God's Favor

Joel Osteen writes good stuff. Today I'm sharing a devotion from his little book entitled Your Best Life Begins Each Morning.

The title is Never Rule Out God's Favor.

Though the fruit tree not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls — yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18 NKJV

If you have read the book of Job, you realize that although his suffering began in chapter 1, he was not delivered and healed until chapter 42. But from the very beginning, in the darkest moments, Job was saying "God, I don't care what the situation looks like. You are a good God. Your favor is going to turn this situation around."

Friend, you may be in circumstances today that look impossible, but never rule out the favor of God. Stay in an attitude of faith. God promises that good things will come to you.

Thank you, Joel Osteen, for your insight. Many people are going through trying times right now. I hope this little devotional will be of help and comfort if it applies to you.

Be sure to visit Spiritual Sundays. You will find links to many inspiring posts there. Just click HERE to go there.

FALLEN CACTI

Who knew that a Barrel cactus would break off and fall over if they leaned too far? Who knew Barrel cacti had a tendency to lean? We found it out the hard way. Dear friends of ours gave us the cacti and even planted them for us over 20 years ago. They were tiny then. They grew and grew, and then one day we saw one of them laying down on the rocks. A short time later (probably about a month) the second one bit the dust (or I mean rocks). Now, how to get them moved was the question. They are EXTREMELY heavy. And those needles are sooo sharp.

Clif is good at figuring out how to fix things, so he set his mind to figuring out what to do. Here's the result.

Cut (saw) them into "manageable" size chunks.

Haul them around to the side of the house to await their turn in the trash can.

Then take a little break in the shade with a glass of ice water.

The goal: Get them all moved before the forecast high of 112º.

That Totem Pole cactus is leaning too. Is it just a matter of time? The Saguaro cactus is nice and straight.  I don't think it is in jeopardy. The Saguaro is "king of the cactuses (cacti)" These cacti were all planted at the same time about 22 years ago.

We love our desert - even when there are problems.

Father's Are Wonderful People

Happy Father's Day to all father's who read this post. A special Happy Father's Day to the father of my two children. I'm sure they both would tell you they couldn't have asked for a better dad. We will be so blessed to spend this special day with them.

Clif always smiles and even laughs a little when I share a Helen Steiner Rice poem, because back when he was the pastor of our last church and I was secretary we often needed "filler" for our newsletter. He would many times come up with one of her poems. One day I told him I thought we shared too many Helen Steiner Rice poems. Now I'm thinking "maybe not." LOL I think I appreciate her poems more now than I did then. That was over 12 years ago. Anyway, now I find myself sharing many of her poems on my blog. Here's one about fathers.

Fathers Are Wonderful People

                              Fathers are wonderful people
                                   too little understood,
                              And we do not sing their praises
                                   as often as we should . . .
                              And fathers struggle daily
                                   to live up to "his image"
                              As protector and provider  
                                   and "hero of the scrimmage" . . .
                              And perhaps that is the reason
                                   we sometimes get the notion
                              That fathers are not subject
                                   to the thing we call emotion,
                              But if you look inside Dad's heart,
                                   where no one else can see,
                              You'll find he's sentimental
                                   and as "soft" as he can be. . .
                              Fathers are just wonderful
                                   in a million different ways,
                              And they merit loving compliments
                                   and accolades of praise,
                              For the only reason Dad aspires
                                   to fortune and success
                              Is to make the family proud of him
                                   and to bring them happiness.
                              And like Our Heavenly Father,
                                   he's a guardian and a guide,
                              Someone that we can count on
                                   to be always on our side.
                                               - Helen Steiner Rice

Spiritual Sundays is a place where many people go each week to share a spiritual/inspirational post on their blogs by linking there. If you are not familiar with Spiritual Sundays I hope you will go there now by clicking right HERE. You might want to leave a comment first, and then go there.

          

I'm a Winner

So, the mail truck stopped in front of our house. I assumed it was to bring Clif a book because that is what is usually delivered to our house. But no. It wasn't even a package for Clif at all. It was a package for me. Then I remembered that I had won a giveaway from Linda http://lmarandomcreativity.blogspot.com/ and I could hardly wait to open it. Here's what the package contained.

Wow, I haven't journaled in some time, but now I intend to begin again. Thank you, Linda for your thoughtful and beautiful creation.

Linda wrote this on the first page.

 And here was the lovely card enclosed.

Love this tag as well. Wow.

Wow, the blessings just continue to flow for me. I am sooo very blessed. If you aren't familiar with Linda's blog, I suggest you go there. There is no end to her creativity.

p.s. Thanks, Linda. I scanned my name on the envelope for a signature. I like it.

MY GOD IS NO STRANGER

It's June. Can it really be June already? Yes, time is marching on. Mother's Day is past, Memorial Day 2012 is history, and soon it will be Father's Day. No, this is not going to be a Father's Day post. Well, maybe in a way it is. Every day is Father's Day if you think of it like this: God is our Father and every day is His day. I was wondering what to post for Spiritual Sundays for this week, and as I often do, I picked up one of Helen Steiner Rice's books of poetry. I still can't believe she wrote so many wonderful poems. The first one my eyes fell on when I opened the book was a poem entitled My God Is No Stranger. So ― guess what? That's the one I'm sharing today. I hope it will be a blessing to you as it is to me.

My God Is No Stranger

God is no stranger in a faraway place,
He's as close as the wind that blows 'cross my face.
It's true I can't see the wind as it blows
But I feel it around me and my heart surely knows
That God's mighty hand can be felt every minute
For there is nothing on earth that God isn't in it ―
The sky and the stars, the waves and the sea,
The dew on the grass, the leaves on a tree
Are constant reminders of God and His nearness,
Proclaiming His presenced with crystal like clearness.
So how could I think God was far, far away
When I feel Him beside me every hour of the day?
And I've plenty of reasons to know God's my Friend
And this is one friendship that time cannot end!
                                Helen Steiner Rice

 A special "thank you" to all who share with us each week on Spiritual Sundays. A special "thank you" to all who "liked" that blog on Facebook. And a special "thank you" to those who went to the Spiritual Sundays Facebook page and "liked" that too. You are all so special to me. Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

                   

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

                    by Kelly Strong

                    I watched the flag pass by one day.

            It fluttered in the breeze.
            A young Marine saluted it,
            and then he stood at ease.
            I looked at him in uniform
            So young, so tall, so proud,
            He'd stand out in any crowd.
            I thought how many men like him
            Had fallen through the years.
            How many died on foreign soil?
            How many mothers' tears?
            How many pilots' planes shot down?
            How many died at sea?
            How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
            No, freedom isn't free.

            I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
            When everything was still
            I listened to the bugler play
            And felt a sudden chill.
            I wondered just how many times
            That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
            When a flag had draped a coffin
            Of a brother or a friend.
            I thought of all the children,  
            Of the mothers and the wives,
            Of fathers, sons and husbands
            With interrupted lives.
            I thought about a graveyard
            At the bottom of the sea
            Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
                           No, freedom isn't free.

In reading this poem and thinking about this holiday, I am reminded that freedom definitely is not free. I'm reminded of the great price the Son of God paid for our freedom from sin. Memorial Day has a special meaning for me because it was on Memorial Day 1948 that I was baptized. That was definitely one of the best days of my life and one I will never forget even though that was many years ago and I was just 11 years old.  

For links to lots of inspirational posts, please click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog.

God's Jewels

Sunday is Mother's Day and like so many who do not have their mother with them here on this earth, I was feeling nostalgic when I was looking for a poem to share for the occasion. I opened up one of Helen Steiner Rice's books on poetry and the first page I opened up to was a poem entitled God's Jewels. Before I read the poem, I thought to myself. That describes my mother. She certainly was and is one of God's Jewels. So I'm dedicating this to my precious mother who left this earth in 1999.

GOD'S JEWELS

            We watch the rich and famous
          Bedecked in precious jewels,
          Enjoying earthly pleasures,
          Defying moral rules—
          And in our mood of discontent
          We sink into despair
          And long for earthly riches
          And feel cheated of our share—
          But stop these idle musings,
          God has stored up for you
          Treasures that are far beyond
          Earth's jewels and riches, too—
          But never, never discount
          What God has promised man
          If he will walk in meekness
          And accept God's flawless plan—
          For if we heed His teachings
          As we journey through the years,
          We'll find the richest jewels of all
          Are crystalized from tears.

                                - Helen Steiner Rice 

I think one of the reasons this reminded me of my mother is because she never had very many earthly possessions but she had great faith and lots of love to share. The older I get the more I realize how short this life is and the importance of storing up treasures above as the Bible says to do. My mother had a lot of treasure stored up above and I believe she is enjoying it now. But I also believe the greatest treasure she has is being with her Lord.

I hope you will visit the Spiritual Sundays blog. You will find many many links to wonderful inspiring posts. Just click HERE to go there.

New Heaven and New Earth

When I posted the info about Charles Spurgeon, I promised to share some more from the book We Shall See God by Randy Alcorn. What a great little book this is. I know I said it before, but I'll say it again. I like the chapter called Homesick for Eden. Here are some excerpts from Spurgeon's sermons delivered in 1860.

People are not the only ones who suffer under the Curse; the Earth itself experiences the devastation of the Fall in the form of thorns, blights, and disasters of every kind. But one day Christ will come to restore the Earth to its rightful state. Then it will no longer groan in the pains of childbirth but will live in joyful celebration of its new life, which will never again be taken from it.

After the first humans sinned, God cursed the Earth.

When Christ came into the world, evil people twisted a crown made of the cursed thorn and put in our his head and made him king of the Curse, and in that day he purchased the redemption of the world from its curse. I believe, and I think it is warranted by Scripture, that when Christ shall come a second time, this world will become everywhere as fertile as the Garden of Paradise used to be. 

 "The whole creation," says Paul, has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth" (Romans 8:22). Groaning for what? Groaning and waiting for the redemption, when this world shall be washed of all her sin. Her curse shall be removed, her stains taken away, and this world shall be as fair as when God first formed her from his mind, as when, like a glowing spark, forged from the anvil by the eternal hammer she first flashed in her orbit. This Christ has redeemed, this Christ shall most assuredly redeem.

And then Alcorn gives his thoughts on the subject.

We are homesick for Eden. We're nostalgic for what is implanted in our hearts. It's built into us, perhaps at a genetic level. We long for what the first man and woman once enjoyed―a perfect and beautiful Earth and free and unstained relationship with God, one another, animals, and the environment. Every attempt at human progress has been an attempt to overcome what was lost in the Fall. If God's plan were merely to take mankind to the present Heaven or to a heaven that is the dwelling place of spirit beings, there would be no need for new heaven s and a New Earth. 

Upon creating the heavens and the Earth, God called them "very good" (Genesis 1:31). Never once has he renounced his claim on what he made. He isn't going to abandon his creation; he's going to restore it. We won't go to heaven and leave earth behind. Rather, God will bring Heaven and Earth together into the same dimension, with no wall of separation, no armed angels to guard Heaven's perfection from sinful mankind (Genesis 3:24). God's perfect plan is "to bring unity to all things in heaven and oin earth under Christ" (Ephesians 1:10, NIV).

Wow, I don't know about you, but this really makes me look forward to heaven more than if I were to go there as a disembodied spirit drifting around on clouds as some have envisioned heaven. No wonder so many people have no desire to go there. Compared to a New Heaven and a New Earth, the "cloud" theory does sound a little boring. Although, if this were God's plan, I'm sure there would nothing boring about it. I just agree with Spurgeon and Alcorn. We are promised a new body like Jesus' resurrected body. A new body - a new Heaven and a new Earth - what could be better? I sure can't think of anything.

Now, if you didn't come here from the link on the Spiritual Sundays blog, I hope you will go there and read what others have shared by clicking on the various links. And you might even want to link there too. Click HERE or on the icon at the left to directly there.

My Shepherd

I heard this song on another blog. I really like it so I got the video version to share here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892

Charles Spurgeon. I knew the name. I knew he was a preacher who lived a long time ago. That's really all I knew about him. Then I discovered a book that Randy Alcorn recently wrote called We Shall See God. This is when I found out more about Charles Spurgeon.

Charles Spurgeon lived from 1834 until 1892. He was England's best known preacher for most of the second half of the 19th century. He served for 30 years at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, and it is estimated that during his lifetime he preached to more than 10 million people. His collected sermons fill sixty-three volumes and remains one of the best selling series of writings in history. I say WOW WOW WOW! And that without rapid transportation, modern audio speaker systems, TV or internet.

Charles Spurgeon preaching at Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.

Now, back to Randy Alcorn's book. This is a small book but packed with lots of good stuff. He has taken excerpts from some of Spurgeon's sermons on heaven and given his thoughts and comments about them. I intended to share something from that book in this post, but now I'm thinking I will save it for the next post. There are a lot of things in the book that I would like to share. Are you familiar with Randy Alcorn's book called Heaven? I think it is one of the best books I've ever read. If you haven't read it, you really should. You will probably have a whole new perspective on the subject. I know I did.

I'm sharing this for Spiritual Sundays. Click HERE to go to that blog to find links to many inspirational posts. You may want to share a post on your own blog by linking it there.

THE VOICE

We recently got yet another translation of the New Testament. This one is called The Voice and is written in story form. I found it easy to read and I decided I would share just a little of it on my blog. Since last Sunday was Easter, the resurrection is still on many people's minds. As it should be - not only on Easter, but every Sunday and actually not even just on Sundays.

We pick up after Jesus had appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection.  Luke 24:33.

33So they get up immediately and rush back to Jerusalem―all seven miles―where they find the eleven gathered together―the eleven plus a number of others. 34Before Cleopas and his companion can tell their story, the others have their own story to tell.

Other Disciple: The Lord has risen indeed! It's true! He appeared to Simon!

35 Then the two men report their own experience―their conversations along the road, their moment of realization and recognition as He broke the bread. 26At that very instant, as they're still telling the story, Jesus is there, standing among them!

Jesus: May you have peace!

     You might expect them to be overjoyed, but they aren't.

37They're startled and terrified, they think they're seeing a ghost.

Jesus: 38Why are you upset? Why are your hearts churning with questions? 39Look―look at My hands and My feet. See that it's me. Come on; touch me; see for yourselves. A ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have!

[40Then He shows them His hands and His feet.]

41Now their fear gives way to joy; but it seems too good to be true, and they're still unsure.

Jesus: Do you have anything here to eat?

42They hand Him a piece of broiled fish, 43and He takes it and eats it in front of them.

Jesus: 44I've been telling you this all along, that everything written about Me in the Hebrew scriptures must be fulfilled―everything from the law of Moses to the prophets to the psalms.

45Then He opens their minds so they can comprehend meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Jesus: 46This is what the Scriptures said: that the promised Anointed One should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47that in His name a radical change of thought and life should be preached, and that in His name forgiveness of sins should be preached, beginning in Jerusalem and extending to all nations. 48You have witnessed the fulfillment of these things. 49So I am sending my Father's promise to you. Stay in the city until you receive it―until power from heaven comes upon you.

50Then He leads them out to Bethany. He lifts up His hands and blesses them, 51and at that moment, with His hands raised in blessing, He leaves them and is carried up into heaven. 52They worship Him, then they return to Jerusalem, filled with intense joy, 53and they return again and again to the temple to celebrate God.

~  ~  ~ 

I like the way this new translation of the New Testament reads almost like the script for a play. It is inexpensive too. The paperback edition which we have is only $6.99. 

Thank you for letting me share this with you. You will find links to lots of inspiring posts by clicking HERE. That's the Spiritual Sundays blog, of course.

HE IS RISEN

Mark 16

Jesus Has Risen

 ¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

 ⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

 ⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

 ⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.^[a]

   [The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

   ⁹ When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

   ¹² Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³ These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

   ¹⁴ Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

   ¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow. And I like what one little child said when told the resurrection story, "Goody goody goody. They didn't keep him dead."

Please visit Spiritual Sundays for links to lots of inspirational posts.