Give Thanks

“Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” – 2 Chronicles 20:21b

“God’s unchangeable nature, his consistency, prompts trust. He has been there for us mightily in the past; and since he never changes, he can be trusted with the future.’ –  (Furgusons and Thurman)

 

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Be one-thing oriented today

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Paul states in Philippians 3:13, 14, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (italics mine)

Shine like stars,

 Teresa  

 

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Author of Winnie-the-Pooh born this day

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“It’s the birthday of the man who wrote, “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like ‘What about lunch?'” That’s the children’s writer A.A. Milne, (books by this author) born in London (1882)…

Milne got married and had a son, a boy named Christopher Robin. And one day in 1923, he was feeling bored at a party, and he wrote a poem for kids, which he published in Punch with a few others…

A couple of years later, Milne wrote a book about Christopher Robin’s stuffed animals, and E.H. Shepard did the illustrations again. And that book was Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), which was immediately successful. In the next two years, he published another book of children’s poems, Now We Are Six (1927), and then The House at Pooh Corner (1928). And after that, most people didn’t take him seriously as a writer for adults anymore.

He said: “Ideas may drift into other minds, but they do not drift my way. I have to go and fetch them. I know no work manual or mental to equal the appalling heart-breaking anguish of fetching an idea from nowhere.”

Taken from the Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

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We are not consumed

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“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22,23

Praise God – each day is a brand-new day…new beginnings! Thank you, Lord.

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Simple Gifts: Embracing Simplicity

Simple Gifts: Embracing Simplicity – (Taken from Simple Abundance – A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathmach)

“When we appreciate how much we have, we feel the urge to pare down, get back to basics, and learn what is essential for our happiness. We long to realize what’s really important.”

‘Tis a gift to be simple,

‘Tis a gift to be free,

‘Tis a gift to come down

Where we ought to be

And when we find ourselves

In the place that’s right

‘Twill be in the valley

Of love and delight

 -Nineteenth-Century Shaker hymn

 

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freedom indeed…

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“Live as free men (and women), but don’t use your freedom (in Christ) as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” ( 1 Peter 2:16)

 We who are in Christ are free indeed…but, there’s also a “but” included in the same sentence.

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Little eyes are watching…

 

 

Bible Story time by Liberty

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”  1 Timothy 4:12

“Me and my mommy’s going to church now,” declared Liberty. Off she marched, Bible under her left arm, and baby doll (named ‘Mumma’) in her left hand. It wasn’t long before I heard constant chattering in another part of our house. Upon further investigation, I found my 3 ½ year old granddaughter settled in the sofa on our 3-season porch telling a Bible story to her dolly and singing Christmas carols to the top of her lungs.

Then it struck me of the importance of modeling good behavior: studying God’s word, citing Bible stories, and church attendance. In the past, she’d attended church with Dad, Mom, Grandpa and Nana. She sat near me another morning while I read my morning devotions.

All the more reason for me to keep my scheduled quiet time with my heavenly Father. Little eyes were watching and mimicking my every move.

A good example has more value than good advice.

Lord, help me live a godly life of faith and love and purity so those who follow what I do will grow in their maturity. – Sper

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Crazy 3-year old sayings

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Yesterday, while my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter helped prepare lunch, she observed a gadget I used. Her first words were, “What’s this, Nana? This is insane!”

Frankly, I had never pictured a can opener as “insane,” but apparently through the eyes of a 3 ½ year old, a manually operated can opener was indeed “insane!” I couldn’t help but laugh as her choice of words.

Early yesterday morning, while I sat reading and writing in my journal, she sat beside me drawing. I asked her a question, and she replied, “Don’t ask me a question, you know, I have to concetrate!”

Out of the mouths of babes!

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Bonfire and Snow Picnic

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Who says picnics are for summer only? Friends of ours invited Steve and I, Andy, Bethany, Liberty and Elijah to their home in the woods to experience a bonfire picnic, complete with roasted hotdogs and melted marshmallow s’mores. Yum! Yum! It doesn’t get much better than that.  

 

Our outer garments still smell of bonfire. My gloves show tell-tale signs of gooey marshmallow and Liberty’s white mittens had a few splotches of ketchup…reminders of good times, good food, and good fellowship!

 

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