TheWritePath

               The last stone is the amethyst, which was in both the breastplate of the high priest and the foundation of the New Jerusalem, it is called the crystal of the Spirit and stands for inner peace, selflessness, and passion; yet bears the logic of temperance and sobriety. I added this stone because of the inner peace that I have found here at the lake, God knew my attraction to the water and that this is where I needed to be. Because of the transformation, I have gone through while living here my spirit has soared like the eagles I see flying over the lake. I spoke with you before about the ‘peace of God’ and now I want to talk about the ‘peace with God.’  Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (NKJV). During the darkest time of my life, I felt alone because I couldn’t feel God’s presence, my mind and my emotions created a separation from my heart where I...

              The next stone is a lilac lepidolite or the stone of trust; it’s said to have a calming property with a transforming effect as you learn acceptance and trust; it is a stone of hope found in self-forgiveness. I would be the first to admit that trusting is hard for me; like many of you, the people I put my trust in have hurt me the worst. So when I came to the Lord I had to learn to whom I could put my trust. I learned that I could trust in God’s word because it was true and it did not return void, and I learned to hide his word in my heart; and that I could trust Jesus because he was the living word.  Proverbs 3:5-6 became my guiding light, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path” (NKJV).  That’s why I knew for certain it was the Lord that led us to the lake house; as I have said at the time I had forgiven myself for what I bel...

                     The Kambala jasper, or sometimes called the alligator stone, is the next of my memorial stones. This stone is one of my favorites because of its green coloring ranging from olive to lite green; its meaning is peace and tranquility.  It is said to help in restoring troubled minds and balance to the body and soul, as well as expands one’s ability to focus. If I had to describe my life here at the lake in one word it would be peaceful. I can lose myself in the simple beauty of this place. Rather I am out on the water or just sitting in the swing down by the waterfront I’m perfectly content, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so rested, by being rested I mean emotionally. The scripture I remember for this stone is Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God;  and the peace of God, which passes all understanding,...

              The first is a piece of triangular-shaped white marble. All of us have a scripture that we feel defines our walk with the Lord, mine has always been Revelation 12:11. “. . . They overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony . . .” During my life’s journey I have had to travel some pretty rough roads, many not of my choosing, as a result, I have had to bear the consequences of the actions of others. When I gave my past to the Lord I also gave him permission to use it. At first, it was hard to share with others, then a dear friend sent me a card with this written inside, “God has never left you alone, he was there through it all. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28, (NKJV). You, my friend, have been called to share your testimony with others that they may know they are not alone; teach them through your words ...

                   "You also, as living stones are being built up a spiritual house . . ." 1 Peter 2:5   NKJV             I HAVE COLLECTED GEMSTONES and rocks for a very long time, it started when our boys were little; while on vacation one summer, we collected rocks from every place we visited and mounted them on a large piece of cardboard.  When we returned home the boys wanted to polish their own stones that lasted for about a year before the boys lost interest, but I never did. Because I am a visual person, the more I read about the stones in the Bible the more I wanted to see them and understand why that particular stone was used. The two that are familiar to most of us are the breastplate of the high priest which contained twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. There were four rows each having three stones; the first contained carnelian, topaz, and emerald; the second green fe...

                          The second way God has given us is discernment, in  Greek, the word means: to distinguish, to separate out by diligent search, to examine.   In Hebrews 4:12 we are told that the word of God is alive and active penetrating to divide soul and spirit to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.   The discerning person demonstrates wisdom and insight beyond what is often seen by others. Why do you suppose that is, because they have the word of God hidden in their hearts and have learned to depend on the Spirit; “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them , because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NKJV). Scripture commands us to “hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9), but unless we have discernment how will we know one from the other.   In 1 Corinthians 12 spe...

  To illustrate what I am saying let’s look again at the purple loosestrife. It is an invasive wetland perennial plant from Europe and Asia, arriving in North America as early as The 1800s by settlers for their gardens, because of its beautiful purple flower, which can produce thousands of seeds per plant. Later it was highly prized by beekeepers for the flavor produced in honey.  Over the years it has spread throughout the United States and Canada causing a serious problem for our wetlands, because of its large dense growth areas it not only chokes out all other wetland plants, it also makes it impossible for many animal species which feed, nest or take cover in wetland plants to enter these dense growth areas. Now to make my point; the use of this plant started out to be innocent, first of all, it was appealing to the eye, being a perennial it would spread on its own. However, many years must have passed before the invasiveness of the plant was even notices let alone became ...

  "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong." 1Corinthians 16:13   NJKV I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED the natural beauty of the lake we live on, it is considered a clear water shallow lake with a mucky bottom, it consisting of 168 acres, most of which is in its length. The shallowness of the lake allows for extensive plant life with rooted aquatic plants which form a ring around the lake with one contiguous plant bed that covers 94% of the lake’s surface. There are 38 species of plant life, boarding our bay on the east is a large floating island of cattails, where the Canadian geese like to build their nests in the spring, that is boarded by water lilies. The beauty and tranquility of living here is like no other place I know, I call it my little corner of heaven on earth.  Claude Monet was a French impressionist who painted a series of approximately 250 paintings of water lilies from his garden at his home. When I look around the lake I can understand his fascinati...

  Spiritual house cleaning can be difficult because God is trying to get to the core of what is causing hindrances in our walk with him, and sometimes it’s not what we want to face;  however,  he is a loving father who disciplines his children that they may receive his blessings.    Hebrews 12:5 explains that we should “. . . not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens . . .” (NKJB) As the weeks went by we were able to downsize our home into what we could move , and  it gave me great pleasure to help carry our discarded items out. When it came time to set up the lake house I didn’t look back at all the things we weren’t able to take with us, but I will always remember that night in the library when God restored me into a vessel of honor, fit for the  Master's  use. That part of my past has now made me a stronger person, with a brighter future, and with a renewed  ...

 I’m sorry to say but for some time now my behavior had turned into one of self-condemnation; I just couldn’t get past all that had happened. My mother’s last words to me were very hurtful, and in the state of mind I was in, I just couldn’t get past them; they rang in my ears like cymbals. I knew it really wasn’t how she felt but the more I tried to block them out the louder they became. I had led a grief support group for several years and helped others get past this same thing, yet I wasn’t able to help myself. Holding my bible over my heart I repeated the scripture the Lord had given me over and over again because it said in his word they would not return void; “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NKJV)  I could hear myself inwardly scream the word louder and louder until it was as if a hot rod pierced my heart, then it got silent, the cymbals were gone. I could hear the words but without the pain. With tears streaming down ...

  ". . . In a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some of honor and some of dishonor." 2 Timothy 2:20   KJV THIS IS GOING TO be harder than I thought, how can I take thirty years of memories and decide what I can take and what I have to leave behind; where do I start! For the next hour, all I could do was walk around our home, a flood of emotion swept over me with each memory. I remember the day we came to look at it, it wasn’t what I wanted at all, but when we walked through the door I instantly felt like the Lord had led us here, this was to be our home. I could envision the way the staircase looked when we decorated it with garland and lights for Christmas, and the smell of dinner cooking. I could almost smell fresh paint from when we remodeled, and see the message we left on the wall in every room, “. . . As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 NKJV).    While renovating one of the...

                  I think the most beautiful time on the lake is during sunrise, it marks the beginning of a new day of possibilities. As the sun comes up over the tree line the lake comes alive; the birds are singing, in the distance, you can hear the Great Blue Heron’s calling or Canada Geese honking from above. It always reminds God’s blessings and joys are new every day, and so are our choices. In the book of Joshua 24:15 God gave the children of Israel a choice, He said, “. . . chose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. ,” referring to the gods of their fathers or those of the land they were now living.  As I look back over my life I can honestly say it truly began when I accepted Christ, His word says it this way, “. . . if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things [previous morals and spiritual condition] have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) I am not the person I ...

                 The reflections that I’ve seen on the water remind me of how life is forever changing from glory to glory as we become transformed into the image of Christ. There are times when we must reflect on our past as God brings things back to our remembrance that might be hindering the work He wants to do in our lives. When this has happened to me I always think of Peter in Mark 14:72; it seems like Peter was always learning the hard way, but you have to give him credit for his teachable spirit. In this text, Jesus had been arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin where e was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to death. As Jesus was led out to be taken before Pilate to be sentenced Peter was among the crowd in the courtyard; it was there that faithful Peter denied knowing the Lord three different times. “As the rooster crowed the second time Peter called to mind the words that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crow...