Boojoyful

August 31 What I really want to write about is what a God thing the geese flyover in DC at the Restoring Honor rally was, but that's not what God gave me for today. I find at this stage of life I awaken most mornings having no clue what day it is. The exciting thing though is that my mind searches its radar for what I am looking forward to. Seven years ago one of our sons was in a tragic accident. Driving to UVA for a check up a few months later he said, "You know Mom, I used to wake up and think about what I dreaded most about the day, now I wake up thankful to be alive." Let's make a list of what we think God looks forward to each day. 1) Welcoming His children home to heaven. 2) Quiet chats with His children 3) Hearing the praises of His people 4) The birth of a new believer 5) Watching His children hunger for the Lord. Wow, those are so analogous with what earthly parents look forward to! We love to see our kids come through the door, hear how their day has been a...

August 30 The Lord makes me laugh with the things He shares. "The Orchestrator of Preparedness" was a mouthful for my brain at 5:00AM. It made sense though as I was praying for relief for so many individuals from trials which seem to be trapping them. The process of our preparedness for the kingdom to come requires stretching, struggles and even suffering. God is preparing us through experiences for what is to come next...here and in heaven. Studying the scriptures two types of preparedness came to mind. God's and what he is preparing for us and our preparedness for what we face on earth before we get to heaven. God is up to good: However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him ." 1 Corinthians 2:9 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Revelation 21:2 In my Father's house are m...

August 28-29 When our children were younger we had a rule that if you said an inappropriate word you received a squirt of liquid soap. God has me at a graduate level of training on the power of our speech and would like to give me a squirt of soap. One of our yard signs reads: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 I failed a test big time recently. Some girlfriends were talking about a painful topic and how people can say things unknowingly which bring great pain upon a person. (Like those facing cancer, divorce, infertility, financial problems etc.) I gave an example and used the name of the person who had made the comment. The same impact could have been made without siting the person's name. My comment got back to this person, whom I love, in an elaborated form and hurt them very much. At that point I had a choice to make. Doing my de...

August 27 The morning started off rough, because I didn't start it off right...with the Lord. Instead, I was on the phone trying to cancel a credit card before a yearly fee was automatically renewed. The lady finally said she would up my credit limit, but she was not able to cancel the card, I would have to call back. WHAT!!! I wasn't like Jesus...I lost it. My walking buddy said they are probably on commission and get a penalty if they cancel a card. It was nuts. Coming back in from walking I headed off to our screened porch for my quiet time. My first reading was from Psalms Now #135 Despite the depressing conditions of our world and the distortions of our society, or even the problems and conflicts of our lives, let us take time to praise the Lord...Without our God to praise and worship and serve, there is no real purpose in life, no meaning, no identity, and no reason for existing in this cold, calculating world...Let us praise the Lord! He makes our lives and our living, e...

August 26 Oh, my goodness Labor Day is almost here and I need to switch out the clothes in my closets. I think I will wear my white sandals, white shorts and white pants every day this week, since I can't wear them after Labor Day. "What?" you say. "Where did you hear such a rule?" From my Mama of course! The roots of this tradition are confirmed on wisegeek.com, but the paragraphs below show that there may be some leniency for me! Wow! We've come a long way baby! "The roots of the idea that people should not wear white after Labor Day appear to be shrouded in mystery, and the rule has been greatly relaxed since the 1950s and 1960s, when it was more heavily enforced. People who choose to wear white after Labor Day are no longer heavily criticized for the choice, and are sometimes embraced as fashion forward trendsetters. There are several theories about the the rule which governs people who wear white after Labor Day. The first and most sensible is that...

August 25 Up long before the sun, I began my quiet time with the Lord. Singing "Glory, glory, glory to the Lamb"; I then moved on to a time of confession asking God to "Create in me a clean heart". Launching into a prayer list, which ranged from the desires of the hearts of my children to a wide sweep of healing for numerous people battling disease and miracles for some hurting marriages, I then became quiet wanting to hear from the Lord and He really caught me off guard. "What do you want from me?" He asked. "I beg your pardon?" I replied. Shell shocked, I thought, "What do I want from Him?" My mind drifted back to two relationship scenarios. In the parental role sometimes we have children who only call when they want something...usually money! "Oh, Lord, when I come to You I hope it is with more than just my wish list!" A radio talk show yesterday addressed the other relationship I am referring to and nailed the different ma...

August 24 Call me crazy, as most people do, but I just found myself cheering for Jesus. "I love Jesus, how bout you? I love Jesus, you should too!" Maybe it is the drop in the temperatures today and the reality that football season is two weeks away which has me cheering or possibly the message which was spoken at a friend's father's funeral yesterday reminding me of Christ's victory over death. The funeral was such a celebration of this man's life and foremost his love for the Lord. The three hymns sung said it all: To God Be the Glory, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, and Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. May today be a day where you know He is near. May your heart, mind, and soul be free from all fear, May your moments of worship be sweeter than sweet, and afford you the time to actually fall at His feet! Being Joyful, but too sore to jump for jo...

August 23 Sitting on the dock, studying God's Word yesterday afternoon was convicting and at times uncomfortable, but my appetite was insatiable for I knew I was consuming truth and it tasted good! The transforming of our minds is like a human tune-up. We run so much smoother after the process! Always give thanks (Eph. 5:20), pray with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6), and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Th. 5:18). Those are tall orders when we are choosing which bill will be paid on time, whether to endure more chemo or have a risky surgery, or suffering through the heartache of losing a loved from from death, divorce or separation. God purposely designed our life process so that we could not see the future, but trust in His goodness along the way. Paul writes these recommendations to us coming from personal experiences in these three passages. His life had not been cushy. The trials he faced were surmountable, but he knew whom he believed. Corrie ten Boom was in a Nazi concentrati...

August 21-22 We are in the works of another wedding here at our house and today I gained some information which I knew would ease the brides's mind. I was excited to contact her. I heard the Lord say, "I want to ease your mind if you will let me". Such a sweet compassionate spirit came upon me. I couldn't wait to look up the definition of "to ease". ... to free from something that pains, disquiets, or burdens And that is exactly what a walk with the Lord does! By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8 ...whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. Proverbs 1:33

August 20 I have a date with Jesus, a need to get away, but I am allowing routines and rigors to tempt me by whispering, "No, it's right here where you must stay." I am taking off my running shoes and foregoing the need to exercise and heading to a quiet place on Christ to feast my eyes. The grocery list has been turned over, waffles or eggs for dinner will just have to do, for I want time with my First Love, whom to me has been so true. The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:30-31 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

August 19th After writing my 12th birthday cheer for this month and looking ahead to September and realizing it wasn't any lighter, I counted back 9 months! Ah, Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations. There you have it! The perfect baby making months. Maybe I should do a spiritual birthday study and see if more people have their second birthday, the time when they asked Jesus into their hearts, around Christmas and Easter? My guess is the higher percentage of people asked Christ into their lives at a time of great need. A time when they recognized nothing else was filling that void in their lives. Actually, attending/listening to a Billy or Franklin Graham crusade would probably rank right up there. "The Song of Solomon expresses the desire implanted in every human heart, to be reunited with God Himself, and to know perfect and unbroken union with Him. He has made us for Himself, and our hearts can never know rest and perfect satisfaction until they find it in Him." Hannah ...

August 18 I just love where my early morning brain goes! This AM before the eyes were open the word study with the Lord was comfort . He was like...com (come) to my fort (fortress) and I will give you rest and protection. How Kool is that? Check out these verses and be encouraged. Chuckling I pondered on David's attitude in Psalm 31. Now he has been in some major "bad" and seen some rather rough times, but he never waivers from who he knows God to be. When David says the phrase "for your name's sake" it sounds like he is saying "lead me and guide me, get me out of this mess, so we can keep that great reputation of yours standing Lord." Oh, Father, your ways are not our ways, but help us to trust and be comforted today, knowing Your ways are the best ways. In Jesus Name, Amen Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 31:3 ...

August 17 Today I am having a small luncheon for some of my friends whose names begin with the letter "K". The table is set, the party favors are done, each lady has a scripture card with a key "k" word in the verse, and the food is ready to be tasted. Are you thinking kidney beans with ketchup, kale, kiwis and kit kats for dessert? No, there are too many fabulous fresh veggies out there we are having Gazpacho.(Recipe to come!) My mind was singing an old praise song before I even opened my eyes. What a way to start the day! Come into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart, give Him praise, give Him praise. Come into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart,your voices raised, your voices raised. Give Him glory, honor, and power unto Him,oh, Jesus name above all names. And then it happened, BAM! A bird had hit our dining room windows. Continuing to praise the Lord, I gave thanks my husband was home. (Not sure if you remember I have a fear of birds.) Had my ...

August 16 Grabbing the mail the other day I realized we had not received our local newspaper in quite a while. Calling the office the receptionist informed me our subscription had run out last January. Whoops. Guess I hadn't missed it too badly. Magazine renewal notices begin coming six months before they are due. The longer you wait to renew the sweeter the deal seems to get. There are other items in life which carry penalties for a failure to renew...like automobile inspections and city stickers. I recall being pulled over once because our station wagon did not have an updated city sticker proving we had paid our property taxes. Fortunately, we had the sticker in the car, we just hadn't stuck it on the license plate. The sticker didn't seem to concern the officer as much as why two adults, in their 40's, wearing formal black tie attire, would have a mattress laid out in the back of their station wagon. Guess he hadn't met many "harp" parents who hauled t...

August 14-15 A sponge has to soak up a liquid before it can squeezes it out. I've been in "soak up" mode, taking in what the Lord is teaching me, but I am not certain I've been squeezing His joy out to others. While is it necessary to fill ourselves up, it is important to realize the purpose in that process is to be able to have love to squeeze out upon others. We are not to be like a sponge submerged in the bottom of a bucket. Let's allow the hand of God to lift us up and pour His love upon others through us today. Who do you know that needs a good soaking? Jesus knew the importance of going off and being alone with his Father in order to be able to minister appropriately and to be alert for spiritual danger. He was able to pour out compassion and refreshment onto so many because of His power source....a spring of water welling up! After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Matthew 14:23 but whoever drinks the water I give...

August 13 Growing up, my parents had a group of friends called the Oompahs. These couples had the best parties and they often had themes. My sister and I enjoyed carrying on that tradition. Once she had a "yard" party. You could only wear a yard of fabric! Often I would make costumes for all of our children related to their birthday party themes. We had an Indian party once and met on the property where we kept our ponies, so the boys could have pony rides. Before we got to that part, there was a walk in the woods and my husband was dressed magnificently as an Indian chief and was waiting in a tee pee in the woods. It was a total flop, those little boys saw that big Indian chief and they all came running out of the woods crying! Next week I am starting a series of ABC Luncheons. Praying first, I asked the Lord to give me the letter of which the names of the guest should begin. Next week it is a "K" luncheon. Meeting with two friends the other day, one whose name is ...

August 12 Back in the 90's there was a movie called That Thing You Do . I don't know that I ever watched it in entirety, dead beat mom that I was by that time, but I remember our children watching it over and over again! It seems that one weekend here at the lake if ran continually and the room was filled with laughter. What The Sound of Music was to me, I think this flick was to our children. (Maybe not. :) Hmm, are Julie Andrews and Tom Hanks (I believe he was the star) comparable? A cherished friend (one of those who keeps her ears open to God) called yesterday and had an amazing "word" for me. The timing was perfect as enemy was wanting to win the mind game with me and bring out a satchel full of sauerkraut(sadness) instead of allow me to open a jar full of jelly beans(joy). This woman has been up against huge obstacles herself, yet she was being obedient to share with me what she felt the Lord urging her to share. It was as if God himself had said, "Check t...

August 11 Google Topsy Turvy and you will go right to the latest trend of upside down gardening. That is not what I was looking for though. My husband and I were walking and he was enlightening me on some of the world's news. A few minutes into this informative session he said, "I'm sorry, I guess there is no need to dwell on all this, the world is just turning upside down and the Bible speaks of this." I of course, remembering the Diana Ross days broke into the song... Upside down ya turn me, inside out... Bringing me back to reality he spoke of the passage in 2 Timothy 3:1 which says "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days..." Trying to find the passage he had referenced this morning I put the words upside down into Biblegateway and came up with "nada". I called my man, who has an excellent command of scripture and he said, "Try the words "topsy turvy". "Ok, thanks a lot," I replied, "even th...

July 10 Our daughter in law's father is making the ultimate sacrifice and running for US Congress this fall. Last week she asked a group of us to vote for him in a competition which would provide an opportunity to write on a conservative blog and gain some free advertising. One gentleman responded "Done" to my request. I wrote back "Thank you." A few minutes later I receive an email from him which simply says, "YW." Now I realized for years I've been blond and now am gray, so I was a little slow on the uptake. Knowing this man loves the Lord, I emailed back..."Yahweh?" This totally confused him. In the meantime I googled "What does "YW" stand for?" The answer totally baffled me..."Young Women of the Church of Latter Day Saints." The man graciously let me know "YW" simply means: Your Welcome! What is there about the Gospel that we have tried to complicate? This is how God showed his love among us: He...

August 8-9 The Lord can push us where he wants us. Sitting on the dock I had come up with what I thought was a clever course for a writing on "Self S IN teredness". The plan, which may come to fruition someday, was to take the letters in "repent" and form an acrostic supported by scripture. Beginning with the letter "p", just where the concordance fell open, I instead was taken by coincidence to scripture after scripture related to "hope". And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us. Romans 5:5 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. 2 Timothy 6:17-18 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he w...

August 7 Shopping online for wedding supplies I've been amazed by the fine print and extra costs or requirements for "deals". Earlier I was responding to an ad where you can get free mother daughter quotes. Clicking on the site you learn the only requirement is your cell phone number. I don't think so! Earlier I was on what appeared to be a great discount fabric site. I was clicking away choosing some fabrics at $2.59 a yard. (All I needed was a yard of each.) A yellow box popped up to say I needed to order a minimum of 15 yards each! Not quite the deal for which I was searching. Another site touted "free shipping" in big bold letters...the fine print..."with a purchase of $150 dollars or more". A relationship with Christ is free. Paul describes it in Ephesians as "the gift of God". Looking at the letters in "free" adjectives which are perks that come from hanging out with Jesus came to mind... F-friendship and forgiveness R-re...

August 6 The red sun blazed through my bedroom window beckoning me to awake and get on with the day. Rolling over onto my belly, my arms extended forward and my toes pointed right off the mattress in a long stretch and that is the word which came barrelling through my brain. "Oh, Lord, please don't tell me You are going to stretch my faith today, " I thought. Wondering where He was leading me with this, no Bible verse came to mind with the word stretch. Flipping to the concordance in the NIV Bible by my bed there was no reference to stretch, but highlighted on the page of "st" words under "strength" was a fabulous path to head down. 2 Samuel 22 finds David not acting as shepherd, harpist, warrior or king, but as a poet expressing praise. I am going off to dig through all 51 verses, but for now will share what was highlighted.... It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Going to Biblegateway there were numerous references to "s...

August 5 Moses, our bulldog, needed his rabies vaccination. $250 later, we left the vet's office with eye drops, ear wash, nose ointment, heart worm pills, Frontline and the bill for a shot of steroids (like he isn't buff enough). Now each morning I am singing..eyes and ears and nose and tail (he requires a special bootie wipe after his bathroom breaks) to help my aging mind remember how to address all his needs. This led me to a wonderful verse for us today: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 Father, with You all things are possible, so we ask for help surrending our ways to Your ways. Thank You for sending your Spirit to guide us. Slow the pace of every day life, turn our hearts towards You and reveal things to us today through Your Spirit that give us an eternal perspective and an urgency to point others to You each day. When others see us...

August 4 When gloom and doom try to wiggle their way into your life, like our bulldog Moses wiggles his way onto a couch between two people, who ya gonna call to rescue you? Not ghost busters, but a the Holy Ghost who can blow gloom right out of your brain. Many of you know I'd been praying for a clear cancer scan for my girlfriend, but that was not the result yesterday. I struggled to regain my footing as disappointment caused my faith to be a bit unsteady. My heart was spinning with quotes like..."What's the deal God? We've prayed with gusto and believed big." This poem was placed before me in Streams in the Desert before my head hit the pillow last night. Based on Be men of courage, be strong. 1 Cor. 16:13 Be strong! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift; We have hard work to do, and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle; face it. It's God's gift. Be strong! Say not the days are evil-Who's to blame? Or fold your hands, as in defeat-O shame! S...

August 3 The list is long of people for whom I am waiting to hear medical results. Nancy Leigh DeMoss had on her site a link to a video done by a young woman named Rachel Barkey. www.deathisnotdying.com It is not for the faint in faith or actually maybe that is part of its purpose. Rachel challenges us with four principles which are key to life: Know God, know yourself, know the Gospel and know your purpose. Asking my husband what he felt his purpose was we chuckled at his response... "To keep you happy!" Whew, that is too tall an order for any man to keep a woman happy. That is why God sent Jesus! One of my friends was sharing she hoped for good results today from a scan. I looked up the definition of hope. Hope : to cherish a desire with anticipation. (Don't you love that?) My friend's six year battle has been so courageous and spurred more people on to proper priorities than she will ever know. Looking up courage , the dictionary should have had many of your names...

July 31-August 2 My role in our Sunday services is to share how God showed up the week before. Being in a bit of the doldrums due to disappointment I told the Lord I really wasn't quite sure I'd seen Him last week. Going to brush my teeth before church I decided it was time to change the head on my electric toothbrush. When I inserted the new one I was shocked by the difference in the power. For the past month I had been pretty much brushing in my own power not the toothbrush's, but I had grown accustom to the lack of power and hadn't really noticed what I was missing. Isn't that a perfect picture of life without the Spirit? We start trying to survive in our own power, forgetting who God is and what is available to us and live life in a less vibrant place than God intends for us to. He showed up and He will do it time and time again if we seek Him. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.