Boojoyful

  The Praying Harpist- All Things for Good Open to Romans 8 starting with verse 24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOIyDHX9R7Y

Remember how LARGE the enemy appeared to the 12 spies Moses sent to check out the land of Canaan? We felt like grasshoppers and we looked like grasshoppers to them. Number 13:32 Only two of the 12 spies, Joshua and Caleb, had confidence that God would help them conquer the land. Numbers 14:8-9 records their attitude... "If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us....Only do not rebel against the Lord.  And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us.  Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." The other ten spies wanted to stone them for their faith.  A consequence of their lack of faith in God was that no one over the age of twenty would ever enter the promised land-they would all die in the wilderness.  The exceptions were Joshua and Caleb and their families.   Where is your faith wavering today?   What obstacle seems too big for God?   What fea...

When it's a really stressful day and you are near a Fresh Market with great chocolate... Again and again I say, "Stay in God's Word for He speaks!"  This quote from the Bible reading plan I am doing was a reality check! "God is Always the Bigger Army.  God is always the majority." He's bigger and more powerful than any wicked stepmother. He's more powerful than the overbearing boss that has you cowering into work. He can work things out in ways that have much better outcomes than we could muster up. Check out Deuteronomy 20:1-8. It's a passage that makes you want to cheer when you remember who God is. "Moses said to Israel:  If you have to go to war, you may find yourselves facing an enemy army that is bigger than yours and that has horses and chariots. But don't be afraid! The   Lord   your God rescued you from Egypt, and he will help you fight.   Before you march into battle, a priest will go to the front of the army   and say, 'So...

When your extreme sports son falls for a golfer!💕 Studying God's Word is exciting!  Hearing Jesus whisper truths to you, that may convict, but are assuredly spoken in love, contains a depth of intimacy, warmth and compassion like nothing else. I'm so thankful I am in weekly Bible study, other women's groups, and here with you on Boojoyful, where I can enter your presence and say,  "Listen to what Jesus put before me!!!! You've got to hear this!" That's the way I feel about an entry title "Profound Trust" in John Eldredge's book, Restoration Year. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23 "The reason you fear to step out is because you know that it might not go well (is that an understatement?)   You have a history of wounds screaming at you to play it safe. You feel so deeply that if it doesn't go well, if yo...

These two cousins feel good about themselves! Years ago I was enticed to join Facebook in order to see pictures of our grandchildren. Then the children made the switch to posting on Instagram, which requires a daily peek before the photos vanish in 24 hours. The problem comes with all the other enticements that pop up on that social media site. The algorithms quickly pick up on your areas of interest.  This particular day there was young boy reciting a daily affirmation his father had taught him.  I had to listen five times to catch them all to share with you.   Affirmations for our children to learn… I am blessed I am handsome I am loved I am smart I am a follower of Jesus I am a leader of men I am kind I am obedient I am protective I am brave I am wise I am generous I am hardworking I am nice I am cool The Song “Made For More”   Josh Baldwin, Jenn Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov9Ls4npIrc

The  Praying Harpist Co-Heirs with Christ Romans 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZz1MTikCeY&t=38s Ephesians 1 weekly prayer

Looking ahead to summertime, but no infants this summer. Everyone will be running about.  A recently widowed young woman who attends our church shared that her teenage daughter, who first clung to God when this tragedy happened, is now angry with God for taking her father. I heard a college student, who didn't receive a position he had applied for say, "Why wouldn't God give me that. I'm so much better equipped than the guy they selected." You hear people say, "I'll do anything God wants if he will just give me..." Isaiah 30:18 says : The Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. God loves us!  God pursues us?  God forgives us time and time again. The kicker is God has plans for us and we are so centered on "me, me, me" that's all we can "see, see, see." Then a battle, initiated by our "self wants," sets in causing us to forget how our heavenly Father loves us and lon...

  Last year we were the victims of a beaver attack on multiple trees in our yard which had been planted two years before.  Granny get your gun or a beaver trap!  The power company, which governs our lake, required us to replace all trees along the shore line that have fallen during a storm.  The largest on was on our boat house. We had removed these trees without the companies permission.  We had to submit a plan showing where the trees would go and that they met their requirement by size and species.  $1500 later it was done and beavers came and gnawed them to the ground. Grrr. It really made me angry and no, I have not enlightened the power company to the situation.  When this photo popped up in my "memories" on my computer the anger surfaced.  So, I decided to battle with scripture and thought you might need some anger ammo in your scripture arsenal.   Whoever is slow to anger had great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exa...

  These three grandsons had a wonderful end of the season ski trip to Snowshoe, WVA. On Day 63 of The Bible Recap with Tara Leigh Cobble we were reading in Numbers 18-20 where God is addressing Aaron and his role as high priest.  In chapter 20 we read about the Israelites grumbling to Moses once again, this time over the lack of water.  God provides Moses and Aaron with a miraculous solution, but they do not carry it out to God's specifications. In verse 24 the Lord says, " Aaron, this is where you will die. You and Moses disobeyed me at Meribah, and so you will not enter the land I promised to the Israelites. " In this study Cobble writes what she calls her "God Shot" from the passage. " God's character is so consistent . Over and over, we see how He makes His rules and His people disobey Him, and while they have to deal with the consequences of their sins, He's ultimately so merciful .  From clothing Adam and Eve while banishing them from the gar...

This sequence of our 6  year old granddaughter's birthday dinner shows DELIGHT. The song at the end of this entry does the same thing. See the  delight   in the musicians' faces as they worship the Lord. Listening to us sing Happy Birthday Blowing out the candle. Ready to dig in. This text from our musician daughter, who was blessed to live  in Nashville for 20 years,  appeared on my phone. "Oh! This is amazing!  The way they delight in each other takes me back to Nashville days watching my friends create new worship music." That set me on a scriptural hunt about what it means to delight oneself in the Lord. At Gotquestions.org I read this First John 2:15–17   says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass aw...

Praying Harpist “Freedom” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI--9bNeBBI

  Happy First Day of Spring! Spring is my favorite season! Seeing God at work through creation, which has been dormant, being restored back to life, is exhilarating and a visible reminder of who He is.  Spring is the season of hope. I love how God is making all things new, from plants bursting forth showing off their frilly blooms to animals proudly parading they newborns around. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope.  1 Peter 1:3   When we get to heaven, I think it will be the most over the top spring  season we could ever imagine, for all things, which includes each one of us, will be made new!  Now that's a hallelujah. Bring on heaven!   The Song “New Soul” Yael Naim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhE7QMXRE1g

  One of my favorite photos from Shiloh.  This little family loved life in the back of our cove on our beach. Our home printer is broken so I asked my husband to run off some copies for my Bible Study group at church. He said, "Is that for this week?" I said, "No, it's for next week, but I have  so many ducks to get in a row I need to stay ahead of it." He laughed. Ever since we started having children, we've had lots of "ducks to get in a row." The American Psychological Association found, in 2023, that 58% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 34 felt that most days their stress is completely overwhelming. We use phrases like "ducks in a row," "juggling plates" and one of my favorites is when I feel like I am in a "swirling toilet bowl" trying not to go down. When we are on overload we should go to the Lord, but with the realization he is most likely going to set us on a different course as he did Martha. The Lord answered, ...

Happy Birthday to my main squeeze. Thanking God for the wild ride he is allowing us to take together here on earth!   Well, we have moved our clocks up for the spring daylight savings time change. The Shiloh daffodils have come up out of the ground and the spring CHORES at coming up as well.  Easter is coming up in just a few weeks and the Andrews family has twelve birthday celebrations  coming up  this spring. College students will have final exams and summer break coming up and I know several pregnant women who have the delivery of their babies coming up. There is always something on our horizons.  Like the thought or not, we all have our earthly departure coming up. The next time someone asks you what your future plans are say, "I am really looking forward to seeing the dwelling place Jesus has gone to prepare for me." There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you...

  My pastor husband came in from a day at work and the first thing out of his mouth was "Two people died today."  Have you ever stopped to think "I wonder how many people will die today?" "According to the World Population Review, approximately 8,990 people die each day in the United Stated." What if there was a way to know how many of those people die without knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior?  That would be a chilling statistic. I received a text from a close friend the morning I was writing this. "Please pray for my cousin in Dallas...he has liver failure and I'm not sure of his salvation." My prayer was "Lord, please reveal yourself to this man in his time of need.  May he not leave this world without knowing he is heading into your loving arms.  In Jesus' name, Amen." Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  John 3:36 The Song ...

  Praying Harpist #5 The Presence of Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px6L5D-07oQ Romans 8:1-6   There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.   For the law of   the Spirit of life   has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.   For   God has done what the law,   weakened by the flesh,   could not do.   By sending his own Son   in the likeness of sinful flesh and   for sin,     he condemned sin in the flesh,   in order that   the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,   who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.   For   those who live according to the flesh set their minds on   the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on   the things of the Spirit.   For to set   the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life a...

  A ten year old Facebook memory photo, of a precious group of women who were gathering at Shiloh for Bible study, popped up in my Inbox. The Spirit stirred my heart to pray for them. Three have moved from this area, but the majority are still gathering for worship and Bible study together. As I looked back at this photo, I could have just moved on to the next email or gone to Facebook and gotten lost for an hour, but instead I decided to pray for them and email them this prayer. "I stopped to thank God for each one of you and prayed that through the power of Jesus you would press on in faith and know the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. (Romans 11:33) As that wisdom comes into your heart may you be strengthened and may that knowledge, which is available to you, be pleasant to your soul and supply you with strength. (Proverbs 2:10 & 24:5) In Jesus' name, Amen If there is something specific I can be praying for you please let me know. You are deeply love...

This fireman's outfit gets lots of use from boys and girls around Shiloh. Instead of trusting in our own strength...God rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing.  You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation- 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 The Message In John Eldredge's devotional Restoration Year  he references the difference between God as a Deliverer and God as a Preventer.  We would prefer to have a Preventer  who keeps bad things from ever happening, rather than a Deliverer  who we can call out to for rescue in times of trouble. But God comes close and does a mighty work in our lives in times of trouble. Think about the closeness we develop with someone who has walked beside us in a difficult time.  We appreciate the pit person much more than the party person. The people who are willing to get in the pit with us or toss us a rope to pull us out and then hold us as we slowly walk forward are preci...

Our little ballerina cowgirl. Somedays boots, a tutu and your big sister's glitter jacket make you feel so fine. Put on your boots as today's song is a little big country! These lyrics are good to contemplate. "When I start to thinking that I've got the strength to fight or when I get something good, must have been I did something right. And when I start to  thinking I deserved some praise, bring me back to my knees and humble me with grace. Don't let me forget that I'm nothing without You, Jesus, it's true. You're all I'm holding onto. Don't let me lose sight of how You saved my life.  You're the reason I'm blessed, don't let me forget." Paul affirms this message in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 My friends, I want you to remember the message I preached and that you believed and trusted. You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don't, your faith was all for nothing. I told you the most important part of...

Two of our sons were skiing together with their families in Utah! Love that someone headed down the "Glory Hole" slope. Sharing a lift with a super fun uncle! This little one conquering some slopes with his big brothers in Virginia. On a snowy February evening my husband and I were searching for a movie to watch and hit fail after fail. I suggested we go back to a 2011 comedy-drama series called "The Hart of Dixie."  We binged watched three shows and that evening I found myself stewing over the characters of a stuck up Southern Belle name Lemon and her arrogant, egotistical, doctor father named Brick. Their mistreatment of the cute female physician protagonist, who moved from NY to this small southern town called Bluebell, made me thinking...just be kind and show some southern hospitality. This particular day I landed in Romans 5:1-11 titled "What It Means to be Acceptable to God."  I want to start unpacking these life lessons. Verses 1-5.    By faith we ...