Thankful in November - 8

Rebecca, today I am thankful for the way God's Word stands guard over our hearts.

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3)

I love this prayer. I love it that the psalmist acknowledges his need for the Lord's help to keep from saying what he should not allow to escape from his lips. My husband and I are involved in a Bible study in the book of James, so this has been on my mind of late. In chapter 3, verse 6 he says, "And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell." Verse 8 says, "But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison."

We must be so careful what we say. Words can cause irreparable damage. For example, when someone takes you into their confidence, it is paramount that their trust is not broken. "The tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity"; those are strong words, but so true.

In Matthew 15:18 Jesus said, "...the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man..." This is why it is essential to focus on the Lord and His Word. "Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You (Psalm 119:11). The key to taming the tongue is to feed it the Word of God...to digest those living words and then allow it nourish our souls. Commit them to memory. Then when temptation comes, God can bring them to mind in a preemptive strike.

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips."

Thankful in November - 7

Rebecca, today I am thankful for the opportunities God sends my way to profess His Truth to a dying world. I pray that I am always ready to make a reasoned defense to everyone who asks for an account of the hope that I have in Jesus Christ, with gentleness and reverence, as I am called to be.

Thankful in November - 6

Thankful with Rebecca daily, just not posting about it daily.

Today I am thankful for the honor I had this morning to be able to attend the final court hearing where Emily was declared finally and legally adopted (an 18 month process). Emily is now the sweet little daughter of our dear friends. My favorite part of the whole proceeding is when the case worker, the parents and the lawyer had to swear to tell the truth. They were told to raise their right hands and little Emily, in her daddy's arms, raised hers as well. She is three. Congratulations John, Kimberly, Austin and Andrew, Jacob, A.J. & Emily!!!! Praying that God richly blesses all of you!

Thankful in November - 6

I am grateful that God, via Rebecca and some other friends who are filling the days of November with accounts of thankfulness are keeping my mind focused in that direction as well.

I am also grateful that God has given us the ability to adapt to circumstances and has given me the ability to come up with new recipes. I am slowly figuring out what to eat on this new no gluten, no dairy, no egg, no kidding diet. I also have to leave out soy, since my mother can't eat it and she lives with us, which adds to the challenge.

This has not been an easy week for me. I was very low for several days, and it may seem silly to get depressed over food, but it has taken me over three years to get to a point that I felt I was coming close to getting what nutrition I needed without having gluten in my diet. The idea of taking away dairy and eggs really set me back. Cheese, crackers and raw veggies were my default lunch when I couldn't think of anything else. I have hypoglycemia, and that would maintain my sugar level for hours. It takes time and research to develop a new food repertoire, so for now I am making plenty of whatever I do for dinner so I can have that for lunch as well.

I am finding that the more information I gather, the brighter my outlook becomes. God is faithful, He sustains me and He will see me through this.

Thankful in November - 5

Giving thanks with Rebecca.

I am thankful for our Veterans. The commitment they have made to insure our freedom is invaluable. I can't begin to understand what it must be like to live with the memories that they carry home from war (those who live to return home). It takes a special type of man or woman to face whatever may be around the next hill. I pray that God blesses our brave men and women in uniform; those who have gone before and those who are serving now. I honor these as well as the ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Father, keep them under Your wing of protection. Guide them into Your Truth, affording them eternal life, the highest blessing You give. Amen.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Browsers Matter...AKA Browser Matters

I just looked at my last post in Mozilla and was frustrated to see that there is a huge space between the picture and text and that the crickets video flows into the right hand column. If the format doesn't look right here, and you start to doubt my abilities as a blogger, you might want to visit me in Chrome.

Thankful in November - 4

Oh my. I am thankful for Beethoven!

AKA - A layman's review

I had never been to a symphony before Friday evening and when our son invited us, I was mostly just excited to spend time with him. Even looking back on my blog about it, I notice that I wrote about what was happening before and after the symphony, but nothing significant about the symphony.

We thought we were getting there plenty early, but by the time we arrived the parking lot was packed. So much so that we had to drive over a curb to park in a grassy area. We wouldn't have even thought of doing that, but there were a bazillion cars parked along there already.

I was overwhelmed at the beauty of the 9th Symphony, as well as the outstanding performance of those involved. Beethoven was deaf when he composed that piece and as it unfolded with all of its intricacies and complexities, I became more and more aware of what an incredible gift God had given him.

Watching and listening to the orchestra was completely delightful. I was close enough to the front of the auditorium to watch the bows quiver as they ran across the strings and later, the stitches in the mezzo soprano's golden sparkley dress. Don't worry though, the sound was superb. The concert hall has outstanding acoustics and apparently there are very few bad seats in the house.

This was the first symphony ever written to include vocals. On Friday, for most of the symphony, the choir just sat in chairs behind and on either side of the orchestra and listened to them play. Then, I believe between the second and third movements, the soprano--with the china-doll face, wearing a satiny red formal, the mezzo soprano in a golden dress with a bodice full of glitter and just one shoulder strap (like on the Flinstones, only classy), and the tenor and baritone in handsome tuxedos followed the conductor onto the stage...and sat down in chairs in front of the orchestra. They sat, and sat, and sat, and looked lovely, and sat, and seemed to be enjoying the music very much.

Then...they stood up, and all of the other singers stood up and the conductor began to direct their voices as though they were instruments too and what followed was a most spectacular performance of "Ode to Joy." There was one point at which the sopranos held a particularly loud note (and I believe my friend said it was an A of some sort) for a particularly long time that bothered my husband's bad ear very much, and it was around that time, when the sounds of the voices seemed almost chaotic to me, that I was reminded of the CD called "God's Cricket Chorus." Though as I listen to it now, I realize it is quite different.

It truly was a delightful experience. When it was over, I wanted it to begin again and when I found out it was going to be performed again on Saturday night in a nearby town, I wanted to go again, but the lease on our coach would be up before then and we had far too many miles to travel to try to make it home in a pumpkin.

P.S. If I did wear glass footwear, they would be Birkenstocks.

Thankful in November - 3

Rebecca is thankful and so am I.

I am thankful for my dear husband, who is devoted to our Lord. He loves me. When I was young, I did not expect I would ever find a person who would love me. He did. But even more, he loves me for who I have become. Neither of us were saved when we married and I came to know Christ first. The Lord didn't draw him to Himself for two more years. Those were a couple of tough years, but once we were again equally yoked (21 years under the same easy yoke), God began to grow us closer and better in Him.

Hold the milk. Hold the eggs.

Life just became a bit more complicated. I have suspected that I should not be eating milk or eggs for some time, but I just didn't want to face it or admit it. I have finally come to the point that I can make gluten free versions of food that are really good, really satisfying, and now I have to start all over again. I will survive. I will figure it out. Things could be worse. Tonight I am feeling a little pouty though. A lot of my recipes just became obsolete.

However, I am quite certain I am going to feel a lot better now. And for that, I am thankful.

Thankful in November - 2

Every day I have things I want to tell you about that I am thankful for, but I have a hard time getting here to post them. Just so you know - I am thankful every day and I am very thankful that Rebecca is reminding me to keep my thoughts turned toward thankfulness, because we are commanded to be so.

Today I am thankful that God chose to deliver me from original sin. Before a person is in Christ, he (or she) has no choice in the matter. People are born in sin. Born sinners. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. We are sin's slaves. The devil's slaves. It is our nature.

Does that bother you? Do you reject that premise? Have a kid. Watch a baby. Do you teach him to do bad? Do you need to give her lessons on how to demand her own way or to be selfish? Nope. You have to train him to behave. Ground rules must be set and consistently enforced. Miles and miles of stacks of books have been filled with advice on how to make a child be good, but a parent doesn't seek out literature on how to teach a child to break windows or pound on a sibling.

And even after you carefully read and follow the directions, she winds up screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs in the grocery store because you won't by her the egg-coloring kit she wants at Easter.

When he is little, he is so cute that you laugh when he colors on your newly painted walls, but as he grows, as the cuteness wears off, you find yourself living with a little monster who kicks you and yells, "I HATE YOU DADDY!" You wonder, how did this happen? It didn't. He came that way in the package. You got her "as is." We are rotten to the core and only God can make things right.

Thanks for being my only hope, Lord. Thanks for saving me from sin's dread sway.

I'd Rather Have Jesus

Words by Rhea F. Miller

Tune by George Beverly Shea

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,

I'd rather be His than have riches untold;

I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands,

I'd rather be led by his nail-pierced hands.

Than to be a king of a vast domain

Or be held in sin's dread sway

I'd rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;

I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;

I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,

I'd rather be true to His holy name.

He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;

He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb;

He's all that my hungering spirit needs,

I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Thankful in November

Because it is the Thankful Month...

Because Rebecca does it and encourages the rest of us to join her...

Because the Lord says so, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Because I am thankful.

I am thankful for an opportunity that is coming up at the end of this week. On Friday, my husband and I are going to travel to another part of the state to see our son, by invitation. He is taking us to a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

We will go early enough to meet some of his friends. We will meet one who owns a bookstore we will get to browse through. Maybe I will even find a book to buy!

We will then go to his regular Friday night haunt. The home of a couple who nearly every week puts out the welcome mat out and has plenty of pizza for whoever wants to come by (lots of college students take them up on the offer). They play games, watch movies, speak Nerd, or whatever comes to mind.

We will be spending the night at the home of his roommate's parents (a delightful couple with a delightful family). They have adopted our son and have him over a lot. And they have graciously offered us a place to stay. I anticipate a lot of laughter.

For having a well-planned Friday night, we have no plans for Saturday beyond just being together, which will be lovely, as we have not seen him since before school started. Also, both my husband and I have lived in the town and love to go back and visit. I am confident we will find wonderful ways to fill the day.

We will come home that evening, as we have duties in church on Sunday.

It is so good for a momma to know that her little boy (age 29) has such good friends, because even though he is 29, he is still my boy. Working on a doctorate is hard work and I am thankful that he has such a solid, godly network of support along the way.

To Russia with Love

Our pastor and one of our elders from church are off to Tambov, Russia on a mission trip. They will be teaching on the doctrine of God at a conference there. They also are delivering a whole lot of slippers for orphans.

While they were preparing to leave, there were a number of things that came up and came to mind that caused them to doubt whether they were even going to get to go. As late as Monday evening, they didn't think it was going to happen. I love how God often stretches our faith and then confirms it.

You can follow the blessings and antics here: Russian Mission Trip (read about how God did the stretching here).

On Psalm 111:2

"Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them" (Psalm 111:2).

This is a statement of fact. Those who delight in the works of the LORD, study those works. Where do we find an account of His works? In Scripture. Do you consider yourself a Christian? Do you claim to belong to the One whose name is behind that title? Are you a slave of Christ? If so, it should be evident in what you do. You should delight in God's works and be studying those works. If you don't: if they bore you, if you are too busy to be bothered, if a sermon or message that delves too deep or takes too long drives you nuts, if you would rather be anywhere but face to face with God's Truth, if you don't spend time engaged in spiritual activities and deep down, don't want to, then you better re-examine who you are. Are you a Christian? Really? Do you really belong to Jesus Christ (the demons believe in Him and tremble, but they are not saved - see James 2:10)?

Jesus isn't the slave of mankind. He isn't sitting up in heaven waiting for yo to ring a bell so He can come running to do your bidding. The believer in Jesus Christ is a slave to Him. We are called to do His bidding. We are to be reading and studying His Word regularly, praying always, attending church on Sunday mornings, fellowshipping with other believers, sharing the Gospel with the unsaved and growing in Christ. This doesn't mean if you miss some Sundays because of circumstances you are not a Christian—it means this should be the pattern of your life.

If your life is too busy to afford this pattern, you better think twice before you call yourself a Christian. You better get to your knees and ask God to give you a delight for His works.

I feel used...

...by God whenever I am given the opportunity to proclaim His Truth to someone who doesn't know Him. What an amazing blessing that is!

It Is Well

This song was sung at my sister's funeral years ago (she was 39) and then later at a church where we attended, we did parts singing and sang it at my father's funeral. It has always stirred my spirit and helped me to be content. These ladies sing it beautifully.