131. rising early, spending a morning with my family
132. willing, helping hands of teenagers
133. a meal with my husband, sharing
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
His mercies are new every morning...
and fresh every evening. Who can know the number of His benefits, or recount the list of His bounties? Every sand which drops from the glass of time is but the tardy follower of a myriad of mercies. The wings of our hours are covered with the silver of His kindness, and with the yellow gold of His affection. The river of time bears from the mountains of eternity the golden sands of His favour. The countless stars are but as the standard bearers of a more innumerable host of blessings...How shall my soul extol Him who daily loadeth us with benefits, and who crowneth us with lovingkindness? O that my praise could be as ceaseless as His bounty.
C.H. Spurgeon
127. waking to less pain, a true gift
128. lunch with mission-minded friends, planning
129. a gift from a generous friend
130. shopping with two teen girls, precious time
C.H. Spurgeon
more of the daily gifts . . .
127. waking to less pain, a true gift
128. lunch with mission-minded friends, planning
129. a gift from a generous friend
130. shopping with two teen girls, precious time
Thursday, May 29, 2008
More Gifts for the List...
126. scripture, the Holy Word
that reminds me I am in need of God's healing touch
that reminds me I am in need of God's healing touch
and I will heal thee of thy wounds,
saith the LORD...
Jeremiah 30:17
Overcomer
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart!
I have OVERCOME the world!
John 16:33
Since the discouraging surrender of my personal goal to run in the Peachtree Road Race on July 4 because of a weak ankle caused by a bone cyst (noncancerous, fluid-filled cavity within the bone), I have been slack in any type of exercise program and haven't been eating as healthy as I should. So this week I determined that I would return to exercise and healthy eating habits. To return is painful.
Zoe Elmore says, "The pain and struggle of "returning" to a healthy lifestyle after a self-imposed exile in "The Land of Me" is just that; a painful struggle! When the hard work of life (physically and spiritually) enters our lives it is tempting to retreat back into 'the Land of Me' in order to comfort and soothe ourselves instead of going to God; the great comforter."
It's all about perseverance...a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. How often I am tempted to give up only to be satisfied with a temporal fix! Father, forgive me for drawing back, recoiling in times of difficulty. Help me to rely on You to overcome those things in my life that get in the way of glorifying and honoring you.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Back to the 1000 Gifts List...
125. yellow gerber daisies I will give thanks to You,
O Lord my God,
with all my heart…
Psalm 86:12
Graduation
Griff, Savannah-Jane, and Taylor after Griff's graduation - 5/24/08I have no greater joy
than to hear that my children
are walking in the truth.
III John 4
My son Griff graduated from high school this past weekend. What an honor it is to be called his mother. He was decorated with all sorts of drapings around his neck to recognize his achievements in high school. Of course I am proud of him. However, the pride I have for the scholarly achievments he received pale in comparison to the pride I have in knowing he is maturing in his walk with the Lord.
He entered the world with a struggle, a fight to live, a stubborn will.
I fretted. I worried. Then I relented and cried out to God... he belongs to you...You love him more than I do...You created him... I commit him to You. He belongs to You. Your will be done.
Stubborn will still persists. Mine and his.
Again I fret, worry, then surrender. Praising God that my son questions, seeks answers, and searches. How else will he truly know God? How else will he experience an authentic walk with Christ?
How else will I know the depth of the Father's love?
Still so many lessons for me to learn.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.
Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.
Genesis 12:14-17
What a world it would be, where everyone's choice only affects themselves! But that's not how it is, and we know it.
Distracted by my ringing cell phone, I admittely and ashamedly almost ran through a red light today. That wasn't the only close call. I put my car in reverse to back out of a one-way parking spot when out of nowhere a truck came barreling through the parking lot the wrong way, narrowly missing my back end. There was someone to blame in both of these near misses. In the first close call, it was my fault...I shouldn't have let a ringing cell phone come before my driving. In the second close call, the other driver was at fault...he disobeyed the traffic flow of the parking lot. Regardless of who is to blame, had an accident actually occured, others would have been affected by one person's wrongdoing. Had I actually ran the red light, I could have seriously injured another person and wrecked their vehicle all because of my wrongdoing. Let's say the wreckless driver in the parking lot had actually collided with me. I could have been seriously injured by his offense and the back end of my car would have been nonexistent!
I thought about those incidents today and concluded that rarely does sin against God affect only the offender.
Lane Craig Thompson says, "... God's rule for our lives says that what we do will affect others -- good or bad. The lack of purity will bring shame, doubt and defeat into the local body of Christ, and others will eventually succumb to the temptation to sin. The commitment to purity will bring about a community of healing and freedom unlike anything the world has ever known."
Our sin can affect others. No one is an island. The negative affects from individual sins can resonate in ways that we cannot predict.
Father God, help me take my sin seriously...to recognize it, admit it, and confess it. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.
Genesis 12:14-17
What a world it would be, where everyone's choice only affects themselves! But that's not how it is, and we know it.
Distracted by my ringing cell phone, I admittely and ashamedly almost ran through a red light today. That wasn't the only close call. I put my car in reverse to back out of a one-way parking spot when out of nowhere a truck came barreling through the parking lot the wrong way, narrowly missing my back end. There was someone to blame in both of these near misses. In the first close call, it was my fault...I shouldn't have let a ringing cell phone come before my driving. In the second close call, the other driver was at fault...he disobeyed the traffic flow of the parking lot. Regardless of who is to blame, had an accident actually occured, others would have been affected by one person's wrongdoing. Had I actually ran the red light, I could have seriously injured another person and wrecked their vehicle all because of my wrongdoing. Let's say the wreckless driver in the parking lot had actually collided with me. I could have been seriously injured by his offense and the back end of my car would have been nonexistent!
I thought about those incidents today and concluded that rarely does sin against God affect only the offender.
Lane Craig Thompson says, "... God's rule for our lives says that what we do will affect others -- good or bad. The lack of purity will bring shame, doubt and defeat into the local body of Christ, and others will eventually succumb to the temptation to sin. The commitment to purity will bring about a community of healing and freedom unlike anything the world has ever known."
Our sin can affect others. No one is an island. The negative affects from individual sins can resonate in ways that we cannot predict.
Father God, help me take my sin seriously...to recognize it, admit it, and confess it. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
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