ALL PATHS!

A picture can be worth a thousand words---thus this post.

A great "Saturday Short" for one who has been camped in Psalm 25.

I would give credit for this photo but I have no idea where or when I found it. Obviously it was during a warmer time!

PSALM ON SHIRT!

Traveling quite a distance with hubby to a Carolina Hand & Sports Medicine clinic, we took a quick left onto Old Balsam Rd. It was the beginning of a couple of God winks!

The place was packed; the staff were plentiful and helpful. Still lines existed to taste the apples and buy sweet "apple" treats of cider, turnovers, fritters, cookies, loaf cakes, apple pies, slushies  etc. 

But God, in His love and mercy took it a step further to a spiritual realm.

H, our check out gal, had a sweet spirit and a Psalm on her shirt. 

Front and Back. 

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalm 42:1) 

Conversation ensued. Leaving us more prepared for the upcoming doc appointment! If that's not a "God Wink" I don't know what is!

Soul strengthening is reason we stopped there again as we headed home. H had us laughing and sharing Elvis stories....though we did purchase a few turnovers and fritters to share with godly but ailing neighbors!

All because of a Psalm on a Shirt!

BUT GOD!!!

Once again, I sense that I have been sent to time-out.

But God in His love and mercy has been there with me!

He has given prayer warriors who stand with me! Some lead me with encouragement. Others stand behind me ready to catch me If I fall.

"But God" is in control of every aspect of life's disappointments!

But God, the greatest short phrase uttered in history!*

God's mercy flows from His own loving heart......

....not from anything I have done to deserve it

Hallelujah!

*uttered by Paul in Ephesians

KEY TO PERSEVERANCE!

Moving! Think to another location.

Uprooting and relocation are easier for some than for others.

I am one of the others! Many in the last season of life might say that.

But God....in His love and mercy can provide grace needed for any of our uprooted moments when relocating. He has given us Himself!

Allow Him to change your new address into a "grace place" of refuge.

Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come. 

(Psalm 71:3, ESV)

Truth in His word provides refuge......the key to perseverance!

MY SHEPHERD---A BESTOWER OF BLESSINGS!

"Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:" (Psalm 23: 6a)

That's BLESSING!

For me, blessings of goodness and mercy are unending, always available  from My Shepherd's hand! 

It all comes from Him. I've done nothing to deserve it. As Scotty Smith reminded readers in his 6/7/25 blog......

 You + nothing is the mathematics of mercy and grace. You (Jesus) lived for us and died for us, and you are now 100% of “our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.”

God, like a shepherd, leads us to beneficial actions with a mercy that encourages us to go the second mile!

A dual blessing of goodness and mercy  will last God's people all the days of their lives is the BEST BLESSING!

SLPPING AND SLOSHING!

A RAINY DAY---weather can be a deterrent for one who is on a cane and "not in the mood" to get drenched.

But God in His love and mercy had us in route. We grabbed an umbrella & stayed the course. (Ephesians 2:4)

It became more of an auditory walk----we heard raindrops and splashes with every step. We began to savor those quiet moments wrapped in rain. 

We even took our umbrella down to relish our sense of touch.

How grateful for a new "walk" perspective---muscle mass might not have been improved but my spirit was. 

I felt like singing in the rain----what a happy refrain....."singin' just singin' in the rain." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

GOD'S MERCY

Some days are a stay in one's jammies all day kind od day. 

Two days ago was such a day for me. Was that a "bad" thing for me to do? I certainly berated myself for each nap I needed.

Even though I was beyond being physically pooped, I certainly wore the guilt robe throughout the day!

But God in his love and mercy has us reading from the Allen Bible Church reading plan each night.

That night, April 30, had us reading from 1 Samuel 16!

When we got to verse 7, I knew I had been exonerated. Staying in one's "PJs" is not a crime. In spiritual terms, I could forgive myself because God does not look at one's outward appearance but at one's heart.

Hallelujah!

THANKFUL +

Friendly reminder from folks who grew up @ FMC church in KY + a college chum who farms & who began her text with "thankful Thursday" for "said" Alumni Ave. neighbor's recovery.

All this to say, my pew sitting friend shared today's Upper Room verse.

Be merciful to me O God, be merciful to me, for in you, my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

Daddy modeled his faith for many years as he began his day, "grateful for every day the good Lord gave him," along with his time reading the daily devotional, "his" Upper Room. 

A quiet, gentle soul + a thankful heart!

GRACE & MERCY!

Grace and mercy. Two road signs I choose to follow! How about you?

God's grace through Jesus is greater than all our sins! His mercies are new every morning! I know because I prayed thru the characteristics of God this morning as I exercised.

Anyway you say it, with whichever term you use, mercy and grace are both attributes of love. God's love! 

I want to stay on their paths, especially when those street signs are so obviously needed in my life.

For my "Wednesday Wordsmiths"............

Recently, I read that mercy and grace are 2 sides of the same coin!

Mercy withholds (intentional or unintentional) deserved punishment; grace endows unmerited favor. Greek word for mercy is eleos (pity and compassion); the Greek word for grace is charis (favor)

Mercy is compassionate love to the weak, and grace is generous love to the

unworthy. Humans are weak and unworthy - we all need God's mercy and grace. Mercy takes us to the path of forgiveness while grace leads us to reconcilliation.

(https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/what-is-the-difference-between-grace-and-mercy.html)

MERCY ME!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2021 IS HERE!

We made it! Thank you, Lord. Lots to ponder today as I nosh on my black-eyed peas and fresh turnip greens. (Hubby will only eat spinach, thus the can.)

Lord, You are still on the throne ......& your mercies are indeed new every morning! (Lamentations 3:22-23)

As Paul David Tripp, the author of NEW MORNING MERCIES, desires for his readers, "may people see the gospel as a window through which they are to look at everything in life. (Introduction)

Mercy Me! I  "see" that as a window of grace and mercy. 

Dicot-TEA-my of me

15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. (Romans 17:15-21, NLT)

"The devil made me do it is," what Flip Wilson said, as his character, Geraldine Jones. According to these verses, Wilson got it right. This scripture rings true just as Wilson's quip. It is the sin within that can negatively influence the lives of believers, especially their good intentions.

These verses reflect a part of life that all of us experience but rarely talk about when we come to church on Sunday morning. They're also not easy to include on a blog. Even Pogo (Comic strip) “We have met the enemy and he is us.” 

The law certainly convicts of sin. It feels like a war within. Guilt occurs. I, like many Christians, wear guilt well. 

But God, in his mercy, has made His righteousness available for us, apart from the Law. No more "legalistic" law keeping,---just allowing Christ keeping us.

I needed to remember that today as I set aside my quiet time to pursue projects. The struggle has continued most of the day. The good news is.....the day is not over. I'm heading to my prayer chair to unwrap a new cuppa faith.

Relief to Joyful Expectation

7/21/11 Relief----my favorite emotion.

Lament with me awhile but await the hope of relief through God's mercy.

Selected verses from Lamentations 33:

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.

39 Why should the living complain......

40 Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the LORD.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven,

56 You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”

58 You, Lord, took up my case;
you redeemed my life.

I love what Steven Curtis Chapman said, "when our loved ones die they are a greater part of our future than they are of our past!" What a blessing and a relief to know that the grave is not the end of the story.
Trusting the Lord with not only relief but a renewed and joyful expectation knowing that He labors on my behalf to birth a new and greater grace from my grief.

DOTSY DOODLES

4/1/11 "Dotsy Doodle." Daddy used to call me that as I was growing up. He also called me "Sugar." Three weeks ago he couldn't speak my name even if he knew it. Last week I was Thelma though he did stammer out D-d-dotsy in response to Larry's question as we were leaving the hospital. I wonder what it will be tonight when I see him again? It really doesn't matter I keep telling myself----even if it"feels" like it does. It's not about me, it's about him. Though his future will not be what his past once was, I plan to be there for him. The life lessons now are no longer for Daddy or for Mommar, (hubby's mom) but for us. Lessons of compassion and trust.

This blog was going to be a way of sharing some of my jottings and musings from the last few weeks, thus the title. However, that's not where my fingers typed. So......I might share the rest or I might not. Right now I'm just mulling over God's mercy-----which is no April Fool's joke----it's the "realest" thing I know.

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great it Thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23)

M = MERCY ME---

12/29/09 ---or NOT.
 Mercy is definitely not one of my strong suits or spiritual gifts. But mercy is a STRONG enduring attribute of God---

---even Shakespeare recognized this when he wrote The Merchant of Venice. Portia’s begging of mercy from Shylock shows that when we extend mercy we are following God’s example.

• But mercy is above this sceptered sway;
• It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
• It is an attribute of God himself;
• And earthly power doth then show like God's
• When mercy seasons justice.

The bard gives the idea of an edict softened by compassion or circumstances tempered by the spirit of God. They represent justice seasoned with mercy. It’s like the five year-old who said, “I deserved a “whoopin’” but I got a hug.”

God is full of mercy. I’m so grateful that His mercy is unending…………my favorite hymn lyrics affirm this.

“Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.”

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17)

MERCY ME---maybe I need to work on that in 2010!

God's Strength

2/2/09
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

This is a good verse for meditation on a morning when you don’t even want to get out of bed. I prefer the mornings when I’m able to say, “Good morning, Lord. I think I’ll have a piece of homemade chocolate meringue pie for breakfast.”

I was able to sit with Mommar, Larry’s mom, and watch birds and squirrels out the window even though thoughts of lawyers, docs, reports to fax, calls to make etc. etc. etc. were whirring around in my head. Those who are “on the same page” with me in the Jesus Calling book know the focus of today’s entry was free flowing thoughts seem to move toward problems------if focus is snagged on your problem, it circles round and round (boy, did it ever)----Your energy is drained!! It was already drained from three days of the “tyranny of the urgent”—you know those things that demand your attention & so you tend to them.

As an aside, if you are on the same page in the Jesus Calling book would you let me know---I’ve heard from several folks thru comments or LHH message/well wishes page or cards & calls. Just e-mail me at dotsyliles@gmail.com. Just wondering how far this little book is reaching.

This Monday was in my mind to become the day to share a little about MAC with folks b/c some have asked---maybe I wasn’t ready for that. I do know that sometimes people look at me as if I’m “in denial”---I’m really in a grace bubble. Trust me, I know a lot about MAC & enough of the journey ahead to warrant my attention and an understanding of things that I choose not to share b/c you readers are not covered with that extra measure of mercy and grace that is mine for the taking/accepting in the midst of this crisis.

Today became “Journal Jottings: a Juxtaposition of my Frailty and God’s Strength.” I needed His power and strength today in extra measure!! 

Thanks to anyone who prayed early---maybe it was your prayer that helped get me out of the bed and in a mode to ask Him myself---to strengthen me by the power of His might….for patience and endurance during this time.”