Psalm 103, 108-110, 122, 124

I am so than thankful to be a child of God, and to have a Father that is so merciful. His abounding love is everlasting , and the power of His Word is immeasurable!


Psalms is one of my favorite books and I was so excited when we landed there! I just knew the words for my blog would just flow, but it somehow seems difficult to express my feelings about it. I've come to a conclusion that His Word sometimes just speaks for itself, and nothing I could ever say about it would or could change the message, and why would I even try?
I know we all gain a little different perspective when we read His Word, and mine for this day is..."if it's not broken, don't try to fix it"! 


No matter what we say about His Word, the most important thing is how it effects us deep in our soul, and how His Word clings to our heart. It is the action we will take, how we will serve and love one another as He has loved us.


The word I read today make me want to sing the song..
Praise the Lord My Soul....

1. Praise the Lord, my soul, let fire and rain give praise to Him. Give praise to Him who is merciful, slow to judge.

                     Bless the Lord, O my soul.

2.   Bless  the Lord, my soul, let all I am give praise to Him.  And not forget He is kind, He forgives our sins.

        Bless the Lord, O my soul.

3. Merciful and kind, He knows that man is made of dust. And like the flowers that flourish, he soon must die.

      Bless the Lord, O my soul.

4.  Glory to our God, let all that is give praise to Him. Give praise to Him, all you creatures who live His love.

    Bless the  Lord, O my  soul.

    Bless the  Lord, O my soul.

Sister's  in Christ, I  praise  and  thank  Him  everyday  

for  our  fellowship.

                              Blessings  to  all!

Philippians 1:3-11

New King James Version (NKJV)

Thankfulness and Prayer

³ I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷ just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸ For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Psalm 68-70, 86, 101

Happy Mother's Day to all! Was blessed to have precious time with both of my boys this week! My hubby Joel BBQ'd a brisket for dinner yesterday. Today he cleaned the kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher, and is planning on serving my favorite meal tonight, I feel so special! 
I know my blog does not follow the verses for today, but saw this and really wanted to share as it was fitting for Mother's Day. 

A MOTHER’S LOVE

“As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children” (1 Thessalonians 2:6b-7).

A mother’s love reflects the love of the Lord, deep in its capacity and generous in its application. She awakens in the middle of the night to nurse a hungry infant or care for a sick child. Her intuition injects love at points of pain and in situations that require extensive encouragement. A mother’s love lingers long in conversation and understands with her sensitive heart. She loves, because Christ’s love compels her to love like Him.

Moreover, a mother’s love is loyal and longstanding. A child may be in trouble, but Mom is always close by, full of compassion and acceptance. Her love can be blind in its loyalty, but her offspring never doubts where they are welcome. Jesus was rejected by angry, jealous men and abandoned by His closest friends, but His mother was waiting with Him to the bitter end, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother…” (John 19:25a).

A mother’s love even has the capacity to be a mother to those who are not biologically her own. Amazingly, she can informally “adopt” people for a season and love them emotionally, physically, spiritually, and relationally. She opens her home, shares her food, gives her time, dispenses her wisdom, and encourages obedience to follow Christ. Paul experienced this. “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too” (Romans 16:13). Moms sometime mother greatness not their own.

Lastly, a mother’s love is gentle, the way God is gentle toward His children. He calls us to love and to lead like Jesus. Love serves people and does not rule with rigor. “God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey” (2 Timothy 2:24, TM).

Prayer: Do I model gentle and patient love? Do others feel safe to share their sorrows with me?

Related Readings: Genesis 47:12; Ruth 4:16; John 21:15-17; James 3:17

Taken from Reading #13 in the NEW 30-day devotional book, “Wisdom for Mothers”

Blessings to all !

1 Kings 2:1-9, 2 Sam 23:1-7, 1 Kings 2:10-12, 1 Chron 29:26-30,Psalm4-6, 8-9, 11

God blessed us with an bounty of fish, and in the process we were reminded of the importance of patience and wisdom! Day 1 we fished all day without one bite, but being persistent, patient, and heeding the advice of a wise fisherman and good friend, it paid off on day 2! We fished in the exact place as the day before. I know it seemed futile, but Bill, our good friend, lives on the lake during the fishing season, knows it well, and has never let us down. I really was praying too, as I could see Joel's impatience and frustration starting to build. He was starting to doubt the wisdom of his friend Bill, he thought the "stink bait" was no good, that we were not in the right spot, our trust in Bill was "sinking"...etc.etc. 


BTW, yes, we fish with stink bait, and yes it really, really does stink. Especially when my husband casts, and a lump of it flies off his hook, and in my hair! The things we do for love!


Right after Joel had talked to Bill for the ?? time, making sure it was the right spot, and telling Bill he was sure the stink bait was not working, I caught the first fish of the day..WooHoo! A nice 5 lb. channel cat, and after that it was on! Joel started catching fish, and all were keepers, really nice fish! We caught 9 catfish, it was so much fun! He no longer doubted the advice of his friend.
While I was sitting in that boat I was thinking about the story when the disciples went fishing, and Jesus told them where to cast their nets, and the story when Jesus walked on the water.

John 21:1-13

New King James Version (NKJV)

Breakfast by the Sea

21 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showedHimself: ² Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately^[a] got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. ⁴ But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

They answered Him, “No.”

⁶ And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Matthew 14:22-33

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

The disciples heeded His wise advice and reaped the rewards! Peter had doubts and began sinking in the water.

 I think God speaks to us through many wise people and in different situations. Similar to David's instructions to Solomon, I think about the importance of imparting God's wisdom as parents to our children. The effect it has will be passed on from generation to generation. As parents, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, etc. we have to be patient, faithful, and heed God's wisdom and listen carefully and obey His Word. We must keep our eyes wide open as the lessons can come from the most mundane things in our lives.  Even fishing with our hubby. :)

If we do this, He has promised to prosper us wherever we turn! 

1 Kings 2:1-4

New King James Version (NKJV)

David’s Instructions to Solomon

2 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: ² “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. ³ And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; ⁴ that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

I also think about our faith, and how doubt and fear can keep us from becoming all God wants us to be. He wants the best for us, and if we don't fully trust in Him, we too will sink like Peter. 
David was all about faith, obedience, patience and listening to the wisdom God imparted to him through His Word. As he lived it, so too David wanted to impart the many blessings to his son Solomon and through the generations!


Oh how I yearn to be such a faithful servant like David,and to impart God's wisdom to my children and grandchildren..... It's never to late to start, and I know God is waiting patiently on me! :)


I praise Him and thank Him for giving me such special time with Joel, and for blessing us with the bonus of catching fish!
God is so good!

2 Sam 19:31-20:26, Psalm 7, 2 Sam 21:1-22, 1 Chron 20:4-8 & 2 Sam 22:1-51, Psalm 18&

God showed David much favor, and He constantly watched  over him and guided him throughout his life. David was so faithful to God, and no matter what was going on in his life, he kept the lines of communication open to his Father in heaven. Whether it be in times of despair, joy, confession, or praise, David made sure he was constantly in contact with God. Sometimes in song, or a poem, prayer, or simply asking a question outright, he was holding regular conversations with God.
I strive to speak with  Him regularly, I have really good intentions too, but I know I fall short. This is something so important in growing my relationship with the Lord. He wants to spend time with me, and He waits for me so patiently. He wants me to converse with Him, He is such a loving Father! 


Come near to God, and He will come near to you. James 4:8

The most wonderful thing about talking to God, whether it be

  

praying, singing, or blogging, God does not care if it's not 

perfect. He just wants us to spend time with Him and really 

get to know Him on a personal level.

I just love this song, even if it's not pitch perfect when I 

sing it to my Heavenly Father! 

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice

To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear

I love you, Lord, and I lift my hands
To worship you as my soul demands
Take joy, my King, in what you see
May I be a sweet, sweet child on your knee

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
Make it a sweet, sweet sound in your ear

Make it a sweet, sweet sound in your ear

Scriptural Reference:

"Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation." Psalm 35:9

I am so blessed to have you ladies share in my daily 

walk with God! You are each a blessing from Him!

Have a wonderful week!

2 Sam 12:26-31, 1 Chron 20:2-3, 2 Sam 13:1-14:33 & 2 Sam 15:1-17:14 & 2 Sam 17:15-29, Psalm 3, 63, 2 Sam 18:1-19:30

Dysfunctional families in the Old Testament? Go figure! Seriously though, Ammon had some definite issues going on to even consider sleeping with his own sister! Cousin Jonadab encouraged it, and even suggested a means for it to occur. 
Where was David as a father? Was Ammon's allure the result of the polygamous ways of his father. Why was Ammon not punished? It seems as David was so busy with his work  and doing everything his people wanted that he did not know what was going on with his own son. He seems to be relying on what the people think of him and how he is serving them instead of how he should be serving God!
His brother Absalom waited 2 years to impart revenge on Ammon on behalf of his sister Tamar. Just think what Tamar had to deal with emotionally. She was scarred for life! Absalom thought it was his place to serve final judgement on his brother in the absence of David's punishment. He also committed treason against his father, probably because of the anger towards him. In the end Absalom dies, and David never set things right between them. "Too little too late".


Our days on this earth are numbered, and with our busy lives it is so easy to miss important details. If our focus is on Him, and we heed His instruction He will set the path for us and lead us in the way to go.


Proverbs 4

4 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
² For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
³ When I was my father’s son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴ He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
⁵ Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶ Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
⁷ Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
⁸ Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
⁹ She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

¹⁰ Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
And the years of your life will be many.
¹¹ I have taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
¹² When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,
And when you run, you will not stumble.
¹³ Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.

¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
¹⁵ Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶ For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸ But the path of the just is like the shining sun,^[f]
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰ My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹ Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
²² For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
²³ Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
²⁴ Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

This one was difficult for me as there were so many other things I wanted to share regarding this, but I guess this just was not the right time. Maybe in a future blog.

Blessings!

2 Sam 6:12, 1 Chron 15:1-28, 2 Sam 6:12-16, 1 Chron 15:29, 2 Sam 6:17-19, 1 Chron 16:1-43, 2 Sam 6:19-23 & 2 Sam 7:1-17, 1 Chron 17:1-15, 2 Sam 7:18-29, 1 Chron 17:16-27, 2 Sam 8:1-14, 1 Chron 18:1-13, Psalm 60 & 2 Sam 8:15-18, 1 Chron 18:14-17, 6:16-30, 6:50-53, 6:31-48, 2 Sam 9:1-10:19, 1 Chron 19:1-19

I found it! This one is out of chronological order. This blog is actually for Mon.-Wed. and the one before this is for today. I could not figure out how to move it from draft in the right order. Am I making any sense??? Sorry for the confusion!


David was a faithful and loyal servant to God, but also to those who befriended him throughout his conquests.
To those that did not know him personally, they only knew of his reputation as a warrior and were fearful of him.
It's funny how we judge others by a singular event, or even a "first impression", but it happens all the time. 
How much more effective we could be in spreading God's message if we were not so judgmental of others.
Many times we tend to gravitate only to other Christians, and hang around our inner circle of friends, when the ones we really need to focus on are the "unsaved", which are generally outside our comfort zone.
When Jesus was on this earth He took every advantage to make His message clear, and the story below in John is a perfect example.


John 8: 3-11

3  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman 
   caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the 
   midst,
4  they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in
   adultery, in the very act.
5  "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should 
   be stoned. But what do You say?"
6  This they said, testing Him, that they might have 
   something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped 
   down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though 
   He did not hear.
7  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up
   and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let
   him throw a stone at her first."
8  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their 
   conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the 
   oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and 
   the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the 
   woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers 
   of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her,  

   "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."


Powerful stuff!

Ephesians 2:8-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.


Amen to that!


Have a blessed day! :)

1 Chron 20:1, 2 Sam 11:1-12:14, Psalm 51, 2 Sam 12:15-25, 5:14-16, 1 Chron 14:3-7, 3:5-9

Through a gliche of technology, or perhaps operator error, I can't find the blog I was writing for Mon.-Wed. Never -the -less, life goes on, and if it magically resurfaces, I will be more than happy to share my thoughts. Maybe this was a sign that I was on the wrong path with His Word, only He knows the answer to that one! :)
No worries!
 However, I do see a parallel between the absence of my blog, and David's absence of communication and obedience to God. David has always been consistent in the past by only acting upon a situation if it is God's will. In the verses from today, I see the recurring theme of how being disobedient to God, and acting without His authority can surely get us in trouble. David's thought process was so clouded that he even tried to "cover up" the fact that he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then sending her husband into battle to achieve his own ends.
Sadly because of David's misuse of his own ego and power, Uriah suffered, and was killed in battle. 
God's wrath was now upon David as He delivered His message through Nathan...

2 Samuel 12:7-15

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! ⁹ Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’”

¹³ So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan departed to his house.

Oh what tangles webs we weave... Over the years I know I have been disobedient, more times than I could ever admit, and I thank God for the  love and mercy He has shown me.

I wanted to share the lyrics to a song that is a favorite of mine, and speaks of God's mercy.

 I'm sure most, if not all, are familiar with Francesca Battistelli. She has the God given gift of song that is such a blessing.

I was poor I was weak
I was the definition of the spiritually
Bankrupt condition
So in need of help

I was unsatisfied
Hungry and thirsty
When You rushed to my side
So unworthy
Still You gave yourself away…

(Chorus)
That’s the motion of mercy
Changing the way and the why we are
That’s the motion of mercy
Moving my heart

Now I’m filled by a love
That calls me to action
I was empty before now I’m drawn to compassion
And to give myself away

(Chorus)

Living for the lost
Loving ‘til it hurts
No matter what the cost
Like You loved me first
That’s the motion of mercy

God give me strength to give something for nothing
I wanna be a glimpse of the Kingdom that’s coming soon

(Chorus)

Words & Music By: Francesca Battistelli / Ian Eskelin

Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Hope the rest of your day is blessed! :)