For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17 NIV)
A friend of God
Words to encourage those that are persecuted for their faith: By MG Henry
When I first learned of the vitriolic attack on your reputation as a righteous daughter of God, anger rose up in my heart. However, as I pondered the fictitious accusations and judgmental observations against you, the anger started to lift because I believe the Holy Spirit started bringing to mind The True Word of God.
Paul in Romans 1:32 states, “Although they know God’s righteous decree…that which is written in the commandments…..’Thou shall not murder; Thou shall not bear false witness; thou shall not commit adultery’, etc. and that those who do such things deserve death…even so… they persist and excuse and continue to do these very things, over and over. And others who approve of those who practice adultery, lying, stealing, etc. are partners in collusion with them. “ That is …they are just as guilty as the ones committing the sin.
And Paul indicates….the approvers deserve death, also. This is very scary. So, instead of LOVING them enough to tell them that their sin will send them to hell and that there is a God Who forgives a repentant heart that changes its ways, they, instead take delight and personal pleasure in the sins of others and they call that “love”.
And, who is the accuser of the brethren? Who stands on one’s own concocted moral standards and uses the Scriptures to brow beat those who are standing for true morality? The Bible states, ‘SATAN is the accuser of God’s people.’
SO!!! I rejoice with you and thank God on this Thanksgiving day for you and your godly little family because, “All who want to live a godly life in union with the Messiah Jesus will be persecuted. [2Tim. 3:12]
“In fact, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” [James 1:2]
In addition, Acts 5:41 says, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. So, day after day, in the temple courtsand from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good newsthat Jesus is the Messiah.”
So, Beloved Friend, you are in very good company with Paul and Silas and the other apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. They NEVER stopped teaching and proclaiming the GOOD NEWS that Jesus is the Messiah, Lord and God.
We have only one alternative as children of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is to pray for them and leave them in the Hands of a living God.
I praise God that you are a true Christian soldier and that you and your household will not let anything come between you and your Lord. Amen and Amen.
Your Friend, MG
Susie, What Are You Thankful For?
In Kindergarten music class, one of the goals is to begin to help the students match vocal tones sung to them by the teacher. One of the little exercises I am using this year is to sing the child’s name and then sing , in a sing-songy question to which I have already demonstrated a muscial response….Susie, what are you thankful for? All this on a 3-note melody line. Then, as having demonstrated to the students, their response would be …”I’m thankful for___.” [etc].
The amazing thing about this little musical exercise is not so much that many of the students in kindergarten can match pitches, but the nature of their responses.
They respond that they are thankful for “my family; my friends; my grandma; my house; my parents; my little brother (or sister); my school.” Once in a while I will get “my church” Several will sing, “for God”.
But as I go up the grades from Kindergarten through 1st grade and into 2nd grade….the responses become quite different. The older the student, maybe more “sophisticated, perhaps” the more they sing that they are thankful for THINGS. “ My bicycle, video games, electronic gadgets; They still sing my mom & dad or my parents, etc. but not as much as the little ones, who have just started school a mere ten weeks ago or so.
I always encourage them to continue to be grateful and thankful for their families and those that love and care for them. And for a God that loves them. Usually, the little ones take it from there and preach to one another. And for that I AM THANKFUL!
MG Henry, Fairfax County Music Teacher
mgsingsong@aol.com
My Thoughts by Sara
Countryside in NC can cure ‘many a ills’. Brilliant colors hang and blow from her limbs blowing in words that only an artist with a brush or wordsmith could capture in a moment that flees as fast as the breeze. O Glory waves with a meaning that stings at times with the news blowing from her top brass. The beauty of the leaves fleeing so fast makes me wonder if my prayers have been as fleeing as the leaves in the breeze! O Glory of God come and fill our land, I pray! The pain hurts but the truth salves the pain.
The walls of our truth seekers in DC are engraved in marble that states “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
Rosa, The Elephant
painting by Rena Oynes
Story By Sara:
Rosa! The Elephant is a funny bottomless girl. She drinks only tea but limitless amounts. She drinks, gargles and waters the plants. This makes for fun and landscapes the theme without a pod of manure to stink up the store. You see she works for Dot, the biz that gives good parties for kids.
Love Rosa or leave her but she can really spit! So, you better stay clear of her trunk or you might need a dolly towel to wipe up the tears of laughter from your tiny own eyes!
Rosa’s eyes are so clear she can thread a tiny needle with the spittle from her trunk. Visit her up-store and let her trunk fill your teacup and you will fill-up your belly trunk!
Am I A Quitter?
Sara
Sometimes I feel weary, yes, weary, after a time of real spiritual highs. Do you ever feel that way? Just weary, right down weary! I may have been in a wonderful high praise gathering or just heard an outstanding inspirational message from God’s Word and thought; I could never, ever want to give up on doing good. Yet, my enthusiasm has waned just by hearing others talk or not talk.
Have you ever wondered; why do people start so well and yet give up? Have you been involved in Christian Ministry where people commit and yet never follow through? Or, maybe follow through for awhile and then ‘just quit.’ They don’t even offer ” a sorry I can’t.” They just float off in ‘loll loll land’ and never look back or think about a ‘commitment broken’.
What should I do? Look deep within myself and call to remembrance what the Word of God gives as instruction; “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.” Galatians 6:9
In the midst of friends being ‘commitment breakers’ one has to renew their commitment and continue their course. I need to work on my relationship with The One that will NOT break His commitment. When I feel to run with the new trends so I can hope and beg for an opportunity to satisfy my will I once again remind myself; stay down, be a nobody in the eyes of ‘commitment breakers.” Why? Because: “…Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly…” Matthew 6:4
How about you? Do you ever feel like your quest after love or likability hinders you from doing good on a continual-consistent basis?
Don’t give up! Don’t Quit!
WHATS IN A NAME THE EVOLUTION OF SUCH
It’s true …that overworked phrase. But it works close to home for me.
I wasn’t very old when I started questioning the wisdom of my parents, who supposedly named me after 2 grandmothers. Grace, on my father’s side and Mary on my mother’s side.
Mary Grace. Ai-Yi-Yi! My parents always called me Mary Grace and I suppose it was fine while I was bouncing around the house as a little tyke, enjoying my relatives’ lavish bounties at holidays and Sundays after church and even warm evenings at Aunt Fanny’s bakery where we sat out on her porch and ate “fry cakes” with my older cousins who had names like Jean and Lee and Ginny. Even my cousin Mary Ann’s name was very tolerable and acceptable.
But when I finally went to school for the first time….Mary Grace for a chubby little girl with frizzy hair…Mary Grace seemed almost intolerable. My friends were Carol and Judy and Barbara and Mary Sue [which was cute] . I wanted to have a name like that. Cute; chic; non-ethnic; non-parochial; non..chubby-little-frizzy-haired girl.
So when I went to high school I was determined …”no more Mary Grace”. I renamed myself
Mary PERIOD. No other appendage but Mary. I insisted, corrected, reminded, signed school work, MARY! MARY! MARY! My mom was puzzled at this because they had lovingly chosen the name for me that they thought most lovely and well, gracious. But I was a wild woman about my name by the time I was a freshman in High School…insisting I was MARY! OK! Mary it was all through college. Mary was very appropriate for a nice little Catholic girl at an all-girls’ Catholic college, right? I was ok with that for a season, anyway.
Then through the first years of marriage, Mary stuck and I was “stuck” with it, I lamented……until I intimated to a friend where we were stationed in the military, that I did NOT like the name MARY, either. “Well then”, she said sympathizing with me , “why don’t you go by your initials, MG. LIGHT BULB! BRILLIANT! So then I was a wild woman about my name, again insisting that everyone call me MG, which confused my then husband who had known me most of our lives at school, in our small hometown…and had called me MARY. And now he had to call me MG and my then in-laws tried to accommodate me, also.
Now I was happy, despite the ads and circulars that came in the mail addressed to MR. MG HENRY and with other unmentionable literature.
And then …and then…the unimaginable happened. After a heartbreaking, stormy situation in my life which sent me solo “in and of the world” big time…..Jesus Christ came gently and resolutely and graciously into my life. There was no doubt that when I turned from the altar where I had confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior that I was SAVED, BLOOD BOUGHT, TRANSFORMED. I knew that I knew…no just mumbling of the words, no lip service, no just pleasing my mother who had accepted the Lord already, no second thoughts. I was Christ’s and He was mine. Straight Away! Oh glory divine. Oh Grace divine Oh, MG/Mary, full of Grace, the LORD is with thee….MARY GRACE!!!!!!
How did my parents know that from the before the beginning of time I was destined as indicated by my name to be that one…that would receive the GRACE of God to become a son of God. I guess they didn’t really KNOW but Jesus Christ had it all planned out.
Writing in my journal this morning, He showed me…the bountiful graciousness that He has bestowed on me, MG, to be Mary (full of )Grace. “Do you get it?” He quipped to me. Oh, yes, Lord! Thank You that when You were on that cross Your love abounded to me and in due time….I have become Mary Grace. “Good, He said. Now, write your story!” Amen
Word Weary (WW)
Have you ever felt Word Weary (WW) in your prayers? I have! And, right at the height of one of my prayer seasons of WW, a friend shared a magazine with me.; “Scientific American Oct. 2012 issue.” The front cover featured article was entitled; “The Language of the Brain, how the world’s most complicated machine processes and communicates information.”
I thought, OK, WW, it’s my brain. I quickly read the article and realized, no, not my brain. Well, maybe I had some locked cells. Let me test and see, I put on a new outfit for color to see if my eyes might just unlock the brain cells. NO, I’m still Word Weary!
Let me try a craft with my hands. O, gee, one more useless item to display so I can remind myself to pay off the credit card for the glue and sparkles each time I see it. I’m still WW.
Jump, dart and run because I had ignored my ears. Why of course I got it, Music, order a new CD, play and catapult my emotions right into an ‘orbit frenzy’. This just had to unlock those locked brain cells. This exercise reminded me I had spent more money and had more clutter to face up to. I’m still Word Weary.
Feet, I have found my answer. Buy a new pair of flip-flops, get them all dirty in one day. What a flop, I am WW in all my prayers.
Then, I received a letter from a very special lady outlining what is to be her last few months (unless God intervenes) on earth and sharing how thankful and grateful she is for all God’s goodness to her by working thru His earth angels. The eyes make a river, the heart expands, the hands go up, the feet go into help action and the prayers are no longer Word Weary.
My words are now birthed from the Spirit within. Salvation is God’s Gift to the World. It does not come from us earthlings but from Jesus, the Lord who saves. Immanuel, the Lord with us makes me realize I am not salvation to the world. He is!
Sara
Encouragment
The dictionary says: “To encourage is to give active help or to raise confidence to the point where one dares to do what is difficult.” With that being said…..how do we know that our words or actions are; indeed, ENCOURAGING to someone?
My wonderful husband, Chris and I in Charlotte, NC with our boys. My husband is such an encouragement to me and our boys. He encourages his Mom, Dad and so many others. I am a blessed woman to have my husband in my life as an encourager. I believe he has the gift of ‘encouragement’. And, he uses it well. “If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.” – Romans 12:4-5, 8
As a wife, mother, friend and nurse; do I encourage others in the way our definition gives? Let’s ‘spy the truth’ and see how we rate! Tammy
Rena’s Notes from Conference
Rena Oynes, Mandeville, La, retired elementary school teacher, Mother of two sons with three grands…find me on morning walks near the lake with my pug, JD.contact me @Rena Oynes-rkoynes@gmail.com
Unglued Women’s Conference with Lysa TerKeurst, Speaker and President of Proverbs 31
Session 1
Unglued: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Raw Emotions
The Exploder who blames others.
Learn to attack the issue and not the person
Scripture: “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Proverbs 10:19
Exploder who shames themselves.
We have different reactions with different people.
Feel they have to move a point
“A fool shows his annoyance at once but a prudent person overlooks an insult.” Proverbs 12: 16
Working in the way of the Lord the exploder will be honest
The Stuffer who builds barriers. Want to feel safe. Need to set boundaries not barriers.
“He who conceals his hatred has lying lips… The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.” Proverbs 10: 18,21
The Stuffer who collects retaliation rocks.
“Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.” Proverbs 10:14
Stuffer operating in the way of the Lord is a peacemaker.
Soul integrity – honesty and peacemaking
Your feeling are indicators not dictators.
Session 2
Your reaction determines your reach: The way you react matters
1. Remember who you are
“Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord…” 2 Chronicles 20:3
(place your name here)
Do you feel like Jehoshaphat, someone or something is marching against you. How we react to these situations is critical:
Call out to Jesus – call out his name over and over and over John 17:11
“Lord come in the midst of all this and be in the center of my life.
2. Remember God’ job isn’t your job.
He said: “Listen, King Johoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s” 2 Chronicles 20:15
We feel FEAR and DISCOURAGEMENT when problems – overwhelming come knocking – be obedient to God. The two remind you that you need to be in God’s WORD.
3. Remember thanks and praise to God.
We are not to sit and say it’s God’s responsibility. The King put the choir boys the singers first – strength to God. Size would not win this battle.. A strategy that man would not have chosen.
“After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him or the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 2 Chronicles 20: 21
4. Remember reaction determines your reach.
“The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the country when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace for his God had given him rest on every side.” 2 Chronicles 20: 29-30
God gave the King rest on every side.
The battle belongs to God.
I will position myself in a thankful position in the midst of the battle.
I give thanks for who YOU are..
Lysa told her testimony and how receiving all from the Lord she still had a void.
One day someone called her and asked her to be apart of something they wanted to start on the computer – Proverbs 31
She didn’t even know what Proverbs 31 was – hadn’t even read it. She said she would work in the background as she was a pretty good in marketing.
Decided she needed to read Proverbs 31 and she has worked with them for 19 years now. The void has been filled. She said start you day with whispers to God before shouts with the world begin.
She then gave her testimony –
She said the word Messiah has four letters in the beginning that was her life – a mess. She said let the messiah touch that mess. Let the Messiah touch that mess in your life for others as He has done in her liee.
She went on to say – If you are people of faith live a life of faith that desperately needs God. Get up!! Get Out! and do something!!
She went on to tell the story of Joshua and the wall. There was a wall between Joshua and the promise. How did he push through? Joshua 5: 13 Presence of God is talking with Joshua
Joshua 14 the answer Joshua got from the devine was not what he wanted. What was wrong.
Joshua had asked the wrong question. Question: Am I going with God or not that is how to push through.
Prayer: Lord I don’t have to have all the answers, but I say YES. She said as we get out of bed may we say yes to JESUS every day.
Lysa TerKeurst used very real examples from her life – some made you laugh as you could relate. Others made you cry because of the depth of sorrow and heart ache this life brings.
She is the mother of 5 children. 2 from an orphanage in Africa and three natural children. (2 as a result to starting her day off with YES to the Lord one morning.)
thedailylily.com 