Thought Trains

31 Mar 2009 Kathie Whitestone Thompson Leave a comment

IDOK DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2009

One Thing Leads To Another —

Thought Trains

So come aboard this thought train with me. Today (at this writing it is Tuesday AM) a CD I ordered arrived (Imperials 1977 – 1988) and so I immediately opened and placed it in the CD player and kept on with my housekeeping pleasures as I listened. About the third song in, Russ was singing about looking inside and wanting to be changed and I identified readily with him. A particular line of the song caught my attention (paraphrased): the answer is not in you, no more looking inside, look at JESUS; and thus I boarded my thought train. If the answer is not in me and I well know it is not; still, don’t I need to look at me? Don’t I need to see and examine all the things at which I am failing? Why? So I can change them. RED LIGHT! Yeah, since when have I ever been able to change me? Has not God always been the One who does the changing of you? Well, yeah. So does this mean that I am wrong when I look at me and my failings? Yes. Yes?! Then how does this work? It works when I look at JESUS instead of me? Is that right? Then how will I see what’s wrong with me? That’s not my job? No? It’s YOUR job? I am to keep looking at You and wait for You to reveal to me where I failed; or where I will fail, if I keep on looking at me? I think I see. Looking at me is never a good idea unless I look at me from YOUR EYES, is that right, LORD? Wow! That will take some doing … Good thing You, LORD, are the One doing the doing!

Ok, IDOKs, did my Thought Train take you anywhere?

John 15:4-6 (New American Standard Bible)

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Apart from Him I can do nothing … Especially change ‘ME’.

You did it again ABBA. Follow the plan and You speak. I love this. I love YOU. We IDOKs love You. Thank You for music. Thank You for people You have called to sing Your Songs. Thank You that once Your Word is out there is keeps on keeping on, changing Your People from glory to glory. This is fun. Thank You. You are gonna take this thought train and use it, aren’t You? I would love that. Thank You that You take silly fun and make it holy and helpful. You are so AWESOME. And I know You are going to bless our IDOKs today. I ask You to give them wisdom, laughter, holy fun, and focus. The ability and the will to focus on You and abide in You just like You have recorded and ordered us in Your Word to do. In our humanity we don’t like orders. You know that, that’s what got us in this mess. But it is obeying Your Orders that gets us out of this mess. Help us love Your Orders; help us thrill to obey every one of them. And help us crave getting to know all Your Orders to us. I mean crave Your Word more than chocolate candy, or feel good movies, or baseball games, or surfing the web, or shopping for clothes or a new vehicle, or whatever we do that occupies us so often. And here I am looking a me and what I do. LORD, we are Yours and You are doing a great job with us. Thank You. And we pray for our IDOK Troops again, for their protection and safety in every foreign land and here at home. We pray for their families, for their peace of mind and provisions. We pray for Ruth’s continued recovery; that she will follow the doctors’ instructions and get stronger and stronger. Thank You for Cynthia and I ask You to bless her much for her faithfulness. And I pray for Doug and the surgery to come. We want it to go well and for him to have an excellent quality of life here. And we pray especially for infants and children, there are a few listed here with serious, life threatening or life altering conditions and we’d like to see them be well and whole and we know You are able and so we are bringing them to You for Your Touch and Blessings on them and their families. And there are hurting adults listed here with many needs, more needs than we can name or know; please make Yourself easy to see and sense in their here and now. And we pray for the peace of Israel, for the surrender and or defeat of all their enemies. And we pray for the repentance of America’s people and I am asking You for the purging of Washington and the States too. I am asking You to ‘get all up in our government business’, I’d like to see You walk the halls of Congress and the Senate and pour out conviction until there is weeping for the sins committed within those walls that once honored You. And if You can work through us in this, do it LORD. And in the meantime keep on directing our focus to You. Amen and amen.

A SPECIFIC UNSPOKEN. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Rachel and family. Stellan. Christopher H and his family. Darlene’s Sister. Mr. Matthews. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Chloe Melissa. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Mike and Vickie. Natalie. Kathy and family. Tommy and Raye. Doug. Frank. Jeanette. Francis T. Cathy T. Cathie R and family. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Emily. Walt. Phillip. Margie and Craig. Sandra. Terry and family. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family. Carolyn. Mary. Mabel. Amy, Kevin and Girls. Joan. Kimberly. Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry. Susan D. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Trisha. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Bay and family. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Erin. Alan. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Lance. Candance and Family. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B. Friends at work.

Public and Private School Teachers.

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N. T. Palin. John L. Richard M. Adam M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T. Chad B (3/2009) Kyle N. (3/26)

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08) http://www.strafford1st.com/page25/page26/page26.html

Military at home, specifically those emotional/spirit wounds that only God and Time can heal – Captain Tran Josh.

As I post this it is 54°F and mist in Kuwait, KW (Airport)& the time there is 5:59 AM AST on April 1, 2009.

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RED ENVELOPE DAY

31 Mar 2009 Kathie Whitestone Thompson Leave a comment

IDOK DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009

Today is Red Envelope day.

Psalm 139 Amplified Bible

13 For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

18 If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awoke, [could I count to the end] I would still be with You.

And every baby boy and every baby girl that has been murdered by abortion is with HIM but woe be unto those who sent (and do not repent) that Little One to HIM before the time!

The final quote in Our Daily Bread’s March 31 devotional reads like this: When we know that God’s Hand is in everything, we can leave everything in God’s Hand.

So why don’t we? What is the pivot on which the truth of this statement turns? It is KNOW, isn’t it? My online dictionary reads that KNOW means: To regard as true beyond doubt. And doubt? Well, that means:

1. To be undecided or skeptical about.

2. To tend to disbelieve; distrust.

3. To regard as unlikely.

4. To suspect; fear.

And we would not say with our words that we are undecided about everything being in God’s Hands, being controlled by Him.

And we would not say with our words that we have a tendency to disbelieve Him.

And we would not say with our words that it is unlikely that He is in control of all things.

And we would not say with our words that we suspect that He doesn’t have it all together.

Not with our words. No, I would not let those words escape my mouth and neither would you. But my actions have surely said it! ABBA forgive us and help us in our unbelief! And He is helping us. Day by day He is teaching us to believe! HOW AWESOME HE IS!!!

Philippians 1:6 And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

And among other things I believe that ‘good work’ is our faith and trust and love for HIM.

LORD FATHER, calm me before You this morning. I have hurriedly placed words on this screen and now I feel the pressure of time to send and the pending matters of the day are pressing in; quiet my soul O LORD. And quiet the souls of our IDOKs. I am surely not the only daughter or son who feels these pressings. Quiet us O LORD before You, trusting and resting that You control all things and that You will complete the job You have begun in us. And today we pray that enough Red Envelopes will flood the White House to get the attention of the Obama Administration. We pray for each woman who has murdered her child that You will pursue her with mercy and grace and we pray her heart will be tendered and convinced that You love her and You desire to make her whole. Thank You for all the people out there working day after day to put an end to the legalized murder of babies and we pray the murders will be stayed.

And we pray this morning for Jack as he recovers and Martha as she attends, strengthen them both in mind, body and spirit. The list is long and as I have looked over the names I am grateful that You do more than just look over a name. You, LORD, look into hearts and situations and You work miracles. Thank You for every miracle You will do today for these listed here. I am so relieved that when we don’t know what to pray that does not hinder You. You know what is needed and You do what is right and best. We pray specifically for protection and safety for our IDOK Troops, for the peace of Israel, for grace and space for the people of America to repent and for Your Church to be revived. And as I send this devotion, take it and make it a word of hope and encouragement and blessing to each reader and even though it feels so untimely to me, make it timely, I pray. Amen and amen. A SPECIFIC UNSPOKEN. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Rachel and family. Christopher H and his family. Darlene’s Sister. Mr. Matthews. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Chloe Melissa. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Mike and Vickie. Natalie. Kathy and family. Tommy and Raye. Doug. Frank. Jeanette. Francis T. Cathy T. Cathie R and family. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Emily. Walt. Phillip. Margie and Craig. Sandra. Terry and family. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family. Carolyn. Mary. Mabel. Amy, Kevin and Girls. Joan. Kimberly. Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry. Susan D. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Trisha. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Bay and family. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Erin. Alan. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Lance. Candance and Family. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B. Friends at work.