Boojoyful

September 1 A long ago memory flashed back to me the other day. It was the memory of ballet lessons as a little girl and standing at the ballet bar waiting for the teacher to turn my foot a little more to the inside or outside. The touch of the teacher and the personal interest she showed was a wonderful feeling. When God corrects our position through the study of his Word, we likewise should feel cared for and loved. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

August 31 Twenty four icons stare at me across the bottom of my computer screen and I know how to utilize about half of them. Numerous others are hidden away, of which I am totally ignorant as to their capabilities. Our kids laugh because I don't even know the names of the various technological instruments we have. Is it a Mac or an Apple? Yes, I know the cell phone and the computer! No, I couldn't tell you what type or style they are. Now do I know how to set an alarm on it or keep my calendar dates store within? No. The real struggle comes with the names iPod touch, shuffle, and I think the music thing that is just simply an iPod? Beyond not knowing what they are called, I haven't begun to tape into all the functions these tools are equipped to perform. It is the same way with our relationship to God. We may have asked Christ to come in as Savior assuring us our sins are forgiven and name is in the Book of Life. Our prayer lives may even be soundly in tack a...

August 30 Check out the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong. It thrilled my heart on a prayer walk yesterday. I was wishing I was technologically savvy enough to have multiple Ipods with songs in the same order on them, so friends could go walking to the same praise songs! We'd be shouting! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGJdTpMUcU All the lyrics are typed out under the link above called "Hear Ye Hear Ye". These words would have been awesome to have sung during our earthquake last week! I see the king of glory Coming on the clouds with fire The whole earth shakes The whole earth shakes Reading in Secrets of the Secret Place #40 I was challenged by these statements: "The Scriptures have always been intended to direct our hearts to a Person. We can read the Bible avidly and never get to know the Lord. Come to the Word to gaze upon the majesty and mystery of the altogether Lovely One. To know Christ more requires revelation, and revelation usually requires...

August 29 Rolling down the hill to the dock, in a joyful stupor from 4 elated days with our grandson, I hungered for quiet time with the Lord. I began with seeking forgiveness for not making the time for Him and placing all my focus on this precious child. What ensued was some of the sweetest fellowship ever and a load of lessons to share this week. The first one comes from the words in The Help which are still echoing in my mind, "You is kind, You is smart, You is important". Imparting those words to our grandchildren is what I see as a huge part of the role of grandparenting. Being an encourager. I think it was in Secrets of the Secret Place that I read (paraphrased) this yesterday. "Paul didn't just say, "I have confidence in you" when he was addressing his brothers and sisters in the faith in Galatia and Philippi. He added, "I have confidence in the Lord that He can work in you what is pleasing to Him." While I praised our grandson,...

August 26-28 Our grandson met this young lady at the park yesterday and was captivated by her. I watched as he inched himself closer and closer until they were almost nose to nose. (Her grandmother was a bit nervous, thinking he was going to lay a big kiss on her.) Before we left the park he said, "Do you want to come my to my house?" Her stylish outfit, wasn't the drawing card moving this two year old to want to be face to face with this young lady. Inner beauty, as mentioned in 1 Peter 3:1 was the allure. [ Cultivate Inner Beauty ] The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivate d by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition. 1 Peter 3:1 God desires to use our lives as a Christ captivating tool! May we be m...

August 25 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14 Our daughter said to me one day, "I am so glad I am in a place of seeing God answer prayer after prayer. I was in a period of waiting for so long." A girl friend honestly confessed, "I am so tired of waiting!" Looking back in my journal it says, "Lord, I am waiting to hear from You. Would you give me 10 quotes on waiting?" They came to mind so quickly. 1) Waiting unlocks the window to heaven as we watch for God's calling. 2) Waiting whispers, "Be still. Stop doing and breathe in deeply the love of the Father." 3) Waiting warrants a time to rejoice in the fact God has given you some down time. And that is OK. 4) Waiting washes these words over you again and again. "I love you my child. I love you my child." 5)Waiting can appear to be a heavy load, but that is not God's intent. He wants it to be wonderful. 6) Waiting is a time of w...

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone . August 24 The story of these three unlikely roommates was sent to me yesterday. "They had been kept as status symbol pets by the drug barons. Delivered to the Noah's Ark Animal Rescue Centre in Locust Grove,Georgia, the decision was made to keep the youngsters together, because of their budding rapport. 'We could have separated them, but since they came as a kind of family, the zoo decided to keep them together,' said Diane Smith, assistant director of Noah's Ark. 'To our knowledge, this is the only place where you'll find this combination of animals together.' Living with the zoo's founders for the past eight years, Shere Khan, Baloo and Leo have now moved to a purpose-built habitat where the US public can now witness first hand their touching relationships." Well, we know of a place where the lions will lie down with the lambs, so the tig...

August 23 God always grabs my attention with what He places on my mind first thing in the morning. Today it was simply the phrase "Glorious Day". Kind of unusual for a standard Monday morning thought. Then Casting Crowns' song "Glorious Day" came to mind. What a perfect way to put any day into perspective...starting it off by remembering what Jesus has done for us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXp6xcY5IqU

August 22 Hearing the rumblings of a storm approaching, my husband and I decided a Sunday afternoon nap sounded enticing. Instead of sleep settling in, my mind resounded with two words from my husband's sermon that morning.... chose and enjoy. The sermon message came from 2 Timothy 2:22. Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart . He referenced the lives of Joseph, Lot's wife and David and their faux pas related to fleeing. (Personally, I think Joseph did a darn good job fleeing. Pharoah's wife just pulled a dirty trick framing him (catching his coat tails) because she was ticked. God worked it all together for good.) Moses, in Hebrews 11:24-25, exemplifies what is means to make a sacrifice through choosing the Lord and foregoing worldly pleasures. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with ...

August 19-21 Ok , admit it, you are hoping this is going to be a bit risque. Sorry, it has nothing to do with me partying hardy. While visiting one of our children I set out for an early morning walk. My familiarity with the neighborhood had limitations and there was only one route I was comfortable taking. As I approached the first street onto which I was supposed to turn, a garbage truck entered that street and began emptying cans. The street was only a block long, so I back tracked, from whence I had come, and allowed the city vehicle to move along. Heading back on course I encountered the lingering smell of a pungent aroma equal to a dirty diaper. Turning onto each side street I was presented the same scenario. When I finally took the road home the air was clean again. What a great picture of how we get stuck in life at times. We go with what is familiar even if it doesn't bring glory to God. Familiarity is more comfortable than trusting the Lord and His lead. Familiar...

August 18 I don't think the manna which rained down from heaven came prepackaged like this piece, but you never know! Chapter 29 in Sorge's book, Secrets of the Secret Place is titled "The Secret of Manna Gathering." It refers to Exodus chapter 16 and how God provided just enough food for the day. It was not to be hoarded and stored, it was guaranteed to rot! Why? Because God was teaching them daily dependence. The same premise remains true today. Yesterday's feeding on the Word is not intended to sustain us for today. God wants us coming to His table to feed daily. An excellent analogy is made concerning hunger. "A lack of hunger is a danger sign. When someone is sick, often the first symptom of their sickness is a loss of hunger." When we lose our appetite for spiritual things, we should be aware that our spiritual health could be in jeopardy. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feed ing you with manna, which neither you nor your...

August 17 The past four days I have had enormous reasons to praise. Huge prayers that have been being lifted up for friends in the categories of jobs, infertility, kids returning to the Lord, medical issues, hurting hearts finding love, have been answered...yet as I set out on a prayer walk immediately the list of needs and heavy heart issues came to the forefront. Whoa, forgive me Lord. There is always reason to come into Your presence with thanksgiving in our hearts and give you praise, no matter our plight. First off we can shout "hallelujah" that we are children of God and nothing can separate us from him. See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. 1 John 3:1 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Chr...

August 16 Sunday night I went to see the movie, "The Help". Powerfully true story! Gladys, the woman in the photo above raised me. She lived with my parents family for 33 years. I love her immensely and have asked her several times to come live with me and let me give back to her what she gave to me. My parents treated and provided for her so well. Obviously, she was fairly content to stay that many years. Whether with my parents at their VA, Lake or Florida homes, she did always have her own bathroom though. (Go see the movie to understand.) I left this movie in rather a melancholy mood, wishing I had done more to "help" the "help" in those days. As a child I didn't understand why "colored" people had to sit on the back of the bus, weren't seen in our churches, or only worked at the country club. Moving into my teens and the beginning days of integration I was thankful for parents who were not racist and allowed me to have...

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=F9B20CNU&utm_source=GodTube%20Must-See%20Video&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=08/15/2011

August 15 The critters of Shiloh have really ticked me off this summer. Not only have the deer devoured everything from shrubbery to geraniums, I could not figure out why my green pepper plants and tomatoes were not growing. The culprit creeped across our railing the other day and he did more than swish his bushy tail. He stole our produce! We have nourishment that is free for the taking. Feed on the Word of God! For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does . Psalm 33:4 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

August 13-14 Pulling into our garage I was elated to finally be using it for its designed purpose. For the past eight years it had been a storage unit and not a place to shelter our car. While it functioned fine as a place to keep extra furniture, it is delightful to get into a car which is not boiling hot from sitting in the sun or to experience a soaking from summer thunderstorms entering and exiting the car. (The walls are still piled high with storage items, so a dual purpose has prevailed.) Many lives are being lived without fulfilling their God given purpose. They are functioning just fine, day in and day out, setting their own goals and seeking their own pleasures. The idea of intimate fellowship with a Creator may not be part of the upbringing process, but God still finds a way to knock on the door of our hearts. His ways are not our ways, but his ways are to prosper us and give us a hope and a future...an eternal future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Many are the plans in a person’s he...

August 12 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full . John 10:10 Yesterday, I prayed for people facing leukemia, infertility, and an adulterous mate. In each case, the devastating news these people had received was so enormous, all I knew to do was love, listen and leave the burden at the base of the cross. Laura Story's song "Blessings" was soothing to my soul. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOOFAaUGfRE&feature=relate d Lo and behold, I opened GodTube today and there was the same song! Heading outside to sit a spell with Jesus I reached on our bookshelf, among some old books, and just grabbed one. There was not even a title on the cover. The copyright read MCMXLIX. Inside the title read: My Faith Looks Up. Pages 70-71 had this to say: "Suffering teaches us: To care for others, because they care for us. Until we become ill, many of us do not know the beauty of a friendship, the stren...

August 11 This fountain adorns our patio and with the high temperatures the past few weeks it has been necessary to replenish the fountain's water supply daily. Likewise, in our faith walks we hit dry spells and need to be renewed. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

August 10 We have no grandbabies brewing (that we know of) nor weddings in the works at the present time. For the first time in fourteen years we are not loading up a vehicle (van, Suburban or U-Haul) bound for a new dorm room or apartment. The driveway remains free from the personal yard swaps where our kids traded everything from pots and pans to cars, before heading off to college or a new career. (We do have one heading to Paris for a year to continue work on her doctorate, but we won't be assisting with the move.) The demands of parenting are quite different (lots of listening and less lecturing) and the transformation into grandparenting is most welcome. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 3:1 Let's stop and pray for students who are preparing to leave home. Pray for their safety, for their purity and for their hearts to hunger for God more than anything or anyone else. Ask God to put a student on yo...

August 9 Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there's no getting around it. 1 Timothy 3:12 Now that's not the verse you start off with when you are witnessing. One of our sons made a profound statement the other day. He was preparing for a trip to a large city and his father was discussing safety issues. The comment was, "I wish fanny packs were kool ." My mental response, "I wish loving Jesus was kool ." Jesus has always been hated. It must be the conviction of sin aspect of his life...yet he put his whole life on the line...excuse me....the cross, to free us from the very sins we don't want to be reminded of.

August 8 Knitting away in the front seat of the car, my husband and I chatted as we headed home from a delightful outing at Lowe's. Quietly and calmly, the words, "Oh, my gosh." came from his mouth. Looking up, I saw a car coming straight towards us in our lane of traffic. Both cars were going at least 55 miles an hour. Gently pressing on the brake, my husband decreased our speed and considered his next move as the oncoming car swerved from our path. We both knew that our lives had just flashed before our eyes. Two nights before, about 4 miles down the road, an 18 year old died in a swimming pool after hitting his head on the pool wall. A girlfriend had called that same morning distraught after seeing a body covered in a sheet on the road. The news explained a truck had hit the person, killing them instantly. Then the horrific news came of the dedicated soldiers who died in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Our time on this earth can end in an instant and eterni...

August 6-7 What is the basis of our infatuation with Princes and Princesses? Every time a site pops up with romantic news on a prince & princess I am on it. http://www.aol.com/video/youve-got-prince-emanuele-filiberto-and-princess-clotilde-courau-of-italy/1091346263001/ What is the lure? The clothes, the romance, the life style, the fairy tale, the servants, the glamour. Possibly, the perceived ease. There have been times when I thought of the First Ladies of our day and wondered if someone came in each morning with their breakfast, checked to see if they wanted a massage, manicure or pedicure, and styled their hair. Hats off (haha) to the new British Princess Kate who announced she did not want a personal handmaiden. She prefers her privacy. Why don't we talk about our heritage? We are a royal priesthood. We are children of The King! Monaco cannot compare to heaven. We are loved and pursued by the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace! I am not giving Jesus a simple curtsy t...

August 5 Walking along the road parallel to a golf course, I was puzzled by rows and rows of white patches. My husband thought they were possibly leaves glistening in the sun. Heading to our car this question came to mind.: What do we do with our curiosity? Are we willing to just drive off rationalizing whatever was strewn all over that golf course was not of eternal value? Turning to my husband I expressed, "I wonder if that is how people who are curious about Christianity react? Considering the fact they can't prove if it is true or not, they might as well just let it go and not try to understand this Jesus." Noticing a country club employee, I suggested we pull up and ask him if he had any knowledge as to what the substance could be. OK, that is such a female thing to do. The course of action my husband had decided upon was to pull up along side the green and have me get out and go over and pick up a piece of one of the objects in question. Submitting, graciously to...

August 4 The other day I came across a message on "Sowing in the Spirit". I turned it into a spiritual exercise. Now I cannot find the source of this message...maybe it was the Spirit himself! :) The process may make no sense to you, but it was very fruitful for me. Therefore, stay faithful as you sow to please the Spirit: Sow seeds of forgiveness… (I listed people I need to forgive) and receive a harvest of intimacy; Sow seeds of acceptance… (I listed people, groups, I need to accept and even took a challenge to invite some of them to my home) and receive a harvest of friendship; Sow seeds of prayer… (I covenanted to pray more on my knees and immediately when someone requests prayer.) and receive a harvest of faith; Sow seeds of generosity… (This was very interesting. I've shared about the boats coming, almost daily now, and docking by our dock and ...

August 3 http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=K7Y7WGNX&utm_source=GodTube%20Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=08/03/2011 Today's God Tube video takes a few minutes to view, but God deserves a few of our minutes! Would our lives be changed, if each hour of the day, we took time out and lifted His name up, admitting we need Him? When I went back and listened to this a second and third time, personalizing the message I was blown away. God has been reminding me to take the time to come into His presence daily. The word "ignite" popped up and bit me by surprise. (Remember I just wrote on that the other day.) All the descriptive words of God in this video ring true as I flash back over the years of knowing Him. Humbling to be loved by One so grand. He is the only "EVERLASTING" aspect our lives. Before I listened to this video today, I had planned on writing about a conflict within me yesterday. Several devotionals and study books sit beside my Bible. A...

August 2 The obstacle sits infront of you. The situation appears desperate. You pray and even fast, but the waiting seems oppressive like a hot, humid, late July day. Then refreshment comes! Prayers are answered and you flap your wings with joy like an elated butterfly who feels on top of the world. Relief. Smiles. Joy and laughter. Praise the Lord. How does life continue? God's advice would be to put your nose right back into the Word and keep seeking Him, readying yourself for the next obstacle on the horizon. For just like during football season, there is a new and different opponent each week... new booby traps are set for believers as the enemy looks for ways to get us to waiver in our faith. Psalm 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.