November 28, Today’s Thought – Thanksgiving

tree nove 18Our beautiful fall tree

Good Morning

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God:
it is he that hath made us,
and not we ourselves;
we are his people,
and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.

Lord, so oftentimes, as any other day, when we sit down to our meal and pray we hurry along and make fast the blessing–“Thanks, Amen, Now please pass the dressing.”
We are slaves to the olfactory overload. We must rush our prayer before the good gets cold. But Lord, I’d like to take a few minutes more to really give thanks for what I’m thankful for.

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed, my friends, my freedom, a roof over my head. I’m thankful right now to be surrounded by those whose lives touch me more than they will ever possibly know.
Thankful, Lord, that You’ve blessed me beyond measure, thankful that in my heat lives life’s greatest treasure, that You, dear Jesus, rside in that place and I’m ever so grateful for Your undending grace.
So please,heavenly Father, bless this food You’ve provided and bless each and every person invited. Amen!
~~~Scott Wesemann /blockquote>

I’m thankful. . . Todau
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

42812 001Our Home at Cozy Acres

Published in: on November 28, 2013 at 5:05 am  Leave a Comment  

November 27, Today’s thought – God’s Goodness

thanksgiving 2011 019Yellow snow! my favorite kind

Good Morning

1 Peter 2:9-10
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

A Classic Devotional from Adam Clarke

As there is no end to the merits of Christ incarnated and crucified;
no bounds to the mercy and love of God;
no hindrance to the almighty energy
and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit;
no limits to the improvability of the human condition;
so there can be no bounds to the saving influence
which God will dispense to the heart of every genuine believer.

We may ask and receive,
and your joy shall be full!
Well may we bless and praise God,
“who called us into such a state of salvation;”
a state in which we may be thus saved; and,
by the grace of that state
continue in the same to the end our lives.

Being thankful for God’s Goodness . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 27, 2013 at 9:34 am  Leave a Comment  

Ten on Tuesday – 10 Thankfuls

ToT-Button

On Tuesday’s Carole hosts ‘Ten on Tuesdays’.
She chooses a topic – we list ten items.

10 Things You Are Thankful For

Our family has a tradition of sharing our ‘Thankfuls.’
Every month we get together for birthdays and anniversaries, food, fun, and just being together.
Before the presents and birthday cake,
everyone says three things for which they are thankful.
We call them ‘Thankfuls’
Our ‘thankfuls’ are not profound, rain, candles, a pillow, that it is bedtime, my garden is growing, after a long RV trip I was thankful for TP you couldn’t see through and wouldn’t melt in your hands (maybe TP is profound).
We try to stick to one rule, you can’t repeat what someone else has said.

1. A dry warm home.
2. Autumn weather, my favorite
3. Memories of good times and hard times.
4. My Knitting/Rocking Chair
my stuff 004
5. New Slippers
6. My hands and fingers
7. Knitting needles and yarn
8. Our faithful suburban with over 200,000 miles
9. The Word of God
482012 001
10. My family

from Simple Abundance ~~Sarah Ban Breathnach

. . .These are the six threads of abundant living which, when woven together, produce a tapestry of contentment that wraps us in inner peace, well-being, happiness, and a sense of security. First there is gratitude. When we do a mental and spiritual inventory of all that we have, we realize that we are very rich indeed. Gratitude gives way to simplicity –the desire to clear out, pare down, and realize the essentials of what we need to live truly well. Simplicity brings with it order, both internally and externally. A sense of order in our life brings us harmony. Harmony provides us with the inner peace we need to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us each day, and beauty opens us to joy.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone.
Join in being thankful here

Published in: on November 26, 2013 at 12:45 pm  Comments (2)  

November 26, Today’s thouhts – Hard Things

nove 22 rain 001All picked up before the lawn is mowed.

Good Morning

Psalm 60:3
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.

I have always been glad that the Psalmist said to God
that some things were hard.
There is no mistake about it:
there are hard things in life.
Some beautiful pink flowers were given me this summer,
as as I took them I said,
“What are they?”
And the answer came, “They are rock flowers:
they grow and bloom only on rocks
where you can see no soil.”
Then I thought of God’s flowers growing in hard places;
and I feel, somehow,
that He may have a peculiar tenderness for His “rock flowers”
that He may not have for His lilies and roses.
~~Margaret Bottome.

God knows about the hard things . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 26, 2013 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

November 22, Today’s thoughts – Rain

nove 22 rain 004Rain ruts

Good Morning

I love the rain, even the blowy rain. I love to listen to it pound on the roof of our RV. I love to hear the chimes at Brother Bob’s during a rain storm.  I love to watch the clouds grown large and dark and then see them blow wispy away.  I love the earth  and plants washed clean.  And the smells of the rain, I love the smells.

petrichor (PET-ri-kuhr) noun

The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

[From petro- (rock), from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). Coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas.]

“Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain.”
Matthew Bettelheim; Nature’s Laboratory; Shasta Parent (Mt Shasta, California); Jan 2002.
— But the true lover of rain…. has a deep inner enjoyment of the rain, as rain, and his sense of its beauty drinks it in as thirstily as does the drinking earth. It refreshes and cools his heart and brain; he longs to go forth into the fields, to feel its steady stream, to scent its fragrance; to stand under some heavy-foliaged chestnut-tree, and hear the rushing music on the crowded leaves.
 ~John Richard Vernon, “The Beauty of Rain,” 1863

Matthew 5:43-45
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

I’m enjoying the clean after the rain . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 22, 2013 at 11:11 am  Leave a Comment  
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November 19, Today’s thought – Faith

nove 15 bathtimeLet the bathing begin!

Good Morning

For every child of God overcomes the world; and the victorious principle which has overcome the world is our faith. 1 John 5:4 Weymouth

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4 KJV

At every turn in the road one can find something
that will rob him of his victory and peace of mind,
if he permits it.
Satan is a long way from having retired from
the business of deluding and ruining God’s children if he can.
At every milestone it is well to look carefully
to the thermometer of one’s experience to see whether
the temperature is well up

Sometimes a person can,
if he will,
actually snatch Victor from the very jaws of defeat,
if he will resolutely put his faith up
at just the right moment.

Faith can change any situation.
No matter how dark it is,
no matter what the trouble may be,
a quick lifting of the heart to God
in a moment of real, actual faith in Him,
will alter the situation in a moment.

God is still on His throne,
and He can turn defeat into victory
in a second of time,
if we really trust Him.

“God is mighty! He is able to deliver;
Faith can victor be in every trying hour;
Fear and care and sin and sorrow be defeated
By our faith in God’s almighty, conquering power.

Have faith in God, the sun will shine,
Though dark the clouds may be today
His heart has planned your path and mine,
Have faith in God, have faith alway.”

from Steams in the Desert, Vol 1, Cowman

Hold Up the Shield of Faith. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 19, 2013 at 12:07 pm  Comments (2)  
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November 16, Today’s thought – Good Soil

dec8 clif's 005
In the backyard at my brother’s home,
a Manzanita tree growing out of a huge rock near Coarsegold, CA.
dec8 clif's 003

dec8 clif's 004
Good Morning

Colossians 3: 15-16
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to the which also ye are called in one body;
and be ye thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

A colloquial story is told of a man who found the barn
where Satan stores the seeds he sows in the human heart;
envy, greed, anger, hatred, lust, and so on.
The man noticed that Satan had more seeds of discouragement than any other kind,
and he learned that those seeds were hardy and fruitful
and could be made to grow almost anywhere.
But when Satan was questioned, he reluctantly admitted
that there was one place in which he could not get them to grow.
“Where is that?” asked the man.
Satan replied, “In the heart of a thankful man.”

When we choose a thankful attitude,
our spirits resist the cynicism, discouragement,
and pessimism that weigh life down.
We’re better able to thrive and survive
no matter what life throws at us.
And our love for God blooms.

Chose to be thankful. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 16, 2013 at 5:02 am  Comments (1)  

November 12, Today’s thought – God Knows

clean up camera 32812 004Fall clean-up time.
The Farmer uses his ‘toys’ to shred
leaves, grass clippings and garden leftovers . . .
clean up camera 32812 005to make huge piles of mulch.
This mulch gets spread over the garden area
and roto-tilled in to feed the soil.

Good Morning

1Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God knows that you can stand that trial;
He would not give it to you if you could not.
It is His trust in you that explains the trials of life,
however bitter they may be.
God knows our strength and He measures it to the last inch;
and a trial was never given any may
that was greater than that man’s strength,
through God, to bear it.
~~Streams in the Desert, Vol 1, Cowman

Job 2:10
. . . What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Trust God’s measure . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 12, 2013 at 11:29 am  Comments (4)  

November 11, Today’s thought – For Me

june30-july1.12 monterey 016The ending of a perfect day with my girls,
watching the sunset at San Fransisco.

Good Morning

Genesis 1:1, 31
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And God saw every thing that he had made,
and, behold, it was very good.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

I’m about to tell you something you may find hard to believe.
You don’t have to agree with me,
but I’d like you to consider it with me.
Here it is.
If you were the only person on earth,
the earth would look exactly the same.
The Himalayas would still have their drama
and the Caribbean its charm.
The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evenings
and spray light on the desert in the mornings.
If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe,
God would not diminish its beauty one degree.

Because He did it all for you.
And He’s waiting for you to discover His gift,
for your eyes to pop,
your heart to stop.
He’s waiting for the moment
between the dropping of the jaw and the leap of the heart.
For in that silence He whispers,
I did it just for you.

from Lucado Inspirational Reader, Max Lucado

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

I’m thankful . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 11, 2013 at 11:47 am  Leave a Comment  

November 9, Today’s thought – “I Know Him”

2009 1226 (91)aHaving lunch with my kids and their kids today.
I love my children.

Good Morning

Genesis 18:17-19
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

God wants people that He can depend upon. He could say of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children . . . that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” God can be depended upon; He wants us to be just as decided, as reliable, as stable. This is just what faith means.

God is looking for men on whom He can put the weight of His love and power and faithful promises. God’s engines are strong enough to draw any weight we attach to them.Unfortunately the cable which we fasten to the engine is often to weak to hold the weight of our prayer; therefore God is drilling us, disciplining us to stability and certainty in the life of faith.

Let us learn our lessons and stand fast. “A. B. Simpson

Genesis 18:19 is one of my favorite scriptures. I earnestly desire that God can say the same about me, ‘I know her’.
Learn . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 9, 2013 at 11:06 am  Comments (2)  

Yarn Along – Re-Knits and Gifts

yarnalong_gsheller_gray
On Wednesday’s knitters go to Ginny’s to share all the wonderful projects being worked on, finished, frogged, cried over, and learned from. They also tell what they are reading and a little of the storyline or provoking thoughts. I think it is great. So many books, knitting ideas and hints on how to make knitting more enjoyable.

My wish wasn’t as I wished!
nove 6 redo 001It wasn’t as full as I like.
My favorite yarn shop, Babetta’s Yarn and Gifts’
(be sure to visit if you are ever in the Sacramento area) guru
suggested adding a wedge panel to each front edge.
he adding has begun.

Gingko Crescent was a disappointment also,
not the pattern but my tight knitting;
which I find strange because I usually knit very loose.
nove 6 redo 002
So frogged, and began again with larger needles,
being conscious of my tension and adding beads.

Susie’s Coffee I LOVE IT!
oct 28 20131028_131647Blocking –  together now   ….ooooooooh

oct 28 20131028_131238….aaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

nove 6 suzi - hugs 001and hanging on the trellis

Birthday hug from my daughter

nove 6 suzi - hugs 004Birthday in August, but just took pictures

nove 6 suzi - hugs 005I love it!
I don’t know the name of the pattern

nove 6 suzi - hugs 006It’s full and flowing and wraps around like a hug,
That’s the best kind of shawl, I think.

I been re-listening to Dee Henderson’s the O’Mallay series while knitting.

Today I’m joining Tami’ WIP (works in progress) as Ginny at Yarn along gave birth to a baby boy this week.

tami_wip

Published in: on November 7, 2013 at 11:40 am  Comments (2)  
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November 6, Today’s thought – Yet I Will Rejoice

oct 28 021Still picking Raspberries!

Good Morning

Habakkuk 3:17-18
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk shouted God’s praises when he beheld the vines without fruit, the fields burned and bare, the stalls without herds. He rejoiced because he had faith in God. It was his audacious certitude of faith that made him the prophet of the ages.

Abraham believed God when everything witnessed to the contrary, and “under hopeless circumstances, hopefully believed.” And we are called to set our feet in the footprints of the giants of faith, and follow them as they followed their Lord.

A staunch soldier of the cross said that he loved to sit at the feet of the old heroes of faith in Hebrews the eleventh chapter, hear them relate their experiences, tell of the darkness of their night, the humanly impossible extremities and situations in which they so often found themselves. It was in those dark places that they were taught the strength of omnipotence.

Romans 4:18-22
Who (Abraham) against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Learn the strength of omnipotence . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 6, 2013 at 11:12 am  Comments (2)  
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November 5, Today’s thought – Psalm 77

oct 28 015Beautiful Fall Cornstalks

Good Morning

Psalm 77
1 I will cry to God with my voice, even to God with my voice, and He will give ear and hearken to me.

2 In the day of my trouble I seek (inquire of and desperately require) the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out [in prayer] without slacking up; I refuse to be comforted.

3 I [earnestly] remember God; I am disquieted and I groan; I muse in prayer, and my spirit faints [overwhelmed]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

4 You hold my eyes from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5 I consider the days of old, the years of bygone times [of prosperity].

6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; with my heart I meditate and my spirit searches diligently:

7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?

8 Have His mercy and loving-kindness ceased forever? Have His promises ended for all time?

9 Has God [deliberately] abandoned or forgotten His graciousness? Has He in anger shut up His compassion? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

10 And I say, This [apparent desertion of Israel by God] is my appointed lot and trial, but I will recall the years of the right hand of the Most High [in loving-kindness extended toward us], for this is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High changes.

11 I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.

12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?

14 You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.

15 You have with Your [mighty] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

16 When the waters [at the Red Sea and the Jordan] saw You, O God, they were afraid; the deep shuddered also, for [all] the waters saw You.

17 The clouds poured down water, the skies sent out a sound [of rumbling thunder]; Your arrows went forth [in forked lightning].

18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightnings illumined the world; the earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way [in delivering Your people] was through the sea, and Your paths through the great waters, yet Your footsteps were not traceable, but were obliterated.

20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. The Amplified Bible

I have so felt just like David many times during the past few months.

Striving to remember . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 5, 2013 at 5:20 am  Leave a Comment  
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November 4, Today’s thought – Remember

oct 28 010 I love the sunflowers in fall, also.

Good Morning

Psalm 77:10-13
And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?

The concept of remembering is an important biblical theme.
The command not to forget is fiven more than four hundred times. We are to remember.

The wonders of God’s creation and works of His hands:

For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Deuteronomy 4:32

That the world belongs to God:

For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. Psalm 50:10-11

The deliverance of His people from captivity:

And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.Deuteronomy 5:15

The sacrificial gift of Jesus Christ on the cross:

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11:25

Remembering keeps us from the sin of ingratitude.
It also helps us face the future with confidence.
from A Daybook of Grace

Today. . . have you remembered to remember?
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 4, 2013 at 9:56 am  Comments (2)  
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November 2, Today’s thought – Living at the Judgement Bar

Good Morning

Every Labor Day weekend, our church hosts a Fellowship Meeting.
Dear ones, family and friends, come from all over the United States to worship with us.
I am borrowing (and editing a little) what my Daughter posted on Facebook about the meeting.
This is the last service of the meeting.

September 1, 2013, Sunday PM

The pastor from Idaho spoke on ‘Living at the Judgement Bar’

The last night of the Fellowship meeting had us searching our souls. As saints we are to live at the Judgement Bar. To take up residence at the place where God will examine the thoughts, motives, and actions of our lives and live every day as if it was our last. If we are completely honest with ourselves and God, we know how we will appear at judgement day. There will be no surprises. How are you living?

I Peter 4:17-19 states that judgement must begin at the house of God and through it are the righteous saved. Only those that hear and obey the judgements of God will make it to heaven. Judgement is the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing [the way we have lived our lives].

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 1Peter 4:17-19

The truth of God’s word shines as a light in the darkness of the world. Are you walking in that light of truth? Are you heeding to the light/truth that God has exposed to you? In your personal life when no one else is around, when you are at work or school among others, when you are at the House of God? Are you walking in the light that God has shown you? Is the light of truth shining through you?

The Brother ended the message with a demonstration. Carrying a lantern he walked throughout the darkened sanctuary asking searching questions that we have all heard before. It was definitely a time of personal reflection and examination. How are we living? Do we take into consideration that today could be our last day? Have we taken up residence at the judgement bar?

Considering . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 2, 2013 at 5:31 am  Leave a Comment  
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