I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
From the Holy Bible
Sometimes, in the midst of trials or challenges, we just have to take time to remember all that God has already done for us and give Him the glory. It is in the remembering that our faith is built up again and we are then able to press onward with Him through the valley and back again to the mountaintop.
I pray daily, throughout the day. Some days my prayer is a whisper, a hopeful murmuring to the Lord. Other days, my prayer is intense. Yesterday was a day of intense prayer as our grandson was traveling alone to D.C. to start his new internship there. But his trip was delayed due to car troubles, so he ended up having to travel at night. So, my husband and I prayed that God would work out things with the car and get him there safely. God came through for Isaac as he left about 6 p.m., arrived at 9 and missed a lot of the awful traffic on the beltway. Sigh of relief and praise of thanksgiving that he arrived safely in spite of all of the obstacles. Of course, prayers will continue for him and our other loved one in the days ahead. I must admit that sometimes I am ashamed of how little confidence I have that God will answer my prayers. I pray, wait for an answer and hope that it will come but I am not surprised when the answer is delayed or doesn’t take the form that I thought it would. There is a prayer in scripture that addressed that for me this morning.
Knowing that God is the source of hope helps me to trust in His sovereignty. My confidence is in His answering in His timing and in a way that is best for all concerned. Look at the powerful words in this verse: joy, peace, trust, overflow and confident hope. This is a verse that I need to personalize daily and pray over myself as I come before the Lord and present my thanksgiving and petitions. Today, I pray this prayer for each of my readers, with the confident hope that God will completely fill you with His joy and peace as you trust in Him.
When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He reminded the disciples that He would always be with them. He continues to remind us of that today, but we have to take the time to be with Him.
Jesus only spoke of two commandments and both were about love. Love God and love your neighbor. He is with us as we fulfill those commandments and as we spend time with Him seeking the ways we should be showing love to God and to others.
I think that my alone time with God, reading His Word, praying and singing, is the most important part of my day. It sets the tone for the day and allows me to speak freely to God as I go through whatever challenges the day may present. Jesus, God’s own Son, spent time praying to His Father. Following His example, we should feel compelled to spend time with the Lord, not just telling Him our problems, but listening for His solutions and encouragement. Ok;.;.;.;
If you look up, you can see the sky and the clouds, the sun, moon and stars. God made all of them. If you look down, you can see the grass, flowers, trees all of the living creatures. God made all of them. How can anyone deny the existence of God when everything around us shows us His loving care? Even the rain that can be a nuisance when you have planned a beach trip is from God’s loving providence. The rain that annoys you makes the food in the fields grow. I am ever grateful for God’s creation and the way He has set an order to everything. I have only to look around me to see the proof of God’s loving kindness and tender care.
“Be the light!” the preacher proclaims from the pulpit. “Shine in the darkness,” says the Sunday school teacher. All good advice, but the practicality sometimes escapes us as we hurry away from the darkness and try to stay near the light ourselves. We are missing the point that we are the light and in our haste to move away from darkness, we are missing opportunities to shine His light on a dark world.
We try to stay insulated in our protected group of Christians who all believe as we do when what we are supposed to do is go into the world and shine the light that we have on the people who don’t yet know that they need Jesus. When we are doing what we should be doing, we are going to naturally attract others and need to have an answer for the hope that is in us. Be ready at all times to tell others how Jesus has made a difference in your life! Like a moth is attracted to a flame or any kind of light, so people in darkness need to know that there is a light that they can turn to. At the most unexpected times and from some of the most unexpected sources, you may have people seeking answers from you because they have seen your light and want to know more about what makes you different. Be ready to be that light!
The light that is in us comes from the Lord Jesus. When darkness is all around, we can continue to shine and attract others to the beauty of salvation and the peace and hope that it offers.
Are you a fan of lots of blankets? Snuggling down into the warm comfort and resting securely? One of my children used to have a “security blanket” that he carried everywhere. Ragged and threadbare from so much laundering, it was barely a blanket, yet still he carried it, holding it up to his nose and wrapping it around his little neck. I don’t recall when he finally gave up “Blankie” but I do remember being sad at the passing of an innocent age when he thought that the blanket he carried and wore would surround him with security.
We can all have that security today if we just accept that God promises it. It’s not a totem we carry around or wear. It’s not a Bible verse that we memorize and cite each time we need God’s presence (although that is certainly helpful). It is just an awareness of how much God loves you and the feeling that He has His arms wrapped around you.
I had a scary incident happen last week. I was sitting in my recliner getting ready to read when the vision in my right eye went all wonky. It was blurry and wavy, and at the same time I got a tremendous sense of vertigo. I called for my husband, but he couldn’t hear me, so I carefully made my way to the bedroom, told him what was happening, and we prayed. I then proceeded to go to bed. I lay there in the dark for quite a while, with the room spinning around me and my vision in that one eye blurry. I fell asleep for a few hours and when I awakened and got up to go to the bathroom, I was still dizzy and my vision was still weirdly unfocused. So, back to bed I went and prayed and praised God as I drifted back to sleep. The next morning, I seemed fine. On Monday, I called my retina eye specialist, whom I had just seen the day before the incident. The triage team called me back, asked me a lot of questions and told me that if it happens again, I should call the on-call doctor and go to the ER. I also let my cardiologist know, in case there was some kind of reaction to my medication. And, finally, I alerted my neurologist in case the whole thing was a brain glitch. The neurologist called me a few days later and said he is concerned about my blood vessels in my brain so he wants me to have an MRA. I had already had an MRI, CT Scan, EEG and EMG, but apparently an MRA looks at only the blood vessels to see if there is something going on that shouldn’t be. The test is all scheduled now and I think the doctor must have put in an urgent request because it’s on June 12th, only a few weeks away. (I waited months for some of the other tests to be done.) Anyway, I wrote all of that so that you know that I know that I am covered. Is it scary each morning when I awaken and I don’t know whether my eyes will be focused and my head will be spinning? I would be lying if I said it isn’t a little tense for me. But I awaken each day as always, praising God that I slept and woke up again and I go through my day with the praise on my lips that God is taking care of me, regardless of what happens. Am I thrilled to undergo another test and have an unknown possibly happening in my brain? No, of course not! But I know that I cannot learn trust by having everything be nice and smooth in my life, so a few bumps are to be expected as I press in closer to God.
God is sheltering me and He has already provided my protection in His Word. I have to stand on it and believe that He is working it all out for His glory. So, I am covered, not with a security blanket that I can hold in my hands but with one that I hold close to my heart.
I really dislike when I am in a public place and someone starts berating another person, giving them a hard time loudly enough that those around them cannot help but overhear. I would like to think that the person berating the other one apologizes later and the rift that occurred gets healed. I’m not sure that is always the case though, and that saddens me. A heart was hurt that could have been encouraged. In teaching high school students for many years, it was a common sight to see the kids “dis” each other. When I would say something about it, the reply was inevitably that they were just jokin’ or kiddin’ around. I generally tried to remind them that the heart is not something that is easily mended but it is easily broken. Some were open and either did not criticize their peers in front of me or they dropped the habit. I would like to hope for the latter.
In this day and age when everyone has an opinion that they want to share with you, it is refreshing to hear kind words. Even when they are not addressed to me, I love to hear them. It stirs something deep within me to hear a wife say that she loves the tie her husband chose or that his new pants fit him well. I enjoy hearing parents tell their children what a good job they did listening and paying attention. I am often sitting quietly in church as I wait for the service to start and it’s heartwarming to see most of the interactions. Kindness is abundant and cheerfulness is apparent. I wish that this attitude would go out the church doors with everyone and into the grocery stores, the restaurants and other public places. Kind words are not just needed in church; they are needed everywhere, at all times. Our words matter and kindness counts, when we least expect it and in ways that we can only imagine. In a busy and hurrying world, take time to be kind and watch faces smile and hearts cheer up!
God showers us with blessings and sometimes in our ignorance of what He is doing, we put up an umbrella or run for shelter. Instead, we need to be in touch with what God’s plan is and accept the kindness, wisdom and understanding that He is giving us. Stand under the shower, don’t run away from it!
Just when I was beginning to think that I was on the mountaintop, looking down into the valleys of all my trials and worries, a new medical test comes along, and boom! There I am, calling out to God for help to get through this one. I awakened a lot during the night, knowing that my EMG is early this morning. Each time, God would bring a praise song to my mind and I would drift back to sleep. It doesn’t help my state of mind that I have had this test before, know that it’s uncomfortable and takes about an hour of pins and electric shocks, simultaneously. Nevertheless, I am trusting God to get me through it without tears of anguish and frustration. The last time I had the test was over eight years ago, after my stroke, so I don’t recall a lot, just the pain and the feeling that it was taking a long time. I think a “long time” is relative when you are in pain that is being dealt out by a machine in the hands of a technician who gently says that it will be slightly uncomfortable. But, just as God has been with me through all the other tests, He will walk with me through this one, too. It reminds me of the wilderness experience of the Israelites. God took them through the wilderness, not around it. So, through this trial I go and I am confident that I will come out the other side, more compassionate for others going through tedious and painful medical procedures.
Fixing my thoughts on God helped me sleep during the night, so I know that fixing my thoughts on Him will help me get through the pain of electricity coursing through my body. Honestly, childbirth does hurt more, so there is that. And I know that my Lamaze breathing helped the last time I had the test done, so I will take deep breaths and with each inhale, I will say a prayer of thanksgiving that I am able to have the test done and a prayer that the test will show what the doctors need to know.
I think that peace comes as a result of prayers, so I am wearing my full armor today, including the shoes on my feet that come from the peace of God’s Good News. As He continues to remind me, nothing will happen to me today that He and I cannot handle together!
Generosity is, of course, associated with giving. And most people then go on to assume that giving has to be money. But that is not an accurate assumption. God has given us many talents and brings them to the forefront when we become Christians. I think the Lord does that because He wants us to use our strengths, our talents if you will, to serve others. I may not (and I don’t) have a lot of money. But what I do have is a love of God to share with others. I have a talent for teaching, so working with children in Children’s Church is a good fit for me. Sometimes, I have to step out of my comfort zone to share something the Lord has shown me to others. But I am called to tell, not to remain silent. So, generosity takes the form of whatever you have to share. For my husband, it is his bountiful harvest of vegetables, especially tomatoes. He also shares his gift of growing things with me as he has planted a gorgeous flower garden outside my window in the den. He takes vegetables to our church group to share and to our children when we visit them. He shares his love for the earth and all it produces when we visit our daughter and he spends long hours tilling, planting and fencing in the garden for her. That is what I mean by active generosity. When the grandchildren look out the window and see Grandpa lying on the ground putting tiny seeds in rows, they are amazed that he spends hours scooting along the ground to plant. Then, many months later, they enjoy the peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes he planted for them. His diligence is rewarded with fruit that he never sees or tastes, but he knows that he has left behind food for a family that we love dearly.
As you think about this Scripture, think about ways you can be generous. What legacy can you leave behind that is not money? We have so many good things that Jesus has given us…let’s share them with others.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 