Wednesday Treasures

Something new has been added to "My Room  with a View"...

I am trying to improve on this mess:

(before)

There! That's a little bit better!!

(After)

This little nightstand was something that my son had for sale at Dixie Cottage. He decided to break up a set because this nightstand had different handles than the rest of the set and it didn't seem to be selling, so he decided to give it to me when I told him of my need for something to help me organize my "stuff" a little better in this room.  Little by little things are getting in better shape.  And it gives me a good spot to set this little devotional book and my current journal, so that I will remember to use them both more regularly.

Yes, Lord! I am listening!

Oh, how true this is...

Frankly, I am quite thankful that "no one knows me like God does". 

 

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You."

Psalm 86:5

Wow! What a promise!

So now, what else have I been up to? Well, let's see...today I actually got our taxes done!  Hooray!! I always used to dread doing our taxes back when we were still employed and in the ministry, because there were so many things to keep track of as a minister...parsonage allowance expenses, car expenses, business expenses, entertainment expenses, on and on...keep those receipts! Keep mileage records! Otherwise we would end up paying big self employment taxes...so it was always a record keeping nightmare for me!  The only time we had a professional tax group do our taxes for us we got audited, and the tax professionals did NOT come to the audit with us as promised! But we managed to prove everything we had claimed and thankfully we were not charged any extra taxes or penalties.  But that clinched it for me...I would do our taxes from then on and make sure they were done right!

  

Now I am SO thankful that we are retired and our income is so small and simple and "fixed" that I can do our taxes in less than 30 minutes on TurboTax Free edition!  Woohoo! And we still get a refund every year! Of course, it would always be nice to have more income, but hey! We are doing fine and God provides everything we need...and we are very thankful and blessed! So I am not going to rock the boat!

Speaking of rocking the boat...well, not exactly, but let's see what's going on in Still Waters Pond this week:

This Great Blue Heron stopped by for a little visit the other day...isn't he a handsome fellow?

And then we had quite a lively morning with the Canada Geese one day...

They appeared to be two rival groups, but they flew in at the same time with a lot of honking and splashing about and chasing each other around the pond. I posted a video on Facebook, but I can't seem to do it here, so you will just have to imagine it. It was quite exciting for a while until they decided to just settle down and eat and swim around the island and leave each other alone.

I snuck around to my little hiding place along the shore of the pond near the big island and watched the goose parade as they swam past me.

Aren't they beautiful?

I think some of them were aware of my presence and they kept a "stiff upper lip" and just kept swimming past me without looking to the right or the left...

The pond has a couple of islands in the middle, and the geese like to swim all the way around them in a long line...

But some lingered awhile in this little quiet cove and gave me ample opportunity to enjoy them...

"Be Still and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10

As they rounded the island to the larger open waters they lined up and headed for the little marsh island all together:

Aren't they amazing?

There they go...

And soon they were all relaxing out on the marsh island, some swimming, some "sun bathing", some taking a nap...

They all seem quite peaceful now and there didn't appear to be any more wild frenzied activities...

And all was calm, all was bright...

Kind of like a "Silent Night", except it was still day, but at least they were at peace.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:27:

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

And with that, I think I will bid you a good night and head for bed.  Be at peace my friends.

Good Night.

 

"We Are Precious In His Sight" - Revisited

Tomorrow is Father's Day 2021.  This was originally posted in 2015, in honor of my father.   Thought I would share it again, since I don't really have anything new to say.  Have a blessed and wonderful Father's Day tomorrow...celebrating those fathers that you love, and especially celebrating our heavenly Father, Who is the Father we ALL can trust. 

Original Post June 2015:

Yesterday was Father's Day...and as I posted this picture of me with my Daddy on my Facebook page,  several commented about how "precious" this picture was.  Yes, it was precious to me as well. I have been kicking around these thoughts and wanting to share them, but couldn't quite put it into the proper words.

I know that many people did not have such a wonderful father as I was blessed to have. I sometimes almost feel guilty when I share pictures such as this because I know there will be some who will be sad because of their own  loss of a great father, or because of their "lack" of a great father. I am fully aware that many either did not know their fathers at all, or if they did, they sometimes wish that they didn't because of the abuse, neglect, disappointments and sorrow that they endured because of him. 

All too often, our relationship with our earthly fathers skews our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  For those who have not had a loving, caring, appropriate relationship with an earthly father, it may be very difficult to understand, accept, or even consider that such a loving, caring, appropriate relationship could even be possible with our Heavenly Father.

The word "precious"means greatly valued, loved, cherished, too important to be wasted. 

God said to Israel in Isaiah 43:1-4 

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire,

you shall not be burned,

nor shall the flame scorch you.

For I Am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I gave Egypt for your ransom,

Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

Since you were PRECIOUS in My sight,

you have been honored,

And I have loved you; 

Therefore I will give men for you,

and people for your life."

Yes, I know this is talking about God's love for Israel, but I can dare to say that it is also talking about His great love for you and for me.  He has redeemed us through the blood of His precious Son, Jesus.  He has called us by name, and He has told us that we belong to Him, and that we are PRECIOUS in His sight.  

Further on in Isaiah, chapter 53, verse 4-5 He tells us about our Savior, Jesus the Messiah, and this is personal:

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken, 

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

and by His stripes we are healed."

Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 11:28-30...

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 

for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

And Jesus tells us how much God loves us in this most well-known scripture of all:

"For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

What I gather from these verses is that God would not have bothered to go to so much trouble and sorrow and grief on our behalf if we were not worth the cost to Him...if He did not see us as being "greatly valued, loved, cherished, too important to be wasted;"  i.e; PRECIOUS.

It is my hope that in thinking about these verses and so many, many more in God's Word, the Bible, that those of you who may be longing to be loved and cherished may realize that we do have a Heavenly Father Who truly does cherish us...and that He has totally declared us to be PRECIOUS in His sight...so much so that He was willing to send His very own PRECIOUS Son to die for us.

Romans 5:7-8 explains this even better:

"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die;

yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

But GOD demonstrates His own LOVE toward us, 

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us!"

If Christ was willing to die for us even while we were still sinners...imperfect, unlovely, perhaps not so precious in the eyes of the world, and yet, Christ was still willing to die for us...then that should surely show us that we are extremely PRECIOUS in God's sight.  

Not only did Christ die for us in our sinful state, but He actually made us joint heirs with Him...adopted into His family...children of God:

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear,

but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out 

"ABBA, Father,"  (Abba means Daddy)

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that

we are CHILDREN OF GOD,

and if children, 

then HEIRS, - HEIRS OF GOD AND JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST,

if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

Romans 8:14-17

This tells me that God loves me so much that I can even be bold enough to crawl up into His lap, and curl up and take a nap, knowing that my "Abba Father God" will carry me through the trials and temptations and sorrows of this world.  I can rest in Him, secure in His love, because He redeemed me with the blood of His very own PRECIOUS SON.  He did that even while I was still a sinner with no other hope of grace.  I was PRECIOUS  in His sight...and I can rest safely in His lap forever. And so can you, my friend. He did this for YOU as well...your HEAVENLY FATHER, Who loves you this much.

If you are feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, and not sure you are secure in the lap of God, I hope these verses and words will help you find that place of comfort in the arms of Christ.

I love this song linked below....listen and know that you are not alone in this world. AND YOU ARE VERY PRECIOUS IN GOD'S SIGHT!

He Will Carry You, by Scott Wesley Brown

HERE is a link to another post about Father's Day

And HERE is ANOTHER link about Father's Day

And yet another special post in memory of my father, "My Father's Cane"