Monday, September 8, 2014

The Secret of the Ages volume 3

Just read volume 3 of the Secret of the Ages 1925/26.
Timeless information on how to be successful

To the extent that we cooperate
 with Wisdom and power of God,
we are successful and blessed

"Taste and see that the Lord is good"

The earth is full of His goodness

He will show us the path of life
There is Joy in His presence

The Infinite goodness of God
is available to every one today

You must
1)  learn and understand law
2) apply principles

God directs the mind for Good
if you practice applying it daily

Every thought that is  right and good
goes to God and returns with the
power to accomplish it

I you don't know the right way
then turn to God for guidance

Our mind is just  a conductor
as good or bad as you make it
for the power of God and our
thought is the connecting energy

Ask, Seek, Find
The law of life in
Unity with God

Solomon, "With all thy
getting, get understanding"

Proverbs = Wisdom

Inspiration = The Inner Consciousness

Subconscious - storehouse of
knowledge collected of a lifetime

To retrieve when needed
1) gain all information you can
2) recline, relax, rest
3) let your mind dwell
    do not worry or fret
     It will come to you

There is a solution to every problem
no matter how complicated or simple
just requires understanding and faith

"without vision the people perish"
The ability to visualize what can be
increases your capabilities to solve
problems and be successful in all yo do

Day dream with a purpose

The only limit to your capabilities
is that which you place on them

Ideas are as countless as the
sand on the sea shore- use them

Aim high
don't sell yourself short

"Control your thoughts
and you control circumstances"

Wishing and worrying are a waste of time
Redirect your mind.
Do not limit the power of your mind

" Know you not that you are
 the temple of the living God"

Every human experience
 has a cause and an effect

Thackery paraphrase
"The world is a looking glass
and gives back to every man
the reflection of his thoughts"

Thought control action,
 controlled by the mind
and is directed by us


Walt Whit quote
" Nothing external has
any power over me"

We can be tomorrow
what we think today.
Thoughts are causes
and conditions effect

Scripture says,
"As a man thinketh in
 his heart, so  is he.

Expel any intruding and
obnoxious thought from
our  mind as we would
shake a rock out of our shoe

Free yourself  from mental
torment which is 9/10 of all
torments of life today

God is good - practice daily these
Mental exercise of right thinking
1)  Stretch your mind to realize
     how far it can reach
2) Breath out all old thoughts
    of sickness, discouragement
    failure, worry and fear
3) Breath in deep long breathes
   (thoughts) of health, strength
    happiness and success
4) Practice looking forward to
     to something better,  finer
     greater, happier, bigger

Exhale bad - Inhale good

Get that second wind like a racer.
Stored up in all of us is a great
reserve of energy that most
know nothing about- use it

Give up worry
Be industrious
Do not be anxious

Human progress
age of liberty
freedom from bondage

"Be not  anxious for tomorrow
but seek first the kingdom of God
all these things will be added to you"

" I came that you may have life
and have it more abundantly"

"Blessed is the man who delights
 in the law of the Lord...
whatever  he does will prosper"

Don't worry -  Don't doubt
Don't dig up seed to check on it
Forget fears

Opportunities are
 infinite and
ever-present

Begin work now
To begin is to complete
Do it well

Be not afraid
According to your faith
be it unto you

Learn something everyday
Find  a need
then supple that need

I think that Robert Collier could
be a motivational speaker today
as well as back in his day.













Sunday, September 7, 2014

"The secrets of the Ages" 1925/26

I spent a lazy, raining afternoon reading
"The Secret of the Ages" Volume #2 1925/26.
 Robert Collier quoted scripture and scholars
 of the day to share secrets of success.

I loved all these quotes,
 remembering they are written in 1925/26.
"The new idea is..."
"Now, more than ever..."
"The modern idea of..."
"The time will come..."
"For modern man..."

Everything begins with an idea.
Mind =creative principle
Thought=eternal energy

Every experience=results of mental attitude
What we do - What we are - What we have
depends on what we think

Thought process - We can all look at the
 same thing and perceive it different  
The fable of the elephant and 3 blind men
Perception: 1 - Tree (leg)
                   2 - Wall (side)
                   3 - rope (tail)

"If you have the faith of a mustard seed....
nothing is impossible"

Thoughts are powerful
Your choice
We find what we are looking for

Lack of faith in God
and
Not believing truth
equals
doubt when time comes

Doubting is like trying to
 reach east by heading west

Doubting = attracts failure
Doubting = repels success

Our minds can originate thoughts
therefore create and succeed in
whatever we can think

Pascal quote "Our achievements
 today  are nothing but the sum
of our thoughts of yesterday"

Path of wisdom begins with the
understanding of who God is.

Know what you want

There is something within urging us
to do better
be better
have better
Collier calls it ambition
I call it the Holy Spirit

Remember, there is no condition that is hopeless
Darkness is merely a lack of light
Turn on Light and it vanishes instantly

Concentrate on one idea at at time
and believe and you will achieve

Scripture quoted
"Therefore, I say unto you, what things ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them."

"The Father that is within me, He does the work."

"As thy faith is, so be it unto you."

"The kingdom of Heaven is within you."

"God is good"

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above..."

Montgomery's quote,
 "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire"

Prayer is not merely asking favor
Prayer recognizes God's power

Pray, not as hypocrites,  to be see by man,
They have their heart's desire (reward)
To be seen by man.

Pray in your closet in secret
alone with your thoughts
and inner most sincere desire
reaches the Father of all

Believe in God's ability

Prayer is effective
"If it is right for you to have
it is right for you to pray for it"

Read Psalms to affirm
God's willingness and
power to answer prayer

Read Proverbs to affirm
wisdom is the greatest of
all hidden treasures

Read Scripture for aid
in thinking and writing
to realize there is no
lack of ideas

Read Scripture
 to nourish
your faith

Be sincerely thankful
and believe.

A few thoughts from an old book



Tuesday, July 22, 2014

5 Week journey - Blessed

We have been home for 5 weeks
That is a long time for us
Most of the time I have been visiting
Doctors or  staying in bed sick
or up pretending like I feel OK.

But, I realized I am  very blessed
Let me explain why.

We got  home on a Thursday
I felt nauseated and had a head ache
and  could not catch my breath
Friday, I felt very tired
But I blamed it on long trip
The weekend, I did not feel better
Monday, I called Doctor who was
out of town and was told to go to ER

Who goes to ER and says I am tired
So, I went to another Doctor and
he realized I was running a temperature
Gave me an antibiotic for infection
and asked me to see cardiologist

Went home for a week getting worse
fatigue, temp, nausea, aching body,
 head aches, shortness of breath
Went back to Doctor.
 His first words were
You just got back from woods,
did you see a tick or  a rash
Lets get you started on Antibiotic
&  blood test for Lyme's  disease
After weeks of extreme fatigue
on the 8th day of the correct drug
I felt better, not 100%, but better

In the mean time, I met with
 Cardiologist, he ran  test.
All my numbers are good
but, but my heart opens and
does not relax between beats
causing my shortness of breath.

It has been that way for a while
But it took the altitude and Lyme
to make us aware of the problem
The drug to fix this makes you tired
So,
He is giving me 3 months to recoop
and will start my treatment then.

I stayed away from internet.
Did not want to get bad ideas
while Mark research the disease.
He took  such good care of me.

I hear  all kind of horror story
about what this disease can do
when not diagnosed early.
Usually at least 6 months
and sometime years because
the symptoms are so hard
to recognize and are like flu.
By then, it has destroyed.

My blood test came back
 5 x's  more than the number
necessary to diagnosis Lyme's
But all the numbers of effects on
 my body were negative.

The only explanation is finding
out so early that I have Lyme's
It took just the right set of
circumstances to recognize
symptoms this early.

Also,  catching this heart
problem  is a good thing and
 will be taken care of soon.

I told the Doctor that God does
that kind of stuff for me because
He kind of likes me.
The Doctor smiled and told
me that I was blessed
 and I agreed.

Thank you facebook friends
for the thoughts and prayers
during this 5 week journey

God is good
Life is good








Friday, July 4, 2014

Today is the 4th

Today is July fourth -
 Independence Day
The signing of the
 Declaration of Independence
The birth of a new Nation to
 some and BBQ day for others
It did not come easy or cheap..
.It took  a long Battle
It is a day to Remember

The fourth is a day to remember
in our family
Hugh was born on the 4th of January
 and lost a long battle
57 years and 4months later on
 the 4th (the same age I am now)

My Mother-in-law lost her very long
battle on the 4th of November,
showing us great grace and courage
 in her struggles with  cancer.

For two weeks, I have been fighting
 a battle of my own. Now, I am not as sick
 as a lot of folks, I am just not as healthy
 As I like to be and can not get my energy
 back.When you are busy, the idea of lying
around reading all day is very appealing.
 But because  of fever, drugs or infection,
 I just lay down and fall asleep. The reality
 is not as much fun. I know I went to bed with
 a fever, cause I had chills with 2 blankets.

This morning, because it is the 4th,
 I decided to read proverbs 4 and Psalms 4
 I found a little nugget right in the middle of
 Proverbs 4... verse 18
"The path of the righteous is like the dawn of
 light that shines brighter and brighter
until the full light of day (KJ) the Perfect day."

I love sunrise out in nature with natural light.
 You open your eyes and can barely
see until your eyes adjust and as you search
 around you things become brighter and
brighter until;  you can not believe what
  you did not see  before.

That is the way of  God's wisdom
Falling in love
Daily devotions
Open your eyes- seek

Psalms 4 made me feel better about my days in bed
"The Lord has set apart the godly for Himself
He hears when we call Him.  Meditate in your
heart upon your bed and be still.  I will lie down
in peace and sleep, for you alone,  Lord, will keep
me safe."

I don't now what is going  on yet.
But God does and He is in control.




Thursday, July 3, 2014

AND D=daily devotions

D  words for today go together Daily Devotion
Daily
Devotion is
Disciplined
Daily
Decision
Done by those who have a
Different priority than most
Daily actions
Directly
Determine priority
Don't put
Daily
Devotion at the end of
day to
do when you find the time
Determine to
do it every
day
Don't feel bad
days happen-life happens
Develop a plan
Decide time and place
Do it
Daily as
Duty until it becomes
Desire and the
Delight of your heart
DO it until you want to
DO devotions
Daily
Days that begin with
Devotions go so much better
DO not be
Discouraged
DO the best you can
Devil will
Do anything to keep you from
Devotional time even.
Doing good  can keep you from
Doing what is best
Do it now and
Discover nuggets of wisdom that
Delights and
Draws us closer to Him
Do
Daily
Devotion






Wednesday, July 2, 2014

ABC devotion-C= Character

C is the Letter for today
Character story from old movie

Coming home, we stayed in
Cheap Motel
Cause, it was late-I was tired
Causing me to say
Clean enough
Checked beds and bathroom
Carpet, not so much
causing us to keep shoes on
Cross street
Chinese Food
checked out little TV
Came across
cute old Movie
called "Mighty Ducks"
Creating memories
Cute bad boys
couple talented girls
Crummy championship
Coach that
Created havoc on
childhood  memories
crumbling innocents
causing him to hate his sport
changing his direction
Cooperate world
completed the
change in our hero
Cute Mom with a son with
Character who would not
Cheat - even when
Coach pushed hard
Courage is
Contagious
Coach's old coach
comes back into His life
causing him to begin to
create a new paths as
Coach
causing him to really
care for the first time
changed directions in his
coaching
character and
career path
Championship won
Celebration
Coach found
courage to return to sport
"Champion of the World "
coming across TV- movie over

Character is built slowly
Created over a lifetime of
Choices made daily
Chosen when others don't see
Choosing Honesty
Choose Integrity
Character



Tuesday, July 1, 2014

10-12 days

I hesitate posting this, because I try to stay positive. But, I also believe that  prayer request is a big part of  facebook  friends.  I have not felt well in 10-12  days.  If I was 27 instead of 57, I would say I am pregnant.  However, that ship sailed  a long time ago. Lo-grade fever, nausea, no energy, head aches and shortness of breath.  Doctor put me on antibiotics  and set me up for three test Thursday. at 6:30 am.  Pray that they will figure this out and fix it. Cause I am use to doing what I want to do ,when I want to do it. Thanks for prayers.

ABC B word for today

B word for today is
Bible
B-asic
I-nstructions
B-efore
L-eaving
E-arth

Believers manual for Life
Beautiful love Letter from God
Bible is unlike any other book

Blessed are those who read and heed
Because the time is near
Because every word is true and pure

Begin to fall in love with the author
by reading and studying daily
Best way to
Begin each day

Before getting up
Before going to bed
Before facing  battles
Before making decisions
build up your strength
by spending time in
Bible and prayer

BIBLE


Monday, June 30, 2014

ABC devotions A

While traveling this month I did a devotion on H - happy  happy happy.
I had no idea at the time I would follow it with a devotion every day alphabetically.
It just sort of happened.  So, I promised that I would go back and do the first  letters.
SO here we go...

 A words  for today are:
Ability
Attitude
Action

Availability is
all you need
Ability and opportunity
all provided by God

"All gifts come from
Above from the Father "

"And God will provide
all your  needs
and then you will have
all you need
and plenty left over, so
also share with others"

"Ask
and it will be given
____________________

Attitude not
Aptitude determines
Altitude in life

Attitude of gratitude
Always effects those
around you today

Are you in need?
Ask God to sustain you
Are you worried?
All you do is take
all worries to God in prayer
Are you weary?
Ask God for strength
Ask and receive

Answers from
a God who is
all Love
Always improves
Attitude in life
___________________

Action
Always speaks louder than
all words together

Acts of kindness
always pleases God

Act
according to
all you hear in the word
and be doers of the word
and not hearers only
according to James

Any need wisdom
and want to Know what to do?
Ask God
and He will gladly
answer and guide
and you will be blessed
and others will be blessed
and God will be glorified
______________________________

Ability that comes from God
and the right
Attitude given to us by God  
always produces
Action that makes this world
a better place

About time we try
a new day with
a new
attitude
and use our
abilities to
act  Like Jesus
A WWJD kind of day
All day







Sunday, June 29, 2014

XYZ

XYZ
Xi = Greek  Letter
Ex will have to do
Examine
Your heart and mind
Youth, let no man despise
your
youth
You be an
example of believers in
your word
your conversation
your charity
your spirit
your faith
your purity
Your can be a leader in
your group and lead
your friends to Jesus
Zany as it sounds
Yesterdays
youth are todays  hope
Young people are our  future

 

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Valiant Warrior

VW
Valiant
Warrior
Very
Valuable
Vibrant
Valiant
Warrior of God
We are at
War
with
wicked Devil
Valleys
will come
Worry not
Verge of
Victory in Jesus
When
We
Work
Witness
Worship
Wisdom comes from
Voice of God
When
we
 wake-up and
We
wear
Whole Armour of God
We will be able
win over the
wiles of Satan
With Belt of Truth
With breastplate of righteousness
With shoes on
with gospel prepared
With shield of Faith
which
will extinguish flaming arrows
With helmet of salvation
With sword of Spirit
which is the
Word of God
With Prayer
Very important for
Victory over
Wicked
World forces
Valiant
Warriors prayers =
Valiant
Warriors
Victory in Jesus







Friday, June 27, 2014

USA

USA
US
Unique country that
Ultimately began
Under God's authority
using the Bible to
uphold laws
urging  citizens to
Unite
Under God to
Utilize
useful words to
uphold
uplift
Utopia like
universe

Usually
Upbeat
Upsetting
Update
Uplifting
Useful
Ultimate truth is
underused today
Ugly truth
Utmost for most High
unique message is
undervalued today

Ultimate GOD
update
Urgent message for
USA...LOOK
UP and return for
Ultimate forgiveness
unique opportunity to be
Utopia like nation
USA has been blessed
Ultimately
USA needs mercy
Under God's Authority
USA can be GOD's
Unique nation  again
USA









Thursday, June 26, 2014

Time and talents

There are lots of great T words
Today
Time & Talent
Two valuable gifts from God
Time is
too important
to waste
Talents are
to be developed
to be used
to serve others and
to  honor God

Testimony
The Spirit of
Truth will come and
teach
truth
Then we
Teach
the
Truth in love
to all
those around
Testimony
Talking about God
Telling others
truth of God in your Life
Today Preach the Gospel
through words and deeds
The only Bible
that some will ever read

The Son of God is
The way
The truth
The life
The only way
to
the Father

The Father is
the same yesterday
today and
tomorrow
to the end of
Time

Trust God so
That you will be able
to stand up to
the wiles of
the devil

Thank God for
the priceless gifts of
Time
Talents
Truth
The Spirit
Teachers
The salvation
through Jesus
that we can not earn
The blessing of life eternal
Thank  you God






Wednesday, June 25, 2014

S words and Psalms 18 review

Serving God by
Serving Others
Sharing
Showing you care
Satisfies the
Soul and  brings
Spiritual growth
Shows up in our
Speech and actions
So start  tapping into
Source of
Strength and
Soar
Serving God by
Serving other

Scripture in Devotion
PSalms 18
Servant of the Lord David
Sang this
Song the day his
Savior
Saved him from
Saul and other enemies
So, I
simplified and
shortened using
S words to review
Scripture today
So, enjoy and then read
Scripture Psalms 18

Sovereign
Savior
Strengthen
Shield
Salvation
Stronghold
So
Shall I be
Saved from my enemy

Surrounded by
Snares of death
Swept up in destruction
So distressed, cried out
Savior in His
Sanctuary heard me
Shook earth to foundation
Smoke poured out
Storm clouds
Soaring winds
Shrouded in darkness
Skies filled with clouds
Shout from Heaven
Shot arrows
Scattered enemies
Shout commanded
Sea opened up
Saved from the deep
Savior rescued
Safe place

See, He delights in me
So, He rewards me
Sees us avoiding
Sin and
Staying in His way
Show yourself faithful
Show integrity
Show yourself pure
Stay humble
Stay hostile to wickedness

Strength in God crushes enemy
Same strength available to
Scale any wall
So, God's way is perfect
Shields and protects
Solid rock
Strength
Safe way
Surefooted as a deer
Safely along the mountains
Strengthen for battle
Subdued enemies
Swept them away
Success victory
Serve as leader
Soon, enemy will
Submit
Strength & courage gone
Salvation of my God
Safe, beyond enemy reach
Saved from violent opponent

Sing and praise His name
Success and Victory
Showing unfailing love
Sovereign Savior









Monday, June 2, 2014

New Devotional Book

So, I called the Church in Central Florida that gave me the devotional book  that I used last  year and they sent me another one.  I began this book in June with the January devotion just like I did last year and I love it. The Introduction and first week  of devotions are by Johnny M. Hunt pastor, Woodstock Ga.

Here, I give you  the positive side of Psalms 1:1-6 and will let you go back and read what happens to the ungodly sinners.

"Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord
 and in His law he mediates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
 That brings forth its fruit in its season,
 Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper
For the Lord  knows the way of the righteous"

God wants to Bless his people
 To direct their lives
To make  them faithful and fruitful
To truly bless them, and then
To make them channels of His blessings

In Proverbs 4:23 we find:
"Keep you heart with all diligence,
 for out of it springs the issues of life"

He tells us how to benefit
from our Bible study time
and  how to protect our heart:

To personalize God's truth
To reflect on the word in the light of our heart.
To  seek to  understand the depth of His truth.
To humble ourselves and seek  His rule in our lives
To be wise and serve  the Lord
To  trust in Him and be blessed






The end of Chapter one of Phillipians

Watching my Mom and Mother-in-law die with dignity and grace,  these  last verses of  chapter one of Philippians are very poignant to me.

My hope is that Christ  is exalted  by my body, whether in death or life.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.  I do no know which to choose.  But am  torn between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
 But it is more needful for you that  I remain and continue with you for your progress and joy in faith...... Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Good News of Christ.

 God looked at these  special ladies and said, "Your work here is done, come home to your reward"

Philippians 1:12-20A Letter/blog

I am no Paul
He wrote letters that became scripture
I post Blogs
Big difference
I found similarities between His letter and Blogs
So, with apologies to Paul,  I post  this blog loosely based on
Philippians 1:12-20A

Now,  my hope is that  posting  my  circumstances will help to advance the Good News. That as a result of my sharing,  it has  become clear to all, that I belong to Christ. And that others have been encouraged to speak the word of truth boldly.  When you look at what folks post on Facebook, some cause envy and strive, while others create goodwill.  The latter does it out of love,  knowing that we have been appointed to defend  the Good News. The former post out of selfish ambition, rather than pure motives, causing distress.  But what does it matter, in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. In this, I rejoice and will continue to rejoice.  For I  know that through prayer and the Holy Spirit, deliverance will happen.  My hope is that I will not be put to shame , that with all boldness, Christ will always be exalted.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Philippians Prayer

I am still reading, studying, and  trying to memorize Philippians
In the first eleven verses of the first chapter, we  find a greeting  and a  prayer.

Grace and peace to you from our Father and the Lord Jesus. I thank my God  in every remembrance of you. Always praying with  joy, in every prayer for you all, because of the fellowship in the good news   from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing.  That he who began a good work in you will  perform  it until the day of Christ Jesus.  For it is right for me to feel this way about you all, because you are in my heart.
All of you can share in God's grace with me, defending and confirming the good news.  For God is my Witness, how I long for all of you with affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer. That your love abound more and more in real  knowledge and all discernment.  So that you may discern what is excellent  in order to be sincere and blameless until the Day of Christ. Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ and the glory and praise of God



Tuesday, May 20, 2014

9 months

The amount of time to birth a baby
Been there, done that
A few times

Yesterday,  while walking around our neighborhood, I thought about all that has happened  in the last 9 months.  We went from living in the country and hiking in the pecan orchard, to living in town hiking our neighborhood.  But that is only the beginning.  We have experienced nearly every situation, good and bad that can shake up a family and we are still standing.

 I think it began when I got the crazy notion to downsize.......

SO here we go:

House hunting
Megan finds us a house
Looked   at it once
Fell in love
Bought  it while traveling
Downsizing begins
Huge Yard sale
Crossroad mission
2 a days at Lowes
Family moves us in
 decorates our home
While we do yard sale
Guest 1st -  5 weekends
Begin new Bible study
Remodel stable
Paint
Help Clint move in
Paint
Help Square kids
Paint
Trip with Mom and Barb
Carries's big Art Opening
The Square opening
Drew and Megan Wedding
Decorate
Baby Mark born
Sara here, Sara gone
Birthdays, Birthdays
Join YMCA
Tennis
Building Stable
Exercise
Lose 50 lbs together
Stop YMCA
Building over
Too busy for tennis
Gain some back
Hiking
Give up sweet tea
 and Sprite..for now
Exercise
Losing again
Slowly
Antique Shows
Festivals
Working
Hiking
 Camping
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Florida trips
Buy buy buy
Sell sell sell
Travel travel travel
Hit two deer in two states
Hit in parking lot
Two adjusters
From two companies
Red Cross work
Valentines
Plant flowers
Family gatherings
Plant garden
Visit homestead:
goats
chickens
gardens
country girls
Visit Hostel in Forest
Sleep in Tree house
Doctor appts.
Visit Aunt Dot
Madison show
Time with Mom
Mom here
Mom's birthday
More Dr. appts.
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Mom  in Heaven
Family gathering
Friends praying
Life goes on
Great nephew-married
Guest in Guest room
Baby sit Grands
Home
Gone
Home
Gone again
Home
Mark,  ready to go
Plays
Peacock festival
Painting again
Gymnastic
School events
Pre-K Graduation
Appalachian Trail
Trails Angels
Red cross Charity Golf
Drew's surgery
Family Stuff

I love my  family













Monday, May 19, 2014

A pillar of Fire

Hebrew 12:29b
"For our God is a consuming fire."

God presented Himself
As the "Pillar of Fire"
in the midst of uncertainty

The pillar of fire:

 Displays His awesome power
Encourages us to pursue Him
Leads us in the right path
Helps us sense His Holiness
Guides us through the day
Navigates us daily
Reveals His perfect plan
Draws us closer to Him,
closer to the flame
Shows us His love
Exposes sin
Makes us who we are
Allows us to bask in His light
and experience His presence
Helps us through challenges
Reveals His perfect plan
for our life.

God is the consuming fire that gives us:

Wisdom
Love
Holiness
Righteousness
Strength for today
Grace to serve
A passion to serve
Reverence toward Him
An all-consuming passion
to seek Him
A desire for His best

For our God is a Consuming Fire


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Grieving

It is Sunday. That means it has been four weeks. Tuesday is the 20th, which means, it has been a month. How long will I mark time as it relates to the day Mom died? It has been a long, crazy, busy month, full of good times and bad times.

The grieving process is a strange thing to go through, but  we must all go through it. Not only is it different for everyone, it is different with everyone we lose.There is no one way or right way. It is,  what it is, a process.

One of my first encounters with death was my friend,  Sara Pat,  losing her Mom and Grandmother to a bad wreck caused by a tire blow-out.  What do you say to her and how do you act?  After all, we were only in the fifth grade.  We learned . You treat her like Sara Pat, our friend.  We all went into her bedroom,  away from the adults. We  ate a bunch of snacks and talked and laughed and cried and helped her get though that first night. Remembering that night, I  took a bunch of snacks to the Stone's house. I took  them straight upstairs to Marilee's room; so that Sara and all of the friends could talk, and laugh and cry and try on make-up  and help her get through  that first night.

I had a girl friend lose a boy friend in a go-cart wreck. We were all upset that the local paper chose to put that  horrible picture on the front page and tried to hide all the newspapers from the family.The friends gathered. When we got there, she was wearing one of his shirts. It seem to bring her comfort.  We were all new drivers and I got stuck in their  garden backing out.  The daddy stopped grieving just long enough to tease me about my driving and to tell me to watch out, cause  "the potatoes have eyes and saw what I did."

It is always sad to lose a grandparent, We have lost all of ours, but it is seems to be in the natural order of things. But to lose a child....Just does not seem right.  Losing a child before they  are born is death to a dream and  all of the plans that we have for this child that we have already fallen in  love with and we need to grieve. Any one losing a child, becomes a member of a club that no one wants to endure, but  some must. When it happens, no matter what the age of the child, it is the worst pain you  can imagine.  I watched my Mom's pain when we lost  Hugh at 57,  and she never got over it.

When Hugh died,  it rocked my world.  He was my big brother and my  hero. When I jumped, I expected him to catch me...and he did, every time. He was fun and loud and the house lit up with excitement when he came home. I would see his car in the yard. He would hide and I would find and get a big hug. Cancer. I hate that word.  It took my big brother away from us.  For months I could not read my Bible or pray like before.   I was just so hurt and lost. But God found me and brought me back through a woman's retreat and friends'  prayers.

The night my Daddy died, I went to bed realizing that I was probably pregnant with our third child.  The phone rang at 2:30 am and Mom asked to speak to Mark and he held me while I cried.  I was given a gift for months after her died.  I dreamed about him often and he was always  wearing a red shirt and  every  thing seem natural and right..... and then I would wake up and remember.  But, those visits helped me get through those  first months.  You see, he was wearing a red shirt the last time I saw him and he always looked good in red.  It was Christmas and I can still see him by  the fence at Little Granny's house.  He called me the weekend before he died to ask us to come for a visit, but I had other plans.  I always regretted that.

I watched Mark lose both of  his parents  and his step-dad.  His Daddy died soon after we got married, before we had kids.  I never knew him healthy.  He was battling a rare disease that I could not pronounce or understand,  that may have had something to do with his being a WW11 vet.

His step-dad,  who became that after we were married and loved our kids like they were his own,  died suddenly and violently. He took his own life because of depression caused by medicine that he was taking  at the time. It was so sad and hard to grasp and changed the rest of  Mark's  mother's  life.  Mark had to take care of his Mom and help with all arrangements.  I was pregnant with our last child and was not able to help much.

 His Mom taught us how to die with dignity and grace.  Cancer.  I still hate that word.  She died at home after a two year battle with this terrible disease.  Mark and I were there.  It was one of  the hardest and in some ways the most beautiful experience of our life.  Watching  her go from suffering and struggling to becoming calm and relaxed and easing  into heaven. It brought Mark and I closer together than ever. The hospice nurse was great.

No one is exempt from these experiences.  We can lose spouses,  parents,  children, siblings,  aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. It is always hard. Death is a reality that we all have to live with.  Grieving is different for all of us.  It is different every time we lose someone that we love. But, we can find hope and comfort in God.

 It is a process, one day at a time.




Monday, May 12, 2014

Amazing Grace

Grace has  been the subject in my devotional book the last two weeks.

 So, I asked Siri to look up the word grace and got more than I bargained for.  Found 35 definitions and 75 lines of related words. Here are four.

1 Grace - The exercise of kindness, mercy and favor to benefit or bestow on another
2 Grace - The divine favor toward man by the mercy of God.
3 Grace - The female name meaning beauty, lovely, elegant of manners
                A good middle name for my middle granddaughter
4 Grace - Yielding grace or saying a blessing giving thanks to God

Grace is mentioned over 200 times in the New testament and 130 times in Paul's letters.

Ephesians 2:8," For by Grace  are ye saved through faith....it is the gift from God."

You can do two things with a gift
1) receive it
2) reject it

By Grace:  God gave His Son
                 Jesus gave His life
                  Holy Spirit gave us gifts
2 extremes when receiving  gifts
1) over estimating our gifts = pride, arrogance and self-importance
2) under estimating gifts = false humility, belittling God's gives and not developing  gifts to be used by God

Grace = unmerited favor

Grace guides my feet to walk with you, for you and toward you
Grace begins the trip
Grace  helps us enjoy the journey
Grace enables us
Grace shields and defends
Grace gives us our only hope
Grace helps us one step at a time
Grace helps us walk in faith in this journey called life
Grace begins our journey and it ends in glory

Kind of sounds like our Hikers

Grace bridges the gap between who I am and who I want to be
Grace makes us givers and not takers
Grace effects relationships
Grace causes His love to spill out of us
Grace makes us thankful and generous
Grace makes us treat others with kindness
Grace makes us sensitive to the needs of others
Grace forgives

God gives us grace that we do not deserve and can not earn
God,  help us treat  others  with grace ...even if they do not deserve it.

Help me to extend  the same grace to others that you extended to me.

Grace is a blanket of God's love all wrapped up in the gift of Jesus.

Amazing Grace

               


Tuesday, April 29, 2014

On the road againl

Our new hobby combines two of my favorite things. Feeding folks and talking. All we have to do is look in the AT map book and find places where the trail crosses the road and wait for the magic to happen.

 The last little girl that we met today a 24 year old  girl from California and was all by herself.  My prayer for her is that she will find a good group to connect with at the next shelter.  She is lonely.  So, we talked while she drank juice, ate snacks  and charged up her phone so that she could call her Mom.  I told her not to let anyone put her down for not doing the whole trail.  This is not a contest.  Hiking 288 trail miles through the Smokey mountains is a wonderful feat that most be will not accomplish in a life time.  I encouraged her to go along as it filled a need and she enjoyed it. To not keep her focus on Maine, but to enjoy the journey- the beauty of nature  and quiet time with God. When her journey was over,  to go home with her head held high. Mama will be proud of you.  Gave her a mama hug and sent her on her way.

Grizzly bear, from Maine,puts us to shame (62 and his second Hike through) . He  was not interest in snack., but was very interested in the chicken and pork dinner that  Mark grilled last night and our breakfast food.
Major Clean and Sweep were a couple from Washington State. They enjoyed the food and snacks; and sitting in our camp chairs. It was nice visiting with folks our age for a while.  I sprayed all three of them down with bug spray before they left. Heading up the hill, Grizzly raised his hiking stick and hollered goodbye.

A little skinny man Connecticut  wanted one apple and hurried on his way. Dr D and Bluebird from Joplin were  craving juice and fruit. Healthy Red Robin from N.J. stopped on the road and asked for prayer. Not interested in our snacks

Probably, the most interested hiker today was a Russian Lady living in South Africa.  She is a journalist for a local Russian newspaper who was behind schedule.  So, we drove her 10-15 miles, so that she could  get to where she could work online.  She accepted snacks and a ride and we walked her to her trail head so that she would make it to the next shelter.  Her name was Brave.

We are having so much fun.  We just found an Amish store and Mark just when in  to find food for tomorrow.  It is beginning to rain again.  Pray for our new friends as they continue their own adventure.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Trail Angels

Mark and I have a new hobby.  It is called trails angels.  We got to Fontana Dam before our hikers. When we got to the welcome center, we checked to see if they had signed the check-in list. We had  to admit that we did not know their trail name or even if they had one.  Later we found out that they were little foot and Fifol.  We also found out that they had named us Old Goat and Granny.

While we waited for them, Mark took a Guy named Guy to the Village.  He told Mark that he was his first trail angel.  We headed south and found our hikers, who needed  a shower.  We stopped by
the Fontana Hilton which was a one room shelter with big bunk beds that looked like shelves for a giants,
with nails to hang things.

We grilled veggie burgers and veggies and fried potatoes.  Made snacks for our hikers and some for the shelter folks and sent them and cold drinks to the shelter. Daffodil ate our  left over veggies and shared the Easter rabbit.  We handed our last real hamburger to a man walking  by.  The were all  so excited  about so little  that Mark and I could not resist asking what else we could do.  We made a list to buy the next day.

This morning, we greeted the kids with a full breakfast.  We walked over the dam with them and a little ways down the trail. We return to the welcome center where we ran into Black dog, a girl with a toothache,  no way to get to her friend an hour away to find a dentist.  So,off we went.  We stopped by waffle house because that was her favorite place and stopped by grocery store where  she helped us pick out  stuff  for a trail angel box.  We dropped her off and headed for the next crossing and found  seven hungry hikers.  It was a delight see their excitement about a box full of goodies.  You can be sure, no one took too much.  You have to carry what you get for miles.  They all signed my book which is becoming my trail prayer book.

Friday, April 25, 2014

More on Prayer

I found this list in Granddaddy Ezra's bible that Mom was using.

Pitfalls of prayer
Entering God's presence without proper respect
Confessing sin in generalities
Failing to act on what God says
Insisting on knowing the outcome
Offering more praise to people than to God
Praising God for answers to prayer only when it goes our way

This week's devotion book continues to  be on prayer

Lord give me a heart for prayer that reaches well beyond my wants and wishes.
Jesus (our example) often withdrew to quiet secluded areas to pray.
That is what I plan to do as we head north
I need His strength now as reality begins to hit.

Teach me to follow your example of prayer faithfulness through the Bible and prayer.
Teach me to pray for  other more than I pray for myself.
Bring to mind those who need the ministry of prayer.

Prayer is more than mentioning a need to God.
It is connecting with God intimately and interceding for others faithfully.
The greatest thing we can do for God and Man is pray
Not talking about prayer but Praying.
Prayer works

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Staying busy

Staying busy is a good thing.  Last night we had pizza and cake with the kids and Bethe and Lisa. Stayed up late talking. You always said that it is okay to cry and then laugh...both are healing.

This morning I started the day by playing tennis for the league.  I lost,  but the  exercise was great. I just did not let anyone  talk to me or hug me until after I played or I would cry.  I did not even let the opponents know.

Got  home and went to the square with Bethe and Lisa  for lunch and then out  to Clint's to visit the grands and see the changes that he has made at our old home.  The place looks great with goats and chickens and gardens.

 Back home to write  thank you notes.  Got dressed and headed  back to the Square for supper. Then to the art center for Cinderella with  Riley on stage and  Becca  as stage manager.

Back to the Square for desserts until closing time. Siblings and cousins filled the same table that we had your birthday party at last month.

In the morning,  Mark and I are heading north to catch up with the kids on the Appalachian  trail  and will  keep heading North until............                                                        Good night,  love you

long day

Mom,
Yesterday was a long day. After saying goodbye to you, we went back to the house.  We hope that we made you proud, all working together to do what needed to be done.  We want to keep your legacy of love and service alive by following your example of unconditional love.    
                                                                                                   Love you Mom

Good morning Mom

My break down moment will be when  I will reach for  the phone and Mom will not be there to answer.  Anyone who knows me knows that I did most of the talking and mom would listen and congratulate me or console me. With that  in mind I need to talk to Mom for  a while.

Okay Mom, you win.  This morning  for breakfast  I made cheese and eggs with round ham on hamburger bun.  The only disagreement we had was when I started breakfast and you said that  you were going to make breakfast because you needed to use up  the round ham.  Then you said to put the  boiled eggs up  for  later, I told you that you did not need to cook me breakfast.  You  responded that you were NOT  an invalid.  There is no middle grown with you.  You are either serving someone or an invalid.  Mark told me to choose my battles.  What made me think I could change an 83 year Mom who has take care of her kids decades.  Who knew that was the last breakfast that you would cook for me.....

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The power of prayer

The last month of Mom's life, my  bible studies  kept landing on the power of prayer.  This week I felt  the power of power with a calmness that defied the situation that I was going through.  So, I would like to thank all of you who have been praying for us and ask that you continue during these next two days....maybe longer.

 The Bible says to "continue earnestly in prayer, being vigil in it with thanksgiving. The day that I took Mom to the Doctor that began this Journey, I read in Philippians, "Be anxious for nothing, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving , let you request be know and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your heart and minds".

I don't think that  I ever  got the part about praying in thanksgiving when things are going bad . But I now realize that I have a lot  to be thankful for  and need to thank Him.

We  spend a lot of time with Mom this last Month
From  birthday at The Square  to the last day, we were there.
Mom did not suffer.
Her mind was strong to the last minute.
She died on her own term
She did not want her kids to have to make that decision for her
She amazed her Doctors and Nurses
She was surrounded by family
She gave us the  time that we needed.
She is in Heaven

I thank God for the people that God has placed  in my life.
My family, friends,  neighbors,  preachers, church,  FB friends and especially the  nurses.

My daughter- in- law that  understood medical terms
The night  nurse  that was so strong  and compassionate
The day nurse that lost her 83 year old mother last month and used her experience to help us
 My  (ex) sister in-law that we have not seen since he died, who happens to be a hospice nurse.
 What a blessing she was. One of the last things mom said was she is NOT  my EX-daughter- in- law.

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things."
Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.
James 5:16b " Pray for one another and you will be healed."
1 Thessalonian 5  "Rejoice without ceasing  in  everything and give thanks,  for this is the will of God"
We can pray anytime, anywhere about anything. I am thankful,  God still answers prayers. Mom is healed.

This weekends devotion started with this.  "Even in the midst of uncertainty and anxiety, I will look to you and depend on your strength. I am thankful for both the good and the tough moments. I am thankful for what you taught me about the power of prayer.  Count on God to get you through the coming week and trust Him with what you are presently facing .....

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happy Birthday Mom

What can you say about a woman like my Mom.  How is it that I still think of her as the 52 year old Mother of six and young widow.  She has now been a widow longer than she was married to my Daddy.  How did she spoil  Daddy rotten and still make all  of us kids feel special, Any thing that I do right as Mom and wife, I learned from the best.  I really don't know how she did it all.

She worked full time and managed to be a Mom full time, which was rare, back in the day.
She had a  four lady car-pool  driving every day from Florida to Georgia, for decades.
She sewed most of mine and  Barbara's clothes, including cheerleading outfits
She never missed ballgames for 4  sports,  for  4 boys and 2 cheerleaders.
She cooked huge wonderful meals for a family of eight.
She is the best cook in the world.
She invented the breakfast in the pot way before the breakfast in a cup came to be.
She could stretch a dollar and we never realized money was tight.
She helped Daddy with his insurance books so that he could  submit numbers on Thursdays
She shelled peas and beans while watching all of us play softball in the summer
She cooked meals while calling out spelling words or talking to us while we sat on dryer.
She was captain of her basket ball team and life guard at local pool near her home in Hahira
She and her two sisters were the prettiest girls in Hahira ( Just ask her Daddy)
She loved my Daddy and took great care of him until he died....way too young
She lost a son and I watched her heart break
She has more grandkids and great grandkids than I can count, plus great great grands
She remembers every ones birthday and send them a card with their age in cash
She has the longest Christmas gift list that I know of  and buys/makes for all on her list.
Shes still  drives ladies to church, doctor appoints and up town.
She is a charter member of Faith Baptist church, (the small church that I grew up in)
She is at the church every time the door opens unless her family needs her.
She still cooks huge amounts of food  for dinner on the ground, family reunion, and funerals
She still teaches Sunday School and is Church secretary and loves her church family
She took care of Daddy, Her Mom and Dad, Little Granny and is still helping with her sister.
She is nurturing, loving and caring and has taught us so much.
She has a servants heart and loves the Lord and others well
She is my Mom and I love her





There's a storm acoming

Beth Moore, in her study of Paul's, talks about storms that come into our life. She gives us causes for storms and hints to  make it through to the other side.

Sometimes God will deliver us from the storm and sometimes through the storm
Sometimes, we can feel the storm coming
Sometimes it is upon us before we know what hit us.

A storm can start slow and gather strength with all the debris  that it picks up along the way, wreaking havoc.
A storm can be like a flash flood that hit us suddenly, with out warning, a phone call, flashing lights, or  Doctors words that changes our world in an instant.

Some causes for storms
1)  rebellion
2) spiritual warfare
3)  for our growth and  God's glory
4) someones bad judgement that effect us

Like sailors fighting the storm out in the ocean, there are basic survival skills

1) Don't let loose of  the anchor, stay anchored to Christ during the calms day so that we will be anchored to Him during the storms.

2) Don't give in  to the storm and despair over the outcome...sometimes you just have to ride the storm out to completion. Remember, God is still in control and He controls the storm

3) Through out excess baggage

4) Throw out all man-made solution that we depend on and depend totally on God.

5) Never give up hope. Hang on

6) Listen for God to speak to us through the storm
through His word, nature, fellow believers etc

Jonah and Paul both went through storms in their lives.  Both made it to their destination through the storm and ultimately obeyed God and were successful servants.  But attitude of obedient makes a huge difference to us and to those we are called to serve. Jonah was successful and an entire city was saved.  But he lacked joy in his success. Paul had joy through out a life of turmoil.

A storm is on the horizon.  We will all go through storms in our lives. We are called to hold on to the umbrella of blessings from God during storms for ourselves and for all those God has entrusted us with.







Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Love

I read the Bible
I study the Bible
But do I apply
what the Bible says
to my life and let it
change me to be  who
God wants be to be.

I love love
I love the Love Chapter
Love runs throughout the Bible
Jesus says that Love is:
the greatest commandment
that encompasses all the rest

This weeks Devotion says
In a world that talks a lot about love
people don't see much of the real thing
It's not complicated
1) keep eyes on savior
2) love others as He loves us
3) Look for opportunities to
    love and serve others

It is easy to love
 friends and family
But do I really love
Do I love people who
 are different than me
Can I look past the
outer appearance
and really see the
person  in front of me
as God sees them
OR
Do I try to combine
His Love
with my partiality

Folks,  I've got a long way to go.
Love




Monday, March 3, 2014

Wisdom and Understanding

From today's devotion

Seek Wisdom and get understanding

Seek wisdom so that you will do what is right and please God
Get understanding , it is the wellspring of life

Where do we get wisdom and understanding?
You get wisdom by asking God, who give liberally
You get understanding from daily scripture study

Formula for daily quiet time
Pray and Study

"Tell me your dreams
I will read the riddle of your life

Tell me your prayer
I will write the history of your soul

Tell me your asking
I will tell you your gettings

Tell me what you seek
I will tell you what you are

I do not wish to know your possessions
only your wants

I do not care to know what you have
only what you have not and desire to have

the ideal you set before you
the things you approve as excellent
what you seek after
and have given your heart to
these are the
measure of a man"
(and woman)

anonymous thinker


















Sunday, March 2, 2014

First Baptist Church Moultrie

We love to travel.  We love being back in Moultrie.  Spending time with the grandbabies, sleeping in our own  bed, eating at  the Square,  working at  the stable on our new crafty ideas,.....and being back in church.

 We love our Sunday School class. The visiting before the lesson. The lesson from a  wonderful humble teacher that we both  really enjoy and learn so much from. Talking to Colonel Nagy about his son going back to Afghanistan, making  it all too real.  (We really respect him and his family). The prayer request, bringing us all closer together as we pray for each other.

I noticed two thirty something year old ladies in the hall  discussing children"s church and the need for red crayons. Those kids should have a good time as they learn about the Lord.

I also heard two other thirty something year ladies discussing VBS this year before church. I love that the young adults are taking over so many roles in our church

Our  youth minister, children ministry and music ministry and minister of education are all  talented young  people doing Gods work.

Then we walk into big church.

Today, we have to sit in the back row because we have the Red Cross beeper and do not want to cause a disturbance, if we have to leave. So, there we are on the wrong side of the church, on the next to the back row.   Can we even hear from this side.  Whose seat are we taking?  Sitting next to me is a cute little blond and her Auntie  who is trying to make sure that she is not bothering me.  I remember when the Auntie was the cute little blond sitting in Big Church. She is a newly wed, back in church with her new hubby after getting married last week here at FBC.

As we settle down to get ready for the service I look around from our new prospective and notice my sweet little Travis all grown up with a very pretty girl sitting next to him.  My little Travis is a state champion wrestler and star football player...but to me he is still my little Bible Drill boy who got out of trouble with that mischievous grin.

I could not help but notice the little cutie with big eyes in Sam's arms as we stood for the first song. She is facing backwards in Daddy's arms. smiling, singing all the words to the song, with a  little wave when she notices an adult that she recognizes.. Our little ambassador, making everyone on the back two rows smile.  

Sitting in front of me today was the lady who has been a member of our church the  longest, Ms Bridges.

The choir was wonderful today with the song,"Midnight Cry".

  Brother Wayne preached on Stewardship.
"Everything belongs to God
Everything comes from God
Everything is disbursed By God
We are not owners, we are Stewards
A good reminder for all of us.
God loves a cheerful giver."

I love our church.
Thank you Lord for a beautiful day






Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Red Cross-Helping folks

Mark and I were having a relaxing afternoon.  I was reading and Mark was taking a nap before going to a Red cross meeting.  The phone rang. It  was Sam saying that there had been a fire in another county and someone needed to go.  I woke Mark up and we got ready while Sam got the ERV  ready and brought it to us.

We drove in the opposite direction from scheduled meeting.  We arrived on the scene of a gutted, black with soot,  house. A couple was  standing  by their truck,  drinking coffee, that someone had brought them.  We invited them into the ERV,  so that we could talk. She stated that she could not stop shaking and he had a very bad headache.   They were grateful that they had stop by his  brother's house  on the way home from town.  They would have been taking a nap with the four year old baby when the fire started. They were sad,  that when they got home and saw the smoke billowing out, the puppy ran  inside and did not make it out .  They  stated that the dog must have thought one of them was still in there.

While Mark started the paper work, I reached into the bag and got out a Mickey Mouse doll. She cradled the doll in her arms. She said that her baby, who had just been picked up by Grandma , loves  Mickey Mouse. There was no room for them and they had no idea what to do next.

 When we  handed her a debit card for hotel and food and clothes, she cried. She kept thanking us. We told her that this was not from us. This was her American  Red Cross at work with money donated by people in her community.

 Church friends started coming by and calling.  We feel like they will receive help,  when the church can rally the troops. But as it is getting dark and cool outside, we are glad that Red Cross provided them a place to regroup and decide what to do next.

We were late for the meeting, but they forgave us.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Job hears from God Almighty

I am getting to the part of Job where we see:
God Almighty
All-powerful God
A God that we can not fully understand
Yet,
A God that we must
 love and trust
every day
Asking God to tell  me daily
What do you want me to do?
Then give me the courage
to Obey
To take a risk
for our good
and His glory

Monday, January 13, 2014

"Word for you today"

Picked  up a "Word for you today" given to us at FBC.
The last 5 days have been titled "The Bible is God is speaking to  you"

Daily Reviews

Day 1 Read the Bible as a love letter to you
          with Heavenly fruit within you reach
          Gather them and claim every promise
           Not one word has failed
           Trust in His word today

Day 2 "Man does not live by bread alone,
           but by every word that comes from the
           mouth of the Lord" Deuteronomy  8:3 .
           We must mediate day and night
           Change you habits        
           Change your life
           Treasure the Word
            More than Bread

Day 3  Develop love for the Scriptures
            Decision - Establish Bible reading as #1 priority
            Duty - You have a duty to feed yourself Spiritually
            Delight - Reach this phase and the battle has been won
            Start with a decision, read because of  duty,
            until you reach the point of
            delighting in the Word.

Day 4   Find solution for daily problems in the Word
             The bible is truth
             The Word of God
             God's Word works
              Agree with God
              Trust and obey

Day 5    God will speak to you personally
              through his Word.....
               Fall in love with the Word
               Fall in Love with the Author
               Spend time with Him
                Delight in the WORD
               more precious that Gold
The greatest investment you can make in yourself is reading your Bible

Unknown Poet
"Enjoy the many tokens of Love
from the Father above
Who is nearest and
dearest to me
This old book is my guide
tis a friend by my side
it will lighten and brighten my way
as I read it today"

Ready your Bible every day
             
             

             
           


Thank you Lord for another day

Today's devotion begins with Mark's favorite phrase that I hear almost every day.  "Thank you Lord for another day."  Help me to never take for granted the blessing of salvation and a personal relationship with you. Let us surrender our will to God's will for our good and His glory.

Today call upon  the Lord..... 5 ways to seek Him
1) Admit we are sinners and offending a Holy God
2) Agree with God- sin is serious and very costly
3) Repent- turn away from sin and turn to the Lord
4) Submit to God in Faith
5) Believe His promise

Paul wrote, "Now is the acceptable Time"
                   "Now is the Day of Salvation"
Do not wait
until it is too late


Sunday, January 12, 2014

Church

Mark and I love the adventure of traveling and the many opportunities that God gives us along the way.   But it sure is nice to come home and be back in my home church with all our friends.  Fellowship is an important part of church that I miss when we are not here.

Sunday school is such a great  part of our Sunday.  That is where we feel that special  bond that we all need.  We love Durwood as a teacher, but our class is blessed with many subs that can take over when he is not here.
Colonel Nagy is a great teacher and I think that he preached a sermon before the class even started with the two statements.
1) Be a uniter    not a divider
2) Never  pass up the opportunity to be quiet

Then  he taught a great  lesson about the Holy Spirit with lots of class participation that is ever-present with  our very interesting and diverse class members.
We learn  that the word ZOE means abundant eternal life.
We talked about the power of the Holy Spirit.
We talked about the ebbs and flows in our Spiritual life
We talked about being adopting into the family of God.
Learned  that  "sin is serious stuff"

We talked of 4 realities about the Holy Spirit
1) H.S. is a  gift from our loving relationship with our Abba Daddy
2) H.S. constantly builds us up and tells us we are loved and will be raised up
3) H.S. strengthens our prayer life and intercedes  for us according to God's will
4) H.S. reflects our true heart to God when we are confused, in trauma, in doubt or pain.

Then,  after beautiful music and shaking of hands and more fellowship, Brother Wayne turned us to Luke and  Preached  a message about being all-in with Jesus.

First, Love Him  and more than anyone or anything .Give it all to God.
Peter got into trouble when he tried to follow Jesus at a distance and he denied even knowing his Savior three times in one night.

Don't play games

The answer is found in Luke: 23-25
1)  Deny self...the more you give away, the more you enjoy what you have
2) Take up your cross and follow me - Die to self daily all your rights and privileges
3) Follow Me- surrender , count the cost and understand your commitment and go all in
4) Lose your life -You have to lose your life to save it.  His Kingdom must be-
     the most important thing in you life.  

choices:
Self                   or            The  cross
This world         or            His Kingdom
Your path          or            God's Path

These a just a few things that I picked up from the notes that I took during the sermon.  Of, Course Brother Wayne did a much better job of explaining that I can.  I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed being back in church and plan to go every chance I get.

FBC -  Thanks for being there for us weary travelers.




Saturday, January 11, 2014

Be Blessed

The word blessed is often translated happy, but it is much more . Happy is something that you feel when,"everything is going  my way."  Blessed is based on truth and faith in a loving Heavenly Father, no matter what the situation.

My Devotion book these last few days has been based on the beatitudes. This portion of the bible known as the Sermon on the mount and is found in 5th chapter of  Matthew.

My chronological reading list has me in the same verses in Matthew and Luke.

The first in a list of 8 "Blessed are "  is:.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God
Those who realize and acknowledge their need for God and humbles themselves  before God will receive the Kingdom of God. The first step to solving any problem is to realizing  that their is a problem.  Our problem is sin and pride and we need a Savior.

The second is:
Blessed are those  who mourn for they will be comforted.
Those who grieve over their sin will be comforted and forgiven.

The third is:
Blessed are  the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
We are to be gentle and lowly and humble before God and we will be raised up to greatness in the kingdom of God.

The forth is:
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.
We need to desire a loving relationship with God that is real and growing above any thing else in life.

The fifth is:
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy
The best way to be merciful is to realize that God's mercy on us is more that we can imagine or deserve.
Therefore, we should show mercy.

The sixth is:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
We need to keep our heart pure toward those around us.  Remember that we  receive blessings so that we can be a channel of God's blessings to others.

The seventh is:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
God loves peace.  He was so willing to make peace with mankind that He gave His Son to reconcile us to Him'  When we were in our rebellious state  and a enemy of God, he treated us with mercy and grace. Receiving us as His children through His Son.

The eighth is:
Blessed are those which are persecuted  for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.  It is easy to bless those that we love and are good  to us. The challenge is to bless those who persecute, hate and talk about us.  But that is when we become a channel  of God's great love and become a witness.

God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others and He receives the glory.

Be blessed.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Sin is crouching at the door

Genesis 4
Cain got angry and his countenance fell and God warn him, "If you do well, you will be lifted up , if not, sin is crouching at the door and desires to destroy you,  but you must subdue it."

James 4:7b "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you."

I often see on face book where young people say,"that moment when..." Well, Cain had that moment when. God confronted him and warned him.  Cain had a choice to make.  But, anger and jealousy got the best of him and he  invited his brother to go to the field with him.  Premeditated murder,  he will always be known as the first murderer and was  banished and cursed.

We all have THAT  moment.... not that we kill , but we can use words to kill:  self-esteems, reputations, friendship, and relationships.

  At that moment, we have a choice.

Words

Found these words in my devotion book today. Boy, does it apply....to me

Guard my speech today so that I only say what builds others up and never tears them down.

Help me to realize the power of words and to use my words for good and not evil.

Help me to learn to listen before I speak.

Average words  per person per day  30,000
I may be above average

Question
Do my words serve people in a positive way?
Help me:  to speak with wisdom
                to know and apply His word to life
                to build up and encourage
Give me wisdom to speak the truth in love.

A great  prayer for me daily .... and maybe you

Lord, bring to mind the words I have spoken today and how they impact others.
Show me how I could have said something differently that would have helped in
a positive way.  Forgive me for speaking words that are not pleasing to you and
hurtful to others.  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in your sight"  AMEN