Too Hard

I once taught a little guy in reading and math groups, who often spent the first two minutes of any test moaning, "This is to-oo-oo ha-a-ard!!" When he finally got started, he usually scored 100%.

Sometimes when I am going through a "test", I sit down to pray, but instead, find myself whining to the Lord: "This problem is impossible!"

Does God ever answer: "Ooops, I never saw this coming!"

He is all-knowing God, and our loving Father A friend of mine likes to say, "All of our trials are OPEN BOOK TESTS!

He Lives

The eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth

to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.

2 Chronicles 16:9a 

He lives! He Lives!
Christ Jesus lives today.

He walks with me

And talks with me

Along life's narrow way.

He lives! He lives!

Salvation to impart.

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart!

Butterflies

Good Shepherd

Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalm 94:19

Peace, Peace wonderful peace

Coming down from the Father above

Sweep over my spirit

Forever I pray

In fathomless billows of love

Warren Cornell

   

Next Generation

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—

stories we have heard and known,

stories our ancestors handed down to us.

We will not hide these truths from our children;

we will tell the next generation

about the glorious deeds of the Lord,

about his power and his mighty wonders.

So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

not forgetting his glorious miracles,

and obeying his commands.

Psalm 78:3,7

Now my granddaughter is memorizing verses and  reading Bible stories to me!

Hosanna

The blind and the lame came to Jesus in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”
Matthew 21:14-16 NASB

In God's Hands

When to God's throne of grace I flee

I find the promise true

The mighty arms upholding me

Will bear my burdens too.

William J. Kirkpatrick

Daddy's Testimony

My Dad gave his life to Jesus when he was a teenager, and he loved the Lord, and lived a life that honored God. When he was about 16, his older sister, Mildred, who was about to be married, got sick and died unexpectedly at home.

I have Daddy's Bible, where he wrote in the margin of Luke 16, that this is the passage that convicted him of his own sin, and his need to repent and receive forgiveness through Jesus. He realized then, that each person has to come to Jesus personally, and that, if we put it off until we are 'older', we have no guarantee of tomorrow.

“There was a certain rich man,” Jesus said, “who was splendidly clothed and lived each day in mirth and luxury. One day Lazarus, a diseased beggar, was laid at his door. As he lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham in the place of the righteous dead. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went into hell. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. “‘Father Abraham,’ he shouted, ‘have some pity! Send Lazarus over here if only to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in these flames.’ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us, and anyone wanting to come to you from here is stopped at its edge; and no one over there can cross to us.’ “Then the rich man said, ‘O Father Abraham, then please send him to my father’s home— for I have five brothers—to warn them about this place of torment lest they come here when they die.’ “But Abraham said, ‘The Scriptures have warned them again and again. Your brothers can read them any time they want to.’ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t bother to read them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’ “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16:19-31

Happy First Day of...

Ducks quack

Geese are back

Chicks cheep

Frogs leap

Birdies sing

Yay, it's spring

Cameron and I took this photo 2 years ago in KC.

New Jerusalem

I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:2-4

This song based on Revelation 21 thrills my heart.

Staying Calm in a Storm

A while back, when we were under a tornado warning, I took granddaughter Kaedyn into the bathroom in the center of the house, since we had no basement. To get her mind off of the storm, the only thing handy was shaving cream. So we covered the counter with lather and drew in it and then pretended to be Santa by giving ourselves white beards.

I read where another Mom took her daughter's mind off the storm's frequent lightning by having her girls strike a model's pose, pretending that the flash came from a camera.

Do you have any tricks for taking kids' minds off of a tense situation?

Attitude Adjustment

Our pastor told us that we can choose to change our bad attitudes. He said, "I'll prove it to you. I've seen you people in the drive through line at the fast food with your children. You are threatening the little darlings, 'If you don't behave, I'll get out of this line and we'll go straight home!'"

Then it's your turn to order, and you put on your sweetest smile and say, "Good Morning! I'd like four happy meals, please and thank you."

When I am tempted to complain and quarrel, the Lord reminds me, in the same amount of time, I could  pray for the situation and speak a blessing over the person.

Let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits.
Psalm 5:11 Amplified

Praise the Lord

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit

or a bride with her jewels.

The Sovereign Lord will show his justice

to the nations of the world.

Everyone will praise him!

His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring,

with plants springing up everywhere.

Isaiah 61:10-11 NLT

Sunshine After Rain

Like the sunshine after rain,
Like a rest that follows pain,
Like a hope returned again,
Is the peace that Jesus gives.

Like the soft, refreshing dew,
Like a rosy daybreak new,
Like a friendship tender, true,
Is the peace that Jesus gives.

Oh, the peace that Jesus gives
Never dies; it always lives.
Like the music of a psalm,
Like a glad, eternal calm,
Is the peace that Jesus gives.
- Haldor Lillenas, 1885-1959

Feeling Safe

You will keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on You
because he trusts in You.Isaiah 26:3

The Hebrew word for trust in this verse (batach) means to attach myself, to feel safe, confident and secure.

As a small child, I had to make frequent visits to the eye doctor in downtown Atlanta. Once Daddy had to take me to work with him for a few minutes before my appointment. He was a mechanic on the city buses in those days.

I was amazed at the constant flow of buses rushing in and out of the lot, and deep pits in the garage floor where mechanics stood to work underneath the buses. But Daddy carried me around on his side, and I held on tight, so there was no chance for me to get run over or to step off into a pit.

I need to keep my mind on Father God these days, when there are many natural disasters and man-made catastrophes. I can't overcome in my own strength, or see every pitfall that lies ahead, but my security is in obeying what the Lord asks me to do, and in clinging to Him. As Corrie ten Boom prayed in a Nazi prison camp, "Hide me in the center of Your will!"

Daffodils: Ain't They Purty!!

A neighbor invited me to pick daffodils in their yard today. 

So thankful for the sunshine!

Listen to Andy and Barney sing

Spread a little sunshine everyday!

(one minute video)

Power Steering

Back in the 60's, Grandpa would spend his Saturdays buying old cars to refurbish. He had to have someone to drive them back home. So he recruited my brother and me. We really got an education in how to drive a lot of different cars.

I remember the first time I took a sharp turn in a car with manual transmission, and no power steering. I needed a lot of room for error!

Our Great-grandpa could never get the hang of driving a car with an automatic transmission. He kept trying to shift and pump an imaginary clutch!

My son sent me an encouraging word about learning to obey God automatically...not trying to figure everything out the hard way, but just trusting that God will give wisdom when we ask.

I confess I have spent many wasted hours trying to reason things out "manually" when I could have just trusted God to steer me by His power.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

James 1:5-8 Message

Stormy Weather

Strong storms in southern Indiana early this morning. 

Damage near us, but okay here.

I could see reflections of the budding pear trees in our mud puddle.