Tag Archives: love

Ingredients of Patience

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in Christianity, faith, favorite songs, fishing, fun stuff for grandparents, health, hope, joy, love, patience, peace, wisdom and understanding

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“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.”          Psalm 40:1   I often see a fisherman standing at the edge of the surf when I go for a morning walk along the beach.  Not long ago I watched a great blue heron who was watching the fisherman patiently, hopeful that he would toss him a fish.  Perhaps you have watched two fishermen sitting in a tiny rowboat not saying anything, just fishing for hours.  Waiting and watching and some days not catching anything.  But they come  back again before dawn the following day.  It is hard for me to imagine having that much patience.  I wonder if fishermen fish just for the silence and peace of a quiet lake early in the morning.  Perhaps they fish because it is a time they can be alone with God.  Are they really fishing for fish or peace of mind and soul?   There is an old saying “patience is a virtue, acquire it if you can.  It’s seldom found in women and never found in men.  But I don’t think there is much truth in this saying….

Friends, I am guest posting at Nikki’s place, Simplystriving for her “Music Monday” post this week.  Nikki is a precious Christian blogger and homeschool mom and I love reading her posts.  I know they will bless your heart as they do mine.  Please clique on Simplystriving to continue reading about finding patience in this hurry up world of ours.

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Locked Gates and Prayer

17 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in beauty, Christianity, depression, faith, health, joy, love, peace, roses, wisdom and understanding, worry

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“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  Jeremiah33:3

When the burdens of life become too heavy we can go to God in prayer anytime night or day and know that He hears us.  Prayer is having a conversation with God.  It involves both speaking and listening to God.  What a blessing it is that we can speak with Almighty God any time we have a need.  God doesn’t keep office hours and leave for long vacations or weekends.  He doesn’t even have a secretary that listens to our requests and decides whether it is important enough to have Him call us back later.  God never closes the gate and locks us outside of His love and concern.  God is available and desires for us to come to Him so that He can guide us to discover His best for us.

Have you ever felt rejected by someone or a group of people you thought were your friends?  Sometimes we are rejected because of race or religion.  Sometimes our values and priorities make others uncomfortable and they’d rather not have us around them.   Sometimes we aren’t really rejected but others are just too busy to spend time with us.Frequently we build walls around our own hearts – walls of bitterness, anger, fear and grief.  We lock the gate of our heart and refuse to let God in or even our friends and family.  We are held captive by our emotions.  Once we lock the gate to our heart, it is almost as though a roaring lion stands guard at the entrance, daring anyone who loves us to come near.

“Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”            I Peter 5:8    But God promises to rescue us if we will only turn to Him.  We need not be held captive by unhealthy fears and emotions.   Prayer is the key that can unlock the gate.  It is God’s greatest gift to man.  It enables us to fellowship with Him and find hope and guidance for our lives.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”                       Jeremiah 29:11,12

God desires that we unlock the gate to our heart so that He can come in and renew a right spirit within us.  It may not seem easy to open the gate.  The hinges may be rusty and the lock frozen shut.  But oh, it is so worthwhile!  When you let Jesus come into your heart, you will feel a great rush of love come pouring in and you will discover a peace that is above and beyond all that you could hope for or imagine.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”     Romans15:13

Abiding in His Peace

20 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in beauty, Christianity, faith, Fall leaves, insomnia, joy, love, peace, sunsets, wisdom and understanding, worry

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“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”                      Jeremiah 29:13

I love the changing of the seasons and already I’m wondering what great new adventures the LORD has in store for me this Fall.  For the last few mornings I’ve been waking up several hours before the time I wished to get up.  I pray and repeat bible verses but still I can’t seem to get back to sleep.  My spirit has been restless for days and I have questioned God if I am on the right path or if He has a new direction He wants me to take.  But I feel as though I’m standing at a locked gate and all I hear is silence.   “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”               Proverbs 3:5, 6

I wondered if I was asking God to direct me and then happily going down the path of my choice.   “This is what the LORD says:  Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”      Jeremiah 6:16

I felt that I had come to a crossroads in life and had no idea which way to go.   “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying ‘This is the way; walk in it.'”      Isaiah 30:21

But I wasn’t hearing any voice, just silence.  Staying in bed when I couldn’t sleep seemed such a waste of valuable time when I had so much to get done.  But I wondered if God was trying to tell me something and I just wasn’t listening! Then this verse came into my mind and so I decided to lie still.

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”           Psalm 46:10    I felt that God was being silent for a very good reason I just wished He would hurry up and tell me what it was.  I do not like to wait and if He had a new plan for my life, it seemed important to get up and get started.  But last week when I read Nikki’s post, “What Can I Do” at Simply striving and thought about these words from the song, “A Little Longer” by Brian and Jean Johnson, I felt like He was speaking straight to my heart.

“You don’t have to do a thing
Just simply be with Me and let those things go
‘Cause they can wait another minute
Wait…this moment is too sweet
Would you please stay here with Me
And love on Me a little longer.
I’d love to be with you a little longer
‘Cause I’m in love with you.”

So this morning when I couldn’t sleep, I thought about those words.  It was almost as though I could hear God saying, “You worry too much about sleep, my child.  I will give you rest.  Just wait here awhile in my Presence.”  And then I felt the greatest sense of peace and joy.  I felt so loved like a child in his father’s arms.  It is hard to describe the warm, secure feeling I felt as my Heavenly Father reassured me and held me close in His loving arms.   Perhaps God just wants us to slow down and seek Him with our whole heart.  He promises to give us peace in the storms of life if we will abide in His Presence.  When the time is right He will leads us in the way He has chosen for us.  But for now I’m just going to rest in His wonderful Presence.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.”                Isaiah 43:1, 4

Ladder of Joy

13 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in beauty, Christianity, faith, flower gardens, joy, love, wisdom and understanding

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“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”            Psalm 16:11

I love morning glories.  Just the name fills me with joy and when I wake up and see one of those heavenly blue blooms, I can’t help but believe that it will be a morning glorious.  Last year I planted a morning glory in with some pink petunias and loved looking at the contrast of colors. 

This summer I planted a morning glory that climbed right up to my coffee tree and then kept on climbing.  The lovely vine has heart shaped leaves which make me think of a ladder of joy going up to heaven.  It reminds me of the prayer my mother taught me to say when I was a little girl.  “Please help me Jesus to build a road of the loving heart.”      Every time a bud opens out into one of those beautiful blooms it is like a new possibility that God tucks in our mind to enable us to bless someone.  There are so many rewards to building a road of the loving heart but the best reward is the joy we feel in His Presence as we travel along the way.    Each day is an opportunity to do something loving for someone we meet or know.  It might just be to smile at a stranger or the clerk in the grocery store; or possibly to write an encouraging card to a friend or call someone and wish them a happy day.  You may want to do something special for a family member or visit someone who is sick and take them something you know they need or would like.    The blooms on the morning glory don’t last long and never more than a day. If we are not wise enough to quickly step up and let God use us to bless someone’s life that opportunity may soon be gone.  I don’t want to miss out on these opportunities that God gives me each day.  If you feel the same, please join me in climbing this ladder of life and we will fill it with steps of joy and love as we bless others with the blessings that God has given us.