Celebrate The Moments

“This moment contains all moments.”

~ C. S. Lewis

“Moments come and moments go, celebrate them as they fly by; you cannot get them back.

 Seasons come and seasons go, revel in the wind, the sun, the rain; no day will ever be the same.
 
People come and people go, cling to what you can of them; there will be a time when they will not come again.”
~ Connie Ruth Christiansen

“In everything give thanks.”

~ I Thessalonians 5:8 KJV

Blessings!
Connie

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Peaceful Warrior

I am thankful today that God is on my side!
That He has given me tools to fight the battles of life
That He steps in when the battle is too much for me.

I had a dream. It spoke volumes to me. I trust is will speak to you also.

~~

I was standing alone in a dark, dismal, lonely place. All around me I could see the outline of men in armor, with helmets and swords, in hand-to-hand combat with very dark sinister looking creatures.

There was evil all around me. The darkness and the evil grew stronger, blacker. And then it was overwhelming. I couldn’t breathe; I was suffocating. I tried to scream for help but I couldn’t make any sound, my voice would not come... I was going to die.

I looked up.

Far above me through the darkness was a sliver of bright light. The light expanded to create an opening in the black. Through the opening of bright I saw a most incredible and welcome site; and I heard a sound – the flutter of wings … Out from the light came a pure white dove!

My heart skipped a beat.   Jesus!    My Prince of Peace is coming!

I stood amidst the battling with my head up, waiting for Him to come. Waiting for Him to rescue me! Closer and closer He came. He was so beautiful, so gentle, His eyes so loving, His wings gliding Him gently to the place where I stood.

And then suddenly He changed! His beautiful dove eyes became dark and brooding, and began to flash in anger! He opened His beak and there were lion’s teeth!  His body was no longer soft, but it became as a deadly missile hurdling towards the earth, hurdling directly at me!

My heart broke. I could literally hear and feel my heart breaking as I looked into those angry eyes, those eyes that just moments before had been comforting … I prepared myself to die, at the hand of my Creator.

His lion roar shook the earth. His missile body hurled itself within inches of mine and I felt, not His anger but the soft touch of His wing, the soft touch of His love, as He passed over me, and somehow passed through me, to attack the evil that had been frightening me.

The war zone, the enemy had been His target. His anger was not directed at me but at the enemy tormenting me!

As He continued to roar, battling the black and the evil one for me, I awoke.

I was not destroyed, I was delivered.

My Prince of Peace, My Lion of Judah. My Savior! My Jesus!

~~



May you be filled with peace at the knowledge that He is stronger than the blackest of evil.

And that His love for you compels Him to win!

~ Connie

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God Behind the Scenes

I am thankful today that God is in the business of bringing Heaven to earth. He is continually working behind-the-scenes for our benefit; to make this earthly existence more exactly match the life He originally intended. 

Our days and nights are peppered with heavenly interventions that make order out of the chaos, and give meaning to the seemingly senseless.

He somehow puts the impossible puzzle pieces of our lives together to create a beautiful work of art. 

Author and Inspirational Speaker Rolanda Pyle shares a heartwarming true life story of how God turned her childhood disappointments into blessings beyond her imagination:

The “All Things” Basket

 

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  ~ Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

This scripture has significant value to me because I learned through my life that even when we can’t see it, even when we can’t feel it, God is working it out.  I’ve learned to put things I can’t understand into my “all things” basket.

When I was a little girl, I was raised by my father and his mother. My paternal grandmother stepped in to help my father with his three children. She was the nurturer while my father was the provider and disciplinarian.

I remember crying many days, wondering why I couldn’t have a mother in the home like all of my friends. I remember many times being embarrassed when my grandmother walked me to public school and my classmates asked, “Where is your mother? Why does your grandmother bring you to school?” It wasn’t until years after my grandmother passed that I really appreciated her sacrifice. I am grateful to her and to my father for all they did for me as a child.

Growing up, I somehow thought being cared for by my grandmother was one of the worst things that could have happened. It was not natural. It was not the way it was supposed to be. Little did I know that many years down the road, what I thought was the worst thing in my life would turn out to be the best thing in my life.

After graduating from high school, I went on to college, knowing that the profession I wanted was to help people. My career took me down many paths from working in foster care to preventive services where I would help families at risk of losing their children to the system. I assumed the responsibility of recruiting and training seniors to become role models for at-risk families. I loved this job because I got to work with both seniors and children. Years later, one of my friends who knew of my work with seniors, offered me a job at his place of employment -- an agency that had just received funds to start a program for grandparents raising their grandchildren.

The program grew, and eventually I was asked by the city to come and head their Grandparent Resource Center at the Department for the Aging. So now, I help grandparent caregivers across the city. This program has grown to become a national model. I have won many awards and been asked to speak across the country at conferences.

How did I know about grandparents raising their grandchildren? Where did I get this passion to help and assist these families? How do I know what they feel and what they need? Why has this become my mission in life? I lived it.

Years ago, when I thought it was the worst thing in my life, I did not know that the Lord was working it “all things” out for my good. I had no clue that there was a plan being worked out for my life. I never dreamed that I would stand before Commissioners, Mayors and prominent folks to let them know the needs and services of grandparents. I never thought that I would be interviewed on radio or television, or have newspaper articles written about me. It was not a desire of my heart nor was it anything I imagined.

What I thought was the worst thing, turned out to be a good thing because, “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”

And that is why I have learned to put everything in the “all things” basket.

~ Rolanda Pyle ©

Rolanda T. Pyle is a certified social worker, and the Author of two books:
~FINALLY, a collection of inspirational poetry
~Beneath His Everlasting Wings, a devotional
To learn more about Rolanda, visit:
www.rorosrainbowcommunications.com
http://www.facebook.com/rorosrainbow .

 “You have done many miraculous things, oh Lord my God. You have made many wonderful plans for us.”

~ Psalm 40:5

“The pathway, which lies before me, only the Heavenly Father knows. I will trust in Him to unfold the moments and the mystery, just as He unfolds the rose.”

~ Author Unknown

No matter how difficult your current situation

may you find rest in knowing He is working on your behalf
Talk to you soon,
Connie

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One Tiny Bird -- A Powerful Force

I am thankful today for birds.
Birds make me happy.
Birds grant me insight into God, if I will let them.
Birds teach me about myself, if I am paying attention.

One tiny bird chirping, or the sound of many in chorus;

The grey and brown blending into the trees, and the vibrant that stand out extraordinary;
Geese fading in from the grey in a V, honking their warning of weather changes;
The Robin hopping about the yard, the winter ground is softening, yielding food for the babies that are growing within her overly-round belly;
The amazing tiny Chickadees and Sparrows who somehow survive and even thrive during the bitter-cold,
The hawk and the eagle flying high, circling, diving, strong, determined, free;
Chickens bobbing and clucking; Ostriches eyes staring; Cockatiel and Parrot speaking human words; Flamingos pink and white, dancing;
The colors, the sites, the sounds;
I am thankful for the beauty and the mystery that is the bird.

“I heard a bird at break of day sing from the autumn trees; A song so mystical and calm, so full of certainties. No man, I think, could listen long, except upon his knees. Yet this was but a simple bird, alone, among dead trees.”

~ William Alexander Percy

One tiny bird – a powerful force.

One tiny you – a powerful potential.

“Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best.”
~ Henry Van Dyke,

For those of you who wondered, and have asked where I have been, I apologize for my absence from this site lately

Sometimes life takes us on detours
we go where we must,
we take care of the necessary,
but we take the thankful with us

“Let us be like a bird for a moment perched on a frail branch while he sings. Though he feels it bend, yet he sings his song, knowing that he has wings.”

~ Victor Hugo,

Talk to you again soon,

Connie

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I Am Not Defined By My Past

Today I am thankful that my past does not define my future.
I am a more than the culmination of my decisions and circumstances.

I was created to live a good life, a peaceful life, an abundant life!
I was born with the tools necessary to reach for great things, and to attain them!

I have within me a God-given ability to fight evil, and to win.
I have within me the ability to forgive, so that bitterness does not control me.
I have within me the ability to determine truth from a lie.

And whatever resources I cannot find within myself, I can find them by reaching out to my Creator, Who is the Source of all wisdom and power.

~~

“I do not define myself by how many roadblocks have appeared in my path.
I define myself by the courage I’ve found to forge new roads.

I do not define myself by how many disappointments I’ve faced.
I define myself by the forgiveness and faith I have found to begin again.

I do not define myself by how long a relationship lasted.
I define myself by how much I have loved, and have been willing to love again.

I do not define myself by how many times I have been knocked down.
I define myself by how many times I have struggled to my feet.

I am not my pain.
I am not my past.

I am that which has emerged from the fire.”
~ Author Unknown

~~

“I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

~ John 10:10; the words of Jesus


““I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.””
~ Jeremiah 29:11


“Forgetting and forgiving the past, I look forward to what lies ahead”
~ Philippians 3:13, paraphrased


May today be a day that you
·         believe what God says about you, not what your past says about you.
·         grab ahold of this truth; that God is bigger than your past.
·         see yourself in perspective and realize that you are stronger than your weakest parts.
·         hold on to Jesus, who is your strength when you are weak
·         live today with thanksgiving and anticipation
·         take another bold step towards a brighter future


Until next time,
Connie

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