GIG

What's your GIG in this season of life?

Journal Jottings from Galatians 5, in recent ABC sermon....

"Grace is done, settled---Christ has set you free by faith in His grace" 

Grace not Grit!

My GIG is----

G row

I n

G race

What's your GIG?

MUST BE

MUST BEs of LIFE.

Lester Holt or Nora MacDonald said it on the Nightly News. Jane Pauley, all dressed up, reported it on CBS Sunday Morning. So, it "must be" true! 

NOT! 

So NOT!! NOT So!!! Whatever phrase you use.

Where then does one find things in life that must be true in his/her own life?

Here's my list gained from recent Luke 14:25-35 sermon at Allen Bible Church.

1. My relationship with Jesus must be unrivaled as I prioritize my affections.
2. I count the cost of being His. Others must be able to see my unquestionable decision.
3. I must be undistracted in my orientation and direction as I grow in my faith.

I gain truth from the Bible. Truths, often emphasized by godly pastors. Priorities of truth that "must be" evident in Christ followers worldwide.

Think disciple---a learner who embodies what he learns from the truth in God's Word. (Buddy Liles quote)

Discipleship. Must be the "WAY" to go for me, How about You?

BOOKMARKED!

Friend and prayer warrior Carolyn W. has an entire book of quotes. Quotes also reside in her head....probably because she shares them with family/others daily.

I, not so much, I have them scribbled in marginalia in various Bibles or journals.... some barely decipherable as my hands age, others literally bookmarked as they are more current.

• DON'T LET WHAT YOU HAVE (stuff).....HAVE YOU! (Buddy L.)
• ALL THAT YOU ARE AND ALL THAT YOU HAVE IS A GIFT FROM HIM! (Buddy)
• OWN HIS OWNERSHIP OF YOU. (Cole H.)
• GOD ALLOWS WHAT HE HATES TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE LOVES. (Joni Eareckson Tada)

Bookmarked---whether in your head, on a page, or in a book, do your best to keep up with "life impacting, quote worthy info."

BEWARE OF "WEARY"-SHIP" OVER WORSHIP!

"Weary-ship" over worship. May it never be. Yet, too often one can slip into the busyness of service. The way of Jesus is the way of rest and refreshment in Him.

Live out your worship by practicing righteousness and showing mercy to the oppressed rather than for your own self promotion. (Daniel 4:27) 

May we not let the weariness of busyness take the heart out of worship!

CONSIDER YOUR LEGACY

Billy Graham died today, February 21, 2018. Christians worldwide know that he just changed his address to a heavenly abode.

What a life! What a legacy! https://memorial.billygraham.org

The way we live, what we believe and care about are all a part of the legacy we leave. Billy Graham lived out his beliefs before his family and the world. 

Such a spiritual heritage that is rare these days.

"If we don't intentionally pass on a legacy consistent with our beliefs, our culture will pass along its own." (Focus on the Family)

One cannot leave what they do not possess. (B. Liles, ABC)

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, ......... And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (2 Peter 1:12-15, ESV)

Like the apostle Peter, Billy Graham's life of belief in the love of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ is reminder to all generations to live a life that is worthy to be recalled by our world, after their passing.

May considering Graham's legacy reminded us to consider the importance of our own---a spiritual heritage worthy of recall.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY

Today's entry has me continuing "Food for Thought Friday," which I thought would only be for the first month of 2018.

Just some tidbits.
Even a funny anagram. STRESSED becomes DESSERTS. It certainly happens to me! Even when I'm sick and on prednisone.

Morsels to chew on which have come up as I have read, studied and prepped to teach as well as listening to others or the news or watching Jeopardy. So.....citations are sketchy at best, but will confirm as I am able. 

➨A fool has no appetite for God's word/wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7)

• ➨You can never outrun the fork. (Commercial Appeal, ?) I guess that means it's more important to push back from the table than to tie on your running shoes.
• 
  
• ➨Peace is a result of giving someone a piece of your heart, not a piece of your mind. (Debbie Moore quoting Ann Voskamp)
• 
  
• ➨decision fatigue---(Emily P. Freeman)--it must be a communicable disease because the older I get, the more I "catch" it. (DAL)
• ➨Stupid is as stupid steps, so be careful of your steps. (Buddy Liles, Allen Bible Church)  'nuf said, even tho "stupid" is not a word I like, it gives a clear assessment of this truth.
• Ahab and Jezebel were a gruesome twosome. (DAL)---doing evil is a gruesome way to live!

• Fool's Errand---a device of Satan to distract us---to keep us in motion without meaning---living by our nerve endings, off course instead of in purposeful meaningful ways. B. Liles)
• To consider a matter, one must take time to think. (DAL)

Certainly some were healthier intake but all caught my attention and I "chewed" on them a bit.

Hope you can "digest" today's variety in my "thought" diet.

Familial Quotability

These quotes were under hashtag John 15---a life changing Scripture for me in 1975.

AND....since they were referenced as Buddy Liles, for sure I'll go back and see how these pertain to my beloved chapter. 

I see them as quote worthy regardless of one's point of reference, familial or not----hope you will too.

Chance or Condfidence

"Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything." (John MacArthur) Fate or chance defines the theology of the prideful.

I, along with many others, find confidence in God's sovereignty/

Quotabili-TEA : a Visual

He that hath knowledge spareth his words: (Proverbs 17:27, KJV)

In my opinion, folks with top-notch writing ability can say the most with the fewest words.
Pithy with a punch. For me, nothing jogs my memory better than a pithy quote......whether it's written in my Bible maginalia, my journal or seen on a creative craft.
Quotabili-TEA---good quotes, great pithy quotes, quotes worth sharing. From spiritual or intellectual to relational and funny.
Often, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

• We must allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. (Bonhoeffer)
• All of life must be given to the Lord----spiritual and secular are not separate. (1/1990 Serendipity Bible)
• I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth (Martin Luther)

Humility---this highway doesn't have too much traffic in politics (7/2006, Howard Clark)

• Sooner or later even the upbeat soul gets beat up by life (R.Morgan, The Promise, p,.2)
• "Life huggers"--people who hang on to this world because they think this is it. (Richard Paul Evans)

Somethings do require cake---but at Blackberry Farm one might substitute pecan pie, fudge, iced brownies or Dove Bars.

Cuppa Locali-TEA in a quote---

Tea definition--

• No two persons ever read the same book. (Edmund Wilson)
• There's no such thing as a good book written just for children. If it's good, any age can enjoy it. (Dotsy)

So many quotes so little time and space----My Bibles are filled with quotes.....as is the internet. But.....these are the ones that ring true with me and my cuppa quotabili-TEA to share with others.