Word of God Speak...

Word of God speak....

The last solo I sang was the song, "Word of God speak". How fitting...the esophagitis had spread enough up my throat for no more solos, no more worship teams, no more choir and only a few songs at a time...the control wasn't there anymore, the rasping/coughing and clearing of throat had taken over...this was a hard loss...in a season of so many losses...I had sung with my mother starting at age four and on through life, whether in private or public, in groups, choirs, worship teams...

Now it was time to fully rely on others' songs, others' solos...to speak to my soul...

My children can sing and now my grandchildren have taken it up as well...what fun to hear them praising the Lord in song...

But aside from that...the Word does speak...whether in psalms and spiritual songs or deep Into Our souls... We don't have to sing it to make it heard...

  Psalm 119:9, 11, 14-16 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?By living according to your word. 

I have hidden your word in my heartthat I might not sin against you. 

I rejoice in following your statutesas one rejoices in great riches.

 I meditate on your preceptsand consider your ways. 

I delight in your decrees;I will not neglect your word. 

Psalm 119:103-104 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 

I gain understanding from your precepts;therefore I hate every wrong path. 

Jeremiah 15:16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight,for I bear your name,Lord God Almighty. 

Hebrews 4:12 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. 

Isaiah 55:11 

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Thank YOU that whether Your Word is sung, written or spoken..It Speaks to us...You are speaking to us...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTY-UKgLlXs

The three little pigs....

The three little pigs....

I recently had the delight to partially watch a cute cartoon with my youngest grandson that seemed to be an offshoot of the timeless tale "the three little pigs"or at least it reminded me of that little story we read to our children when they were small...I remember huffing and puffing over and over again, with a high squeaky piggy voice and the low wolf voice as the pigs ran from one house to another to keep safe...

Those pigs used hay, sticks and finally brick to build their houses...with only the brick standing against the big, bad wolf...the first two wanting the easy, fast way to build while the third pig relied on the strength of the stone to keep him safe...with a firm foundation...

It life, sometimes we want the easy way as well, not wanting to take the time or fearing that the wolf is at the door.  But our "structures" are the hay or sticks and not the brick.....

God has provided us with the a "Rock" on which to build...a much sturdier foundation than what the world of hay and sticks, has to offer..and it is freely given by Him...

God's Rock keeps us safe, secure, and has eternal heavenly promises...not like the hay and sticks which are blown away and have no heavenly promises

I want to be like the third pig, building with the right materials, the right Architect, with the right foundation, the right House...and when tested, God glorified....

Thank YOU, even for the Three Little Pigs....their story reminds me upon whom and with what to build a Sturdy Home...You...

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. 

But each one should build with care.

 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will  bring it to light.

 It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 

If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 

Mushrooms....

Mushrooms....

When I was a child, kindergarten through third grade, we lived on a ranch next the foothills of Central California.   It was always hot in the summer, with very little rain, but lots of sunshine to enjoy while playing over summer break...we always had a large garden, next to the livestock corrals and chicken runs...my mother always loved flowers and made every hone we ever lived in a beautiful floral arrangement, vegetables on the side...an idilic childhood...I thought...

But, that first rain in the early fall was a treat, not only for the much need moisture, it meant that the grass would sprout up quickly and that button mushrooms  would pop out the ground like white Easter eggs all over the green hills...that meant we would gather our containers and scramble here and there on the rangeland, gathering as many mushrooms as we could...they only came once!!!   

My mother would slice them to eat raw, sauté them with homemade butter and add them to various dishes, From scrambled eggs to soups to meats...what a treat...an abundant free gift...

Now we can purchase these mushrooms year around as well as so many other types...

I was reminded of this long forgotten special rainfall as I was driving across Oregon recently and then taking a walk with my youngest grandson...there along the road,  in the barely green grass were those button mushrooms, making their appearance after the first warm fall rain...I picked a couple in honor of those bygone days...in the "remember whens"... I even looked toward heaven, and showed my parents...they would smile and say,,,"what fun and simple things"....

Thank YOU for the little things, the fall rains, the simple mushrooms that spring up in profusion...You provide ....

Psalm 65:5-9, 11-13 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,God our Savior,the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power,having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas,the roaring of their waves,and the turmoil of the nations.

 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;where morning dawns, where evening fades,you call forth songs of joy. 

You care for the land and water it;you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with waterto provide the people with grain,for so you have ordained it. 

You crown the year with your bounty,and your carts overflow with abundance. 

The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocksand the valleys are mantled with grain;they shout for joy and sing. 

Deuteronomy 32:2 Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. 

Psalm 68:9 You gave abundant showers, O God;you refreshed your weary inheritance. 

The flag....

The flag ..... 

One of the program's we watched as a kid was a weekly Red Skelton show. I don't know what he was like for real, but as an entertainer, he seemed to be such a humble, likable person.   He had a hobo act, a drunken man, a clown and others which were all so good and clean humor ...he could make you cry or laugh  simply by his words and actions...

I was reminded of him again as this YouTube came around again...

It is so fitting in our world of chaos, agitation, dehumanizing, disrespect, hurt, election rhetoric, anger, ....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TZBTyTWOZCM

We are to pray for our government, our leaders, one another...offering hope, respect, care, burden sharing...

We are to encourage one another, offering a hand, a hug, a word...

Thank YOU that bring examples of hope, encouragement, Your Word, from so many places...help me see your handiwork, your fingerprints in the world around me...help me not to be blind to your working in my life...YOU are beyond description...but You care for the details of life...

 

Titus 3:1-2 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. 

Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 

Colossians 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 

The Master Weaver...

The Master Weaver's plan

My life is but a weaving

Between the Lord and me;

I may not choose the colors-

He knows what they should be...

For He can view the pattern

Upon the upper side

While I can see it only 

On this, the under side.

Sometimes He weaves in sorrow,

Which seems so strange to me;

But  I will trust His judgment 

And work on faithfully.

Tis He who fills the shuttle, 

And He knows what is best;

so I shall weave in earnest,

And leave to Him the rest.

Not 'til the loom is silent 

and the shuttles cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needed

In the Weaver's skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

Author unknown

This summer, I took one of my grandsons on a short trip to the Grand Canyon , Zion and Bryce national parks...one of the stops we made was a trading post along the highway. A room was dedicated to a native American who sat at a large loom weaving row after row the woolen threads into a design she had created...it was fascinating watching her push the shuttle holding the yarns back and forth, back and forth...she had a pattern off to the side which she was following. Every once in a while a thread would break and she would stop and tie a knot, making sure the knot was on the back side and didn't show through to the front. Or she would change colors, knotting and weaving In the loose ends. Frequently, she took a tool like a large comb to push down the threads and tighten the rows so that they would not be loose and thin. She knew her pattern and she knew how to achieve the finished product...she was the Master weaver for her work of art..

Each day of our lives the "shuttle" moves back and forth adding to our design  that God has planned.   Sometimes He adds darker days, like the colors in a weaving...they enhance and highlight the lighter colors, making the other colors stand out in contrast...if the whole weaving/ life were without contrasts, the tapestry or life would not nearly as beautiful...and not nearly as interesting to look at...we learn through the darker ones ...and added, make the picture complete..

I personally don't like the darker days, I want everything to be easy, no pain, but then I would not know contrasts that make life a wonderful weaving on which the Master Weaver works...and would take for granted the designs along the way...

Thank YOU, that You have a design and pattern planned for each of our lives...filled with lights and darks, colors of every hue...woven by Your skilled hand...

Exodus 35:23-29, 35 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them.

 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 

Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 

The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 

They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 

All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. 

He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. 

Solitaire...simplicity...

Solitaire .....simplicity...

I have played to game, solitaire, for as long as I can remember, first with a deck of cards and  later with a computer...it is not an addiction, but a mind challenge like scrabble and I don't play it all the time...

As an only child, there was not always a playmate around to pass the time, so I had lots of games by myself.  Solitaire was one. I learned to play it in doubles as well with grandparents and others on cold, wet, rainy days where we lived..or warm late nights..a deck of cards went with us on trips or camp outs...we played canasta, rummy, war, fish, old maid, hearts, and pinnacle sometimes...I remember as a small child, my parents would bundle me up and we would visit their friends, we children played and then were put down to sleep, and they would play pinnacle long into the night, laughing, visiting as we children slept nearby.  A simple entertainment for all...those friends lasted a lifetime...

We taught and played games with our children as well, scrabble, monopoly, Chinese checkers, clue, uno, Dutch Blitz, phase 10, hi hi cheerio, battleship .....they learned to count, strategize, take turns, lose/win graciously and visit over those games...now my grandchildren are doing the same things...some games are easy to visit over and others are need concentration...whatever the mood fits...

Simple entertainment, learning from one another, and learning about one another as well...those who can lose graciously and ones who have to win ...those who play for fun and those who are out for "blood"... Those who are strategic and those  for the enjoyment of being around others...games can tell us a lot...

2 Samuel 11:1a In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. .....

This verse has intrigued me...it is like a "game" of war.. They had a time for war..better weather, rested over the winter...whatever...they made it sound simple...something you played at..like our family games..but it wasn't ...is wasn't a social event or something to pass the time...or solitary...it had a purpose...

Thank YOU for the games we play, the simplicity of getting to know others with their games...their attitudes, Likes and disLikes...You are there with us, sharing life...

Long range....

Long range ....

Reading through 1 Samuel 1 and 2, after working on estate stuff, God just brought to mind thoughts of land range ripples, plans, that events trigger...

-A child with special needs bringing joy and closeness  to a dysfunctional family...

-A husband with addiction issues, bringing about an entire ministry to others with similar problems..

-a diving accident changing the life of a young woman who ministers to the world....

- support groups and people helping others because of a suicide  or war, or miscarriages, or overeating or alcoholism or etc, etc..etc...


- a police officer shot leads to counseling others with  like experiences...

-a short term mission leading to long term missions...

-abandonment leads to orphanage building...

-deaths of family members spurring on new visions, new ministries, new learning...

Hannah prayed for a son, but God was preparing a priest or leader...He saw and knew the long range ....

It just struck my heart, again, how God uses big and little events in our lives to further His Kingdom....we, hopefully, can look back on our lives and see the "when and thens"..." When  this happened , then this came about".

I had to weep and ask God, "what am I doing to enlarge His Kingdom? What is the long range? Am I missing something? Am I too caught up in the present that I cannot see the good for the future? What is God  using in my life effect His Kingdom? Am I doing what He has for me to do?

And I can see changes in my family after the deaths of their grandparents and father...their decision making is matured...their giving is amazing...our lives, even missing our loved ones, have changed and grown...our horizons have broadened...our faith has grown...Thank YOU, God for seeing the long range through pain and helping us to reach for You...

1 Samuel 1 and 2
Philippians 1:6