RECYCLED BLESSINGS1

Blessings in a mailbox, on the front porch, in a FedEx truck, in a text or email, on a doorknob or a voicemail or a hug on a back row pew are but a few ways my spiritual sisters support me! Even a recycled card from a hometown chum.

What a fellowship! What a joy divine!

There is no better way to find mutual Christian support than a shared devotion to the principles of God's word than by spiritual communion through the gifting of prayer and words of encouragement, verse by verse. So grateful for prayers for my brother! 

It's truly a Thankful Thursday!

Acts 2:42: "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

1 Corinthians 1:9: "God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Galatians 6:2: "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Hebrews 10:24-25: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Ephesians 4:3: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Philippians 2:1-2: "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind."

1 John 1:7: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Blessings from fellowship---connected by God's Son, Jesus Christ our LORD!

GOD LISTENS! GOD HEARS!

God not only listens! God truly hears!!

Above all, hold unfailing your love for one another, (1 Peter 4:8a, RSV)

A privilege of true fellowship!

RIGHT TURN!

"RIGHT TURN" could be a directional turn that is opposite of left turn. 

In the journey of life it could be the correct turn that will have one going spiritually in the right direction.

Often times it helps when believers walk together!

Critical support in times of struggle.

Brethren, be followers together of me, (Philippians 3:17a)

Think, trust Jesus and walk with others who have the same mindset.

REFRESH OTHERS WITH LOVE!

It's a new month!

May all be done in the LORD'S love to Refresh others!

HIGHER PATH!

The obituary of Cecile T., a dear friend, had me remembering notes, cards, newspaper articles, devotionals, travel books and even her Florida abodes which she shared with me and mine! 

She walked with the LORD! A friend in the faith who loved at all times.

She chose the right paths putting the LORD, family (Think 5 children with spouses, 23 grandchildren, 53 great grands with 2 more on the way) and many friends. 

Above newspaper clipping shows that on Evangelical Christian School's Grandparents Day in October 1997 she won the award for MOST GRANDCHILDREN attending! Yiayia was often present for most events,

She walked the "higher" path! What an example for all to follow!

FRIDAY FELLOWSHIP FRIENDS!

True friends from afar....are never far!

Faithful friends.

They are God's servants who accompany Him to serve me when I am going through Deep Waters. (Isaiah 43:2)

Mightier than the waves of the sea 

is His love for you. (Psalm 93:4)

Friends in fellowship keep in touch with prayers and notes.....many days, not just Friday.

NEIGHBORLYNESS!

Neighborhoods are less about zip codes and more about being a part of  each others' lives! (Rev. Kenny Chapman)

For believers, think fellowship! Those walking with God leave their zip codes (of holy ground) often to go to serve others. With a quiet word. A gift of being there to encourage during physical needs or grief. 

Faith bearers serve others in the neighborhood and beyond.

Strength in one's inner being allows Christ to dwell in one's heart through faith and follow the call to serve others.

Serving others honors them. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10,ESV))

Out do one another in showing love says it well, neighbor!

WISDOM IN PRACTICE!

Wisdom in practice is action.

Think walking in wisdom.

A practical way to live out wisdom is to pass on the truth God has taught us, from His Word, to neighbors, nations and the next generation. (Allen Bible Church) 

Live it out. An RX for applying Scripture in our daily lives allows others to "see" Christ in us.

Fellowship with other believers is mutually strengthening.

Walk with the wise and become wise. 

(Proverbs 13:20 NIVa)

May we make this a true Walkabout Wednesday!

Let's practice wisdom together.

SUNRISE SUNDAY TO SERENE SABBATH!!

What a begining to my day! 

A bIg thanks to Cathy G. for sharing.

She probably saw it yesterday from her mountain ridge over looking Fontana Lake! But I saw the pic as I started my Sabbath!

A SERENE SABBATH BEGINNING!

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you." (Isaiah 60:1)

Believers, lets awaken to God's call and reflect His light and Presence every step of the way to today!

More to come....probably tomorrow as we're headed to church and I won't be online after, if I want an extended serene Sabbath!

OUR CREATOR!

On this misty mountain morning, I would feel lonely except for the Presence of the Lord and the blessings & prayers of friends from afar! 

Anne Brewer--November Calendar

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, 

for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies. 

Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

 

Even with the chill of the mountain air, I feel warm inside. The sun brings warmth to my toes. They are tapping. I feel like dancing....a ridiculous idea from someone who has trouble staying vertical on most days.

But God.....in His love and mercy has me considering dancing as I hum to quiet my soul. Humming to diminish the  noise in my head and heart, especially for dear ones!

Delighting in the presence of our Creator, I now begin to pray for others!

May we hum and toe tap together, in a "dance" of sorts, wherever God has us today! 

FELLOWSHIP HERE & ABROAD!

Fellowship Focus---Whatever the Bible version, v19 uses many different words to describe believers and many aspects of fellowship shared by believers of Jesus Christ regardless of nationality or Christian affiliation. 

Photo from Cornerstone House, Hungary 1997

Koszikla = Hungarian for Cornerstone

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (EPHESIANS 2:19-22, NIV)

• God's people--members of his household (NIV)
• Fellow citizens with the saints (ESV)
• No more strangers and sojourners (ASV) 
• No longer strangers and foreigners (ISV)
• No longer called outcasts and wanderers (The Voice)

Fellowship is built on Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone, (NIV), with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself (CJB).

*Searches in many of the 100 versions and a few of 50 languages at BibleGateway.com enriched my understanding of God's people and Jesus Christ as the cornerstone for believers.

A BAZILLION HUES!

A bazillion hues. Well said by my artist friend Anne B. when discussing the hues of color varieties found in creation. God's color spectrum throughout creation seems to be unending.....at least in our vocabulary.

Red can be in the form of burgandy, coral, crimson, mahogany, maroon,  orange red, ruby, scarlet, vermilion......you get the idea.

Compare to our neighborhood trees & red skies entry!

Maybe that's how she uses color so effectively in both her photography and her "threads."

Last year she began cross-stitching my "One Word, Hope" as a 'bye-bye" gift! Amazing that she got out her "instruments" from the past, things like hoops, needles, fabrics, threads, patterns and knots I have never heard of....and created for me the perfect farewell gift, catching my eye on this Thankful Thursday!!

A gift filled with hope!. 

Not only was "HOPE" my 2024 Word of the year, it carried through to 2025 with medical maladies incurred as 2024 ended. 

Hope much needed and freely given by a dear friend who certainly knows how to keep on giving "hope" in a bazillion ways.....all wrapped up in hues of love! 

KITH AND KIN!

Kith and Kin jumped off the page of MUHH devotional today. 

Kith was used in Angela's Ashes: A Memoir as a way of describing the feeling of relational loneliness. Even the dog was gone. 

In Scripture, Abraham's life was an example of one who left kith and kin to follow God. 

It's faith at its best. Faith might not know where God's leading will take them but knowing the One who is leading provides the faith and assurance needed to go. 

Kith, without  Kin, is an old English word for friends and neighbors. 

For me, the Kin part reminds me of kin as related by blood in family or by adoption. Kin can also include believers in fellowship---one's church family!  Think "heart" family! 

 

But God, in His love and mercy, has shown me the necessity of connection through the blood of Christ regardless if the mileage separation! I have greatly experienced that KIN in our recent move. 

I would have been dismayed if I had not seen the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

Kith and Kin are my land of the living!

LAMB OF GOD!

Fellowship of the EWES!

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world uses His lambs to minister in the world to other followers of Jesus. It's called fellowship!

Fellowship Friday is a great time to reflect on fellowship with Christ and others in His family in praise and prayer!

FELLOWSHIP FRIDAY!

Fellowship is defined as friendly association especially with people who gather to share one's interest.

Art Lovers Gather.

Book Lovers Gather.

Sometimes the two coincide @ Germantown Library with chess lovers added to the mix.

Runners Gather.

Jesus Followers Gather. 

Christian fellowship denotes participative sharing and mutual encouragement towards Christ. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)

BENEFITS OF BELONGING!

Fellowship aka Christian community is the bond of believers! 

It is belonging. Daily. Weekly. Spontaneously. A time to reconnect and rekindle because of "whose" we are.

Believers have taken off the old self, aka corrupt and deceitful life (Ephesians 4:22) and put on the new self which is true righteousness and holiness which is a bond of belonging.(Ephesians 4:24)

According to Taylor Park, those who "take off the old but don't clothe themselves in the new are like a naked Pharisee." Think hypocrite!

True believers who have put on the new self have that incredibly deep bond of fellowship! His love which binds everything together...(Colossians 3:14)

Coming together informally, zooming or in face to face worship is always a celebration because it is done "In His Name!" 

Fellowship is belonging in Christ.....therefore do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

FELLOWSHIP--A STEP ABOVE!

Many of us have lots of friends. Often among friendships there are boundaries or commonalities. Caregiver companions. College chums. 

Work friends. Work-out buddies.

I am a companion of all who fear you, 

of those who keep your precepts. (Psalm 119:63)

Fellowship. Believers together regardless of the time or place.

A relationship where heart speaks to heart. 

Fellowship. A step above all the rest!

QUAD SQUAD

Praying friends come in many combinations and from different seasons in life. 

I'm blessed to have family, along with friends from elementary school, widows, neighbors, Sunday School, H2H, church, mission and transition "zoom" prayer teams, Prayerful Wonderwomen for Ukraine and college & Pi Phi chums. 

I need lots of prayer warriors.

Praises for a recent retreat with my "Quad Squad" college chums at Full Circle Ranch---

.....&  my own bedroom sanctuary with all the accoutrements for my morning cuppa before..... 

....a morning walk to the sounds of goats, chickens, cows and birds in flight! Later a bull strolling behind his keeper, Sam and a ride on the "whoopie"* acting like teenagers!

Did  I mention surrounded by 600 acres. with the original log cabin (circa, old) a "She" shed which became a garden room, great for devotional times......

a home with 6 fireplaces, 4 "sitting" porches, one with a bed swing and lots of rocking chairs, a wood burning fireplace and lots of comfort....

....calmed by a serene view of horses.

From almost an entire day in PJs to lunch at Marcy Jo's and a 3 hour Bible Study led by Dr. Mark Houston.

Thank you Doris, Winslow and Joyce Ann for this much needed respite for your ailing friend. God's Quad Squad....always there for each other!(Acts 2:42)

*whoopie --ATV often called a quad bike; how about that!

ENCOURAGING WORDS!

ENCOURAGING WORDS!

Words from friends to lift one's spirit. Words one needs to hear.

A perfect card for today.............."Thankful Thursday." 

SUSTAIN UKRAINE!

Sustain Ukraine!

What a privilege---being on a team to pack 10,000 food parcels for a land and people whom I love dearly.

When the gong sounds we will go ---and keep going until the job of supplying 100,000 meals is complete.

LET'S GET PACKING & SUSTAIN UKRAINE!* (1 John 4:7-8)

*Note Ukrainians delivering previously delivered parcel to eastern Ukraine/front lines wear helmets and bullet proof vests!