Tag: focus heavenward

Until Death Do We Meet

  In the book of John it says, "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told​​ you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also” (John 14:1-3).​​ 

 

  It is certain that Jesus will return and His children will reside​​ in heaven with Him.  There is no doubt! …

  Announcing​​ … the release of my first book! ​​ I am praising God for His enduring love in keeping me on track in this exciting and exhausting journey. ​​ 

 If you are lead to do so, please like my Facebook page @focusheavenward ​​ and share it with your contacts. ​​ Until Death Do We Meet ​​​​ is available for purchase at​​ Barnes and Noble online,​​ Amazon books, and​​ Westbow Press, a division of​​ Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. ​​ 

 

 You are encouraged to leave a review on the above sites. ​​ Feel free to contact me through​​ focusheavenward@gmail.com.

 

 

The Key to a Mansion Awaits You!

 

 Promises, contracts, oaths, vows – these are all different signs of commitment.  We promise to do something, we put our signature on contracts to secure expectations of the parties involved, we take oaths to uphold certain agreed upon values, and we show the sincerity of our commitment in spoken vows to one another.

                Yet, are we truly able to keep all of our promises, fulfill every contract perfectly, maintain each word of an oath we have recited with absolute completeness, and carry out each part of a vow with success?

 Our answer – probably not.  The truth – most definitely not!  Each of our relationships is dependent on a certain fulfillment of spoken and unspoken expectations.  If we were able to always say and do everything perfectly, there would be no problems with commitment.  And, many lawyers would be out of a job!​​ 

 But, we have a great deal of hope!  Relationships can and do work. And they work well, when they are based on the truths of God’s love for us.  When we begin to understand God’s love and commitment to us, what He has done for us and what He expects of us, each of our personal relationships with friends, family, our spouse, neighbors, and colleagues, will be affected for the better. ​​ 

 Keep in mind as you read this book, the most important application to make is your own personal response to God’s love and commitment towards you!  So although there will be reference to a marriage relationship, this is not the major inference.

 ​​  I pray you will recognize that a greater appreciation of God’s faithfulness towards His children produces a desire to extend that same faithfulness and devotion towards the individuals He has placed in your life. …

 Several years ago in September, my Mom and I spent a day on Catalina Island off the California coast.  We enjoyed a tour of Avalon while a guide narrated the history of many of the landmark buildings.  As we drove by a gorgeous home, overlooking the bay, we listened to the sad history behind its construction. ​​ 

 The story goes like this.  A young man just betrothed to his beloved, began building her a beautiful home which they would enjoy after their marriage.  He worked on this dwelling tirelessly, looking forward to that day of finally bringing his bride home.  When the mansion was completed, he waited with great anticipation for her arrival for their wedding day.  However, she did not show​​ up. Apparently she had changed her mind and never returned to the island.  The young man was so devastated, he forbid any female to enter the home he had built.  So for more than forty years the structure was abandoned.  It was kept up but not enjoyed, not lived in by its intended couple and therefore not loved in either.  This is a tragic account and although most of us do not have as graphic a story as this one to tell, we have all experienced broken promises from people we have loved, either in friendships, among family members or even within a marriage.  The vows people make are unreliable; God’s vow of love to His children is absolute. ​​ 

 In the book of John it says, "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also” (John 14:1-3).​​ 

 It is certain that Jesus will return and His children will reside in heaven with Him.  There is no doubt! …

 I pray your focus is drawn to Christs’ eternal kingdom where you will finally meet your Lord and Savior face to face –     ​​ 

 

 

Focus Heavenward with me,

Sharyn.

 

One Year Later

God continues to intervene in my plans on a daily basis, the opportunities to serve have increased, I have been stretched to the ‘breaking point’ several times, and I’ve messed up even more times. But in all things God has shown His grace and mercy. I am still walking on two legs, have breath in me, and an increasingly strong desire to remain focused on the One who provides all I have and who has made me in His image and called me His child.

It has been just over one year since I began this blog. ​​ As I reread my first entry,​​ (to see this click​​ here)​​ I am so very thankful that God lead me to share​​ His truths in a forum that is accessible to more than those I am blessed to be in personal contact with. ​​ I am still not computer savvy, yet God has allowed my patience to be tested on numerous occasions as I’ve learned new IT terms, programs and what it means to be floating around in ‘the’ cloud!

 

I love my Lord and Savior more with each passing day and can absolutely attest that my desire to know Him and study His word has greatly increased. ​​ The opportunity to write, to be encouraged, challenged, reminded and comforted by digging in to Scripture is a blessing to cherish. ​​ To be able to share what God shows me with others, is one of the greatest excitements in my life! ​​ 

 

I have heard from you stories of how God is working in your lives, and the encouragement from those stories is part of what drives me to continue to move forward in sharing my pursuit in knowing Jesus more.

 

So here we are, 92 posts and Bible studies published; being read in China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Israel, Sweden, the Russian Federation and Netherlands, as well as the United States; over 46,000 visits and a truly humbled heart that perhaps one individual has been encouraged to seek God’s truths. ​​ I am a bit overwhelmed that God can use a person such as myself, the only title to claim being His child, for His glory. ​​ Gratitude fills my heart as I continue this lifelong pursuit of growing in my understanding and knowledge of my Lord and Savior.

 

God continues to intervene in my plans on a daily basis, the opportunities to serve have increased, I have been stretched to the ‘breaking point’ several times, and I’ve messed up even more times. ​​ But in all things God has shown His grace and mercy. ​​ I am still walking on two legs, have breath in me, and an increasingly strong desire to remain focused on the One who provides all I have and who has made me in His image and called me His child.

 

Thank you for hanging in there with me, even when technical issues were discouraging and things didn’t load correctly. ​​ Forgive me for spelling and grammar errors. ​​ Prayerfully, I will continue to Focus Heavenward and sing towards the heavens in my soul to Thee – The One True God! ​​ May He bless you with the riches of Eternal Life in His presence!

 

Please continue to pray for me! ​​ My prayer for you is contained in one of my favorite sections of Scripture, in the words of Paul, written to the Ephesian church:

 

Eph 1:17-19 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him​​ 18​​ [I pray that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,​​ 19​​ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who​​ believe.​​ 

Make Lemonade

There is a saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. How about adding to that? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade and dwell on God’s Truth – then you will be refreshed both inside and out!

You know how you suggest to others different Bible verses to help with whatever circumstances they are facing? ​​ Usually, those scriptures stick in our mind because they have been instrumental in our own lives.​​ 

One of my favorite sections of scripture​​ is familiar to most believers.​​ It begins in​​ Philippians Chapter 4 verse 6. ​​ “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.​​ ​​ 7​​ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. ​​ To be anxious means to be​​ disquieted, to be worried or nervous or uneasy. ​​ We are commanded to not be troubled by anything at all!​​ Easier said than done, right? ​​ Instead of being worried we are to earnestly pray,​​ presenting our requests to God. ​​ The result promised, when this is done, is​​ peace​​ – the​​ opposite of a disquieted spirit – a quiet, restful, serenity of mind. ​​ These two verses go on to say that we cannot even begin to understand how peace can enter into our troubled hearts but, when we obey and act according to God’s word, it does and the result is a heart and mind that is protected in Christ Jesus.​​ 

The first time I truly studied this scripture​​ in a pen-to-the-paper practical mode, I was in California and my son and his wife lived across the country. My​​ young​​ daughter-in-law was found to have an extremely large tumor which would require​​ immediate and extensive surgery, followed by a long recovery and the question of whether pregnancy would​​ ever​​ be possible. ​​​​ It’s in those times especially that you feel the distance​​ of miles​​ that separate you from loved ones. ​​ I was unable to sleep and​​ was beginning to feel​​ a bit overwhelmed by​​ circumstances. ​​ It’s so cool how God uses His word to direct us to the place He wants us.​​ I was led to Philippians 4 and​​ when I carefully read verse eight,​​ God showed me clearly​​ there was a very practical exercise that would direct my thoughts to a place of rest. ​​ This was the first time I took out my notebook and​​ physically wrote​​ a list according to the categories​​ in​​ Phil 4:8: ​​​​ ​​ (I’ve done this several times since.)

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

After completing my list of all that was absolute truth, the facts; all that was honest and honorable; all that was just and pure and acceptable; and so forth, in connection with my son and his wife and the challenge they were facing, I had so much to ponder of​​ God’s grace in their lives that my heart was put at rest once again. ​​ 

There is a saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. ​​ How about adding to that? ​​ When life gives you lemons, make lemonade and dwell on God’s Truth – then you will be refreshed both inside and out!  ​​​​ Dwelling on Truth – an incredible, practical remedy for discouragement. ​​ Sometimes life can seem overwhelmingly complicated, confusing, unfair and downright depressing. ​​ 

Have you been in a place where you’ve almost had to physically will yourself to remain hopeful and joyful in the things that were true and honest and good so that the things that were unfair and dishonest and bad were unable to find a dwelling place in your heart? ​​​​ God understands and He offers His Divine direction.

Once again, in​​ Philippians 4:9, God promises his peace with us as we seek to follow Him.

Php 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.

When tears are at the surface, when the words don’t come, when you are tired and feel like giving up,​​ or you don’t know which way to turn, focus heavenward. ​​ God’s prescription for healing has already been written. ​​ 

Focus Heavenward

Flash back to the spring of 1998. My first child was accepted into a college he had applied to. This was great news and this was not so great news as felt by a mother’s heart. This university happened to be located almost fifteen hundred miles away from home! Think the late 1990’s, before FaceTime was available to the general public. Keeping in touch was done by phone, email or snail mail. There was no snap chat or instant messaging, and pushing a “purchase” button on an Amazon shopping icon wasn’t familiar, if it even existed. We had cell phones but compared to the devices we have now, they were pretty slim in their options (however, not in their size!! They looked like big black walkie talkies with antennas, and forget fitting a phone into your jeans pocket!). Everyone we knew had land lines as their main phone connection.

I plastered a smile on my face to hide the hole in my heart and helped our son get ready for the grand adventure ahead of him. We decided to make the trip into a vacation for all of us. The traveling provided some good together time before the makeup of our family, as we knew it, changed forever.

We gave our son several prepaid phone cards, and after we helped settle him into his dorm room, we said good-bye. There is something about that first child moving out that brutally reminds parents that this person they had nurtured from birth until now, had always belonged to God. It’s something you know and fully accept and even want for them but the reality hits hard when you begin the long drive home with an extra seat in the van.

Ge 33:5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

In accordance with Scripture, everything we have belongs to God. We are stewards of His creation. This includes our children!

Any type of change disrupts our comfort. The birth of a child, the release of a child, marriage, relocation, illness, loss of a friend, and even ministry changes, serving in a different area or assuming different responsibilities. It doesn’t matter whether it’s good, bad, exciting or disturbing, chosen or forced upon. Change is difficult and scary and leaves you feeling vulnerable.

What does one do with the emotions that accompany significant change?

In the world you turn towards the things that seem to offer stability, albeit temporal. You may concentrate on the things you feel you can control. You may decide to ignore changing circumstances until the point in which they must be acknowledged.

In the believing Christian world, the effects of change are still felt but (hopefully) the reaction is different. You turn towards God for peace and assurance. You trust He is in control and will guide your direction. You pray for perspective and a response that proves you are His child. You focus heavenward.

At the time of releasing my first child I began writing via email to him, signing each letter with the reminder to keep his focus heavenward no matter what circumstances were presented. (I always drew an arrow pointing upwards as a visual.)      Focusing on God, keeping him close in heart is the one thing I knew would act as a comfort and guidance to my son. I’m not sure if that reminder did more for me or my child. But, I knew God’s plan was for good and I personally needed that constant message to keep my focus on His truth, His promises, His care and to trust in God’s ownership of my son.

How do you focus heavenward?

I had a website at that time under the name ‘Focus Heavenward’ with the statement that its purpose was to be used as a tool to look to the Bible for growth, purpose and encouragement. The site was a collection of past and present Bible studies and women’s retreats I had written over the years.

In order to focus heavenward, a direction is assumed. That direction is up. Up towards a higher position, up towards God. Up towards something that has greater value. In order to focus heavenward, faith in someone bigger than ourselves needs to have been claimed. In order to focus heavenward, a desire to give attention to someone other than ourselves is necessary. In order to focus heavenward, we need to follow the One whose established throne is in heaven.

Whenever life’s direction is significantly altered or disrupted from what is familiar, we respond in one of two ways. We fight it or we accept it. Fighting change won’t stop change, it will only make change more difficult. Accepting change as a necessary part of life will ease the paths of uncertainty.

God permits and sometimes even instructs circumstances in our lives in order to draw our eyes upward. Hanging onto God’s overwhelming love for His children, and His perfect plan and control of all things will allow us, through His grace, to focus heavenward through joyous times and even through tears.
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