Boojoyful

A sassy, fall, maple tree near the front door of Shiloh. Do you enjoy passing along to others things that brighten a day and bring you joy? Here's one of those things for me. The Bless Every Home App is an excellent tool that guides you in ways to pray for your neighbors.  When you put in your address, it sends you the names and addresses of your neighbors and allows you to customize how many days a week you want to receive a list and how many people you want to pray for.  Then on those days it sends you a fabulous prayer to pray. The Bless Every Home App  https://app.blesseveryhome.com Currently, they have added a new opportunity called "The 21 Day Challenge." This email includes a video and prayer to encourage you in the "loving your neighbors" process. HA!  Being the neighbors of Shiloh can probably be a challenge. I'm hoping we have a neighbor doing this for us!  Add us on to your list! Here are a couple examples.  Day 4  https://app.blesseveryhom...

  Missing the Shiloh butterflies.This one would sit next to me on the dock and even lit on my shoe for quite awhile. Digging into Day 4 of CBS  this week landed us in Ephesians 6:13- 17 and remembering the importance of putting on the armor of God. Dressing in the suggested spiritual armor shields us from the "Devil darts" that fly about everyday.  Upon finishing the lesson I started to put on an audio book while I was getting ready for church, but felt the Spirit saying, “Why don’t you listen to praise music instead.” Clicking on the contemporary Christian genre on Pandora and I was in for a blessing that truly enhanced what we have been studying.  Check out these songs!     The song choices God sent me were so much better than my audio book. The last three were totally new to me.  If you are just going to do one, go with “Father, Let it Be”  These lyrics had to have come from the Psalms. “This is Our God” Phil Wickham    https://www.yo...

  Fall in Minnesota I have no clue what I was even listening to when I heard this quote on my phone.. . "In the screen world participation is optional." The program was talking about how with the swipe of a finger or the click of a mouse, we quickly make the choice what we want to land on. My husband and I reflected on how, when doing research for a school paper, we had to be driven to the library, search through the card catalog and then comb the shelves to see if the book we needed was checked "in" or "out."   How many of you remember these on a shelf at your home?  They were so heavy!   Nowadays, you can click on article after article until you find one that agrees with your viewpoint. Back to the quote I heard... "In the screen world participation is optional."   The other point being made was that so many people find no need to interact with others, just with their screen.  That is not how we were created to exist. In the garden God said, ...

  What are things that are good to be firm?  HA! I googled this and the first page was filled with plastic surgery options for sagging skin.  I'll hold to what one of our grandchildren said to me, "Mama Boo, I like you.  You are squishy. "💗  In response to the question I was thinking more along the lines of a mattress, relationship, business deal, vacation plans, the way I order my bananas and avocados on click list, etc. What brought me to the place of perusing "firm" things was my husband reading Isaiah 26:3 over me. The   Lord   gives perfect peace   to those whose faith is firm.  Isaiah 26:3 Put me on a Bosu balance ball and I will waiver, well maybe wobble would be more accurate. I'd like to say, "But my faith doesn't waiver."  Sleepless nights and worrisome thoughts point to the truth that I'm not exhibiting an Isaiah 26:3 life. And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that...

  Rodney the referee! Yesterday, I wrote about clarity  related to the weekly encouragement I've been sending some high school athletes. One category I try to include each week in my encouragement to them is "accepting things in the world of sports we cannot change."  The weather, injuries, coaches, 0pponents, etc. This particular week it was the  referees. That word went incredibly well with the word clarity  God had placed   on my mind. What happened under those "Friday Night Lights"  made me laugh out loud and strengthened my faith as far as believing God is in the details. After a play, chaos ensued on the field and 3 flags went flying in 3 different locations. The game announcer stated that never in his career calling high school or college games had he seen 6 referees circle up and take so long conferring.  You could see the lead official scribbling away as he took notes on each ref's observations.  I exclaimed, "Lausy, lausy, they...

A spectacular pop of pink in our daughter's yard! The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130   What are you perfectly clear on these days?  I'm clear that God wants me focussing on the word clarity.  It has  popped up in various ways everyday for week!  He has my attention.   Googling the definition a couple things caught my eye. Clarity is "the state of having a full, detailed, and orderly mental grasp of something." "We can have clarity of purpose, clarity of plan and clarity of responsibility." Bingo! That was perfect wisdom to pass on to some high school athletes I like to encourage.  I wrote, "Your purpose is to try to win.  Your coach lays out a plan and then each team member carries out their responsibility to the best of their ability.  So, I am praying for total clarity for each player as they discern their role in each play call."  On the flip side I read an article by...

  Realizing I had lost my Apple watch, I called and left a message at the spa where I had just had a massage asking them to please look and see if I had left it there.  When I returned home, I realized that morning I had washed my hair in the kitchen sink and placed it on the counter. The sweet receptionist called the next day to say she had looked and couldn't find it. I thanked her for checking and told her I had found it, Then I explained that when you get old there are lots of times you can't remember what you done and sometimes that can be fun and for the best!  She laughed. We often say, "I can forgive you, but not forget what you did to me."  Hallelujah that is not God's kind of forgiveness. I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.  Jeremiah 31:34   God doesn't just forgive. When we come to him in a spirit of repentance He chooses not to remember. Thank You, Jesus. May we treat others the way you treat us. The Song "...

  You are probably familiar with the visual of putting rocks (representing the important things in your day) in a container first and then pouring sand (the smaller more insignificant things) in last.  The other way around they wouldn't fit for the sand would fill up the jar. In a discussion with a group of friends I brought up how quickly we are to recall the negative things (let's use rocks) in our lives. The hurts, losses, betrayals, trials and the disappointments.  It saddened me that those come to mind more quickly than all the little joys (let's use grains of sand). The times of laughter, hugs, kisses, celebrations, hand holds, loved ones accomplishments, life's mile stones from first steps to first jobs. The gift of each breath we take. Opening some old photo albums I looked at happy memory after after memory. (We tend to not photograph the disappointments, but they are filed indelibly in our minds.) Taking a  glass vase I poured in 1,000's of grains of sands...

Getting side tracked can be a God thing. My detour landed me in the wisdom of Corrie ten Boom, who lived through the unimaginable horror of a Nazis concentration camp.  If you have never read  The Hiding Place , by Corrie ten Boom, put it on your family's bucket list. Clicking on this link of Corrie quotes was a blessing.   https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/40-powerful-quotes-from-corrie-ten-boom.html The first two quotes were the perfect encouragement for a several families we know facing ferocious illnesses. "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.  Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." "Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible." These next ones of Corrie's are for those of us with wounded hearts, longing for healing and restoration of relationships. "Do you know what hurts so very much? It's love.  Love is the strongest force in the w...

  The leaves are falling and some trees look bare, but not our magnolia tree.  She is producing some exotic pink fruit this time of year! Being in a study on the Psalms, the theme of loneliness quite often crosses the page. Certainly when we read of David hiding from Saul in a cave we sense those emotions.  Lawsy, Lawsy! The thought of loneliness shot my brain straight to the old Elvis song, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Opening lyrics say: "Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight? Are you sorry we drifted apart?" Do you go through seasons where you feel like you have drifted away from God? I long, yes, faint with longing to be able to enter your courtyard and come near to the Living God.  Psalm 84:2 Whether we were created to be introverts or extroverts, we have been created to be in  relationship with God and with others. Billy Graham said, "You see, man was made for God; and without God, he is lonely.  But Jesus is knocking at the door o...

  A request had come for me to photograph a group in which I was to be in the photo. Several years back I had purchased a remote control switch that allows you to take multiple shots away from the camera.  Opening the case, I realized there were no instructions.  No problem, I went to YouTube.  Yes, problem. The only instructions were videos in Japanese! Calling to my husband, I asked him to help me trouble shoot. We both laughed at the situation not understanding a word of the Japanese man.  The remote had multiple buttons so my husband began going through options.  I knelt beside the bed on which he and the camera were sitting and positioned myself in view of the camera lens. I kept saying, "Does it work now?"  The funny photo above is evidence of our success, which I've already forgotten how to do! Think of how many inventions are part of a process where the inventor is thinking, "Will it work this time?"  God never says that.  Whatever He...

  Rec league to captain on varsity. It has taken a LOT of hard work. Growing up in any area takes work. Learning is a life long process. Academically, the course load and homework requirements get a little tougher each year. Athletically, there is sweat, sore muscles and sometimes defeat. The 2025 season of fall sports is upon the Andrews grands and we are attempting to head to as many football/field hockey bleachers and cross country courses as possible.  These athletes are learning that varsity teams have a tougher training regiment than their recreational leagues and not everyone gets a trophy or a starting position. In life there are lessons to be learned in the process of living, but we don't always grow from the process.  Look back at the Israelites who grumbled and complained for 40 years on what should have been a 12 day journey. Most of my greatest lessons from the Lord, his growing me up in His ways,  have come through painful times. He tends to get more of...

Something awakened me at 3:30AM and the anxiety of things I cannot change set in. My hot water bottle of a husband was already up. About 6:20 I called to him saying I was not going to make our morning walk. I brought up that it had been several weeks since we'd done our morning prayer books for our marriage and reflected on how easy it was to get out of the habit.   He responded, "You are trying to go back to sleep, so why don't we do them tonight."  I challenged, "If I had said let's praise the Lord would you say, 'Nah let's wait?'" "Here's a compromise," I continued, "I'll keep my eyes closed and you can read the entries in both books out loud." God showed up, for what I was to read for him was what my heart needed to be reminded of. The one I was to read over him, he read to me... "Lord, I pray for Your protection on Boo's mind. Shield her from the lies of the enemy.  Help her to clearly discern between...

Our daughter's 33 year old concert harp holds such beauty in both sight and sound. The dream was horrible, glimpses of what Job endured. I prayed it was not a foreboding of things to come.  Wanting the thoughts held in my mind to vanish, I turned to praise and heard a new song called "Come What May," which had Psalm 23 sprinkled into the lyrics.  It is below and I hope it ministers to any heartache or sorrow you are experiencing.   Come what may, I know I will end up in the arms of Jesus. Opening my email moments later, there was a prayer from Psalm 23. God had my attention! "God, Abba, Father, Thank you, Lord, for being our shepherd. You guide us along the path of life with love and care.  We truly have everything we need.  Thank you for giving us places and seasons of rest and quiet when we need it.  Help us to make time for rest.  Thank you for refreshing our souls when we take time to drink of your living water.  Help us make time for you...

  A Buttercup My paternal grandparents lived hours away in PA on Lake Erie.  Granddaddy's nickname for me was "Buttercup."  He was a meek, soft spoken, kind soul, much like my father.  Even at 68 years old I still long to sit in the love of my grandparents. No matter our age we all need to be built up like the song lyric which says, "Build me up Buttercup." My whole life I've recognized the blessing of having the knee of an older wiser woman to sit at and listen.  The older one gets the harder it is to find that older, wiser, godly person, but I have one I cherish. She lives away down in Dixie. We don't have the blessing of chatting in person, but emails of encouragement are a treasure. Miss Janie This widow has had health issues the past several years which have her in excruciating pain. A few weeks ago, her daughter texted me to let me know hospice had been called in to help with the level of pain she was experiencing.  I immediately emailed her a pray...

Young and old crafters learning tricks from one another.   Only God knows where the thoughts come from that enter our minds. This one of mine was on how our opinions change related to others' age. When we are seeking a surgeon we want one with lots of experience, which equates to having a little age on them.  After my stroke, which occurred in Nashville, I needed to find a PCP back home to take over my care, because mine had moved out west. My husband was charged with that responsibility and I remember saying, "Please find me a younger one who will outlive me, so I don't have to change doctors again." Being called to pastor a church whose majority of congregants were 45 years old and under, I wondered why they wanted my husband who was in his 60's.  We quickly learned that with age comes wisdom that has served both of us well in this ministry. What is your preference for your children/grandchildren's school teachers? Young and vivacious or older with experienc...