At an early age, my parents began teaching us the rules of our house. Rules were abundant! Don’t run in the house, don’t put your feet on the furniture, no elbows on the table, don’t talk with food in your mouth, don’t cross the street without looking both ways, don’t talk back (and when it comes to those in authority, don’t even look like you want to talk back!), address your elders with Sir and Ma’am, and my all-time favorite… don’t come tattling on your brother, (the one just two years older than me). And certainly, don’t lie, cheat, or steal! You get the idea with these few examples. My parents would be smiling if they could read this now. 🙂

After some time, I graduated to the rules of society, community, and government, while still practicing the house rules my father laid down. He was certainly the authority figure.

It didn’t take me too long to figure out that most of the rules were to keep me safe and to teach me there are consequences when not following the rules. Although, I did wonder about some of them. Especially the one, “Don’t come tattling on your brother”. After all, who was going to keep them abreast of what he was up to? Surely, he needed me to take on that job. Isn’t that why God gave him a little sister?

Since I had some key things figured out, I got pretty good at following most of our house rules. Partially because I am a natural people pleaser and partially because I have four older siblings as an example of what happens when you don’t comply. There are consequences! Most of them were a huge deterrent to breaking the rules. Seriously, how could that be a bad thing?

Moving on to what My Heavenly Father tells me…

My parents quit taking us to church when we moved from Georgia to Arkansas. I was about seven years old. At nine years of age, I attended a revival with my next-door neighbor friend. I heard how Jesus would save me from my sins so I wouldn’t go to hell. You know, the consequences of breaking the rules! The only “God” rules I knew anything about were the 10 Commandments. I didn’t think I was guilty of breaking most of those rules. Man! Did I have a lot to learn?

Since this is a blog and not another book, I will try to give you the condensed version and say…praise God through Jesus I can shut the mouth of the deceiver!

The all-important logical question is, “If I could follow and never break any of God’s Commandments, why would Jesus come to save me from the penalty of being a lawbreaker? My Heavenly Father taught me that the commandments were given to show us that we could never be “good enough” to stand before Him sinless. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So, He sent His perfect sinless Son to pay the consequences for us through His sacrifice on the cross. Now, my part is to accept Jesus’s sacrifice for me and for me to surrender my life to Him.

Now I would like to introduce you to the instigator of the ideas I am expressing in this blog. His name is Greg Fritz. He was a guest speaker at our church last Sunday and has been our guest many times. I have also led our Ladies Bible Study Group in several of his studies. His ministry is on Youtube and I encourage you to look him up.

His message was based on why living for God is best for me. One point that he made that I’ve been working on to express in this blog, is that God’s boundaries are good. Very much like our “house rules”. His clear-cut logical message confirms the love of God and His purpose for rules, guidelines, and boundaries. Greg says, “The narrow road is plenty wide for me.” I love that!

He touched on numerous topics that I have written poems and narratives about. For example, Enough, Gain, and The Perfect Plan in my book “Blue Skies, Butterflies, and Battlegrounds.” Also, My Will Be Done? Thank God for Hope in my first book “Inspire Me.”

I would love for you to read those and see if you agree that God’s will for our lives is always best. And on my Connect Page let me know if you also find others.

His will comes with rules, boundaries, and guidelines. For He knows how to not only keep us safe but how to give us the best life. Our lives are filled with strength, hope, fulfillment, protection, power, and purpose until He brings us to our eternal home with our Savior. The One who made it all possible. By all means pick up your Bible and read the Good News. Greg also says, “The Good News is so good that the bad news doesn’t matter.” I say a big amen to that!

Yes, I tell in my books and when I give my testimony, I did not want to be a massage therapist, a poet, or a writer. I thank God that I grasped the meaning of surrender because He certainly knows what the best life for me is.

My Father Told Me for my good and His glory! Romans 8:28 NLT says “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. Now I can share it with you.

I could not close without saying that I realize some of you did not have a father figure in your life. Or some had a harsh unloving father. I know our Heavenly Father can and will heal all of the hurt and suffering caused by this. It is not only His desire but His will to do that for you. It is your opportunity to live the best life He created you for, in spite of your circumstances. He fulfills every need we could ever have.

With love,

Reba