Monday Monday and the Tuesday 4~Let's Blog!

Psalm 113:4-8

The Lord is high above all nations,

His glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the Lord our God,

Who dwells on high,

6 Who humbles Himself to behold

The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

7 He raises the poor out of the dust,

And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,

8 That He may seat him with princes—

With the princes of His people.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly 

I know, it's Monday. I haven't written much since last week..just haven't had the heart or desire.  But I decided it's time to get back with the program. Even when difficult things happen to zap our energy,  life goes on, and we need to seek God's strength to persevere and keep moving forward.  

The weather has been glorious and so we've taken a few little walks.  It's so good to get outside in the fresh air (and away from the TV and Internet) and just breathe in God's beauty around us.  I've seen a few things that have caught my attention and made me smile, like that butterfly above.

And then look at this Beauty Berry bush...some bug must've eaten all those holes in the leaves, making them look so delicate and lacy! 

I think they look really pretty, even if it is a kind of destruction...sometimes beauty comes out of things that were not intended for good.  

It reminds me of this story in Genesis chapter 50, after Joseph had been sold into slavery by his own brothers, and then many years later he is in a position to provide food for them while they have been suffering through a famine in their land.  They were afraid that Joseph would not treat them well after what they'd done to him, but look at what happened instead: 

 

"19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, 

in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Morning Glory growing wild in the weeds

Isaiah 61:3 

"...To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

I love it when God gives us pictures of His love and grace and comfort even in nature. After all, He created it, and it's here for our benefit...to behold His beauty in creation, and to be reminded that He is close to the broken hearted and those who mourn.  Not only that, but what man intended for evil, God turns into good.  As the result of the very sad death of one of His servants last week, Charlie Kirk, who was a strong believer and witness for Christ, there has been a revival going across the world of people who are now more and more committed to continuing that work throughout the world and becoming the hands and feet of Christ on earth. May they stay true to that purpose and not lose sight of WHO it is for, Jesus Christ... and not just a movement in memory of or allegiance to a man that they admired and loved, but for the actual furtherance of The Kingdom of God.  That's my prayer...that God will use this moment in time to draw many to Christ for salvation before His return.   

So now that brings us to the Tuesday 4.  I hope you don't mind that I am combining these two today.  The questions have made me think about the real reason that I enjoy blogging...so let's proceed...

Let's Blog!

Welcome once again friends to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and how about talking about blogging this week since it's something we all do anyway.
Get yourself a cuppa, come sit down at your computer and let's think about blogging for a bit....

Blog is short for Weblog, a log or diary on the World Wide Web or internet. Your journal or diary can hold personal stories, ideas, opinions of all kinds and can be private or public as you wish. It is an excellant way to document your life or interests.


1. Why did you begin blogging?

Click Here for a link to a post I wrote a few years ago about why I love to blog

To sum it up, I blog to because I love having a place to share my heart with others...and to share the beauty that I see around me here in God's beautiful creation.   My initial beginning was because I was discouraged from writing a book due to many reasons...the cost, the lack of "audience",  and all the other little details that go into publishing a book that maybe only a few people will read.  I went to a Christian Writers Conference, and the only thing I learned there that was helpful to me at that time was someone was giving a class about blogging. I had NO idea what a blog was, or how to do it, or what impact it could have...but I came home and looked it up on my computer and found this blogging program, and well, the rest is history. In my mind, this has become my "book", and it is free to publish, and free to you, my readers!  And every "chapter" is something fresh and new, whatever God leads me to for that day. It has opened a whole new world to me, and I am very thankful that God led me to it!


2. What benefits does blogging offer you?

Well, see question #3 below...yes, I have made some very good friends, both in person and through cyberspace. I consider that a great benefit!  Blogging also gives me a way to communicate with people all over the world, people I would never have had any opportunity to know in any other way, and you have all enriched my life with your stories and encouragement.  I also believe that blogging is a great way to stimulate mental acuity. As we age, finding words becomes more and more difficult, and blogging has helped me to keep thinking and striving to improve in my writing skills while I still have my mental faculties!   I hope I can keep it up for a long time!

3. Have you made friends from blogging?

See question #2 above. Yes, I have met in person several wonderful people, and I think that has been the best surprise of blogging of all!  But even for those I have not met in person, I still think of you all as friends...we share so many personal stories and look into the hearts of one another through good times and bad, in sickness and sorrows...and we lift each other up and encourage each other with words of hope and wisdom and joy.  I seriously wish we could all meet in person someday. I would just love to hug every single one!!  Maybe in heaven there will be a special place just for bloggers! LOL.


4. Where do you get ideas for things you blog about? Do other bloggers influence you?

Well, this weekly Tuesday 4, thanks to Toni Taddeo's influence and our current hostess Annie, have been great about giving us ideas to write about each week. This is really the only weekly meme that I participate in, but I enjoy reading what everyone writes in whatever format you choose.  And yes, your thoughts and questions and ideas do influence me in a very positive way. I've learned so much since becoming a blogger. You've opened up a whole new world for me, and I love it.  

Now, for a great big thank you...for quite some time most of you know that I've been praying for some good new neighbors to move into the house next door to us.  As I mentioned a week or so ago, the new neighbors did finally move in and I met them in passing on the road. Well, today the man and his father actually came over to our door and introduced themselves to us! The daughter is working as a caregiver for an elderly woman, so she stays there during the week.  But here's the good news!  They are a fine Christian family, and I do believe that God has answered our prayers by bringing us some really good neighbors!  Praise God for this answer to prayer!  Now I pray that we will be good neighbors to them as well!  Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayers for this situation over the past few months!  I knew you'd want to know how it all turned out!! God is so good!!!

In closing, I will share this little quote from a devotional calendar that I have. I thought it was some good food for thought today in particular:

Wherever we are, God has placed us there for a purpose.  We are to use these gifts, whether it be our home, our blog, or whatever talents we may have, for God's glory and honor and to be His ambassador of hope to others along life's way.  And that is why I love to blog in a nutshell.

Now let's go see what others are writing about this week here at https://tuesdaysplace.blogspot.com/