Tag Archives: God

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It’s a Pretty World Today

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ABBA, for sure You made a pretty world; a world for us to inhabit, a world to demonstrate who You are; help us open our eyes and see. Help us open our ears and hear; to be taught as You speak not only from Your Word and with the LIGHT of the world, JESUS the CHRIST, but all that You created. From this window I see You and You are awesome! Your knowledge and wisdom are beyond my comprehension but I praise You and rejoice in who You are. Your design, intricate workings of all things, one aiding the other, colors, air, sun, gravity, on and on. You are indeed GOD, Awesome GOD. Thank You for loving us. 

Psalm 19 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God,
the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.
3 (2) Every day it utters speech,
every night it reveals knowledge. [source]

Psalm 97

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Adonai,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory. [source]

Kathie

Christian Living, Just Chatty Today, Political awareness

KEEPER of the WIND

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It is a lovely Monday in lower Alabama. The temps are comfortable, the sun is bright and cheery; added to all that there’s a gentle breeze dancing a waltz with the trees just outside my window – makes a girl glad to be alive.

Earlier in this happy day, I took a ride – Cedar Cove style – on my bicycle :). That same wind that dances so pleasingly with the trees can make a woman’s ride home a real muscle worker. The Wind.  Is surely our Teacher if we dare to be taught.

Winds cannot always blow our way; headwinds are meant to build muscle – spiritual character. So when we encounter a wind opposite our chosen course, let us realize that wind has one of two purposes: to build us some spiritual muscle or to alert us that we need to change our direction. And the KEEPER of the WIND knows that purpose; let us not hesitate to ask Him. 

The Winds of our Country have been blowing contrary to our roots, contrary to the Book upon which it was founded for not less than 5 decades now. But I do not want us to continue to be afraid or feel hopeless. There are wise, intelligent Americans with practical knowledge to lead us out of financial chaos; there are wise, intelligent Americans with skills and compassion to help us begin to alleviate our social sufferings; there are wise, intelligent Americans with a solid connection to the One and Only GOD who, I believe, is yet willing to help us and restore us again. 

This is my question: Who is willing to surrender to daily prayer, individually and/or corporately, for the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD to reveal who these people are and to position them and labor through them to save America?  Two more question: Am I one of those people? Are you one of those people?

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

[source]

If you are surrendered to this praying, tell someone – get yourself an accountability partner and pray often with her/him.

HOLY SPIRIT, I pray You will call and Your People will answer and millions of Christians will not fail to pray daily for You to save us.

Kathie

Christian Living, Political awareness

Take a Walk

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Mulling over some thoughts this morning related to desiring to please; desiring to be consistently obedient, desiring to just do a better job of living out this Christian Life, I picked up my Bible and began to read aloud as I walked from room to room. It is my custom to continually keep a radio playing Christian music, at various volumes depending on the time of day or night, to bless the house. No I am not kidding; it works for me. So, I said to myself, if Christian music will bless a house, what would the reading of Scripture do?!! So I set out to find out – perhaps it will take more than one day to ascertain the full benefits; although I did enjoy myself I will say.

This is one of the Psalms I read.

Psalm 146 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

146 Halleluyah!

Praise Adonai, my soul!
2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life.

3 Don’t put your trust in princes
or in mortals, who cannot help.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.

5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.

7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.

10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.

Halleluyah!

I am an analyzer. It’s what I do. It’s a gift and curse – just ask my daughters. It is possible I have spoiled a movie or two with my analyzing. Enough said about that … :) Moving on to Church.

I think something is missing in Corporate Worship in all the churches I am familiar.  Can you guess what I think in particular it is?  The Reading Aloud of The Word; not as part of the sermon, but just for the sheer joy of hearing it read. But not by just any Reader but one who treasures the Word, one who is passionate about Scripture, one who flat-out enjoys saying the Words.  I really think it would bring people to a place of worship.

And if it is good for the Church House; it’s good for my house and your house. Try it. Pick up your favorite translation and take a walk down the hall, through the den and into the kitchen reading ABBA’s love letter to you.  I think you will like it.

If you have a few more minutes, visit Beth’s Blog and check out this Responsive Reading click HERE. I can tell you from experience, there’s nothing like it when you have 15,000 women together hearing from the Father.

Thank You, ABBA, for again allowing us to gather here. And I pray that someone will be encouraged and that a seed of intense love for Your Word will take root in many hearts. I pray the sheer joy of hearing Your Word read aloud will take hold and that we the people will hear Your Word being read all around. You have promised that Your Word will not return void but will accomplish Your Purpose when You send it forth so we rely upon Your promise and ask to be co-laborers with You speaking Your Word around this world.  And because of this world in which we live there is no doubt some Readers have come here with burdens; for themselves or for others and so I pray Your Attention and Intervention over them for peace of mind and calmness of soul and for healing of bodies and minds and families. And we are mindful of the unrest here in America and around the world. We say to You that we are weary of all things political  and we pray for Your Will to come. And in it all we proclaim You are good and we trust You to bring truth and justice to completion in JESUS name.
Kathie

If you are interested, another link: Reading Scripture aloud in my house

Christian Living, KWT Paraphrasing, Something Jewish

Forced Rest

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It is late in the day for posting this, especially since I may not post tomorrow but perhaps some will read it today and others tomorrow. I hope so.

I think I have a better understanding of a practical purpose for the Sabbath.  Let me explain.

Friday (9.20.13) I made a simple awkward movement; the sharp stabbing pain immediately told me it was not good; but it was only for a moment and I went on with my business. However a slow-growing pain and stiffness made my business less enjoyable for the next several hours; and then by Saturday morning I was  — well let me just say giving birth to my daughters was more enjoyable; contractions do give you a break in between.  Aspirin and another much TV promoted product did little to nothing to combat the pain. Sunday came with minor and I do mean minor relief. I began a regime of large doses of ibuprofen and a cartilage building supplement as well as heat/cold pain patches applied every 8 hours.  Late into Sunday evening I began to think it might be okay if I lived. :)

Monday was a new world; still pain, still stiffness; but still a new world for me from Saturday and Sunday.  I rested and I rested and I rested. And that resting included sleeping – hours of it – day and night.  Then came Tuesday morning – better but still some serious stiffness and continuing reduced range of motion. More resting, more sleeping.

As I sit/recline to write this piece I am gratefully aware of my heat/cold patch and I am mindful that I will not be reclining at this angle for an extended period. But for some minutes I wanted to share a word or two with you. 

For more than a year now I have been dragging myself through my life on borrowed strength. Every day the same; tired and sleepy from morning till I fell into bed at night; all to begin again the next day.  I knew I needed rest but just how was I suppose to get it? Really? Our few days away was great and it had a ring of rest to it but there were places we wanted to see and there were trails to walk and waterfalls to ooh and aha over. And we did.  And then we came home to the same old grind.  And then . . . this!  A Forced Rest.

GOD knew better from the beginning. 

Deuteronomy 5:13-15 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

13 You have six days to labor and do all your work,

14 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do.

15 You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat.

 

Egypt worked them 7 days a week, from can to can’t and beyond.  This world will work us the same with its activities, achievements and entertainments.  It is up to us who have been set free in CHRIST JESUS to say No I will not live that way. We can choose it or we can be blessed enough to be forced.  :)

JESUS, I truly prefer to say YESHUA but for the sake of my audience I most often say JESUS.  JESUS said:

Mark 2:Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

27 Then he said to them, “Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat; 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.”

 

In reading a Rabbi’s comment (I am not familiar with this Rabbi or teachings but)  I thought I’d share this comment here:

Shabbat is a covenant sign between G-d and His people of their relationship and sanctification.  . . .  welcome this appointed time created for us to reconnect and to be recreated[source]

I know for sure that Shabbat (Sabbath) however you choose to speak it is for reconnecting and recreation and we need it!! How you reconnect with Him and other relationships is for you and HE to decide I think and the re-creation of our souls is another choice that HE and you should make together.  At least that’s my paraphrasing. 

I’m still meditating on what a Shabbat should look like for me but this I know unless I want to wear out before my time I must observe this appointed time.  And for it to be on Sunday will take some planning; for you see Sunday as practiced now is the least restful of all days of the week at our house.  NO! I am not advocating staying home from Sunday School and  services but I am thinking some changes are in order. 

When you have had some moments to ponder this what changes could you make and would you consider it and would you consider sharing your thoughts with me?

Thank You ABBA ADONAI.  Thank You for this forced rest. And I know me well enough to know without Your help and reminders I will be before too long head long again into tiredness if You do not help me.  I don’t know what Shabbat should look like for this little Christian with only spiritual Jewish roots girl but this I know I want it to please You. So I pray my back will continue to heal; that my range of motion will become flexible again, even more than before; I pray for wisdom to exercise and sleep properly. I pray for the will to attend this ‘temple’ in ways that please You.  And I pray for means of reconnecting and re-creation that pleases You. I pray these things not just for me but for my family and friends. I pray You will forgive us for our pride and sin that has driven us to be proud of our busy-ness. I pray Your Church LORD JESUS will embrace that You are YESHUA and Your Feasts, Dress Rehearsals and Appointed Times are for us too and we are the losers when we refuse to learn, observe and give You proper reverence. Thank You ABBA ADONAI in JESUS name.

Kathie