Robin Gilbert Luftig's Blog, page 18

Sand on a Beach

 

Life can sometimes swirl around us at an unbelievable rate. We watch standards we once took for granted disappear before our very eyes. How did we get here? Did we set our focus on unmovable truths, or did our dreams get washed away … like the sand on a beach?

Sand … a wonderful thing

Scripture often references sand. Sometimes to show our folly.

“Whoever hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.The rain came down. The water came up. The wind blew and hit the house. The house fell and broke apart.”
Matthew 7:26-27

But it’s also used to show the vast unmeasurable love God has for us. See how God uses a word picture to show Abram (Abraham) the depth of his love and devotion.

“I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore … ”
Genesis 22:17

Your Challenge

Do we see sand as vast and unmeasurable … or as shifty and unstable? Learning this may involve taking a long look into the mirror at who we are  … and ask ourselves some hard questions.

But by asking ourselves hard questions … even if that leads us to how we see sand … may give a clear direction when seeking peace.

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post Sand on a Beach appeared first on Robin Luftig.

No Words

Sometimes we have no words. God knew that would happen and guided Apostle Paul to instruct us in times when we are lost. When facing unbelievable obstacles, it’s important to ask the Holy Spirit to intervene on our behalf.

The Holy Spirit helps us where we are weak. We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays to God for us with sounds that cannot be put into words.  God knows the hearts of men. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray. Romans 8:26-27

Join me

Join me in prayer. If ever there’s a time to hit our knees, it is now. Hundreds–if not thousands–of people will be at the mercy of unspeakable evil. Many of those will be our Christian brothers and sisters.

Having no words isn’t a reason to not beseech God for mercy. He’s already got that part covered. All we have to do is bring a seeking heart.

 

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post No Words appeared first on Robin Luftig.

My Heart Aches

These are days of darkness. My heart aches when I watch the news. I weep, knowing how this might turn out for some of my Afghani Christian brothers and sisters. Anne Graham Lotz‘s prayer posted on social media resonates in my heart. Please read it prayerfully and join me in pleading to our Heavenly Father to bestow comfort.

Creator of the Universe. Ruler of All. Lord of the Nations.

Are You not the Judge of all the earth? If my heart is broken…shattered…over what’s taking place in Afghanistan, what must Your great heart feel? So I come to You and plead Your mercy for Your people who are now hiding in basements, caves, any hole they can find, knowing that demonic forces will not stop until Your people are found and slaughtered. So I pray for Your people…followers of Jesus…to be supernaturally protected and delivered. Send Your angel armies to surround Your people, as You did for Elisha (2 Kings 6). Blind the enemy so they cannot locate Your people in hiding. Didn’t You teach us Yourself that when we pray, we are to pray that we would be delivered from evil? (Matthew 6) So. Deliver Your people. By any means. Please.

But if You do not, and if You allow Your people to be slaughtered, then I pray that You would give dying grace to each and every one of them. Men. Women. Children. Fill them with Your supernatural peace. Give them a vision of Heaven opened for them, as You did for Stephen in Acts 7. Open their eyes to see You, Lord Jesus, standing at the right hand of the Father, waiting to welcome them Home and give them a martyr’s crown.

And then I pray…yes I do… for the fullness of Your wrath to fall on the evil perpetrators, whether they are in Kabul or Tehran or Washington, DC. Holy God. Avenge Your people.

I know You hear this prayer. Now I wait to see how You will answer.

Even so, come Lord Jesus. Surely it’s time for You to be glorified in all the earth.

For the sake of Your great name,

Amen

 

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post My Heart Aches appeared first on Robin Luftig.

A Glimpse into Ladies Uncover a Secret

Unofficial cover

Have you missed the ladies from Norwood Street in Applegate, Ohio?

Sugar Bowersox now lives in the Baltimore area with husband Dunger and enjoys being a mother to three girls and wife to a professional football coach.

Lily-Rose Pembrick still lives on Norwood Street, enjoying the life she found after leaving Lincoln, Nebraska, and Pembrick Transportation behind.

In Ladies Uncover a Secret (Elk Lake Publications, due out Fall, 2o22) we find Fiona Kasey, now Kasey-Boyer, married, pregnant, and living in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

So what’s the problem?

Fiona is struggling with a nagging thought–Why doesn’t she feel worthy of love?

In Ladies Uncover a Secret, the three friends get together again and begin to unravel the secrets of Fiona’s past. They discover lies the Kasey family kept for years. Will the answers to the revealed secrets strengthen Fiona’s chance at finding peace—or shatter it?

Ready for an unofficial glimpse? Check out the first (unofficial) chapter:

Want to see how it all began?

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind.

Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose’s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest—until someone ended up dead.

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New Opportunities, if You Dare

Summer will be coming to an end soon. School’s starting in some places, a sign of old things finishing and new opportunities starting. Looking at it, how willing are you to start the season with a new prayer in your heart?

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

This is not the typical, “Thank you for this food” prayer. This powerful prayer, when uttered in all seriousness, has the ability to take us to places we may never have seen.

But do you mean it?

We often hold back, because we don’t trust God … either that he’s not big enough, or he just doesn’t care. This prayer asks God to 1) Search your heart; 2) Reveal your fears; 3) Uncover your sins, and 4) Lead you.

Before you open yourself to this prayer, see what God’s word says about his character.

Know that he loves you.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

Then see how he’s built you.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Here’s the challenge. Offer this prayer, quietly in your heart, and see how God moves.  It may reveal more than you anticipate. You may find what you fear most reveals where you trust God the least.

What we fear most reveals where we trust God the least.

God’s waiting for you to invite him into your new opportunities if you dare.

 

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post New Opportunities, if You Dare appeared first on Robin Luftig.

Another Place of Comfort

Do you think God remembers us? With all of the craziness happening in the world today, we’re all looking for another place of comfort. Do you think God’s offering us such a place?

Scripture tells us over and over how he remembers people.

But God remembered Noah … Genisis 8:1

He can remember us, too.

Being on the mind of Jesus is a powerful yet humbling place to be. It windows his control. I believe the Pharisees were on Jesus’ mind when he looked over Jerusalem, and he wept (John 11:35).

Do you think he weeps for us today? Society is in a dark place, but we can trust God’s control in our lives. When we are on God’s mind—when he remembers us—we are not far from his protective hand. And when we have God on our minds, the Holy Spirit can share love and comfort as we have never felt.

How do we take it in?

Want to know how to stand in the middle of chaos and feel peace? Dwell on scripture.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Do you think he sees our pain? Look to scripture for that as well.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalms 56:8

When you need another place of comfort, trust in the Lord. He’s waiting for you.

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post Another Place of Comfort appeared first on Robin Luftig.

A Place of Comfort

What is it about Social Media that turns the meekest and mildest person into a raving lunatic? It wasn’t that way in the beginning. I began my relationship with social media via Facebook when my youngest–currently in his thirties–was in high school. (I called it keeping an eye on his comings and goings. Now it’s called creeping or stalking. ) I soon realized other parents were out there doing the same thing. After that, I saw friends from my graduating high school class, whom I hadn’t seen in years, stalking–I mean, monitoring their kids, too. This was a place of comfort and a source of reconnection with old friends.

I still enjoy keeping connected with family and friends all over the country. We share pictures and reminisce over the old days when the hair wasn’t so gray and the knees not so stiff. But now I need to take a deep breath before I venture into cyberland.

I see . . .

Self-described Christians acting less than Christ-like. Offering sanctimonious opinions in a manner they’d allow from their children.

Sexually slanted videos leaving nothing to the imagination.

Blatant, self-serving lies made to destroy others.

Is this what we’re supposed to do?

So why is social media so popular?  For me, I need to make sure to use it for a specific purpose . . . staying in touch with people I love. If I use it for anything other than sweet communication, I open myself up to problems and heartache.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

I never concerned myself with the Popular table at lunchtime when I was in school. I sat where it felt best to me . . . with people who knew me for who I was.

It’s like that now with social media.

These are difficult times for many people. It can’t be made better by infusing our time with anger and ugliness.

Do one this today to brighten the world today. Be a place of comfort for someone. By sharing kindness, it will make a difference in yours.

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy . . . or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies . . . or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post A Place of Comfort appeared first on Robin Luftig.

The Pain of Depression

Depression. It has the ability to sneak up on any of us if we’re not careful. It’s not always about feeling like we’re at the bottom of the heap. Sometimes the exhaustion of Life takes us there. Even heroes feel the pain of depression. Want proof?

We read about the Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17, when he tells the feared King Ahab, “there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” What a mighty prophet of God! Then, after years of drought, Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal on the top of Mount Carmel to see which god was greater. Baal or the great I Am. (The story, found in 1 Kings 19, is one of the greatest action-filled stories of the Bible).

Elijah comes away victoriously!

Yet in the very next chapter, he flees the area and asks God to kill him. Do you get that? Elijah would rather be dead than feel such deep depression!

I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life … ” 1 Kings 19:4

Depression can take anyone down. We need to be ever-vigilant against it. Here are a few (of many) warning to watch for to safeguard yourself against depression.

Fear can set in

See how Elijah ran (vs. 3)? This mighty warrior heard the queen’s threats over God’s voice. If he hadn’t been so tired, perhaps this fear would never have happened.

We let Comparison take over

If Elijah hadn’t been so weary, maybe he would have remembered his value to God, and not compare himself with others “. . . I am no better than my ancestors”(vs.4). How often do we compare someone’s strengths to our weaknesses?

Not exaggerate the negative

We see how Elijah left clear thinking behind. At the end of verse 10, we read that he blew the situation out of proportion. “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” He knew that wasn’t true.

Beating depression

Just like there are several signs of depression, there are several cures as well.

Get your physical condition in order. If your doctor prescribes drugs, take them! There’s nothing wrong with treating a chemical imbalance with the proper medication. If you need rest, exercise, or a better diet, do what you can to achieve your goals in those areas.Take your frustrations to God. If your heart gets in the way, rely on Truth. Spiritual truth. That’s always unshakable. And if you find yourself getting angry with God, let him know. (Here’s a secret … he knows already.) Trust God with your authentic feelings. You may be surprised at the support you’ll receive.

Don’t let the pain of depression take you to places God never intended you to go. He’s in your corner. Reach out to him in prayer. See how he makes himself known to you.

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

 

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Wait or Weight

There are times when the English language gets in the way. Passed or past? Two, to, or too? And the ever-famous they’re, there, and their. But I heard a set of words today that, once I pondered, were quite profound. They made me think: wait or weight.

Wait …

Means to pause. To stay in place.
I’m not good at waiting. I’m headstrong and want to do things how and when I want to do them. I’m not all that good at waiting.

Weight …

Is heaviness. A burden to carry. A unit of measurement. Some of these are important, yet others are very uncomfortable.

Then I wondered how weight and wait work together.

I remember when I went headstrong into a situation and didn’t wait on the Lord’s direction. I ended up carrying more emotional weight from senseless mistakes I could have avoided.  The load was just too great.

I should have waited.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

What about you? Can you practice patience and not get caught up in the here-and-now? Can you wait for the right? Your patience may be a gift that keeps the weight of the world off your shoulders. Besides, why take it on? God’s shoulders already carry it.

Wait or Weight. The choice is yours.

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

 

 

 

 

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Past Posts

Do you ever look back over your past posts? Some seem brilliant, while others are cringe-worthy.

When I wrote that, did I think I was clever?

Did I think I was clever reposting this person’s thoughts?

Always safe here

I never need to worry when I come across any of Marie Monville’s posts. Marie was pushed into the spotlight on October 2, 2006, when her then-husband made a decision to hold an Amish schoolhouse hostage, forever changing life as she knew it. You can read of her unfathomable story in  One Light Still Shines.

The one-minute read I came across was from May 2016. It’s a good reminder, whether it’s the first time you read it or the twenty-first. How we respond to life is our choice.

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! Proverbs 16:16

Wisdom or regret … what do you find when you look at past posts you’re agreed with?

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my Book page.

The post Past Posts appeared first on Robin Luftig.