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Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Greatest Gift

Has already been given!


Greetings Dear Friends,

In the hustle, bustle of this CHRISTmas Eve I pray that you will take some time to contemplate the greatest gift of all time, JESUS.

And the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for ALL people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

Here is a devotional about a true story that happened a few years ago. I hope it blesses your heart. I invite you to check out my writers group Christmas season devotionals at-  
Portionsofgrace.blogspot.com






Barnyard Christmas Eve
 
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 (NAS)
  



One Christmas Eve, after waving good-bye to our guests, I went to feed and bed down my bunnies for the cold night. Grabbing some apple slices as a treat for them I realized to my dismay, that in all the holiday rush, fresh hay had been forgotten. Immediately my thoughts went to the farm lady nearby. She loved animals too and would understand. Quickly calling her, I apologized for the interruption. She seemed genuinely glad to help. I wrapped a box of homemade cookies and hurried out the door.

From the hill, a stunning sunset showcased her farm. Pausing to take in the brilliant orange and violet swirls, I realized this was a special moment, compliments of the Father. In quiet adoration I took a moment to praise Him for the gift of His Son.

Walking the darkened dirt path to the barnyard another surprise awaited. Ever so softly, sweet carols drifted on the hay and animal-scented air. Cows lowed quietly. A warm glow beckoned from an opened door. In awe I thanked God for a tiny glimpse into the wonder of that holy night when Jesus was born. Treading silently, tears in my eyes, I stepped into the warm light anticipating a baby in the manger. There was my friend, greeting me with a big smile. “Perfect,” she said, “A bale of clover, my Christmas gift to your bunnies!” Handing her the cookies I smiled and treasured the gift I had already received.

Father, thank You for the most perfect gift of Your Son!   
God bless each and everyone of you with the Love of Christ now and for always!

© 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Friday, November 18, 2011

What's that smell?

Prayer, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Psalm 141:2


Dear Friends,

I am so honored to have you tune in with me to share our journey with Christ. It is my desire to minister to you in prayer as well as in words. The Lord has put it on my heart to offer my prayers to you on an individual basis rather than just as "the readers of my blog." That's how I refer to those of you who are anonymous when I am bringing you before the Lord. He knows who you are. Isn't it a comfort to know that you are not anonymous to him?

I was just thinking about how I could be a better friend and intercessor for you. If you would like to have me pray for you it would be my joy and pleasure. I love to commune with the Father on behalf of others.

If you wanted to write in the comments any prayer requests that are on your heart, it would be my privilege to pray for you. I believe in prayer.

You can remain anonymous if you like. I am not able to contact you personally, the blog does not provide me with that information. The comments are only posted after I see them. So, if you say don't post on the blog, I won't. As a matter of fact, considering prayer requests confidential, almost sacred I would not post them on the blog unless you asked specifically so that all of our brothers and sisters in Christ could join us in prayer for you.

But, rest assured I will bring you and your requests before the Lord.
Let's pray together and see what our amazing Creator will do! 

Prayer is such a privilege. The fact that we have immediate access to the throne room of God and that He immediately inclines His ear to hear our hearts is a fact that seems too wonderful to be true.

But, it is true my sweet friend. 
Praise the Lord! It is most definitely true! Our only limitation to accessing the Father is our hesitation to open up the conversation with Him.

I know that life is often hard on us. We get pressed on from every side and wonder how we will ever make it. Strangely enough, it can be during the most difficult times that it is hardest for us to pray.

But, God in His infinite wisdom has provided for those times as well. 

The Bible says, In the same way the Holy Spirit also helps in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

Wow. That's some serious stuff. I feel very well loved and cared for when I try to imagine that kind of intercession going on for me in the Heavenlies.

So you might wonder, why then, if the Holy Spirit Himself is praying for us and God knows everything there is to know about us why bother enlisting the prayers of anyone else? Good question.

The answer is because we are commanded to pray for each other in the Scriptures.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16

I believe it is for the furtherance of the Kingdom. It brings us as the body of Christ closer to each other and closer to God.
At the Last Supper Jesus prayed for Simon and in doing so prayed that it would strengthen the rest of the disciples.

...but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Luke 22:32

The greatest benefit of prayer may be that as we come into the presence of the Lord we are strengthened, encouraged and filled with peace.
When we draw near to Him we find that He is already there waiting.

So, please, won't you join me on this prayer journey and see how it enriches your life and the lives of everyone around you.
We have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

God bless your day with extra-special closeness to Him.


(C) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans




Thursday, November 17, 2011

Of Cats and Men

Hello there dear friends.
Remember me?

It's Bonnie from Bonniefied.

Only kidding, but really, it has been longer than I would have liked since I last wrote to you.
Too long.
I do hope and pray that you have been happy and well since we last met. Thank you for checking in with me again.
So go grab a cup of tea or coffee, a codfish cake or a Pop tart, whatever is your pleasure.
But, come back soon and relax in the Lord with me for a few minutes.

It seems life has gotten in the way of my writing plans lately.
The things of everyday life have kept me busy. I'm sure all of you can identify with that. Nothing awful and for that I am very grateful. It has just been the mundane, but necessary.
Necessary interruptions to my plans for the day.
Unexpected little twists and turns that send me off in a different direction than I intended to go.

How about you, friend? Do you find yourself pulled this way and that, frustrated at not being able to carry on with your plans?

Right now I am involved in a very enlightening Bible study on Jonah by Priscilla Shirer. She calls these life interruptions-divine interventions. So, I am learning to see things differently, to cherish these unexpected detours and to look for the opportunites that God is blessing me with to help further His kingdom.

I remember the verse  My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways,declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

But, being a child of the King I desire to know more of His ways. Therefore, I am learning to yield to His plans on a daily basis.

(If you have the chance to take part in this Bible study don't miss it. It may be your next divine intervention.)

For the past few weeks my interruptions/interventions have gone something like this:
  • The starter on my car that decided to change its name and identity to the "nonstarter".
  • The flu bug that decided to take up residence with my son.
  • The new job opportunity that consumed hours in rewriting my resume, applying online, interviewing, getting the employment physical and recooperating from the required DPT, PPD and flu shot.Yes, this is a praise! I did get the job! (And so far I have not gotten diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, tuberculosis or the flu!)
  • Keeping up with the irregular hours of my present job and trying to make the transition easier for the patients and doctor when I leave.
  • Watching with joy as my son played in a Fall lacrosse league and then the All Star game under a cloudless blue November sky. It was a perfect day. Oh wait, that wasn't an interruption. I just wanted to tell you about it. It was wonderful!
  • Buying, returning and rebuying. What on earth made me think that I could buy shoes for my daughter without her seeing them first? I mean really, didn't I learn that lesson with the boots a few blogs back? Apparently not.
  • The trees in our yard are trying to make it into the Guinness Book of World records for the most leaves dropped overnight in between rakings. I'm not complaining. You know I love my trees.
  • The migraine headache that struck with a vengence out of nowhere.
  • The lost cat of my son's girlfriend.
  •  
Now, this is where our story begins.

How the cat named Shadow came to be lost was an accident really. An accident that my dear, tender-hearted, animal-loving son felt entirely responsible for. You see, he was leaving his girlfriend's house one night when Shadow ran out past him. He was used to going out, but not at night. My son and his girlfriend searched and called to no avail. Shadow had a plan of his own. He vanished into the shadows of the night.

Over the next few days I watched as my son suffered with the anguish and guilt of being the one who let the cat out. He loved that cat, the laid back Maine Coon. His girlfriend insisted that it wasn't his fault, but he believed it was.
We prayed constantly for Shadow to be found...nothing.

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

For the next week and a half I would make three treks to the Animal Shelter, looking at all of those precious lost little faces behind bars while my heart was breaking for Shadow and for each and every one of them. I prayed for them and for Shadow to be safe and for the people that worked there. What a hard job.
I poured over the log of all the animals that had been received in the county. Those that arrived DOA, those that arrived injured, those that were euthanized, those that were adopted, and those that were still there. None fit the description of Shadow.

Just a little plug for the SPCA-
***Please... if you are able and want a pet, go to a local shelter and adopt one. It's the ultimate in recycling. More love in those cages than you can imagine. We adopted two cats from a shelter. (I'm pretty sure one of them is an angel.) The other is just a big sweet baby.

My son and I continued to pray.
Each day that passed made it more urgent.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. Phillippians 4:6

We've seen God answer prayers before.
We know that He is concerned about every detail of our lives both big and small. He hears every utterance of a prayer spoken aloud or deep in our hearts.

Do you believe that?

What is your heartache right now?

Do you feel that it is too small to bother God with?

Or too large for Him to fix?

Well, my friend, here's good news. If it concerns you, it concerns Him. He already knows anyhow and He's just waiting for you to trust Him enough to pray and spend time in His presence. He's waiting to hear from you.
Sometimes I think it's the time spent in His presence while praying that is most important to Him. Everything else may be incidental.

Well, back to the great Maine Coon Cat hunt...

I drove around their neighborhood slowly looking in every doorway and around every trash can and bush while the girlfriend's family was out of town. I searched the sides of the road for his little carcass.
I wanted the cat to be found because I know how dearly I love mine. But, I also wanted my son's pain to stop.

We continued to pray. As more than a week went by I saw my son begin to give in to the idea that the likelihood of finding the kitty was getting slim. (I honestly believe the stress of it contributed to his getting the flu.)
We pictured a scenario where someone was in need of a special blessing and God was using Shadow. We laughed at how they were so happy with their new cat that they would never let him outside so that he could come home. We gave Shadow up for God's purposes.

Then, yesterday came the call. Two calls in fact. A lady found him and had seen the Lost Cat posters. Shadow had been found. He had been on his own for almost two weeks. Well, not completely on His own. God was there.

We praised the Lord and thanked Him for bringing Shadow home!

While this has been one of those interruption/interventions, I am once again overwhelmed at God's love and care for the minute details of our lives and that he would give me the privilege of participating.

What a valuable lesson for a couple of teens--to take everything to the Lord in prayer, to pray believing, without ceasing but most of all to relenquish everything to Him for His purposes.

To know how very important they are to Him and how He cares for each and everyone one of us.

That includes you dear one.
You are the apple of His eye.
He died for you. You are not an interruption to Him
He longs to hear your voice.

Break the silence.
Pour your heart out before Him.
Tell Him all of your hurts, fears, worries, heartaches, disappointments, hopes, and dreams.
Feel all of your cares shrink before the awesomeness of His glory and power.
Then, surrender your day to Him. Go out there renewed and look with new eyes on the unplanned "interruptions" that come your way and praise God for the opportunities He is blessing you with!

Until next time.
May our precious Lord and Savior bless you with more of Him!

(C) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Move Over Orange


Here Comes PINK!!!


Until recently when I thought of October orange and black spontaneously came to mind.
Fat orange pumpkins and black, raggedy-looking cats with glowing green eyes.

But now when October rolls around I find that thoughts of pink occupy my mind. Have you noticed that happening to you also?


There are those loops of pink ribbon everywhere you look. I've seen pink bunches of flowers. Pink icing on cupcakes. Signs outside salons that boast of pink hair color. Pink tennis balls and rackets, pink folding chairs and coolers to match-- all of which I own.

 I'm sure that all of us reading this have known someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. There are so many women affected by it every day.


Pink represents the research and strides being made in the field.
It is a reminder and a hope to many.

When my dear cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago, I wanted to show support. Whenever I purchased something pink I would call and tell her about it. We would laugh about our "pinkness".

Come to think of it we laughed about everything and anything. She had a wild sense of humor.
Pink gave her hope. Hope that a cure would be found.


But what color is hope really?
Or is it a color at all?


What is hope to you, dear heart? If all else fails and you were faced with your own mortality through breast cancer or in some other way, how would you view hope?


When I was faced with a cancer diagnosis at age twenty-four, I was frightened . . . well, let's be honest. I was terrified.


Suddenly, I, the all-sufficient agnostic had the realization that I might possibly die and if I did would most certainly spend eternity in hell.


Not a comforting thought. Not much hope there.
The comfort came when my husband suggested that we go to church.
Very soon after I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.


Now, that was the hope I had been longing for.
Hope that cannot fail.


My true hope is in Christ who loves me and died for my sins. The one and the same who defeated sin and death when He arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven where He now waits for me when my time here on earth is finished.


So now, dear precious friend, whatever circumstances you may be facing--where is your hope?


In what can you place your faith and your trust for all eternity?


Even if all of this world's pink research brings an end to cancer, which would be wonderful, someday my friend, every single one of us will come to the end of our days on this earth.
The question is where does your hope lie then?


I would like to share some more thoughts on this subject with you through a devotional that I wrote for my writers group blog. I pray that it will bring hope to you or to someone you know and feel led to share it with.


God bless you precious one, with His hope.


PINK HOPE


“And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” Psalm 39:7 NAS

There is a pink pen in my Bible decorated with ribbons for Breast Cancer Awareness. It has the words; hope, courage, strength, inspiration and cure. The message is clear to those diagnosed and struggling with surviving breast cancer: hang in there; don’t give up; be courageous and strong; live life renewed. There is hope—hope for a cure.

Those words so carefully chosen for those in desperate need of hope also describe Jesus. He is the ultimate hope and cure for all our ills, be they emotional, spiritual or physical. We have hope in all things on this earth and in Heaven through Jesus our Redeemer. We can have courage to face each day without fear when we know Jesus as Savior. He becomes our strength. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor.12:9)

 If there is any cure, any healing, it will ultimately come through His hands; whether it is miraculous thus defying explanation, aided by the skill of surgeons, or by the knowledge of researchers studying DNA and developing chemotherapy. There is nothing out of the realm of His care and providence. His hand is in it and on it—all of the time.

He is our inspiration. He fills us with desire to know more of Him. We are inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit when we meditate on His word and seek Him in prayer. He fills us to overflowing. He gives strength to the weak, hope to the hopeless, and courage to the fearful.

Precious loving Father, please fill the hearts of the desperate with the hope of You.
Amen.

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Boots of God's Provision

Good Morning!

It's raining cats and dogs here!
I hope the weather where you are has been better than where I live. We have certainly had alot of rainy days all through the summer and now into the autumn! The good news is I have gotten lots of wear out of my fancy boots that I was forced to purchase two years ago.

Yes.
You read it correctly. I was forced.
You see it was one of those situations where I bought an adorable pair of boots for my daughter who was away at college. (It seems Nashville, Tennessee was experiencing monsoon season.)

They had the cutest blue and pink bunnies hopping all over them.
Well. Surprise of all surprises!  She did not think they were as adorable as I did.
As a matter of fact, I think I heard her gag a little over the phone when we were discussing them.
Imagine that!

Then I remembered, oh yeah, I'm the one who loves bunnies.

The next surprise came when I attempted to return them to the company where they were purchased.
Yep. You guessed it.
"Sorry. No cash returns. Only merchandise."

Quite naturally, after perusing the website there was not one pair of boots that my daughter would consider sporting across the runway of her college campus.
I would be the proud owner of a new pair of rain boots.
The problem was the bunny boots were not available in my size.
I hadn't worn rain boots since third grade!
I hated them!

And it's no wonder--do you remember those red shapless boots that pulled overtop your school shoes and fastened with an elastic loop that stretched over a black button?

HA! Like they might slip off if you didn't secure them. You had to practically pry them off with a tire iron, popping a hernia in the process! Usually you would get a friend to help out by pulling with all their might. Of course, once the boot dislodged they would go flinging across the room, crashing into a row of desks. But, that's what friends are for.

After much deliberation, I decided on black and white flowered boots that I knew would look good in the back of my closet, since that's where they would live.
I would never need to wear boots.

Well, isn't it amazing. It has been raining here ever since. I think we have broken all of the rainfall records in the past century since I got those boots. After ruining a great pair of leather shoes, I decided to give those boots a try.

Third surprise! They were great. They fit like a glove, kept my feet warm and dry and were easy to put on and take off! Boots have come a long way since I was in third grade.
I love them.
(Although sometimes I still secretly wish they had been available in the bunny motif.)

But, most amazing to me is how it all worked out for my good.
I am reminded of Romans 8:28.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those that love the Lord, to those called according to His purpose.

Our loving and caring Father knew He was going to send all this rain. He knew that this morning He would give me the idea to write this devotional about the boots and share it with you.
I don't know why, but He does.
So I am writing in obedience, giving all the glory to Him.

Sweet friend, possibly right now you are going through some rough terrain in your life. Maybe you are wondering how it will all work out. Perhaps you have needs that have not been met up to this point.
You're feeling anxious, a little frightened, alone, possibly depressed or in pain.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear but one of power and love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

Is your need material . . . spiritual . . .  physical . . . emotional . . .  or even social?

My flesh and my heart may fail:
But, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Whatever your particular need is right now, at this very moment our precious Father wants you to tell Him about it.
Crawl up in His lap and feel the comfort of His love wrap around you.

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all Thy works. Psalm 73:28

For You have been my help I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7

Rest there awhile. He knows you're weary. Let Him strengthen you.

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord.
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

He is the supplier of ALL our needs.

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Phillippians 4:19

Believe Him. Ask Him. Spend some time talking to Him today. He's waiting, not to be notified of your need, He already knows that.

Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exalts,
And with my song I shall thank Him. Psalm 28:6-7

He is waiting for you to come to Him.

Come unto me. Matthew 11:28

Precious sisters and brothers,
I am praying for you today. I am praying that you will see God's provision of just what you need at just the perfect time. He never fails. He is not capable of failing. He is never early or late. His timing is perfect. Wait believing.
He is the creator of all things.
Oh, how He loves you and me!

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fill Your Pitcher

YOU CAN'T POUR FROM AN EMPTY PITCHER. 

Oh dear, dear friend, it is so good to be talking with you again.
I don't know about you, but I'm starting to miss you when I'm not writing.
I hope and pray that you have been well and growing in the Lord in one way or another.
Isn't it an exciting journey that we're on?

We just never know what the Lord has in store for us, but we can always rest assured that He will be there loving and guiding us and revealing more of His great holiness to us.
Praise Jesus!

But, sometimes in the midst of this challenging and rewarding Christian walk do you ever have the feeling that you're running on empty?
Like you're dry as a bone and don't have any reserves to help yourself, let alone anyone else?

Your spirit is parched.
It's so thirsty.
It needs to be refreshed.

So, what do we do when this happens or better still, what can we do to prevent this from happening?

I had the wonderful opportunity this week-end past to attend a Beth Moore conference with ladies from my Bible study group. What an amazing uplifting experience it was! Can you just imagine for a moment Five thousand two hundred wonderful women who love the Lord coming together in one place to receive His word, sing His praises and worship together?

Looking around at the sea of women on all sides suddenly my throat ached and I felt like crying.
I don't really know why. It was something about this flowing colorful kaleidoscope of beautiful ladies, all of these "X" chromosomes-- just like me, but each one so unique and special in their own way.

It's about this emotional bond we have just by virtue of the fact that we are women, designed by God's hand to experience the joys as well as the heartaches that only a woman's heart can.
What a blessing to be created by God to be a woman!

***

 Now guys out there who are reading this, please don't feel slighted. You are very special and designed by God's hand also and I love you too, but I can only tell about life from my perspective as a woman. Some other day we'll talk about what magnificent creatures you are!

My special prayer for you is that as you read this it will give you more compassion and insight into the hearts of those women who you care for; your wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends, AND that you also will find time to fill your pitcher to overflowing. Even great men like each of you need to do that. Please keep reading to find out how and why.)

Bless your dear hearts, I know sometimes we are a challenge, as you are to us.
But, just pray for us and love us, okay?
I pray that God will fill you to overflowing with His love.

***


Now, that being said, let's get back to . . . let's see . . . where was I?
Oh Yes! . . . the conference.

They came in every shape, color and description. Fragile, petite ladies that gave the appearance of having just stepped out of the center of a rosebud and others that might have just roared up on their Harleys. We are a magnificently diversified group.

I saw ladies that appeared to be in my age range, some precious ones who were quite elderly and sported their brilliant "white crown of glory" as the Bible refers to it.
I saw young exuberant girls in their teens and early twenties, there were those that came in wheelchairs and with canes, one lovely blind lady carried a white walking stick and was being gently guided up the arena steps by a friend, there were mothers-to-be braving the crowd and crowded bathrooms, while still others carried their infants in their arms and papoose style on their backs.
I saw nuns and covered ladies.

All walks of life and denominations were represented.
All ages and stages of the female continuum.

All so different and yet in one way all the same.

We are all in need of a Savior. We all need the love, forgiveness, salvation and redemption of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We need to dwell close to Him and be filled up by His Holy Spirit.

We as women generally spend alot of our lives as caretakers in one way or another. We care and thus we take care of others if not physically, emotionally. It can be very taxing on our inner resources. We can begin to feel run down physically, drained spiritually and emotionally. When this happens satan can have a heyday with us. He slips his foot in the door and in comes doubt, depression, and discouragement.

The three deadly, devastating D's.

You know what I'm talking about. We've all been there, at the bottom of the pit looking up and wondering how we got there, feeling too weak to pull ourselves out.
That's what happens when we allow our spiritual pitchers to run dry. We have no reserves left. We have nothing to offer to those in need all around us, those who depend on us.
Before we can pour ourselves out in service to others, we must be refilled by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible speaks often of the Living Water.
God designed us for continual communion with Him.
His desire is for us to fill ourselves up with more of Him.

As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God. Psalm 42:1

When we are in communion with Him, our Source, we are filled up.

Oh God, You are my God.
Early will I seek You.
My soul thirsts for You.
My flesh longs for You.
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I looked for You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory. Psalm 63:1

This world we live in is a desert when it comes to the things of God. Dwelling here dries us up if we allow it. We must drink from the fountain that never runs dry. We must daily fill our pitchers with the source; the living water that Jesus offers us. It is cool and refreshing to our souls. It fills us up to overflowing. Then, when our spiritual pitchers are full we can pour out the love and grace of the Holy Spirit onto others and refresh them in His name.

It will never run out if we continue to abide in Him.
How do we do this?

We all need to spend time each day in prayer at the feet of our loving Father.

If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water. John 4:10

We need to read His holy word.

...that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water of the word.
Ephesians 5:26

We need the fellowship of other Christians. There are lots of options and opportunities for this but you must take the first step.

Go to church-one that worships the one true God and Father, Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Get involved in a Bible study.
Listen to Christian music.
Read Christian devotionals.
Watch television church.
Take part in a prayer group.
Whatever you do, surround yourself with the things of God, and His word.

Hold out your pitchers and let the Lord fill them to overflowing
And, last but not least, as I was blest to be able to do this past week-end, go any chance you get to hear someone speak who has the special annointing of the Holy Spirit on their life.

Let them pour their pitchers over you.
My conference experience was truly overwhelming!
I left so uplifted and full.
Yes, full.
My spiritul pitcher was filled to overflowing.
Now, I am ready to pour out the love of God to others.

I pray for each and every one of you, every precious heart who is reading this today. I pray that you will be renewed and refreshed in your inner being and be filled with His Spirit. But, I also pray that you will be left thirsty enough to keep seeking the presence of our Lord.

I don't know about you, but all this talk about cool, refreshing water has made me really thirsty. My tongue is hanging out!
I can't wait to go and get a nice cold glass of water.

With each swallow I will think of the living water of God that refreshes my soul.

...He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul... Psalm 23:2-3

The water whose source will never run dry. It flows from the throne of God!

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and the Lamb. Revelation 22:1

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Prayer Flags and the RAVENS

Sunday I was watching the Ravens Steelers game with my family. It was great family time. The kind of time I long for and hold close to my heart when it does happen. All of us in the same room for a few hours is an extremely rare occurrence these days.

We had hot bowls of delicious chili made with my secret ingredients and chicken cheese quesadillas. We were all in agreement for once-all on the same page.
We all wanted the Ravens to win.

AND WIN THEY DID!!

Now, this might sound like I'm a real avid football fan. But, the truth is I don't really know a lot about football. I'm hoping to pick it up as we spend more Sunday afternoons together . . . just so I can share in the excitement a little more accurately, using all the appropriate football jargon.

Right now I'm limited to phrases like, "Run!  Run Ray run! Run faster Ray! Yay Ray!" That's been working pretty good so far. But, I want to expand.

One thing I really do enjoy is when the ref runs out onto the field and tells his story about who pushed who and who was being unsportsmanlike.
(Shame on you bad boys!)
And then of course, he doles out the necessary consequences for the bad behavior.

I love watching his face when he's all wrapped up in telling the story and pointing this way and that. I can almost see him when he was a little kid.

Can you see him now? He's the one that always raised his hand real high in the air, waving it around, holding it up with the other hand, trying desperately to get the teacher's attention to give her the very important information that Tommy is chewing bubble gum or Susie is picking her nose.

The point is that he is great at what he does. Practice really does make perfect. He makes good decisions and he makes them in a split second. (At least on Sunday he made all the right decisions.)

Another thing that I took special note of is all of the colored flags that are thrown down in the grass--excuse me, I mean, turf.

That caused me to ponder.

What if, whenever we saw a need or someone that could use some prayer we threw down a prayer flag. Different colors representing various prayer needs.
The next Christian that came along would see the flag and immediately be alerted that here is someone who needs to be prayed over. I mean, there are hurting and desperate people all around us every day, everywhere we go. So many times as I'm driving along there in the median is a person with a sign "Homeless, please help." PRAYER FLAG!

 Some of them are so dejected that they have given up on signs and just stand there looking so very sad and lost. My heart breaks for them. What can I do? There are so many of them. I ask myself. The answer is pray.

Pray without ceasing. I Thessalonians 5:17

Without ceasing? That's a tall order. It is, but the more you look around the more you realize that prayer is just what is so desperately needed today.

Whoops....PRAYER FLAG!
A line stretching around a building where there is an employment sign posted, a line of weary, precious people. There are so many problems with no quick answers but in the meantime we can love on these poor souls a little without them having an inkling. They may never know on this earth but God knows . . . and you'll know.

When we pray for others as the Bible commands us to do we are rewarded with that special closeness to God. He inclines His ear to us. (Isaiah 37:17)

We begin to have more of a heart like His. Prayer is a resource that is instantaneously available, access immediately to the throne of God! How amazing is that? What an incredible gift for us, the pray-ers and for them, the pray-ees.


The great thing is no pride can get in the way. We're not going to win a Noble Peace Prize for praying for strangers because no one will ever know except God our Father in Heaven and He will be pleased. His word tells us to. We are being obedient to His word. His reward will far exceed even the Nobel!

Pray for one another. James 5:16

It doesn't say only your family and friends.

Praying for them is one of the very best things I can do. I also smile-look them in the eye--a smile that says I care, I see you. So many times they are even stripped of the dignity of eye contact because we are so uncomfortable.

There is a barely clad woman standing on the street corner of a city block well known for its activites. PRAYER FLAG!

The Lord has heard my supplications. The Lord will receive my prayer. Psalm 6:9

An ambulance goes screaming past my car with lights flashing frantically. Someone is in need. PRAYER FLAG!

We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Acts 6:4

School children going into school this morning being confronted with who knows what. PRAYER FLAG! God knows. He wants us to care enough to pray. We're praying for the future.
Pray for God's hedge of protection around them.

One-legged war veterans, drug addicts, frightened teen-age girl walking into an abortion clinic, the elderly, broken and hurting people everywhere you turn.

 PRAYER FLAGS!!!!! QUICK! 

Of course, in reality we can't walk around throwing prayer flags in front of people. I'm sure we would get a citation for something akin to littering. But, you get my point. There is something we can do in every situation. Something that matters.

We can be prayers warriors for the helpless and hopeless.

So, okay brothers and sisters out there, get those mental prayer flags ready. Keep them handy, so at a moment's notice you can throw them out.

You don't have to be on your knees in front of an altar. Just bow your hearts before the Lord wherever you may be, in intercession for others.

...His ears are open to their prayers. I Peter 3:12

Feel the joy that being in constant communion with the Father brings.

Then you will call upon me, and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12

Feel His smile warm your heart.

Dear Loving Father,

I pray for each one reading this blog. You know every one of them, dear Lord. I'm bringing them before Your throne. Whatever their particular need is, whether it is physical, emotional, social, spiritual or mental, I know that You alone, Oh Lord are more than able to help them, to lift them up and most of all to redeem them and light their way to Heaven. Thank You for each one of them and I pray that they will feel Your love, Your Joy and Your Peace and comfort today.
In Jesus' precious name I pray.
Amen.

For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you,"Do not fear, I will help you." Isaiah 41:13


(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Monday, September 12, 2011

Earthquakes and Hurricanes, and Floods, Oh My!

And the occasional angry wasp! Oh no!

It sounds like a school kid's excuse for not having his homework to say that since I last wrote we've had a 5.9 earthquake, a hurricane named after my grandmother-Irene and unrelenting downpours of rain that have caused awful flooding where I live on the East coast.

Unfortunately it is all true!

Yes, I felt a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. At any moment I expected that my house might be swallowed up by the earth on which it sits, or swept up into a tornado spawned by Hurricane Irene or floated out into the countryside like Noah's ark.
But, none of those things happened.

Thank you merciful Father!

When all was said and done we had very minimal damage or inconvenience compared to so many people living around us.

Many did not fare so well as their property was destroyed, they suffered through major power outages and their families were in harm's way resulting in injuries and some deaths.

For these dear precious ones, I pray. I ask for your prayers for them also.

Dear Father,
I pray that they will lean on and trust in You, the same God that spared me, but has entrusted them with this time of trial and suffering for Your purposes. I pray that they will feel Your loving arms around them and feel Your comfort. When this is over I pray that they will feel how You sustained them and through it they have come to know so much more of Your sovereignty and sustaining love.
In Your precious Son's name I pray.
Amen.

I have to say that even in the midst of the earthquake shaking my house, and the fierce winds blowing the huge trees that surround my home and the rains pouring down ... and then pouring some more--I did not feel afraid.

I was concerned and took all of the necessary precautions.

(Well, almost all, I totally forgot what to do in the event of an earthquake.)
Being home alone at the time, I started grabbing after my cats, which made them scoot around close to the ground even quicker and totally elude my grasp by running under the bed.

Yeah, you guessed it, they remembered what to do and they acted on it! Just like Lassie they were trying to lead me to safety.
They're genius cats!
Amazing!

As I was saying, I was not afraid. I praise God for that. He gave me  the peace of God that passes all understanding to guard over my mind and heart, as Paul speaks of in Phillipians 4:7.

I remember another time in my life when everything around me pointed towards fear, but I can honestly say I was not afraid. Once again, the peace that only the Lord can give came over me.

The time was several years ago when we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A cloudless, blue sky stretched out over a gentle blue-green ocean. It was a perfect beach day!
All was well as I sat in my beach chair, novel in hand, munching on a graham cracker.

I can smell the salty air laced with coconut scented sunscreen now! Mmmmmm . . . so peaceful.
Can you smell it?

Occasionally, I'd glance up and find my children happily playing in the ocean with my husband.

I was just getting into my book real good when all of a sudden the piece of graham cracker I had just bitten off gave a furious buzzzzzzz and I felt a sharp sting in the back of my throat. As I opened my mouth in surprise the angry wasp flew out and away down the beach.

Now, I am not allergic to insect stings, but my medical knowledge as a nurse immediately kicked in. I knew that because of the highly vasculated area in the throat where I had been stung and the swelling the would surely follow I would most definitely be in trouble very quickly.

I began to gather our things and we started for the condo where I had an antihistamine that I always traveled with like a good nurse . . . just in case of emergency.
By the time we reached the condo door my tongue was already swollen to twice its size. My daughter ran in ahead, quickly grabbed the bottle of antihistamine as she poured the liquid that she had expected to be pills into her hand, I could see real panic on her face. Fear was in my son's huge brown eyes as well. My husband started calling to see where the closest emergency clinic was.

The following part I am not proud of, but I must tell it to show how God provided for me.

I immediately began to get into the shower . . . yes, I was in a life-threatening emergency situation and I felt compelled to get out of my salty, sandy swimsuit and shower before going for help. (Please don't ever pull something like this!)

The modest part of me could not bear showing up in front of a doctor in a swimsuit and the vain part of me took one look at my salt-stiff hair and said, "No Way! If I'm going to die it's not looking like this!" By the way, God is working on the vanity part of me with each passing year. He's getting His point across.

Everyone was upset that I was taking a shower, so I was going to take the fastest one ever. The unusual fact that there was no hot water, just icy cold pouring down on me assured that it was the fastest on record.

Before we left I stopped to hug both of my children telling them with a tongue too swollen to form understandable words that I loved them and no matter what happened it would be fine.

The emergency clinic turned out to be quite a bit further down the beach than we had anticipated. As we hit red light after red light my throat began to swell more and more. At last, by the time we pulled into the clinic and stood in front of the front desk to register I could no longer say anything and could only get a very small amount of air past my swollen throat and trachea. I had to hold my head way back and breathe very calmly and slowly and accept what little bit of precious air I could get in. Needless to say, one look at my huge tongue protruding out of my mouth sent the receptionist screaming in the back for the doctor.

Skipping lots of boring emergency procedure details. I will say that I remained at perfect peace. It was surreal. Everyone marveled. I knew if I died Heaven was waiting and God had a perfect plan for my motherless children and if I lived He had another kind of perfect plan which included me being alive on this earth. Either way I had His peace and assurance.

When my husband relayed the part about the ice cold shower to the doctor, he said that cold shower probably saved me by constricting my blood vessels. (Look how God provided for me.)
BUT- he said, we should have gone in the other direction straight to Grand Strand Hospital because if I had a rebound reaction that sometimes occurs with this type swelling he did not have the necessary drugs to save me.

Well, the adrenaline and steroids did work without rebound and we were soon on our way.

In my heart I knew that for whatever reason we were where God had sent us for His purposes. Perhaps the doctor, his receptionist, other patients or his nurse needed to see that peace that only He can give. I'll leave that up to Him. I definitely know that my peace during a very scary time for my children left a lasting impression on them.

I'm not saying that I always experience "perfect peace." There are other incidences where I find it harder to just give it to the Lord and be washed over by His peace. These situations have left me hungry to abide in that peace.

They have taught me to seek Him in all things. Praise God!

How about you dear one, do you have the peace to rest in whatever happens, whether you live or you die that all will be well with your soul?
Do you trust him during the storms of life that come on us so suddenly leaving things a wreck?
What will your witness be?  One of peace in the Savior or one of fear and insecurity?

If you are in need of peace first get rid of the fear in your life.

Meditate on this verse in 2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us a spirit of fear but one of power and of love and a sound mind. (or some translations say stability instead of a sound mind)
Keep claiming that verse. Write it down. Take it with you. Memorize it. Whenever you feel fear creep up on you repeat this verse. Rebuke satan because he is the originator of fear. Ask God to replace it with His peace. Keep at it. Satan is persistant, but believe me God always wins!

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in times of trouble.
therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the sea.
Psalm 46: 1-2


Praise Jesus!!
In Him we are more than victorious!

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Monday, August 22, 2011

Life is Good in the Summer

But...
Eternal life with JESUS is good in any season!

Well, hello there!

I'm back.
Whew! Let me catch my breath a moment. It sure is good to be back writing to you, dear friend.
Oh my.
 
Summertime.
What a whirlwind of glorious activity!

I trust that you have had a good summer. I pray that all has been well with you these last few weeks.
My summer has been busy with family, friends, vacation, work and a writers conference.
What a wonderful time of year and my, how very fast it flies by!

In Maryland we have four seasons.
Our summer and winter are not neatly packaged into six-month segments. I must admit, sometimes I feel a little bit cheated. Summer doesn't seem to last long enough.

It seems just when I've gotten into the swing of it; with a little tan on my legs and the tomato plant on our deck about to yield a few red tomatoes, I notice back-to-school advertisements.

Next, leaves begin to fall from the trees in our yard. When my husband cuts the grass I hear acorns hitting the mower blades and shooting out into the yard like bullets. It's a war zone out there. You have to wear a helmet and goggles just to get the mail.

Reflecting on our summertime activites I am reminded of my blessings. As I have been caught up in the flurry of activity of having my children about me, it has been hectic at times. But, I am thankful. I am cherishing those moments more these days because my children are stretching their wings. They are getting ready to fly. Today my daughter begins law school. Next week, my son enters his junior year in high school.

It's another season in my life also.

Yes, life is good, whatever the season.
But, with Jesus, eternal life is better.

Now, that's a season that will last forever and be assured we will not grow weary of it!

But, back to my children.
I ask myself- (and maybe you ask yourself these same questions)
Are they prepared for what the world will throw at them?
Have I done enough?
I hope so, for now I must move aside and totally lean on what I know of my Lord.

With trembling, I hope and pray that they will remember what they have learned about Jesus and His love for them. That in times of fear, need, or joy they will recall the verses that were hidden in their hearts for Sunday School to receive a gold star.

My heart is warmed with the memory of my son reciting one of his many verses back to me.

A soft answer turns away rats, but a harsh word stirs them up. Proverbs 15:1

Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, new things have come. Second Caribbeans 5:17.

Caribbeans instead of Corinthians.
But, the Word was hidden in his heart. The seed was planted. God knew his heart and I'm sure He smiled also. He was holding him then and He holds him today.

We were amazed at my daughter's ability when she was five, to memorize practically her whole little Children's Bible and repeat the stories verbatim. Those words are in her heart. God has promised that His word will not return void. I'm believing Him for that. He will hold her. Even she can not take herself out of His hand.

Are you concerned for your children, dear one? Have you been hurt or disappointed by their wandering? Or are they walking with the Lord, but maybe you are still fearful. What if He requires too much of them or takes them too far away?

Rest in His love that exceeds anything we could ever imagine. His love for them is boundless and His purposes are only known by Him. But, He is good, so His purposes are good. He has great plans for their lives both here and in Heaven.
His plans include us too, with, or without children in our home.

We must rest in what we know to be true.
He is love.
He is patient.
He is kind.
He is forgiving.
He is faithful.
He is perfect.
His plan is perfect.

I pray that my children will not stray too far away from the fold and the shepherd. I desperately pray the verses that I have memorized with my children in mind.

Isaiah 65:23- For they shall not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord. And their descendants with them.

III John vs 4- I have no greater joy that to hear of my children walking in the Lord.

Lamentations-2:19  Pour your heart out like water before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones.

Isaiah 30:21-And your ears will hear a word behind you, This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Praise God!
He is always there. He never sleeps or turns away. Whatever season we are in, His plans for us (His children) and our children (His, too) are perfect.

I hope and pray that you will enjoy your day.
Cherish the season that you are in.
Rest in the awesome hand of God, for He is good.

I've got to run for now and find an umbrella.
I think it's raining acorns!

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans






Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Iris Blessing



Today I want to share a story with you. It's a true story. My purpose in wanting to share this is to emphasize how important it is to remember how God has answered our prayers in the past. 

When we're going though a particularly hard time and we find our path dark, lonely, painful and seemingly unending it's easy to forget how God has answered our prayers- how he has provided for us. Our vision gets cloudy, our memories weak.

That's our humanness. 

But, don't despair, dear one. Long after we have lost hope, forgotten or just plain given up, He remembers. 

He is incapable of forgetting. He is and ever has been faithful! And most importantly- He will NEVER fail us! He has plans for each of us and is faithful to see them to completion. I know it's true because He said so in His word and because I have seen it time and again in my own life. We're in great hands. After all, we don't call Him the Great I AM for nothing.

We humans haven't improved much in the remembering category since biblical times. Take the Israelites for example, they stood on the bank and watched Moses part the Red Sea by God's command.They walked through without even stepping in a mud puddle, saw it with their own eyes and yet, time after time they forgot past answers to their prayers.

Then, there was Sarah. Boy! She must have had some good reminders or a photographic memory! Waiting until she was ninety to have a baby? Honestly, I think I might have said, "Thanks God, but now I'm just too tired."

Oftentimes in the Bible, altars of stone were constructed on spots where God did something momentous. They wanted to remember and needed a reminder- a touchstone.

We have day planners, sticky notes, diaries and memory books. We need to remember daily details. How much more we need to remember God's answers to our prayers. For our own good, so that we can grow closer to Him in the waiting.

In Hawaii, when a surfer dies friends carry stones to the spot and stack them one on top of the other. They want to remember the life lived and the life lost. The piles of stones remind them each time they go by.

We erect headstones and monuments of famous people. Thousands have traveled to Ground Zero to remember those lost on 911.

We need reminders. We need to write down God's answers to our prayers or perserve them in some way so that when we are going through hard times we can look back and remember and hang on a little longer and stronger while we wait on Him. We must remember His faithfulness. 

With those thoughts in mind, here's one of my real life stories of God's amazing faithfulness to me. I call it my-


                                                      Iris Blessing


Sorrow swept over me in a familiar wave that threatened to drown me as I sat kneeling in the dirt. Staring into the gaping hole we had just dug for the iris rhizomes, I thought, that’s how I feel, empty like there’s a hole where my heart should be.

Today was a joyous day for our friends, Cindy and Tom for whom I was babysitting. Moments earlier they had backed out of our driveway excitedly waving good-bye to two-year-old Paige, who stood beside me. I waved back trying hard to share their joy while carefully hiding my pain.

They were on their way to the hospital for the scheduled delivery of their second child, another daughter, already named, Sophie Louise. It seemed to me that they were able to plan out every detail of their lives like clockwork.

Exactly five years after their marriage, their goal of buying a house and saving a nest egg of pre-determined amount reached, they had Paige. Now, two years later, once again following their carefully laid-out plan, they were on the way to the hospital to have their second daughter at a scheduled time. They knew ahead of time. They could make a plan and follow it.

Unlike my life. My life felt uncontrollable, riddled with ups and downs resembling a runaway roller coaster. The only thing I was able to plan were visits to the infertility specialist, followed by the necessary surgeries and tests.

My heart ached as little hands gently took the iris rhizome from mine and daintily pushed it into the waiting hole. A tear slid down my cheek and dripped into the dirt, watering it with my pain. We planted several more in a row when Paige quietly broke through my thoughts. She took my hand.

“Let’s say a prayer for them to grow, Missa Bonna.”  

I had my doubts that they would grow at all in the sandy soil of this semi-tropical climate. They, like me, were transplants here in South Carolina. My mother had dug them out of the rich black soil around her home in the north and sent them with me when we moved, a little piece of home.

I looked into the sweet innocent face looking up at me expectantly and smiled.

“What a nice idea, Paige. Let’s do that,” I said patting her tiny hands in mine. Oh, how I longed for a little one of my own to plant flower bulbs and say prayers over them with.”

Closing our eyes, as Paige prayed out loud, I prayed silently.

Dear God, please give me a sign if I will ever have a baby. If I know, then I can get on with my life, but just not knowing, always hoping, has become unbearable. If I am to have a child someday, please make these irises bloom this year. Amen.

Being a new Christian in the Bible belt, I had recently heard of “casting out the fleece” when looking for an answer and decided to give it a try. I believed with every fiber of my being that God could do “exceedingly, abundantly above anything I could ever ask or hope for,” as I remembered reading in Ephesians 3:20. But, I also knew that His will was not always ours and that His ways were not our ways. God had a plan for our lives and it was important to let God be God. After all, He knew everything about our past, present and future.    

Months passed and I forgot about that prayer, but God remembered. Bright and early on Easter morning the following spring, my husband, Bill and I hurried out to the car to leave for church. As I turned to get into the car my heart leaped at what was in front of me. There in the forgotten flowerbed stood two gorgeous purple irises fully bloomed. Excitedly, I told my husband about my prayer and how the irises were God’s answer. He smiled what appeared to be a patronizing smile, but I was sure this was a promise. I could tell he wasn’t all that sure.  

Another year and a half rolled by with no baby. But, I was okay with the waiting now, because in my heart I knew that eventually I would have a baby. I just had to wait for God’s perfect timing. My husband’s time in the Navy was over so we moved back up north to Maryland, reluctantly leaving friends behind that had become like family to us.

We both got busy securing jobs. Finally, after being married seven years we were able to purchase our first home. Each night as I went upstairs to bed, I stood and gazed longingly into the spare room, desperately hoping it would be a nursery someday soon.

My doctor in Charleston referred me to an infertility specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore where I continued to have treatments, procedures and the latest and greatest medicines on the market. Months dissolved into years. One year disappeared into the next. Somewhere along the way, about seven years after we first started our infertility work-up, I lost hope and fell into despair. My dream of having a family of my own was slipping away. I no longer remembered God’s promise.

One day while I was dragging myself around a craft fair with a friend, my eyes fell on a lovely watercolor painting. It portrayed a delicate violet sharing a stem with a bud that had not yet bloomed. Psalm 37:4 was written all along the stem and leaves.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

That’s it, I thought! I need to delight myself in the Lord more and then I will surely have a baby! I quickly paid for the picture and took it home. I hung it on our bedroom wall so that it was the first thing my eyes focused on in the morning. I prayed and read my Bible. I worked joyfully at church and witnessed to others more, delighting myself in the Lord.

Two more years passed and a strange thing began to happen. I realized my “delight” was taking on a life of its own. My heart’s desire had become whatever God’s plan was for my life. My own agenda was no longer of importance.

Around this time, our church was planning a medical mission trip to Rwanda, Africa. My husband and I, being a dentist and a nurse, decided after praying about it, that this must be what God had planned for us, so we signed up to go. We attended the planning and informational meetings. There would be a lot to do and short time to get it all accomplished. There were many immunizations needed. In order to get them all before we left they had to be scheduled right away. I scheduled our appointments. I had been feeling a bit under the weather lately. Just to be sure before getting the immunizations, we did a pregnancy test. Surprise of all surprises! It came back positive!

Finally, after fifteen years of marriage; nine years of infertility treatments, thirty thousand dollars, five surgeries, two failed in-vitro fertilization attempts and tests and procedures too numerous to recall, I was actually pregnant!

We would not be going to Rwanda after all. God had another plan. It had been nine long years since I prayed that prayer, prompted by a precious little girl.

My doctor handled my case very cautiously and tried to keep my excitement at bay by warning me that “older” mothers had a higher risk of miscarriage. He had seen my disappointment too many times before. Much to his surprise, except for a bad case of morning sickness, I breezed through those nine months.

We left for the hospital on a Saturday night under a beautiful full moon. Our daughter, Hillary, was born the next evening on Easter Sunday, after twenty-six hours of labor. God had not only kept His promise, but He even told me what day she would be born on! But, there was still more to come.

Five years later after my husband and I celebrated our twentieth anniversary, our son, Will, was born. Once again, I remembered God’s promise to me through the irises. I marveled at how specific He had been in His answer. Two irises bloomed that Easter morning, representing each of my children.

During my darkest times of despair I forgot the promise He gave me, but learned to desire His will for my life. Once I desired His will, then, He gave me the desires of my heart.

My daughter is now twenty-one years old and my son is sixteen. My hubby and I are still in awe of our extraordinary God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or hope for! (Ephesians 3:20)To Him we give all the glory. He alone is worthy of all our praise.

*(Names of friends changed.)

© 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

"Lucy, you got some `splainin' to do."

Well... I don't really know how to start, except to just dive right in and say," Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last blog entry!"

What happened to June?

Did we skip it this year?

It's not that I haven't thought of you dear friends out there. I have thought of you daily with the desire to sit down and write. Unfortunately, two things kept me from doing it. They were time and words. It seems like when I had the time, I didn't have the words or when I had the words I couldn't find the time. Fortunately, I made alot of mental notes. But, unfortunately, I forgot where I put them!

No, all jokes aside, I sincerely have missed writing to you and hopefully you have missed reading. In the past month I had the opportunity to share in some wonderful experiences with family and friends. For that I am truly grateful. I will probably share some of these with you at a later date.

I've also been busy with my nursing career which pays and my writing career which so far, does not. But, that doesn't matter. I consider it a great privilege to write and share our Father's message of love and hope. It is my joy.

I hope you are enjoying your summer and the activites that come along with it. Hopefully, you will have some time to relax, reflect, and reconnect with family and friends, but most importantly to realign yourself with the goals you've set for your life and God's divine purpose and plan for your life.

What I mean by this is, do you see your life heading in a direction where your plans and God's plans will ultimately merge and follow the same course?

The best way to tell if that is happening is to look back briefly and examine your spiritual growth. If you have not totally and completely given your life to Christ, do you feel yourself being drawn more to Him. Do you see little "coincidences" that put you in a place with other Christians or times when you are uncomfortable with certain areas of your life that you have previously enjoyed? Are you tired of that empty feeling? That nagging feeling of unrest and free-floating anxiety, where it's nothing terrible really, but you just feel uneasy, maybe unfulfilled.
Sorta like, "Is this all there is?" as Peggy Lee portrayed in her song so many years ago.

On the other hand, if you already know Jesus as your Savior and are assured that HE and ONLY HE holds your ticket to Heaven, take a moment to look back on your life since your committment to Him. Do you see growth in your knowledge of Him, in your attitudes, in your focus? Sure there are valleys and mountaintops. But, do you see a steady, leaning on and learning from the Lord?

 I was saved in 1978, I immediately felt relief of an almost physical kind of weight being lifted off my shoulders. It is a very stressful thing to live without the peace of God and assurance of salvation in your heart. I had lived with so much anxiety and stress and fear. It was a tremendous relief to lay it all down at the feet of Jesus!
Dear, precious friend, we were not meant to carry such a burden. It will wear you down.

I remember as a child going to church one Sunday and hearing the preacher say that even in your last breath you could utter the words, "Lord, be merciful unto me a sinner," and you would be saved from hell. Well, I thought that was the key I had been looking for. I could live however I wanted to as long I  remembered those words and had the time to blurt them out. I would be home free! I rehearsed saying them as fast as I could, you know, just in case of emergency.

The question remained; would I be faster than an oncoming car, or a speeding bullet, or a riptide or a bite of hotdog lodged in my windpipe or even the grim reaper in the middle of the night?

As you can see, the memorization of those words did not bring me lasting relief. I still felt anxious and fearful and yes, unhappy. I had part of the idea, but I didn't have the key component. I didn't have freedom in belonging to God, of knowing Him intimately as my Father and Jesus as my Savior.

It was a long time coming. I was 24 years old before I would make the decision to accept Christ. But here I am, a few decades later, oooh, does that ever sound old!
Just forget I said the decade thing. The important thing is- if I could go back to anyone of those younger unsaved years or stay here saved and wrinkled, no contest-hands down, I would pick anyone of the past 32 years.

Now, I'm not saying they've all been a piece of cake. That is most definitely not the case! Some of these years have been excruciating and painful. What I am saying is that, no matter where I've had to walk since being saved, I've never had to walk alone.
When I've had those very difficult times, I see them as times when God was refining me. Just like the verse in Zecariah 13:9 where the gold was being put in the fire to burn off the impurities.

 I will bring them through the fire... I will refine them as silver is refined. And test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name. And I will answer them. I will say they are my people. And they will say The Lord is my God.

Praise God, He sees me as worthy of being refined, polished up a little for His glory! I am worth it! He calls me His!

So today I will leave you with these words from my favorite movie, Moonstruck. The scene where the priest says, "Reflect on your life, Loretta."
Look back. Look where you've been. Look where you're going. Is the course of your life yielding in the direction and paths that Christ has for you.
A message from another preacher many years later drew it all together with this prayer which I continue to pray today.

Dear Lord,
Help me to be at the place where your divine purpose and my human will meet and prosper daily. Amen.

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Dust

Hi there, friend! Welcome back.

Okay to start off with today just to get you in the right frame of mind, take a moment and think back to the seventies. Let's don the tie-dye and love beads of our memories and meander down Memory Lane for a few moments.

Remember the song, "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas? Great! Now hum a few lines of it with me,

I close my eyes only for a moment and the moment's gone.
All my dreams pass before my eyes a curiosity.
Dust in the wind.
All they are is dust in the wind.

Hum-mmm-Hum-mmmm. And then the chorus,

Dust in the wind.
All we are is dust in the wind.
Everything is dust in the wind.

Great song, isn't it? Did it take you back for a few minutes to where you were during that time? It took me back to the smell of Coppertone, a great beach and a tan, much thinner bod. Sigh.

Oh well, so I'm standing here dust cloth in hand, looking at the layer of dust covering the top of my dresser. Sticking my finger in it I draw a smiley face to check the depth. Just as I thought, it's pretty thick. While debating whether to get out the heavy artillary; you know, the mask, goggles, and fuzzy vacuum attachment, I glimpse something of a wee faint sparkle. Could this be something cosmic or celestial? Perhaps I should leave it undisturbed. I consider the possibilites; pixie dust, star dust, diamond dust. None of which seems very likely.

Mulling over creative ideas for dealing with my dust collection that would lend itself to never having to dust again I come up with the following:

Dust Art. I could draw a few designs in it accompanied by some clever phrases. You never know. It might catch on, as women all over the world discover their hidden talents. I try out the title- Dust Artist. Interesting.

Or, how about a -

Dust garden. I could sprinkle a few marigold seeds around, mist gently, and wait for a dresser-top flower garden to spring forth. It would be lovely to wake up to each morning. I sneeze. It causes a little puff of dust to blow up into the air.

Perhaps a-

Dust village. I could draw ambling little streets and place tiny houses, trees and cars on either side, sort of like the train gardens we see at Christmas time. People could file by, in wonder, behind red velvet ropes, so as not to disturb it. But, I'm not so sure I really want all those people walking through my bedroom.

Then, the words of my sixth grade science teacher revisit me, Matter can never be created or destroyed.

Genesis 2:7 runs through my mind giving a whole new perspective to my thoughts on dust.

Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.

In that case, this very dust could be a direct connection to the original dust we were created from by the awesome hand of God, the same dust these bodies will one day return to.

There might actually be particles of the hay that lay in the manger the night Jesus was born, or a fleck of stone from the temple where He preached, maybe a tiny speck from a palm branch that was joyfully waved during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem or a molecule of dust from the cross that He died on, possibly a smidge of salt from the tears that Mary cried.

Pausing a moment longer to ponder these thoughts, and my connection to all that has gone before, I am now feeling sentimental and in awe of my dust. It begins to feel like holy dust. I sneeze a second time and realize I can't continue to collect it. It has served its purpose for today.

Thank you, Lord, for dust that has drawn my thoughts once again to You

Ever so slowly, reverently, carefully, I swipe it away, one stroke at a time revealing the shiny gleaming wood underneath. Shining and new like our Heavenly bodies will be.

Another verse comes to my mind. Psalm 103:14.
He knows our frame. He knows that we are but dust.
There is so much comfort in that verse. God knows. He knows how much we can bear and He loves us and cares for us. He knows that when these bodies return to the dust He will give us new Heavenly bodies; that will never grow old, or die, or fall prey to sickness, disease or injury. Glorious bodies that we will spend eternity in with Him by our side.

Do you know the assurance of that wonderful promise, dear one?   Do you fall asleep at night resting in the peace that comes from the knowledge that when your body crumbles back into the dust, you will already be enjoying your new immortal body in Heaven. If you do, then Praise God! If you aren't quite positive then you too can be sure before you lay your head down tonight.

It's very simple really. All you have to do is pray this prayer asking the Lord to save you.

Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus died for me, to pay my sin debt, and the best I know how, I trust Him now as my Savior. From this moment on, I will depend on Him for my salvation. Amen. 

The basis of this prayer can be found in the following scripture verses. I encourage you to look them up for yourself. They can all be found in the book of Romans.

Who is good?        Romans 3:10
Who has sinned?         "  3:23
Where sin came from  "   5:12
God's price on sin       "   6:23
Our way out                 "   5:8, 10:9, 10:13

Well, the job is finished. My dresser is gleaming, dust-free. It looks wonderful.
I look down sentimentally at the dust cloth in my hand, full of dust. Maybe I'll just tuck it away in a ziploc bag and save it for awhile.

God bless your day. I hope you enjoy every minute of it.
Dance in the dust!
Praise God!
Celebrate who you are, you beautiful, marvelous dust, you!

(c) 2011 Bonnie Mae Evans

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Website Problems and Praises

Hello everyone,

Late last evening as I was about to add a new post to my blog, I was dismayed to discover that all of my followers had disappeared. Each and everyone of you are very important to me, so I spent the next couple of hours trying to find out how to fix the problem. What I found out is that this has been an ongoing problem. Some bloggers reported having their followers disappear only to have them reappear days or weeks later. There doesn't seem to be a way to fix it. I have reported the problem, but since blogspot sponsored by Google doesn't have live help I haven't gotten an answer.

There are also unresolved issues with leaving comments as many of you have shared with me your "adventures" in trying to leave one.
Some bloggers have even reported having their entire blog or entries in it disappear. I would really hate for that to happen, therefore, I am checking out other sites and may attempt to move my blog. I will keep you posted on this and put the new address up here should that happen. Until then, visit me here and I apologize for the inconvenience.

I'll chalk it up to Satan trying to discourage me from sharing the Lord's love and message with you. I know there's a devotion/blog in here somewhere. I will work on it and meet you back here for what the Lord gives me to share with you!

In the meantime, I hope to post the blog that I actually started to post last evening when this happened. Sooo, check back later for that one entitled, "Dust."

Hang in there dear one, and remember the words of Paul with regard to perserverance.

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perserverance and perserverance, proven character, and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Romans 5:3-5

So, there you have it, my friend, when you're serving the Lord in whatever capacity, don't let Satan get in the way. Don't allow him to discourage you. Push through. Perservere. Never give up!

But, most of all pray. Immediately, tell God all about it. Seek His will and His way in the situation. Then; now this is the most important...a little drumroll please, PRAISE THE LORD!!! 

Over and over again the Bible says to Praise Him. Satan can't stand in the presence of Praise to the Lord. He will flee. So, today I lift my praises to my precious Lord and Savior. I praise Him for the ability and opportunity to share with you! I praise Him for each of you. I praise Him because His very being is worthy of Praise! He is the Great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, Savior, Friend, One and Only True God, The Way, The Truth, The Light, Holiest of Holies, Jesus the Christ, Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, Lamb of God, Deliverer, the Almighty, Creator, Wonderful, Counselor, Shepherd, Prince of Peace, King of Kings and on and on! Praise You Dear Jesus!! Amen!

Wow, that felt great! What about you dear friend? How did praising all of those names feel? It feels wonderful to me to have the air around me cleared of what is not of God.

Apparently, what the Lord had for me to share with you today couldn't wait. So, there you have it.

Lean on Him.

Pray without ceasing about everything that concerns you.

Praise Him in every circumstance!

Then, wait on Him and see what wonderful things He will do!

Wait on the Lord. Be still and KNOW that I am God. Psalm 46:10

I thank the Lord for each one of you. I am so blest and honored that you would want read what I write. I pray that it blesses and enriches your life in the Lord Jesus!

God bless your day and the rest of your week-end with His love, His guidance, and His Peace.


(c) 2011 Bonnie M. Evans