"Be strong in the Lord..." - Ephesians 6:10

In l996, our little family moved from North Florida to South Texas.  We had not been NBA fans up until that point (although as an Indiana girl, it was always in me!), but when we found the San Antonio Spurs, we were hooked!  Our boys grew up watching and listening to David Robinson, one of the finest men you'll ever know.  He was a part of the community...in fact he spoke a word of encouragement in our church the Sunday after 911.  He has started a school for low income children where "strength of character" is the hallmark.  He walks the talk!  David said before he retired:

  "I have an unbelievable responsibility on the basketball floor to honor what God
   has given me...I have a responsibility to come out here and work, make myself better
   and better, and not for my glory and honor but for his.  So that's my drive.  God
   doesn't want wimps.   He wants warriors."   HOW TO RAISE AN MVP by Ambrose
   and Freda Robinson

I picture this pillow in a child's playroom, encouraging him/her to not be strong like football players are strong, but to be strong "...in the Lord and in his mighty power".  Following this verse is how to fight against spiritual warfare with the "armor of God".  What a wonderful lesson to teach our children...not to depend on themselves, but to depend on the mighty power of God.

Do your children have role models?  May they see Godly men and women and imitate their faith!

For further study:  Exodus 15:2, Joshua 1:6-9, 1 Samuel 30:6, 2 Samuel 22:33, Nehemiah 8:10,
Psalm 28:7, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Corinthian 1:25, Philippians 4:13, 1 Peter 4:11.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

IN GOD WE TRUST

Do you know what President Abraham Lincoln's favorite hymn was - and by the way he had many!  Our church sponsored an event over the weekend with Dr. Edward Spann, a Dallas hymnologist, who has written a book entitled PRESIDENTIAL PRAISE.  In it he tells of over 40 U.S. presidents who loved singing hymns and what their favorites were.  One of President Lincoln's was "How Tedius and Tasteless the Hours" written by John Newton.

It's Presidents Day and our verse for the day is actually the motto of our U.S. money - coins and currency.  It was adopted in l864 during President Lincoln's term because his Secretary of the Treasury believed that "...no nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in his defense."  President Ronald Reagan said "if we ever forget we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."  These are difficult days for our country...our society has become critical, selfish and hard to govern.  I want a president who will seek strength and wisdom from God...I believe our current president does.

We have a great privilege to be able to not only trust God for our country's welfare, but to be able to pray directly that He will give wisdom and guidance to those who govern our country.  Our nation was founded on reliance upon God's wisdom and power and it is imperative that not only our leaders, but ourselves as well, trust God every day with every part of our government.  We have elections coming up...I will be voting for the one who seeks his wisdom from God.

For further study:  Psalm 20:7, Psalm 56:4, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Isaiah 8:12-17, Romans 9:33, Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-8, Titus 3:1-2, Hebrews 13:17, James 1:5

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

"My heart rejoices in the Lord" - 1 Samuel 2:1

This statement was made by a woman named Hannah, who after months of anguished and desperate prayer, was given the son she had so longed for.  During her desperate days, she vowed to give her son back to the Lord's service if she was given her heart's desire.  She named her son, Samuel, which means "because I asked the Lord for him".  True to her word, after approximately 3 years of weaning her child, she and her husband took this child back to the temple.  She wasn't bitter or resentful, but she was gracious and joyful at the privilege.  This young boy eventually became a mighty man of God.

I feel like there is great temptation these days, especially here in America, to think our children are given to us for our own enjoyment.  We are sacrificing our marriages - the ones the Lord gave us first - and making the children the center of our homes.  John Rosemond ( I recommend PARENTING BY THE BOOK) says: "child-centered homes breed less happy parents".  Granted, our goal in life is not to be happy, but to be obedient to what the Scriptures teach.  Hannah knew her job was to love her child and serve the Lord, not serve her own selfish interests.

Secondly, I think we're inclined to say to the Lord what we want for our children rather than what the Lord has planned for our children.  In Carol Kent's book: WHEN I LAY MY ISAAC DOWN, she says:

                                   "...when we release our grasp, our relinquishment puts a
                                   stop to our manipulation of other people and releases the
                                   Holy Spirit to do the supernatural through the power of prayer...
                                   it's an act of trusting God."

Are we willing to turn over to God those things that are most precious to us in order that His purposes might be served?  Our job is to educate and release our children in the Lord's power to make a difference in the world.  Now that's something to rejoice about!

For further study:  Genesis 22:1-18, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Psalm 37:4, Proverbs 3:5-6, 22:6, 29:17, Isaiah 66:13; Luke 1:46-55, Titus 2:4-5, Hebrews 11:6

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word!

Love,
Holly

"Every good and perfect gift is from the Lord..." - James 1:17

"It is always possible to be thankful for what is

given rather than resentful over what is withheld -

one attitude or the other becomes a way of life."

Elisabeth Eliot

Two new pillows have been added today that I believe have remarkably similar messages - James 1:17 and 2 Cor. 12:9.  I did a blog last May about Isaiah 30:18 on "Recognizing and Sharing Grace", but "grace" happens to be one of my key words...I absolutely love the very idea of God's grace.  The point is His sufficiency, not ours.

These passages were written by two different authors:  Paul wrote the letters to the Corinthians and James, probably the brother of Jesus, wrote the book of James.  Both, however, were written during times of trial for them.  Paul was battling the "thorn in the flesh" and James was encouraging those in his midst who were enduring trials.  In both cases, they were saying "look around you, God's blessings are real - do not miss them!".  My Daily Bread (while my Don was enduring chemo 3 years ago) said "A trial may be God's gift in disguise."

John Lubbock says: "What we see depends mainly on what we look for."  What do you see around you today?  Do you see hurdles,  things that need to be fixed, disappointments and irritating people?  Or do you see blessings, encouraging words, beautiful flowers, God's word,  help in a crisis, or someone walking alongside you to listen?

Richard Blackaby says: "How tragic to be enslaved to bitterness, unforgiveness or anxiety when God's grace can banish these joy-robbers from your life."

Here's an assignment for you:  today,, find three things that you can see as gifts from the Lord and thank Him.  Then go out and be a gift to someone else!

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word!

For further study:  Proverbs 3:34, Jonah 2:8, Luke 2:40, John 1:16, Romans 5:15-21, 2 Corinthians 4:15, 6:1-2 and 9:8, Galatians 2:21, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 4:8-10, Titus 2:11.

Love,

Holly

LOVE - 1 Corinthians 13

The following is taken from LISTEN TO LOVE by Regina Press:

"Love has many voices.  Love sends its greeting in the smile of a friend,

the contented sighs of a baby, the felt whisperings of the Spirit.

Often we are slow to recognize how many voices are really love's voice.

"God is love" says John the Evangelist.  "He who dwells in love is dwelling in

God and God in him."

Love speaks in many places.  It leans against the neighbor's fence or

comes sniffing into a kitchen filled with cooking.  It walks amid

the bustle of the city streets or stands on a crowded bus.

Love has many moods.  Sometimes love is bold and happy or else

it is anxious and hestitant.  Sometimes it is riotous and demanding, or

gentle and relaxed, or even sober and practical.  Sometimes love just waits.

Loves comes in all seasons.  It rides the icy winds of winter and

laughs with raindrops in the spring.  It wanders through the restless

heat of summer and catches leaves of autumn as they fall.

Listen to love."

The trouble is, we're not very good listeners these days...we talk, we text, we tweet.  If we really listened to the "felt whisperings of the Spirit", we would know that "love comes from God", that "everyone who loves has been born of God", that "there is no fear in love...", that "we love because he first loved us."  (1 John 4:2-19).

So John tells us we have been loved and, therefore, we should (and can) love.  This Valentine's Day...

...be patient and kind

...don't envy or boast

...don't be proud or rude or self-seeking

...don't be angry or keep track when others are

...rejoice in the truth

...protect, trust, hope, persevere

(1 Corinthians 13)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, FRIENDS. Love someone else as you have been loved!

For further study:  Deuteronomy 6:5, Psalm 100:5, Isaiah 54:10, Jeremiah 31:3, Matthew 22:37-40,

John 10:27, John 13:34-35, Romans 5:8, Philippians 1:9-11

Be blessed in your understanding of God's love!

Love,

Holly





"Though the fig tree does not bud...yet I will rejoice in the Lord" - Habakkuk 3:17-18

The Old Testament prophet, Habbakkuk, had, as the saying goes, "a difficult row to hoe".  His book is a lament and plea to God about the moral and spiritual decay in the land of Judah.  We see his complaints and the Lord's answers.  But the words, which may have been written to sing in the temple, in the final chapter are especially worth noting.

Notice he doesn't say what he feels...he says what he wills!  By sheer faith and determination, he made a choice to rejoice!  He had a heart of faith and he knew, even if there was something like a complete crop failutre in the land and there was nothing to eat, God would still be worthy of praise.  My commentary said "so long as he knew the Giver, he could be unconcerned about the gifts."  Wow, what a lesson for us!

My friend, Barbara Troutz, wrote Resurfacing:Climbing Out of the Pit of Grief and after losing a precious son, she said she had lost her joy and wanted it back.  She said "joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God".  So what happens to the joy? She said "I have quenched it by my actions, my choices, my selfishness".  What might be robbing you of joy today?

So with our prophet and my friend, today let's say "...yet I will rejoice in the Lord".

For further study:  Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 51:12, Psalm 118:24, Romans 12:12, Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 4:4, 1 Thes. 5:16, Hebrews 11:1, James 1:2-3.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

"Pray" - A great way to start the New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!  It seems like forever since we've been together...we married off our youngest son (see picture below) and it was a beautiful ceremony and event...family and friends came from all over...I thought I would die of happiness!   But the year has started and I've committed to once again reading the Bible through this year.  I add that to my regular devotional and am always blessed when I do.  But one discipline I can never change is my need for prayer.  I can't imagine having gone through Christmas and the wedding without my own dependence upon the Lord or the promise of our friends and family to pray for His work in all the events.  So it seemed appropriate to introduce my new pillow style for 2012 with the admonition to "pray".  I am speaking to a women's group this week about praying for our husbands and I'm using one of my points for this blog.

So, generally, why do we pray?  Oswald Chambers says "it is not so true that prayer changes things as that prayer changes me and I change things".  Besides the fact that we are in a love relationship with our Almighty God and need to spend time with him, the following are 5 possible reasons why you might pray:

1.  We pray because the Bible calls us to pray.  2 Chron. 7:14, Prov. 15:8, Romans 12:12, Phil. 4:6, James 5:16.

2.  We pray because we need to be changed.  Psalm 51:10, Prov. 21:19, Jer. 17:9, Ez. 47:1-12

3.  We pray because there is no other power available to us. Joshua 1:9, Psalm 46:1, James 4:8

4.  We pray because Jesus modeled prayer for us and we are His followers. Matt. 6:9, John 17, Matt. 26:36

5.  We pray because it is our only defense against the enemy.  Eph. 6:10-18.

If you are too busy to pray, then you will find yourself frustrataed and weary.  Stormy Omartian says "there is too much at stake if we don't pray".

May you be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly