, too often I do. Frequently, my prayers are a “need to return or purchase” shopping spree at the mall. Sadly, I also routinely overlook my responsibility to take the soiled apparel of my life to the cleaners, both on my way to and from the shopping center.

Closer contemplation revealed to me that the aspects of “PLATE” prayer (take off, put on and wash) reflect the three Theological Virtues of Christian belief — Faith, Hope and Love. Is not Faith the belief that what we cannot handle alone, we can prayerfully give to God and await deliverance? Doesn’t the presence of Hope in our prayers add God’s power to feed into our lives what is good and longed for? What about Love? Without denial, our prayers must implore God’s love for us to, over and over again, remind us of the cleansing that occurred when our lives were submerged in the stain removal of our baptismal water. And yes, we do need to bring our new stains to God and ask for them to be washed away by His love.

The long and short of “PLATE” prayer is that “taking off and putting on” our plates is simple addition and subtraction. However, if our plates (life on earth) are to multiply into an eternity of feasting in Heaven, then prayer for us must, also, include reoccurring recall of (and reaching out for) God’s love, which forever washes our plates in the cleansing stream of Baptismal waters.

It’s time for all Children of God to set not only our tables, but also our prayers, with plates that nourish not solely our days on earth but “soul”y our eternity in Heaven.

The world lectures us to race faster, climb higher and scream louder. The whisper of God’s Word speaks otherwise. “Be Still and Know That I Am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

May the wisdom of taking time to rest in the knowledge of God be the destination that fuels our life’s journey to both the here and the hereafter. Only then, will we arrive at the unique sole, and SOUL, purpose God created each of us to fulfill.