It's Been a Little While .....

I haven't logged on to my Blog in such a long time I wondered if it was still here! But, like a wonderful old friend, here it is ...

    
     Scrolling through the list of Blogs I follow I noticed some, like me, hadn't posted in a while, and that's OK since their last posts are all new to me!

     However, it's the Bloggers that have continued writing and sharing these past couple of years that touched my heart this morning.   I applaud your diligence in sharing tidbits of your life. 

     Catching up has been great and while I don't make promises I'm not sure I can keep, let's just say ...  

Hello again and see ya soon!

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Here's a little story for you...

A dad and a mom went to church one Sunday evening in separate cars.  When services were over the dad thought the mom had their child and the mom thought the dad had him; however, both were wrong. Six year old "Little Johnny" had fallen asleep on the pew during the services and both parents had left church without him.  While turning the lights off in the church building, the Pastor discovered Little Johnny just waking up from his pew nap.  Realizing the dad and the mom had made a terrible mistake, the Pastor calmly took Little Johnny by the hand and led him to his car, intending to call his parents and let them know that he would take Little Johnny home.   To further calm Little Johnny the Pastor had promised an ice cream cone on the way home.  As he was strapping Little Johnny in the backseat of his car the Pastor noticed a vehicle speeding toward the church.  He watched as the panic-stricken dad bounced into the church parking lot, slammed his car into park and jumped out before the vehicle had a chance to come to a complete stop.  Relief flooded the dad's face when he saw Little Johnny strapped in the backseat of the Pastor's car wearing a happy and content expression on his face.  Little Johnny never realized that for a brief moment that evening, he had been forgotten by his parents.  

 

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been researching my family through an ancestry site.  I've noticed many of the headstones online include the phrase GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.  It's nice to see that loved ones marked the graves as a reminder that it was important that this person be remembered by their family.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atoach/2840067513/sizes/m/in/photostream/

My Mom and I were remembering my Grandmother last month on what would have been her 102nd birthday, Mom said, "Yes, she's GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN".   When Granny was with us she always reminded us that January the 27th was her birthday.  I smile when I remember how often she said to us, "you know, January the 27th, that's my birthday." 

My Grandmother wasn't unique in wanting to be remembered on her birthday; the truth is, we all like to be remembered.  Whether we display it to the world or keep it to ourselves, it upsets us to be forgotten.  Our spirit rebels against the idea that we are not as important to others as we thought we were. 

Have you ever felt that you were forgotten?  Imagine standing alone on the curb waiting for a ride and realizing you've been forgotten!  In that moment you feel abandoned, insignificant and your day has likely been ruined. 

Two very sad verses in the Bible to me are

Matthew 26:56 and Mark 14:50. 

Mathew 26:56, "But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.  Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled."
Mark 14:50, "And they all forsook Him, and fled."

Both verses relate the reaction of the disciples when Jesus was arrested in the Garden.  While His followers did not forget the Lord they did forsake Him. 

To forsake means to distance oneself from someone or something.   As Jesus was being arrested, the fearful disciples felt they needed to put as much distance between themselves and Jesus as they could.  Peter did try to defend the Lord with his sword, but even that feeble attempt was more out of anger and fear than bravery.  However, before we are hasty in our criticism of the disciples we must take a personal look at the ways in which we are guilty of forsaking our Lord. The disciples had been with Jesus for about 3 1/2 years, yet their fear caused them to flee. 

Jesus knew more about being forsaken than I ever will.  The Heavenly Father had to turn away from Him as He hung on the cross bearing the sins of mankind.   Mark 15:34 are the words of Jesus, "...My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"  Notice that even in His lowest, human moment, Jesus acknowledged that God was still and forevermore, HIS GOD. 

Hopefully you were not forgotten on Valentine's Day, unfortunately people may forget us and loved ones may even forsake us.  But, here's wonderful assurance:  God will never leave us nor forsake His own!  I pray that God in Heaven is your God and that Jesus is your Savior.  If you do not know Him or you have doubts about your relationship with the Heavenly Father, please go to Him in prayer ~ He will hear and answer you if you go to Him and humbly pray.




PLEASE NOTE:  For the purposes of this post the above story  of Little Johnny is a compilation of three similar, but separate stories that my Dad (a Pastor) related to us over the years.














 

HAVE A LOVELY DAY

 

"Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.   For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:37-39



I hope God's love shines throughout your day...

~Pamelyn

 

 

 

TIME OUT!

So, I took a little time away from the Blog World... 

What kept me away has been 3 little distractions 

and 1 slight frustration.

3 LITTLE DISTRACTIONS

 

• Our family enjoyed a great Christmas and New Years.  We are a large family so when we have the chance to ALL be together we "seize the day" and make it an event.  I love my big ole Southern family!

• I recently joined Ancestry.com and even though I was warned by my sister, I have been consumed with researching our family tree on my Mom's side of the family.  I love those little leaves!

• Been planning a trip in late Spring to Ireland with my family!  Going to Ireland is the only item in my bucket list and I'll blog about that later.

1 SLIGHT FRUSTRATION

 

Every time I sign in to Blogger I get a creepy little message. I'm not a computer guru by any means, so I followed some suggestions from online helpers and hopefully I can continue with Blogger.  If, however you prefer, you can follow me at BlogLovin. 

Life is full of distractions and frustrations but the main thing is still the main thing.  God has blessed me with a loving family, dear friends and so many ways to stay in touch.  Thank you to those that read this little blog...

Rescue the Perishing

What could be more satisfying to a human than to be in a position to rescue another human from injury or death?  We see news reports all the time of ordinary people that do extraordinary things for people in need.  When asked, these heroes usually reply, "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."  When I see these stories I'm always reminded of the words written by Fanny Crosby, "Rescue the Perishing". 

 

This song praises the Rescuer of our souls and acknowledges the fact that we are not the rescuers ~ God is the Rescuer.   It is vital that we remind ourselves that we, as believers, are sinners saved by grace.  My perishing soul needed rescuing by God.  We, as believers, have an important part to play as witnesses to those that need a Savior, but even though we may desire to, we cannot save anyone.  Salvation is God's divine work and we must ACKNOWLEDGE God's part: 

 

Psalm 25:15, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."

Psalm 121:1, 2  "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.…;"



Then, we can IDENTIFY our part in this divine work:
Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:18-26 

• Be available for God's use in helping others.  Stay in touch with Him through daily prayer and Bible study. 
• Be a prayer warrior for others.  I believe in the power of prayer because I have experienced the power of God in my own life when others have prayed for me.
• Be a patient and loving encourager. 
• Depend on God for results.  Meeting the needs of others is God's job and the results are due to His power, grace and mercy.
• Recognize the fact that people are perishing and their greatest need is a Savior.

Finally, remember that we are the INSTRUMENT, not the healer.

Consider the surgeon and the scalpel.  In the operating room, it would be ludicrous for a surgeon  to ask the scalpel where to make an incision on a patient.  The scalpel does not have the capabilities to perform an operation without the hand of the surgeon.  The same is true when we, as sinners saved by grace, attempt to perform the divine work of God's hands in the lives of others. 

 

As I look forward to 2014 I pray that I will

ACKNOWLEDGE God's divine work in the lives of others,

IDENTIFY my part in sharing the gospel,

and strive to be an INSTRUMENT

God can use to rescue the perishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Feels Like Christmas

  

 

I'm feeling much more "Christmas-y" this year...

It's not the weather where I live because we've had a few hot and humid days in the 80's...

It's not the shopping frenzy at the mall because I'm doing most of my shopping online...

It's not the aroma from the oven because I don't bake...

Nevertheless, it feels like Christmas...

Maybe it's because we had a crowd for Thanksgiving this year to kick off the holiday spirit...

Maybe it's because I like the way my Christmas tree turned out this year...

Maybe it's because I know what gifts I want to buy...

Maybe it's because I've been watching Hallmark Christmas movies for about two weeks already...

Actually, it's none of those things. 

 

My Christmas spirit is lifted this year because way back in January I put my complete faith and trust in the Lord and I  have no doubts that He is the Lord of my life.  CLICK HERE TO READ MY TESTIMONY 
 

 

IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS...

 



...  Because when I read the Christmas story in Luke chapter 2 my heart fills with the love God bestowed on His people by sending His only Son.

... Because when I hear a Christmas carol I feel joy and can imagine the shepherds hearing stanza and verse rendered by the heavenly host about the Savior of the world.

... Because in every Christmas card I receive I think of the angel's wondrous announcement to a poor young virgin named Mary.

... Because when I see Christmas lights twinkle and shine I think of the majesty of God in heaven.


... Because when I see gifts wrapped under the Christmas tree I  know I have been blessed with the greatest gift of all...

JESUS
 IMMANUEL
 GOD WITH US.

My prayer is that Jesus is your Savior and you are

having the best Christmas season of all!

 

Merry Christmas!

Pamelyn



THANKFUL

I've been inspired by so many Facebook friends that have been sharing what they are thankful for that I've decided to make a list myself. 

 

First and foremost,

The God of my salvation



And now, in no particular order...

My family

My church family

My home

Prayer

God's Holy Word

Love

Friends

Music

Shared Laughter

Libraries

My health

Coffee

And finally,

Blogging friends like YOU that inspire me
 

 

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



It's Always About Jesus

 

It's about JESUS ... IN THE TIME OF BLESSINGS

 

     Blessings come in many shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common - they are about Jesus.  Spiritual blessings are indeed delightful to the child of God, but when you experience a blessing from Jesus it's important to remember that the blessing is not about the experience, but rather, about Jesus and how He is glorified in that blessings. 

It's about JESUS ... IN TIME OF TROUBLES

     It may be difficult to see or feel it at the time, but Jesus is near when we go through times of troubles.  What is even more difficult to comprehend is that Jesus can be glorified even though those troubles are the result of our own making.  We err from His ways and He is right there ready to forgive us the moment we ask to be forgiven!  In asking forgiveness we let go of the hold we think we have on the situation and in faith, we give complete control to Jesus.  It is when, in humility, we ask forgiveness that Jesus is glorified.

 

 

 

It's about JESUS ... IN ANSWERED PRAYER

 

     Every prayer a child of God prays is answered, but it's up to God whether the answer is yes, no, or wait.  Sometimes God will answer immediately and other times, far into the future.  The timing of answered prayer is up to God.  Can you think of a time when you prayed specifically for something and God specifically answered your prayer?  No doubt you felt elated that God saw fit to bring to pass what you prayed about.  In the elation, it's very easy to forget that our prayers are answered in order to bring honor and glory to the Lord.   Answered prayer has a two-fold purpose; first, it shows our dependence on God to meet our needs.  Secondly, and most importantly, answered prayer brings glory to Jesus as our Advocate, pleading our case before the Heavenly Father.  Notice that neither purpose has anything to do with our own honor or glory...

IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT JESUS!

Do you know a child of God that is always upbeat, with a smile on their face and encouraging words for others in spite of the fact their personal life is one heartache after another?  I believe the secret to their "peace in the midst of chaos" is that they have made a commitment to make everything in their life...

ALWAYS ABOUT JESUS! 

 

These Scriptures serve as a reminder to me that my life as a child of God should always be about how to please, honor and glorify Jesus.  I pray that they encourage you to be mindful to glorify Jesus' name in your daily walk with Him.

Blessings to you,

Pamelyn



Every Day Should Be a Thanksgiving Day to the Lord

 

What Is It That HAUNTS Us? (Part 3)

Read Part 1 HERE & Part 2 HERE

 

 

 

One definition of the word "haunt" is to visit frequently.

Are we haunted by the things in our life that we could of and should of done better, or,  by the bad choices we have made? 

  

In the last two posts we've looked at how dwelling on past mistakes could:

HARM OUR WALK WITH THE LORD...

HINDER OUR TESTIMONY ...

STEAL OUR JOY...

DICTATE HOW WE DEAL WITH  THE PRESENT

...now for the 3rd and final part of this series

 

Looking at the past reminds me of houseguests and the length of time they stay in our home.  Contrast the guest that comes for a visit with the one that permanently moves into the guest bedroom!  One is a pleasant stay, while the other could put a heavy strain on a relationship! 

 



In this, the last part of this series, I want to make the distinction between revisiting and dwelling in the past.  I love the way Ruth Graham (the daughter of Billy & Ruth Graham) addresses this in her book,  In Every Pew Sits A Broken Heart,

"Revisiting the dark chapters of our lives can be a painful experience...Even glancing in the direction of some of our memories can open up a world of  hurt... Yet there are times in life when God gently draws us back to our places of pain and invites us to take another look.  He does not call us back to aggravate our wounds or cause us emotional harm.  When God calls,  He calls with good purpose; and when He urges us back to a hard place, He does so in order to heal us.   

Only then can we truly move on."

 

Here are links to Ruth Graham's

WEBSITE:   http://www.ruthgrahamministries.org/  

and BLOG:    http://ruthgraham.wordpress.com/

 

God often will take our minds back to past mistakes in order to teach us valuable spiritual lessons that, quite honestly, we wouldn't learn otherwise.  Learning from our mistakes is a positive step in our daily walk with the Lord.  These lessons reveal to us just how much the Lord loves us, cares for us, and wants what is best for us.  

 

 

On the other hand, God has never intended His children to dwell in the past.  To dwell means to take up residence in, and like the houseguest making the guestroom his own, it inevitably will lead to disaster.   The past cannot be changed no matter how much effort we use trying to make it so.  We can benefit from the inspired words Paul wrote:

  "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,

and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

I press toward the mark for the prize of the

 high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 3:13,14

  

This is the final truth:  Unless God leads you back to learn from the mistakes you've made, leave them in the past.  It is my prayer that you will follow the Lord as He leads you away from the past that haunts you and forward in your walk with Him.

 





 

 



What is it That HAUNTS Us? (PART 2)

THIS IS PART 2 OF THE 3-PART SERIES
Click  to read PART 1 HERE

  

One definition of the word "haunt" is to visit frequently.

Are we haunted by the things in our life that we could of and should of done better?  Are we haunted by the bad choices we have made? 

Do we dwell on our past failures and let them

 

DICTATE HOW WE DEAL WITH  THE PRESENT

 

 

We've all had low points in our life that we'd just as soon forget.  When we look at the flops in our life we become burdened and defeated.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could say that from every flop in our life valuable life lessons have been learned ... but, that just isn't realistic.  However, what is realistic is that God, in His infinite wisdom, has given us grace and mercy to move past life's failures and even learn from them.   Keep in mind, humans do not automatically learn from their mistakes; we need God's help.  If you are having trouble letting go of past mistakes, talk to God about it as you would a trusted friend.   Prayer draws us closer to the One that knows exactly what the future holds for us.  He is our Refuge and the Calm of every storm.  God invites us to "cast all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." (I Peter 5:7). 

I like to look at the life of the Apostle Paul as an example of why we should look past the failures in our life.  After Paul was saved, he prayed for grace to move past the guilt he felt for persecuting and putting to death many innocent Christians of that day.  Like King David in PART 1 of this series, he would not allow the past to haunt the present work God had called him to do.  

Both King David and Paul prayed to be released from the guiltiness of their past sins.  God answered their prayers because they recognized their own weaknesses and trusted God for the strength and perseverance they would need to live past their failures.  God would have raised others up to fill their places, but imagine the loss to our spiritual lives had these men allowed these failures to dictate their service to the Lord.

Remember, our lives are just as important to God as David and Paul.  God wants us to reach forth in His name and be His faithful servants, soul-winners and prayer warriors. He has given us the tools to accomplish what He has called us to do if we will only look to Him and not within ourselves. 





My prayer for you is that you will not allow the ghosts of past failures to burden you and hinder you from doing what the Lord is pressing upon your heart to do RIGHT NOW.  

PART 3 of this devotion will follow in a few days.....

 

What Is It That HAUNTS Us? (PART 1)

What HAUNTS us?
Perhaps it's

past failures...

unresolved anger... regrets...

unforgiving attitudes toward others...

painful experiences we can't seem to get over.  

One definition of the word "haunt" is to visit frequently. 

We all have occasions when thoughts of past mistakes cross our mind.  However, dwelling on our mistakes and allowing them to haunt us day after day ...

 

HARMS OUR WALK WITH THE LORD...

HINDERS OUR TESTIMONY ...

STEALS OUR JOY...

  

In the Second book of Samuel, chapter 11, we find the story of the dreadful sin King David committed in taking Bathsheba from her husband Uriah and subsequently, arranging his murder.  We know from II Samuel chapter 12 that David deeply regretted what he had done against the Lord and his people.  David, to his credit, went to the Lord, confessed his sins, mourned the death of his child and with God's help, was able to move on with his life.  Further evidence of his sorrow over this sin can be found in the many Psalms that David wrote, in particular, Psalm 51.

We might be tempted to think David needed to re-visit this time in his life again and again; if nothing else, to remind himself of his weakness.  With help from the Lord, however, David would not allow this regretful and shameful sin to haunt him. 


Notice the ways in which David would not allow the past to haunt the present:

• He recognized that he had sinned before God.  He knew his life would be meaningless if he did not confess, ask forgiveness, and repent of his sin. 

• He desired to be back in the close relationship he had once had with God, before this sin. 

• He was concerned that his actions would hinder him from being the king of Israel that God desired him to be. 

• He desperately wanted his joy restored. 

• He trusted God to give him the strength to get past this terrible time. 

 
We are not perfect and we will never live above sin.  But, we must not let the past haunt the present.  As children of God, we have a heavenly Father that forgives and forgets, if, (and here's our part) we go to Him humbly and ask to be forgiven.  He is faithful and just to forgive our sins so that those past mistakes are remembered no more.  If we continue to allow ourselves to re-visit the past sins after we've been forgiven, we will be denying that Jesus Christ is our one true Advocate and Mediator with our Heavenly Father. 

 

 

PART 2 of this devotion will follow in a few days.....

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."    1 John 1:9

That Can't Be Right

Printable Calendar at IMom.com

OCTOBER?!  THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT! 

I took a deep breath the last day of August

and ...poof... September disappeared!

When I was younger I would hear the older folks say things like "Where does the time go?" and "Boy, this year has flown by".   I'd wonder what calendar they were using because my Monday-Friday workdays were just crawling by.  Back then I was much busier and felt a little like Scarlett in that I had decades of time ahead and,  after all, tomorrow is another day...

Well, guess what - I'm the one looking at that older folks' calendar saying "WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?"  And asking if it is possible to buy back some of that time I didn't worry about back then?  Of course we can't get back the time we've already spent, however, according to Colossians 4:5, we should, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." 
I like how the Amplified Bible expands this verse:    Behave yourselves wisely - living prudently and with discretion - in your relations with those of the outside world (the non-Christians), making the very most of the time and seizing (buying up) the opportunity. 

Not to ourselves, but for the Lord

Instead of buying up more time (which is impossible) we should strive to live our lives wisely, prudently and with discretion, seizing every opportunity of every day to make the day count for the Lord.  In this way we will please our Heavenly Father  and our relationships with others will honor Him. 

God never asks anyone to do the impossible.  If it were not possible for our daily walk to please Him and influence people that need the Lord, His Word would simply not instruct us to do so. 

 

URGENT MATTERS

However, there is an urgency about the time we have on this earth.  Consider Ephesians 5:16, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."   We are warned that wasting time is a tool the devil uses to side-track God's people in living for ourselves instead of living for Him.   Any opportunity that God gives us to serve Him must never be wasted.

According to Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, "Time is a talent given us by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to His design."  (Commentary Reference)

Another urgency about time is that it is measured and it has a deadline. Ecclesiastes 9:10, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."  If we are going to do anything for the Lord it must be now - not later.  The thing about Scarlett's philosophy is that we are not promised tomorrow.    
 

 

 

I pray that you will make today, and every day count for the Lord by living according to His plan and purpose for your life.

 

~Blessings,  Pamelyn