Think About This!
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the
rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and
bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:
it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before
you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,
and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that
shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:8-13 KJV)
When I woke up this morning my radio alarm went off at 5:25 and the song was a song by Crystal Lewis called God's
Been Good To Me. Read these words ...
God's
been good to me Oh God's always been good; God's been good to me Oh God's always been good
I don't
always say the right things Boy I try; I don't always live my life the right way; But God is faithful to forgive me When
I fail or fall I am unworthy of it all - Still He keeps on givin'
God's been good to me Oh God's always
been good; God's been good to me Oh God's always been good
My God has given me More than I ever dreamed
A precious family, And friends who care for me, Why should he love me so, Oh that Ill never know - I am unworthy of it all
... Still He keeps on givin' to me
God's been good to me Oh God's always been good; God's been
good to me Oh God's always been good
It would take hours and days at a time, For me to sit down and write
down All the things He's done Let me say this that its nothing I've done -- But its the grace He gives
freely to everyone
Tell everybody Tell everybody 'bout it Tell everybody Everybody 'ought to
know!!!!!!!
First, what a way to wake up in the morning!
What a prayer. I don't know about you, but I should wake up singing this song every morning!
Instead of my usual, ugh, I wish it was Saturday! If you know the song, now you have the tune in your mind. I
love that last verse -- It would take hours and days to list out all the blessings that the Lord has poured
over me and my family over the years and it is NOTHING we have done in and of ourselves ... it is all by the Grace of God.
It is by His Grace we have jobs, we have a roof over our heads, we have a car that works, we are healthy ... etc...
Are you thankful today for His Grace? Have you thought about it? We may be down in a valley, but it is still the
Grace of God that is going to draw us back up! So sit down and just say to yourself ... It is going to be OK, God has
never failed me before and I may not see how He is going to pull me back up this time, but I know He has a plan and I am going
to trust Him and place my faith in Him. And when I waiver, I pray Lord that you will draw me closer.
My friends (sisters, brothers) ... God is good to you ... tell everybody!
I pray that you have a great Thursday. Count your blessings! Read this song every morning if you need that reminder
of how good God is! It is hard to believe that my father passed away 2 years ago today, please remember my family -
we miss him ... a lot. Love, Tracy
Just wait ~ There IS Good News!
"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."
(Psalm 27:14 KJV)
This verse or some like it kept popping up in my devotion time today. The Message says ... "Don't
quit - stick with God" Whatever we face in life, God will answer the prayers of His Children. It may not be what
we expected or even what we had hoped for, but only God knows the big masterpiece ... only He knows why things happen the
way they do. All things work together for the good of not only God but His Children. A family from our church
lost their husband and dad last night. When I woke up this morning I was thinking about Wayne, what a nice and quiet
man he was. I believe he was only in his 50's. I started thinking about the comforts of the Psalms and Psalm
23 ... "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's
sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head
with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD for ever."
Because of the profession
of faith Wayne made, he is dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. Take time to seek the Lord today and make sure
you know where you will dwell for eternity. Seek the Lord and ask Jesus to guide and direct your path and your decisions
so that you are living wisely for Him and that you spend you money wisely. Seek the Lord so that you may find the courage
to tell others about Him and about the journey He has brought you down in this life. Today, we are saddened for Kathy
and her children, but for Wayne at 7PM last night it was a glorious celebration. Please pray for Kathy Martin today
that our Lord will give her peace and comfort and surround her family with people that will lift them up in this time
of need. Look around you today ~ pray for your friends and neighbors. Pray for your children and grandchildren
(to come). Pray that the journey you travel today will draw you closer and closer to Jesus so that when He calls your
name you can stand proud. Do not be ashamed. Go tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere ... Go tell
it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is Lord!
I hope you all have a great day.
Please continue to pray for Sandra's Dad (Jack Canady), I heard he had a better day yesterday, but is still very sick.
Today is a new day ... you are alive !!! Count your blessings! Love, Tracy
Share It, Spread It, Live It
"Do
ye look on things after the outward appearance? if any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think
this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's. For though I should boast somewhat more of our
authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: That
I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily
presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when
we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare
ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves,
are not wise. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God
hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
For we stretch
not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the
gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when
your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the gospel in the
regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand. But he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth."
(2 Corinthians 10:7-18 KJV)
This morning I was thinking about
all the things that I take for granted in life. I am so blessed, yet, sometimes I have a pity party. I was watching
Oprah yesterday and she interviewed 3 actresses, one 50, one 65 and one 71. The topic ... woman aging. I am 41
and sometimes I do get hung up on "how did I get to be this age so fast?" The 65 year old lady said,
the biggest thing that upsets me about getting older is I am closer to dying, and I am afraid to die. I started thinking
about that. My immediate thought honestly was "I'm not." And it is true I am not. I do wonder
the how and when sometimes, but what awaits us as Christians when we pass from here to heaven is amazing and mysterious and
awe-inspiring! So it made me wonder what her relationship with Christ was. For the hour of that program, God was
never mentioned. It was about being happy with who you are and how you got yourself to this
point (their ages) in your life. It disappoints me when someone has such great opportunities and then refuses to share
the Good News.
So I thought about us, we are not movie stars, we are not celebrities, we are ordinary citizens, just your everyday
worker, teacher, banker, secretary, administrator, Mom, Dad, coach ... whatever your role. We are called to share the
Good News ... Jesus Saves and Jesus loves and Jesus heals and Jesus consoles and Jesus touches lives and Jesus protects and
Jesus uses lives and Jesus grows minds and Jesus gives Faith and Jesus gives understanding ... I could go on and on.
Don't be ashamed to share it. Who cares what others think. You may share a word with someone today that was
down in the pit of despair and needed to hear the words ... when everyone else fails you - Jesus loves you! He is the
Rock of your Salvation! Build your faith on His Rock. Trust that He will lead and then follow wherever He takes
you. Stay in His Word so you are not deceived by words of false teachers. Know that His word is truth. He
loves you. Tell somebody.
I
hope you have a great Tuesday. Count your blessings, today is a new day! Love, Tracy
Being Real "Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth
not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:7-10
KJV)
In the
New Living Translation verse 9 read like this ... God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into
the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. To take away
our sins. So many of us want to hold on to them after Jesus has forgiven us of them or we condemn
others for something after Jesus has covered them. We can be so opinionated and judgmental. But know today, that
Jesus loves you. He died, just for you. It really gets to me when I hear someone say, if I get to heaven I am
going to ask Jesus ... why if? When you read the Word of God, it clearly shows us time and time again how to be
saved and how we can spend eternity with Jesus. If we confess ours sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive
us of our sins ... now define sin ... everything that goes against the Word of God. a lie, an unkind word, to steal,
to kill, to have an affair (even of the mind) ... all against God, no one worst than another in God's eyes. Oh we
can justify it, but Jesus knows our hearts. Confess it to Him today and turn away from it ... mean business, don't
just have empty words. Only Jesus knows how sincere we are. We only have this opportunity to do that. When
we pass on and face Jesus someday we don't plead our case to go to heaven, a lost man/woman is judged on how he or she
lived his or her life here on earth. What is your relationship with Jesus?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that YOU may have everlasting life. That is what is in it for you. What are you doing to assure that?
Are you making it a point each day to know Him and live according to His Word? It is a daily devotion to Him.
We are weak but He is strong ... please don't feel defeated. He will raise you up to where you need to be.
We can do nothing without His guidance. Make Jesus your ROCK today.
I hope you all had a great week last week. It is hard to believe
summer vacations have started. Have a great Monday ... are you remembering to count your blessings? Love, Tracy
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