adventure, blessing, comfort and JOY!

 Wednesday, November 20, 2024 (3:07 a.m.)

Blessed God,

You’ve provided a lot of successes recently. Improperly working tools. Problems in communication. Fears of failing. Thank You God.

Thank You that we get to bring it all to You. Pointing our attention to You along the way.

There’s a new to me adventure being undertaken today. A solo commuter train trip. I’m confessing a bit of apprehension on my part Dear Lord. I’m asking (Matthew 7:7) Your presence with me. Every step of the way.

Would You go before, behind, beside, beneath, above and within me? Preparing the way I should go.

(4:43 a.m.)

I’m back. Having tried to sleep/rest more. Still feeling on the apprehensive side. So many thoughts. Best and worse case scenarios. Let me put it all down. Knowing, trusting, believing that not only do you HAVE this, You’re gonna guide me through it all. As only YOU know is the way for me to go.

I’m reading Isaiah 40. A message of comfort and blessing. Thank You Father. Let me look at today’s latest adventure as one of blessing and comfort. Joy would be a great addition as well.

Adventure. Blessing. Comfort. And JOY. Yes!

I want to live this day for You Lord. In. With. By. And through You. All the way. Do all that You know is necessary. Turning my heart and focus toward You as I go. Be glorified through my thoughts, words and actions.

I love You Dearest God. I need, trust and want You as the overall Lord of my life. Use me as You know is best. Thank You Father. Praise You. Amen.

(277 words ~ 5:05 a.m.)

interests

 Tuesday, November 19, 2024 (2:53 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You so very much. You provide me with singing [♪Counting My Blessings♪]. Smiles. Interests. Love. Joy. Patience. Understanding. Learning. Wanting…

♪God, I’m still counting my blessings For all that You’ve done in my life The more that I look in the details The more of Your goodness I find♪

(4:02 a.m.)

How awesome are you Dear God?

One moment I’m searching and reading about interests in and with You. And the very next? ♪Father, let Your will be done On earth as in Heaven Right here in my heart♪ BLARES in my mind.

Seemingly out of nowhere. Immediately found. The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours) by Matt Maher. Thank You, thank You God.

Psalm 103:13

Philippians 2:4

(4:45 a.m.)

Again. Louder. With more intensity.

Wanting to go back to sleep. Snuggled in. Letting my brain rest. Then BAM! ♪Father, let Your kingdom come Father, let Your will be done On earth as in Heaven Right here in my heart♪

Coffee drink in hand. Excited [agog!] to learn what You have for me this morning. Go!

(5:07 a.m.)

♪Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh oh my soul I worship His holy name Seems Sing like never before, oh my soul… 10,000 Reasons for my heart to find♪

And where did that come from? The Message. Psalm 103. Planning to read verse 13. Then starting at the beginning. “O my soul, bless GOD. From my head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name!”

Yes please Father. Keep me blessing Your holy name! ♪Sing like never before, oh my soul I’ll worship Your holy name♪ Yes!

Verse 13 in EasyEnglish Bible. “As a father is kind to His children, the LORD is kind to us. He is kind to people who worship Him.” Amen. Yes please! Let me worship You as You desire and know is best.

Teach me Dear Father to heed Your apostle Paul’s encouraging words to the Philippian believers. Chapter 2. Verses 3 and 4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider one another better than yourselves. Let each of you look carefully not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Evangelical Heritage Version).

Oh yes please! ♪Father, let Your kingdom come Father, let Your will be done On earth as in Heaven Right here in my heart♪

Direct and empower me toward the interests You would have me follow. I love, need, trust and want You Lord. Do all You must. In. With. By. Through. And for me that I will live, love and laugh as You would have me. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(458 words ~ 5:44 a.m.)

TRUST over clarity

 Monday, November 18, 2024 (4:35 a.m.)

Blessed God,

I just did it again. Made an assumption. Expected one thing. Got another. Teach me please Dear Lord.

I listened to a long admired pastor last night. Didn’t like what he had to say. Wouldn’t agree. Pulled back. Am turning to You in confusion.

I want to know You Father. YOUR Truth. Not something someone scares or shames me into believing.

This is new territory for me Lord. I am seeking clarity from You. Not others. I want to know what You would have me think. Say. Do.

I confess to having felt offended by this particular pastor’s carefully chosen words. Deeply upset by His understanding and preaching of Your will and Your way.

Speak to me Lord I pray.

(5:27 a.m.)

And You do. Through Your Word. Your Truth. Your promises. And the writings of other people. Thank You Father.

One person cited Abraham’s experiences with You. And his examples of trusting You. One step at a time. Thank You God.

As I continue searching about wanting clarity with You I keep finding words like faith. Trust. Knowing You. Your character. And promises.

The story of the prodigal son’s return into his father’s loving embrace (Luke 15:20) shows me again the power of trust over clarity. We don’t know what will happen next. We do however trust You to redeem all our decisions (Romans 8:28).

I love You Father. I want to serve and represent You well. Do all You must in changing me into the woman You would have me be. Loving. Joyful. Peaceful. Patient. Kind. Good. Faithful. Gentle. And self-controlled [able to marshal and direct my energies wisely - The Message] (Galatians 5:22-23a).

Yes Father! Make me strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). I want to love You, others and myself with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength as Jesus taught (Mark 12:30-31).

Use me as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(330 words ~ 6:03 a.m.)

more

                                                                   Sunday, November 17, 2024 (4:20 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You. I am experiencing more. More joy. More freedom. More laughter. More truth. More mistakes. More forgiveness.

(6:10 a.m.)

More music. More hope. More love. More YOU! Less me. More You IN me.

♪Lord, I Need You, oh, I need You Every hour I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You♪

Thank You Father that You are all these things. And so much MORE!

(6:52 a.m.)

Thank You Lord that we get to ‘Call out to You [believing that] You will answer.’ You will ‘tell us great things. They are secret things that we do not yet know’ (Jeremiah 33:3 EasyEnglish Bible).

And right here starts even more singing. ♪From the impossible We’ll see a miracle God, we Believe For It♪ Thank You Father.

Use me exactly as You know is best. Teaching me to share more. I love, need, trust and want You. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(171 words ~ 7:09 a.m.)

embracing mistakes

 Saturday, November 17, 2024 (4:38 a.m.)

♪Move the immovable unmovable [after more searching, it turns out, I was right the first time!] immovable Break the unbreakable God I we Believe for It♪

Blessed, Holy Father God, thank You for teaching me to embrace mistakes. And learn from them! Yes Father. Thank You.

(5:26 a.m.)

Searching more about learning from and embracing mistakes, I found the importance of celebrating them as well. Lord, thank You for the power You have over our minds. Our hearts. Our souls. Every aspect of our beings.

In You. With You. By, through and for You we get to experience life and hope in completely unexpected ways.

(7:00 a.m.)

How truly I thank You Daddy God. You continue showing and teaching me things that I could/would learn in no other ways.

Back to learning to embrace mistakes. Thank You that I am able to find this topic in Your Word as well.

Proverbs 28:13. The Living Bible. “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.” Thank You that You ARE the God of other chances!

Different translations show that through confession we receive mercy. Compassion. “Long pity” (New Life Version). I’ve never seen it put that way before.

Oh! This is PERFECT!! I’m talking with You about the important importance of embracing mistakes. And what do we have here?!

It’s “LOVING-pity”! Not “long…” That makes WAY more sense. Thank You God!

Let’s just go ahead and stop with the next verse. Again from the NLV. “Happy is the man who makes always fears the Lord, but He who makes his heart hard will fall into trouble.”

Yes Father. Keep me Fully Esteeming And Revering You, as You continue softening my heart.

I love, need, trust and want You. Use me [and all the mistakes I’ve made so far] as You know is best. Thank You for this time together. Praise You. Amen.

(323 words ~ 7:44 a.m.)

counting my blessings

 Friday, November 15, 2024 (4:03 a.m.)

♪It’s like it was yesterday I was praying for a miracle Scared to have a little hope And now looking back today Seeing all the things You’ve done I can’t even add them up One, two, three up to infinity I’d run out of numbers Before I could thank You for everything God, I’m still Counting My Blessings For all that You’ve done in my life The more that I look in the details The more of Your goodness I find♪

Thank You God! I am grateful for Your work in my life. In my heart. Soul. Mind. Strength. In my love. And my laughter. You are here in it all Dear Lord. Thank You.

(4:35 a.m.)

Lord, You provide us people. Places. Things. Hope. Truth. Promises. Your will. Your way.

(6:00 a.m.)

Here I am. Back again. This time with a warm mug in my hand and a huge smile on my face. Heart. And soul.

Thank You Father. I am STILL counting my blessings!

♪Father on this side of heaven I know that I’ll run out of time But I will keep counting those blessings Knowing I can’t count that high♪

Reading this next section of the song instead of singing it, still I am smiling. “And I know that seasons never last forever So, God I will remember all of the reasons My heart has to be grateful All the times You’ve been faithful” Wait for it… “to me”!

You are such a personal God and Father. You care. You provide. And we are to be zealous (Revelation 3:19) in return.

That’s quite a powerful punch You pack there Lord. Right to the gut. Or wherever it is that our tears originate. 

One minute I’m reading various translations of the above verse, and the next? Words written by a much loved daughter in regards to her recently passed father.

Lord, You know how flighty my brain works. Thinking seriously about one thing before suddenly switching gears and looking in 10 different directions. All at once.

Thank You that more important than Your merely knowing us, You love and forgive us. Our every single fault.

Bringing me right back to Revelation 3:19. And the smile grows even larger! As does the blessing count.

King James Version “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.”

Legacy Standard Bible “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

The Living Bible “I continually discipline and punish everyone I love; so I punish you unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the things of God.”

Yes! Language I better understand.

The Message “The people I love, I call to account - prod and correct and guide so they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!”

Holy God, You provide us little glimmers of understanding. Just enough to direct us back to You.

Names of God “I correct and discipline everyone I love. Take this seriously, and change the way you think and act.”

One of the blessings I am most grateful in counting is the fact that You never leave us alone in our changing. It’s not up to us to try harder in any area. We just have to turn to You with everything. Take our hands off. And wait for You to guide and direct us.

Thank You Father that even [ESPECIALLY!] when we get tired in the waiting, You never waver. You don’t abandon nor forsake us. Thank You God.

New Century Version says, “I correct and punish those whom I love. So be eager to do right, and change your hearts and lives.”

I confess. I thought that last s was a typo. You know? “Change your hearts and live.” I see the difference. Yet both make sense to me. 

Thank You God that we are even allowed to question You about Your Word. These various rephrasings just keep getting better. And better!

New Life Version “I speak strong words to those I love and I punish them. Have a strong desire to please the Lord. Be sorry for your sins and turn from them.”

New Living Translation “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.”

Father, I cannot thank You enough for teaching me new things. Especially when I think I know so much!

New Testament for Everyone “When it comes to my friends, I tell them when they’re in the wrong, and I punish them for it; so stir up your spirits and repent!”

The Voice “Those I love I also correct and discipline. Therefore, be shamelessly committed to Me, and turn back.”

You ARE Who matters! Above all else. You are Who we are to glorify and enjoy. Now. As well as forever.

Worldwide English (New Testament) “I tell off and punish the people I love. So get busy and stop doing wrong.”

The more I read, the more deeply Your Truth speaks. Speak Lord. Speak that I will hear. And change!

Amplified Bible “Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self - your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior - seek God’s will].”

Yes please Lord!

The Passion Translation “All those I dearly love I unmask and train. So repent and be eager to pursue what is right.”

Unmask and train me Lord. Exactly as You know is best. Do all You must that I will love as You command. You. Others. Myself. With all my heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30-31).

I love, need, trust and want You. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(964 words ~ 7:28 a.m.)