Monday Memo

 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Blessings & Hugs,

🦋❤️🦋Mèmére🦋❤️🦋

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. …

Luke 10"38-42

Do you know Annie Johnson Flint?  You may not recognize the name but more than likely you would recognize her writing.  She is a very prolific writer and I hope you will check out her many writings here:

http://www.homemakerscorner.com/annie.htm

With my last blog in mind concerning priorities I had to follow up today with Annie Johnson Flint's poem entitled Mary and Martha.

Martha was busy and hurried,

Serving the Friend divine,

Cleansing the cups and the platters,

Bringing the bread and the wine;

But Martha was careful and anxious

Fretted in thought and in word,

She had no time to be learning

While she was serving the Lord,

For Martha was "cumbered" with serving,

Martha was "troubled" with "things" -

Those that would pass with the using -

She was forgetting her wings.

But Mary was quiet and peaceful,

Learning to love and to live.

Mary was hearing His precepts,

Mary was letting Him give -

Give of the riches eternal,

Treasures of mind and of heart;

Learning the mind of the Master,

Choosing the better part.

Do we ever labor at serving

Till voices grow fretful and shrill,

Forgetting how to be loving,

Forgetting how to be still?

Do we strive for "things" in possession,

And toil for the perishing meat,

Neglecting the one thing needful -

Sitting at Jesus' feet?

Service is good when He asks it,

Labor is right in its place,

But there is one thing better -

Looking up into His face;

There is so much He would tell us,

Truths that are precious and deep;

This is the place where He wants us,

These are the things we can keep

As I grow older and wiser (smile) I am finding more and more the importance of my priorities.  I can get side tracked quicker than anyone I know.  I go to my (sanctuary) office to have my quiet time and next thing I know I am involved with a book or a project that is sitting nearby.  

Good news is that I am learning.  Learning the simple but life changing fact that God wants to be first in all things.  I am not seeking perfection I am seeking to glorify God in all I do and say and this too ties into my quote from my previous post:

"When I focus not on performance or perfection but on joy, gratitude and service, everything seems to fall into place." --Sally Clarkson http://sallyclarkson.com/blog/  

Add to that seeking to make time with our Lord priority everyday and truly everything does fall into place.  It is biblical and it is a promise from God's Word.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 6:33

And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:41-42

Blessings & Hugs,

🦋❤️🦋Mèmére🦋❤️🦋

Make Today Lovely

We do have a free will.  We have a choice each day.  

Finally, brethren, 

whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 

whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 

whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; 

if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 

think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

I am choosing to make it a lovely day.  How about you?

💕Mèmére💕

Rise and shine and give God the glory!

Maricopa, Arizona

From my reading this morning I want to share

 a line that ministered to my heart.  

Mildred Stamm writes in Be Still and Know, 

"My joy is not in the day but in the Lord, who made the day!"

Today I choose to praise the Lord and to trust the Lord for what He has in store.  He is the creator of heaven and earth and nothing will take place today that is too difficult for Him.  Through His loving hands will be sifted everything that touches my life today.  Such encouragement!  TYJ

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 1211-2

Love and Blessings,

💕Mèmére💕

BUT BUT BUT

Thus says the Lord to you: 

"Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, 

for the battle is not yours, but God's.

2 Chronicles 20:15

Love and Blessings,

💕Mèmére💕

I really like the concept of acronyms.  Remember when WWJD was the thing and people wore the bracelets?  I think my Pastor Walt still wears his :-) 

Today as I read my bible and made notes I decided it would be fun to start my own vocabulary to use in my notes and Bible.  I also write in my books.  So here are my first two:

GIG                

God

Is

Good

And the second is simply

TYJ which in my Bible stands for "Thank You Jesus!"

"God is good all the time.  All the time God is good."  

A phrase you  hear a lot at Church on the Street.

Hugs and Blessings,

💕Mèmére💕

P.S. Just in case you don't know WWJD means what would Jesus do.  I too had a bracelet 😀

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10

Max Lucado writes, "Nothing occurs beyond the reach of God's power.  Awareness of God's power provides rest and encouragement to Christians."

Note from my study Bible

NOTHING occurs beyond the reach of God's power.  Nothing.  Another thing that brings me comfort and encouragement is that EVERYTHING that comes into my life as a believer is filtered through God's loving hands.

AWARENESS, Webster says is knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists. 

As I begin this new year my desire is to so know God that I will see and hear Him clearly and grow in my faith trusting His heart, His love for me!  

God promises me He will be exalted.  He will be known.  He commands me to BE STILL.  Commands with promise.

Be still, and know that I am God

Psalm 46:10a

Hugs and Blessings,

💕Mèmére💕

Monday Memo: Promises BUT

The Bible, God's Word.  It is full of promises BUT, yes, BUT.  With God's promises come conditions or commands.

We want the promises BUT do we want to be obedient to the command or condition?  Remember Abraham.  God gave him a promise but it also demanded obedience.  By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.  Hebrews 11:17

Psalm 16:11says, In Your presence is fullness of joy.  I am promised joy BUT I have to be in God's presence.  I have to be in the Word, in prayer and in communion with Him daily to enjoy the blessing , the benefit the promise of joy.

Love and Hugs,

Mèmére

Thankful Thursday

Stop, Look and Listen!

Please stop and take less than a minute to let me share my blessing!  The days are just beautiful in Kentucky right now.  The colors are changing in the trees daily.  The sounds you hear when you listen are simply amazing.  An orchestra would be hard pressed to attempt to duplicate the sound of the birds.

Take less than a moment and share my blessing and then take time, make time if need be to get into God's Word and be truly blessed.  Stop, look and listen to what God has to say to you today.

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

Love and Hugs,
Mèmére

It's Your Choice

Not easy by any means but our attitude is 

a choice.

Today I will choose 

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy

Spread your protection over them

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 5:11

Love and Hugs,

Mèmére

Truth Be Told

Oh give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: 

for his mercy endures for ever

Psalm 136:1

This plaque was given to me when Aunt Jo lived with us 6 years ago.  Little did I know then that it would minister to my heart now.

When we bought the motorhome I decorated and furnished it by shopping from my stucco house.  I removed the above plaque from the wall in our hallway and hung it on the wall in my bathroom in the motorhome.  At the time I didn't realize the significance of the verse it displays based on Psalm 136:1 With God's hands beneath us we need not fear what lies before us.

As we have traveled in the coach now over 6 months I can not begin to tell you how often people have said to me, "Oh, you are living the dream!"  Yes, we are living a dream and I do not for one minute want to take that blessing for granted but the truth be told?  I have experienced more anxiety and stress living this dream than I care to admit to.

Because I am not normally a person given to anxiety and stress maybe this is taking a little more toll on me.  It definitely has effected the quality of life I am experiencing and has in turn then effected my Precious Husband too.

Truth be told?  I am meditating a lot on these facts:

1. God's hands are beneath me and they are strong and trust worthy
2. God's mercy is amazing
3. God wants me to live one day at a time, moment by moment
4. I can trust God for my outcome

Truth be told?  God is patient with me!  He is trying to teach me and I am a slow learner.  Someone asked me, "Where is your faith (in God) Dorothy?"  Truth be told?  My faith is growing daily because I know that even though I may still appear anxious and stressed as I "live this dream" God is doing a work in me and HIS HANDS are underneath me every step of the way.  I will trust Him and He will continue to be merciful and good to me.

Note to self:

Each morning and each evening when I brush my teeth, take some extra time and read the verse again: 

With God's hands beneath us we need not fear what lies before us.

Love and Hugs,

Mèmére

Poor Posture?

I hope you can zoom in to read the cartoon better.  The mother pictured here believes she is being a good mother and giving her son good advice but is she?   Our negative attitude and critical spirit as wives and mothers most certainly does make for poor posture in our loved one. 

The words we choose to speak to our children and to our husbands are very important.  Are we building them up or tearing them down?  Do they grow from our words of advice or do they feel condemned?  Are they better individuals for our words or worse?

Listen today to the words you speak to your husband and your children.  Choose your words carefully so your loved ones can stand tall in life.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:24

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, 

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Unfailing Love!

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,  

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalms 90:14

Psalm 91

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,  my God, in whom I trust.”  
³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;  his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,  ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
 ⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”  and you make the Most High your dwelling, ¹⁰ no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; ¹² they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;  I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,  I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Monday's Memo

 

1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Good Encouragement

Joyce Meyer writes: "God chooses to shine through imperfect, cracked pots.  People are blessed when our cracked pots let the light of Jesus shine through.  Choose to be a glory-filled, cracked pot rather than an empty, pretty vessel."

Let not those who wait and hope and look for You, O Lord of hosts, be put to shame through me; let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusion and dishonor through me, O God of Israel. Psalm 69:6

Wednesday Walk

Out for a walk this morning with my earphones dangling down and connected to the Ipod in my pocket.  I have been listening to my very favorite podcasts which are from Nancy Leigh DeMoss of Revive Our Hearts.

This morning I listened as a young woman in her 30s shared about the fact she was dying of cancer and actually went on to be with the Lord a few days later.  She gave this quote of unknown origin that spoke powerfully to my heart:

“God allows in His wisdom that which He could easily prevent by His power.” 

Truly, God does not make any mistakes in the plan He has for my life.  Have I questioned things in my past?  Absolutely.  But all wisdom is His and He uses it in the grand landscape of my life along with His great power to perform that which He desires for me.  This is exciting to say the least.  

Monday Morning Meditation

Merlin R. Carothers writes in his book, God’s Secret Weapon:

One day I hope to be able to say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight.  I have kept the faith.”  Now if the Bible said, “Merlin, you must be strong and fight a good fight,” I would be anxious.  I know I am not as strong as I should be.  But the Bible says:

Be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power.  Ephesians 6:10 

We can enjoy being strong in the Lord and in His might power!  His power is available to us when we believe Him.

If we evaluate ourselves by our own abilities, sooner or later we will feel incapable of being what we should be.  Man people live with that unhappy, “I’m a failure,” feeling.  But when we believe Christ’s promise to supply whatever we need (see Philippians 4:19), we can believe that God is finding a way to accomplish His will in us.  (end of Carothers’ quote)

Good stuff to meditate on this Monday morning and to put into practice for all the Mondays to come.

Watch and be UTTERLY AMAZED

The Lord tells Habakkuk, "Watch and be utterly amazed."

Habakkuk 1:5 "Look at the nations and watch-- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.

Habakkuk's prayer of faith:

Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.


This little book of Habakkuk gives awesome encouragement this morning.  Thank You Lord.

Watch and be utterly amazed!  Oh, this sounds exciting.  This sounds encouraging.  This prompts my faith to agree in prayer with Habakkuk and say, no matter what I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign LORD is my strength!

Watch and be utterly amazed!

Lots of Needs

Yesterday I received word of a friend in the hospital undergoing tests.  Today another friend called who was admitted to ICU.  There are so many needs around us it seems.  Such times call for abundant prayers.  I take such encouragement knowing I can pray and trust the Lord for answers and for peace to my heart.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.  3 John 1:2

The Prayer of Faith] Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.  James 5:13

 

Time to go to prayer for friends. Prayer is what I would want from my friends.

Garden Lessons

This morning having breakfast by the pond with Precious Husband I couldn't help but notice the asparagus ferns that hug both sides of the waterfall.  Green, soft, supple, eye catching, healthy.  Not so a few weeks ago.  A few weeks ago they were yellow, dry, over-grown, brittle with lots of dead prickly hurtful branches jetting out everywhere.

What made the difference?  The gardener got very busy with his pruners.  Yes, Precious Husband really cut them back to the bare minimum and they were definitely not pretty to look at after this severe pruning but so worth it now to see the results.

Viewing my asparagus fern I find myself praying, "Lord, prune me.  Clip me back to the roots if You need to because I know I need it and I will flourish as a result."

The Vine and the Branches

John 15

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.