Hi Bloggy Friends!
Today marks the beginning of a special week for the Pope Family. We are leaving at 10:00am to spend a week in beautiful Williamsburg, VA. I will be 45 minutes from Diane. I told her I will step out on the porch and yell a big hello. I will be spending the week riding roller coaster screaming to the top of my lungs, sliding down huge water slides at Water Country, and touring historical Williamsburg. We can't wait! Sunday my daughter and I will be worshiping with the musical talent of Toby Mac, Brandon Heath, and Mandisa. God is so good. He arranged Blaire's favorite artists to be in concert while we are there. He is too good for words.
In my absence, our precious Joy(ful) will be filling in for me. I know that you all have been blessed by her comments as much as I have. I prayed about how I should handle my vacation time with my family and the Lord made it very clear that I was to take a true rest. He put Joy's name on my heart as a "guest writer" and she graciously accepted. So, thank you Joy, from the bottom of my heart. Even in the midst of all that is going on with your father you agreed to stand in the gap for me. I pray God returns this blessing back to you in great measure.
How will the week work? I have scheduled a brief post each day to remind everyone to visit Joy's site for the day's commentary. I will return back to our my blog with a post on Saturday, July 4. Please pray for Joy as she seeks God's direction each day.
I will miss you all!
16 Comments:
Have a wonderful family vacation! Williamsburg is great! You MUST get lunch at "The Cheese Shop" in Williamsburg (in the village of stores at the end of the historic street). Oh yum....havarti cheese with sprouts on a French roll and their special sauce (unless you are doing the "no bread" thing...then no roll!). :)
Enjoy your family! And have fun at that concert!
So very excited for Joy! What a blessing for her and for us! God is so very good to put her on your heart!
Wendy, I have been following and reading along all year and loving it! In Williamsburg you will be about 45 minutes from me too - I am in Richmond! Hope you enjoy Williamsburg, Busch Gardens and Water Country - all lots of fun. Blessings,
Jeannie in Richmond
Oh Wendy, your vacation sounds like so much fun! This week God has led me to pray for blessings to pour over your family! You give so much to us and I'm loving Jesus right now for answering this prayer request! I've been to Williamsburg. It's a delightful town full of history! MANDISA! R U lucky or what? :)
What a treat for all of us too, as we tune into Joy's blog! Thank you Joy for saying, "YES!" We will all be praying for your family daily, and now for words to come to you from our Father.
Good luck Liz with the move. I enjoyed your "picture" of Alaska. It's almost like we're taking little vacation spots all over the country as we each share God's beauty in our own little area! I'm glad you have time off from work too!
Debbie, God is showing me too that "He knows the whole picture." When we really let our mind sink into that truth, it's much easier to let go of the burden and put our trust in Him.
Morgen...ENJOY the houseful! :)Many fun moments that will turn into longtime memories!
Brandee...I totally agree, our country is following in our ancestors footsteps! The final words of the prophet, Hosea, are a reminder to all of us. Walking with God - obeying Him...VS Rebelling & stumbling! Lord, that we would obey the Holy Spirit as He guides our lives by revealing truths from Your Word. The Word of God, confession, and prayer bring us into the sweet close Presence Of God. He's our ever faithful and always loving Father, morning after morning after morning!
Everyone...enJOY the weekend!
Lori - AZ
Wendy,
Don't forget the wonderful candy store,and don't tell the ladies in the office. lol.
Joy, thank you for stepping in for Wendy. What a blessing it will to have you for the week!
Jeannie, holla girl where in Richmond do you live. I am in Chesterfield?
Wendy, I might be willing to bid on an ebay item that could capture your face as you do some "coaster screaming to the top of my lungs, sliding down huge water slides". What do you think girls? tee hee
Have a wonderful time and I will listen for your yell of hello.
Be safe and relaxed,
Love ya,
Diane
God is So Good...All the Time!
Wendy, I just have to say (again)...you are the penultimate teacher! Kudos to you for listening to the Lord's leading to take a true rest, and to share that with us!
How blessed are we that Joy has answered the call to take the reins...wow!...and to know God had it planned for us all way back when Wendy ordered 20 bibles and was nervous...:)
Whatever your weekend or the coming week holds I pray for you all to feel the deep peace that comes when we walk with our savior. I pray for the joy that bubbles up & over in our hearts from knowing him and his mercy. I pray for exuberant worship songs and prayers of praise and thanksgiving deep from the diaphragm and straight to heaven! Finally, I pray God's deep healing and connecting touch within you.
He's crazy about us, ya know!! And I know how he feels because I am crazy about all of You!
May your weekend be wonder-full!
Liz
AK
Amen to all of that! Wendy... Have a worry free week...you have put us all in good hands. You deserve a fun time with family.
You are a woman of courage and fearlessness! Is that a part of being a Proverbs 31 Woman? LOL
I'm usually the one standing at the bottom, holding everybody's belongings and waving each time the coaster goes around. It's that need for control I guess. Hard for me to let go on a roller coaster! LOL
Joy... Looking forward to your words of wisdom and insights from the Lord! We are all praying and staying with you this week!
Love from Debbie in Illinois
Sorry I'm so late tonight gals. My family was travelling home from 4 glorious days away. The weather was perfect and we had a relaxing holiday.
Thank you Wendy once again for this opportunity to share His heart. What a beautiful gift to me during this time of so much stress with my family. You have extended so much in your offering.
Thank you too ladies for all your words of encouragement. Thank you for your prayers. I pray it will only be His heart you see as we share together in His Word.
Today I focused on "...'I will bring them home again,' says the LORD." Hosea 11:11
Every Tuesday I find myself sitting in a music studio for an hour while my son has his piano lesson. Half of the hour his teacher devotes to written theory instruction and the remainder of the time is spent at the piano preparing for his practical exam. Although I could just drop him off and use the time to run errands, I have come to look forward to this hour each week. I write letters, read, prepare for Bible study and basically enjoy an uninterupted hour on my own.
Recently as I was listening to his teacher as she reinforced some Analysis and Counterpoint rules, I heard her give the following advice: "If at all possible, always come home." Now, she was referring to writing music and ending a composition in the tonic or 'home' key, but her direction spoke deeply to my heart.
God is calling us all to 'come home'. To come home to peace. To come home to rest. To come home to forgiveness. To come home to hope. To come home to acceptance. To come home to freedom. To come home to love. Being a wilderness wanderer at times myself, I'm so thankful that God always has the welcome mat out, the door open and the porchlight on.
Not only is there a welcome, but God Himself is waiting and watching for us. He doesn't scold us for leaving. He doesn't list all the "I told you so's". He doesn't gloat over the failure that could have prompted our return. He doesn't lay a guilt-trip on us or list our faults. He gives us a shoulder to cry on. His arms of love encircle us. He smiles and holds us tight. He knows where we've been, but at this moment, that doesn't matter. What thills His heart is where we are right now. We've made a decision to come home.
Do you need to come home today? He's looking with longing for you. If the journey seems too far, the distance too great, remember, the first step is always the hardest. Recall the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. It says in verse 20, "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him". This is the only time in the entire Word of God when the Lord is described as running. Let that grip your heart. Do you understand what makes God run? A child coming home.
God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still running towards anyone who turns their heart toward home. It doesn't matter what forces your return. I heard once that it wasn't pangs of conscience that sent the prodigal son home, but pangs of hunger. The prodigal son didn't go home until his desperation was greater than his pride. God will use whatever it takes to bring someone back home, even if it is just to satisfy your own personal needs. Take that first step and you'll find you are home. Zephaniah 3:20 says, "At that time I will bring you home". Let God be your dwelling place today in whatever situation you are facing. Don't just call home....come home.
So glad to be home tonight...both back to my "home sweet home" and at home with Jesus...right where I need to be.
Hugs to you all,
Joy
Wendy, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time on vacation. We will be praying for your safe trip.
Joy, I look forward to reading and sharing with you this week!
Last night, I returned from a mini-vacation with some of my Christian sisters. We went to the Women of Faith Conference in St. Louis. Mandisa was one of my favorites!! Wendy, get ready to recieve a blessing! The love of Jesus radiates from her as she sings; it brings tears to your eyes as you welcome the presence of the Spirit of God.
We also heard Steven Curtis Chapman, Sandi Patti, Shiela Walsh, Patsy Clairmont, Luci Swindoll, and others. It was truly a blessing to celebrate the wonderful love, healing, and grace of our Saviour with thousands of sisters in Christ. The weekend was truly a blessing.
This morning I woke up to find our puppy had pulled my new Sheila Walsh book out of my bag tearing the cover and chewing the binding...aggghhhh...along with a few other items I purchased on our trip...arrrr...I'm home. lol
nancy
Beautiful, meaningful words Joy. Yes, how many times and in how many areas have I needed to come Home? I look around me and see so many of my loved ones needing to come Home. Your message really spoke to my heart.
Praying for all of us to examine our hearts, release our pride and fall into His arms today.
Morgen
Sunday:
Today's reading is so good. I usually don't post on Sunday, but, I just can't contain myself!
Today, Samaria fell for they refused to listen to the LORD and obey him & they violated his covenant.
***Disaster came up the people
***Again and again the LORD sent prophets to warn them
***Turn from all your evil ways.
***Obey my commands
AND THIS IS STILL GOING ON TODAY!
Isaiah 1: 2-4 Can't you just feel how sad, dejected, and heavy-hearted God is in these verses?! Kinda like how heartbreaking it was for King David, Samuel, & King Josiah, when their children were rebellious.
(10) Listen to the LORD...Listen to the law of our God
*Clearly we must obey His Word, but also follow His Will for our lives.
And, how sweet - an amazing guarantee, for all of us sinners!
We can return to the Lord once again and live in obedience to His Word. Morning after morning He is still there for us, offering His unfailing love, once again!
"Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow." Thank you, Lord!
Girlfriends, have a peaceful day!
Lifting you all up in prayer & sending hugs your way! Lori-AZ
PS Liz, I'm enjoying your posts---so, so glad you have some time off!
Nancy, Welcome Home...heehee
What a mini-vaca you had! Mandisa is my new fav. too! She puts a skip in my walk each morning, to say the least! :) When is your last day at the school?
JOY~Loved what you wrote last night! Invaluable insight! Looking forward to the upcoming week!
Hey ladies,
Our church has been portable for 5 years this month. We sold our property and bought 17 acres, 9 miles down the road with a vision. Today it was revealed that we had exceeded our building fund goal by about 13,000.00. This puts us on target to build our church sooner than expected. God is so good!
Today we had our church service out on the property under a tent. Complete with praise and worship music and catered lunch. The weather was beautiful, no rain, no mud, just sunshine and nice breeze. It couldn’t have been a more refreshing day.
I have played guitar since the age of 15. Music has been such a soothing part of my life. When I was hurt, in 2001 I haven’t really been able to play. Even now that my wrist is fused and with all the surgery done I won’t play like I use to. A couple months ago, I picked up my guitar and prayed asking God please allow me a way to play. I laid it down flat on my lap and then it happened. To make a really long story short….
As a result of selling a couple guitars that I won’t be able to play again I was able to get what is called a Dobro guitar. It is best described as a blues sounding guitar. I CAN PLAY IT. I was so excited and just praised God. Today I was able to jam a bit with the praise band and have a hope of adding something in the future.
Music is such a powerful part of praise and worship and this was such answer to prayer. I look forward to playing everyday now.
Have a good rest of the day,
Diane
Diane,
Hi! Wow, how amazing. I am in "Short Pump" very close to the mall. Where are you a chef?
Jeannie
Hey Jeannie,
I am over in Chesterfield County by the Courthouse, small world.
I am retired due to health, but I was at the Commonwealth Club and Jefferson Sheraton to name a few that you would know.
What do you do?
Hey Diane, Congrats! I don't know what a Dobro guitar is but I love blues...I am so excited for you!
nancy
Hi Diane,
I don't know how these work and whether you will be checking here now that open blog weekend is over, BUT... I am an attorney at a firm in Innsbrook. I work with health care providers helping them through various regulatory processes both at state and federal levels. I work a semi-part time schedule because I have two daughters, age 12 and 8 and I try to be home in the afternoons for them. I have been in Richmond for about 20 years - and of course I am very familiar w/
commonwealth club and Jefferson!! We had our wedding reception at the Commonwealth Club in Dec. 1990 and my law firm has christmas parties there about every year.
Anyway, lets stay in touch and maybe we can get in touch personally sometime!
Jeannie
Jeannie,
Shoot me an email at dapple1984@comcast.net
God is So Faithful
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