The magnificent taste of the goodness of the Lord

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully loved by HIM, Thursday!  A couple of days ago, during my scripture time, I came across a verse from Psalm 34 that I just couldn’t get out of my mind.  Verse 8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”  I was all about the “blessed is the man” part, but the  “taste and see”  I know the LORD is good, but the “taste” part has me pondering ever sense I read it.  Now I have read that verse who knows how many times in my life, it’s highlighted in all of my bibles, but for some reason tasting the Lord just got me wondering…..how do we taste the Lord, besides in Holy Communion…..well, like I said for the past several days “taste the Lord” has been rolling around in my head….until last night, finally came all together for me….Kim had a call from a neighbor with a joining property;  he was calling to let Kim know we had sheep on his place.  Oh boy, we were relaxing on the porch at the time, I really didn’t relish the idea of loading into the truck and roaming pastures to get them back home.  However, that’s what we did…..the windows were down in the truck, and it was so nice I didn’t roll mine up….gosh, I thought, the air is so fresh, no wind either, as we headed up to where the sheep are we first passed the cows grazing on the most luscious green pasture!  I had not been out in a week and I couldn’t believe how much greener everything was and the calves are getting so big; the black cows look so magnificent against the luscious green….then we hit the sheep; lots of them were home where they were supposed to be, quite happy to see Kim in the feed truck, little did they know they were not getting fed again….we headed out into the pasture to find the roamers, look at the trees they are really starting to leaf out, oh gosh are those wildflowers blooming…yes, wow, beautiful!  We got the sheep in, found the hole in the fence, visited with the neighbor and headed out.  I couldn’t help but point out the fantastic sky….grey and white clouds mixed in joy with the rays of the setting sun illuminating them….magnificent….the ponds are so full, oh look at that flock of ducks flying overhead in a perfect V formation….What a wonderful evening….I felt so much more relaxed and at peace as we pulled back into the yard…Kim grilled us a steak and I fixed some veggies,  my first bite of steak “tasted so good”……hmm, I paused and said a thank you prayer….not for the taste of my steak, but for the magnificent taste of the goodness of the Lord, through the magnificence of HIS creation!  Oh Father, thank you for the beauty all around us, the miracles of YOU!  Help us to use all of our senses to “taste” Your goodness, and be filled with Your eternal love….to rest in Your peace.

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.  Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.  Psalm 34:8-9.  Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.  1 Peter 2:2-3.  How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Psalm 119:103.  Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.  1 Timothy 4:4.  The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.  Psalm 29:11.  Amen!  Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.  Amen!  Revelation 7:12.

Love you all!

The shepherd and his sheep

Good Morning Friends!  Totally loved by HIM, Tuesday!   How long has it been since you have seen or heard a hundred baby lambs, running, jumping, baaing for mama?  Sound like fun?…..Well come on out to Lula, it’s lambing time!  Last summer, Kim replaced his old ewes with young ones and this is their first time to lamb, so he has been extra watchful and careful… first-time mamas can have problems birthing.  He decided when they first started lambing to lock them into a large catch pen, rather than let them go out into the pasture, allowing him to keep a closer eye on them.  It’s extra work with all the feeding, but so much safer.  Well, a couple weeks ago our well pump went out so there was no water in the catch pen; he had no choice but to let them out into a pasture with a pond while the well was repaired.  Oh boy, they loved being out in the pasture….but there was no way he could leave them out there, he had to bring them in at dusk, no matter what it took.  I was with him that first day, it was a bit of a chore to say the least, but they sure liked the fresh grass, so being the kind shepherd that he is, Kim has let them out each morning to graze and brings them in at night, feeds them, and locks them in.  As he pulls into the alley way where he feeds, he turns on the siren on the feed truck, his signal to the animals that chow is on!  Sunday evening I got to go out with him to let them in; during the week he is usually done by the time I get home, so I was looking forward to seeing all the little ones.  As we drove in I could see them all way out in the back pasture…oh boy I thought, this could be a real rodeo, but as soon as Kim turned on the siren they started running in mass towards the gate and feed!  It was truly amazing to watch them come as Kim stood out in the pasture to make sure no one was left behind for coyote bait.  He noticed one lone lamb way out and was headed out to get it, when I hollered at him….”I’ll go, rest your weary legs.”  As soon as they were all in and the gate was locked we filled the troughs with grain….they just go crazy, but what a joy to see them all together, safe, protected, fed, and growing strong.  As we drove away I could still hear the babies baaing for their mamas (they were of course bellied up to the troughs), their cries made me smile….Is that what I sound like to our Good Shepherd….I laughed as I thought, “of course Kim is a good shepherd to his sheep, he had the Perfect Example…our Savior.”  “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…..Ps. 23”  He protects me from the coyotes of a sinful world, He feeds me with His word and provides me with all I need on this earth, He calms my fears.  Kim’s sheep know the sound of his feed truck, Jesus says of us, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”  John 10:27-28.  No one can snatch us out of HIS hands, Kim, try as he might can never guarantee that one of his lambs will not get snatched….Our Good Shepherd, is our Savior, our God and Lord…..”My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”  John 10:29-30.   Thank Father, for a Shepherd that laid down HIS life for us…”Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Psalm 23:6.

 

Love you all!

This IS the day the Lord hath made, rejoice and be glad in it!

Good Morning Friends!  Fabulous Friday, loved by HIM!  Gosh, after two nights of very restless sleep, I finally had a good sleep last night.  As I sat in my cozy recliner, snuggled in my blanket made by my granddaughters, bible in hand, I had to say a thank you prayer for feeling so awake and refreshed!  One of my readings was Psalm 96, the words fit my mood, filling me with such joy and praise as I read, “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.  Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.  Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.  For GREAT is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.  Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary .” (1-6).  My mood just got better and better, we had a simple but yummy breakfast, no bickering and I got out of the house early, so I could go to the bank before work!  I was feeling quite happy, positive, praising our Father with each step to the car, and singing “Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow” as I buckled my seat belt!  Oh yes a fabulous day indeed…..and then…Well, let’s say my perfect little day got a bit bumpy.  Kim was calling, for goodness sakes, I wasn’t even out of the driveway yet, what could he want.  “Do you have time to….?????”  My mind went ballistic…and I am sure my tone matched….My perfect day was all set, leave early, go by bank before work and have all lunch hour to work out….yep perfect.  Until, “do you have time?”  Kim wanted me to wait while he printed off a bid that just came via email; the bid along with others, needed to go to Commissioners office…Oh no, that meant I had to go at lunch, giving up exercise time….Ugh!  I felt my mood rapidly deteriorating, but I said yes, but hurry.  In a minute he called and told me to go on because he couldn’t find the other bids….I said ok and once again began to pull out of drive, at that point he had discovered the bag of chicken scraps sent home with me last night by a good friend…they had defrosted all over the bbq where I had left them when I got home last night.  Usually I give them to the chickens right away, but we were going to dinner with Cooper and Katy so there wasn’t time. I meant to do it when we got home, but of course….completely forgot.  Well, he was irritated by the mess, so I stopped the car, unbuckled, ran to the porch and grabbed the yucky, wet, sloppy bag, and headed to the coop.  Kim’s irritation serenading me all the way.  OK, bag emptied, hands rinsed, back in car, buckled and headed down the road, quite irritated myself….The phone rings again, Kim…I figured he was calling to apologize, nope….he found the bids and wanted me to come back and get them!!!!  I could not believe my ears!!!!  I flipped a Ueeee, and headed back to the house…..making no effort to disguise my disgust,  I grabbed the papers from his hand and headed out again!  My positive mood from earlier gone!  Thing is, the words from Psalm 96 kept resounding in my mind….. "Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength..  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.”  Oh dear, was I giving God glory with my attitude…wow, look at the blossoms on those trees, they are about to bud, my goodness what a huge flock of turkeys, amazing, that pond is sure full…spring is really going to be beautiful….Oh my… "Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.  Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His truth.”  The words of the Psalm were all I needed to bring me back….to fill me again with joy….joy in being HIS child, blessed with the beauty of HIS creation and love of family and friends day in and day out.  “This IS the day the LORD has made!”  I am rejoicing in it!!!!  Forgive me Father, for letting the little things in my life get in the way of YOUR GLORY!!!  All GLORY and HONOR to YOU!

 

Have a great weekend…no matter what!

Love you all!

He did not procrastinate our salvation

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His Tuesday!  How about this weather!  Yesterday everybody was talking about how beautiful it was on Saturday, and all the stuff they did outside, enjoying the weather.  Some went to the lake, lots of fishing, yard work, just fun being outside.  When I was asked about enjoying the weather Saturday, I had a different story to tell.  You see, Kim and I had a major project….paperwork…..in the office…..that really needed to get done!  We had made a deal that Saturday would be the day….all day at best.  We did go out and feed the sheep and calves, water the hogs, but that was it….as nice as it was already then and as tempted as we were to stay outside, procrastinating the paper work….we didn’t!  We dragged ourselves back into the house…..straight to the office….and dug in!  More than once during the day, Kim tried to lure me outside…it is so nice he said….we can do this later….NO!!!!  Let’s get it done and we did!  As I was finishing up on Sunday (yes was a two day project) filing the last pieces, I was hit with the greatest thought….made me smile…from the inside out…..Aren’t we thankful that our Heavenly Father didn’t procrastinate giving us His Son, our Savior Jesus, to wash us clean from sin?  To give us the promise of eternal life?  He sure could have….how do you think He felt when Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane…”My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  Do you think He liked seeing His Son suffering, and then on the cross in the ninth hour when Jesus called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  As a mom, I know to see your child in pain and sadness hurts my heart….I know that our Father’s heart ached for His Son, but HE did not procrastinate our Salvation….He gave HIS only Son…..for us….all of us….Jesus died for us, but most importantly, HE rose for us….eternal life is now ours….believe and you will be saved.  “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  Ephesians 2:8.  Father, thank you for not procrastinating our salvation, thank you for YOUR Son, our SAVIOR.  Keep our faith strong.  And Father, we do so often procrastinate the things that are important in our lives…forgive us and give us Your strength and guidance to do what we need to do, when we need to do it!

 

Though you have not seen Christ, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  1 Peter 1:8-9.

Love you all!

Using the gifts God gave us

Good Morning Friends!!  Forever His, Friday!  I found a cool, fun, yet learning project for my Sunday school kids for Lent.  They are making posters depicting the events of Holy Week.  To get us going we read the events starting with Palm Sunday through Christ’s resurrection from the Gospels; then we went over each major event and talked about how they could make posters for them.  I let them pick the event they wanted and told them to be as creative as they wanted to be.  Thanks to lots of generous crafters and friends that donate cool stuff, we had more than enough things to cut and glue and paint and color…..from popsicle sticks to colorful feathers, live palm leaves, and  real pokey thorns for His crown!  They were so excited as they started gathering things, the teachers and I kept very busy finding their requests and making some little suggestions, but I was very adamant that I wanted the posters to be the kids….however they turned out….the kids were doing their best!  Sometimes it is very hard for us to let the kids do their own thing, seems like we often think we know how to do things better than the actual doer!  So, as hard as it was for us adults I insisted all the way that the kids could do it their way….with the skills that they have.  Each child has different creative abilities, so the posters are all very different, some quite intricate others simple….but each one perfect because each child did their very best with the skills that our Father gave them….I even let them pick the place in the church they wanted to hang their posters….they decided on the big hallway between the fellowship hall and our classrooms….perfect…Now the plain white walls are adorned with  HOLY WEEK…..the children are proud of their accomplishments….I am proud of them….As we hung our last poster I thought, sure hope the congregation likes them…..doesn’t judge them….but appreciates that the children did their best to God’s glory.  As I have pondered our posters this week, I know that God wants each of us to always do our very best…..using the skills that we have from HIM.  We are all different, so we don’t do things the same way, that’s ok… "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve other, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.  If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”  1 Peter 4:10-11.  “Each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, anther has that.” 1 Corinthians 7:7.  Point is, use it….God gives to us, and desires that we use our gifts to His glory and….”Encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” 1 Thessalonians.  So,….”Serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you.”  1 Chronicles 28:9.  Father help us to, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever!”

  2 Peter 3:18.

Have a great weekend!  Love you all!

Why did the guinea hen cross the road?

Good Morning friends!  Wonderfully wrapped in His loving arms, Wednesday!   For the last few days on my ride into work I have encountered a flock of guineas, probably 20 or maybe a few more….they live on the north side of the road…..Now, I said that’s where they live, however I didn’t say that’s where they spend all their time.  Oh No!  Each morning as I turn onto Old 3W, I have to be on the lookout for these critters crossing the road to eat at the neighbors.  Now, let me say this…..the home of this flock of clever birds is very nice, you know big grassy yard with undoubtedly an abundance of tasty morsels, you know ticks, fleas, gnats, moist little weeds buried in the grass….tasty for sure….the yard across the road…well it’s fine, but not as big and not as much vegetation to pick through….yet these strange winged critters risk their lives by crossing a busy road to get to the yard across the street….And why….well of course, they just know that the grub across the road has got to better than the grub at their place!  Each day as I slow down and wait for them to cross, I give them a little lecture….You silly birds, why do you risk your life getting a cross the road when you have everything you need at home….This morning, I felt the familiar tap on my shoulder.  “Hello Father, how are YOU today? “  “Kathie, My child, you are the silly one….why do you strive to ‘cross the road’ to the good life, when you have everything you need right here with ME?  You risk your faith when you slight your prayer life, your time with Me in My word, worship, and Christian fellowship.  You put yourself at risk because when you are not with Me, things that are not of Me, start looking better than what you have.”  “Oh Father, I get it…..You hold everything that I need….You hold the key to life everlasting with YOU.  I don’t need to run after more and more things, bigger, better, prettier, faster, more, more, more….NO, NO, NO….YOU are all that I need!  To love and trust and in YOU and YOU only for what’s best for me.  You know what we need before we ask, You want what’s best for us and You gave us Your only SON.”  Thank you Father, for taking such good care of us and giving us enough of everything we need.  Forgive us when we think we need more and more…..thank you for YOUR gentle reminders that keep us from temptation.

 

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:12-13. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5.  But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.   1 Timothy 6:6-8.  Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.  Proverbs 16:8.  A happy heart makes the face cheerful Proverbs 15:13.  Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.  Ecclesiastes 4:6.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  Psalm 33:21.

Love you all!