Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Your Joy...
Isaiah 45:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.
Romans 8:38-39 New English Translation (NET Bible)
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 16:22 English Standard Version (ESV)
22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
can't be stolen. No one can take what has been given to you from God.
Joy- Rend Collective
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Known By Our Love
Genesis 1:27New King James Version (NKJV)
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Acts 17:26 English Standard Version (ESV)
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
Romans 3:22-24 New English Translation (NET Bible)
22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 22:2 New English Translation (NET Bible)
2 The rich and the poor meet together;
the Lord is the Creator of them both.
Psalm 95:6-7New English Translation (NET Bible)
6 Come! Let’s bow down and worship!
Let’s kneel before the Lord, our Creator!
7 For he is our God;
we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep he owns.
Today, if only you would obey him!
This boy, wearing what must be a hand-me-down tee shirt, tickles my sense of humor so much that I wish I could show this to my favorite uncle, a proud Norwegian, who is now a citizen of Heaven. I believe he loved children more than his heritage which says much about how he loved children! He also loved his church. As this shirt likely came out of what was once called a missionary barrel, I'd like to imagine him sending it along, to a boy not Norwegian, but definitely made in the image of God. Because I have benefited from donated clothing, I feel a little decadent guilt when I buy retail; but it gets buried under my love for new clothes. Sigh. We have so much when so much of the world has so little. One day we will all be dressed in the righteousness of God, but until that day, how will others know we are His children? They'll know by our love.
They Will Know We Are Christians by our Love
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
No Fight Left
Mark 11:24 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received[a] it, and it will be yours.
I don't know about anyone else, but I know that I've spent far too much time in the belly of a well, using prayer as a last resort rather than a first line defense. Sigh. Why not pray first, obey immediately and avoid the consequences of sin? What a novel idea? Don't wait until you have no fight let. I like this song by JJ Heller.
"No Fight Left" - JJ Heller
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
When Heaven Opens and Jesus Stands
Acts 7:54-60 New International Version (NIV)
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
I was and am dismayed over the brutal murder of journalist James Foley at the hands of ISIS terrorists. I did not watch the video, nor did I want to, but I have seen the photo of Mr. Foley kneeling ever so bravely at the side of his cowardly masked killer, easily showing us who was the man of strength and integrity, and just plain manliness. It reminded me of the martyrdom of Stephen. For him, Jesus stood to receive him into His kingdom. I'd like to think my Lord did the same for James Foley. As He did to His own Son, Jesus, sometimes God calls for His children to be very brave and sometimes His children answer that call.
Back's Against the Wall - Judah & the Lion
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Never, Never Lose Heart
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 New International Version (NIV)
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
for KING & COUNTRY - "Fix My Eyes" (Official Audio)
Saturday, August 23, 2014
May Your Sleep Be Sweet...
Psalm 42:8New International Version (NIV)
8 By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
…and may you hear God's song in your night.
The Dixie Hummingbirds - I Bid You Goodnight
Friday, August 22, 2014
Skype the Tie That Binds
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.
From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Go With God
Proverbs 18:24 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Deuteronomy 31:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
2 John 1:9 English Standard Version (ESV)
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Luke 12:40 English Standard Version (ESV)
40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
There's a little dog in our house who's waiting patiently and faithfully by the front door for his master to enter. I wish I could explain to him that it will happen when the university breaks for holidays, but maybe it's better that he clings to his certain hope of the master's return and continues to camp by the door. I could learn something from this dog. When Jesus returns, may He find me faithful.
Before This Time - Big Stuf
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
It's a Forever Kind of Love
Isaiah 54:13 English Standard Version (ESV)
13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
I'm not sure if God raised my son in spite of his parents or because of his parents, in any case I'm grateful He stepped in. Now I'm discovering that a parent may pray harder for their child once they've flown the nest than when they were living in it. If I ever thought I had prayed sufficiently for this young man who lives in a dorm but doesn't want to be blogged about, I was wrong. You can never pray too much for your children.
Keep You Safe - J J Heller
Psalm 139:13-16New International Version (NIV)
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Yes, I'm Your Mother...
Are You My Mother? - illustrated by P.D. Eastman
Proverbs 22:6English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Isaiah 49:15 English Standard Version (ESV)
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Luke 2:51 English Standard Version (ESV)
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
…and I will always be your mother.
The young man who lives in our house but doesn't want to be blogged about is now the young man who lives in a university dorm who probably still doesn't want to be blogged about. We said goodbye only yesterday but I miss him. It's funny how a mother's heart can bust with pride yet break with pain at the same time. Today I got a call on how to do laundry, so I guess he yet needs me, and I'm glad, because it is ever so hard for a mom to stand down. What a comfort it is that God never does.
You Cannot Lose My Love - Sara Groves
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Planted By the Living Water
Colossians 1:9-10 English Standard Version (ESV)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Psalm 1:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV)
Book One
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 Blessed is the man[a]
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
2 Peter 3:18English Standard Version (ESV)
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
As much as I'd like to be four years old and running once again through the sprinkler on a warm summer day, it's not going to happen. God desires that His children not remain little children forever. Grow, bloom, and bear fruit for the Him. It's what any good parent wants for their child.
Johnny Cash sang a song about this.
I Shall Not Be Moved - Johnny Cash
Friday, August 15, 2014
Pleasures Forevermore
Psalm 42:5 New International Version (NIV)
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
John 15:11 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
In this life, we will suffer; however, it is possible to be so caught up in suffering for Christ to neglect living for Christ. Even in the midst of great pain and terrible trouble we have a God of joy, who who holds for us in His right hand pleasures forevermore, not pleasures He has reserved for Himself. Pleasure as the absence of suffering is pleasure without the presence of the Lord. It is an exchange of the eternal for the temporal, a poor bargain at best and damnation at worse. I choose Jesus. I choose a certain hope, a divine mercy, a full joy. It's a good life from a good God.
Be Still, O My Soul - The City Harmonic
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Under His Wings
Never Alone - Ron Dicianni
Psalm 91 New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Since I'm not sure this is my story to tell, I'll only tell a part of it. Today I am profoundly grateful for God's angels. A terrible fall on a mountain meant a precious family member had to spend 18 hours alone and injured, except he wasn't alone; four angels, old men in appearance, spent the night watching over him. They were gone when the search and rescue team, whom I also consider angels, lifted him out by helicopter. Sheltered under God's wings, he was safe on the mountain and is now safe in the hospital. God keeps His own.
Shelter Me - Buddy Miller
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Glory to His Name!
Revelation 5:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Psalm 150:1-6 New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
DOWN AT THE CROSS by Bart Millard
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
There Is Hope
Romans 12:12 English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 5:2-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith[a] into this grace in which we stand, and we[b] rejoice[c] in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 15:13English Standard Version (ESV)
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Keith & Kristyn Getty "In Christ Alone"
Monday, August 11, 2014
Because He Said So
Isaiah 55:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Job 38:1-4 New International Version (NIV)
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Isaiah 55:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Sometimes I'm amazed at my audacity in questioning God, my whininess in demanding an explanation. God is God. He has no equal. He certainly isn't a Superman who needs Batman to help him over a brick wall. He, who cannot do wrong, does all things for our good. Perhaps I'll get an explanation on the glory side, but, then again, maybe not. It is enough that He knows. He remains God and I remain His dearly loved child. Weak child that I am I know I will question Him again; and He will have to give me that answer every parent knows, "Because I said so, that's why."
Sunday, August 10, 2014
From The Rising to the Setting
Psalm 23:2 English Standard Version (ESV)
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
Jeremiah 31:35 English Standard Version (ESV)
35 Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
Psalm 113:3King James Version (KJV)
3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.
It's gotten quite hot here, a real heat by real standards, not the standards of those accustomed to a cooler clime. Tonight I am thankful that we live close enough to water to be able to find a place to cool ourselves down. There was a supermoon tonight, so the good and talented photographers were down at the water trying to capture its beauty. I only had my iPad so this next picture is the best I could do. It looked so much better in person. I wish you could have been there. It had my husband and I singing "From the Rising of the Sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised!" He certainly is to be praised all day and all night.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Grief and Remembrance
Matthew 5:4 English Standard Version (ESV)
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
John 16:16 English Standard Version (ESV)
Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
Isaiah 26:3English Standard Version (ESV)
3 You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
1 Corinthians 2:9English Standard Version (ESV)
9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
Away Down The River - Alison Krauss
Sleep Ramblings
Proverbs 6:10English Standard Version (ESV)
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
I should be sleeping right now, but I'm still trying to upload a song to Youtube which doesn't want to do tonight what it did so easily for me yesterday. So I'm waiting, until Youtube tells me otherwise. It's a beautiful Alison Krauss song, her voice peaceful and clear; so I'm getting all the more relaxed and sleepy as I wait. If I make it, I'll upload it to this post; otherwise, it can wait for another day, hopefully a day when I'm more tech savvy and Youtube less so. Now I know I need to quit and sleep, while I still have a a few active brain cells.
Goodnight. Sweet Dreams.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Of Fathers, Sons, Cars, and Queens of the House
Proverbs 21:19 English Standard Version (ESV)
19 It is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
It's been long weeks of car repair but tonight my guys successfully finished replacing the transmission in my son's car. Up until late last night they were considering whether or not it would have to be still taken to a professional shop to be redone, but tonight brought victory, the car running again as it once did. The young man who lives in my house but doesn't want to be blogged about has wheels again. It will probably be a story for his grandchildren someday and I'm hoping his mother's patience will be a part of that story. I've been trying, really trying to put up with a summer revolving around a father and son project; but, tonight when I discovered my stash of batteries had been raided and not returned, I wasn't so sure. My husband, a busy man of other summer projects, didn't find the time to do so. I knew I should never have given up my stash of batteries and just kept mum when he was looking for some. Every woman should be entitled to at least one secret. I do like knowing that when I want a battery, like for my computer mouse tonight, I'll have one. If I had to rely on my husband, he'd go around the house trying to find batteries that still have a little life in them for me. So tonight, when I needed a battery and my guys were still busy in the garage, I started to feel a little quarrelsome. When they came out of the garage flush with success and glory I decided to let it go. The batteries have been returned, and my husband won't have to live in a desert land. I'll just have to find a new hiding place.
Disney's Frozen "Let It Go" Sequence Performed by Idina Menzel
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
I Liked This...
Psalm 18:19New International Version (NIV)
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
The Least of These
James 1:27New International Version (NIV)
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 2:14-17English Standard Version (ESV)
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Galatians 6:2English Standard Version (ESV)
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
I've noticed in big-budget disaster movies I can watch the end of the world as we know it but be undone by a pet dog or cat in peril. I can do that in real life too. The broadcast news with all its stories of violence and suffering can desensitize me by the sheer volume of images, but I let this little pathetic kitten cuddling someone's shoe break my heart. Maybe God uses his weakest creatures to open my eyes until I see what He wants me to see and act as He wants me to act; and now that I've seen I am without excuse
Children of Our Time - Jason Upton
Matthew 25:40-45New International Version (NIV)
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Monday, August 4, 2014
God Will Keep Your Song
Deuteronomy 11:13 English Standard Version (ESV)
13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Philippians 4:7King James Version (KJV)
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I liked this song by Adrienne Young & Little Sadie. It reminds me that if I keep my eyes on God, he keeps my song, my joy; and I will not lose this joy as long as I hold Him close. When I rebel against the pain that comes with living and wonder why God allows it, I in danger of missing the precious peace that passes all understanding. I pray that people would say of me that my eyes are watching God.
Her Eyes Were Watching God - Adrienne Young & Little Sadie
Her Eyes Were Watching God
To prey upon a kind and generous heart
To turn away from and leave a mark
To go too far just to make youself feel better
But you could not steal her song
Her eyes were watching God
Never felt any pain at all
From gravel to gold she walks
Shes not long for this world
Shes not long for this
To plant the smallest seed
That bears the bitterest fruit
To still believe the sweetest truth
Hold up the lie till the sun shines through it
Dont you let them steal your song
Your eyes are watching God
No need to feel any shame at all
From gravel to gold we walk
Youre not long for this world
You're not long for this
Moving towards the light
Peace follows the fight
Our eyes are watching God
No need to feel any pain at all
From gravel to gold we walk
Were not long for this world
Were not long for this
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Have Mercy On Those...
Jude 1:22English Standard Version (ESV)
22 And have mercy on those who doubt;
…who doubt. We need it.
Who Can Be Against Us?
1 Chronicles 29:11English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
Romans 8:38-39New International Version (NIV)
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Exodus 14:14English Standard Version (ESV)
14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Sometimes I need to be reminded just how big my God is. He's the strongest father, the the fiercest mother, the bravest brother, and the smartest sister. He is God, perfect, holy and powerful. He has my back and He has yours. We are safe in his hands.
"Our God Is Greater" - Chris Tomlin
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