Boojoyful

  Click, click, click! Many of our lamps and decorative lighting features are on remote control switches in various rooms in the house.  Lately, it has been a struggle to get the living room lights to come on.  I've found myself even walking across the room and aiming the remote right at the box in the electrical socket. (That defeats the purpose.) In a lightbulb moment, I remembered that the remote requires batteries and maybe the issue was that they had weakened.  Removing the specialty battery, I placed it in my battery strength checker and there was my answer.  "Weak" We can weaken spiritually. It is so easy to replace  the power available to us through God's Word and the Holy Spirit and walk towards what the world has to offer to soothe our souls.  We forget who God is... He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. Psalm 147:4-5 Let...

Two of my favorite seven year olds sharing in the joy of baptism!  What a wonderful memory these two besties have made. Micah 6:8 is a clear, crisp, and simple summary of what God expects from you and me. These things that matter so much to God are the things God wants to see in us: fairness, kindness, compassion and love, and humility.   The Message puts it this way... But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.  It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and...  don't take yourself too seriously- take God seriously. One of the primary responsibilities of the believer in Christ, the first commandment we are given in Matthew 22:37  is...Love the Lord your God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength!   Basking in that love relationship makes the tough days easier to walk through. The Song "First Commandment"- Sean Feucht https://www.youtube.c...

Bedside table books. For years,  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, has been my life verse. It's a survival code. Be joyful always, pray without ceasing and in all things give thanks.    Be joyful simply because of what Jesus did on the cross for us and for the consistency of God's loving presence. Pray without ceasing knowing with confidence that God hears our prayers and created prayer as a way of communication with him. Give thanks in all things because God is always working things together for his glory, which equates to working for our good. Looking at my beside table and the resources I am currently using to grow in Christ, the hardest one to pick up somedays is the 5 Minute Gratitude Journal.    Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials   of various kinds,  for you know that   the testing of your faith   produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be   perfect and complete, lacking in nothing....

  Flowers from a loving neighbor. What if I could prophesy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains? I would be nothing, unless I loved others.  1 Corinthians 13:2 Today's song is mesmerizing.  It taps into our core need to be loved,  Hallelujah! God is love! (1 John 4:8), and He challenges us to pour out that love. Listen to these lyrics. "Without love it means nothing. I want to love my neighbor like I love myself.  I want to move when my brother cries out for help." One day soon I want to pick up my camera and go searching for love offerings.  Things like... The nurse or pastor holding the hand of the patient by their hospital bedside who has no family to come sit with them. The child in need of security who hugs their teacher with a thankful heart because they know he/she will be there on the other side of the door when maybe a parent won't. The young person who holds the door or offers to carry a pack...

This one popped up in my photo memories. Such love bugs, now young ladies. Life goes by so fast. Let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions.  1 John 3:18   We are perfectly loved, so let us pour out that love to others.   Who do you know who needs to feel loved today?  It's a free gift we can give away. The Song   "Perfectly Loved"  Rachel Lampa and Toby Mac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfUkEgG5rEk

  Ugh!  It was one of the moments when you KNOW it's God's voice. Six months ago my husband's 2005 truck died. We really miss owning a truck! Our  new car has bells and whistles we will never discover. Sunday, while standing by the car in the church parking lot, a woman stopped me to visit. As we talked the lift gate at the rear of the car kept opening on it's own.  She politely said, "I think you are standing to close to your car."   The technology of this car is intimidating.  I thought...Like with my phone, I will  never use this vehicle to its full potential. The phrase just bounced back to me and I realized that is how God must feel about us. He created us with a purpose and has plans for us everyday that bring him glory, but like car and phone I am not surrendering to the full potential God has planned for me. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ...

  Do you start the day with gratitude or longing?  We choose our outlook. All around, there is goodness to be found and God is with us. I've enjoyed the accountability of this gratitude journal. Honesty can be found on some pages where I say, "Father, I'm not feeling very grateful right now, change my heart."  And He quickly does just that when we make it now all about us! A song, new to my soul, popped up on Pandora.   Chew on the lyrics and see what words of truth God has for you today. "I Thank God" "Wandering into the night w anting a place to hide  This weary soul  This bag of bones And I try with all my might b ut I just can't win the fight  I'm slowly drifting  A vagabond And just when I ran out of road  I met a man I didn't know  And He told me that I was not alone He picked me up, He turned me around  He placed my feet on solid ground I thank the Master, I thank the Savior  Because He healed my heart , He changed ...

  I'm not sure what the weather is in your part of the world, but we have had a week of rain here in Virginia.  We've been praying for the pollen to be washed away and certainly have our answer. When you start to feel gloomy and wonder if the sun will shine again.  When your heart is hurting and you wonder if restoration will ever come.  Praise the Lord. Songs that help us look up from the pit. “Counting my Blessings”    Seph Schlueter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c17u2lkSzEI “Say I Won’t”  Mercy Me     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhTHgaCjTJs “Again”  Jeremy Camp     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcMtO-qTHe0 “Goodness of God”   Rhett Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHG6Ak5Jqkc&list=RDCHG6Ak5Jqkc&start_radio=1 “Don’t Stop Praying”    Matthew West https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r0eA49MZ0w “Brighter Days”   Blessing Offer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6lp1Oxb9L4 "Grace Got You” ...

The Altice Family Rarely, do I share the names anyone I reference on "Boojoyful," but in this case I am. Follow on Facebook and pray for Callie Altice. This sweet cattle farming family lives a mile down the road from our church and are such faithful servants of the Lord. All three girls have been a mainstay as baby sitters in our KidzPointe ministry. The children love them!  It's hard to get teenagers to show up on Sunday morning by 8:30 to care for children, but these girls have been doing it for years. Callie was diagnosed with Leukemia last week and is in the trenches of chemo treatments.  Our rural community is pouring out prayers and support in the kindest ways.  Please join us as we pray for a complete recovery for Callie from this horrible disease. The verse they choose yesterday was Psalm 46:5 God is within her, she will not fail; God will help her at break of day. The Song "Trust In You" Lauren Daigle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_aVFVveJNs

Some women from our church had a spring bus trip planned and the weather outside was "a wash" for sure. We had to tweak the excursion a bit, but that didn't keep the sun from shining through the hearts of these beautiful women who all made a new friend! It was a very good day!   One of my favorite church greetings is..."Are you ready to praise the Lord!"   Entering church one Sunday morning,  two young mothers in the lobby greeted me saying the all familiar American greeting...."How are you?"  I chuckled and relied, "Why do we greet one another that way? Do we really want to hear how people are truly doing? We make lairs out of one another, because the most of the time we respond to that question by saying, "Fine" which is not the case. They laughed in agreement. We train our church greeters to come up with another greeting, unless they are willing to hear truth and go to a quiet place and pray for that person.   Do you ever sit in churc...

Most mornings, before my husband heads to work, we  open our Power of a Praying Husband/Wife books and pray the prayer for that day, out loud, over one another.  This is an excellent way to practice praying together. They are powerful prayers based upon scripture.  God seems to place before us the prayer we need to be prayed for us. Below is an example. Wife praying for husband: “Lord, help my husband to be strong in You so that he will be delivered from his enemy. Enable him to put on the while armor of God, so he can stand against the wiles of the devil in the evil day. Help him to gird his waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod his feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.    Enable him to take up the shield of faith, with which to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. I pray that he will take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and s...

God is always working on me.  In the final chapters of the book The Problem of Life   by Mark Clark is the topic: "The Problem with Death." As a believer you are left with an "Amen, the best is yet to come" attitude.   Days after finishing this book, someone near and dear to me shared they had found a mass in their body. I was numb at the thought of what this person was facing and what life would be like without them. Yesterday, my husband led a funeral for a mother who went to be with Jesus long before her family was ready to walk this earth without her. Just this past week the sweetest 21 year old, who has served our church with joy since she was a little girl, has been diagnosed with leukemia and aggressive chemo treatments began last night. At my age, I'm ready to go to heaven, but I am not ready to do life without many of the people who are near and dear to me. Jonathon Evans, former NFL player, shared at his mother's funeral "how angry he was with...

Don't miss the Strawberry Festival our church hosts in Franklin County, VA A fun filled evening with plenty of fresh strawberries on ice cream, snow cones, balloons, and children’s activities including bounce houses and face painting.  Bring your lawn chair and come join us at the Rocky Mount Farmer’s Market on Friday, May 9 beginning at 6:30pm.  Music will be provided by Twin Creeks Stringband and The Brothers Young. Strawberry's are good for you! Today's Post My doctor suggested I avoid dairy and instead of using regular milk I substitute with almond milk. Then the gray haired man in the glasses on Instagram popped up to once again tell us all the things at are horrible for you. One of those was any milk from nuts. Oh, and also, the oatmeal that had been suggested to me as a good breakfast start to the day...he said "Stay away from oatmeal. Oats are what are given to horses to fatten them up." Grrr.  Which is better...butter or olive oil?  There is so much infor...

The view from our bedroom is the best view in the house.  This time of year, if I am not up on my own by 6AM,  I am awakened by  the radiance of God's glory, as the sun's rays shine through our windows.  At one point it reflects off a large mirrored armoire and bounces back in my face. The reflection you see in the photo below is the mist, on this 49 degree morning, rolling across the water. In the photo you can also see that life isn't perfect.   On the right is a long stream of bird poop! I chose to leave it in the photo, because it's real life! I have a plethora of posts stacked up in my in box here on Boojoyful.  They are never time sensitive, so don't try to follow a trail. For 25 years, the purpose of these devotionals is to show how God goes with us through real life, so hopefully they will speak to you on a day you need to remember that. "Interruptions are God's invitation to join him." Stan Parris God is leading me to a new ministry, whether I...