My dear friend is back in the hospital. As I drove home last night, many emotions tore through me. My children needed me. Yet I longed to be at my friend's side praying. I was missing Jim's protective arms and his words of assurance that all would be okay. These and many other emotions consumed my heart. I couldn't find words to describe them and tears flowed down my cheeks. The God of all comfort was with me though and sustained me. And the LORD reminded me He knows my heart even if I can't discern all that is in it. And He hears the prayers that I can't utter with my lips.
Later as I read our night time devotions, He showed me Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. And I pictured in my mind, Jesus in my friend's hospital room kneeled down in prayer. Oh, Yes, He is ever intercessing.
Later I looked up more verse on interceeding:
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
My place to share how the Lord reveals His fingerprints on our lives. 2008-2015 Go to bb4thelord2.blogspot.com to read The Next Chapter.
June 27, 2011
Fear Not....Seek Jesus
Matthew 28:2-6 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
As we read this scripture yesterday, I realized something. When we seek Jesus, we have nothing to fear. Also the angels know when we are seeking Him. There is protection in seeking Christ as well as strength.
Psalm 105:4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face evermore.
As we read this scripture yesterday, I realized something. When we seek Jesus, we have nothing to fear. Also the angels know when we are seeking Him. There is protection in seeking Christ as well as strength.
Psalm 105:4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face evermore.
June 20, 2011
Father's Day 2011
Saturday night on the way to prayer meeting, I asked the boys what they'd like to do to honor Daddy on Father's Day. After much discussion with many ideas, we decided first thing was new flowers at the roadside memorial and at Daddy's grave. So after prayer meeting, we shopped. We found pretty arrangements for the roadside memorial and then each boy picked out an individual flower for Daddy's grave. As we drove toward home, it was decided that we'd be adventurous and put the flowers out tonight even though it was dark, because tomorrow we'd be in our nice church clothes and shoes. Then it began to rain and the closer we got to the roadside memorial, the harder it rained. I questioned the boys if they really wanted to do this, and they did. I pulled off the road so our headlights shined partially down in the ditch. We came up with a game plan to get the task done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Then after several cars and a heavy down pour, we leaped from our vehicle and scurried down the side of the road. As I ran in the darkness, I shouted, "We sure love you, Daddy!" Then we went down into the high grass of the ditch and finally reached our destination. We all worked together and gathered up the faded and weather-worn flowers and set up our new arrangements. Then we scurried through the chest-high sea of grass and back up the side of the ditch. Once on the shoulder of the road again, we sprinted hand in hand back to the vehicle. Laughter and the smell of soaked clothes and wet hair filled our vehicle as I turned up the heat. "We are crazy!!" Snipp said smiling. And the boys chattered all the way home about our adventure as lightning streak across the sky.
Since we were already wet, we stopped at Promise Land Cemetery and each of the boys put out their flowers they had picked out : orange Calla Lillies, white roses, and a single large blue rose. Again we gathered up faded weather-beaten flowers to throw away.
Sunday morning we drove by the cemetery and roadside memorial to see our handiwork. They looked beautiful in the sunlight. Snipp shared later that he felt the tears come as we drove by the roadside memorial with the DAD flower arrangement. Understandable..........that word is more personable than his father's name that's written on the cross. (Reminds me of when we made a sign that said MY HONEY, OUR DADDY and put it by Jim's grave. Snipp was 5 then and had stopped calling Jim Daddy but was using his name instead. "Because I wish it was someone else's daddy,"he had told me. "I wish it wasn't my honey either," I had said. Then we made the sign to remind us of reality. And Snipp stopped calling his dad Jim and just called him Dad or Daddy again. )
Church went well. Little Snurr made a card that said, "I love you, Dad! You are a winner!" and had a little metal taped in it that said winner with a star.
After church, we did Daddy's tradition of getting cheese sticks from Pizza Hut then we headed to the place where Daddy would go on his lunch breaks and read his Bible. We had a nice picnic there.
As we travelled home, boys got ornery with each other and I knew we all needed a nap before we had the next adventure: get out the slip-n-slide.
After nap time, which I needed just as much or more than the boys did, we got out the slip-n-slide which was a birthday gift to me from a sweet friend. She had said, "Have fun with the boys. Make a memory" And we did. I finally got up courage and went down it three times.
We took Daddy's Bible to Sunday evening service as we sometimes do. Snapp took out Daddy's picture and looked at it alot. During the sermon, there was some behaviour issues with the boys. Then afterward church, while the boys played outside tempers flared, voices got whiny, and the stress of the day was showing in the boys. I just wanted to get them home. But as we piled in the vehicle, I felt God prompting me to go get ice cream. "After their behaviour? They don't deserve ice cream." I argued. MERCY was the answer spoken to my heart. So I headed to DQ. The boys asked me several times where I was going when I didn't turn toward the home. "Mercy" was all I said. As we pulled into the drive through, I heard the boys humbly getting right with each other and apologizing for their meanness to each other. Sweet. So we headed home cool ice cream and I reminded them of how sometimes on the way home from church, Daddy had gotten dishes of chocolate ice cream too.
We arrived home to our yard full of lightning bugs and the boys ran and caught several. Then Snurr caught two toads. The big one kept getting out of every contain we tried to keep him in. Finally, we moved inside and tried him in the tub. Ha! He couldn't escape! So the two toads were allowed to spend the night in the tub. We then snacked, had devotions, and read some more of Lassie Come-Home.
Again as time and Jesus heals our hearts, we had more smiles than tears on this day when the world points out that we have our Daddy missing. Repercussions will come. Tears will fall. We will draw in our daddy journals and share and hug. God Word says "he makes everything beautiful in his time." And we are seeing glimpse of that more and more, the longer we travel this journey.
Since we were already wet, we stopped at Promise Land Cemetery and each of the boys put out their flowers they had picked out : orange Calla Lillies, white roses, and a single large blue rose. Again we gathered up faded weather-beaten flowers to throw away.
Sunday morning we drove by the cemetery and roadside memorial to see our handiwork. They looked beautiful in the sunlight. Snipp shared later that he felt the tears come as we drove by the roadside memorial with the DAD flower arrangement. Understandable..........that word is more personable than his father's name that's written on the cross. (Reminds me of when we made a sign that said MY HONEY, OUR DADDY and put it by Jim's grave. Snipp was 5 then and had stopped calling Jim Daddy but was using his name instead. "Because I wish it was someone else's daddy,"he had told me. "I wish it wasn't my honey either," I had said. Then we made the sign to remind us of reality. And Snipp stopped calling his dad Jim and just called him Dad or Daddy again. )
Church went well. Little Snurr made a card that said, "I love you, Dad! You are a winner!" and had a little metal taped in it that said winner with a star.
After church, we did Daddy's tradition of getting cheese sticks from Pizza Hut then we headed to the place where Daddy would go on his lunch breaks and read his Bible. We had a nice picnic there.
As we travelled home, boys got ornery with each other and I knew we all needed a nap before we had the next adventure: get out the slip-n-slide.
After nap time, which I needed just as much or more than the boys did, we got out the slip-n-slide which was a birthday gift to me from a sweet friend. She had said, "Have fun with the boys. Make a memory" And we did. I finally got up courage and went down it three times.
We took Daddy's Bible to Sunday evening service as we sometimes do. Snapp took out Daddy's picture and looked at it alot. During the sermon, there was some behaviour issues with the boys. Then afterward church, while the boys played outside tempers flared, voices got whiny, and the stress of the day was showing in the boys. I just wanted to get them home. But as we piled in the vehicle, I felt God prompting me to go get ice cream. "After their behaviour? They don't deserve ice cream." I argued. MERCY was the answer spoken to my heart. So I headed to DQ. The boys asked me several times where I was going when I didn't turn toward the home. "Mercy" was all I said. As we pulled into the drive through, I heard the boys humbly getting right with each other and apologizing for their meanness to each other. Sweet. So we headed home cool ice cream and I reminded them of how sometimes on the way home from church, Daddy had gotten dishes of chocolate ice cream too.
We arrived home to our yard full of lightning bugs and the boys ran and caught several. Then Snurr caught two toads. The big one kept getting out of every contain we tried to keep him in. Finally, we moved inside and tried him in the tub. Ha! He couldn't escape! So the two toads were allowed to spend the night in the tub. We then snacked, had devotions, and read some more of Lassie Come-Home.
Again as time and Jesus heals our hearts, we had more smiles than tears on this day when the world points out that we have our Daddy missing. Repercussions will come. Tears will fall. We will draw in our daddy journals and share and hug. God Word says "he makes everything beautiful in his time." And we are seeing glimpse of that more and more, the longer we travel this journey.
June 16, 2011
Breath
God reveals Himself to us through our experiences. In a ram for Abraham, He was the Great Provider. To Ruth, He was the Kinsman Redeemer. Recently, God showed me He is the Giver of Breath.
I knew this, in my head, I knew this. Yet recently He showed me this boldly. Without sharing all the details, a precious sister of mine in Christ, a dear prayer partner, had a reaction to an IV drug and instantly couldn’t breathe. Right in front of me, I saw her breath just immediately taken away. Instant panic came, others ran for help, time is a funny thing when a crisis hits. I don’t even remember all that I did or said. I remember thinking many things at once, grabbing her hand and praying. Moments later, I was trying to reach her husband on the phone as the room filled with medical personal. A few moments later, I was back in the room. Her breathing was still labored but definitely improved. And I once again was at her side, silently praying. This time I was praising the Lord for giving her the breath of life, for being the Giver of Breath.
I did a word study on “the fear of the Lord” back in April. And I believe that if people(myself in included) would just realize how God is the Giver of Breath then fearing Him would just be a natural response to His Sovereignty. Since this incident the Lord has shown me several verses on breath. I pray that as you read them, you thank the Lord for giving you breath today:
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Acts 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Ezekiel 37:5,6 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Daniel 5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Psalms 104:29b ….thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psalms 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
I knew this, in my head, I knew this. Yet recently He showed me this boldly. Without sharing all the details, a precious sister of mine in Christ, a dear prayer partner, had a reaction to an IV drug and instantly couldn’t breathe. Right in front of me, I saw her breath just immediately taken away. Instant panic came, others ran for help, time is a funny thing when a crisis hits. I don’t even remember all that I did or said. I remember thinking many things at once, grabbing her hand and praying. Moments later, I was trying to reach her husband on the phone as the room filled with medical personal. A few moments later, I was back in the room. Her breathing was still labored but definitely improved. And I once again was at her side, silently praying. This time I was praising the Lord for giving her the breath of life, for being the Giver of Breath.
I did a word study on “the fear of the Lord” back in April. And I believe that if people(myself in included) would just realize how God is the Giver of Breath then fearing Him would just be a natural response to His Sovereignty. Since this incident the Lord has shown me several verses on breath. I pray that as you read them, you thank the Lord for giving you breath today:
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Acts 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Ezekiel 37:5,6 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Daniel 5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Psalms 104:29b ….thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psalms 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
June 10, 2011
The Cup
Several weeks ago, we were reading through John 18. This part of verse 11 just seized my heart"...the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"
Later after the boys were sleeping I had to go back and reread that verse again and again.."the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" As I reread it I could hear trust in my Saviour's words, He trusted His Father, knowing what awful things, painful things would be in that cup. He trusted Him because He knows the Father and never doubted His love. I could hear humility and submission to His Father's will. More over there was the confidence that this way was the absolute best way.
".....shall I not drink it?"
What is in your cup? As I look in my own cup, I see pain and hurts, struggles and failures, heavy burdens and grief.
"...the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"
Lord, give me the grace to drink the cup You have given me and be merciful please when I hesitate to swallow.
Later after the boys were sleeping I had to go back and reread that verse again and again.."the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" As I reread it I could hear trust in my Saviour's words, He trusted His Father, knowing what awful things, painful things would be in that cup. He trusted Him because He knows the Father and never doubted His love. I could hear humility and submission to His Father's will. More over there was the confidence that this way was the absolute best way.
".....shall I not drink it?"
What is in your cup? As I look in my own cup, I see pain and hurts, struggles and failures, heavy burdens and grief.
"...the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"
Lord, give me the grace to drink the cup You have given me and be merciful please when I hesitate to swallow.
Cast
I recently did a word study on the word CAST.
There were several very good verses, but these five touched my heart the most:
Psalms 55:22a Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee…
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Isaiah 38:17b …thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
Ezekiel 18:31a Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit…
Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Life's burdens are so heavy and when I keep carrying them, I can't hold my Jesus' hand. I walk slower and He patiently walks slower by my side. At the beginning of this journey, He told me to cast all my cares upon Him (to put them in His backpack) because He cares for me. Too often I try to carry them alone.....He never intended it that way. He is so much stronger and His shoulders so much broader. Some of my burdens were given to me for the soul purpose of carrying them to Him and talking to Him about them. Asking for Him to move mightily in a particular situation. I had a day here recently when I had five different prayer burdens going on on the same day. They were instense ones. I felt like all day I was transfering burdens from one hand to another and then into Jesus' backpack. This morning I felt like He took one back out and wanted me to carry it for awhile just so we could talk about it more and burden me to have others pray about it.
Another little thought: when I looked up in the dictionary the word cast one definition said unburden, another said exhale. Think about when you lift a heavy object. You take a deep breath, hold it, lift it, maybe grunt and groan, and after it is lifted-- you exhale. Hmmmm!
I never really shared more about the other three verses but I take comfort in them because God has thrown my sin behind Him, tossed them away from me, and pitched them into the deep sea! And all I can say is Amen! and thank You Jesus, thank You!!
There were several very good verses, but these five touched my heart the most:
Psalms 55:22a Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee…
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Isaiah 38:17b …thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
Ezekiel 18:31a Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit…
Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Life's burdens are so heavy and when I keep carrying them, I can't hold my Jesus' hand. I walk slower and He patiently walks slower by my side. At the beginning of this journey, He told me to cast all my cares upon Him (to put them in His backpack) because He cares for me. Too often I try to carry them alone.....He never intended it that way. He is so much stronger and His shoulders so much broader. Some of my burdens were given to me for the soul purpose of carrying them to Him and talking to Him about them. Asking for Him to move mightily in a particular situation. I had a day here recently when I had five different prayer burdens going on on the same day. They were instense ones. I felt like all day I was transfering burdens from one hand to another and then into Jesus' backpack. This morning I felt like He took one back out and wanted me to carry it for awhile just so we could talk about it more and burden me to have others pray about it.
Another little thought: when I looked up in the dictionary the word cast one definition said unburden, another said exhale. Think about when you lift a heavy object. You take a deep breath, hold it, lift it, maybe grunt and groan, and after it is lifted-- you exhale. Hmmmm!
I never really shared more about the other three verses but I take comfort in them because God has thrown my sin behind Him, tossed them away from me, and pitched them into the deep sea! And all I can say is Amen! and thank You Jesus, thank You!!
June 06, 2011
Much behind on posting
There is much I need to post about. I am several weeks behind on how the Lord has been working on my heart and blessed me so undeserving around my birthday, and carried me through tough incidents and strengthened me to sing. I finally posted what my niece shared with me a month ago!
And I must confess I am still meditating on a man,
that I just can't get out of my mind,
Joseph of Arimathea.......I know, it has been almost a month since I posted about him. My pastor preached about the blood of Jesus washing away all our sin and all I could invision is Joseph lovingly carrying the body of my Lord, gently wrapping up my Jesus, tears running down his cheeks, and the blood of my Lord getting on him as he boldly honored the Master. The precious blood of the Lamb of God that washes away all my sin...........................
And I must confess I am still meditating on a man,
that I just can't get out of my mind,
Joseph of Arimathea.......I know, it has been almost a month since I posted about him. My pastor preached about the blood of Jesus washing away all our sin and all I could invision is Joseph lovingly carrying the body of my Lord, gently wrapping up my Jesus, tears running down his cheeks, and the blood of my Lord getting on him as he boldly honored the Master. The precious blood of the Lamb of God that washes away all my sin...........................
Prone to Wander
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander,
Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart,
O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
from "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
This hymn says it clearly, the honest truth, I am prone to wander, we all are. Yet may His goodness like chains hold us to HIM.....
Now reread this part:
Prone to wander,
Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart,
O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
My niece told me last month that she had made this her prayer to God concerning her emotional heart. Many times I have advised teens and other singles to "guard your heart" and that "a woman should hide herself so deep in Christ that a man must seek Him to find her." Yet it wasn't until she pointed it out that I saw this verse from a different perspective, through the eyes of single gals in a couple's world who are prone to wander a way from the Father's best and tempted to give their heart (and sadly often their body) away to the wrong guys who would come between their soul and their Saviour. The wise gals who understand that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So like a child giving a parent the candy bar so he won't eat it, the single gal must be willing like the song says to give her heart to God and have Him seal it. For Him and, if He choses, for the one He has prepared for her to be a helpmeet to.
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