January 8, Today’s thought – Recipe

Good Morning

Happy New Year – a week late.

First 5 days of the year I was with Grandsons while parents went to the coast.  My lap top wouldn’t hook up to internet and I refused to try to post from my Ipad.  I came home sick with whatever is going around – so today, thankfully I believe I’m going to live. It’s been a long time since I had felt that bad.  Today is just a simple recipe I found at Stitchin’ Heaven’s weekly newsletter.  Stitchin Heaven is a great quilt shop.

Recipe For A Happy New Year

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate. Cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past. Have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution.

Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

~Author Unknown~

Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

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

Ps no 2014 pictures, yet!

Published in: on January 8, 2014 at 11:51 am  Leave a Comment  
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December 31, Today’s thought – Another Year

june 16 008God has been faithful to His promises this year.

Good Morning

Isaiah 42:5-9

Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Another year has come and gone.
How will this one go down in the books for you?
Did you meet new friends?
Did you start or finish any new projects?
Did you take a class or learn something new?
Did you read any books?
Did you bless those around you?
Your family?
Your neighbors?
Did you serve at your church?
Did you share your faith?
Did you pray more or less?
Did you draw closer to God?

Years come and go.
Are we growing and making a difference
in the time God had given us?
The questions raised above are not intended to elicit guilt,
but they are the kind of questions that help us determine
how much we are making our life count.

Consider writing down a highlight of your year
before you even begin to thinking about goals for the next year.
Do this thoughtfully and prayerfully.
Ask God to convict you in areas that need to change.
Let Him affirm you in areas where He is pleased with your life.
Let this account of your your challenge and encourage you
to live your best life yet in the days ahead.
from A Daybook of Grace

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

Published in: on December 31, 2013 at 12:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Now the Day is Over

dec 27 001

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.

Now the darkness gathers,
Stars begin to peep,
Birds, and beasts and flowers
Soon will be asleep.

Jesus, give the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With Thy tenderest blessing
May mine eyelids close.

Grant to little children
Visions bright of Thee;
Guard the sailors tossing
On the deep, blue sea.

Comfort those who suffer,
Watching late in pain;
Those who plan some evil
From their sin restrain.

Through the long night watches
May Thine angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure, and fresh, and sinless
In Thy holy eyes.

Glory to the Father,
Glory to the Son,
And to Thee, blest Spirit,
While all ages run.

Sa­bine Bar­ing-Gould

To hear the music click here

Published in: on December 31, 2013 at 12:04 pm  Comments (4)  
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December 30 – Today’s thought – Scatter Blessings

dec 27 005Frosty lace edges

Good Morning

Matthew 25:40
And the King shall answer and say unto them,
Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.

One cold morning Maurice awoke from his dreams and sat up in bed and listened. He thought he heard a knock at his window; but though the moon was shining brightly, Jack Frost had been so busily at work that Maurice could not see through the thickly painted panes. So he crept sleepily out of bed, and opened the window, and whispered: “Who is there?”

“I am,” replied a tinkling voice. “I am the little New Year, ho! ho! And I’ve promised to bring a blessing to everyone. But I am such a little fellow I need somebody to help me distribute them. Won’t you please come out and help?”

“Oh, it’s so cold!” said Maurice; “I’d rather go back to my warm bed; “ and he shivered as Jack Frost, who was passing, tickled him under the chin with one of the frosty paint brushes.

“Never mind the cold,” urged the New Year; “please help me.”

So Maurice hurried into his clothes, and was soon out in the yard. There he found a rosy-cheeked boy a little smaller than himself, pulling a large cart which seemed to be loaded with good things. On one side of this cart was painted the word “Love,” and on the other “Kindness.” As soon as the New Year saw Maurice he said, “Now please take hold and help me pull;” and down the driveway and up the hill they traveled until they came to an old shanty.

“Here is where I make my first call,” said the New Year. Maurice looked wonderingly at him. “Why, nobody lives here but an old colored man who works for us; and he hasn’t any children!” “He needs my help,” said the New Year; “for grown people like to be thought of just as much as children do. You shovel out a path to his door, while I unload some of my blessings; and the little hands went busily at work, piling up warm clothing, wood, and a new year’s dinner, the New Year singing as he worked:—

“Oh, I am the little New Year; ho! ho!
Here I come tripping it over the snow,
Shaking my bells with a merry din;
So open your door and let me in.”

Old Joe, hearing some noise outside, came to the door, and when he saw all the nice gifts the tears ran down his cheeks for gladness; and as he carried them into the house, he whispered: “The dear Lord has been here to-night.”

“Where am we going now?” asked Maurice, as they ran down the hill. “To take some flowers to a poor sick girl,” answered the New Year.

Soon they came to a small white house, where the New Year stopped. “Why, Bessie, our sewing girl lives, here,” said Maurice. “I didn’t know she was sick.” “See,” said the New Year, “this window is open a little; let us throw this bunch of pinks into the room. They will please her when she wakes, and will make her happy for several days.”

Then they hurried to other places, leaving some blessing behind them.

“What a wonderful cart you have,” said Maurice; “though you have taken so much out, it never seems to get empty.” “You are right, Maurice, there is never any end to love and kindness. As long as I find people to love and be kind to, my cart is full of blessings for them; and it will never grow empty until I can no longer find people to help. If you will go with me every day and help me scatter my blessings, you will see how happy you will be all the long year.”

“A happy New Year!” called someone; and Maurice found himself in bed, and his sister standing in the doorway smiling at him. “Have you had a pleasant dream, dear?” she asked.

“Why, where is the little New Year?” said Maurice; “he was just here with me.”

“Come into Mamma’s room and see what he has brought you,” answered his sister. There in a snowy white cradle he found a tiny baby brother, the gift of the New Year. How happy Maurice was then! But he did not forget his dream. Old Joe and Bessie had their gifts, too, and Maurice tried so hard to be helpful that he made all his friends glad because the happy New Year had come.
~~~Ellen Robena Field

Resolutions ? for the New Year
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on December 30, 2013 at 4:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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January 1, ‘the eyes of the Lord are upon it’

Good Morning

From Streams in the desert, vol 1, this is my very favorite New Year’s devotion. I receive such hope and comfort from knowing ‘thy God careth’ and ‘the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it’.

Deuteronomy 11:11-14  But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:    A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.  And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,   That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Today, dear friends, we stand upon the verge of the unknown. there lies before us the new year and we are going forth to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? But here is the cheering, comforting, gladdening message from our Heavenly Father.
“The Lord thy God careth for it.”
“His eyes are upon it away to the ending of the year.”

All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here, anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the Heavenly Father. If He be the Source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch that river, “the streams whereof make glad the city of God.”
The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all down hill. If life were all one dead level the dull sameness would oppress us; we want the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is with us! It is the hill difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessing; the hills, the bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down the shower. How many have perished in the wilderness, buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thriven in the hill-country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted wit winds, swept desolate of tree and fruit but for the hill–stern, hard, rugged, so steep to climb. God’s hills are a precious protection for His people against their foes!

We cannot tell what loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. It shall be a good, a blessed new year!

He leads us on by paths we did not know;
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;
Yet when the clouds are one,
We know He leads us on.

 He leads us on through all the unquiet years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,
He guides our steps, though all the tangled maze
of losses, sorrows, and o’eclouded days;
We know His will is done:
And still He leads us on. N. L. Zinzendorf.

Trust God for your day . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 1, 2013 at 1:04 pm  Leave a Comment  

Five Minute Friday — Awake

Each week has a Friday, many weeks I join Gypsy Mama and Five Minute Friday ‘for fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication’.

This week’s writing prompt is AWAKE!

AWAKE!

UP, UP it’s a new year!

the old year is asleep

the year is over and done.

Up, up it’s a new year!

New lists

new visions

new resolution

not resolutions but resolution

a firm decision to begin anew

Not wallowing in regrets, self recriminations, accusations

But bowing, humbly, dying, praying

Getting courage, strength, hope

Reading:

Daniel 10:12,  Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. . . .  And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

Believing ‘a certain man’ is just the same today.

UP, UP it’s a new year!

 

 

Published in: on January 13, 2012 at 5:45 pm  Comments (1)