Thank YOU!

Thank you for the gift of your time today. My prayer is each time you stop to visit you are blessed with truth, and encouraged to keep going ~ one foot in front of the other, chin up ~ simply because you've been reminded you are on the road to VICTORY!

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Will You Pray with Me?

I have so much to be thankful for....do you? 
I woke up this morning. 
I am drinking my second cup of coffee. 
I have food for breakfast... 
running hot water and soap...
a car to drive... 
and a job to go to shortly. 

I am wealthy beyond measure with just these. 

Thank YOU, Father, for Your abounding goodness toward Your children...us!

We have much to bring before You, Father. 
We are holding hurtful situations...
feelings...anxious thoughts..."what ifs"...and "should haves".

Father, these are all too burdensome for us. We are weak. 
So, You say we can hand these over to Jesus. We can...will we?
We won't simply lay our wrong thinking and our hurt feelings and our painful bodies and broken minds at the foot of the cross. We will offer all the broken pieces right into Your wounded, nail-pierced hands. 

and He Himself (Christ) bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.  I Peter 2:24 nasb

With gratitude, Jesus, we recognize and testify; You went to the cross to bear the rebellion, brokenness and sin within Yourself as the spotless, sacrificial Lamb of God.

You, God, are good and trustworthy. You are faithful and You know what You are doing. 

So we trust all to You…
and wait…
and watch expectantly…
on tiptoes to see Your Glory!
Amen.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

FMF::Good

This was supposed to be a link up with Kate Motaung and a whole bunch of beautiful souls for Five Minute Friday.  Kate's word prompt for the week was GOOD, and it was Good Friday.  I just never got to actually post this Five Minute Friday writing.

Regardless the Scriptures and the promises of God associated with the word prompt 'Good' are too valuable to me to let this one slip away....even if it's taken more than two weeks!

So, even though I have no opportunity to link up this post, with 5 minutes on the timer, here I go...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our sons are a gift from the LORD, Psalm 127:3, and have blessed us greatly.  They've also challenged me in a variety of ways and some of the challenges (of raising sons to adulthood) have thankfully resulted in a considerable amount of spiritual growth for me.

Them?  I am sure the Lord has a whole academic program in mind for each of our sons, and I am sure the Lord is pursuing each one and maturing them as He writes His story in each of their lives.  However, that is THEIR story, and their individual relationship with the One who gave them life!

As for me, about the time our oldest son was graduating from high school and preparing to leave the nest for college, I began to ask the Lord for a Scripture verse to pray continuously. I was somewhat frantic and feeling out of control (I'm still not sure why I ever think I have been in control...of anything), and so I begged Father for an anchor from His word.  



I asked for an anchor to keep me stable and provide the peace I knew I needed because prayer would be all I could do for this young one just flying the nest.  And sweetly, tenderly, Holy Spirit responded with Scripture and told me I could hold this word from God as His promise.  With tears of gratitude, I received this word from the LORD, and for the last six years I have prayed this promise over our oldest son.  (And sometimes I sing it...)

Philippians 1:6  being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you (son) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  niv

As one flew the nest, one remained in high school.  In the senior year of this younger son, I once again went back to the Lord and asked for a Scripture anchor.  Again, Holy Spirit faithfully and tenderly responded to my request.  For the last four years I have prayed this Scripture promise over our youngest son.  (And sometimes I sing it...)


I Chronicles 16:34  Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.  niv

I continue to stand on tiptoes of expectant anticipation as I watch (now a cheerleader on the sideline) our Good Father pursue and mature His sons in adulthood.  Our LORD is indeed good and His love endures forever.  And as He promised He would do with our son, our God is faithful to continue to complete the good work He began in me...oh so many years ago!

I have often said, "One day I will write a book entitled, Almost Everything I Know About God I Learned From My Sons."  And maybe one day, I will do just that!


Blessings of GREAT JOY on your amazing adventure journey with JESUS!

I am linking up with Holly Barrett and Diana Rockwell and Testimony Tuesday!
Please take time to visit and be encouraged with some inspirational stories of perseverance, hope, faith and JOY.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Making it Personal * Reflections of Passion Week *

The sin, yes the stain with which I was born.  

Was I born with this mark because of my parents?  Were they marred as well?
Yes!  
I was and they were, and every single person given life all the way back to the first people created...Adam and Eve...their wretched state after the rebellion.

With the exception of ONE, The One Who was God become flesh.
Jesus, the One and Only, sent from God without sin.

The unblemished
Lamb of God.

So, yes, I was born with this stain of sin; to which I have continually added by trying to live life on my own.  You know, doin' it my way!

I did not understand the wretched nature of my sin; nor did I understand my sin (with me at birth) was as great a rebellion as that of Eve and Adam when they turned traitor against their Creator.

My great rebellion?
The great rebellion of all mankind?
Unbelief!

Nor did I even begin to contemplate the Majesty of my Maker, nor the nature of a Holy God, who in His purity and justice must cast the verdict of His wrath upon traitorous rebels such as myself. 

So, as such, I walked blindly and boldly toward my unredeemed fate...
teetering precariously on the edge of a destructive cliff.

But God...

against whom I rebelled by my unbelief, pursued me with His extravagant love and extraordinary mercy unto the day of my surrender. 

At the bottom of my personal pit, I raised my white flag and received the free gift of my 

Rescuer.

I was dead, but He has made me alive through faith!


For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23. nasb