Tag: peace

This One Thing: Faith for Creatives

Published on by Candice Coates7 Comments

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind…The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole man.”~ECCLESIASTES 1:14;12:13

The book of Ecclesiastes was inspired by the Living Spirit of God and written by not only the wisest man to ever live, besides our Savior, Jesus Christ, but the wealthiest man of all creation; King Solomon.

In his lifetime, he had tasted of every indulgence he could, wealth was in abundance, of women he did not lack. There was nothing under the sun that was denied him.

And yet, after running around the mountain of indulgence and want, whether of Godly pursuit or in the attempt to appease the longings of his own flesh and desires; he came to the simple and yet profound conclusion, that nothing, NOTHING else was of true value, all was as chasing the wind, except loving God.

The word “fear” used in the scripture in regard to the Holy God of creation, is not that of being afraid and cowering, but one of awe and reverence. To be totally stricken silent by the glorious wonder of the One you are beholding. At the end of it all, King Solomon had found his One thing. God was his one thing.

Some may be thinking, “Well, that’s all well and good for him, but I live in the real world and I have real problems and cares.” So did Solomon. Whether at your greatest height or your lowest low, there is nothing so sweet as the embrace of Christ Jesus but you can only experience that by giving Him permission to take you in His arms.

Christ Jesus longs to love you and be loved by you. He died for you as His greatest expression of His love because YOU are HIS ONE THING.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.~ ROMANS 5:8

I encourage you to listen to the song again, read the words and maybe even sing along. Allow yourself to be enraptured by the truth that you are His One thing and His desire is to be close to you. And allow Him to be your One thing, for in Him are all things and you will lack for no good thing! (Matthew 6:24-34)

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”~REVELATION 3:20

*Revised from November 18, 2015

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

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Courage Through Peace: Faith for Creatives

Published on by Candice Coates1 Comment

And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.…” ~MATTHEW 18:2-4

Often times in our lives, no matter our age, no matter our victories or triumphs, we find ourselves in a place of uncertainty. Forces in the atmosphere have a way of coming at us out of nowhere, with the sole design to catch us off guard and to knock us off our axis.

I thank Christ Jesus for His Word, that He instructs us to have child-like faith because as His child I have no need of shame when I come to Him for affirmation. A child, no matter their age, is always welcome into their Father’s arms. And it is in those instances when we lift our hands to Him and allow Him to draw us up into the safety of His arms that our courage renews.

We come to Him as children, rest in the gentleness of the Lamb, and are empowered by the Lion of Judah. For in our weakness HE is strong in Power. (II Corinthians 12:9)

I can’t tell you how beautiful it is to find courage through His peace. That is something that you have to experience all on your own.

Be encouraged, no matter what. The Great I AM is HERE and He loves you! If you feel troubled, if you have lost your peace, let Him be I AM.

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

There Was Room: A Short Story

Published on by Candice Coates2 Comments

The door whispered on its hinges as her fingers gently pushed it open, her stomach leaping as the light from the window washed over the scene inside the room. 

Tiptoeing as not to disturb the scene, Nyla eased forward. She pressed her eyes closed pushing away the tears that had misted over her vision. Cale, her young landlord, lay across her bed, his eyes racing back and forward behind closed lids, his lips framed with touches of a sandy blond beard, just slightly open.

He was sound asleep with Nyla’s baby boy snuggled against his chest, nestled within Cale’s large hands.

Nyla hadn’t been gone away that long, maybe an hour or two. She had to make the rush to the market before the sun dipped below the horizon. They were fresh out of flour and salt, and Nyla needed that in order to get supper ready.

That was part of her living agreement, she could stay on at Cale’s farm, as long as she kept the house clean, took care of the lighter chores in the morning, and kept hot meals on the table for when he came in from the fields.

It was a more than a generous arrangement for Nyla and baby Asher. No one else was willing to give a home to a woman and her fatherless child in exchange for a few small chores and meals. It was nothing short of a blessing for them even though she could tell it was very hard on Cale.

She had only been in the small town for a few short hours when the local gossip let it slip that Cale was a young widower who had lost his wife and son during childbirth in the winter of the previous year. The way that Cale had looked at her and Asher with such pained eyes made it clear he was making a big sacrifice by not only opening up his home to a stranger but opening up old wounds that had hardly had a chance to heal.

Asher was only three weeks old when they came to live on with Cale. Nyla’s Ma and Pa had put them both out without even looking back, told Nyla she and shamed the family for the last time and had done a fine job of it by her 20th year.

They let her stay at home until she was fit enough to move out, and become nothing more than a bad memory for them to think about every now and again. All of it had made Nyla so miserably sad that she couldn’t help but name her babe Asher; happy and blessed. She was determined that no matter what, she and her boy were going to be happy and blessed.

Looking at him now, chubby six-month-old cheeks flushed with the warmth of sleep, and mouth parted open like Cale’s, made Nyla happy in a way she wasn’t quite sure she had the right to be.

Cale was not hers after all. He had made it clear his heart was not interested in opening, and for the first few months Nyla could do nothing short of agree. Yes, she had determined to be happy with Asher, but that happiness did not involve a man.

Now, she just didn’t know what to think.

That wasn’t completely true. She was thinking, and at that moment the one thing that occupied her mind was the curiosity of how soft Cale’s lips might be, and how they would taste should she still a kiss from them.

Throwing precaution to the wind, reasoning that he would never know even though she was certain she would blush beet red every time she looked at him afterward, Nyla leaned forward and gently kissed his lips.

She would have ended the kiss just as quickly as she had started it had Cale’s hand not gently cupped the back of her head and deepened it sweetly. He calmly let her go, sliding his hand down the inner part of her arm, his emerald green eyes gazing curiously and contentedly up at her.

Nyla touched her lips with her finger’s as Cale laced his fingers with those of her other hand. His smile taking hold of her like nothing else had before. His reception had startled her more than her boldness but the welcome assurance of his warmth only served to drive home a point she hadn’t even realized she was aiming for. There was room in her and Asher’s world, room for another to join them in their joy.

THE END.

Love is obviously back in the air here. But it took five minutes past the 20-minute mark to make its statement. As always, I had a great time writing this. It gave me warm fuzzies! I did edit and add to the last chapter, as the previous ending was kind of abrupt. These are my results for MONDAY’S MUSE WRITING PROMPT APRIL 16, 2018.

*Originally posted July 2nd, 2015.

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

 

Not Everything: Flash Fiction Results for Monday’s Muse August 8th 2016

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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Not Everything: Flash Fiction

He pulled his cap over the earbuds that blared in his ears. He needed them to stay in place, needed the music to take him to a different dimension in the same way the gray smoke that drifted from the embers of his cigarette led him into a superficial, addictive calm. He needed to focus if he was going to do what he planned to do.

Time had come knocking and it refused to remove its knuckles from his door until he complied. He ground his teeth, relenting to the urge that was pushing him.

He would make peace.

He wasn’t a perfect man. As far as what his new pastor had preached, he was still but a babe in Christ. Some habits, behaviors would take time to break. He quickened his pace before time could do any more knocking,

Pushing through the slushy snow that slowly melted against the pavement, he crossed the street and stepped into the coffee shop. He’d been a usual there for three years straight. Every morning, before work, he ordered the same coffee, the same way, with the same plain bagel, toasted, with cinnamon cream cheese.

Two days ago, the new girl had gotten everything wrong…not everything. She’d added cream to his coffee and given him an everything bagel with cinnamon cream cheese! The bagel wasn’t even toasted.

He was already running late for work and the morning rush had filled the coffee shop clear out to the sidewalk. He didn’t have time to get things fixed, but he’d stewed on it long enough to rip the girl a new one the following morning.

And all that evening the Holy Spirit seemed to do a beautiful job of convicting him of righteousness and the words of his pastor, “Kindness first, none of us are perfect although we serve a perfect God filled with perfect love for us.”

He was learning. He was leaning.

Standing in front of the girl at the coffee shop, her face suddenly draining at the sight of him. He apologized.

THE END.

*These are my results for Monday’s Muse Writing Prompt August, 8th, 2016.  Follow the link to see the rules and give the prompt a try!

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Closer: Music Interlude

Published on by Candice Coates9 Comments
Romance is such a glorious thing. But I have found that though the love of man to woman is something divinely inspired and beyond glorious, there is nothing in all creation that can compare to the love that one experiences in the arms of god. to draw closer to him, to know his heart, to know his greatest and purist love is for us, for you, to be wrapped securely in that does more than take your breath away.

~Poiema, Poetry in Motion

Always Welcome: A Word & Musical Interlude

Published on by Candice CoatesLeave a comment

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Seeing then that we have a Great High Priest, that is passed into the Heavens, Jesus, The Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a High priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore COME BOLDLY unto THE THRONE OF GRACE, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

~Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV

I want to encourage you today. I don’t care what is going on in your life, how you may have failed, what sin you may find yourself entangled in, I want you to know that if you have given your heart to Yeshua Jesus that He is not taken by surprise when you stumble, nor is He shaking His head in condemnation towards you (Romans 8:1).

What He is doing is waiting with His arms open wide, waiting for you, His beloved, redeemed child, to run into His open arms and allow Him to restore you.

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:16-17, Jeremiah 31:31-34

You see, the separation that we feel from Father God when we make a mistake and sin is not a separation caused by Him moving away from us. No. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5). His finished work on the cross was more than enough to wash all of that away; past present and future. When He said it was finished He meant everything through out time and eternity. (Hebrews 10:11-17) (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

You are completely and wholly forgiven.

The separation we experience is caused by our own moving away because of the lie of the enemy telling us that God is angry with us. But He has promised to NEVER be angry with us again (Isaiah 54:9).

There is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

When we allow satan’s lies to become a stronghold in our lives, we begin to turn away from God in shame. We move away from Him, but He waits for us and peruses us with open arms. There is nothing you can do to earn His favor. All you can do is receive it.

Yeshua Jesus, Your Loving Father, King, Savior and Friend, wants you to know you are COMPLETELY FORGIVEN, and COMPLETELY LOVED. Nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:37-39) and you are ALWAYS WELCOME!

Take the time and listen to these sisters, Mary and Martha (twins) minister to you this truth in song, “Always Welcome.”

~Poiema Poetry in Motion

Hope In The Midst of Trouble: A Word and Song

Published on by Candice Coates1 Comment

But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.”

~Psalm 71:14-16 nkjv (PSALM 71)

I had the blessed privilege to read the above verses through a scripture reading plan for Hope, found though my Bible app. When I read the verses, the Light and Love of the Savior immediately flooded my heart and soul.

Instantly, Our Heavenly Father began to show me great revelation concerning these few words of hope. If you take the time to read through all of Psalm 71, you will find that the author is going through a season of tribulation, YET he makes the decision that he is going to:

  1. Continue to keep his Hope in Father God
  2. Continue to sing His praises
  3. Continue to Focus on Him and Him alone
  4. Continue to remember that it is His righteousness that brings him salvation and deliverance

We, like the author of this psalm, experience similar situations in our walk with Yeshua Jesus. There are times when it seems every obstacle has fallen into our pathway and that there is seemingly no hope at all.

But when we pause and remind ourselves that Christ never leaves us nor will He ever forsake us (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5), do we find that His light shines brightly through us even in our darkest hours.

We even become a beacon of light, peace and encouragement for others.

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When we make the decision to continue to Hope in Him and His faithfulness, is when our faith is greatly ignited; for faith is indeed not an instrument of sight. It is in these pivotal moments of decision that greater revelation of Yeshua Jesus and His faithfulness become even clearer and we grow deeper in Him.

When we take the time to focus on His righteousness, forsaking any thought of our own which only leads us to be sin conscious, is when we embrace the fullness not only of His super abounding grace which is a free gift not earned (Ephesians 2:8-9), but His great love for us.

It is then that His Holy Spirit, alive in us, is able to remind us of past victories and triumphs that He has led us through, thus giving us greater hope that He will deliver us again. We will remember there is no limit to His love of us, nor what He will do for His beloved children. (Romans 8:31-39)

But most importantly, when we focus on Him, it is then thought our joy even in the midst of tribulation finds its perfect completeness. We rest ourselves in His love, and wait with fullness of faith that our Heavenly Daddy will protect us from all harm and bless us with His best!

Keep your hope in Him, and let His praises remain as the sweetest song upon your lips.

~Poeima Poetry in Motion