Happy Birthday Momma

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

Today my Momma is celebrating her 87th Birthday with our Heavenly Father and I know that they are having a grand party with the rest of the family. 

Happy Birthday Momma! 

I love you and I miss you every day.

Fishers of Men

"Come, follow Me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  Matthew 4:19

When God calls us to do something so many times we say I'm not ready, I don't like to do things like that or I don't know how to do that.  We forget that He is calling us.  He knows what we can do when we rely on Him and not ourselves.  He will equip us to succeed when we do it for the right reasons.  He will teach us how to have a true servants heart and to follow Him on His terms and not ours.

Footsteps of Jesus

by Mary B. C. Slade

Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!
And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.

Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where'er they go.

Though they lead o'er the cold, dark mountains,
Seeking His sheep;
Or along by Siloam's fountains,
Helping the weak.

Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where'er they go.

If they lead through the temple holy,
Preaching the Word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly,
Serving the Lord.

Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where'er they go.

Though, dear Lord, in Thy pathway keeping,
We follow Thee;
Through the gloom of that place of weeping,
Gethsemane!

The Rainbow

Photo by Tami Wilson

 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth...  The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.  Genesis 9:13, 16

Have you ever felt like you could not take one more step, that enough is enough, that no matter what you did that nothing was ever going to be the same?  I have and if you are totally honest with yourself you will find that you have to.  I was in that place several years ago and honestly did not know what to do.  But God did!  I was driving up I-5, in snow and rain, listening to praise music, praying and crying, wondering how I was going to put my life back together.  I looked out my passenger window and saw a beautiful rainbow.  I drove a little further and low and behold there was another rainbow and I thought how beautiful, a double rainbow.  As I turned my attention back to my driving I saw that God had actually placed the end of the rainbow right in front of me and I was going to drive through it.  As I drove through the rainbow my car was filled with all these brilliant colors and I felt God speaking to me.  He said, "I have this and I will take care of it, everything will be okay just put your faith and trust in me."  I had such a peace come over me and I knew in my heart that everything was going to be okay.  Has my life been all hunky dory since then?  Absolutely not but I know with God at the wheel of my life everything will be okay.

GOD PUT A RAINBOW IN THE CLOUD
 By Reverend Andrew Jenkins and Irene Spain
 
 When God shut Noah in the grand old ark
 He put a rainbow in the cloud
 When thunders rolled and the sky was dark
 God put a rainbow in the cloud.
 
      God put a rainbow in the cloud
      God put a rainbow in the cloud
      When it looked like the sun wouldn't shine anymore
      God put a rainbow in the cloud.
 
 Away down yonder in Egypt's sand
 God put a rainbow in the cloud
 Just to lead His children to the promised land
 God put a rainbow in the cloud.
 
 When they put old Daniel in the lion's den,
 God put a rainbow in the cloud
 Just to prove His promise to the sons of men
 God put a rainbow in the cloud.
 
 As a sign by day and a sign by night
 God put a rainbow in the cloud
 Just to guide His people and keep them right
 God put a rainbow in the cloud.
 
 Oh, Jordan deep and Jordan wide
 God put a rainbow in the cloud
 To lead his people to the other side
 God put a rainbow in the cloud.

Seeking Wisdom

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that is was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.  Genesis 3:6

How often have we done the same thing?  Oh it might not be fruit from a tree that we are eating but it is the same.  We are out and about with the girls and we see a dress, or a pair of shoes,  or a necklace and we make the comment I really like that but I can't afford it right now.  Then three little words of encouragement come, try it on, we resist because we know that if we do and we like the way it looks or the way it makes us feel that we will be tempted to reason things out.  Then there are those words of encouragement again, girl that looks good on you, and we give in to our desires. 

We have all made bad choices in life, I know that I have.  We make those bad choices when we forget the most important thing when temptation comes our way.  We forget to pray seeking God's wisdom for our lives, for the choices we make.  We are tempted every day in our daily lives as we strive to keep up with the others and envy the things they have.  Temptation will always be there but we have God on our side and He will give us the strength to resist.

Seek Ye First

by Karen Lafferty

Seek Ye first the kingdom of God,
And His righteousness,
And all these things, shall be added onto you,
Alleu, Alleuia

Man shall not live by bread alone,
But by every word
That proceeds from the mouth of God
Alleu, Alleuia

Ask and it shall be given unto you,
Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and the door shall be opened onto you.
Alleu, Alleuia

Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things, shall be added onto you.
Alleu, Alleuia

In The Garden

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27

In my imagination I can see this beautiful garden that God created with every type of tree, flower and plant.  I can see all the spectacular colors of the rainbow.  Is it wonder that God would choose the rainbow as His sign of His covenant with man?  What a beautiful place to call home and can you imagine the beautiful fragrance, the aromas of all the plants and flowers.  Now can you imagine how Adam and Eve felt when because of their actions they were thrown out of this beautiful place?

Many years later there is another garden, a spiritual garden of prayer, and Christ is on His knees in prayer to His Father as He prepares to lay down His life for you and for me.

I pray that I won't ever be afraid to step into the Garden of Prayer and to turn my troubles over to Christ.  I pray that I will linger there and listen as Christ speaks to my heart and soul.

The Beautiful Garden of Prayer

Eleanor A. Schroll, 1920

There's a garden where Jesus is waiting,
There’s a place that is wondrously fair,
For it glows with the light of His presence.
’Tis the beautiful garden of prayer.

Oh, the beautiful garden, the garden of prayer!
Oh, the beautiful garden of prayer!
There my Savior awaits, and He opens the gates
To the beautiful garden of prayer.

There’s a garden where Jesus is waiting,
And I go with my burden and care,
Just to learn from His lips words of comfort
In the beautiful garden of prayer.

There’s a garden where Jesus is waiting,
And He bids you to come, meet Him there;
Just to bow and receive a new blessing
In the beautiful garden of prayer.

How We Spent New Year's Day

My sweetie and I decided to get out of the house today, he has been cooped up for the past couple of days with a bad cold.  So we put Ozzie in his harness and headed out for a drive to parts unknown.  We decided that wherever the road took us that was okay since we had the GPS to find our way back home.  The first road we took was a circle, unknown to us, that took us into downtown Ridgefield.  From there we headed to Abrams Park where I took a couple of pictures and we let Ozzie run for a while.

 

Afterward we headed out again for parts unknown and ended up in Battle Ground several different times as all the roads I took circled back into town.  After several hours of driving and taking in some beautiful scenery we decided it was time to head home and relax for a while before dinner.  It has been a very special day with my and I can't think of a better way to have spent it.  Love you GD!!!

Happy New Year

 So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Today is the first day of a brand new year.  We each have the same clean slate, a second chance, and like you I am wondering what I will put on it and what will I do to mess it up.  I don't know about you but I am choosing to keep God at the center, taking one day at time, this new year and relying on His strength to get me through each day.  I want to leave the right footprints, I want to be an example to others and that the light of Christ will shine through me.

Another Year Is Dawning

by Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be,

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee;

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above;

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.