HOPE for the Holidays - Day 7

The Igous and the Watsons, Ghost Town in the Sky tram, 1964

"So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the HOPE that lies before us. This HOPE is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary." (Heb. 6:18-19)


Story of HOPE:

     When Arlene Carden Igou died last January, I blogged about a 1964 family vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains with our dear friends, the Igous. In that post, I stated that our parents, R.A., Arlene, Verna, and Winfred were of, what Tom Brokaw dubbed as, the greatest generation: children of the Great Depression, Warriors of World War II, and gentle, quiet housewives yet tough as nails. At that time, three of those four had been escorted safely into God's heavenly kingdom, while one lone soldier, R.A., continued to stand his watch in faithful resolve.
     Last Tuesday, November 26th, the Lord Jesus ushered R.A. Igou home to heaven - just in time for the holidays. By God grace, Dr. Igou didn't have to spend even one Thanksgiving or Christmas apart from his bride afterall! Isn't God good!

O Father, I pray that every single one of my readers grasps Your HOPE of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. If they don't, please rescue their souls in Jesus' name - just in time for the holidays!

Therefore, we do not "grieve like people who have no HOPE. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring with Him the believers who have died...for the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God!...Then we will be with the Lord forever! So encourage one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:13-18)

I want to stroll over heaven with you some glad day,
When all our troubles and heartaches have truly vanished away.
There we'll enjoy all the beauty where all things are new.
I want to stroll over heaven with you!1

1 -  STROLL OVER HEAVEN WITH YOU. Carl L. Trivette, 1952.

Read more...

HOPE for the Holidays - Thanksgiving Day

My Rebecca's Family in Native America costume, 2013
(I'm 1/64th Cherokee Native American)

"How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose HOPE is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever!" (Psalm 46:5-6)

Story of Hope: 

        In 1621, the colonists in America weathered the terrible first winter in New England where half of the group would die from exposure, malnutrition, and disease. At the lowest ebb, only 7 people were healthy enough to tend the sick. But despite tragedy and hardship, those remaining persevered.
       On March 16th, an Algonquin Sagamore Native American named Samoset, speaking English he'd learned from Anglo fishers and traders, approached the company as they worked to build houses. Over subsequent days, other Native people visited the colonists including, Massasoit, their great leader, and Squanto, the sole survivor of the Patuxet people. The meetings resulted in a treaty of friendship.
       Throughout the hot, solstice days that followed, the Colony built their settlement and tended crops. At summer's end, Gov. John Carver called for a time of celebration for blessing the harvest and offering thanksgiving to God. The feast reportedly lasted three days and was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims.
       In 1623, a severe drought drove the colonists to their knees in fasting and petitions to Almighty God. Rain fell during their prayers, thus another thanksgiving observance took place upon Gov. William Bradford proclamation:

      "Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes, and garden vegetables, and made the forest to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from the pestilence and granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own counscience. Now I, your magistrate do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill between the hours of nine and twelve in the daytime on Thursday, November ye 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth Rock, there to listen to ye Pastor and render Thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."

O Father, on this Thursday, November 28, 2013, 390 years after Gov. Bradford's proclamation, may all the nations, tribes, people, and tongues of this whole World render thanksgiving to You, the Almighty God, for Your gracious blessings and unmerited mercies! And for my readers, please send rain into the dry places of their souls and make their lives watered gardens in Jesus' name! Amen and amen!

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness, 
Come before His Presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise!
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name!
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations!
(Psalm 100)

Read more...

HOPE for the Holidays - Day 5

My precious family,  Bogalusa, Louisiana, 1986
(Yes, those are braces on my teeth!)

"Love each other with genuine affection...rejoice in confident HOPE. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them..." 
(Romans 12:10-13)






Story of HOPE:

       In 1986, unbeknownst to our church family, my sweet husband's business was in deep, financial trouble. As we struggled to make ends meet between stacks of bills and a very meager income, an older lady (probably around the same age I am now!), on a fixed income herself, approached me after a Sunday worship service and handed me an envelope. She simply said, "My name is Janice King, and the Holy Spirit told me to give this to you." Inside that envelope was $700 - almost to the penny the amount we owed another family in our church.
      We lost that company in Louisiana, but over the course of time, God restored our losses and graciously brought us to a place of ample provision. When I tried to locate and repay Mrs. King, I learned that she had moved on to heaven. God in His goodness, however, has provided many opportunities to pay forward the kindness shown to us in our time of need.

O Father, I pray today for my readers who are in desperate need. Please give them confident HOPE in You, patience in their troubles, and Your all-sufficient provision in Jesus' name!

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a HOPE! In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me." (Jer. 29:11-13)

Read more...

HOPE for the Holidays - Day 4

A beautiful child from the Bessemer Bible study

"Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their HOPE and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves are green, and they never stop producing fruit!" (Jer. 17:7-8)



Story of HOPE:

        When the flow of women and children coming to the Bessemer Bible study trickled down to almost no one at all, I asked, "Lord, are You closing this door?" 
         At the point where I was ready to quit, Jesus showed Himself strong and opened the floodgates of opportunity! This fall, we averaged 60 men, women, and children at the Bible studies, 12 asked God for His free gift of forgiveness of their sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, and 15 asked God to set them free from addictions and bondages. One gentleman later testified that, after prayer to our all-powerful God, his whole life had changed for the better - his attitude, his marriage, everything!

O Father, I pray for my readers today who are at the end of their rope of HOPE and ready to quit. Please show Yourself strong on their behalf! Please give them HOPE, encouragement, guidance, and an open floodgate of opportunity in Jesus' name!

"but those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wing like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isa. 40:31)

Read more...

HOPE for the Holidays: Day 3

My mother, Verna Watson, around 1943

"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? HOPE in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His presence!" 
(Psalm 42:5)










Story of HOPE:

(I've told this story before, but as I prayed for you this morning, I sensed the Lord saying, "Jill, someone needs to hear this story again." Is it you?)

         Several years ago, my mother lay in a hospital bed very sick with cancer that had metastasized to her bones. One night, I dreamed the Lord said, "Jill, I'll open a window of time for your mother to feel good for a while, and then the end will come quickly." I feared that dream was only wishful thinking when the doctors told us it was time to call in hospice. My mother, on the other hand, assured me, "Jill, it's not time to call hospice. I'm going to get better, go home, and mow my yard on my Dixon lawnmower!" (Mother LOVED her lawnmower and working in her beautiful yard.)
        Well...two years later, here we are celebrating Mother's 80th birthday:

L-R - Mama, me, my Ben, niece Virginia, my brother Mark, and niece Alyson

Mother would continue to work in her yard until the Lord Jesus took her home to His heavenly gardens - five and a half years after the doctors told us to call hospice.

My mother and her dog, Tuck, at her lovely mountain home

O Father God, please help my readers HOPE in You; because regardless of dreadful circumstances, there is always HOPE in the name of Jesus!

"...those who HOPE in Me will not be disappointed!" (Isa. 49:23b)

Read more...

HOPE for the Holidays - Day 2

Geneva and Clara
(our farm kitties)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)
        
          Because he took pity on two skinny, stray kitties living in the woods of our farm, my Phillip bought a bag of cat food a few of months ago. Clara, who used to hide in the underbrush until we were a safe distance away, now runs to our feet when we get to the farm. (She hasn't let us pet her yet, but I'm confident that day will come.) Geneva, on the other hand, is our "Miss-social-butterfly" and constantly searches for a lap to sit in.

          Because of His great mercy, Father God sent His Son Jesus to seek and save spiritually, destitute people from every tongue, tribe, and nation (Luke 19:10)! Through faith in the resurrected Christ, God offers new life into a living, eternal HOPE that no hardship, trial, or tribulation can ever take away!!!!

Story of HOPE:
          As an eleven year old girl, I was spiritually destitute even though I was in Sunday School and church most Sundays. I believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but I had never trusted in His death, burial, and resurrection as payment for my own many sins.
         After a Billy Graham film at the Dekalb Theatre in Fort Payne, Alabama, a young pastor invited the audience to accept God's free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus. Jesus saved me that day. He rescued me from having to pay for my own sins in the eternal fiery furnace of hell. So no matter what happens on this earth, I have a living HOPE in heaven, and He offers that same living HOPE to you today!

Jesus said, "...I go to prepare a place for you...I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also...I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:2-6)

Read more...

HOPE for the Holidays!

The Lego Family 
(a grandson creation) 

"Now may the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

       In the U.S. next week, many, many families will be busy preparing traditional Thanksgiving Day turkeys, dressing, sweet potato casseroles, and pumpkin pies. In this time set aside for hearts to overflow with gratitude to God, sadly, many people will feel overwhelmed with loneliness, disappointment, and hopelessness. 

      As I prayed for you this morning, I believe the Lord revealed that, this holiday season, He's declaring war on hopelessness! I believe His instructions for me are to post words of HOPE everyday between now and the new year. 

Today's story of HOPE:

      Two years ago, my dear friends in Tennessee befriended a homeless man. Today, he has a job, a roof over his head, a church family, and will join my friends for Thanksgiving dinner!

      O Christian, no matter how dire your situation seems or what your earthly family looks like, you belong to the family of God, and therefore, you do have HOPE in Jesus' name!

      (Do you have a story of HOPE? Please share it with us through the comment feature!)

       

       

      

       

Read more...

Conversation with God

Yesterday's November sunset over the Coosa River

"The heaven's declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands!" (Psalm 19:1)


The Lord said:
         "Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words?...Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its dimensions?...Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb...when I determined its boundaries...when I declared: 'You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here'? Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place?"

Then Job replied:
      "I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance?' Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know...Therefore I take back my words and repent in the dust and ashes."      (from Job chapters 39-42)

* O Christian, are you questioning God? Trust Him!
* Are you doubting His promises? Believe Him!
* Are you waiting on the Lord? Trust and Obey the One who is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing, forever and ever!

Read more...

Daddy's Arms

Glenn and Margaret Owen
Fort Payne, Alabama, 1958

"God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea." (Psalm 46:1-2)

      A couple of people I love dearly are currently caught in powerful winds of painful troubles. However, thanks be to God, I know and believe that when life storms rage about us, we have shelter in the arms of Almighty God.

        Are you surrounded by hardship today? O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, run now to the arms of your heavenly Father for refuge and strength!

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My Refuge and my Fortress, my God, in whom I trust!"

Read more...

On the Road Again!

Saturday's family dove hunt on the farm.

"The Lord is my Shepherd...He guides me down paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:1a,3b)

       When our teenage boys would get into trouble, my Phillip, their wise, godly father, would say, "Okay boys, let's get out of the ditch and get back up on the road again!"

       Does life sometimes seem like a game of hopscotch - skipping from one ditch to another? O pilgrim, be strong and courageous, because your heavenly Father is with you, for you, and will help you out of the ditch! 

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you..."  (Isa. 41:10) get back up on the road again!

Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day, how long;
Faint not, fight on! Tomorrow comes the song!1

1 BE STRONG. Words, Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901. Music, Carl F. Price, 1921.

Read more...

Happy Birthday, Dan'l!!

Dan's senior portrait, 2004

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to you fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. " (Deut. 30:19-20)

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!" (Phil. 4:13)

Happy birthday, Dan! 
         I shall never fail to think of you whenever I hear or read Philippians 4:13 or Deuteronomy 30:19-20, because they are your life verses. I praise God from whom all blessings flow that you chose LIFE through faith in Jesus Christ.
        Years ago, a young lady in one of my Bible studies prayed that God would make you such a godly man that it would totally blow my mind. God is answering that prayer before my eyes, and my mind is blown away by your fear of the Lord, your obedience to God, your increasing hunger for His Word, your integrity, and your godly wisdom. It makes a mama proud!
         Today and in the days to come, may the Lord make you the head and not the tail! May He bless the work of your hands and give you the strength of a lion, the speed of a cheetah, the wisdom of Solomon, and the discernment of Daniel. May no weapon formed against you prosper either spiritually, physically, or mentally! May the Lord be your faithful shield of protection and the sword you boast in! May your enemies cringe before you, and may you tread upon their backs. May you bind mercy and truth about your neck and find favor and good understanding in the eyes of God and man.  And finally, may the Lord anoint you with His great power through the Holy Spirit to complete the work He has set before you for His glory!
        In Jesus' name! Amen and amen! So be it!

Read more...

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

L-R my brother, Mark, me, Phillip and all our kids, early 1990s
(Dan's wearing the green T-shirt and making the goofy face)

"The Lord hears His people when they cry for help. He delivers them from all their troubles!" 
(Psalm 34:17)


       Of my three children, Dan is the one who asks for and does my Bible studies. That may seem small to you; but to me, it's GARGANTUAN! 
          Around the time of this picture, while talking about some sweet kids at our church, I commented, "I wonder what they'll be like as teenagers", to which Dan replied, "You just never know! They can be sweet as anything as kids, but when they get to be teenagers...you just never know!"
          Dan's words would prove to be a self-fulfilled prophecy. As a teenager, he moved far away from God. But praise be to the Lord-who-hears-parents-desperate-cries-and-prayers, Jesus jerked that boy out of the pit of destruction, set him back on the Rock, and put a new song of respect for and obedience to his God in that repentant heart!

        O mothers and fathers of prodigals, I urge you to keep loving him/her unconditionally, keep speaking God's truth, and keep praying without ceasing to the One who is able to deliver His own from ALL their troubles!

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up!" (Gal. 6:9)

Read more...

Together

My three little snow bunnies in yesterday's
first snow of the season

"Two are better than one...for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion...a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart!" (Eccl 4:9-12)


        O Christian, you belong to the family of God. Never try to do life alone!

The storm continued throughout the afternoon making the tall trees sway in the blustery wind like wooden masts on a rocking ship. By evening, the temperature had dropped drastically changing raindrops into white flurries - the first snow of winter.

 I curled in a rocker by the fireplace for a long while after the others went to bed and reflected on the events of the day. The oak logs hissed and crackled in the heat of blue and yellow flames. I sat mesmerized by the red glow of hot coals beneath the grate and jumped when a sudden POP launched a spray of glittering sparks up the chimney.
          Before teaching at Shady Grove, I believed I could accomplish anything with help from God alone. Watching the Grahams’ neighbors pull together and work as a team to save my school helped me realize the need for God and community.

I opened my Bible to Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,12 and in the dimming firelight read, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion...a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” On that wintry night, King Solomon’s proverb penetrated my heart as never before.

            I added a log to the fire before heading to bed and then peeked through the lace curtains to discover a snow-globe-like wonderland. Crystal flakes, swirling and dancing in the darkness, had begun to stick, covering the branches of the Fraser firs and the ground. Powdery, white front porch steps looked as if a baker had sprinkled them with confectioner’s sugar.1

Illustration by Cami Monet Webb

 1THE SCHOOLHOUSE. Jill Watson Glassco, 2012. 

Read more...

Ordinary Days

My Rebecca at an orphanage in India, summer 2001

"Brightly colored sunsets and starry heavens, majestic mountains and shining seas, and fragrant fields and fresh-cut flowers are not even half as beautiful as a soul who is serving Jesus out of love, through the wear and tear of an ordinary, unpoetic day." 
                                                          ~ Frederick William Faber ~


Dear Lord Jesus, 
      As we go about our ordinary days, I pray that, everywhere we go, we will serve in love everyone we encounter, beginning in our own homes. 
                                                             I love You, Lord,
                                                                      Jill

"...whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!" (1 Peter 4:11)

Read more...

In the LIGHT

Prince Island on the Coosa River,
November 2013

"Jesus said, 'I am the LIGHT of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you follow the LIGHT that leads to LIFE!" (John 8:12)


        Yesterday, Prince Island across the river from our farm looked rather drab until the LIGHT of the afternoon sun set ablaze the harvest gold and pumpkin orange leaves of autumn.

        In Paul's defense before King Agrippa and Bernice in Acts 26, he declared that he was guilty of nothing except testifying of what the prophets and Moses said would happen - that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would suffer and, by reason of His resurrection, proclaim LIGHT to both the Jewish people and the Gentiles.
       Years prior on the road to Damascus, Jesus Himself had commissioned Paul to go to lost people everywhere and open their eyes so they would turn from darkness to the LIGHT, from the dominion of Satan to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Even when chained and imprisoned, Paul never retreated from spreading the LIGHT of the gospel.

       O Christian, never forget that today you are God's LIGHT in this dark world. Therefore, let your LIGHT so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matt. 5:16)!

(A special thanks on this Veterans Day to our valiant warriors who served and continue to serve our country so that we will have the freedom to serve God and share the LIGHT of  the gospel - eternal life through faith in JESUS, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD!)

My Dan, 2009

Read more...

G-baby!!!

My Benjamin Phillip and Gabriella Renee Glassco
2008

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well."
(Psalm 139:13-14)











First comes LOVE,
Then comes MARRIAGE,
Then comes Ben pushin' a BABY CARRIAGE!!!



Grandbaby #4 coming May, 2014! 

Gabbi and Ben, Nov. 2013

Congratulations, Ben and Gabbi!!! We love you so!

Read more...

Christus Victor!

My Auburn-Tiger grandkids
2010 College Football National Champions!

"...but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:57)

       Who doesn't prefer to be on the winning team as opposed to being a loser. I must say that it is always great to be an Auburn tiger; but it's much more fun with this year's 8-1 record as opposed to last year's 3-9!

       In Gustaf Aulen's 1931 book, Christus Victor, the author wrote, "The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil." In other words, by Jesus Christ's atoning death on the cross and His resurrection, the powers of evil were defeated! 
       First John 3:8 states: "The Son of God [Jesus Christ] came to destroy the works of the devil!" When Jesus Himself commissioned Paul, He said, "I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness...I am sending you, to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God" (Acts 26:16-18)! 

       O Christian, we are on the winning team! Christ won the victory, and the devil was defeated. Let us us boldly pray that the devil's evil work in precious lives around us will be destroyed! Let us go forth in the authority of the victorious atonement of Christ's shed blood, death, and resurrection to set the captives free! 

       (What does that look like in everyday life? I have a dear friend who is a single mom living in the projects with a teenage son in big trouble! We are praying fervently for Jesus to destroy the works of the devil in that young man's life, for Jesus to save him, redeem his life, and for that boy to live for God and fulfill God's purposes! 
        May the Holy Spirit show you how to walk out "Christus Victor" in your circle of influence!)
        
     

Read more...

Finally Finished!

Back view of Farmhouse
(photo by my Ben)

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." (Phil. 1:6)

       
        This week, the last coats of paint and a few other minor details are in the works so that, on Friday, we  will get the keys to our finally finished farmhouse! 

          The good work God began in us on the day of our salvation, He promises to complete! Also, as we walk with Him, He will finish the good works He does through us!

            Joni Eareckson Tada once said: "Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far in the misty future. It's simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step!"

            Be encourage today, my friend, and take the next step in the good work God is doing in you and through you!

Read more...