Boojoyful

The area behind our boathouse was filled with debris and a set of our steps into the lake had been unearthed. They had floated away and had to be retrieved and tied to a tree until the water goes down enough to hopefully build them back. This is our 22nd summer here at Shiloh and never before have we experienced debris. Merriam Webster defines debris as scattered fragments, typically of something wrecked or destroyed. We are a broken people. Do y'all feel like life as we've known it has been wrecked? Has a particular heart aching experience, job loss, separation left you feeling broken, destroyed or wounded? I wish I had pasted Isaiah 43:2 on my forehead during the flood last week. " When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;  and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you." I allowed myself to become overwhelmed and look at this whole situation from the point of view of two older people trying to put Shiloh back together ag...

Today's FINAL Coloring Page of The Promises of God  " Now the Lord is Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Corinthians 3:17 This was to be the Memorial Day post, but the flood put me a bit behind. Liberty "The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority  on one's way of life, behavior or political views." Dwell on that a bit.   Check this out from Natalie Grant's Facebook page..."A song a day keeps the crazies away." Her rendition of our national anthem is beautiful. Listen to the very end and get yourself a bundle of chill bumps. https://www.facebook.com/nataliegrantmusic/videos/173110637463532/

The word wouldn’t leave me. Every time I went to pray for our pastor and his family the word honor came to the forefront of my mind. I headed to Biblegateway to see if there was a verse the Lord was drawing me to and accidentally I hit the Merriam Webster site, so I typed in honor  and found a long list of definitions.  The last verb definition really caught me… “To accept as payment.” Oh my.  When was the last time we acknowledged with an attitude of grateful acceptance the great payment Christ made for our sins?  Many mornings I awaken and thank the Lord for the day ahead, but I don't readily acknowledge my sinful state and "accept" the fact that He has taken care of my sinful heart, which continues to falter, by the death He paid on the cross. Thank You, Jesus. Honor-"to regard or treat someone with admiration and respect; to give special recognition." Oh my again.  Do I daily give special recognition to Jesus in my conversations with others? ...

Last Saturday was going to be date day!  A whole, uninterrupted day with my husband!!!!  I awakened early, but before we headed out for a walk I said, "Let's go at 7:00 that will give me a few minutes with Jesus. Wait, we better say 7:15. Once I start chatting with Jesus, it's hard to stop the conversation." I think it was 8AM before we got out the door. Date day turned into chore day, but we did it together! This Saturday was supposed to be inflatable day. It would take hours with the air compressor to pump up water trampolines, floats, tubes, etc. but our lake is severely flooded. Most of those water toys/joys are underwater.  The dock clean ups will take days and can't begin until the waters recede.  So, like Noah, we wait. As we chip away at the recovery process, we can "get together with Jesus" while we are out there working! He makes every chore better. "If you will do that with your life, if you will get up every morning and s...

Our four main docks are over 20 inches under water and I can't imagine what the inside of the boat house looks like. The projection is for another 6 inches of water to rise today. Those are our floating docks you see. To get perspective the photo below was yesterday and our huge concrete planters were probably 6" under.  By noon you will only see the hydrangea tree sticking up. Oh, the clean up to come whenever the waters recede. We've had a rough, rough week. Devil darts from every direction, but nothing that surprised God, just us!  Prayed hard yesterday for this rain to stop and no more trees fall.  My man was working outside before sunrise to remove furniture from both our docks and prepare our boathouse for the flooding that looked inevitable.  Last night at 2:30 AM he was out with a headlamp on. We have motion detector lights at two of our boathouses and he said he was walking out on one dock and the light was shining onto the water and he ...

My social distancing inflatable outfit. We are such divided people and it is difficult to discern what is true.  This virus experience has added yet another way to bring division. I was walking, yes, out of my house walking with some friends and one of them sighed and said, "My neighbors are handling this situation quite differently. There are some who start backing away if you come near them and some who do not even want to step out of their homes.  Then there are you girls who will let me take a walk with you!"  My reply was we just have to be kind to one another.  We all have different variables guiding our decisions. Praise the Lord, there is godly discernment available to us. Check out Proverbs 2:6-8 below. In the midst of the madness we must love one another. Today's Coloring page from the Promises of God " For the Lord gives wisdom; out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a shield to those...

Chuckled at this group moving in with their essentials in their backpacks. They are a strong and courageous group. Kathy Lee Gifford and Rabbi Jason Sobel put together a video study called The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi.   It is so insightful to study about Jesus from the perspective of a Messianic Jew. Each of the videos takes you to a different location related to the life of Christ.  In Chapter 8 of the book, you glance at the occurrences in the Judean desert when Satan is tempting Jesus. Gifford references have the desert is a metaphor for the dark times of our lives and how James1:2-4 tells us we WILL have trials, but these times of hardship and trials can work together to strengthen us. I do believe the past couple months have afforded the opportunity for families to strengthen their relationships, but continually being together also can put a strain on a family unit and leave an open door for temptation. Jesus responded to Satan's temptations each time b...