Does God Answer All Prayers? Why Some Prayers Seem Unanswered
Does God Answer All Prayers? Why Some Prayers Seem Unanswered
— Read on pastorunlikely.com/does-god-answer-all-prayers-why-some-prayers-seem-unanswered/
Month: November 2018
Thankfulness: An Attitude of Gratitude
I subscribe to daily devotional from Our Daily Bread and Devotionals Daily. These are the images that I received today, and I just want to share them with you in the hope that they will bless you as they have blessed me. Happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful every day!
Quips, Idioms and Lingo Tag
#Challenge
Here are the rules:
Come up with as many quips, idioms and weird sayings as you can think of. Comb or memory (or someone else’s) or the internet for old or new; or, make up your own!
Weave them into any kind of story–fiction, non-fiction, humorous, serious, thoughtful or fluff–to post on your blog.
Tag whoever you want to. Notify your tag.
Thank you mwsrwritings.com for nominating me. I will do my best to entertain you. It’s a fun idea and tag, but I’m not sure that I can do it very well.
Thanksgiving Meal
Well, it’s here! Thanksgiving Day! It’s time for a big parade (on the TV, of course) and for the men in the family to relax and watch some football. And what will I be doing? I will be preparing for the big meal, in the kitchen, of course! To everything there is a season and this is the season to be in the kitchen cooking, for a while. So, first thing to do is make a pie. I will sort through the apples to make sure there is not a rotten apple in the bunch. Who wants to make a pie with rotten apples? Then, peel, cut, dice, season, put in the pie crust and bake. I want to make a pecan pie, too, but those nuts are a tough nut to crack with my old arthritic hands. So, apple and pumpkin pies it is!
Next, it is time to make the turkey. I’m so glad that it’s a relatively new one and not a tough old bird that I have to wash and season. Oh, yeah! And I have to remember to take out the innards. I forgot that one year and there was quite a smell in the kitchen! I have to add salt of the earth to the bird that everyone else will eat. I can’t have salt on my food, so I use other seasonings. I want everyone’s turkey to be finger lickin’ good.
Finally, I know I have to make a cake because we plan on celebrating my husband’s birthday while our son and his family are here. With pies, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce, and turkey, it’ s hard to believe that I still have to put icing on the cake. But our granddaughter Iris loves to lick off the icing, so I might as well get that done for her benefit.
Once all of the cooking is done, the family will arrive, the table will be set (with paper plates of course), and we will all sit down to eat. All of the food is just a drop in the bucket for all of the things that we have to be thankful for this year. Don’t forget to say thanks for all of God’s blessings! “God bless us, every one!” And God bless my readers on this special day set aside to enjoy family time and to thank God!
I nominate:
Please do not feel obligated to participate, but if you have time and think it would be fun, I hope you do.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
An Image and Quotation Worth Sharing
Today in my devotional from the YouVersion of the Bible, this quotation was shared from Watchman Nee:
“Our prayers lay the track down [on] which God’s power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails.”
Image from unsplash.com
Image from merriamwebsterccom:
Think about these images the next time you are praying! I was blessed by this quotation and hope that you will be, too.
Christmas To Do List…
Christmas To Do List…
— Read on sunshinysasite.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/christmas-to-do-list/
3-2-1 Quote Me Challenge: HOPE
Thank you, Stuart, at stubaby777.wordpress.com for including me in this new 3.2.1. Quote Me Challenge. I sincerely appreciate it, especially since the word you have me is the name of our daughter.
The Rules of this challenge are as follows:
- Thank the Selector.
- Post 2 quotes for the dedicated topic of the day.
- Select 3 bloggers to take part in 3-2-1 Quote Me.
- Give them a topic/word.
The topic of the day which Stu gave me was HOPE!
Quote #1
Quote #2
Here are my nominees:
D Ettinger at ettingerwriting.wordpress.com
Gail Loves God at gaillovesgod.blog
Puzzles of the Sould at puzzlesofthesoul.wordpress.com
Note: Although this is the topic for today, there is no specific deadline for it, meaning that you can answer when you choose. My word of the day for you is PRAISE.
3-2-1 Quote Me Challenge: Justice
Thank you to Kathy Wire for nominating me for this quick and easy challenge. I am honored to participate.
Rules of the Challenge
Thank the selector.
Post two quotes for the dedicated topic of the day.
Select 3 bloggers to take part in 3-2-1 Quote Me!
Give them a topic or word.
The topic that Kathy gave me was “Justice.”
Thank you again, Kathy, for nominating me. I inclulded an extra quotation because I had another one to share! 🙂
My nominees are:
Christy Istrate at miraculoussmile.wordpress.com
Loved by the Kings of Kings at plantedbylivingwater.wordpress.com
Seriously Seeking Answers at seriouslyseekinganswers.com
My word for you is: holiness.
NOTE: Althought this is the topic for today, there is no specific deadline to it, meaning that you can answer when you choose. Of course, you are under no obligation to participate. 🙂
Our Shepherd
Most people are familiar with the 23rd Psalm, even if they know nothing else about the Bible. But have you really thought about what it means for God to be our Shepherd? Have you ever spent any time around sheep? They are really dumb animals, according to all who have raised them. They follow the lead sheep and may even follow it into danger if the shepherd or keeper isn’t there to stop them. They graze until the pastureland is desolate and won’t move until the shepherd moves them. Wait! Is that really dumb or is it obedient and cautious? After pondering the scriptures about God being our shepherd, I have decided that I want to be more like a sheep. I don’t want to go my own way or follow a wrong leader over a cliff that represents danger and bad times ahead for me. I want to depend on the Good Shepherd to lead me and to feed me daily from His Word, not to continue to graze in the old pasture that has dried up.
Did you know that the Scripture says in the book of Ezekiel that God will take care of His sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace? Awesome stuff, huh? God declares that He is our Shepherd. The sheep don’t have to do anything but accept that truth and allow Him to give us a place to rest in His peaceful presence. So often, we get caught up in running here and there, looking for God and what He wants us to do. But God is right there next to us, speaking in our ear to be still, to rest in Him and in His love.
If God says it, it’s true and He says He is our God. We are His people! Have you ever walked into a crowd, looking for someone you know? Then you see a group of your friends and you say, “There they are! Those are my people!” That’s what God says about us. He looks down on the earth, sees His followers and proclaims that we are His. Then, as our Shepherd, He keeps His eyes on us forever. There is nowhere we can go where God is not there. I thought for a while when I was living in the vast snowy land that is Maine that God had deserted me, but I found Him there each time I made a new friend, in my job that He gave me, in the crafts that I was able to do and bless others with. God was there; He had not moved away from me at all!
In the New Testament, Jesus calls Himself the good Shepherd. Furthermore, He tells us that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. I have been told that in some places, the shepherds let all of their sheep graze together. Then, when they need to bring their own sheep together for shearing or whatever, they need only walk through the field calling out for them. The sheep belonging to that farmer know his voice and follow him. Whether that is accurate or not, I know that the people who belong to the Lord will hear His voice clearly, recognize it and follow Him. I heard the Lord calling to me when I was alone in an apartment in Smithfield, Virginia, reading my Bible and discovering that He was my Savior. I heard Him comforting me when I had a stroke, encouraging me to live and to get stronger. I hear Him daily now when I spend time in His Word and pray. It is amazing to me that some do not think that they can hear the voice of the Lord in these times. If God isn’t speaking to you and you know that you have a relationship with Him, then go back to the last time you heard Him and wait for Him to speak to you again. I can assure you from experience that God didn’t go anywhere; He didn’t move away from you and He wants you to hear His voice.
I hope that you are all as blessed by this lovely hymn as I am. The scenery is beautiful and much to be admired. As you gaze at it, know that the God who created all of that wonder also created and loves you, just as you are. He is your Shepherd, and He wants to lead you to a place of rest and refreshing. Be blessed today with His presence!
Our Children
God creates everyone, so He has many children. Can you imagine His turning to one of His angels and saying, “That’s my kid!” I can, because I know how much He loves each of us, even those of us who have gone astray. Today, I want to tell you about our children, the three that we have that participated in our constant military moves and all of the changes that came to their lives as a result.
This is our lovely daughter Hope Ellen. She is beautiful inside and out. She is the mom of five of our grandchildren and she manages to homeschool all of them and keep her sanity. She is also a gracious lady who serves the Lord in her local church and throughout her community. I am so happy to say that she is a Christian through and through and is raising her children to serve the Lord. She is the one who rushed to my side when I had a stroke, leaving her husband in charge of the then four children and all of their activities. Unselfish to the core, this is Hope.
This is Scott James, our second born who has faced a lot of obstacles in his life. Told by a math teacher that he admired during his high school years that he needed to take a lower level of math, he just wasn’t suited for the difficult course that he was enrolled in, Scott persevered, passed that class and became a math teacher himself. I think that encounter with his teacher has given him a lot of empathy for those who do not understand math at all. Scott also has a ton of patience! He is pictured here with darling Iris, his “baby” who is autistic and non-verbal. Although we have prayed for years for total healing for her, that has not happened, yet she is still a joy to be around and I think part of that is the unconditional acceptance that her father offers her. He is also the father of a teen boy who has a lot of extracurricular activities that his father encourages and participates in.
This is our youngest, Steven Caleb, with his youngest. Like Scott, he is an amazing father. He is a stay-at-home dad who works from home and manages to spend a lot of quality time with his two children, Penny and Evie. He is an Associate Editor for Gamespot online and works hard daily reviewing games, editing stories, pitching stories and soothing Evie and Penny. It always amazes me how he lifts Penny into his arms in the middle of a meltdown and reasons with her. Cuddling her close, he continues to say softly, “Let me know when you are ready to talk.” Sniffling dramatically the three year old eventually responds to her father’s calm, loving actions and calms down.
So, why am I sharing these personal stories with you? Don’t you see yourself in each one? Hectic and rushed Hope, unselfishly rushing to the side of her very ill mother. Compassionate Scott taking the time to show others how competent they really are. And patient Steven calming down the child who is determined to have her way. Maybe you can also see the Heavenly Father in each of them. He is unselfish. After all, He gave us His Only Son to die for us. He is compassionate, seeing how weak we are and becoming our strength. And, oh, how patient God is, waiting for us to turn to Him and rejoicing with Heaven when we do! I am blessed to have three children to demonstrate to me the qualities of God.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 