For Gideon week 4, I was in the mountains of Kentucky have trouble with signal and kept losing blogs.
So, I will go over what meant a lot to me. It was about the patience of God in dealing with his children.
Grace = getting what you do not deserve
Mercy = not getting what you deserve
She used Gideon's gift to have us look at our own gifts. Gifts given to us by God, to be given back to God, for Him to use when and how He chooses for our good and His glory.
Hiking through the mountains, I thought about what gift God may have given me and I came up with this.
I think God wants me to be His cheerleader
To exalt Him
To praise His word
To build up His children
I have been a cheerleader most of my life.
I had four brothers, so, I naturally gravitated toward sports
My sister was a very precise cheerleader, with a perfect split and perfect movements,
very thin and looked good in her uniform, every hair of her long straight hair in place.
I could not do a split , my hair was a mess and my movements were okay at best
But, I was very enthusiastic and very vocal (imagine that)
and I knew the game. I knew when we were on offence and defense. '
When we needed a first and ten or to hold that line.
To be God's cheerleader, I need to know and grow.
I realize I am still a mess, and make bad moves.
But I am very enthusiastic and learning more every day as I study His word and pray and grow.
I hear Him tell me constantly, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workmen that needth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
On page 102, she asked us what practical things could we do to prepare our gifts to be used by God
I wrote:
Practice,practice,practice
Study, study, study
Pray, pray, pray
Take the time effort and energy = sacrifice that is pleasing to God
She gave us 4 steps to giving our gifts to God
Prepare it
Present it
Put it down
Pour it out
See how God uses your gifts.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
God's patience
In session 4 of Gideon, Priscilla used a lot of verses to explain God's patience
So, I decided to look them up tonight.
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above and beyond all that we ask or think or even imagine according to the power that is at work in us." Ephesians 3:20
I can just see Priscilla at a conference talking about God doing abundantly above and beyond what we can think or ask, or imagine. Beyond
Beyond
Beyond
Anything that we can think or ask or even imagine.
He is able.
Exodus 34:6A
The LORD GOD is merciful, compassionate and gracious...
slow to anger, long-suffering and abounding in loving-kindness and truth.
Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in POWER
She took 1 Timothy 1:16,15,14,13,12 and discussed them backwards from 16 - 12
to explain that Paul was an example of God's perfect patience.
Even tough he declared himself chief among sinners,
God showed him mercy and abundant grace and love
by strengthening him and using him
to serve Him by serving others
1 Peter 3:20
"God showed his patience by waiting while Noah built the ark to send the flood."
Genesis 18:26-33
Shows us a discussion between God and Abraham....."will you spare this place for the sake of
50.....45.....40.....30.....20......10 righteous people?" God agreed to spare the nation if only....
they could find 10 righteous people in the entire nation.
In Jonah, God gave Nineveh 40 days to repent and sent a reluctant prophet.
Titus 2:11-12
"The grace of God has been revealed bringing Salvation to all"
2 Peter 3:9
"The Lord is not slow about His promise to return.
But patient, not willing that any one should perish but \
wanting all to come to repentance,"
From Genesis 4:26 where during the time of Enoch,
"The men began to call upon the name of the Lord"
To Judges where, "Everyone did what was right in there on eyes"
God has shown His patience over and over again for His people
From Adam and Eve in the garden where sin came into the world
To Jesus, who came to die and bring hope back into the world
God has been showing his patience and love for his people.
So, I decided to look them up tonight.
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above and beyond all that we ask or think or even imagine according to the power that is at work in us." Ephesians 3:20
I can just see Priscilla at a conference talking about God doing abundantly above and beyond what we can think or ask, or imagine. Beyond
Beyond
Beyond
Anything that we can think or ask or even imagine.
He is able.
Exodus 34:6A
The LORD GOD is merciful, compassionate and gracious...
slow to anger, long-suffering and abounding in loving-kindness and truth.
Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in POWER
She took 1 Timothy 1:16,15,14,13,12 and discussed them backwards from 16 - 12
to explain that Paul was an example of God's perfect patience.
Even tough he declared himself chief among sinners,
God showed him mercy and abundant grace and love
by strengthening him and using him
to serve Him by serving others
1 Peter 3:20
"God showed his patience by waiting while Noah built the ark to send the flood."
Genesis 18:26-33
Shows us a discussion between God and Abraham....."will you spare this place for the sake of
50.....45.....40.....30.....20......10 righteous people?" God agreed to spare the nation if only....
they could find 10 righteous people in the entire nation.
In Jonah, God gave Nineveh 40 days to repent and sent a reluctant prophet.
Titus 2:11-12
"The grace of God has been revealed bringing Salvation to all"
2 Peter 3:9
"The Lord is not slow about His promise to return.
But patient, not willing that any one should perish but \
wanting all to come to repentance,"
From Genesis 4:26 where during the time of Enoch,
"The men began to call upon the name of the Lord"
To Judges where, "Everyone did what was right in there on eyes"
God has shown His patience over and over again for His people
From Adam and Eve in the garden where sin came into the world
To Jesus, who came to die and bring hope back into the world
God has been showing his patience and love for his people.
We can pray
Big Mike walked up to the front of Mom's church on crutches and sang. He had hip replacement and due to complications has been in pain for some time. I love going to church with Mom and to see the same faces that I saw when I was a little girl. This church is struggling, suddenly without a preacher, but the core group keeps on keeping on serving God and praying. I wrote down a few words from the song that Mike sang.
I can pray
calling on your name
What can I do
to bring them to you
and my words
don't get through.
Till the walls
come tumbling down
You can pray.
The Lord hears
us when pray
We will pray
Will you pray?
I know that when I have a prayer request
That I can call Mom and her church will
go to the throne of God and pray.
Now I feel like we need to pray
for this special church called Faith.
I can pray
calling on your name
What can I do
to bring them to you
and my words
don't get through.
Till the walls
come tumbling down
You can pray.
The Lord hears
us when pray
We will pray
Will you pray?
I know that when I have a prayer request
That I can call Mom and her church will
go to the throne of God and pray.
Now I feel like we need to pray
for this special church called Faith.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
The Living Word
Woke up at Mom's at 5:30 this morning. My Bible was in the car,so I grabbed one of Mom's Bible. This one was given to her in Memory of her Daddy, my Granddaddy, Ezra Simpson. It is a large print, (nice for early morning, dim light reading) red letter, King James version. In the front of this Bible, I found these words The Living Word.
From the creation in Genesis with the words, " In the beginning God Created", we see God is active with His plan and purpose. Max LaCado says that, God is always active, even when we can not see it. He created a world for His crowning glory Mankind. "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He Him , Male and Female, created He them." Genesis 1:27
God's love is revealed throughout the Living word of God
The Word of God:
lives
breathes
and acts
through the lives of people
In the Living Word we see:
God's love in action and
God's ultimate sacrifice
The Living Word
teaches wisdom
equips
reveals God
gives practical advice for life
allows us to spend Time with God
The Living Word is:
Truth
our only Hope
the Good News (Gospel)
our Daily bread
(are you starved)
relevant today
His love Letter to us
God's blueprint for a Blessed life
The living Word of God tells the greatest story ever told
We are to live the Living Word
B-I-B-L-E
B asic
I nstructions
B efore
L eaving
E arth
From the creation in Genesis with the words, " In the beginning God Created", we see God is active with His plan and purpose. Max LaCado says that, God is always active, even when we can not see it. He created a world for His crowning glory Mankind. "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He Him , Male and Female, created He them." Genesis 1:27
God's love is revealed throughout the Living word of God
The Word of God:
lives
breathes
and acts
through the lives of people
In the Living Word we see:
God's love in action and
God's ultimate sacrifice
The Living Word
teaches wisdom
equips
reveals God
gives practical advice for life
allows us to spend Time with God
The Living Word is:
Truth
our only Hope
the Good News (Gospel)
our Daily bread
(are you starved)
relevant today
His love Letter to us
God's blueprint for a Blessed life
The living Word of God tells the greatest story ever told
We are to live the Living Word
B-I-B-L-E
B asic
I nstructions
B efore
L eaving
E arth
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
God Bless America
Waiting for the bank to open while sitting in the shade, I watched an American flag dancing in the wind. The song "God Bless America" came to mind. While singing, I thought about the words. Unfortunately, we often sing songs and don't ever think about the words.
" God Bless America",
and He has.
We are a blessed nation.
"Land that I love"
do we?
do we still love our country
The more I travel,
the more I fall in love
with our country and it's people
"Stand beside her"
We need to stand up for
our country and to ask
God to stay with us
instead of pushing Him out
"And Guide Her"
Who do you think he was
asking to guide our country?
It had to be God
We are asking God to guide
our country when we sing this song
Do we really mean it or it just
words to a pretty song
"Through the night"
through dark times
are we in dark time?
"With the light from above"
That settles it right there
He is talking about God
Asking God to lead us.
Then I saw the shadow of the flag
dancing on the roof of the bank
This thought hit me....
We are a shadow of the nation of our
forefathers who wrote patriotic songs
like:
"God Bless America"
and meant.
Think about that the next time
you sing this song
lets mean what we sing
God Bless America
" God Bless America",
and He has.
We are a blessed nation.
"Land that I love"
do we?
do we still love our country
The more I travel,
the more I fall in love
with our country and it's people
"Stand beside her"
We need to stand up for
our country and to ask
God to stay with us
instead of pushing Him out
"And Guide Her"
Who do you think he was
asking to guide our country?
It had to be God
We are asking God to guide
our country when we sing this song
Do we really mean it or it just
words to a pretty song
"Through the night"
through dark times
are we in dark time?
"With the light from above"
That settles it right there
He is talking about God
Asking God to lead us.
Then I saw the shadow of the flag
dancing on the roof of the bank
This thought hit me....
We are a shadow of the nation of our
forefathers who wrote patriotic songs
like:
"God Bless America"
and meant.
Think about that the next time
you sing this song
lets mean what we sing
God Bless America
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Sara is Home
Sara is back from California. She is the baby of the family and we spoiled her rotten.. The thing is, she is not rotten, she is delightful. She is a free spirit and her best quality seems to be love. She loves completely and does things for others as naturally as others breath. She takes care of orphan children in Africa, teaches art to adult mentally handicap, serves coffee as a barristers, and jumps around spreading her own special kind of joy. Every thing she does, she does with all her might and in a spirit of love.
When I got sick, she stayed on the computer for hours and brought be an entire book on solutions for my health issues. She is very into nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle. She has only been home a few days and will soon be gone for her next adventure.
In the short time she has been home she has painted a princesses castle for her nieces that delighted them both. Helped her sister at the Square with the hard work of knocking plaster off the walls to expose the beautiful brick behind it. Not a very glamorous job. She cooked a healthy meal for us and hid our salt and talked to me about what she has learned in about nutrition. She made a salad for her sister and took it to Carrie's studio to share with Renee. Last night she went to Drew's with lentil and couscous to cook for them and talk to him about healthy veggie dishes for the Square. Tomorrow, she will guest teach a yoga class at the coffee shop.
We miss her when she is gone, but you can not tie her down. She has to go to spread more joy and help others where ever she goes or what ever she decides to do next.
When I got sick, she stayed on the computer for hours and brought be an entire book on solutions for my health issues. She is very into nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle. She has only been home a few days and will soon be gone for her next adventure.
In the short time she has been home she has painted a princesses castle for her nieces that delighted them both. Helped her sister at the Square with the hard work of knocking plaster off the walls to expose the beautiful brick behind it. Not a very glamorous job. She cooked a healthy meal for us and hid our salt and talked to me about what she has learned in about nutrition. She made a salad for her sister and took it to Carrie's studio to share with Renee. Last night she went to Drew's with lentil and couscous to cook for them and talk to him about healthy veggie dishes for the Square. Tomorrow, she will guest teach a yoga class at the coffee shop.
We miss her when she is gone, but you can not tie her down. She has to go to spread more joy and help others where ever she goes or what ever she decides to do next.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
back to work to rest
We have been home for 35 days - 5 weeks
some kind of record for us since retirement.
We will be going back to work Wednesday
Flea across Florida in Madison Florida.
I will be staying at Mom's, where
She will be spoiling me rotten
All we have to do is
set up and sell stuff.
We need to go back to work to rest
Since we came home we have:
Had two yard sales
moved into a new house
had guest 4 weekends
and Sara back from California
this weekend......yea
cooked a few family meals
built storage room
built roof for stable
shoveled stuff in stable
made compost piles
put in drain tile
in driveway and stable
had trees cut down around stable
had man fall through old stable roof
redid old stable roof
put in electric wire
and fans and lights
explored the woods on property
gone fishing in our pond
put in gravel drive way
Driven ERV for Red Cross
Met Megan's Grandparents
Wedding and shower plans
Started new Bible Study
Kept our precious grand kids a few times
Helped Clint build princess castle bed
and move his family into our old home
and clean out his old house
and paint and repair
At night, we compare
bruises, cuts and sore muscles
we have both lost weight
I think that we have bought
a life time of projects for Mark.
But for now, it is time
to go back to work
so we can rest and let
our poor old bodies recoup
some kind of record for us since retirement.
We will be going back to work Wednesday
Flea across Florida in Madison Florida.
I will be staying at Mom's, where
She will be spoiling me rotten
All we have to do is
set up and sell stuff.
We need to go back to work to rest
Since we came home we have:
Had two yard sales
moved into a new house
had guest 4 weekends
and Sara back from California
this weekend......yea
cooked a few family meals
built storage room
built roof for stable
shoveled stuff in stable
made compost piles
put in drain tile
in driveway and stable
had trees cut down around stable
had man fall through old stable roof
redid old stable roof
put in electric wire
and fans and lights
explored the woods on property
gone fishing in our pond
put in gravel drive way
Driven ERV for Red Cross
Met Megan's Grandparents
Wedding and shower plans
Started new Bible Study
Kept our precious grand kids a few times
Helped Clint build princess castle bed
and move his family into our old home
and clean out his old house
and paint and repair
At night, we compare
bruises, cuts and sore muscles
we have both lost weight
I think that we have bought
a life time of projects for Mark.
But for now, it is time
to go back to work
so we can rest and let
our poor old bodies recoup
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