Category: <span>thoughts by Kathy Cheek</span>


When others have deeply hurt and betrayed us, may we find it in our hearts to forgive as God forgives,


I do not write this lightly, I’ve lived it and learned (slowly at times) that the way we forgive people who have deeply hurt us is nowhere close to the forgiveness with which God forgives us.

As I have repeatedly read the story of Joseph’s reconciliation (Genesis 37-50) with his brothers, I have been moved each time by the deep compassion and mercy he extended to his brothers. He taught us a valuable and beautiful lesson on forgiveness.

We don’t know how long it took him to reach that level of forgiveness after his brothers plotted to murder him, tossed him into a pit, and then sold him into slavery. In my personal opinion, I doubt it was early on because the hurt was so fresh and deep at that time. Maybe it was a work God accomplished in his heart through a slow and gradual process over the many years he was falsely imprisoned.

Maybe it was when he was released from prison and saw the enormous responsibility and position God had placed him in. Maybe his heart was opened then to a deeper understanding of God’s ways, as He learned God’s assignment for him was to save the people from famine.

Whenever it was that the healing work of forgiveness took place in Joseph’s heart, I am thankful that he obediently humbled himself and allowed God to bring this about in him. I have seen many people resist God’s work of forgiveness in their lives, and the result is always bitterness. Sometimes it is a very evident, outwardly visible root of bitterness. Sometimes it is a hidden, pushed down, denied form of bitterness, and yet it still spills forth in the life of the unforgiving person.

The evidence of genuine forgiveness was displayed when Joseph was reunited with his brothers and he didn’t condemn them.  He wept and cried and assured them that what they meant for evil, God meant for good. He took care of them and re-established relationship with them.

When others have deeply hurt and betrayed us, may we find it in our hearts to forgive as God forgives, as God taught Joseph to forgive, and as Stephen forgave those who stoned him (Acts 6 and 7). Stephen’s story is compelling beyond words. With his dying breath, he forgave those who were taking his life.

Following the example of Joseph, Stephen, and Jesus Christ, may we hold no charge against our offenders and betrayers and toss their offense ‘as far as the east is from the west’ (Psalm 103:12). God wants us to give mercy to others as He has been merciful to us. He wants us to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Colossians 3:12b-13 teaches us to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission
From: First Breath of Morning: Where God Waits For You Every Day.

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Further Reading

•   Feelings, Forgiveness and Peace | by Dr. Muriel Larson

•  Freedom of Forgiveness  | by Katherine Kehler

•  Salvation Explained


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


Moving into a new year isn’t as simple as merely turning the page on a calendar.

Sometimes, instead of an organized list of plans and goals the new year looks like a list of question marks.

The things of life don’t always fall neatly into place with everything sorted and resolved according to our best laid plans. When we turn a calendar page and a brand new year stares back, it reminds us how little we know about what tomorrow holds and how little control we have over events that unfold.

I have never found it realistic to believe we exert any legitimate control in this world and yet I hear people repeatedly declare how they love to be, and must be in control. When I look around, what I see is a world constantly spinning out of control.

As I enter this new year I will acknowledge that it isn’t about how much I know and how well I have planned for what lies ahead. Approaching this new year is about who I know and that is Jesus Christ. This relationship with Jesus sets the course for another new year and is the firm foundation on which my life stands.

Navigating this journey of life as a new year begins is also a process of holding tight to faith – a faith that endures the calendars of days to come.

Since the dawn of mankind in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve – to the dawn of a new year, God has been pursuing a relationship with us-built on faith and obedience in our walk with Him.

This relationship will grow and deepen when we consistently choose to seek the Lord and faithfully follow Him all the days and all the years of our lives.

As one year ends and the dawn of a new year begins, this is what matters most.

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, When you search for Me with all your heart.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

A New Year Perspective

New Year Resolution – by Skip Moen

How Do You Start Fresh in a New Year? – by Jan Stewart


thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  1 Peter 1:6-7


Day by day
God is quietly changing me
Molding me, making me
Sometimes breaking me

Loving me, leading me
Guiding me, strengthening me
Testing me in the fire-purified
Will I come forth as gold?

Part of the work God does to grow us and change us is by testing through various trials.

On the other hand, some of the changing work He does in our lives is quiet and gentle as He asks us to willingly bend our hearts to the work He is doing.

But, some of the changing work won’t be accomplished without the testing trials. Whether He is quietly working on us – or purifying us in the fire, the same result will be produced and that result will be a genuine faith deeply grounded in our hearts.

I have been through both as I am sure most of us would also admit has been the case in our lives. We have been through the challenging trials and at other times we have seen a more subtle work of change take place in our hearts, yet both were learning times when God showed us how to trust Him through a season of change.

I am thankful that God loves me enough to change me, and as I undergo this changing work He does in me, He is also giving me a glimpse of what I can become. And this is how I know I want to be all He made me to be.

Isaiah 64:8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

Changing Our Nature  – by Max Lucado

What is Wrong with Society Today? – Thoughts by Katherine Kehler

How to be Saved

thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”


I often refer to these verses because they are how I live my life. I have a devotion titled In God I Trust which is now in my book that talks about why Proverbs 3:5-6 are my life verses.

What does it mean to trust God with all your heart? According to the second part of verse five it means trusting in Him instead of ourselves. Do you think God knew we would instinctively try to handle everything on our own?

To trust Him is to take my questions about troubling circumstances and place my worries in His hands.

Choosing trust is to believe He is working in ways we cannot see and to understand His ways are higher than ours. (See Isaiah 55:8-9)

For me Choosing Trust has meant:

–   Trusting God’s plan for my life even though it included being raised in a home with an abusive father.
–  Trusting God through the death of a newborn baby who lived less than 48 hours.
–  Trusting God when both sisters died at an early age, one in a car crash with her husband on her birthday.

Trusting God is the choice I made instead of choosing anger and bitterness that a Sovereign God did not prevent any of these things from happening.

I am glad I chose trust because through it all I knew His love and comfort, His strength and healing.

Coming out of the abusive environment and starting a new life after high school, I experienced God’s love and healing and understood He had a plan and purpose for my life and I was not going to let holding on to pain and bitterness hold me back. I wanted His healing and freedom which He abundantly and freely gave.

After our baby died, the worst pain of my life, I could genuinely say there were moments and days I could feel God’s arms holding me and I knew a supernatural comfort that turned to healing.

After my sisters and brother-in-law died, I was once again reminded that our days are numbered by the Lord. I realized that while we are here on this earth we should live our best lives and I worked even harder to see my dream come true to have my book published. I saw God open doors to make a way and now the desire of my heart for my writing has come to pass.

A life of choosing trust is a life of trusting God with all your heart.

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission
www.kathycheek.com

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Further Reading

• Trust Me – A Devotional by Alec Niemi

How to Trust God  – by Gail Rodgers

Take Your Cue from Fear and Trust God by Kristi Huseby

thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


Who hears you when you cry?

Who listens when no one else cares…

Who listens when no one else is there?

Psalm 116:1-2

I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live
.

I am His child and He knows my name,
He knows my voice when I call out.
He lets me know that He is here
And that I am never alone.

He is the rock on which I stand,
The rock of ages to which I cling.
He is my shelter when storms come my way,
He is my refuge while the storm passes by.

How wonderful He is to me
How deep His unfailing love,
In this world sometimes cold and lonely
I know I am never alone.

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission
www.kathycheek.com

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Further Reading

• Never Alone – A Devotional by Phil Ware

We’re Never Alone – Devotional by Ashlea Massie

You Are Never Alone – A Devotional by Julie Lairsey


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3


Almost everyone I know wants more peace in their lives. Many people that I know are desperately hoping and grasping for what seems altogether impossible in their present situations. They don’t see solutions but just maybe they can find some peace.

If there is a remedy for finding peace in our turmoil-filled lives, it will happen when we see our Holy God as He is, Almighty, all powerful, all-knowing, wholly Sovereign.

We will not learn how to free ourselves of anxiety – until we learn to give Him our worries and believe He will never forsake us no matter what is going on, according to the promise of Deuteronomy 31:6,

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Most worry develops because we cannot fix our problems. We can’t make things happen and we can’t make things stop. When we choose to trust, worry loses its fierce grip from our nervous wringing hands.

We will have peace when we believe the same God who parted seas, loosed prison chains, and used marching men shouting and blowing trumpets to topple a city wall, is the same God who never leaves us in our hour of need. This same God will walk with us in the difficult trials of our lives.

We will have peace when we believe with assured confidence He will carry our burdens and carry us, too. He will take us through, always walking beside us. He is all the help we will ever need. This is why we can find peace when we make the significant choice to trust the Lord.

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission


If you have never walked in a relationship with Christ you can start today by committing and submitting your llife to him. You can start this with a simple prayer:

Lord, thank You for dying so we can be set free from all of guilt and sin — no matter how big or small.  Your blood has erased all of our sin. Thank You so much! Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen


If you prayed this prayer we would love to hear from you . If you would like to know God deeper we can connect you with an email mentor and/or send you some great links.


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Further Reading

• Perfect Peace – by Phil Ware

Perfect Peace – A Devotional by Bill Bright

Inner Peace – by Gail Rodgers

 


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


When people look at me
Will they see You?

When people talk to me
Will they hear You?

When they come to me
And need the strength
That You can give

Will I show them
You’re the One
The only One they need?

If I’m your hands and feet
Will others know?

If I reach out with love
Will they know it comes from You?

If I step out and show the love
That You have shown to me

Will they come to You
Wanting what they’ve seen in me
Wishing for the same?

If they see You in me
Will they come?
Will they want to know You, Lord
If they see You in me?

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•  More Powerful Poems

I See You – A Devotional by Julie Lairsey

I Was Watching You – A Devotional by Mike Woodard


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.Hebrews 12:15  


When I engage in conversation with people I don’t know very well, it usually does not take long to figure out who is holding onto bitterness in their life. This always saddens me because holding on to bitterness does so much damage to the person who cannot find a way to let go. Bitterness is like a thorn left in one’s flesh causing a deep untreated wound.

A hard and deep bitterness allowed to fester will grow a deep root whose tentacles will spread a poison to every aspect of one’s life. It will derail us. Stop us. And eventually, we will find ourselves going backwards.

Lingering bitterness will lead us to justify, rationalize, and reason that we have every right to feel this way until we even convince ourselves that we have made peace with living with this bitterness in our life.

This is a dangerous place to be. God does not give us permission to live a life rooted in bitterness. He warns us against this because He knows the damage it will do to our life, and to our testimony. It truly is God’s will for us to allow no place for bitterness in our lives. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Simply put, there is nothing like bitterness to make a life bitter. But there is good news…

We can remove the thorn. It does not have to remain. We can let it go. We can remove the thorn and heal, and breathe the fresh air of a life free of bitterness.

Where there is bitterness

There is brokenness

Where healing should be

Can be

Will be

When the bitterness is gone

Psalm 147:3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

By Kathy Cheek
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Further Reading

•  Choosing to be Bitter or Better – Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Bitter Hearts – by Doug Lim

The Dungeon of Bitterness –  by Max Lucado


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. 

~ Psalm 1:1-3

This passage begins our journey through the Psalms, a book written mostly by David, which is filled with turmoil and triumph, tears and joy, battles and victories. What a great declaration we read in the first few verses of this chapter, reminding us of the place of blessing we can have in our position of delighting in the Lord.

By the rivers of water,
This is where I want to be.

Wouldn’t you love to be like the tree in Verse 3 that is firmly planted by the rivers of water and is fruitful and prospers? Isn’t this the life we want to live in the Lord? This is the life He has promised to those who walk in close relationship with Him. It starts with a choice: Will we choose to follow the ways of an ungodly world, or will we choose to delight in the Lord?

What does “delighting in the Lord” mean?  It’s certainly more than having a casual relationship with Him. It happens as a result of consistently spending time building a rich and fulfilling relationship with God that leaves you wanting more. Spending intimate time with the Lord enables you to grow in a faith that is steadfast and firm. If you seek the Lord and follow after Him, you will delight in Him. To know Him is to delight in Him.

What is your desire? Do you long to be firmly planted by the rivers of water, solid and secure, delighting in the Lord day by day?

By Kathy Cheek
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Further Reading

• Place of Rest – by Kathy Cheek

Delight Yourself in the Lord – by Vonette Bright

God is My Delight – by Katherine Kehler


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

Our faith must be the eyes we use to see what we cannot see. The unseen, the unknown, the questions without answers…

(If God had put every answer in the Bible, we wouldn’t need faith, and our Bible would be so big we couldn’t carry it!)

God told us what He wanted us to know and called on us to believe by faith as we look at who He is, and what He did tell us, and what He has already done. We can do this by studying our Bible and also by recalling His work in our lives and those around us.

We just have to open our eyes to see Him and remind ourselves He is in control. He is working what we cannot see. We need to look through faith’s eyes.

It is hard though because our questions can be difficult.

Why didn’t you get that job?

Why did you get that diagnosis?

Why did that business deal go south?

Why did the door close to such a great opportunity?

Why didn’t that relationship work out?

Why did that relative turn away from God?

Why doesn’t God answer this? Why isn’t He moving to change things?

Maybe we can’t see the answer for which we so deeply long…

Instead, maybe what we can choose to see—is that the answers are in His hands. The timing is in His hands. The way, the when, the how, are all in His hands. God is still on His throne. We can stay strong in our faith and understand that answers don’t have to come in our time, but may slowly unfold in ways we never imagined. Maybe we need to open our eyes and see all the possibilities on the horizon and trust that God knows best.

By Kathy Cheek
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Devotions: From the Heart: www.kathycheek.com


Further Reading

•  The Fabric of My Faith – by Kathy Cheek

•   Fear or Faith? – by Gail Rodgers

•  Panic or Faith A Devotional by Carol Bellemore


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


How are you at waiting?

I am talking about the kind of waiting we do for answers as we seek God’s direction in matters of prayer and decisions that need to be made and hopes and dreams that have yet to be realized.

I’ve been thinking about how to do better than I have impatiently waited in the past.  This has been a long and gradual process. Waiting is teaching me how to wait.

Waiting – with trust added to it will give us endurance, peace, confidence in God’s ways, His plans, and His timing. Waiting without this kind of trust can be acutely agonizing and will make us miserable.

Waiting on God should be our place of rest, not worry and fretting and not wringing our hands. Waiting on Him from a position of rest comes when we have learned to trust Him with everything and with all of our heart.

When I am waiting on answers from God, I know He is asking me to trust and rest while I am waiting -and I want to do that, but I must admit I often find it difficult.

That is okay, since I am continually learning to walk by faith, draw closer to Him, listen for His direction, and not be in a hurry. As He teaches me to wait on Him with all my trust placed confidently in what He is doing in my life, I will find I can wait more patiently for what He knows is best.

When we find the place of rest that waiting God’s way will bring us, we will find a new strength we didn’t know before, because we have experienced our faith growing, and we know in our heart that what we are waiting for is a perfect answer from God.  That makes our waiting worth it all.

Isaiah 40: 31

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”

By Kathy Cheek
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You can find info about her book and read more of her devotions at www.kathycheek.com


Further Reading

•  Prayerful Waiting – by Max Lucado

• Waiting on God – How Do We wait? – A Bible Study by Sylvia Gunter

•  Salvation Explained


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


There was a difficult time when I was facing a battle and found myself pressed against a wall of gigantic disbelief.

Yet, God was asking me to believe what I could not find comprehensible to believe. If I was going to know victory in this battle, it would require faith of huge proportions.

Have you ever had a giant of disbelief towering over your circumstances and you are grasping for the faith to believe God will work in a powerful way?

I thought of David as many of us do when faced with giant-sized battles. And in the blink of an eye I could see young David reaching for the five smooth stones and placing one in his slingshot, the others in a pouch. Then God stopped me in my tracks and opened my eyes to see another hand, God’s own hand coming down and wrapping itself in power around David’s hand.

A sudden surge of faith and courage ignited in my soul as I thought about God’s hand sending David’s smooth stone rocketing like a missile toward Goliath. We all know well the glorious end of this story. The giant came crashing to his death and David saw the victory he knew his LORD would bring that day.

I also experienced victory in that moment. I knew in my heart that my giant would be falling too. God’s powerful hand was wrapping around my own and the battle I’d been fighting would soon be the battle I would win! My gigantic disbelief turned to gigantic triumph, all because of the Hand that holds my hand. Once again I was reminded that the battle belongs to the Lord, and it is He who fights for me!

Every time we choose faith in our intimidating circumstances, we are winning the battle. Day by day we can pick up the smooth stones and hurl them at the giants in front of us—toppling them to the ground. God’s hand will guide us and He will bring the victory. Sometimes it is a quick victory and sometimes it is a slower process.

God gave David the victory over Goliath. He can also give us victory against the giants in our lives.

1 Samuel 17:46-50
This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”  So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.  Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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FURTHER READING

•  Feelings, Forgiveness and Peace | by Dr. Muriel Larson
•  The Power of Forgiveness | by Dr. Henry Brandt

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


Why is it so hard to surrender and yield to a high and Holy God, who is our Abba Father?


Yield:
To relinquish control to someone or something;
To give something up to someone else;
The opposite of being in control or in charge.

Yes, it’s a hard thing to do; but when it’s done, surrender yields a sweet reward of intimacy with the Lord. The relationship between Father and child becomes knit together in strength, trust, and love. That’s when we learn to trust God’s ways, not ours. That’s how we tune our hearts to an obedient walk and choose to press in close for all He has for us as He leads and guides our lives. We gain much more than we lose when we give our lives in total surrender to our Heavenly Father and Lord.

There lies a constant risk of danger when we live unto ourselves and our own ways, and not unto God and His ways. A life lived unto ourselves becomes a painted target for Satan. Any part of our hearts not surrendered to the Lord is the enemy’s for the taking, and he will most certainly attack those vulnerable places.

That’s why it’s so vitally important to give ourselves completely to our God, submitted and yielded, fully surrendering every part of our hearts into His hands. The attacks still come, but He is our strength and shield when we’re yielded to Him. He is the power that can overcome anything the enemy brings against us—if our hearts are wholly surrendered to Him.

As believers, we are privileged to follow the Lord in our journey. By faith and obedience, and because we love Him and know we are loved by Him, we seek His ways, we draw close, and we keep our eyes on Him. We listen for His voice and we follow where He leads. Our yielded hearts understand that a surrendered life is a life walked hand in hand with the Lord.

Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. ~Psalm 25:4-5

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission
From: www.kathycheek.com

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Further Reading

•  Grace to Keep on Yielding –  by Katherine Kehler

•  YIELDING – by Karen Huffacker

•   A River Runs Through Me – by Mike Woodard


thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


After listening to someone share how they blew it by losing their patience over a very small matter when their sincere intention was to keep calm in a disagreeable situation, I was reminded how recently a similar thing had happened to me.

Just when I think I am making progress in an area, I turn around and blow it again. I wasn’t looking to lose my control and say things I didn’t mean to say. And yet a simple conversation and small disagreement with my husband spiraled into heated words and I definitely blew it with my tongue. It was so trivial and stupid of me. I blew it again…

I was madder at myself than my husband was. For him it blew over very quickly but I continued to punish myself with the question, why did I do it? I didn’t want to do it! But I did it.

Why am I so prone to sin? Does that sound familiar? 

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15 (NIV)

Why can’t I do a better job of reigning myself in? Why did I do something I didn’t even want to do?

Do you hear the condemnation ringing loud in this battle raging within me? There is an answer. There is now no condemnation.

There–is–now–no-condemnation. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)

When I blow it again, there is no condemnation because Jesus took care of that for me. I am so thankful for this truth. I need to accept this beautiful gift of no condemnation. It is part of my inheritance as a born again believer and child of God.

I don’t want to blow it again. But I probably will. 

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•  No Condemnation – by Rand Kreycik

•  No Condemnation – by Phil Ware

•  Salvation Explained


Thoughts by All thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women


On my walk yesterday when I arrived at the bridge I did what I always do.

I slow down. I stop. I lean over and peer through the side of the bridge on one side and say hello beautiful creek, it’s good to see you and watch the water below.

Then I cross over to the other side and say hey there creek, it’s good to see you this evening and watch it wind through the woods flowing the way a creek should.

I have this little talk with the creek because I remember the drought in 2011 when the creek was only a small trickle. I hope we never have a drought like that again.

Then I stood in the middle of the bridge and breathed in the beauty of the moment standing in the shade of the trees towering above. I whispered aloud oh this feels so good.

I had already seen four cottontails frolicking in an open field I love to call the meadow. I even encountered an armadillo which was a surprise. And then I enjoyed the moments on the bridge with a light breeze and sunlight streaming through the trees.

I continued my walk across the bridge. At the end of the bridge to the left in a small clearing in the woods are several benches. Two people were sitting on one of the benches. My first thought was, did they hear me talking to the creek? Did they see me stand in the middle of the bridge with my face toward heaven just breathing in the beauty of the day?

I shared this with my husband when I returned. Now he knows his wife of thirty four years talks to the creek. I told him, if that couple watched me and heard me then they know the lady who leans over the bridge and talks to the creek was enjoying life! Would they also know what she was really doing was enjoying the goodness of the Lord?

What about you? Are you enjoying the goodness of the Lord? 

Psalm 107:8-9 
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission
From: www.kathycheek.com

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Further Reading

•  Anticipate God’s Goodness – by Debbie West

•  God is GOOD – by Katherine Kehler

•  Salvation Explained


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thoughts by Kathy Cheek Thoughts by Women