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!

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!

The smells of Spring

Good Morning Friends!  Warm in His love, Wednesday!  The other day when I got back to work from lunch, landscaping was mowing the lawn out front; oh my goodness it smelled so good!  So fresh and clean…… As I opened the door, I took a good deep breath relishing in the magnificent scent of freshly mown grass ……spring……it smelled like spring.  I was smiling as I walked in and sat down at my desk, thinking about spring coming…the wonderful smell was still fresh in my mind when a woman came in….she was smiling too as she said, “Oh my it smells so good outside….”  I replied, “Yes, like spring”  she said, “Yes, I am looking forward to spring…..it has been a long winter!”  I most definitely had to agree with her….we have had such a long winter…..snow, ice, cold….Utility bills have been so high and we have used 7 cords of wood!  That’s a lot for us!  As she left, I couldn’t help but think about spring, a time for renewing, planting, spring cleaning…..all things fresh and new after a long, cold winter….flowers blooming, gardens growing….softly, gently, I felt HIS touch…..I could hear HIM in the buzz of the lawn mower….”Kathie, my child”  spring is a wonderful time of the year….how about a spring time spiritually….You know, renew your faith by cleaning out bad habits and spending more time with Me.  Plant seeds of kindness, thoughtfulness, love and watch them grow and bloom more of the same!  Mow down angers, frustrations, anxiety and worry…..clean out those attitudes that bring you down and get in the way of doing your very best. Life’s winters can be so long and cold….come to Me let Me warm you with My love….let My SON shine on you, refresh you and give you peace.”   Thank you Father….whatever would we do without you!

 

Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understand no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and wary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  The will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, the will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31.  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.  Ecclesiastes 3:1.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth……And God saw that it was good.  From Genesis 1.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  James 1:21.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness.  Galatians 5:22.

Love you all!

 

Kathie A. Johnson

Receptionist

The seasons of your lfe

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully loved by HIM, Thursday!  Happy first day of spring my friends!!!!  Although it didn’t really feel like spring at 32 this morning, or look like it with frost covered pastures, I chose to wear a beautiful sun-yellow blouse and my vintage flower earrings and matching pin (left to me by a dear old friend) in hopes of appearing, “spring like.”  Here in the office everyone seems to be cheery, lots of talk of working in the yard, planting flowers and gardens!  The Home Depot add has pages of flowers, garden tools and everything you could ever need to “spring” up your yard!  Out with the weeds and in with blossoming flowers……right!  “Oh, Good Morning Father, Happy first day of spring to You! What’s up?”  “Kathie, My child….it is a beautiful day isn’t it, I made this day for your rejoicing.  I love you, my child!  Now about this “spring” thing…..It is wonderful for you all to work in your yards, enjoying the beauty of creation I made for you, flowers blooming, green grass….no weeds….wonderful indeed!  But, my child….how about your spiritual yard?  Could it use some cleaning up….some planting….seeds of fervent prayer, weeding out of negative attitudes, blossoms of time in God’s word and Christian fellowship, fertilizing your actions so you grow more kind, unselfish, caring actions to your family and friends?  Just think of the beauty produced through “yard work” with Me….My love for You will shine through you producing bountiful blossoms of love!  Go my child, I am with you….always through all the seasons of your life……winter, summer, fall and spring!”  Father, I want to grow and blossom for You, with Your Love…..I want to produce bountiful fruits of the Spirit…..help me, please.  Thank you Father!

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law….Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  Galatians 5:22-23 & 25-26.  The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.  Isiah 35:1-2.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  James1: 22-23.  Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  2 Timothy 4:2.  We love because God first loved us.  1 John 4:19.Keep on loving each other.  Hebrews 13:1.

Love you all!

 

April 25, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Thursday!  From my desk, I can see out the front doors of the office and it’s a hub of activity!  The landscaping department is here in full force with a truck load of flowers…..yep, beautiful spring flowers…..planting love, that’s what they are doing for more people than they could even imagine.  To them, it’s their job, load the truck with flowers, make sure they have the tools they need, head to the site and plant them…..to me and so very many others their work is an act of love…..beautiful flowers in a rainbow of colors…..God’s creation…..our Perfect Creator….Artist Extraordinaire! Green grass, blooming trees, and rainbows of flowers…..how can we not feel loved….I will make a point to thank the landscape crew, but how often do we miss a chance to let people know what a great job they are doing, how what they have done has blessed our day….taken a chunk out of the hectic and replaced it with a smile….peace…..There are so many opportunities in a day for us to share a little bit of God’s love…..we don’t have to plant a 100 acres…..one flower, one little blub or a tiny seed can blossom and change a day deemed for gloom into a day in a garden of love….Sharing God’s love….planting His seeds…..Growing love…..Now that’s a happy thought isn’t it…..Growing in God’s love and then transplanting it to others……till with kindness, fertilizer with a smile, water with buckets of joy……Oh gosh can’t wait to harvest our gardens!  Father help us to plant your love wherever we go….even in the most unlikely of places…there’s always someone that needs a little love…..Help us to be tools of Your work.  To You, our Heavenly Father, all glory, honor, and praise!  Thank you for loving us so much!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it’s not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails……And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:1-8 and 13.

Love you all!

March 15, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Fabulous Friday, I am His and so are you!  The last couple of days I can’t help but notice all the signs that spring is coming.  The tree across from my office is heavy with beautiful white blossoms, the grass is a vibrant green, bright yellow daffodils dot the roadsides, and every pasture has young calves happily frolicking.  The sun is shining and warm…..A wonderful time to Praise God for the wonders of His creation…..Not to be negative, but simply realistic……as beautiful as it is outside right now….in a matter of seconds it could all change….spring storms are known for damaging winds, hail, and possible tornados……Not every day is a beautiful spring day……flowers don’t always bloom and the grass is not always green……but storms pass…..and for us…..we are never alone in the storm….Our Heavenly Father is with us, shielding us from the winds, holding us through the tornados…Loving us….always and forever!  Father thank you for wonders of Your creation right now as we are enjoying special signs of spring and thank you for holding us through the storms.

Have a wonderful weekend….enjoy God’s creation.  I am including our Today from one year ago….just seemed fitting!  God Bless you.  Love you all!

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Thursday!!  Cruising into work this morning as usual, thinking about my day and praying, I remembered a dream I had last night.  When the crazy thought came into my head I immediately remembered that I had dreamed it last night; I don’t recall too much of the dream, but what I do remember left me with a worthy thought.  I was driving in someone else’s car, but I was the driver.  There was one person with me, seems like the person was not too familiar to me, anyway we were driving someplace I had never been and we were definitely on some kind of an urgent mission…..seems like there was tension in the car.  Like I said, I was the driver and what I recall is that we were driving up a very steep hill….I am talking almost straight up, like scary straight up…almost like a roller coaster.  I remember feeling stressed, but was doing my very best to not panic….I distinctly remember thinking……”I don’t think my VW would make it up this hill…….that’s it….that’s all I remember.  Here’s what I got out of it…..We never know when we head out in a day what hills we may have to climb…..what struggles we may have to overcome…..what grief or pain we may have to bear…….getting to the top depends on our power source.  The car I was driving in my dream had a powerful engine…..I am sure I made it safely to the top.  My little VW (as much as I just love it and it does awesome here), on the other hand I am not sure would have made it…….the trip would have been much more difficult!   Yep Father, I hear You, I understand…..without You as our power source……without You pushing us up our hills………without YOU….don’t even want to think about it!  Heavenly Father, thank you so much for empowering us with Your love.  Fill us with the faith- giving power of the Holy Spirit so that our faith continues to grow stronger enabling us to climb our hills with strength and confidence and filled with Your Perfect Peace.

Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you.  Jeremiah 32:17.  Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.  Jeremiah 17:7-8.  Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10. 

Love you all!