Who'da Thunk?

Well, after two years, I finally have my blog back!!!!
It took a frustrating evening trying to get my google account set up on my new phone with a new e-mail...when I went to sign on, there it was my old gmail address. And Viola!!!! Hm, now maybe I'll start blogging again.

Use it or lose it!

I used to love to write.

I wrote all kinds of poetry. I found an old journal from my middle childhood days and read the things I wrote....and cringed. The early stuff was just plain cheesy, and the later stuff was full of overdramatic teenage angst. I had to laugh at how Lifetime Original Movie it was.  Embarrassing isn't the word. I also recall a book that I was starting to write about a teenage girl who was in a car accident, and the older boy whom she had such a crush on realized that he couldn't live life without her and wouldn't leave her side till she woke up from her coma. Yeah...it's probably good that one got lost. (By the way...thank you to my dear friend Jaime who took the time to type out that silly story on her super cool computer. They weren't in every house let alone every pocket back then. I think I owe you one, or ten for that one, Jaime!)

I also came across a few short stories that had some potential. Stories that illustrated God's love for us. Stories that I never did anything with. I just hid them in a binder and left them.

And then I just stopped writing.

Part of it was thinking that I  was insignificant, part of it was laziness, part of it was getting married and having 5 children....and a HUGE part of it was falling into vices that ate...eat....up all my time.

One day I sat down to write something

 There were no words to write.

 I had nothing.

Now I know that I don't live the most exciting life, but I don't live in a vaccuum. There have been quite a few monumentous occasions in the last 15 years of my life...where did all the words go?

A parable came to mind.

 

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25

Did God give me a bag of gold that I have squandered?  Used for childish things, then discarded? 

 A gift  that has atrophied from lack of use?

A sobering thought.

I believe that I have wasted a precious talent that God has given me. I have let my insecurities and selfishness get in the way. And it is heartbreaking.

I also believe that God is a generous God...ONE who gives abundantly.

He is teaching me this daily....

"...If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children...how much more does your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?" Matthew 7:11.

Once again I sit down to write....and I have somthing to say!

 I pray that this muscle that has gone so limp will once again have strength

 To glorify the ONE

the ONE who knew what I would become

the ONE who in his graciousness has dug up my hidden bag of gold and handed it back to me asking...what will you do with it now?

Do you have a bag of Gold?

Are you putting it to work, or have you buried it...afraid of what might happen if you fail?

My dear Victory is a writer. At the age of  9, she is writing the cutest, funniest, sweetest children's stories...book worthy in my own humble opinion.

She has a gift.

I pray that as she grows, she will use her words to paint pictures of the majesty of God...

that she will use her own small bag of gold ...

and multiply it till it is

 overflowing.

Am I really doing this?

 I finally did it.

 I created a blog.

 I have avoided it for so long because, well, who really cares what I have to say?

The truth is, though, I have gone to bed every night with so many thoughts on various subjects. Things that God is teaching me, encouraging me with, and if I'm honest convicting me of. Things that I don't wanna keep to myself...most of the time.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Ruth. I am a follower of Jesus, Son of the Living God. I have been married to a wonderful man for almost 12 years now. (Good golly time goes by quickly!). I have five little darlings...Victory who is 9 and full of energy, Light who is 7 and very graceful, Gift who is 5 and precocious, Runner, who was so enthusiastic that he ran right back into the arms of his creator before he even drew his first breath, and Harvest...who has been teaching me the true meaning of faith through her first 9 months plus 10.

I am a work in progress.

Last night as I was contemplating one of the many lessons God is trying to teach me...I felt compelled to share.

 Obedience.

Such a powerful word that brings up many emotions.  Am I obedient to my Father in heaven? If He asked me to speak...would I speak? Of course...if I knew everyone would agree with me. But what about when it's not a popular subject? What if everyone who hears will laugh or throw my words back into my face....would I still speak up...or out?

 I think this blog is the first step. I hope to share my many thoughts and epiphanies. I can assure you that it will be infrequent, hopefully funny, and sometimes disagreeable...I may even add pictures if I can figure it out! Will many people read it....... who knows? Will everybody like it?.....probably not. Will my spelling and grammar be atrocious?...Absolutely!!!

But when God says speak.....who am I to say "no"?

                                                         Yes! I figured it out!