"Just Follow Your Heart"....

How many times have our feelings about something been wrong? I know mine have. If I let my feelings lead me into something, it can get me into trouble. Jeremiah 17:9 says "the heart is deceitful above all things." Why, then, do we give people the advice: "follow your heart!" Whew --- according to the Bible, that can be some pretty risky advice.

Feelings can be unreliable. Truth is more reliable. Truth is what I want to base my actions on - not feelings. Don't get me wrong - feelings can be good. Feelings are important. Feelings can even be accurate. BUT, feelings need to concur with the truth in order for them to be worthy of our actions.

I know this is easier said than done - believe me - I know (since we are such emotional beings)! I'm continually working on this. I want to have healthy responses to situations. Here's an acrostic I learned a long time ago that has helped me.

T - Trigger
R - Response
U - Unhealthy or
T - Truthful
H - Healthy

When a "Trigger" event happens (that is something that causes you to feel sad or angry or lonely or any kind of negative emotion), try responding with a healthy "Response" - not an "Unhealthy" one. Remind yourself of the "Truthfulness" of the situation and respond with a "Healthy" attitude. Tell yourself that no one can make you angry.....it's your choice.

So, the next time you are feeling mad or anxious or down, remember to check your feelings with the truth of the situation and make sure they line up. Otherwise, remind yourself that feelings come and go, but truth is reliable. Feelings should serve to strenghthen us, not deplete us!!

"Let the words of my mouth....

....and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength & my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

This is the verse we are memorizing in our new Women's Bible Study at Dorsett Village Church.

The title of the study is: "Me, Myself and Lies." We need to be careful how we talk to ourselves and to others. Let's face it - our words are powerful. They can cause harm or good. They can be a blessing or a curse. Let's choose blessing - not only the words we say to others, but also the words we say to OURSELVES.

Let's use our mouths for good today. Are you with me?

1,000th Customer Give-A-Way!!

Woohoo.....I love all my on-line friends! I just got my 1,000th hit on my profile and I'm going to celebrate this momentous occasion by giving away a prize to one of you on-line friends out there. Soooooooo, here's what I'd like you to do. All those who leave a comment on this post by Tuesday evening are going to get their names put into a hat and I'm going to have a drawing for a winner!!! Yipppppeeeeee!!!! I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it!!!!!!! So, join in on the fun. Leave me a comment and you will be entered into the drawing for the free prize give-away!

Five Things I'm Thankful For.....

The Ocean - One of God's wondrous creations!

God - and His protective hand!

Friends!

Sisters - what fun!! (The biological kind and the Girlfriend kind!!)

Bible Study - this picture was taken at the bible study on the book of Esther. I LOVE Bible Study!

HE HAS RISEN!!!!!

Happy Resurrection Day!! Hallelujah!!!!!

The "Living" Cross

Every year (for over 10 years now) our church tries to depict the scene of Good Friday on our church lawn. We will be representing the crucifixion again this year. We have 3 men on the three crosses. We have women who are mourning and Roman Soldiers. The first time people see it, they say it takes their breath away. I love this opportunity to show the community the real meaning of the season. We get such varied responses from people. Some are moved to tears; some curse; some stand in awe; some bring gifts; one little girl brought a flower; some people are puzzled by it all. One year a young lady who looked to be about 16 or 17 drove up in her car, rolled down her window and asked me (I was standing there) what was going on. She had no idea what Easter was all about. I had the joy and privelege of telling her! I hope I get the opportunity to share with someone again this year. If you are in the St. Louis area, come on by Dorsett Village Church (dorsettvillagechurch.com) this Friday night. We start around 7:30 in the evening and go until around 9:30 or 10:00 (depending on the weather). The above picture was taken at one of our "Living Crosses" from a couple of years ago. I hope to see you this Friday!

(P.S.....if you think about it, please pray for good weather on Friday; some years it is so cold and rainy - I'm hoping it won't be that way this year!)

"There to my heart was the blood APPLIED...glory to His name!"

Yesterday, at church, the services centered on the cross. Every time I think about the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross, I am overwhelmed with all that He did for us.

In the early service, we sang the hymn: "Down At The Cross." It hit me yesterday, like never before, how Jesus' shed blood has affected my life. I've sung countless songs about the blood of Jesus, but, for some reason, it hit me yesterday that he actually APPLIED His blood to me....not only SHED His blood, but APPLIED it. WOW - that's an awesome thought.

When you think about Passover and how the Lord told His people that if they would apply some blood of a lamb on their door posts the death angel would pass over their house, it makes sense that blood needs to be applied. I mean, not only does the shedding of blood have to take place in order for the forgiveness of sin, but the APPLICATION of blood needs to take place, as well. Thank You, Jesus! Praise You for going all the way to the cross, shedding Your blood and then applying it to my account once I trusted You as Savior and Lord.

Glory, Hallelujah, I don't know about you, but that gives me "Holy Ghost Bumps!"