SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: "TWO"

10/27/13 Guess who turns two today? LUCY!!!!! A 2 year old who loves dinosaurs and can fluently "read" a book with no text----yet, with understanding and appropriate voice inflections.

Jesus---Active Verb Tense of Life

10/16/13  Recently seeing the Spanish for John 1:1, I was struck that the Spanish for word is verb. Though I don't speak Spanish, past ¡hola!---that translation spoke volumes to me. (La Biblia de las Américas) 

He who is the Word, is also the verb. I know it's in a much broader sense and allows a little license with grammar usage..... BUT, it speaks to me! His continuous action in the lives of believers.

John 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Juan 1

EN el principio era el Verbo, Dios y el Verbo era con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios

 In the verb tenses of life, Jesus has always been, is ever present and will always be. 

Past. Present. Future.

D-Day

10/24/13  Fortified with chocolate and tea, I go forth in my day. 

Is any of that spiritual? NO! 

Is it healthy? NO! 

Does it make me feel better? Yes, at least a little bit around the edges. Sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl has to do.....tea & chocolate!

But God.....I have also prayed Proverbs 3: 5-6 as I seek God's direction for some important decisions.

Even Dove Chocolate gave me a reminder....
"Happiness is in the heart, not in our circumstances."

Armed with verses, from "astute" Aggie in France, I head out the door.....for D-Day, my day of reckoning.

Psa. 27:1 Isa. 26:3. Psa. 112:7-8 Psa. 56:3. Psa. 27:5,6 I Pet. 5:10-11.

GOD'S LIGHT without the GLARE

10/23/13 Prepping for my upcoming “Heart To Heart” Bible study lesson, I have become so aware of the need to “sit in the light.”  The light of the Presence of the Lord. This requires the disciplines of solitude, silence, listening and meditation. I’m convicted that I need to SLOW down my life in order to do this. Distractions, even good ones, need to be tempered.

Full Hunter's Moon

Last week (10/18/13) this difficulty was evident in a somewhat ordinary real life situation. There was a glorious moon out and I wanted a full view of this incredible FULL moon. But…..the glare of the streetlight obscured my view.

A glaring, harsh light distracted me from seeing God’s light of the night. It reminded me of the distractions I was facing each day as I tried to seek ”light” from His word. Sometimes the busyness and distractions of the world seem blinding, inescapable even, especially when I’m trying to seek the One who is the “Light.”

A change of direction was needed. I had to take action. In my study time I had to disconnect from the strong overwhelming pull of the blinking light of all my electronic devices and even my old land-line. Just like I had done the night of the Hunter’s Moon.*

That night I had to go to the back yard where it was not only dark but also quiet in order to see and fully appreciate the splendor of that moon. No Glare. Distractions removed. View accomplished. Wowed by God’s handiwork!

* The next morning as I went out to get the newspaper, the moon, though not as brilliant, was still very much in view because the streetlights had faded.
God's light without the glare.

"LIGHT." "Camera." "SMILE."

10/22/13

Armed with only a Canon point and shoot, I take a picture that makes me smile.

Yet, photographer Molly, searches out the light because “Light in photography" is everything, according to her. Always embrace the light. She uses her eye to do that but her “eye” is supported by her textbooks and course manuals that taught her “light meters read and photographers interpret.” Light can actually stir the soul.

Philosophically, all of that photography jargon seems analogous with the theology of those who see Jesus Christ as the Light of the World. (John 8:12) The important Light. The Light that gave definition to creation (Genesis 1:3) and stirs the soul. Knowing the One who is Light is everything to a Christian.

Sometimes just seeing light captured in creation reminds me of the One who created that light... 

…..and I simply smile.

TONGUES FLAPPING

10/21/13

“…tongues flapping in the breath. “ Like flags flapping in the wind, they “snap.”

Does your tongue have a “bite” to it? Maybe, like a horse, it needs a bit to rein it in. 

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:9-10)

“I probably shouldn’t say this….”              Then DON’T!

"Bite your tongue, before it bites someone else." (C. Huffman, 10/6/13)

Make your words count. Use your tongue to edify others---to build them up & to  encourage them.  

Submit your tongue to the Lord. Allow Him steer your words in order to avoid unnecessary or hurtful “flapping and snapping.” (in context, James 3:1-10)

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS:HOPE #3

10/20/13 An equation of hope revisited.....

My Dismay + His Presence = Hope

A hope this side of heaven for both our physical and our spiritual well-being. An eternal hope, as well. Hope can come to us through God's Word, prayers, encouragement of others and ordinary things viewed from a new perspective.

A Tableau of Hope
 for all to see as they travel east on Poplar Avenue toward Germatnown, TN

Pass it On

10/19/13 Hooray---"My"Target didn't have any Jesus Calling in Spanish left on their shelves, but Lifeway Christian bookstore did. What a thrill to pass it on to someone who will cherish it as I do. Two more copies are headed to Mexico, as well. 

Oftentimes daily devotional books aid us in "our times of soaking before God, being rooted and grounded in HIm.....that we can remain faithful to Him whatever happens." (My Utmost for His Highest, 10/19)

Patty with her copy of

Jesús te llama: Encuentra paz en su presencia

You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. (2 Timothy 2:2)

EQUATIONS

10/17/13 I don't "do" numbers well. Number equations would be over my head----BUT word equations, I "get." Especially word equations with spiritual connotations.

Carolyn Down's H2H lesson last night included equations that made sense to me.

• My weakness + His Presence = STRENGTH 
• My fear + His Presence = COURAGE 
• My Dismay + HIS Presence = HOPE

My conclusion was that God's Presence must be factored into all situations. The variables in my life can change but if I want the "correct/positive answer," I must always remember that God's Presence is the highest common factor. That's not even tricky for me to figure out.

GP(God's Presence) = S(strength)+ C(courage) + H(hope) and 

GP(God's Presence) + S(strength) + C(courage) + H(hope) = GR (God's Rest)

Wordwise I get all of that......but I don't know how to factor those two equations into a whole expression---I just know how to live it.

WHY BLOG?

10/15/13 

I often ask myself the "why blog"question. I often ask God that same question. 

Partial answers include; 

• helps organize and clarify my own thoughts, 
• to answer spiritual questions others ask of me, 
• because God hasn't let me stop blogging, 
• to make a difference for someone-somewhere out there in cyber-space.

And then today 2 scriptures jumped out at me, as I prepared a lesson, reminding me of a very personal reason to blog. (emphasis and underlining are mine)

Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the LORD. (Psalm 102:18)

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2Peter 1:12-15)

So....maybe a big reason I blog, is for my grands and great grands, that they might know truth from God's word from their, Shug. (grandmother)

Why blog?

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 2)

I blog to know such joy---that they (Nathan, Noah, Caleb, John Parker, Andrew Owen & Lucy & their offspring) might know true joy.