Hi Everyone
This is weekend I will sitting a various locations (wherever there is quiet) with my laptop on hand finalizing my She Speaks message, preparing our blogs for next weekend, and my Sunday School lesson for Sunday.
If you are coming to She Speaks PLEASE find me. Friday I will be wearing what all the P31 girls are wearing, P31 shirt and jeans. Saturday, I think I will be wearing black and white. I am teaching a session called Teaching by the Book. (My favorite subject!) I can also be found at the Gather and Grow table during the day.
This weekend check out my friend Melissa Taylor's blog. She had a couple very candid posts about the death of her mother and grieving. Read her Encouragement for Today devotion before going to her blog. She also interviewed her son Dylan about his learning issues and insecurities.
Lastly, my friend Shari Braendel, our resident what not to wear lady, has just released an amazing book. Everyone woman who wants to know how to look their best needs to have this book. It is called Good Girls don't have to Dress Bad.
See you Monday!!
This is weekend I will sitting a various locations (wherever there is quiet) with my laptop on hand finalizing my She Speaks message, preparing our blogs for next weekend, and my Sunday School lesson for Sunday.
Laundry? I will have to manage it in between the writing and studying. Toilets? The ring will have to remain. The floors? Spot cleaning will have to be good enough.
If you are coming to She Speaks PLEASE find me. Friday I will be wearing what all the P31 girls are wearing, P31 shirt and jeans. Saturday, I think I will be wearing black and white. I am teaching a session called Teaching by the Book. (My favorite subject!) I can also be found at the Gather and Grow table during the day.
This weekend check out my friend Melissa Taylor's blog. She had a couple very candid posts about the death of her mother and grieving. Read her Encouragement for Today devotion before going to her blog. She also interviewed her son Dylan about his learning issues and insecurities.
Lastly, my friend Shari Braendel, our resident what not to wear lady, has just released an amazing book. Everyone woman who wants to know how to look their best needs to have this book. It is called Good Girls don't have to Dress Bad.
See you Monday!!
26 Comments:
Saturday, Day 205
Wendy,
I pray that you will accomplish all that God wants you to do this weekend. It may or may not include toilet rings (I'm sensing not). I pray that you sense it in your spirit. May God multiply your time to get everything done. If not, well, how about filming during She Speaks with some of our blog sisters so we can see them live? (It's a thought, right?)
This weekend, I finished the things I needed for my class so I can relax with a good ebook. Hey if anyone has a Nook, let me know. We can lend ebooks to each other. (Right now I have The Magnificent Obsession by Anne Graham Lotz. I borrowed it fr the library. I love hearing her southern drawl. )
Have a blessed weekend all.
Just finished reading the chapters for Saturday. The phrase "I am the Lord, there is no other." And He sets out to say how foolish we are to worship idols made by men. Who by the same piece of wood make both the idol and kindling for his meal. It does not make sense.
The passage concerning Cyrus (Isaiah 44:27,28) caught my attention, too. From Courson"This prophecy concerning Cyrus which continues to ch 45 is 1 of the most astounding in the old testament. It predicts that a man named Cyrus would come on the scene, saying that Jerusalem would be built and the foundation of the temple would be laid. At this time, Jerusalem was already built & the temple was standing tall, so what relevancy could this have to anything, the people must have wondered. But 200 YEARS later, a man named Cyrus did indeed appear on the scene as king of the Persian empire. And it would be this Cyrus who would give the order for the Jews to rebuild the city and temple the Babylonians destroyed." (p. 427 Jon Courson's Applic Commentary vol. 2)
How amazing is our bible? Imagine you were Cyrus and you see your name written 200 years before you were born? How did he feel knowing the Lord was expecting him?
This encourages me. It means we can trust His Word. Every promise, every prophecy will come to pass, in due time. God is already in our tomorrows so we need not fear.
Happy Saturday Gigs.
G and P I've heard of the Nook but have never seen one. I've heard it's similar to the Kindle that Amazon sells. I didn't know you could get E-books that were audible from the library for the Nook. I have seen the prices for E-books for the Kindle and it seems expensive. I wouldn't be able to use anything like the Kindle since I'm blind unless the E-books were audible.
After reading your post I looked at the website for the National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) for any books by Anne Graham Lotz. I found one they had called Why? trusting God when you don't understand. They not only had it on cassette but they have it as a downloadable digital book. I don't think I told you all about this new service for the blind and disabled. For years I've been getting books on tape from the NLS which is a part of the Library of Congress. A year ago, possibly two, they started having books available in a digital format and the library provides the digital book reader to use for these books. There are companies that also sell these machines but they are between $200 and $300 if not more than that so it's a blessing that the library loans them out to those who are eligible for their services for the blind and disabled. When I find a book that I want to read I download it into my computer from the website and then put it on a flash driver (memory stick) and then put the flash driver into the digital book reader. The books from NLS are read by other people instead of the author. I probably download books from the public library but I'll have to check on that. However, in the mean time I've plenty of books to read.
Rhonda I called both my Spiritual mom yesterday morning for her birthday and my counselor friend last night. Without realizing it I had talked to my counselor friend for about an hour. She told me that she was working with a man who recently went blind and is having a hard time adjusting to it and having to deal with every day things like crossing a street. My counselor friend asked me how I do it. I know how this man feels. I was borne with a vision problem and my sight went gradually but it was still hard at times and still is. She said she told him about the computer software I have for the blind and all that I do with the computer. Anyway God wants to use my life and my experiences of being blind is fine with me. Also Rhonda when I move I will be a little closer to my best friends. They will still be at least two hours away but I'll feel closer and it will make it easier for us to meet half way between us for lunch like we did last month. I'm so ready to move but it may be another year. As of last month I was 106 on the waiting list for the apartment I'm going to be moving to.
A weekend thought.
Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.
Happy Saturday Gigs.
G and P I've heard of the Nook but have never seen one. I've heard it's similar to the Kindle that Amazon sells. I didn't know you could get E-books that were audible from the library for the Nook. I have seen the prices for E-books for the Kindle and it seems expensive. I wouldn't be able to use anything like the Kindle since I'm blind unless the E-books were audible.
After reading your post I looked at the website for the National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) for any books by Anne Graham Lotz. I found one they had called Why? trusting God when you don't understand. They not only had it on cassette but they have it as a downloadable digital book. I don't think I told you all about this new service for the blind and disabled. For years I've been getting books on tape from the NLS which is a part of the Library of Congress. A year ago, possibly two, they started having books available in a digital format and the library provides the digital book reader to use for these books. There are companies that also sell these machines but they are between $200 and $300 if not more than that so it's a blessing that the library loans them out to those who are eligible for their services for the blind and disabled. When I find a book that I want to read I download it into my computer from the website and then put it on a flash driver (memory stick) and then put the flash driver into the digital book reader. The books from NLS are read by other people instead of the author. I probably download books from the public library but I'll have to check on that. However, in the mean time I've plenty of books to read.
Rhonda I called both my Spiritual mom yesterday morning for her birthday and my counselor friend last night. Without realizing it I had talked to my counselor friend for about an hour. She told me that she was working with a man who recently went blind and is having a hard time adjusting to it and having to deal with every day things like crossing a street. My counselor friend asked me how I do it. I know how this man feels. I was borne with a vision problem and my sight went gradually but it was still hard at times and still is. She said she told him about the computer software I have for the blind and all that I do with the computer. Anyway God wants to use my life and my experiences of being blind is fine with me. Also Rhonda when I move I will be a little closer to my best friends. They will still be at least two hours away but I'll feel closer and it will make it easier for us to meet half way between us for lunch like we did last month. I'm so ready to move but it may be another year. As of last month I was 106 on the waiting list for the apartment I'm going to be moving to.
A weekend thought.
Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.
hi Girls and Boys
loice here trailing behind in her readings. i just read 2 kings 20:3 where hezekiah tells the Lord
3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.
l loice, do i have anything to remind the Lord when i am in a crisis that i can tell him: remember , O Lord hoe loice has always served you single-mindedly... i have to admit, i cant claim this to be true of me. Lord i ask that you would put that deeper hunger for the things of God in my Love that i may seek you single hand mildly.
lord this world is not my home, yet i so always behave like i have arrived. Oh what a wretched woman Lord i am......
My dear GIGs, Got behind in my reading, vlog as I was on the road to VA on Thursday, then to Cardiologist/pacemaker check on Friday; plus my grandson is at Seth's and we enjoyed playing UNO and Phase 10....so by the time I got to the postings it was th8s morning.
You just never know what a day will bring! Haven't read for today yet but just had to add my prayers for dear Dixie. My daughter Sarah also has carcenoma (Sp) and will have lumpectomy surgery on Aug. 4. Dixie, I would love to be with you in person but I am in the spirit right there to encourge and pray for you.
Linda, I know waiting is so hard but God already knows the results and I pray He wil give you peace this weekend as you wait for answers.
Liz, welcome! What an addition you make to our group. Have added Johnny to my list of children to pray over.
Jen Ren, so many encouraging words have been spoken to you as I've read the posts. Grab them and hang on to them. Claim them in the Name of Jesus. Those clouds will roll away and the darkness turn into His Light.
God uses each of you to share special words, poems, songs, and personnal testimonies that blesses and encourages us.
Wendy, praying for all of you Proverbs 31 ladies and the "She Speaks" conference. Iknow everything will fall exactly in place and all attending will be touched and blessed by the speakers and by simply being in such a glorious atmosphere of the Lord's Presence.
As I've read the requests, I've SAP for them.
Now, back to play UNO with Andy before he leaves today.
Love ya'll,
Teeny
Blessed Weekend Everybody,
Grace & Peace, awesome what John Courson had……adding to that about what the footnote reads for 45:1
Isaiah 45:1: Thus says the LORD to his anointed,* Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, Subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, Opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred:
Footnote 45:1: Anointed: in Hebrew, meshiah, from which the word “Messiah” is derived; from its Greek translation, Christos, we have the name “Christ.” Applied to kings, “anointed” originally referred only to those of Israel, but it is here given to Cyrus because he is the agent of the Lord.
Jennifer Renee….That is wonderful news….I believe God has a plan for your life…..helping others in your situation…you truly are gifted in many areas…believe this!! Today’s reading so many places Isaiah 44:8 Precious hear Him telling you this, “Jennifer Renee, Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? Isaiah 44:22.…..Oh, return to me for I have paid the price to set you free. Jenn we are all here for you in the waiting of your move. Stay strong & very courageous. Mostly believe in yourself.
Jenn,
This one here really had me in tuned with me being stubborn: Isaiah 45:9, “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong! Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ …..Pondering this today.
Have to go ladies have a great weekend….have a bridal shower at 11:30.…than off to a wedding at 1:00.
Be Blessed,
Rhonda
Hi everyone
Rhonda, that was great reading everyone's names yesterday. I spent some extra time this morning praying over everyone and their special needs in my prayerwork. I love seeing your names, all interwoven. I feel blessed to pray for this spiritual community of ours.
I noticed this reading today, Isaiah 45:10-11:
"How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to his father, 'Why was I born?' or if it said to its mother, 'Why did you make me this way?'..... Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?"
This speaks to me of how God has planned and created each child in its own perfect way. We as parents are not the creators of these individuals, and we have to honor God's plan for each one. Sadly, some people do question their lives, and some children of God feel cheated that they are different. But God chose these differences in them and is calling them to something special in their lives. It is His divine plan. We need to support our children to help them see that they are perfect in God's eyes, and they are loved by their Father just the way they are. The work of His hands and His work in our lives is perfect.
And I love the comfort in Isaiah 46:3-4
God cares for us and carries us before we were born and throughout our lifetime. That is the image of a loving Father. He will save us. I pray that I will grow ever closer to Him throughout my lifetime, that He can take delight in me.
Blessing and praying for you all this weekend,
Jacque
I enjoyed today's reading. I feel that my "funk" is slowly lifting, which I am so very grateful to God for. Thank you for praying.
I like what you wrote Jacque and would even expand on the point you made about people not being satisfied with how their Creator created them. Look at the rush for botox, breast implants, liposuction, lip implants, etc... satan is an expert at getting us to believe we are not perfect just the way God made us. It's an epidemic! Lord, please forgive our unbelief.
Today's reading spoke so much about idols...of wood and silver and gold back in biblical days; but even silver and gold today is money! I thought more about today's types of idols: money, merchandise, people, ourselves! Then I applied it to His words: "Is this idol that I'm holding a lie?"..."rescue me (idol) you are my god!"....we are expecting something (or someone) to help us that cannot help us at all. It is just a thing, or a person with flaws and imperfections.
God promises us over and over in the Bible to seek Him...we will find Him when we seek Him with our WHOLE HEART. Lord, this is our prayer....empty our hearts of everything else that we have put in Your precious place. Allow us to know You, and grant us the desire to follow You. Amen.
Praising Him with praise music on!
Morgen
Hi everyone
make this reading of Isaiah 43 your prayer today:
For me this is what the Lord is saying:
Isaiah 43
The Savior of Israel(loice)
1 But now, O (Loice)Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O ,(Loice)Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
loice,I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When(Loice) you goes through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty,(Loice)you will not drown. When(Loice) you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.HALLELLUYAH!!!!!!
3 For I am the Lord, your God,(YES LORD YOU ARE) the Holy One of Israel(Loice),(my saviour) your Savior.
I gave(Jesus Christ) Egypt as a ransom for(Loices) your freedom;
I gave(Jesus Christ) Ethiopia[g] and Seba in(Loices) your place.
4 Others were given in exchange for you(For Me loice, how special we are as children of God).
I traded(Christ life) their lives for yours(Mine) because (I) you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.(THANK YOU LORD, HOW COULD I DOUBT THIS)
5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you(Loice).I will gather you and your children(Mwangi, Wangari, Wangui and all those i am praying for... including all the children in this list Lord) from east and west.
6 I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel (yourself) from the distant corners of the earth.(Lord irrespective of at what point they are, bring them all back to your household.)
7 Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’” (Yes Lord, it is you who created each one of us and we say thank you, thank you for loving each one of us, thank you for loving our children, thank you Lord that you are calling them home, thank you Lord that you gave up your only begotten son, for our sake and you are seeking us every day, for it is not your will that any of us may perish, but that we may spend eternity with you. Thank you Lord for such love, its is incomprehensible how you continue to love us despite all our rebellion..... thank you Lord).
Lord we stand in awe of you. we thank you for bringing Denise home and we still continue to stand on her behalf and say, sickness is not her portion in Jesus name. father i know its your desire that Denise is well, that's the main reason Christ came, to heal the sick and release the captives. may you be with Denise that even as she struggles with her ailing body, she will hold so strongly unto you and believe that even as she goes through the rivers of sickness, she will not drown for you are there with her. thank you for her faithful husband, renew his strength on daily basis as he dedicates his time to the wife, may he soar with wings like an eagle, may he look to you and not the situation they are going right now.
Lord for our young Ryan, what can we say and you know the pain and all that he is going and has gone through. But even in this situation, you remain God, bring healing of body and soul to this young man, bring good people along his way to support him as he struggles with the loss of the mother and now a sickness. Lord, how much can a young person take?? But we say Thank you even in this situation, for you are in it. you knew Ryan even before he was born and you had a solution for him long before the creation of the world. all we can do is to be still and know that you are God in all situations.
As for Wendy Lord, we thank you so much for her, for her faithfulness to feed us every day. Even when there are so many other issues in her life, she still says Yes to you. Lord, undertake for her and her family. May you meet her at her very point of need. may you strengthen her now as she is week. may you anoint her afresh with the power of the Holy Spirit. May you hold her by the hand right now and tell her, Wendy here i am to lead you to the next phase of your life. And Lord always remind us to be grateful for answering our prayers.
We declare today as a body of believers, that there is none like you. we will live to worship you, to honor you and to tell others about you. even if all witness goes off, we will be faithful to you. Now and forever. Amen
Hello everyone!!! It's 10PM CT and I have just finished reading your comments.
I was SO blessed by today's reading (Saturday)!! I had to read it in small segments because I overslept this morning and wasn't able to read before I left for work. So I took it with me and in between waiting on members I filled up my spiritual gas tank.
I have underlines and comments are over today's passages!!!
First--Isaiah 44:6 "there is no other God". There is NO ONE else that knows us so intimately, loves us as much, cares for us as much, weeps for us as much as our Abba. We can try and put someone or something else in His place but they or it will always fail. I am SO thankful that He is the first and the last.
Isaiah 44:10 "Who but a fool would make his own god----" Lord I do not want to be a fool and try to replace you. You are better than any food that I could put into my mouth, better than any show or movie that I could watch, priceless compared to anything that I could purchase. Lord I want YOU.
Isaiah 43:13 " ...and puts it in a little shrine." I have written in the margin "what do I have in a shrine?" This is something I will be pondering and praying over.
Jennifer Renee,
The Nook is by Barnes & Noble (they also sell it at Best Buy). They offer it in 2 models, the 3G ($199) and the wi-fi only ($149). My family & I went to Barnes & Noble after brunch. You can download ebooks for an hour free, after an hour, it goes away. You can then come back the next day and read where you left off for another hour. It's dangerous because I ended up buying 2 books by Beth Moore, 1 by Stormie Omartian and the one Wendy recommended by Louis Giglio "I am not but I know I AM." But it looks like you already have the resource available to you for free at the NLS. That is such a blessing. Another blessing is that God is going to use you to help out that man your friend mentioned. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in both your lives! I know you will both be blessed.
I haven't read the readings for Sunday yet. Will post on that later.
Loice, I too put my name in today's scripture. I inserted my name into Isaiah 44:21-28
"Pay attention Jessica for you are my servant Jessica. I, the Lord, made you Jessica and I will not forget you." In the margin next to vs 23 "For t
The Lord has redeemed Jacob (Jessica) and is glorified in Israel" I wrote "He Redeemed ME!
Grace and Peace thank you for the info on Cyrus. I was wondering about him and who he was.
I even substituted my name for Cyrus in the passage where it talks about "I will go before you Cyrus (Jessica) and level the mountains....." I love the part where it says "and I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches." Sometimes we have to go through the darkness to find our treasure. Thank you Jesus!!! This same chapter says "I send good times and bad times". God is in it ALL my friend. He is there with us, He sends it to us and He brings us out of it. A diamond starts out as coal, a pearl starts out as a speck of dust and becomes a treasured item after much irritation. The same with us. We start out as nothing and through the "irritation" of the Lord's tests we become a rare jewel. PRAISE GOD!!
Isaiah 45:9 "what sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator?" We do NOT know what is best, we cannot always figure it out, we have to trust him and live by faith.
Isaiah 45:19 "I would not have told Israel to seek me if I could not be found". He is waiting right in plain sight for us. He is standing right here, waiting, if we will only look.
Isaiah 45:23 "I will never go back on my word" What a wonderful promise. How many of us can honestly say we have never gone back on our word??? He is someone I WANT to trust my life with, my decisions with.
Loice, I too put my name in today's scripture. I inserted my name into Isaiah 44:21-28
"Pay attention Jessica for you are my servant Jessica. I, the Lord, made you Jessica and I will not forget you." In the margin next to vs 23 "For t
The Lord has redeemed Jacob (Jessica) and is glorified in Israel" I wrote "He Redeemed ME!
Grace and Peace thank you for the info on Cyrus. I was wondering about him and who he was.
I even substituted my name for Cyrus in the passage where it talks about "I will go before you Cyrus (Jessica) and level the mountains....." I love the part where it says "and I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches." Sometimes we have to go through the darkness to find our treasure. Thank you Jesus!!! This same chapter says "I send good times and bad times". God is in it ALL my friend. He is there with us, He sends it to us and He brings us out of it. A diamond starts out as coal, a pearl starts out as a speck of dust and becomes a treasured item after much irritation. The same with us. We start out as nothing and through the "irritation" of the Lord's tests we become a rare jewel. PRAISE GOD!!
Isaiah 45:9 "what sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator?" We do NOT know what is best, we cannot always figure it out, we have to trust him and live by faith.
Isaiah 45:19 "I would not have told Israel to seek me if I could not be found". He is waiting right in plain sight for us. He is standing right here, waiting, if we will only look.
Isaiah 45:23 "I will never go back on my word" What a wonderful promise. How many of us can honestly say we have never gone back on our word??? He is someone I WANT to trust my life with, my decisions with.
Oh sweet sisters I am SO excited for tomorrow's reading to see what God has promised.
JenRen--I loved your thought for today. I continue to lift you up in prayer. Teeny, I will praying for Sarah and that she have peace leading up to the surgery, wisdom for the doctors/nurses, and God's will through the whole process. Dixie--what a wonderful example of Jesus you are. I continue to pray for you that God's will be done and that if it is His will, a miracle.
Linda--praying for peace for you this weekend as you wait on test results.
Wendy--praying for She Speaks and all those involved. I agree with Grace and Peace that we need photos/video of our blog sisters.
Blessings to each of you!!!!
Jessica
Oh, we have an awesome God, I praise You! 48:5-7 He gives us the honor of sharing what He is going to do! But so often I don't acknowledge that He did it! I will ask Him to do something and then speak how the Dr or medicine or my $ or my education etc, etc etc... all my "gods" helped me succeed. Forgive me Lord and may I acknowledge only You for You do all things that are good. You are the One who gave me all the resources. I will praise You instead. I will speak Your Name outloud to others. Otherwise how will others know that it is You not my idols doing wondrous things? Forgive me for not giving You the honor and glory in everything.
It is interesting to note that God fortold that He would use the (Gentile-not Jewish) Persian King Cyrus to help his people return from Babylonian captivity back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. His plan to include us as Gentiles, to adopt us and allow us to share in work and in His inheritance through the sacrifice of His Son is humbling! And yes, Grace and Peace this passage in Isaiah was prophesied before Cyrus was even born yet it specifically gives his name! So that the Israealites could not say their idols did it(vs48:5) :"That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. then you could never say, 'My idols did it'." We have a Father we can trust and I do trust Him with every concern that each of you ladies has this moment. I pray that I would begin believing 100% that He is going to do what He promises in His Word in our lives and our families lives. Thank you Papa! Blessings!!! Liz
Jesus is coming!! He came once and He is coming again! That truth is found over and over again in God's Word thru Isaiah!
Praise Be!
Morgen
Good Sunday morning, GIGs'
I am, once again, wiping tears from my eyes as I read the faith-filled, encouraging posts you all have written this weekend. Loice, what a gift God has given you, making you a mighty Prayer Warrior! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the prayers for Denise, Jim and Ryan. Denise is very weak and very confused from the meds, but she is at home and mending, praise God!
Jessica, it is pure joy to see how on fire you are for the Lord, and to picture you at work reading your Bible in the unbusy moments. I am so grateful that God brought you to this sisterhood.
Liz, you made some excellent points. I find that one of the blessings of being steeped in The Word, and of a "certain age", is that when I look in the rear view mirror, I can so readily see all the times God was providing for me, even though I thought it was me, me, me.
Grace & Peace, I also went to Barnes and Noble yesterday after visiting with Denise to get "I Am Not But I Know I Am," and once again they did not have it. This is the third time that's happened, and I wind up buying something else instead, but I just trust that God preferred for me to have the other book, ha ha ha! Yesterday I bought "Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit" by Charles Stanley, and a Christian fiction book to read on vacation, "An Amish Gathering." I've always been intrigued with the Amish!
Friends, I'm going to post this, and be right back with a post I have written about a wonderful woman who passed away two years ago today.
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Isaiah 49:4
I replied, "But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I will leave it all in the LORD's hand;
I will trust God for my reward."
How often do we think what we are doing is useless? Laundry, cooking, jobs, teaching our children, smiling at a stranger, picking up a piece of trash in the park... But from the view of eternity, the good we do ripples on and on, in ways we will never know. God uses us as His instruments for good, and all we have to do is listen and follow His urgings! We can be examples, we can encourage, we can love and support, we can defend and protect. The tasks that are placed before us are the tasks given to us by God to do good. And if we are doing it for His glory, it will never be useless!
The "little way" philosophy of St. Therese of Lisieux: what is important is not doing great works, but doing little things with the power of love.
We're traveling today to visit Michael. A sister, his godmother, is also traveling from out of state to surprise him. She has wisdom and experience with dependency, has traveled this road, and has been such a support to us. I ask your prayers for Michael's heart to open wide to see his Lord's love.
Thank you friends for sharing your beautiful prayers and insights-- it just fills me up and enriches my day.
Blessings and prayers for God to continue to work in each of your lives,
Jacque
Two years ago today, my father’s cousin Lois was called home at age 82. She had been victorious over several health issues since childhood, but succumbed to cancer. Lois, a short, burly, gravelly-voiced, straight-talking school bus driver, was known to all as “Mike”. She was an extremely faith-filled, 4:8 kind of person whom I was blessed to get to know beyond the “have-a-quick-conversation-at-a-large-family-gathering” kind of relationship. That came about because the Lord gave me the responsibility to take my dad to visit Mike when the drive to her house became too long for him. She lived on the parade route in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and we had many a good time in lawn chairs in front of her house watching parades, and mostly watching the people attending the parades!
I struggled this week with what to write in a card to Lois’ (a.k.a.Mike’s) daughter in remembrance of her on the second anniversary of her passing. I felt badly that the card would be late, but I was waiting for the right words to come, and yesterday the Lord sent them to me during my Bible reading. Our reading left me with a fearful (as in scared) kind of feeling about the mighty power the Lord has to punish us if He so chooses. But suddenly, a small verse that I know by heart came into my head.
“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.” I knew that was from 2 Timothy, so I turned to it to read the entire verse. As Charles Stanley would say, “Now watch this….”
(2 Timothy 1:5-7) “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Lois. Did you see that? The apostle Paul referred to Lois 2,000 years ago, and it could just as well be said of the Lois I knew and loved. Wow! God is very cool to have sent me to that scripture!
Tomorrow, or maybe later today, I will share some lines from the eulogy given by one of Lois/Mike’s four grandsons.
Have a blessed, 4:8 Sunday, all!
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Lois sounds like an amazing woman, Michelle. What a comfort that scripture will be to her daughter. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you Lord for the beautiful examples of your Spirit in the lives of godly women we know and have known, and may we strive to follow their example of power, love, and self-discipline.
Jacque
Hello all! What a wonderful Sabbath.
Today I saw the many attributes of God. He is:
1st and last (48:12)
Sovereign (48:16)
Redeemer (48:17/ 49:7/52:9)
Holy (48:17/ 49:7)
teacher (48:17)
leads (48:17)
creator (49:5)
merciful (49:10)
comforter (49:13)
fights for us (49:25)
provider
Mighty one (49:26)
rescue-er (50)
giver of justice (51:4)
powerful (52:6)
protector (52:12)
all that and He claim me, I am His, through the power of the blood of Christ!
O, sing for joy!
Gaylene
Jacque, you and I have been given a Godwink today! Above Lois/Mike's kitchen sink in her modest little home was this phrase on a little cardboard card--
"What is important is not doing great works, but in doing little things with the power of love."
Thank you for teaching me that it was St. Theresa who said that.
I'm SAPing that your visit with Michael, and your sister, is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the power will remain with Michael when you all head home.
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Good Sunday evening, GIGS,
I wanted to share with you some of the eulogy given for my second cousin, Lois, who went Home two years ago today at age 82. It seems all of us in this sisterhood are struggling with some difficulties in our lives, be they physical, emotional, financial, or spiritual. Lois did, too, but as her grandson so eloquently expressed, she used those hardships to make her a better woman -- the woman the Lord intended for her to be. I miss her, I think of her often, and I am blessed that I had her as a role model. Here are her grandson Rob’s words------
“In the last few weeks I have wondered how someone so honest and direct as Gram could have kept hidden the pain she felt, not only in her final days, but throughout her life. The answer is that she didn’t. It was because she knew suffering that Gram went into hospitals and nursing homes, bringing comfort to those in pain. It was because she had known hardship that she was so generous with everything she had. It was because she understood loss and loneliness that she forged connections among everyone she knew. It was impossible to go anywhere Gram didn’t have a cousin or a friend or a friend of a friend, and she kept in touch constantly through cards, letters, e-mails, phone calls and visits. This was especially true for her four grandsons, and we were lucky to have spent one last wonderful evening hearing her stories and sharing her memories just a few weeks ago. Family meant everything to her, and she was always enlarging her definition of family. It was her strength that maintained the family. And it was because she had known sadness that my grandmother shared so much joy with the people she loved. I will always remember her laugh, and her wink, and the twinkle in her eye when she smiled.
In all that she did my grandmother walked in the path of Our Lord. She had the strongest faith of anyone I ever met, and many people, including myself, came to know God’s love through her. Gram would never have presumed to say she was going to Heaven, but I know she is there, because as far as I am concerned, Heaven is wherever my grandmother is. It always was. “
"See" you in the morning, all.
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Hello!
Jacque--I always love your posts!
Michelle, that is great information about Lois!I hope to have a eulogy like that read about me someday!
Well, we leave for Florida for a week's vacation tomorrow! I will be reading and writing and hope to still do the vlog and blog. Donna, what area are you in? We will be in Tampa/St. Pete's.
I was talking to our priest today about this study--people are always intrigued that we could all be close. He said, "Well, when you hang around God, good stuff happens!" Amen!
Jennifer in Iowa, soon to be Florida
Post a Comment
Home