SECRET MOTHERS

	
I think one of the most powerful forces on earth is a mother’s love.  It certainly comes from God.  That tenacious love that won’t give up, no matter how hopeless it can seem. That unconditional love that forgives.  Yes, that definitely comes from God.

Many of us did not have mothers that reflected God’s love like that, but if we open our eyes and indeed have an open heart….God is faithful and will always fill in the gaps.  Some of us had mother’s that were too unhealthy in their lives to perform the normally expected things and for that we must have compassion and forgiveness.  But if we look closely - we will find that God secretly placed a “mothers’ heart somewhere in our lives and if you’ve never noticed it, I pray that you will see it today.

As I was growing up my own mother had health issues and for many years battled depression.  I know she did the best she could, although as a kid I needed more than she had to give, and God knew this.  Though I did not see it as His hand at the time, God placed a wonderful woman named Louise across the street from me.  She had four girls and was fortunate enough not to have to work a job as her husband provided for the family.

God used Louise to fill in the gaps in my life in so many ways.  She was kind and happy and content.  She led girl scout troops and always had good craft ideas to do in the summer days when we were bored.  She was “present” in a since that my mother was not.  She talked to us,  to her girls, and had enough big heartedness to let me just “hang out”.

God has placed other “mothers” in my life as well along the way.  I always longed for that friendship I saw between mothers and daughters and I got that with a great mother in law.  Shockaroo right!!!  I loved her and she loved me unconditionally.  Oh she wasn’t perfect.  She was actually an alcoholic - but her heart was so big that it was easy to overlook that, though she couldn’t overcome it and it eventually took her life.  But she filled the “mother’s”  gap in my heart for many years when I lived 3000 miles from my own mom.

Then my mother passed away in 1996.  My aunt Frances seemed to step into that empty spot and she was awesome.  She is the person that first introduced me to Christ in a very real way and prayed for me my whole life.  I have such gratitude to God for her and honor her simple but profound life.  Towards the end she had Alzheimers and I would call every couple of weeks and we would have the same conversation about 3 times (because she would forget and ask me the same questions),  but I still  just enjoyed her humor and her love.  It was still there for many years. Then she passed away.

God would always draw a “mom” to me no matter how old I got.  To this day, there is a wonderful woman that is 80 years old and my very best friend.  Wow!  God is good!!

I know He has been good to you too -maybe you were blessed with a great mother, but if not, God is faithful!!   Ask Him to open your eyes to “see”.  You might have missed them if you are looking for perfection  or a preconceived idea on motherhood. No two women are alike. The fruit is love and care.  It may have been a teacher, neighbor, relative, grandmother,  in law, sister, aunt…..but I guarantee if you ask God and have an open heart - they have been there all along the journey.  

If you can’t see it - I can tell you most likely why.  If we get bitter when we did not get what we expected or needed, or were harmed by our mother  - we close down  on what God wants to do.  That’s how so many of the Jews missed their Messiah when He was walking right there among them.  He was not meeting their expectations or their preconceived ideas on what He would be like.   As for our mom’s - It’s time to forgive them, understand they were human, and let it go.  Allow God to do a fresh work in your life.  Look!  I guarantee God has placed mothers around you and now that you open up you can see it - expect it.  You have to embrace them too, with all the imperfections and treat them with the honor and respect God wants you to give.  I do believe this principal works in all needed relationships if we will just be open to it.  Everyone needs love and needs to give love.  Who can you give a mother’s love.  It is just as awesome to be on the giving end of this story.  To be the Frances, Mary, Elizabeth in someone else’s life story.  Let go and let God - as my aunt would say.  Who can you be a blessing to today? Who around you needs a mother's love?  It is often the small things people remember.  That stick in our memories.  Like Louise and the paper mache’ puppets she helped us make one summer. Or the phone call saying "Just checking in on you" that makes you feel acknowledged and loved.   MOTHERING IS AN AWESOME gift from God.

This also works for fathering…..but hey, it’s Mother’s Day……so that’s another article.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY YA’LL!!!     Jean



P.S.   God loves you so much.  Each one of us He loves with an everlasting love.  If you have not done this - I hope you will ask forgiveness for your sins and let Him in.  He wants to fill the gaps in your life.  There is One Gap that only He can fill…..  to be your Lord and Savior.  No one else can do that - no one else has paid the ultimate price for your eternal salvation.  It took God coming in flesh and living a sinless life so He could be the perfect sacrifice for us.  He did that for you.  Always know how deeply you are loved and how complete His forgiveness is when we come to Him in honest confession.  

John 3:16  “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

And Jesus says:   “Follow Me”    (the Bible are His Words - check it out - the gospels are awesome!!

What is “A Thorn In The Flesh”

Hi Guys!!  I’ve always wanted to explain something about my illnesses and the scriptures that I believe the Lord gave me and to show you a balance that the Word of Faith /Healing  movement so often left out.

The Thorn in the Flesh

2 Corinthians 12:7-10    

And lest I (Paul) should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Everyone doesn’t have a “thorn in the flesh”  ,  but we all have trials and tribulations for various reasons.  God still heals people,  but sometimes things are there for a reason for a season!  

God is good in all He does and allows.  Romans 8:28  “He works all things together for good to those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.’

Always look for the treasure within .  Then even if it’s a move by Satan to steal , kill and destroy  (John 10:10)  God can always bring something good out of it.  

Okay.  LOL.   My sermon for the day!   ❤  

FINDING TREASURE IN STRANGE PLACES

So, I found this wonderful quote by Martin Luther’s wife (whom I never knew had written anything).    “I had never known,” said Martin Luther’s wife, “what such and such things meant, in such and such psalms, such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian duties, had not God brought me under some affliction.” 

It is not often spoken of.  The goodness of affliction.  Our culture today runs away from it and looks down on those who are underneath some kind of hardship or illness.  But King David understood it all too well.  Here are his words:  Psalm 119:71

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”

I have personally found that some of the greatest “gifts” from God, have been the afflictions He has allowed in my life.  It is then that I have pressed so deeply into His word, searching for a truth to comfort my soul.  It is then, in the pain of illness that the sweetest songs have been born. The most fragrant words of poetry reaching deep into uncharted depths of my soul and driving me into the Presence of Almighty God. Reaching way beyond casual devotions.  From this place have come the most comforting words that I have to give to others.

Some may scoff at this notion.  Indeed at times I have even felt “persecuted” by those who should have offered comfort.  It used to hurt me, as I have had chronic pain for many years. But now I feel sorry for those that have never experienced the pain of God’s “rod and staff”.  Though the world will soon be placed under this wisdom from above.

God is a good Father.  Yes, He is!  You may think this funny, but as one that is most likely a bit ADHD – it helps me to slow down and come away.  Like Joni Erickson Tada (a quadriplegic)  has said,  the sweetest time of day is when I am alone tucked in bed, abandoned into God’s presence and totally dependent on Him.  She has learned a secret.  

Everything we need is in Him.  All that the World tells us is necessary for a good life is passing away.  But His Word – His Presence – His fellowship,  these endure forever.  And not even death can take this away from us.  

Even the great Apostle Paul said,  “…..2 Corinthians 12:7

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was GIVEN to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”

Notice the word “given”. A gift.  If you look it up , Paul asked the Lord to remove it three times and God’s reply was “My grace is sufficient for thee”.  It kept him dependent on God and saved him from the destruction of self sufficiency.

While I completely believe that God is able to heal people and still does (I have seen many miracles and experienced Divine healing too),  we must determine if it is an attack from Satan to stop us, or if it is something God is allowing for a time as a tool to take us where we need to be with Him.

I hope you will all remember to “take it to the Lord in prayer” when you are called apart by some calamity or hardship.  Allow God to be at work.  Lean into it until you have reached a place in Christ that you have not been before.  Dig deep into His Word.  His saving grace is there.  If you do choose to meet these calamities of life with this insight, you can walk away from every one of them with a treasure given by God.

“All things work together for good, to those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

Again it is true that  “Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” John 10:10  But you can always beat his attacks by leaning into God and getting the treasure that is waiting there.  This is a beautiful secret that Martin Luther’s wife discovered.  I hope you will too.

2 Corinthians 2:14

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 SATAN IS AFTER THE THRONE OF OUR HEARTS!   Just exactly what does that mean?
 We must ask ourselves…..WHO is supposed to be the King of our hearts?  God!!  (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!)   We know from scripture that Satan is a thief and comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. (John 10:10)
 

 What did he want more than anything?   Isaiah records Lucifers words:
 

 Isaiah 14:13-15
 “For you have said in your heart:
 ‘I will ascend into heaven,
 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
 On the farthest sides of the north;
 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
 I will be like the Most High.’
 

 Lofty words he uttered.  He wants to “sit on the mount of the congregation”.  That is us.  
 

 So how does he accomplish this?  Predominantly with lies and deception.   (John 8:44)  “…When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”   
 (2 Corinthians 11:18)
 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
 

 He comes in stealth to take the throne of our hearts and souls.  Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions.  That’s where it gets tricky.  They are always at work and engaged in something.  But according to the Word of God,  anything we allow to take up our mind, will, and emotions more than God …has become an idol in our hearts.     (1 Corinthians 10:14)  “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
 

 On more than one occasion God has called me on the carpet saying  “You have an idol in your heart”  Each time I was floored thinking that it couldn’t be.  But when He told me what it was….I had to agree and admit that what or who He named was occupying my thoughts more than He was.  OUCH!
 

 So I simply repented and began to pay attention to my thoughts and affections, making sure they were set first on God.  Our priorities in life should be 1. God  2. Spouse 3. Kids/Family  4. Job/Ministry   When this delicate balance gets out of whack so do we.   It can result in depression, anxiety, overwhelming stress or show up in many different ways.  These are just the symptoms that something is amiss in our souls and needs to be adjusted.
 

 It is pretty easy to fix. Just recognizing it is half the battle.  Then begin casting down and resisting those thoughts that occupy too much of our being!  God is a jealous God.    “…For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:4) “…for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God…” (Exodus 34:14) 
 

 Actually I think it’s cool that He is so passionate about us.  He certainly paid a huge price to show us how much He loves us.  To prove His love for us.  
 

 I truly believe this is a season of repentance.  Even on the Hebrew calendar ...we are in the month that they consider a time of repentance.  So I encourage each of us to examine our hearts and see if anything or anyone is occupying our mind, will and emotions more than our God.  I pray you won’t be a stubborn mule like I can often be and wait until things start falling apart to get my attention!  Thank goodness for His mercy!  He loves us, wants us, created us…..to be His.   I hope you can hear that this is truly a LOVE MESSAGE, and no condemnation.  He wants you.  What could be better news than that!  The King of the Universe wants to be the King of your heart!  You are loved!

Get your mind off Covid for a bit – hear some awesome stuff about how to “have ears to hear” God. He loves you !!

Listen till the end!! This is good stuff!!! It gets even better as it goes……

How Has God Set You Up for Good Things. – An eyeopening uplifting message and cool stories just for you! Worth your time I promise!!

HOW THE WORD OF GOD CAN INTERACT IN YOUR LIFE

It’s easy sometimes to read the Word of God and not seem to get anything from it.  How is it that some people say that the Word “spoke” to them and came to life?  How does that happen?  It can happen in many ways, but I want to give you a small example.

I was reading one of my favorite scriptures, Psalm 91, affectionately known as the protection scripture.  I came to the part that says,  “surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler”.   That just seemed to jump out at me.  It seemed to stand out and beckon me to go deeper.  What is a fowler?  So I stopped what I was doing and looked it up.  A fowler is one who catches birds in a snare, usually by pulling an attached cord.

Now I’m not a bird, and God often speaks metaphorically, but I still didn’t get it.  Yet I felt it was standing out for a reason.  So I stopped reading and prayed this scripture over myself.  “Lord, deliver me from the snare of the fowler.”  I said that prayer for several days having no idea why, just in faith believing that God had magnified this particular passage.

Events came to pass quickly.  I had been diagnosed with crohn’s syndrome for about 7 years.  I had tried many different medications to no avail.  They finally tried a shot that lowers your immune system and I had a horrible allergic reaction (thankfully).  They sent me to UNC Medical center for another opinion on what to do with me.

My first meeting with the new doctor, he looked at my blood test results that my doctor had sent him.  He looked at me somewhat frustrated and said, “I don’t think you have crohn’s disease at all.”  I was shocked – how many tests my doctor done and said it was crohn’s?   Then he showed me some pretty simple numbers on the lab results explaining his conclusion.  Then he asked if he could privately (apart from my doctor) do his own colonoscopy to confirm his belief.  And sure enough I DID NOT HAVE IT!!!

For seven years I had been in pain on and off and taking some kind of different medicines that didn’t work and still not feeling well.  This UNC doctor told me to immediately stop the medicines and gave me something mild to calm nerve endings.  I had been telling all my doctors that I thought something was wrong with my ribs and that something else might be causing pain.  ALL of them ignored me and left me in the crohn’s box, except this doctor.  He almost turned red faced and said, “You are not a guinea pig”  He could not speak strongly against the doctor that had referred me to him, but he was angry that this had gone on.

Then I began to see it clearly.  I had been “snared by the fowler”.  Snared by a lie I was ignorant of.  Even though I did not understand the scripture fully until I actually saw the snare in my life – God answered the prayer and exposed what I could not see.  Actually it was the Holy Spirit that led me to begin praying that line in the Psalm.

I was free from that medicine and diagnosis rather quickly and went on to look for the correct answers.  I was free from a seven year snare.  

That’s just a small example of how a scripture set me free.  “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”   John 8:32

God speaks in many ways.  I hope this will inspire you to pay attention to that “still small voice” or what seems to be a small leading.  Follow the Master, read His word with an open heart – and follow it through in faith believing.  Unless you have some large outstanding sin you are ignoring and not prayed about –  God will not withhold communication from you!  He is no respecter of persons.  And if there is a sin you need help getting rid of – talk to Him and ask for help.  He is good at removing obstacles.  He loves you and is on your side.  He longs to have a deep, sweet relationship with you.  He promises  “seek and you shall find”  “ask and knock”  Take a step in His direction and see what happens!  He will not withhold His voice from you!

God bless you – you are loved!!

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Did you know…..King Solomon – the wisest man that lived, wrote the entire book of Proverbs and was chosen to build the temple of God.  Did you know that he fell away from God and worshipped idols at the end of his life?  I don’t think I have ever heard a sermon on it, though I had read it in the Bible.  And still, it shocks me today.  Here is the account in 1 Kings.

1 Kings 11:4-10   “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom[b] the abomination of the Ammonites.  Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David.  Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.  And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,  and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded.

So the reason I bring this up is because of the following scripture below concerning the falling away

2 Thessalonians 2:3,4    “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

At end of his life, after such a life of glory – he fell away from God.  Soloman!!   How could this be?   It is actually quite simple.  He did not obey God in everything and ignored God’s warnings and command.   

1 Kings 11  “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.

It is often that we do the same things.  Cling to the very things God has asked us to let go.  We stay in the “worldly mindset” and don’t renew our minds and lives to the Word of God and God’s ways.  It may not matter for a long, long time – but look at the end results.  

This should be a warning, especially in this hour to listen and obey God’s directives.  Lest we think, like Soloman, and dismiss some of  God’s commands and end up snared and trapped.  Apart from God we can do nothing…

I know it’s a lot to think about.  But we are living in the last days and things can’t be taken for granted.  We need to live under the shadow of the Most High (Psalm 91)  where our good Father just wants to protect us and keep us safe.  

Lord show us any area we have been ignoring and blowing you off.  Keep us safe in the shadow of Your wings and protect us in the hour.  Amen

Encouragement From Grandmama Jean

Romans 7:24   “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Even the great Apostle Paul struggled with his flesh….we have to take up our crosses DAILY  and crucify the flesh and the lies of the enemy that try to defeat us.

God is for us!!  Every day we are in a battle – like lambs to the slaughter….but thank God that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.  We get up –  ask forgiveness and know that each new day is a gift. You are a child of God and God doesn’t walk out on His children….He keeps helping them grow.  

So when Satan comes with condemnation – even if you blew it in an area.  Repent – and enjoy the forgiveness and fellowship bought and paid for by Christ.  Don’t let the devil steal your joy.  The Bible says:   “ His mercies are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness”   God’s grace and power is there to help you overcome sin and the flesh and the devil.   Don’t give up.  There is a crown awaiting overcomers and we are overcomers as long as we don’t quit.

Remember you were chosen to be alive at this time.  God has a plan to use you for His glory and He can’t wait to reward you.  He is a good Father.   I know we don’t do it for the reward….nevertheless He spoke and wrote it because it was important to Him that we know this.  The Bible teaches we will all throw our crowns at Jesus feet because He is so worthy.  He did for us what we could not ever do for ourselves and freely gave it to us!!  The ability to become the sons and daughters of God and part of His family forever.

If you get time read Romans 8 again.  It is packed with so much!

Love you all!!!  I am cheering you on in Christ and praying for you!!  I can see the beauty in you!! I can see you as the bride of Christ dancing before Him in the beauty of holiness. 

(Don’t cringe at that!  lol  I know you see all the sins you’ve lived in and don’t see how – one day at a time, one battle at a time.  I remember well the battles in the beginning! Keep going!!!!  There is special honor for end time believers that don’t give up and endure till the end!!  You’ll never be perfect….that’s not your goal…..to follow Jesus and His Word as best as you can and stay close to Him.  Never get caught up in the “doing”  ahead of just “being” with Him .  It’s out of relationship that change happens !!)   Many will be purified by these times – so stay close to Him and discover His peace that dwells deep inside of you no matter what happens in the world.  

“Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord.”   Zechariah 4

As we lean on Jesus……

Romans 8:31  If God is for us, Who can be against us.

Much love and prayers

Grandmama Jean

Deep Waters – Poem

DEEP WATERS

Don’t be afraid of deep waters, my love

This journey’s been sent from heaven above

It is at Gethsemane you are purified

In ways you can’t see, so don’t try to hide

Lay it all bare, at the foot of the cross

Let His word cleanse you as you follow it’s path

Clinging to truth, let all else pass away

Let it burn up, it’s not meant to stay

Deep, deep into the waters you go

Let Him enter in to the depths of your soul

Stirring up places where pain still remains

Let Him expose them and pour healing rain

copyright  2017  Jean Chamblee

Sometimes those who have suffered the most, have the most to give.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5    “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.