Boojoyful

The bees were a buzzin yesterday! August 31-September 1 "You've got to be kidding me?  Come away with you right now, Lord, with all I need to get done?" Our  youngest sons was on the way home with is wife to celebrate his 25th birthday. It was 3 o'clock the birthday cake and cupcakes were not iced, I had not even been to the store for the weekend haul of groceries, and God was asking me to take a "time out". Could I possibly be hearing him correctly? "There is power, purpose, provision and preparation in the times we share together," my Father reminded me, so off I went.  No sooner had I sat down in my quiet place than I remembered..."It's Friday! I haven't sent my quarterback his message!"  Wait, what had God just told me? I began texting, "There is power, purpose, provision and preparation in the times we share together." I passed the message along, with an addendum.  "I want you to say, 'God with you ...

August 30 Our son is coming home to celebrate his 25th birthday and would like me to bake a cheesecake.  Heading to the grocery store for ingredients, I was disappointed to find they no longer carry graham cracker crumbs to make your own crust.    An additional step of crushing the graham crackers (a key ingredient) will now be needed for this birthday treat to be a success. Yesterday, I spent the day with an amazing group of high school seniors.  These students have the key ingredients for not only a successful senior year, but for life!  They are humble, kind, considerate, full of joy and laughter, appreciative, prayerful and seekers of truth. Paul lists the necessary ingredients for God's peace to be with us.  No, it's not a spoonful of sugar, like Mary Poppins suggested.  It involves the practice of applying the following things to our thought life. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,...

May our love for God's Word mushroom.   Saw this cute creation of God's in our woods! August 29 Author, Ann Spangler uses the phrase "time-poor" to describe our lives these days. She makes an interesting observation stating: "It ’s not just a lack of free time that keeps us from the Bible; it’s that we have too many competing sources loudly demanding a piece of that limited time. The Bible doesn’t scream at us for attention the way TV news, advertisements, work responsibilities, and family duties do—it   invites   us to engage with it. But it’s hard to hear that gentle invitation when our ears and brains are tuned to respond to only the loudest and most immediate demands."   I chuckled with a friend the other day, who felt a bit exasperated at the thought of beginning scripture memory at 60 years old. If we can't even remember where we put our car keys or what day it is, how will we ever memorize scripture?  We concluded the best thing to do wa...

August 28 A godly friend passed on some notes of  knowledge she had gained from her pastor. The 4 cornerstones of thought....they should be the 4 corners that fence in our thoughts and keep us in the truth .... Not entertaining the lies of the enemy! 1. God is good.           Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.           Psalm 145:3  2. Nothing is impossible           Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all           things are possible.'   Matthew 19:26  3. Everything was won at Calvary 4. We are each significant in God's eyes Anytime we go outside of this safe territory and think things that are contrary to God's thoughts----we are in trouble! Whew, wee.  We do have to take every thought captive. Write these four truths on cards and place them in the corners of you...

August 27 It was that early morning prayer time, before your eyes have opened and you are melted into your mattress. Consciousness is just occurring.  "Say what?"  The first lines of prayer to God were clear, but startled me.  "Strengthen me to surrender to Your way today God."  Where did that come from?  Obviously, it was the Holy Spirit groaning for me, before I was awake and knew what to pray.  Coming from Him, it is "right on" and a powerful request. Human nature does not lend itself to surrendering.  Most of us are fighters!  You know, put on that armor and stand our ground, not wavering.  Surrendering to God and his ways is a daily exercise with grand benefits! Sing the familiar hymn: I Surrender All http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/441

August 26 I have the privilege of praying each Friday for a high school quarterback, who also does some punting.  He came into our lives 18 years ago and has grown to be an outstanding young man.  Each game day, I ask the Lord to give me a word for him.  Last week, when I awakened, all I was hearing was "barroom"?  Like vroom! I texted him early and said I really didn't think that was God's message unless he was warning him that he was going to be lured into a "bar room" before the game.  Just to be sure I warned him to stay out of bars. LOL He asked me to keep praying and send him the "word" when I got it.  It was close to 4 o'clock when "the word" came and I knew he'd be heading into the locker room. It was AMAZING!  Here is what I texted him: "I just got the word!  It is placement !  While I pray for perfect placement of every pass, kick, and handoff on the field this season, more importantlyI pray you place your e...

August 24-25 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 Yesterday, I caught myself evaluating where my heart really was in relationship to what was motivating me to engage in a couple activities.  Both circumstances were worthy causes, but were they for self fulfillment or to fulfill the Lord's will for my life at this time? We have to continually be watchful of our hearts.  They can lead us astray! The Bible sites the tendency for hearts to become lustful, bitter, jealous, grudging, hateful and even hardened. One of the issues regarded the desire to come to the defense of another person.  This person is an online personality, whom I don't even know, but she was speaking down to an assistant on the program.  Just little cutting remarks.  There is a place to reply with comments and I wanted to write..."Be nice to that fellow."  Then I realized I did not want to get caught in online "chats"...

August 23 With whom do you surround yourself? You know the verse As for me and my house we will serve the Lord?   Let's switch it up a bit... As for me and my house we will surround ourselves with: the presence of the Lord, with excellent teachings on the truth from God's Word, with the Body of Believers who will sing praise with us, love us, and encourage us to grow in our faith and service to the Lord, and with a close counsel of friends who will be accountability partners, prayer partners and dancing in joy partners! Take a friendship evaluation quiz.  Outside of your family, consider the people with whom you spend the greatest amount of time.  What does that fellowship look like?  Does the interaction with these individuals bring your closer to the Lord, encourage you to be more Christlike, challenge you to increase Your knowledge of God's Word, leave you feeling peaceful, and afford you and opportunity to pray or be prayed for? Who we invest ours...

 Our daughter's August wedding theme was seersucker and lace. There were a lot of seersucker suits in that bridal party! I will attempt to wear all of these this week. August 22 The street corners are adorned with school children waiting for their buses. Cars are packed to the hilt, as college students return to their campuses. The high school stadiums will be filled this Friday night with cheering fans as kick off occurs and I'm counting the remaining days that I can wear my summer whites and seersucker shorts. Once again, the last days of summer are upon us. A canopy of clouds adorned the sky last Sunday morning in a most unusual fashion. I said to my husband, "Do you think this is what it will look like when Jesus returns?"  We agreed if we saw him in the next few moments we would hold hands in hopes of spending our last earthly moments attached! Paul writes a "last days" scenario in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. But mark this: There will be terrible ...

August 21 At times, when you are studying God's Word and something just jumps out at you!  It may be a Word taken out of context in the particular passage you are studying, but the Spirit uses that word as a trigger to shoot you down a trail of discovering a lesson from the Lord. While studying in the 23rd Psalm... even though we walk through the shadow of death, the author I'm studying under, exclaimed the reality..."There are going to be valleys in life for all of us. The Good Shepherd Himself assured us 'in this world you will have trouble.   BUT TAKE HEART! I have overcome the world.'" (John 16:33) "Take heart" will not let loose of me.  Praise God, I have taken Jesus into my heart, but where have I gone from there.  With a heart for the Lord am I pouring out my heart to others.  Do I listen with compassion to others when they share from their heart.  Am I able to share, from a sincere heart, that the void they are trying to fill can only be ...

August 20 Our Bible study had a wonderful time hanging out in Phillip Keller's book   A Shepherd's Look at the 23rd Psalm  last night.  Oh, we like sheep have gone astray...day after day!  Let's rejoice this morning that we are under The Shepherd's care! Wherever you happen to be grazing today, find some quiet time with the Shepherd and sing this song below to him. Click on the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcNLvufzbz0 Our Bible Study Bear with a couple of sheep!  

August 19 Our church small group is currently studying the book of Acts.  In relationship to Peter's miraculous escape from prison, in Chapter 12:5, we are asked to look at how the community's prayers for Peter had a role in his escape.  The study, by Greg Laurie, states guidelines I think are worth repeating. Effective prayer:            Focuses on God rather than obsessing about our needs or trying to impress others with our            profound words.            Seeks to align with God's will rather than changing God's mind.            Is therefore rooted in a knowledge of God's heart as expressed in God's Word.            Is passionate and persistent, not discouraging or frustrated by waiting.            Is offered in unity with others.            Isn't a...

 Moses waiting on the boat patiently for sunset! August 17-18 Talking on the phone to a sweet friend, who has been going through a year long trial related to her husband's job, she calmly said to me at one point in the conversation, "We will just have to wait and see. "   The words wait and see  continued to echo loudly after I had hung up the phone. Another young friend, whose first baby died within an hour after birth, was waiting to deliver her second child. All is well!  Two couples, we love, have waited for two to five years for their homes to sell. One of them sat by and watched as their beloved home was auctioned off for a fraction of its worth. Still another faces false legal accusations and must wait  upon the Lord to make clear their path.  Last night we waited with hundreds of others as a beloved youth pastor was in surgery for cancer.  It was 1AM when the "out of surgery" email finally came, along with a message from the doc...

August 16 Whew, I was ticked off, as I read a letter from our insurance company explaining that we need to be aware that if we are hospitalized at a hospital in our network that does not necessarily mean the pathology, radiology, anesthesiology and neonatal departments are in our network due to the fact these services are contracted out separately.  Thus, we may be responsible for those fees!  WOW, so do we need to start investigating now to see if there is a  hospital in our network, which also has these groups in our network.  I haven't been to the hospital where they didn't draw blood and take an x-ray, ultra-sound, or scan of some sort.  I think I'm out of the woods neonatally, but my goodness this information got my blood pressure up. The definition of insurance was: a means of guaranteeing protection or safety.  There is no guarantee  about insurance in America anymore. I know... learn to be content, learn to be content! Here we go with...

Oh, my man, I love him so. Thanks for the sunset ride last night. August 15 While researching some definitions for the devotional, my eyes gravitated to a quiz on Merriam Webster. It was a visual quiz.  The computer flashes up a picture and you choose from four possibilities words for the correct name of the visual.  Wait...this was my time with Jesus, but I fell for the temptation.  Then, I was just like Mrs. Gad-about (from the other day's devotional or Eve), I distracted my husband and drew him into the activity. http://www.merriam-webster.com/namethatthing/index.htm#quiz-top Did you just fall for the temptation?  We are so easily distracted. Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.  Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right...

August 14 Earlier this summer I made a new friend at a nearby pool. While talking one day, she told me about a "shark" noodle she had seen which she was coveting.  This particular noodle had a shark head, tail and saddle to sit upon, sounding much more comfortable than the standard pool noodle.  My search began! Nowhere on the web, could I find such a noodle.  Last week, visiting the home of one of our sons, excitement set in as he opened his garage door and there was...a shark noodle!  Pointing me in the direction of the store in which he had found said noodle, I had to be satisfied with two crocodiles. These fellows certainly brought smiles and they are VERY comfortable!  I had found the FIND! The Old Testament is filled with "finds"...the dove on Noah's ark needed to find a place to perch, God and Abraham began a bargaining process to find, 50, 40, 30...decent people in Sodom in order to spare the city, Naomi's hunt was to help find Ruth a husband...

August 13 "I Shall Not Be in Want"  A Shepherd's Look at the 23rd Psalm by W. Phillip Keller There are lessons to be learned in our everyday occurrences of life.  Mr. Keller takes on the perspective of a shepherd, as he teaches some valuable lessons in his book first published in 1970.   Chapter two is on contentment and insight about a sheep, named Mrs. Gad-about,  from Keller's personal flock. He writes:     “This one ewe produced more problems for me than almost all the rest of the flock combined.” She was always looking for a way out of the fenced area. “With “Mrs. Gad-about” it was an ingrained habit. She was simply never contented with things as they were.   She taught her lambs the same tricks. They simply followed her example and soon were as skilled at escaping as their mother.   Even worse, however, was the example she set for the other sheep…I finally came to the conclusion that to save the rest of the flock from being...

On our morning walk today, God showed off! August 12 There are times a word is placed on my mind and I know I'm supposed to go search the Word for a lesson.  We have a pullout drawer where we keep our waffle iron and our toaster and it gets a little crumby when these appliances are put away without cleaning them well.  This morning, as I looked at the drawer, I thought if I was a mouse that is where I'd like to live! Then the word came:  crummy or is that crumby.   Presently, four friends I love dearly are going through a really crummy  time. According to the dictionary the spellings can be interchangeable in the adjective form.  Plugging crummy into multiple translations in Biblegateway I came up with zero hits.  Next, I simply tried crumb.    The passage I am posting is the entire eighth book of Mark, but it is packed with a powerful message. I hope you can hang out with Jesus long enough to read it in entirety. I sense there is someo...

My baby, our oldest son makes a good body guard! August 10-11 My husband and I had headed out for an hour long walk.  Nearing the end, I realized I was about to make him late for a meeting, so I told him to go ahead to the car and I'd keep walking and he could pick me up.  Within minutes of our parting a truck came around a bend at quite a rapid clip and obviously was not looking at the road.  I jumped into the grass for safety.  Getting back on the pavement it wasn't long until I heard pounding footsteps approaching.  I turned my head, but with the bandage on my forehead, my vision was impaired.  It appeared to be a young man in camouflage shorts. Rotating my head back to the forward position, out of the words came a young man who must have stood seven feet tall. His body was emaciated, his head bald and his skin ghostly white.  The runner behind me was closing in and I immediately thought these two were going to accost me. Crossing to the other ...

My husband can be seen on the right, paddling home. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,  how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:32 August 9 My husband has grown to enjoy the stories told through country music.  One of his favorites this summer is by Toby Keith and    carries  the title: "I Want to Talk About Me".  The lyrics are a hoot. I've posted them below, as well as a link to the song, in case you want to sing along!  Yesterday morning we were kayaking and he was singing the chorus.  I told him I bet Jesus wishes we would talk about him and what he has done for us more often. On a towel rack, in my bathroom, hangs a towel with a reminder from Philippians 4:8. Jesus is all these things, so let's think and talk about Him more often. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtaPRPCWDrE "I Wanna Talk About Me" We talk about your work how your boss is a jerk We tal...

Look closely on Moses right paw and you will see a baby butterfly. It's brown/orange. August 8 Our bulldog, Moses ("Mo" for short) has been such a blessing to our life.  He has out lived his projected longevity for an English bulldog and we are so thankful.  His demeanor, snuggle tooth, droopy eyes and beefed up body bring joy to others and especially us.  His gas...not so much.  When I reflect on the way he has loved and protected our grandchildren these past five years it actually brings tears to my eyes.  Some of you who have visited here have sat on our couch and been comforted by him.  One friend had tears dripping down her cheeks and he lumbered up beside her, placed his paw on her shoulder and gazed into her eyes with a depth of concern that left the rest of us in the room gasping and then laughing until tears fell down our cheeks. Tuesday, he and I sat out on the front entrance to the house awaiting the arrival of my husband from work. ...

August 7 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.   Hebrews 10:23 A dear, dear friend was here for Bible Study Monday night and said the older she has gotten the more she has hoped for things to just go well in life, but she recognizes that is not promised anywhere in the Bible. Actually, James tells us trials are going to come and to "consider it pure joy" when they do, because they test our faith and produce perseverance.  James 1:2-3  Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:11 to "learn to be content", inferring life isn't naturally a bowl of cherries or Cherrios!  (Which ever sounds more appealing.) So... What do we do with what we've been dealt? We turn from our wicked ways and turn to the Lord, we trust in His ways and we praise him for his provisions.  We cloth ourselves in the Armor of God and march out into life (being with fellow believers and singing hallelujah helps) and standing firm in the faith, we ...

Fish trying to escape the grasp of some children at our local marina. August 6 Awakened by an awful nightmare, where I was helping one of our sons escape a life threatening situation, I was visibly shaken and still trying to plot out how to get someone to safety in such a situation.  This day and time your phone, your car and security cameras make it difficult to hide. The word escape  was blaring in my mind. Noah, his sons and his wife entered the ark to escape the flood waters.  Moses was placed in a basket and floated down the Nile in a brilliant escape attempt which saved his life.  Daniel,  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had successful escapes from a lion's den and a fiery pit, led my angels. The spies escaped from Rahab's rooftop. Joseph appeared not to have done as well in escaping unfortunate situations, but God worked those all together for good.  Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him and later escaped wit...

August 5 Studying the Armor of God, I listened to a series by Dr. Tony Evans.  Pastor Evans shared that if he told you he’d buried $100,000 in your back yard, you’d race home and dig, dig, dig.   Digging would be worth it. We should approach the time we spend digging into the Truth of God’s Word with the same vigor and excitement. It is worth it! I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.   Psalm 119:15 What are we digging for today... love, the world's acceptance, social status, job recognition or advancement?  The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130 If we choose to dig into God's Word we will find a valuable treasure he has hidden there for us. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,  in whom are hidd...

August 3-4 I am constantly amazed at how our sensitivity is heightened when we experience first hand a trial we have never tasted.  Having cancer diagnosed and then cut out of my body has left me wondering if it has spread to other parts of my body.  Walking closely along side friends and family members with cancer, I've been pulled to my knees to pray for healing, sat with them through chemo, have shed tears by their bedside in times of prayer and even fasted for a cure. Never have I tasted as closely the anticipation that this disease is running rampant, undiagnosed, somewhere else in my body.  My sensitivity is heightened. Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around.  It gets us back in the way of salvation.  We never regret that kind of pain.  But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded y...

August 2 The battle is the Lord's. 1 Samuel 17:47 John MacArthur teaches, "When Satan attacks, don't fight; report to the Commander, remembering the battle is the Lord's." MacArthur also writes on areas in which the enemy attacks us. 1) Undermining God's character and credibility. He wants us to doubt God, as he made Eve doubt.         He wants us to doubt his Word, his power and his love. 2) Making it hard to live the Christian life.  Satan doesn't want your life to be easy.  He wants it to be        very difficult.  Three ways he attacks our lives are:     a) Persecution from friends, family members, and work colleagues.    b) Peer Pressure-fear of losing friends or not being liked    c) Peaceful Preoccupation- easy to be a Christian in America.  (This was written in 1986.) 3) Confusing the believer with false doctrine. 4) Hindering the believers service...

August 1 Being prepared by my surgeon that my eye was going to swell shut, due to surgery for skin cancer, I decided to write this short devotional on the way home from Richmond, VA where I underwent surgery Tuesday.  A short, yet profound,  informational blip came across a Christian radio station we were listening to on the ride to Richmond. The DJ shared that Mother Teresa was being interviewed and was asked what she says to God when she is praying. Her reply, "I don't talk to God when I pray. I listen." The interviewer then asked, "What does God say to you." Mother Teresa answered, "He doesn't say anything. He listens."  The DJ then stated, "If you don't  understand what she was saying, you haven't learned what it means to pray in the Spirit." Looks  like the next week, I will be needing to lay low and do lots of listening, while my head heals. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of ...