Boojoyful

It's field hockey season and we are so thankful to be able to get to some of our granddaughter's games in VA Beach.  Me oh, my! This sport takes endurance, focus and courage! May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you   to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.  Romans 15:5 ESV   Our world needs to live in harmony with one another. I do not like controversy and my heart aches over the political and religious unrest that comes between people. I'm all for Danny Gokey's life principal..."Love God and love people."   The memory of 9/11 will be forever ingrained on my mind. So may lives lost and so many others forever changed. Another day that left me shell shocked was at 16 years old when   grandfather was murdered for money. Such a tragedy this week to see 31 year old Charlie Kirk shot and killed.  Our grandchildren who followed him are in disbelief that this could happen. This young man, who welcomed...

Beside Still Waters Here's a "there's got to be a God behind all this" story.   July 15th I wrote an entry on Boojoyful  called "Beside Still Waters" related to an April encounter I had at a women's class where unknowingly a woman and I sketched the same picture during a time of prayer. It was of a lake with mountains and I had written "Beside Still Waters" at the top of mine.    I felt very clearly that God was calling me to a new area of ministry that would happen beside still waters, but I was clueless as to when and what it would be.  Our home Shiloh is beside the waters of a mountain lake. In that entry I wrote: "The question now is how obedient will I be to follow through and seek what God is calling to happen beside still waters?  I've been dragging my feet."  Beside Still Waters entry https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8520198789929197912/9105759300350788904 Six days ago I was contacted to pray about a desperate need...

  I got snookered!  Our luggage is bedraggled and on Instagram I saw these hard case suitcases that come with bells and whistles....cup holder, easy open front section for computer/phone and even a built in phone/laptop charger.  And woot! there was $100 off Labor Day sale. The product arrived and there were no instructions as to how to power what I thought was a built in power bank.  To Google I went. Video after video showed this impressive luggage and how to plug in your phone, but not how to charge the suitcase. Finally, I found a video stating the deception in the advertising.  You have to purchase a separate battery pack.  Realizing I could go to TJMaxx and get a new suitcase for half the price I thought I'd send the cases I purchased back.  The video was still running and said, "If you are thinking you want to return the suitcase be sure you have read the fine print . You must make a request. The return must be made in 7 days.  You have to ...

US Open Tennis Trophy being engraved on site with the winner's name immediately following the match. The brain is mind boggling! (That sounded weird, but true.) Monday morning I said to my husband, "I just had the most vivid detailed dream of a place I visited 45-50 years ago!  It was a tiny silver shop, maybe in Georgetown, VA and I could see specific  items on the shelves. In the dream I was walking into this shop years later, but thinking, "Wait! I've been here before."  My mind remembered a curtained off area that smelled like tobacco and behind that sat a man engraving silver. While reflecting on this dream with my husband, the prompt for that dream hit us both at the same time! Sunday after the US Open Tennis Finals the camera showed a Tiffany's master engraver engraving the trophy on site! How did my brain bring all that back up?  What we place into our minds is important. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your ha...

  A good place. Have you ever said to someone,  "Sorry, I am not in a good place right now." Or maybe the flip phrase, has crossed your lips.  "Hey come on in. I'm in a good place."  One day I asked a grocery store cashier if I could pray for her. She replied, "No, I am good." The day I was writing this devotional I was in a beautiful place sitting alone by a bay of huge windows looking out over a pool. I was reading the next to the last day entry of The Passion Code  by O.S. Hawkins where he poses this challenge. "Today, fix your thoughts not on who you are, or what you are, or why you are, but on where you are." Whew! We spend lots of time pondering the first three aspects of our lives (who, what, why), but not as much on  where  we are in Christ.  I just closed my eyes and thought of places the disciples were with Jesus. Even in the storms they were good because they were with Him. John chapter 14 is so rich, so comforting, so informative....

Our pastors at a recent lake baptism where 62 people were baptized in Smith Mt Lake! Chatting with a high school girl about her summer work experience in the food industry, I asked what were some unusual things she encountered.  One was being asked by a women to announce her pregnancy in the restaurant as a surprise to her husband. The high schooler said she'd do it if she promised a good tip. 😉 Smart girl. The other was a guy giving his name for an order. He said his name was Jesus. That got me thinking. Why would someone name their child Jesus?  In the "Got Questions" article below it mentions Bible references of people who did not believe in Jesus, but tried using his name like a good luck charm. This article also addresses how we are to pray in Jesus' name. "It is in Jesus' name that God instructs us to pray (John 16:23-24).  Believers are invited to pray in Jesus' name with an expectation that God answers prayers (John 14:13-14). Praying in Jesus...