Happy Thanksgiving!

It is a beautiful morning with a very orange-pink sunrise. God is so good! He is ever faithful.

God's Mercy
“His father saw him - there were eyes of mercy;
he ran to meet him - there were legs of mercy;
he put his arms round his neck - there were arms of mercy;
he kissed him - there were kisses of mercy;
he said to him - there were words of mercy;
Bring here the best robe - there were deeds of mercy;
Wonders of mercy - all mercy!
Oh, what a God of mercy he is!”
Matthew Henry

As we are busy celebrating Thanksgiving today, let’s do it with a thankful heart. If preparing the meal, getting ready for company, having a change in our routine starts to get to you remember to show each other mercy. I think the number one thing I am thankful for today is the heritage dad and mom left us kids of knowing the Lord and how to have a thankful heart.

Colossians 2:7
Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with THANKSGIVING.

Father, we thank you for your love and provisions to us not only today, but every day; help us to have thankful hearts I pray.

by these things men live!

Last night in church my pastor read some scripture in Isaiah 38 in continuing with his message; however I read a little beyond and it seemed like the scripture just jumped out at me. Here is what I read.

Isaiah 38:16-20
16 O LORD, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

We who are living are able to offer praises unto the Lord. So it would appear to me we need to do that as much as possible, as the day will come when we can no longer offer praise to our loving Father. In addition we need to show love and praise those around us while we have the chance. I no longer want to wait and then after our loved one is gone to say “I wish I would have told them more often what they meant to me.” Now while we are alive give love, and praise freely to each other, and most importantly to God.

Father we thank you for your Word. Thanks that we can read it with understanding. Our HOPE is in you Lord. Our STRENGTH is in you Lord. Our LIFE is in you Lord. How awesome to be your child.

Standing Firm!

“On a daily basis we’re faced with two simple choices. We can either listen to ourselves and our constantly changing feelings about our circumstances, or we can talk to ourselves about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He’s accomplished for us at the cross. Far too often we choose to passively listen to ourselves. We sit back and let our view of God and life be shaped by our constantly shifting feelings about our ever-changing circumstances.” C.J. Mahaney

Psalms 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brought forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doth shall prosper.

My days go so much better when I stand firm on the Word of God. When I don’t let the circumstances around me surround me, but I hold onto the promises of God, knowing that He is at work on my behalf and will not only see me through the circumstances, but will give me joy, peace, and the strength to come out stronger and victorious. That makes me excited. Sing!

Thanks Father for your love. Thank you that we can come to a place in you that no matter what is swirling around us, we know you will take care of us and we can rest in that knowledge.

What doth the Lord Require of You?

Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Another way to read this verse is to put your name in place of Israel,

And now, Joy, what doth the Lord thy God require of you? I need to fear the Lord, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, and to serve Him with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. When I do this then I am being obedient to His word and He is able to bless me. The same applies to each of you. God loves us and wants to bless us.

“In Jesus are riches – if you are poor; Honor – if you are despised; Friendship – if you are forsaken; Help – if you are injured; Mercy – if you are miserable; Joy – if you are disconsolate; Protection – if you are in danger; Deliverance – if you are a captive; Life – if you are mortal; and all things – if you have nothing at all.” James Meikle

Thank you Father for showing us what you require of us so we can walk closer to you. Help us to seek you more, praise you more, and share you with others.

Beating great odds!

“Beating great odds is God’s specialty. It’s one way He proves that He can do the impossible. Don’t accept defeat if what you’re standing for is consistent with God’s Word and His ways. Persevere, believing God. Ask Him to fight for you and show Himself mighty!” P165-Daniel by Beth Moore

God is so awesome. I just can’t get enough of Him. He is everything and all things to me. He gives me the courage to go on when I don’t have the strength. He sends others along to give encouragement. How special to know and feel the tangible love of God.

Psalms 33:18

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy.

Sometimes thoughts and feelings get so full within me that I feel like I am about to explode. To put those thoughts and feelings into written word is a little harder. But to know God’s love, to feel His eyes of mercy upon us, to experience His peace in the midst of the storms of our lives, to walk in the fullness of His joy, is to be fully alive!

Thanks God for filling us with your peace, joy, and love. Help us to extend yourself to all those around us. Love you!

Resting In Him!

“May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow. May the soft winds freshen your spirit. May the sunshine brighten your heart. May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you, and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.”

I may have used this before, but just felt with what several of you are going through that I would remind us that God is enfolding everyone in the mantle of His love. He is ever present and wants to make our burdens light.

Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP)
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.
30 For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good--not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

God is just waiting for us to come to Him so He can take our burdens and carry them for us. His desire is for us to rest in Him; knowing that He will work all things out for our good. Yes!

Thanks Father that you love us so much you are willing to carry our burdens and sicknesses yourself. When we come to you, we can lay them down and pick up peace, joy, and rest. Praise Your Holy Name!

Our Tears!

Good morning,

It is a somewhat sunny morning here on the timber farm. Life is so good. God is great. All is well with my world.

“The poor broken-hearted sinner, going into his bedroom, bends his knee, but can only utter his mournful cry in the language of sighs and tears. Look! that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God, and put into a vase made especially for tears, to be perpetually preserved.” C. H. Spurgeon

I think the above statement could be made for those who already know God, but are too brokenhearted to know how to pray so they just utter a groan or tears and God interprets it for us. God bottles our tears I have a song “Tears are a language God understands.”

Psalms 56:8
Thou tellest my wanderings; put thou my tears into the bottle; are they not in thy book?

God cares about us so much, He even stores our tears. It can’t get any better than that.

Thanks God for your mercy, grace, compassion, and your unlimited love toward us. Knowing you and loving you is an awesome privilege. I praise your wonderful name.

Have a great day!