Wednesday's Whisper & Thursday's Thought

Isaiah 64:8

But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Good afternoon, everyone!

Well, once again I am coming to you with two spoons full of tonic... Wednesday's and Thursday's. Open wide..... hope they are a true tonic for your soul today!!

The Lord is good. He is faithful and just. There is no God like our God. He reigns in majesty and might. He knows the way that we take. He knows exactly why things happen to us like they do.

Much like a potter and the clay in his hands... He knows how much heat and pressure the clay can handle before it breaks. The Lord has a beautiful design in mind for each of us, and we truly desire Him to make of us what HE desires us to be. 

The lyrics of another beautiful song seem appropriate for today's blog:

The Potter Knows the Clay

by the Perrys

Verse One

I know you're going through the fire

It's getting hard to stand the heat

But even harder is the wondering,

"Is God's hand still on me?"

It's lonely in the flames

When you're counting days of pain

Chorus

But the Potter knows the clay

How much pressure it can take

How many times around the wheel

'Til they're sufficient to His will

He's planned a beautiful design

But it'll take some fire and time

It's gonna be okay

'Cause the Potter knows the clay

Verse Two

Friend, I just came through that fire

Not too very long ago

And, looking back, I can see why

And that my God was in control

But on the hottest days, I cried,

"O Lord, isn't it 'bout time?"

Chorus again

I pray that whatever you're going through today, remember that our Father is the Master Potter, and He will put no more on us than we can bear. Trust His capable hands to form you (and me) into the vessels He wants us to be... beautiful and "fit for the Master's use."

Hope to see you again tomorrow.......

Tuesday's Tidbit

Psalm 56:3

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

Good morning, one and all!

It seems that I might be back on my morning schedule, and I sure hope so. I love mornings. I love being awakened with a desire to pray early. So glad I serve a God who is available at every hour of the day and night; He never sleeps nor slumbers!

The church where we are right now plays some beautiful songs during pre-church prayer, and this one I am posting today has the sweetest message within its beautiful melody and lyrics. I hope you enjoy reading the lyrics but, if you happen to Google the title and/or artist, I think you'll really enjoy the melody.

You are God

By Pastor Rob and Shara McKee with

The Pentecostals of Katy Sanctuary Choir

Verse One

Sometimes my prayers don’t get answered

The way I think they should

And I have heard that life’s not fair

But I know that God is good

When I can’t find the answers

And my blue skies turn to gray

I have to trust His heart

So I lift my hands and say

Chorus

You are God and that’s enough for me

Sometimes I have to walk by faith

When the road’s not clear to see

When I don’t understand

I will trust the Unseen Hand

You are God and that’s enough for me

Verse Two

You’ve been my constant Companion

When no one else was around

You've helped me keep my feet

Planted on solid ground

You are my strong tower

I can run to and be safe

And when I am afraid

I look to You and I say

Verse Three

Sometimes He calms the storms

But mostly He calms me

And I just have to hold His hand

As I face the raging sea

You see my soul it has been anchored

All else is sinking sand

And though the winds still blow

In my heart I know

Such a precious comforting song.... Have a Terrific Tuesday, trusting in Jesus!

Hope to be back again tomorrow with Wednesday's Whisper......

Monday's Moment

Psalm 107:9

 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Good morning - Marvelous Monday morning - to all of you!

I am once more able to write in the morning time, and I'm glad. Hopefully, my internet hot spot will hold out until I finish this blog post. 

Thinking about the goodness of the Lord this morning. When I awoke, I peeked out our privacy curtain in the motor home, wanting to see if it was raining. While I did not see any rain, I did view several emergency vehicles at the nearby intersection in front of the church. It seemed that two cars had collided. From my view, the accident did not seem to be a fatal one. I raised one of our shades and, while enjoying my first cup of coffee, watched until the damaged vehicles were towed away. It seemed that no one went away in an ambulance, and I'm glad about that. But, those people never anticipated starting their Monday morning off in that manner!

God is good even when bad things happen; He's good all the time. And, I've discovered that He is good to people when they don't even deserve it. His love and goodness reach so much farther than we can even comprehend.

This song was sung yesterday morning, and I really love it. I thought I'd share it with you:

You are Good

by Kari Jobe 

Your kindness leads me to repentance

Your goodness draws me to Your side

Your mercy calls me to be like You

Your favor is my delight

Every day, I'll awaken my praise

Pour out a song from my heart

You are good, You are good

You are good

Your mercy is forever

You are good, You are good

You are good

Your mercy is forever

Your kindness is forever

Your mercy is forever

Your goodness is forever

Forever

Thankful for this new day to serve the Lord. Let's rejoice because of the goodness of the Lord. 

Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow for Tuesday's Tidbit!

Saturday's Snippet & Sunday's Specialty

Matthew 10:8

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Good afternoon, family and friends....

Due to internet issues, I find it necessary to serve you two spoons full of tonic once again! I hope the issue gets remedied tomorrow, for I miss my internet. Funny how we get so attached to things, and feel we can hardly live without them!

The above verse from Matthew 10 is a favorite of mine, and often pricks my heart. I know I have used it in previous blog posts, but here it is again. We are so blessed to have been freely given the gospel, and Jesus simply commands us to, "freely give."

Yesterday, we had a blow out on one of the tires of our motor home when we were only about one hour from our destination. We were grateful to have left our MS home around noon, so we had plenty of time; just didn't want to spend the extra time sitting at a rest area, waiting on repairmen.

When the repairmen arrived, my husband talked with them and, as is his custom, he mentioned where he would be preaching this Sunday. One man seemed genuinely interested in coming to the revival. My husband freely gave the man something worthwhile. I hope he and his wife come to this church.

Then, this morning, I watched as a dedicated group of church workers helped lead children in and out of the sanctuary; many of these children being riders of the church's vans. Some of them apparently knew nothing of respect for the house of God as they were quite active... but they were being freely given an opportunity to visit a church where truth is preached; somewhere where the people love them and care about their souls.

I've witnessed my husband and numerous church workers in the past day and a half freely give of the treasure they were so freely given by God. Isn't that what we are ALL supposed to be doing?

God bless you all, and I hope that we all do our Father's business and give away some love and kindness to all we meet.

Hope to see you again tomorrow!

Thursday's Thought & Friday's Footnote

Isaiah 35:4

 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

Deuteronomy 31:8

 And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

2 Timothy 1:7

 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Good evening, family & friends!

Well, I did it again... failed to blog yesterday, so now I am giving you two spoons full of tonic one more time. I hope this doesn't become a habit!

Just a few words about fear. Max Lucado wrote this in his book Fearless: "Fear will always knock on your door. Just don't invite it in for dinner, and for heaven's sake don't offer it a bed for the night." Now that is good advice!!

Fear truly has torment. It can actually feel like paralysis, rendering its victim unable to move and function. God does not give us the spirit of fear; but He gives us the spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Max Lucado also wrote this in his book, "Let's embolden our hearts with a select number of Jesus' "do not fear" statements."

I like the verse from Isaiah that I posted above - advice to those with fearful hearts... "Be strong, and fear not..." -  our God is coming to save us!! God wants us to trust HIM; not our feelings or emotions. We are to look beyond what is seen with our natural eyes and see through faith what God sees. We may see the heat of the battle but God sees the victory.

We can fill our hearts and minds with "what ifs" but these accomplish nothing but enhancing fear. Another excerpt from Lucado's book, "Fear may fill our world, but it doesn't have to fill our hearts. The promise of Christ is this: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today."

I will close with this song by Carman:

Fear Not My Child

by Carman

In myself I failed the Lord

And was afraid to try once more

That fire in my soul had fled

That's when Jesus came and said

My Spirit gives the strength you need

To raise you up and to succeed

And for vision in the night

To you I'll give these words of light

Fear not, my child,

I am with you always

I feel every pain

And every tear I see

Fear not, my child,

I am with you always

I know how to care

For what belongs to me

He said, my child, don't look behind

Discouragement is all you'll find

Don't watch the waves that roll the sea

But just focus your eyes on Me

And I will make you strong and then

Your shattered courage I will mend

And if you fall and should get hurt

Remember these eternal words

Fear not, my child,

I am with you always

I feel every pain

And every tear I see

Fear not, my child,

I am with you always

I know how to care 

For what belongs to me

God is good, and when we trust Him, then fear has no place to stay.... it leaves!

Trusting you have a good night's rest, and hopefully, I will share tomorrow's spoonful with you earlier!

Tuesday's Tidbit & Wednesday's Whisper

Psalm 146:5

 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

Good morning, one and all!

Well, it happened. After blogging daily for over a year, I let yesterday slip by without a post. So, today, I shall give you two spoons full of tonic. 

I was thinking about happiness, and decided for these two blog posts to add some quotes:

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.

-Charles Spurgeon

Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.

-Steve Maraboll

Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

-Mother Teresa

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

-Frederick Keonig

Each day is a new canvas to paint upon.

Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness,

and at the end of the day you don't look at it

and wish you had painted something different.

-Author Unknown

Here's a little children's chorus from years back:

The time to be happy is now

The place to be happy is here

The way to be happy is to make others happy

And to have a little heaven down here

May your life be happy today! If the Lord be willing, I'll be back tomorrow with another spoonful!

Monday's Moment

Psalm 113:9

 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

Greetings, one and all....

It is nearing midnight, and I am oh, so tired. I was thinking of mothers, especially young mothers with children, just a few minutes ago, as I tried to wrap my brain around something worthwhile to write before the clock strikes twelve. They are a busy group of women.

I have been with my daughter and family for eight days now, doing my best to help her as she recovers from the birth of her third child. There is much to do in a house where a family of five lives. I should know all about this as I once had three small children when once upon a time I, too, was young. The work never ends!!

Oh, and my trip to Walmart with my two grandsons, aged ten and eight, what an experience!! LOL!! Trying to follow my list, and at the same time keeping the one who wanted to push the shopping cart from ramming it into someone, and knowing where they were all the time. We survived Walmart!

Then, when we arrived back at the house with the groceries, it was time to start supper. After supper, it was time to clean up, do a load or two of laundry, play a game with the grandsons, sweep and mop the kitchen floor, and drag myself into the shower for a much needed cleansing.

All too soon it will be time for me to get back to my normal life with just my husband; the two of us traveling from church to church, endeavoring to do what the Lord desires us to do. I will not be faced with the responsibility of a family of five any longer, but I will miss seeing this little granddaughter every day, watching her grow. And, it will be months before I can play a game with these two fine grandsons of mine. I kind of envy the grandmothers who live in the same city or at least live within a 2-3 hour drive of their grandchildren - they are indeed blessed.

But, life isn't fair. We treasure each day we share with family... especially the grandchildren. Each day is truly a gift... that's why it's called the present!

It's bedtime now.... but I hope any young mother reading this blog will know that I think you're great!!! And I will be praying for renewed strength for you EVERY DAY... because you sure need it!

Hope to see you again some time tomorrow... if I can find the spoon in order to share some tonic with you!