Another is Hindered

tree

I love the bare branches of trees.

Let us not therefore judge one another any more:
but judge this rather,
that no man put a stumbling-block,
or an occasion to fall,
in his brother’s way.
Romans 14:13.

A vexation arises,
and our expressions of impatience
hinder others from taking it patiently.
Disappointment,
ailment,
or even weather depresses us;
and our look or tone of depression
hinders others from maintaining
a cheerful and thankful spirit.
We say an unkind thing,
and another is hindered in learning
the holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil.
We say a provoking thing,
and our sister or brother is hindered
in that day’s effort to be meek.
How sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act!
For wrong feeling is more infectious than wrong doing;
especially the various phases of ill temper,
–gloominess,
touchiness,
discontent,
irritability,
–do we not know how catching these are?
F. R. HAVERGAL.

Them that were entering in,
ye hindered.
Luke 11:52.

Published in: on February 25, 2017 at 4:03 am  Leave a Comment  
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Whatsoever Thy Hand Findeth To Do . . .

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My meat is to do the will of Him
that sent me and to finish His work.
John 4:34.

Don’t object that your duties are so insignificant;
they are to be reckoned of infinite significance,
and alone important to you.
Were it but the more perfect regulation of your apartments,
the sorting-away of your clothes and trinkets,
the arranging of your papers, —
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, _do it_ with all thy might,”
and all thy worth and constancy.
Much more, if your duties are of evidently higher, wider scope;
if you have brothers, sisters, a father, a mother,
weigh earnestly what claim does lie upon you, on behalf of each,
and consider it as the one thing needful,
to pay _them_ more and more honestly and nobly what you owe.
What matter how miserable one is, if one can do that?
That is the sure and steady disconnection and
extinction of whatsoever miseries one has in this world.
T. CARLYLE.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Colossians 3:17

Published in: on February 23, 2017 at 12:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Seek the Best

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The Stone beside me marked the resting place
of somebody’s BELOVED WIFE
who died in 1805 OF A FEVER.
Beneath her name was a line of script,
almost indistinguishable.
I looked close,
wondering which biblical phrase
her grieving children might have chosen.
But it was not a quotaton;
but a statement:
EVER SHE SOUGHT THE BEST, EVER FOUND IT.

Eight words,
I stood there with my fingers on the cool stone,
feeling the present fade
and the past stir behind the illusion we call time.
A century ago
this woman had been living through a hideous war.
Perhaps it took her husband from her,
perhaps her sons.
When it ended
her country was beaten, broken, improverished.
Yet someone who knew her had written
that she always looked for the best,
and always found it.

There was courage in those words,
and dignity, and purpose.
And a kind of triumph, too,
as if they contained a secret of inestimatable value.
What you look for in life,
they seem to be saying,
you will surely find.
But the direction in which you look is up to you.
Arthur Gordon

But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33

Published in: on February 22, 2017 at 4:29 am  Leave a Comment  
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Windows of the Soul

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God stretched out the heavens,
stippling the night with inpressionistic stars.
He set the sun tothe rhythm of the day,
the moon to the rhythm of the month,
the seasons to the rhythm of the year . . .
He formed a likeness of Himself from a lump of clay
and into it breathed life.
He crafted a counterpart to complete the likeness,
joining the two halves and
placing them center stage in His creation
where there was a temption and a fall,
a great loss and a great hiding.
God searched for the hiding couple,
reaching to pick them up,
dust them off,
draw them near . . .

We reach for God in many ways.
Through our sculptures and our scriptures.
Through our pictures and our prayers.
Through our writing and our worship.
And through them He reaches for us . . .

His search begins with something said.
Ours begins with something heard.
His begins with something shown.
Ours, with something seen.
Our search for God and His search for us meet
at windows in our everyday experience.

But we must learn to look
with more than just our eyes
and listen with more than just our ears,
for the sounds are sometimes faint
and the sights sometimes far away.
Ken Gire

Then shall ye call upon me,
and ye shall go and pray unto me,
and I will hearken unto you.
And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:
Jeremiah 29:12-14a

Published in: on February 20, 2017 at 11:27 am  Leave a Comment  
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We Have Need of Patience

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My brethren, count it all joy
when ye fall into divers temptations [or “trials”],
knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.–
James 1:2-3.

We have need of patience
with ourselves and with others;
with those below,
and those above us,
and with our own equals
with those who love us and
those who love us not
for the greatest things
and for the least;
against sudden inroads of trouble,
under our daily burdens;
disappointments as to the weather,
or the breaking of the heart;
in the weariness of the body,
or the wearing of the soul;
in our own failure of duty,
or others’ failure toward us;
every-day wants,
or in the aching of sickness
or the decay of age;
in disappointment,
bereavement,
losses,
injuries,
reproaches;
in heaviness of the heart;
or its sickness amid delayed hopes.
In all these things,
from childhood’s little troubles
to the martyr’s sufferings,
patience is the grace of God,
whereby we endure evil for the love of God.
E. B. Pusey

Published in: on February 19, 2017 at 6:30 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Casting All

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Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your care
Your anxiety,
your distracting care,
on him,
for he careth for you,
for he meddles or concerns himself,
with the things that interest you.
Whatever things concern a follower of God,
whether they be spiritual or temporal,
or whether in themselves great or small,
God concerns himself with them;
affects them affects him;
in all their afflictions he is afflicted.
He who knows that God cares for him,
need have no anxious cares about himself.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
and he will sustain thee.
Psalm 55:22

He will bear both thee and thy burden
Clarke’s Commentary

Casting the whole of your care,
all your anxieties,
all your worries,
all your concerns,
once and for all on Him,
for He cares for you affectionately
and cares about you watchfully.
1 Peter 5:7
Amplified Bible

Published in: on February 11, 2017 at 1:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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As For God

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He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.–Psalm 23: 2- 3.

Out of obedience and devotion arises an habitual faith,
which makes Him,
though unseen,
a part of all our life.
He will guide us in a sure path,
though it be a rough one:
though shadows hang upon it,
yet He will be with us.
He will bring us home at last.
Through much trial it may be,
and weariness,
in much fear and fainting of heart,
in much sadness and loneliness,
in griefs that the world never knows,
and under burdens that the nearest never suspect.
Yet He will suffice for all.
By His eye or by His voice He will guide us,
if we be docile and gentle;
by His staff and by His rod,
if we wander or are wilful:
any how,
and by all means,
He will bring us to His rest.
H. E. MANNING.

Psalm 18:30-32
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. 31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? 32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

Published in: on February 8, 2017 at 11:49 am  Leave a Comment  
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Be Still

be
I do not believe that we have begun to understand
the marvelous power there is in stillness.
We are in such a hurry–we must be doing–
so that we are in danger of not giving God a chance to work.
You may depend upon it,
God never says to us,
“Stand still,” or
“Sit still,” or
“Be still,”
unless He is going to do something.
This is our trouble in regard to our Christian life;
we want to do something to be Christians
when we need to let Him work in us.

Do you know how still you have to be
when your likeness is being taken?
Now God has one eternal purpose concerning us,
and that is that we should be like His Son;
and in order that this may be so, we must be passive.
We hear so much about activity,
may be we need to know what it is to be quiet.
–Crumbs

Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.
Psalm 46:10 Amplified

Published in: on February 6, 2017 at 4:55 am  Comments (1)  
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Sunday Bible Reading

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Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high,
because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me,
and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation.

Psalm 91:14-16

Published in: on February 5, 2017 at 4:42 am  Leave a Comment  
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Ripley Treasures

Years ago Grandma Hattie Ripley gave me two old quilts she had made. Just utility quilts one fabric front and back with two opposing ends covered to protect the quilt from face oils and drool. I loved these quilts, not that they were beautiful, though I thought so, but because Grandma made them and they smelled like Grandma’s house.

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 Hattie and Fred Ripley, my mother’s parents.

Yesterday while in our sea-crate, filling the cat box with liter, I noticed the floor seemed damp. Looking around to see if I could find the reason for the damp, I saw a 3 foot long fabric bag on the floor, wet and dirty. My heart sank when I opened the bag and saw Grandma’s quilts.

I took them to Aaron’s, dog/cat sitting this weekend.

Whispering a prayer, I washed and dried them one at a time.

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This pink and grey flannel quilt came out in pretty good condition. It has always needed hand stitching repair to the ends. the backing is a heavy cream cotton.

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This pink plaid with green end protectors (all flannel type fabrics) has always been my favorite, even though I had never seen it. The green/pink rose cotton floral, in the below picture, was used as a duvet cover. While putting the quilt in the dryer, it was just a wadded mess. So I pulled the cover off and shoved quilt and cover in the dryer. I love the way it cleaned up. I won’t put the cover back on. I’ll repair the ends coming loose.

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I love it just like it is, clean and fresh, memories still intact.

20170204_ripley-quilt-stinger

And it is Stinger approved.

Published in: on February 4, 2017 at 8:28 pm  Comments (1)  
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The Gospel, The Rod of thy Strength

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The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psalm 110:2

The rod of thy strength – The Gospel –
the doctrine of Christ crucified;
which is the powerful scepter of the Lord that bought us,
is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword;
and is the power of God to salvation to all them that believe.
The kingdom of our Lord was to be founded in Zion,
and thence, by gradual conquests,
to be extended over the whole earth.
It was in Zion the preaching of the Gospel first began;
and it is by the Gospel that Christ rules,
even in the midst of his enemies;
for the Gospel extends a moralizing influence over multitudes who do not receive it to their salvation.
Clarke’s Commentary

Christ is the Word, the Gospel,
the same yesterday, today and forever.

The power of the Gospel,
who can describe the power of the Gospel.

The Gospel brings comfort, Psalm 23:4,
. . . thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The Gospel brings peace, Romams 10:15
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

The Gospel brings help, Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The Gospel brings salvation, Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The Gospel brings everlasting life, 2Timothy 1:10
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

These scriptures show the power of the Gospel to those who believe.

I was stirred by Clarke’s statement, ‘for the Gospel extends a moralizing influence over multitudes who do not receive it to their salvation’. We surely have seen the effect of removing the Gospel from our schools and our government.
JUST the reading of the Gospel to children,
JUST being thankful for all things,
JUST knowing the Gospel is sitting on the shelf,
JUST honoring our God has a power we do not comprehend.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the LORD require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:8

Published in: on February 4, 2017 at 1:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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