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?

AGOG....AGAIN!

Agog--is defined as very curious or eager to hear or see something---or maybe for others to see something in you!

This coming week I desire to see A Grip Of Grace in my life, not just day-by-day but moment-by-moment.

I want others to see God's grace in my life so clearly that it grips them---they too become joyful expectant for such a grip in their lives.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

(2 Corinthians 9:8)

God is able in all things at all times to bless us! 

We all need to stand AGOG as we "glimpse" &  "grip" this grace-filled" truth!

generosi-TEA

It's December.

Christmas is just around the corner.....a great time of year to sip a cuppa generosity-TEA, sweetened with a heaping spoon of God's grace. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Allen Bible Church 12/5/2021.

• All is God's, we just give back.
• Generosity is rooted in the grace of God.
• Generous people change the world.
• Generosity is about our Spirit, not our resources.
• God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Thanks be to God for HIs inexpressible gift. (2 Corinthians 9:15)

CHOOSE: MULTIPLYING JOY

How does a worrier multiply joy?
Worry negates joy.

A cup of worry can cover life like a fog that covers 7 city blocks. Yet, a fog though thick and dense, can be reduced to 1 cup of water. (Chuck Swindoll, Christ at the Crossroads) That sounds like a scientific deduction I can't begin to understand. But, certainly a cup of water sounds like it's easier to handle than 7 blocks of fog in one's life. 
I not only need to replace worry with joy in my own life, but I also want to "pay it forward" in the lives of others. I want to be a multiplier of joy.

Multiplying joy is and of itself an equation. Though I am NOT a "numbers person," I need to work out this worry "problem" with help.

His joy > my worries = my joy with a remainder of joy for others.

John 15:11 says, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow!" (TCB)
Fullest possible joy." is the way NCV translates.

Fulness of joy = complete joy---with no room for worry. Worry is substituted/replaced with sufficient joy so that there is a joyful remainder to share.

And God is able to bless you abundantly. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Multiplying joy = joy in abundance. 

Multiplying His joy in and through  me is the best calculation for serving others with joy as Thanksgiving approaches.

CHOOSE: LEFTOVERS

If, by chance, hubby is reading this entry, he's probably thinking of last night's dinner because we eat leftovers a lot around here. I still seem to cook for 5 and there are only 2 of us. I grew up very aware of starving children across the globe and I don't like waste of any kind, especially food.

But God....was using books yesterday to teach me the importance of the wise use of leftovers.

We don't give God our leftovers, but when we give Him of our firstfruits there is always an abundance of blessing to pass on to others.

God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8, NRSV)

Claudia Parlow, former BSF teaching leader, would often share teaching tips with me. As I shared in all the pages of prep work I had written in order to teach a mere 30 minutes, she would comment, "Those leftovers are just for you, Dotsy."

When Jesus fed the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, they all ate and were satisfied but the disciples picked up the fragments (broken pieces) of leftovers. (Matthew 14:20)

As the story is told by John 6:12, we see that the disciples were instructed by the Lord to "Gather up the leftover fragments that none may be lost."

The disciples had done the work and the leftovers were reminders to them of the lesson the Lord had just for them. Lessons of trust and obedience coupled with service to others.

Claudia's lesson for me from that analogy was---"nothing is lost when I "feed others" the truth from God's word." It's just that the parts that I prepared and didn't use because of time constraints, were leftovers just for me. 12 pages, of my very own "bread," were my personal lessons from the Lord.

Claudia's teaching from the past has me remembering to Choose: Leftovers---as I don't want anything to be lost or wasted that I might pass on to others even long after I am gone, especially loved ones.