MY FOREVER SHEPHERD!

FOREVER!

TIMELESSNESS!

All the days of my life---now and later in heaven with Him!

That's ETERNITY!

One Word that seems to say it all while touching my heart!

ABOUND IN HOPE

Yesterday's F.O.C.U.S. verse was Romans 15:13 as I was praying for a Ukrainian gal who is very much in need of the God of all hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so by the power of the Holy spirit you may abound in hope.

I also visited a widow lady at her new assisted living facility and there on her counter was Romans !5:13, in part. 

My Monday meditation had certainly included that but it even went beyond as I applied the F.O.C.U.S. formula. Because of my meditation time, I knew how to "fix my eyes on the unseen" part of the verse. Believing and abounding.

Beyond that it was like a blessing from the Lord...a God wink, of sorts from Bobbie's kitchen counter! Close to skywriting from above.

Needless to say. I am now abounding in hope for an answered prayer from Ukraine.

Life is not always as it seems.....

Punxsutawney Phil told us at the first of the week that spring is just around the corner! My daffodils around the mailbox, ready to bloom, would certainly bear witness to that..

Hubby, my resident meteorologist, cut them and brought them into the house a few days later.

He knew things are not always as they seem and "storms" were on the way.

A day later, a severe thunderstorm came barreling through battering down many pre-blooming flowers on our street. 

Mine, however, were in a small vase in the kitchen put there by Hubby himself.

He has an awareness about many things which slip right past me. One being weather.

Life is often that way and we are caught off guard. 

Why? Because our perceptions are limited. Our vision is obstructed when we think that all we can see, is all that there is. We think that way because we don't know the whole story. 

Christians are blessed to know the whole story. Even in the midst of the diagnosis we hate to hear, or the hurtful words that have been thrown our way, we can still have hope---hope for the very thing we cannot see. That's what our faith is. Never does it feel more real than when life doesn't make sense.

God did it for Joseph as well as the thief on the cross beside Jesus. All the "not" seen goodness of those situations were made known. (Matthew 10:26)

"We only "see in part." (I Corinthians 13:12, NLT)

God promises enlightenment, total and true throughout eternity. We will see Him.

"Things are not always the way they seem" is truly an understatement for believers. Aren't we glad!

CHOOSE GRATITUDE!

On December 30, I received this shocking email---

Hello Dotsy,

            Aggie went to be with Jesus last Thursday (12/29/16) after a brief but very difficult struggle with an until now undetected blood disorder. I know you were a real encouragement to her, so I need to pass this information on to you.

            A celebration of her life will be held Saturday January 7th.

Sincerely, Greg Tharp

Some times are easier than other times in which to choose gratitude. 
Today is the memorial service for, Agnes "Aggie" Tharp, one lady very dear to my heart, though I have never met her face to face. Yet I am so-o-o grateful to have "known" Aggie, albeit via cyberspace. 
So I choose gratitude for the Lord's allowing our paths to cross.
I sent him an email I had received from Aggie 5 years ago hoping it might offer him comfort:
The night I learned that (friend) had gone on to eternity, I couldn't go to sleep.  I began thinking of the people we knew in common up in heaven, and then Ken meeting Bible characters, and THEN meeting JESUS!!!  I got such a spirit of celebration and joy that I couldn't be sad about Ken's death.  And in a way that experience changed my attitude toward death.  For the child of God it is not sad!  True, for those left behind, the separation hurts.  What a joy to know that it is temporary! Love & prayers, Aggie

Gratitude tinged with sadness---for me and all who knew and loved her, I'm sure!

Aggie has been a "Dotsy Details" blog reader since November 2009 as far as my "Comments" show.

S. D. Gordon wrote: The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing, but it is the chief thing. The great people of earth are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time to pray. Thank you, Dotsy, for reminding us of the privilege and importance of prayer! Love and prayers, from Agnes in France

Encouraging me from the very start as Agnes, sometime in 2012 Agnes became "Aggie."

Regardless of her signature, blog comments and email messages were always ENCOURAGING! I knew they were sent with love and prayers. Aggie was one of "my" best  prayer warriors, without me even requesting prayers from her. She didn't just say she prayed, she sent the very scriptures to back it up. What a privilege to be on the receiving end of her prayers---which she prayed "all over me."

As I took time in the Word this morning, Psalm 92 (one of today's Scripture readings in the liturgical calendar) is obviously for you, and I am praying it all over you now, and for the upcoming trip. YES, TRUST is the word.  Psalm 37:5, Commit - trust - and God will do the rest.  

Aggie and I both shared an affinity for the Psalms and often "camped out there so I particularly loved this email from her. 

God spoke Psalm 34:8 to my heart, "The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him..."  Wow, I thought, he doesn't just fly or flutter over, he CAMPS.

1/12/10 Interesting how the Father seems to be saying the same things to his children, even though separated geographically by great distances..... GOD REIGNS! Not, He said that He would, nor, some day He will, but here, now; in this present situation, in whatever storm I may be going through, GOD REIGNS! When Jesus was sleeping in the boat, He was in perfect control, even though the disciples were beside themselves with fear! Peace, be still. We can be still, and know that God is God and that He reigns!

Often she would end a message with, "Are you okay, Dotsy?"

How intuitive she was! What a faithful prayer warrior! 

I saw Aggie's life well-lived through her words. 

"Don't answer questions that people aren't asking you, but live in such a way that people will ask you questions (about your faith in, walk with, God)." (though I can't remember who said it---Aggie) Through our correspondence, I imagine many saw Jesus in her life and were asking her about her faith!

Yesterday I ended my email reply to her husband Greg assuring him that I was using Aggie's pictures in my visual prayer journal....

" to continue to pray for Stephanie and Etienne and their children, each Saturday---it is my "bouquet of thanks" to place at her service."

Prayerfully, (& gratefully) Dotsy

Gra-TEA-tude---how BIG is your cuppa?

 Give thanks to Lord Jehovah, because he is good, and his grace is for eternity. (Psalms 107:1, Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

I don't think any devotional book speaks more to my heart about trust and thankfulness than Sarah Young's, Jesus Calling.

It is a rare person who, when his cup frequently runs over, can thank God instead of complaining about the limited size of his mug! —Bob Russell, retired pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY.

I am grateful to brother Buddy and Charlotte for introducing me to Bob Cherry, who inspires me to add lots of sweet gra-TEA-tude to my BIGGEST cuppa.

"eterni-TEA" : a Re-brew

 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13, NIV)

How does one "stamp eternity on my eyeballs" as Jonathan Edwards was purported to have asked the Lord?

Start your morning with a verse of eternal significance to accompany your cuppa eterni-TEA!

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : stories of "des-TEA-ny"

We all have a story. We all have a destiny.

The Presbyterian pastor at today's Memphis Botanic Garden's sunrise service told the story of two men who lived a lesser story. 

One man gave himself to a zealous story of athletic pursuit, naming his daughter Crimson Tide and poisoning the iconic oak trees at Auburn University, a rival university. The pursuit of his story ended in capture. His destiny was prison.

In 2008, another man gave himself to the pursuit of money only to lose it in the plummeting stock market. The pursuit of his story ended in death. Broken down emotionally and financially, he shot his wife, three sons and mother-in-law. His destiny was suicide.

Then there is the great story. HIS story. The Bible story. A life not jaded by sin. A life freely given on behalf of all sinful men. Jesus Christ died for all; that we who live, may not now live to self, but live for Him and should make Christ, the end of our living and actions----for He died and rose again on our behalf. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) His destiny---an on-going heavenly destiny, eternity.
Resurrection. The Easter reminder that there is no end to His story.

The timely dogwood blossoms continue to remind us of HIS story.

Jesus's story fulfilled his earthly destiny for our sake.

That's the des-TEA-ny cuppa I want---an eterni-TEA filled with Him.

What’s your Christmas morn cup of tea??

12/25/10 This morning during my “Warriors on the Wall” prayer time, I noticed that Pastor Cole asks for prayer for sensitiviTEA, puriTEA and humiliTEA toward the Lord and in ministry and life! 
 Certainly excellent choices for one who shepherds God’s flock.

What’s your cup of tea this Christmas morning? I hope that we all sip from the cup of eterniTEA!

Merry Christmas and God Bless!! (Luke 2:1-20)