August, 2012….

These verses are dated in my Bible…

I had just moved, boxes all over…I was by myself, a widow since April…it was really hitting me that my husband wasn’t going to drive into the driveway in his red truck, walk in the door, tell me about his day, listen to me about mine, sit down for dinner or visit with friends…

But, I felt lowly, in the midst of trouble…in the need of God’s comfort…the bubble that seems to surround many after the death of a loved one was slowly dissipating, reality was hitting…tears came easily, anger sometimes, denial sometimes…I was setting up a new home for myself not the two of us anymore…I didn’t know what stretched ahead..this was a new chapter that I hadn’t read yet…

Now, here I am 14 years later…I still need God’s comfort, His love and He has been there through the new chapters, the twists and turns. 

Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.  

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.  

The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:6-8

Thank YOU….

Comforts you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2r4mwab5O8

The bees finally returned…

My fruit trees stated blooming last week, earlier than normal…everyday I would go out to check on them but there was no bees,no butterflies, no insects flying around for pollination…I was getting a bit anxious( not supposed to do that, be thankful instead), so I put it down…

God has a plan…

Yesterday, the trees were humming with bees, more blossoms have opened…so God’s timing was just what he planned…

It is interesting in Genesis that the fruit bearing trees are created a couple of days before all the “living creatures “…did the trees not bloom until after the creatures came  or did God take care of them that first time around… who knows, but, God had a plan…then and now ….

I know these are little things, but so important for food production, the timing has to be just right…our farmers need that perfect timing to feed the world…

Thank YOU….

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind. ” 

And it was so.  

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along in the ground according to their kinds.  And God saw that it was good.

A Time for Everything There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

Ecc. 3:1

In His time…

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3A5-89pY9s 

Search me….

 Search me…

I don’t k ow about anyone else…but I find myself puzzled by my behavior as Paul describes in the Book of Romans…

 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Rom.7.15-20

I was reminded of the Romans passage as I read the last two verses in Psalm 139…

Search me…

Know my heart….

Test me…

Know my anxious thoughts…

Any offensive way in me?….

Lead me in the way everlasting….

Psalm 139:23-24 (not all the words)…

David must have been feeling the same as Paul…centuries before and I am still fighting the same battle now….worry, anxious thoughts, offensive ways…..wanting God to cleanse…to lead….

It is part of our world, our nature…but, Jesus paid the price…

Every time I do these things, it is like another pounding of a nail at the cross…the pain…the agony…

 let God weigh me in honest scales…..

Job.31.6a

 Test me, Lord, and try me,examine my heart and my mind;

Ps.26.2

 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and mind,……

Jer.11.20a

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Phil.4.8

 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make your way straight before me.

Ps.5.8

 Teach me to do your will,for you are my God;may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Ps.143.10

 The Lord detests the way of the wicked,

but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

Prov.15.9

 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1John.2.16,1John.2.17

Thank YOU…

Create in me a clean heart…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Hk3WFUMvo

Search me…(used this earlier this week, still a good message)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzcqWMM1VA0

Thoughts…

  

Thoughts….

We come to “thoughts” in verses 17 and 18 of Psalm 139…so I found a few verses about “thoughts”, both man’s and God’s…quite the difference…something to “think” about….

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them,they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.

Ps.139.17-18

 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Ps.10.4

 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Psal.13.2

 Many, Lord my God,are the wonders you have done,the things you planned for us.

None can compare with you;were I to speak and tell of your deeds,they would be too many to declare.

Ps.40.5

 How great are your works, Lord,how profound your thoughts!

Ps.92.5

 You know when I sit and when I rise;you perceive my thoughts from afar.

Ps.139.2

 Search me, God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Ps.139.23

 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.

Prov.4.26

 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,but the folly of fools is deception.

Prov.14.8

 The wicked put up a bold front,but the upright give thought to their ways.

Prov.21.29

 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord. “

As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your waysand my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isa.55.8-9

 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.

Hag.1.5

 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

1Cor.2.11

 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2Cor.10.5

 For the word of God is alive and active. 

Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Heb.4.12

Thank YOU….

Your ways are higher than mine….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LDm8xB5ipQ

 

Baby shower devotional…

 

Baby shower devotional….

The birth of a baby is a chance to celebrate with family and friends…the following is a partial devotional from the latest baby shower I participated in…

“Celebrating one of Life’s miracles

A baby shower is a time of joy—but also a sacred opportunity to speak blessings over new life.

Through prayer, we do more than celebrate—we invite God to guide, protect, and provide for this child and family.

Whether you are a parent, grandparent, guest, or friend, your prayers matter. They build a foundation of faith and love that _________ will grow up surrounded by.

 

And here we are celebrating one of Life miracles….

 

I found some fun  statistics:

The bodies God gives us are so amazing. Did you know that:

• Embryos develop their own unique  fingerprints three months after conception?

• That your heart circulates blood throughout your body about 1,000 times a day?

• That while awake, your brain produces enough electricity to light a lightbulb, although there nights and days in motherhood that it might be pretty dim from lack of sleep…

• That your eyes can distinguish 10 million different colours and can detect light from a candle over 1.7 miles away?

• That if you never cut your hair, over a lifetime it would reach around 450 miles? 

• That there are anywhere between 60,000-100,000 miles of blood vessels in your body? If they were taken out and laid end-to-end, they would be long enough to travel around the world more than three times.

This is from Ruth Wood…

Into this little body, God is packing all the DNA and tools that your baby will need to grow, to think and reason, to remember, experience emotions, and make choices. And God is knitting all this together in your womb without you having to do a thing! 

To me, the most mysterious of all is God’s creation of a person’s spirit, which the psalmist describes as the inmost being. Job says that “the spirit in a person” is “the breath of the Almighty.” (Job 32:8) No scientist has yet been able to study the spirit. This is the deepest part of ourselves, the place where we are able to connect back to God. Where God comes to live inside us when we’ve invited him

 

The favorite verses for baby showers  as well as other events are found in PSALM 139:13-16   They show the care that each of us see and should be aware of in the miracle of like…when you think that we each grew from two microscopic cells that God Planned to unite from the beginning… He chose to make this baby…it wasn’t an  accident, it was all part of his plan…Plus He has a plan for his life… You and I are part of the plan, whether as friend, parent , grandparent, great grandparent, relative in some way…

Lest we forget, the psalm reads…

• 13) For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb. (_________ has been knitting while pregnant , stitch by stitch,as she has been knitting yarn, God has been forming William, what a picture)
(14) I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
(15) My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,(God is making a vessel worthy of holding the Holy Spirit when ________ accepts the Lord as his Savior at a future date.. Jesus prayed for Him and His Salvation.in John17

    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
(16) Your eyes saw my unformed substance;(God is delightfully watching)

• , in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me , (God has numbered _________’s days as He has with everyone of us)
    when as yet there was none of them before ________ even enters the world)

• Psalm 139:13-16 

Another verse…Psal 138a   the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Your love endure forever

Psalm 100: 3a Know that the LORD is God, It is he who made us…

What a gift of Life God has given….and we are in Awe…not only of this new Creation by the God Who does the creating….

 

This brings to mind the Christmas song, “Mary Did You know?”

One phrase that always makes me cry,

 “And when you kiss your little baby

You've kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?

We are loving and kissing a special gift that only God can make…

So, we Welcome _______ with much awe, a bit of pain, a responsibility. A gift to be cherished, taught, a gift to bloom into the person God planned…

 

So This is me____________…….made in God’s image, formed by God, fearfully and wonderfully made, my days are planned and numbered, a temple worthy…

 

Thank 

Fearfully and wonderfully made…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH8J_IJ1DrQ

No where…

 No where….

When I sit or rise….

Thoughts…going  out, when I lay….

All my ways…

Word on my tongue…

Behind and before…

Heavens to the depths…

Wings of dawn…far side of the sea…

your hand will guide and hold me fast…

The darkness…

Unformed body…

Search and know my heart…

Omnipresent…..present everywhere….that is what God is…one his character qualities…..we are never too far that he isn’t there…we are never lost from his presence…. 

 Who can hide in secret places so  that I cannot see them?”declares the Lord.“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”declares the Lord.

Jer.23.24

 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John.1.3

 Though they dig down to the depths below,from there my hand will take them.Though they climb up to the heavens above,from there I will bring them down. Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,there I will hunt them down and seize them.Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,there I will command the serpent to bite them.

Amos.9.2-3

To some this trait is scary, to others it is a comfort…to others it is ignored or looked at in contempt, a shaking a fist at the face of God…

I am thankful that He holds my hand-or has my name written in the palm of his hand…comfort…

Thank YOU…

Psalm 139 song…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXClQWk0EWc

Psalm 139:1-4

 

Psalm 139:1-4

“Sometimes we don’t let people get to know us completely because we are afraid they will discover something about us that that they won’t like…but God already knows everything about us…”Bible Study notes…

I have definitely have felt that way…maybe I won’t match others’ expectations, their thoughts about how I should be, act…it keeps us from experiencing all that we can…our fears, our self image ….

 1..You have searched me, Lord,and you know me. 

( Though you probe my heart,though you examine me at night and test me,you will find that I have planned no evil;my mouth has not transgressed.

Ps.17.3

 Yet you know me, Lord;you see me and test my thoughts about you.Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!Set them apart for the day of slaughter!   ( how picturesque)

Jer.12.3)

2..You know when I sit and when I rise;you perceive my thoughts from afar. 

(  “‘But I know where you are-and when you come and go-and how you rage against me.

2Kgs.19.27

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?

Matt.9.4

But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.

John.2.24)

3..You discern my going out and my lying down;you are familiar with all my ways. 

( Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

Job.31.4)

4..Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 

( Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Heb.4.13)

Thank YOU….

Psalm 139…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzcqWMM1VA0