Faith – Amy's Axons

October 2024

Anonymous Words

October 18, 2024October 18, 2024by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

The following is from my daily devotional and attributed to the always eloquent Anonymous. I pray it blesses you as it did me.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~ Galatians 6:14

They were people who were living to themselves. Their hopes, promises, and dreams still controlled them, but the Lord began to fulfill their prayers. They had asked for a repentant heart and had surrendered themselves with a willingness to pay any price for it, and He sent them sorrow. They had asked for purity, and He sent them sudden anguish. They had asked for meekness, and He had broken their hearts. They had asked to be dead to the world, and He killed all their living hopes. They had asked to be made like Him, so He placed them in the fire “as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3), until they could reflect His image. They had asked to help carry His cross, yet when He held it out to them, it cut and tore their hands.

They had not fully understood what they asked, but He had taken them at their word and granted them all their requests. They had been unsure whether to follow Him such a long distance or whether to come so close to Him. An awe and a fear was upon them, as Jacob at Bethel when he dreamed of”a stairway… reaching to heaven” (Genesis 28:12), or Eliphaz “amid disquieting dreams in the night ” (Job 4:13), or as the disciples when”they were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” (Luke 24:37), not realizing it was Jesus. The disciples were so filled with awe, they felt like asking Him either to depart from them or to hide His glory.

They found it easier to obey than to suffer, to work than to give up, and to carry the cross than to hang upon it. But now they could not turn back, for they had come too close to the unseen cross of the spiritual life, and its virtues had pierced them too deeply. And the Lord was fulfilling this promise of His to them: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32).

Now at last their opportunity had come. Earlier they had only heard of the mystery, but now they felt it. He had fastened His eyes of love on them, as He had on Mary and Peter, so they could only choose to follow Him. And little by little, from time to time, with quick glimmers of light, the mystery of His cross shone upon them. They saw Him “lifted up from the earth,” and gazed on the glory that radiated from the wounds of His holy suffering. As they looked upon Him, they approached Him and were changed into His likeness. His name then shone out through them, for He lived within them. Their life from that moment on was one of inexpressible fellowship solely with Him above. They were willing to live without possessions that others owned and that they could have had, in order to be unlike others so they would be more like Him.

This is the description of all those throughout the ages who “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Revelation 14:4). If they had chosen selfishly for themselves or if their friends had chosen for them, they would have made other choices. Their lives would have shone more brightly here on earth, but less gloriously in His kingdom. Their legacy would have been that of Lot instead of Abraham. And if they had stopped along the way or if God had removed His hand from them, allowing them to stray, what would they have lost? What would they have forfeited at their resurrection?

Yet God strengthened them and protected them from themselves. Often, in His mercy He held them up when they otherwise would have slipped and fallen. And even in this life, they knew that all He did was done well. They knew it was good to suffer in this life so they would reign in the one to come; to bear the cross below, to wear a crown above; and to know that not their will but His was done in them and through them. ~ Anonymous

It’s been quite a long while since I’ve shared any photos. The following are a few of the highlights since my last post.

A friend gave me a beautiful pot of mums in the spring. I planted them and they are about to burst open now.

The last flower of summer still hanging on in our garden.

A few autumnal scenes…

I’ve continued to enjoy the birds, of course.

Wally and Clemmy continue to bring us plenty of entertainment and snuggles!

God be with you!

❤️, Amy

July 2024

Created

July 9, 2024by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” ~John 1:1-3

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” ~Romans 1:20

“O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.” ~Psalm 104:24

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” ~Revelation 4:20

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” ~Romans 11:26

“You are the Lord, You alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships You.” ~Nehemiah 9:6

“For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16

“God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” ~ Genesis 1:25

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” ~Job 12:7-10

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” ~1 Corinthians 8:6

“All the earth worships You
and sings praises to You;
they sing praises to Your name.” ~Psalm 66:4

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” ~Psalm 124:8

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.” ~Genesis 1:1

“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” ~Hebrews 3:4

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.” ~Jeremiah 32:17

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” ~Psalm 121:1-2

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.” ~Isaiah 40:28

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:11

“In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.” ~Psalm 95:4-5

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” ~Hebrews 11:3

“The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” ~Genesis 1:12

“I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by Myself” ~Isaiah 44:24

“Rich and poor have this in common: the Lord is the Maker of them all.” ~Proverbs 22:2

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.” ~Psalm 90:2

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.” ~Isaiah 40:28

Clemmy and Wally signing out 😴👅. “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” ❤️, Amy

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be” ~ Psalm 139:13-16

January 2024

Music in the Rest

January 31, 2024January 31, 2024by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by “rests,” and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator.

How does the musician read the rest? See him beat the time with unvarying count, and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between.

Not without design does God write the music of our lives. But be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the “rests.”

They are not to be slurred over nor to be omitted, nor to destroy the melody, nor to change the keynote. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on Him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, “There is no music in a rest,” let us not forget the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
John Ruskin (1819-1900), English author, poet, painter, and art critic

These words have been a source of wise counsel to me through the month of January. As I’ve frequently written in the past, MS fatigue is my number one struggle. These last few weeks have been full of “rests” and the notes of the song seem few and far between.

Sometimes I’m an integral part of the puddle of rest…

I suppose January is as good a time as any to take a forced rest. We’ve had our fair share of lead-grey, overcast skies; bitter winds; freezing temperatures; and occasional snowfall in SW Missouri this month. It’s been the perfect time to hunker down and cozy up for most people in the Midwest.

The last couple of days I’ve averaged being able to be up and moving in 5-10 minute intervals before having to rest for a good 60-90 minutes.

Hubby has been so wonderful to take care of everything in the house during the long rests in the music of my life this month. Thankfully, he’s had some rests in the melody of his life too.

Like me, Hubby’s rests are mostly conducted and accompanied with a cat in arm – this time Clemmy.

I don’t know exactly when, but the notes of the song will swell again and I’ll be up moving. When do you think? March, maybe 🤔?

Between all the “rests”, Clemmy and Wally found the last great, uncharted frontier in the house. Apparently, you have to be an 8-months old kitten to do this 🤪

May God be with you! ❤️, Amy

January 2024

I Walked A Mile With Sorrow

January 8, 2024January 8, 2024by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

Hello! It’s been a long while.

We lost our sweet Laudy in October. Her loss so soon after Pip was one of the most difficult times of my life. We lost her at the same time one of our new kittens became very sick and the combination of it all was traumatic. For a few weeks my mind spun into a sudden, intense onset of anxiety followed by a bout of miserable insomnia. Though anxiety and insomnia are apparently common during the grief cycle, I was completely unprepared for them.

It seems impossible to explain the multitude of ways God, in His mercy and compassion, helped, encouraged, held, and slowly healed me. He used my family, friends, church family, scripture, devotionals, sermons, book recommendations, our vet, my doctor, and a psychologist to bring me through. At every turn He was present and grew my faith and trust in Him until my sorrow seemed a gift instead of a terror. Sorrow is never for nothing when seen through the eyes of faith.

Gratefully, I began to feel like myself again and came out the other side of the ordeal just in time to enjoy Christmas with family and ring in the new year. It brings to mind a poem by Robert Browning Hamilton that I learned long ago.

I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow;
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When Sorrow walked with me.

Clemmy and Wally healed up nicely from their spay/neuter surgeries with the help of some cat suits I made to keep them from pulling out their stitches.

They are a hoot and are doing their best to keep us young. They chase ping-pong balls, laser lights, and ribbons, carry toys from one end of the house to the other, climb every piece of furniture like playground equipment and take turns sitting on each other in their own version of King of the Mountain.

I’ll leave you with a couple stanzas of one more poem, this one is based on Isaiah 43:2, “When you go through the waters…they will not sweep over you.”

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,

Bitter anguish, fiercest pain,

Rolling surges of temptation

Sweeping over heart and brain —

They shall never overflow us,

For we know His word is true;

All the waves and all the billows,

He will lead us safely THROUGH.

Threatening breakers of destruction,

Doubt’s insidious undertow,

Shall not sink us, shall not drag us

Out to ocean depths of woe;

For His promise shall sustain us,

Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!

We shall not go down, or under,

For He says, “You will pass THROUGH. “

~Annie Johnson Flint

May God be with you! ❤️, Amy

September 2023

Cats ❤️ Cornish Rex ❤️

September 20, 2023September 20, 2023by amysaxons6 Comments

My cat story, told through pictures of our new, 16- week old Cornish Rex (CRX) kittens.

Wally Cornwall – in honor of county Cornwall, England where the CRX breed emerged from a genetic mutation in a barn cat in the 1950s.

Clemmy Clementine – because Winston Churchill was prime minister in the 1950s and his wife’s name was Clementine, which I’ve always liked.

Growing up, my family always had dogs. I had never been around cats until I was 9 years old and my Dad took me to an animal care class through 4-H.

The farm where the 4-H class was held had a barn cat who had just given birth to a litter of soft, fuzzy kittens. I was mesmerized by their purring and mewling sounds, I had never heard anything so lovely before. My future was set the moment I actually held one in my hands – my heart was gone and, though I didn’t know it at the time, I was already morphing into a crazy cat lady.

I started begging my Dad instantly for one of the kittens on the farm. His response was a firm, “No, we already have a dog at home.” My response was something along the lines of, “Yeah, but he isn’t a cat.” Why didn’t my Dad understand that?! As the 4-H class progressed over the next several weeks so did my begging. I had never wanted anything so badly in all my little 9-year old life. Somehow, someway my Dad came around and on the last day of the class I took my first kitten, Princess, home.

The first thing I did when I was 16 and got my driver’s license was go to the Humane Society, without Mom’s permission, and get another kitten. I named her Bumpy because she meowed sweetly when I drove over a pothole pulling out of the parking lot on the way home. I also thought I could persuade Mom more easily if I had already named her 🤓.

Mom let me keep Bumpy, though she wasn’t allowed to come in the house. It wasn’t until I had finished grad school and had my first job that I FINALLY got an indoor cat. I was still living at home to save money for a house, as was my sister who had just finished her nursing degree and was saving for the same reason.

With Mom’s permission, my sister got a little Shih Tzu puppy that stayed in the house. “Hmm,” I thought. So again, without permission, I drove to my first ever American Cat Fanciers Association show in Joplin, Missouri, a little over an hour from where we lived. I was really excited about seeing all the cat breeds, but my real intent was to get a CRX kitten, if anyone there had one available. As fate would have it, there was exactly…one.

The rest is history. I brought Rexy home and, to my relief, everyone, Mom included, fell in love with him immediately! Because CRX don’t have a lot of fur and can’t live outside, my dream of having an indoor cat became reality. Though I now admit I went about it by a bit of hook or crook 🫢.

Aside from my method of acquiring him, living with a CRX has been even more profoundly wonderful than even I dreamed it could be. I moved into my first home just a few months after getting Rexy. Chemy, my second CRX, came soon after to keep Rexy company while I was at work – at least that’s what I told myself 😉.

Once you’ve owned a CRX you will forever be owned by the breed. You cannot not have at least one in your life. Laudy, our current 13 year old blue tabby CRX joined the family when Chemy died. Lest you think I’m a cat snob, we (I’m married now) had a sweet rescue boy, Harry, who lived with us until he passed away a few years ago from old age. Pip, our sweet CRX who died recently, came when we lost Harry.

My life has become very small now since I don’t work anymore and I don’t get out of the house much because of my Multiple Sclerosis. However, my life feels very full because of three main reasons: God, my family, and our cats. They are my constant companions, always with me in my arms, or on my lap, beside me in bed, or at my feet playing. We have a routine together of snuggles, meal times, and interaction. We experience each day together, which reinforces and deepens our bond.

I don’t know how to describe or explain my love for cats except to say it’s something innate within me. Perhaps it’s a bit like people who feel compelled to climb mountains or are fascinated by cars or need to garden and feel dirt on their hands. I know there are people who love dogs or horses or birds or all manner of other animals with the same passion I have for cats. I look at cats and see God as our Creator. Only He could love us so much to make animals so perfectly. I know, in His omniscience, He had my enrichment and joy in mind when He made cats!

May God be with you! ❤️, Amy

May 2022

What No Eye Has Seen, No Ear Has Heard, No Heart Has Imagined

May 7, 2022May 8, 2022by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

Sitting cocooned in a luscious, lemon minky blanket as a brace against the damp chill of an early May breeze, I conceal myself and wait in the southwest corner of the back patio. You must make yourself small and discreet when bird watching. Our fully blossomed, lush purple lilac tree sends its bouquet of deliciousness, so sweet I can almost taste it, around the corner of the brick wall serving as part of my cover. A couple of mature, verdant green, newly leafed-out river birches dwarf the trio of bird feeders directly between them. The birches’ treetops are full of Goldfinches, Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, House Finches, and Tufted Titmice singing in brilliant chorus as they rise and fall on the quivering branches with the waves of the wind. Bluejays, Mourning Doves, and Chipping Sparrows hop along in the fast growing blades of grass as they hunt for and peck at seeds on the ground below the feeders. Near the trunk of one of the birches a pair of shy, but gorgeously vivid, Blue Buntings huddle close together . A Baltimore Oriole, clothed in his jet-black hood with a juicy orange throat and chest, hesitates to leave his perch in the tree canopy before carefully alighting on the feeder tray to snack on sunflower seeds. Four male Red-breasted Grosbeaks swoop in and spread out on various limbs, followed moments later by a female. Their striking v-shaped patches of rosy red on a clean, linen white chest reminds me of cool summertime treats like strawberry ice cream.

I can’t describe the incredible joy it brings me to be near these tiny creatures, to share moments of their lives with them. I’ve been trying to learn and recognize the songs and calls of a few of the species that regularly visit our feeders. Some of the common songs have been easy, but each kind has several sounds and I’m often stumped. It has also been fascinating to learn that Chickadees, Titmice, House Finches, Goldfinches, and Chipping Sparrows are plucky and not very afraid when I’m close to the feeders. While, on the other hand, the much larger Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves,and White-brested Nuthatches are much more reserved and hesitant when they see me.

Every single time I watch the birds, without exception, I find myself praying with thanksgiving to God. I think it is the natural result of spending quality time with other creatures or features of His creation. I find myself praying when I am holding my cats, or watching dragonflies and frogs at our neighborhood lake, or am near the ocean or in a forest, or surrounded by mountains. I often think of how God has revealed Himself and has shown us the awesomeness and majesty of His mind through His creation. Muggy, hot, swamps full of crocodiles and toads; blindingly white, frozen, snow and ice covered tundra with polar bears and walruses; mesmerizing shades of brown, dry, barren, sandy, dune-laden deserts; eye-popping colors of coral reefs swaying in the vastness of the oceans; mossy, earth-smelling, leafy forests with arms lifted up toward heaven. These are just a few of His many carefully balanced ecosystems and all are interconnected through meticulously designed life-cycles of plants and animals. His ability to create such diversity and His attention to detail astounds and humbles me.

Of all He has made, His detail and attention to color is the most overwhelming aspect to me. This may be one of the reasons I am so fascinated by birds. Consider the common Mourning Dove. At first glance it seems like a dull, gray bird with some black dots and stripes on its tail. But if you look closer, it has stunning pastel blue eye rims and lids! And, if you look closer still, you will notice a small, round patch of iridescent pink on both sides of its neck. It’s as if God wrote His name there in a flourishing signature. The color of Cardinals is so distinctive and singular we have called it by it’s moniker, “cardinal red”, and made millions of crayons duplicating it so it can be scribbled across children’s artwork. Goldfinches fly around sporting dazzling, buttery-yellow feathers topped with ebony heads and wings, like rays of sun flashing across the sky. In the style of modern art, the black and white markings of Downy Woodpeckers are set in extraordinarily striking patterns. And then there is the Painted Bunting. Many years ago, long before I knew anything about birds, I used to drive all over Southwest Missouri seeing patients at their homes as a speech language pathologist. I remember driving down the highway at 60 mph and seeing a crazy flash of color in front of the car and then watching it stop and land in a tree at the edge of a park. It was so arresting and marvelous that I actually took the nearest exit and drove to the park hoping it was there, not caring if I was late for my next appointment. Thankfully, the little critter was still perched on the branch of the tree on which I had seen it alight. I had never seen anything like it before. It was so tiny, yet it was an unbelievable array of vibrant colors. I watched it for several minutes before it flew away and was so impressed by the encounter that I still harbor hopes of seeing one again someday.

If this is how God has made His earthly creation, then I sing the old hymn How Beautiful Heaven Must Be with renewed vigor! I can only imagine!!
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

May God be with you! ❤️, Amy

December 2021

December

December 2, 2021December 2, 2021by amysaxons1 Comment

I think the beginning of November and the start of December swapped their weather garbs here in Southwest Missouri. 70+°F today!?!

My Hubby took this photo while riding around Fellows Lake in Springfield, MO.

My sweet tooth took over my phone last month and before I knew what it was doing it had ordered TWO advent calendars!

McCrea’s Caramels out of Boston, MA. Look at this artwork… adorable! Caramel flavors include: Black Lava Sea Salt, Classic Vanilla, Cape Cod Sea Salt, Deep Chocolate, Tapped Maple, Ginger Fusion, Cafe Noir, Dark Roasted Mocha, Rosemary Truffle Sea Salt, Chocolate Peppermint, Cinnamon Clove, and Anisette.

This beautiful box of goodies is from Parisian candy maker Bossier. The website was full of beautiful handmade candies and I can’t wait to try each one. Chocolate covered almonds and hazelnuts, cocoa coated almonds, fruit flavored candies, honey flavored hard candies, caramels, jelly filled candies, almond puffed rice chocolate, bear gummies, strawberry candies, heart shaped gummies, fruit jellies, dark chocolate pearls, fruit flavored chocolate petals, chocolate balls, heart shaped chocolate truffles, calissons (French specialty candies), and fondants.

Ohhh, and I also got these little fruit flavored hard candies, they taste a lot like lollipops.

My MS has been very “assertive” over my legs and energy levels (among other symptoms) these last couple of months. That means lots of sitting and boredom. I’ve filled the time with some hand sewing and needlework. These little puffs turned out pretty cute.

We kept my Dad’s dog again for a few days. She’s growing on this die-hard Cat Lady.

As you can see, life has been very exciting around here 😂. Of course, no post of mine is complete without a few photos of birds.

Carolina chickadee

I’ve been rereading through the Bible each day, great gulps at a time, two or three books per day. I’m overwhelmed at the scope, harmony, depth, awesomeness, faithfulness, mercy, loving kindness, and holiness of God. Everything He does is Right. Everything He says is True. In this season of Christmas, it is especially important to remember how all history, all time, all hope, all fulfillment of prophecy, all meaning and purpose is found in God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. He is more than a season, more than an Eve or a Day. He is Creator, King, Redeemer, God with Us, Promise-fulfilled, Hope, High Priest Forever, and so much more. Come let us bow before Him and worship Him in His majesty! ❤️, Amy

September 2021

Summer’s Lasting Vibrance

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021by amysaxons2 Comments

Hello, Friend! I hope you are well.

It’s been too hot around here to get out of the house much these last few weeks. However, I did ride my scooter early one morning down to the lake in our neighborhood to enjoy the dragonflies and flowers for a spell.

Blue dasher perfectly aligned on a blade of grass

Amber wing, easily my favorite dragonfly.

I braved the heat for a few minutes one day to get a pic of this lovely female cardinal hanging out in one of the birch trees behind our house.

Since I can’t get outside much I’ve been filling my time sewing. I got a new serger and have been absolutely floored by the steep learning curve. For the first couple of weeks I was convinced that not even NASA’s best could get the crazy thing to work consistently! I have read everything I could get my hands on and watched hours of YouTube vids in a determined effort to conquer and master the beast of a machine. Perseverance, about 15-20 hours of practicing on scraps, rethreading the booger, and adjusting knobs a million times AND…

I FINALLY figured out how to consistently get good seams on my serger! I made a cute nightgown that I love. I ordered this knit jersey on super clearance from Joann’s. The snails are very appropriate 😉.

I had my Ocrevus infusion yesterday so I’m fuzzy-headed with a bit of a headache. Around 4:00 this morning I started flushing from the steroids they served up to go along with it. I should start feeling better by tomorrow. For the first time ever I got to have the drug infused at home – so much easier for me! My newest bestie Bill, the infusion nurse, and I spent five quality hours chatting and sharing the ways God has worked in our lives. God is so good!

Thanks for stopping by. God be with you! ❤️, Amy

September 2020

Topping Up Your Faith

September 30, 2020by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

A well stocked pantry is essential for spontaneous bakers such as myself. Not only is it important to have the essentials on hand, like flour and butter, but also an ecclectic array of the odd and unusual, such as saffron and vanilla beans. It takes time to grow your stock necessary to whip up something special at a moment’s notice without having to make a grocery run. You also have to learn to keep an ongoing mental list of how much you have on hand of each ingredient. There is nothing more annoying than having to go to the store in the middle of a recipe because you don’t have enough of something to finish the job. Keeping your pantry topped up is important.

Much like baking, faith needs a deep repository of ingredients that are grown over time in order to create a feast that will supply daily Bread, even during times of famine. Basic faith, all that is needed to initially become a follower of Christ, is to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that by His death, burial, and resurrection He has overcome sin and death and has given us eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Scripture was written by about 40 different men, as the Holy Spirit prompted them (2 Timothy 3:16), over 1,500 years and is a wellspring of history, personal experience, wisdom, prophecy, fulfillment of prophecy, law, gospel, poetry, and letters giving first-hand accounts by eyewitnesses who had dealings with our eternal God across time. All of these were written for our learning (Romans 15:4) and can be mined to give us everything we need in order to grow our faith through hope, truth, love, peace, joy, patience, endurance, faithfulness, forgiveness, mercy, grace, obedience, submission, goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control, understanding, wisdom… and so much more!

The growth of faith is directly related to how much time, effort, thought, and personal devotion we put into topping it up. Recognizing and experiencing God in one’s personal life with the aide of the Holy Spirit, when combined with listening to Him as you study scripture and talking to Him through prayer, combine to help us live our best and fullest life in Christ. It is this fullness of faith, one that is constantly being filled and topped up, that shifts our viewpoint from life here below to that of the promises given about life above.

As we see every day on the news, bad things happen in the world. If you have lived very long at all, you know that unsolicited bad things will happen in the lives of the ones we love and even to ourselves. Christians are not immune from failure, brokenness, loneliness, sorrow, or hardship of all kinds. Accidents, illnesses, viruses, diseases, and death will touch and eventually take us all.

BUT instead of despair and hopelessness when these things happen, we Christians can reach into our diligently topped up storehouse of faith and praise God through the storm instead of blaming Him. We find ourselves resting in His ever present, faithful hands and feel a deep assurance that He has lovingly pressed us against His heart to keep us safe. Not necessarily that He has removed the travails that happen to us in the flesh, though He certainly can do so if it is within His will! But, no, I mean the safety of our faith. The promise of His love and His sovereignty alive and over our lives no matter what situation or diagnosis or trouble we find ourselves in. This kind of faith is possible because Jesus Christ has overcome sin and death by His resurrection and is the source of eternal life for all who call upon His name. He has overcome everything in this world and, as a result, there is now nothing that can harm those who believe in Him – not even death!

Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 8:34-39, “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”.

To me, the promise that nothing can separate me from the love of God through Christ Jesus my Lord tops me up to overflowing! If you are already a Christian, don’t forget to keep topping up your faith each and every day through scripture and prayer. If you are not a Christian, but you want to know more about how to become one so you too can be filled to the “whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 3:19), then send me a message and I would count it a privilege to share the Gospel with you!

To the praise of His glory! ❤️Amy

August 2020

Seven Current Things God is Greater Than

August 11, 2020August 11, 2020by amysaxons1 Comment

God is greater than all things. But, since the number seven indicates completeness and perfection within the Bible, I chose it to represent current issues we can pray about with confidence that He is in control.

Dear Heavenly Father, with humbled hearts we pray You will fill us with joy and peace as we remember You are the great I AM. You are in control of all things and are greater than…

…the Corona Virus with all it’s ensuing unemployment, bankruptcy, evictions and foreclosures, businesses failing, schools resuming, and our anxiety for both the physical and mental health of ourselves and loved ones. You are even greater than death by Christ’s victory over the grave!

Father, please help us remember you are greater than Nations and Politics, especially amidst the barrage of divisive and aggressive rhetoric, fear mongering, looming elections, and potential civic fallout.

Lord our God, we may rest assured that You are greater than the Media that constantly fills our ears. You are greater than bias and intolerance on all sides, as well as our well-intentioned friends who’s social media posts break our hearts with aggressive, divisive, or judgmental words.

Holy One, we need Your presence to comfort and restore our weary minds with the knowledge that You have always been and will always be mightier than the Social Issues that have surrounded Your children through the ages. You are greater than the current cancel culture, ANTIFA, riots, lootings, hate and intolerance, racism, and movements that plan destructive uprisings of any kind.

Loving, compassionate Father, please restore us from the fatigue of living in a different and difficult new reality that seems to have no end in sight. You are greater than the Weariness of the past several months.

All-knowing Lord, we pray You will reassure our hearts that You are greater than all the Unknowns that surround our lives. We rejoice in knowing You will never leave us or forsake us through the trials, sorrows, or temptations of our journey here below.

And lastly, Almighty God, help us to remember You are greater than all our Fears. When we trust You hold us in Your mighty hands, fear dies and You are glorified.

Thank You, God our Father, for loving us with Your perfect love and for caring about each and every one of us. We ask and pray this prayer through Christ, our Savior’s name. Amen.