Time Alone

The outlook for this week seems to be that it will be a very busy week. I will try to get on and post when I can. This morning my devotion in my "Streams in the Desert" book was very good and I wanted to share it with you all. It speaks of the importance of our time alone with God.

Please be sure and take some time alone with God. Turn off the radio, the tv, lay the phones down and spend sometime alone with God. You might be surprised what He has to say to you, but you will never know unless you have that quiet time alone with Him.

 

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And Jacob was left alone;

 and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day

 (Gen. 32:24).

Left alone! What different sensations those words conjure up to each of us. To some they spell loneliness and desolation, to others rest and quiet. To be left alone without God, would be too awful for words, but to be left alone with Him is a foretaste of Heaven! If His followers spent more time alone with Him, we should have spiritual giants again.

The Master set us an example. Note how often He went to be alone with God; and He had a mighty purpose behind the command, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray."

The greatest miracles of Elijah and Elisha took place when they were alone with God. It was alone with God that Jacob became a prince; and just there that we, too, may become princes--"men (aye, and women too!) wondered at" (Zech. 3:8). Joshua was alone when the Lord came to him. (Josh. 1:1) Gideon and Jephthah were by themselves when commissioned to save Israel. (Judges 6:11 and 11:29) Moses was by himself at the wilderness bush. (Exodus 3:1-5) Cornelius was praying by himself when the angel came to him. (Acts 10:2) No one was with Peter on the house top, when he was instructed to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:9) John the Baptist was alone in the wilderness (Luke 1:90), and John the Beloved alone in Patmos, when nearest God. (Rev. 1:9)

Covet to get alone with God. If we neglect it, we not only rob ourselves, but others too, of blessing, since when we are blessed we are able to pass on blessing to others. It may mean less outside work; it must mean more depth and power, and the consequence, too, will be "they saw no man save Jesus only."

To be alone with God in prayer cannot be over-emphasized.
If chosen men had never been alone,
In deepest silence open-doored to God,
No greatness ever had been dreamed or done.

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Sometimes I get tired.......

I have to be honest - sometimes I really get tired of how much time I have to spend at medical facilities. It seems like every time I turn around I am having to spend long hours at a hospital. My husband's 6 days stay in the hospital really took it out of me. We had not expected that at all. We had thought maybe 2-3 days or so. And each day I hoped that maybe he could come home and he didn't.

This week was a busy week for me. Thursday a family member had a court appearance to make and I was going to go for support. Well I was happy when it got postponed. I was thinking of all the things around my house that I could get done. Things that I had been putting off because of being too busy.

So I was on a walk and had not even walked a mile when my MIL called in and said she was having a hard time breathing. She explained that she had just gotten out of shower and had put meds on her legs and then when she stood up she felt week and was gasping for air. I had thought that she needed to rest for a bit and maybe use her inhaler to help her breath. The plan was for her to call me back in 10 minutes if she wasn't feeling better. Well I decided to go on over to her house - and it was a good thing because just as I saw her house my phone began to ring.

I decided it was best to take her to a small ER nearby. It has been a great one to help her- it's where my oldest son had taken her a couple of years ago when she ended up having heart attack there. We ended up staying there for like 5 hours- before they transferred her to the hospital.

During that 5 hours they ran all sorts of tests. Lots of poking and prodding. It was finally discovered that she had a PE - a blood clot in her lung - a pretty good sized one. She was sent to the hospital where more tests were run. The blood clot was putting a lot of strain on her heart - so they needed to be aggressive with dealing with the clot. Last night they called a team back in to do a procedure in which they stuck a cath down the artery in her neck - to be able to put the clot dissolving meds directly on the clot. The cath was left in there for 12 hours. Oh I forgot to mention - they found a clot in the other lung as well- so 2 clots had made it to the lungs. And they said that the clots had come from her legs. They did not get her to her room in the ICU until after 10:00pm. Which meant it was after 11:00pm when we got home. I was exhausted.

During that long stay at the hospital, I really realized how much I was getting tired of being at hospitals. It seems that I spend more than my fair share at hospitals. And I have about had my fill. There is no telling how much longer she will be there. So there will be more time for me to spend at the hospital. I am depending on God to give me patience to handle it with grace.

I will be sharing a few more thoughts about what this time in the medical facilities have taught me. I have several important things it has taught me. And how it has encouraged me to continue to make good choices in how I take care of me. Just hoping I don't have any late night stays in hospitals - that really takes it out of me. Will be back as soon as I can to share the lessons learned.

BEST WAY...Air

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BEST WAY

"A"
Air

 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,

and breathed into his nostrils,

 the Breath of Life and man became a living soul."

Genesis 2:7

 

 

 

The benefits that are received from having a constant supply of pure, fresh air are:

 

1. Fresh air purifies the blood, imparts to it a bright color, and sends the blood, a life giving current to every part of the body.
2. Air sooths the nerves, stimulates appetite, helps digestion and induces sound, refreshing sleep. 
3. Oxygen electrifies the whole system, causes the body to be strong and healthy, and will refresh the system.
4. Air invigorates the vital organs and aids the system in getting rid of an accumulation of impurities.
5. Pure air brings life to the skin, as for a lack of air the skin nearly dies.
6. But most important, air has a decided influence on the mind, imparting a degree of composure and serenity.
7. Some specific problems that are greatly benefitted by having and abundance of fresh air are: fevers, colds, and lung disease.

 

 



One Legitimate Fear...

"There is only one thing to fear for the Christian- only one legitimate fear. We should fear to trust our own strength. We should fear to withdraw our hand from the hand of Christ or attempt to walk the Christian pathway alone.
But as long as we depend upon Christ, as He depended upon His Father here on this earth, we are secure. We have no need to fear as we trust His perfect love."

This quote from this great book:

How Jesus Treated People ~ By Morris Venden

  photo bummed off the internet

Refreshing to the Soul

Sabbath was a beautiful day here in Texas! Our temps were actually in the lower 80's with the sunshine out! We got to spend the day at campground about 45 minutes from home. My husband spent the week end with our churches youth group. I took one of my sons and his daughter and we spent the day. My son and granddaughter ended up staying the night. We got to hike and explore and enjoy a campfire. We roasted hot dogs on the fire for lunch and then we cooked corn on the cob and baked potatoes for supper. Desert was marshmallows' roasted over the open fire- yummy!!

It was refreshing to the soul. There was a gorgeous sunset - with the prettiest deep pink section in the sky but by the time I got to a great spot to take a photo the deep pink had disappeared. Here are the photos I got though.

This week looks like a very busy week for me.

On Monday my granddaughter is out of school so I will be taking care of her that day and will have to take her back to her Mommy - a 45 minute drive from here.

There is a Dr appointment for my husband, an appointment to get my hair cut, an early more court appointment(please keep this in your prayers- thanks), a seminar meeting on Depression for me to go to and so much more.

 

I have had "clean carpets" on my "to do" list for a month or so now and keep putting it off because I haven't had time. So maybe just maybe I can finally get that done this week.

I also need to put my Block of the Month together in the next week or so. It is a gorgeous one this month - I might take photos through the process and share with you all a little step by step of putting it together.

 

I will post as I can this week. Please bear with me. 

Thanks so much! :O)  

 

Beloved Names of God..series.."Bread of Life"

Bread of Life

"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life, Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.... I am the bread of life."

John 6:35, 48 KJV

 

• Name of God the Son
• Jesus referred to Himself as "the bread of life"  twice
• Bread was an important staple of the Middle Eastern diet, essential for sustaining physical life. By declaring Himself the Bread of Life, Jesus revealed that He was sustenance for a different kind of life.
• After the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus told a crowd that God had sent them a new kind of bread that would sustain them for eternity. Him!

This is a hard teaching, "the disciples said. But it's just as hard to swallow two thousand years later. In a way, the ordinariness and humanness of Jesus is part of the problem. Because people think they know Him, they turn away looking for something more exotic and less familiar.
At this point in His mission, many walked away from Jesus. They were prepared to hear Him talk, maybe they hoped to see some of His famous miracles, but when it came to making the commitment- well. He was just one of them. Not so special after all.

 

The Twelve, however, stayed. When Jesus asked them if they were sure, Peter replies, "Lord, to whom shall we go You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68 KJV). Those wo stayed did so because they really did know Him. And they wanted to partake in the Bread of Life.

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Come back next week when we will look at the beloved name of God~ "Adonai"

Biblical Portrait ....series

Examining our walk in the light of Scripture

The verses on the following pages express God's heart for women. Together they provide a biblical portrait of a godly woman.

 

The questions that follow each verse are designed to help evaluate how well you are applying the Word in your daily walk. the point is not to answer a simple "yes" or "no" to each question, but rather to use the questions as a basis for person meditation, application, and response to the Lord.

 

Some of these verses are directed specifically to married women. Other apply more broadly to all women. Regardless of your marital status, ask God to open your heart and to help you see areas where He wants to mold you and make you a woman after His own heart.

 

To get the most our of this exercise, you may want to focus on one verse each day, asking God to show you how your life measures up to that particular aspect o His design. As you work through this section, highlight three or four verses that reveal specific areas of need in your life, so you can memorize them and engraft them into your heart and life.

 

 

What makes a beautiful woman?

 

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment...

Instead, it should be that of your inner self,

 the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit."

1 Peter 3:3-4



 

Do others see inner an inner radiance and beauty that are the results of a grateful, yielded, trusting spirit?

 

Do I focus more time and effort on cultivating inner spiritual beauty than I do on matters of external beauty?

 

 

"This is the way the holy women of the past

 who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful."

1 Peter 3:5

 

Am I more concerned about being holy than being happy?

 

Am I placing my hope and trust in God rather than in people?

 

 

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeing;

 but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

 

Am I more concerned about cultivating my relationship with the Lord than about being fashionable, stylish, or physically attractive?

 

Do I live in the constant, conscious recognition of the presence of God?

 

Do I desire to please God more than I desire the approval of others?

 

 

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety"

1 Timothy 2:9

 

Do I dress modestly?

 

Do my clothing styles encourage men to think pure thoughts, rather than stimulating them to have sensual thoughts or desires?

 

Do I dress in such a way as to draw attention to the heart and spirit of Jesus within me, rather than to my physical body?

 

 

"....not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes"

1 Timothy  2:9

 

Do I avoid extreme or excessive fashions(hair, clothing, jewelry, make-up) that could call attention to myself or cause people to be distracted from focusing on the Lord?

 

Do I avoid extravagant jewelry or clothing that could flaunt my wealth or cause others to be envious?

 

Do my wardrobe and outward appearance portray a spirit of moderation, sobriety, purity, and reverence?

 

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Next week we will look at the answers to "How does a woman of God conduct herself?"