Hold Your Ground

2 Samuel 23:11-12 "One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils.  The Israelite army fled, but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. And the Lord brought about a great victory."

Greetings,

When faced with serious opposition, an entire army fled.  Oh wait. One brave soul named Shammah HELD HIS GROUND and was greatly rewarded. 

I can't imagine what was running through his mind when he saw all his soldier buddies retreating.  I wonder if he was afraid.  I wonder if he was angry and disappointed. I wonder if he felt the urge to run too.  I wonder if he felt helpless and that it was no use to stay and fight all alone.

I don't think he had much time to dwell on all those negative thoughts; he was too busy beating back the enemy.  It would seem impossible for one man to win against so many, but when we refuse to give up, when we persist in prayer, when we plant our feet firmly on the ground - resolute in our decision to slug it out - WE WIN.

It does not matter what onslaught of "Philistines" is happening in your life at the moment. Do not give up. Hold your ground in prayer, and trust the Lord to bring about the victory.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for the inspiring story of Shammah. He held his ground, and we will too! In Jesus' name, AMEN. 

The Bright and Morning Star

Thanksgiving 2017 is behind us, but I did have an interesting experience.  Thursday morning I asked Alexa® to generate a playlist, and the first song she came up with was When You Wish Upon a Star.  It's a classic Disney tune, and it immediately took me back to my childhood and memories of Pinocchio.  But now that I am older, I have a different understanding of the word "Star."

Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, am the bright morning Star."

Therefore, If I could change the lyrics a little, I would say...

When you pray to the bright morning Star

Makes no difference who you are

He'll satisfy your heart's desires

Just trust and believe His love

Align your heart with His today

For every request bow and pray

He hears your cries He knows your pain

And help is on the way...

In the name of the Bright and Morning Star, I bless you :)

A Psalm of Thanksgiving (Psalm 138 The Message Version)

A Psalm of Thanksgiving~ (Psalm 138 The Message Version)

Dear Lord, Thank You! Everything in me says “Thank You!” Angels listen as I sing my thanks. I kneel in worship facing Your holy temple and say it again: “Thank You!” Thank You for Your love, thank You for Your faithfulness; Most Holy is Your name, most Holy is Your Word. The moment I called out, You stepped in; You made my life large with strength. When they hear what You have to say, God, all earth’s kings will say “Thank You.” They’ll sing of what You’ve done: “How great the glory of God!” And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, You know everything about me. Save me with Your hand. Finish what You started in me, God. Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

Happy Thanksgiving, and God bless you~

Attitude of Gratitude

Greetings,

Yesterday I tried logging into an old credit card account, and I was denied access.  I could not remember the password, and I had to reset the whole thing by answering questions - What's the name of your favorite elementary school teacher?  - and then waiting for them to email me a new one.

Passwords grant us access, and God has one too! No need to ever reset or wait for a message either.

"Enter with the password: 'Thank You!' Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank Him, Worship Him" (Psalm 100:4 The Message Version).

Gratitude grants us access to God, and this is a really big deal.  First because we need Him way more than He needs us. Second because this attitude of gratitude helps us shift our focus off what's wrong with our life to everything that's right with our life. It changes our complaining spirit into a joyful one.  It replaces pessimism with hope and sadness with gladness. The most important message in this verse is that it contains no ifs, ands, or buts.

Enter with gratitude, but only if you feel like it.

Make yourself at home, but only if you have no problems and everything is going perfectly in your life.

Thank Him, but only when you get your own way and no one is mistreating you.

We are to be thankful at all times no matter what, and if He says we can do it, then we can.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to be thankful. It is so important to honor You, and as always, we are blessed by doing things Your way.  Thanking You keeps us joyful and calm.  It magnifies You over everything we face.  Help us, Lord. In Jesus' name, AMEN. 

Open My Eyes~

Greetings,

Last night Jorge and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary; I cannot believe how quickly the years have flown by!  As always, I take a few pictures, and I asked Jorge to really make an effort and open his eyes wide before snapping a couple shots because I read somewhere it makes you photogenic. I WAS WRONG.  No matter how much he tried, his eyes were either completely closed or just plain weird looking.  I couldn't stop laughing, and we both gave up.  But it got me to thinking: Having opened eyes is actually a big deal.

 "Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in Your instructions" (Psalm 119:18).

There are so many necessary, helpful, life-blessing truths in God's Word, but sometimes we can't see them.  Sometimes we can't understand why forgiving someone is the better option.  Why being a peacemaker is a wiser choice. Why praying changes our circumstances.  Why patience will ultimately lower our stress. Why choosing our friends wisely will avoid us a lot of trouble, and on and on and on and on and on...

The good news is that God opens our eyes when we ask Him.  That takes the pressure off of us trying to do it on our own. We don't want to be hit or miss in this important area of our life; there's too much at stake.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Open our eyes!  We need to see You clearly. We need to know Your truths, Your principles, and Your gospel are our powerful and right guide for living. We don't want to miss it. We don't want our kids to miss it either; open their eyes as well!  In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A Carton of Eggs

Greetings,

I received some lovely advice this morning from a weird place: A carton of eggs! That's right!  I opened up the carton to prepare all the ingredients for my omelet, and right there on the lid were these words,

"This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 18:24.

Rejoicing and being glad is way better than scowling and being upset. I'll take happiness over discontentment any day.  I prefer satisfaction over dissatisfaction.  Therefore, if God is telling me that every single day can have a measure of joy in it simply because He made it, then I choose to believe it.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for this lovely day! You made today for us to rejoice, and we do. You gave us another day of life, and we are happy. You are the giver of blessings, grace, peace, forgiveness, and salvation. Of course we are glad! We pray that on this day and every day which follows that our souls prosper, that our bodies be in health, that we would have victory over sin, and that light would flood our hearts.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.

The Most Precious Dog in the World!

Tomorrow will mark the two-year anniversary of my husband finding Hershey Pie  - the most precious dog in the world - in the middle of the street and bringing him home.  We have THOROUGHLY enjoyed having him in our lives, and I can't believe how much he has grown!  Long gone are the days when he would chew any flip flop he could find, and at long last he is free to roam the house without restraint.

Hershey Pie has matured, and I hope we all have as well.  I hope we all have more peace, joy, faith, trust, and joy.  I hope we are all exercising more self-control and patience.  I hope we are reading the Bible more and tuning out the negative news that bombards us daily. I hope we are prioritizing spending more time with the people we love. And I hope we are all praying more and complaining less.

Hershey Pie's excellent behavior has been rewarded because he no longer has to go into his cage whenever Jorge and I leave the house.  Our willingness to do things God's way has rewards as well.  The Bible promises long life, blessed relationships, protection, gladness, peace, and answered prayer when we do!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Look at how far we have come! You have been faithful to teach us and guide us, yet we are rewarded when we accept Your instruction. Life works better when we stay calm and depend on You.  We have great hope because of Your goodness.  We know there are still areas where we fall short.  Come into our lives and gently lead us into more righteousness an obedience.  We want all the blessings You have for us! In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Thank You

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but  it kind of irritates me that most stores bypass Thanksgiving altogether and go straight to all the toys and sparkling lights of Christmas.  Not me!  I will not co-mingle this special holiday by putting up any Christmas anything until the week after. My decor is exclusively all about turkeys and fall foliage. I especially love the brilliant Thanksgiving arts and crafts my kids did when they were little and putting them on display.

I also find myself especially focused on how important it is to be grateful, but I know there are many of us in a difficult season of life who might need a little jumpstart - who could use a gentle reminder that there are always reasons to acknowledge that our lives are full of blessings.  For that we turn to the Holy Word of the Living and Mighty God:

Thank You that You are good and Your love endures forever (Psalm 107:1).

Thank You that we are Yours. You are our God, You made us, and we are Your people. You are good and Your faithfulness endures to all generations (Psalm 100:1-5).

Thank You for the good gifts from above. We receive Your joy, hope, peace, and healing (James 1:17).

Thank You that You comfort us. You are our salvation; We will trust and not be afraid. You are our strength and our song (Isaiah 12: 1-6).

We acknowledge Your name. We express gratitude for that Holy Powerful Healing name (Hebrews 13:15)!

Your peace rules in our hearts, and we are thankful (Colossians 3:15).

Thank You that Your mercies are new every single morning (Lamentations 3:23).

It is good to give thanks to You and sing praises to Your name. We declare Your steadfast love and faithfulness over our lives. You have made us glad (Psalm 92:1-15).

Thank You that You are always near to us (Psalm 75:1).

We are thankful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).

AMEN~

                                                                                                            

Lift Others Up!

"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, Aaron and Hur took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset..the Amalekite army was defeated" (Exodus 17:11-13).

Greetings,

The above passage is interesting for sure, and what I am drawn to is not the peculiar way God gave the Israelites a victory against their enemy, the Amalekites. What really blesses me is that when Moses grew weary, two faithful buddies came to his rescue and held him up!

If I were to rephrase this verse to fit my life it would read, "Once upon a time there was a wife and a mother named Yenise who really believed in the power of prayer. After all, there was so much at stake.  She had so many concerns for her husband, her children, her family, her friends, and herself. And as long as she persisted in prayer she knew in her heart she would receive answers that would profoundly bless the lives of those she loved.  But somedays Yenise was tired, weary, and discouraged. The answers were nowhere in sight, and she felt like giving up. But then along came a couple of dear sisters in Christ who stood with her in believing God for answers, and they WOULD NOT LET YENISE PUT HER ARMS DOWN. These precious ladies hunkered down and did the praying for her when Yenise could not- would not...As a result, Yenise remained steady until the answers came, and to this day Yenise still revels in the victory!  Oh, and because Yenise received so much love and support from these dear, modern-day, "Aaron" and "Hur," she now tries to pay it forward by lifting up the arms of others!  Glory~

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us lift others in their time of need. The Bible makes it clear that we will all share in the victory together! In Jesus' name, AMEN.