A Wife of Noble Character

 Wednesday, August 31, 2022 (6:09 a.m.)

Holy God,

Good morning. Thank You. I love You.

(6:25 a.m.)

I’m looking to You to lead and guide my focus this morning. I confess to my thoughts jumping all over the place.

Lots of rest. Many welcomes. Heartfelt experiences. All jumbling together.

I remember a thought from yesterday. A desire actually. To better embody the Proverbs 31 depiction of A Wife of Noble Character. Not so much her works, as her attributes.

Yes Lord. I want to be more like You. Through the ideal of her. Work Your will and Your way in me. With, by, through and for me. Doing all You must that I will glorify and enjoy You.

Beginning at verse 10, I want to be “virtuous and capable, …more precious than rubies.” This is not the direction I had planned to go with You this morning. Continue leading that I will follow. You!

Twenty-nine years ago I had opportunity to know that I have a husband who trusts me (11a). I ask You Lord to keep working in us that I “will greatly enrich his life… bring[ing] him good, not harm, all the days” of my life (v. 12).

It was verse 25 I remembered yesterday. “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future” (New Living Translation).

Father, I truly want my words to be wise. That I would give instructions with kindness (26). That our children would stand and bless me and my husband would praise me: (28). “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” (29).

I believe and want to represent Your Truth. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised” (30). I want to grow to be more like You. Do all You must to Your good and glorious end.

I love You. I want to serve You. Thank You for Who and all You are. Amen.

(338 words ~ 7:41 a.m.)

"hear the wind blow"

 Tuesday, August 30, 2022 (5:25 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You. Praise You. Sleep was definitely hard to come by. Thoughts of You and Your promises helped keep my mind from spinning horribly out of control. Thank You.

Thank You for songs that finally came along. ♪Down in the Valley, the valley so low Hang your head over, hear the wind blow♪ connected me to thinking of Your Holy Spirit. And now? Acts 2:2.

“Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.” A comment in The Life Recovery Bible tells us more about Your disciples obeying Jesus and waiting in Jerusalem.

“… Suddenly the Holy Spirit manifested His presence by sound (wind), sight (fire), and speech (new languages). The believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, and God’s renewing power began its work of transforming them from the inside out.”

Mm, Blessed God. It was thoughts of Your Holy Spirit’s presence that changed my thinking. Rather than continuing the unrelenting focus on fear and mistakes of my own making, I found peace in the process. And sleep finally came. Thank You Lord.

As I continue reading the comment concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit, I smile. Refreshed. Renewed. Reinvigorated. “This marked a new era in history as God’s powerful presence entered the hearts of all believers. God’s powerful presence can still indwell us, transforming our life and healing our wounds. As we trust God, His Spirit empowers us in recovery.”

Mm, most Holy God. How truly I thank You for righting my downward spiraling thinking. To the point that I awoke singing a completely different song.

♪Cantad Al Señor un cantico nuevo… Oh sing to the Lord Oh sing God a new song… Cantad al Señor… Oh sing to our God Oh sing to our God♪ Yes please Father. I want to sing to You this day.

Continue Your presence here with us as we venture out into the day. You are good. Great. Glorious. Gracious. We love, need and want You.

Do all You must that we will glorify and enjoy You. Forever. Beginning today. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(366 words ~ 6:32 a.m.)

choices and changes

 Monday, August 29, 2022 (5:20 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You! We get to have choices and make changes. Hmm. Ephesians 4:22.

(6:01 a.m.)

Mm, Blessed God,

How I thank You for the opportunity and privilege of sitting here. Reading and basking in Your Word. Various rephrasings of Your Truth and promises incite further desire to change.

Mm. Living as Children of Life (The Life Recovery Bible Ephesians 4:17-32). Truth. Guidance. Hope. Found right here.

Father, thank You for being such a good and gracious God. You lead, guide, indwell. And here the music starts.

♪Don’t you know It’s Time to Praise the Lord, In the sanctuary of His Holy Spirit. So set your mind on Him, And let your praise begin, And the glory of the Lord will fill this place♪ Why? Because we choose to change our focus!

♪He lives within the praises of His people, He loves to hear us call upon His name♪ Why? Because You love us. Thank You God.

Choosing GOD’S WORD Translation this morning, I begin at the title for Ephesians 4. Christ’s Gifts to the Church. How blessed we are to have such a kind and perfect Savior as this.

An invitation by the apostle Paul “to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you” (v.1) Being “humble and gentle in every way… patient with each other and lovingly accept each other” (2). These are huge choices Lord.

“Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives” (v.3). It’s not our power on which we are to depend. No. It comes from the Spirit. Thank You God.

Because of the Truth of Jesus’ teachings, we are “not to live any longer like other people in the world” (17a). With our minds “set on worthless things” (17b). No.

“You have certainly heard His message and have been taught His ways. The Truth is in Jesus. You were taught to change the way you were living. The person you used to be will ruin you through desires that deceive you. However, you were taught to have a new attitude” (21-23).

It is that new attitude that I want to exhibit this day Dear Lord. The one that gets rid of lies. Speaking Truth to each other (25). Being angry without sinning. Not going to bed angry (26). Not giving the devil any opportunity to work (27).

Working hard, not stealing (28). Not saying anything that would hurt another person. “Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you” (29).

Father, I ask You to enable me in making the choices and changes to fulfill the next three verses (30-32). “Don’t give God’s Holy Spirit any reason to be upset with you. He has put His seal on you for the day you will be set free from the world of sin.

“Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ.”

Mm. Yes please Dearest God. Do all that only You are able. In. With. By. Through and for me. Use me as You know is best. I love, need and want You. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(575 words ~ 7:02 a.m.)

Light in the darkness

 Sunday, August 28, 2022 (5:36 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

I’m here before You with concerns for the lost. Those who live in and with constant darkness.

(6:23 a.m.)

Oh most Holy God. Considering those who live in a continued state of hopeless desperation, how I ask You presence. Your light. Your goodness. Your grace. Your glory.

The word darkness continues coming to mind. Father, how I pray Your presence to counteract the evil with which some folks live every single day. Fear. Separation from You.

(6:53 a.m.)

Blessed God, I don’t even have a coherent way of asking You to intervene on the lost and hurting. Those living their lives in constant darkness. I am turning to Your Word. Asking. Seeking. Knocking (Matthew 7:7).

Acts 26:18 and Ephesians 6:12 lead me to singing and finding the title and lyrics to ♪Waymaker, Miracle Worker Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness My God, that is who You are♪ How desperately You are needed Father.

Telling of his conversion from persecutor to Jesus follower, the apostle Paul shares his commission to witness to the Gentiles (Acts 26:15-18). Jesus told him to tell the world what he had seen (v. 16). “And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of satan to God” (vs. 17-18a).

♪God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name… Go in My name and because You believe, Others will know that I live [Freely, Freely]♪

We are reminded of the importance of being strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Ephesians 6:10). We are to ‘put on God’s armor so that we will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil’ (v. 11).

Oh yes Dearest God! “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies. But against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (12).

We need You Lord. ♪You give life, You are love You bring light to the darkness You give hope, You restore Every heart that is broken Great Are You Lord It’s Your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise… to You only… All the earth will shout Your praise Our hearts will cry These bones will sing Great are You, Lord♪

Shine Your light in the lives of the hurting Lord. Those living daily in darkness. I love You. We need and want You. Do all You must to Your good and to Your glory. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(462 words ~ 7:50 a.m.)

Up, up and away

 Saturday, August 27, 2022 (5:18 a.m.)

Holy God,

(6:08 a.m.)

I’m smiling right now. Relating the ease and simplicity of loving and trusting You with the dreamy melody of ♪Up-Up and Away♪ The more I read, the greater the smile grows.

Even here, with a pop song over fifty years old, I get to be reminded of Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9-11). Thank You God. I truly thought I was over reaching on this one.

(6:41 a.m.)

Father God, I honestly cannot thank You enough! Originally thinking I was being trite, even disrespectful, with the singing of this song with You this morning, I now find myself excited [agog] to learn more.

While we are not to stand around idly looking up to the sky awaiting Jesus’ return, we are to continue offering our thanks and praise to You for all He has done on our behalf. He knew exactly what He was doing. And where He was going. All for our ultimate benefit (John 16:5-8).

Thank You Father. Praise You Jesus.

As I prepare to go off into another day, I ask You to accompany me through it all. Leading. Guiding. Directing. Providing. I want to be Yours. Malleable, to You and Your way. As only You know is best (Isaiah 64:8).

Holy Spirit, I invite You in. You are welcome here. Do all You must. In. With. By. Through. And for each of us.

Be glorified Dear Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In what I think. Say. And do. I love, need and want You. Use me. Amen.

(263 words ~ 7:02 a.m.)

welcomed

Friday, August 26, 2022 (4:44 a.m.)

♪Holy Spirit You are welcome here Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere Your glory God is what our hearts yearn for To be overcome by Your presence, Lord♪

Blessed Father God,

How I thank You! I dreamt of You. I don’t remember that ever happening before. Talk about Your presence being welcomed here!

(5:38 a.m.)

Exploring what it means to truly welcome You has taken me to many websites this morning. Thank You God. One describes an opened arm welcome. I like that.

Mm, yes Father. I want to welcome You, Your Son and His Holy Spirit with my arms wide open!

Another site presents the idea of welcoming You in to ourselves. As an open house. With all rooms unlocked. Lights on. Ready. Willing. And waiting for You to arrive.

Thank You Lord that You stand at the door and knock (Revelation 3:20).

(7:02 a.m.)

Oh! Look at this.

Coming back to this section of Your sacred writings, I’m paying attention to something completely different than before a phone call interrupted us. The very first word.

Behold. See! Look! Here I am! Listen! Now pay attention. Lo.

Mm, yes Dearest God. I want to pay attention to You.

The Life Recovery Bible devotional (Revelation 3:14-22) entitled Love ends perfectly with my thinking this morning.

“Jesus is waiting for us to open our heart and receive His love… Love is waiting. We receive it when we open up to [welcome!] the love God offers us.”

Oh most Holy Spirit You ARE welcome here! ♪Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere♪ Live in, with, by, through and for me this day. I want to be the woman You created me to be. Loving. Kind. Welcoming.

Do all You must to Your good and glorious end. I love, need and want You. Use me exactly as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(333 words ~ 7:30 a.m.)

[and so much more]

 Thursday, August 25, 2022 (5:05 a.m.)

Dearest and Most Blessed God,

You are good. Great. Glorious. Gracious. Thank You that You are.

Thank You that because You are all these things [and so much more] we have hope. Faith. Love (1Corinthians 13:13).

Lead me in Your Word this morning I ask. You have so much Truth for us to lean on. And learn from.

Psalm 23:6

Philippians 4:8

All the “fear not”s

Mm, Blessed God. You are so very much more than we can

(7:47 a.m.)

…even imagine.

Your love Lord is nothing for us to take for granted. Teach me so much more about it this day I pray. Asking You to imprint it deeply within my very being.

Psalm 23:6. In so many different translations. Father God, how I thank You for the ways You surround us with Your never-ending love.

With that very Truth, I want to take another look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as well. Always before I’ve thought of it as being directed to each of us. One toward another. Right now, I have eyes and a heart to see it as Your love toward each of us. Mind blowing!

Thank You God for never ceasing to teach us more. SO much more!

Because 1 John 4:8b tells us “for God is love” I have a whole new take on the apostle Paul’s teaching about love to the believers living in Corinth. Substituting Your name for love, I read “God is patient and kind. God is not jealous [which flies in sharp contrast to Your words to Moses in Exodus 20:5] or boastful or proud or rude” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5a).

These are deep thoughts for me Lord. All I know for sure is that the more I want to know, there is always so very much more for me to learn. Right here I ask You to keep teaching me.

I want to know, trust and love You more than I do at this moment. Thank You for who and all You are. Use me this day exactly as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(367 words ~ 8:29 a.m.)

even if

 Wednesday, August24, 2022 (6:40 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

That’s way better than the “ARGH!” I had planned to begin. Thank You for that Dear God.

Thank You too for the joy that HAS come in this morning (Psalm 30:5b). While there was no weeping through the night, the conflicting thoughts that swirled in my head just wouldn’t ♪Leave Me Alone♪

Thank You for the smile that continues washing over me. Especially within. “A pleased, kind, or amused facial expression.” Even a twinkle of sorts. Thank You God.

Mm, yes. Thank You!

Thank You that prior to sleep I had the privilege of reading the importance of countering every “what if” thought with an “even if” Truth. Thank You Father for introducing me to the writings of Vaneetha Rendall Risner.

Throughout the night I had the opportunity of challenging every fearful “what if” spiral with the freedom that comes from believing and singing out ♪Thy Will Be Done♪ Knowing, trusting and believing You to always be good. Great. Glorious. And gracious. Even if circumstances aren’t what I think they should be.

Father God, thank You. Praise You. You know Your plans for each and every single one of us. Plans to take care of us, not abandon us, plans to give us us the future we hope for (Jeremiah 29:11 The Message). Your plans Lord. ♪Thy Will Be Done♪

Attempting to put a more hopeful spin on the ♪Leave Me Alone♪ chorus that kept singing to me, I tried inserting a four count plea. “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20b). While I couldn’t actually keep it with the beat, I was able to go back to sleep.

Believing, trusting and knowing You to be good is such a vital blessing to our days Dear God. Even if [especially when] circumstances present as dire. Thank You that I get to choose to trust You. Always Revering God’s Holiness [the aforementioned ARGH!].

Thank You for the added reminder just now to look at Jeremiah 33:3. Starting with verse 2 in The Message. “This is GOD’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as GOD: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’”

Thank You that Your Word is Truth. Even if our worse fears come into being we can freely turn to You. Your Truth. Your promises.

I love You Lord. I trust, need and want You. ♪Thy Will Be Done♪ Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(428 words ~ 8:01 a.m.)

audience with God

Tuesday, August 23, 2022 (5:18 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You.

There’s something amiss. I’ve yet to figure it out. I’m completely unable to put my finger on it. Is it tension? Annoyance? Irritability? I am truly at a loss.

Thank You that even with this I get to come to You. Thank You Dad that we don’t have to be perfect in order to gain audience with You.

Psalm 51:17 humbled and contrite

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock

Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 God is faithful

Only: by grace, through Christ, by faith, by Scripture alone, for the glory of God

Reading of others having sought an audience with You, I am truly blessed by Your peace. Being reminded of the importance of telling You our needs and trusting You to do all that is best on our behalf is vital. Thank You God.

Thank You that I get to come before You ♪Just As I Am without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!♪

As each verse affirms even more of Your Truth, I look to You with such gratitude. You know and love us exactly as we are. Struggles and all. Thank You God.

Thank You for Your Truth. Thank You for the hope we gain by turning to and trusting You.

“Going through the motions doesn’t please You, a flawless performance is nothing to You. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice” (Psalm 51:16-17 The Message).

We have travels today Lord. I ask You to go before, behind, beside, beneath, above and within us. Thy will be done in, with, by, through and for us. We want to serve, glorify and enjoy You well this day.

We love, need and want You. Thank You for meeting us. Right where we are. Praise You Lord. Amen.

(356 words ~ 6:40 a.m.)

a brief psalm of praise

 Monday, August 22, 2022 (6:02 a.m.)

Good morning Blessed God,

There’s no music.

(6:16 a.m.)

And here it is. Finally! Brought about by Psalm 100:4.

♪I Will Enter His Gates with thanksgiving in my heart; I will enter His courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for He has made me glad♪

Yes Father! Thank You that You have made us glad. Thank you that we get to come before You with thanksgiving and praise. Rejoicing. Because You have made us glad.

Thank You that I am often aware of Your presence when I smile. Whether I'm reading. Distracted. Gardening. Or doing something completely mundane. Anything that makes me aware that I’m smiling reminds me of the joy that’s in my heart.

See there? Another song! ♪I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (where?) Down in my heart… to stay♪ And right on its tail begins ♪Sing Hosanna, sing hosanna. Sing hosanna to the King of Kings♪

Thank You God. One moment I was thinking I didn’t have a song and the next? They’re coming one right after another.

Drawn to The Life Recovery Bible comment for Psalm “100:1-5 We always have reason to rejoice: We live in God’s presence, under His continual care and we experience His love each day. Each time we come into His presence, our heart should be filled with gratitude and praise. God never stops showering us with His love; He always keeps His promise to help us when we call on Him.”

Thank You Blessed God. I look to You and the praising starts. “Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy” (Psalm 100:1-2).

You do this for us Lord. In. With. By. And through us. Use me this day. Exactly as You know is best.

I love, need and want You God. ♪Have Thine Own Way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter; I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, While I am waiting, yielded and still♪ (Isaiah 64:8).

Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(375 words ~ 7:15 a.m.)