Word FILLED Wednesday: Blessing in Obedience...

I've been reading through the Bible in a Year...this one...and have stuck to it with more fortitude than usual. Praise God! Really, it's totally not me...cuz usually by the time I've hit Chronicles I'm long out of schedule and frustrated. It does help that my parents are following the same schedule and I can talk to them about the same things we've all been reading. Anyhew...we're in Psalm 119 now...chunk by powerful chunk. WOW!

I just love this whole particular chunk...

Heth

Lord, you are mine!

I promise to obey your words!

With all my heart I want your blessings.

Be merciful as you promised.

I pondered the direction of my life,

and I turned to follow your laws.

I will hurry, without delay,

to obey your commands.

Evil people try to drag me into sin,

but I am firmly anchored to your instructions.

I rise at midnight to thank you

for your just regulations.

I am a friend to anyone who fears you—

anyone who obeys your commandments.

O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth;

teach me your decrees.

Tube Tuesday: Marriage & Cow Pies...

This is a bit longer than my normal Tube Tuesday...but I thought it was really good...it was all I could do not to post a whole bunch of them...there are tons on youtube or desiringgod.org. In case you're interested...

So, how's marriage connected to cow pies...

Jesus' Heart for Stressed Rushers...

Today, as I did my grocery shopping...with my two little puddle jumpers SPLASHERS...I was struck by the attitudes and faces around me. Granted, it's been incredibly HOT, humid and stormy in our part of the world...so, I shouldn't have expected huge amounts of cheerfulness.

Generally, my children are well received (yes, even in the grocery stores)...cuz they're cute. Why? DUH , what kinda dumb questions is that...why? Tsk!! Hank, our favorite greeter, is always happy to see us...but the rest of the day was stressful! We really annoyed an older woman in the toothpaste aisle. I didn't even see her...I was going over the rules of the store..."you must be holding the cart at all times. if you are not holding the cart you will be riding in the cart. do you understand?" If looks could kill...I'd at least be badly injured. *sigh*

Going to and from the stores I was seriously tailgated...going into and out of the stores, my little brood and I, were irritatedly waved across the parking lot. Hurry, hurry...rush rush rush. I smile at EVERYONE...it's one of my irritating better qualities. Today I only counted a few smiles back...and those were mostly workers who know me. Weird!

So, I brooded about it on the way home. Yes, it did get to me...and I knew that being angry and irritated was only passing on the rotten feeling. I wondered about what Jesus would do...and of course, you know my penchant for what DID Jesus do...so...here's what I think. I think, it would have made him sad...to see the lost, rushed and weary. They were searching and scurrying and tired and frustrated.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Don't get me wrong...I think Jesus called sin SIN...and judged rightly those who were in the WRONG...but well, for one thing...I'm not Jesus (*gasp*) and no one wronged me by their grouchy attitudes. It is SO easy to just catch the grouchy disease...instead of stopping to consider these poor, sad and lost souls. I know the Healer for all their hurts. I'm challenged to ACT LIKE IT...and openly share when I can! So, I'm gonna smile anyway...

Caffeinated Randomness: CS Lewis & a bunch of Anon.

Photo Courtesy of thecoffeebump.com

As most of you know, aside from all things coffee, I also love quotes. Anonymous quotes frustrate me...cuz I worry that they aren't really anon. but just lost to their owners. But, some I enjoy and wanted to share anyhew. And, it's always great to start out good quotes with CS Lewis! Smiles and Summertime lovin' to all you chiccas!

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C. S. Lewis

If you are not as close to God as you used to be, who moved?

No two Christians will ever meet for the last time.

God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them.

When life knocks you on your knees, your in the perfect position to pray!

I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent.

A Forgiving Spirit in my garden...

I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness.

Many are the times when I have seethed in anger at a word or deed thrown into my life by an unthinking or uncaring person. I have wasted valuable hours imagining revenge or confrontation…I will now and forevermore silently offer my forgiveness even to those who do not see that they need it. By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts. I give up my bitterness. I am content in my soul and effective again with my fellow man.

I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly.

Knowing that slavery in any form is wrong, I also know that the person who lives a life according to the opinions of others is a slave. I am not a slave. I have chosen my counsel…I now know that criticism is part of the price paid for leaping past mediocrity.

I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.

For many years, my greatest enemy has been myself. Every mistake, every miscalculation, every stumble I made has been replayed again and again in my mind. Every broken promise every day wasted, every goal not reached has compounded the disgust I feel for the lack of achievement in my life…

I realized today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head. By forgiving myself, I erase the doubts, fears, and frustration that have kept my past in the present. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun.

~Andy Andrews

WFW: Happy Summer!!

I sure hope you're all taking the time to enjoy the start of summer. I'm really trying to not just let it FLY by! Smiles!!

Peace like a Pond?...or like a River??

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:17

Being peaceful was never something I counted as a goal. It cracks me up to think that I thought it didn't "fit my personality." I sort of thought of it as boring. Those pithy, quiet peaceful people...ugh! No thanks. BUT...it's funny (well, not really) how God can bring you to a place where you yearn for His peace...and you realize that it isn't about peace like a POND...but peace like a river...
"If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:18

As I looked at this a little bit this week I thought it was interesting the connection between God's peace and our obedience.
Is. 26:3-perfect peace for those with a steadfast trust in God
Is. 57:2- peace for those who walk uprightly

Being a full time MomE often brings me flat on my face...usually in shame...as I consider the contrast between my parenting skills and God's parenting skills. I strive for obedience from my children...because I want them to have peaceful lives. I want them to know WHO controls the rapids in their rivers of life. Unlike God, my sense of discipline is often off...and I'm not always just and fair...but HE IS...always...even when it hurts!

"For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights." Proverbs 3:12