Uselessness

Uselessness
May 10, 2011

11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. 12 They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. Job 17:11-12 KJV

“No one is too messed up to be used by Him: He specializes in taking broken people and making them whole, Nor does anyone reach an age when he or she is no longer useful – if you’re still alive, God isn’t done with you yet.” In Touch, Charles Stanley

In these verses, Job is arguing with his friends about all the things that are going wrong with him and how useless he is to life and to God. I’ve done the same thing myself. But this morning when I did my meditation, the above lines from In Touch kept echoing in my head throughout the day. I keep hearing encouragement and lines like this letting me know that no matter what – I’m still part of God’s arsenal in the world. He’s using me. I’m not too old. He’s brought me through pain, weakness, sorrow, temptation, whatever you can name, because He wants to prove a point not only to me, but possibly to others as well.

I have several friends I envy, since their lives appear so much better than mine. In fact, I’ve often wanted to be them or follow what they do. I think one of my friends, who receives this blog knows whom I’m talking about. Yet, when I tried to follow in the footsteps I see created by this person, I’ve not done so well. When I look towards my paths and do what God wants me to do, my usefulness shines like a diamond, and I am so very happy. Now there are some days that I feel trapped in darkness, but the photo I have included today shows just how untrue that is. The dark clouds surround a patch of light in the middle - that is God's light shining through to me.

May God shower you, your family, and your furkids (if any) with His incredible blessings.

Michelle Rose

Photo by Michelle Rose (Angelini)

Ups and Downs

Ups & Downs
May 6, 2011

Ok, I haven’t written God’s Tug in quite some time. The truth is that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue it. I didn’t feel God tugging at me to write this blog. Yet, so much has happened this week and I wrote to two of the Christian women I know online with this concern. They both emailed me back with great answers. Thank you both.

Downs:
I found out that my psychiatrist might be leaving. I’ve only seen him once and may see him again in June. It’s quite frustrating to see a health care professional, especially once or twice for my emotional disability.
Well, this is a minor down – my iPod bit the dust.
I didn’t have enough money to pay my bills, but I did manage to buy food – quite enough of it to last me for awhile.

Ups:
I finally got my “Blue Dot” training at the Humane Society so I can volunteer with the Mobile Adoption Unit, which I’m doing this Sunday, Mother’s Day.
I’ve been writing quite a number of poems, since I discovered a nice, peaceful place for inspiration.
I’ve been getting cuttings of plants, so I can add more green to my apartment.
The other day when I was shopping in Trader Joe’s, I was sharing with another woman and told her how much I wanted an orchid, but never seemed to have the money. A few minutes later, she came up to me with a purple orchid inside a Trader Joe’s bag, for which she’d paid. I never expected that.

I will continue writing God’s Tug, but it may not be on a daily basis. God continues to call me to write this blog. And through this week I’ve seen His hand in my life no matter what the situation.

One issue I continue to have problems with is being a toxic food dump. It’s something that keeps separating me from God and it’s one of my most difficult addictions to get a handle on. I’ve done all kinds of things. So, I will continue to pray to God for solutions. I ask for prayer for me in this area. Thank you.

May God richly bless you, your family, and your furkids (if you have any).

Michelle Rose

God and the Beasts of the Earth

My cat Sasha, one sweet but spoiled cat.

God and the Beasts of the Earth
April 16, 2011

"If all the beasts were gone, man would die from loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beast, happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of earth." Chief Seattle

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi

I am your servant, LORD, and you have kept your promise to treat me with kindness. Psalm 119:64-66 Contemporary English Version

Be Still and Know that I AM GOD. Psalm 46:10

So much goes on today that is sad, but that is the world – there cannot be joy without sadness. What makes me the saddest is abuse of women, children, and animals. The abuse of the last two in this group not only makes me sad, but also very angry, since they are the most helpless. I think about the commercial on tv for the largest animal organization in the US. One of the segments has a scraggly looking dog, shivering and looking very sad saying, “Why won’t they stop beating me.” And there are a multitude of animals in equally disheartening situations.

So, what do the above quotes above I know what it is and that is kindness. They are all tied together with a common thread. I’ve always heard the saying, “Practice random acts of kindness.” Well, I believe it’s not just a saying, but a directive to be kind where ever and whenever we can. It’s what God wants for me. I know Jesus treats me with kindness and love? He died for me so that I could be forgiven.

Ok, so many of you know how much I love animals. Why would God create animals if we weren’t to live in harmony with them? Yes, times have changed, but I don’t think God wants us to abuse animal. Notice I said abuse and there is more of that than even I realize. It’s frightening to hear all the news about the way many people treat animals. The destiny of people is inherently tied in with animals and nature. That’s not just my belief. Evidently God believed it to, otherwise why would the Lord have saved all the animals (alive at the time) on Noah’s ark when He destroyed the earth with the Great Flood?

May God rain his blessings upon you, your family, and any furkids you have. I almost sent this God’s Tug out last night, but I was in quite a bit of pain and had to get away from my computer. I’m glad I didn’t. This revised message is more in line with what I wanted to say, than last night’s blog.

Michelle Rose

Humor in Walking God's Path

Humor in Walking Gods Path
April 10, 2011

Jesus tries to make a point.

Jesus saw a crowd chasing down a woman to stone her and approached them. "What's going on here, anyway?" he asked."This woman was found committing adultery, and the law says we should stone her!" one of the crowd responded."Wait," yelled Jesus. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Suddenly, a stone was thrown from out of the sky, and knocked the woman on the side of her head.
"Aw, c'mon, Dad..." Jesus cried, "I'm trying to make a point here!"

http://www.christian-jokes.net/Jokes/Bible-Humor/144-Jesus-tries-to-make-a-point.aspx

I had no idea what I wanted to write about today, but somehow the thought of Christian humor entered my mind, so I googled it. This made me laugh because the Bible is quite serious on so many things in my faith. However, God never said (or at least I don’t know if it’s said anywhere in the Bible) I always have to be serious. I love humor, at least those which don’t make nasty fun of other people, (i.e. blonde, racial, & ethnic jokes), ones that are just plain cruel, or are just plain dirty. They don’t interest me. Now this is an opinion, but it’s my own – much of society today is too numb about being sensitive to others (not everyone). Maybe that’s why when I hear off-color jokes or ones like I described above, it just turns me off. And the closer I move in my faith toward, the less I want to hear off-color or nasty jokes. Does that make me “a goody-two-shoes”? Maybe. What I care about is doing what the Lord wants me to do and being the kind of person He would have me be. Yes, I love to laugh and studies have shown that laughing can be a pain reliever. When I’m laughing at something genuinely funny, I don’t feel as much pain. The endorphins kick in and I feel like a different person. Isn’t this what my God would have me do? Isn’t this why He created me with a conscience, heart, and soul? For me these are rhetorical questions.

May God bless you, your families, and any furkids you might have.
Michelle Rose