Tag Archives: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Watch Me

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One of the commands Baxter is learning is, “Watch.” When Pilot or I tell Baby B watch and point to our eye, amazingly, more times than not, he sits and looks at us. Yay!

Apparently the key to modifying his behavior from Monster Mash to Sweet Pea is to get his full attention focused on us. Some days that is no problem. Other days it is. It seems to depend on his excitement level and the activity going on around him, much like the dogs in the movie, “Up!” Squirrel!

When Baxter stops what he is doing, sits, and looks at us, it is a truly wonderful moment. When he continues ignoring our commands, doing as he pleases, it is beyond frustrating.

I compare this training to us humans.

God tells us to watch him. To keep our eyes on him, not the things of the world. We are told to seek after Jesus and his righteousness. We are to model our lives after him and become more like him each and every day.

 

Like Baxter, sometimes we do good, and turn our eyes to Jesus when he tells us to watch him. Sometimes we ignore his plea, and look to the shiny things of the world that grab our attention and distract us from his commands.

Baxter is a work in progress, as are each of us. There will always be something for us to learn. There will always be areas in our lives in which we can improve. We will have days full of obedience that make Jesus smile. We will have days where our actions bring a tear to his eye.

One thing for certain … the best way to achieve what God has planned for each of us is to become so well-trained we constantly watch, and  keep our eyes on Jesus.

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Turn us around and bring us back to you again! That is our only hope! Give us back the joys we used to have!  Lamentations 5:21 (TLB)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Keep Our Eyes on Jesus

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pixabayby Sandy Kirby Quandt

There have been times when troubles surrounded me and the only thing I did was concentrate on the problems.

Has that ever happened to you?

Looking back on those times, one thing I see is when I allowed my problems and stresses to be my only focus, they became larger than they truly were. I can say that now because like they say, hindsight is 20-20, but I need to learn this truth for the next time.

And I’m sure as long as I have breath, there will be a next time.

pixabayWhen we are surrounded by doom and gloom I’m learning we need to focus our eyes on other things. Notice I said learning, not learned.

Specifically, we need to turn our focus, our gaze, onto the One who can help us. Jesus.

If we concentrate solely on our awful circumstances we give them permission to steal all our joy. Then all we see is hopelessness and defeat. We’ve given our situation power to control us.

I’m not saying we go all Pollyanna and deny there are problems. I’m not saying to pretend our life is trouble-free. That would be dishonest. I’m saying how about we quit giving our problems the right to rule over us and define us?

Oh. You know. San-dy. She’s the one with the prob-lem …

That’s not how I want people to pixabaythink of me. Is it how you want them to think of you?

Do you want to be defined by your problems? I don’t.

Remember. Any problem we encounter can change. God is in control, after all.

We needn’t act as if we don’t have problems. But we do need to keep our eyes on our Sustainer and Victor. Jesus Christ. King of Kings and LORD of Lords. The one capable of getting us safely on the other side of our problems.

How do you keep your eyes on Jesus during the storms of life?

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 Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards; and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 (TLB)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Keep Our Eyes On Jesus

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By Sandy Kirby Quandt

While the island of Santorini Greece is a marvel to behold, I found it can also create unsettling situations. One such experience being the bus ride from Fira to Oia.

Santorini is what remains after an enormous volcanic eruption approximately 3600 years ago created the caldera in its center. The ensuing tsunami from the eruption is thought to be responsible for the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, some 68 miles to the south. The central lagoon of the caldera is surrounded by 980 feet high steep cliffs on three sides. Buildings on the island cling precariously to the sides of the island overlooking the lagoon.

And this is where the bus ride comes in. Most roads on Santorini also cling precariously to the cliffs they are built on.

On boarding the bus for my ride from Fira to Oia, I slid down the bench seat and found myself pinned next to the window. Fortunate for me, I thought. Better view, I thought. Until we left Fira and started the uphill climb to Oia.

I looked out the window to my right and gasped. Oh, no, I thought.

Nothing separated me and the rest of the bus riders from tumbling over the side of the road and plunging to our deaths. I’m not exaggerating.

Nothing except the bus driver, that is.

The way I saw it, the man behind the wheel knew what he was doing. At least I hoped he did. He knew just how close he could get to the edge of the road without careening off it. So, instead of looking at the potential danger to my right, I decided to look straight ahead. At the bus driver.

He delivered us safely to Oia, and even got us back to Fira in one piece. On the return trip, I once again found myself next to the window. This time, however, my view was of the rock wall next to the road we were pressed against.

How many times in life do we look out the window and only see the steep drop-off of the cliff we’re on? The job uncertainties. The health concerns. Financial worries. Relationship disasters. Addictions we can’t seem to beat.

Instead of staring at the scary stuff, perhaps our eyes need to be turned to the bus driver. The one who has it all under control. The one who knows where he’s taking us. The one who isn’t about to let us fall. The one who will bring us safely to our destination.

Jesus.

In the story of the Apostle Peter when he walked on the water to meet Jesus, he did fine until he saw the storm he was in, and took his eyes off his LORD. Same with us.

We do fine as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, so what say that’s where we keep them?

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But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Matthew 14:30 (CEV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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