Thank you for being such gracious readers.  I do appreciate your notes and encouragement

Prayers for you all-

Remember: God is in control, every single second.  That, alone, is enough reason to believe that you CAN get through whatever He has put on your plate.  That is what is getting me through each day.

Blessings,

Gini

Murders, children shooting children and family, drugs, sex, and every imaginable evil deed are in the headlines every day.  Newscasters quickly jump from a mass murder to the sports news with no visible change of emotion.  So many countries are in battle with others or with their own people. The end-times must be very, very close indeed.

So what does a Christian do in the midst of all this evil?

Phil.2:14-15

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world

While I am dismayed by the news reports, Paul has given us instruction on how to behave “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.”  We are to be lights to the world, blameless and innocent.  We are to be child-like in our trusting in God.

And we do that by going about our days without grumbling or disputing.   That is a hard requirement for me, is it for you?

Prayer is the answer.  Oswald Chambers said “Prayer is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed.”  (emphasis mine)

We are surrounded by the evil in the world.  God chose us to be His ‘image-bearers’ to show others that there is a different way of living, that we do not live for ourselves, but to do God’s work.  Pray for others, pray as often as you can.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you in your prayers, and will draw others to Jesus.  Do not focus on the evil that you see, focus on God, whom you do not see.

The photo is of a Lake Michigan sunrise.  A friend went to the lake in hopes of recording God’s beauty.  I chose the photo because it is another way God shows us that His mercies are new every morning.  Sunrises over water are an inspiring reminder of God’s incredible power. When you get down because of what is going on in your life, or in the world’s life – remember the sunrise.

God will not remove us from a situation if He has planted us in it for a purpose.  But, no matter where we are, what our circumstances are, remember that God IS in control.  And prayer is the best way of adjusting our attitude, and shining your light for God.

Blessings,

Gini

Christmas.  Each year, commercialism encroaches further into this special time, and I find myself wondering how a Christian should celebrate Christmas.

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to commemorate certain events with feasts and worship.  It was a way of remembering what God had done for them. Jesus routinely participated in these feasts.  However, Christmas was not one of God’s mandates; our overspending, overeating, and overdoing are not godly.  Yet, we can seek to glorify God with our celebration by keeping our focus on the Lord.  We must consider the significance of this special day in God’s plan.

John 1:14 gives us reasons to proclaim the birth of Jesus.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

First, Jesus is God.  He willingly gave up the magnificent grandeur of Godliness to become a baby, entering the world in the same manner that we do.  How humble is His beginning!  The Christ-child arrived helpless, weak, unable to fend for himself.   By honoring His birth, we express our gratitude for this miracle.

 Second, Jesus came from the Father to give us grace and truth.  We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  (Ro 3:23)  Without the grace that Jesus gives us, through faith, we would all be condemned.  The Father gave us His Son for our Redemption, for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Ro 10:13)  And this is the reason for the season.  We celebrate in amazement because Jesus, our Savior, is the greatest gift imaginable.

Therefore, we should celebrate Christmas!  Celebrate with gratitude, worship, and amazement– joyfully sharing the Gospel, God’s ultimate gift of salvation through His son, Christ Jesus.

Praying the blessings of Christmas for you-

Gini Barney

Matthew 11:28 NIV 1984

Are you burdened?  This time of year – Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year—not to mention school holidays, bad weather, Christmas cards, shopping, baking, decorating, is exhausting in the best of years.  Add into the mix some health issues, financial changes, and family relationships which might be strained, and one has the exact ingredients needed for a nervous breakdown.

But, we have the Lord.

 “I will give you rest.”  This is an inconceivable promise from our Lord and Savior. 

This does not mean we can sit with our feet propped up and expect all of our obligations to disappear.  No.  “Come to me,” Jesus said.  When we put down our burden, our ‘to do list,” our guilt, our frustrations at time and financial limitations, when we come to Him empty – then we will have His rest.

If we truly focus on the Lord at Christmas time, would we be able to eliminate some of the ‘traditions of man’ we push ourselves to accomplish?  Look at your list.  Are you doing anything out of a sense of obligation, or guilt?  Are you doing anything just to please man?  What would happen if you put down some of these conscience killers and spent more time in God’s Word?

I am as guilty of overdoing it as anyone, but I am feeling the need to cut back.  The health, family, and financial aspects of life are draining me, and I know that I will be useless if I do not schedule in extra time with God.  Time to be filled with His love, His strength, His Spirit.  Time to spend thanking Him for the amazing blessing of His Son.  Time to sing praises to His Name, to worship Him.  Time spent pleasing God, not man.

I am certain that I will not go ‘cold turkey’ and wipe the ‘to do’ list clean, but I am going to intentionally prune the list.  How about you?  What do you think you could leave out of the mix to allow you more time to spend with God?

Blessings, 

            and  the Peace of God

Gini

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.     (Romans 15:13  NASB)

Joy and Peace are words that are frequently seen in this season.  For many, though, ‘the Holidays’ bring anything but.  How many of you have misgivings about how joyful or peaceful the next six weeks of your lives will be? 

(Disclaimer:  I am not using the word ‘Holidays’ to be politically correct about Christmas, I am including Thanksgiving as part of this longer ‘Holiday Season.’)

Part of the difficulty of this time of year is unmet expectations.  People in our families disappoint us, and I am certain that we disappoint many of then.  Whether we visit relatives, have dinner at home, or ignore the day as best we can, family issues seem to be magnified.  In some gatherings we are saddened by the lack of kindness between family members, yet there are others who may have no families with which to gather.  Neither situation brings any joy or peace.

The verse above: Romans 15:13, is our life-line and source of hope.  Notice that WE do not have to muster up the hope, peace, and joy – no, it is God who fills us!  Praise His holy name! The Spirit gives us power – enough to look beyond our hurts and grievances and turn to the Lord. 

The Bible reminds us that even Christ Jesus had family issues.  His brothers did not believe He was the Son of God, despite all the miracles He performed.  And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”  Matthew 12:49-50

Jesus also said that He did not come to bring peace within families, but that families would be divided on account of Him.  They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Luke 12:53   Have you experienced this?

Take comfort, friends, for in the midst of the strife, Jesus also left us with a powerful tool of reconciliation:  prayer.  Because of Jesus, we can bring our prayers to the throne of God, asking Him to work miracles in our loved ones – and in us. 

That, my friends, is a miracle worth its own Thanksgiving.

Blessings,

Gini

The beauty of autumn is right outside my bedroom window!  Or…..it was.  Until this morning’s rainstorm took most of the bright orange leaves with it.  Sad.  But what of the lone leaf, left clinging tightly to its branch?   That leaf is a good model of perseverance. 

How about you?  Are you in a rainstorm right now?  Perhaps a hurricane?  (We don’t get too many hurricanes in Illinois, but some of you may feel like you are in one!)  Does your life seem like it has been one struggle after another?  Or, worse, one struggle ON TOP of another, with NO breathing space in between? 

Look at that tree again.  So few leaves remain, and, most of those will fall before the first snowfall.  Perseverance is to be to the END.  But, I often wonder, to the END of WHAT?

I recently read an article on RBC ministries website: http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/does-god-want-me-well.pdf .  (Written by Herb Vander Lugt )  It is one of their “Discovery Series” booklets, available to read on PDF.   “Does God Want Me Well?”  It is an interesting question. 

Going back to persevering to the END, the ‘does God want me well?’ question gets a bit of perspective.  The booklet is quite encouraging, reinforcing our knowledge that God DOES have control over our lives.  Therefore, we need to cling to Jesus, no matter how bad the storm, no matter how dark the skies, and no matter how weak our wills.  Cling to Jesus and let HIS strength change you in the midst of your trial. 

I have been fighting an illness for over 12 years.  Not much change until the last 2 years, which has been, in my opinion, in the wrong direction.  BUT.  But, I am NOT in control.  God is.  Reading the booklet was a good reminder of how much God loves us.  He loves us enough not to let us alone to wallow in our own mud puddles.  He lifts us up.  IF we allow Him to do as He wills and do not fight His will.  I am SO not good at that. 

I am praying now for a ‘hope-filled acceptance.’  I KNOW that God can heal me in an instant….if it is His will.  I must hope for that healing.  Otherwise, my life will be one of desperation.  Why keep fighting an illness if it is going to win?  But at the same time, I must be accepting of what God has ‘put on my plate.’  That is the difficult tension of living in an unsaved world.  Knowing and trusting that God is loving, and yet accepting that this sad state of health is permitted by Him. 

I would encourage any of you going through any type of trial to read the above booklet, or any others on the Discovery Series website. http://discoveryseries.org/tag/trials/    You can either read the PDF or purchase the booklet with any donation.  I hope they will bless your spirit and give you strength.

Keep praying for one another, my friends.  Prayer is such an important work, yet we often say “All I can do now is pray.”  Wrong!  We can PRAY!  We can pray knowing that God hears us, loves us, knows exactly where we are in our trial, AND that He WANTS to hear from us!  WOW!

Blessings,

Gini

And a time to every purpose under the heavens.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Autumn.  Beautiful patches of color everywhere.  Wind blowing, leaves falling, crisp, cool air causes your breath to be visible.  Apples and pumpkins are sold at roadside stands.  (OK, for some of us the roadside is in the next state, but it does happen!)  Amazing beauty designed by our Creator God.

Changing seasons are often an inspiration to reflect upon our own seasons of life.  They are an obvious sign of change, forshadowing what is coming in the future.  After a fruitful summer, the trees are getting ready for a winter’s rest.  A new birth awaits them in the spring.

But what of us?  Our lives do have seasons, but they are not as predictable as those of the landscape.  Some of us had our ‘rebirth’ in the spring – giving us an entire lifetime of service and fruit-bearing for the Lord.  Others were in mid-summer in their lives, coming to Christ at the same time marriage and children appeared.  Perfect timing for the next generation to see the changes that Christ can make.

I was an autumn.  My career was established, I was married, and, I thought I was doing fine in my Christ-less life.  I was widowed 20 years ago, causing my world to turn upside down.  God used that change to change me.  It was as dramatic as the leaves changing on the trees, but a much slower process.

There are some advantages to coming to Christ in a later season of life.  Circumstances I had experienced because of my earlier lifestyle have given me much compassion to give to others.  I have an understanding of the difference, and an enormous heart of gratitude to God for loving me when I was most unlovable.  I think many of us who were a bit older when Christ caught our hearts are quite vividly sharing His love. 

Were you in your life’s spring, summer, or autumn when you turned to Christ?  Can you look at those you know and see their seasons reflected in the way they minister to others?  Innocent, trusting spring Christians seem to me to have an incredible depth to their walk.  Their roots were established deeply before they grew in Christ.   Each season is somewhat different, but all are used to glorify God.

If you are in the winter of your life, but have not yet committed to being a follower of Jesus Christ – do not wait until your heart hardens like ice.  God uses us in our winter years, but He warns us not to wait too long:

Hebrews 3: 7, 8  Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness,

Hebrews 3: 18, 19  And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

My prayer for each of you is that you would use the changing seasons to remind yourself of the changes that God has made in you.  Look for His hand in your daily lives.  While not always as vividly as the colored leaves pictured here, God does evidence Himself in your life.  Praise Him with thanksgiving!   But, if you are not yet reborn, do not waste your remaining days.  Turn, before the winter freeze prevents you from returning to your Creator.

Blessings, my friends,

Gini

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Why did I take a picture of a yellow leaf?  Because all the others were red and the yellow one attracted my attention.

How do we show the love of Christ in our lives?  By standing out in the midst of those who don’t know Him – just as the yellow leaf is standing out in the midst of the red.

When do we have the best opportunity to “Stand up for Jesus?”  When we are afflicted, struggling to be hopeful, and greatly needing to pray.  Then, when we display the hope, love, and faith we have in Christ – we stand out.

Over the last week, how much time did you spend in prayer?  In complaining?  In bemoaning the problems in your life, in other’s lives, in the world?  Did you pray with others who were hurting or ask for prayer for yourself?

I stand convicted.  I had a couple of difficult issues this past week in which I backslid into grumbling instead of prayer.  One health problem was especially troubling, and the troubles kept pouring from my lips – instead of praise for the God who has made me, delivered me, and sealed me for eternity.

Why is it so hard?

Consider our culture.  “Patience” is not a word found frequently in a world of 2-day deliveries, instant messaging, and ‘Face Time.’  Nor do we suffer well.  Headache?  Mention that you have a headache, and purses and pockets quickly reveal that most friends carry along a supply of pain relievers.  If that doesn’t do it – see your doctor or go to your local pain clinic.  Stress?  Have you tried the latest anti-depressant?

Prayer.  Paul, in his epistles, repeatedly urges us to live a life of constant prayer.  Our lives should reflect our hope in an eternal future with God which will  overshadow all of our “light and momentary trials.” 

            For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.  (2 Cor 4:17)

            For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

            Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)

Paul was not immune to suffering.  He was beaten, stoned and left for dead, imprisoned several times- but all the while, he kept praying and glorifying God, encouraging others to do likewise.

Paul challenges us as well.  Let us try to put on the “Armor of God”* and fight off the cultural behaviors of complaining, whining, grumbling, and seeking instantaneous relief from a trial that God may just be using to strengthen us.

Father God, forgive us our complaining attitudes, and ‘renew a right spirit within’ us. (Psalm 51:10)  Please grant us grace to persevere, and in so doing, draw others to Your light which will then shine through us.

Blessings, friends-

Gini

*Ephesians 6

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

Mark 1:32-36 NASB

Sunrises and Sunsets – both bring me great pleasure.  So it is with joy that I realize that Jesus was keenly aware of both!  He did His ministering, He prayed, and He sought the Father at both ends of the day.

When was the last time that you purposely watched either a sunrise or a sunset without it being something that ‘happened’ while you were intent on something else? Truthfully, there are often weeks that go by without my awareness of the time the sun is appearing or disappearing.  And, as I look at this picture, I realize that I have become somewhat jaded with respect to the wonders that God displays daily.

God loves to ‘make all things new,’ whether it is the sky, the landscape, or His children.   I love the KJV of 2 Cor 5:17:  all things are become new. The beginning of each new day is part of His promise; He will make us new in Christ!  We just need to allow God to make a canvas of our lives, and paint the beauty He has planned for us!

Sunsets can be extremely dramatic.  The science behind sunsets is a rather sad commentary on man’s inability to keep air clean, as pollution in the air scatters the light, allowing us to perceive incredible variances in colors.  Other factors, such as cloud quantity, density, and height – all play a supporting role.   How fascinating that in this passage, Jesus is healing people (often ill due to sin), in the evening – when the air is ‘ill’.

If you are troubled, do you seek Jesus in your sunset time?  Do you have a time for reading God’s Word and reflecting upon it as you look out the window to get a glimpse of the sun?  The sunset is a spectacular example of how God can use us, dirt and all, to His Glory.  He can allow light to shine through us to attract others – in the times when we think the oncoming darkness is impermeable. 

I know that many of us struggle to get in ONE time slot per day to spend totally with the Lord, but Jesus made it a practice to be with His Father both ends of the day.  Think how much better you will sleep if you are in the practice of ‘casting your cares’ upon the Lord before you retire for the night.  His strong, everlasting arms can bear the worldly weights you offer to Him, and His Word can dance in your mind – His love, His mercies….knowing that the dawn of a new day brings new mercies. 

We are so blessed, my friends, by our ability to speak to God whenever we would like.  Please make an effort to increase the number of times you seek the Lord each day.  He will straighten your path before you fall, which is infinitely less painful than trying to crawl up from the miry clay. 

Enjoy your sunrises and sunsets as Jesus did, with the Father.

Blessings,

Gini

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 

 Matthew 7:24,25

This is an OLD picture.  My Dad and brother are in a gondola in Venice in 1949.  Yes, I am old enough to have been present, just too young to have been sitting up. How things have changed!

Mostly, I don’t like change.  Do you?  I get comfortable with surroundings, people, temperaments, and ‘stuff.’  But change is coming.  We do not know what type of change – the when, where, and how of it- we just know it is coming. 

Except for God, who is, alone, unchanging.  He is a solid rock of stability upon which we need to build our lives.  He is THE hope for surviving all of the changes we go through in life.  And, when He is our foundation, we seem to handle all the changes – pleasant and unpleasant – much more calmly.

Changes.  You can see from the photo that my Dad was an Army man.  I was born in Trieste, Italy – which is relatively close to Venice.  By the time I was 12, when my Dad died, I had lived in 4 different countries and 4 different states.  We changed homes, schools, countries, friends, churches…on an average of every 1.5 years. 

Losing my Dad was obviously a difficult change.  It affected my life deeply, and some of the choices I made in my teen years were not as wise as they might have been had he been around.  I realize that many of you might have grown up in ‘single parent households,’ and possibly have lost parents through either death or divorce.  In either case, that particular change is devastating.  Families do change.

But God is always present, always accessible, always loving.   When we build our life on the Rock, no matter what change comes upon us, we can remain standing. 

When I said, “My foot is slipping, “your love, O Lord, supported me.

Psalm 94:18

I have to admit, sadly, that when my Dad died I did not turn to the Lord.  I went the other way.  But while I had turned my back upon Him, He had not given up on me.  Decades later the Lord grabbed me through the death of my husband.  As a relatively young widow (42), I hit bottom.  My heart turned – melted is probably more truthful – and I returned to God much as did the prodigal son.  I mention this as I know that some of you either were prodigals yourself, or you are going through the pain of trying to reach a prodigal child.  Have hope and faith, it took the Lord 30 years in my case, but He is the “Hound of Heaven.”

This significant change– returning to the Lord, was the most joyous of my life.  It showed me the positive proof of Romans 8:28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Change.  God is aware of all changes that occur in your life, so seek Him.  Seek to set your foot on that solid ground.  Pray for those who have slipped away, knowing another change can well come around and reverse their path.  Change is good, in terms of God’s eternal purposes. 

Have you experienced change that has drawn you closer to the Lord?  Please share with us.

Blessings my friends,

Gini