Boojoyful

  After Jesus’ 40 days of testing in the desert, the Gospel of Matthew documents a divine intermission:   “Angels came and took care of Jesus” (Matthew 4:11). Intriguingly, in the space of these words, there is no recorded movement on Jesus’ part. Instead, Jesus seems to have pushed the pause button on His activity, not rushing through this holy interruption

  This may be the first time at Shiloh the lily pad has been launched in March! In the read through the Bible plan I am currently participating in I landed in Deuteronomy chapter 11:1. The Lord is your God, so you must always love him and obey his laws and teachings. The Bible Recap host, Tara Leigh Cobble, shared that love is an emotion and she posed the question: How do you command a feeling? She said she heard a Bible teacher say once "The heart cannot love what the mind does not know." What Cobble said made me stop and think...  "When fixing your eyes on God daily, by looking for him in scripture instead of looking for him for yourself , you will love him more. " When we worship, let's make it all about Jesus. Let's excitedly fill our hearts with love and thanksgiving for God and his plans for us. The Song "God Will Work it Out" Naomi Raine and Israel Houghton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URuIldVKk9U

Don't you want to smack your forehead when a simple spiritual truth comes to mind and you respond "Duh, how do I not remember that daily?" You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.   Deuteronomy 11:18 Today I read this quote- "God and Satan each have a plan to capture your heart's desire."  J. Eldredge We are fools if we don't recognize the truth in 1 Peter 5:8-11 MSG  Keep a cool head. Stay alert.  The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.  Keep your guard up.  You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times.  It's the same with Christians all over the world.  So keep a firm grip on faith.  The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ-eternal and glorious plans they are!-will have you...

Every year,  Good Friday is a struggle for my mind.  Why didn’t God, who can do anything, find a way to forgive our sins without his Son having to suffer.  Grrr.  My poor pastor husband has to teach me again and again. He responded so simply and elegantly,  "It was because of God's love for us."  "I know, I know it's our sin that nail Jesus to the cross!" What could have a larger impact on us than a father sacrificing his son and the son knowing/being the father willingly suffering. It was interesting were God took me. The night after our son's morning surgery, for horrific sciatica pain he's been in for 2 years, I was hit with awful sciatic pain.  Crying out for my husband to help me try to get out of pain, I said, "Wait.  If this means our son's pain has been transferred to me, I gladly take it." That's what Jesus did. Willingly, lovingly, knowing the final outcome, He took the pain and penalty for our sin. Then we were back to my...

Maundy Thursday is the day Jesus celebrated the last supper with the disciples. It's the day Judas betrayed Jesus, which led to his arrest. Jesus took some bread in his hands and gave thanks for it. He broke the bread and handed it to his apostles.  Then he said, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering me!  After the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands. He then said, 'This is my body, which is given for you.  After the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands. Then he said, 'This is my blood. It is poured out for you, and with it God makes his new agreement.  The one who will betray me is here at the table with me!  The Son of Man will die in the way that has been decided for him, but it will be terrible for the one who betrays him!"  Luke 22:19-11 The word Maundy is derived from the Latin word mandatum   meaning "mandate" or "commandment." Christ never commands us to do anything that he wants u...

  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 1 Peter 1:3( CSB)  I've shared before that I do not like scary movies and preferably those without more than 1 moment of a "mean girl" attitude or "cruelty of comments" thrown out. Yes, that limits my viewing options.  Likewise, the lead up to "Alleluia, He is RISEN" part of the last week of Jesus' life has me close my eyes, bow my head and not want to reflect on the life giving sacrifice on the cross that my sins necessitated. But that reflection is pertinent to all of our salvation stories. So much happened that last week.  Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and was loved.  He taught and prophesied for two or more days. Then he held the Last Supper with his beloved disciples, but dang, Judas ruined the party.  Thursday evening Jesus was arrested and all the...

"Unknowns and Know it Alls" is just a fun title I wanted to use and slip in a truthful confession I heard recently from a young businessman. In response to a question I asked he kind of mumbled.  My hearing isn't great so I said, "Either you just mumbled your response or my hearing is continuing to fail me, would you remind repeating that?"  He laughed and confessed, "When I find that I don't know an answer I either mumble my response or just make up an answer and speak it with confidence."  I chuckled and said, "I appreciate your honesty, but it's certainly alright to say you truly don't know." We had the pleasure of watching one of our 10 year old granddaughters (we have two that age who are horse show girls) show her new Arabian horse for the first time. She had actually only ridden the horse twice.  The horse did not seem to like this child's saddle, so she had to enter the ring using the trainers's adult saddle. There...

A Full Inheritance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouoE2GYhWO0&t=795s  Luke 15:25 The older son had been out in the field. But when he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing.

The SML water temp is 50 degrees, but if you are from Minnesota that's exhilarating! It's 1:30 AM and I am awake and exhilarated by my faith. Maybe it's that spring is in the air and bursting forth in color, (I wish the pollen was not) or that Easter Sunday is coming, which always brings a "Alleluia!   If the man of my dreams wasn't sleeping soundly beside me, I'd shout "Jesus is alive!" Once a month my daughter and I host a time of praise and prayer around her harp and God's Word.  Afterwards the women all stay and share a meal.  It is the sweetest fellowship and we all leave pondering what we have learned and how we have been loved by one another.  Several of us have been gathering to do this for over 20 years, others are new to this fellowship. God had laid out what I thought the message was to be for the day, but while doing some housekeeping in the last minutes before they arrived He gave me a new message to share.  I love that about faith in...

This Minnesota grandson got a taste of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, while visiting Mill Mt. Standing at the edge of an overlook into the Roanoke Valley which is surrounded by mountains. At the time of this writing, I was 3/4 the way through the allegory  Hinds' Feet on High Places.    This allegory, wherein the main character is a crippled girl named, Much-Afraid, is an eye opening picture of our personal growth with Jesus and brings to light an understanding of the purpose behind the hard places in life.  As I often say, "Life is a lot!" After reading this allegory I am adding to that quote. "Life is a lot, but we are never alone, so hallelujah anyway." For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all of your ways.  Psalm 91:11 Surrendering our lives to Christ does not mean life will be a breeze. Our world is filled with sin and a real enemy who is constantly finding ways to bring us DOWN. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the dev...

Seeing these cousins, who live states apart, share time together was of great worth. While here, a couple of the 12 year old cousins were in the woods using a tool of their Papa's to do some sort of preteen boy destruction. They accidentally broke the tool, but wisely came and told me. I praised them for their honesty.  One of them said, "Oh, we knew there was no way you'd get mad at us."  Ha!  The grace given to grandchildren.  They know they are of immeasurable worth. In the devotional book    Hinds Feet on High Places  by Hannah Hurnard there is a devotional titled  “Immeasurable Worth."  I've posted it below.  With the Easter season upon us take time to slowly read the first paragraph and reflect upon the love gift that was given to us by Jesus. Meditate on the personal sin struggles our minds, wills and emotions find reoccurring when we fail to yield to the Spirit. " As we struggle to be free from old patterns of bondage,  ther...

Missing these three, but so thankful for the 8 days they gave us. Time is such a gift. You know when you read something or hear from the Lord and a lightbulb goes off? In a devotional by John Eldredge titled "Awaiting Jesus" he posed this question. "Have you made your great hope and expectation the imminent return of Jesus? If not, why not?" Philippians 3:20 NLT says " And we are eagerly waiting for him to return. Y'all, I am excited about that moment and would much rather be beamed up with my man than us go through earthly separation, but honestly, I have not been waking up every morning saying, "Come today, Lord Jesus, come!"    When you care about people not walking with the Lord you long to see that happen before Jesus returns. The day of Jesus' return is described as happening "in a moment, in the blink of an eye." Whew y'all!  It will be quick! No turning back, no turning back. The direction we go will be a done deal. Be a...

  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...