Last week I decided to take some time off from writing and technology to celebrate my son's graduation from high school and reconnect with my children following the end of their school year. While I enjoyed the time with my family, I missed sharing little snippets of my life and God's lessons with you. I'll have to admit -- I did cheat a little by checking my Facebook to see what my friends were up to, but I didn't linger there.
Did you know that God often wonders if we miss him? When you skip your daily quiet time with him or wander from the path he has ordained for you, he truly misses you!
Sometimes we turn our backs on God without meaning to. Sometimes we do it deliberately because we think we know better and can handle our lives just fine without him. Whatever the case may be, he loves and misses us when we aren't actively seeking a more intimate relationship with him. Because of his great love for us, God will always pursue us but he will never push his way into our hearts. God has already chosen us, but it is up to us to invite him into our lives. When we do, he blesses us with joy and peace and a love like no other.
Thank you for stopping by my blog to say hello today. God and I are always eager to share the encouragement of his Word with others. If you haven't spent time with God lately, find a quiet place today to reconnect with him. He has missed you and is waiting for you with open arms.
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Grad and the Dogwood
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Chris, who lived in a make-believe world of bumblebees and Jedi knights. He loved to play with his friends, his mom, and his daddy's Star Wars toys. Even though he was five and a half years older than his little sister, he played with her a little and grew to love her a lot.
In the spring of his first grade year his family moved to a new house in a town not so far away, leaving behind neighbors and friends he had known all his life. At his old house his grandfather had planted an oak tree in the front yard as a gift to Chris. His mom was sad to leave the tree behind because to her it was a symbol of his growth and held many happy memories for her.
In second grade Chris went to a new school in the town not so far away. His second grade teacher taught a lesson about how things grow and gave each child a tiny dogwood tree to grow at home. When Chris's mom saw the tiny tree which he carried home in a baggie, she nearly threw it in the trash because she didn't think a twig so small could become a beautiful tree. Still, she couldn't bear to discard a living thing no matter how small, so she planted the tiny dogwood in a patio planter which she would later use as a nursery to give "baby" trees and shrubs a good start for her flower beds and yard.
As Chris's mom nurtured that little dogwood tree it began to grow and thrive, just as her little boy did because of the love and care he received from his family, teachers, and friends. Even when the seasons of life were harsh, his mom continued to nurture both her son and the dogwood knowing that without her care, neither would survive the storms and difficulties they would face as they grew. Sometimes it seemed as if the dogwood and Chris were in a competition to see which of them would grow taller or bloom sooner.
Before she knew it, ten years had passed and her Jedi knight second-grader had grown into a handsome young man and graduated from high school. Like the many seasons that had passed for the dogwood, some were pleasant and some were very stormy. But the love of his parents remained constant throughout his childhood and adolescent years, in good times and in bad. Chris had learned some hard lessons, not only in school but in life, and his parents were both proud and happy to see him graduate from high school
The morning after his graduation, Chris's mom lovingly tended and watered the dogwood that had grown from a twig in a baggie to a nearly six-foot tree in just ten short years. She couldn't believe how quickly the time had passed! As the water from her hose quenched the thirsty tree, a solitary tear moistened her cheek as she thought about her grad and his dogwood, thankful that even after he left home to make a life of his own, the dogwood would remain as a symbol of the amazing young man Chris had become.
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Congrats to the Class of 2012
We are proud of you...
now go out and change your world!
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Entitlement Epidemic
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17, NIV).
If you raise children or watch the news like I do, then you are probably all too familiar with the unprecedented sense of entitlement held by many of the younger generation and the underprivileged in our twenty first century American society. Many people feel they are entitled to the same kinds of privileges and material comforts that we have earned through the investment of our time and effort.
These days, for instance, a graduating senior may think he is entitled to a
car, computer, or other expensive gift because he “worked hard and deserves it.” What about the parents who worked even harder
to make sure these kids graduate?
Those of us who labor for every penny we earn shudder to
think how our tax dollars are being spent to support the social abuse system we
know as welfare. Certainly, there are
times when people need assistance, but to freely dole out dollars without
holding the recipient accountable for getting a job within a specified amount
of time, or failing to withhold assistance from those who are known drug users or prone
to repeatedly produce children out of wedlock, is reprehensible and irresponsible. When will it stop?
As Christians, we should give thanks to God for the
many blessings to which we are entitled simply because we are his children. We are entitled to claim
and receive the promises of his Word. We
are entitled to believe by faith that God is who he says he is and that he will do what
he says he will do. Grace and mercy are
his gifts to us, undeserved but ones to which we are entitled if we walk in
obedience to his Word.
Just as we don’t like being taken for granted by those we
love, live, and work with, God doesn’t like to be taken advantage of
either. He is entitled to all
the thanks, praise, dominion, and glory due his great Name. Rather than exercise our sense of
entitlement for the things of this world because "we work hard and deserve it," let us give all thanks and praise to the One whose great blessings
and provision we enjoy because of his great love for us!
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
How Much is Too Much?
One of my earliest childhood memories is having "coffee milk" as a very small child. My mom has always been a coffee drinker and shared her love for coffee with me at a young age. While I normally have more than one cup during the day, I don't think I ever consumed a half gallon of coffee until today.
Although I think I have finally ascertained that it is possible for me to have too much coffee in one day, there is one thing I will never grow tired of consuming -- the Living Water of Jesus Christ and the truths of his Word. I will most certainly have to reduce my coffee consumption so I can sleep better at night, but I will never stop drinking from the Fount of every blessing or feasting at the table Jesus has prepared for me (Psalm 23:5).
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Move It, Move It, Move It!
For the past three and a half years, maybe longer, I have felt much like Sergeant Carter in my own household as I have routinely barked commands at my teenager to "Move it, move it, move it!" I don't know what the school system was thinking when it set a 7:00 a.m. start day for high school students, but obviously someone thought it would be entertaining to see the lengths some parents would go to as they battled the circadian rhythm of the teenage population. Don't they know that teenagers are not morning people?!
Today is perhaps the last day I will have to threaten drastic measures to get my son out of bed so he can get to school. You see, my son's senior year is coming to an end and he will be graduating and moving on to bigger and better things. For me this day could not have come sooner!
Sadly, many of us are guilty of spiritual laziness and often justify our failure to reach God's potential because we are too busy handling more important matters. But we must realize that our time on this earth is rapidly coming to a close. There isn't much time to reach the lost ones around us or accomplish God's purposes for our lives. Salvation of the lost is God's highest priority and should be ours, too.
If there is something God has placed on your heart to do -- a call to make, a need to meet, or some word of encouragement to give to someone who is desperate for a breakthrough -- what are you waiting for? Get up, pray up, and move it, move it, move it!!!
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Keeping It Real
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| My family helps me "keep it real" |
Being a published author is not the life of glamour and excitement one might think. Just like many of you, I live an ordinary life of working, raising children, managing a household, and navigating the problems of life as gracefully as I know how. There is no housekeeper to wash my laundry and clean my toilets, no chef to feed my family, or chauffeur to drive my kids to school. I am as financially challenged as anyone, living paycheck to paycheck. I get fussy with my husband and kids, battle with anger and overeating at times, and spend too much time on the computer and too little time taking in the wonder of God's creation and the life-changing truths of his Word. Why others look to me for advice or inspiration is a mystery to me. I can only surmise that it's not because of who I am, but because of whose I am.
You see, I have discovered a God who loves me, cares intimately about every detail of my life, and brings joy to even the most challenging of my days. A long, long time ago I made the decision to ask forgiveness for my sins and receive Jesus' free gift of salvation. I didn't instantly become a spiritually mature woman of God. In fact, I took a seven-year long detour into a very sinful lifestyle which was nearly the death of me. God finally broke through my stubborn insistence that I knew what was best for me and convinced me that his ways are better, so I surrendered every area of my life to him and began walking in obedience to his Word.
The reality of having a victorious Christian walk is that every day requires surrender. I still struggle with sin and will continue to until Christ takes me home to heaven. But I have accepted by faith that God is real and I continue to be amazed by all he has done in my life. After all, who but God could turn this wretched sinner into a writer or take the mayhem of my life and turn it into a ministry?
My two devotional books, Good to the Last Drop and A Pleasing Aroma, are spiritual snapshots of the reality of living in a fallen world and how God's relevant Word applies to all we face day in and day out. If you click on the book titles in this paragraph you can take a look inside the books for a sampling of what I have written. Both books are available from most online booksellers and can be ordered from your local bookstore. They are also available in Kindle format at www.amazon.com or Nook format at www.bn.com, as well as eBook format at www.tatepublishing.com. Signed copies can be purchased directly from me at www.deedeewike.com.
My prayer is that God will help us all realize that by having a personal relationship with him through Jesus and walking through our days in the power of his Holy Spirit, we can find true joy and make a difference in the lives of those around us.
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com
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Thank you for visiting my blog! You are encouraged to post a comment and share this blog with a friend. By sharing, you are helping to encourage others with the truth of God's Word!
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