Friday Foto and Blog

            This week has gone by so fast so this is the picture of the week.  Karla brought me these pretty tulips today and my Aunt Corene sent me this handpainted valentine card she made.  Love is in the air.

            We are told to encourage each other on in love so my question to my readers is ''How were you encouraged by someone this past week?''  Please share in the comments or email it and I'll post it. I think it inspires us all to hear examples.

           I read in a devotional..... 3 ways to encourage each other..... 1]  Spend time with someone who does something better than you and learn from them, 2] Find a prayer partner, 3]  Spend time and share with someone who is a step behind you in their journey.

          

 

Gain, Yet Forfeit

Mark 8;36  ''What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?''

          There are 3 points to keep our soul in touch with God and not fall for the ways of this world. 1] Deny thy self, 2] Pick up your cross, and 3] Follow Jesus.  We are not of this world but merely passing through it.

         ''We must deny ourselves absolutely, we must not admire our own shadow, nor gratify our own humor; we must not lean on our own understanding, nor seek our own things, nor be our own end.'' We are more than flesh and blood but more importantly souls within this body.
          The troubles or afflictions of Christians are referred to as crosses.  So to 'pick up your cross' is to ''manage our affliction so it is not a stumbling block or hinderance to our service to God.''  When our focus is on what we can't do, then what we can and could do gets lost in the shuffle of our priorities.
         ''To do well and suffer ill, is to follow Christ.''  We follow Jesus because we trust in His birth, death and resurrection and His Word guides us in how to follow Him.  The world and its ways are not trustworthy so don't forfeit your soul for it's lies.

           We are each responsible for our own souls by accepting or not the grace that saves us and was afforded for each of us.

Foto Friday

Fun visit with Lisa and Chris

Dad's cooking while Mom's in CA
Chicken looks burnt but its just
the marinade.

Gloria's visit

Always in Need

Psalm 40; 17  ''But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.''


              Oh how we forget how poor and needy we are without the grace of God.  When our lives seem to be going without a hitch, we often forget how much we rely on God.  We fall into the sin of arrogance, pride, self reliance and boasting.
             We look to God for help in crisis faster than we do as a daily source of help.  ''A daily devotional is better than a new year's resolution.''  What if God only thought of you as often as you acknowledged Him?
             We need God, like we need oxygen.  He should flow through us and radiate from us.  He is the one who gave life to the body by breathing air into the nostrils.  When our breath is gone. so is this life.  Without God, our life is an endless struggle to find meaning and purpose.
            As the song goes, 'I need Thee, oh,  I need Thee.  Every hour I need Thee.  Oh bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee.'

Foto Friday

St Vincent Squirrel

Winter warm socks
from Karla

Visiting Grace

My mom.. 'weeds be gone' yardwork

6 month dental checkup with Tanya

Jack asleep...late addition

Ugliness Revealed

''God don't like ugly.''

                  Yesterday we were in downtown LR to run a couple of errands.  While I was waiting in the van with my mask on, a couple of ladies went together to pay the parking meter.  They were dressed really nice and were laughing and smiling.  One of the two, walked my way and her smile instantly went to a snobbish frown as she looked at me.  Right then and there, she turned as ugly as the wicked witch of the west.  Who I just had thought was pretty had just shown her ugly heart.
                  You may think 'well she just doesn't know you or understand' but when God said 'love your neighbor', He didn't add limits.  Lots of people smile, wave or nod when given the same opportunity.
                 We often get caught up in how we look in our clothes and makeup, but our true colors are  revealed by the compassion of our heart.

Hope

From intouch.org ...''We don’t like to feel that we’re helpless or lacking control of our own lives. But we can learn from Paul and from our personal life experiences that the prelude to great strength is great weakness. Take note of this important lesson about the Christian life: Our weakest moments—when we feel the most desperate—are the very times when God is free to do His greatest work by empowering and strengthening us. It is in those difficulties during which we whisper, “Father, I cannot go on” that we are granted the best equipping and the greatest enabling to endure adversity.''

          We are so gullible to and deceived by the facade of our own strength.  Even I can fool myself into believing I have some strength of my own and I can't even hold a styrofoam cup with water in it. The Lord 'is' my strength through all he provides for me in the way of others help, maintaining my health, and for being my promise of hope in life and death.
          1 Peter 3;14  ''Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.''   What do we have to fear but fear itself?
          Confidence is silent but anxiety is loud.  I can feel a calmness in a believer's voice when they discuss their own trials, simple or tragic.  A peace that surpasses all understanding only comes from the blessed assurance of one's own salvation.  An unbeliever's account is full of panic, uncertainty, and a search for hope.
          Hope is a treasure to be sought, kept and counted on.  Never let someone steal your hope.

Foto Friday

Betsy n kids visit

Cathy visit

Lisa visit

September, Gloria, Charity, Jordan
visit

Jack's Scoopdog treat

Why Rejected?

            Wisdom is better than strength, but so many rely on themselves without ever seeking the Truth and gaining any wisdom.  Knowledge is power and the more we know, the better we can apply it to our lives.
             A common mistake in Bible reading is taking a verse out of context to justify wrong thinking.  We see this often in media interviews so that what they report is far from what was truly said.
           'I do not put my trust in the wisdom of man'...including myself.....'but in the power of God.'

Prayer

       Prayer, the most powerful expression of love that you can use to benefit someone else.  I pray that two of my friend's battles with cancer will be used to draw others closer to God and that they will see His faithfulness throughout the trial.  Prayer doesn't change God, but changes us.  God uses each of our lives to accomplish His plan and purposes, even when we don't know why or how.  When we say 'use me for Your glory', we submit everything to His will, without a need for our approval.

THE Verse

           Christmas is now two days behind us and 363 days ahead of us, but I ask..  do you honor Jesus with your life on the days in between?
           John 3;16 is one of the most quoted verses of the Bible, but do we truly recognize the great love and divine miracle of God becoming flesh for our benefit?  What a sacrifice.  What a gift of grace.  What hope for believers.
           God's love was given and available for all but the choice to believe in Him and have eternity with Him is each individual's decision.  It is up to you...not your family, friends, pastor, or church body.

Foto Friday

Day after Christmas

My Christmas card

God's at Work in You

               Some people are multi-taskers and some can't walk and chew gum at the same time.  God is the ultimate multi-million-tasker and needs no reminders.  Our days can seem so similar to us that time goes by before we even know it.  There's a song lyric that goes 'You're gona miss this, you're gona  wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.'  How true.
              Our lives are both a journey and a process through which God is working on us.  Whether we surrender or resist to His will is our choice.  We see His faithfulness sometimes in our past, but most things we'll never know why they occurred.  Trust reminds us 'that He works all things for good, for those who believe in Him.'

Someday

          What does 'Someday' mean not only to you, but for you?  Is it a goal to be actively achieved or an excuse to buy you more time?  Procrastination is our way of putting off things that should be done today.  Who are we to take for granted that we will get the time we expect?

          Genesis 3;19  ''By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

          Psalm 39;4  “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.''

          Psalm 90;12  ''Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.''

          There is no time like the present.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn't promised to you.  Is there any better time than now to get right with God?  No, no excuse is adequate.  To gamble our lives and eternity with pride, sin and self reliance is foolish.

         May we all consider making today our someday deadline and get on the highway to heaven.

Garth Brooks Concert