Cast all your worries on Me.

            Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.

                    Cast all your cares upon me for I care for you. 

As long as the sun rises and the sun sets; I am with you.

            

I created the heavens and the earth.

Though the mountains tremble and fall into the sea, do not be afraid, for the Everlasting God of all creation is watching over thee.

I see the smallest dew drop and the ocean so deep.  

I see the little sparrow sitting in it's nest and the eagle that is soaring majestically.

My eyes search far and wide for those who will put their trust in me.

I am the Alpha and Omega.

I AM the first and the last.

I am the Lion of Judah and the pure and spotless Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world.

I am the Mighty God.  I am Jesus your Savior and King. 

I am your Father in heaven and nothing in your life escapes my notice.  

Come cast all your worries on me.  

I am the Great I AM, who watches over thee.

(by Triss Curtis 11/16/2015)

Diamond in the Rough (From Coal to a Diamond)

Coal under heat and pressure becomes a diamond.  Our lives start out as coal, darkened by our sin and the sin of others.  God comes with the light and the power of His Spirit and when we allow Jesus to take over; the transformation begins.

 The Holy Spirit takes the pain, the heartaches, our failures and weakness and brings the heat of his truth into our mind and spirit.  As we listen to Christ and allow his Spirit to change our hearts and mind sets; our lives become clearer. 

The darkness flees, as Jesus shines into the areas of unforgiveness, shame, guilt and habitual sin. Just like a diamond of great value is clear and has a “fire” in it, so are we, as Christ works in our lives.  He purifies us and His “fire” shines through us to influence the lives of others.

 In this way, God takes what the enemy of our soul means for evil and instead He turns it for our good and the benefit others, as well as ultimately for His glory.

(Lord, thank you for taking the dark areas of our lives and making something beautiful out of them.  Thank you for continuing to purify our lives, so that we are shining diamonds in this dark world.  Amen)

1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV)

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,  so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

by Triss Curtis Nov. 4, 2015

Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning

Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5b

Last night I found myself awake at 2 am. I was restless and could not sleep, so I got up and went downstairs to read the bible and pray.  After meditating on God’s word and praying, my mind and spirit were at peace and I was able to go back upstairs and get more sleep.

When I woke up, Christy and I drove to get some coffee; she then headed to work and I started walking back home, for some exercise. It was early in the morning so the sun was lower in the sky; it seemed so quiet and peaceful; I felt grateful and I started praying and thanking God for the everyday things that I normally take for granted. I thanked him for the ability to breathe and to walk, and to be outside in the fresh air.  My mind wandered back to my early morning restlessness.My heart was full of thanksgiving for being able to go back to sleep.  

To most people that may not be a big deal, but I had a season in my life, where I was not getting enough sleep.  I tried many ways to get back to sleep, but my body was on hyper drive and as I would drift off, my body would shake me awake.  My peace of mind went away, my thoughts became jumbled and I wondered why God was allowing me to go through this trial.

 

It seemed the antithesis of his recent promise to me of blessing.  I started to wonder, what I did wrong.  Old memories of past sin and the feel of abandonment washed over me.  I felt stuck and thought I would never be released from this life sucking trial.  I prayed, others prayed for me, and still I was struggling to fall asleep.

I ended up going to a doctor and taking some medication that would knock me out and allow me to sleep, but the side effect was like living life in slow motion.  I felt dull and depressed.

 ‘Where is your God in all of this? He has abandoned you.’ This was the taunting thought from the enemy.

My emotions felt this was true, but somewhere deep inside me was a flicker of hope, which I believe was from the Holy Spirit.  Even though my faith and feelings were at war and my faith was small, my God was greater than all.  I felt like I was hanging on by a thread, but the Mighty God of Israel, was holding this weak child in His arms.

Finally, one day a breakthrough happened.  God spoke healing to my heart and the dawn light rose in my spirit.  God restored my health and restored the joy of my salvation.  He lifted me out of the pit and did not let my enemy triumph over me.

Yes I had a dark night of weeping, but joy came in the morning!

I do not have an answer for every painful trial we go through, but I do know that there is a sunrise at the end of each trial.  I know that God is with us even in the dark night, though we cannot feel him.  I praise him for restoring my hope, strengthening me and healing my heart.    

I thank God for teaching me to learn to lean on him during my trials and I thank him for reminding me that He is my deliverer.  I am thankful for Jesus, for His faithfulness in suffering for us, so that he can comfort us in our suffering.

Lord, please comfort and strengthen your people.  May we look to you and trust that you will wipe away all our tears and bring joy with the morning sun.  Amen

(Devotional Reading-Psalm 30)

By Triss Curtis  

Christ is my strength for every situation

This year my husband and I have the opportunity to coach our 5^th grade granddaughter’s volleyball team.  Curt is the head coach and I am his assistant.  It is wonderful to see these girls learning to play volleyball and how to work together as a team. 

The hard part for me is; I see them growing and increasing in their skills, and yet they are not winning games.  The mom in me, as well as the competitor in me, wants to see them win some games.  I want them to feel the success of winning, as well as being good sports when they lose.

I woke up this morning, thinking about last night’s game, and the realization came to me that Christ is as much in the losing, as the winning.  The scripture came to my mind, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. “

The apostle Paul said in his letter to the believers in Philippi:

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13

 Paul learned the secret of contentment in his time of need and lack, as well as his time of abundance; it was to depend on Christ to give him strength, in every situation.  I realized that I needed to learn this, as well as the girl’s on our volleyball team. 

It is easy to feel contentment when we succeed and are doing well in life.  It is when the struggles come that we learn whether our contentment is based on our situation, or is it based on our faith in Christ?  Do we trust that God is in all of our circumstances? Do we perceive the difficulties we face as opportunities to spiritually mature and grow in faith, or do we feel like giving up?

If you are in the midst of trials; ask the Lord to give you strength to face them, as well as to teach you contentment in Him.  Allow the Lord to build your spiritual endurance and a heart of gratitude.  If you feel that all is going well today; praise God and ask Him to give you the strength to gracefully receive and enjoy it. 

(Lord Jesus, whatever our situation, easy or tough; give us strength to accept them gracefully and teach us how to be grateful and content in you.  Amen)

Triss Curtis copyright September 2015

The Wounded Place

Recently, someone unwittingly said and did something that brought me back to the “Wounded Place”.   The place that I thought was healed and untouchable; yet here I am again, a child, feeling unwanted and unlovable. An old wound is opened and starts to fester. There is still some infected tissue that needs to be removed, so I can experience more healing.

As I struggle through the feelings of rejection, a battle is waged in my soul.  The Adult in me is fighting for the truth and who I am in Christ, while the child within is struggling with anger and sorrow.  The adult wants to understand and be gracious; the child wants to attack back and protect herself.  In the midst of this all the enemy of my soul is throwing the old lies in my face, saying, “See, you are not important or lovable, maybe if you were a different person then someone would want you.” 

At the same time Jesus is calling through the fog of pain and self-pity, saying,

“You are my beloved; don’t allow your mind to be twisted by the lies of the enemy. He wants to kill, steal and bring destruction to your life.  Instead of looking at the circumstances and others, look at me; I will clear your mind and give you a true and pure perspective.  I will cleanse your heart and set you free.  I love you with an Everlasting love and no one can snatch you out of my hand.  Every trial you experience is sifted through my hands of grace.  Instead of allowing your circumstances and other’s actions to control your thoughts and feelings, allow me to mature and change you more into my image.  When you focus on me, I am able to bring more healing into your life, as well as my peace and joy.  I am the one that gives you the ability to look away from yourself and onto the needs of others.  Allow my love to unclog your wounded heart so it may flow like a river into the lives of those around you. ”

We all have “wounded places” in our hearts, and Satan wants to dredge them up to continue to sow  anger, discontent, bitterness, self-pity, low self-esteem, etc… in our lives. These attitudes steal our peace and joy and the light of Christ is dimmed in our lives.

Instead of staying in the "wounded place", listen to Jesus; He beckons us to come unto Him for healing and acceptance.  He wants to remove the poison of the "wounds" from our lives; for if they fester, they become sin and keep us from experiencing His peace, love and joy.  If you are having a struggle in this area of your life, turn your eyes back to the life giver, who will change your perspective and allow you to receive His love and abundant life today.

Hebrews 12:1-2

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

John 10:10

“The thief comes only to seal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Psalm 13:5

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my   heart rejoices in your salvation.”

Lord, give us a deeper awareness of your love for us and bring healing to the wounded places in our hearts, so that we may love others, as you have loved us.   Amen

(Triss Curtis May 30, 2013)

"The Biggest Loser"

“The Biggest Loser”

Romans 12:1-2

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The other night my daughter and I were watching part of the show called “The Biggest Loser”.  The people on the show were extremely overweight and most of them were discouraged and had a negative perspective of themselves. 

They were placing their hopes in the physical trainers to get them into shape, so they could experience joy and a healthy life.  Even though they knew the training would be tough; most of them didn’t realize how tough the regime would be to get them to place of health and wholeness.

The trainers would encourage them, sometimes yell at them, and do whatever they could to motivate the people to work hard to lose the weight. The trainers pushed the people to their limits and most of them broke down sometime or another, whining, crying or stomping off in anger, saying, “I can’t do it”, or, “it’s just too tough!”

Finally weigh in day came and they all lost some weight, some surprised themselves and lost several pounds!  As the weeks of training continued, I could see that the overweight people’s perspective of themselves changed.  They realized, if they listened to the trainer, focused on the goal and worked hard, they saw results.   Their negative thoughts about themselves changed and they replaced their bad habits with good habits.  As their inner thoughts and attitudes changed, their habits changed, as well as their outward appearance.

God’s word, says to be transformed, by the renewing of our minds and His word says that we are being changed from glory to glory.

An outward transformation of our lifestyles must always start with and inward transformation of our thoughts and heart attitudes; for our thoughts will guide our hearts and our hearts will direct our actions. 

If we really want a change in our lives, we must have renewed minds with thoughts that are true, pure, lovely and praiseworthy.  That can only be accomplished with God’s word and through us encouraging one another in the truth. 

Jesus is our trainer; encouraging us and building up our spiritual muscles.  He knows how to motivate us and he knows the kind of “workout” we need to make us spiritually healthy people.

He is has the “truth”, He is the truth and He promises to set us free!

My prayer is that we will all be “The Biggest Loser”, getting rid of the heavy weight of negative thinking and sinful habits, through renewing our minds with the truth in God’s word, as well as encouraging each other to follow our trainer, Christ Jesus our Lord.

triss

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

There are many bodily functions that we take for granted in our lives; breathing, walking, talking, sleeping and eating.  We also have an expectation to have plenty of food, clothing and shelter.  When we experience troubles that are connected to   our basic needs; we learn to not take for granted our everyday needs, but to appreciate them and to be thankful even for the simple things in life.

Yesterday I begin meditating on a time in my life when I was not able to sleep.  Every time I would start to drift off, my body would have a jerk reaction and wake me up.  That was a dark and confusing time in my life and I cannot think about it without becoming emotional, but Praise the Lord, He brought me out of the pit and set my feet upon the Rock!

 Last night I had 6 to 7 hours of sleep! Thank you, God, for the gift of sleep.

I enjoy hiking and walking outdoors. Several years ago I fell while skating and hurt my knee badly, so I needed to wear a knee brace to keep it stable.  I can still see my daughter holding my arm, as I limped slowly up a hill near our home.

Yesterday I was able to take a hike in the mountains with my husband.  Lord, Thank you, for the ability to walk.

When my oldest two were teenagers, my husband and I took them white water rafting.  After the trip was over, a few people were floating in the cold water, allowing the current to take them a short way downstream.  I decided to join the fun, but it looked a little tame for me, so I swam out farther in the river, where the current was stronger.  As I was floating along; I was suddenly sucked underwater.  I was trying to swim toward the surface but the current was strong and held me under. In my mind, I cried out to the Lord, “God I don’t want to die”, and immediately I popped to the surface and swam to shore.

Thank you Lord for breathe and life!

  If we think about it, we have many things that we can thank God for.  On this Thanksgiving Day, I encourage you to stop and think about all that the Lord has done for you.  Thank Him for the ways He has provided for you, as well as for the people He has put in your life.

Lord thank you for providing for our needs and for bring us through our troubles.  We praise You because you are a faithful God, and you will continue faithfully to bring us through our trials to the “other side”.  Please continue to remind us of all You have done in our lives so far, and Lord may our hearts be filled with gratitude and praise unto You.  Amen

 

My gratitude list                                                                      Your gratitude list

Life in Christ

My family

Husband, children

Good friends

Brothers and Sisters

Job for my husband

Godly influences in my life

The ability to love others

The ability to forgive as

I have been forgiven

My home

A time to rest

Fellowship

Being able to see the mountains everyday

My health

The fresh air

Food

Clean, cool water to drink

God’s blessings and love!

Psalm 9:1-2

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”