Boojoyful

June 1 Today is my mother's birthday. She died nine years ago. Everyday, I wear a diamond bracelet which belonged to her. Last night I was doing a bit of delayed spring cleaning, chloroxing the fence posts which go around our dock. At one point, my arm hit one of the slats and I thought, hmm, if this bracelet fell down into the lake I could easily enlist people to search for diamonds in the murky bottom of the lake. Why is it so difficult then to persuade someone to seek the Lord with all their heart? He is more precious than silver, more costly than gold and more beautiful than diamonds. Nothing we desire can compare to Him. How much effort do we put into seeking and searching God's purpose and will for our lives? He made each of us the way we are for a reason. He knows the plans He has for us. (Jeremiah 29:11) We can know the plans too, but it takes a willingness to go on a life long treasure hunt. Dig deep today...believing the Lord wants you to find His treasures. As for Go...

May 30-31 During out final closing ceremonies yesterday there was a point our head master, my husband, asked parents and their children to go find a spot outside and reflect on God's love as we listened to the song by Casting Crowns called "Your love is Extravagant". One of the parents of a student of mine had not arrived so I asked her to be my child and come with me. We went down to the water's edge and sat on some steps. God gave me an amazing message as we sat there. Look out to the deep water (our future) we can't see what lies beneath it. But look right here in the shallow water in front of us (today) we can see the bottom of the lake, the rocks, shells and other obstacles very clearly. As we gazed into the water there were two little minnows staring right back up at us. I said, "What a great picture to remind us we are never alone, God is right beside us caring about every thing that happens to us. Fortunately, clear visibility is not necessary fo...

May 29 Remember my nocturnal friend, Mr. Whippoorwill, on the volleyball post outside our bedroom window? Last night I was up until after 1:30AM putting the finishing touches on a Treasure Hunt and Obstacle Course for our school's Final FUN Day today! I had invited two of our 7th grade girls to spend the night to help out one of the mothers who was having a medical procedure. (Ah, the benefits of a tiny school.) The good news was the other parents and students are not to arrive until 9AM, so I told the girls we can sleep in. But no, at 5AM while it was still dark, our whippoorwill decides to get in one final outburst right outside our window. Whip-poor-will or GET YOURSELF UP, he screamed at me. My eyeballs hurt and I am already anticipating an afternoon nap! I have a very godly friend who would say, don't look at this as why did this have to happen, look at this as what is God doing by having me up at this wonderful quiet time of the day! Yikes...my husband is out burying the ...

May 28 Racking my brain late last night, I tried to come up with all the clues needed for a treasure hunt we are formulating for our students and a Field Day tomorrow. This morning the task at hand was coming up with a prize which can be buried in the sand for each of the four teams. Immediately my mind raced to 1 Corinthians 9:26 (NLT) which says: I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. Verse 24 says: Run in such a way as to get the prize . Paul also talks about "the prize" in Philippians chapter three where he says: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus . That reminded me of various attitudes of people who have participated in our treasure hunts here at Shiloh. Some run and are elated at the final dig. Others finish and are grumbling that someone else cheated and got to the prize sooner. Some may complain that a clue was too tough. Paul say...

May 27 This past week I kept thinking I was having lots of hot flashes and a reaction to the pollen in the air, when in reality I had a fever and was sick with a virus. This conclusion could have been reached faster had I taken time to stick a thermometer in my mouth or ear (if I had the fancy kind, ah good Christmas present for my kids). We often have trouble differentiating between what God is telling us, what are our fleshly desires and what the enemy might be whispering in our ears. When we open God's word and hold it up our dilemmas in life we increase our chances of discernment. Yesterday, I sat on my screen porch to do my Bible Study. Moses wandered up wishing for a back scratch. Succumbing to his desires left numerous hair balls blowing across the porch. Watching that occurrence brought me to a very powerful verse: Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and ...

May 26 Today was to be a catch up day from being down with a virus for several days. The fever is gone, but the congestion and cough are lingering a bit, so I decided it best to not drive on the school field trip, but rest up and catch up. God had a different agenda. At 7:45 AM the power went out. I called AEP who said it should be back around 4PM. That means no washing, vacuuming, ironing or even mopping or cleaning the floors or me because we are on a well and the pump won't work. I am even limited on the computer. Although I have a verizon attachment to get onto the Internet, I have limited battery power left. The Lord put on my heart to do the devotional first, but the temptation was so great to read 37 emails which were waiting for me. Each of three times I attempted to do that, the lost connection. Now that I am doing it God's way, I can just type away! So what will I do with 8 hours without power! I will plug into some awesome Bible Studies and an intense time of prayer ...

May 25 Our air-conditioner went out Friday (great timing...a holiday weekend). The nights have been delightful, so we have opened our windows and the door in our bedroom to our screened porch. We were just closing our eyes last night when the loudest Whip-poor-will or Chuck-will's widow (a larger version) let out with its song. It was so loud, my husband thought the bird was on the screened porch. Walking out onto the porch I turned on the spotlight which shines onto our volleyball court. Right there on the top of one of the net posts sat this confident bird singing over and over again its nocturnal song. Some people receive a lovely robin or blue bird in their yard, but not us, nope we get the loudest whip-poor-will around serenading us to sleep! My husband says, "Nothing normal ever happens to us." When we reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day...remembering those who died while serving our country, there is nothing very normal about a person who is willing to give his...

May 23-24 I am fried! We had a yard sale for the school today and were outside for 10 hours! At 5AM, I was not thinking about sunscreen and I've paid the consequences. Many of you may remember my crazy story last year of God telling me to pull over and go in a Dairy Queen and give a dollar to the person behind the counter and ask what I could pray for them? (I really struggled with the Lord on this one.) The girl whom I approached went to get her manager; I thought for sure thinking I was a nut. She brought her manager back and said to her, "This lady is going to pray for you and the tumor in your face." I prayed and then went on my way, trying to figure out what in the world the Lord was up to. Well, today I saw a lady walking around the yard sale and I went up to her and introduced myself, saying..."You look very familiar to me." She said, "I am the Dairy Queen lady." Elated to see her, I asked about the tumor. She said, "It went away!"...

May 20-21 I missed a beat today...the best beat, when your heart is still before the Lord. Struggling to sleep last night with drainage dripping down my throat, I gave in and took a Tylenol Cold for nighttime at 4AM. Big mistake...I was not ready to get up for school at 6AM. The day stayed in a frantic state of "doing good deeds", but the best deed of being still and knowing He is God did not get done. So before I lay me down to sleep, I want to pray to and praise the Lord who is my Soul Keeper! Lord, teach us to number our days and gain hearts of wisdom. When You come may we be watching and not too busy to notice! In Jesus' Name, Amen

May 19 What a strange, mixed up language we have. We say we love pizza and we love our children. We can "Good morning, Lord" or Good Lord, what a morning!" We can say we are watching our dog, while we also need to watch our tongues. Proverbs 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. Psalm 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. Psalm 34:13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. We have such gracious guidelines for life right at our finger tips! Praise the Lord He speaks our language! (Everyone's language.) For those of us who are slow to learn, He has even equipped us with a private tutor...the Holy Spirit! But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow ...

Having written about the word "continue" today, I was blessed when I turned on my IPOD and Donnie McClurkin was singing Again. Check out the lyrics on the sidebar. If you get a chance go to Itunes and listen!

May 16-18 Friday was laid out as a day of fasting and prayer for me. By 4PM, I had the trembles and reached for some crackers. The enemy laughed over my weakness and before I knew it I had added roast beef to the crackers. Returning from getting something out of another bedroom I noticed a trail of shavings of some sort along the floor. I was clueless what had made this path, but realized it matched exactly where I had been walking. Checking the bottom of a pair of platform sandals I was wearing revealed the problem. These fifteen year old shoes were disintegrating. The top straps were perfectly strong, but the foundation of the shoes was crumbling. Isn't that how our lives are at times? From all outward appearances we have it together, but because we have wavered from the foundation of our faith we are falling apart. I was trusting in my own strength, not in the Lord,to get me through the fast. Praise His mighty name, He still spoke. 1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay any foun...

May 15th Often you all ask me, how I have remained faithful to the evotional for 9 years. The excitement of God showing up every morning and thrilling my heart with a word has become a habit. This ministry is also a perfect example of the benefits of accountability. Praying this AM, I thought the word the Lord was giving me was "cancer". My heart is burdened for so many in that battle. Then I realized the word was continue. Be blessed by the encouragement the Lord sends to us today from this word. Definitions of continue :to maintain without interruption a condition, course, or action; to remain in existence, to endure; to resume an activity after interruption. The areas in which we are having to continue along life's way are enormously varied, but the same God has us covered and the same Word speaks hope over us. Check out what the Bible says about continuing: Proverbs 15:15 The cheerful heart has a continual feast. 1 John 2:28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so...

May 14 Our baby has been home from college this week and we have done a lot of reminiscing about days gone by. Ah, the memories! How often do we sit with the Father and reminisce over all He has done in our lives, as well as all the times He shows up in the Bible. Great thought....God delivers! Curl up close to Him and think back. Genesis 9:16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Psalm 25:6 Remember , O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago 2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, Let's Pray: God, you are mighty and to be feared, while at the same time You are LOVE and to be cherished. Forgive us when we fail to remember Y...

May 13 Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Joseph had to resist the temptation which Potipher's wife threw in front of him...day by day. Mordecai refused to kneel to the nasty, Haman, day by day. Families dealing with serious illness, decaying relationships, financial woes, etc. choose to get up and trust in the Lord day by day. Sustenance -the act of sustaining; a supplying or being supplied with the necessaries of life; something that gives support, endurance, or strength. Jesus is our sustenance! Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Let's Pray: Father, God, You are in control and have a master plan! (Ha, yup, the Master's Plan!) Help us to focus less on the things of the world on more on what is at hand! Your hand. In Jesus' Name, Amen Great example of the world...spell check has neither Colossians or Potipher in their dictionary!

May 12th On a walk this weekend I came upon a turtle crossing a very busy road. Moving with faith and confidence, he had made it to the double yellow line with his head held high. I found myself saying, "Go boy, go!" I myself, was in a rather precarious position as there was no shoulder along this curvy road and I would have to step down a bank when cars passed. An approaching truck brought a grimace to my face as I watched him swerve to the middle of the road to avoid me, coming extremely close to the turtle. The turtle tucked his head and I believe he prayed, "Spare me Father." Surviving the encounter unscathed, I decided it was time to risk my life and run out and move this turtle to the other side of the road. He hissed at me and pulled his head back into his shell as I picked him up and scurried across the road positioning myself in a dangerous curve. Running back across to a safer location on the road, I didn't wait for a thank you. My God calling reading ...

May 11 Taking a long walk the other day I ventured up along a high traffic area which I seldom do. I'm a waver by southern nature, though it can be a bit bothersome on a busy road. Having dirty hair, I had stuck it up under a baseball cap, put on some shades and hiked off incognito. This new route had me encounter a delightful young middle schooler out on his bike. He road along beside me as we discussed literature and his top inquiry: "Don't middle school students get on your nerves?" While he zoomed off to make a lap near the golf course,a black truck headed up a hill towards me. Now I am not observant when it comes to people's cars and being in my waving mode I instinctively waved to this vehicle. The driver gave a very mild wave, just lifting his fingers from the steering wheel, but the woman in the passenger seat did nothing but stare at me. As the truck passed me I realized the occupants were our mean neighbors who have caused such turmoil. The conviction wa...

May 9-10 Today is the birthday of one of our first grade students. Yesterday, she wanted to share her cupcake cake with me. Leaving school I asked her to come and speak with me. I explained with so many students I couldn't purchase gifts for all of them, but I would like to give her a birthday dollar, but to keep it a secret. She had on a skirt with no pockets, so we decided the best hiding place for her dollar would be her sock. (I figured her mom would find it in the wash in the worst case!) Feeling confident we had an appropriate solution to avoid the hurt feelings of others I gave her a hug and watched her LIMP back to class! She was dragging that dollar foot behind her and I am certain it was not five seconds before her classmates wanted to know why she was LIMPING ! Help me Jesus! Webster's has a definition of limp which is appropriate for how we should limp through life with Jesus... proceed slowly . Paul speaks of his thorn in this flesh as being a benefit. Warren W. W...

May 8th Last Monday, I was blessed to be able to be a part of leading a young mother and her son to the Lord. The mother asked, "How does God show up? How does this relationship work?" Before they left our home we gave them a Bible, the Purpose Driven Life , and the devotional Quiet Moments with God . The woman, a single mom had financial needs. Being a realtor in these slow times she had experience a dry period for six months. As she walked out the steps of our home after praying to receive Christ, she received a phone call that one of her properties had sold for $1,300,000. Coincidence? I don't think so. The next morning her son was reading the devotional to her and Prov.3:5-6 was the first message the Lord had for her on this new journey. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths . Coincidence? I don't think so. The whispers of God get better in the daily love letters ...

May 7 Cross , here is another multiple meaning word in the English language. The stock market has cross-trading, there is a boxing punch called a cross, a great shot in tennis is a "cross court" shot,in the verb tense "to cross" is to move in a direction or you can "cross out" something on paper. If we were playing family feud I would hope the number one answer for the definition for this word would be "the place Jesus hung and died for our sins". Let's take up His cross today and follow some of the verses which were left for us. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Ph. 2:8 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mt 16:24 Let us fix our eyes o...

May 6 Our Middle School language arts class has just finished reading Swiss Family Robinson. The Christian study guide we use suggested watching the movie Castaway and to have the students write a comparison/contrast paper on the two works. My students are assigned to compare the main characters, the settings, and the climax/resolutions. When we clicked off the movie yesterday the Lord led me to share with the students how God designed us for relationship. In Castaway, this yearning plays out where the man on the deserted island establishes a relationship with a volleyball. Sadly, he never cries out to the Lord. Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or a...

May 4-5 Twice in the past two days the Lord has taken me to a word, when I came to the realization it was either the homonym or a multiple definition He was really heading me towards. Today I was praying with a woman and the word bear came to mind. What does a bear have to do with this Lord? I asked. "No," said the Lord, "Bear , as in lay those burdens down and don't bear them alone. Rain has been predicted for days and it finally showed up. When the word came to me I didn't know what God was saying...then I realized it was reign ..."Let me reign in your life!" The Exodus 15:18 The LORD will reign for ever and ever. Lamentations 5:19 You, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 2 Timothy 2:12 ...if we endure, we will also reign with him. He never rains on our parade when He is reigning as Lord in our lives! In Jesus' Name, Boo

May 3 I should be sleeping, my eyes had already closed and I was comforted by my husband's breathing as he slept. Overwhelmed with everything from a house covered inside and out with spring's blanket of pollen; to planters needing filling and closets crying to be cleaned out; also there are lesson plans overdue for the coming week and deeper concerns for our job future and the needs of our children so I prayed, "Order my days, Father." "Ah, my child," he gently responded, "I have have full account of your days and they are in perfect order. The correct request would be... show me how You have ordered my days?" Psalm 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Clamoring out of bed, stepping over a snoring bulldog I've crept into the darkness of the living room to hear from You, Lord. A boat whizzes out of the cove into the darkness with little to guide it, yet it goes. You, the God of the universe...

May 2-3 Our next door neighbor's husband died back in February. He had purchased land to provide an alternative road home for those of us living at the end of an easement road, instead of the existing one with a very nasty neighbor. Leaves had piled up between the two properties and no one had moved them, so yesterday my husband took it upon himself to get the enormous job done. His technique of power blowing with two blowers cut the project time to three hours. Fortunately, he was watching as he blew for he uncovered a nest of snakes! In their panic to evade the exposure they entangled themselves in the seed mesh the road builders had laid down to secure a bank. I approached with my pitch fork in hopes of freeing some of them, but they just panicked more tightening the grip the mesh strands had upon them. I have sorted out some yarn snarls in my day, but I was not up for sorting four live snakes hissing at me. Running from the rough spots in life often gets us entangled in a mang...

May 1 Can I go to the bathroom?, my students frequently ask. I don't know...are you able to go to the bathroom?, could be my reply. The word may would be more appropriate. Check out several definitions of may: have the ability to, have permission to, be free to; express a wish or desire especially in prayer, imprecation, or benediction. Expressing purpose or expectation. So often we hear the benedictions such as... May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; May he smile on you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:22-27) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, So that you may abound in hope By the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ . 1 Thes. 5:23 Today may we pray a "may prayer" full of desire for ourselves before the Lord: May w...