Christian Life
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Wed 13 Jan 2010
“Thorns to not prick you unless you lean against them, and not one touches without His knowledge. The words that hurt you, the letter which gave you pain, the cruel wound of your dearest friend, shortness of money—are all known to Him, who sympathizes as none else can and watches to see, if, through all, you will dare to trust Him wholly.”
—Streams in the Desert
 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Tue 12 Jan 2010
“She took her worries if she had any about us, to God. She was that way. She had a wonderful trust that God could and would work any thing out that she couldn’t manage. Mom was wonderful that way.”
—Rodney Graeme, A Girl to Come Home To by Grace Livingston Hill
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Mon 30 Nov 2009
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
It’s my final day of A Month of Thanksgiving posts. I can’t believe I didn’t miss a day!
I am so grateful that heaven awaits for those saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. In heaven we will be with our Lord and all our brothers and sisters in Christ. There are so many joys there that we cannot even imagine.
There are a lot of things that will not exist any more. I will list some things that directly relate to single mothers, of which I have experienced much.
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No more single mothers, overwhelmed and trying to make it on their own
No more divorce
No more divorced people being judged and misunderstood by others
No more children abandoned by fathers
No more poverty
No more sickness or disease
No more problems with no solutions
No more dying
No more disappointment and/or depression
No more loneliness
No more tears
No more goodbyes.
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Perhaps one reason God allows us all our struggles is to make us long for home more. “Heaven is not here, it’s There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.”
—Elisabeth Elliot
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 28 Nov 2009
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48b).
I am so thankful for my Bibles. They are precious to me, and, with all the notes in them, are just like a journal chronicling my struggles, triumphs, and thoughts. Last week my Sunday School teacher told us when her son went off to military training, he wanted one of his mother’s well-marked Bibles to carry with him. He carried it proudly in front of the other men. I hope that my girls will always treasure the Bibles I leave behind.
I am also grateful for all the devotionals, spiritual books, CDs, radio, Internet websites, and other resources that we are able to freely access here in America. We are truly blessed and have no excuse not to be growing in our Christian lives daily.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sun 22 Nov 2009
“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).
I am so thankful for God granting the desires of our hearts, even when they are not prayed for. For instance, I’ve always wanted curly hair, but was not born with it. I’d never heard of anyone growing curly hair that was not born with it, and never prayed for my hair to be curly. After I met my girls’ father, I found that his hair had been totally straight as a child—we have pictures to prove this—but completely kinked up as he went through puberty. This was the first and only instance that I had heard of this happening. As an adult, I got perms about once a year to get the curls I wanted. I stopped getting permanents several years ago, because I was concerned about the health risks of the chemicals involved. To my utter surprise, over a year ago, my hair started getting curly. Most of my hair has soft curls now. I can comb it out straight, or dampen it and let it dry into curls on its own. Perhaps it has been a change of my hormones; I just don’t know, but I keep thanking God for giving me the desire of my heart, even when I did not pray for it! Sometimes I still can’t believe it—after all those years of getting perms!
I’d always wanted a little girl with curls, but none of my girls had curls. I was disappointed, but did not pray about it; I just accepted it. Lo, and behold, my middle daughter has hair just like her father’s. It was straight until she got to be about 13, but then has curled up into beautiful tight ringlets. God again gave me the desire of my heart, even though I’d already given up on it, and it was years down the road.
When I was expecting my second child, I wanted my oldest daughter to have a little sister, because I had not had the joy of having a sister. I did pray for her to get a sister, but was totally surprised when God did answer this voiced desire of my heart. I couldn’t believe that I could be so blessed! During the third pregnancy, I again wanted another daughter, so that my children could enjoy being sisters. I was so shocked to find out during an ultrasound that I was having another girl! I was thrilled and over the moon! If I had remained married, I would have loved to have had some boys, because I think boys need brothers, but that was not to pass. It looks like I’ll get my boys when my daughters marry someday.:)
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Sat 21 Nov 2009
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Psalm 18:2).
I am so grateful for God’s protection in my life. There are some things that God did not spare me from, but there are some really big things God has protected me from.
He has protected me physically many times, but the most frightening time was when I was a teenage girl. My friend and I were playing on the front porch, and proceeded to leave the porch to go to the yard. Right next to the brick that we used as a step was a very tall metal TV antenna fastened to the house and buried in the ground. My brother and I were accustomed to using it as our handrail, since there was not one for the brick step; many times we’d swing off the porch holding onto it. That particular day as I leapt off the porch holding onto the antenna, it began to fall. I was terrified of being in trouble with my dad, so I tried to hold the antenna up. It was too heavy and was falling fast. My mom, who has what we call “the gift”, felt she needed to immediately go check on me. She burst out of the front door and screamed for me to run. I did, and, seconds later, the antenna hit the electricity wire leading to the house. It literally fried several things in our house—the TV and Atari game my brother was playing at the time was one of them. My dad’s CB radio (he was a trucker) was actually melted onto his desk. There were several other appliances ruined, too. I was just a few feet of being electrocuted when God sent my mom out of the house to warn me. Praise God for what He did that day! Not only was I not hurt, neither was anyone else, especially my brother.
In another instance from my teenage years, my mother and I were in town alone for my monthly dental visit to have my braces adjusted. Mama didn’t (and still doesn’t) drive, so we’d have to wait on my grandpa to come get us. We were downtown, and Mama wanted to go to the street corner to see if she could spot her dad, but she needed me to stay where I was in case I saw him. Mama was just going 1/2 block up the street, and I was a teenage girl, so it seemed fine. After Mama left, a shopkeeper came out of the store and was watching me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. I believe he asked me something, too, but I can’t remember for sure. He then made his way up the street, in what appeared to me that he was looking to see where my mother had gone. I noticed him coming back toward me, and I felt for sure I needed to get out of there. I left my post, walked quickly past this man, and found my mom. I had no tangible reason to distrust this man, but it was a gut feeling, a feeling I believe God put there. A week later, I read in the newspaper that this man was arrested for murder! He killed a “friend” in a fit of anger. If that was the type man he was, he could very well have had evil intentions for me. I still don’t know it, but I believe God protected me from this man.
Has God ever done something like this in your life—saved you mere “inches” from death or serious harm?
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Fri 20 Nov 2009
“But godliness with contentment is great gain…And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:6,8).
I am so thankful that, despite our problems and our situation, we have a wonderful home to live in, plenty of food, nice clothes to wear, and so many extras. We have a lot more than many people have. God has been so good to us!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Thu 19 Nov 2009
“…I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).
I am grateful for the little things God does for us or sends our way to encourage us when we feel we just can’t make it any longer. They are like hugs from heaven to show us that He is still there and that He truly cares for us. God sent me two hugs yesterday. The first was that I felt better after a week of a recurring problem. The second was a totally unexpected call from someone needing a website. My business has been extremely slow at a time when we need it the most. The possible client still has to get back to me, but just having hope means so much. (Would you please pray for my business to improve?)
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Wed 18 Nov 2009
” I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).
I am so thankful that my future is in God’s hands, and that He knows exactly what He’s doing. He knows what is best for me. I can rest in His hands—although it’s hard at times!
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
Tue 17 Nov 2009
“The Bible has been the Magna Charta of the poor and the oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it.”
—Thomas Huxley
I am so thankful for the comfort that scripture gives me.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~Psalms 19:14
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