Seeking The Lord - Reposted for those Who Are Seeking

"Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near."

Isaiah 55:6

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;"

Isaiah 55:1

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

"This is the way, walk in it,"

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left."

Isaiah 30:21

"...He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul."

Psalm 23:2

"Surely goodness and mercy 

shall follow me

all the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalm 23:6

Dear Friend,

Are you seeking the Lord today?

He is very near...do not turn Him away.

Turn your heart to the Lord

and seek His face,

and He will hear you and answer you.

He has promised this in His Word.

Just put your trust in Him,

and He will guide you each step of the way.

Have a blessed and glorious day!

God is with you.

(Pictures taken at a lovely spot on the shores of Lake Galilee, near Hawthorne, Florida)

Friday Foto Friends Oh, Deer Me!

Welcome to Friday Foto Friends...the time when we gather together to share our favorite photos from the week.  I wasn't too sure what I was going to share this week, and then on Thursday morning I took an early walk about the neighborhood, and God provided plenty for me to share with you.

We'll start with this deer playing peek-a-boo with me. He wasn't really as close as this makes it appear, but I believe this is the closest encounter I've had with the deer in quite a while:

See what I mean?  I thought he was going to walk right up to me and say good morning! Yes, I did say good morning to him (or her?)  After giving me a good looking over, she bounded into the woods to join the rest of the family...

Except for this one that was still across the road...

And this one that came down the road a ways to see what was going on...

Kind of looks like she's dancing and prancing for me...maybe this is "Prancer" or "Dancer"...perhaps they are getting in practice for you know what that is coming up in about 95 days?

So, after those deer disappeared into the woods, I walked around to the other side of where they were, and noticed these lovely morning sun rays shining through the trees...I just had to pause and breathe in the morning air, and give thanks to the Lord for another beautiful day to be alive...

And then I turned around and looked into the woods, and what did I see staring back at me?
Another deer playing "peek-a-boo"...

As she started to move on, I noticed a lot of movement coming along behind her...

And so I stood there and watched quietly...

And they just kept coming...that third one in the row is the BUCK...He stood and stared at me for quite a while. I couldn't get a very good picture because he was behind the bushes, but even though he is still a young buck, he is definitely the buck of this family, and he shook his head back and forth as if to say to me, "Back off...this is MY family!!"

 I believe he is still standing back in the shadows in this picture below, waiting for all the family to move on to safety before he brought up the rear...

And then they moved over into another area, and kind of corralled themselves there for a few minutes while the young ones caught up to their mamas...

You can see the youngsters here...one is still nursing, and the other is very curious about me...
I believe I counted over seven or eight deer in total in this group...it was quite a fascinating experience.  I've been watching this family all summer long, but have never seen them ALL together like this before. Wish I could have gotten better pictures, but they just kept moving and camouflaging themselves in the woods.  I didn't dare get any closer, or that buck may have bucked me out of the way!!

Then I noticed this lovely pond, which is the area where the deer were headed.  I waited for a few more minutes, but they stayed hidden, waiting for me to leave...so I decided I'd better move on so they could get on with their daily routine.

It looks like fall leaves are starting to show here...and they are here and there. I love the golden hues of fall in the morning sunshine. Now if we just had the cooler temperatures to go along with this I could be in "hog's heaven"...or maybe I should say "deer heaven!"

Some thoughts from God's Word for today:

Psalm 63:1-5

1.  "O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirsts for you;

My flesh longs for You 

in a dry and thirsty land

where there is no water.

2.  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

to see Your power and Your glory.

3.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

4.  Thus I will bless You while I live;

I will life up my hands in Your name.

5.  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."

An Afterthought:
For my less woodsy friends who may not always appreciate just pictures of more DEER, (Oh, dear, I can hear you saying...what next?)
Last Saturday I found this delightful little plate at the flea market, and couldn't resist it as a little early birthday present to myself. (next week) It came already equipped with the little wire hanger thingy, so all I had to do was find a suitable spot to hang it and voila!

I probably need to clean that rust off that wire thingy...hmmm, didn't see that before, but anyway, you can see here that it is entitled "Coaching Scenes" made in England by Johnson Bros., The Ironstone Coach Office!

maybe you can read the details a little better here:

I know it looks lost on this wall, but wanted you to see where it now resides:

right under the picture of the beautiful large wicker chair with a lady's hat, next to a tea table ...ready and waiting for your visit, "mi' lady", so hop on that coach and come on over!
The Teapot is ready and waiting...

Now let us hop on a coach and trot over to visit our other Friday Foto Friends who are waiting patiently for us at Deb's place at Breathing in Grace. 

May your day be blessed with the joy of seeking and finding the Lord in places where you might not have expected!

The Secret Garden Chronicles-Seeking The Lord

Sitting in the Secret Garden this afternoon was a challenge.  Lately I'm finding that I'm a bit less attentive to the Lord and more interested in what's going on around me.  I am easily distracted by the birds

and bees

and flowers

and trees...(palmettos!)

and it seems as though God has to keep snapping His fingers to say, "Oh Pam, I'm over here! Please look at Me!"

And so I open my Bible, seeking the Lord's face and His words, and this is what I find:

"But from there you will seek the Lord your God,

and you will find Him if you seek

Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Deuteronomy 4:29

Ah, Yes, Lord God...perhaps that is the problem...I'm seeking You with my head and not my heart and soul.  In my head I know that's what I ought to be doing, but like a child I need to be directed to seek You fully with all my heart and soul...and all my senses tuned into Your voice.

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;"

Isaiah 55:1

This reminds me of a song that I loved to sing so many years ago, but haven't heard it in so long: (click on the link to sing along with the song)

"Ho, everyone that is thirsty in spirit!

Ho, everyone that is weary and sad!

Come to the fountain;

There's fullness in Jesus--

All that you're longing for;

come and be glad.

Chorus:

"I will pour water on him who is thirsty,

I will pour floods upon the dry ground;

Open your heart for the gift I am bringing,

While ye are seeking Me, 

I will be found."

Child of the world,

are you tired of your bondage?

Weary of earth-joys, so false, so untrue;

Thirsting for God,

and His fullness of blessing?

List to the promise--

a message for you.

(Chorus)

Child of the kingdom,

be filled with the Spirit,

Nothing but fullness thy longing can meet;

'Tis the enduement for life and for service--

Thine is the promise, so certain so sweet.

Chorus:

"I will pour water on him who is thirsty,

I will pour floods upon the dry ground;

Open your heart for the gift I am bringing,

While ye are seeking Me, 

I will be found."

(Ho, Everyone That is Thirsty, by Lucy J. Rider)

Isaiah 55:6.  

"Seek the Lord while He may be found.

Call upon Him while He is near."

Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:13-14

"Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him 

will never thirst.

But the water that I shall give him will become in him a 

fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

And with the woman at the well I cry,

"Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst,

nor come here to draw."

(John 4:15)

Yes, Lord!  I'm thirsty for Your living water...I tend to run dry when I try to do things in my own strength, and I get off the track of where You were leading me...I know You have a plan for my life that is higher than my plans and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9), and I also know that Your Word is true, and it will accomplish what YOU please...and will prosper in the thing for which You sent it...(Isaiah 55:11),  so please guide me.  Keep me on the right track here, Lord, I pray. I want whatever I do to bring glory to You...and not to me.  Because when I get my eyes off of You and back on to me, I run dry...I get thirsty...and I lose my way.   Thank You for bringing me back into the right place. This is my prayer today, Lord.  Amen.

The Secret Garden Chronicles-Day 11-Seeking God's Face

When I sat down in the Secret Garden today,  my first thought was to look at the "Be Still and Know that I Am God" sign that my son posted in the garden for me..and as I gazed upon it, I prayed:

"Lord, help me to do just that--to be still--to focus 

my thoughts totally on You,

and not on anything else."

And then this little bird flew up into the treetop above me, and he caught my attention because I didn't recognize what kind of bird he was.  All I could see was that he was tiny and had a brown head and light underbelly.  I tried to focus my camera on him, but it wouldn't come in clearly...possibly because of the leaves moving in the breeze all around it, or also because the bird kept moving from one tiny branch to another...

So in my frustration I said something out loud, like, "Why can't you be still so I can see you?  Okay, I guess you don't want me to take your picture today!" and with that, I turned off my camera and tried to re-focus my thoughts on the Lord, and what He would say to me today.

I opened my Bible, and it fell open to Psalm 27, probably because that is where my marker was from this morning's devotions.

And my eyes went directly to verses 7-10.  

7.  "Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!

Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8.  When You said, "Seek My face," 

my heart said to You,

"Your face, Lord, I will seek."

9.  Do not hide Your face from me;

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not leave me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation.

10.  When my father and my mother forsake me,

then the Lord will take care of me."

And I thought to myself, "That sounds like me trying to see the face of that little bird a few minutes ago!"  How often do we cry out to the Lord, and even beg Him, "Listen to me!  Hear my voice when I cry out to You!"

It also reminded me that apparently I was having a bad dream last night, and my husband had to wake me up because I was crying out in my sleep.  I'm not sure what that was all about...I vaguely remember that something or someone was making me upset and afraid, and I started to cry out...one of those anxiety dreams that happen when we aren't even consciously aware that we are anxious about anything, but our subconscious knows and we cry out-- to GOD for help!!

Anyway, the Lord responds to our cries...even those that come from somewhere deep within us that we dare not express outwardly...and He says, lovingly and tenderly, "Seek My face."  

And we look up again with our whole heart and mind and say, sometimes with tears streaming down our face, 

"Your face, Lord, I will seek."

About this time, as I was reading this passage, I looked up, and that little bird had flown up to the tip-top of a dead tree, 

and perched there for all the world to see.  It was as if he was saying,

"Here I am! 

You said you wanted to see me more clearly?

Here I am...

focus in on me now!

Take a good look!"

And I thought about the Lord, and how often we get frustrated because we can't quite see Him or hear His voice, and it is because there is so much of the world in the way...the noise of the crowds, and the debris of too many conflicts, anxieties and just junk, causing our view of Him to become out of focus.  But when we seek His face alone...we find that He is right there in plain view, waiting for us to zoom our lens of faith and trust onto His glorious face.

"I would have lost heart, 

unless I had believed that I would see 

the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  

Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Psalm 27:13-14

Sometimes we just need to learn to WAIT on the Lord,

and stay tuned in to His Voice and His Face, 

because He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting."

Psalm 139:23-24

Amen.

What Are You Looking For?

"But when Jesus turned around and saw them following, He asked them, "What are you looking for?"   John 1:38a NIV

Have you ever asked yourself the same question? I know I have...many times...like, when I go from one room to another in search of something...I often have to stop and ask myself..."Now why did I come into this room? What was I looking for?"  Please tell me I am not alone.  Just a few minutes ago I went in search of my glass of water. At least I remembered what I was looking for...I just couldn't remember where I had left it.  After retracing my steps throughout the house, rethinking all of the places I'd been and what I'd been doing over the past hour or so since I last took a sip...(of water)...I finally discovered it on a shelf in the sunporch

next to the rocking chair that I was GOING to sit on while I talked with a friend on the phone, but as I recall now I decided to go outside and sit on the new front porch while I chatted, and apparently left my water behind. 

I've been talking quite a bit about the word "FOCUS" lately...my new One Word for 2015...and obviously it is an action word that I need to learn to do.  

Today's devotional reading and later Bible study in our home this morning "focused" on the theme of following Christ...as seen in John's Gospel, chapter one and verses 24-49.  Jesus noticed two of John the Baptist's disciples following Him, and in verse 38 it says that Jesus turned, "and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"...or, "What are you looking for?".  The disciples said that they wanted to know where He was staying...and Jesus said to them, "Come and see."  (verse 39).  Then these disciples went out and invited others to come and see Christ, as they discovered that He was in fact "The Messiah".  (verse 41).  Throughout the rest of these verses several others joined the group as Jesus simply said to them "Follow Me," and they did.  So simple...and yet so profound.

Today I have asked myself the question, "What are you looking for?" as if Jesus Himself was asking me.  Perhaps He is asking me, "Where are you focusing your attention?...Is it on Me? Do you want to follow Me? Or are you seeking something else?"... 

Hubby enjoying the new porch

We've been focusing a lot of attention on getting our house in order...new porch, new roof, new kitchen cabinets...

Cabinets, BEFORE

Cabinets AFTER (work done by my son)

And these things in themselves are not bad...they were all much needed home improvements...and God provided the way...But I've had to stop and ask myself the question, "What are you looking for?"  Where is your focus?  Is it on these nice new things...or is it on Jesus, the One Who is calling me to follow Him?  

In the past several months God has been leading us to begin a Bible fellowship in our home on Sunday mornings.  Already we are seeing God blessing this venture with new people coming to our home who needed a place to worship and study God's Word in a non-threatening, personal small group.  I could say that we are getting our house in order to be better equipped to provide this place of worship, and that would be true.  But I don't want to get my eyes off of the purpose for the gathering place so that I focus on the place instead of the purpose. I don't want to misplace my focus.  

Lord, Help me to seek YOU in all that I do each day.  May our home be a place that is centered on YOU...and not just centered on being a place.   Thank you for helping me to refocus my sights on YOU today. Amen.

Fresh Out of Ideas...

"So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."   Luke 11: 9-10

Have you ever just felt like you were

• fresh out of ideas...
• running into dead ends...
• banging your head against a wall...not sure which way to turn? 

If so, I am certain you are not alone...I know I have often felt that way...and continue to feel that way more often than I like to admit.  We start out gung-ho, ready to go on a project or an idea, and get up a full head of steam, and then we start running into road-blocks and obstacles, you know, those little daily frustrations that catch us off-guard and interrupt our plans for the day...or the week, or our life's goals...and pretty soon we find ourselves giving up on our dreams and schemes and going back to the status-quo...the ordinary life...the comfortable place where we aren't challenged to step out on faith and do something "outside the box".   We find ourselves slumped back down in our easy-chairs, pushing the buttons on the remote and looking for something to entertain ourselves...watching other people achieving their goals, obtaining their dreams, carrying out their ideas and finding success and happiness at the end of the rainbow.  And we content ourselves by saying, "well, that just wasn't God's plan for me", or "I guess that wasn't such a good idea afterall."  "It's okay for someone else, but not for me."

I don't pretend to have the answer to this problem that appears to be common to many of us.  But God's Word, The Bible, does have a lot to say to us about how we should go about seeking His plan for our lives...The verses quoted above from Luke's Gospel are a good place to start:

• "Ask...Seek...Knock..."   and then go to Psalm 27:14, which says:
• "Wait on the Lord;"
• "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;"
• "Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Oftentimes I have found that I have given up too soon, thinking that my plans must not have been good enough or in the right direction...when actually what I needed to learn was to wait on the Lord for His plans to come into fruition.  Isaiah 30:18 says,

"Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him."

Lord, I am learning to wait on You...to answer my questions, acknowledge my seeking, and to open that door in Your good time...and I look forward to hearing Your still small voice saying,

"This is the way, walk in it,"...whenever I "turn to the right hand or whenever I turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)

Proverbs 16:3 reminds us to "Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established..."
and in verse 9 it says, "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

So the next time you find yourself running into those road blocks, stop and ask for directions...and God will direct your steps.  You can't go wrong that way!!!

Have a blessed, productive day!