Help is Here!

18 06 2014

 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. Psalm 46:1-3

Our Heavenly Father provides countless blessings to us as His children. He is faithful to be with us always and provides help to us along our journey in this life. We give praises with our hands and hearts lifted to God for this powerful blessing that has the ability to provide strength and protection in any situation. We live in a time when change and problems may arise quickly like rising flood waters but we are not consumed. God provides a place of refuge, safety, peace and well-being, even during the storm. We can look to Him for direction, for wisdom and peace concerning whatever we are facing – health, jobs, finances, relationships – listening and obedient to His direction. In our passage today, God is described in the present tense for each of these blessings: God is our refuge. God is our strength. God is a very present help in trouble. He is our Help now and forevermore.

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need Him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

Psalm 46:1-3 MSG


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Strong and Able

17 06 2014

walking feet

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. III John 1:2

My vision for my health is that I will be strong and able. God created the human body as an amazing organism that supports healthy living, well into our senior years. Our health is a blessing that we can treasure. As God’s children we can strive to be a good steward in reaching and maintaining optimal health. We know more now than at any other era in time about how to support our health through healthy eating, exercise and rest. We know how harmful habits of smoking, overeating and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to disease and sickness. We were created to be an active, strong and able people. Each day we can take steps toward this vision of our lives. We may be in a place where we need healing or direction on how to get there but our God is faithful to answer our prayers. He desires to provide healing for our bodies. He will give us instruction on how to move our health in the right direction. Eating fruits and vegetables is a key for me. A consistent active lifestyle with exercise will keep my body and my mind strong. I am thankful for this time of re-dedication to my best life so that I can work toward being strong and able.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
Psalm 103:2-5 NLT


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Live Full Lives

16 06 2014

Barcelona 2013 032My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Ephesians 3:14-21 MSG


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My Rock

13 06 2014

 

Arizona Hills by Lori 2012I love you, LORD; you are my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3 NLT

The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress. We need a firm foundation for our lives and for our living. In Him, we live in safety. He is our fortress. The world offers a shifting landscape but the Lord provides firm footing and a safe place. No matter what we are facing, we can depend on Him. He is God. He is our strong tower, a place of refuge and a place of protection. We give honor and praise to our Heavenly Father for these blessings that surround us. We thank Him for guided steps and guided thinking. We thank Him for an inclined heart to His will and His ways. In His will, we are safe and protected. The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress.

I wait quietly before God,
for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62:1-2 NLT


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First

12 06 2014

Newport_Sun_Set3

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33 NLT

Putting our Heavenly Father first is the key to a blessed life. Making God our first priority in our daily living – His Word, His teachings and His ways – is the compass we need each day. His way is higher ground that will keep us from things that don’t reflect His righteousness or His plan or purpose for our lives. Serving God and His Kingdom is our first priority. Pursuing Him and His will first, organizes our decisions to align with the wonderful journey He has planned for us. Putting Him first is a pathway for receiving everything that we need. We need His peace, His direction and His righteousness to abide in our hearts as we put Him first.

“So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to. Matthew 6:32-33 TLB


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One Long Obedient Response

11 06 2014

IMG_0137God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course.

Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—     

my whole life one long, obedient response.

Guide me down the road of your commandments;

I love traveling this freeway!

Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,

and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,

invigorate me on the pilgrim way.

Affirm your promises to me—     promises made to all who fear you.

Deflect the harsh words of my critics—

but what you say is always so good.

See how hungry I am for your counsel;

preserve my life through your righteous ways!

Psalm 119:33-40 MSG


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Mighty Works

9 06 2014

IMG_0099And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Mark 6:2
The Lord is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or think. His ways are above our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts. God is Holy and God is powerful. We may be seeking the Lord for healing, deliverance, provision or a closer walk with Him. I am thankful that we can put our full trust in Him. We can release our health, the diagnosis, the hurt, the disappointment, the debt, the toxic relationship, the addiction or any other aspect of our lives that does not line up with His word. We can let it go. We can release it and leave it at Jesus’s feet. The Lord can transform our situations in ways that we can’t even imagine. The release requires faith. It requires trust and belief that He is able to bring His glory into our lives. The release requires a yielding to His leading and a turn from our thinking and our ways. In His hands, He saves, He heals and He delivers. Mighty are the works of His hands.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:19-20


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His Creation

3 06 2014

From you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalms 139:13-14 NIV

It is awesome to think about how the Lord created us. We are the individually designed results of God’s hands. All the different features that make us who we are were created by our Heavenly Father. As a mother, I have experienced first-hand the miracle of pregnancy and birth. What a journey each of us has taken to be knitted in our mother’s womb and to arrive in this world as an individual masterpiece.
In this passage, David describes God’s work as wonderful. On our first reflection, many of us would describe ourselves as something less than wonderful. A laundry list of our faults and imperfections may race through our minds. We may want to dwell on features that are not aligned to society’s standards. But I am thankful for this passage that is a reminder of our God Who created the heavens and the earth and Who created you and me. We can give God praise for His amazing handiwork for we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.
Isaiah 43:7 NLT
DSC03513


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Blessings

2 06 2014

Sun RaysI will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:17

Blessings are all around us. We have so many reasons to express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father. We can thank Him for all that He does to meet our essential needs of life, health and strength, food and shelter. We can thank Him for the blessing of friends and family who bring so much love and friendship into our lives. We can thank Him for the tremendous blessings that extend beyond our needs and provide for the desires of our hearts. He blesses us with satisfying work of our hands and visions for higher heights in service to Him. We thank Him for the simple pleasures of the sunrise that start our days and the rain that feeds the earth. We are thankful that He meets us at our point of need, a revived spirit, a healed body a strengthened inner man focused on Him. We give thanks for all these blessings. As we consider each one, we can feel His love and concern for us. We can face a new day with praises on our lips and gratitude in our heart for all His many blessings to us. He is worthy of all honor and all praise.
My mouth is filled with GOD’s praise. Let everything living bless him, bless his holy name from now to eternity! Psalm 145:21


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Sister Maya

29 05 2014

IMG_2082

 

 

On my journey now, Mount Zion
Well I wouldn’t take nothing, Mount Zion
For my journey now, Mount Zion

 
Some people touch your life without ever sharing a physical embrace. That is how one person described the impact of Maya Angelou’s presence in our world. She was an example of strength, gentleness and sage wisdom wrapped in the beauty of her words and her smile. Her courage to love all of God’s children helped me to nurture my own love for all people. Her skilled words on paper as a poet and a writer about her life and living increased my faith and strengthened my resolve to keep pressing toward the mark. Her gentle voice was a reminder of the power of civility and kindness in a sometimes difficult world. She demonstrated that the power of words spoken or written could share strength, promote courage and elevate people. We will miss her presence but honor her memory with staying on our journey of faith and loving all of God’s people along the way.

Dr. Maya Angelou 1928 – 2014

On my journey now, Mount Zion
Well I wouldn’t take nothing, Mount Zion
For my journey now, Mount Zion


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