A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

My folks never purchased a security system for their house.  I grew up in a different time…  dare I say, it was a simpler time.  Yes, in the 1970’s we had BTK running around killing people, but I was taught to check the phone just as soon as I walked in the door after school.  My parents drilled it into my mind – they said if I pick up the receiver and the line was dead – I was to run like the wind to the neighbor’s house and call the police!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader

When I was growing up, a security system meant that you had an attack dog.  Well, maybe not an attack dog, but at least a dog who would bark loudly when strangers came into the yard.

Now I live in an area where we are required to have security.  It’s a good thing, and it lessens our insurance rates too.  Security in our day and age is so important.  Thieves are all around us.  They’ve always been around, but it seems they are closer these days than ever before.  Most of us not only fear the loss of our material possessions, but the loss of something as intimate as our identity.  If ever we needed services like Lifelock, it’s now!

This portion of Scripture reminds us that we need security, protection and hope!  The Lord Jesus Christ is our source of spiritual security.  He is a reliable source of strength and our hope in times of trouble.  We know that His commands to us are not only for His glory, but for our own good.  He wants nothing more than to protect us because He loves us so much.

 https://youtu.be/fl82TrzSx_o

May we seek His will for our lives as we rely completely on His protection and thank Him for the security He provides for us spiritually.  When we have the courage to do that, we will have the ability to ignore all the false voices that try to talk us out of God’s best in our lives.  The enemy of our soul would like nothing better than to lure us away from our Father and His plan for us.  As long as we delight in our Father’s ways, we will not only survive, but we will thrive because that is God’s desire for us!

I want to live life there!  🙂

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

We don’t want to think that there are modern-day Pharisees in this world, do we?  Sadly, there are some that think they will get to God’s wonderful and glorious Heaven in some way that has nothing to do with a personal relationship with Christ Jesus, God’s only begotten Son.  Some think that a family member in Heaven can put in a good word for you with God…  well – that won’t work.  The ONLY way to Heaven is to place your faith and trust in Christ Jesus.  He willingly sacrificed His life on a cruel cross – for you and me.  If you were the only one on this earth, He still would have died so you could be saved.  Believe in Him and you will be saved.

God refers to His children as sheep in the Bible sometimes.  I don’t know much about sheep, but I know they need a shepherd to guide and direct them.  The shepherd keeps the sheep safe from harm.  Some people don’t want anyone, including the Lord, to tell them what to do – they resent it.  Those who walk with the Lord are comforted by His loving care.  He doesn’t want to hold us back from success.  He opens doors along the way – on the path to success and real joy in Him.

I want to go into the pasture through the open gate, don’t you?  Besides, have you ever seen a sheep jump – I mean, other than when you’re counting them in bed as you try to get to sleep – ???  They are really not jumping creatures.  I don’t think they can hop over that fence.  Sometimes when I encounter a person who thinks they can get to Heaven some other way, I think – “How dare you spit in the face of my Savior!”  Honestly – think about what He went through to save mankind.  For anyone to think they can get to Heaven while completely ignoring the plan that GOD set forth for us…  that’s just dumb and a bit unsettling to me.  Our Savior, Christ Jesus, is great!

Nobody will ever love you like the GOOD SHEPHERD!  His love is true and it lasts.  Praise HIM for all His amazing blessings!  🙂

FATHER’S DAY

I’m so thankful for the lessons my earthly father taught me.  I had him until I was 28 years old, which is a blessing because so many people lose their father at a much younger age.  I was married and settled by the time I lost him, but there is still a large empty place in my heart, I must admit.  ❤

FATHER by McKane Davis

BROAD SHOULDERS – bear the weight of our world.

DEEP EYES – the window to a thousand stories.

GIVING HANDS – give charity unnoticed.

STRONG ARMS – protection from our darkest fears.

KIND HEART – of forgiveness, happiness, and love.

How did my father get so smart?  He sought wisdom from the source, God.  I know in life, my daddy knelt in prayer to seek God’s will on everything.  I guess that’s the most important lesson he taught me.  I learned to pray, to seek God’s will and His way throughout my life.  Thank you, daddy, for teaching me to pray!

A father’s love is strong and sure, a quiet kind of care, a haven for his family, a promise to be there.  – Unknown

What a blessing it was to be adopted into the Turner household!  So many adopted people get all hung up over the fact that they are adopted, but I just remember that God had a plan, and me being with them was a significant part of His overall plan for my life.  I wouldn’t change a thing even if I could. 

WHAT DID YOU GIVE ONE LITTLE GIRL?  A popular game or expensive toy?  A Campfire Girl uniform, a Barbie doll?  Oh these things are fine and so much fun, but is that all?  Surely there was more to raising your adopted daughter than that.

Did you give her a real live pet, perhaps a cat!? If she had to choose what she wanted more than these, she would spend the day, the entire day with her daddy, together down on their knees:  praising the Savior, praising the King, for all of their blessings, for every little thing!

There were teachable moments, there were life lessons learned; these were the rewards of living, yes, they had to be earned.  Many crowns you received in heaven when your life was through – they were given because you gave her your time – a part of you.

– Linda Palmer

Happy Father’s Day in heaven, daddy!  I love you!  🙂

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

We have a day set aside in the fall to humble ourselves and give thanks for all our blessings – it’s called Thanksgiving.  But as life progresses beyond fall and we begin to shovel snow, we hang on to that feeling through Christmas as we celebrate the reason for our faith.  But winter passes and springtime comes along.  Ah – here comes Easter when we celebrate the last week of our Lord’s life, His death and resurrection.  Then we don’t have a major reminder to be grateful again for a while.  We do have another day that reminds us to be thankful for what God has done in our lives – and it’s also a day to pray for our country, for our government on federal, state and local levels.  The spring observance was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1952 as the National Day of Prayer.

I believe since this is an election year, I will take this opportunity to pray for the process.  It’s been different, to say the least.  It’s been predictable in some ways, yet there have been a few surprises.  If you enjoy following politics, it’s not been business as usual.  I wouldn’t say it’s rigged, but I’d say it’s important to understand rules that have been the same from the beginning.

The most important thing to remember is that no matter who the president is, Jesus Christ is still LORD!

On that note, let’s pray:

Our Father in heaven, we come before You today, acknowledging You as our Creator. You are the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac, the One who established Your chosen people and through whom You gave Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. You established the promised land of Israel and demonstrated time and time again that if Your people sought You, worshipped You, and obeyed You, that You would bless them with guidance, provision, and protection. But that if they turned away, then You would remove Your hand and allow judgment.

Lord, we also acknowledge that just as Israel was dedicated to You at it’s founding, that another country years later would also seek Your blessing and dedicate themselves and their land to You. The first president of these United States of America, on the day of his inauguration sought Your hand, Your guidance, and Your blessing on our new country, and the people prayed and celebrated in agreement.

In the following years, Lord, You did more for us than we deserved. You blessed us with military strength, economic strength, with inventions, medical discoveries, academic achievement and national prosperity. You lifted us up to lead the world as we proclaimed that our blessings came from You and that “In God We Trust”. Our constitution acknowledges You as our Creator and our founding fathers noted that our people should never be led without Your Word.

But as You blessed us, we eventually became prideful in our success, believing that it was also by our own hands that our nation was elevated, and that You owed us blessings and protection. In time a generation rose that became calloused toward You, Oh God, and we chose our own prideful logic above Your truth, abandoning You in our schools and ignoring You in our courts. Yet, You showed patience and mercy, and called out “Return to Me, America. Return to Me.”

But instead we embraced our sin, claiming we were Lord over ourselves. We abandoned You by giving credit to the creation of our world to astronomical chance, and began throwing out Your moral boundaries for our selfish pleasure. We oversaturated our hearts and minds on immoral entertainment until our conscience was seared, and began shedding the innocent blood of our unborn children who were an inconvenience to our lives. Yet You kept calling, “Repent, America. Repent and return to Me!”

But we responded that, “We’ve done no wrong.” And we justified our sin as our right and liberty. We chased money, physical pleasure, and the belief that we are entitled to what we do not deserve. And now we stand on the precipice of redefining what You have already called “sacred” for a definition of our own.

Lord, what You call wicked, we now call good. And we’ve now begun persecuting those that proclaim Your truth. You’ve sent warnings, allowing breaches in our security, and instability in our economy. You’ve allowed drought to begin touching our land, and civil unrest in our cities.

Lord, even the people who claim to still acknowledge You have become apathetic and complacent in our comfort. Our worship has been lukewarm and our prayers passionless. We shake our heads in shame as our nation weakens around us, instead of repenting of our apathy and inaction. Where are the people of God? Where are those that still cry out to You with broken and contrite hearts?

Lord, we deserve judgment. We deserve Your wrath, for we have sinned and sinned greatly. And we know that Your judgment starts in the house of God. Our righteousness is as filthy rags, and our hypocrisy as a cancer in our land. But we cry out to You, Lord! We have nowhere else to look but You! There is no other answer. Man cannot redeem us. Remember Your mercy! Remember Your compassion!  Break our hearts, Oh, God! Help us to love what You love, and to hate what You hate. Give us the courage to call sin what it is, and to define our lives by Your truth. Remind us of Your love for us, and call us to repentance. May every heart that knows You as Lord seek You this day! May we grieve over our sin this day; that You might show us mercy and forgiveness.

Lord, for those that heed Your words, and repent with open hearts, restore us to You. And unify those that love You. Raise up a generation that seeks You and worships You with their whole heart. Raise up a generation that is not ashamed of the gospel, and that hates to be lukewarm. Grant them faith, love, and courage to live according to Your Word, and to pray with power and to act with conviction.  Raise up leaders, Lord, who will not compromise when under pressure, or abandon You for the approval of men. Raise them up, Lord, that they may call upon Your name, and confess Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Break up the hard soil in our hearts, Lord, that You may take joy in our worship of You, and bless us again. Call us to holiness, that we would once again be the light of the world and draw all men to You. Awaken us, Lord! Rekindle our fire, and stir our hearts. We confess our sins, and we seek Your face.  Forgive us, Lord God, that we can again proclaim, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.

We ask for Your forgiveness and cleansing. We pray against those who reject Your truth. Turn their hearts to You or confound their logic. But don’t let wickedness take our land. Don’t let them succeed. Stand in their way, Lord. For America is Yours! And like Israel, may she remain undivided and in Your care. Keep our bond strong with Israel, Lord, and our leaders loyal. Or remove them from office. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

– Alex Kendrick

May God bless America – and may His people continue to bless Him!  🙂

MATTHEW 6:25 ON 6/25

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  – Matthew 6:25-26

We live in a world that seems quite focused on food, drink and fashion, don’t we?  It’s easy to become anxious about these things because they represent immediate needs – well – when it comes to fashion clothing – let’s get real – that’s more of a want.

The older I get, the less I stress out about superficial things – especially fashion clothing.  Frankly, at this stage in my life, I can’t tell you what the newest fashions are.  It’s great to get to the point in your life when you know what you’re comfortable wearing – and you don’t really care what anyone else thinks.

Stress and anxiety in life will happen.  It’s what we do with it that makes a difference.  If we as Christians can just remember to hand that concern over to God through Christ, trusting that He will take care of us, we will be so much better off in the long run.

The Bible tells us that God cares about the little sparrow – and if He cares about them, how much more does He care about us?

Know today that God will provide every need you have.  No, He may not do it the way you would, but that’s why He’s the all-knowing God and you’re not.  😉

We all have needs every day and God knows what they are and He will provide.  Yes, sometimes the needs all seem to crop up at the same time, but that’s when we need to keep trusting God to help us.  He cares about us – He really does!  🙂

 

 

MATTHEW 6:24 ON 6/24

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  – Matthew 6:24

We know we should serve God and not money…  but how should we serve God?  Is it by serving each other?

I’ve heard money described as a necessary evil.  Unfortunately, in this ol’ world, we just need to have money – because no matter how many ROLLBACKS they have at Walmart, I’ve yet to see anything that says FREE!

There are people who put the almighty dollar on the throne of their heart – a place where only God should dwell – and that’s when it gets dicey and dangerous for Christians.  It’s not bad to have money if you don’t put a greater value on it than on God.

Most of us have read the back of the Bible – and we know that the dollar we work so hard to earn will one day be as worthless as the paper it’s printed on.  The real value of the dollar is not what it used to be – and it’s getting more worthless every day.

I read an article about how they will soon be putting a chip in all credit / debit cards to avoid identity theft.  I told my husband about this and we just looked at each other – and he said, “They’ll figure it out – probably pretty soon.”   I believe the next step will be to implant a chip under the skin of every person in the world.  I believe Jesus is coming…  SOON!!!

Christians know – we know that the green paper with the picture of the presidents on it – well, it will not be the most important thing when it’s all said and done.  In the past, people have lied for it, deceived for it, embezzled to get it and killed for it.

We know that money is the root of all evil – but it is something we need to have because it is the accepted token of trade for those things we need and want in this world.

As Christians we need to remember that it is God who supplies our needs – and can I let you in on a little secret?  He cares about the things we want as well.  He really does!  Have you ever wondered how something is going to work out and you may receive a refund check from a company that tells you that you’ve over-paid a bill?

I love the way God provides for His own.  He will never forsake us.  There’s a whole world out there that doesn’t have a clue about the prophecy in the Bible that is revealed – that there is coming a day when we won’t be able to use money to make purchases – that they will need a chip in the back of the right hand or the forehead.  Once you receive that chip – that mark of the beast – you are marked as Satan’s.  It will seem like just another societal requirement – but we know it’s much more than that.  Our money says, “In God We Trust” – I pray we really do.  🙂

 

 

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”  – Jeremiah 17:7-8

Karley holding her mammoth cabbage… wow!!!

 

That’s a lot of coleslaw…

I have the most COOL facebook friends!!!  Can you believe the size of this cabbage???  She posted this photo the other day and of course it got me to thinking about how much BIGGER our blessings are when we belong to God.

Bigger blessings???  You bet!  God has blessed His own in a big way since the beginning of time.

Have you ever heard the saying…  I’m too blessed to be stressed – ???  It’s true!  When we focus on all of the many blessings from the LORD, we just spend time loving our family and friends – instead of thinking about the things we lack.  With God in our corner, we lack nothing.  We have what we need because we know He provides for our every need.

You know, if there is something you think you need and God has not brought it your way (like, say…  a million dollars) – it’s because He knows it’s not what you need.  How many times do we hear about folks who win the lottery and have nothing but grief after they get all that money?  I’ve heard story after story about tragedy that stems from having too much money and being used – or some even lose their life over it.  God wants the very best for us – we have to trust His wisdom for our lives.

Money doesn’t solve every problem – it really doesn’t.

 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.  – Psalm 29:11

Bigger blessings from God – of strength and peace.  Strength to face our daily trials and peace as we keep living.  🙂

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

When I get up in the morning, I don’t think about all the things that are going to happen, whether it’s good or bad.  I say to myself, “This is going to be the best day of my life.  – Tao Porchon-Lynch

Today I felt fat.  Some of you know what I’m talking about.  None of my clothes fit quite right and when I looked in the full-length mirror, I looked fat.

On the up side, I had an extremely good hair day.  When the cashier at my favorite restaurant complimented my hair style today, I can’t even begin to tell you how much that lifted my spirits – but I digress…

When you have a “fat day”, it affects your mental health, your mannerisms, your attitude toward others and you are literally your own worst enemy.  Am I right?  Yes, I am – thank you.

I spent the entire morning telling God how I wished I was in someone else’s body – anyone else’s body!  I complained about being too short and suggested that if He had made me taller, this weight issue would no longer be – well – an issue.  Have you ever made such suggestions to the creator of the universe?

Let me tell you – when you gripe and complain to God, you may think that He just listens without any reply.  I guess He knew that I needed a major attitude adjustment today – and He gave it to me.

After I finished breakfast and left the restaurant, I headed home as usual.  It was a nice day, so hubby and I decided to drive around and go to a few estate sales.

I love vintage clothing and if I find my size at estate sales I buy it.  At the first sale, I found size 5x.  Well…  I asked the lady in charge if there were any smaller sizes and she told me that these were the clothes that she used to wear – and she is in a 2x now.  It was as if God was asking, “Linda, are you paying attention?”  I walked into one of the bedrooms where there were no other people – looked up and said, “Yes, Lord – I’m paying attention.”

Estate sale number two.  God had softened my heart and got my attention – but He was far from finished.  This house was in a completely different part of town, but there were some beautiful clothes for sale.  A pretty pink dress caught my eye.  I looked at the size – you guessed it – it was a 4x.  Again I inquired about the clothing.  I heard about another successful weight loss.  That lady is now wearing a size 18.

God seemed to impress upon me that if women wearing those sizes could lose weight, I can too.  Again, I found a quiet place where I was alone – I looked up – raised my hands and thanked God for encouraging me as only He can.

We moved on to the third and final sale.  I couldn’t wait to see what lesson was waiting there.  I was grinning from ear to ear as I walked back to the bedroom to look in the closet.  It was as though I knew what I would find!  I was not disappointed because God doesn’t leave any lesson unfinished.  Once He starts to teach you a lesson – He teaches it to the end!  You may as well just hang on and enjoy the class!

I was almost laughing by the time I reached the clothes closet.  The clothing wasn’t funny but the lesson was cracking me up!  God was showing me what HE can do if I will just ask…  how do I know that???

At the third sale, not only were the clothes size 5x, but on a table beside the closet was a collection of books.  One of them was a book I’m quite familiar with called “The Weigh Down Diet”.  Written by Gwen Shamblin, it’s a book that reminds us that God provides us with more than enough, but it’s up to us to make a conscious decision about how much is enough and how much is too much.  She encourages us to eat only the most choice bites and leave the rest.  She reminds us that it’s not a bad thing to feel hunger before eating.  We are supposed to feel true hunger before we eat.  The first few bites always taste the best – when it doesn’t taste as good, it’s probably because we are no longer hungry and it’s time to stop eating.

God seemed to say, “Now you understand, don’t you?”

I said, “Yes, Lord – I sure do.” 

I forgot that His provision of food for me is so abundant – and it’s up to me to know when I’m consuming too much.  It isn’t God’s fault for making me too short – but my fault for not knowing when to stop eating.  From this moment on, I only want what I need.  I no longer need what I want.  I know the difference – now I remember. 

Thank You, God, for Your lessons.  🙂

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Traditionally, people had to enter the church building in order to hear God’s Word preached in 1865.  That changed one day when William Booth was invited to hold a series of evangelistic meetings in the East End of London.  It was a tent meeting in a Quaker graveyard.  The services were an instant success.

His popularity as a religious leader spread throughout London and he attracted followers who were dedicated to fight for the souls of men and women.

Drunkards, thieves and prostitutes were among the first converts to Christianity.  He preached the gospel message of hope and redemption, his goal of course was to lead people to Christ and get them involved in a church for further spiritual guidance so they could grow in their new faith.

In the spring of 1879, the newly named Salvation Army in London was very small and all the workers knew each other personally.  Eliza Shirley, a 16-year old, joined the Christian Mission and was appointed as an evangelist at one of the “stations.”  At first, her parents were skeptical.

Eliza’s father was an experienced silk weaver and sought employment in the United States.  He found work in Philadelphia and sent for his wife and daughter.  Eliza expressed her desire to begin a work in America after hearing from her father how ungodly Americans were.  She got permission from General Superintendent William Booth, and the rest, as they say, is history!

The Salvation Army came to the United States.  Eliza began the work with Booth’s blessing.  Captain Elijah Cadman, her superior officer, gave her 100 penny song books to take with her.  Little is Much when God is in it!

When they reached Philadelphia, Eliza’s mother shared her desire to begin Army work.  They walked and prayed for an affordable meeting place, settling on an abandoned chair factory.  The whole Shirley family worked together to get the place cleaned up and ready for the opening meeting.

They put up posters announcing “TWO HALLELUJAH FEMALES.”  They didn’t have any standard uniforms, drums, or any of the usual bling that attracted crowds, but people flocked out of sheer curiosity to their open air meetings.  I’m sure the words used on those posters brought out the curiosity in folks…  lol.

The police told them they couldn’t gather out on the street anymore, so they found a vacant lot several blocks away, but no one followed their march to the hall.

God has the most creative way of providing for His own.  A tar barrel fire was set by some boys on their lot.  When the Shirleys saw the lot filled with people watching the firemen, they went ahead with the meeting!  Reddy, the worst drunk in the area, walked over to the hall.  Others followed him over just to see what would happen to him.  Well, Reddy was converted and the news not only reached the local papers, but people were burning up the phone lines spreading the news up and down the coast!  For once the gossip was a good thing.

The Salvation Army was becoming a household name.  Shortly after the Reddy conversion, the Shirleys opened up another hall in West Philadelphia.  Eliza’s father was given a choice by his employer to keep his job or keep the Salvation Army.  He chose to keep the Salvation Army and lost his job.

When General Booth became aware of the situation, he promoted the Shirleys to captain and promised to send George Scott Railton to America to take charge.

Eliza’s father died in a fatal accident a short time later, but Eliza and her mother continued in the work.

Eliza married Captain Philip Symmonds.  They had four children and a good long life.

Philip and Eliza retired in Chicago.  Eliza became an ardent fan of the Chicago Cubs.

I love this part of the story…

As Eliza was on her deathbed, the Cubs were in the final games of the World Series.  She was drifting in and out of consciousness, alternately praying and asking how the Cubs were doing.

When word came that Eliza Symmonds had been promoted to glory, there was a moment of silence in the stadium in honor of this gallant lady.

https://youtu.be/3KnOfYVkCQk

Little is much when God is in it…  if you go in Jesus’ name.  🙂

THANKS LIVING DAY 23

 

God has blessed me with warmth throughout my life. He will continue to provide for me. Praise His Name! I’m warm and safe and dry.

I just love it when Miss Daphne and I are on the same wavelength! We are both thankful for our blankets and pillows and all that STUFF. She’s adorable!

Our first house had a wood-burning stove. It was an old-fashioned pot-belly style burner. There was one thing that drove me batty about it. When wood chips fell on to my PEACH color carpet! Yeah… that was a trip to clean! I should have chosen a more practical color of carpet – obviously it was MY BAD! LOL!

This house has a gas fireplace. There are just two comments to make about that. We only use it as needed (just the coldest of cold days) and we cry when we see our gas bill in the wintertime. Sometimes I miss that old wood burner! I’d gladly go back to cleaning the wood chips from the peach carpet!

Jesus loves children and so do I. Daphne is so right in her simplicity. I like snuggling up in a lot of blankets at night in the wintertime. There’s a certain pillow I use and get a little cranky if I have to use a different one. Blankets and pillows and all that stuff. I assume the “stuff” she refers to is her stuffed animals. I don’t have any of those (are you relieved?) but there are throws on my chairs and that probably counts as “stuff”. When I sit down in one of the recliners, I wrap up in the throw. When I get up, I throw the throw over the back of the recliner again. That’s a LOT of throwin’, isn’t it? Wink! 😉