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Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Wonder of God

"The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.  For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?  Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?"  Psalm 89:5-6

The wonder of it all!  Do I see it?  Today, yes.  I see how God provides for His children in so many ways.  I pray I can always recognize His hand as He orchestrates my life. 

A praise Him in the midst of life.  I praise Him for His faithfulness.  So what is my task?  To be available.  To be sensitive to His voice.  

And then?  I first trust.  Then follow.

Trust that He knows my destination.

Trust that He has a plan, especially for me.

Trust that He has already prepared the way.

Trust that He will guide my feet as I pick up my feet and put them down, one step at a time.

And then I follow Him, not my plan.

I follow Him, not my desire.

I follow Him, not my logic.

I follow Him, when I only see the next step.

I follow Him and no other for no one else compares to Him.

Today I Trust.  Today I follow!  I will rely on His strength and power to accomplish this.  

Do you need to declare this today as well?





Thursday, April 7, 2016

God Speaks Through His Word

Sometimes in the most round-about way, God sends just the right Scripture that is exactly what I need to encourage me and make me smile. Today was such a day! 

Thank you God for reminding me of your love, your message, and your faithfulness through Your Word today. 


As I wrote these words above in my Journal this morning, I began to reflect on Scriptures that remind me of just a few ways God speaks to us through His Word. 

My husband and I have a habit of getting up early.  It is in those early hours that I begin my day in God’s Word during my quiet time.  Psalm 5:3 tells me that He hears me. 

 “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before                  you and wait expectantly.” 
              
Some days He gives me insight into a particular passage I’m studying, but sometimes I am refreshed by a familiar passage, as He gives me a “fresh” look at its meaning.  Jeremiah 33:3 says:

“Call to me and I will answer you.  I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that                  you  could never figure out on your own.” 

As I come to Him each morning, needing direction, I can depend on this promise in Psalm 143:8.

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in                      you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”  

No matter where in God’s Word my quiet time directs my thoughts, I am reminded of this promise in Romans 15:4:

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through                the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we                    might have hope.”  

God tells us in Psalm 81:19, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”  

I think that He will fill my mind with His thoughts if I will commit to Psalm 119:15-16 
“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.  I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” 


Lord, help me commit to the faithful study of Your Word!

Thursday, March 24, 2016

A Spring Blog Makeover



It's spring, a time for fresh beginnings and I thought it was time to update the look of the blog. My friend Katie from Fun Home Things helped me find the perfect look for this blog that better represents who I am and want I want to share with you.

I have also started a Facebook page to better connect with you! To join the page, just click on the Facebook button below and 'Like' my page!



Tuesday, March 15, 2016

My Praise

O God, I ask, why’d you choose me?  Why me? 
           You who set the world in place, who made each bird to sing. 
Who with one stroke made mountains tall and all the seas to be.
O God, why me, why me?

Each blade of grass you make to grow, the mighty oak, the tiny toad.
            Each star is there because of you, the sun, the moon, the oceans blue.
The seasons all, you made them.  The warm, the cool, the spring and fall.
                        O God, the wonder of it all.

And then with paint brush in your hand, you paused, and then created man. 
           Man to fellowship with you, to talk, to walk, to listen to.
O God, O God, ‘twas man you wanted to reflect your goodness, power,
and yes, O God, your grace.

Then man did sin and once again you set in place your plan.
            A babe, your Son, would come to earth to pay the price of sin men bore.
He left your side, where all was good, where pain was not a part,
 and felt my sins as on that cross they nailed His hand.

O the hurt you must have felt as Jesus wept 
           and asked to pass this cup from Him, as there He knelt.  
I can’t begin to comprehend the love it took for sinful man. 

Now Lord, I ask again of you, why me, why me did you so choose?
           You saved me and I’m now your child.  From out of sin you lifted me,
to higher ground you set me free. 
So richly blessed in many ways, you wipe my tears and brighten days.
Why me, O God,  I ask?

I don’t deserve to have so much, to know your love, your peace, your grace.
           O yes that’s it!  Is that it Lord?   It’s grace that made it so.
Not because of who I was, or what I’d done or would become,
but grace, just grace - and now I see.

O God, my God who did create it all, whose power is seen in all you’ve done.
           I cannot keep from praising you, you are my song, my very breath, my all in all.
I’ll shout it now for evermore, yes Lord I know, yes Lord I know,
           You did it all for me,and, yes, ‘twas grace that made it so.
 



Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Isaiah 43:2

For the deep waters of life, for the darkest of nights, 
For the hurts of this world, for my search for right - I thank you God.

For its in the deep water and throughout the night,
Its in every hurt and in wrongs made right - You are God, You are there.

You loved me and called my name.  Thank you God.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Thoughts on Psalm 18

“I love you, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”

I love these words and the promise found here.  As I read this verse this morning, I remembered specific times when words were more than a promise, I lived them!  I continued to find reminders in this Psalm of His response to me as I called on Him in verses like verse 6 from the NASV,

“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.”

When I call out to God for help I am acknowledging that I can’t do it by myself.  He hears "my" voice.  This verse tells me – "He hears me.”  He knows it is me, not just “a” voice crying out.  That means He knows all about me and He knows where I’m coming from in my distress.  The verse goes on to say, “my cry for help comes before Him into His ears.”  The Amplified Bible says “into His very ears.”  Oh how I love how personal that is to me, to you, as we call out to Him.

I continued to read Psalm 18 as the verses that follow describe His response (my paraphrase): 

The earth trembled, the foundations of the mountains shook – he was angry

Smoke rises from his nostrils and his mouth spits fire.  He parts the heavens and comes down with dark clouds under his feet

He soars on the cherubim on the wings of the wind,  Darkness is his covering as dark rain clouds the sky.

As hailstones and bolts of lightning come he shoots his arrows and scatters my enemies.
               
And just as the valleys of the sea are exposed and the depths of the earth lie uncovered. . .

He reaches down from on high and takes hold of me as he pulls me out of deep waters.  
              
He rescued me from my enemy, from those who were too strong for me.

My enemy had confronted me in my distress, but the Lord was my support!  He rescued me because he delighted in me.

As I read these words it was for me better than any action movie I’ve ever seen, more riveting than any account I’ve ever read from the most exciting book.  Why, you ask?  Because this is real and I know - that’s My God. 

He Loves Me.          He Is My Strength.          He Is My Rock.          He Is My Deliverer!


“The Lord is my light and my salvation - Whom shall I fear!  The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”  Psalm 27:1

Saturday, February 13, 2016

My Valentine to God

Valentine Day!  The holiday when all hearts turn to love and all of the advertisements tell us we need this giant teddy bear or that large box of chocolates to express our love to someone special in our life.  In addition to all the words of encouragement to express our love to another, this month most of the scripture I’ve been reading has been about love.  My thoughts were definitely on love! 

As I reflected on love and God and a gift I was given for Valentine's Day, I began to realize that far too often I am much quicker and also more verbal in expressing my excitement and gratitude about a gift someone gives than I am in expressing my joy and gratitude about the day to day things God provides.  I keep an ongoing list that I started several months ago about the simple things for which I’m grateful and today I want to share just a part of that list with you.  These thoughts were taken straight from my Journal.  Perhaps you can relate to some of them and have your own time of gratitude to God as well.  

Eyes to read
       The sun as it shines on wet grass
              The feel of dirt in my hands
                      God knows me, yet still He loves me
                              The last hydrangea of the season
                                      God’s Word.
Laughter
       Healing
              Laundry
                      Broken seashells
                              A good night’s sleep
                                    Yellow butterfly.
People different than me
       Busy days
              My past
                        Bugs that bite and cream that heals
                                 Cell phones you can silence
                                         My journal.
Order brought from chaos
         Strength to work.
                 New experiences at my age
                          Noise in the house and the quietness that follows
                                   Not knowing what tomorrow may bring
                                            A difficult day.
Fresh starts.
        Answered prayers
                  Knowing He hears
                        The one who controls nature
                              Missionaries who go
                                      A red VW Beetle my husband surprised me with.  

And, yes, it was that gift that began this reflection and realization once again that all good and perfect gifts are from God above.  

God first showed His love for us by sending His Son to die for our sins.  John 3:16 in the Phillips translation reads like this, "For God loved the world so much that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost, but should have eternal life."  

Thank you God that you gave the ultimate gift, Your Son, as an expression of your love for the me. Thank you for painting pictures of your love for me each and every day in the little things of life.  I want to always express my love for You and for all you do for me with even more joy and gratitude than I do for other gifts.  I love you God, forever and ever, Amen.