BLESSINGS WITH BOUNDARIES!!

The sun comes up----

It's a new day dawning"

Sun Star Ornithogalum

As "10,000 Reasons" reminds me......

"It's time to sing your song again."

What song? The song one can sing regardless of circumstances. 

Fix eyes on Jesus. Think about where your steps will lead you. (Proverbs 4:25-26) Remember God's  design is for His glory and our good, not necessarily our ease. 

Worship His Holy Name.....then sing like never before!

S. T. R. E. N. G. T. H.

S.

T.

R.

E.

N.

G.

H.

T.

In order to follow my newest medical protocol of keeping physically active and intellectually challenged, I will be working on an acrostic for S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H. A spiritually inclined acrostic. 

STRENGTH being our Women's Ministry word for next year is spot-on...as is the verse, Psalm 59:16.

 I shall sing of Your strength; I will sing of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. 

If anyone has some strength verses or strength acrostics to share I would appreciate the info.

*Crickett, our Women's Ministry director, used S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H. to show the attributes of God.
S tronghold
T trustworthy
R efuge
E verlasting
N ourishment
G ood
T triumphant
H elp

Veloci-TEA Continued, Rationale Considered, at-TEA-ributes Concluded

When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek." (Psalm 27:8, NASB)

Run to God's Word. That's always the right "speedy" decision. What takes some contemplation is what you do with it once you get there.

Reading God's Word just for the sake of reading God's word has merit. Searching God's word for answers to questions is a worthy pursuit as well. Yet, lately I have been convicted that God's word, at its best, is as an impetus and aid in worship.

I had just typed this and then I opened an email from Mary B. 

Have you read Women of the Word by Jan Wilkin? Cathy C. mentioned something from it in her BSF lecture Monday night.  She said that the author challenged her readers to study the Bible  to worship God, not to see what you can get for yourself from it. 

Hm-m-m sounds like all that's been on my heart lately. It's a "how-to book about studying the Bible with both heart and mind. I think I need to "check it out." Certainly I know how to use veloci-TEA to my advantage when it comes to acquiring a book. 

I hope this one will equip me to engage God’s Word in a way that "trains my mind and transforms my heart" as the book blurb indicates. Then, I will be able to wholeheartedly answer the question,

"Am I a God-worshipper or a Bible-worshipper?"

I need to fill my cuppa with at-TEA-ributes of God, that I might love the person and not the object as I speedily turn to Him.

"sinceri-TEA"

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3, NIV)

Clothing oneself in the attributes of God is a worthy pursuit for all mankind. Too many leave these spiritual character traits on the shelf. Like an unwrapped gift, they wait to be opened and experienced in one's own life and then spill over to touch the lives of others.

May today be the day to "open" those spiritual fruits of love, graciousness, goodness, mercy, kindness and sincerity.

Sinceri-TEA. A great cuppa to start the day. 

Sincere and pure devotion to Him easily flows through us to others. 

A shared cuppa.

L ……is for LOVE!

12/28/09 LOVE.....................

One of the hardest of all the attributes of God for me to wrap my brain around is love---unconditional love. I know of His sacrifice and I know scripture tells of the breadth and depth of His love but it’s still hard to comprehend, on a personal level, because I know me. I know that the one who writes this---a blog that sometimes inspire others---spent the day asking forgiveness for impure thoughts arising from impatience, unfulfilled expectations and anger. I wore myself out but I kept at it. Believe me, it was work! I thanked the Lord that He loved me, through the grace of His Son, but…….I didn’t “feel” that “love belief” in my core---it felt more like a mantra. I did repeat it over and over but did I believe it? I had to confess my unbelief. “ …I believe, Lord; help thou my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

The good news is that this unconditional love, which He offers, does not change whether I “feel” worthy of it or not. Even on days like today when my esteem is dragging, His love is constant.
No power on earth or heaven can separate us (even Me) from God's love. Not our (my) sin, not any authority, not any spiritual force. God's love is unshakable and can always be relied upon. That’s Romans 8:38-39 in a nutshell but………….the first 4 words say, “For I am convinced”-----

To convince myself of His love I plan to linger on this passage today----Romans 8:38-39

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

His love is there whether I “feel” worthy of it or not.alpha

Counseling Comforter

12/1/09 I like comfort----extraneous comfort is something I DO enjoy!! That’s why I have a stack of squishy down pillows and piles of sheets, light-weight blankets, comforters and coverlets all on the bed at once with my HHS “signed “friendship” quilt (gift) across the foot. At the foot of each bed in the house I have “nap blankies” to pull up and add to my resting comfort depending on where I am when I “hit the wall” each day--- Hoptown chum’s, cross quilt (gift) on the “mud” bed (a Liles term for Tempur-Pedic mattress) my grandmother’s quilt in the guest/Mommar’s room, and my teacups afgan (gift) on the window seat in the computer room. It’s also why I have a BIG prayer chair with wide enough arms to hold my morning “cuppa” and my “gift” prayer shawls. Plus, my closet houses more comfy clothes with pockets and adjustable/expandable waists than “decent” clothes and certainly more than formal attire.

Since MAC (my rare cancer), I have had folks from everywhere ministering to me and offering LOTS of extraneous comfort. I’ve probably brought some “sunshine funds” to the brink of bankruptcy and depleted pantries all over the Mid-South while overusing all my prayer warriors. But God…....He doesn’t go bankrupt, get depleted or overused. I know that. He has been my counselor extraordinaire since diagnosis day, January 13. He knew what was down the road for me. Because He understood my future He was the One who could direct my path. I didn’t have a clue---and neither did most of the medical world---but He did. And that was great comfort to me. As I walked the path set before me, He offered comfort through so many of His children.

Christ, the Father of Compassion and the God of all Comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (II Corinthians 3-4)

He Himself was my Comforter…..and still is.

Bestower of Blessings

11/23 What a week this should be for focusing on blessings---both the ones received and the One who bestows them. I can think of no better meditation for this period of Thanksgiving than the 100th Psalm.

Psalm 100 (KJV)

1Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
3Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
5For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

As my family gathers here this week to cook and care for me in a special way, I want to have time with them. (So I won’t be on-line for awhile.) Together I hope we will focus on our year (& my MAC year) that has been one BIG blessing. Thanks be to God.

Associations and Alphabetical Offerings

11/18/09 All the years that I was in the field of early childhood, I color coded everything, at work and at home----right down to laundry baskets, hangars and tooth brushes. I took some of that with me to the library and for years all receipts of book orders with barcode ranges were filed in a certain red notebook type folder. (Red = receipts w/ ranges.) When that red folder was no longer available and I had to use a green one, I still labeled the spine in bold red letters declaring it the “red folder.” I know you’re probably confused but it works for me. In a recent “Dearest Dorothy” book, her son couldn’t understand why her Christmas stuff was stored in a Del Monte cardboard box. “D” is for Del Monte and “d” is for decorations.” He groaned at her comment but it made perfect sense to me.

There’s just something about the orderliness of alphabetizing things that is intriguing. Being a librarian appeals to that part of me---it’s a semblance of control that I have in an otherwise cluttered life. Canned veggies are arranged from asparagus to zucchini on my pantry shelf. Catchall objects are stored in an old card catalog in my computer room in ABC order---even though sometimes those labeled drawers are empty, i.e. misplaced---not put back by folks who don’t know the importance of this ploy. Those 26 letters have become my association tactics. At this point in life, I need all the help I can get.

Awakening in the middle of the night, I often pray God’s attributes in alphabetical order----praising Him as Almighty, Bestower of Blessings, Creator, Defender, Eternal Elohim, Faithful Father, God of Goodness…..etc. 

All this to say, I plan to focus these next several weeks on one word for each of the 26 letters in the alphabet. Actually, the idea has been “brewing” awhile as I’ve savored my morning “cuppa.” It just seems so orderly. Of course, I could start it tomorrow and then take off on an “A” rabbit trail. Who knows? It took me months to actually write about the qualities of the “fruit of the Spirit,” and there are only 9 of those. Hm-m-m--These are my plans, we’ll see how God directs my steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

But everything should be done in a fitting (properly) and orderly way. (I Corinthians 14:40)

I definitely need to hang my hat here on this verse because this is a problem for me. Reading the preceding paragraphs might have given you a real misconception about my “decently and in order” life. It’s one of my biggest struggles---from sentimental clutter and “just in case clutter” to stacks of flagged books and pages of “blog bite” scribbles and “unanswered e-mails. Compound all of this with retrieval glitches in my MAC-muddled brain and a family and lots of deserving friends---and I’m not even back at work yet! YIKES!

I know I can't eat this “clutter elephant” in one bite but I’m going to work on it one bite at a time, starting with this blog.

A is for attributes of God ???