Boojoyful

February 1 Quote: " A teachable heart grows wise, not old. " Jan Carlberg When the calendar turns to February, my mind turns to red paper hearts, edible conversation hearts and quotes on love. It is a happy holiday for those in love or those too young to care about having a lover...you know, the ones just wanting some candy, heart shaped cookies or pretty Valentines. My mind always shifts to those who are looking for love and I try to think up ways to make them feel loved. I will share some of those as the month goes on. As we launch into love thoughts the best way I know to start is to look at some of the top love stories in the Bible. There is a website called: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com . We will kick off this month taking a look at their top five picks of great love stories in the Bible and ask God to teach us something about how we love and how we long to be loved from these stories. #1 Jacob and Rachel - An Old Testament Love Story After Jacob ran away

January 31 "When we dive deeper into God's heart, all the turmoil of our daily lives- the problems that crash around us like huge waves-seem somehow…distant." Joni Eareckson Tada Joni knows, as well as anyone, how tough fresh starts can be. As a teenager, she dove into shallow waters in the Chesapeake by and broke her neck becoming a quadriplegic. Every day is a challenge, but she faces it gaining faith from the Lord . Learning to paint with a brush in her teeth, to write books, accept speaking engagements, marry, and start a major ministry, she has made herself useful to the Lord. And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. 2 Corinthians 13:11 Our January focus of Starting Fresh has come to an end, but the exercising of our faith in this fashion will be necessary until He calls

January 30 Here are more instructions, which come as godly advice, when we are looking for a "do over." So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet . James 4:10 MSG "When we try to get our needs met apart from God, our efforts lead only to disappointment, discouragement, disillusionment, and despair. Lord, what do you want me to do.?" Charles Stanley Pray Lord, we exalt You and sing praises to Your name! How blessed we are that Your love endures forever and your faithfulness stays true to all generations! We praise You with all our heart and pray that all the kings on this earth will praise You too. May we take

January 28-29 No, this is not a lecture on being nice to your mother in law. It is a look back at one of the dearest fresh starts in the Bible...the story of Ruth and Naomi. The book of Ruth is a quick read if you want to get the whole context. Naomi and her husband left their homeland in Judah, because of a famine, and moved to a foreign land where their sons ended up marrying foreign wives. Naomi's husband dies and then the two sons die, leaving the three widows from two generations. Naomi, instructs her daughter in laws to move back with their Moabite families and she is returning to Judah. In the end, one daughter in law goes back to her family, but Ruth chooses to stick by her mother in law. Ruth loved not only her mother in law, but the God her mother in law served. But Ruth said, "Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll d

January 27 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Lawsie, lawsie...did I learn a lot about making all things new the other day. Five years ago I bought a necklace to wear to a party for our son's wedding. By the time I traveled home, this necklace with 12 tiny gold chains and one pendant was a tangled mess, the likes of which I have never seen. While going through a box of old jewelry I thought, "I'd really like to wear that necklace." After about a twenty minute attempt to untangle the chains I realized the only solution was to disconnect the chains at one end, take them all out of the link holding the pendant, straighten them out and re-thread them. My best friend sat patiently by me the first ten minutes, then quietly disappeared from the room. Frustration sank in as I was unable to get the minute links on the chains to thread back onto the link on the catch. What an amazing picture of our

January 26 God is flat out amazing. If you are not walking and talking to him everyday, you are missing out on SO much. It is the ultimate relationship! This morning I said, "Lord, we are 26 days into this starting fresh thing for the month of January and I need a fresh idea to write about this morning. Look to the WORD! We've got the OLD and the NEW testaments! One governed by the LAW and the other governed by GRACE! There's a fresh start! Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Romans 3:31 NIV There is a quote I jotted down, which I believe the credit should go to Charles Spurgeon: Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin. We get a redo through the New Testament relationship. We go from being slaves to children. While we are not bound by the Law, we are still under an authority, our heavenly Father, and have a role of obedience to follow his desire for us to be made perfect like Christ. The ma

If you really want a lift, go to www.mentormemoments.blogspot.com and read Ruth Myers' entry in 31 Days of Praise for today. It was written for Fresh Starts! January 25th Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:8 Years ago, we had a new minister come to our church and I went to their home on moving day to help them. It was a good thing, because no one else showed up! Introducing myself to his wife, she took my hands in hers and said, "Oh, I am going to like you! You are my kind of woman. I can tell by your hands! You are a worker!" Rarely do I polish my fingern

Just an aside thought here to brighten your day... And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30 (Maybe bald men and bald babies are to help cut down on God's counting task!) January 24 "In some way, every single scrap of my life, every step and every struggle, is in the process of being fitted together, into God's huge and perfect pattern for good." Claire Cloninger Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 January is almost over and it seems as if each day in my quiet time the concept of "suffering being for our benefit" comes up. Even at fifty-five years old (and having loved the Lord for the majority of those years) I still fall into the trap of contemplating that maybe if I "get it right" often enough He will be pleased and things will go more smoothly, but no where is that promised. The other day I

January 23 Did you make New Year's resolutions? Charles Swindoll, in The Finishing Touch, writes... "Invariably, a new year prompts us to make our own list of things deserving our diligent attention and pursuit." He goes on to suggest a godlier guideline than what the world might have a tendency to tip us toward. Looking towards those who have gone before us he records lists made by Moses, Paul and Peter. Moses' List (Exodus 19:3-17) Don't ever place substitute gods before the Lord your God. Don't make an idol out of anyone or anything. Don't take the Lord's name in vain. It is holy. Remember to observe a Sabbath rest every week. Honor and respect your dad and mom. Don't murder anyone for any reason. Never, ever commit adultery. Don't take things that aren't yours. Never lie or give a false impression. Don't covet another person's image, benefits or belongings. Paul's List (Galatians 5:19-23) Stay away from the things which

January 21-22 Here's a little visual exercise for the weekend. The email I received said this is labeled an anti-Alzheimers exercise. Below each picture will be directions to find the picture within the picture. It is a good reminder to us that things are not always as they seem. Usually there is something that lies much deeper below the surface. Whether we are trying to understand ourselves or others it is good to pray and ask the Lord to help us see situations in another light. "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 Can you see the three women? Can you see the couple kissing? Can you see the baby? Can you see the face? Can you see ten faces in the tree? Let's ask the Lord if there is a perspective we need to change? Pray: Lord, You see all things and no one can fool You. Forgive us for our limited vision. So often we see things only from our perspective. Open our eyes to see others as Christ did...totally loved by You and in need of salvation

God doesn't give blueprints to any of us for the entire span of life ahead. We need daily communication with Him to know one step at a time. Edith Schaeffer I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. Luke 24:45 January 20 Lying on the floor yesterday for a time of stretching out my back, I brought my Bible along to meditate on the Word. Finally, I rolled over and asked the Lord, "Would you just tell me where it is You want me to go now? I am willing to obey, I just want to know the way?" The past two months, those of us in SW Virginia have had to stay daily connected to the weatherman. Day to day fluctuation of temperatures between 35 and 60 have made the morning inquiry a necessity. We don't know what any day holds, so why is it we are not willing to go daily to the One who holds today? "If I not only seek an answer but s

Even if yesterday was a disaster, we are to enter God's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise today. Charles Stanley You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence , with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 We are not alone in our Fresh Starts. January 19 Moses, our old bulldog, follows our grandchildren around as if it is his given duty to protect them. Whatever task they are about to undertake he is willing to accompany them. We can enter into God's gates and His courts with praise, because we are always in His presence. Yesterday, morning, our grandson and I ran to the window to look at the skyline before sunrise to see what color God had decided to paint with. "PINK!" our grandson exclaimed. "God painted with PINK today!" The exercise was a simple reminder that each morning is a NEW day and God is still on His throne, being God! Pray: Oh Lord, open our lips and our mouths wi

January 18 Paul was such a people person! I delight in his letter to the Philippians. He overflows with thankfulness for the generosity and kindness of these people and he takes very seriously the ministry of encouragement to which he feels a calling. Paul has recognized that following Christ means accepting a new set of standards (deny self and following Christ) which is a high calling. The verses I have selected below are great steps to readying ourselves for a fresh start of any kind! Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27a For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 . . . I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12b Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer

January 17 I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth... Isaiah 42:8-10 God will use every experience of your past to position you for the fulfillment of your purpose in the future." Tom Paterson January 17 Age, ailments and a whole lot less income have caused us to change the appearance of ministry here at Shiloh. Docksiders was an exhilarating ministry we had for teens and college students. Sixty to eighty young people would pour in here on Thursday afternoons for water activities, DINNER, a concert, a time of testimony and prayer. Do we still work with young people? Absolutely...it is just seen in a different frame. Just as athletes age and become coaches, encouragers of a younger breed, or expert fans, often our ministries take on a different a

January 16 Our bathroom remodel mess. One of our sons is a contractor and thoroughly enjoys remodeling. The first part of a remodel is the tearing out. You have to get ride of the old, before you begin to build and put the new in place. What an awesome example of the way a FRESH START occurs in our own lives! "Christ wants to transform our troubles into trust, our problems into promises, and our fears into faith!" Henry Gariepy This process begins when we believe and follow Psalm 119:114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. Anne Ortlund wrote: "It's not your circumstances that shape you. It's how you react to your circumstances that shapes you." You will keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. Isaiah 26:3 Yes, STARTING FRESH is a process, but the end result allows hope which is waiting to shine to burst through. The finished product. Pray: We sing to You, Lord, a new song for you have

Peaks of Otter, VA Poses January 14-15 OK! Time out from Starting Fresh...or maybe not. A New Year's resolution appeared on a dearly loved friend's facebook page: "I don't usually make a New Year resolution, but for 2012: I will not be shy about praising our heavenly Father, praying in public places, sharing my joy, love and faith. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 wOOt! Girlfriend... Facebook is a good place to go BOLD and Start Fresh! This theme of outwardly expressing our faith has come up time and time again for me this past week. A radio show's theme (It may have been on Haven Today) was on Christians being obedient like Tim Tebow and giving God the glory due him in all aspects of our lives. There is even a tebowing,com site. While many are making fun of Tim, God is using this for his glory and I believe working all things together for His good! Anothe

Bunko Men Bunko Babes January 13 I've been a member of a Bunko Group for close to 20 years. We know we aren't the norm in that our men are still alive and they are still living with us. Two other friends buried their husbands this past December. Another widow friend called, asking me if I'd like to go to yoga with her in the evenings. She liked the 6:30 class because it was at dinner time and that was the most painful time of the day for her....when her husband no longer walks in from work. Equally as painful is the heartache of divorce. Not being loved, by the one you love and have shared all vulnerability with for years, cuts deeper than anything I can imagine. Starting fresh in a romantic relationship at any age has to be tough. Starting fresh in any relationship where hurtful words have been tossed finds us tentative. Below are some quotes which hold healing and help for fresh starts in all kinds of relationships. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does unl