March 7, Todays’ thought – Translated

feb24 010We’ll be eating broccoli and cabbage.

Good Morning

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.

Generation follow generations –yet it lives.
Nations rise and fall–yet it lives.
Kings, dictators, presidents come and go–
yet it lives.
Torn, condemned, burned–yet it lives.
Hated, despised, cursed–yet it lives.
Doubted, suspected, criticized–yet it lives.
Damned by atheists–yet it lives
Exaggerated by fanatics–yet it lives.
Misconstrued and misstated–yet it lives.
Ranted and raved about–yet it lives.
Its inspiration denied–yet it lives.

Yet it lives–as a lamp unto our feet.
Yet it lives–as a light to our paths.
Yet it lives–as a standard for childhood.
Yet it lives–as a guide for youth.
Yet it lives–as an inspiration for the matured.
Yet it lives–as a comfort for the aged.
Yet it lives–as food for the hungry.
Yet it lives–as water for the thirsty.
Yet it lives–as light for the heathen.
Yet it lives–as salvation for the sinner.
Yet it lives–as grace for the Christian.

To know it is to live it.
To love it is to accept it.
To accept it means Live eternal. Unknown

A young man went home from a theological school to visit his aged grandmother. To have a bit of fun at her expense he said:
“Grandmother, you know that the Bible you say you believe was written in the Hewrew and Greek. It had to be translated by great acholars into your laguage. How do you know those who translated it got it right?”
“Ah, Jamie, lad,” she answered “never mind the great men; I have translated a few of them promises myself.”
Selected.

Standing on the promises of God . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 7, 2014 at 5:21 am  Leave a Comment  
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March 6, Today’s thought – Sparrows

feb24 016I love the way the green looks blue in this picture.

Good afternoon

Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Not long ago I saw a little bird lying still
and cold on the ground.
I thought to myself,
‘I barely missed seeing God,
for He has just been here to a funeral.’
This was the bird that the Lord used as an illustration
to impress His disciples with the precious lesson of trust.
He told them that there was not a single sparrow
which falls to the ground without being noticed
by God the Father,
and not one of them is forgotten by Him.
Since the Heavenly Father cares so much
for one these little two-ounce sparrows,
is it no wonder that we are of more value
than many sparrows?
Multiply the infinite care
of the Creator of the universe by the word “many”
and you have some idea of His care for you.
Since He feeds them and cloths them
with such warmth and attention,
will He not much more feed and clothe you? ~~~~ M. T.

You are God’s Sparrow . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 6, 2014 at 3:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Chats on the Deck

chatsonthefarmhouseporch
“Chats on the Farmhouse Porch” is a group of friends
gathering to visit,
sip their favorite beverages,
nibble delicious treats
and share their likes and dislikes.

Patrice and Wendell have invited me to join the chatting.
Patrice provides the questions,
we answer.

                   mar 1 005                        mar 1 006
My Buster doesn’t look as cozy as Opal, but this is where the Farmer found him.
Buster was sleeping on the Farmer’s childhood rocking chair
that is hanging upside-down from the freezer in the breezeway between the sheds.

Do you like avocados?

I love avocados and guacamole.
I think my favorite way to eat avocados
is on a bacon and tomato sandwich,
bread toasted, no lettuce and add a little mustard, please.

Have you ever gone on a roller coaster?

Small ones when I was a kid,
I don’t have any desire to ride a roller coaster now.

Do you do cross stitch, needlepoint, crewel work, or needle punch?
Picture 001I’ve done all but needle punch.
Counted cross stitch is by far my favorite.

Do you cook with gas or electric?

I cook with propane.
The downside of using propane is that it blackens the pan bottoms.

Tell me something good, pleasant, or uplifting. Please.
feb24 023Spring IS Coming!

Published in: on March 5, 2014 at 12:19 am  Comments (2)  

March 4, Today’s thought – God’s Presence

mar 4 004California Poppies curl up to sleep after working hard all day spreading sunshine.

Good Morning

1 Samuel 17:32-37
And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

It is a source of inspiration and strength
to come in touch with the youthful David, trusting God.
Through faith in God he conquered a lion and a bear,
and after wards to overthrew the mighty Goliath.
When that lion came to despoil that flock,
it came as a wondrous opportunity to David.
If he had failed or faltered
he would have missed God’s opportunity for him
and probably would never have come to be God’s chosen king of Israel.
“And there came a lion.”

One would not think that a lion was a special blessing from God;
one would think that only an occasion of alarm.
The lion was God’s opportunity in disguise.
Every difficulty that presents itself to us,
If we receive it in the right way, is God’s opportunity .
Every temptation that comes is God’s opportunity.

When the “lion” comes,
recognize it as God’s opportunity
no mater how rough the exterior.
The very tabernacle of God was covered
with badgers’ skins and goats’ hair;
one would not think thee would be any glory there.
The Shekinah of God,
(the glory of divine presence,)
was manifest under that kind of covering.
May God open our eyes to see Him,
whether in temptations, trials, dangers, or misfortunes. —C.H.P.

With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 4, 2014 at 11:30 am  Leave a Comment  
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March 3, Today’s thought – Pact with God

feb24 020

Our ‘snow’ comes from fallen almond blossoms.

feb24 021 We ‘allow’ the squirrel almond rights.

Good Morning

Scripture reading and a thought from Sunday Morning’s lesson.

2 Chronicles 28:1, 22-24
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father:

22 And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this is that king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

By reading the 28th chapter
I find how far Ahaz went away from God
and leading the people away from God.

Hezekiah made a choice to turn from the evil ways of his father
and follow God’s laws.

2 Chronicles 29:1-3, 10
Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.

10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

Ahaz closed the doors to the sanctuary,
closed the doors on the law,
closed the doors on all the blessings God had for His people.
Hezekiah opened those same doors,
cleansing the sanctuary,
letting the Spirit of God have His rightful place.
Hezekiah made a pact with God to serve God
and obey His commandments.

Joshua 1:5-9
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

In Joshua I read of God’s pact with me.
This pact hinges on me observing God’s commandments:
God will be faithful, no matter what.
I need to ‘have it in mine heart’ to be obedient
and submissive to His will.

Pact with God – God does everything.
All I can do is give up my filthy rags of sin
and obey prompted by my love for God.

With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

If you would like to hear this lesson click here.

Published in: on March 3, 2014 at 12:13 pm  Leave a Comment  
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March 1 – Verdant

 

LAUREL LOVE CLIPARTS

ver·dant
adj.
1. Green with vegetation; covered with green growth.
2. Green.
3. Lacking experience or sophistication; naive.

Spring
Fresh
New
Alive
Growing
Spreading
Establishing
Reassuring
After Darkness comes the dawn
The dawn shows what the darkness has produced.
mar 1 003Violet babies! Who would know they were there, verdant.

March  Prompt-A-Day

Published in: on March 1, 2014 at 12:45 pm  Comments (1)  
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March 1, Today’s thought – The Working of Sorrow

feb24 013What a bright spot on overcast days, California Poppies

Good Morning

John 12:27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty
should not be to ask that they be prevented,
but to ask that God protect me
so that I may remain what He created me to be,
in spite of all my fires of sorrow.
Our Lord received Himself,
accepting His position and realizing His purpose,
in the midst of the fire of sorrow.
He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

We say that there ought to be no sorrow,
but there is sorrow,
and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires.
If we try to evade sorrow,
refusing to deal with it,
we are foolish.
Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life,
and there is no use in saying it should not be.
Sin, sorrow, and suffering are,
and it is not for us to say
that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness,
but it does not always make that person better.
Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me.
You cannot find or receive yourself through success,
because you lose your head over pride.
And you cannot receive yourself
through the monotony of your daily life,
because you give in to complaining.
The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow.
Why it should be this way is immaterial.
The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures
and in human experience.
You can always recognize
who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself,
and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble
and find that he has plenty of time for you.
But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow,
he is apt to be contemptuous,
having no respect or time for you,
only turning you away.
If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow,
God will make you nourishment for other people.

My Utmost ofo His Highest, Oswald Chambers

Accept the refining of sorrow . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on March 1, 2014 at 12:10 pm  Leave a Comment  
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