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Rooted Together

1/28/2015

Did you know that a redwood that stands alone is vulnerable?

Why?
Because a redwood tree has no tap-root…

They have only shallow roots that can expand
to 50-80 feet.

These roots interlock with other redwood tree roots…

Thus they support each other!

"Aloneness can lead to loneliness.
God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy…
meaningful, open, sharing relationships with one another.
In Christ we have the capacity for the fulfilling sense of belonging which comes from intimate fellowship with
God and with other believers."
- Neil T. Anderson

As Christians we need to…

Be rooted together

Support each other

Reach out to one another

Stand together when the

winds of adversity blow.

We need to form a community that cares…
Loving God and loving others

1 Peter 3:8-9,
“So all of you should live together in peace.
Try to understand each other.
Love each other like brothers and sisters.
Be kind and humble.
Don’t do wrong to anyone to pay them back
for doing wrong to you.
Or don’t insult anyone to pay them back for insulting you.
But ask God to bless them.
Do this because you yourselves were
chosen to receive a blessing.”
(ERV)

"Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays."
- Andrew Murray

Who is the one you call on in times of trial?
Are woven together in love and friendship?

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12,
“Two people are better off than one,
for they can help each other succeed.
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.
But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm.
But how can one be warm alone?
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated,
but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.
Three are even better,
for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
(NLT)

Are you part of a church?

Hebrews 10:24-25,
“We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful
and to do helpful things.
Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship,
but we must not do that.
We should keep on encouraging each other,
especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.”
(CEV)

Do you know God…the true God?
He loves you and wants you to be with you forever and ever!

1 John 1:7,
“But if we live in the light, as God does,
we share in life with each other.
And the blood of his Son Jesus washes
all our sins away.”
(CEV)

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I want to be rooted together in
Your Love
the love of others
and
With the fellowship of believers
Amen!

Caprice <><

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Parched

1/21/2015

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Ever feel parched? Dried up?
You know what I mean that empty and barren feeling?
If we are honest with ourselves I think we all could find the words to describe aridness.

California as many other states experienced a drought last summer.
We have a group of redwood trees in the front of our home that when the rains hit they drink deep from the saturated soil the vital moisture they need. Their trunks seem to stretch and expand as they absorb the life giving water.

We too need to be replenished…restored…revived.
To fill our dry wells of our souls with the life giving nourishment that we need.
Just like the weather, we can experience dry cycles that alternate with the cycles that replenish.

What causes this drought in our lives?
Isolation
Greed
Stubbornness
Illness
Selfishness
Death
Betrayal

The list could go on and on…

Is your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth? So much so that you feel you cannot even utter a cry for help?
Guess what…here is the good news!
Refreshment is here the weather has changed in your favor.

Let your soul send your roots down deep and drink up the love and strength that is waiting for you

Lamentations 3:19-24
“The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison.
I think of it constantly, and my spirit is depressed.
Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing:
The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue,
Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.
The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.”
(GNT)

Be restored…

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I need you to fill me back up…I know that you are just a prayer away
so I call upon your Holy Name for you to answer…
not how I want…
but what you know I need.
Thank you for your faithfulness.
Amen.

Some of you may say, “But I do not believe in God”.
Here is a fact that you may have over looked…

He believes in YOU!

John 3:16,
“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”
(CEV)

Caprice <><

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Perspective

1/16/2015

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Remember the Peanuts cartoons by Charles Schultz?
I heard a sermon that opened with the following…

Lucy is in her psychology booth and
Charlie had stopped in for some advice…

“Life is like a deck chair Charlie, on the cruise ship of life,
some people place their deck chair at the rear of the ship
so they can see where they’ve been.

Others place their chair at the front of the ship so they can see where they are going.” Lucy then asks,

“Which way is your deck chair facing?”
Charlie responds without hesitation,

“I can’t even get my deck chair unfolded.”

Some days I can really relate to the difficulty of
getting my deck chair opened.

And usually this difficulty comes from uncertainty about
where I am going or where I have been.

First step…start by getting that chair open…
take it one step at a time you can do it!

Then proceed to the rear of the ship and the past..

2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is united with the Anointed One,
that person is a new creation.
The old life is gone—and see—a new life has begun!”
(Voice)

Did you catch that?

If I believe God gave us Jesus…
the One chosen by God to provide us with a future…
a new start…
those things of my past…
my old way of doing things are gone…
no more do I need to linger in my former approach to life…
because I have been made new.

Reflection is good…

"Live thoughtfully today
and you won't have to live regretfully tomorrow."
- Woodrow Kroll

So when you look to where you have been…remember who holds you up as you go.

Joshua 1:9
“This is my command—be strong and courageous!
Do not be afraid or discouraged.
For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
(NLT)

As you gather perspective…
be determine to have the capacity to view things in their true
relations or relative importance

This will help you to set your goals for the future and then
To function in the present

So as far as 2015 is concerned

1 Corinthians 15:58
My dear brothers and sisters,
stay firmly planted--
be unshakable--
do many good works in the name of God,
and know that all your labor is not for nothing when it is for God.”
(VOICE)

Set your course for a worthy future!

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Reflections

1/8/2015

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Looking into the reflection of time and the mirror of what was...
is time well spent and a productive way to end the year 2014.

I have had that nasty virus that has been making the rounds,
so my wings have been clipped and I have had to stay close to home. Yuk!

So with dread and a bad attitude…I set my sites on a horrible job that needing doing many moons ago…
a chore I have put off for years…the task of cleaning up piles of files and desk drawers.
Although I must share that the years of items left for a rainy day were amazing!

“A moment of prayerful reflection can prevent a lifetime of bitter regret.”
Woodrow Kroll

I took a journey through the milestones of my past…some were good and solid…things that put a smile on your face.
The stuff that you say with a thankful heart…Thank you Lord for the opportunity to have made a difference and
to have shared special moments in the life of someone else.

And other events are those that bring a tear or a sense of shame…
Did I mention that this was 24 years of stuff?
Give me a little grace here...
I have been busy with life.
Anyway it was quite a ride of emotions and reflection.

Joshua 1:9,
“I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave.
Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged!
I am the Lord your God,
and I will be there to help you wherever you go.”
(CEV)

I am glad I took the time to see…
Who I was
Where I had been and
What has my life meant so far.

2 Corinthians 5:17,
“Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah,
he is a new creation —
the old has passed;
look, what has come is fresh and new!
Complete Jewish Bible
(CJB)

Now I can look to the future with a view of…
Who I want to be
Where I want to go and
The impact I would like to have.

Jeremiah 29:11
“I alone know the plans I have for you,
plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster,
plans to bring about the future you hope for.”
(GNT)

Prayer:

Father, give me the wisdom to move forward…
freeing me from the past that hinders.
Instead give me the courage to be the child of God you created me to be.
Full of love for you that pours out into the lives of others.
Thank you Lord for hearing my prayer,
for holding my hand and guiding my steps…
May 2015 be the best yet for all of us!
Amen

Caprice <><

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Soul Sisters

Welcome to the
Soul Sisters Blog!
Souls Sisters is the women's ministry of Crossroads Christian Church.

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!"
1 John 3:1 NIV

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