Turn of the Tide

>> Friday, December 31, 2021

 

Bama boys



"The very day I call for help, the TIDE of the battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me." (Psalm 56:9 Living Bible)


Here's a verse-of-the-day humor explanation for the non-Alabamians: the Alabama Crimson Tide is playing the Cincinnati Bearcats this afternoon in the National College Football Championship semifinals.

Roll Tide, beloved, (yes I'm an Auburn grad) and happy New Year's Eve!

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On Eagles' Wings

>> Thursday, December 30, 2021

 

grandboy and grandgirl
fall 2021



"The LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place." (Deuteronomy 1:31)


From its dawn to the fading twilight, the Lord our God carried His children through 2021. And I trust He will faithfully bear us up on eagles' wings over the coming New Year.

Therefore, beloved, "do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear . . . Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them . . . See how the flowers of the field grow. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these . . . Do not worry . . . But seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:25-33)

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Seek and Find

>> Wednesday, December 29, 2021

 

children's book
coming spring 2022




"From one man God made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17:26-27)


When my college roommate's Christmas card returned "undeliverable," I went on an internet search and found her.


In chapter one of Romans, Paul told the Romans that since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky, and through everything God made, we can clearly see His invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature.

In chapter seventeen of Acts, Paul told the Athenians that God marked out man's appointed times and location so that we would seek and perhaps find Him.

In chapter nineteen of Luke, Jesus told Zacchaeus that the Son of Man came to seek and save this who are lost.

The bottomline: God sought after you, beloved, and designed you to seek Him. Have you found Jesus today? 



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Run to the Fountain

>> Tuesday, December 28, 2021

 

grands
2012


"On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." (Zechariah 13:1)




Today's Old Testament Bible reading lead me to the prophet Zechariah who foretold that Israel will one day look upon Jesus, the Messiah, with faith and repent of the years of rejection. On that glad day, God's "Fountain" will cleanse His people of all sin and impurity.



In 1771, the promise of Zechariah 13:1 inspired William Cowper's (pronounced Cooper) beloved old hymn "There Is a Fountain."



"There is a fountain filled with blood,


Drawn from Immanuel's veins;


And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,


Lose all their guilty steins."



Feeling guilty, beloved? Run to the Fountain! "The blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

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Crossroads of the Will

>> Monday, December 27, 2021

 





"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13)



My empty kitchen table Christmas Day brought me to a crossroads of the will: in my disappointment, would I choose bitter or better?

Oswald Chambers wrote: "Our battles are first won in the secret places of our will in God's presence."

Disappointed, beloved? Choose the good way — a surrendered will to the trustworthy Most High God.

"Therefore we do not lose heart . . . For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since the seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

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Christmas Eve Gift

>> Friday, December 24, 2021

 

my granddaddy, brother Mark, and me
Christmas 1958



"You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvelous things I am doing." (Exodus 10:2)



A Christmas Eve tradition passed down through the generations by my maternal grandfather was the first one to shout, "Christmas Eve gift!" on Christmas Eve got an extra present.

My phone dinged at 11:13 PM Central Time last night (12:13 PM Eastern Time) with a "Christmas Eve Gift" text from my niece in Kentucky.

It dinged again at 5:27 this morning, a "Christmas Eve Gift" GroupMe text from our youngest son to the whole family followed by a "Got Heem!" GIF.

So, Christmas Eve Gift to you beloved! And may the Lord bless you and your family as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!





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Only In My Dreams

>> Thursday, December 23, 2021

our Rebecca's family



"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; and the fields lie empty and barren; even thought the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!" (Habakkuk 3:17-18)



They'll be home for Christmas . . . only in my dreams. Sigh.


Well, our girl and grandgirl have covid, so they can't come home for Christmas. I'm very extremely disappointed and so, so sad, yet I will praise Jesus, the God of my salvation.


Heartbreaks and disappointments got you down, beloved? Sing a hallelujah and praises to the Lord most High!


"Why and I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again — my Savior and my God!" (Psalm 42:5)



 

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Hanging in the Balance

>> Wednesday, December 22, 2021

 



"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." (Isaiah 26:3-4)




Twas three days before Christmas, 



when all through the house



Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse . . .



Because some of our kids and grands are sick 



and dreams of gathering together hang in the balance.



Yet . . .



We will enter His gates with thanksgiving



and His courts with praise;



give thanks to Him and praise His name.



For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;



His faithfulness continues through all generations! 


(Psalm 100:4-5)




O come let us adore Him, beloved, Christ the Lord!


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LovingKindness

>> Tuesday, December 21, 2021




 "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior." (Titus 3:4-6)


When my dear friends, Mary and Susan, placed Christmas wreaths on the gravesites of veterans in their family, they also place one by my daddy's headstone — an act of lovingkindness that deeply touched my heart.



Beloved, may the lovingkindness of Jesus Christ touch others through you this Christmas season.


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Mary and Thumper

>> Monday, December 20, 2021

grandboys on the mountain top



"I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone." (2 Peter 1:15)




Saturday, the grandboys and I climbed to the top of the mountain behind their house. On the way up, we found a patch of British Soldier moss. 




My mind rewound to 1968

Camp Juliette Low.



Mary.



And Thumper.



When Mary Igou, my best friend since birth, Sharon Abbott, Angela Killian,  and I went to the Girl Scout Camp Juliette Low in Cloudland, Georgia the summer of 1968, she was extremely homesick. While the other girls and I canoed, rode horseback, and made campfires, Mary followed Thumper, the camp nurse, around the woods learning moss identification. (Mary would later teach me to recognize British Soldier moss.) Here's a snapshot Daddy took of me (Mama, Grandmama, my brother Mark, and Mr. Abbott are in the background).



One purpose of this blog is to record sweet memories for my grandkids to have after I'm gone. 



In his second letter to scattered believers, Peter knew his earthly life would soon end. So, he reminded them of the divine power Christ had given them for a godly life, and encouraged them to add to their faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, affection, and love. "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure," he wrote, "they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."



This Christmas week, beloved, remember. Remember that Christ has given you everything you need for a godly life through your knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory to God in the Highest!





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Lost Label

>> Friday, December 17, 2021

 



"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." (Isaiah 49:16)




One of the 90+ Christmas letters we mailed came back because the address label had fallen off. Who knows who didn't receive our Merry Christmas well-wishes this year.



Beloved, God will never lose track of you. He knows your name and has graven you on his hand and written you on His heart. You are the apple of His eye.



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Run and Jump

>> Thursday, December 16, 2021

 

Felicia
GED graduation
2013



"The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)


My dear friend, Felicia, (who has seen more than her share of hardships in her 38 years, including two children now in heaven) told me that when her high schooler got off the school bus the other day, her grandbaby ran and jumped in her arms. 

Then she said, "When life is hard and we don't understand what's going on, God wants us to run and jump in His arms."

Is life hard, beloved? Run to Jesus and jump in His arms. Ready, set, go!

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Signs of the Times

>> Wednesday, December 15, 2021

 

grandboy and classmate




"From one man, God made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17:26-27)



Last night's snapshot of our 12-year-old grandboy truly captures the signs of the times, doesn't it? Singing Christmas carols — through a mask.


In the book of Acts, when Paul traveled to Athens, he grew greatly distressed in finding the city full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplace with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks proclaiming God as the sovereign Creator of everything and the Source and sustainer of life who controls history (appointed times), boundaries, and habitations.

Beloved, God appointed you and me to such a time as this. And for what reason? That we might search for Him and find Him. "For in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28)

Christmas season 2021, turn your eyes upon Jesus.

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13) 


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Tellin' the News

>> Tuesday, December 14, 2021

 

grandgirl
age 4ish



"Jesus said to His followers, 'Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone." (Mark 16:15)



I love this picture of the grandgirl when she was about four. I have no idea what she was saying back then, but she was most assuredly tellin' somebody the news.


According to Mark's Gospel, early on the first day of the week after Jesus rose from the grave, He appeared to Mary Magdalene. She hurriedly ran and told His followers.

After that, Jesus appear to two of His disciples. They ran back and told the rest.

Then He appears to the eleven while they were eating and said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned."

Beloved, run and tell. Tell the Good News that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life!"



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Fall On Your Knees

>> Monday, December 13, 2021

 



"They entered the house and saw the Child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him." (Matthew 1:11)




My all-time favorite Christmas hymn is "O Holy Night." My favorite part is the crescendo "Fall on your knees!" It stirs my heart and brings tears to my eyes.



Beloved, throughout this Christmas season, let us fall on our knees and worship Him! Jesus is the reason for the season.

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What Is It?

>> Friday, December 10, 2021

grandboy and Summer



"The people of Israel called the bread manna."
(Exodus 16:31)



When our kids and grands sent their Christmas wishes, I looked at the sixteen-year-old's technological whatchamacallit and said, "What is it?"


In the Old Testament, the whole community of Israel had set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin where they grumbled and complained about Moses and Aaron.

"At least in Egypt we had all the meat to eat and bread that we wanted. But now you have brought us into the wilderness to starve us all to death!"

So, that evening, the Lord graciously sent quail into the camp and, the next morning, rained down food from heaven. 

When God's people saw the white flakes on the ground, they exclaimed, "Ma'n hu? (What is it?)" 

Therefore, the people of Israel called the bread manna (meaning: what is it).

And the point of the post is? Be nice, beloved, thankful unto the Lord for His daily provision, and don't be naughty by grumbling and complaining. Amen?

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1000 Club

>> Thursday, December 9, 2021

 

12-year-old grandboy




"The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them." (Deuteronomy 28:13)



Last summer, our 12-year-old grandboy made the elite 1000 Club for juggling a soccer ball over 1000 times in succession. Good job, hot rod!

I often pray Deuteronomy 28:13 for my kids and grands, asking God to make them the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. And how will that happen? By them heeding and obeying the commandments of God.

Wanna be the head and not the tail, beloved? Know God and obey His commands.

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Miracles

>> Wednesday, December 8, 2021

 



"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." (Job 5:9)




Kind neighbors gave us potted bulbs for Christmas. I added water, and two days later, little green miracles pushed through the dirt.



Need a miracle, beloved? Pray to the God of Miracles —Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the One who is able to do far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams.



"If all the things Jesus did were written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written." ~John, the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ~

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Ben, Pawpaw, and a Screen Door

>> Tuesday, December 7, 2021

 

Pawpaw and Ben
1992ish


"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit." (Psalm 51:12)



Years ago, after our Ben karate kicked a hole in my parents' screen door, my daddy said, "Boy, you and I are going to go fix a door." And the door was restored.



Beloved, pray to Papa-God today, the One who is able to RESTORE marriages, good health, wayward children, lost jobs, broken hearts —anything and everything. 



"...With God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)



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Darkness and Light

>> Monday, December 6, 2021

 

Art Project
by our talented grandgirl



"In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4-5)


For school, our talented Anya had to draw an art piece contrasting darkness and light. The portrait above is her interpretation of the assignment.

Light is a theme throughout the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The life in the Savior Messiah is the good Light for the people that shines into and overcomes the darkness of sin and evil.

Beloved, one flicker of light dispels the deepest darkness. May the Light of Jesus Christ shine through you across this Christmas season. 

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Beaver Sports Cake

>> Friday, December 3, 2021

 

birthday grandboy




"Just ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does now know that the hand of the LORD has done this?" (Job 12:7-9)




Today, I'm baking a beaver-sports cake for our beaver-loving grandboy's sixth birthday. Football: beavers vs badgers. Soccer: beavers vs bears. Basketball: beavers vs foxes.




Beavers are one of God's most clever creations. Did you know that beavers have special valves in their ears and nose that close when beavers dives under the water and reopen when they surface?

Did you know that God gave beavers goggle eyes —transparent eyelids that close underwater allowing them to still see very well?

Did you that God specially designed beavers' self-sharpening front teeth strong enough to "chop" down trees! And even more amazing, God gave them the ability to  chew sticks underwater with no water entering their mouths because they have fur mouth flaps between their front incisors and rear molars?

Plus, a beaver's large paddle-shaped tail is an effective rudder and webbed hind feet make it an excellent swimmer.

Thank You for beavers, Lord God.
And thank you for a boy who loves them.

Happy 6th birthday, hot rod!

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Selfish Ambition

>> Thursday, December 2, 2021

 

grandgirl Anya (left)
at our book signing 2017
(Anya is an award-winning, young artist and has illustrated six of my books)



"For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere." (James 3:16-17)


Confession: I contemplated imploring my blog readers to hop over to Amazon.com today and order one of my children's books for Christmas, but then repented and turned in a different direction.

When it comes to the books, I constantly have to ask the Lord to weed my heart of selfish ambition (book sales) and cultivate the desire for God's purposes to be accomplished (feeding His sheep the Word of God through stories).

Beloved, how's the garden of your heart today? Overgrown with selfish ambition or fruitfully (is that a word?) producing God's good purposes?

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Gift of Peace

>> Wednesday, December 1, 2021

grandgirl
2012




Jesus said, "Believe in God, believe also in Me . . . Peace I leave to you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful." (John 14:1, 27)



The gift of God's peace is received by trusting Him with all your heart. 

Selah.





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