This is my meditation verse for the day;  praying for Israel.  This prayer is not something I take lightly.  Indeed, it is very serious.  Israel is being attacked by enemies from all sides.  That is their physical reality.  But the prayer I am referring to is for their salvation.  I want God to open their eyes to the reality that their Messiah has come and is ready to forgive them.  I hope that you will join me in this important prayer.  Israel is and has been God’s chosen from the time He chose Abraham.  As the people who make up the church of believers, it is our privilege to pray for God’s chosen.  Please pray for the people of Israel to be saved.  Paul prayed long ago; let us join our prayer with his and then wait expectantly for God to act and draw His people to salvation.

 

Okay, so this is a hard topic for me to tackle, but it seems to be where God is leading me today.  I must first confess that I have a tendency to want to always put in my two cents, in person and online.  Well, God has been dealing with me about that lately.  Feelings have been hurt, there is a rift in the family and I am now listening to God’s still small voice when He tells me just to be quiet.  I am trusting that He is working to straighten everything out, but it is certainly hard to wait.

Since I do not want to be considered a fool in the eyes of the Lord, I have been letting go of anger and bitterness and just letting God handle things. That means, for me, that I am not just telling everyone exactly what I think.  My grandmother used to call that “giving someone a piece of my mind.”  I’m at an age now when I need all the pieces of my mind, and I know after many years of experience that it means that I am  responsible not only for my words and actions but also for my thoughts.  So, once again, I am trusting God to work things out without my help.  In fact, in the past when I tried to help, it didn’t work out so well.  So, time to take a step back and see what God can do!

This is where I am now, choosing a path and the current path is one of silence and waiting.  I know that He is able!  I hope that wherever you are that you have come to the same conclusion that I have…God will show you the path to take if you just seek Him.  Have a blessed day and may the Lord direct your steps.

 

This was my meditation verse this morning.  My circumstances have been challenging lately, but God reminded me that His love is still there for me to rest upon.  One writer put it that His love is like a pillow.  I have a favorite pillow that I use each time I lie down.  It is comfortable and just seems to hold my head and neck in positions that allow me to sleep all night.  That is what God’s love is like…a pillow that I can just rest on and give up all of my problems.  I can just rest, knowing that God is faithful and His love will always be there for me.

So, believing in God’s great love, I must then also believe that He is working on my behalf to make everything turn out okay.  He loves me so much that He wants good things for me.  This truth makes me ponder about how many times I have doubted God and basically said like a little child, “I can do it by myself.”  The Lord’s gentle response was that He would let me try, and then He held me when I failed and cried over my failure.  And He would always remind me that He is working out a plan in my life if I will just let Him.  He will always be there for me even when I am demanding to do things my way…He just knows a better way because of His great love for me.

I am one who likes to always be in control, so I don’t like it when circumstances are out of my control.  That has been the case lately, so I needed to be reminded of this scripture.  No circumstances can separate me from the love of God.  Not anything!  So, I can rest in His love and His reassurance to me, “Vickie, just rest.  I’ve got this.  I’m working on your behalf and I love you.”  That’s a big WOW from me.  The God who created the Universe loves me enough to tell me that He is taking care of the small details of my life.

Now that I have been convinced once again of God’s love for me, what am I to do?  I am supposed to put His love for others into practice.  God doesn’t love me just so I can sit back on the pillow of His love and just recline until Jesus returns.  Nope!  He expects me to get busy sharing His love with others.  My blog is one way of doing that, but I also need to show love to all with whom I come in contact.  You know, there are a lot of needy people in the world who have never had the chance to hear about and receive the great love that is theirs freeely, just for believing in Christ.  So, as I go about my errands today, I am praying for the opportunity to share and bless others with the love of God.  That’s what matters…His love that never ends and that flows out from me to others.  God is so good!

 

Do you ever plan to do or say one thing and the next thing you know, you are doing exactly what you were trying to avoid or saying what you know you shouldn’t?  That is me, a lot of the time, honestly.  And do you know you pushes my buttons the most and I react too quickly for my own spiritual good?  My spouse, of course!  After forty-five years together, he still knows how to upset me.  But I am figuring out that he can’t push my buttons unless I let him.  I sin because I am still a sinner, saved by God’s grace.  I am being saved from sin daily and sometimes I make wrong choices and have to turn around (again), repent, and then start moving forward.  I know that I belong to Jesus, so there is no condemnation.  There is, however, the Holy Spirit, nudging me to make things right and not to hold a grudge.  Sometimes I get so frustrated with myself because I can feel the anger or bitterness burning inside me, and I know that I should be talking to the Lord right then, not spouting off like an uncontrolled fountain at my spouse.  I am getting better, but I am not “there” yet.  I just know that I am God’s child and I don’t want Him to be disappointed in me.  So I keep going back to the altar of repentance.  Is that something you need to do today?  Salvation is only found in Jesus.  There is no condemnation to those who are His children.  Isn’t that good news?  Moving forward is much better than looking and going backwards…you make more progress in your Christian walk that way.

Have a blessed and forward-moving day!

We came back home on Saturday and my heart misses these little ones so much already.  I played with Penny in her play room and in her bedroom.  She enjoys playing that she is a superhero and has the costume to make it all the more real to her.  Little Evie is a doll baby; she still likes to eat, sleep and poop because she is such a small baby, but she is starting to smile a lot and laugh a little.  It’s always hard to come home, knowing that it will be months before I see them again, but the visit was a good one, with lots of good memories to last me a long time.  Isn’t that just what life is about?  Making memories?  I hope that you make some good ones today!

Next week you will not find me posting on my blog because I have a very important visit that I will be making. Because of all of our moves with the military, our children are scattered. Thus, we don’t get to see our grandchildren as often as I would like, but I am blessed to be able to see them three or four times per year. One of those times will be next week, s visit with two of our distant granddaughters. So, no blogging. But lots of hugs, kisses, playing and holding tight. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see the part of my heart that I will be with next week. Evie is three months and Penny is three. So off I go! Don’t forget me while I’m gone…I will still need your thoughts and prayers. Have a blessed and safe week!

Everywhere we look there are people searching for someone or something that they can truly count upon.  Many of them never think to look to God.  They count their money or they look at their homes or relationships with other people, but what they really need is a relationship with God.  People are fallible; inevitably, they will fall short of your expectations of them.  Things disappear; money is all used up or the house is depreciating.  Even gold and other precious metals have values that fluctuate.  But God never changes.  He is eternal; His faithfulness is everlasting and His mercies are new every morning.  Some days it is harder for me to remember this than others, but God gently reminds me that He is always there for me.  He was right beside me when I heard the news of my mother’s death.  He was next to me when my son put his arm through a glass window.  He was with me when a truck ran into us on the way to Bible study.  He has been with me each and every time my husband was deployed and I was left alone in a new place.  No matter what I was going through, God was right there.  His Holy Spirit comforted me, guided me, and showed me God’s love.  This peace, this knowing that you are not ever alone, is what I want for my family members, for my readers, for everyone in the world actually.  To know that every day you start new with God.  He doesn’t hold grudges or turn His back on you because of yesterday’s mistakes.  I am so thankful for His love and presence with me.  I want that for each of you who is reading this little missive.  Take the time today to thank God for His faithfulness and never-ending mercy.

One of my favorite hymns tells of God’s faithfulness and mercies.  I hope that you enjoy it, too, and recognize that Jesus is the Lord of your life and wants to be with you every day, through every trial.  Your hope is in Him and His name because He is faithful and true.

Every day that I wake up to a new morning with the Lord is a blessing to me.  You see, after I had my stroke about three and a half years ago, I did not know if I would see another morning.  So, I am blessed to be alive and blessed to be able to share how God has changed my life.  I cannot imagine that people wake up every day, look around at the beautiful world that God has given us to enjoy and not believe in Him. Science is one thing, but faith is something totally different.  It comes from the mind and the heart.  It means that you acknowledge that there is a Being greater than you and more powerful and knowledgeable than all the scientists in the world, One who started this whole thing rolling, with His words.  Over and over again in the book of Genesis, it is stated that God said and it was.  God said, for example, “Let there be light” and there was light.  How awesome is that!  No technology or gadget we have today in our modern world can out-do God.  He is awesome, and all you have to do is look around.  Have an open mind, let God fill those questioning spaces with His Spirit, see with a new perspective, and worship!  Your days will start better if you start it with worship…and your eternity will hold more promise, too!

To start you out on your road to worship, here is one of my favorite worship songs sung by a new, young artist.  I hope that you enjoy and that you will look around and worship!

Thanks to Teen, Meet God for nominating me for this award!  She is one amazing young lady who loves the Lord and shows it daily in her blogs.  I would love it (and she probably wouldn’t mind either if you checked out her blog.

The creator of the Mystery Blogger Award is Okoto Enigma (Okoto Enigma).  She created it for bloggers that inspire, motivate and captivate!

Here are the rules:

1.  Thank whoever nominatedYes you and include a link to their blog.

2.  Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.

3.  Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

4.  Answer the questions from the person who nominated you.

5.  Nominate 5-10 bloggers you feel deserve the award.

6.  Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice with one weird or funny one.

7.   Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.

Three random facts about me:

1.  I have been happily married to my spouse for 45 years.  He is retired from the military and we moved 25 times, along with our three wonderful children.
2. I was a Spanish teacher for 34 years in 11 different states.
3. I have a Master’s Degree in education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Here are Teen’s questions and my replies:

1.  Do you have any pets?  

Yes, I have a ginger cat named Daisy.  She is an extraordinary cat because she knows how to sit and big for treats.

2.  Where do you go to be alone?

I go into my bedroom.  I have a small recliner next to my bed that I can sit in.

3.  What is your salvation testimony?

I was 21 years old and on 555.  my own in my first apartment in a small town in Virginia.  I usually arrived home at the same time as the next-door neighbor, a sweet woman a little older than I was who always greeted me with a smile and asked how my day was.  One day, she asked me if I knew Jesus as my Savior.  I didn’t so she told me about him, gave me a Bible (The Way) to read and told me to read the book of John.  I read the Gospel of John later that night and then, being convicted of my sins, I fell to my knees beside my bed and asked Jesus to be my Savior.  I told Verna (my neighbor) the next day and she invited me to her church.  There, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and then baptized in water.  I have been serving Jesus to the best of my ability for 45 years now.

4.  What landscape do you enjoy the most?

I like mountains because I was raised in avalley with mountains not far away.  One of my brothers lives in Colorado and I was blessed to be able to visit him there many years ago.  I will never forget the plane flying over the Rocky Mountains!  They are the most beautiful mountain range that I have ever seen!

5.  Funny, weird question:  If you could insert yourself into any Bible story, what would it be and why?

I would want to be a guest at the wedding at which Jesus did His first miracle, that of turning water into wine.  Just to live in the actual time that Jesus lived and walk the streets that He walked…Oh, my, that brings tears to my eyes!

Here are my nominees:

Bellesmoma16

Odd and Bookish

Reveuse

Sojourners on Earth

Becoming His Tapestry

You all have amazing blogs that are uplifting and that I can learn from as I read them.  Just a note:  Participation is voluntary, but so much fun, if you choose to do so.

Here are my questions for my nominees:

1.  If you could live any where in the world, where would it be and why?

2.  If you could totally wipe away one sin from the world, what would it be?

3.  What do  you think is your greatest achievement in your life?

4.  What color would you paint the grass if it could not be green? (My weird question)

5.  Which person in history other than Jesus would you like to meet?  What would you say to him/her?

Thanks to all of my readers for reading and commenting on my blog.  You encourage me daily.  And thanks especially to my Lord Jesus who strengthens me daily and gives me the grace and mercy to keep on living.