Counting My Blessings

Psalm 37 - A Believer's To Do List

I know! As believers it's not about "having to," it's about "getting to." So before you comment on my tendency to get legalistic take a minute to enjoy the beautiful list of "to dos" written by the shepherd king, David, in Psalm 37:3-8.

Trust the Lord, and do good things. Live in the land, and practice being faithful. Be happy with the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Entrust you ways to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will act on your behalf. He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the nooday sun. Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way when he carries out his schemes. Let go of anger and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil.

Let's take a look at these verses in a list format, but don't look at them with eyes that see only the Law or rules, look with eyes that see Gospel love from a Heavenly Father who wants only the best for His precious children.

    1. Trust in the Lord - Trust is defined as: reliance: confidence in and reliance on good qualities, especially fairness, truth, honor, or ability. (Encarta Dictionary)

Life Is Like a Cup of Coffee

I've been feeling a little quiet and pensive today. No particular reason, just nothing much to say. Now it's time for you to "count your blessings!" LOL

I came across this video on YouTube a while ago, and thought today might be a good day to share it. May you be blessed by its message.

I pray to not get so focused on the cup, that I forget to count the many blessings that have been poured into my cup by our loving Heavenly Father.

 So Jesus said again, " I assure you: I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal  and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:7-11

Five Favorites - Pets

Many of you know, I am a critter lover. My dh likes animals, but believes they should be kept outside or in the zoo. I remind him often that it's a good thing I have him around, or I would be the crazy lady with the stinky house full of fur-balls and feathers!

I decided it might be fun to share our favorites among the pets with whom we have shared our homes. We have had some that we loved, and some we didn't. ;-) So start thinking . . . I will want your list at the end.

5. Hamsters - My history with hamsters and gerbils is not good. Someday I will tell you the hamster story from my first year of teaching. For today however, with our focus on family pets I will simply say that after it got out of its cage while we were away one weekend, chewed a whole in the side of one of the kids mattresses, and nested in there for weeks before we found it. This critter rates the lowest on my list of favorites.

Joshua 2 - God Prepares the Way

Don't you absolutely love it when God uses the unexpected to accomplish His purposes. It might be an unanticipated event, a surprise revelation, or even an unexpected individual. When we pay attention we are often amazed by the extraordinary. We simply cannot make assumptions about the way God is going to accomplish His purposes. Take a moment to read Joshua chapter 2.

In Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby, he encourages God's children to watch for the things God is doing and then to join Him in His purposes. That is exactly happened with a prostitute named Rahab. Joshua sent two spies back into the land of Canaan saying, "Go and scout the land, especially Jericho." Joshua 2:1 That alone was an act of faith, because the last time spies were sent into Canaan, most of them returned terrified and the people ended up wandering around the desert for forty years.

Let's take a few minutes and look at some ways we can apply the events found in these verses of Scripture.

Obey

 

I came across this video entitled - Lord, Lord, posted by One Time Blind, on Tangle. It's powerful message blessed me this morning; a reminder that the Lord has called me to obedience in all things. He does know what is best for each of us and loves us so much. Sometimes that thing He asks us to do seems too difficult, but faith and trust call me to obey Him anyway.

Yippee!!!!

Just a very quick yippee! My dh stopped on his way home from work today to pick up the PC that I decided on through some on-line searching. He is sooooo good to me!!

It has taken me much of the evening to get things set up, and as of five minutes ago I am back on the www using my new HP Desktop.

I am going to say good-night for now. This has been a full day, but I will be back first thing in the morning. Rest well and be blessed!

WWW

I realized over the weekend how dependent I have become on my computers, and especially on having access to the www. My curiosity got the best of me on Friday morning, and I opened a window on my laptop that had to do with "ease of use." I have no idea what happened, but 30 seconds later my keyboard refused to work. I moved to my desktop and met my Friday deadlines there.

Jump ahead to Saturday morning. Nothing on the calendar - Yeah!! I had a book going and decided that a quiet day would be perfect. However, I decided to quickly check my email and see if anything interesting was happening on FB.

I pushed the start button; it sounded like a car when it groans but won't actually start. I think it's funny how many times we repeat the same action thinking "maybe this time." The truth became evident . . . I was without a computer.

Five Favorites - July 4th!

  You're not even a little bit surprised are you? What else would we talk about today? It is a weekend to celebrate our nation's freedoms. Yeah!!

A number of years ago my dh and I were in the CWE on the 4th. A reporter came up to me as we were getting out of the car, stuck a microphone in my face and asked, "Why do we celebrate July 4th!"

Of course, I knew the answer. I am an elementary school teacher! However, in that split second out of my mouth came, "The anniversary of the signing of the Constitution." Aaaagh! I tried to suck it back in, but it was too late. LOL I begged her not to show it on the evening news, but to my chagrin I received a few giggles from friends at church the following morning who had caught my "brilliance" while simply trying to catch up on the day's events.

I am now ready at a moments notice to announce to everyone and anyone - the 4th of July is the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence! I am so thankful to live in this nation! What a huge blessing! Let's "count our blessings," and list some of the things we love about this annual celebration . . .

Joshua 1 - Fear Not, I Will Be With You

Joshua 1:9; "I have commanded you, 'Be strong and courageous! Don't tremble or be terrified, because the Lord you God is with you wherever you go.'"

In the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, we read in four different verses the words, "Be strong and courageous."  Why? What is the reason for this repetition?

Fear is an overwhelming emotion! The word fear is defined as an emotional response to threats or danger, and is usually followed by a desire to escape or avoid.

Certainly that was the case forty years earlier, when the spies returned in fear and convinced the Israelites that it was too dangerous for them to enter the Promised Land. Now, Joshua needed courage and strength to fulfill the assignment to which the Lord had brought him.

Let's look at how this repetitive promise impacts you and me:

Youth and Beauty

I have had something on my mind lately that I would like to throw out for discussion. The question I have turned over and over in my mind is, to what extent should a person pursue fighting the affects of years and gravity?

Let me give you some details. For the last few years I have been trying to talk my husband into giving me the okay for a partial face-lift. I have checked into them, gotten prices, and interviewed a couple of doctors. My dh's continuous response, "We don't volunteer for surgery."

Okay! I've also looked into lotions and potions, Resveratrol and Acai berries, and other so-called formulas for warding of the affects of growing older.