Praying aloud with your spouse or family...

 When Gail and I were first married someone told us to pray aloud with each other at bedtime.  So we committed to doing this together.  It has been a wonderful discipline for us for many reasons.  By praying together we know what each other is concerned about and praying for.  Also, it has kept us at peace with each other.  We know we have to settle our differences before we go to bed.  We just can't pray together if we aren't at peace with one another! 

Gail and I also have prayed out loud for our children or grandchildren at bedtime. This is something we've done for years.  When we'd tuck our child in we'd pray for them and then our child would pray.  We've carried this over to our grandchildren.  It is a great way to end the day.  Sometimes the grandchild does not want to pray and that is alright too. 

A book I was recently reading said our prayers can really comfort the grandchildren and give them peace at bedtime. Praying aloud also sends a much-needed message that tells the grandchild, "You are loved and valuable." It also shows them that God loves them, knows them by name, and cares about their every need.

Aren't we so blessed to be able to speak to our Heavenly Father?  HE IS GOOD! 

Hang in there through the years.....teach the next generation.

 Yesterday was an encouraging day as we were back in the Limon area.  We had lived there for about thirty years some twenty years ago...so we'd lived there quite a while and we have been gone quite a while! It really was encouraging to go back.  We attended the church that we had been a part of for many years.  We had helped to build the church after the old one was destroyed by the tornado in 1990.  We'd taught there and been in leadership.  It was so good to go back and see our brothers and sisters in Christ still faithfully serving our Lord and Savior.  

Two specific people came up to me and thanked me for making a difference in their lives many years ago.  Wow!  What a blessing to know that I had made a difference in their lives.

Then we were able to go to a FCA banquet.  There they talked about the impact that those in the organization had made on other people through the years.  And the impact those currently serving through FCA are making on teachers and students now.  

The day really encouraged me.  It encouraged me to see the faithful still serving, to see that what we have previously done has made a difference in others' lives, and to see that it is still important that we keep serving God!

My morning devotion contained these verses that I thought were so adequate for this blog.

Psalm 71:17-19

7 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.
19 Your righteousness, O God,
    reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
    O God, who is like you?

What is success?

 Last week I told one of our grandchildren that I wanted him to be successful in life. Later when I was praying I saw in my prayer book that I had written that as a prayer request for this grandchild. So I got to thinking what does that mean? What does it mean to be a successful person?

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I looked for a definition of success. This is what I found on the internet.

Success is the ability to reach your goals in life, whatever those goals may be. Other words used for success may be attainment, accomplishment, or progress. It is not necessarily a destination but a journey that helps develop the skills and resources you need to thrive.

There were five keys to success listed: Confidence, Perseverance, Organization, Getting Along, and Resilience.

There were four factors listed that contribute to or determine success: intelligence, social skills, work ethic, and luck.

Qualities of successful people were passion, optimism, persistence, creativity, self-discipline, a desire to improve, and a commitment to learning.

There were seven steps to happiness and success.
    Believe in yourself, and identify your natural talents and abilities…
    Develop a Vision. First, define your path and start working on your plan…
    Develop good habits. Happy and successful people choose good habits…
    Show gratitude…
    Take a chance…
    Give to others…
    Take responsibility…

These are all good points and thoughts and ideas for the world we live in but.......what about success in spiritual terms?

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I turned to Got Questions.org to see what this site said about spiritual success. This is what it said:

Riches? Pv. 22:2 says God makes both the rich and the poor. He is the giver of all things to all people.

Skills and abilities? I Cor. 4:7 “For who makes you to differ from anyone else? What do you have that you have not received?” Our abilities and skills come from God.

Influence and power? John 3:37 “A man can receive only what is given to him from heaven.’ If a man is successful it is only because God has given him or her that ability.

Things of the world? I Jn. 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world.” If we love the world and what it provides more than we love God we will find our lives to be empty.

True success is to have salvation and to know God. Lk. 10:20 ‘…rejoice that your names are written in the book of life.’ When you have salvation you will have the promise of eternal life which is stated as not a length of time but a quality of life where you are known by God and are in His presence. We are not to rejoice because of our abilities, victories, and possessions in this world. True success in which we rejoice is: being saved, overcoming this world by His grace, and communion with Jesus.

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So as I recap about encouraging our grandson to be successful:
    I am thankful for his commitment to our Lord and his profession of faith…
    Now may he overcome the world by using what God has given him and keep his focus on Christ! May he and you and I be successful in God's eyes! May we truly follow and obey Him!

The 'Times' are unsettling...worrying won't help....

There is much to worry about here on the earth. I think I mostly worry about our family. Will this generation and the generations that follow know Christ as their personal Savior? But I also worry about this world….. it is a disaster! I like to know what is happening in the world but lately, it has about gotten me down.

I was talking with Gail and telling him that hearing of the world events, particularly the events in the USA, was making me anxious and nervous and stealing my joy and peace. He said he was just reading a book by Dr. David Jeremiah about the end times. Dr. Jeremiah said we know what is going on around us and it is bad. Evil is very prevalent. God’s ways are not heeded. So we especially now need to keep our eyes on God and know He is in charge. Be calm, have peace, and be confident. There are many verses in the Bible to remind us that God is with us. Deut 20:3,4 …”hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies; let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” We need to remember God is in charge and is with us fighting for us. Harm may physically come to us but spiritually nothing can snatch us from His hand.

I also read recently in a book by Dr. Robert Jeffress called Walking by Faith that ‘worry is assuming responsibility that God never intended us to have. It’s assuming responsibility that belongs to God. Whenever we start worrying about the things God is responsible for, we will get burdened with anxiety.’

I also heard a daily devotional from Charles Stanley that talked about the need for us to have joy.  The scripture used was from Zephaniah.  God told the Israelites that they needed to have joy, God was in charge, but difficult days would come.  

The devotion also used Hebrews 12:2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

It really impressed on me the hard time Jesus was facing.  It was much worse than anything we could face today!  God was with Him.  He is with us.  Have joy and trust our awesome God!

Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once.  It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.  Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.  - Corrie ten Boom.

Patience...waiting on God

 Yesterday our lesson in Sunday school was about David and the amount of time he had to wait before he became king of Isreal.  Davie was anointed by Samuel when he was about fifteen.  Then he was at odds with King Saul for about fifteen years before he was made king of the tribe of Judah.  It was another seven years before he became king of Israel.  We were impressed that during this time he waited on God to make him king rather than taking things into his own hands.  

My devotion this morning talked about Abraham.  He knew his descendents were to become a great nation but he didn't have any children. So instead of waiting on God's timing, he and Sarah took things into their own hands to bring about the promise.  This produced trouble for their family then and for generations to come. 

An example of this came to my mind.  When we moved to our current location almost twenty years ago there was an area on the road that leads to our ranch that was a mess.  The fences were bad, there was an old trash pile, and 'stuff' left from the days of old.  Gail and I wanted to get this cleaned up.  We were able to buy the property a few years back.  Then Missy and Austin built a house and pens there.  They recently refenced this property and it all looks terrific!  This took about twenty years but the wait was worth it.  Kids living close and a beautiful property.  

So.... all this to say don't get in a hurry.  Wait upon the Lord.  Stay faithful.  Don't take things into your own hands.  God is great and His timing is perfect! 

Some thoughts about work....

Wow! I am excited to write this blog today because of what I heard on the radio recently.

I was listening to Family Life and they were talking about our ‘work’. The hosts were using verses from Genesis where God gave directions to Adam and Eve when they were in the garden.

Genesis 1:28 - 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The broadcast said that God made us so that we could work. It is a blessing from Him. Could you imagine not needing to work? Just lounging around and everything is brought to us? Goodness, yesterday I had things caught up and had free time and didn’t know what to do with myself!!!!

Then the broadcast said that we seem to have this division between ‘work and living our everyday lives’ and then our ‘spiritual lives’. It said there should not be any division. We seem to think that if the ‘work’ is not spiritual then it is of no significance. But, according to the speakers, all work is spiritual because of God’s direction from Genesis. In ‘working’ we are subduing the world around us and thus fulfilling God’s directions.

Over the years as I have worked, I have always tried to do the work I was doing well. This is because of Col. 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” So in terms of working with efficiency and quickness and in terms of doing a good job, I try to do both as if I was working for our Lord, myself. I also try to do a good job so that Christ is glorified!

Another thought the speaker had on the radio dealt with the Great Commission. This is Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” The speaker said the ‘go’ should really say ‘as you are going’. So in essence, as we are going about each day doing our work, the will of our heavenly Father, we will be making disciples for Him.  Disciples will be made in the workplace, in our homes with our children and grandchildren, in our community organizations, and in every aspect of our lives.

Another thought of mine about work is that we should not be afraid to try something new in terms of work. You may not have the skills required for the job but you can learn. Then you can practice and get more proficient so that you can do the job well. There is an old saying that says ‘The only person who doesn’t make a mistake is the one that doesn’t do anything.’ I think there is a lot of truth in this. You may make mistakes as you try to do something new but you will learn and do better with time. It is better to try and make a mistake than to not try at all.

A miracle this morning...God IS with us!

 

This is our busy time of year.  We have Rodeo Bible Camp that starts on Wednesday.  It takes a lot of preparation to get ready for it.  We are also moving cattle around and shipping some of them out to pasture away from the ranch. We have had rain and things are muddy.  I was a little nervous this morning as I prayed for all that is going on. I was asking the Lord for His help and His peace.

I looked out my living room window and saw that the cacti were blooming.  I thought I'd better go take a picture now in case they were done blooming when we returned from camp.  

There were many plants to choose from.  The miracle is that the first cactus plant I walked over to was the one in the picture at the top.  When I walked to it, the momma bird jumped off of her nest and there to my surprise were these tiny eggs!  

This may seem trivial but it spoke volumes to me that God is with us!  He hears our prayers! He is listening!  And He does care! He showed me a miracle this morning!

Philippians 4:6,7 Have no anxieties about anything, but through prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.