Wednesday, March 11, 2015

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind

Good Morning Friends!  Wonderfully Wrapped in His loving arms Wednesday!  Kind of a yucky drive in this morning, the fog was so bad in spots could hardly see more than a few feet in front of me.  Driving in dense fog is such a helpless feeling…..disorientating, down right frightening at times…..I was so thankful when I got to work  safely and didn’t see any accidents; as I was turning my daily calendar I had to stop a minute, breath and ponder on the love of our Father as I read today’s bible verse, Psalm 146:8, “The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind:  the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous.”  I thought about the dense fog this morning……feeling helpless, like I was blind…..”the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.”  Our Father is there when we can’t see….when life seems so futile, overwhelming….He is there, He opens our eyes so we can see His love….the Light of His love to guide us through the foggy times.  He raises us up from the pits of fog that life sometimes brings us….the frightening, unknown times, the sad and grief-filled times….dense fog….”the Lord LOVETH the righteous.”   LOVES you and me!!!  The Lord, our Heavenly Father who gave His only Son for us……LOVES us!  Thank you Father for always being there for us, no matter how dense the fog…..keep us ever faithful.

My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26.  The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him.  Nahum 1:7.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Psalm 37:5-6.  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Eo not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9.
Love you all!

Friday, March 6, 2015

What does He see in us?

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully loved by Him, Thursday!  While I was talking with Hailey on the phone yesterday, Tucker woke up from a nap.  She got him up and was sweet talking him (makes me smile) when she laughed and said, “Tucker, look at your hair…..you got your ‘bed head’ from your Nana!”  She was laughing as she described his hair on the back of his head.  You see, in my family I am known for my “bed head”; my hair just gets in a big ol’ mess on the back of my head when I sleep or nap…..it used to bother me but not anymore and especially not now that Hailey sees me in Tucker’s “bed head.”  Now that is a Nana’s ultimate delight…..of course as Tucker grows up I hope that there are some slightly more significant traits he gets from me, but for now……the “bed head” makes me happy!  Hailey sees me in Tucker…….We love for our children and grandchildren to inherit the good parts of us, we love to see ourselves in them….As I thought about this last night I couldn’t help but think about our Heavenly Father…..as His children….What does He see in us?.....Does He see His love in us, in our thoughts and actions…..how we treat others is a definite reflection on how we are loving HIM……Father, help us to shine with Your love so that we reflect You in all that we do.
 
The Lord has declared this day that you are His people, His treasured possession as He promised, and that you are to keep all His commands.  Deuteronomy 26:18.  We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10.  A happy heart makes the face cheerful.  Proverbs 15:13.  We love because God first loved us.  1 John 4:19.  He has given us this command:  whoever loves God must also love his brother.  1 John 4:21.  Jesus said, “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35.You yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.  1 Thessalonians 4:9.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father I heaven.  Matthew 5:16.
Love you all!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The wolf and the lamb...Isaiah 11:1-9

Good Morning Friends!  Totally His, Tuesday!   A couple years ago I was having a terrible problem with mice in the house….it was bad and I was aggravated.  People kept telling me I needed some outside cats, but much to my chagrin, my hubby hated cats and had always refused getting any!  Well, let’s say he has mellowed a bit in his old age and when a sweet friend offered to give me a few of her barn cats he said ok!  I was so excited, I brought my friend a live trap so she could catch a couple and we met on Sunday in town and I took them home.  I let them out by the old chicken coop where Kim had put food and that was the last I saw of them for a while, even though Kim saw them occasionally during the day.  Oh but I knew they were there because things got much better in the house.  A few months had past when we discovered we had kittens…..same thing didn’t really see them all the time, just occasionally, except one pretty little tiger-striped kitten….silly thing started hanging out in the chicken coop!  At first she was really skittish, running from me, but hoping I was bringing scraps…she would eat with the chickens and sleep on top of their feeder!  Really cracked me, didn’t seem to be a lot of animosity between the very different critters.  It wasn’t until last week during the bitter, bitter cold spell that a passage from Isaiah really hit me…..”and the wolf will live with the lamb….”  I walked in the coop to feed and water the rabbits and give the chickens some scratch….I couldn’t believe what I saw….There on the ground was the kitten totally surround by the hens…when I say “surrounded”  I mean totally covered, protected by their feathers….the sight was breathtaking.  The small cat, crouched on the ground, peeking out from under the hovering hens….the hens were keeping her warm….cats and chickens….natural enemies, like the wolf and the lamb……living together in peace…..more than peace….compassion….can you imagine how warm and toasty it was under all those feathers!  Oh Father, please help us learn a lesson of love and compassion from YOUR critters…..help us to live together in peace and accept everyone as they are….feathers or fur!
 
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirt of counsel and power, the Spirt of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.  He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.  Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.  The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.  Isaiah 11:1-9.      Let’s work to do this now!