Month: May 2023

Learning to Be God-Confident

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

During my growing up years, I was shy and so introverted that I often hid away while others socialized. After I got married, I started becoming more confident, first as a wife and then as a mother. I was confident in my ability to make meals, organize schedules and to also teach if the opportunity presented itself. Now, as I am growing older, I am no longer very confident in my own abilities because my body frequently betrays me. I think I am going to walk from point A to point B with no problems but I stumble and fall along the way. God is teaching me to be God-confident, with total dependence on Him to get me where He wants me to go and to do what He wants me to do. I may be getting weaker but God wants me to know that He is getting stronger within me as I let go of my own self-dependence.

It’s an awesome thing to know that I can completely rely on God. There is no fear or anxiety in being God-confident because my heart tells me that He is steadfast and that He will take care of all of my burdens that I have tried to carry all alone.

When Gideon was called to rescue Israel from the Midianites, his first response was that his tribe was too small and he himself was too weak. God doesn’t need people who are powerful and mighty. He needs those who are submitted to Him and committed to making a difference right where they are.

God wanted Gideon to stop looking at what he didn’t have and to take a close look at Who was fighting for him. He wanted Gideon to be God-confident. When we trust in our own abilities, we may fail (and often do), but when we trust in God, confident in His power and willingness to carry out His plan, then there is no way we can fail. If you want to be a winner in all of the challenges that life hurls at you, one of the first steps is to learn to be God-confident!

Encourage Each Other

On By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture2 Comments

The Holy Bible exhorts us to encourage each other in multiple verses. Here are a couple of them.

We can encourage each other that Christ has preceded us in death and is waiting for us in Heaven. So, we should be encouraging each other to keep on working for Him and His kingdom, to continue to stand for what is right in the face of rampant evil and to defend our faith when others mock or scoff at our beliefs.

No one except God Himself knows when Jesus is returning. But we do have the promise that He is, so we need to meet with other believers and encourage each other that Jesus’s return is a fact, not a myth as some would have us believe. It will happen! We may or may not live to see His return, but His return will occur in God’s time and that truth should encourage each of us and lead us to encourage others.

We aren’t just on this earth to form a little clique of believers, encouraging each other and separating ourselves from the ungodly until Jesus comes. We are in the world to serve others, just as Jesus did. Being kind and encouraging others should be a way of life, especially for the Christian. You may be the only “Jesus” that that other person ever sees, so show someone you care by taking the time to be present with them and be the one that they can talk to, hold on to and depend on. Encourage the unbelievers, too.

Don’t Be Afraid

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

Did you know that the Bible has verses about fear for each day of the year? Yes, 365 times, the Holy Bible tells us not to be afraid and what to do if we are.

Looking around at all that is happening in today’s world, it’s hard not to be anxious. In our study of Revelation at church and then again in my devotional today, I have decided to cling to this verse. I may never be persecuted or thrown into prison or face the death of a martyr. But, if it happens, God has already given me the answer. DON’T BE AFRAID. I don’t know how to interpret the entire verse, whether the ten days is literal or not or whether the church as a whole will suffer great persecution. But what I do know is that God says not to be afraid and that we will receive from Him the crown of life. What is that? It’s the eternal rest with Him that awaits us after our sojourn on earth has ended. However we die, whenever we die, I think that everyone has an element of fear because death is an unknown. But God tells us not to be afraid. Jesus went before us and conquered the last enemy, death, so that we should not be afraid of death but we know that on the other side, the Lord waits for us to give us eternity with Him.

So, this verse seems to be almost a paradox. God tells us not to be afraid but David says in the Psalms when I am afraid. He doesn’t use the word “if” that has the connotation that it may or may not happen. He uses the conjunction “when” denoting that is will happen. And when it does, David has already determined that he will put his trust in God. I think that is good advice for all of us. We need to determine in advance that when we are fearful, we will put our trust in God. God is our stable anchor in a storm-tossed sea and He is the One who places us on solid ground. That is a verse to hold on to…facing death as a martyr? I don’t have that train ticket yet because God hasn’t given it to me, but if I need it, He will provide it and I am confident that He will be with me through whatever the future holds. Like David, I will trust in God.

Blossoming Under His Mighty Hand

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

My husband is an avid gardener. His passion is for his vegetables, but a few years ago, he planted a beautiful flower garden right outside the window where I sit. It started with a rose bush and a few irises. It has since grown to multiple rose bushes, lots of irises, azalea bushes and seasonal flowers that he hangs for my enjoyment. Recently, he added a hummingbird plant to attract the little creatures that I enjoy watching. My husband takes joy in my pleasure of looking out to see the garden. My mobility is limited and my allergies keep me inside, but his love helps me to enjoy God’s beautiful creation.

My husband is the caretaker of the flowers, but we both know that God is the one who helps them grow and flourish. So when things happen that are unexpected, the challenges in life that throw curveballs my way, I only have to sit in my chair and look out the window to be reminded of how much God cares. My faith has grown in this season of testing (of the medical variety, mostly), and I have learned to lean hard into God, knowing that He loves me even more than my beloved spouse does. I can see the evidence of Harry’s love and God’s each time I glance out the window…it makes me stronger to face whatever the day brings. Harry lovingly transports me to all of my appointments and God stays with me throughout all of the procedures. They have a pretty good partnership going and I’m blessed to be the recipient of all of that love. In fact, like the flowers, I blossom under the mighty hand of God, the One that shows me through the kindness of my husband how much He (and he) cherish me. My faith grows and my thankful heart overflows with gratitude.

I sincerely hope that you see flowers in your life today and remember that God put them there for you to enjoy and to remind you that He is faithful. The answers are coming…just wait for the blossoms to unfold!

Devoted to Prayer

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Prayer, as most of us know, is simply having a conversation with God. But what does it mean to be “devoted to prayer”? If you look up the word “devoted” in a dictionary, it means loyalty, strong affection or dedication. Prayer should be something that we do daily, all day long and we should miss it if we neglect to do it. Some synonyms of “dedicated” are constant and steadfast. Prayer isn’t something that we practice occasionally; it is a habit that we need to get into so that we are establishing a close relationship with our Heavenly Father. Those of you who are married know that your relationship with. your spouse would not last very long if you never communicated or even if you only talked to each other occasionally. The foundation of a strong relationship is communication and prayer is communicating with God and then giving Him time to communicate with you.

When we pray, our minds should be alert, watching for the enemy’s attack. For me, that usually comes in the form of distracting me away from prayer to something else. We also have to be discerning as we pray, alert and watchful to what God is doing. We should not assume that God will answer our prayers in our way and on our timetable. We need to watch for Him to act on our behalf and be ready to adapt to the way and time in which He is answering our call.

Finally, we are to be thankful, recognizing that there is nothing we are, nothing we have, nothing that has any meaning to us that did not come from God. Our prayers should begin with adoration for who God is and end with thankfulness for all that He has done and is doing. Again, relate this to your human relationships. If you are never thankful to the person with whom you spend the most time, are they likely to want to continue to spend time with you? Everyone wants to be appreciated, not just for what they do for us but for who they are in our lives and how much they mean to us. God wants to be appreciated because He wants to establish a close relationship with us, for us to know Him intimately just as He knows us.

Today is the National Day of Prayer. As you pray today, may you remember to be devoted, alert and thankful.

The answers to prayers come, in God’s time, but remember that He is constantly guiding and restoring you. So, be thankful for His presence in your life.

Be on Guard

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

I have found that as I am aging, I am less alert, especially as the day wanes. I don’t sleep well at night so I try to nap daily for about an hour, but then by about 7-8 at night, I am ready for bed again. That’s not to say that resting is not a good thing. But I need to make sure that when I am awake, I need to be fully alert to attacks from the enemy. These attacks come in the form of doubt, my temper being aroused and irritability towards anyone who is nearby.

The attacks that you suffer may not be the same as mine, but they will come nevertheless because that is what our enemy does. He attacks when we seem to be vulnerable. That’s why we put on the full armor and keep it on! When we are alert and clearheaded, we can recognize the attacks for what they are and stand firm in our faith, being the person God wants us to be to represent Him to others. Sleep is necessary, of course, but not when you are supposed to be on guard duty!

Slow Me Down

On By vickleaIn Poem, prayer, Quotation and Citations, Scripture3 Comments

Slow Me Down, Lord!

By Wilferd A. Peterson (August 21, 1900 – June 2, 1995)

Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me,
Amidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music Of the singing streams
That live in my memory.

Help me to know
The magical power of sleep,
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations Of slowing down
To look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend Or make a new one;
To pat a stray dog;
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life Than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life’s enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my greater destiny.

I have a small plaque of this poem that my husband and children gave me about three decades ago. It hangs in my bathroom next to the sink, a place where I can see it each day if I choose to take the time to look at it. Lately, I have been seeing it a lot, first out of the corner of my eye, then taking it down and reading it carefully and finally, taking the time to read and think about what it is saying to me. This life that we live on earth goes fast. We are only here for a season and then we are gone, leaving footprints behind on the hearts of others. At least, that is our hope. I want to leave a footprint that says that I loved well and that I was well loved. I want to leave memories of activities together and laughter that we shared. I want to enjoy the moments, days, years that I have left on this earth making a difference in the lives of those whom I know best and love best. I can only do that if I slow down and take time to just be.

The world says to rush around and work hard each hour of each day so that you can make more money to buy more things. But Wisdom says to listen, to understand how quickly life passes and how important it is to take the time to be with God, to be with those you love. That is why we need to slow down, so that we can appreciate what we have and be grateful to the Father who gives us all things.

Review of WHEN THE RAIN ENDS by Mary Ellen Taylor

On By vickleaIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

About the Book:

Format

335 pages, PaperbackExpected publication

May 1, 2023 by MontlakeISBN

9781542034531 (ISBN10: 1542034531)Language

English

My Review:

This is a poignant and heart-tugging story of a mother and a daughter and the other people who touch their lives at a vulnerable time. Dani Peterson is losing her vision. Her husband died four months before the story begins and Dani is struggling to find her footing with their pre-teen daughter Bella. Bella was very close to Matthew and is having a hard time with her grief. When Dani decides to leave her beautiful home on the Outer Banks to move inland to a farmhouse in Virginia, Bella is less than thrilled and her anxiety comes out in mini-rebellions against her mom. Dani decides to send Bella to a grief camp and that camp and dealing with grief is a central focus of the story. Bella makes a new friend, Reggie, at the camp and gradually learns to do the activities without too much difficulty. Both Dani and Bella are dealing with terrible losses—Dani, her vision, and Bella, her beloved father. Both of them have to come to terms with their love for each other as well as letting new people into their circle. The mother-daughter relationship is in the center of the well-woven and intricate plot, but there are so many developing relationships as Dani establishes a new home and a new business in a new place. There are also the farewells that have to take place, the letting go that is never easy and the author portrays well the grief that lingers and overtakes you when you least expect it. The plot moves at a good pace for the content, neither too fast nor too slow, but ebbing like the tide that rolls in and out. The characters are well-developed and likable, dynamically portrayed as they grow from bitterness and anger towards acceptance and moving on. I enjoyed every part of reading this book and was sad when the story ended, but I’m delighted to report that it is one of my top books for the year, with all of the emotion that can be packed into the pages of a really good book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Rated PG
From the author’s website at http://www.maryellentaylor.com

Please go to the author’s website above for an excerpt from this amazing book and other reviews.

Purchase Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books A Million

Indiebound

From the publisher

Let’s Start the Month with Praise

On By vickleaIn praise, Scripture, Song, Video2 Comments

This verse is short but filled with wisdom and a call to praise God. We are praising Him not for what He has done for us but for Who He is. I hope that you will join me today, pause and just reflect on Who God is…His names and His greatness.

Great Is the Lord-Michael W. Smith

How Great Is Our God

Awesome God-Michael W. Smith

Note: Please excuse the ads in the worship videos above. And enjoy the praise time!