Sunday, November 8, 2009

QUIET REFLECTIONS

This was one of my brother's favorite artist: JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT. His music is beautiful and great for reflection. Been doing alot of that this week...SUNRISE is just the beginning...



http://www.troubadourforthelord.net/ TROUBADOUR for the LORD

http://www.johnmichaeltalbot.com/ JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT "Living Water"

Saturday, November 7, 2009

EL SALVADOR "The SAVIOR"



IF THESE CHILDREN LIVE IN A COUNTRY called "the SAVIOR" but we have yet shown them "Who HE IS and How much HE LOVES them", How can they BE SAVED by JESUS?

EL SALVADOR needs the HOPE that is only found in Jesus Christ...will you be the ONE? Will you be that part of the body of Christ to say "YES"... I can help one more CHILD to LIVE eternally, but right now I'll help them LIVE for TODAY so they may come to know the real JESUS lives in each one!



November 9-13, 2009, four bloggers will witness firsthand the ministry of Compassion International to the poor of El Salvador. Daily travel with them through their stories, pictures and videos but mostly PRAY...pray for them, pray for these children and pray for how God may want to use YOU!

Bloggers and Trip leaders: Molly Piper, Kelly Stamps, Heather Whittaker, Patricia Jones , (photos) Keely Scott and Shaun Groves. (Just click & be linked to their site where they share a part of their heart while in El Salvador). Pray for their families they’ll leave behind, their spiritual and physical and mental health/stamina, their ability to take in a lot of information quickly and experience a lot of emotions and find the words to write about it all.

For more information about Compassion International or to sponsor a child visit Compassion.com.





Please help COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL SAVE the many children in El Salvador!


I thought you might enJOY this one... but not one child is INVISIBLE to God
nor should they be to US...



GOD BLESS YOU and COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL!

Please PRAY for this team & their PROJECT
in EL SALVADOR!
Then seek what the LORD may be telling YOU!

HEALER OF MY SOUL


LET OUR HEARTS & SOULS SING
UNTO OUR KING


Healer of my soul
Heal me at even'
Heal me at morning
Heal me at noon
Healer of my soul

John Michael Talbot Healer of My Soul lyrics are property and copyright of it's owners.




FOR MORE THEN SINGS MY SOUL SAT. VISIT AMY at SIGNS, MIRACLES & WONDERS




Tomorrow I will be sharing another "Quiet Reflection of John Michael Talbot ~ SUNRISE" and I think I've included the links there for JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT!



*Note of apology: I have been battling computer internet provider problems now for two weeks so I'm trying to keep up with return visits (I visit you, you visit me, I visit you, etc.) but if/when I am able many times I loose connection as I'm sending your comment. I am so sorry if you feel I'm not doing a very good blogger job...I sincerely am trying... :0(

Thursday, November 5, 2009

THANKFUL & THIRSTY THURSDAY

Just a quick post to stay accountable! I have not stopped READING GOD'S WORD and I am still THIRSTY for more of Him even though I have not been sharing my readings as I had started on Thursday. I promised that I would at least write what my theme and readings are each month.


For the month of NOVEMBER (a very obvious one):

Called to be Free to Give God Thanks and Praise


The readings with American Bible Society Reading Plan for November are:


1. Psalm 8 2. Psalm 145 3. Psalm 146 4. Psalm 147 5. Psalm 148 6. Psalm 149

7. Psalm 150 8. Exodus 35.1–29 9. Deuteronomy 26.1–19 10. Malachi 3.5–18

11. 2 Corinthians 8.1–24 12. 2 Corinthians 9.1–15 13. Psalm 46 14. Psalm 48

15. Psalm 64 16. Psalm 65 17. Psalm 66 18. Psalm 67 19. Psalm 84 20. Psalm 95

21. Psalm 96 22. Psalm 97* Bible Sunday* National Bible Week is November 22–29, 2009.

23. Psalm 98 24. Psalm 99 25. Psalm 100 Thanksgiving Day 26. Psalm 103

27. Psalm 107 28. Psalm 108 First Sunday of Advent 29. Jeremiah 33.1–26 30. Psalm 136


I have joined LEAH at South Breeze Farm in the CHALLENGE of GIVING THANKS each day during November. I 'd like to encourage all of you to join the 3rd Annual Giving Thanks Challenge! All you have to do is post one thing you're thankful for each day somewhere on your blog. It doesn't even have to be an actual thought-out post. You could do it even on your sidebar.

http://southbreezefarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-giving-thanks-challenge.html

My actual blog post of GIVING THANKS CHALLENGE is entitled:


...to read my daily list as I add, you can click above and visit as you like.

I started my GIVING THANKS CHALLENGE on November 1st with this post but I've discovered more as you'll see below (though I must have been thinking about it here because that is where I first posted this wonderful song by Kathryn Scott) it's soooooooo beautiful!!!



If you still have not heard this beautiful song, sometime this month of November, take the time to be THANKFUL and Listen to this song! I know I will be listening to it daily in my quiet time.

May we continue to be thankful & thirsty for more of GOD and less of us! May He fill you with His Holy Spirit each day! There just are not enough ways or words to truly thank Him!


I also noticed two other unique CHALLENGES:

Marsha @ Marsha's Musings is doing this one from Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Growing in Gratitude 30-day Challenge

30-day email sample

...it can be sent to your email,
she is sharing about this through her ministry
and it also goes along with a new book she's written
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

Then I found another CHALLENGE but I think it had to do with Facebook, which I don't do...but when I find it again, I'll add it here.

THIS IS IT!!!

Found it again at Penny's


Please visit ALYSSA @ Kingdom First Mom to learn more about this GREAT




LET'S CHOOSE & GROW IN GRATITUDE!

Thank You LORD for so many opportunities to give our THANKS to You!



NOVEMBER GIVING THANKS CHALLENGE for ALL of THIS & MORE

I am so THANKFUL once more
for this opportunity & privilege
to join
for the
3rd Annual

This will be the post where I will add to my list
as I GIVE THANKS to God

http://southbreezefarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-giving-thanks-challenge.html

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

#1
GOD'S AMAZING GRACE
(after all that's the first part of my blog title)

...without His GRACE where would I be
but still in
those MAZES and MESSES of my life,
lost and without direction
not enjoying the MIRACLES of Jesus' new life,
not seeing the MIRACLES all around me,
not rejoicing in the MIRACLES yet to be,
not able to believe in the MIRACLES in LIFE!

#2 God's DAILY PROVISION

#3 God's FORGIVENESS and others

#4 God's BLESSING of CHRISTIAN BLOGGER FRIENDS to share our walk together:
YOU...each one of you!!!
#5 God's CONSTANT PROTECTION

#6 God's LIVING WATER ... His WORD

#7 God's MUSIC ... and all the Christian artists

#8 WORSHIP: dance, songs, prayers, praise ... all ways of adoration to Him all the Glory

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

#25

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

SOWING and REAPING


My new Weekly Memory Verses from God's WORD for the month of November from the "Embracing the WORD" memory cards will be:


Week 39 November 1st-7th -THIS WEEK: 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Week 40 Nov. 8th-15th:
Colossians 3:2

Week 41 Nov. 16th-23rd: Galatians 2:20


Week 42 Nov. 24th-31st: Galatians 5:22-23


SO, this week I am FOCUSING on SOWING and REAPING and as always expecting a plentiful HARVEST for the LORD! With HOPES that for each SEED planted, more will REAP eternal life.



2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-7


Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
verse 6

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. verse 7

I read a sermon by John Piper from 1988, "He who Sows Bountifully will Reap Bountifully", where he reflected on this portion of scripture and "two kinds of giving". He brought out that there is a difference between these two kinds of hearts: the heart that sees God as a Taker and the heart who sees God as a Giver. Here is a portion to read the complete sermon, click here:

The Heart That Sees God as Taker

The sparing heart has a relationship to God that feels him as a Taker rather than a Giver. If my life is being drained away by God because he is so incessantly and solely demanding, then I feel like grasping after the things of the world to meet my need. If every time I look up I see the pointing finger of God demanding, "Give me! Give me! Give me!" how can I look back down at the needs of the world and say "Take me: I will gladly spend and be spent for your good"?


O this person will give something! Because one of the draining demands that he hears when he looks to this ever-demanding, ever-taking God is: "Give something to the church!" So out comes the gift—the draining, life depleting, exhausting, sparing gift.


The Heart That Sees God as Giver

But what a difference between this gift and the gift that flows from the heart that has a relationship with God that feels him as a Giver rather than a Taker!


Beneath the bountiful giving of verse 6 and the cheerful giving of verse 7 is a heart that looks up to God and sees a Giver, a Supplier, a Helper. When this person looks to God, he feels replenished not drained. Just like the literal translation of verse 6 implies, his giving is based on blessing—God's blessing.


Even when this person hears a command coming from God, he hears it as a hopeful gift not a depleting demand. Like when a three-year-old starts toddling toward the street and his mother shouts from the kitchen window, "Barnabas! Stop!" The bountiful, cheerful givers have grown up enough in their relationship with God to know that his shouts are all love.


What Makes the Difference

What makes the difference, then, between the sparing giver and the bountiful giver is their relation to God. For one he is an incessantly demanding, draining Taker. For the other he is an inexhaustible Giver.


The one feels that if God is draining me, then what joy can I have if I don't drain the world? If life is being sucked out by a demanding God, then I must suck in whatever pleasure I can from this world—O, moral pleasures to be sure, nothing terrible. God IS a demander. But our basic disposition is still one of taking, keeping, sparing—because God is always taking, always demanding. He is the great Taker.


But for the other person described in this text the flow goes all in the other direction. God is the great Giver, Fountain, Father, flowing in with ever-replenishing blessing and grace and hope. And so what this person feels when he looks at the needs of the world is a free, internal impulse to give, to share. This impulse is called love or grace. Love is simply vertical grace bent outward to other people.


The Biggest Issue in Our Lives

And so THE big issue for our lives this morning is how we see God. What do we feel him to be when we look up into his face? Paul knows this is the issue. And so the burden of the rest of this text is to help us see God and feel God as a Giver and not a Taker. He is a Giver on both sides of our giving—on the back side, enabling our giving with his blessing, and the front side, rewarding our giving with even more blessing. ~ By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org


So where is your HEART today? Not just in GIVING monetarily at church but GIVING in everything. How do YOU see GOD in your daily life, as a GIVER or as a TAKER?


NO ONE CAN OUT GIVE GOD! John Piper concludes with this after sharing what he subtitles as

THE FOUR ASPECTS of the HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS:


And when I am loved and needed and longed for, I want God to get the glory.
And to me the best news in all the world—the bottom line of all I preach, the reason I wrote Desiring God, my hope for S*P*A*N the Nineties,
the rock under the shifting sands of my emotions, the meaning of my parenthood, the bond of my marriage, the theme of my life, the heartbeat of my ministry—is this: that God wants to be the Giver in my life and your life so that he will get the glory.

TO THE GIVER BE ALL THE GLORY!



Dear Father, Righteous and Gracious God,

Create in me a holy readiness to give of that which You have given me, never as an exaction but as a willing gift.

Help me to sow bountifully so that I shall reap bountifully. Let me make up my mind about what to give.

Then let my giving be cheerful, not with reluctance or under compulsion.

And why shouldn't I give, since You give to me without reservation. You are able to provide me with every blessing in abundance, and You will provide so that I will always have enough for myself and some to give away.

Father, forgive me for the times I have been miserly with the abundance you have shared with me. Make me a conduit of blessings. I know that all I have is yours. Please help me use it as you would.

In the name of Jesus Christ, the truly generous Savior of mankind. Amen.


My computer IP gave up on me before I had a chance to finish with this :( sorry:

FOR MORE WONDERFUL WORD FILLED WEDNESDAY, please visit our hostess

Penny @ pennyraine.com/blog

and don't forget


Amydeanne @ the 160acrewoods

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

NOT COUNTING YOUR SINS

Each week I have been taking a verse from the Father's Love Letter to share and allow us to soak in His LOVE from HIS Letter to Me & YOU: the Bible.

Today's comes from 2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-19...

All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.

(NIV Bible)
(*FLL will represent Father's Love Letter). To see the letter in full you can scroll down and read or listen & watch a video of it. Or just go to the original site by clicking on FLL above in red.
There are 52 verses in the FLL! Today we are looking at #43 from the FLL

So far I have covered these lines & the verses from FLL:
02. You may not know me, but I know everything about you
03. I know when you sit down and when you rise up
04. For I am familiar with all your ways
05. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered
06. For you were made in my image
07. In me you live and move and have your being, for you are my offspring
08. I knew you even before you were conceived
09. I chose you when I planned creation
10. You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book
11. I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live
12. You are fearfully and wonderfully made
13. I knit you together in your mother's womb
14. And brought you forth on the day you were born
15. I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me
16. I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love
17. And it is my desire to lavish my love on you
18. I offer you more than your earthly father ever could
19. For I am the perfect father
20. Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand
21. For I am your provider and I meet all your needs
22. My plan for your future has always been filled with hope
23. Because I love you with an everlasting love
24. My thoughts toward you are as countless as the sand on the seashore
25.
And I rejoice over you with singing
26. I will never stop doing good to you
27. For you are my treasured possession
28. I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul
29. And I want to show you great and marvelous things
30. If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me
31. Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart
32. For it is I who gave you those desires
33. I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine
34. For I am your greatest encourager
35.
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles
36.
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you
37. As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart
38. One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes
39. I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus
40. For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed
41. He is the exact representation of my being
THIS WEEK:

HOW AWESOME IS THIS THAT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE SENT JESUS to be SIN for us and then HE TELLS US THAT HE FORGIVES EACH SIN AS WE CONFESS THEM AS FAR AS "THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST" but added to that awesome declaration OUR FATHER TELLS US THAT HE IS NOT COUNTING THEM AGAINST US! HOW TRULY WONDERFUL IS THIS!!!... but I guess it depends how you see God, as a loving Father or an angry Judge? And then there is this:

I read this verse and read this verse and the word that stands out the most is
RECONCILING and that God gave us this ministry of RECONCILIATION.

I am the least likely candidate to write on RECONCILIATION. It certainly is not because I do not know about the blessings of being reconciled or have not tried my best to reconcile.

But the truth is that I live in a marriage that has "irreconcilable" differences and seems so far from being reconciled or turning back the hands of time that brought our relationship to this demise. It may go back as far as to its very beginnings, that it was not the right relationship for either of us to enter into for so many reasons. Our differences became continual conflicts even impacting our health. It is certain that my spiritual life has been hindered. My emotional health was also being greatly influenced. These are not excuses or justifications.

So what does it mean "to reconcile"?

Vine's definition of "reconcile" comes from the Greek word "katallasso":
Definition:1) to change, exchange, as coins for others of equivalent value
1a) to reconcile (those who are at variance)
1b) return to favor with, be reconciled to one
1c) to receive one into favor

...it properly denotes to change, exhange - a change from enmity to friendship. It is mutual, i.e., it is a change wrought in both parties who have been at enmity. However, in the case of GOD and (hu)man's relationship, man has moved away from God, and it is man who needs to be reconciled back to God, not God back to man!

[It is when we understand the meaning and process of "reconciliation" (along with "propitiation") that we begin to appreciate the wonderful extent of God's grace and His love for mankind.

But God went beyond just sending His Son to die on the cross as a propitiation designed to reconcile man back to God; He has also developed... the MINISTRY of RECONCILIATION]


God gave us the ministry of reconciliation and sent us as Ambassadors. Our job is to tell people about the heroic steps God has taken to SAVE each one of us...we are to GO and TELL the world what He has done to reconcile man back to Himself.

We are HIS Ambassadors to continue this ministry today: for people are still LOST in their sins and God still loves the LOST. Indeed, the eternal destiny of one's soul depends upon being reconciled to God. The fact that God "pleads" and Christ "implores" us to be reconciled tell us some things that are very important for us to realize...

a. Reconciliation is not unconditional (we must respond!)
b. Reconciliation is not universal (some will be lost!)

Indeed, the grace and mercy of God offered in the death of His Son must not be received in vain!


RECONCILIATION is one of the steps in HEALING!


First, CONFESSION followed by REPENTANCE then comes the RECONCILIATION (expressing and receiving the forgiveness and pursuing intimate fellowship) finally RESTITUTION.

This is true for injustices in society and acts committed against other people groups in as well (such as with the Native Americans). There hopefully is RESTORATION as a result and RENEWAL.


I need to return this RECONCILIATION back to my personal marriage relationship. I believe that each of us tried to find a way at some point in our relationship to resolve our situations, they just never worked. Perhaps each of us had expectations to change the other. You see that is the part of the definition of "to reconcile". God can change us...God will change anyone who surrenders that part of their life that needs fixing. God desires for us to make changes in our life. In fact, each phase of our lives is a process of transformation.


Healthy relationships require compromise on a regular basis. I think that is where we are in our present status. Compromise shows wisdom and experience — that expecting only the other person to make all the changes in the relationship is unrealistic and simplistic. Many marriages encounter problems, and finding your way toward reconciliation can be a challenge. It takes time, commitment and hard work to make a marriage work. In my marriage, we accept each other and what each of us have chosen to do in our lives, including living apart to avoid continual conflicts.


My HOPE would be to RESTORE my marriage if that is God's will. Of course, God wants marriages restored and healed. I'm not sure that this is so in my case. But I remain open at all times. I do believe that we are RECONCILED although our differences are yet to be reconciled.


Each summer that I go home, I go home with the expectation that God will RESTORE what we selfishly destroyed. We have gone through the healing steps but some things have not changed. He is who he is and I am who I am but still remains the question if we were meant to be together...yes, God allowed our paths to continually cross but perhaps marriage was not meant to be the outcome. Without knowing each of us, I'm sure this is confusing. Our relationship is FIRE PROOF but perhaps God never intended us to marry. You see, my spouse is one of what we see as the LOST. He believes in GOD but not in God as I know Him. He does not accept Jesus as LORD, knowing about Him and though he is very much a humanitarian, which blinded me - He believes there are many ways to GOD. So, I continue to pray for his hardened heart to be tender and open when God sends someone to reap the harvest of his soul. Maybe you can join me in praying for him/us.


This relationship failure leaves me many times feeling as a "failure". It reminds me of my MAZES in my life and the many dead ends and trails of following the path around and around, hoping to find my way out or the right way to RESTORE or RECONCILE my relationship. It leaves me wondering if all of this MESS is part of a consequence for choosing to marry in REBELLION. So I take my failed marriage and whatever part I had in that failure to the Cross, I lay it at His feet, I ask for His forgiveness and direction. I ask Him to show me how I can be reconciled or restored. To lead me.

God loves to shed light on us when we are lost and points us in the direction of reconciliation.


Reconciliation is made possible through Jesus Christ.


In other words...
1) God took Christ, who knew no sin, to represent our sin and to receive the punishment due for sin in His death on the cross
2) So that we, who were enemies, alienated from God by our sins, might be reconciled back to God!
3) And through Christ's death:
a) We might become the righteousness of God in Him -
2Co 5:21a
b) We might be holy, blameless and irreproachable in His sight, because our trespasses are not imputed to us -
Col 1:22; 2Co 5:19; Ro 4:6-8


Indeed, reconciliation is possible because God has offered Jesus as a "propitiation" for our sins!
a. The word "propitiation" describes a sacrifice that is designed to appease for sins
b. It was used to describe those sacrifices that Gentiles offered to their gods
c. But in the NT, it is GOD who offers the "propitiation", not man!

This illustrates the great love God has for us, and how far He has gone in trying to reconcile man back to Himself! This is also the love required in a marriage between the bride & the spouse. God's relationship with the church as His Bride is intended to show forth this great LOVE! His love covers us with His aMazing Grace! His eyes reflect His love and affirmation. He celebrates your triumphs! Here is how the Father's Love Letter ends:


While God is righteous and holy and sin cannot dwell in His presence, the issue of our sin has been dealt with once and for all by the death of Jesus Christ. Because of the cross, when God looks at us, He does not see our sin but only the precious blood of His Son. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we have been reconciled to God and our sins have been separated from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).


What a glorious thought! God is not counting my sins! God is not counting your sins! Hallelujah!




PRAYER:


Father, I thank You for not counting my sins against me. I believe that You are not an angry judge but You are my loving Father! I thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for me to take upon Himself all my sin. I thank You that His death, burial and resurrection have made a way for me to be completely forgiven and fully reconciled to You as Your little child.


I wait and am ready for whatever is Your will as regards my marriage reconciliation, restoration. You saw when I worked diligently to REBUILD but I'm sure it takes more than one to do that...and that is why I turn to You. I believe LORD that there is a time for everything and all in Your time. I surrender to Your will. I surrender my marriage to Your purpose. I surrender my husband to You.


In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN. I love You and thank You!


Monday, November 2, 2009

GRACE




It was 19 years ago today, that GRACE and Our sweet LORD called my youngest brother's name to come home, so today I'm deep in thought and prayer, thinking of him, for it seems like just yesterday and then the next moment, it's seems so long ago...so very long ago that I had to say,

"Goodbye for now, my sweet brother and friend...'til we meet again...I will look to Jesus and recall His mercy & grace along with my love for you & HIS for all of us."

One would think by now the grief would have left, but I no longer see my thinking of my brother, my mother, my father or any other, as grief instead I hold on and treasure remembering the times we shared and will share once more at the feet of Our Lord! I do not linger in grief anymore for I know:
What a sweet day of rejoicing that will be! I'm encouraged by Our Holy Comforter and His WORD:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14: 1-4

Sunday, November 1, 2009

GIVING THANKS CHALLENGE 2009

http://southbreezefarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-giving-thanks-challenge.html


I'd like to encourage all of you to join LEAH @ South Breeze Farm
for the
3rd Annual

"All you have to do is post one thing you're thankful for each day somewhere on your blog. It doesn't even have to be an actual thought-out post. Just start making a list on your sidebar - somewhere you can see it every day to encourage an attitude of thankfulness."

If you plan to JOIN her, go over to link up and grab her button.

"It doesn't matter if you start now, November 1st, or sometime mid-month. It's never too late to acknowledge God's love for you and His faithfulness to you!"

Denise @ Shortybear's Place shared another blogger, Karla from Karla's Corner that also has



And of course, there is always THANKFUL THURSDAY being hosted this month by sweet IRIS @



just in case, you can't think of anything to be THANKFUL for daily (lol) or have so much that you have to write a blog post to capture it (which truthfully means that you have time only on one day to write it ALL out!!!) Since Thankful Thursday is all year long, you express your THANKS weekly and that certainly is a great attitude of GRATITUDE!

So whoever you choose to JOIN...the main point is to BE THANKFUL
in all things...


With this in mind, my first day of THANKS is for:

#1
GOD'S AMAZING GRACE
(after all that's the first part of my blog title)

...without His GRACE where would I be
but still in
those MAZES and MESSES of my life,
lost and without direction
not enjoying the MIRACLES of Jesus' new life,
not seeing the MIRACLES all around me,
not rejoicing in the MIRACLES yet to be,
not able to believe in the MIRACLES in LIFE!

We can have an attitude of gratitude, focus on what is right in our lives and be thankful for those things. We can choose to be thankful for what we have and who God is, as opposed to what we don't have.

Let's offer thanksgiving to God in advance for what He is going to do and for the prayers yet to be answered!

Oh YES LORD, I am so very thankful for Your aMazing Grace! I am ever so humbled by Your love for me. I am so blessed to know You as Lord and Savior. I do not deserve Your mercy and forgiveness, but that is the reason for Your Grace. Pour Your sweet GRACE over me and all who come here to share in starting off this month of November with our THANKS to You and for You! May my attitude be a continual one of gratitude and telling You and others of the THANKS GIVING in my heart each day! I thank You this day for Your
GRACE:

GOD'S
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense



Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.



I already shared this song but love it so much that I want to post it once more because

HOW COULD I EVER SAY THANK YOU by Kathryn Scott

How could I ever say thank You

When the whole of this life’s not enough

Though I offer each breath back in worship

It never could match Your great love

So great are Your ways

Such encompassing grace

Love that reaches beyond each defense

Your mercy disarms the most broken of hearts

Such complete and profound faithfulness

How could I thank You

How could I ever repay You

When You laid aside Heaven for me

You came to the earth its Creator

Incarnate to set sinners free

I love You Lord

I love You Lord

I love You Lord

I love You Lord

————–

How Could I Ever Say Thank You © 2007 Vertical Worship Songs/ASCAP,

written by Kathryn Scott.





I will be developing a post that I will add my THANKS to GOD & share it probably each Sunday for that entire previous week, if I have not kept up daily...the POST with my daily list of THANKFULNESS is entitled:


Thanks!

Love & Sweet blessings & Hugs!

DIOS TE BENDIGA
GOD BLESS YOU

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Peggy



"MY IDENTITY IN CHRIST"

WHO I AM IN CHRIST
THROUGH HIS EYES ... and HIS WORD

Declare these daily! Claim & believe them for they are written in His Love letter to you (the part in parentheses comes from the Bible).

Renamed by me as "The Tree" instead of "The Bell" because I did not have the shape of the bell but a tree when I finished.


THE
'TREE'
I KNOW
WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)

I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17)

I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)

I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)

I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)

I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)

I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)

I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)

I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant ( Phil.3:20)

I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)

I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)

I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)

I cannot be separated from the love of God( Rom.8:35-39)

I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)

I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)

I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

*I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified

(Romans 5:1) I am God's co-worker (1 Cor.. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1).

I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10 ) I am confident

that the good works God has begun in me

will be perfected.(Phil 1: 5)

I have been redeemed

and forgiven (Col. 1:14).

I have been adopted

as God's child*

(Eph 1:5)

I am rooted

and established

in Christ

(Eph 3:17)

I belong

to God

Do you

know

who you are!?


[this is suppose to be in the shape of a bell but the last part* did not fit that way, 2 verses together from star to star, to see it correctly go here.

When I was done the best I could form it, it looked more like a tree & I added the last verse above & the 3 verses below, for the TREE, whereas usually it tells you to "keep this bell ringing -pass it on"]


I will say,

"Keep this TREE planted & growing,

rooted & established in Christ"

Pass it on


The fruit of the righteous is a TREE of LIFE

and s/he who wins souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:30


BE LIKE THIS!


S/He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever s/he does prospers.

Psalm 1:3


And I pray that YOU, being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all believers, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love

that surpasses knowledge that YOU may be filled to the measure of all

fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17b (NIV) emphasis mine



"The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make His face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.."

Numbers 6:24-26


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and

He will direct your path." (Proverbs 3:5,6)


TO READ the original verses that I had here for

"My Identity in Christ"

since I first wrote them in a blog post in 2008

Click here or IDENTITY label.

For more of Today's Verse go to HEARTLIGHT.org with Phil Ware

The Father's Love Letter (the Original in English)(Spanish version follows Love Letter)

Father's Love Letter

My Child...
You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.
1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.
1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad....
...Almighty God


PERMISSION TO COPY:The printed version of Father's Love Letter can be copied and used for free distribution providing the following copyright information is displayed... 'Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications Copyright 1999-2008 http://www.fathersloveletter.com/

Father's Love Letter in Spanish Carta del Amor del Padre

DO YOU KNOW JESUS?

I believe that my MAZES, MESSES, & MIRACLES ...aMAZING GRACE would not be complete without offering this GREAT opportunity to MEET my BEST FRIEND FOREVER: Jesus Christ. I feel that the best way is to start with Proverbs 31 Ministry: (Just Click and be linked http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/doyouknowJesus/doYouKnowJesus.php
Conoces Jesucristo o quieres conocerlo(
con un clic aqui para saber como y conocerlo mejor!!!)Espanol-Proverbios 31.

If you knew Jesus, but gave up your faith or following Him, perhaps it's time to restart your life. He's waiting with open arms.

If you never knew Him as Lord and Savior, please accept my invitation, and follow the steps Proverbs 31 suggests.

If you've struggled throughout your life, or just decided that you can do it on your own, surrender and try Jesus, it's never too late!