Do You Want To Enjoy Life?

Grace Gift
Peace


Do you want to enjoy life?
    Do you want to have many happy days?
 Then avoid saying anything hurtful,
    and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
 Stop doing anything evil, and do good.
    Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
    and he hears their prayers.
--Psalm 34:12-15

Planted Along The Road

Grace Gift
Seeds

 When a large crowd had gathered and people had come to Jesus from every city, he used this story as an illustration:  “A farmer went to plant his seeds. Some seeds were planted along the road, were trampled, and were devoured by birds.  Others were planted on rocky soil. When the plants came up, they withered because they had no moisture.  Others were planted among thorn bushes. The thorn bushes grew up with them and choked them.  Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.”
After he had said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears listen!”
--Luke 8:4-8

 
Where do I fit in with the story of the sower and the seed?
Where do you fit in?

Spoken Words and Unspoken Thoughts

May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.
---Psalm 19:14

 The words that I speak come from the thoughts that I think.

 If I fill my mind with good things---things that are pleasing to God---what is likely to become my words?

 

Let's See, What Shall I Wear Today?

Grace Gift
A Righteous Wardrobe

 As we get ourselves dressed for the day ( or night, if you're a night-owl) we often have choices on what to wear.
 
While looking through the closet and dressers we may find all sorts of things to wear.
For the most part, we all want to look our best, don't we?
But where to shop- that's a good question. 
Our Father above has set a standard on our wardrobe; something we won't find at the malls or even specialty shops.
We'd do good to follow His fashion statements.

 Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.

 I pray to wear the clothing He desires.

Colossians 3:12
¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 

  

¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 Thank You, Lord for always having just the right things for us to wear each day.

Me ...Of all People

Grace Gift
His Work Through Me


It is God Who works in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13

I sit here completely overwhelmed.
To think, God would choose to work through me.
ME.....of all people.

Little ole,
can't do anything right,
afraid to try and fail,
don't have a clue what I'm doing,
insecure,
insufficient,
incompetent
me.

And yet, He did.
And, He does.  

Every. single. day.

 The more I realize I can't
and He can,
the more He does.

The more I step out of the way
and let God lead the way,
the more He shows up and amazes me.

The more I surrender my lack
for His supply,
the more He blesses and astounds.
The more I open my life
 to be used by Him,
the more He uses my life
and opens doors to speak His name.

The more I let go,
the more He takes hold.

 The more I say "yes" to His call,
 the more He erases
"I can't"
"I'm not able"
"not me"
 from the vocabulary of my heart.

 As I surrender to the God who chooses human vessels through which to work,
my heart leaps with excitement.

If God can do this,
what else can He do?

Looking In The Mirror

Grace Gift
Time To Make A Difference

2 Peter 3:8 - But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.


My 60th birthday is coming up next month.

 As I stand looking at myself in the mirror, I see more than wrinkles, a few (ok, quite a few) gray hairs, and a less than perfect hour glass figure.  Instead, I see the end.  The end of my life.

I am MORE than half way through my life. 
If I was blessed to live to be 70,
I only have 10 more years to live.

Have you noticed how fast 10 years fly by?

I've  decided I'd better get to living my life.
No more dilly dallying around.
No more thinking "one of these days". (It was more than apparent, I was running out of "these days".)

I have to make each day count!
I have to make my life count!
Not to mention,
I have to make up for
lost time,
lost years,
lost opportunities,
lost moments when I was anything but all God created me to be.

 So for me, life begins at 60

What about you?
Have you been making the most of YOUR life? 

On your  next birthday,
standing in front of your  mirror,
will you see someone who has made the most of the life you have been given?

 Will the candles on your cake
be a true representation
of the ways you have spent your life
shining HIS light?
I pray we will be able to see our life for what it is -
a precious gift to be
given away,
used up,
and poured out.

 God created you and I
ON purpose,
WITH purpose,
FOR a purpose.

It's time, (dare I say, PAST time) to be purposefully living each day.

Lover Of My Soul

Grace Gift
Nothing Can Ever Separate Us

Rom 8:38: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 : neither 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.

 Today, though it upsets me to see things that are going on; mans inhumanity to man, abuse, mistreatment, hatred, wars etc., I no longer fear the future. I am sure of one thing, Christ will never leave me or forsake me. He has seen me through many trials and will continue to be with me as I complete my journey here.  He is faithful and true.  His love for me is available every morning! He hears me when I cry out to Him. He walks with me through every minute of every day! What He does for me, He does for all His followers. He is no respecter of persons but loves us all equally.
When we take our eyes off of Him and focus on the outward things around us only, we become a slave to our fears and emotions. So while we wait for His return, let’s spend more time with the lover of our soul. As we remain in close intimacy with Christ, fear departs!

Mercy Me

Grace Gift
Mercy

Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
--Matthew 5:7

To be merciful.

To be kind.

 To be tender.

To be compassionate.

Is that how I want to be toward others?

 Is that how I want others to be toward me?

 Is that how I really am to those around me?

Making Memories

Grace Gift
Good Food, Good Friends, Good Fellowship

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

I can’t think of anything I like better than sitting around a campfire with people I love. So I was thrilled last night as we went to our very first campfire of Autumn with John and Teresa and Terrie and Rick.

I love that campfires welcome you just the way you are, clad in grubby clothes, hair wild from the wind and  no make-up to be seen. None of that matters. Just pull up a log, sit yourself down, and be enveloped in the coziness of wood-smoke, crackling flames, and good company.

Not texting, not tweeting, not updating our Facebook statuses; talking. Telling stories, rehashing memories, laughing. A campfire  tightens bonds.


Dreamily mesmerized by the dancing flames, feeling like the luckiest people on the planet.
Talking about our Jesus.............

Roasting hot dogs................. 

 roasting marshmallows...................

For some, this was their first time at making s'mores........

Watching the International Space Station flying overhead......

Hey, John, all the times I've posted to you about the times the ISS will fly over our homes.... tonight, we got to actually watch it together.

 

Thank You, Lord for good food, good friends and good fellowship.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26