Category Archives: Praise

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Try Something New Tuesday – Be Still

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But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength.    2 Timothy 4:17

Praise God it’s Tuesday!  I hope today is a wonderful day for you!

How many times during the day do you sit quietly and rest your mind?  Do you find that by the time you sit down to rest and listen to God, you are so exhausted that you fall asleep? Do you laugh when people talk about scheduled quiet time, because you have no idea when you would fit it in?  I wish I could say that I haven’t been there, but I have.  I have every moment in the day scheduled out, and I’m usually behind schedule in at least one place, if not many.

Today, I was rushing through my morning routine racing the clock, when I received a message loud and clear “just be still”.  It was then that I realized sometimes I might be busy for the wrong reasons.  Even when I’m busy for the right reasons, I still need to sit quietly and listen to God.

Several years ago I was introduced to the concept of contemplative prayer. Simply stated, it’s a way to listen to God without bringing a long list of requests. Many books have been written on the subject and I encourage you to explore contemplative prayer.  I highly recommend it for quiet moments, because sometimes we need to be still to hear what God has to say.  Being anxious or busy does not get prayers answered any sooner.  We need to take time to restfully listen throughout the day, even if we need to schedule it in.

Today, I encourage you to try five minutes of contemplative prayer every day.  God bless you.

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Spread the Love Friday – Build Them Up

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Encourage each other and build each other up.  1 Thessalonians 5:11

Good Morning!  Have you ever been so excited that you just can’t wait for something to happen?  Tomorrow we are giving my grandson a birthday party.  He turned three on the 18th,  but I’m still excited.  Funny, when I was a child it seem to take so long for birthdays to come around.  Now, birthdays come around way too fast.  We are so blessed to be able to see the world through his eyes.

I’m beyond happy this morning, but everyone does not feel the same.        If you know someone with struggles this morning, build them up.  If you are struggling, know that everything is temporary.  I love you and God loves you.  Never give up.

Have a blessed day!  God bless you.

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Forgiveness Thursday – Be the Miracle

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Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

It seems like we were just talking about Thursday and here we are again.  Recently I have discovered that the less judgemental I am about others, the more time I spend asking for forgiveness and the less time I spend forgiving others.  That just proves that forgiveness is really for us, not the person we are forgiving.

Last week I was listening to a group of people in our community talk about “how this person should do this, and this person should do that” to make the community better.  Have you ever participated in a similar discussion? Of course, the answer is if everyone did their part, there probably wouldn’t be an issue.  These poor people being discussed were most likely stretched too thin. Later, when I reflected on the conversation, I began to think about how this is a problem in many churches (in general terms).  I must admit I have been guilty of this.  Sometimes it seems like “everyone” has the answers, but “no one” really wants to be burdened with the work. It could be that only certain tasks are wanted, leaving many others undone.  This must make life very difficult for the pastor, who truly cares for the sheep.  Then, there are others who constantly call with prayer requests, always looking for a miracle, but never showing up.

I like Natalie Grant’s answer to this problem “it’s time to get our hands dirty . . . why sit around waiting for a miracle to come, when you could be one.”  On the way to work this morning I heard this song.  It is so true. If there are hungry people in your church or community, help feed them.  If your neighbor is sick, ask if it’s okay to help with yard work.  Visit friends, church members and family who are sick or in the hospital.  Offer to help people who have lost a family member.  If you have a neighbor who has financial problems, bring them dinner or pay a bill for them without telling them.  Does anyone really need to know?  God knows.  Isn’t that REALLY enough?   If you don’t work outside the home and notice children wandering around the neighborhood being a target for trouble, reach out to them.  Don’t wait for your pastor or your government to take care of everything.  There are so many little things everyone can do that will make a huge difference for someone else.   Sometimes we all just need to know someone cares.  You will find that you will feel more blessed than the person you are helping.

Today, I challenge you to make a difference in the world by getting your hands a little dirty being someone’s miracle.  God bless you.

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Try Something New Tuesday – Fix Your Eyes on Him

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So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary.  But what is unseen is eternal.                              2 Corinthians 4:18

Happy Tuesday!  It’s a great day to try something new!

Have you ever felt like everyone is against you?  Do you feel hopeless and afraid?  Does it seem like things couldn’t possibly be worse?  We have all felt this way from time to time.  However, there are some challenges that are so big that we just can’t face them alone.  Hebrews 12:2 says that we should fix our eyes on Jesus.  As I have said many times before, we are never alone and he is always with us.  Yet, there is more.  When we are focused on Jesus, we are focused on good, rather than our troubles.  We are focused on love, rather than the weight of the world.  We are focused on faith, rather than being afraid that everything falls on our shoulders to handle.  We are focused on what his pain and suffering means for us today.  He can and will change the outcome of your situation, if you will give him a chance.

Today, fix your eyes on Jesus, instead of the problems of the world.  God bless you.

 

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Tell Me Something Good Monday – Glow in the Dark

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For he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.   1 Peter 2:9

Happy Monday.  I missed you guys so much.  We live in a rural area and the Internet has been out in our neighborhood since Friday.  We still don’t have Internet service, but I came to work early this morning so I could post.

My good news is you CAN live without the Internet!  It’s amazing how much time I had this weekend.  This experience made me realize that digital devices suck up your time.  I spent time reading, swimming, cleaning house and just resting.  It was awesome!  Yet, I must admit that I missed the Internet.  I couldn’t work on my classes, post in my blog, couldn’t read your blogs, or keep in touch with others (well except by the old fashion landline telephone method).  It’s really funny how dependent we are on the Internet.  When I was a child the closest thing to a computer, anyone I knew had, was a calculator. No one had cellular telephones.  In fact, my grandmother was on a party landline telephone.  You could pick up her phone and hear the neighbor’s talking.  It is amazing how far we have come.  That brings me today’s great event – the eclipse.  I was in middle school during the last eclipse.  We made special devices in science class so we could view it.  God is the best artist!

Are you dreading the drama this morning?  Is your work world full of stress?  Is Monday your least favorite day of the week?  Is there someone you just don’t want to see?  Are you afraid others will learn secrets from your past or worst yet, present?  You are not alone.  Many people get physically ill on Monday mornings.  Stress has been linked to physical and mental illnesses, which can shorten your life.  We all have skeletons in our closet, people who give us a hard time, and drama we have to contend with, at least a little on Monday.  It’s okay.  It doesn’t matter how bad things are, let God’s light shine through you.  Others will see God’s work in you.  As Jason Gray sings “the more broke you are, the more the light gets through!”  Isn’t that great!  Be happy and thankful.  Shine for the Lord in all you do today.

Let you light shine for the Lord.  God bless you.

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Try Something Tuesday – Pray, Trust, Think Positive and Enjoy Others

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The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises.  2 Peter 3:9

Good Morning!  It’s a glorious day and I’m glad to be a child of God!

A few years ago a book came out called “The Secret”.  Have you ever read it?  I read it and I remember it was all the rage.  Essentially, the book was saying “what you think about, you bring about.”  While It is true that thinking positive thoughts attract positive actions, when we are prayerful, trust God and keep a positive outlook we will see better results.  Even better outcomes are available to us when we gather together with other prayerful Christians, who have the same positive outlook and faith.  Why?  Because we can be a comfort and a resource for one another.  It’s amazing how many of your dreams will come together if you try this.  Make no mistake, I do not mean you should exclude anyone.  We should always be welcoming and share our faith.

You are a child of God and he wants you to be happy, healthy and successful.  You wouldn’t want any less for your own children, so why would anyone think God would want less for them.  Matthew 8:27  says “even the wind and the waves obey him.”  When you ask God for what you need and want, remember to keep a positive outlook, and associate with other people who are doing the same.  Then, everyone is blessed together.  Psalm 56:3 says “[w]e can’t always see where the road leads, but God promises there is something better up ahead; we just have to trust him.”  I have seen this repeatedly in my own life.  It’s true.

So, today try something new – pray, trust God, keep a positive outlook, and associate with others who are doing the same.  God bless you.

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Tell Me Something Good Monday – Be Accepting

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Her mouth speaks from which fills her heart.  Luke 6:45

Happy Monday!  It’s a great to share something good!  I worked really hard finishing three classes over the weekend.  Have you ever felt like something was hanging over your head?  That’s how I felt, and every day something happened.  I was able to spend time with my children, grandson and husband over the weekend, which is always great.  Last night I even found time to read a magazine.  I sometimes feel like I should work 24/7, but rest is important, because it restores us.

Have you ever felt like someone was just driving you crazy?  Does the way your neighbors behave get under your skin?  Do you sometimes think you are going to lose your mind if you are around a coworker for one more minute?  Has someone ever betrayed your trust and hurt you deeply?  A good percentage of our aggravation every day comes from people not being what we want them to be or behaving how we would like for them to behave.  God created all of us differently and each person has value in the world.  Wouldn’t it be boring if we were all alike?  Proverbs 11:27 says “he that diligently seeks good, seeks favor and grace.”  In today’s terms this means, find something good in every person you meet.  You don’t have to forget the bad, just don’t focus on it.  Don’t let the world corrupt you with gossip and unnecessary talk.  Accept everyone for who they are and enjoy them for the good they bring into the world.

Have a wonderful Monday!  God bless you!

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Try Something New Tuesday – Just Say Jesus

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Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.  Colossians 3:15

Happy Tuesday.  It’s a great day to try something new.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have seen so much despair around me.  I have heard stories about divorce, custody battles, breakups, sickness, suicide threats, financial stress, sick children, abused children, sick family members, job stress, mental illness and so much more.  Have you ever fallen into one of these categories or do you know someone who has?  Most of us have at one time or another had to deal with these types of stress.  The good news is, you do the best you can and then you turn it over to Jesus.  It’s that easy.  You don’t have to spend more money or take a class.  Sometimes the simplest answers are the most difficult to grasp.  So today, turn everything over to our Lord and trust in his peace.  If you know someone going through a tough time, please pray for them.

God Bless you.

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Tell Me Something Good Monday – Be Strong In God’s Word

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Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers, In Speech, In Conduct, In Love, In Faith and In Purity.   1 Timothy 4:12

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  I enjoyed a busy Saturday with family and a restful Sunday.  I had a little time to enjoy Dominic, who is four months old and growing rapidly.  He is also calming down a bit.  He follows me around and watches me quietly.  When I’m posting blogs, he sits near me and watches.  Last night, he discovered his cat tree.  It’s like an amusement park to him.  The pets are becoming more comfortable with one another, although there is still a little friction.  Isn’t it great watching the young make their way in the world!

Do you feel like it is tough to find your way in the world?  Do you feel like others in your life never listen to you or give you a chance?  Do you feel like others just don’t understand your world?  Do you remember feeling this way when you were younger?  It’s tough making your way in the world.  You have to figure out what you believe, and deal with endless people telling you how to believe.  Decisions are critical and can be life changing, and just when you think you have it all figured out, you realize your in a huge mess.  If all that wasn’t enough, you don’t want to disappoint the ones who believe in you the most.  It’s tough!

If you want to make good decisions, read and follow the Bible.  It has withstood time and never leads people astray.  There are young people throughout the Bible, who accomplished great feats.  In 1 Samuel 17 a young David (about age 17) took on Goliath, and later became king.  In Genesis 37 Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery.  Then, the Potiphar’s wife flirted with him, which resulted in him being thrown into jail unjustly.  In the end, God honored Joseph for being just and right despite these bad events.  In 2 Kings 5 a little girl feared for the people around her not knowing God, and actually played an important role in Naaman being taken to Elisha the prophet for the healing of his leprosy.  In Daniel 1-3 King Nebuchadnezzar casted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into a fiery furnace after the three young men (probably between 10 and 30 years old) refused to bow down and worship idols.  The soldier that pushed the three into the furnace burned  up because the fire was so hot.  However, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked out without any pain or suffering.  Don’t forget the little boy in John 6 who gave up his lunch of bread and fish to feed 5000 men (not counting women and children).  For the young of heart, Daniel was about 80 years old when he took on the lion.  The good news is whether you are 6 or 96, you are great too! Trust God and follow the lessons in His word.  You, too, will make great decisions.  Oh, and one more thing, be gentle with your parents.  They love you!

God bless you.

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Liebster Award – 2nd Nomination

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I am truly honored to have been nominated a second time for the Liebster Award.  This time I was nominated by When I’m with You . . . Whitney Ibe Blog.  The author (Whitney) of the Whitney Ibe Blog is upbeat and full of sunshine.  Whitney’s positive outlook is inspiring and I love to read her posts.  If you haven’t checked out her blog, I encourage you to do so soon, because her inward and outward beauty sparkles through in her writing.  Thank you for thinking of me Whitney.

The Liebster Award is an Internet Award given to bloggers by other bloggers.  The German word “liebster” means: dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, welcome, and sweetheart.  The Award is a nice way to recognize and welcome new bloggers, while allowing others to discover them, as well.

The rules of the Liebster Award are as follows:

1) Acknowledge the blog who nominated you for this award.
2) Answer 11 questions the blogger gave you.
3) Give 11 random facts about yourself.
4) Nominate 11 blogs.
5) Notify them.
6) Give them 11 questions to answer

My Answers

What made you start blogging?  I love to read and write.  I’ve always wanted to write books.  I love the Lord above all.   When I was growing up I was taught to share God’s love with others.  The church I attended called the sharing I’m referring to “witnessing”.  I was taught that witnessing was wonderful and that we should share the gospel through our lives and words everywhere we go.  The Bible talks about spreading the gospel.  That is what I did.

Over time witnessing has become politically incorrect.  As a supervisor at work I was told that I had to be careful about what I said because my workplace and I could be sued.  I could lose my home if I mentioned God at work.  I heard others say it wasn’t appropriate to say “Merry Christmas”.  “Happy Holidays” was the correct holiday greeting.  Well, if you have ever had God’s love inside you like I do, you will understand when I say I was about to explode.  The funny thing is, I didn’t have to say anything because God’s love just radiates out of me.  Over time I just became miserable.  So, I sought out another way to spread God’s love, blogging.  It helped me to feel more fulfilled.  I felt a little like Jesus must have felt when he traveled home and his hometown rejected him, because most of my friends and family refused to look at my blog.  I have been told “that was a coincidence, not a miracle,” “you are to legalistic,” and last week “you’re a fanatic”.  This doesn’t bother me too much.  I feel like it’s their loss.  I pray that I will have the opportunity to write and publish books in the future?

If you could visit any country in the world, which would you visit? I love to travel.  If I could go anywhere, I’d visit the Holy Lands first.  Books, Maps, Photography and Internet information is wonderful and I’m thankful, but nothing is quite like seeing and experiencing places first hand.  I want to go to the places we read about in our Bibles.  

What is your favorite food?  Anything my husband cooks is my favorite food!  He’s an amazing chef!  I am especially fond of fish.

What is your favorite sport?  I’m not a big sports fan.  I enjoying watching my college alma mater football team play (Florida State).  I also enjoy watching figure skating, and swimming and diving teams.  During warmer months I swim and I walk year round.

Do you prefer digital or physical books?  Both.  It’s a wonderful convenience to be able to bring hundreds of books on a phone or tablet with you everywhere you go.  It’s awesome.  However, I still like to hold a book in my hands.  I make notes in my Bible, so that I can pass them down.  Likewise, I have a digital and physical planner.  To me it sometimes seems like the digital world is fragile.  I often think of the loss of information in the library of Alexandria.

What is the biggest problem you encounter while writing?  I want my writing to be perfect grammatically, and inspirationally.  The days I feel my writing falls short, seem to be the days I have the most positive comments.

What color are your eyes?  Green.  Most of the time the whites of my eyes are red from Sjogren’s Syndrome, which makes them look even greener.  I’ve had people tell me that my eyes look like they are bleeding sometimes.

Recount a brief childhood story. What happened?  When I was a teenager I worked for the County School Board one summer giving swimming lessons.  Five days a week my parents would drop me off at 6:30 in the morning to catch a bus that would take me and a few other brave teens to Blue Springs.  Blue Springs has ice-cold water in the middle of the day.  When we arrived the sun wasn’t high in the sky yet, and the trees shaded the edges of the swimming area.  So, most days we spent half of the time trying to get wet above the knees.  

The children we were teaching varied in size from kindergarten to I haven’t been able to graduate yet.  So, some of my students were larger in stature than I was.  In the middle of the swimming area was a floating dock about fifty to seventy-five feet from the surrounding three shorelines.  All the experienced swimmers would hang out in the middle.  So, it was my goal to have my students swimming to the dock and back by the end of the summer.  The problem was most of the students couldn’t put their face in the crystal clear water when they started lessons, and the shorelines dropped to about twenty-five feet deep about ten feet away from the shore.

All summer I worked with the students until the last week of lessons had arrived.  I was determined that I would have at least one student swimming to the dock successfully.  However, I only had one who could dog paddle a few feet.  On the last day of lessons I looked up into the eyes of my six-foot tall most successful student and proudly proclaimed  “today you will graduate because you are going to swim to the dock!  Isn’t that great!”  He shook and looked worried.  So I reassured him by saying “don’t worry, I’ll be right beside you and I can save you if you can’t make it.”  I was about five foot three and weighed a little less than a hundred pounds.  My student looked to be about three hundred pounds.  I wasn’t worried at all though.  He could dog paddle now.

We made our way side by side toward the floating dock.  I was glowing with pride.  After all, I had taught this football player to swim.  As soon as we were about waist deep, he began to panic.  So, I told him to just stand up.  That should have been my sign to turn back, but I was convinced he could do it, and I was a “good” swimmer who had mastered life saving techniques.  We continued across.  It wasn’t long before the water was deep and my student knew it.  He was on top of me like I was a floating log.  It’s times like these that you realize the lifeguard’s are also students, who in this case were obviously not paying attention because they would have seen me bobbing up and down with a football player on my back.  I’m guessing he wasn’t as popular as he thought either, because no one was trying to save him.  Finally, I slapped him as hard as I could and said, “get a hold of yourself, the water is only a foot deeper than your height.  If you go down, you can jump up off the bottom.”  I don’t really know why he believed this, because if you looked down, the water was clear enough to see that it was easily twenty feet deep where we were swimming.

So, we kept inching towards the dock, with my student trying to drown me.  I was thinking that I probably needed to ask for assistance to get him back to the shore, if we survived the trip over.  Suddenly, he began to swim with great vigor.  I looked at him and realized he was looking at a beautiful face on the dock.  The girl waved and smiled.  I guess you could say he didn’t want to seem embarrassed, because he pointed at me and said, “hey, I’m teaching this girl how to swim.  I’ll be there in a minute.  She’s having trouble.”  I couldn’t believe my ears.  I started to speak and he said “shut up.  Just get me there and I will find my own way back.”  That day I learned that love will find a way.  He made it to the dock and spent the remainder of the time with this young lady.  Then, he swam back to the shore.  The best part of this story is the two later married and are still married today.

What type of music do you like to listen to?  This is a tough question for me.  I love praise, gospel, hymns, pop, 70’s and 80’s tunes, and classical music.  I like some country music.

Do you collect anything? If so, what is it?  Yes.  I love books.

Where do you see yourself in five years?  I see myself writing books, teaching and comforting others.  In my free time, I will spend time with my family.

My nominees are:

M.K. Aneal

Kristi Anne’s Haven

Charles Earl Harrel

The Beauty of Words

The Godly Chic Diaries

Anna Waldherr

Camie’s Cozy Corner

Brandon J. Adams

Plucking Of My Heartstrings

Wizzymedpower

Inside Cup

Questions For My Nominees:

  1.  What inspired you start blogging?
  2. If you could visit any country in the world, which would you visit
  3. What is your favorite hobby?
  4. What is your favorite holiday?
  5. Do you prefer digital or physical books?
  6. What is the biggest problem you encounter while writing?
  7. What color are your eyes?
  8. Recount a brief childhood story. What happened?
  9. What type of music do you like to listen to?
  10. Do you collect anything? If so, what is it?
  11. Where do you see yourself in five years?
    Congratulations everyone. Enjoy the rest of your day.