Do Not Remember

Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?  I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV)

What did the old year hold for you? Blessings? Regret? Sadness? New friends? Divorce? Death?
Whatever it was, God has new beginnings for each of us. I am not one to set new year resolutions. I find if I do I set myself up for failure.

What I do desire for this New Year is to walk closer to God. I want to lay my hurts and disappointments aside, and replace them with thankfulness and joyfulness. I want to dwell on God's goodness and not on my "I wants."

I am excited to see what God will do in 2012. Not only personally but also in the church, in the nations, and in you. Things may look like total devastation, yet God can bring beauty out of it. Even though, politically our world is falling apart, we need not despair. "Look up for your redemption draweth nigh."

Have a very good last day of 2011, and I will see you next year!
God bless you.

He Is

This morning I opened my Bible to Psalm 18, and was so blessed to be reminded what God was to David, but also is mine.
Verses 1-3 "I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies."


Is there any situation in my life that God does not cover/provide: My rock, fortress, deliverer, God, strength, shield, Salvation, stronghold. These are great blessings to take into the new year, and cling to them as never before. God does promise to be my All. And these verses certainly would include "all." We have so much, yet we complain so much. Why is it easier to look into the battlefield, rather than to the Deliverer?

My greatest battle comes from within...my mind. My emotions, attitudes, expectations are a constant battle. But God is my Deliverer! "Lord, take my fortress away, and give me Your Fortress. Help me not to hide behind the fortress of fear, selfishness..."

God bless you.

If I'm to Succeed

 The following devotional thoughts were sent to me by Roy Coy. It really put in perspective how I want not only to finish this year, but my life. I just couldn't say it better, than it is said. I trust you will find this a blessing as I did.
God bless you.

Today, it is a snare to imagine that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do; God's purpose is to make us one with Himself.

  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14 NKJV)

 If we are to succeed in the Christian life and honor God by the lives we live, then we are going to have to run the race His way. We will have to run with our eyes upon Him. We will have to learn to turn a blind eye to the allurements of the world and a deaf ear to the siren song of compromise. If we will attain the prize of Christ likeness, then we will have to pay the price of dedication and struggle. It will be a hard fought victory, but in the end, when we see His face, it will be worth it all! (A. Carr)

The way to walk a tightrope is to keep one's sight on the goal, looking neither down to the ground nor over our shoulder at what is behind. The way to walk with Jesus is to keep our eye on the goal, his victory waiting for us when he returns, not on the ground (our failures) and not what is behind (our accomplishments). The goal of the Christian walk is to keep walking toward Jesus until we walk with him in heaven. (P. Ware)

Almost 2012

The day started out on a run and didn't stop until a few minutes ago. Have you ever had this? I mean, really, I thought I'd have quiet time, cup of coffee, then last minute things to help Patrick be ready to leave around 11:00. He left for Haiti today. None of the "planned" moments.

Last minute things for Patrick, then work started in the office. After working a while, Promise stood by the desk and said, "My grandma, you sure do have a lot of stuff on your desk!" That was an understatement! So it was that I passed the whole day at the desk, working, trying to put closure on 2011. Thankfully I have a couple more days.

I was rewarded a few minutes ago with a Skype call from Patrick. He arrived in Haiti safely.

I am excited to start a study on the Psalms on worship starting on NY's Day. I feel like I'm sharing small grains of my life today. That is truly what it was, small grains. Then I remember that if I have "faith as a mustard seed, I can move mountains." This is my prayer for tomorrow. I will move mountains of work in the office, so that I will have a fresh start in 2012.

I do not want to be so busy in the office the next few days,  and not take time to thank God for all the good He has provided in this year. In spite of hardships, God is still faithful and good to me. Maybe I should read through my blog for 2011, and be reminded of all that God has done.

God bless you

Post-Christmas

Now we are beyond Christmas, and approaching New Year.

Before Christmas, I was hearing different approaches to the celebration—too much fuss, not enjoying family, families fight at dinners, loving Christmas, loving gifts, oh no I forgot to get her a gift and I just found out she got me one. The list could go on.

When I heard the remark, "Oh no, I forgot to get her a gift, and found out she got me a gift" it got me thinking. For you see that is not gift giving, it is exchanging a gift. Isn't gift giving doing that which cannot be returned? If we are remembering Jesus at Christmas, then a gift is that which isn't a return. He did for us what we cannot do for others or Him. The only thing we can do is give Him our life, but it doesn't compare with what He has done!

Lines are long to exchange gifts that weren't the right color, size, or just not wanted. I trust we are not exchanging the ultimate gift, Jesus, for something of less value!

I do hope you all had a Blessed Christmas.

God bless you

You're Beautiful

All day long the worship song, You're Beautiful, has been ringing in my heart. How often I have missed to see the beauty in the sunrise, the setting sun in the evening, and the host of stars in heaven at night. How all nature worships the Father. I do remember the heavens in Haiti, in the village, where there are no other lights to interfere with the brightness of the stars. Standing on the roof, looking into the sky, always seemed like I should be able to touch the stars. It was truly beautiful! An Amazing God we serve!

I am sure as Mary looked into the face of her baby, she was saying "You're beautiful." Now many generations since, we still look into the face of our Lord saying, "You're beautiful." How can we see His face? In the Word. The Bible gives us much to see in the face of our Lord.

At this time of the year, we see many lights every where we go. But none of these lights shine as bright as the glory of Jesus. Let's not miss the glory of Jesus in the midst of the holiday celebrations.

For those of you who do not know the song, you can listen to it on You tube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?

God bless you

Embraced by the Father

In the busyness around us during the holiday season, and Christmas almost here, it is easy to find ourselves in the hustle of things. This morning I'm tired. Then I found the following message by Blue Bible in my email, and felt it worth sharing. Maybe some of you are like me, in need of quiet and rest. We have it as God's child.

Blue Bible
"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid? (Psalms 27:1)

The Lord is ever with the child of His right hand. Mercy, protection,
grace, and love are ever the believer's company. By the precious blood
of Christ, we are made partakers of the heavenly promise. Hide yourself
in Christ, O believer, and embrace the true rest He so lovingly grants
His children! Rest and do good!"


I sense there are many tired, lonely people this season. There are many who don't like to face Christmas...incurable disease, sudden death of a loved one, a child not coming home, or aged and just lonely. Whatever the case may be, God is at our side. We can embrace ourselves in the arms of the Heavenly Father. Maybe there are those of you who have a husband who doesn't embrace you. God will. Jesus knew loneliness, rejection, and death. He knows our needs. Trust Him.


God bless you