Boojoyful

February 28 - March 1 Reading Lloyd John Ogilvie's devotional today I smiled at the "P"s in life! Check this out. As I move through this day, may I see each problem, perplexity, or person as an opportunity to practice Your presence and accept Your perspective and patience. I don't want to forget You, but if I do, interrupt my thoughts and bring me back into an awareness that You are waiting to bless me and equip me for the tasks that lay ahead. The "P"s have me feeling the urge to lay prostrate and cry out to the Lord today. A problem occurs in that scenario...I receive a pawing while I am praying! (Mr. Moses wants to participate!) Oh, my, he just read my thoughts and is staring at me with huge brown eyes! He wants to Pray or Play! We enter this Saturday Pondering Your Promises on Precious Jesus and giving Praise .

February 27 Thank God it is Friday cuz Sunday is coming! Is that the way we think about it? Friday brings us that much closer to the Lord's day. Does our weekend include some alone time with God? A secret rendezvous with our heavenly Father where we can trust in Him with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding, but find peace in knowing He is in control! This weekend let's take a Bible and a notebook and runaway with Him to a quiet place. Ask Him to show up and show us the paths we are to take. My husband hates it when we are dining in a fine restaurant and after placing the entree before you the waiter says "Enjoy". Any how.... I leave you with this thought... In a quiet place...we will find Him there waiting for us! Enjoy! John 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

February 26-27 Think of all the touches that have meant so much during your lifetime. When you were sick as a child the touch of your mother with a cool washcloth on your forehead. Learning to ride a bike, knowing your dad was touching the back of the seat running along beside you. The touch of that awesome date when he/she held your hand for the first time. Touching the skin of a newborn baby is an amazing sensation. For me there is such security in the middle of the night of my foot scooting over and touching my husband's foot just making certain he is still there and then the love that is felt when he rolls over and puts his arm around me. Even a precious pawing from Moses (our bulldog) is a welcome touch of endearment. Today I will head to the hospital with one of our daughters, who will have some surgery done. I pray for the touch of all the nurses and doctors who will attend to her and for the healing touch of our heavenly Father who loves her so much. The scriptures are fu

February 25 My husband and I were up chatting in the middle of the night and decided to go back to bed around 5:00AM. Now we are rushing to get out the door to school. I was whistling the soNG... Let us Praise Jesus Now ...and thought...when we are out of time or we don't know what to do we can always praise Jesus and we will feel like whistling. May we lift His name on high and He lift us up above our troubles. Love to each of you this Wednesday!

February 24 Oh, the speeches we ponder and rehearse in our minds! This morning my thoughts were compounding and I was ready to give someone a piece of my mind. My eyes had barely opened when I literally bit my tongue. Whew, God had my attention then! Quickly, I began to pray realizing it would be much more profitable to do just that... "bite my tongue" than to express my feelings the way the enemy was leading. Proverbs 15:4 says: The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. Proverbs 21:23 is likewise full of wisdom. He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. On the flip side 1 John 1:1-4 speaks of what we proclaim concerning the Word of life. Check out verses 3-4 and do a self-check on how often you can be found sharing what you have "seen and heard" in Christ? We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Fat

February 23 Associating :to join as a partner, friend, or companion; to keep company with to join or connect together; to bring together or into relationship in any of various intangible ways. The disciples were certainly blessed through their association with Jesus. They watched and learned from His ways first hand. Looking out onto the Lake this morning there are twelve seagulls soaring around, associating together, making an occasional dip into the Lake for a fish for breakfast! When I step out into today, I will keep the company of middle schoolers, fellowship with a group of my peers for lunch, then take on the role of mother with one of our children for a medical appointment, then finally return home to my spouse. Quite a variety of relationships for one day! There is a constant that we can carry along when we are out and about associating in a myriad of relationships...the constant is Christ. When we are "joined to or connected together" with Christ we are equipped wit

February 21-22 Leaving the home of my neighbor yesterday after washing the last dish from the funeral luncheon, I found myself thinking...what is ahead for her. Webster would use the definition: in, into, or for the future for that word use. The definition: in or toward a more advantageous position would fit for how we should live in a way which helps others get ahead in their spiritual journey with the Lord. Jesus has gone ahead of us preparing a place, a home in heaven for those who believe; would fit with a third definition of this word: at or to an earlier time : in advance . Picking up the God Calling devotional book for today it was no surprise to see the word ahead in the second sentence, since that is where the Lord had me. Be blessed by this writing: "The way is plain. You do not need to see far ahead. Just one step at a time with Me. The same light to guide you as the Hosts of Heaven know-the Son of Righteousness Himself. Only self can cast a shadow on the way.B

February 20 Physically and emotionally exhausted from helping a neighbor whose husband died this week, I hated to feel my 6AM hot flash which told me it was past time to get up. I rolled over to look at my clock hoping it was really the 1AM hot flash! My digital clock is old and some of the numbers don't totally light up, but what appeared on my clock looked like the letter "I", a heart and the letter "U". Yup, God sent me an "I love you" message on my alarm clock this morning! I am presently doing a Beth Moore Personal Journal Series on John. Check out today's verse: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23 She writes "One of the most significant qualities found in God's brand of love is that it is demonstrative. Christ directed His followers to love as He loved them. This implies that the more we obey and love God, the more vividly we may see

February 19 After giving an assignment one student immediately replied, "I can't do this." Coming alongside a young woman who had lost her father, she said, "I will never get over this." Lloyd John Ogilvie says, "Help me trust in You daily, and judge me by the extent that I have put my trust in You for guidance in making my decisions." Walking with Christ means negating the negative and living in hope, trusting in the one who is greater than all obstacles. Hugging a newly widowed friend last night, I said, "Today has been tough, but praise God his mercies are new every morning and with Him you can face tomorrow." She replied..."One day at a time." In the book God Calling it is recorded..."Do not forget to meet all your difficulties with love and laughter. Be assured that I am with you...Rest in My love." A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 It is not on our own merit w

February 18 We are called to be out and about working for the Lord,bearing much fruit, and being fishers of men! Where is this work to do done? On which paths are we to walk? Organized sports teams do not take the field without practicing prior to this event and having a game plan. A salesman is oriented, trained and given a sales plan before he heads out. The Lord is ready and waiting to direct us, but we must take the initiative to receive the instructions. We check to see that we have gas before we drive a car and we take time to grocery shop and check on needed ingredients before we cook a meal. May we look to the Lord, to lead the way, creating the schedule of events when we are out and about doing His business! Psalm 139:24 and Proverbs 4:11 provide good prayer guidelines. Let's Pray: Lord, see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting ordering my steps. Please guide me in the way of wisdom and lead me along straight paths, so that my joy may

February 17 The days of pulling into a service station and having an attendant come out to pump your gas, clean your windshield and check your oil are long gone! I can remember,as a sixteen year old, when I found a gas station where the owner's son, who worked there, was really cute. I couldn't wait until I needed gas and could pull in there and say "Fill her up!" Now as a fifty-two year old, it is the Holy Spirit I am asking to fill me up! It's a lot cheaper! My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples. John 15:8 Look at what is ahead in your day. How can the filling of the Holy Spirit assist you to bring glory to God in all you must do today? I am getting ready to walk into my neighbor's house where her husband died yesterday. I want everyone in that house to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in me...I am trusting the Spirit for the fruit of love, peace, kindness, gentleness, and compassion. Then I must walk i

February 16 A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22 Visiting friends in Atlanta this weekend, I heard our guest's daughter keep talking about a "Ha Ha." She is a landscape architect and had come across this term meaning:sunken fence. It is a type of boundary designed not to interrupt the view and to be invisible until seen from close by. I am guessing the name comes from coming upon it unexpectedly and saying "Ha ha" before you fall off! While with these friends we shared wonderful fellowship and lots of "ha ha" laughter. During a time of prayer before we left, the Lord impressed upon my heart that as brothers and sisters in Christ we need to be obedient to God's instructions to gather to gather regularly in the coming months and share the "ha ha" joy of the Lord. We are to encourage one another daily! Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Heb

February 13 Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8 A friend shared that her husband pulled up to a convenience store and before he walked in he heard the Lord say, "Someone is going to ask you for money. They are going to say they just need some change." Entering the store he immediately saw a man who might fit the bill of having a need. Twice while in the store he made direct contact with the man giving him every opportunity to approach. Nothing happened and the husband left a bit disappointed. He went out to the gas pumps and was filling up when the man came to him and said he needed money. Overjoyed for this fulfillment, the husband handed the man $5. The man said, "Oh, I only need some change!" We don't always get a heads up on what people are going to ask us. (That would make interviews a breeze and restaurants would operate a lot faster.) Our heavenly Father does have the heads up, and

February 12 "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5 I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day. —Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln learned the attitude of Christ...falling on His knees and calling out to the Father. What is our turn around time? How long does it take before we turn to the One who has the answers? I was having lunch with some friends yesterday and we were talking about seeking answers. I remembered when I was a child there were these black balls you could shake and an answer would come up. My girl friend laughed saying hers often said, "Try again!" I suggested we create one of those balls with Bible verses. One of the gals with me thought that was a great idea. She said, "Enough shakes and you are certain to come up with a scripture that would give you God's answer!&quo

February 11 God's love endures forever, so it is always in the air! How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1 With Valentine's Day only two days away, it is an excellent time to evaluate how much of our heart belongs to Jesus! Let's Pray : Lord, Your love is amazing. Fill us up to overflowing with that love, so that it may spill out upon a lost and hurting soul today! In Jesus Name, Amen

February 10 Yesterday I was praying with some of the teachers at school. We had mounds of personal concerns as well as those for the school. One teacher said she felt like she was being hammered. As we prayed, I asked the Lord that with each pounding we took on the head of the nail, we would see it being used to attach us tighter and tighter to Christ who had some experience with being hammered himself. We all agreed that finding our joy is a choice. Later in the morning I was sharing with my class that I had prayed with the teachers for us to be able to reach for our "joy jars" in time of need. One young man asked me what I kept in a joy jar...I explained, "The Holy Spirit!" Another young man raised his hand with sincere concern for his old teacher. "Mrs. Boo," he asked, "do you know what a joy jar is? You might not want to be saying that." LOL Now this is a born and raised Franklin County boy and this county has been known for years as the Moon

February 9 This morning AOL has a quiz on its main page testing the knowledge of what abbreviated company names stand for...CVC, UPS, FYE, etc. Yesterday, I came across the word "w00t". Now, that is spelled with two zeros and just happens to have won Webster's new word of the year contest in 2007. It is an interjection which means expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word "yay". "W00t! God's mercies are new every morning." We are so accepting of many things we don't know much about...the ingredients in our food or drugs, strangers in a restaurant preparing our food, companies whose names we don't even know what they stand for, and what our government leaders are up to with stimulus packages. (OK, so maybe we are not real trusting of that last one.) Why is it then that the Word of God, which has stood the test of time, is so hard for people to accept as beneficial to their lives? I was

February 7-8 Was it Lawrence Welk who would say wonderful as "wanderful?" I just asked my husband if that was correct. He responded that nobody reading my devotional ever watched Lawrence Welk and would know that he didn't! Made me laugh! Webster's defines a wanderer as someone who moves about without a fixed course, aim, or goal. Does that sound like our government? Lord, Jesus...please make this true for our nation... "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths... I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16 Today I want to go wandering with God. I want to get out on this beautiful 60 degree day and not turn on the news. God has me reflecting on Moses (the real one, not our bulldog) and his wanderings. Charles Stanley writes in Crosswalk: "...to persevere was faith, which Hebrews 11:1 defines as "being sure of

February 6 On Fire for the Lord. Lord, we pray that You would grant us, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith. We pray that being rooted and firmly established in love, we might be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and width, height and depth, and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 The holiday of love (in the world's terms) is approaching... Valentine's Day. The birth of Christ and His crucifixion for our sins are pretty big holidays exemplifying love in my book! Praying the Ephesians passage above fired me up. I like being "firmly established in Christ's love." I journaled today that being in relationship with Christ gives me: Security and love, hope and peace and the knowledge that the best is yet to come...seeing Jesus

February 5th Yesterday, I created 70 valentines! The day before I cut out several hundred valentines, which our school children will decorate. I actually wore the skin off my finger where the scissors were rubbing! One of our students challenged the school to become "good deed doers" and start events in the community that would have the ripple affect. Our first activity will be the Friday before Valentines where we will begin the circulation of 500 valentines and pieces of candy into our community. The message we want to get to people in this time when we all need some hope is "God is love and he loves you!" Enjoy Addison Road's lyrics to her song Hope Now If everything comes down to love Then just what I am afraid of When I call out Your name Something inside awakes in my soul How quickly I forget I’m Yours I’m not my own I’ve been carried by You All my life CHORUS Everything rides on hope now Everything rides on faith somehow When the world has broken me d

February 4 The disappointment was enormous and childlike! The weather report was for twelve hours of snow showers, and six hours had passed and there was no evidence of the first flake. A good night's sleep had been wasted due to anticipation and peeking out the window every hour or two. Heading to the door, rather downtrodden, to let the dog out, I found myself copping an attitude with God. "What would it have taken for You to produce one good snowfall? I'd just like a day blanketed in snow with no place to go. I don't get why we can't have that?" I grumbled.Heading to commence with my morning routine I recognized another menopausal moment, but this one had been directed towards my heavenly Father. Whoa!Sitting down to begin my quiet time with Him I realized I needed a major attitude adjustment and sought forgiveness. The title of an old TV show flashed across my brain... "Father Knows Best!" How petty was my desire for a blizzard! There is probably

February 3 Cause-(v) to compel by command, authority, or force ; (n) something that brings about an effect or a result It was the three o'clock hot flash that had me awake and hearing today's word: cause . Teaching middle school language arts we learn how tricky our vocabulary can be with words serving duel purposes. Our hearts and minds can trick us as well when we are trying to discern if we are hearing the Lord or the enemy. God is good and speaks in love wanting to build up, not destroy. When we hear thoughts to the contrary we need to beware! Often people ask..."Did God cause an event to happen?" We also ask..."What it the cause for the way we respond to various situations?" When we endure hardship, others will question how we are coping. We might respond..."Cuz I know God loves me and He is on His throne and His angels are watching over me!" The Bible is full of events that were caused by God. Acts 10:40 has an awesome one in reference to Jes

February 2 Well, last night James Harrison laid aside everything and everyone who tried to ensnare him and ran 100 yards, after an interception, for a touch down in the Super Bowl. He put on some major moves! The day was so gorgeous yesterday that I set before myself a goal to walk to a nearby park. I am not sure how many miles it was and there were some "HILLacious" spots, but just imagining the lake and mountain view awaiting me was incentive to keep going. Praise the Lord, I ran into a friend there who drove me home! Hebrews Chapter 12 encourages us as believers to be out and about in this faith walk like Christ was and to persevere by keeping our eyes on Jesus! Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endur