*Originally Published on GGmandy dot com July 1, 2017
What image first comes to your mind at the word “blessings”?
Do you think of these blessings…
family
financial gain
health?
But let me ask you, where does that leave the one with no husband or children, no bank account or bad health?
This thought became real to me …
when I lost my health, and then my husband lost his job, and subsequently our home.
Are we no longer blessed?
Or is this when the true blessings became a realization?
Early on in my journey with chronic pain, my son introduced me to Laura Story and her song, Blessings. She proposed through song that the blessings were not tangible things but divine things. I venture to believe that she is right.
In our pain and loss, we actually found the TRUE BLESSINGS of God.
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We found His PEACE that passes all understanding,
His PROVIDENCE for our every need,
we found His GRACE to walk through the valley, and so much more.
The greatest thing…
… I found was a deep, DEEP RELATIONSHIP with the God of the Ages.
I found His LOVE for me so sweet.
His tender FORGIVENESS for leaving Him behind in the dust as I “ministered to others in His Name”. You see, I really wasn’t doing it all in His Name.
I wasn’t leaning on Him FOR GUIDANCE and DIRECTION. I had taken hold of the reigns and was running the show myself.
But, oh the JOY, I found in being still before Him.
(In my case, literally still. I couldn’t move without excruciating pain.)
‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
Life is hard. It’s tough. And it’s definitely not fair.
Life seems to be tearing so many of us apart inside. Somehow, we must learn that our God is enough for all our needs. I know in my own life, that God’s graces are the only thing that has brought me through. In recent years, I have been fighting auto-immune diseases that are causing me great pain. But through it all, God’s graces have been enough for me. (My story was written several years ago HERE.. However, I am planning an update of that series beginning in May.)
Certainly, there are times that I am discouraged
I wonder how much more I can bear, but then if I get my eyes back on Jesus and His graces, He carries me through. Just like the poem, “Footprints” says when things are the toughest, that is when Jesus carries me! Then when we look back, we can say as Jacob did, “God was here, and I didn’t even know it!” (Genesis 28)
One of the Best Gifts from God is Faith
One of God’s greatest graces to me has been the gift of faith. Thankfully, through every trial, my faith has pulled me through. I have been able to rest in his sheltering arms to get to the other side of the mountain.
To begin with, we have enough faith to believe that God exists.
Secondly, we took the step of faith to believe He sent His Son to pay our debts.
And now we just have to grow that faith until we have a victorious life. Just as the hymn by John H. Yates says… “Faith is the Victory that Overcomes the World!”
The Apostle Paul told Timothy that his mother and grandmother had the gift of faith and that he (Timothy) had the same gift and he needed to “fan the flames of that gift“. (2 Tim 1:6). We need to work at building our faith. When God gives us a gift, He plants the seeds in our lives and we must do our part to make them grow. He often places us in situations that make our faith grow IF we take the right actions.
Let’s consider some actions that will grow our faith.
F – Fear Not
(or worry not, or fret not, or doubt not, you fill in the blank) (2 Timothy 1:5-14)
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Paul continued in verse 7, “God has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity, but the spirit of power, love and self-discipline.” We have to use that self-discipline to stop worrying and start believing the God can work it out. God saved us and he has brought us through so many things already. We need to lean on those facts, rather than worrying about the future (which, by the way, we have very little control of).
So take on the Australian attitude .. “No worries!” or
maybe the Bahamian idea “No Problem, Mon!” or
the retro theme “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”
Choose what you may, just STOP WORRYING!
A – Acknowledge our Concern & Ask God for help.
Did you ever notice that the base word in “confidence” is “confide”? So … maybe in order to have confidence, we should confide in the Lord about our fears and concerns. God wants to know about our concerns. 1 Peter 5:7 And we can have confidence that God will help us!
Matthew 11 says “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Invoke seems a hard word. Maybe indicating the forcing of something. But isn’t that what we must do? Sometimes praise is hard. Hebrews 13:14-15 says “let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God“.
Continual Praise .. that means, at times we must praise the Lord, even when it’s hard.
Even when we don’t want to.
I am reminded of a time in college. Easter break was coming and I was so ready to get home for a few days. We woke to snow on the ground that Friday and I received a phone call from my father saying I should not come home because the roads between us were too dangerous. I was heart-broken. I went to my final class that morning with a heavy heart. We began class each day with prayer, and guess who the professor called on to pray… ME!
I didn’t want to pray.
What could I say to God at this moment?
I was bummed.
We bowed our heads and the words came from my mouth. “Thank you for the beautiful snow.” Wow! I really couldn’t believe the words were coming out of my mouth! Where did that come from? But guess what … staying at school brought new opportunities and a wonderful Easter weekend.
I think if we can muster up a bit of praise and singing, we’ll soon have forgotten the worries and find the joy.
T – Trust His Promises
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We’ll never understand what’s going on in the world, but God knows. He sees the whole picture and He knows best. When you feel worries and struggles coming your way. Get into the Word.
Better yet, live in The Word always.
Memorize His promises and lean on them.
Sadly, too many of us never pick up our Bible, open its pages and read. And those of us who do, do it way too little. There are so many ways to get the Word into your mind. You don’t have to sit down and read it anymore; now you can listen to it on a CD or MP3. You can carry a little scripture card in your pocket. You can tape verses to your mirror or your computer monitor.
We need to memorize it. Hide God’s Word in our hearts.
We can’t trust His promises if we don’t know what they are.
H – Hide in the Shelter of His Arms
After we do the aforementioned things, we can then rest in his arms. No Worries.
God’s got our back.
He’s got our future.
He is in control!
I love the illustration we were given in the Online Bible Study, A Confident Heart by Renee Swope; we’re in a God Sandwich! The Psalmist said, “You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head.” (Psalm 139:5)
This verse is called the God Sandwich!
That’s when we know that GOD IS ENOUGH.
Rest in this truth today. We can rest knowing that God is all around us taking care of the details.
I have been waiting years for a women’s mentoring resource like this.
This post was previously written in Mandy’s older blog GGMandy dot com. This is an excellent resource of which I still highly recommend.
ADORNED
Living out the Beauty of the Gospel Together
by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
{There are affiliate links on the page}
{I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review}
As a pastor’s wife, I have tried different times to encourage our ladies to live out the Titus 2 woman model. I used Bible Studies on the topic but I never seemed able to really get the point across. It wasn’t easy to explain nor or to share why we should live this kind of life. Partly, I had older women whom I respected questioning the principle. I didn’t know how to answer them. But mainly, I didn’t have the right mentoring resource to help me.
Today, we have millennial women begging for direction. But the situation is worse. The older women think the younger women do not want their help. They feel the young women do not want to hear their message. But this is not true.
And I believe “Adorned” is the mentoring resource we need.
Magnificat is a general term meaning canticle or song, especially in praise. Specific to this passage, Mary’s Magnificat is given this title because it is her “song of praise to God.” The poem praises Him for His blessing to Mary and His faithfulness to Israel.
The Holman Bible Dictionary tells us that Magnificat (mag-nif’-i-kat) means “to magnify”, which gives us greater insight into why church historians have affixed the label “Magnificat” to this passage. The Greek word is used in the first line of Mary’s song, “My soul magnifies the Lord”.
This hymn is much like the song of another young woman in Israel’s history, Hannah, (1 Samuel 2) where we find her praising God for blessing her with a child. She continues pouring out her song of worship to God for His faithfulness to the people, Israel. Hannah’s poem of praise also begins, “My heart exults in the Lord…” [Study Light]
Both women begin by magnifying the Lord and then listing the wonderful deeds of our God; not just the blessings on themselves but for all blessings God has given since the beginning of time.
King David also does the same thing in the Psalms. One of my favorites is Psalm 136. The famous Magnificat was Mary’s response to her amazing situation
Carl Boburg’s Magnificat
As we study the great hymn of faith, How Great Thou Art, we learn this poem-turned-hymn was Mr. Carl Boburg’s “Magnificat”. Likewise, the psalmist implores us to “magnify the Lord with me. Let us exult His name together.” (Psalm 34:3, KJV). The Scriptures implore us many times to magnify the Lord.
I love it when we begin our corporate worship time together at church by reciting a psalm or singing hymns that praise God for Who He is. These types of calls to worship cause us to come together with singing and adoration for our great God.
Indeed, our worship services could be called a Magnificat, of sorts, where we come exulting the Lord together. However, this type of praise isn’t intended just as a Sunday kind of thing. I hope I find myself praising God aloud whenever He blesses my life with good things; indeed, even bursting into song over how much He does for this undeserving woman.
Yet, even if He never did another thing for me, I want to still choose to magnify His Name for what He did at Calvary by taking my shame and punishment for my sin upon Himself for me!
Mr. Carl Boberg, the writer of the hymn How Great Thou Art, had a back story to his profound Magnificat. According to the website, All About God, Boberg was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament.
“Mr. Boberg was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of nowhere. After the storm was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay and heard a church bell in the distance. And the words to How Great Thou Art began to form in his heart –
‘O Lord, my God, when I, in awesome wonder. . .’”
www.allaboutgod.com
Think of the peace he must have felt after that fierce storm to pen these beautiful words that still show us the glory of God today.
Our Own Magnificat
We, too, have a backstory to our own “Magnificat”. Let’s take the challenge and write our own Magnificat. Magnify the Lord with me! Place your praises in the comments section below. Try using Psalm 136 as a template for your song of praise.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
I’ll admit it. I was raised in a predominantly white community.
No, 100% white; however, my parents did their best to teach us about other races and cultures. We had people of all races come through our home over the course of my life; from exchange students to troubled teens to school kids coming out to visit a dairy farm. I have nieces and nephews from every culture, but Asian.
But that doesn’t mean I understand the issues people of color face every day of their life. However, we were taught to look at all people the same, just as Jesus does.
APPALLED
I have watched many a movie about civil rights. And I am always appalled at the treatment of others. It never made any sense to me. Moving to the south 40 years ago, opened my eyes again towards the attitudes of white folk. I am glad to say, that things have improved over the last 40 years.
But that doesn’t mean that racism is no more. I fear, it will always be around because people are not basically good. We are all sinners by birth. And until God changes us from the inside out, there will be hatred and racism, and bullying.
Go Figure
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So my son suggested to me I needed to watch this movie, Hidden Figures. Now, I’m sure that most of us are familiar with Allen Shepherd, John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Shepherd. And when we watch movies about going to space, we see there is a room full of men with computers.
The truth is we seldom learn about the people doing the “real work”; all those behind the scenes. Not to diminish the bravery of our astronauts and the intelligence of the engineers, but there were many others involved in these ventures. And a lot of them were women.
Yeah, who knew that women
and people of color
can add, subtract, and do figures. 😉
I never knew or even thought about this fact. Going back to the 1950’s and early 60’s, those younger than myself tend to not realize that computers were a brand new thing. I have heard that we went to the moon with a computer no stronger than the first game console that came out while I was a kid.
So, Who Was Doing the Figures?
None, other than a room full of women of color; all jammed into a room in a building a half-mile away. They called these women “computers”. Watching the treatment of these women brings tears to my eyes. The movie is expressly about three women who worked for NASA.
1. Katherine Goble Johnson who did the calculating for the room full of engineers; checking their work and such.
2. Mary Jackson – an engineer who fought the system to even get her engineering degree completed because the courses needed were not offered in “colored” schools.
3. Dorothy Vaughn – Supervisor of the ‘computers’ and later computer lab supervisor.
Big Steps for Mankind
We are familiar with Neil Armstrong’s statement when he stepped on the moon, “One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind.” I’d like to suggest a few smaller steps I noticed in this movie. Steps made toward better treatment of people of color.
Spoiler Alert – Stop here if you don’t want tto see the movie first
Step One
Katherine was a child prodigy mathematician given the opportunity to acquire schooling and end up at NASA. She was the first woman (and women of color) requested to come over to the engineers’ group to check their math. The men in this room would not share the same coffee maker with her. She was required to wear a dress and heels, and only pearls, which she could not afford. Restrooms at that time were still designated for whites and “coloreds”. So in her dress and heels, she would ‘run’ to the west building (half-mile away) any time she needed to use the restroom.
When asked where she disappeared to every day, she gave a blunt answer about all that she was dealing with because of the color of her skin. In the Movie, Al Harrison is a composite of three men. But as the script went Mr. Harrison removed the “colored” coffee pot. and took everyone down to the restrooms and pulled down the designating signs.
“From now on, here at NASA, we all pee the same color.”
He may not have been that concerned about civil rights but more about efficiency and beating the Russians into space. But all the same, this was a “step for equal rights”.
Step Two
Mary Jackson was waiting to be promoted to engineer. But no one told her that extra required courses had been added to the requirements. Unfortunately, these courses were not offered at the black colleges. They did offer them as a night class at the local high school… a segregated high school. Mary would not be stopped she went al the way to court to get permission to take her classes.
She did her homework, too; learning all about the judge she was to stand before. She celebrated all the firsts that he had accomplished, then shared how she was the first in her family to go to college. But now, her dream to graduate was being thwarted because she was not allowed in the building where the course was taught.
“only the night courses”, the judge allowed.
But this was a brave and huge step toward equality.
Step Three
Dorothy Vaughn supervised all the women in the room of “computers”. She had been suprervising them for over a year without a promotion or increase of pay. She kept asking about this until she learned that the new IBM was arriving. Funny, but all those male engineers could not figure out how to run the thing. She stayed after hours reading the manuals until she had the thing running. Then she taught all her lady computers how to program the IBM.
What a surprise one day when they came in to ask her why she was in the computer room. She was running numbers and they were right! After the orbit of the moon, the NASA computer women were “no longer needed”, but Dorothy was ready to step into the job of computer supervisor. When they asked her to take the job, she would not leave her girls behind. Every one of them went with her to the computer room.
Another step for Women of Color!
There was one more great statement coming from John Glenn as he prepared for his flight around the earth that I loved,
“Let’s get the girl to check the numbers”
I celebrate that we have made great strides against racism and for equality over the past 60 years; from opportunities in education to sports and all the way to the White House. We can be proud of the strides we have made, but let’s not stop here. Let’s find our way to equality for all.
We can all find small ways to make a big difference for people of color.
The year of COVID-19 has me way behind in 2021. We didn’t celebrate Christmas until mid-January so it’s no wonder that I am just now getting my schedule and plans in order. Is this true for you?
“Show me your way, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me.
You are the God of my salvation.
On You, I wait all day.”
Psalm 25:4-5,
Finding God’s Plan
Finding God’s path has been challenging to say the least. I am baffled how someone with Chronic Illness can struggle even more with being “shut-in”. How is it that my days seem full when I don’t really have that much to do?
Well, being Type-A, I am always wanting to get more done than is physically possible. Those BIG planners only make me have lofty ideas. This planner keeps me from pushing myself too much. I just list my to do’s for the week. (only one per day, max) I’m not nearly as frustrated about what I manage to complete.
images provide by Crystal Stine
PLANNERS GALORE
I have found a lot of beautiful planners. But seriously, they are bulky and way too complicated for the chronic gal. I need simple but pretty. I don’t need stickers or all the minute details; just a place to record doctor’s appointments and a checklist for the things I need to do this week.
Even after 10 years of chronic pain,
I still struggle with overdoing it.
THIS PLANNER WORKS FOR ME
Crystal Stine has come up with the perfect planner for me. It’s pretty with its faux leather cover. It’s lightweight, like a paperback. And simplistic. It offers monthly calendars at the beginning, Then 52 weekly calendars with encouraging quotes to cheer you along the way. And the nice thing is it’s NOT already dated. Start using it anytime and even go into a new year.
Perfect for teachers or homeschoolers or anyone who has a different fiscal year. In the back you will find a year layout where you can put things for the new year or maybe things like birthdays!
Crystal has a whole book about how the handle this Holy Hustle. AND a Bible Study, too! Wow! we can really get on track ’cause she is providing all the guidance we need.
As I began thinking on verses about confidence in the Lord. I was reminded of a dear hymn that speaks of my confidence in my salvation through Jesus Christ. I wanted to share a bit about this hymn today.
The Story Behind the Hymn
Here, in Major Whittle’s own words, is what took place that night: “I dropped on my knees and held the boy’s hand in mine. In a few broken words I confessed my sins and asked Christ to forgive me. I believed right there that He did forgive me. I then prayed earnestly for the boy. He became quiet and pressed my hand as I prayed and pleaded God’s promises. When I arose from my knees, he was dead. A look of peace had come over his troubled face, and I cannot but believe that God who used him to bring me to the Savior, used me to lead him to trust Christ’s precious blood and find pardon. I hope to meet him in heaven.”
Years later, James McGranahan put music to many of Major Whittle’s hymns, including I Know Whom I Have Believed. The chorus of the hymn is based on 2 Timothy 1:12…
Thoughts on 2 Timothy.. I Believe!
Paul wrote this letter from his second Roman imprisonment, and soon after he wrote this letter he was condemned and executed in Rome at the command of Nero. Paul sensed this; therefore 2 Timothy is not only the last letter we have from Paul, there is also a note of urgency and passion we might expect from a man who knew he would soon be executed.
David Guzik, Enduring Word
Last Words of Confidence
Last words are always important. Knowing that this was Paul’s last letter encourages even me that he was first concerned about encouraging his mentorees. He talk about how he was certain of the faith of not only Timothy but also Timothy’s mother and grandmother. It’s something to remember that we too should encourage the faith of those around us and those we are mentoring.
Have No Fear
Then he reminds Timothy to not let fear take hold in his life because God has given us so much more to remain confident.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 TImothy 1:7
When we lose a loved one, at times, we wonder how can we go on? How can we even continue without the prayers of the Saints to whom we look to for guidance? I’ll tell you that I believe, the prayers of the saints continue on much longer beyond their death. I have seen it. My grandmother was a prayer warrior. Her prayers still go up and down between heaven and earth. A former pastor shared that he wondered who would pray for him after the death of his mother. Low and behold, his sister stepped in as an amazing prayer warrior. So don’t lose faith. The prayers of the faithful will continue to surround the throne of Grace.
Don’t Be Ashamed
Paul encouraged Timothy also to be strong in His faith and in sharing God’s Word with unbelievers. Oh, in these last days we must remain bold to win as many as possible before His Return. Recall that it is only through the blood of the Lamb that we even have faith and through the Holy Spirit that men are called to righteousness.
We must remain unashamed. Don’t water down the gospel to make it easier. There isn’t time. We must shed the light in the darkness that only God can make things right and remove sin in our lives.
“The Straight Story” starring Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, and Harry Dean Stanton was trending lately so we decided to watch it, too. We were glad we did!
It was based on a true story of two brothers who had been estranged for over ten years. Now getting up in years, they lived over 300 miles apart. Until the day one of them had a stroke. The story is about the second brother trying to get to his brother to make amends while he still had a chance.
No longer able to drive, Alvin Straight travels the 260 miles on his lawnmower, pulling a trailer. Along the way, he meets and converses with many people. These meetings, in my book, were God-ordained as he shares wisdom with them about family and other things.
Other than an exciting ride down a hill with no breaks, there is not a lot of excitement in the film but there are many lessons each of us can take to heart.
Some Wisdom from the Movie
You can break one stick but bundle them together and they are unbreakable. That bundle is family.
The worst part of getting old is remembering when you were young.
On Getting Old: Learn to separate the wheat from the chaff. Let the little stuff go.
A brother is a brother.
In Conclusion
Go find this one and watch it together as a family. I think you might learn something.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Music is my life.
There was a day when you would always find me singing. But lately, I find it hard to sing. It’s like there is a lump in my throat. And I feel kind of sad. So what’s a girl to do?
Always a Reason to Sing
2 Corinthians reminds me that our Christian life is not about being happy but about serving Christ. We are indeed jars of clay, cracked and broken but shining out the love of Christ. It’s those cracks and breaks that show the world we are His and that life can be fulfilling even in the valleys.
We are not promised a good life. We are not promised a bed of roses. Though if we were, I remind you the roses have thorns.
These scriptures remind us that even when we feel we cannot sing, we should look back at what God as done for us. If nothing else, He has saved us from our sin and promised us life eternal! This should be enough to give us His joy.
I’m reminded of the beautiful hymn, His Eye is on the Sparrow.
Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, And long for heaven, heaven and home, When, when Jesus is my portion, My constant Friend is He; Oh, oh-oh, his eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watched, watched it over me.
I sing because I’m happy (happy) I sing because I’m free (free free free) For His eye, his eye is on the sparrow, And I know, I know He watches over me.
He is my Constant Friend
God is watching over us. He cares about every detail of our lives. God sees us as His treasured possession! We can sing in this reality.
So don’t give up. Keep Singing.
Keep your eyes looking up. Be faithful to Him.
Allow His light to shine through you so that when you arrive at heaven’s gates, you will be bringing along a whole host of believers that found Christ because of your perseverance.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!
Psalm 104:33
Sing to the Lord!
Savannah, GA
[ctt template=”4″ link=”513Nr” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]even when we feel we cannot sing, we should look back at what God as done for us. [/ctt]
Then I remembered how King Hezekiah faced a great army. He wondered how he could defeat them.
But God said “I’ve got this. You won’t even have to fight.”
So Hezekiah, sent the choir out in front of the army singing praise to God. The enemy turned on themselves killing each other.
MY CHALLENGE FOR US
Let’s fill social media with praises to God. Fill it with lyrics or YouTube videos of praise to God. Do it all day long, all week long, and see what God will do. I’ll be doing it. If you want you can go to my social media and share from there.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
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