Gratitude

Today I am thinking of being grateful.  Gratitude is always stressed in November as we gear up for Christmas and the "I want" season.  To me that is like taking a kid to an ice cream store and trying to feed them broccoli.  What are the chances that broccoli will be his first choice?  Why not teach gratefulness now in the summer or fall when life is slower and we have more teachable moments?


Jones Design Company is the blog of a woman who loves God and has led me closer to a life of gratitude with practical ideas. Check her out. You may like what she has to say and her freebies.
 http://jonesdesigncompany.com/holiday/three-ways-practice-gratitude/ 






Today I am thankful for the seasons and the sun that shines on me.  I am thankful for my grandsons and the joy they continually bring to me.  I am thankful that I matter to God.  He loves me, little ole me!  That is always bigger than I can wrap my mind around, but I love trying.


What are you thankful for during this season of your life?


#Enough




col 3:16 // Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Tasting the Goodness of God

I am reading a new book that just came out this month and I can't wait until I finish to write about it!

Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

  Sara writes a blog by the same name that I have followed for over a year so I knew her writing style and that the book would probably be well written.  But this is beyond good.  It is excellent! 

  We all wrestle with the question that comes at the end.  Of course, God can do anything.  But will He be there at the end when I am in need.  Will He meet my need?  Will I be alone in my __________  ?  Whatever your situation is or mine, we question.  This God who is all powerful, all knowing, who is everywhere all the time, will He love me?  And in loving me will He give me what I want, what I need?

Her title comes from the Bible, the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, chapter 27 verse 7, "A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet."

If you read only one book this year, I recommend: Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

 

ORDER THE BOOK BEFORE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH
AND RECEIVE (FREE) A SONG WRITTEN AND INSPIRED BY THE STORY AND
A 16-DAY ADORATION DEVOTIONAL WRITTEN IN COMPANION WITH THE BOOK.

SEND A PROOF OF PURCHASE TO: EBTISBOOK@GMAIL.COM

“If you have struggled with the goodness of God in the valleys of life, then this book is for you. Sara beautifully paints how God gently and tenderly revealed Himself in the midst of her seasons of longing and waiting.”

NOELLE DIENERT DAVIS daughter of Ruth Graham, granddaughter of Billy & Ruth Graham



Summer with the grandboys

I wrote this August 29, 2012, but noticed today I didn't publish.  So better late than never.

Summer Fun

    I love the summers when schedules slow.   Playing baseball in the back yard or swimming at a neighbors... whatever the activity, it is fun if I'm doing it with my grandchildren.  The boys keep me going.  I love going to summer baseball league games and watching them play.  Doing Lego projects at the dining room table always humbles me because the directions will ask for a piece and I haven't a clue which piece it is.  I can ask my seven year old grandson who will point to a piece and go back to his own creation.  My favorite creation this summer was a one-beater mixer similar to one my mother used when I was a child.  His favorite creation was probably the noise maker like I received at the county fairs as a child.  You sling it around and are rewarded with a click-clack sound that drives adults crazy!

 

   It is amazing how proud we are of whatever we created.  I am God's creation. I want Him to be proud of me of the way I grow and change more and more into His likeness.   

   

 ^{Romans 6:5} For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
  

My Foundation

It has been such a long time since I blogged.  Life takes over.  I am sure you understand.

I am really into genealogy these days.  I have found live people I am related to and more about those who preceded me.  It is so rewarding. My mother was the genealogist for our family and it surprised me when I realized she didn't go further back in the family. Perhaps her goal was to record the people she knew. I am thankful for all she wrote down. On my mother's side: her father's dad was John Henry and his father was Needham.  But I haven't any solid evidence as to Needham's dad.  Needham is my 2nd ggf.  I have pictures of him when he was young and when he was old. 

Makes me think about my own age.  Getting old isn't for the faint of heart.  You need courage.  I got a new phone for Christmas.  My son-in-law has been so helpful.  (Thank you  R!)  One thing he loaded is the Bible verse of the day from youversion Bible.  Each day that verse has been EXACTLY what I needed.  I can refer to it all day long and it comforts, encourages, and helps me. 

I am rambling today.  But let me share that which is my rock and my foundation.  Ephesians 4:32   "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Hope you are having a good day with a solid foundation.  Where do you find your foundation?

Then the Word Came -

1 Kings 17: 7, 8
“The brook dried up…then the word of the Lord came to Elijah.”

How exciting this is to me tonight.  The provision of the Lord dried up.  It stopped and was gone.  So many Americans are suffering through the loss of their provision from God.  Jobs are gone.  And new ones hard to find. 

But look at the end of verse 8, "then the word of the Lord came...".  When our provision is gone, we have time to listen.  Sometimes it seems all we hear is silence.  Yet in the silence it is easier to hear the still small voice of the Lord God.  He doesn't shout.  Instead He speaks quietly to the heart of mankind.

Are you listening? 

So often I cry out to God for an answer to a problem I face.  And one can only ask in so many ways the same thing.  Sometimes we just need to trust that God has heard our prayer and will answer us.  I try to remember that I don't need to be the child at the dinner table saying, "Please pass the butter.  Pass the butter, please.  The butter, pass it please.  I'd really like to have some butter.  May I have some butter?  Dad, please pass the butter.  Pass the butter, please."  It becomes a bit ridiculous, doesn't it?

I read in a book once about 40 yrs ago that we only need to tell God the desire of our heart.  He loves us enough to be listening and He'll never forget.  That rang in my heart over and over.  I tried it out.  It's true.

There are occasions when we need to be the neighbor knocking to ask for bread for a visitor that has stopped by.  The Bible tells us the door was only opened because of persistence. Luke 18: 1-8 tells us the story of the unjust judge who rules for the persistent widow.  God will teach us when to knock continually and when to trust our request has been heard.

And it all comes back to "then, the word of the Lord came."   I always wonder when to be the persistent pray-er.  When do I just trust that God knows my heart?