One Thousand Gifts — February Joy Dare part 3

One Thousand Gifts in 2012

February Joy Dare–capturing these gifts and joining Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience.

“Joy is always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective. If we are going to change our lives, what we’re going to have to change is the way we see.”

February 21  —   3 gifts white

White violets arriving every spring,
White clouds turning pink after the rain,

Clean white sheets of paper waiting to receive

February 22  — 3 gifts that changed today

Solid veggies that change into juice,
Water that changed into hot coffee from Bro Bob via the Farmer,
A cool morning changed into a warm afternoon then back cool in the evening

February 23 —  a gift of tin, a gift of  glass, a gift of  wood

My tuna from a tin can,
Many glass windows so I don’t have to live in a cave,
Wood doors for privacy

February 24 —  3 gifts before 11am
A hug from the Farmer,

Devotions with my Father,
Smiles from the littlies

February 25  — a gift nearly worn out, a gift new, a gift made do

Worn out – my favorite jean skirt
New – every day is a new gift
Made do  –  a sea crate instead of a garage

February 26 –3 gifts seen as reflections

Watching a little girl make faces art herself in a mirror,
The love seen in the faces of a senior couple as they smile at a secret thought,
The distorted view of my kitchen in the crome sides of the coffee pot

February 27 — 3 ugly-beautiful gifts (see beauty in ugly)   My brain just couldn’t put this one together, I see a kind of beauty in everything.

February 28 — 3 gifts from the past that help you trust the future
The book “Streams in the Desert’ a devotional given to me June, 1983  by my sister in law  –  each day seems to fit my need.
The Bible I bought for myself, December, 1975, reading it every day

The vows I exchanged on June 16, 1967 “until death do us part” are constant in an ever-changing world.

February 29  — a gift dull, a gift shimmering, a gift cleaned

Dull – The rusty antic iron tractor from my father

Glimmering – Light shining on my knitting needle collection

Cleaned – Fresh washed sheets dried in the sun and wind

Gifts 269-294

Published in: on March 5, 2012 at 11:23 am  Leave a Comment  

One Thousand Gifts — January Joy Dare

ONE THOUSAND GIFTS in 2012

January Joy Dare–capturing these gifts and joining Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience.

“Joy is always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective. If we are going to change our lives, what we’re going to have to change is the way we see.”

January 15

one thing you wore  —  a scarf/shawl knitted for me by my daughter
one thing you gave away  —   fabric waiting to be made into a quilt, and a
daughter doing just that


one thing you share  —  my love of quilting

January 16

three ways you witnessed happiness

a little girl’s “Thank you, Grannie!”
a grandson’s telling a feat accomplished


a special young lady sharing the doll she’d made all by herself for a younger sister

January 17

one gift that made you laugh  —  a grandson’s  grin


one gift that made you pray  —  a daughter far away and near again
one gift that made you quiet  —  acknowledging God’s all encompassing control of every situation

January 18

three gifts from God’s word

The gift of Salvation
The gift of Hope
The gift of an Unchanging God

January 19

a grace in the kitchen  —   the Farmer cleaning up after juicing
a grace in the weather — warm enough to let the doors be open to blow fresh air through the house
a grace that might never have been  —  a long life being lived after the doctor’s predicted less than a week to live

January 20

three gifts you saw only when you got close up

the beautiful quilting my daughter does on my quilts
dew drops on the poinsettias


color variations in last summer’s zinnias

January 21

one thing in the sky — a full rainbow
one thing in your memory — my daddy’s smile
one thing that’s ugly-beautiful  —  the gnarly oaks many years old

January 22

one grace wrinkled  —  a picture of the Farmer and me one week before we were married
one grace smooth  —  the way my knitting needles feel in my fingers
one grace unfolded —   God’s word, it’s new every morning

Gifts 156-180

Published in: on February 2, 2012 at 11:54 pm  Leave a Comment  

The Law of Kindness

The law of kindness is that a rule, a commandment, a guideline not to be broken?

Should all my words stand before this law?

Do my words comply with this law?

Do my words measure up?

Are my words adorned with kindness?

And not just the words but how does the tone of my voice sound: cutting, sarcastic, belittling.. . ?

Kind   —  Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature.   Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable:

Kindness  acting out being kind

“In her tongue is the law of kindness – This is the most distinguishing excellence of this woman. There are very few of those who are called managing women who are not lords over their husbands, tyrants over their servants, and insolent among their neighbors. But this woman, with all her eminence and excellence, was of a meek and quiet spirit. Blessed woman!”  ~Clarke’s Commentary

Whose adorning . . .let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1Peter 3:3-4

“A meek and quiet spirit – That is, a mind that will not give provocation to others, nor receive irritation by the provocation of others. Meekness will prevent the first; quietness will guard against the last”.  ~Clarke’s Commentary

The Proverb’s 31 Woman has been lifted up as our example. At times I feel I’ll never reach those heights, but kindness, I think that is doable if I pause before I speak and ask for Christ’s words, Christ’s love , Christ’s compassion to be the motivation of my words.

This is my prayer today.
Okay, keep the shield up……… an attack/test is coming.

photo – onemoneydesign.com

Published in: on November 1, 2011 at 10:55 am  Leave a Comment  

Five Minute Friday on Sunday — Relevant

On Fridays around these parts we stop, drop, and write.

For fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication.

For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

RELEVANT

go . . .

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices. . . Hebrews 10:11

daily ministering
daily offering
the same sacrifices

of time. . . of dreams. . . of selfishness

daily being relevant
daily being real
daily being in the right now

not missing anything
because everything is relevant

Relevant to the whole
relevant to my home
relevant to my family
relevant to my tomorrow

If I am not here today; I won’t be prepared for tomorrow!

So will I sing praise (give thanks). . ., that I may daily perform my vows.   Psalms 61:8

What I do is relevant,   it is necessary,  and it is blessed.

stop.

Pictures ,scriptures and indenting for emphasis added later,

now it is time to do those dishes!

linking with:

  http://thegypsymama.com/2011/10/five-minute-friday-relevant/

Published in: on October 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm  Comments (2)  

A to Z about Me

I have read several lists of ‘100 things about me’; this is the first A to Z I’ve seen. Filling this out was fun, and I learned a little and remembered more.

A- Age:  62 and I get my first social security check the third Wednesday in October, 2011
B- Bed size:  Full, remember we live in an eight ft wide trailer
C- Chore you hate: bathrooms, enuf said
D- Dog’s name: no dog now, I was real fond of Rosie the wandering basset
E- Essential food/item: catsup
F- Favorite color: I’m drawn to all shades of yellow in nature, but seldom wear it
G- Gold or silver: not into jewelry, my favorite watch had a woven gold and silver band
H- Height: 5′4 3/4
I- I am:  thankful
J- Job: learning to live in the now
K- Kids: 5 – 3 girls and 2 boys, all adults somewith families of their own. I have 12 grandchildren, 1 son-in-law, 2 daughters-in-law
L- Living arrangements: We live very contentedly in a 8×27 ft RV as assistant caretakers of the 7 acres on which the church we attend is located.  We share the grounds with the head caretaker and 27 chickens and three stray cats who think they belong here (coz they get fed, tender hearted head caretaker).
M-Mom’s name: Frances, she is absolutely MOM #1
N- Nickname: When I was young, Mom called me Lessie, the Farmer calls me Hon, the kids call me mom, the grands call me, grannie
O- Overnight hospital stay: 5 babies, twice for a ruptured bowel (one illness), multiple times for complicated gall bladder/pancreas episode
P- Pet peeve: Having a car hurry to pull out in front of me causing me to break for it when there is a mile of empty road behind me
Q- Quote from a movie: …my very favorite quote is the scripture in the Old Testament in  Malachi 3:6  ” For I am the LORD, I change not; . . .”
R- Right or left handed: I’m a right handed
S- Siblings: I am the oldest and only girl with 4 brothers
T- Time you wake up: no sooner than I have to
U- Unique thing about your car: it always has sunflower seed shells on the floor
V- Vegetable you hate: bok coy at least in the recipe I used
W- Ways you run late: I  always think it will take less time to get somewhere than it does, so I leave later than I should
X- X-rays you’ve had: teeth, knees, abdominal, neck, back, chest,
Y- Yummy food you make: no one has turned away from my Chicken and Rice and I make a killer meatloaf, both original recipes from my Mom
Z- Zoo favorite: giraffes, and I could spend a lot of time watching farmyard fowl, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys…and I have.

Published in: on September 18, 2011 at 9:04 pm  Leave a Comment  

Five Minute Friday — Beauty

August 12, 2011

BEAUTY

We agreed to write it down – write down the only definition of beauty that matters:

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14.

Write for Five Minutes then link here:

http://thegypsymama.com/2011/08/five-minute-friday-beauty/

I’ve never thought of myself as beautiful. I never heard myself described as beautiful. I’ve heard ‘pretty’. In my twenties, I heard my mother say “I’ve always thought you had pretty legs’, but I don’t remember any words before that from her. As I have aged, I’m almost 62, next week, and overweight, I know that I don’t appear beautiful in my eyes at all.

I do know one day He said   “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ” Mat 11:28 KJV  He didn’t care about the outward woman, and He died to change the inward woman into a new woman. He gave beauty for ashes and put hope in the heart.

I know inside this house of flesh is a heart whose main desire is to encourage others to keep on trusting Jesus, to take one step at a time even though it is dark, to hold on to the Hand that is . . .

Isa 61:1  THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, (3) To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion–to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit–that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.  Amplified Bible

Scriptures were added after the ding.

I need to make something very clear. My Mother is not a mean person. She is perfect.  In the era I was raised, you didn’t tell your children they were pretty or they did a good job. You didn’t want them to get a big head or be spoiled. We were all raised the same.  I’ll never forget the day Mom called and said guess what I just heard on the radio…’It is okay to tell your children they have done a job well!’ It was if she were liberated, as if this is what she wanted to do all the time but didn’t have permission to do! She immediately started telling the grand children that they were’ good workers’,’ thank you for doing such a good job’. She told her children also, ‘your house looks really nice’, ‘I like that shirt on you.’

My Mom is beautiful!

Published in: on August 12, 2011 at 5:10 pm  Comments (3)  

Five Minute Friday — Full

July 22, 2011

On Fridays around these parts we like to write. Not for comments or traffic or anyone else’s agenda. But for pure love of the written word. For joy at the sound of syllables, sentences and paragraphs all strung together by the voice of the speaker.

We love to  just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. For five minutes flat.

http://thegypsymama.com/2011/07/five-minute-friday-full/

Go:

full

almost full… half full… stomach full… glass full

grate full… thank full…. vessel full…. heart full

sorrow full,

prayer full…, wonder full…, awe full

force full…, fancy full…, forget  full

cup full…, hope full…, care full…, arms full

so many full ways

so many ways to be full

so much fullness to be weighed

I don’t want to be weighed in the balance and be found wanting.

UN grate.full or UN thank full or UN prayer full or UN care full.

but as in  Luke 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Stop:

This one is kinda of funky, but that’s what came out. (I cheat-I have to correct spelling mistakes)

Funniest thing, I wanted a cup full picture, googled  ‘cup full picture’ —  half of the pictures were of bras with their cups full!  i guess I should have known.

Opps,  clicked on wrong picture as thumbnail, in this one I’m on the left, baby bro in middle and Mom on the right.

Published in: on July 22, 2011 at 5:57 pm  Comments (1)  

Example of a True Saint of God

Sunday morning, Sister Elina Gonzales, from Cuba, walking with an aluminum crutch was escorted by her son, Carlos, to the pulpit. As she settled herself and prepared to speak, something in my heart responded to this fragile woman. My heart cried, Lord, this is my ‘mama’ (said with a Spanish accent). Never before had I wanted to be able to speak Spanish, I wanted to be able to sit at her feet and listen to her life’s stories.

Born in October, 1930, and saved to serve God at the age of 12 years, the preciousness of the fruit of the spirit like a fragrant garden wafted out to my soul. She has been a pastor since her 20’s and for many years the elected representative for the Churches of God in Cuba.  She worked with Sister Faith Stewart, missionary to Cuba and founder of the Children’s Home in Havana, Cuba.

To say she is an inspiration is an understatement. She is the perfect example of serenity and confidence in God’s power of grace. She could say as Paul,  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4:12.  I feel very blessed to have been privileged to hear her speak.

 

Published in: on July 18, 2011 at 5:11 pm  Comments (2)  

Five Minute Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday, July 15, 2011

Writing the date I thought, this is the birthday of the so desired daughter who was once lost but now is found, Happy Birthday, I love you even more.

This exercise is Lisa’s idea, write for 5 minutes, don’t fix or pretty it up. I’ve already fixed two spelling errors, my mom just won’t let me pass them by…. http://thegypsymama.com

Today’s prompt   —   LOSS

How to start without sounding like pity me.

I am intimately aware of the domino effect of loss. Remembering our losses of the past year, a successful business, comfortable income, beautiful home, years of collections, life style, and then health–the Farmer’s aggressive prostate cancer; I find it didn’t hurt as much as before because the Lord has truly helped me to say as Job, ‘the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord’.

You see, most of the losses were physical things and I remembered the words of Christ:

Matthew 16:26  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [his blessed life in the kingdom of God]? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his [blessed] life [in the kingdom of God]?

and the words of Paul:

Philippians 3:7-8  But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ’s sake.  Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),

(copied and pasted from the Amplified version of the Bible)

and I realized again,

I still have everything I need

and whether the losses were demanded or voluntary

God will never leave me or forsake me.

Published in: on July 15, 2011 at 11:17 am  Comments (5)  

Keep Faith Fresh — Have faith in God.

Mark 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Several years ago in October our middle daughter of five children, at 18 years and 3 months old, decided to leave home. We had some issues, but  hadn’t had discussions because I didn’t know how to talk with my children. (I was raised, as most in my generation,  that  children were not explained to and or encouraged to express their opinions, we were expected to be quiet and obedient, and I was. )  She had finished high school, didn’t have a job, and her only transportation was a bike. She left to live with an old neighbor who had listened to her.

She told us she was leaving, still with little words, she didn’t expect us to listen.  I don’t know how she felt.

I felt like everything I had taught her was being rejected, all the good, all the morals, all the teachings of Christ. At this time I didn’t feel personally rejected, that would come later.  I felt betrayed by the neighbor. I felt crushed and empty. I couldn’t even stay the day she moved her things out, I couldn’t watch her go.

Day after day I cried.  I questioned. I felt so empty, such a huge gaping hole in our home, …in my heart. I tried to look for solace and comfort from my husband but he was hurting, too. I couldn’t talk to family, I felt like a failure and was so ashamed of the failing.  I went to church, I prayed but as some have said, heaven seemed like brass,

Then one night, listening to the song, Yesterday, sung by a gospel group (I don’t even know which one) the Lord spoke to me: you aren’t in control, you can’t make things stay the same or change any thing, other people will change and there is only One who will never, never change.

It was there I found comfort. It was then I could picture those huge hands that hold the world, empty of the world, but waiting for me to place my daughter  into those Hands. She looked so very small. She looked so safe.

Yesterday by George Younce
(Chorus)
Yesterday things were different, Today they’re different again
Jesus will never change, Jesus is always the same

1. The sparrow will find a new dwelling, The eagle will change its nest
But I’m holding on the changeless One, And I’m leaning on His breast

2. The river will change, change its course,
The mountains may crumble and fall
Time will leave its mark, they say Upon us one and all

Repeat Chorus

The line ‘Jesus will never, never change’ carried me and I was safe.

Malachi 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not;

About four years ago, my daughter and I started down the road of reconciliation, it has not been without its  pot holes.  I trying to learn to talk, she is trying to temper her words.

My begining scripture, Have faith in God, isn’t just a nice saying on a plaque or to be cross stitched on a pillow. It is a rock, a firm foundation, a shelter from the changes, a healing for the brokenhearted….

Linking to :    http://www.faithbarista.com/2011/07/what-you-fear-most-is-where-faith-grows/

FaithBarista_FreshJamBadgeG

Published in: on July 14, 2011 at 11:40 am  Comments (1)  

For My Good

My name is Leslie and I am a closet voyeur. I thoroughly enjoy reading others blogs.   I receive encouragement and thoughts for pondering. I find myself nodding and smiling. I am so thankful at this stage in my life I am still not raising children, ( I read a lot of mother’s blogs).

One of my favorite authors is Ann Voskamp  at A Holy Experience. to me her writing is poetry and I think if we were to meet we would become friends if I could get over being in awe of her.  I didn’t note in which post she wrote the following.    It is my springboard for my thoughts today.

“Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.
Enemies have loosed me from earth more than friends have…
Enemies have made me a hunted animal, finding safer shelter than an unhunted animal does.

I found safest sanctuary in You…may too my enemies-made-grace.
I found greatest grace in You…
may my enemies-made-grace find Your generous grace alive and radical in me.
I found fullest forgiveness in You…
may my enemies-made-grace find faith and freedom in You
and Your forgiveness working surprising ways in me.

The longer I walk with you, Lord,
I find I have no enemies: only your gift of chisels etching me deep.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.”

I am intrigued by Ann’s wording in the second paragraph ‘enemies made grace’.

Those people that seem enemies,
That situation that seems to be working so hard against me,
The illness that has lasted so long,
That word that pierced my heart,
That slight that stung,

As I accept it as from you, Lord,
As I surrender what My ideas and My ways  are about the situation,
As I commit the keeping of my body into His hands,
As I pray for the one who spoke,
As I extend kindness to the one that slighted

God covers each ‘enemy of my soul’ with grace
And it becomes what is needed for my good through God’s working.

Oh, to look beyond what I see on the surface and let God work in all things in me.

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. Matthew 5:43-45

Published in: on July 9, 2011 at 11:35 am  Leave a Comment  

Meeting with God in the Morning

On some Fridays I join a writing exercise Five Minute Friday,
on July 1 the topic was Welcome, you can read what I wrote here,
my thought was how I should view my time with the Lord each morning.

This morning the thought of God waiting for me with a package played over my mind. I pictured two chairs in a quiet spot , shady, with morning breezes, flowers and bird song, the clucking of chickens in the background and a wind chime or two.

There my Father sits with a package on his lap, waiting for me. I come with His Word in one hand and my coffee in the other. while we visit he begins to take out of the package what he has brought for me today:
Grace in a measuring cup –sufficient for the needs My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Love  tied in a blood red bow for as God has forgiven me, this day I need that love to be able to forgive others 1Peter 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Comfort   a double measure some for myself and some to share 2Corinthians  1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Compassion  like a fragrant rose for He knows just how weak I am Psalms 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Rest from troubling thoughts John 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Security like a quietness when all around is change Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Caring that feels just like a hug as He tells me don’t be afraid,”I’ll hold your right hand, today” Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

I have a very little gift, no, not even a gift,
but it is all I have; a small box
with ashes and mourning,
and a spirit of heaviness.
He takes my offering
as if it were special and in His hands
it becomes beauty and oil of joy and a garment of praise.

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

So now I am ready to walk this day with God holding my hand and his gifts in my basket. Wouldn’t you like to bring your chair and meet with us to see what God has for you?

Published in: on July 7, 2011 at 10:01 am  Comments (1)  

Cleave – to adhere firmly

I feel like these thoughts need a disclaimer: This is a declaration against the enemy of our souls that delights in discouraging, lying to, separating and destroying God’s people.

Because sometimes ” your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1Peter 5:8 ” even at Cozy Acres.

[Therefore beware] brethren, take care, lest there be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him], leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God.  Hebrews 3:12 Amplified

Cleave    to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly

We cannot be cleaving
If we hold each other at arms’ distance.
If we just gaze and then look away quickly
If holding hands feels like a handshake
If in our minds we are making a distance
If we question
If we doubt
If we hide behind our hurts
Until a thought becomes

a withdraw
a space
a wall

It’s time to gird ourselves with truth, not lies
It’s time to cast out the stones
It’s time to rebuke the destroyer
It’s time to march around the city

for how ever many times it takes
to
bring
the
walls
down.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. James 4:8

Let love be without dissimulation.
(disguising  (one’s intentions, for example) under a feigned appearance.)
Abhor that which is evil;
cleave to that which is good. Romans 12:9

(  Picture from Animal Zoo Park
http://animalszooguru.blogspot.com/2010/11/lions-roaring-pics-roaring-lion.html   )

Published in: on June 30, 2011 at 12:22 pm  Comments (2)  

The Simple Woman’s Daybook, June 28

TODAY is  June 28, 2011
Outside my window…rain, rain, rain, here in Sacramento, my husband, the Farmer, says the weeds are getting fed

I am thinking…about different books I want to read. I was  just reading ‘what’s on your bookshelf’ many ideas.

I am thankful for…the cooler weather, even if it brought the rain.

What I am learning … after attending the memorial service Saturday of my nephew,  I was shown many different aspects I didn’t know, what do people see when they look at me?

From the kitchen…the Farmer is trying out new coffee press to make a strong coffee ‘tea’ that is then diluted and refrigerated for iced coffee or heat it up in the microwave.

I am wearing…almost worn out denim skirt and flowered t-shirt, no shoes

I am creating…a dress for Miss A (daycare child) is cut out

I am going… day by day

I am reading…Alice in Wonderland, I have never read it before.

I am hoping…

I am hearing…audio book, The Banker, by Dick Francis and raindrops

Around the house…laundry to be put away

One of my favorite things…Yellow roses

A few plans for the rest of the week: two days off, no daycare, maybe I can get over to the long arm machine and finish quilts in a pile

Here is picture I am sharing…

Golden Celebration gift for 2010 wedding anniversary

Scripture…  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Psa 107:27-30

Join Simple Woman’s Daybook and  me to pause and reflect on Tuesdays

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Published in: on June 28, 2011 at 6:19 pm  Comments (2)  

Hidden in the Cleft of the Rock

Could it be that the darkest places in our lives are when God puts us in the cleft of the rock and then He passes by to do the work that needs to be done and when se come out of the cleft we see how abundantly above He answered our prayers and worked things together in a way so ‘much higher’ than our thoughts?

Yes, the cleft is a hard place, it is rock. It is dark. It is a dead end place we cannot see what is ahead. It is also a place of shelter. A place of refuge, A place of safety, A place of protection.  It is a place by God. It is a place whose foundation is a rock.  It is a place where God’s hand supports my leaning weak frame. It is the center of God’s will.

And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
(God)And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
(Moses)And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
(Moses)And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
(God)And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. Exodus 33:12-23

Close To Him
God never would send you the darkness, If He felt you could bear the light;
But you would not cling to His guiding hand If the way were always bright;
And you would not care to walk by faith  Could you always walk by sight.

So He sends you the blinding darkness,  And the furnace of sevenfold heat;
‘Tis the only way, believe me,  To keep you close to His feet;
For ’tis always so easy to wander When our lives are glad and sweet.

Then nestle your hand in your Father’s,  And sing, if you can, as you go;
Your song may cheer someone behind you  Whose courage is sinking low.

(picture – http://acts2gathering.com/sos-final/rock-cleft )

Published in: on June 18, 2011 at 7:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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