Jesus has been showing me lately about enjoying little pleasures and how fulfilling they can be.  Simple things.  The other day I framed a handmade doily and some crocheted hankies that my Grandmother had made.  I wanted to do this for years and it gave me such joy!  Sometimes life gets so busy that we put doing these fun things on the back burner.

Have you ever noticed how little children have such fun and get such joy from the simple everyday things?  It just comes naturally to them.  They look with wonder on a butterfly, a soap bubble, or a firefly at night.  They take such pleasure in these things.  That’s probably one reason why Jesus loved being with children.  They’re carefree.  Children don’t worry about what they eat or wear.  (Luke 12:22-31)

As adults, we take for granted the things in which children find joy.  We need more and more spectacular things to make us happy.  Yet I think that’s one reason Jesus tells us to become as children again.  They see through His eyes.  Do we trust Him enough to let go of our worries and have fun?

It’s not always easy these days and we can find lots of things to be concerned about.  It’s not that we should bury our heads in the sand.  We have to be aware of what’s going on in the world around us.  Yet there needs to be a balance in our lives.

As a little girl, I loved being with my Grandmother and Aunts.  They would always have such fun.  They would laugh and tell stories of when they were young.  They would take such pleasure in the little things.  You would think, going through the Great Depression, that they would have become sour or bitter.  Not so.  They appreciated the little things.

Joy is an attitude that’s not just for the young, but for the young at heart.

Cares of this world choke out joy, like the seeds sown in thorny soil. (Matthew 13:22)  We not only have trouble hearing the Lord, we can’t seem to have fun with Him.  Jesus loves laughter.  At times in prayer, He’ll tell me something in my spirit to make me chuckle and I sense it’s because He wants to see me smile instead of thinking of problems.

My husband knew how to have simple joy.  I can remember one day, we were holding hands, walking down a street lined with vendors and just enjoying the day.  All of a sudden, he started skipping!   Holding his hand, I had to skip right along with him - much to the joy of the people around us.  Can you imagine seeing a middle-aged couple, skipping – who ever heard of such a thing?  Simple pleasures make memories that bring joy.  Remember when…….I imagine Jesus was smiling too.

Has Jesus been speaking to your heart about having fun lately?  Even if you’re going through a difficult situation – and most of us either are or have been at some time in our lives – Jesus wants us to be joyful.  He loves to see us smile.

So take a “joy pill” today.  Do one joyful thing a day – laugh – read a funny book, watch a funny movie, have fun with a friend – and watch how the weights lift off your shoulders.  When we have Jesus, we have joy.  For joy really is – Jesus Over You!

Blessings, Evelyn

Have you gotten your copy of Lessons I learned from the Lord paperback or e-book yet?  Makes a great gift for someone you care about!  Find it through your local bookstore, or order online at www.amazon.com, www.cbd.com, www.barnesandnoble.com

Have you ever been traveling to a place that you’re really excited to get to?  Maybe it’s that special vacation or assignment that God’s asked you to do.  You want to get there so badly and it seems to be that you’re waiting forever for the time to come.  You get to the airport and finally board the plane – but there’s a backup on the runway and you’re on hold waiting to take off.  Or maybe you’re about to land and are put in a holding pattern, just going in circles and not getting to where you want to be.  It can be frustrating, but necessary to go through. 

Sometimes the Lord has us in a “holding pattern.”  He’s already told us what He wants us to do and we’re so excited and want to get going.  However, then He tells us to wait – or we may not hear, but nothing is happening.   Waiting can be so hard.  Sometimes, even though we are adults,  we can be as little children on a trip in the car asking if we’re “there yet” or how long will it be until we get there! 

Jesus told the disciples to wait until Holy Spirit comes upon them.  What if they just moved forward on their own and didn’t wait?  They wouldn’t have had the power, authority or boldness that Jesus knew they needed to bring about His plans for them.  They were obedient and waited and prayed with anticipation.

There was an old commercial that had a song,  “Anticipation” that I think we all can relate to.  In this world of fast and instant everything, we’re not used to waiting.  I tend to want everything done yesterday and find that patience can be one of the hardest lessons to master.  However, it’s also a surrendering of our will – to His. 

Are you in a “holding pattern?”  Just relax and enjoy the journey, for if you wait on the Lord, soon you’ll be soaring!

Blessings, Evelyn

Lessons I learned from the Lord is now available as an e-book as well as paperback form from www.cbd.com   www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com

Puzzles can be such fun.  I remember as a very young child, feeling such a sense of accomplishment each time I completed one.  As I got older, the puzzle would contain more pieces and it would get more challenging – and more rewarding - to see the finished picture.

I was considering that during my whole life, the Lord was working everything out to fit like a puzzle.  Each time I obeyed Him, even when it wasn’t easy, a piece of the puzzle would fit in to help complete the picture.  It was another piece in bringing about my destiny and His plans for me.  When I obeyed Him, the “puzzle piece” would fit in so that I could go to the next “piece” that He had for me.

Each piece opens new doors.  Every act of obedience is helping to complete the puzzle of our lives.  He puts everything in our hands – everything we need.  All we need to do is trust Him and act in obedience, doing what he asks us to do – maybe not even knowing how – but just trusting and obeying with the first step.

Sometimes we think we have little faith – yet when we obey, the Lord sees us as having great faith.  Obedience takes great faith.  I believe that’s why the Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice – because without faith it is impossible to please God.  Yes, sacrifice sometimes takes faith, sometimes not.  However obedience INCLUDES sacrifice – that’s why it’s better.  For obeying the Lord means sacrificing your own desires and what you want to do, to do what the Lord asks you to do.  Therefore, since obedience includes sacrifice, it’s better.

Each time we obey, another piece of the puzzle fits in.  Some pieces are harder to fit in than others.  However, the tighter the fit, the less likely it is to fall out.  Yes, it seems that life can be hard at times.  But with the Lord’s help, your life puzzle is becoming more beautiful and rewarding with each day!

Blessings, Evelyn

As a child I would play “hide and seek” with my friends.  We would run as fast as we could to get to home base, then we would cry out, home-free!  I have a friend who gets, “God words” as she calls them  - wonderful little devotions that are insights and wisdom right from His heart.  One of them is about baseball.  In baseball the goal of the players is to run to home base.  

In this game of life, we are all running to win the race – to get to home base – heaven.   As believers, we are going home – free.  Free of sin’s corruption, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus.  We were given this gift of eternal life, free.  We can’t work for it, or buy it – no – it was given to us as a free gift.

Not only that, we will be given mansions – houses in  heaven – free.  Without a mortgage or payments.  No possibility of foreclosure – no homeless people – home….. free. 

Heaven is our real home.  This earthly home is just temporary.  It’s the game of life where everyone who believes and receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior will get to be home-free.  Even those who may be hiding right now, can find Him, and run to Him and be home-free.

Receive this wonderful gift of heaven, forgiveness of sin – just for the asking, just for believing, today - and be home-free.

For those who want to receive Jesus and His salvation of eternal life, or for those who would just like to re-dedicate their lives to Him, just pray this prayer – Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for my sins.  I ask You to forgive me of all my sins.  Come into my life, be my Lord and Savior, and I will follow You all the days of my life.  Thank You for forgiving my sins, giving me eternal life, and thank You that now I am born again.  Amen.

For more reading and to learn more about living a life of victory and freedom, go to the Get The Book page on this website and you can order Lessons I learned from the Lord as a paperback or e-book on Kindle, Nook, CBD.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Blessings, Evelyn

PS  I would appreciate you helping spread the word by telling your friends, co-workers and church about Lessons I learned from the Lord.  I would also appreciate any comments on www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or www.cbd.com  Thanks so much!  You can read the “Exciting News” blog for more info.

The weather in the Northeast has been unusually warm and I have spring fever.  Although it’s almost warm enough to say summer fever!   I was thinking about planting seeds and the Lord started showing me about different kinds of seeds.

One is our children, the produce of our flesh and the second is the seed that results from the work of out hands – our labor.  From our labor comes the seed that we sow back so that it multiplies.  Our children “seed” multiplies and produces grandchildren.

Our giving produces in two ways – the first is that it helps the receiver and the second is that God uses it to give back to us pressed down, shaken together and running over!

Seeds sown can take time for the harvest.  Birth takes 9 months.  An apple seed doesn’t produce the tree instantly.  Therefore our seed that we sow from our labor may take time to produce. 

Sometimes God does give us the harvest right away.  I think that we are entering a season where we will see the harvest come quicker as we get into the latter days. (see Amos 9:13)

In Lessons I learned from the Lord  I write that one seed produces many seeds.  An apple seed produces an apple tree that has many apples, each with many seeds in each one.  The tree produces fruit for us to eat and seed to sow.  If the seed to sow is not only planted by us, but given to someone else to plant for their needs, it produces another harvest and is multiplied.  The people we give our seed to, will have fruit to eat, seeds to sow and some seed to give to another.

Translate this principle to the work of our hands.  The work of our hands produces two kinds of seed – money to buy food and take care of our own needs, and money to give to others to help take care of their needs that they cannot.  Then they in turn will be able to produce and give to others and so on and so on.  The money we give – or food – or clothing – is the seed that will help someone get back on their feet again, so that they can produce their own seed.  If you don’t have much, if you have a loaf of bread, give a slice.  It’s amazing how much food can stretch.  I’ve learned that from my Grandmother’s never ending soup pot!

It’s touching to see that when starving children are given food, even though they are hungry, they share some with their siblings.  In their need, these children give and they learn the principle which in time will cause them to produce.  If given a chicken, they can share an egg, sell an egg and hatch an egg for more chickens. and so on.

So sow and watch the seed produce!

I have a dear friend who is building an orphanage for Ethiopian children.  You can go to her website at www.heartofmyheartorphanage.org to find out more about it.

Please check out a newspaper article about Lessons I learned from the Lord  at www.thealternativepress.com/articles/local-christian-author-and-motivational-speaker-l    Pass it along to anyone who may be interested.

I would appreciate you continuing to help spread the word about the e-book on www.amazon.com  www.barnesandnoble.com and www.cbd.com     To read more about it see the blog Exciting News.

Thank you!

Blessings, Evelyn

First, if anyone hasn’t read the previous blog, “Exciting News”, please take a moment and read it.  You can be a part of helping spread God’s word to the nations!

Have you ever had a favorite chair?  You know, the kind that’s big and soft and so comfortable that once you sit in it, you really don’t want to get up?  It’s the chair that you snuggle in on cold days with a warm blanket wrapped around you.  It’s the one you curl up in with a good book, or even take naps in.  It could be lovingly worn out, but you can’t seem to part with it.

Comfort is such a wonderful thing.  Yet sometimes we get “stuck” in our “comfort zones.”  We may know that the Lord is asking us to get up and step out, but we have the feeling it may be very uncomfortable to do so.  We know that there may be a price to pay.  So we put it off – for just a little while, we think – and we never do it.

Yes, there is a price to pay when we get out of our comfort zone.  There’s resistance and we may find there’s a lot coming against us that we will have to press through.  (I never really knew what that meant until God asked me to write a book!)  The enemy will use whatever tactics he can to get us to be discouraged, or fearful, or too tired to get going.  He even uses well-intentioned people who love the Lord.  I’m sure the devil gets his greatest pleasure in this.

Yet the rewards are great.  Just hearing His voice is wonderful and the best reward.  Any resistance is well worth it.  It’s like when a woman has a baby.  The pain of childbirth is all worth it when she holds that precious baby in her arms.

God always protects those stepping out to obey and do His will.  I’ve found that when (not if) the enemy attacks, that the Lord always sends us His assurance in some way to confirm what He’s speaking to us and to give us His strength to move forward.  It’s really neat to see how God will put a word on a Christian site that you know is exactly for you for that moment, or a person will call or write with a word from the Lord to let you know He’s seen and He’s already taken care of it.  It always amazes me to see how specific the Lord is with these words – so that there is no question He’s comforting you because of that attack.  I find that God comes to our rescue speedily – many times that very day!

So don’t be afraid to get out of your comfortable chairs.  You may meet resistance, but like a precious lady who clearly hears the Lord - one that the Lord put in my path for such a time as this – just told me – be at peace, He’s got my back covered!

God bless you as you step out for Him.

Blessings, Evelyn

http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-I-Learned-Lord-ebook/dp/B0078XFZLG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329251161&sr=1-1

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_No=26349EB&product_redirect=1&Ntt=26349EB&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lessons-i-learned-from-the-lord-evelyn-lang/1102001093?ean=9871616388966&itm=1&usri=lessons+i+learned+from+the+lord

http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/evelyn-lang/lessons-i-learned-from-the-lord/_R-400000000000000619013

I have exciting news – Lessons I learned from the Lord is now available as an e-book on www.amazon.com (Kindle), www.cbd.com (Christian Book Distributors), www.barnesandnoble.com (Nook), and www.ebookstore.sony.com  (Sony).

I need your help!  There are a few things you can do to help this book reach the people the Lord would have read it, in this country and including those around the world that could not have otherwise gotten a hard copy.  I am believing God for many people to come to the Lord through this e-book, as well as help other Christians have a more intimate relationship with the Lord.  You can play a part in spreading this word and making this a success!

Here’s how you can help get this message of freedom and the word of God to others:

EMAIL – it would be a huge help if you would email your friends to tell them about it and where to get it.  Ask your email contacts to tell their contacts and so on.

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN – Putting it on your FaceBook, Twitter, or LinkedIn page would be greatly appreciated. Or give the book as a gift-tweet!  (Please no personal info – just my website www.evelynlangbooks.com and Amazon, CBD, etc.)

WRITE A REVIEW ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, CBD, etc.

WORD OF MOUTH – Tell co-workers, family and friends.

BLOG – Write about the book on your or a friend’s blog.  Do an interview with Evelyn.

MEDIA – Please contact me if you have any contacts for interviews with TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or blogs.

GET A COPY -  I would be honored if you choose to get one for yourself.

GIVE AS GIFTS

ALSO AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK COPY IN BOOKSTORES OR ONLINE

***ABOUT THE BOOK***

Lessons I learned from the Lord is a book that will help you “keep it together” when it seems the world is falling apart.  It’s full of God’s “nuggets” of wisdom.

Lessons I learned from the Lord  is a book about relationship, not religion.  Written conversationally, it’s a story of a walk with the Lord – but it’s everyone’s story.  Readers will see themselves in every chapter, as if it were written with them in mind.  It will be used as a reference book, not a one time read.  The lessons bring the word of God and freedom to readers as they increase their faith to believe God’s promises.

Thank you so very much!

Blessings, Evelyn

Flemington Assembly of God Church, 434 Route 202 North, Flemington, NJ 

Hello everyone!

I pray that everyone is having a great start to the New Year!  This blog is a continuation of the last one titled, The Great Divide.

The cowboys in that blog, who crossed the line in the dirt, couldn’t just stand there.  They had to then move forward and go ahead with what they needed to do.  They couldn’t keep going back and forth over the line and keep changing their decision.  They had to stand behind what they said and did.

When our children were young, my husband and I agreed that in raising children, we always needed to be consistent.  To say what we mean and mean what we say.  This is a great foundation for integrity, which is another topic for another time.

Now is the time for consistence.  Consistence is needed more than ever before, yet it seems that it’s not as evident as in years gone by.  We should not be going back and forth, wavering, in and out of the world’s standards.  If we keep going in and out a door, we’ll never move forward.  Or like a revolving door that we stay in,  going around and around in circles and never getting anywhere! 

Step out and move forward.  Find out what the Lord would have you do and then take the first step.  After you make a decision, don’t go back to the other side of the line.   Take baby steps if you have to, but stand your ground on doing what’s right.  If you slip and fall, just get back up and move forward again until you’ve advanced so far there’s no going back.  You’ve accomplished too much to go back.

It’s time for consistence.  If we’re consistent, not wavering, then we will move forward in all the Lord has for us.

Resolutions seem to be something that we TRY to do.  Resolutions usually fail for most of us.  However, consistence is what we DECIDE to do.  Consistence will always get us where we want to go.  Consistence pays off!

Blessings, Evelyn

Please check out my articles on  www.innervoicemag.com   To read the articles, click on Our Voice and scroll down to the titles.  The Fragrance of Fall and The Sparkle and Sound of Crystal are on the home page.  Other titles are:  God’s Love Notes, Listen to His Heartbeat, Do-Overs, Just Whistle and End of Your Rope.

Happy New Year!  I wish everyone a blessed, healthy, prosperous year.  May all God’s promises to you be manifested this year!

When I was a child, Western movies were very popular.  It was the time of good versus evil, right versus wrong.  It was a simpler time when no one ever questioned if something was the right thing to do – they knew in their hearts.  It seemed to me that people had more peace back then.

I can remember one movie where a cowboy drew a line in the dirt.   He said to those around him that the ones who were for him should step over the line.  There was a definite line of demarcation where they had to make a choice.  Indecision is difficult and stressful – once a decision is made, peace generally comes - if it’s the correct one.  Maybe that’s why the world is in such turmoil these days.

It seems that we are in the time of the great divide.  Politically, economically, spiritually.  I believe we’re coming into an era where there can be no more “gray” areas, and that people will have to take a stand on what they believe or don’t believe.  Gray areas, middle ground and obscurity will be thinning out.  It will be more difficult for those who want to remain in “neutral” and not make any decisions.  

Jesus said that he who is not for Me is against me.  Nothing gray about that!  He “drew” the line.  What about the sheep and the goats?  There’s no third animal of “middle ground” here either.  We can’t be “parked in neutral” much longer.  Jesus told us that we should be either hot or cold, because if we’re lukewarm He would spit us out!

We see uprisings happening like never before in many countries.  Polarization seems to be taking form, lines drawn.  So the question is – where do you stand?  On what side of the line?  Or are you compromising with one foot on the one side and one foot on the other?  It may have worked before, it may have worked for a little while, but sooner or later you have to make a choice – because when you think about it, indecision is really a decision after all.

Blessings, Evelyn

***P.S.  Watch for my announcement of Lessons I learned from the Lord coming out as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, CBD, etc. in a few weeks! 

Remember to check out my articles on www.innervoicemag.com    The Sparkle and Sound of Crystal, The Fragrance of Fall is on the home page.  Click on Our Voice to read Listen to His Heartbeat, Do-Overs, God’s Love Notes, Just Whistle, and End of Your Rope.

When I was a child, our church was a very small church, but it had the most beautiful stained glass windows.  I used to love to see the sun shining through them and would study how each piece was cut to make the perfect picture.  My favorites were of Jesus with a little lamb and Jesus praying at the Garden of Gethsemane.

During this Christmas Season, we see cards with pictures of churches with stained glass windows.  Many years ago, I knew someone whose job was creating stained glass windows for churches.  He’s since gone home to be with the Lord, yet even back then it was becoming a lost art.  Maybe that’s why we see new churches being built without the stained glass.

I have a few friends who make stained glass sun catchers and hanging pictures.  They tell me that the beauty of these creations comes with the price of cut and burned fingers.  They do this however, for the joy and love of creating something beautiful from broken pieces.

Jesus takes us – stained and broken as we are – and puts the pieces together to form a beautiful picture of Him.  For without becoming broken, surrendering ourselves, we really can’t know Him in that personal way.  Wasn’t He broken for us?  Striped, bruised and beaten beyond recognition?  What He did for us was to become torn so that we could become whole.  Yet not only whole, but to become – as a result of our being broken, we become even more beautiful than we were before.  A new “picture” formed with all the shattered pieces that come together to tell a story of His love. 

There’s another thing about stained glass.  Once the pieces are soldered together, it becomes much stronger than the one big solid piece of glass.  It’s not as easy to be shattered again, for it has the strength of the solder that holds it together.  Jesus is the solder that holds us together and gives us His strength.  In our weakness, He is strong.

This Christmas, as we celebrate His birth, let’s remember why He came.   He loves us so much that He was willing to be torn for us and give up His life so that we have forgiveness and the greatest gift of all – His gift of life eternal with Him.

Happy Birthday Jesus! 

May the love of Jesus be more real to you this Christmas than ever before.  Merry Christmas!

Blessings, Evelyn

Remember to check out my articles on www.innervoicemag.com   The titles are Listen to His Heartbeat, Do-Overs, God’s Love Notes, Just Whistle, End of Your Rope, and the latest, The Fragrance of Fall.  Just click on Our Voice and scroll down to the title.