CHOOSE: TO SHARE

Choose to share the secret of joy. 

REJOICE THAT YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN. (LUKE 10:20)

AMEN. Choose Him and have a great weekend!

CHOOSE: PURPOSE

An oft asked question is what is my purpose on earth?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism identifies "the chief end of man is to glorify the Lord and enjoy Him forever. "

Pondering "my purpose" these few weeks was an exploration of thoughts that went down many trails. 

This morning, the Lord helped me condense my whirring thoughts as I applied my moisturizer. 

Purpose ®, no less. 
A closer look showed me it had a dual purpose---which it took me a while to figure out. 1) Long lasting moisture prevents long -lasting dehydration. For me the  One who is the "living water" keeps me hydrated eternally. (John 4: 14)

2) Provides protection from sun exposure. My protection is lots of exposure to the Son of God. Just like Purpose ®, my purpose is dual as well. Pleasing God is my purpose with two components;to love God and to serve others well!

May my choice please Him.

"May He be pleased by all these thoughts about Him, for He is the source of all my joy." (Psalm 104: 34 (TLB)

CHOOSE: "WHATEVER"

Whatever! Whatever? Maybe I should have been more descriptive in my choice this morning.

Choose, "whatever" without an attitude. For, I'm not talking the cynical "younger set" use as a way of negative compliance or agreement. 

To me it can be sort of a snarly word. A slang for indifference, maybe.

Even Webster's gives "whatsoever" 4 different parts of speech when used in a sentence. But these days "whatever" is a sentence in and of itself. 

Whatever varies greatly according to its usage. Whatever is complicated,

Complicated unless you turn to God's word as my All to Jesus devotional had me doing this morning.

Whatever you do.............

• Commit it to the Lord. (Proverbs 16:3)
• Work hard at it. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
• As unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)
• Do it in His name and be grateful. (Colossians 3:27)
• Do it faithfully. (3 John 5)

Whenever I choose to do "whatever I do," as unto the Lord, I've made the right choice.

CHOOSE: SIMPLICITY

Preparing for this week's Bible Study teaching at Town Village, I have prayed for clarity of message from God's word and application of those truths to shine relationally in their own lives. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)

Basically it all boils down to the "simplicity and purity of knowing Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3) 

Loving God and sharing God's story in one's life with others. 

God's affirmation came yesterday as I was driving my grandson, O, to school---at the corner of Poplar and Shady Grove/Ridgeway, no less.

Simple truth----Simply put---Shared with others!

What a great reminder to me, as I sip my cuppa simplicity-TEA this morning, to continue to choose simplicity as I prepare to share my story. 

CHOOSE: TO LEAVE A LEGACY

You cannot impart what you do not possess. (Howard Hendricks, DTS)

You leave what you live. Legacy in a nutshell!

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (Psalm 71:17-18, ESV)

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. (1 Peter 1:12)

A spiritual legacy is what I choose---so that my children and my grandchildren might walk in truth. 

CHOOSE: TEA FOR TWO

Tea for two---had been on my heart as a way of sharing time with a dear widow friend. Yet, an overbooked schedule made that time beyond the limits of my schedule restraints.

But God, heard my heart cries for help and it happened.

"In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."(Proverbs 16:9) David Lloyd-George once said, The true test of a civilization is the way it treats its old people.” Hopefully, in the Judeo-Christian community, care for the aged is seen as both a privilege and a responsibility.

God is there for widows and He wants His people there for them as well. A ministry that is emphasized in the Bible.

Jeremiah 49:11".....let your widows trust in me." 

Psalm 68:5 "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." 

James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” 

Today's Tea For Two---a choice made possible by the Lord's "overruling and rescheduling" events in my life, was truly an answer to the prayer of my heart. How special to "brew" a cuppa with Miss Ann and enjoy that redeemed time as she regaled me with stories of times gone-by. Times with her Bob in Bloomington, IN when he worked for RCA. 
She smiled as she recalled those times---a smile that I had not seen in a long time.

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CHOOSE: TO TASTE AND SEE

Finding God references in unusual places always delights me. 

I found Psalm 118:24 in an Aldi egg carton several years ago. The verse was written out and though I'd used the product for years, I never "saw the truth" until I so needed that encouragement on 4/12/12.

This morning as I was once again icing cupcakes to take to a friend I noticed Acts 4:12 on the "tub" of Caramel Factory caramel. It was if I was truly noticing it for the first time, though http://dotsydetails.blogspot.com/2017/01/choose-good-news.html showed me otherwise----a regular occurrence in the minds of folks in their 7th decade. It allows us to be happy all over again, at least that's what my friend, JoLynn tells me.

I love caramel and their icing is better than Mrs. O used to make for me in her black iron skillet. The factory is in Batesville, MS, home of our good friends, the Ferrell's, so we have ready access even though friend, Diane's, Gift Emporium, a Germantown supplier, is now closed.

All that to say, I love it when companies "advertise" their faith.

Though I in no way want to make light of scripture, one of my favorite verses came to mind, "Thy words were found and I ate them and they became for me the joy and delight of my heart." (Jeremiah 15:16)

I love it when a citation can send me to God's word where I can truly choose to "taste and see the goodness of the Lord! "

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CHOOSE: TO SEE

Choose to see what's right before your eyes even if it's in an unusual place in the morning paper.

How blessed we are to have a newspaper that still print's God's word----at least it did today! 

Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. (Proverbs 22:4)

One thing for sure, humility is at the opposite end of the self-promoting spectrum and today's verse said absolutely nothing about fame, power or stock market portfolio.

I think a cuppa humil-TEA will go well with today's Bible verse in the Commercial Appeal.

May I choose to ponder what I have seen in print this morning.

CHOOSE: TO RELY

In my weird idiosyncratic way, I have a 3x "heads up" system on appearances of a word, verse or events. If something occurs just once, I probably rarely notice. Two times becomes a head tilt often with an expectation of #3. This past week, the word rely has been on my radar. First seen, In All to Jesus 10/11 devotional entry. At Monday's Prayer for Revival time, our passage was 2 Chronicles 15:1-7, great verses for meditation so relevant to our nation today. Opening my Bible, 2 Chronicles 14:11, on the opposite page already had, "Help us O Lord, our God for we rely on you" underlined, with some words highlighted. Rely emerged again......That's two.......and I WAS counting.
Last night as I finally picked up Sunday's Commercial Appeal to try and calm my mind for bedtime, I came across the Clue for 40 across, "Hinge (on)."

And the answer was.......rely! Of course it was!
Nudged by 3x rule, today I began a word study on rely. A quick glance at my Strong's Concordance (KJV) showed me 14 uses in the parent tense and 2 past tense entries in the Hebrew with 3 uses in the Greek. I'm sure this varies with Bible versions. 
One definition was used over and over---to trust. Therein was my life lesson. 
I need to trust Him rather than relying on my own strength. I am definitely a work in progress but being armed with His word which is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:17) is the truth I can "lean on to support one's (my) self" another biblical definition of rely.

In my own life, I have run out of strength in many areas and I need more than ever to rely on Him just as Asa did.

Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name....(2 Chronicles 14:11)....

(My paraphrase of the remaining words...."we come against all the multitude," I see multitudes as synonymous for struggles which life can bring, in my life, especially as I age. DAL)
Robert Morgan, author of All to Jesus, says, Rely on the grace of God. He says he can rely on the Lord who is the all-in-all all his life and quotes the verse, "I have relied You all my life." (Psalm 71:6) 

I cannot say that I have relied on the Lord all my life but I can say, I chose to rely on Him today.

CHOOSE: TO PRACTICE SIMPLICITY IN CONVERSATION

Deceit does not please God. God checks the heart for motives. To be honest is marked as being free from deceit. That includes motive.

That's why 1/2 truth is a WHOLE lie when one's motive is to deceive.

O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive! Sir Walter Scott

Scripture advises, let your yes be YES and your no mean NO. Is that simple enough?  (Matthew 5:37) For those who don't keep a tight rein on their tongues even deceive themselves. (James 1:26)

Choose to simply live a life of integrity that pleases God.