new year's a coming ...

greetings on a crisp, post Christmas day ... it went down to -29C last night, but warmed up to a more comfortable -22C ... though it could go up 10 more degrees and i wouldn't complain ... ha!  i had to put my whole winter garb on for my walk ... 

just getting dressed took me almost 10 minutes ... long johns, ski pants, columbia turtleneck, lace-up boots, hat, mitts ... then to take a picture meant i had to remove my warm mitts ... but it was all fun and manageable ... i counted my many blessings as i walked, ready to greet a new year soon ... 

so for those who may pop by this poor neglected blog, may God find you in 2015 ... and may you grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ... 

JESUS was born in the fullness of time ...

"fullness of time" ... i like that phrase ... to me it says that God has a plan in place ... He has always had things mapped out ... well thought out, well executed ... a plan that took 100's of years to bring to fruition ... He gave us hints through the pages of the old testament ... prophecies ... interspersed by centuries ... then it all fell into place ... no coincidences with God ... 

i am celebrating the birth of my Saviour ... and also looking for the return of Jesus, the One and Only ... searching through the pages of the new testament ... hoping it will happen in my lifetime, but knowing it will happen in God's perfect time ... life is interesting ... the bible makes it more so!

Joyous Christmas greetings ... for unto us is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour - who is Christ the Lord!

gift of God ...

reminder to self ... if i forget that it's all about Jesus, then i have forgotten the most important part of Christmas ...

The Spirit and the bride say ...

just finished reading the book of Revelations ... when reading it from the point of view of a saved sinner, waiting for Jesus to return ... it is encouraging ... however, if read by those who do not believe in Jesus - not so encouraging ... YET God has put the Word out there for one and all to digest ... those who have an empty spot within them, that needs filling ... God has the answer ... His Son Jesus ... and now, with the troubles that are starting to brew and bubble over in the world - the Holy Spirit within believers - is starting to urge the prayer of "even so, Come Lord Jesus" ... 

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" ... 

Romans 8:18

i don't like the thought of suffering, who does?  but i do like the idea of glory being revealed ... a glory that is in me ... cool ... *smile*

deliver us ...

we continue to pray the Lord's prayer daily ... to think of the words to the simple prayer that Jesus left us ... well, it only sounds simple until you start to really feel/think the words as you pray them ... the thought of temptation and to be delivered from evil, were words that seemed to go naturally with this picture that i took the other day ... using a negative image of it ... because after all -  evil is the negative side of all that God would have for us ... thank You for freedom Jesus!  thank You for accepting us in Your Beloved, Father ... and thank You for indwelling us, Holy Spirit ...

Whose is the battle? The Lord's!!!!

as I was praying this morning, then reading the Word ... this verse caught my heart - we DO pray and we DO believe - but what a RELIEF (to me anyways!!!) to know that the battle is ultimately our Heavenly Fathers ... and we know that HE has the might and power to DO all things ... so we pray in confidence, knowing that the BATTLE truly is the LORD's!

The Christian life is not a playground ...

from my morning devotions ... "The One Year walk with God devotional"
~ chris tiegreen

The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground.  
~ Warren Wiersbe

IN WORD  Satan rules a rogue nation in one small corner of God’s cosmos.  But to us, it’s not a faraway corner; we were born in it.  It is exceedingly relevant to our lives.  It affects us every day, constraining our choices and influencing our personalities.  We were born as its citizens, destined to die when it is overthrown.  But we have found a way of escape:  We can fall as refugees into the safe asylum of Jesus.  His Kingdom will grant us protection.

Paul tells Timothy that everyone – no exceptions – who wants to live a godly life will face persecution.  This is one of God’s promises we rarely claim by faith, but it is certain anyway.  It’s a solid guarantee:  We will be  harassed within our born-again hearts and harassed on the outside by a campaign of misinformation and even physical threats.  Temptations aim to dissuade us from our holy calling, and people try to convince us that we need to conform to their wishes and their corrupt world.  The battle wasn’t over the day we placed our faith in Jesus.  It had only just begun.

Evil doesn’t die without a fight, and sometimes the fight can be really nasty.  Satan’s tactics aren’t fair; lawlessness is one of his core attributes.  We might as well get used to his attempts to hit us below the belt.  We cannot turn a blind eye to his tactics.  The only sure way to resist them is to be aware of them.  Our awareness will turn us to the refuge of Jesus at exactly the right times.

IN DEED  Do you wonder why you struggle?  Are you disheartened because you thought the Christian life was easier than this?  Avoid such illusions.  You’re in a war.  Maybe you didn’t realize that when you joined the Kingdom, but you will have to realize it now.

The good news is that the only harm that can come to you in this battle is temporary, and the only victory Satan can win is psychological.  Real victory, lasting victory, is certain.  It is our inheritance.  Do not be disheartened.  Stand firm.  The day of triumph is coming.

Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

2 Timothy 3:12

10 years of blogging ...

it's a blog anniversary for me ... 10 years of being out here in cyberspace, sharing little bits and pieces of my life and world ... 10 years ... wow ... and so much has gone on in that time ... changes, changes, changes ... 

this blog really was a life line for me when i first started it up, with much fear and trepidation!  i didn't know what to expect, just wanted to reach out from my little corner of the world ... i needed some positive diversion back in 2004, with another dreaded winter fast approaching ... and i got way more than i expected ... what i received was encouragement and friendship ... folks who prayed for me and cheered me on ... a total blessing!

the body of Christ in blogland - how awesome!  at times, a glimpse of heaven ... 

these days my posts are slow in coming ... yet i still want to blog ... still want to put something positive into cyberspace (as one blog buddy encouraged me to do!) ... 

so thank you blog friends (many are facebook friends now) ... may  we lift up the name JESUS in any way we can, in any place we can, with any tools we can ... blessings on ya ...

whose will do we want?

A.W. Tozer said that God's plan will continue on God's schedule ... so - to save ourselves heartache and worry ... to keep joy and peace ever present ... we may as well just trust in the One who saved us and made us for Himself ... He is the Father, who really does know best!

our Guide

season of change ... yet GOD is the same ... our Guide to the end ... even in the seasons of change ...

Thy kingdom come!

i wonder why Jesus prayed the way He did ... "Thy kingdom come ... Thy will be done ..."?

there must be something important in this request ... to pray in this manner ... i've started to pray for God's kingdom to come, and for HIS will to be done - here on earth - just like it is in heaven ... this part of the Lord's prayer has been running through my thoughts ... and now - running through my prayers ... when i wake in the middle of the night, i pray this ... when i am doing every day things, i pray this ... i feel compelled to petition God the Father for HIS kingdom to COME ... and definitely for HIS WILL to be DONE!

i just wanted to share it as food for thought ... and prayer ...

Thy kingdom come  - Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven ... 

GLORY in HIS holy name

i walked to the beach early one day and snapped this pic ...  then the verse came later - during our devotions ... God's breathtaking morning greetings are available to all - IF ONLY we would look and see ... the fellah that was fishing (which is a worthwhile thing to do!) didn't notice the majesty of the sky - he  kept at his task, head averted ... even when our tasks are worthwhile - if we miss SEEING GOD, they are hollow and don't bring JOY and PEACE to our soul ... 

i'm guilty of having my nose in the computer when GOD is wanting to speak in the calm and quiet ...

i want to be AWARE of His GLORY - daily ... and that is my prayer for you dear blog friends ...

let your light shine ... the treasure in fragile clay jars ...

sunday morning greetings ...

this passage has been on my heart this week ... i thought sunday is a perfect time to share it ... may blessings find the readers of this word ...

Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars ... 2 Corinthians 4 ...

4 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. ² We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

³ If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. ⁴ Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
⁵ You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
⁷ We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
¹¹ Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. ¹² So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” ¹⁴ We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

earthly house vs heavenly habitation ...

have courage

my courage has been small this past while, and fear wants to reign in my heart ... but how can it reign there when Jesus is already in control of that space?   in our troubled times, we need to always remember that GOD is not surprised by the things that are happening around us ... HE knows the outcome of all things ... what do we have to fear?  the things that may surprise us, do not surprise God ... HE is always awake, to care for His children ... i just need to remind myself - sometimes minute by minute ... i want the victory to be HIS ... the One whom i serve ...

Romans

it's been months since i've made a poster ... as i was reading Romans this morning, this verse just spoke to the way i want to live my life ... plus it inspired the above little poster ...

first things first ...

 How do you start your day?  my day seems to flow oh so much better, if i start it off  by reading a devotional ... or two ... we are so very blessed to be living in a time when there are excellent books readily available ... words written by people who love JESUS, and want to walk as HE walked ... of course, reading the bible is #1 ... but i love to read short devotionals - tucked into various spots of my day ... to get my mind going in the right direction ... 

we live in a time when GOD's Word can be found everywhere ... we can read the bible online (i did just that while waiting  at the lab recently) ... or listen to it on some device ... more than any other generation, we have an overflowing abundance of biblical literature ... we don't have an excuse for not reading/studying GOD's Word ... 

from tidbits in devotionals - to a full meal in the Holy Word of God ... it is all there for us ... in this challenging day and time we live in, may we be people of the Word ... 


"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."   2 Timothy 2:15

psalm 5:11

i caught this little feathery fellow resting ... pic taken in arizona this past january ... it just reminded me how GOD has places prepared for us too ... so that we can stop - gather our strength - and take refuge from the day to day stresses ... then continue on in HIS strength ...

blessings on ya!

Finally !!!!!

i've been AWOL from my blog for 4 months!!!  there were issues with posting pictures ... i couldn't!!!!  today the light went on in my head - i used the chrome browser and voila - here i am!!!!  it's a bit of a happy little miracle for me!!!

i post occasional in  travelingscarf.blogspot.ca and that was what propelled me to try something different!!!

 now i can happily share the last poster that i made ... YAY!!!!