Treasures....

Treasures....

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. 

Isaiah 25:1

I read this verse this morning with a smile...

Have been thinking about treasures...not the gold and silver kind, but the people kind...people who are treasures in our lives...

There are family treasures...those grandparents, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, relatives who bless us from birth until whenever ....they add experiences, laughter and sometimes sorrow to our Iives...they give wisdom through the years...they know us from the cradle...we may trust them or not...they add a long shared history ....

There are schoolmate treasures...those classmates that are added through the school years...some just for a season and some for many seasons...shared history in the classroom of grade, middle, high school and college...even roommates in those small college dorm rooms...they know the crushes, the heartache of those first infatuations, plus the long study hours...some you see at the dreaded and anticipated class reunions...

There are friend treasures...these are added over the years in various locations ...they may be older neighbors, church friends, organizational acquaintances, preschool or school fellow parents or the checker at the grocery store...

There are spouse treasures...those that fit us, were planned long before we knew them, to add more love to our lives...

There are children treasures... those little fingers and toes we count so preciously to the adults they become with wider interests than we ever imagined....

Then added to all of the above there are grandchildren and beyond treasures....we get to see the resemblances of the past live on in their lives...plus add their new views and delights of life....

And finally, God, who planned it all, gave his Son as a treasure...the Holy Spirit as a seal ...all everlasting....

They all add so much to our lives...

When I open that trunk of treasures...there are treasures of pure gold-those people that God has blessed me with from my beginning into the future....”things planned long ago”...thank YOU....

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Isaiah 45:3 

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:34

Promises...

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/five-proven-weapons-in-the-fight-for-holiness.html?utm_source=today%27s+topical+bible+study&utm_campaign=today%27s+topical+bible+study+-+biblestudytools.com+(just+1+word+app)&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2739607&bcid=dad4cb6ffa9cb8224d8b23b17fc6f551&recip=488704412+

The last paragraph of the preceding  article is this—-

“”Be constantly adding to your arsenal of promises. But never lose sight of the chosen few that God has blessed in your life. Do both. Be ever-ready with the old. And every morning look for a new one to take with you through the day.”

Pastor John”

We had a gathering yesterday with advisors, friends and family to go over business and family issues...lives have changed so much since my husband passed away 7 years ago...family dynamics, business decisions, growth, generations, communication, goals, strengths and weaknesses, need for more and more wisdom...discussions that will continue until the Lord returns...

each generation has the opportunity to wade through and discover what and how God speaks to them...those promises that He bestows freely on them...the Word is there through the ages...

I love my children, their strengths, their differences, their giftings, their various personalities...all that makes them - them...how God is working in their lives through the kind times and the tougher ones...I pray that their eyes and hearts are opened as well as mine to the promises, the enlightenment of God’s Word is each of our lives...where He is leading, but all to His  glory and not our own...thank YOU...

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

All the way home....

Jill Briscoe....All the way Home...

This video caught my heart yesterday and it was so worth watching...soooo very good...as are any of her books, videos, teachings...leads you to the very throne of God...

https://www.tellingthetruth.org/watch/individual-post/videos/2017/11/10/if-gathering-2017

All The Way Home

Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow Me!” Matthew 16:24

One day in India after a traumatic and wrenching ministry visit, Jesus asked me a hard question. It happened like this:

Shaken, drained, discouraged, sickly

Tired and troubled and depressed, 

Glad the time of serving over,

Now I’ll go home and rest.

Hot and humid was the weather

Sad and needy was the crowd, 

Feeling I had done my duty,

Earned the time of rest allowed.

Soon I could return to family

"Yes," tomorrow I’d be gone, 

Sitting in the last hot meeting,

I tuned in to what went on.

Listened to my husband preaching,

My, it was a great last talk,
All about the call of Jesus,

All about our life’s “faith walk.” 

Stuart opened up the Scriptures

Talked of Jesus’ pain and loss, 

How He who was our great sin bearer,

Bore our guilt upon His cross.

What a great word for the students!

Hoped “they’d” listened, yield their hearts, 

They were young, their lives before them,

Now their turn to do their part.

Time for prayers of dedication,

I was tired, so late at night,

Shut my eyes and wished it over,

When a picture sprang to sight!

Saw a cross alone, discarded

Lain at rest against a wall, 

Who’d lain down such holy symbol?

Who’d abandoned life’s “faith call”? 

Then a voice so dear – familiar,

Asked a question – pierced me through, 

Who is it that you’re expecting

Carrying it home for you?

How could I lay down that crossbeam?

How to think that no one saw? 

Who did I expect to lift it,

Carry it to heaven’s door? 

"Jesus, Jesus, please forgive me,

Carried Thou your cross for me, 

All the way to hell to save us,

Help me carry mine for Thee!"

"I’m no hero – special woman

Just a lady, old and gray, 

But my cross, Lord, I will carry,

Home, Lord, home, Lord – ALL THE WAY!"

Spoke His voice so quiet – but clearly then:

"All the way home, Jill; all the way, all the way home!"

Jill Briscoe © 2012

Consider....

Consider....

“con·sid·er

/kənˈsidər/

verb

• 1.
  think carefully about (something), typically before making a decision:
  "each application is considered on its merits"
  synonyms:
  think about, contemplate, give thought to, reflect on, examine, ...” Oxford Dictionary....

In the NIV version of the Bible, there are 87-130 times that the word “consider” is used from Genesis to Revelation....

From considering a field to considering how far a church has fallen....

We are to consider, think about , contemplate a variety of ideas, truths, events...

As I was reading in Luke 12, this pondering was about everyday needs...

24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

Luke 12:24,27

But, there are so many times we are told what to consider....I love the times in Psalms...

I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Psalm 77:12

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119:15-16

....when we we realize that God considers us...

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

Psalm 10:14

he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

Psalm 33:15

It is beyond my comprehension that the God of all creation take time to consider me...everything I do, loves me, cared so much...thank YOU...

I need to take the time to consider Him and all that He does for me...

Distracted...

Distracted....

“dis·tract·ed  (dĭ-străk′tĭd)

adj.

1. Having the attention diverted.

2. Suffering conflicting emotions; distraught.

dis·tract′ed·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin”

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Luke 10:40 

distracted.....I find myself in this attitude a lot...having my attention drawn away from the important...

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 

I long to be the “Mary “ who has chosen what is better and not the “Martha “  who is worried  and upset about many things...

Oh, there are times that are better than others...when i am focused on the “better” and not the “worries”...I really don’t want the worries of the world to choke out the Word as in the parable of the soils...I want to be the productive soul, steeped in the Word joyously...

The first book I read after becoming a widow was, “the undistracted widow” by Carol Cornish, followed by other books written for widows...

I needed solace, focus, and “how to’s” of widowhood...never having travelled this path before...I even asked other widows questions...

But, now distractions are different...day to day life, business, relationships...things that still pull me away from the “better”...so, early each day, I strive to focus on the “Better”...reading the Word, listening,  meditating, praying...before the emails come, or texts, or even notes from others, or news of the world...getting perspective for the day ahead...but, there is still the temptation to get distracted in the mundane       Of the “day to day”...and I admit freely that I do still get  drawn in...but there is growth...

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 

Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.

Psalm 119:66,80 

Thank YOU...that You are patient and kind....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5pZkLWZv-E

Drama...

Drama.....

Life is full of drama...most of us face it at various times...the heartaches, the lowest pits of despair, the highs of elation and celebration...illnesses, deaths, births, family ups and downs, hospital visits, depression, joyous occasions, mistreatment, persecution....you name it...life happens...we live in a sin filled world...and it has been going on since the beginning...some say we should get better and better, but, no, drama cloaks itself in different outfits over the years...but still the same from generation to generation...nations rise and fall with similarity...

The psalmist wrote about it hundreds of years ago...so well...the Word was good that time and it still touches my heart today...a living Word for each who listen and hold on to it...thank YOU...

I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. 

You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. 

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. 

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. 

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. 

To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 

Hear,  Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord , be my help. ” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. 

Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalm 30:1-12 

Music to my soul...

Music to my soul....🎶🎶🎶

Music has been a part of my life since birth...my mother played the piano, my dad-the harmonica...mom led choirs at all the small churches we attended, she gave music lessons for twenty years, we owned a music store...my earliest memory of a movie was a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, we went to community concerts, musical plays at  the local college...my earliest singing experience was singing “Jesus Loves Me with my mom in front of our church...I joined choirs in high school, sang in groups, sang solos...my husband and I took our children to musical events as they were growing up...and each took some kind of lessons, at least to learn to read music...and under some duress...all of them still listen to music, and one has carried it on...my grand kids like music, either singing, playing and dancing....

In our early years of marriage, Christian Radio was introduced to Nevada. We definitely supported new towers so that it could cover the state...even to the remote areas, what a blessing it was...now it is everywhere and lots of various stations. When we had little ones, the radio was part of our life and sometimes it was my lifeblood and my solace during the hard times....counselors, speakers, singers, encouragers, scholars, financial advisors....people who spoke into my life and soul God’s word during the week while toddlers raced around or through sleepless nights of illness, or aloneness while my husband was away...reminding me that Jesus was always there, the Holy Spirit was residing within to comfort, to counsel...speak truth....give a new song to my weary or rejoicing heart...

He gave me songs each night as my husband was dying...ones I could hear deep within....

https://mvotd.com/mobile/watch.php?vid=877fa2bc1

This video clip reminded me of those times...even now, music is still there to revive my heart...certain songs flush out memories with tears of joy and sorrow...reminding me of events connected with a song...emotionally drawing me into those times...

God has been so faithful through my life...and He used music, with His Word to touch my soul....thank YOU....

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Psalm 28:7

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. 

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 

Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 

Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Psalm 32:7,33:1-3 

I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated....

Psalm 77:6a