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Friday, July 12^th

Day 76

Wait on the Lord;

be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 27:14 KJV

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:13 KJV

I am trusting in You, O God.

Your word is true.

You have sustained me in difficult days.

You have blessed me many times over.

You have kept me and I am not alone.

I may not understand but I trust!

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.

Isaiah 26:3 KJV

Thursday, July 11^th

Day 75

Let us consider one another

to provoke unto love and to good works:

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;

but exhorting one another:

and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25 KJV

Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out,

not avoiding worshipping together as some do but spurring each other on,

especially as we see the big Day approaching.

The Message

The note struck in Hebrews 10

is that of provoking one another and of keeping together –

both of which require initiative, the initiative of Christ – realization,

not of self-realization.

To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipods of spirituality

as Jesus Christ taught it.

-Oswald Chambers  “My Utmost For His Highest”

Lord, it would be so easy to withdraw from this world –

to stay at home – to read my books – to work in the garden –

to avoid all contact with the turmoil of this world –

but that is not what You ask of me.

Wednesday, July 10^th

Day 74

Ninety-three degrees at 7 a.m. is not a good sign!

Thank You Lord, for this new day even though it is going to be hot and humid.

Thank You for the invention of air conditioning which makes this weather bearable.

Thank You for the ability to water the garden in this heat.

I pray for those who must work outside in these conditions, may they get frequent breaks and abundant hydration.

I pray for those who live in areas of drought, may they get rain soon.

Lord, You have blessed me in so many ways and I thank You.

Tuesday, July 9^th

Day 73

I am thinking today of my mother-in-law.

It is the anniversary of her birth, 112 years ago.

There is a bouquet of pink roses on the table because they were her favorite.

Early in our relationship I found her to be intimidating because she always spoke her mind – forcefully.

But over the years I came to appreciate her work ethic and her many skills.

She taught me a lot about gardening, about being a homemaker, about spending wisely on things that will last, and how to make yeast rolls! She was a good cook except for cookies. She hated to make cookies. So I got a call whenever she needed cookies for her ladies luncheons, usually oatmeal raisin.

She was a true gardener, starting her own tomato plants in her little green house, maintaining her strawberry patch, sharing many of her perennial flowers with me over the years, but most of all she grew the most beautiful rose garden with every color you could want. Every year she would order another rose bush from Jackson-Perkins and she generously shared the blooms with me.

Most of all she loved her “boys” – Olin, Doug, and Jason –  and I believe she came to love me also.

Happy Birthday MomMom Evans!

Monday, July 8^th

Day 72

There is no burden which,

if we lift it cheerfully and bear it with love in our hearts,

will not become a blessing to us.

God means our tasks to be our helpers;

to refuse to bend our shoulders to receive a load,

is to decline a new opportunity for growth.

-J. R. Miller

Blessed is any weight,

however overwhelming,

which God has been so good

as to fasten with His own hand upon our shoulders.

-F. W. Faber

From Streams In The Desert

Thank You Lord, for my “wings” – those burdens I must bear.

The load seems so heavy at times but I do not bear it alone.

Praise God!

Sunday, July 7^th

Day 71

Since God knows what niche we are to fill, let us trust Him to shape us to it.

Since He knows what work we are to do, let us trust Him to drill us to the proper preparation.

“O blows that smite! O hurts that pierce

This shrinking heart of mine!

What are ye but the Master’s tools

Forming a work Divine?”

-Streams In The Desert

God gives us the vision,

then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision,

and it is in the valley that so many faint and give way.

Every vision will be made real if we have patience.

The vision is not a castle in the air, but a vision of what god wants you to be.

Let Him put you on His wheel and whirl you as He likes,

and as sure as God is God and you are you,

you will turn out exactly in accordance with the vision.

Don’t lose heart in the process.

If you have ever had the vision of God,

you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level,

but God will never let you.

-Oswald Chambers – My Utmost For His Highest

YOUR WAY – NOT MINE!

Saturday, July 6^th

Day 70

Do not allow difficult events to cancel the joy of knowing you are a child of God.

Choose to allow God’s Spirit to fill you with His unquenchable joy,

and your life will be a miracle to those who watch you face the trials that come.

-Experiencing God Day By Day

Yes, there are difficult moments –

when something reminds me of unfinished business –

or a special memory of a special time –

or   when I forget to do something that he always took car of

but underneath it all is joy –

            the joy of knowing that it was You, God, who brought us together –

            who blessed us with 55 years –

            who will bring us together again to spend eternity with You

Friday, July 5^th

Day 69

Any time we look into the newspapers, or into our own hearts, and despair, we do well to remember that God’s people have faced similar prospects, similar reversals, similar headlines, similar assaults on faith, and have recovered from the doubt, been rescued from the pessimism and foreboding, and gone on to live in praise of God.

-Eugene H. Peterson

Keep the faith!

Wednesday, July 3^rd

Day 67

-some things we will never understand . . .

Sometimes it is imperative simply to rest in what is happening today and not worry about the future – or about comprehending the reasons for the way things are . . .

Blessedness is indeed promised to those who seek the Lord, but the key lies in the seeking.

That means to study  and pray, to search and wait, to worship and serve – even to be tested, to struggle and suffer.

Such disciplines of mind and spirit are often hard . . .

In those times especially we are invited to cling to this promise:

“Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

In believing that statement to be true we find the contentment to accept whatever blessings are or are not in our lives . . .

Sometimes we will be able to taste and see how good God is, but true maturity of faith will recognize His love even though from a human perspective we might lack good things.

-Marva J. Dawn – I’m Lonely Lord

Lord, the habits formed over 55 years are hard to break.

I find myself hurrying home – and then remember – he isn’t here.

I miss him so.

I thank You for filling the empty place in my heart.

I thank You for the music that soothes my hurt.

I thank You!