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A nest can be defined as a “place of safety or refuge”.
I am comforted daily by the knowledge that I am in God’s nest.  Psalm 139 for me is the ultimate scripture defining how close God will always be to us.

Psalm 139:9-10

If I rise on the wings of the morning
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

A few other scriptures on His refuge:

1. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. (Psalm 91:4)
2. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. (Psalm 2:12)
3. Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 36:7)
4. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)
5. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27)
6. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. (Psalm 5:11)
7. Hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
8. (Psalm 17:8-9)
9. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)
10. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. (Psalm 31:20)
11. Keep me safe, 0 God, for in you I take refuge. (Psalm 16:1)
12. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.
13. (2 Samuel 22:2)
14. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. (Psalm 61:3)
15. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. (2 Samuel 22:3)
16. The man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. (Isaiah 57:13)
17. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. (Psalm 118:8)
18. I long to dwell in your tent forever. (Psalm 61:4)
19. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)

The Israelites complained and griped about their situation (instead of learning how to do something about it).

Now, one man, Gideon, was trying to do the best he could. He decided to thresh his wheat in a wine vat. It was a place of a rock wall, where people would press the grapes for wine. He could thresh his wheat unseen. So, one day when he was busy at work he had a visitor. An Angel.

The angel said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.”
I’ve always thought this was funny. An angel would call him a “man of valor” while he was hiding in a wine vat hiding from the enemy.
Did Gideon think wonderful things about this Angel? Did he think about the compliment that was just given to him?
Did he think about how special he was that an angel appeared and visited him?
Did he sing praises, worship God, run in fear and awe?
No, No and No.

He complained. He griped. He told the Angel “Pardon me, my lord, but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?

When things don’t seem to be going our way, we tend to be like Gideon and his folks. Gripers and complainers.

Judges 6
14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

16 The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Do you know the rest of story. First Gideon had to have even more proof that the message was from God.
But he finally believed, and he went. He did become a mighty man of valor.

Think about it. what would have happened if Gideon had completely ignored the angel? What if he had refused to listen to instruction? What if he had not listed to guidance?

Sometimes things don’t look to pleasant. Recently in our area we have had horrific storms, tornadoes. There are job layoffs, families are breaking up, there is sickness. Hardships and heartaches abound. There are a lot of things that some people say “God has deserted us. He has left us.”

But, something to think about is, have you listened to the messengers of God? Sometimes “angels” don’t appear with wings and halos.

Learn to listen to your inner promptings. Become a person of valor who listens to and obeys God.

And a note about the Angel and his “valor” message. I think the Angel was giving us a lesson in speaking words of confidence and building others up as they SHOULD be, not who they are now. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pitchers of silver”. Good words are valuable!

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions–and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else–the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

(( as found at PageTutor.com ))

Grab your day with gusto and take control! Live each day, each minute with Gratitude and see the breakthroughs!

The 3 Big D’s of Accomplishing The Things You Want to Do

• Deliberate
• Determined
• Diligent

Let’s talk a little bit more about Deliberate.

I have a cat that’s like most cats.  She lives the life of luxury sleeping 23 hours a day and eating her food.  She is like a queen and our home is her domain.  Daily she graces us with her presence.  I can be in the middle of doing something on the laptop, or reading, or perhaps sleeping.  But when she has decided it’s time for some “kitty luvin’ ” she won’t quit.  She will deliberately place herself between me and whatever my attention is on that is not her.  She wants to be the focus.  It is all eyes and hands on her and there is no rest until she gets what she wants.

You must approach a goal with a marked mind full of consciousness of the nature and effects of each action.   Each step must be intentional and mapped by careful consideration of “will this step move me towards the goal?” (i.e. no chasing rabbits)

Just as Ginger deliberately puts her self up front and center and persistently does what ever actions she  needs to do to get my attention, our actions towards our goals must be just as deliberate.

Ask yourself this question frequently, “Is this the best possible use of my time right now?”

Ask yourself , “Which of my tasks, today, contributes to attaining one of  my objectives for this week?”

Do you see the pattern?  Taking actions towards a goal is a constant self evaluation.  Daily.  Hourly.  By Minute.

If you have some dreams and goals but don’t know where to start to achieve them, I highly recommend  The Seven Minute Solution by Allyson Lewis.  The principles outlined in her book helped me to step off the rat wheel of “spinning in circles going nowhere”.

Here’s to your Deliberate Actions today!

Since we are in “Big D” (Dallas TX), these thoughts seemed appropriate as I was jotting some notes and doing some mind mapping.  I hope they can help you over the hurdle of accomplishing some of the things you want to do in 2012!

The 3 Big D’s of Accomplishing The Things You Want to Do

Deliberate
Determined
Diligent

Deliberate:

You must approach a goal with a marked mind full of conscious of the nature and effects of each action of the Goal. Each

step must be intentional and mapped by careful consideration of “will this step move me towards the goal?” (i.e. no chasing rabbits)

Determined:

Your actions and thoughts must be intentional. Even the slightest hesitancy or negative thought interrupts the trail of

neurons in the brain. You must have a firm resolution, a firm purpose and belief that the goal is attainable. A goal needs your firm strength and concentration.

Diligent:

You must persevere. The path will not be easy at first. Walking through an uncharted forest, there will be

limbs to knock you down, bushes to snag your clothes and a clear path unseen. But, if you continue through the path

every day, over a course of time, a firm and unhindered footpath will develop.

“Why can’t we keep the Christmas Spirit all year?

Yes, there is something heart warming and magical about the Season and we seem to be filled with a more loving and grateful heart.

Then mid-January rolls around along with the bills and the busy life, and soon all the warm fuzzies we had in December are nothing but little dust bunnies under the furniture.

Well, here is an idea in hopes to help you capture and enjoy some Christmas Spirit all year!

Make a “Christmas Spirit” jar!
1. Hurry, right now go run over and make a list of 30 things that you enjoyed and made your Christmas special. To jog your memory, try some of these: People you saw, places you went, events you attended, special foods, ornaments, a tradition….Get the idea?
2. Now, make your jar ( follow the simple directions over on this page http://www.squidoo.com/christmas-spirit-jar )

It’s that simple! Now any time you need a little pick me up of Christmas Spirit and gratitude, just open your jar and read one of the slips of paper and remember……..

I’m going to go make mine right now!!

~~The Attitude of Gratitude will Increase Your Altitude!~~

I enjoy starting a new project, whether it’s a new page to write, or a garden to be planted or a new recipe to be cooked. The unwritten page – the untilled soil – the unchopped vegetables. They all represent a new beginning. A new start. No mistakes or failures yet to discourage me.

Today was the day back to work for many folks, including myself. A new beginning. One of the first days of the new year of 2012.

I remember when I was a younger our family used to make New Year Resolutions and we would make our list and put it in a jar only to be read at the end of the year. Of course you know the idea, to read the the list of all the great accomplishments. But, I think most of you know how the story ended. We were lucky to have one or maybe two of our items accomplished. So, through the years I reduced it from 20 to 10 and then last year I made 5. I kept reducing my “resolutions” because the list of unfulfilled was just too discouraging.

This year, my husband was a bit of an inspiration to me. He proudly proclaimed he was making only one resolution of 4 words. One item on his list. This idea resonated with me, and I began thinking about it more intently.

The thought of choosing ONE thing that I felt would make the most difference in my life was perplexing. What should it be? What could it be? What could it be for you?

What one thing could you focus on for the entire year that would make an awesome and incredible difference for your life?

One Thing
Focus

What would it be? A bad habit that is holding you back from your ultimate potential? A character you want to strengthen?

What if you could channel all your energies to ONE item and FOCUS on obtaining success and accomplishment?

I think for me personally, this was a stupendous idea and removed a massive amount of stress off an already overworked and burdened shoulders!

So, I chose a Character Trait of “Gratitude”. This was something I was already working on during the last week of December. But, I personally want to overflow with Gratitude during the coming year so I decided to focus on finding 3 things daily.

Of course, as we all know with Resolutions. As sure as the world, once you decide to DO something, it seems as though obstacles come trying to derail your efforts. In fact, last week I was having one of those “horrible, terrible, awful” days at the office and my loving husband reminded me that I had not stated my “Gratitude” for the day. Wow, I was being WATCHED and he was holding me accountable! Well, I had to dig deep that day, but I found some gratefulness in my 2 precious furbabies, Zak and Ginger.

But, the point here is two-fold. Be prepared for a little work as it will not always be easy. And be prepared that folks are going to be watching you once you let it be known. Accountability is a good though!

So, here’s to your 2012!
Focus on New Beginnings!

I realize after making this list that the I think the true balance of finding and expressing gratitude is the realization that it does not have to be major or big things that are on the list. Of course those can and will be, but the key is learning to have and express gratitude for the small things.

I immediately thought of a classic song by Julie Andrews in the film “The Sound of Music”.

Click here to view the embedded video.