"The Lord will guide you always" - Isaiah 58:11

"Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

Hold me with Thy powerful hand"

What a wonderful hymn of faith...His hand is ALWAYS powerful, ALWAYS guiding!  The prophet Isaiah was cautioning the people to not follow temple regulations for a great show, but to seek the leadership and blessing of the Lord.  Our Lord's leadership today will guide us to do the right things if we will pay attention!

Our church just read NOT A FAN by Kyle Idleman, about being a follower of Jesus, not a fan - there is a huge difference.  Fans come and go; followers do not!  In his book, there is a wonderful account of the first foreign missionaries, Adoniram and Anne Judson.  They felt led to go to Burma in 1813...where of course no missionary had gone before.  They experienced much hardship - prison, illness, torture, even Anne's death.   But because they allowed the Lord to guide them there today not only is the Bible translated into Burmese, but there are 3700 congregations in that country.  And guess what else?  First Baptist San Antonio today has over 200 Burmese refugees worshipping with us because of their work!  One of the young boys calls me "Miss Holly Wood" and I just love it!  I get to teach these children the Bible that the Judsons gave their lives translating!  What a privilege!

Going wherever the Lord guides us will ALWAYS be the right direction!

For further study:  Exodus 15:13, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 119:35, Psalm 139:7-10, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:20-21,Jonah 3:1-3, Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 9:23, John 16:13, 2 Thes. 3:5

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to the Lord - Psalm 19:14

David, the poet in this psalm, knew the connection between the heart and the tongue.  He knew if praise was within him, it would flow out of him.  He also knew the difference between his God being disappointed in him and pleased with him.
Does praise rise up out of our hearts or is it something else?  I once heard someone say "praise rises up as a natural overflow of a grateful heart".  What flows up out of an ungrateful heart?  I'm afraid we all know...or maybe only I know!

Joe Stowell (I know...my fav!) in THE WEIGHT OF YOUR WORDS talks about the tongue as discussed in James 3:3-6 as a bit, a rudder and a fire.  He says:

       "These things are all affected by something else.  The horse's bit is controlled by the
       rider; the rudder is wielded by the helmsman and the fire is born in the spark.  So
       our tongues march to the drumbeat of our spirits."

He also says: "...our speech problems are really heart problems.  Our tongues are the servants of our spirits.  My words simply reveal what's on my heart."

When we ask God to give us pure hearts (Psalm 51:10), guess what begins to happen to our words?
The Lord longs to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18)...He has an incredible plan for you to be gracious to others with your words and your actions, to build them up and not tear them down (Eph. 4:29-32).  May our words and our thoughts be a sweet aroma to our God and to others beginning today!

For further study:  Psalm 51:10,  66:18, 119:9-16; Proverbs 4:23-24, 12:18, 27:19; Ezekiel 36:26-27, Matthew 12:33-37, 23:25-26; Luke 6:43-45, Ephesians 4:29-32, James 3:3-6

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

"Be content with whatever you have..." Hebrews 13:5

We still have our Christmas wreath on our front door, which frustrates me, because a sweet mother wren has built a nest there and laid her eggs in that nest!  That protective mother is not happy with us - in fact I believe she is very discontent every time we go in and out.  Of course she flies off when we approach and my poor husband - while bringing in a ladder at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning to change the smoke alarm battery! - even had to shoo her out of the house.  We are the world and she cannot control our actions.

Warren Wiersbe says:

          "Real contentment must come from within.  You and I cannot change
          or control the world around us, but we can change and control the
          world within us."

That bird can control her response to us.  I can control my response to that bird.  Contentment is a choice to be satisfied with what you have.  Joe Stowell says "contentment liberates the heart".  In a world where we are always looking for more of what we do not have, let's be more like the author of Hebrews who believes if we have the Lord as our helper, we can be content.  Any interest in being liberated?

For further study:  Psalm 23:1, Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 and 5:10, Matthew 6:24, Luke 12:15, Philippians 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

P.S.  If anyone can find more of the discontinued IKEA Fabler fabric (sold in 4 yard packs) on the "whimsy red" pillow added below, I'll send you a free pillow!