My Life's Soundtrack

When I came to know you in my youth

I’d hoped that when people looked at me

They could see THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

There was  an innocence I had concerning You—

In my little mind I thought we were a

PERFECT COMBINATION

But after I got older I had to come to the realization

That life wasn’t what I envisioned

I was READY FOR LOVE and I needed

A different scenery so I went OUT ON A LIMB

And decided to try LIVING ALL  ALONE

The things I subjected myself to

During those years of venture

Left PIECES OF ME scattered

But somehow You still found a need

To make me whole again because

YOU SAW THE BEST IN ME and that made me

Realize even more that truly

YOU GIVE GOOD LOVE

 

So  God I just hope You truly know

That I know THERE IS NO WAY I can live without You

I don’t just need You—I  LOOK TO YOU

With You in my life I find that I can really

Live my  life OFF THE WALL

When I think of all You knew I would be—

ALL I AM, and all You’ve destined me to be

I SMILE

Copyright by Charlotte R. Beard 2011

My Crayola Box

Lord…

Thank you for all the people you’ve placed in my Crayola box

Some are like the color red…they are fiery, adding spice to the time

We share together

Then others are like the color orange…always juicy with some type of news

And I want to get away—

They constantly force me to my knees…really?

Oh…that’s why they’re in my box…ok

There are even those like the color yellow…

So bright with a lot of knowledge

Thank you for the resource!

Then there are the green ones…conservative with their resources;

They make me keep “balance” in my view

The blue ones are a little tricky for me Lord…

Sometimes they just appear quiet but then they reflect

This underlying strength and courage…powerful attitudes

Ahhh…the brown ones…they are so warm to be around…they ground me

And truly my favorite color…violet…they have a royal attitude—carrying a high view

Of all You’ve told them they are in You

And they INSPIRE OTHERS to be the same

I’m truly black and beautiful and that should make me bold

So when I’m in the company of these colors, Lord let me like blackness—fade

Into the background to experience all the richness in my box

Recognizing that because of You inside me—like black…I can never be overshadowed

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright by Charlotte R. Beard 2012

Stop Making Adjustments for Being In the Dark

This morning pulling out of my driveway on the way to work some recent occurences caused me some deep thought.  I've been having occurence after occurence of problems with light going out.  For months I'd been driving around not being able to see my gear-shift at night or in a dark location (garage, etc.) unless I turned on some interior light first.  I don't know why I didn't get it checked sooner, I guess my schedule got in the way on the weekends or in the back of my mind I feared it would be some electrical problem that I didn't want to have to deal with financially.  Prior to this gear-shift lighting situation I had the light bulb in my garage that automatically comes on when the garage door raises go out.  It was out for a little over a year up until a month ago.  I guess I didn't want to deal with that because it meant finding someone to change the bulb that high up...at least I thought.  Not a big deal; I could still turn on the other light in the ceiling if I needed light or turn on the light in my car when I'm in the garage if I needed it.  I know...crazy right?  Well I finally realized I could have changed that bulb long ago only after the light "outside" of my garage at the entrance went out.  I couldn't have it that dark driving up at night so I decided to get my step ladder, I thought just maybe I could reach it.  And yes...I could!  Also, at this time I realized the light outside the garage was just about at the same height as the one inside.  Yep...you guessed it so I changed the bulb.  Getting back to the gear-shift situation...I got that taken care of this past weekend along with my rear left light signal that went out while I was on my way to work just a few days ago!  So, this morning I was just thinking, 'why did I procrastinate on doing what I needed to do to have the light I needed in my car and in my garage??  Why was I so unwilling just to get these things taken care of instead of allowing dread to control the situation or using work-arounds?  A lot of extra energy and inconviencing I caused myself...don't you think?

In a similar way many people "stay in the dark" regarding either God's promises to them or instructions for living.  They'd rather make adjustments for the light (God's truth) rather than do what it takes to walk and live in complete peace.  They make other people's mess-ups or ignorance their excuse for not doing what they've been called by God to do.  It takes a whole lot more energy to commit to doing a bunch of charity work or things we think will get us God's favor than just doing the thing or things we know to do.  When it comes to real light (God's truth) there really is no subsitute...nothing comes close.  There is always some cost.

Is Your Prayer Life a Grill or a Slow-Cooker?

I was talking to someone a couple days ago about praying with a purpose; distinctively praying with motive and direction.  This person had some concerns and mentioned that they pray daily while involved in another daily regimen.   Let me pause here to say that the majority of us live busy lives but if we want God to take us seriously then we need to take Him seriously.  When I sit down to consult with someone to write their resume or to consult about some other project I want their undivided attention.  It would be rude for me or the other person to constantly be on the phone or doing something else while trying to conduct business.  I believe God requires the same respect from us.  So getting back to my point, I went on to share with this person that it's not enough to just say you know and you believe God answers your prayers you must have conviction and one of the ways that conviction comes is with being conscientious about your personal communication with God, recognizing it's two-way communication not one-way.

One thing I've done since I was a child and still do today is write down things that are a great deal to me on a small piece of paper, I date it and even put THE TIME on it! ha ha ha!  I think it's a writer thing. ;)  Oh and by the way, I don't just write down the issue I write it down in the form of a prayer like a letter.  That note then goes in this BIG BIBLE I've had since a child in between pages where Hebrews 11:1 is found.  If you know that scripture you know why it has significance for me. ;)  This has been my pattern since I was a child, so you can imagine it is a real faith builder for me because though I've thrown some notes away I still have notes I pull out and reflect on from time to time.  THESE ARE NOTES THAT GOD HAS FULFILLED; ONE FROM 1995!

Nothing here that I'm saying is LAW; you don't have to write down your prayers.  But when was the last time you took a serious inventory of every single thing you've had before God that you wanted him to do and then revisited that list from time to time to see what has happened or what God "is" doing?  God is not our "genie in a bottle" but many times unless an issue is something really major, we pray about the thing and when God answers it in the way we want we don't even give much thought to it.  We just go about our way.  We might tell Him thanks but we don't make as much a deal out of telling Him thanks as we did begging Him for it.  Have you thought about the idea of making a list of "everything" you needed or wanted God to do in your life or for someone else could build YOUR faith?  If you need to spice up your prayer life, build your faith and actually SEE EVERYTHING God has already done and is still doing, try tracking some things for a while.  Ahhhh...why not even track specifically a prayer petition to see your prayer life improve. :)