blog is a many splendored thing

Hearts remind me of God's Love and give me an opportunity to witness Years ago, I decided I would remember Christ's love for me, and His sacrifice on the cross, each time I see someone wearing a heart .  With Valentine’s Day coming up, lots of people are wearing hearts, so I’ve had some fun with this witnessing tool the last few days.

Today was bittersweet.  A lovely woman, a member of our church family, lost the battle with cancer - and passed on victoriously to be with our Lord - the other day.  Today we attended her funeral; a memorial to the way she lived her life.  It was a lovely service.  Yes, we were saddened at the loss of our friend; but joyous in the fact that she is with Our Lord! There were hundreds of people in attendance to show their love and support for her family.  We – as a congregation – sang some of her favorite hymns; some of her loved ones read a few of her favorite Bible passages; and one of her closest friends – who is also fighting cancer – played her guitar and sang a beautiful hymn. She sang a hymn that speaks of the Christian hope.  As human beings, we tend to worry; so, it is reassuring that we, as born again believers, don’t have to worry about tomorrow.  There isn’t any fear about where we’ll go when we pass out of this world; we will move on...

It has been a long day; but a really really good day!  Yes, I am tired; but it’s that good kind of tired that happens when you’ve done the right thing, the right way, for the right reason.  It doesn’t happen every day; but today feels like a success! A couple of years ago I was in a bad car accident, and I have had some major fear when driving at night, especially when it is raining.  Well, it is winter on the east coast, and it rains quite a bit, so I’ve been skipping a lot of night time activities, including church services.  Just getting back and forth to work has been a challenge since the time change! You could say that I have let fear and anxiety drive me into my home.  Fear reminds me that I am vulnerable and keeps me from doing the things I want to do.  Tonight, with lots of help from God, and some encouragement from a friend, I was able to face my fears and get to church. This week I deliberately made plans get to Wednesday Night Praye...

Proverbs 1:19 (KJV) - So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. As you have guessed, I have invested a lot of time, money, and effort in accumulating stuff.  There are some guilty secrets associated with having so much stuff, I spent more than I had, I neglected my obligations, bills weren’t paid, and people got hurt. Selfishness, greed, envy, and covetousness have created tremendous stress in our home, indebted us to unscrupulous creditors, damaged our testimony, and dishonored God.  I wasted precious resources, meant to serve God and others, on stuff I didn’t need and don’t even use anymore.  That time, money, and effort should have been used to His honor and glory! It sounds strange, but I have had an emotional bond to my stuff.  I got the stuff to fill gaps in my life, and my heart, because the pain of emptiness was too great to bear.  It didn’t work!  I was still miserable, and ...

Proverbs 15:1-3 (KJV) -- A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.  The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.  The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Have you had someone criticize, or snap at you, lately?  Feels great, right?  Did you run right over and thank the offender for helping build your Christian Character?  No?  Me either!  My gut reaction is to give back as good as I got. In such situations, I want to tell someone off, defend myself, and loudly explain my side of the story.  I yearn to point out their blame, recap how lucky they are to know me, and educate them not to discourage or demean me.  I long to yank out my best vocabulary list, select just the right words, and “put them in their place.”  Anybody else ever feel that way?  Please raise your hands!  Let’s use our imaginations for a coupl...

I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of my friends and family who have been so supportive.  I received many very kind words of encouragement in response to my very first ever blog post.  I do have to admit that it was fun to see those words in print knowing that they had been published to the internet!  So... now you know...  I am very easily amused , hahaha! I would like to talk to you about something God has placed on my heart today:  ENCOUR'AGEMENT , noun The act of giving courage, or confidence of success; incitement to action or to practice; incentive.   ( http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Home?word=Encourage ). Encouragement can take the form of the least little thing but it is so important to each of our lives.  A little Godly advice from a friend, a kind word from an acquaintance, or a cheerful attitude from someone we look up to helps to validate our feelings of worth, of accomplishment, and of belonging.  A smile, a to...