Amy Gatliff

Many times around our home the dog will follow me from room to room.  He is right on my heels, and I have tripped over him a time or two.  It does get a little frustrating especially if I don’t want him to go into certain rooms of the house.  Because of the kids having allergies, I don’t like for him to be in their bedrooms.  However, he follows me each morning into all of their bedrooms to wake them up.

This got me thinking some about how we are leaders and don’t even realize it.  Each one of us are leading someone.  It could be at our home, work, church, etc.  What kind of a leader are we being?  Those of us with children are very much leaders.  There have been several times that I have corrected my children for something they did or said.  Only to realize later that I do the very same things.  Children are imitators of their parents.  This can be discouraging sometimes to say the least.    Where are we leading them?  Are we saying to them, “Do as I say and not as I do”?  And who are we following?  There may be people in your life that you are following without realizing it.  What kind of friends do we have, and how do they lead us and/or we lead them?

In John 10:3-5 we read the words of Jesus:  “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”  Who are you listening to?  Who is leading you in life?  Jesus wants to be your shepherd and for you to know His voice.  That is the Leader that I want to follow!

We all deal with feelings of dread or anxiety when it comes to different parts of our everyday lives.  Maybe you dread going to work; you have anxiety about your finances; or you dread making a trip to the grocery store.  These are feelings that can take control of our lives if we do not come to a point of change.

In Psalm 118:24, we read “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”  With each new day is a blessing and a new beginning.  When we go around in dread, fear, anxiety, or depression, we allow those feelings to rob us of the joy of a new day.  God gives us the power to overcome these feelings.  We have to make the choice to walk in joy.  Granted, there will be things throughout our days that will try their best to take that joy away.  This is when we have to walk in faith that God will give us the joy that we need and trust Him.  If we stay worried all the time, then we are not putting our trust in Him to take care of us.

God has given you another day.  Take a moment and be thankful for the wonderful blessing of life.  Decide to rejoice and be glad in this day!  And, tomorrow, do it all over again.

There has been a lot going on in our family in the past couple of months.  We have experienced car wrecks and a death in the family among other things.  Maybe you are experiencing some hard times right now as well.  There will always be times that we have to go through suffering.  No one can escape it.

To be honest, it has taken quite a toll on me.  I have felt myself starting to get down more than usual and becoming passive.  This is not where I want to be, and I have struggled with encouraging myself.  This morning, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a scripture.  It is found in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.  We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

No matter what I may face and how I may feel, God is with me!  When it seems like He is nowhere near, I can be reassured that He has not forsaken me.  Life’s challenges only open the door for God to show up on our behalves.  He uses these times to teach us to cling to Him.  When all we have is Jesus, that is all that we need.  He is our every need, and He is faithful!  Be encouraged today that this storm will pass, and God is working His Will into our lives.  We will look back and see that God was with us all the while.

As we are entering a new year, many people take this time to make resolutions.  According to Webster’s Dictionary, a resolution is a firmness of purpose, and an outcome or result that serves to settle a problem, uncertainty, or conflict.  Entering a new year is a great time to look back over the past year and see how we can improve our lives.  We have all made mistakes or been lazy about improving an area of our lives.

There may be several areas that you want to see improvement.  It could be in the area of finances, your family, your health, or your relationship with God.  These are usually the areas that most people want to see improvement with their lives.  It is a good idea to write down your resolutions so that you may continually go back and look over them for inspiration.

We read in Habakkuk 2:2-3 “Then the Lord answered me and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.  Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’”  There may be times that we feel as if the vision, or resolution, will not come to pass.  However, by writing it down and knowing where your goals are, it will give you hope and keep you focused.  I pray that the new year will bring each of you happiness, and may you reach your goals in and through Christ.

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you:  You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’”  Luke 2:8-14

As you celebrate Christmas, don’t forget the birth of our Savior.  Take some time to spend with the One who gave you life.  Glory to God in the highest!

Merry Christmas

Last week, I got a splinter in my right hand.  I was able to pull some of it out, but it broke off in my skin.  The placement of the splinter made it very difficult for me to get it out.  After several tries, I gave up on it.  That afternoon, my husband was able to help me.  He got the splinter out but not without some pain for me.  I had forgotten how much a little splinter could hurt!

This experience reminded me how much we need others.  Even if it may seem small and insignificant, there are times that we need someone else to help us because we simply cannot do it alone.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 tells us “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.”  There will be times that we fall.  We have a much greater chance of healing, when we have someone to help us up.

Our falls may consist of depression, divorce, anger, jealousy, or fear to name a few.  We even may experience pain when the other person helps us.  However, this is part of the healing process that we must go through in order to get back up.  We need others!  We cannot do it alone.  Thank God that He is there to help us in our broken state!  He promises to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

As we enter into Thanksgiving, we are reminded to take time to be grateful for the blessings in our lives.  Most of us have our minds consumed with where we are going to be eating, what do we have to cook, and what time to be there.  Not to mention, shopping is on the minds of those who are avid Black Friday shoppers.  If we are not careful, Thanksgiving will be gone, and we will not have taken the time to give God thanks and praise for the abundant blessings in each of our lives.

Philippians 2:14 reads “Do all things without complaining and disputing.”  That is a hard scripture to swallow!   We are to live every day with an attitude of gratitude. We should take a moment in everything and look for the good.  The first instinct for each of us is to complain about what is not going our way.  By being ungrateful, we are telling God that we don’t trust Him and His provision for our lives.  We are limiting the great things that God wants to do in our lives by complaining and disputing.

We later read in Philippians 4:8 concerning what we are to think about.  “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.”  Where the mind goes, the man or woman will follow.  Are you approaching each day with an attitude of gratitude?  Let today be the beginning of an attitude adjustment and see how your life changes for the better!

What do you spend your time looking at throughout the day?  Not necessarily in the natural, but what does your mind look at?  What do you think about?  When we have our minds, or eyes, wandering throughout the day, it is hard to keep our focus.  Or, our focus is on things or situations that it should not be on.  Think for just a moment about what you are focusing on or meditating on.  Most of us spend too much time worrying about things that we can do nothing about.  Our minds are consumed with thoughts of “what if’s”.  Because of this, it is hard for us to focus our undivided attention on what is truly important in our lives at the moment.  We miss innumerable blessings each and every day because we do not have our focus where it needs to be.

In Isaiah 40:12, we read “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?  Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”  This scripture allows us to see a glimpse of the awesomeness of God and how big He is.  Read through it once more and grasp the hugeness of our Creator.  He holds the waters in the hollow of His hand; He measured heaven with the width of His hand!

If we could take a few moments and let our focus be on how big our God is, everything else will seem insignificant.  Maybe you are facing some worries in your life today, and it is hard to keep your focus.  Your mind may seem so confused and disorganized.  Let this scripture enrapture your heart and mind, and let God be your focus.  If God be for us, who can be against us?  He’s got the whole world in His hands, and that includes your world!

Today is set aside to celebrate those who have fought for our freedoms.  Some have given the ultimate price for that freedom with their very lives.  Even now, families are living without their mothers, fathers, brothers, or sisters because they are involved with a branch of the military and defending our freedoms.  Most of them do not receive the appreciation that they deserve for the sacrifices they have made.  Their lives are no longer the same once they join to defend our country, and they are no longer the same.

John 15:13 reads “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  Our military men and women deserve our respect and honor each and every day, but especially today.  There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life.  They gave their life to defend our country.  You may be thinking, “But they are still alive.  They did not die.”  Rest assured, they gave their lives for ours.  Their lives were laid down…times with their families, missing important events in their children’s lives, times when they wanted to rest and go home.  They chose to give everything for us.  Let’s take this opportunity to show them how much we appreciate their sacrifices!

Do you struggle with knowing the answers to life’s questions?  Maybe you are dealing with something right now, and you don’t know what to do.  Each of us have moments in our lives when we are faced with decisions.  Knowing what to do, and when to do it, can be difficult.  We tend to seek guidance from our friends and/or counselors.

As children of God, we are given a great promise in His Word.  In Jeremiah 33:3, we read “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  God will give us revelation into His Word and how to pray over a situation.  He will lead us and guide us into His will for our lives.  He will show us things that we do not know!

It is our responsibility to seek out the Lord and search for Him diligently.  When we are pursuing Him with a pure heart and wanting God’s will for our lives, He will be faithful to answer our prayers.  He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19).  Call to Him, and He will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.