Tag: ESV

Thanksgiving 2017

Who’s ready for Thanksgiving 2017?!

Thanksgiving 2017

Have you tackled that grocery list yet?

I don’t know about you, but our grocery list keeps getting longer and longer every year.

There’s always new recipes to try, and it’s a great opportunity to channel my inner – Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

But, with all the excitement of people coming over and delicious food, we should never forget what’s most important about Thanksgiving 2017.

Thanking God

What does Scripture say?

The Bible contains many passages about thanking our Creator God.  Here’s a beautiful verse from David in the Psalms.

*12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever. – Psalm 86:12 (ESV).

Just as David experienced major challenges and trials in his life, so do we.

Even so, David praises God, and so should we!

Thank you, Father, for sending us Your Son.

Thank you for hearing our prayers.

Even though it’s hard to be patient sometimes, thank You God for Your timing and providence, because You know what’s best for each one of us.

There is no one like You.

Humbly, we thank You for all Your blessings which are too numerous to count.

Dear Readers, Happy Thanksgiving 2017

From our family to yours, may your Thanksgiving be blessed.

We want to wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday filled with joy and love.

And, for all of our military men and women who are spending their Thanksgiving’s away from their homes and loved ones, we can never say thank you enough. God bless you!

 

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*Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

**Dr. Woodrow Kroll, Bible teacher and preacher, quotation, as quoted, from Christian quotes.info.

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God’s Not Finished With Me Yet

God’s Not Finished With Me Yet

In our house, we’re big fans of all the cooking competitions on television.

Have you ever watched the show, “Chopped?”

It’s a fun show. 🙂

The competitors receive a secret basket of ingredients and, once they’re revealed, the challengers have a limited amount of time to cook something creative and delicious.

My husband and I like to figure out what we would cook if we were competing.

Some of the basket ingredients on the show are a little odd. If you’ve ever seen any episodes, you know what I mean.

How cool is it that these talented chefs can take a bunch of mismatched, and sometimes ugly, ingredients and create something fantastic?

Let’s see, what can you make with a *geoduck?

By the way, it’s pronounced “goo-ee” duck.

If you’ve ever seen a geoduck, it sure ain’t pretty.

Dear Grammar police – I said “ain’t” on purpose. Love you.

God’s Not Finished With Me Yet

How humbling is it that God, the Creator of all, formed every one of us in the womb?

God's not finished with me yet

From the Psalm of David:

**I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.– Psalm 139:14 (ESV).

The focus of this psalm is not to produce feelings of grandeur about ourselves; instead, it should summon both reverence and awe of our Heavenly Father.

We are His creation indeed, but He loves us too much to want us to stay that way (sinners in need of grace) for eternity.

Simply put, God’s not through with me yet.

You either!

God Is Working On Me

We must have confidence in God, even when life hurts.

The right thing to do in prayer is to trust His will, no matter what. That’s what reverence and awe are all about.

Unlike the philosophy of humanism and the lies that it teaches, Christianity is about faith and reverence for the One who gave us life.

We are His “works in progress.” Will we accept His role as Master or reject it like those who embraced evil and sentenced His Son to the cross?

I choose to accept what God has in store. I may not like it when something doesn’t go my way. In fact, I may be devastated about an outcome, but God knows the reasons why and that settles it.

God Will Finish What He Started

God knows what He is doing.

We say that, but do we truly believe it?

God is perfect and makes no mistakes, even when a situation is beyond our human comprehension.

I am grateful for His wisdom and not my own.

Christian vocalist/musician and Dove Award winner, Tauren Wells, has a great song about this. I was already a fan of his song, “Hills and Valleys.”

Here’s “God’s Not Done With You.” I hope you enjoy and God bless.

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*“Geoduck” by Lydia Chow is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

**Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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The Hands And Feet Of Jesus

Walking Examples of Grace and Mercy

I hope you all had a blessed Labor Day.

It certainly was newsworthy.

Flooding in South Texas

*Photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez. Port Arthur, Texas, August 31, 2017. U.S. Air National Guard.

The devastating pictures of Hurricane Harvey’s path of destruction in South Texas, plus the threat of two new storms, Irma and Jose, has a lot of people on edge.

It’s understandable to ask God “Why?” and “When are things going to calm down?”

I wish we had all the answers right now, but life doesn’t work that way.

The Hands And Feet Of Jesus

Thank You, Jesus, for what we DO know.

hands and feet of Jesus

Guaranteed, in the midst of this tragedy, His light is seen in the darkness. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.

  • A big thank you to the dear people from all over the country who are donating money and supplies.
  • Thank you to the convoys of trucks, cars pulling u-hauls, and boats headed to the flood zones with food and necessities. (A shout out to the Louisiana Cajun Navy. I’d never heard of them before, but I’m now a big fan.)
  • Thank you to the emergency responders working non-stop and putting the lives of others above their own.
  • Thank you also to the churches and individuals who prayed and are continuing to pray for the relief efforts.

If any of these bullet points describe you (and I bet one of them does), you are not just a bullet point.

In these instances, you are acting as the hands and feet of Jesus. One of the best ways to delight in God is to serve others. Your selfless actions do not go unnoticed. The following verses from the Apostle Peter were written to encourage Christians of that time to use their gifts for serving others. Peter’s message also rings true for us today.

**10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Peter 4:10, English Standard Version (ESV).

Glorifying God, Despite the Odds

Sharing the love of Christ to those in need glorifies God.

But, how can we glorify God when we are the ones who are suffering and in need?

The hands and feet of Jesus serving others

Share the love of Christ with those in need

Fear about our circumstances is emotionally painful, and we don’t understand why it’s happening to us.

Someday we will know, but in the meantime, blaming God is never the answer.

It may be hard to grasp this, but suffering refines us into a deeper fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus, who suffered more than any human being on earth, understands our pain.

As you pray, ask for His comfort, strength, and peace.

As you walk with Him through your difficulty, no matter how long your emotional or physical pain lasts, you will have a testimony building of His grace.

I believe Nick Vujicic is an excellent example of this. Nick was born without arms or legs. And we think we have difficulties?

Instead of giving up and blaming God, Nick uses his challenges to magnify God’s purpose for his life.

Look Around

Whatever you are experiencing, you don’t have to go through it alone.

Please don’t let your suffering and self-doubts swallow you up inside.

Pray your own prayers to God, ask Him for His mercy and guidance going forward, and reach out to your Christian friends for support.

Support and love from those acting as the hands and feet of Jesus can be a lifeline as we wait for His glorious return.

Jesus is our only Hope.

God bless

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*South Texas flooding photo, courtesy of SC National Guard (170831-Z-AH923-081) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez.
**Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
***Video clip, courtesy of “Heart of the Artist.” Uploaded by Storytelling Pictures. Published Friday, April 12, 2013. Online video clip. Vimeo. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/63902097. Web.

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The Power Of Words

Words Have Power

Do we realize the power of our words?

Every day, we have the potential to encourage someone, or the power to bring them down.

the power of words

Hopefully, we encourage others with what we say.

In an ideal world, that would happen 24/7.

Unfortunately, we often do the opposite, and that can get us into a heap of trouble.

Has that ever happened to you?

Perhaps there was something you said that seemed okay, but resulted in an angry response or hurt feelings.

I know. It’s happened to me.

Foot In Mouth Syndrome

Thinking back years ago to when I was a television reporter, I’ll never forget the day the boss called me in for a reprimand.

Top Story

I had just finished reporting live outside a courthouse in a nearby city.

Everything, I thought, had gone well. I reported the verdict, the attorney interviews, and a thorough account of what had taken place during the trial.

After the report, my cameraman and I packed up our equipment and headed back to the station so I could write an additional story for the next morning’s broadcast.

Thinking all was well, I got on the radio and called the assignment desk to say we were on our way back.

The assignment editor told me that the news director wanted to see me immediately when I came in.

I could tell something was up.

Say What?

I headed straight to the boss’s office when we got back.

“What’s wrong?” I said.

I sat down, and he closed the door.

My heart started to sink and I quickly searched my brain for what this could be about.

Hmm, not good.

I guess this is not about a raise?

The Power Of Words

Apparently, I said something in my report that made one of the news anchors mad.

“Huh?” I said. “All I did was state the facts.”

The news director wasn’t smiling.

Apparently, during the report, I began answering the anchor’s question with these four words, “As I said before…”

That was it.

Four words.

The simple phrase, “As I said before,” got me into big trouble.

I had to think back.

In my defense, I told the news director that I had already answered the anchor’s question in my report. I didn’t understand why he was bringing it up again.

It didn’t matter. Apparently, the anchor thought my four words made him look stupid.

Oops. It wasn’t intentional or meant to be mean, but I had screwed up.

Live And Learn

Four seemingly innocent words became another learning experience for me.

When I read through the Bible, I’m often struck by how often the apostle Peter stuck his foot in his mouth.

Remember this?

In Matthew 16:21-23:

*21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

 

22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

 

23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” – Matthew 16:21-23, English Standard Version (ESV).

No matter what, we can and should learn from our mistakes.

It had to be awful for Peter to receive a direct, but well-deserved, rebuke from Christ.

After admonishing him, did Christ send Peter away from His presence forever?

No, He forgave him and used Peter for His glory.

I’m glad we have a God of second (and third, and fourth…) chances, aren’t you?

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*Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Bible Trivia Questions

Trivia To Challenge Your Brain

Are you good at trivia games, like Trivial Pursuit?Trivial Pursuit gameLet’s try out your skills with a world geography question.

QUESTION: WHAT’S THE WORLD’S HIGHEST WATERFALL?

Waiting, waiting.

Anyone?

Yeah, I didn’t know the answer to that one either!

The answer is:

Ding Ding Ding!

Angel Falls in Venezuela.

How high are the Falls?

Over 3000 feet high.

Angel FallsThat’s pretty high.

Now we both know.

Don’t ever think you won’t learn anything from my blog 😉

Trivia games are good for your brain and will keep you sharp.

I want to stay sharp!

Bible Trivia Questions

Bible trivia questions

Have you ever tried your hand at Bible Trivia questions?

Here’s a question to start.

In the Book of Revelation, the Angel of the Lord told John to bow down and worship him.

True or false?

That answer is:

_____________.

What Did The Angel Say?

Did you guess it?

That answer is false.

John was warned by the angel to worship God only.

That’s a lesson for today as well. As Christians, we are commanded not to worship or pray to angels.

**8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. –  Revelation 22:8-9, ESV, English Standard Version.

Bible Trivia Games

If you have trouble remembering Bible facts, people, and places, you may want to check out Bible trivia games.

They’re fun!

There are a couple of free Bible quiz apps you can check out by clicking on this website. You’ll need to specify whether you have an iPhone or an Android.

I like these apps because I can play a few Bible trivia games on my phone whenever I’m waiting to see someone.

If you’re not a fan of phone apps, I can also suggest this Bible trivia website.

In my humble opinion, playing Bible trivia is so much more edifying than reading that old copy of People magazine in a doctor’s office waiting room.

Seriously, I don’t care if this celebrity is fighting with that celebrity.

They can take their “kerfuffle” elsewhere.

P.S. Even though I was a champion speller in the 8th grade, I still had to look up how to spell the word, “kerfuffle.”

If you already knew (smarty pants), don’t tell me.

I might just be sensitive about it.  😉

God bless

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*Angel Falls photo courtesy of: By Paulo Capiotti [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
**Game photo courtesy of: By Pratyeka (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
***Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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