Think on These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8--Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.


Have you ever noticed that we always expect God to be faithful to us, but often don't think a lot about it we are not faithful to Him? We think so little of not following His commandments, but get bent out of shape if something goes wrong in our life.

First, trials come in our lives so that we can grow spiritually, God can get our attention, and/or so that He might be glorified through our testimony. NOT because God is not faithful.

1Thessalonians 5:24 Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.

Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Second, we need to search our hearts and life to make sure we are being faithful to God. He sacrificed His only Son for us and cares about us so much that He knows how many hairs are on our head. Some people treat God almost like a vending machine, they only go to Him when they want something and think that saying a couple of words in prayer or acknowledging Him for a moment should get their needs taken care of. God asks us to be faithful to Him. While it is true that God will forgive us when we are not, we will miss many blessings along the way if we are not faithful to Him. We may never know the blessings we missed because of our unfaithfulness. Lets strive to be faithful to Him by reading our Bibles, spending time in prayer, being in church every service, having a good testimony, etc.

Think about your walk with God--how faithful are you to Him? Would you be happy if your spouse/best friend was just that faithful to you?

An encouraging song

This is one of my favorite songs. It is a reminder of God's love and grace. I could also be a prayer.

"Grace"

by Carolyn Hamlin

• Lord, as I seek your guidance for the day, I find my thoughts unyielding, confusion clouds my way. But then when I bow to You, the challenges You guide me through, Your promises are ever new, I claim them for today.

• Your will cannot lead me where Your grace will not keep me, Your hand will protect me, I rest in Your care. Your eyes will watch over me, Your love will forgive me, and when I am faltering, I still will find you there.

• Each new days design is charted by Your hand and graciously revealed as I seek Your Master plan. Keep my footsteps faithful when from You I go. Return me to the joy that Your blessings can bestow.

• Your will cannot lead me where Your grace will not keep me, Your hand will protect me, I rest in Your care. Your eyes will watch over me, Your love will forgive me, and when I am faltering, I still will find you there.

Goodbye to a lovely lady

Revelation 21:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death , neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

A week ago today, heaven received a new tenant. I can't be sad for her because she is walking, picking up things, doing as SHE wishes WITHOUT any help, something she has not been able to do for about twenty years. If there is a piano in heaven there are probably people gathered around as she plays, something she hasn't been able to do in years. My friend suffered from MS for over thirty years. I only had the privilege of knowing her for about 6 1/2, yet she had a huge impact on my life and on the lives of nearly everyone who knew her.

I went to her Memorial service yesterday, it was amazing to hear person after person tell of the impact she had on their life. You see, not one of us can recall ever hearing her complain about her illness or say, "if only". Before MS, she was an active person and accomplished musician. She played for ballet companies and large choirs as an accompaniest and also for church. She rode and showed horses, graduated from college and had good jobs.

We would have all understood if she HAD said she didn't think it was fair that God allowed her to have MS. In the time I knew her, she was never able to even sign her own name. She could guide her electric wheel chair and that was about the extent of her abilities. She relied on others to take care of her every need. How tough that alone would be! Not to mention the memories of what she used to be able to do and the thoughts of "what might have been." She had great peace that God knew what He was doing in her life and faith that He didn't make mistakes. I truly can't think of a stronger person or someone with stronger faith. I think of the times I have complained and am pretty ashamed of myself. She had such an impact on others because of her inner joy, peace, and lack of complaint. She was also a testimony to others of God's love.

She was such an example to me and to others. I think that she would have been shocked had she been in the Memorial service to hear of the impact she made on everyone's life. She thought that she was a pretty ordinary person. She was an ordinary person that allowed God to do extraordinary things in her life because she relied on Him.

I can't sorrow for my friend; she is in a much better place! The tears I have shed are really shelfish ones, for me and how I will miss her. It is wonderful, though to know that we will meet again in Heaven some day. I am thankful that God brought her into my life. I learned many things from her.

*I wanted to add that MS treatment has come a long way in the past decade. There are now treatments that slow the progression considerably and allow people to live more normal lives with MS much longer.

Duke

I try not to bore everyone with Duke, but thought I'd post these for his fans.

His newest thing is to bring his blanket out of his kennel when we let him out--in hopes someone will play tug of war with him.

Duke and Mandy snoozing on my sister's lap.

Sweet girls

Overheard: "E" excitedly telling "Z" that her and "K" were going to be twins" Monday and Tuesday of next week. My mom made them matching cullotes and they enjoy wearing them at the same time. I think this is really sweet.

I'm afraid I have never wanted to wear the same thing as anyone, sorry to my sis, not sure if you ever wanted to match growing up, but not for me.

I am glad my girls enjoy dressing alike and get along well for the most part.

Think on These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8--Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.

I didn't really make any New Year's Resolutions this year. I have a couple of goals that I am working toward, but not necessarily tied to the New Year. I have been thinking a lot about the verse:

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

This verse can be applied to almost every area of our life. So often we know what we are supposed to do, but don't. We often don't even think of it as wrong.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

This verse reminds us that life is short, we have very little time on this earth to lay up our treasures in heaven and to impact others for the Lord.

Some thoughts in light of the above verses:

Remember that there are many things that are not wrong, but if we do them INSTEAD of what we should be doing, then they are wrong. My pastor has this motto: We do what we ought before what we want!

Home--Make sure we are kind to our family members, keep our house clean, cook good meals. We also need to be careful how we spend our time and what we are watching, reading, etc. Also, if we know we should address a discipline issue with our kids and don't--it is wrong.

Church--We need to be a help to others and be active in our churches. If there isn't a place you can serve, you can be a huge help through prayer. Always be looking for a way to help out, even if it is picking up the trash outside. Be an encouragement to others. One of my goals is to send cards to people who haven't been to church in awhile to let them know I missed them.

Work--we need to make sure we are doing our best, not goofing off and letting someone else pick up the slack. Also, we need to make sure we are not taking more breaks than we should or showing up late (five minutes is 25 minutes a week, which means you will have robbed your boss of over 20 hours of work in a year). We should also be an encouragement and help others out when they need it.

Spiritual Walk--we know we need to read our Bible, pray, and attend church. When we don't it is wrong.

Waist line--You could even apply this to what we eat and lack of exercise. We know we should, so...

I am praying that God will bring this verse to mind in any of the above situations and many more I am sure I haven't even thought of!!!

Absence

Sorry for the prolonged absence. Just needed a mental break for awhile and kind of had writer's block. We had a nice time in Illinois for Christmas. We were able to spend a lot of time with family. I also stopped by to see the people I worked with during my first job as a nurse. All but one of them are still there. It was nice to catch up with them.

It has been a little difficult to get back into the routine of every day life. Work has been, not so much difficult from a "busy" stand point (though it has been busy--I've started crossing my fingers when someone asks me to do something when I'm away from my desk, so I remember and have run out of fingers to cross!--guess I'll have to start wearing shoes that allow me to cross my toes), but from a heavy hearted stand point. We had three clients pass away in a week, clients that we had for quite some time. Mine I had for almost 6 years and it was rather unexpected. We are also seeing drastic cuts in client's help, particularly for those who need it the most. It is heart breaking to think of them in bed for long periods of time with no help and unable to change position or having to make the choice of going to a nursing home instead of staying at home. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning.

God has put me in my job and I generally enjoy it and know I make a difference, so I am praying He will give me much grace and wisdom.