Boojoyful

January 30   Passing through a room in the house, where the television was tuned into the HGTV channel, there was  a home buying show on and I heard the gentleman looking for a house inquire, "What are the association fees?" Do those same thoughts cross the minds of individuals contemplating a relationship with Christ? They certainly did for the disciples.  The Message states in John 6:60-67, which is titled  "Too Tough to Swallow" Many among his disciples heard this and said, "This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow." Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, "Does this throw you completely? What would happen if you saw the Song of Man ascending to where he came from?  The Spirit can make life.  Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen. Every word I've spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this." (Jesu...

January 29 Our daughter called, asking if we wanted a laugh. It was nap time for her 1 and 2 year olds and she was taking advantage of the time resting as well.  While resting she heard a woman's voice and couldn't figure out what it was, knowing she hadn't left the TV on.  Looking over at one of the room monitors she could see her 2 year old with her iPod, which she plays music on for nap time. He had scrolled down the music selections, but landed on a Podcast of a Beth Moore Bible teaching. We laughed, as my prayers have been intense the past couple weeks for us to be intentional in training up the next generation to love the Lord. What a great idea!  Put your children to be listening to Bible Study Podcasts! Start children off the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

January 28 At 6AM the call came.  "Come away with me to a quiet place and I will show you great and mighty things."  But Lord,  It's only 12 degrees outside, can't we do this right here in  my cozy bed.  Opening my eyes I checked to see if I was missing an amazing sunrise, but all was dark.  The whisper came again.  By seven I chose to succumb to obedience and put on my Uggs and my bathrobe, poured a cup of amazing hot tea, which our daughter had mailed me from Minneapolis the other day, turned on the fire and ventured around the house with camera in hand, looking for the ultimate in quiet spots! Standing at the dining room window, I wondered if the giant blue heron was going to appear, but my real hope was to see the bear that was supposedly roaming in our area. I began singing praise to the Lord and the refrain which came, humbled me and changed my perspective on the hunt. "When will you learn my child that there is none greater than Me?" ...

Snowman craftiness by a couple of our grandchildren. January 27 The beauty of a snow day brings me delight! (So does the fact school is usually out!)  I will pass up a winter trip to Florida to stay home, if I think snow is coming!  Last week we received enough snow to close school!  Our VA Beach family was the recipient of God's white coating as well.  I had mailed all our grandchildren snowman sticker kits (which are seen in the middle of this photo).  Our daughter in law also came up with some clever tongue depressed skiing snowmen! The question came to my mind…is there a snow storm story in the Bible. Jesus never needed skis in his part of the country!  All the references, which were coming to mind, related to being "washed as white as snow" from sinfulness. There is David's exhalation in 2 Samuel 23, of one of his warriors, which I'd love to know more of the story: Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great explo...

January 25-26 H.A.C.K.ing into life through Hospitality, Acts of Service, Compassion and Kindness. Oh, my…it's Saturday morning again and time to reflect on my week.  Conviction sets into my heart as I take this time to reflect on what my heart attitude was during the week.  This week was unusual in that due to MLK Day, a little snow and extreme frigid temperatures, my husband was home from his work as the Head of a private school, for three days.  Hmm, were we kind and compassionate to others or just laid back and lazy. We did venture out one day and take our pastor and his wife to lunch, which ended up being a huge blessing to us. As I look back at how the week unfolded the phrase "unexpected gifts" comes to mind.  A sweet friend  has been sick for six days, so it was a  joy to get to drop soup and bread off at her house. Having to make a doctor's appointment myself, the receptionist asked for my birthdate and exclaimed, "That's my birthday too!...

January 24 The Canadian geese arrived in our cove in early fall, as they do every year. While they are beautiful to watch flying in their "V" formation,  it does make a mess in your yard when 50 of them descend.  The other night they must have been sleeping in our yard when a predator pounced in upon their flock. I've never heard such squawking!  There were no geese remains in the yard the following day, so they either all escaped or whomever captured one, took it to the woods for a midnight meal. The incident caused me to consider…What makes us squawk and cry out?  Definitely, like the geese, fear.  What makes us open our mouths and squawk truth in the spiritual sense, when others may be silent.  Below are two dynamic verses to spur us on to squawk for Jesus and against the sin of a friend. But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out ...

January 23 (Be sure to see the link at the end.) Our attempt at a Valentine photo shoot for our daughter's sons was a bust. When a two year old gets in his mind he is not going to cooperate, there's not a whole lot you can do.  We forgot to PRAY! The next day when this attitude started to creep in again, I reflected on Proverbs 15:30, which I shared with him…. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart and good news gives health to bones. Also, I tossed in  Be joyful always!   (1 Thes. 5:16) In his grumpy state he first said, "God did not say that!" Well, maybe he was trying to catch me on a technicality there….Solomon wrote the Proverb and Paul exhorted the believers to "Be joyful always," but both were inspired by God and found in God's Word!  I showed him a couple of his grumpy pictures and explained how sad they made me feel.  Some ground was gained, because throughout the day, he would look at me and give me a big smile. At that point ...

From Shiloh with Love January 22 Sometimes I sense the Spirit giving me a word that just seems to hang on and on in my mind.  Yesterday, the word was restoration.  It popped up in the Gideon study I'm presently participating in, in regards to the Cycle of Redemption which the Israelites repeated and repeated. 1) Rejection of God's way 2) Decline of God's people 3) Consequences allowed by God's hand 4) Restored relationship to God's presence When this reoccurrence of a word happens I do two things.  I investigate the dictionary definition and I plugged the word into Biblegateway.com to inquire if the Lord wants to teach me something scripturally about that word.  Sometimes there is another word from the definition that gets tossed into the Biblical Word search as well.  This process thrills my heart every time! The Bible study group I'm in shared prayer requests and many of those requests related to the desire for restoration  of relationships...

Whoops…the combo of grandbaby love and Bible Study girlfriends caught me off guard and the devotional didn't get posted.  Life happens! January 20-21 Studying Gideon, I keep learning and learning and learning. I said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live." But you have not listened to me.   Judges 6:10 The words " you have not listened to me" rang in my mind over and over.  "Show me Lord, where I haven't listened," I inquired.  It was the 15th of January, so I opened Proverbs 15 and was convicted by the ways I had failed to listen to the wisdom God has imparted.  Times when I wanted to shout…"Life isn't fair."  Times when I went forward on self-sufficiency, not godly counsel. Lord, help me remember You are sovereign and You tell us: Proverbs 15 : 1 A gentle answer turns away wrath : 2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge : 3 The eyes of the Lord are everywher...

January 18-19 H.A.C.K.ing into life through Hospitality, Acts of Service, Compassion and Kindness! This weekend reflection time, on my week, is an excellent accountability tool.  With grandsons here, I have not left the house since their arrival Tuesday.  While I assume baby sitting qualifies as an act of service and offering hospitality, and it definitely requires offering compassion and kindness, I want to be intention in teaching these requests of the Lord to my grandchildren.  So, today we will H.A.C.K around! Our daughter did offer an amazing act of service to the women of our church, who came here for a bowl of soup and a chance to hear her share about the longing of her heart and a mini concert on her harp. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.    Psalm 33:2

January 17 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.   Romans 3:23 The word sinless  has been popping in my head the past few days.  The impetus for this action most likely stems from the desire, due to being in the Word, to  sin less in my life.  While we will not be sinless this side of heaven, it's certainly a worthwhile goal. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.   Galatians 5:16 The word  righteous appears 493 times in the NIV, but there is none righteous except the Lord. Righteousness is a worthwhile pursuit and a characteristic God looks for in his servants. 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.    2 Timothy 2:22 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.   Proverbs 11:6 Lord, today we surrender ...

January 16 Dwelling on Priscilla Shirer's reminder in her study on Gideon, that it only took one generation to forget the Lord and what he had done for Israel, has been a cattle prod moment for me.  A "get going Mama Boo" reality check. While God is stirring some bigger impact ideas in my heart, there has been one project I put into gear immediately.  The postcard project.  I asked our daughter in law if our oldest grandson, who attends a Christian school, has weekly memory verses.  He does and she took a picture of this month's verses, which are posted at their house.  Twice a month, I will attempt to mail a postcard with a comment and encouragement to spur he and his sister on, as they place God's Word in their hearts.  I'm also praying for the mail lady, who delivers these postcards, to take a sneak peek! For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marr...

January 15 The Bible Study I am presently apart of is studying the life of Gideon, through a Priscilla Shirer DVD. I was haunted by this verse in Judges 2:10: Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel. "It just took one generation for the breakdown and collapse of God's people group." Priscilla Shirer If you study the book of Judges, you learn about the 7 cycles of rebellion.  The NIV states that Israel, God's chosen people,  did what was evil in the sight of the Lord AGAIN …and again and again.  God in his mercy sent a deliverer again and again and again.  Shirer explains the role of judges in that day.  "They were called by God and empowered by God to unite the people of God to stand against the enemies of God." As the Body of Christ are we  uniters?    Do we recognize the enemy loves division and the weakness i...

Our cross in the woods. January 14 When I was having my "check me out of life please" day the other day, I picked up Billy Graham's book Nearing Home  and snuggle down on the couch with a blanket to finish this book, taking notes as I went. This book is a wealth of wisdom.  You feel the love of this man for his family, his wife (who has gone on ahead of him to heaven) and of course for the Lord. A prudent man gives thought to his steps. Proverbs 14:15 Graham poses the following question, which is worth a lot of thought: "How can we build our lives on a solid and unshakable foundation-one that will undergird us the rest of our days?"  He writes the phrase Nearing Home with Triumphant Expectation " While our society may not believe that growing old is a respectable phase of life, my prayer is that believers in Jesus Christ will walk the last mile of the way triumphantly, as Moses did when he died at age 120....The older generation may hav...

An afternoon winter moon. January 13 Do you ever have one of those days, where life carries such a load that you just want to drop it all and quit?  Last week I had one of those.  Every call that came, a couple emails and a text were all heavily laden and involved situations I had absolutely no control over.  (Death, health, legal banking matters.) One particular situation, where I had agreed to give prayer support, had brought me to a stand still! Ah, stand stills are good when they bring you standing before God and that is exactly where I was. A friend had given me Sarah Young's devotional book, Jesus Today .  I was a couple days behind in my readings and picked it up and on three sequential days God provided amazing wisdom for me to pass along to the one I was praying for and to apply to my own life as well. Be encouraged by Young's words, which she writes from the voice of Christ. "I want you to love Me, listen to My voice and hold fast to Me-for I a...

January 11-12 H.A.C.K.ing into life through Hospitality, Acts of Service, Compassion and Kindness! A group of us gathered to make snowflakes to hang on bare trees forming centerpieces for a luncheon we were attending.  The extra snowflakes were placed on cards to be turned into notes of cheer (acts of kindness) to give away to others.  Can't wait to hear where all those snowflakes flew to. My act of service/hospitality came knocking at my door!  The doorbell rang and there stood a single gentleman, neighbor with is lime tree!  He explained he was heading off to Australia and New Zealand for two months, on his "bucket list" trip, and didn't want his lime tree to die and was hoping I would care for it.  Can't say that I am the best "plant manager," but I agreed to give it a go.  Another neighbor chuckled and said, I should find a way to attach large limes to the plant when he returns, so he will think God grows BIG limes here at Shiloh! ...

January 10 I must have been having a junior high school dream and this silly cheer was the subconscious thought that brought forth the spirit filled cheer to which I awakened. The silly one from my cheerleading past went something like this: Boys got the power, the teachers got the brains, but the girls got the pretty legs to win this game! The Spirit whipped up this one! God's got the power, Jesus is our friend and the Holy Spirit guides of through thick and thin! For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. ...

January 9 A dear friend mailed me Billy Graham's book, Nearing Home , when my father died. I'm just getting around to reading it and don't want to put it down.  SO MUCH WISDOM! The first chapter is titled: Running Toward Home and holds this quote of which the author is unknown: "The gift of old age is remembrance." The chapter takes you into some incredible scriptures about remembrance. Remember all the ways which the Lord your God has led.    Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember…hold it fast.    Revelation 3:3 Remember and do all My commandments. Numbers 15:40 Remember the word…of the Lord.    Joshua 1:13 Remember His marvelous works which he has done.   1 Chronicles 16:12 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches Because You have been my help. Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.  My soul follows close behind You, Your right hand upholds me.    Psalm 63:6-8 Ta...

January 8 Our daughter, Jiewon, spent 24 hours in the Detroit airport with 1,000s of other passengers Monday night.  After sitting on a plane waiting for take off for four hours, they finally allowed the passengers to get off and purchase something to eat.  They had them wait around four more hours before telling them to return in seven hours.  Gathering back at the gate at 7AM yesterday, the airline told the passengers they would bring in another plane and leave in nine more hours!  The Arctic Vortex took a toll on travelers this week, but God was still with them. We prayed off and on with her during this escapade and told her to make a new friend. She said that was easy…the whole plane bonded! "God has not promised you smooth sailing, but He has promised you a safe landing. He has a purpose in allowing every circumstance into your life. You can bank on this: He'll see you to the shore in every storm of life."  Adrian Rogers Being confident of this very ...

January 7 The past two days I have brought unnecessary stress into my life.  I watched the season premier of Downton Abbey Sunday night and turned off the TV totally frustrated by the hateful antics of one Thomas Barrow. Then last night I watched the National Football Championship game, which our youngest son was attending in Pasadena, until the point of nausea from the stress.  His team lost in the last minute. I'm just not cut out for controversy and competition with emotional attachments.  I thought of our German Baptist friends who don't have TV's in their homes and see great benefit for my life in that discipline.  Now I am in no way condemning the rest of my family and friends who enjoy the drama and suspense of such things, but for me I think I will stick to the Hallmark Channel, HGTV, Karen Kingsbury novels and Philippians 4:8. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatev...

January 6 For several days the phrase "Be intentional with your faith," has rung in my mind.  Another side of my brain would counter the thought with the verse "Faith is believing without seeing."  (As if I was trying to convince myself, "Faith just happens.") Intentional  is defined as being done in a way that is planned or intended. Synonyms are: conscious, deliberate, intended, knowing, purposeful, purposive, set, voluntary, willed, willful, witting.  What will we do today to knowingly, consciously, deliberately, purposefully, and willfully grow our faith! Wait, we are doing it right now! Praise the Lord! Opening my emails this morning, I spotted one from a faculty member of the school where my husband works.  At the end of the email was this closing, stating the intentions of Christian Heritage Academy! At CHA, we're cultivating discerning thinkers, effective communicators, and lifelong learners. It was such a confirmation for me...

January 4-5 H.A.C.K.ing into life through Hospitality, Acts of Service, Compassion and Kindness! (A weekend evaluation of how the outward actions of yesterday's verses has a real life application.) Don't panic that I am promoting a doctrine of works.  God's grace is all salvation takes, but the proof is in the pudding as the fruit of the Spirit flows out of a life lived for Christ. Reflecting back on this first week of January this morning I  wondered if these things had occurred in my life. One new person who appeared this week was Daniel, at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store.  He helped resolve my computer issues! Such a blessing. Before we began I told him if he could figure out the problems he would be awarded one free weekend at Shiloh!  (I don't think he believed me.)  Hey, that would have fulfilled the offering hospitality. At first glance, we can feel like failures in light of these categories.  When we allow the Holy Spirit activation priv...

January 3 Taking time for a life evaluation of what might be ahead for 2014, I began to assess where my investments should be. Thinking of acronyms  S.P.C.A. came to mind. In light of my spiritual investments it works well as a reminder to apply these elements to my life: Scripture-Prayer-Church-Allelujahs (praise) The first step to successful investing is to be certain it is God's will, not mine.  So I've been praying for guidance.  Nancy Leigh DeMoss had these verses on her site today applying to godly women. …well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints.   1 Timothy 5:10 She asks us to consider if our lives are marked by compassion, sacrifice and acts of service? … to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands… Titus 2:5 … teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good...

January 2 Listening for the Lord's direction, I was struggling to discern whether the word was Aleve or Alive. The humanness of my achey morning body was probably leading me towards the Aleve bottle in the kitchen.  Being alive and filled with the Spirit  was more likely the Lord's input.  Hmm, maybe the Spirit was directing me to take an Aleve to feel more alive to follow Him!  :-)  That works. In the process of cleaning off my desk, I came across a piece of paper, from years ago where I had scribbled these verses.  I'm printing them up on card stock and taping them to my dressing room mirror for the month of January!  The probability is that they will bring relief to my spiritual life in the days to come, as Aleve does to my physical body. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful...Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity.   Colossians 4:2-6 Be very careful, then, how you live...

January 1, 2014 The is something ominous about a new year...the feeling of a clean slate..the excitement of new adventure.  The tradition of making resolutions to things YOU want to change.  The first formal Bible Study I am embarking upon this year is the study of Gideon, who learned the value of marching along side God's plan (as bizarre as it may seem sometimes). Romans chapter 12 holds a valuable resolution for us..resolving to allow the Holy Spirit in to make the needed changes in our lives. So here's what I want you to do, God helping you:  Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that  you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God.  You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants fro...