LET IT GO!

12/31/23

Lay aside every encumbrance. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Let go of the unnecessary. The heavy. The bulk. 

Let go of worry. 

Let go of digital distractions.

Let go of expectations of pleasing others over the Lord.

Travel light. Do less. 

Get rid of unhealthy habits.

Run with endurance. 

Fellowship with God's people fuels endurance.

Daily allow God's word to energize you.

Make most of your time. (Ephesians 5:15)

Fix eyes on Jesus! 

Make Jesus your daily FOCUS!

Don't let Him go.

HOPE NEEDED ONCE MORE---TO BEGIN 2024!

Abounding hope, is known in "Dotsyese" as abunDANCE of hope. May I "dance" through 2024 with all joy and peace in every step as I believe!"

A dance allowing me to follow the lead of my partner, the One who is my Living Hope. A dance keeping my eyes on Him and not looking down on my own circumstance of fear.

Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.(Psalm 37:24, NLT) Help me, LORD!

FAITHFUL FRIENDS

Trustworthy. Encouraging. God honoring. Others before self 

Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. (Ephesians 4:32)

HAPPY NEW YEAR.....almost!

Hoping I make it to 2024--- if I do, I'll probably start with this...

My One Word:Hope

Hope in God is sure Hope! A sure hope! (New Morning Mercies, August 1)

One who is glorious in grace and abounding in love.

Already considering my G.I.G. for 2024!

Grow

In

Grace

Make my GIG visible for your glory!!!

That's my GIG; what's yours?

HOPE GALORE FOR 2024

Hope Needed. Hope Found. In God's Word.

I am with you always. (Matthew 28:20)

Hope Notes. Underlines in the entry & the marginalia of my New Morning Mercies devotional book. 

Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus!

HEARTBREAK TO HOPE!

Legitimate reasons for lament can bring darkness into one's life....even in the midst of the joy of the Christmas season.

Dark clouds require deep mercy, as Mark Vroegop says.This morning as I jot notes for my "dear to my heart," cousin Joy's funeral, I am asking for that mercy. Lament is pain that can lead to trust. May my time in His word lead me to that today.

Lament tunes the heart so it can sing about trust. (Vroegop, p. 82)

I am still struggling. "How long O Lord?" (Psalm 13:1) 

Help me to discover the grace of "lament" during this dark time.

May this lament fuel my faith.

May I place my broken heart in God's hands today and lean into the hope only He can give.

As I remember Brenda Joyce Davenport Tanley at her funeral, may my words offer hope. Others my call her Joyce but ever since childhood, she's been "my Joy."

Transform me, O Lord that others might see Christ in me, the hope of glory! For in your presence is fullness of joy and pleasures  forever more. (Psalm 16:11)

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE!

Unto us a child is born! Unto us a Son is given:...(Isaiah 9:6)

Joy to the world! The Lord has come. Let earth receive her King ....and every heart prepare Him room!

Merry Christmas!

BEHOLD FROM BEGINNING TO END!

BEHOLD: FROM B T0 E  Isaiah 40: 9,Come and Behold Him, behold, Christmas 2023,

BEHOLD!!

In a former blog about my yearly word, Behold, I shared what it had meant for me! Watch Out. Think, be on the ready. Be on the watch.

Look for. Be aware...God is about to show up!

Maybe Mary and Joseph felt that same way!

Come and behold---keep on coming and keep on beholding until he comes again!

Behold your God!  Isaiah 40:9 Here is your God.

Here is the miracle of Christmas: God became man in Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3).

He came for you and me---to give us life everlasting!

BEHOLD! FROM beginning to end/eternity! 

NAMES OF GOD!

Seeking to renew my prayer life during this hard time of loss, I am crying out to the LORD!

Tony Evans says, "WHEN LIFE GETS TOO HARD TO STAND, KNEEL."

I add to that, "When your aging body makes kneeling difficult, bow in your heart."

Call out to the LORD who can meet you at your point of need.

Allow God to be your Light, Jehovah Ori, (1 John 1:5), your Joy, El Simchath Gill, (Psalm 16:11), your Strength, Jehovah Uzzi, (Nehemiah 8:10), and your Peace Jehovah Shalom, (2 Thessalonians 3;16).

Psalm 29:11, states, "The LORD gives strength to His people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." 

Praises to Yahweh, our King, who gives us both strength and peace during our time of need.

CUPPA JOY!

A cuppa joy is a great way to start the day. The favors are different as chosen by the blend. Black Tea. Green Tea. Chai. Preferential favorite.

I prefer a rich black ASSAM. My daughter prefers a Lady Gray decaf.

My granddaughters love the experience regardless of the tea choice.

Believers all have different ways to start their days. The beverage is not the indicator of joy. Christ is. He's the Focus regardless of the circumstances!

Christ is the JOY bearer.

PERFECT GIFT!

Gift Giving can be a little intimidating for some of us. I, being one of them. Too often, I wrap with guilt. All the other females in the family have a knack for just the right gift for each person. But God in His love and mercy reminded me from my Anne calendar on our fridge....

...Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17)

We see it through every pine tree, black-capped chickadee or believer's heart, who share acts of kindness with others! 

Those are all good gifts......but, the perfect gift came from God the Father of lights when He sent His Son as our substitutionary atonement. Therefore we believers have eternal life through His death, burial, and resurrection. His righteous became ours! 

God's perfect gift to each of us is wrapped in love! His love!

ENOUGH SAID!!

Ever heard the old adage, You can't "judge a book by it's cover"....

Except when you can.

Picking up devotional book, Experiencing Good @ BookMark, Second Presbyterian's bookstore, I realized I could judge this book,  based on the  back cover imprint.

The book's cover quote had me meditating on those 17 words through out the day.

IF WE WALK WITH HIM CLOSELY TODAY, WE WILL BE IN THE CENTER OF HIS WILL TOMORROW (Henry Blackaby)

One can walk with Him daily as they seek his word & let go of the "if only" and the "what if." Stay in the day. (Matthew 6:34)

Enough said!

H.A.S.

Come back later for Meditation Monday entry. I'm walking in circles with little bandwidth!

MORE JOY!

More Joy coming as soon as the plane lands!

Even though I'm carrying prayers of comfort and mercy for cousin Joy!

JOY!

A great day for a walk in the neighborhood! Walk & nice Weather to calm

my anxiety. Anxiety over checking-in for tomorrow's flight.

But God.....had me turn the corner. Looking up, I saw JOY!

Literally. Bright, colorful JOY!

I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:2. NLT)
 

PRAYER POSITIONS!

"Prayer Positions" vary.

How? Where? Why?

Position?

• Eyes open with Bible open.
• Eyes closed with heart open.
• Hands clasped. Hands raised.
• Kneeling. Prostrate.Standing.

Where?

• Anywhere!
• At a ping-pong table or on a marathon route.
• inside or outside.
• Alone or with a friend or friends.

Position matters not.

Location matters not. 

What matters is a heart connected with God. (Psalm 46:10)

Be still and know that He is God----how ever you say it or however your pray it.

MORE OF THEE & LESS OF ME!

A Saturday Short that reminds me to keep meditating..........

...........MORE OF THEE.....less of me.I get it!!!

It is my meditation for this Monday---so I will keep getting it!!

Thanks to Doris for sharing!

REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Drive into Bryson City on Friday, December 1, and the signs, manger scenes, lights and decorations shine with a glorious Friday Focus!

Praises for a community whose focus is on the One who is the reason for the season! (Luke 2:7)

I LOVE A PARADE!

I love a parade especially in Bryson City, North Carolina where Jesus is the reason for the season!

Candy might be shared with the children....

 but so are tracts passed out along the parade route and in store windows. 

From Mayor Tom, the Grinch in the Sheriff's car....

and Santa Claus to the Fire Department, high school bands, teams, floats and lots of horses, 

and others animals provided fun for all!

with a great reminder to close the parade! (John 3:16)

Merry Christmas from small town America!

POLAR EXPRESS 12/5/2023

Tripping to the North Pole can be done in no better place than on the "Polar Express" in Bryson City, North Carolina with a 5 year old.

Loading not 'til 8:30 pm but we have our PJs ready for the trip!

AWAY IN A MANGER

When one’s  5 year old grandson sets  up a manger & re-sets it again and again & again, it’s a great way to pass on the true meaning of Christmas!!

He knew the one in the manger was baby Jesus. When I tried to tell him that Joseph was Jesus' Daddy---he said, "NO"---"God is His Daddy!"

How right he is!!

SATURDAY SHORT IN SOUTHERN SPEAK

Hooray for Interpretations I understand from Scotty Smith. Siri creates words I don't "get." I prefer Pastor Smith's familiar words.

Mind-bogglingly loved.

Diddly-Squat matters.

Just what I will need for a Saturday morning after a 9 hour drive to arrive in the the Smoky Mountains.

PERFECT GIFTS!

It's hard to believe---December will be here in just a few hours! 

That will mean there's just 24 days until Christmas. Ads on TV are already calculating the number of shopping days left to spur the buying frenzy!

Having trouble with your shopping list?

This past week, ABC's Reading List had us reading in the book of James---right where I found the perfect answer. Tonight as I changed the calendar on the kitchen table. I was affirmed in that answer.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, (James 1:17a)

Share Jesus, a true and perfect gift from the heart!

PLAY ON WORDS!

Play on words is a literary technique usually used to give men choice of meaning...in a humorous way.

Lately, for me. it's been a way of reducing words to an acronym to help me remember. 

AGOG---I am keen to remember God's love and mercy! The gift of His Son on my behalf. There is no greater gift.

A

Gift

Of

Grace

Word Play. "Play on words" techniques offer many new possibilities.

A recent word play was shared in Sunday School.

For those whose disposition is a bit grumpy.....

...Drop the D and add an H to give one an entirely new outlook!

Dis-position -D + H = His-position! 

Don't "dis" me about that word play; I think it speaks volumes!

In everything you do, put God first. (Proverbs 3:6a, TLB)

What position does God hold in your life?

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS!

This morning it was so-o-o easy to give thanks! I live with a bird-loving, 

bird -feeding, bird-watching man.

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than the birds. (Luke 20:24)

A goldfinch singing outside our window no more......

......Even though the goldfinches are gone, bluebirds are still thumping at the kitchen window......

......& dove are are perched on the feeders while Carolina chickadees are playing in the patio fountain.  

The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. (Palms 104:12)

I am thankful!

BUT GOD!

Yesterday, our "Pulpit" Pastor, Wayne Smith Jr., mentioned "The Gospel Message in Two Words" as his sermon title. Immediately, "But God" came to mind. Those 2 words have gripped me time and time again.

But God....(Ephesians 2:4) in His love and mercy keeps us from being Deceived, Depraved and Doomed.

Smith encouraged use to remember that God works "in us," "for us" and "through us" as we serve Him.

How do we serve Him? 

By Identifying our passions, our experiences and our gifting, and using them to share God's love, mercy and truth with others.

Apart from Him we could not do that.

But God, in His love and rich mercy has made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5) and that's all we need!

REVIVE US AGAIN!!

HALLELUJAH!

Hallelujah, Thine the glory, revive us again!

WELL SAID!

ENOUGH SAID!......

 .....AND SUNG!...

...FROM A 1923 COKESBURY HYMNAL, COST 23¢

REVIVE US AGAIN!! AMEN!!!

REVIVAL!

REVIVAL! 

What does that mean? In the the Hebrew words, “chayah” and “michyah,” and the Greek words, “anathallo” and “anazao”  mean revival  "to live,"

“to live again,” and “to come to life.

What does that look like among many young Americans these days?Saturday football games give many glimpses of the one who brings revival in the hearts of college kids, who want to pass on the one who revives...... JESUS!. 

DON'T GIVE UP. TALK TO JESUS

LET'S BE REAL. WE ALL HURT. CALL OUT TO JESUS

ESPN EVERY SINGLE PERSON NEEDS JESUS

THE REALITY OF LIFE IS TROUBLE DON'T GIVE IN TO IT. JESUS OFFERS COMPASSION.....

DON'T GIVE UP. TALK TO JESUS

                                (Wherever you are)                            

PLEASE, I BEG YOU, GIVE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

Then we will not turn away from you; revive us and we will you and call upon your name. (Psalm 80:18)

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? (Psalm 85:6)

REVIVAL seen on TV screens everywhere today!

May it be seen in hearts tomorrow!