Thoughts of Grace

the Farmer has his ‘hens and chicks’ all in a row.

Good Morning

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

— Sibelius

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:35-36

Hold fast your confidence in God. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

This winter’s first. . .

Good Morning

Your heavenly Father knoweth. Matthew 6:32

A visitor at a school for the deaf and dumb was writing questions on the blackboard for the children. By and by he wrote this sentence: “Why has God made me to hear and speak, and made you deaf and dumb?”
The awful sentence fell upon the little ones like a fierce blow in the face.They sat palsied before that dreadful “Why.” And then a little girl arose.
Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were swimming with tears. Straight to the board she walked, and picking up the crayon, wrote with firm hand these precious words: “Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight.”
What a reply! It reaches up and lays hold on the eternal truth upon which the maturest believer as well as the youngest child of God may alike securely rest–the truth that God is your Father.
Do you mean that?
Do you really and fully believe that?
When you do,
then your dove of faith will no longer wander in weary unrest,
but will settle down forever in its eternal resting place of peace.
“Your Father.”
~~~Arthur Bacon

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

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Saviour’s birth:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And God send us salvation,
That blessed Christmas morn:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Luke 2:15-20
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

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

Mowing and raking at the same time.

Good Morning

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous,
and his ears are open unto their prayers: 1Peter 3:12

~~~Marion Bond West:
When I was about four years old, my mother made arrangements for our next-door neighbor to keep me while she worked. When my mother came home to lunch each day, she would go next door to see me. But I began to cry when she had to return to work.
So she stopped coming to see me during the noon hour, I did all right as long as there wasn’t that middle-of-the-day reunion and separation again. Only much later did I learn that my mother continued to come home, but sat at our kitchen window and watched me playing next door.
Sometimes there are days when God seems far away. I’m sure that He’s close enough to touch me when I feel the most alone but, for some reason I can’t understand. He doesn’t always reveal Himself to me.
Nevertheless, He’s close by–watching and loving me, His child.

Remember God is near to you . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Juicer pieces and jar of juice

Good Morning

Nevertheless Afterward. Hebrews 12:11

“Rain, rain
Beating against the pane!
How endlessly it pours
Out of doors
From the blackened sky–
I wonder why!

“Flowers, flowers,
Upspringing after showers
Blossoming fresh and fair
Everywhere!
Ah, God has planned
Why it rained!”

You can always count on God to make the “afterward” of difficulties, if rightly overcome, a thousand times richer and fairer than the forward, “No chastening. . . seemeth joyous. . . nevertheless afterward. . .”
What a yield!~~~~from Streams in the Desert

Duck raindrops with the Lord. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

the Farmer on a cruise(2010)

Good Morning

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (KJV)

An invitation has been extended from the High Court of Heaven. It was not sent out to a select few, but was posted for all who hunger for something higher, something better, something more real than the hoopla and hullabaloo of the world’s surface traffic.
We have been granted access to the Throne of Grace, and the invitation does not require any dress code. “Come as you are,” it says. No need to rehearse what you will say, no need to primp on appearance — no cause to try and impress. And, what’s more, you don’t have to have it “all together” either.
“Come as you are IN YOUR TIME OF NEED,” it says. What this means is that when you feel the least acceptable, THAT”S when you are the most welcomed!
Come broken, come dirty, come troubled, come fearful, come confused, come undone — the Lord waits for you! He will meet you — and change you! You will not leave the same way you entered. What a privilege!
The Bible says, “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need!” (Hebrews 4:16).
The old Gospel song puts it this way, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
“Have you trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
“Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer; in His arms He’ll take and shield you — you will find a solace there!”  Rylie

Continue to Pray during your day . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours,   Leslie

Good Morning

But without faith it is impossible to please Him;
for he that cometh to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6

Faith is a wonderful key to every situation where we come to God in prayer.
Faith is a wonderful key that open God’s storehouse.
God’s storehouse is filled, shelf after shelf, clear to the top with good things that men and women need.
On the shelves of God’s storehouse there is salvation– a born again experience, victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. On the shelf of God’s storehouse thee is divine healing, there is blessing, there is deliverance for your body as well as your soul and your spirit. On God’s helves is a rich spiritual experience, there is joy unspeakable and full of glory, hope, peace, blessing. and answer to prayer.
Every man, woman, and child may have the key of faith to God’s storehouse put in his hand that he may turn the lock of prayer and swing wide the portals.
Faith moves mountains.
Have you a mountain to move?
Have you a mountain of heartache, despair, discontent, discouragement?
Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God can move it.
Faith in the precious blood that flowed from the wounded side of Immanuel can cleanse the heart and make it whiter than the driven snow.
The Lord can move that mountain.
You cannot move it with all the power of your reasoning, not even with your vain imaginations.
What you need is just a little spark of faith down in your heart and it will move the mountain.
The Lord does answer prayer.
Use the key He had placed in your hand.
Have faith in God!
You can look upon those shelves in the storehouse and claim any number of the fruits He as stored thereon.
~ ~ ~ From a newspaper clipping.

Have Faith in God . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Good Morning

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. Jeremiah 17:7

Life

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall ?

Rapidly, merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly !

What though Death at times steps in
And calls our Best away ?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope, a heavy sway ?
Yet hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair !

Charlotte Brontë

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

. . .For this rainy day

Good Morning

To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. Ephesians 3:19

A little child was playing by the shore of the broad blue sea
And oft he looked away across the waves, so wonderingly.
It was a new entrancing sight to him, that watery waste.
The tossing billows breaking o the sand with foam wreaths graced.
And often in this distant inland home, with childish glee,
The boy would say to young and older friends,
“I have seen the sea!”
And so he had;
the child made no mistake,
his words were true;
But yet,
how much of ocean’s vast expanse had met his view?
Only the waves that rippled on the shore; while far away,
The broad Atlantic in its depth and strength beyond him lay
And thus we say we know the love of Christ,
and so we do;
‘Tis no exaggeration or mistake, but sweetly true.
But ah!
how much of that unfathomed love do we yet know?
Only the ripples on the shores of time, the nearer flow.
The mighty ocean of redeeming love rolls deep and wide.
Filling eternity,
and heaven,
and earth, with its vast tide.
We know it by a sweet experience now;
yet shall explore its breadth and length,
its depth and height of grace,
for evermore. ~~E.R.V.

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

What I saw today at 7:00am

Good Morning

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. Psalm 92:1

My soul, wouldst thou be free from that pain–that remorse of memory?
Thou mayst be so; live in present thanksgiving!
Treasure today the gems that are strewn upon thy path!
The love that is merely retrospective is a very painful thing. I would not have thee wake to the glory of a past only when it is past–desire one of the days of the Son of Man after He has ascended. If thy days of sorrow at any time should cloud thy days of joy, I should like thee to be able to say, “Well, while they lasted, I did appreciate them.”
There are some who want to feel at death that their life has been a vain show.
I would not have it so with thee, O my soul.
I would like when death comes, to feel that I had thoroughly enjoyed life–taken the honey from the flower as God meant me to take it
I should like to know that I had not defrauded myself of my birthright, that I made room for others because I had had my share.
The cup of gladness which my Father has given me shall I not drink it, even unto the dregs!
I shall thank Him for every bird that sings.
I shall praise Him for every flower that blows.
I shall bless Him for every stream that warbles.
I shall love Him for every heart that loves.
I shall see the sparkling of the cup ere it passes to the hand of my brother.
There shall be no remorse of memory when I have thanked God for today.
~~George Matheson, from Leaves for Quiet Hours.

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

Remembering all my favorite things at ” Anne of Green Gables” home, Prince Edward Island.

Good Morning

Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for thou hast also wrought all our works in us. Isaiah 26:12

Have you ever stood ankle-deep in the ocean? Gradually, wave upon wave washes about your feet, rearranging and depositing sand. And if you stand there long enough, you will not only find your feet, but your legs also buried beneath the sand. You don’t have to do anything. It is enough to do nothing.

It is the same in the Christian life. You don’t have to do anything to sink into worldly patterns of thinking and living. The world system in which we live floods in, wave upon wave. . . .(or as our pastor says, ‘there is a drum beat, continually beating)

Our everyday environment deduces, taunts, and rages against the Christ-life within us. Without concentrated, deliberated action on our part to nourish our spiritual life, the oncoming tide wears away the under girding foundation of our faith. To stanch the flow, to control the erosion, Christians must do more than hold our skirts higher. We must spend time apart with God. There is no growth in holiness apart from it. ~~Jean Fleming, Finding Focus in a Whirlwind World.

‘Alone with God, the world forbidden
Alone with God, O blest retreat
Alone with God and in Him hidden
To hold with Him, communion sweet.’ ~~ hymn

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

One happy camper – 2007 trip of wonderful memories

Good Morning

Whosoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will will never be thirsty. John 6:35

There are times when the one thing you want is the one thing you never get. . .

You pray and wait.
No answer.
You pray and wait.

May I ask a very important question?
What if God says no?

What if the request is delayed or even denied? When God says no to you, how will you respond? If God says, “I’ve given you my grace, and that is enough.” will you be content?

Content . That’s the word. A state of heart in which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than he already has.

Max Lucado ~~In the Grip of Grace

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

I love this maple tree.

Good Morning

We will find grace to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:16 NLT

God’s help is timely. He helps us the same way a father gives plane tickets to his family. When I travel with my kids, I carry all our tickets in my satchel. When the moment comes to board the plane, I stand between the attendant and the child. As each daughter passes, I place ticket in her hand. She, in turn, gives the ticket to the attendant. Each one receives the ticket in the nick of time.

What I do for my daughters God does for you. He places himself between you and the need. And at the right time, he gives you the ticket. Wasn’t this the promise he gave his disciples?

“When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11 emphasis mine.

God leads us. He will do the right thing at the right time. ~~Max Lucado, Traveling Light

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

I love violas.

Good Afternoon

Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me:
for I am poor and needy Psalm 86:1

What e’er I ask I surely know
And steadfastly believe
Thou wilt the thing desired bestow
Or else a better give.

To Thee, I therefore, Lord, submit
My every fond request
And own, adoring at Thy feet
Thy will is always best.

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