He strokes our worries and sadness away

Good Morning Friends!  Wonderfully wrapped in His loving arms Wednesday!  Our little dog Axel is sick….oh we just hate it.  He has a terrible cough…it just sounds horrible and Kim and I just hate that he doesn’t feel good….Well, on Monday he was so worried about his little pal that he took him to the Vet.  She said he didn’t have a fever and couldn’t see anything in his throat, gave him a shot and some pills for his tummy ache and sent them home.  The cough kept getting worse and worse and yesterday morning, sitting on my lap, he kept looking at me….his eyes so droopy and sad…..he just looked miserable, so pathetic….As I sat in the quiet of the early morning, gently rubbing his throat and having my morning talk with our Father…..it occurred to me just how pathetic we must look to our Father sometimes….times we are worried, sad, grieving…..eyes drooping, cheeks tear streaked, shoulders drooped…..pathetic….Axel found comfort sitting with me, being stroked…..feeling my compassion for him….Can you just imagine how much compassion our Father has for us, when He sees us…..drooping and sad……He yearns for us to come to HIM, sit with HIM and be comforted….HE will not fail us….gently, lovingly HE strokes our worries and sadness away….carries them for us…wraps HIS loving arms around us and gives us peace.  Thank you Father.

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4.  May your unfailing love be my comfort  according to your promise to your servant.  Psalm 119:76.  The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.  Psalm 29:11. 

Love you all!

Do you hear what I hear?

Good Morning Friends!  Fabulous Friday, loved by HIM!  This morning sitting in the living room, in my house, with all the windows closed, I could hear one dog….one little bitty dog barking….in the kennel…..behind my house….the back side of my house, living room is in front…..behind the carport…..one little bitty, yapping dog….I could hear him plain as day……yipping….a constant, irritating yip….in my house….with the windows closed…..As I sat there irritated, becoming quite annoyed at the barking dog…..behind my house, behind the carport…..in  my living room with the windows closed…..I chuckled to myself….isn’t it funny that I can hear that dog….you know where……but quite often I do not hear my husband speaking to me when he is sitting a couple of feet away…….Now just how crazy is that!!!!!  At first I chuckled, then I thought….hmmm that little dog is irritating me in the house, but my poor husband often gets ignored a few feet away……I felt rather ashamed of myself….why can I hear that dog way outside, but don’t hear my husband…..Hmmmm….yep……because I choose, selfishly at times, to “not hear” “ignore” him….quite human of me…..while the dog continued to yip, my annoyance building I thought…OH MY…..Father……I too am a yipper…..whining and complaining to You all the time…..begging, pleading day in and day out!  Yet, You never get annoyed with me….never….Your love and compassion are endless, engulfing my life inside and out…..PLUS…..You NEVER IGNORE me either…..OH Father, thank you for hearing my constant yipping and answering my prayers!  Forgive my selfish nature, help me to listen compassionately to others.  All glory, honor, and praise to YOU!

 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God:  That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.  1 John 5:14-15.  The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!  Isaiah 30:18.  Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  Galatians 5:13.  As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12.  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. 

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson

Receptionist

Administrative Services

Division of Housing

The new addition to the family

Good Morning Friends!  Forever HIS, Friday!  Well……somehow or another we have a new dog at our house!  This past year was tough on us as far as our dogs go….lost 3, so I was somewhat surprised when Kim came home with a small, not too young dog.  He was a stray that had landed at a friend’s house in Gertie and it seems……that every time my husband was there the dog vied for his affection……not to mention that his friend really wanted to get rid of the dog.  So, Axle now resides in Lula, America!  He is a handsome little guy a mix of maybe Jack Russell and Dachshund, brown and white and quite stout.  Upon arriving at our house, Axle seemed a bit confused; he wanted to be with us, but if we tried to pick him up or pet him he ran off….very leery of our touch…it was sad, poor guy, easy to see that someone had been less than real nice to him causing him to be real skittish.  I knew there was no sense in forcing myself on him, rather I needed to just be patient, kind, reassuring (and an occasional treat never hurts).  Well, Axle has been with us for about 2 weeks now and he is really coming around; he’s so excited to see us, and follows us everywhere we go!  He loves to go with Kim in the truck and he loves to be petted and have his belly scratched!  Yep, Axle is going to be a great addition to our family….thanks to a little patience, smothered in kindness!  Do you have any Axles in your life….not dogs, but rather people…..people that for some reason or another need to be reassured of their worth….people that are leery of getting too close…..scared of getting hurt.  We so often think we know just what everybody else needs to get all fixed up!  Well, that just isn’t always the case!  I’m pretty sure that we could have chased Axle away if we would have insisted on  pushing our affections on him…..now slowly he is becoming a loving, well- adjusted pet!  For me I know that even in my prayers, at times, I become over bearing with my requests for people I feel are in need.  I think I know what they need…..Well, everyone needs prayers that’s for sure, and God knows exactly!!!  What He needs us to do is to send them to HIM and in the mean- time….be kind, patient, reassuring…..we may never see results like Axle, but we know that God is working!  He wants us to shine for HIM, to not judge others, but rather to be alert to those that might need patience…..kindness….reassuring.  Father, thank you for knowing needs, so that we don’t have to explain….help us to trust in Your will for our concerns and fill us with the will to love others like You love us!

 

The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.  1 Corinthians 1:25.  As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12.  “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear,” says the Lord.  Isaiah 65:24.  Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.  Jude 20.  As believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.  James 2:1.  The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.  Psalm 29:11.

Love you!

Kathie A. Johnson

Don't blame it on the dog!: Matthew 7:1-5

Good Morning Friends!  Forever His, Friday!  Yesterday I told you a bit about our dog, Holina Dos; today I am going to share a cute story that my dear friend Julie shared with me about her precious dog, Annie.  Julie got home after work, the day it had been raining, Annie was outside but very anxious (she is a bit of a worry wart) because there was a big truck parked next door.  So anyway, Annie was in a big rush to get into the house.  As soon as they got in the door Julie noticed some mud on the floor.  She scoffed at Annie, grabbed a cloth and went to wiping off Annie’s paws…..Annie wasn’t thrilled about it and was so excited that Julie kind of had to follow her through the house to get each paw.  She was irritated that she kept wiping, but there was still mud everywhere!  I wasn’t there, so I can’t be sure, but I would just bet that Annie was getting chewed out pretty good…..after a few minutes and lots of wiping on Annie’s paws, Julie discovered….oh my….ready for this….the mud she kept seeing was on her shoes!!!!  Annie was innocent, blameless….but was so quickly accused of making the muddy mess when actually….the accuser was to blame!  Ouch!!  We were laughing as she shared her Annie story, but it got me to thinking.  How often do we…..place blame on others rather than looking at ourselves, our actions first?.....Husband/wife a grouch????  Kids whiney??? Co-worker rude???  Grocery store clerk snotty???  Neighbor selfish????   Hmm maybe we should check for the mud on our feet, before we accuse everyone else around us of the wrong doing……Father, forgive us when we look to blame others before we look at ourselves.  Help us to be more like YOU…..Fuel our lights to shine brightly with kindness and love.

 

Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘let me take the speck out our your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?.....first take the plank out of your won eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:1-5.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  Ephesians 4:22-24.  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.  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!!!  1 John 3:1. 

Love you all!  Have a wonderful weekend