February 11, Today’s thought – Rest in God

feb11You’ve heard the saying, “While the cat’s away the mice will play”, well, guess what,
burr clover decided to grow while the Farmer was away.

Good Morning

Psalm 33:18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Few people know how to rest these days.
Even on vacation,
many people rush to cram in as much as they can
before returning to there jobs,
where they spend twice as much energy
catching up on the work and mail
that has piled up in their absence.
Many of us need vacations just to res from our vacations!
perhaps we have been looking for rest in the wrong places.

Jesus said,
“Come unto me and I Will give you rest.”
Like peace,
rest can be found only in one place,
from one source,
and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. . .

Despite the headlines in the newspapers
and some of the scenes we see on television,
we know that all is going according to
God’s plan and foreknowledge.

Jesus gives us the ultimate rest,
the confidence we need to escape
the frustration and chaos of the world around us.
Pest in HIm
and do not worry about what lies ahead.
Jesus Christ has already taken care of tomorrow.
from Quiet Places of the Heart in Winter

Psalm 33:18 Behold, the Lord’s eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness,AMP

Sweet rest . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on February 11, 2014 at 12:23 pm  Leave a Comment  
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February 10, Today’s thought – Contending With Horses

May 24-27 - phoenix 007Last week our trailer was parked on the grassy spot.
From this view you would not be able to see the water pump.
It is a very peaceful place, even with the roosters.

Good Morning

Contending With Horses

“How shall you contend with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5)

Jeremiah, a young man facing opposition
and growing increasingly impatient,
complained to the Lord about the injustice in life —
the wicked prosper, and the righteous suffer,
and God seems to sit back in silence.
“Lord, I have a problem here – why do the wicked prosper,
and the faithless always succeed?”

Have you ever wanted to say something to God along those lines?
Before you do, you should hear
how He answered young Jeremiah’s complaint.

“Jeremiah,” the Lord said,
“if you get tired in a race against people,
how can you possibly run against horses?
And if you complain in fields of ease, w
hat will happen when your encounter
the high tides of the turbulent Jordan?”

There God goes again, speaking in riddles.
What on earth does this mean?
He is telling Jeremiah that tough times are ahead,
and these present difficulties are only
preparing him for the steeper climb.
And the question God puts to him is the same
we must answer in our ever darkening world.

And even though the wicked may seem to have it made now;
in that day when their world comes crashing down around them,
will you have what it takes to stand?

If we cannot handle the inconvenience of the smaller thing,
then how shall we meet the challenge of the greater thing?
If we stumble over that which is now before us,
how shall we advance to that which is yet beyond us?

To be sure, the Lord wants us to make measured moves
to greater levels of opportunity and responsibility,
but the climb is beset with necessary challenges
that can only be mounted by an unflinching faith.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. said,
“Faith is the highest passion in a human being.
Many in every generation may not come that far,
but none comes further.”

None but those who contend with horses.  Rylie

Jeremiah 12:1-5
Uncompromisingly righteous and rigidly just are You, O Lord, when I complain against and contend with You. Yet let me plead and reason the case with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all they at ease and thriving who deal very treacherously and deceitfully?
You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bring forth fruit. You are near in their mouths but far from their hearts.
But You, O Lord, know and understand me and my devotion to You; You see me and try my heart toward You. [O Lord] pull [these rebellious ones] out like sheep for the slaughter and devote and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
How long must the land mourn and the grass and herbs of the whole country wither? Through the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought], because men [mocked] me, saying, He shall not [live to] see our final end.
[But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah’s impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take to flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan? Amplified Bible

I’m thankful for God’s plan . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on February 10, 2014 at 12:29 pm  Leave a Comment  
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February 8, Today’s thought – Moved?

jan 30 phoenix 001This mini Phalaenopsis orchid blossoms opened while we were in Arizona. It was my little of bit of green traveling with us. I think I learned about having a plant while traveling from my mom.

Good Morning

Psalm 46:1 -5
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear,
though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains
be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Selah.
There is a river,
the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
God is in the midst of her;
she shall not be moved:
God shall help her,
and that right early.

“Shall not be moved” what an inspiring declaration.
Can it be possible that we,
who are so easily moved by the things of earth,
can arrive at a place where nothing
can upset us or disturb our calm?
Yes it is possible; and the Apostle Paul knew it.
When he was on his way to Jerusalem
where he foresaw the “bonds and afflictions” awaited him,
he could say triumphantly,
“But none of these thinks move me.” Acts 20:24
Everything in Paul’s life and experience
that could be shaken had been shaken,
and he no longer counted his life,
or any of life’s possessions, dear to him.
And we , if we will but let God have His way with us,
may come to the same place,
so that neither the fret and tear of little things of life,
nor the great and heavy trials,
can have power to move us from the peace
that passeth understanding, (Philippians 4:7)
which is declared to be the portion of those
who have learned to rest only in God.

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar
in the temple of my God; and he shall go not more out.” Rvelation 3:12

To be as immovable as a pillar in the house of our God,
is an end for which one would gladly endure all the shakings
that may be necessary to bring us there –Hannah Whitall Smith

Desiring to arrive . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on February 8, 2014 at 11:28 am  Leave a Comment  
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February 6, Today’s thought – Not refusals

jan 30 phoenix 006Two of our neighbors on Jackrabbit Trail Road

Good Morning

Genesis 8:8-9
Also he sent forth a dove from him,
to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot,
and she returned unto him into the ark,
for the waters were on the face of the whole earth:
then he put forth his hand, and took her,
and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

God knows just when to withhold from us
any visible sign of encouragement,
and when to grant us such a sign.
How good it is that we may trust Him anyway!
When all visible evidence that He is remembering us are withhold,
that is best;
He wants us to realize that His Word,
His promise of remembrance is more substantial
and dependable than any evidence of our senses.
When He sends the visible evidence,
that is well also;
we appreciate it all the more after we have trusted Him without it.
Those who are readiest to trust God
without other evidence than His Word
always receive
the greatest number of visible evidences of His love.
~~~C. G. Trumbull

Delays are not refusals;
Many a prayer is registered, and underneath it the words:
“My time is not yet come.”
God has a set time as well as a set purpose,
and He who orders the bounds of our habitation
orders also the time of our deliverance. – Selected.

Appreciate God’s timing . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on February 6, 2014 at 9:43 am  Leave a Comment  

February 4, Today’s thought – Sheltered

jan 30 phoenix 001Phoenix at sunset, Feb,2014

Good Morning

“Tell me … where thou feedest,
where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.”
– Song of Solomon 1:7

These words express the desire of the believer after Christ,
and his longing for present communion with him.
Where doest thou feed thy flock?
In thy house? I will go, if I may find thee there.
In private prayer? Then I will pray without ceasing.
In the Word? Then I will read it diligently.
In thine ordinances? Then I will walk in them with all my heart.
Tell me where thou feedest,
for wherever thou standest as the Shepherd,
there will I lie down as a sheep;
for none but thyself can supply my need.
I cannot be satisfied to be apart from thee.
My soul hungers and thirsts for the refreshment of thy presence.
“Where dost thou make thy flock to rest at noon?”
for whether at dawn or at noon,
my only rest must be where thou art and thy beloved flock.
My soul’s rest must be a grace-given rest,
and can only be found in thee.
Where is the shadow of that rock?
should I not repose beneath it?
“Why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”
Thou hast companions-why should I not be one?
Satan tells me I am unworthy;
but I always was unworthy,
and yet thou hast long loved me;
and therefore my unworthiness
cannot be a bar to my having fellowship with thee now.
It is true I am weak in faith,
and prone to fall,
but my very feebleness is the reason
why I should always be where thou feedest thy flock,
that I may be strengthened,
and preserved in safety beside the still waters.
Why should I turn aside?
There is no reason why I should,
there are a thousand reasons why I should not,
for Jesus beckons me to come.
If he withdrew himself a little,
it is but to make me prize his presence more.
Now that I am grieved and distressed at being away from him,
he will lead me
yet again to that sheltered nook where the lambs of his fold
are sheltered from the burning sun. Spurgeon

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

Published in: on February 4, 2014 at 10:04 am  Comments (2)  
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January 31, Today’s thought – Shake Well Before Using

Good Morning

1Thessalonians 2:4
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel,
even so we speak;
not as pleasing men,
but God, which trieth our hearts.

Someone once said,
“God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called.”
And the process of qualification can be quite exasperating,
for it essentially involves the full execution of selfish desires,
impure motives, hidden agendas, deceitful practices, vain ambitions,
and, uh — let’s see — oh yeah, greed, lust, and anger.
And a whole bunch of other things, too.
Did I mention whining?
Most people want God to use them in some way or another,
but not many appreciate that His motto for every minister is,
“shake well before using.”
Now you may be thinking, “Thank God I’m not a minister!”
But hold on there, junior.
The fact of the matter is undeniably certain —
every man is a minister.
Indeed, each and every member
of the mysterious “Body of Christ” is called into ministry
one way, or the other.
Paul spells it out in his Ephesian epistle:
“for the equipping of the saints,” he says,
“for works of ministry”(ch.4:12).
This means you. So while you may not be a preacher or a priest,
you nevertheless are a minister;
a life-agent in a dying world;
a royal ambassador for Christ.
Think of it this way.
Every member is a minister;
every minister has a ministry;
every ministry has a mission;
and every mission matters!
In other words, God has a specific purpose for you,
and it makes a difference whether or not you respond.
It not only matters to you;
but it matters to all the rest of us as well.
This is why the Lord spares no expense in working us over,
and wearing us out with a shake-shake here,
and a shake-shake there.
He wants each one of us to be thoroughly qualified,
so that every one of us can be fully trusted with the Message —
everywhere we go, each and everyday.
Then it will be said of us,
even as it was said of those first believers —
“And the disciples went everywhere preaching,
the Master working right with them,
validating the Message with indisputable evidence.”
(Mark 16:20, The Message) Rylie

Mark 16:20
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.KJV

Feeling all shook up. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

I have a few pictures from here in Az, but I forgot to load them on my computer. Next time. 🙂

Published in: on January 31, 2014 at 5:02 am  Comments (1)  

January 29 – Today’s thought – Comforting Staffs

Good Morning

Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

At my father’s house in the country
there is a little closet in the chimney corner
where are kept the canes and walking-sticks
of several generations of our family.
In my visits to the old house,
when my father and I are going out for a walk,
we often to go to the cane closet,
and pick out our sticks
to suit the fancy of the occasion.
In this I have frequently been reminded
that the Word of God is a staff.

During the war, when the season of discouragement
and impending danger was upon us, the verse,
“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings;
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord,” Psalm 112:7
was a staff to walk with many dark days.

When death took away our child
and left us almost heart-broken.
I found another staff in the promise that
“weeping may endure for the night,
but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

When in impaired health, I was exiled for a year,
not knowing whether I should be permitted
to return to my home and work again,
I took with me this staff which never failed,
“He knoweth the thoughts that he thinketh toward me,
thought s of peace and not of evil.” Jeremiah 29:11

In times of special danger or doubt,
when human judgement has seemed to be set at naught,
I have found it easy to go forward with this staff,
“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

And in emergencies,
when there has seemed to be no adequate time
for deliberation or for action,
I have never hound this staff has failed me.
“He that believeth shall not make haste.” Isaiah 28:16
~~Benjamin Vaughn Abott, in The Outlook.

“I had never known,” said Martin Luther’s wife, “what such and such things meant, in such and such
psalms, such and such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian duties , had not God brought me under some affliction.”

Leaning on the staff . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 29, 2014 at 4:56 am  Leave a Comment  

January 25, Today’s thought – Pray

Good Morning

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The people who are so greatly needed
in this age of the church are those
who have learned the business of praying—
learned it on their knees,
learned it in the need and agony of their own hearts.
Praying people are the one commanding need of this day,
as of all other days,
if God is to intervene in the world.
In doing God’s work there is no substitute for praying.
People of prayer cannot be replaced
with other kinds of people.
People of financial skill,
people of education,
people of worldly influence –-
none of these can possibly substitute
for people of prayer.
The people to whom Jesus Christ
committed the fortunes and destiny of His church
were people of prayer.
To no other kind of people
has God ever committed Himself. ~~~M. Bounds

Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 25, 2014 at 5:13 am  Leave a Comment  

January 23 – Today’s thought – Too busy?

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

We live in a fast-paced, busy,
media-saturated, noisy world.
Is it any wonder
that we really do need a quiet time every day?
A time for prayer and God’s Word?
Because it is too easy
to let the noise and activity of modern life
cloud and obscure the reality
that God is present and in our midst.
How different our lives would be
if we walked each step and
breathed each breath
with the knowledge
that God is right beside us.
Rejoicing with us.
Correcting us.
Encouraging us.
Loving us.
Do you slow down long enough
to sense God’s nearness to you? from A Day Book of Grace

Take time . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 23, 2014 at 5:06 am  Leave a Comment  

January 17, Today’s thought – For God

Good Morning

For God [the greatest lover]
so loved [the greatest degree]
the world [the greatest number]
that He gave [the greatest act]
His only begotten Son [the greatest gift]
that whosoever [the greatest invitation]
believeth [the greatest simplicity]
in Him [the greatest person]
should not perish [the greatest deliverance],
but [the greatest difference]
have [the greatest certainty]
everlasting life [the greatest possession].
John 3 :16

0134=122
Full of thanks . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 17, 2014 at 12:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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January 15, Today’s thought – Impossible?

jan 13 laceBeautiful yarn found in the stash shed.
Waiting to become a shawl,
joining “Follow your Arrow” a Mystery Knit A Long.

Good Morning

With God—all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26).

Consider Abram.
Pushing a century of years,
his wife, Sarai, ninety.
The wallpaper in the nursery faded,
baby furniture out of date.
The topic of a promised child brings sighs and tears. . .
and God tells them
they’d better select a name for their new son.
They laugh!
Partly because it’s too good to happen
and partly because it might.
They’ve given up hope,
and hope born anew is always funny
before it’s real.
They laugh a little at God,
and a lot with God—
for God is laughing too.

With the smile still on His face,
He gets busy doing what He does the best—
the unbelievable.
Abram, the father of one,
will now be Abraham,
the father of a promised multitude.
Sarai, the barren one,
will now be Sarah,
the mother.

Their names aren’t the only thing God changes.
He changes the way
they define the word impossible!

From The Applause of Heaven–Max Lucado

Published in: on January 15, 2014 at 5:05 am  Comments (1)  
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January 14, Today’s thought – Offering

Moffat profile pic

Good Morning

Psalm 62:5-8
My soul, wait thou only upon God;
for my expectation is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation:
he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength,
and my refuge, is in God.
Trust in him at all times;
ye people, pour out your heart before him:
God is a refuge for us.
Selah

Years ago in a rural, Scottish village,
the pastor of a small church was asked to resign.
The ruling board of his congregation had evaluated
the fruit of his ministry and
could find nothing that seemed significant.
No baptisms had been held the previous year,
no conversions had been recorded,
and only one response to a sermon could even be remembered.

That single response had taken place on Sunday
when the offering plate had been passed.
A small boy had put the plate on the floor
and then stepped into it.
When asked for an explanation, he had replied
that since he had no money to give God,
he wanted to give himself.

The small boy who had stepped in the offering plate. . .
became a great pioneer missionary–statesman
used of God to change the course
of individual lives, tribes and nations in southern Africa.
His name was Bobby Moffat.
He was a man who overcame the smallness of his life
by giving himself totally to God,
keeping his focus on Christ.
~~~The Vision of His Glory, Anne Lotz

To read more about Robert Moffat, click here

What am I offering . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 14, 2014 at 11:55 am  Leave a Comment  
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January 13, Today’s thought – Learning to Wait

jan8 007 Blue Ajuga doesn’t mind the cold.

Good Morning

Learning to Wait for God’s Best

Psalm 84:11-12
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Children can be impulsive and often want everything “now”!
(So can grownups!)
It is the wise parent who does not give in to every demand,
but rather keeps some things on hold until the time is right.

God deals with us the same way.
He makes every good thing available to His children–
but only in the right time.
As our Father, He love to prepare us
for all that He has for us to know and enjoy.
But out of fatherly wisdom,
He trains us to trust Him–
even when we want something right now–
so that we will become mature,
Chirst-like adults,
who are better able to appreciate and enjoy His blessings.
He also keeps us from greedy self-centeredness
by answering some of our requests with a firm “no.”

To try and move ahead of God’s perfect plan for us
is to deny Him the privilege of teaching us
and watching us grow to be like Him.
~~from A Day Book of Grace

Psalm 84:11-12 Amplified Bible
For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts in You [leaning and believing on You, committing all and confidently looking to You, and that without fear or misgiving]!

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

Published in: on January 13, 2014 at 11:52 am  Leave a Comment  
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January 11 – Today’s thought – Lead on Softly

jan8 003White Violets don’t mind the cold.

Good Morning

This morning I am thinking of some who have suffered losses and are learning to walk a new way alone, and some who are starting on a new journey together. No matter where we are in our walk with the Lord — in the valley –on the mountain top.   He said, “I will never leave thee or forsake thee.” Go with God, Today

Genesis 33:12-14
And he (Esau) said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

And he (Jacob) said unto him,(Esau) My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

What a beautiful picture of Jacob’s thoughtfulness
for the cattle and the children!
He would not allow them to be over driven even for one day.
He would not lead on according to what a strong man
like Esau could do and expected them to do,
but only according to what they were able to endure.
He knew exactly how far they could go in a day;
and he made that his only consideration
in arranging the marches.
He had gone the same wilderness journey years before,
and knew all about the roughness and heat and length,
by personal experience.
And so he said,
“I will lead on softly.”
“For ye have not passed this way heretofore.” Joshua 3:4

We have not passed this way heretofore,
but the Lord Jesus has.
It is all untrodden and unknown ground to us,
but He knows it all by personal experience.
The steep bits that take away our breath,
the stony bits that make our feet ache so,
the hot shadeless stretches that make us feel so exhausted,
the rushing rivers that we have to pass through–
Jesus has gone through it all before us.
“He was wearied with his journey>”
Not some, but all the many waters went over Him,
and yet did not quench His love.
He was made a perfect Leader by the things which He suffered.
“He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust.”
Think of that when you are tempted to question
the gentleness of His leading.

He is remembering all the time;

and not one step will He make you take beyond
what your foot is able to endure.
Never mind if you think it will not be able
for the step that seems to come next;
either He will so strengthen it that it shall be able ,
or He will call a sudden halt,
and you shall not have to take it at all.
~~Frances Ridley Havergal.

Taking it slow. . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 11, 2014 at 11:39 am  Leave a Comment  
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January 10, Today’s thought – Light

jan8 004 Jonquils tell of coming Spring.

Good Morning

Let There Be Light

And God said, “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3)

The first words we have on record of God speaking
are highly instructive.
“Let there be light”
means far, far more than mere sunshine.
In fact, the sun and moon were not made
until the 4th day of Creation,
yet Light was already so.
What, then,
did God mean when He said, “Let there be light”?
To find the answer,
we need to look elsewhere in the Bible
to see if there is any “light” shed upon this mystery.
The first thing we discover is that the Bible tells us —
“God is light” (1John 1:5).
The same author later writes twice that “God is love”
(ch. 4:8, and 4:16).
Thus we can surmise that “light” and “love”
are spiritual synonyms;
interchangeable with one another
without compromising the express meaning of either.
With this in mind,
we look back at the Genesis declaration
and conclude that when God said,
“Let there be Light,”
He was in fact saying —
“Let there be a revelation of My love!”
And there was.
In fact,
everything that occurs in creation and in the Bible
from that moment forward is in complete compliance
with that unalterable decree.
And the implications of this for us today are profound.
What would each day hold in store for us
if we walked through every situation
looking for how this or that could reveal
something of God’s love to us.
And just maybe, once we began to see this,
we ourselves could learn to reveal God’s love to others around us.
Let there be light! —
the single most powerful sentence you could ever say.
~~~Rylie

Walk in God’s Light and Love . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on January 10, 2014 at 12:34 pm  Leave a Comment  
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