August 24, Today’s thought — Store Up Comfort

Dinner from the garden at Cozy Acres.

Good Morning

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Isaiah 40:1

Store up comfort.
this was the prophet’s mission.
The world is full of comfortless hearts,
and ere thou art sufficient for this lofty ministry,
thou must be trained.
And thy training is costly in the extreme;
for, to render it perfect,
thou too must pass through the same afflictions
as are wringing countless hearts of tears and blood.
Thus thy own life becomes the hospital ward
where thou art taught the Divine art of comfort.
Thou art wounded,
that in the binding up of thy woulds by the Great Physician,
thou mayest learn how to render first aid to the wounded everywhere.
Doest thou wonder why thou art passing through some special sorrow?
Wait till ten years are passed,
and thou wilt find many others afflicted as thou art.
thou wilt tell them how thou hast suffered
and has been comforted;
then as the tales is unfolded,
and the anodynes applied which once thy God wrapped around thee,
in the eager look and the gleam of hope
that shall chase the shadow of despair across the soul,
thou shalt know why thou wast afflicted,
and bless God for the discipline that stored thy life
with such a fund of experience and helpfulness.
—Selected.

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.
2Corinthians 1:4

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

Published in: on August 24, 2012 at 5:04 am  Leave a Comment  

August 23, Today’s thought — But THROUGH

Melons are picked.

Good Morning

When thou passest through
Isaiah 43:2

“When thou passest through the waters”
Deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge,
And His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it,
He, the faithful God and true:
“When thou comest to the waters
Thou shalt not go down, BUT THROUGH,”

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
rolling surges of temptation
Sweeping over heart and brain–,
They shall never overflow us
for we know His word is true;
all His waves and all His billows
He will lead us safely through.

Threatening breakers of destruction,
Doubt’s insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us
Out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us,
Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
\We shall not go down, or under,
For He saith, “Thou passest THROUGH.”
—-Annie Johnson Flint

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

Published in: on August 23, 2012 at 5:50 am  Leave a Comment  

August 22, Today’s thought — What To Do? Part 3

I apologize for the goof in the post. I fixed it, thank you.


“I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower. For me that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun, but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.” ~ from the movie Calendar Girls (2003)

Good Morning

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV).

The one question I most often hear people ask is, “What does the Lord want me to do?” While those who ask this question are typically looking for some specific answer about some specific issue or decision — the answer God gives tends to be more comprehensive.
Over the past two days we’ve looked at two of the three directives given by the prophet Micah in response to this question. Today we finish by looking at the third. The first was to do justly, the second was to love mercy, and now today we are told to…..

#3— WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD
Pride has no place in the presence of the Lord,
nor in the service we render unto His name.
Pride will never do justice,
for it only seeks its own.
Pride will never show mercy,
because it delights in oppression.
Pride will never walk with God,
for it sees itself to be equal to the Most High.
Thus, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Humility is the God-given self assurance that eliminates the need to prove to others the worth of who you are, and the rightness of what you do. It is the freedom to be yourself before God, and before others.

Humility is the result of being in total agreement with the Lord. “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).
If you will agree with God and submit to His will for your life, He will make you a man or woman of justice and mercy; clothed with humility! And He will anoint you with His grace. His power and ability will use your limited resources in His unlimited ways. Even if all you have is two fish and five loaves of bread—there is going to a banquet in your sphere of influence!

Whatever you decide to do with your life, and wherever that decision may take you — be sure that these three things are true of you in every place and situation — you do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

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

Published in: on August 22, 2012 at 5:35 am  Comments (2)  

August 21, Today’s thought — The Edge of our Need

Buster and the tigers

Good Morning

When thou passest through the waters,
I will be with thee;
and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee:
when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Isaiah 43:2

God does not open paths for us in advance of our coming.
He does not promise help before help is needed.
He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them.
Yet when we are on the edge of our need,
God’s hand is stretched out.
Many people forget this,
and are forever worrying about difficulties
which they foresee in the future.
They expect that God is going to make the way
plain and open before them,
miles and miles ahead;
whereas He has promised to do it only step by step
as they may need.
You must get to the waters and into their floods
before you can claim the promise.
. . . J.R.M.

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

Published in: on August 21, 2012 at 5:36 am  Leave a Comment  

August 20, Today’s thought — Bountifully

Last August I brought home tiger lily bulbs from Grandma Crain.
This August I found tiger lilies at Cozy Acres.
I’m happy.

Good Morning

Several thoughts lately have been on ‘waiting.’
I really don’t know why.
I don’t feel anxious about anything.
I don’t feel like I’m ‘waiting’ for anything.
Perhaps I’m being prepared to wait.

I was encouraged with these verses from Psalm 13.

How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD?
for ever?
how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, . . .

But I have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the LORD,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

bountifully – Giving freely and generously; bighearted, bounteous, giving, openhanded, handsome, freehanded, liberal, big
generous – willing to give and share unstintingly;

Even though, the Psalmist was in a place dark,
feeling forsaken and alone;
He still had hope.
He still knew the bounty of God.
He didn’t let the circumstances in life rob him of that confidence.

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

Published in: on August 20, 2012 at 10:35 am  Leave a Comment  

August 18, Today’s thought — Listen

Did you ever seen freckles on your eggs?

Good Morning

“If My people would but listen to Me…” (Psalm 81:13).

The Lord is looking for Listeners, those who will be both attentive and obedient to His revealed will. To such as these He will surely speak — “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Although He is looking, He does not often find them. This is not merely a condition of modern times, but rather is a longstanding problem that has characterized the people of God throughout history.
The Lord lamented Israel’s indifference to His Word, revealing that their defeats in battle were directly tied to their neglect of listening to His voice. “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!” (Psalm 81:13-14).

The foremost cause of our many defeats is failure to listen to what the Lord is saying to us, and to do what He is telling us. Oh, how much grief do we experience in our lives simply because we do not lend an ear to a Love Song! Rylie

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1:22-25

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

Published in: on August 18, 2012 at 5:46 am  Leave a Comment  

August 17, Today’s thought – Waiting Requires Patience

Sauteed veggies on toasted thin muffins make a ‘from the garden” dinner.

Good Morning

In waiting, I waited, for the Lord. Psalm 40:1

Waiting is much more difficult than walking. Waiting requires patience, and patience is a rare virtue. It is fine to know that God builds hedges around His people–when the hedge is looked at from the viewpoint of protection. But when the hedge is kept around one until it grows so high that the cannot see over the top and wonders whether he is ever to get out of the little sphere of influence and service in which he is pent up, it is hard for him sometimes to understand why he may not have a larger environment–hard for him to “brighten the corer” where he is. But God has a purpose in all HIS holdups. “The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord,” reads Psalm 37:23

On the margin of his Bible at this verse George Mueller had a notation. “And the stops also.” It is a sad mistake for men to break through God’s hedges. It is vital principle of guidance for a Christian never to move out of the place in which he is sure God has placed him, until the Pillar of Cloud moves. –Sunday School Times.

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

Published in: on August 17, 2012 at 5:14 am  Leave a Comment  

August 16, Today’s thought — The Grace of Waiting

the Farmer is putting up a rod to hang bird feeders and a hummingbird bottle.

All done, now to get some red hummingbird food.

Good Morning

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the LORD:
be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait,
I say,
on the LORD.

We must learn to wait.
When we do not know what to do we must simply do nothing.
Wait till the fog clears away.
Do not force a half-open door;
a closed door may be p;providential.
Ability to hold steady under pressure gives God unlimited sway.
A hurried spirit is always from beneath (and out of breath).
“He that believeth shall not make haste.” Isaiah 28:16

There is grace supplied for the one who waits.
The psalmist knew this secret.
He experienced this grace.
“I wait for the Lord,” he declared in Psalm130:5.
Waiting is a great part of life’s discipline and therefore God often exercises the grace of waiting in the anxious hurrying person.
“Waiting has four purposes,” says Dr. James Vaughan.
“It practices the patience of faith.
It gives time for preparation for the coming gift.
It makes the blessing the sweeter when it arrives.
It shows the sovereignty of God–to give just when and as He pleases.’

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

Published in: on August 16, 2012 at 5:47 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 15, Today’s thought — What To Do? Part 2

Good Morning

What Does the Lord Want Me to Do? (Part 2)

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV).

Yesterday(last week) we looked at what the prophet Micah said, and highlighted the first of three comprehensive directives which the Lord has set before each one of us. The first was to do justly. Today we will look at the second.

#2 — LOVE MERCY.
Solomon wrote, “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee” (Proverbs 3:3).
Notice that mercy and truth must never be separated from one another. Truth without mercy is harsh; mercy without truth is irresponsible. Together they form the essence of godliness.
Solomon went on to say that mercy and truth working together in our hearts and lives would bring us favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Justice calls for action against that which is wrong;
mercy requires patience in dealing with those who have been wronged. Together they accomplish God’s will in our sphere of influence.
“God works powerfully,” wrote John Newton, “but for the most part He works gently and gradually.”
You and I cannot change the world, but we can do something about what goes on where we live. And if we’ll see to that, the Lord will take care of the rest. After all, the light that shines the farthest, shines brightest at home.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Did you know that how you treat other people is a prayer you are praying, asking the Lord to treat you the same way?
The one sure path you can walk is the Way of Mercy.
What does the Lord want you to do?
He wants you to be a person who does justice, and who loves mercy.  Rylie.

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

Published in: on August 15, 2012 at 5:23 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 14, Today’s thought — Slow Me Down

The Oak tree I see from the trailer.

Good Morning

Lamenatations 3:25-26
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him,
to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait
for the salvation of the LORD.

Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amidst the confusion of my day,
the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles
with the soothing music of the singing streams
that live in my memory.
Help be to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations. . .
of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend,
to pat a dog,
to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise
that I may know that the race is not always to the swift;
that there is more to life than increasing its speed.


Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak
and know that it grew great and strong
because it grew slowly and well.


Slow me know, Lord,
and inspire me to send my roots deep
into the soil of life’s enduring values
that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny,
In Jesus’ name, Amen ——Unknown

Published in: on August 14, 2012 at 5:33 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 13, Today’s thought — Called to be Saints

Saturday’s Veggie Stand

Good Morning

There were two notorious and wicked brothers who terrorized a small town in the Midwest. When one of the brothers died it became the other’s responsibility to make funeral arrangements. However, he could find no pastor in the county who would agree to officiate at the funeral.
It wasn’t because they lacked compassion; it was because of the unusual request made by the surviving brother. He wanted the pastor to say of the deceased, “He was a saint.” Of course, no pastor would agree to do such a dishonest thing.
In desperation, the brother offered $1,000 to any pastor who would say the words during the funeral, and one pastor agreed to do so. He was a prominent pastor of a prestigious church, and the entire community was shocked when they heard of his decision.
When the day of the funeral came, everybody showed up— not because they cared anything for the dead guy, but they wanted to see if the pastor would really compromise himself for a mere thousand dollars.
When the moment arrived, the pastor delivered the epithet without a stutter, “We all know that Charlie here was a wicked man. He was twisted, foul, perverse and full of the devil. But compared to his brother …. he was a saint!”  Rylie

1Corinthians 1:2-3
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

. . . called to be saints. . .

Why were the saints, saints?
It is quite simple.
Because they were “cheerful” when it was difficult to be Cheerful.
Because they were “Patient” when it was difficult to be Patient.
Because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still.
Because they kept silent when they wanted to talk.
Because they were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable. Selected.

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

Published in: on August 13, 2012 at 5:21 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 12, Sunday Bible Reading, Isaiah 52:7-10

Lily

Good Morning

Isaiah 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace;
that bringeth good tidings of good,
that publisheth salvation;
that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth!
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice;
with the voice together shall they sing:
for they shall see eye to eye,
when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
Break forth into joy,
sing together,
ye waste places of Jerusalem:
for the LORD hath comforted his people,
he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Amen.

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

Published in: on August 12, 2012 at 6:09 am  Comments (1)  
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August 11, Today’s thought — God’s Promises

How the Farmer saw the sky.

Good Morning

“We never prize the precious words of promise,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “till we are placed in conditions in which their suitability and sweetness are manifested.”

We all of us value those golden worlds
“When thou walkest through fire thou shalt not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon thee,” (Isaiah 43:2)
but few, if any of us have read them with the delight of the martyr Binney. To him this passage was a mainstay while he was in prison awaiting burning at the stake. His Bible, still preserved in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, has the passage marked with a pen in the margin.
Doubtless if all were known, every promise in the Bible has borne a special message to some one Christian, and so the whole volume might be scored in the margin with mementos of Christian experience, every one appropriate to the very letter.

The promises of God are certain, but they do not all mature in ninety days. A. J. Gordon

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

Published in: on August 11, 2012 at 5:51 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 10, Today’s thought — Heaven Doesn’t Weep

Consider the lilies (sunflowers) how they grow:
they toil not, they spin not;
and yet I say unto you,
that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luke 12:27

Good Morning

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.
For what is your life?
It is even a vapour,
that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away.
James 4:14

You, as all God’s children, live one final breath from your own funeral.
Which from God’s perspective, is nothing to grieve.
He responds to these grave facts with this great news:
“The day you die is better than the day you are born”
Ecclesiastes 7:1 NLT
Now there is a twist.
Heaven enjoys a maternity-ward reaction to funerals.
Angels watch body burials the same way grandparents monitor delivery room-room doors.
“He’ll be coming through any minute!”
They can’t wait to see the new arrival.
While we are driving hearses and wearing black,
they’re hanging pink and blue streamers and passing out (candy) cigars.
We don’t grieve when babies enter the world.
The host of heaven don’t weep when we leave it.
Come Thirsty – Max Lucado

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

Published in: on August 10, 2012 at 6:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 9, Today’s thought — Jesus’ Hands

Sunflowers about 20 feet high, reaching for the sky!

Good Morning

And when he had thus spoken,
he shewed them his hands and his feet.
Luke 24:40

In the hands of Jesus there is certainty!
There is providence!
There is majesty!
The hands of Jesus are human hands.
They were once baby hands! Did not the angels from the realms of glory bid the shepherds to hasten to Bethlehem to behold those infant hands For the fulness of time had come. The pagan empires had unknowingly set the stage. This great moment of which the prophets had spoken and the psalmists had sung had arrived! A body had been prepared for Him to permit the Godhead to be veiled in flesh.
In the course of time those tiny hands became toiling hands. He who fashioned the stars toiled in a carpenter’s shed! His workmanship would be thorough.
“We are his workmanship.” cries Paul.
He knew!
Those hands that hewed rough timber into useful objects of beauty and usefulness had transformed him from a despot to a disciple motivated not by law but by love.
The hands of Jesus are generous hands–generous in tender care.
His hands were laid upon the little children in blessing when the stern disciples dared to drive them away.
His hands were generous in cleansing. He laid aside His robes and with His own hands He began to wash His disciples’ feet.
When Peter protested,
He replied, “Except I wash thee, thous hast no part with me.”
Those hands are even today at our disposal when we need cleansing.
The hands of Jesus are saving hands. The Bible describes every type of sin but declares that the Lord delivers from them all. His hands can save only because they are pierced hands.
The only things in heaven that man made are the five wounds which are born in His body. His wounded hands plead at the throne of grace for all who call upon the name of the Lord.
His saving hands are secure hands. Of all who come to Him, He said
“I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
They are able to hold secure for time and eternity all that we commit to Him. –from Streams in the Desert 2, Cowman

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

Published in: on August 9, 2012 at 5:57 am  Leave a Comment  
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