Do Not Fear

"Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand".
Isaiah 41:10

We must always remember that God is with us in our circumstances. He is our Commander in Chief; always fighting our battles for us. Find your rest in Him today. We do not live in our circumstances, we live in Christ. Set your eyes on Christ Who stands above our circumstances. You may just see things in a whole new light. It is an act of the will. We must choose to set our gaze on Him. He is the Victor already; Satan has already been defeated in our circumstances. Hold your heads up high my friends. We are in a battle but we are NOT alone. We take our instructions and directions from our Commander; not from our enemy who wants us to live defeated. Persevere in your faith. We are in the Father's bootcamp and we will be strengthened as we keep our eyes on Him.

Day at the Beach

Jimmy and I were privileged to get away for a few days to the beach. I say privileged because I always consider it just that. To be able to walk the beach taking in the majesty of God's creation as you watch and hear the sound of the waves coming in and out is a privilege. We don't get there near as often as we like but I try to take it all in when we do. We did a lot of walking this trip.
We would get our equipment and march down to sit on the beach for hours at a time. Course I had not only my chair but a bag full of books, my journal, camera, Bible, ipod for music cause you just never know what you might need when God speaks through your time with Him. I don't wanna miss a thing.
Mind you, there was an ominous forecast for the whole week which included lots of clouds and rain. My little friend Debbie must have been praying for our favor cause even though the clouds rolled in and out we never got caught in a down pour. We would walk for quite a distance and always make it back before the rain started.
The last day we were sitting on the beach and contemplating whether to go in when we heard a loud clap of thunder in the distance. I jumped up and started preparing our things for departure. God doesn't have to speak more than once with that message! We left many on the beach and I wondered how they faired when the rain, thundering and lightening began moments later. God gives us warning many times and we have a choice, move or get wet!
We had a great evening together as we watched a movie and cooked shrimp and clams while all snug in our little condo. It was a great time together. I felt so rested by the end of our time there, but interestingly enough ready to return home. No place like home!
I have been able to get a lot done but have lots more things on my to do list for this week. Next weekend I will spend time in the mountains and it will be a different time with the Lord. We have seven mother's coming and it will be my pleasure to make their time a time of rest! Many of them don't get away often so I want to be their willing servant. The Lord has much in store for us. Please pray for all to receive a special Word, just for them during this time. I thank God that He gave me a time of rest in preparation for this time together.
Keep praying for God's favor, Mrs. Hampton, it works!

The Dead Goose

I meant to get back a couple of days after writing about the injured goose and tell you how Jimmy and I came home not long after to a dead goose right in front of our house. The speed limit is 25 in our little subdivision but people do way more than that. Years ago I watched as a young fellow deliberately ran down some geese crossing in front of him. He and his passengers thought it was funny. If I could have gotten hold of him I would have wrung his neck.
We believe that someone deliberately hit this goose and killed him. No one going the speed limit would have hit him with enough force to kill him; these geese are tough birds. The first thought was that the dead goose was the one who was coming around with the injury. We thought he just wasn't able to get out of the way, but then the next day the injured goose appeared in our yard.
The culprits didn't even have enough decency to move the dead goose from the road so Jimmy got his shovel and moved him into the ditch. Too sad! That could have just as well have been a child. I know the geese can be aggravating, but that is no reason to kill them. I think they mate for life. I know they walk over each spring with their new offspring and you better not get close or that long neck sticks way out with the intend of biting you! Our little dog found that out right quick one day. She doesn't get within neck's reach now you can bet your bottom dollar.
The injured goose is now much better but he continues to come over for special treats in our side yard and drinks from the bird bath. He is no longer afraid that we are coming to shoo him off. I am a sucker for the under.....goose! The other geese still don't have much to do with him so guess he thinks we are his family now. It is all interesting.
I have much respect for God's creation which includes the animal world. I try not to kill anything intentionally unless it might be a mosquito, a snake, a spider, a fly, or a roach. And not even those if they are not in my house. I thought a lot of ugly thoughts about the one who killed the goose. I have to forgive though, right? Oh okay, I will.

The Injured Goose

We have a lake across the street from us and that means lots of messy geese trump through our yard daily. They make a mess on our driveway and eat up our beautiful green grass. Needless to say we consider them more of a nuisance than anything. But as an animal lover I never want any harm to come to them.
We often see people come speeding down our street and you can tell they are less than patient as the geese waddle across the street in front of them at their own pace. I have even seen cars TRY to hit them. Now that makes me mad! In the spring they have their little ones following right behind. The parents are very protective, as our little dog found out one day. They don't have those long necks for nothing. She doesn't get quite to close now.
Recently we have noticed that we have an injured goose hanging around our yard. I have a bird feeder right outside our kitchen window so that I can observe the different birds comings and goings. The geese often come over to scavenge for seed. The other day I noticed that a goose was hobbling around with what appeared to be an injured leg. I watched him on and off all day and he was always by himself. I called my husband to the window and we decided that he needed some food, so we took some seed out to him and put fresh water in the birdbath. He was hesitant as we came into his space but when he discovered we had food and were not trying to harm him he settled down and ate up. Smart bird, huh?
I got to thinking about what spiritual significance there was to this story. You see his buddies had left him on his own. That is what animals do. When another one is injured they leave them so that they don't get slowed down. I thought how sad! All the other geese were walking around together and there he was injured, left to himself unable to even fly. He kept sitting down, like it was just too hard to keep walking.
Oftentimes that is what we do. A fellow Christian falls down and we leave him to fend for himself. They might need us to walk alongside them for a while with encouragement until they are back on the right path. Instead we go on off with others without a thought to the needs our injured brother or sister has. Is this true of you or do you help to carry your brothers burden? Sometimes it is easier to go about our business believing we won't ever be down ourselves. My heart usually goes out to the underdog or in this case, the undergoose! Think of someone who is down and needs a special touch of love by you. Would you be willing to reach out to that downtrodden person as the Lord leads you? Take a moment to make a call, send a card, or take a meal.
Often our inmates feel deserted. They are left without any support many times from their family or friends. What is the old saying, "Out of sight, out of mind". We tend to forget them as we go about our busy schedules. A letter or a package or a book that would minister to them is often the very thing that will give them hope that someone cares about them. Consider ministering to someone today as God directs you.

Can you believe it?

After the marvelous wedding on Sunday of my son and his fiancee ( whom I can now legally refer to as my daughter-in-law) I headed off to the beach with four grandchildren. Mind you I made sure the video player was in the car and we stopped and picked out movies that would keep them all occupied for the 5 hour trip. We had two in car seats with one in the middle and then one in the front with me, all taking turns, of course!
We got down to my friend, Jean's house and unloaded the car and headed straight to the beach. Our 3 year old couldn't talk about anything but sand castles. Believe me he had sand from stem to stern. But they all had a blast, from driving the golf cart to going up and down the elevator a million times, to playing on the WII, and closing out the night in the pool at 10:00 then home to baths. Whew, Maw Maw was pooped but oh such memories. Worth it all.
We were invited to stay another night and since the kids overheard that there would have been world war three if we hadn't. You know, all the cries, and moans and why not's. Well I had no good reason for why not, so we stayed and went to the Family Kingdom and they rode to their heart's content.
The morning we were packing to leave I got a call from our son, saying, "Bring the kids by and we will spend some time with them and take them home." Was that music to my tired ears! See Mom and Dad had gone to the beach for their honeymoon too and decided a little family time would finish their time off just right.
So I had one lone grandson in tow on the ride home. He watched movies and maybe enjoyed the quiet and one on one time too. It was good for all. And guess what! I wasn't really as tired as I had thought I would be. God's strength enabled me to keep going, and going, and going.
Thanks Jean for a whale of a time! You are a most gracious hostess. So patient and kind. We love you!

You are Beautiful indeed!

Yesterday I had the great privilege of ministering to my first patient of the day spiritually. I could tell we were of like spirits as I entered the room. God gave me an entrance to talk about Him with her not long after. I got her medical information but was prompted to share with her about my recent talk at the ladies Tea at Center Grove in April. God has really used that teaching tool He gave me to share with so many ladies I meet who don't think highly of themselves. I am able to reassure them of His love for them and how beautiful He sees them.
After sharing my experience with her I said, "I don't know why I just shared all that with you". She said, "I do. I have not been seeing myself as beautiful. I hate to look in the mirror". Tears began to run down her cheeks. I remembered that I had put some of my You are Beautiful booklets in the car so I went out to get her one when I finished her interview. Oh how I pray that God will speak to her through them and continue to minister to her heart.
To think that the first printing of the booklets led to a second printing and now I am needing more, I just marvel at how God is using that message He gave me in preparation for the Ladies Tea to end up blessing more and more ladies. The world has poisoned our minds with what a beautiful woman looks like. They say you have to be a size 2, have flawless skin, wear the designer clothes, and have money to maintain all of it. God says, "NO, It is your inner beauty I am interested in".
This lady had plenty of inner beauty. She couldn't see it cause the enemy had deceived her. He had also deceived her into believing that she couldn't do anything about her weight which had her so depressed.
I have been invited to come to the Salvation Army in September and October to share the same message about being beautiful in His sight. I am so excited to share cause I know the Father had this group of ladies in mind when He spoke the message to me. Many of them have never heard that they are beautiful. Many have been used and abused. They can't see the heart of a Heavenly Father and take in His love for them because they may have never even known their earthly father or may have suffered abuse at his hand. I know God is excited that His message continues on. We ARE beautiful ladies, let's chose to believe it!

Come....I have a Free Gift for you!

My husband, Jimmy, and I went to Concord Mills the other day. While going in and out of shops I had a lady from a booth in the walkway try to entice me to come see her products. I said no but then she had the perfect catch phrase, "I have a free gift for you." She got me by the arm and led me over to apply an ingredient that cleansed my skin. The old dry skin came rolling off and it actually did feel a lot smoother afterwards. She talked about how it prevented the pimples (I noticed she had a couple on her own face) and how it exfoliated the skin making it smooth and young. She observed my old age spots and honed in on how her product would make me younger.
She started explaining how the two products were usually sold separately; one for $69.00 and one for $120.00. But today, I could purchase both for $69.00. I told her repeatedly that I was not going to buy but she kept trying, with her hand on my arm.
At the end she even pulled me over to the cash register to show me an even better deal. I told her that she was really convincing but as I said before I was not purchasing anything. The attitude seemed to change. I had told her that I would be praying for her in days to come. She was a Jew, here from Israel she said. Of course her products were from the Dead Sea. In a sort of condescending manner she said, "Oh, I will be praying for you too."
I immediately prayed against any soulish prayers from her. I really don't think I wanted her praying for me. She had indicated she did not know Our Father and I sensed her prayers would be against me, not for me.
Later I heard from a salesman in a near by Christian bookstore that these ladies had been trained for sales and the determination came from the fact that if they didn't sell, they didn't get paid. Can you imagine working all day without pay? I would say that was a way to motivate them.
Got me thinking! We have available the greatest gift of all yet we keep it to ourselves. We don't go out of our way to offer it to the passerby. We often don't say a word, much less keep on trying by another method to share with others in our day to day walk. Our reward will come in eternity. Will you be motivated by that enough to share Christ with those you meet today. A smile, a touch, a promise to pray for them in their circumstances, or a word of witness as to how His coming into your heart has changed you. Others should be able to look at your face and know that you have been with the Father. There should be something different about you just like with Moses. He radiated God as he came down off that mountain. The application of His Word and His presence will make the difference in your appearance and spirit. That's how people will know you have been with Him.
I also envisioned how the enemy works to draw us in with promises of this and that. He tries to hold on to us and entice us to purchase his products with promises of what he can provide. But God always makes a way out. We can choose to stand our ground and say, "NO." Sometimes we yield and then walk away wondering how in the world we fell for his lies. We can get drawn in even when our intentions to speak a word of hope to them is pure. Satan can hold on to us (strongholds) in such a way that if we don't have our armor on and stand on the Word of God, we can be drawn in. Glad I had had my time with the Commander of the Hosts that day. My shield of faith was in place allowing me to resist the tactics of the enemy.
By the way, I never did see a "free gift." Praise Him we can give out His free gift of salvation to all who will receive. I praise Him for the opportunity to share with this young lady. I can still see her face. So blinded! What a great reminder to pray, not only for her but for her people.