PEACEFUL PONDERINGS

Lysa TerKeurst has faced the realities of suffering in her life, from physical to emotional betrayal. She expresses these in seeing beautiful again. 

It's not always an easy read, but she weaves hope and peace in her entries.

• In the midst of struggles, others watch our reactions. (CONVICTION, mine) Responding in gentleness is a better reminder. (Philippians 4:5) (p. 48) Responding in peace is always preferable.
• When  something moves our focus from right to wrong....a slight and seemingly innocent amount of skewed thought can take root. (p.50) Skewed thoughts will rob us of our peace. (DAL)
• Your hurt will not be wasted. (p.56)
• Though others hurt you deeply, allow peace to flood your heart. "Peace that allows you to live like you are loved." (p. 62) God's word reminds us of that in Zephaniah 3:17.
• "Fear, pain, and insecurities can really do a number on our hearts." (p. 64) As Jesus said to the disciples,  "My peace I give you." (John 14:27b) As His present day disciples, we have access to this peace as well.
• THERE IS A PLACE TO ATTACH OUR HOPE, BUT IT'S NOT TO OUR DESIRE FOR CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES, Mark 14:36.... ends with strongest statement of trusting God that I can find in the whole Bible: Yet, not what I will but what you will. (p. 70)
• When TerKheurst wrote of her emergency colon surgery she learned that, God loved her through the life-saving pain. God's silence was part of the rescue. Psalm 145:18. (p. 75-76) Relief is a peaceful response.
• "His words are a lifeline to me. A whisper from my God. A personal note. A treasure......More important than just reading (just, my addition) His words, we must choose to receive them and live them! (p. 77, 80)  (emphasis, mine)

May these words and scriptures bring you peace and comfort this weekend.

AN APPLE A DAY---GIVE ME 2 OR 3!!

I never know what will attract me to food I've never tried before.  Usually it's affordable price. Yesterday, that was the "lead in" at Aldi for my purchase. The second draw..... the USA product was from New York, a state dear to my heart as it's home to my "grandgirls." Seasonal hankerings also clicked in! 

APPLES! God created fruit. (Genesis 1:29)

Apples @ $1.49 a lb with variety of sizes---I know "our" Jack likes small ones..  Loved the 100% recyclable bag concept. SweeTango was a catchy name for an apple new to me. The description almost sealed the deal.

A SWEET CRISP APPLE

with a lively touch of

CITRUS, HONEY and SPICE

The real deal sealer was my first bite!

YUM!!!!! CRISP in all caps!

I went back again---2 more times!

I have never advertised anything on this blog. This is not an ad and no profit will be gained be me. You're the one who will profit....if you hurry to buy your bag of SweeTango apples!

I bet you can't eat just one...................

MY, MY, MY, MY, MY

Before breakfast this morning, I picked up "my" Bible and "my" cup of tea. (literally)

It's the best way to start "my" day! A quick count in Proverbs 4 showed 9 "my" pronouns in the 27 verses. 

"Hear "my" son," (daughter) -------How personal  is that!

...and accept "my" words."  (Proverbs 4:10)

I am His and He is mine. Comforting words this Wednesday morning. 

"My" son, be attentive to "My" words. (Proverbs 4:20)

"My" God you are "my" God....(Psalm 63:1)

"MY" is a personal pronoun BUT it's called a possessive  adjective. 

My, my, my..............how special is that! He possesses me and I possess Him! 

* My Cup of Tea written on my mug, a gift from "my" dear friend Ellen, is a product of My Cup of Tea ministries in Orange Mound.

TUESDAY TRUTHS

Trio of Tuesday truths taken from Paul David Tripp's New Morning Mercies........my own paraphrasing.

1. True prayer is more than a "Wish list" from God the Deliverer.
2. Prayer is abandoning a life of demand and complaint....giving myself to a life of thankfulness.
3. True prayer happens at the intersection of surrender and celebration.

May the Lord use our submission (our proper place) to His purpose/His will (His proper place) Those "proper" positions will release us from our own bondage to SELF!

YOU-nique

You-nique! It must be a "new to me" buzz-word of sorts, with unique spelling for emphasis! I first heard it in an Allen Bible "Wired" sermon series, emphasizing how we are all uniquely created and wired by God for His purposes. 

Our giftedness differs with individuals but we are all"fearfully and wonderfully made by Him." (Psalm 139:13-14) It's an inward work for His children to be used for the lifting up of  the saints and for God's glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

The other uses have been more secular and "me" focused.......from preschool songs to multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs)---to uplift, empower and validate women who use their cosmetic products. 

"All about me" comes to mind. 

This week I saw it in my Dove dark chocolate & mint swirl wrapper. I'm not sure of Bethany's meaning, whether it's self-centered or God centered.I believe one's true You-niqueness needs to be more God-centered and other-centered than self-centered.

YOU-Niqueness---Not because of who you are but whose you are. 

We are truly unique, anyway you spell it, because of who He is!

I'm just sayin' 

RRRRRRRRRRRRR........................

RRRRRRRRRRRR--probably rings in your ears as a sound of frustration! Today it very well could be, but it's not. The Rs are all words "ringing" in head as "letter next" in my meditation. As a retired librarian, I can even meditate in alphabetical order if the need arises. Today it did and R is where I landed.

It started as I was praying Psalm 87:7 for the Davises in Uganda.

"Those who sing as well as those who dance say, "All my springs are in you." 

(World English Bible)

Other versions used fountains, joy, roots, thoughts for springs.

Yet each gave me the idea of refreshing so I began to pray using different parts of speech for refreshing...

Refresh. Refreshed. Refreshes. Refreshing. Refreshment. How easily the words flowed as different aspects of their ministry came to mind.

Today I continued with R words for my Wednesday Friends....Prayers to revive their hearts, reminders to refocus, reignite their passion for Him, regenerate their faith to new and higher grounds, renew their commitment to love their neighbor, "Return to first  love," (Revelation 2:4) and remember & obey the "Lord your God."(Psalm 119:55)

RRRRRRRRRRRRR----13 Rs & 13 r words used in prayers.....but whose counting! I was,,,,but not until after I typed this entry. Then, I saw that the exact number of r words used in prayer were same number of Rs in the title, which I had typed earlier. I recognized that as  reassurance of God's hand in this blog!

UNDETECTED INFECTION!

Undetected infection. Sounds like an inside job, doesn't it. A heart problem undetected.

Last week  I unexpectedly entered an unknown antigen area as I donned my mask and visited a loved one. 

Three days later she tested positive for COVID! I was advised of my exposure to her and followed CDC protocol. She and I had both been vaccinated. She ended up in the hospital and remains there. I had my first test 3 days later and today I had my 5th day test. 

Between the two tests I had enough time in quarantine to do a little heart/soul searching. 

If I have spiritual infection residing in my own heart, others might never see it. In some instances even I might be unaware. A pure heart is created by God. What's more, He must continually recreate it.

The solution? Ask God to search you & show you where you are infected with sin---maybe sin unbeknownst to you. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Today my COVID test was negative!! Hallelujah!

Create in me a clean heart, O Lord and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10) 

Hallelujah, also that the Lord can keep "cleaning me up" until I walk through heaven's gates and all infections will be gone. HALLELUJAH.........forever!

AT THE CROSSROADS!

When we're at the "crossroads of life" decisions, the decision making can often seem too difficult to do by ourselves.

Sometimes we need to look both ways and we cannot do that alone. 

Are you at a crossroads? A critical juncture of decision making? 

Do you have someone watching your back?

(Red tail hawks' photo compliments of hubby on his morning walk.) 

Often signposts are clearly marked in scripture. Believers know that Jesus the son, seated at the right hand of the Father, intercedes for us. (Romans 8:34) as does His Spirit. (Romans 8:26) But God......has also provided "others" to join us in prayer. (James 5:16)

So......when answers don't seem specific, is someone with you to pray for clarity? 

All believers benefit from an earthly prayer warrior. Find yours today. 

You might both be at the same crossroads!

TROUNCE TEMPTATION!

For worry-warts of the world their besetting temptation is often WORRY! "What if's" invade their minds in subtle ways and not so subtle ways. The recent Collierville shootings not so subtle. Prayer ensued immediately!

"Stewing" over things with outcomes beyond one's control can seep in and catch him off guard. Fear ensues.

Such thoughts require immediate action. 

A battle of the mind....a temptation that must be dealt with before it can reach the heart and begin to permeate every action. 

Thoughts reflecting worry are stepping stones to temptation & need to be taken captive to destroy those worldly arguments. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Focus is needed! Remember Who is sovereign in this world!

Remain............................

F IXED

O N

C HRIST'S

U LTIMATE

S OVEREIGNITY

Thoughts are okay when when brought into obedience of Christ. He's the only One who can trounce our temptations. 

Morgan says, "Our ability to trounce temptation is in direct proportion to our fellowship with Christ. (All To Jesus, Day 269, emphasis mine) 

So when the devil knocks, let Christ open the door!

TEAR WRAPPED SMILES.....VISUALS OF DADDY'S WWII EXPERIENCES

I did not hear many stories from Daddy's time as an Army Staff Sergeant in the Philippines during WWII. I did hear of his tasting fresh filched pineapple from a field in Hawaii where he went first for training. 

I was thrilled to visit WWII Museum in NOLA to see a section devoted to the battles/guerrilla warfare in the Pacific, specifically Leyte where Daddy was stationed.

Daddy told me of slogging through the mud until their boots rotted away.

Years later he told me of coming upon a shack in the jungle that had a rickety upright piano. One of the men in his platoon sat down and played a tune and they all sang together. He told me he "decided then and there that he would have an upright piano in his home one day so that someone could play the piano to bring joy to all who heard." I was that "someone" for several years but i'm not sure I ever got to the point of bringing joy. I saw a picture of such a gathering at the museum movie but was unable to snap a photo. It brought tears to my eyes as I remembered Daddy's story. Tears had me smiling because I now saw those harrowing lessons (across the street at Mrs Bell's) as a privilege.

The Leyte Gulf section gave me "pause" as I recalled the story that Daddy, a quiet, gentle man anyway, held close for many years.

Leading his platoon out on maneuvers, Daddy was shot in the leg by a lone Japanese snipper in a tree. His men returned him to the field hospital & then he was taken to the hospital ship which took him to Goodenough Island in Papua New Guinea to recover from wound and malaria.The next day, "his" men (reconnaissance unit and the man who took his place) went to Mindanao.  All were were ambushed & killed by a squad of Japanese snipers. It was a real time of war... (Ecclesiastes 3:8) as the world had never seen. Years later, Daddy at his Saturday lunches at the VFW, reminisced with two chums who had also been on Goodenough Island during the war. Tag & Frank.

How proud I was when I saw those Philippine maps that changed from almost completely red (Japanese control) in Leyte....

to blue (United States control) during Daddy's time there.

Daddy's final days in service ended in Australia as he qualified for the Points' System* & was shipped home, to CA & on to Indianapolis, where Mother, who had ridden bus from Clarksville, TN was waiting for him. 

The rest is history---that would be me, as I was born the next year.

 

*Points System---points for months of service over seas, combat situations, Purple Heart, and points for each dependent child---His first child, Buddy, was born while Daddy was overseas.