and the Spirit moved over the waters ...

as i was admiring the Toronto skyline last week, a seagull decided to make an appearance in the picture i was taking ... i didn't know it was there until i checked my pictures at home ... cool ... when things like this happen to me, i smile and think that it's the Spirit that moves and makes His Presence known ... 

beauty in our world ...

i was out, enjoying God's creation in the U.P. - Michigan... lovely!!!  this photo taken in Mackinaw City ... 

Because He lives ...

 tearfully listening to Because He Lives  ...it was being done with such conviction by 2 women who are living  with chronic pain and many many other disabilities ... the words to that old hymn became a victory celebration of sorts ... they were not being swallowed up by their problems - but rather giving Praise to God because HE lives and is giving them the strength for each day ... sometimes  you just gotta have those tears of gratitude to our all powerful God - despite life's sorrows ..

click here for the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nay3BeiPYE

the Light cannot be extinguished.

my morning view ... then i read my devotional:

"In darkness there is no choice. It is light that enables us to see the difference between things; and it is Christ who gives us light. ~ Augustus W Hare."

went together like a hand and glove in my heart ... thank you for being the LIGHT, Jesus ...

Overcomer

Jesus words encourage us today ... even as they have throughout the centuries ... so live as an overcomer, since Jesus has already done the work for us ...

Armor of light ...

put on all that is light ... all that reflects God ... put on the Protector of our souls ... Jesus ...

Jesus is the door that opens all possibilities ...

Easter in Finland was a wonderful experience ... celebrations of Jesus life were found everywhere ... i felt blessed ... 

peace be on this house ...

Finland dreaming ... 

turn back to Jesus ...

lately i see dear ones who once loved the LORD, floundering ... they speak like those without HOPE ... thinking that this life we live is it ... that there isn't an eternal life to come ... so i want to remind those who are kept by Jesus' saving power - that death is only an open door, one that allows us to be in the Presence of HIM who died to REDEEM us ... check your heart - why are you down?  Isn't Jesus the same today, as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow?  and the life we live today is lived by the power He gives to us ... plug into it ... rely on HIM - the Saviour of our souls ... 

God is working ...

don't despair, dear one ... though you may not see Him ... He is always there ... always with our best in mind ...  

who do you run to?

In my morning devotions, I read this verse:  "the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." ... I noticed a note i had written in the margin  -  "the "righteous" know where to run!" .... 

Yup ... Praise the Lord that we DO know to Whom we can go!

Jesus' thoughts on freedom of speech ...

just a cautionary note to myself ... 
the quote is found in Matthew 12:36-37  ...

my chains fell off ...

Jesus is the chain breaker ... and the way maker ... 

it all seemed so real ...

I had a dream …

Jesus was coming … it was some sort of “catching up” … I saw people disappearing and I could feel the pull from heaven to leave, it was time .. I was ready to go be with Jesus … I was in a large house which seemed small … there was a long, dark, narrow hallway … I was passing through it on my way to Him … but as I started down the hallway and towards Jesus, movement in a room i passed caught my eye … it was a small room with very little light in it … bare, with no furnishings and the tones were all dark and not appealing at all … there were some people huddled in the corner of the room … they did not want to leave … i could feel their hostility and fear … whoever they were, I wanted to reach out to them in love and concern … I stopped and said: "Jesus is here and He is calling for me to come … He wants  you to come too" … I tried to get them to follow me out of that dark place … I knew I had only moments before Jesus took me and i didn’t want them left behind … 

Then … I woke up … I don’t know what happened next … but I do know that  Jesus will return at some point in history … whether He gives a shout for us to meet in heaven ... or whether I die and leave earth the natural way … one day - there will be an end to our lives … NO  ESCAPING  THAT REALITY … 

Were you the ones I saw huddled in that familiar corner, not wanting to leave it’s seeming comfort … please consider Jesus and His offer of life … if I am wrong about this faith of mine, I have lost nothing … but if you do not know Jesus and you ignore such a great gift of salvation, you have lost everything for all eternity …  choose Jesus ... before your choice is taken away.

hopefully these simple answers from this site are helpful if you have questions:  https://peacewithgod.net/

what concerns you?

from our tv church service last week ... good words to live by ... only be concerned with what JESUS has to say on any given matter ... HIS opinion is the one that counts.

new month ...

a good word and prayer to start off February ... 

who sustains you?

yes, HE was ... 
yes, HE is ... 
and yes HE will always be THE ONE ... 
amen and amen.

how i start my day ...

a cup of coffee ... a good devotional ... AND prayer time ... 

encouraging myself from a past blog post

it's a rain day here in middle canada ... very odd for january ... middle of winter ... and sometimes with drastic changes of weather, come drastic changes in my husband's health and the chronic pain he struggles with ... but i found an encouraging post (of mine from a few years back!) that the Lord must have put there ... to encourage me on this future day ... so sharing with any and all who may feel like they have a load too heavy to carry ... our Creator God, designer of the universe and Saviour of our souls is bigger than any problem/obstacle we may face ...

see the little blue dot in the lower right hand corner?  compare it to the sun ...  that's where we live!!!!  this NASA graphic really captures the smallness of earth, compared to almost anything else out there !!! 

it reminds me of the Psalm that says:

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

i pray that you rest easy in the knowledge that God is way way bigger than any problem you may face today ...

snow day ...

some days are just made for making pies ... thank you Lord!

a prayer for the new year ...

a good prayer ... dear LORD, hear our hearts this day ... 

2017 ... is upon us ...

here is a repost from 5 years ago ... blessings on all who stop by ... may grace be ever present.


"... God's grace is not only sufficient - it is inexhaustible. Remember the story Roy Gustafson told of the little fish who said, "I am so thirsty but I must not drink too much . The ocean might run dry." Or the little mouse in the granaries of Egypt who said, "I am so hungry. But I must not eat too much. The grain might not last." Or the little swallow, soaring and dipping through the sky, thinking, "I must not breathe too deeply; I might use up all the air."

Whatever the need, whatever the situation, "he giveth more grace"
(James 4:6). ..."taken from Legacy of a Pack Rat by Ruth Bell Graham ...

to you my dear blog buds ... i wish a new year that is so full of God's grace - for every and all situations - that your cup will continually run over ... so you may glorify HIM, who redeemed us ... that the world will know we are different and children of the Most High ...

Merry Christmas 2016

May the GRACE that God extended to us, over 2000 years ago, be something to ponder - then celebrate in your life this Christmas!!!

keeping it simple ... Christmas week has arrived!

re post ...

 5 years ago ... sharing it again ... 

i miss christmas' past ... when we were able to gather with family - the noise, the children and wrapping paper strewn everywhere ... days that have gone by ...leaving only sweet memories and faded pictures as reminders ... 

these days, as christmas time quiets down for us, the stillness helps my cluttered brain settle on my heart's celebration of Jesus  ...  His redemptive visit to planet earth ... then i look to the future and  His return ... thoughts that my earth bound mind has trouble visualizing  ... yet the spirit born within me, hums and thinks on these things ... angels singing, wise men bowing and lowly shepherds (that'd be me) kneeling with awe ... Jesus has come!

a promise ...

A promise kept ... a Saviour given ... thank you Lord!

Who's opinion?

when you wonder what to do ... in any given circumstance ... do what pleases God ... the world might not love you for it - but in the end, Who's opinion really matters?

the SEASON

trying to keep it sweet and simple ... it's all about forgiveness and love ... show grace ... because we have received grace ... 

the LIGHT ...

the LORD is our all in all ... let's not allow the darkness to think it has control!

set your mind ...

if you came across my blog by accident ... it was a God thing ... because He wants you to take a break from all the negative chatter and scary scenarios that are being thought up for our earthly future ... HE has designed the forever future for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour ... accept the forgiveness Christ died to obtain for us ... if JESUS is  your Saviour,  nothing in this world can harm your eternal soul ... HE is risen!  so i'm going to set my  mind on the things above ... NOT on things on this earth ... my soul is at peace in my Redeemer ... 

caught up ...

i was on an adventure with old blog buds ... i wrote a little about it on our  mutual blog:  www.travelingscarf.blogspot.ca 

the Lord met us in the quiet of a Georgia cabin.

peace, peace, God's peace ...

everyone needs to rock on a porch ... listening to birds singing and crickets cherping ... i was blessed beyond measure to have a time like that in Georgia last week ... with my scarf sisters ... wonderful women i met through this blogging experience ... best of all - God's Spirit was there and we were refreshed ... it was a foretaste of heaven to come ... thank you Jesus!

a true story ... about the kindness of strangers ...

my mom had some cancerous tissue removed in the summer.  she had to fly from her small town to the big city for an appointment with cancercare doctors.   as fate would have it, there was a snow squall in her area, and the plane was over 2 hours late.  i phoned the clinic to inform them.  they were so kind and told me not to worry, to drive safely, get there when we could and they would juggle the other appointments around.  when the plane finally did land, we were 2 women on a mission, walking as quickly as an 80 year old and 60 year old could go!  as we headed out of the airport, a young man ran up to us and said:  "excuse me, but my wife over heard you talking to cancercare and i wonder if you wouldn't mind if i prayed for you?" ... WOW!  talk about surprised!  i thought he wanted a ride or something!!    LOL ...  we said, of course, please do.  we are believers too ... so this total stranger, put his arms around us and prayed the sweetest, most sincere prayer ... for mom's healing, for peace to be with us during the day ... and for wisdom for the people we encounter at the clinic ... IN JESUS name ... we said AMEN!

we didn't exchange names ...  we will always remember them as 2 lovely young people ... we did, however, exchange hugs ... then off we went ...

the rest of the day went by quickly and the people we met at the clinic were very very kind.  the internist who spent the most time with us, was a Muslim woman - she even had a veil across her face.  she did lower the veil when she was with us in the room (since we were all women).  she was most understanding with mom and took lots of notes and explained things very well.

at the end of the day, the treatment that was agreed upon for mom - was what she wanted and also least evasive ...

but the chance meeting at the airport, is what has sweetly lingered with both mom and i all week ...

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2

don't be a fool forever ...

in our crazy, upside/down world ... we really need to see what kingdom we are feeding?  and where does the love of our heart rest?  momentary?  or eternal?  

Choose JESUS ... HE wins in the end.

check your heart ... check your speech ... keep your eye open for any corrosion!

i have to keep checking my temperature ... daily ... it is SO EASY to slip into the cynical world of today ... yet i don't want to be a pollyanna either ... so i keep checking my pulse to make sure my heart beats for Jesus ... how 'bout you?

Canadian thanksgiving 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  sharing a post from 2007 ... which still applies to today ... 

 it is the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend ...

i am thankful for a peaceful home, with leo in it ...
i am thankful that my sister is feeling more comfortable ...
i am thankful for so much answered prayer ...
i am thankful that God answers "no" to some of my requests - since He knows what is best ...
i am thankful for so many many things in my life ... which i have been thinking of this morning.

the foremost is Salvation ... knowing Jesus as my Saviour and Lord ...

i am thankful for prayer ... and friends who pray ... and care ...

i am thankful for y-o-u, my friends who i have never met, except through our blogs ...

blessings and peace to you ... this Thanksgiving weekend!

focus on the goal ...

i need to forget the things that have hurt me ... people who have betrayed my trust ... or have turned something positive into a negative ... God knows all our hearts ... i need to try and leave my burden at the cross and PRESS ON ... pray for wisdom ... and continue on the path set out for me ... my JOY in the LORD has always been my strength ... and heavenward is my direction ... keep me honest before You - my Lord and my Redeemer ... 

my Rock and Deliverer ...

a reminder to myself ... for the days when it seems that the world might have it in for me, I am God's child - and i can completely trust IN HIM ... my Rock and my deliverer ... 

9/11 ... 15 years today ...

pray often, pray hard, pray for everything ...

from my morning devotions ... "Wonder of the Cross" by Chris Tiegreen ... if i can encourage anyone who stops by  here to PRAY ... always ... in all things ... that changes the course of history ... it changes the course of our own lives and hearts too ... Pray without ceasing ... 

Walk by faith, not by sight.

a reminder to myself ... to walk obediently, as GOD has commanded us to ... may my devotion to HIM never waiver, but may i be kept on the straight and narrow by God's grace ... 

go with God ...

Charles Price devotional thought ... i can say amen to this ... please use me Lord as i enter my senior years of life ... 

soon ... and very soon ...

beauty all around me ...

feeling blessed this sunday morning ...

 the flowers bathed in beauty

 the morning sunrise filled with promise 

and these apples ripening along the pathway that i walk ... if i let it, my cup will overflow with the goodness of God all around my everyday ... 

BE  YE  THANKFUL ... my answer, Yes Lord, i am ... 

sunday morning greetings ...

imagine, the last day of July ... and how this old world is creaking and groaning, as it turns on it's axis ... i'm glad for God moments ... for sundays ... for HIS Word that gives us hope ... may you find moments of peace and beauty in your everyday ... blessings on ya . ..

make peace, the Word says ...

just doing a self check of my heart ... adjustment needed ... 

prayer

i agree with this statement ... prayer does change things .. most notably, the one on their knees ... 

Protection? yes, God does that as well ... and so well ...

this was the heading on my devotional page ... those of us who are Jesus' followers need to know God is ABLE to keep us and WILL strengthen and protect us ... keep your eye on our Faithful Guardian ... He will never lead us astray ...

Words ...

the bible continually reminds us that words are important ... they are either a weapon to wound, or healing balm to the hearer ... it seems our out-of-control, crazy world, has forgotten this important message ...