Day of Prayer

Thursday, May 1 is the 47th National Day of Prayer

Please join me and be a part of interceding for Our Nation, Our Leaders, Our Communities, and Our Families.

Together we can make a difference.

No Ocean can hold it back,

No River can overtake it.

No Whirlwind can go faster,

No Army can defeat it,

No Law can stop it,

No distance can slow it,

No disease can cripple it,

No force on Earth is more Powerful or Effective, than the Power of Prayer.

                                                         Linn Carlson

The prayers of the righteous is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

Where two or three come together in My Name, there I Am with them.  (Matt. 18: 20)

VISIT MY FRIEND TRACY's blog for an awesome video...

my cup runneth over

Day Lifter

I will pour water on the thirsty lands and streams on the dry ground.(Isa. 44:3)

In my quiet time today I came across this from Max Lucado......

I hope you find it as thought provoking as I did.

Here is God's Agenda for you day...  To make you more like Jesus.

"God decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as THE LIFE OF HIS SON."

Jesus felt no guilt; God wants you to feel no guilt.

Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to do away with yours.

Jesus faced fears with courage; God wants you to do the same.

Jesus knew the difference between Right and Wrong; God wants you to know the same.

Jesus served others and gave His Life for the Lost;  we can do likewise.

Jesus Dealt with Anxiety about Death; you can too.

God's Desires, His Plan, His Ultimate Goal is to make you into the Image of Christ.

Father... How I praise You, and thank You that this was Your desire, and plan for me, even before the world was formed!!  And blessed Father, I praise You that You will perform it in me!!  Not by my might, or my power, but by Your Spirit!!

 

A Little Wisdom

Yesterday, as usual I went to Valley Voices... and Rick always has some funny material to share on the back of our newsletter.  (I love him, but he's kinda cheesy, sometimes.)  But yesterday was different.  There was some really great information on the newsletter, and I thought I would share it with you!!!

 

Beatitudes for Friends of the Aging

1. Blessed are those who remember that the Commandment is to honor me, not to patronize me.

2. Blessed are those who remember that "growing old" is still growing.....

3. Blessed are those who know that aging is not a sin.

4. Blessed are those who have encouraged me, when I was younger, to make reasonable plans myself for my later years so that my children will not have to "do something with me" on the basis of guilt or desperation.

5. Blessed are those who respect my desire to take care of myself as far and as long as possible.

6. Blessed are those who know that I still like and need to give and receive affection, including physical affection, and do not recoil at the thought of touching me or being touched by me.

7. Blessed are those who remember that I am still interested in the present and that when I talk of the past, it is usually to provide wisdom  for the present.

8. Blessed are those who realize that senility is not inevitable but can be prevented and often reversed.

9. Blessed are those who do not talk about me in my presence as if I were not there, for they realize that even when I am supposedly senile or have suffered a stroke, I can still hear and perceive, though I may not be able to talk back.

10. Blessed are those who remember that death is a fact of life and do not insist on compounding my final suffering with indignity of inhumane mechanical efforts to keep me lingering as a breathing, heart-beating corpse.  

            Written by Wesley Schlotzhauer Jr. (pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Rolla, Missouri

For those of you who may be a long way from being a senior, I hope this gives you some idea of what they feel. And you will remember that older people need and want to be loved and respected.

For those of us who are closing in on being seniors, I know it gives us a taste of reality for those we love who are already there.

And for my wonderful friends who are already there.......  I pray that you will forgive us when we forget that you have feelings and desires that need to be respected, for if the Lord wills, one day we will be facing the same things you are now facing.

God you have taught me since I was young, to this day I tell about the miracles you do.  Even though I am old and gray, do not leave me Lord.  I will tell the children about your power; and I will tell those who live after me about your might.  (Psalm 71:17-18)

In the Shadow of His Wings

"I will sing in the shadow of your wings.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." (Ps. 63:7-8)

Tonight, I was revisiting my Bible Study, Living Beyond Yourself, by Beth Moore, and I was struck by this poem.

 

The Company I keep

Let me be known by the company I keep,  By the one who determines each day that I greet,

From the moment I wake, til He rocks me to sleep.   Let me be known by the company I keep!

 

Let me be known by the company I keep, when the valleys are low and the mountains are steep.

By the One who holds fast, when swift waters are deep,   Let me be known by the company I keep!

 

Let me be known by the company I keep,  By the One who implores me to sit at His feet. 

And quickens my soul to discern what is deep,  Let me be known by the company I keep!

 

Let me be known by the company I keep,  Eclipsed by your presence that I may decrease,

Til all you have chosen this traveler to meet,  No longer see me, but the company I keep.

 

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you."  (Isa.23:6)

 

  Father, help me to cast my cares at Your feet,  crawl up under Your Everlasting arms and find rest.  For You alone, Oh Lord, make me dwell in perfect peace.

Let Me Lean On You

Keep your eyes on me, keep me in your sight,

Help me down the crooked road, Lead me to the light.

The road I'm on is dark, I'm not sure I know the way;

Yet, with you here beside me, I'm certain I won't stray.

Protect me from the world, I know we'll make it through.

Give me all the strength I need,

Let me Lean on YOU.

                                                         Megan Stroup

People don't care how much you know....

Until they know how much you care.

 

"I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of Love."   (Hosea 11:4)

Let's Go to the Beach!!

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." (Isa. 40:31)

The last few weeks of my life have been very "busy". I have this to do and that to do, go here, go there, with barely time to breath. So I was wondering how many others feel this way?

Then, as my son says, "an epiphany hit my brain!"

I take care of my grandson, Nathan, who is two, while his parents work.....well while his mother and six year old brother were on 'spring break'  they took off to the beach for a few days.  Since then, when we have a nice day, Nathan will say, "Nana, let's go to the beach!" I think Nathan is a lot like his Nana, I love the Beach!!

Well today, I can't physically go to the beach, but I can day dream about it for awhile. It is especially nice to think about the beach today, because it is chilly here, and I could really use a day at the beach!! 

Come sit with me awhile!!

I can imagine sitting on the beach, feeling the warm sunshine on my face, and the breeze coming off the ocean.  Can't you smell the ocean?  Feel the spray as the waves come in? Do you hear the children laughing as they play in the surf, build sand castles and motes around your feet?

Oh, I love the warm, lazy feeling of just sitting and taking it all in!!  As I watch, I see the shrimp boats out on the ocean!! The seagulls calling over head!! The pelicans, dipping down to catch a fish.  Oh!! Did you see that!!  I think maybe it was a skate on the wave!!  Yes, and the children are running back to the sand, not sure of what they just saw in the water's edge!!  They are calling to their parents!!  " Let's take a walk and collect some shells!!  Or just walk down to 'bird island', just to see what we can see!! 

Oh, dear, someone just shook a sandy towel and now we all have sand everywhere!! 

Let's just grab a soft drink and sit and relax for awhile!!!  Want to???

" A cheerful disposition is good for your health, gloom and doom leave you bone-tired." (Proverbs 17: 22 The Message)

The Law of the Garbage Truck

A life lesson from a Taxi Driver....

I had been dealing with an issue that had been placed in my lap, and I wasn't sure how to handle it.  So, Friday morning as my youngest daughter was on her way to work, I asked her to pray that God would help me to know how to respond.

Then, I get this message from my brother in my email.... mind you he had no idea what was up!!

The Law of the Garbage Truck...

I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.  We were driving in the right lane when suddenly, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us!

The taxi driver slammed on brakes, skidded and missed the other car by just inches!!

Then the driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us!!!  The driver just smiled and waved.... I mean he was nice and REALLY FRIENDLY!

So, I asked him, "Why did you reacted like that?  That guy almost wrecked your car and sent us all to the hospital!"  That's when the taxi driver taught me what I now call " The Law of the Garbage Truck".

He explained that many people are like a garbage truck, they run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, full of disappointments and  as their garbage piles up they need a place to dump it and sometimes they dump their garbage on you.

"Don't take it personally,"  He said.  " Just smile, wave, wish them well, and Move On!  Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street."  The bottom line is.... Successful people DO NOT let garbage trucks take over their day!! 

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets... so love the people who treat you right, and pray for those who don't.

Well, I passed this message on to several of my friends, and guess what.... 3 of them told me how very much they needed to hear that message.  THEY HAD BEEN DUMPED ON ,TOO!! 

Oh Yes.... I do believe that was a "God Thing"!!

" For all who are lead by the Spirit of God are children of God." (Romans 8:14)

The wonderful thing about knowing God is that He offers us a solution for every difficulty we face. And for the difficult task of controlling our emotions, He offers us the power of His indwelling Spirit to take back the reigns and restore peace to our souls. (Life On Purpose)

Thank you ,Father for the power given to me by the Holy Spirit, to take control of my emotions, thoughts, and actions as I submit them to you!!  Thank you that your power is working in and through me, producing the fruits of the Spirit!    In Jesus Name.   Amen

What Is That In Your Hand?

Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A rod." he replied. (Exodus 4:2)

The Lord reminded me this week of a sermon I heard a few years back, given by David Ring.  You may not know anything about David, but I will tell you that he is a gifted preacher.  The other thing that you need to know about David is that he was born with cerebral palsy. It is difficult at first to understand him when he speaks, but oh it is worth taking the time.

I heard David preach on the verse at the top. When he read the verse, it sounded like he said a wad, and not a rod, so after letting everyone have a laugh, he decided to call it a stick.

Today, as I read the devotional book that Dan and I use, I was again reminded that God uses people that others might think are inferior.

A lay preacher with limited education spoke at a service, using Luke 19:21 as his text: "Lord, I feared thee, for you are an austere man."  The preacher thought the text was referring to an Oyster Man.

He explained how a diver must grope in dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters, cutting his hands on the sharp edges of the shells.  Once he has the oyster, he returns to the surface, holding "it in his torn, bleeding hands."   He likened this to Christ descending from heaven to this earth, in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him, to the glory of heaven. His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He placed on us.

At the end of the service, 12 people received Christ.

So, today, I am thanking God that He uses "ordinary people" and circumstances, to bring glory to His name.

So, what is that in your hand?  Is it a rod, a stick, a child's hand, a computer? 

" We are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."  (Ephesians 2:10)

Father, I praise you that I don't have to be perfect to be used by you.  Show me, Lord , just WHAT IS IN My Hand!!

New Again...

Link to video



Beautiful Savior...

Amazing Love How Can It Be That Thou My God Should Die For Me!!!!