RESILIENCE OF YOUTH
“Resilience is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, you hurt. You fall, but you keep going.”
As I headed off to teach my little group of young Thespians yesterday, my heart was concerned for what their minds might be dealing with in the wake of all the disaster facing our world. I wondered over how to answer questions, to soothe their anxious thoughts, to comfort them in some small way. When I arrived, I was greeted with rambunctious little bodies, ready to cut loose from a long day of being in school and I realized that my thinking was not the same as theirs.
To be complacent over the condition of our world is foolish, but in the end there’s really nothing we can do about it, except to rise above it – to continue on and bounce back. Resilience gives us the ability to stretch our tired, depressed minds away from the pain and like a rubber band, return to our normal – whatever that is.
Kids are built with an inner elasticity that takes a long time to stretch out. As we age, the stretchiness has expanded so far, it becomes useless, unless we keep on rejuvenating and supporting it with the foundation of God’s truth.
Though the children of this generation have grown accustomed to bad news, it’s our responsibility to let them know that things aren’t hopeless. If they see that we’re giving up, they will too. If we enable them with a strong foundation, they will rebound – just as we will.
Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. He has already won the victory over evil. We know that a better life awaits us in eternity. Let your kids know this good news, so they will have the same confidence in all times of trouble.
Posted in aging, Children, Daily inspiration and devotions, Uncategorized
Tagged disaster, encouragement, FAITH, Inspiration, Jesus, resilience
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BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS
ORIGINAL ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©
Looking back on days gone by,
Gazing at a muddied sky,
In the twinkling of an eye,
The peace of God is there,
Trudging through the path of life,
Summing up the natural strife,
Wishing for the after life,
The peace of God is there,
When we cross that great expanse.
Will it be by circumstance,
Will we have second chance,
The peace of God is there,
He’s waiting on the other side,
Continuing to lead and guide,
From Him we never more shall hide,
The peace of God is there.
ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE
ORIGINAL ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©
A simple time when days were filled with elementary things,
Like gathering wood and breathing air and songs that nature brings,
Enjoying all the scenes of life within our earthly pale,
And leaving all the cares behind when life starts growing stale,
To start each day with wonderment, instead of fear and care,
To feel the hand of God near you, His closeness there to share,
To simply think of quiet things and not be self absorbed,
To turn your troubles to the Lord, you’ll surely be restored,
That simple place is in your heart, a place where Jesus dwells,
A place of calm and comfort too, and all our fears dispels.
Posted in art, Christian devotion, Christian Poetry, Uncategorized
Tagged Art & Poetry by Paul & Kathy Boecher, COMFORT, Inspiration, simplicity
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TEARS FROM GOD
It’s been raining here in my town for the past two days. It seems appropriate for these tiny droplets to be filling the air at the moment, with all the horror that has invaded our world. Every day seems to reveal another act of inhumanity, hatred, violence, ugliness or natural disaster. Our hearts grow heavy with the weight of it.
For the average guy, all of this could lead one to give up in despair – to blame God – to wonder why He allows it – to scream! Lord, hear our prayer!!
The events that continue crawl across the foot of our television screens – the constant barrage of news coverage – the social media comments – the misdirected anger and hatred cannot be avoided. These things have become part of our world today. We are the product of instant news and information, whether we like it or not.
When push comes to shove and we look at the positive side of a tragic event – we can find a glimmer of hope. It seems to me that whenever America is in a mess and some crisis comes along, we naturally come together. There will be those who need to help others. There are those that know how. There are those who are willing to lay down their own lives to help another. This is the core of America. The helpers. The doers. The people.
Our true refuge from all this horror is in God our Creator. He alone will be the same today, tomorrow and always. With Him, we have the security, consistency and faith to get through these difficult times
CLEANSED BY THE TEARS OF GOD
Mountainous clouds entwine in a sky of black,
Filling with tears from the Lord of all.
He sees and He knows our tribulation.
The depth of our sorrow is in His hands.
There is nothing we can do to take away our sadness.
We cannot change the course of our lives,
But He has turned His tears to cleansing waters
Through the death of His beloved Son.
Washed – forgiven for sin’s deadly pain,
We can dance in His refreshing rain.
KATHY BOECHER©
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CONSISTENCY
The air chokes with death and the smells of it.
Deep in the bowels of the earth, the demons dance for joy,
Hatred, twisted minds, overtly wounded souls disperse the winds of time,
Life is snuffed out like a waning candle,
In an instant and without warning,
This is our reality,
Yet within that reality is small glimmer of hope,
A tiny fracture of light in the distance,
Hope remains in tact,
It is our God,
Who never changes,
Though the world is slowly being devoured by evil,
Though it seems impossible to understand,
Though life has taken a back seat to death,
We must hang on to that glowing ember,
For without it we will be swallowed up.
Posted in America, Christian daily devotion, Christian Poetry, Uncategorized
Tagged Christian hopek, encouragement, God, Inspiration
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WORDLESS
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him. Psalm 62:5
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YOU CAN DO IT!
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ATIMETOSHARE.ME 9-28-15
Why is it, that in a community of believers, there’s still room for the “put down?” Maybe because we’re human. Maybe because the devil is still allowed to roam the earth and tear away at the souls and hearts of men. Maybe because we think that once we’re Christians, we’re immune to criticism or the arrows will just bounce off us because we wear the armor of Christ.
It seems to me that once we’ve become Christians, that’s just the beginning of our earthly battle. We’ll be criticized for our beliefs because they don’t conform with the world view. We’ll be ridiculed for accepting something based simply on faith and not fact. We’ll be looked upon as fools – indoctrinated individuals – helpless – Jesus freaks.
How do you view yourself as a Christian? Do you feel better than others because of what you believe? Do you challenge other believers if they don’t tow the line? Do you defeat a new Christian with doubt, fear tactics, theology, doctrinal differences? Do we tend to feel that we’re better somehow than others?
The body of Christ was perfectly constructed by the King of Creation. Unfortunately, the human factor also makes up that body and so often gets in the way of the truth. We forget to encourage and build each other up, because of our own selfish needs. We lose sight of what Christ has done for us and focus too much on our own works. We trust in our own understanding instead of the truth of the Bible.
When Jesus gave the new commandment to love one another – He was asking us to put others before ourselves – not simply through our good works, but because of the love He first demonstrated to us.
Jesus, you are the perfect example of love and sacrifice. Help us to constantly be reminded of your love for us and lead us to be encouragers to others. Amen!
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DRAMA!!!
We all have a certain amount of drama in our lives. With the invention of the internet and instant news, we’ve all become an active part in the drama that is playing out all around us. We can become disillusioned by it, angry, frustrated and even hopeless. Or we can walk away from it and search for something more positive to fill our time.
We are living out a story to pass on as a legacy to those we leave behind. Did you ever think of it that way? The lives we live today will represent us when we die. What people remember most about us – what our accomplishments were – what we believed in – what we contributed to society.
We all have different roles in the scheme of things. We all serve a purpose in progressing the story. We are not merely pawns on a chess board, but living, breathing human beings with strong emotions and deep beliefs.
What is your purpose in life? Do you have goals that will determine your future? Do you live for today or is your focus on the hereafter? Maybe you spend too much time dwelling on the past or things that you have no power over. We all have times when we think we have control over our lives – that we determine our futures – that we can go it alone.
We’re not merely characters in a play. God has a wonderful plan for everyone in creation. His direction – His wisdom – His enduring love and grace – are all elements which can give us purpose. He will guide us through trials, fear and doubt. He will lift us out of the pit of depression. He will protect us when the world seems too difficult for us to understand. Our God is an awesome God. He is our greatest heritage. Pass it on!
There will always be drama in life, but the most dramatic thing ever to have happened was God’s love for His creation and His payment to redeem it. That’s real drama!
Posted in anxiety, Christian daily devotion, Uncategorized
Tagged drama, encouragement, Inspiration, legacy
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FISHERS OF MEN
ORIGINAL WOOD SCULPTURE & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©
The world is so lost and hopeless, our hearts are filled with pain,
We struggle to survive the stress, we pray to be sustained,
Yet in our darkness there is light, A power source so strong,
That brings a lifeline in the night, to shield us from the wrong,
In times like that we long for hope, we pray for answers too,
But try as much as we may try, there’s nothing we can do,
In times like that we lose our faith, but then it’s needed most,
We need someone to pray for us, we call the Holy Ghost,
When He has granted us such peace, our hearts should overspill,
To share the news with all the world and give them hope to still,
To quiet the unrest they feel, to comfort and give rest,
To tell them of the love of God and how He gave His best,
The waters are abundant now, the Word is needed too,
A troubled world cries out for help, so this is what we do,
We pray for God’s direction now, to tell us what to say,
To lead us and protect us when we turn to Him and pray,
Make us disciples of His Word, in common we will strive,
To fish for men and give them hope, on how they can survive.
Continue reading
Posted in art, Christian daily devotion, Christian Poetry, Uncategorized
Tagged Art & Poetry by Paul & Kathy Boecher, Hope, Inspiration, revival
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LAND OF THE FREE
All the hubbub of standing for our National Anthem at any sporting event is taking the spotlight big time. Who would’ve thought that our nation, built on the blood of brave men and women, would be called out for singing her praises. We have the downing of monuments to war heroes, art being removed from public buildings because of their offensive nature of war. If we merely erase these things from our history, it will never take away the memory of those who built our country.
When we become so enraged over something like this, it makes me wonder if we have gone off the deep end and became a nation of sheep – those blindly following the one in front of them to their death. I’m not talking about our current president. Our past leader did so much damage to our national honor, by his own disrespect and apology for our country.
The Star Spangled Banner was written on the morning of September 14, 1814. Francis Scott Key had a day earlier boarded the British flagship which was planning an attack on Fort McHenry in the Baltimore harbor the next day. Because the plan had been revealed to him, he posed a threat to the attack, so the British returned him to his own ship under guard. He remained under arrest during the shelling of Fort McHenry.
Key was an amateur poet and as the battle ensued, he was moved to write the words to the Star Spangled Banner. The words became a monument to the bravery of those under attack. In it he speaks of freedom – which has been achieved in America today. We often hang on to past hatred and fears, because we think they’ll resurface if we don’t constantly remind ourselves of them. To eliminate them entirely, we’re hoping to cover up the pain of the past.
Our nation is so easily moved by controversy. It seems to be a pattern which fuels our every waking moment. We have more important things to concern ourselves with at the moment. Our prayers are necessary now more than ever. The evil that is penetrating the core of our existence will eat us up if we let it.
Our God is much stronger than the evil of Satan. He has already been conquered by the death and resurrection of our Savior, but there is work to do. The time is ripe for us to start sharing this good news for all humanity, before it’s too late.
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER – VERSE 3 BY FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, now more than ever before in our history. It’s time to stand tall for our country.
Posted in America, Christian daily devotion, courage, Uncategorized
Tagged America, controversy, flag, Freedom, hatred, opinion, Respect
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STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
Today my husband, Paul and I celebrate 53 years as husband and wife. We were high school sweethearts and have had our share of ups and downs over the years, but with God at the center of our marriage, we survived and became stronger. We still enjoy each others’ company. We laugh at most of the same things. We have maintained our sense of humor even during the difficult times. I thank God every day for allowing me to grow old with this man.
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