I decided to start this blog (2010) because my son, John-Robert gave me a One Year Bible for Christmas, the New Living Translation... reading it has changed my life... I post a daily Bible verse on my Facebook page every day and it has been well received... I thought that this would be a wonderful way to share part of what I read each day!... I hope that you enjoy it.



This Year 2012 I am going to do things a little different... not much...just a little. I am again reading through my One Year Bible (for the 3rd time). But I am also using "The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word" by Joyce Meyer. This book is divided by putting scriptures under different categories so they can be used to speak over our life situations. Each day I will read a category of scripture and pick a scripture in that category to write about.



Hugs

Jeannie







Thursday, May 31, 2012

5.31.12

2 Chronicles 7:14 I am called by Your name. I humble myself, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity Your face and turn from my wicked ways (. In doing this, You have promised to hear from heaven, forgive my sin, and heal my land. (Amplified Bible)

My Thoughts
It is not the right president who can save our country... or the right people in Congress or the House of Representatives who can save our country.  It is God!  God will only reach down his mighty, righteous right hand and do this if we turn to Him....  turn from the wrong things we do! Wicked is an adjective that means evil.  We so often want to believe "evil" is a Jeffery Dahmer kind of sin.  But evil is also defined as harm; mischief; misfortune: to wish one evil or anything causing injury or harm, anger, irritability, bad conduct or character. Sin is evil...any sin. 

Our country is in danger as long as we are not praying, as long as we are not seeking after God, as long as we keep doing those sins that society deem as "OK."

God will heal our land... our country... our economy when we turn back to Him...fall on our knees...and do our very best to choose to do the right things in the eyes of God.  God has the power to turn everything around in America ... no matter who appears to be "in charge." But our part is to seek after God... to pray... to humble ourselves... to turn from our wicked/evil ways. We have to live right if we want our country to be in right standing with God.  When we get in right standing with God, God will take care of all our needs no matter how incapable we are....we don't even have to know how to do it right... all we have to know how to do is love God with all our heart and do what God ask us to do...then the rest will fall right into place, because God will command it to!

So next time  you are prompted to do the right thing....the next time I am prompted to do the right thing...we need to stop and know that the choice we make will not just effect us... the choice we make will effect the whole country... it will effect our children, it will effect our parents, our brothers or our sisters, our friends... it will effect people on the other side of this continent that we will never meet... our actions...even when no one is looking effect the balance of the world!  Our actions never, ever effect just us!!  What choice will you make?


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

5.30.12

1 Corinthians 1:7-9 (The Message) Just think—you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

My Thoughts
Look! God has given us all that we need, He is right beside us along the way and He will never give up on us!!

We so often look for people to give us just these things!!  What pressure we put on others for our happiness and security!!... When all along God is here for us...providing all that we need... including loves, and security.  Just think how much more we could enjoy the people around us if we depended on God for our needs...and we just loved people right where they are in life!  Then our relationship with God would be in balance...and our relationship with people would be better... it would be a relationship built on love and not need. We could then just enjoy people... grow and learn with them ... let them love us the way the know how...and we could love them the way we know how. We could depend on God and remove all expectation from others.... and be free to love!

Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40 Love God with all our hearts, souls and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  If we do this... if we love God first then we can understand that He will take care of our needs. Then we are free to love others. If we love others as we love ourselves...then we will accept them right where they are... we will give them the benefit of the doubt...we will do things for them that will make their days better. 

God's plan works... just too often we think our plan is better and we try to go about doing things our way.  As we give ourselves over to God life just gets better and better.  God is always right there beside us waiting for us to say "Here you go God...I am giving this life totally to you."  The amazing thing about God is that He stays there waiting taking what we do give over to Him... and letting us learn little by little.  I think He smiles down at us each time we learn something new and put it into practice!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

5.29.12

2 Samuel 14:14 All of us must die eventually.  Our lives are like wanted spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.  But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

My Thoughts
Don't you love this!!... God devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him!!  Isn't this wonderful... God just loves us so much! God puts people in our paths... God sets up situations so that we can see and understand that we need him.... God does what it takes for us to get back to him because he loves us so much... God wants us with him!!  God wants to protect us... God wants to show us his love.

Just this morning I was getting dressed and talking to God.  I said to God, "God I am trying to be good, to do better all the time!"  God said right back to me!!  "Jeannie, I always love you... I want you to do better not so I can love you, I already do, always!  I want you to do better so that you can have a good life, so you can be happy and peaceful...I don't want you to sin because sin separates us...I don't like to be separated from you!  I always love you!  Just keep trying and asking for forgiveness. Keep learning and growing so your life will be better...so we won't be separated."

God drops it down into our souls when we have done wrong...so we can ask forgiveness, so that we can be near Him again!  God wants us to confess not to shame us...but so we will know what we have done so we won't do it again.  When we learn not to repeat wrongs...our lives are better...and there are less times that we sin...the less we sin the less we are separated from God until we confess. God makes us aware of our wrongs so that we can find our way back to Him. All because He wants to love us...to care for us... to do for us... to shower us with His blessing because we mean so much to him!

When we feel God telling us we have done wrong..it is not a time to run away... it is time to run to God saying "I am so sorry God.. please forgive me!  I love you so much!"  Then God will forgive us...and engulf us in His wonderful love!!

Monday, May 28, 2012

5.28.12

Proverbs 16:6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.  By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.

My Thoughts
My first thought about this verse was about David... about how much He loved God.... about how David went to God with his every thought.... it made me think that David's love for God made up for the sins that David committed. Then I thought ...no it was God's great love for David that made atonement or David's sins.

What if it is the combination... David needed God's love...God's promise of sending Jesus to die for for our sins, to make atonement or our sins through such great love.  And David needed to love God so much that he asked forgiveness of his sins...forgiveness for any way that he hurt God by doing wrong.

God already proved his love for us...by sending Jesus to die for our sins even before we were born.  We need to prove our love for God by spending time with Him.... learning about Him, talking with Him... doing what pleases Him. Then when the world gets in the way and we mess up...God's love for us and our love for God supplies the atonement we need for our sins.  Love conquers all!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

5.27.12

2 Samuel 12:26-28 Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.  Joab sent messengers to tell David, "I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.  Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory."

My Thoughts
Joab loved King David so much that he would not dare do anything that would make him seem to stand out above the King.  He would not do anything that made it look like the king's victory was his. This is how much we should love our king, God. We should never take credit for our accomplishments...because without God we would not been able to accomplish anything.  God is who gives us strength... God is who gives us knowledge, God is who puts the right people in our paths to help us accomplish things... God is who gives us solutions to our problems... God is why we are who we are... we are able to accomplish so much because we love and depend on God.  We should always make sure that God gets the credit for who we are and what we do because we love Him so much. We should love God even more than Joab loved King David!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

5.26.12

Proverbs 26:12 Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

My Thoughts
How often do we go about making plans without even thinking about consulting God? We do it all the time...the best of us!!  How many of our plans would we change if we first commited our actions to God?  Just the act of commiting our actions to God would stop a lot of our choices in their tracks.  We need to get into the habit of commiting everthing we do to God, everything.  I think the quality of each thing we did would change in amazing ways if we started out saying this God I am doing for you! 

One thing that comes to mind is preparing dinner...what if we said I commit this meal to you God.  Would we be as likely to cut corners...to leave out one of the sides that we thought about adding?  We would do such a better job at cooking dinner if we commited that action to God. And in the process we would be taking better care of our families.

At work when we are tempted to cut corners because no one will know anyway...if we commit that day of work to God...we would know that God would know and we would be much less likely not to cut corners. Therefore making the company we work for more successful.

When we commit our days, our chores, our actions to God..we do better...when we make this commiment,  God blesses us by making sure we succeed in life. It is such a win, win to commit our lives, our work, our actions, our words, our thoughts to God...we become better people in the process...then God smiles down on us and blesses us with success! 

Friday, May 25, 2012

5.15.12

John 14:27 I am leaving you with a gift-- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give you is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.

My Thoughts
OH I love this!!  What better gift to have than peace of mind!!  Peace of heart!!  So often we feel anxious or troubled... we don't need to try and find peace by shopping... or by turning on the TV... or by picking up the phone (those kinds of friends are awesome!) we need to go straight to Jesus!  If we take our troubles to Jesus...then we begin to fill that calm... if we stop and listen...which can be so hard to do... listen to our heart...deep down where the Holy Spirit lives we will get the answers we need.  When we don't know what to say... all we have to do is praise God and thank God over and over and over and we will feel His Spirit come over us and give us that wonderful gift of peace.

Isiah 40:20 He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and abound].... we also find in Isiah 55:10-11 that God's word does not return void! That is why it is important to learn what is written in God's word...so we can call those verse's out to God, to Jesus... and they will come back to us strong and working... We can say Jesus you said I would have peace of mind and heart I am asking for that peace today.

Sometimes the devil finds our weak spot and he keeps after us... but Luke 10:19 says "I have been given authority and power over all the power the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm me." So when the devil keeps after us with thoughts that make us anxious we can tell him that we have been given  power over him ...to just go away!!

Sometimes it takes a while no to take those anxieties back when we give them to Jesus...but that is ok...we just keep giving them back...and each time we get a little better. 

We just need to remember that shopping, and griping and complaining, sports, TV etc. will not give us peace... Jesus will give us peace.  When we turn to the world in our times of stress and anxiety we only make things worse when we turn to Jesus... that is where all peace comes from!!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

5.24.12

Psalms 119:32 I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding.

My Thoughts
Proverbs 2:1-5 tells us that to seek after wisdom like we would silver and gold. When we do our best to learn more and more about God and how He wants us to live our lives... God expands our understanding!  Another words...If we want to be wiser and smarter... the secret is to seek after God...then he will give us understanding!!! In His word God gives us understanding of how to get along well with others, how to grieve, how to succeed in life, how to become rich, how to settle conflict, how to avoid conflict, how to love, how to rest, how to pray, how to raise our children, how to be a good wife, how to be a good husband, how to be a good leader, how to be a good servant, how to be a good worker...It is all there...everything we need to know!!  We just have to earnestly seek after it!! How amazing it is that so much information is in this one book yet we don't use it to teach students in school.  How sad is that!

I love this verse!  I believe it is because I am in my third year of reading through my One Year Bible (NLT).  Each year I learn more ...I learn something new...I find things that amaze me that I missed before!  When I started reading this Bible...most of it didn't make any sense to me... then as I kept after it...as my prayers improved...as my faith in God improved.....so did my understanding and knowledge.  I know now that when I am on my 20th year of reading through the Bible I will still be finding new treasures that will enhance my relationship with God, with people, with myself.  My life will get better and better and better and better.  I will be better able to cope with hardships the more I seek after God ...the more understanding He drops down into my life!  These first two years and 5 months have changed me in amazing ways...I have grown by leaps and bounds.... I am amazed each day... it makes me look so forward to learning and knowing and growing more in God, in His wisdom...I can't wait for Him to expand my understanding a little more and a little more!!  I can't wait to see what amazing things I understand and put to use in my future!  For God only wants the very best for me... God only wants the very best for you...for all of us!! 

 It starts by believing in Jesus,  asking Him into your heart... asking forgiveness of your sins...then it gets amazingly better when we learn to pick up our instruction book on life, The Bible and we study and learn....then God gives us understanding .. We don't have to be a rocket scientist, or have a Masters Degree, I think my grandmother only had an 8th grade education...we just have to pursue God's commands and God gives  us understanding!! Each time I pick up the Bible I understand just a little  more, and a little more all because God gives it to me! A gift of understanding, how precious is that!!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

5.23.12

Proverbs 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.

My Thoughts
We have all felt it... somebody lighting up and smiling at us...it has the power to turn a bad day into a good day.  It can renew our  energy... it actually makes us feel hopeful. WE have the power to changed some body's day like that... just with our smile.... just with a look that says "Hi! I am glad to see you!" ...there is no telling how far that smile... our smile... can change the world in one day!  So often we feel powerless to do anything ... we feel like we can't make a difference...but we can!!  When we smile at somebody..when we give a kind work...when we spread good news as simple as "You look pretty today!" or "I am always so happy to see you!" it changes that person's day....then they smile at a couple of people the would not have smiled at and it changes those people's day!! And so on. Our smile and kind words can look like this... 1x 2 = 2 x 2 = 4, 4 x 2 = 8, 8 x 2 = 16, 16 x 2 = 32, 32 x 2 = 64,
64 x 2 = 128, 128 x 2 =256, 256 x 2 = 512, 512 x 2 = 1024...  If your smile....if my smile just trickles down 10 times it has effected 1024 people... What if we smiled at 2 people or 3 people.  We have no idea who those 1024 people are.... our smile may have changed a person's day enough to save a life somewhere down the line. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart... it brings hope to people.. it even makes us feel good when we do it!! 

We should never think that we don't have the power to change lives... we can change a person's day with a smile... that is powerful!  What if a million people in a day decided I will make a difference today with a cheerful look...and each one off those trickled down 10 times... that might just change the world!! I would change a day...and if we vowed to deliberately do it again the next day and the next...and the next...oh the possibilities!!  God felt this was important enough that  He made sure it survived many,  many translations of His word. So it has to be powerful!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

5.22.12

Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.

My Thoughts
When we read this verse we like to think of evil as something we would never do!!  We think of the definition of evil as being wicked... most of us are not wicked.  But evil is also defined as morally wrong or bad, harmful, of bad conduct or character, angry or irritable.  Those things are also listed under the definition of evil. Why just yesterday I spoke out, saying more than I should because I was so irritated!! I thought of myself as frustrated but I was actually irritated.  In that state instead of stopping and asking God for help... instead of thinking before I spoke ... I let evil take over my words and spoke out in my irritation. I didn't think of myself as being wicked at the moment... I don't think that if I had not read this verse I would have even know I was being wicked.  But the Bible here, tells me that I was!

Not guarding our words... speaking out in anger, and irritation is, to God, a wicked things...and it should be to us.  As Thumper said in the movie Bambi "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." If we can't talk without expressing our angry or irritation then we shouldn't talk at all until we have calmed down enough to fully see the situation.

We don't have to keep our anger and irritation inside of us... we just have to learn to go to God with it instead of people... God knows everybody involved... God sees the situation as it is... God can help us sort things the way they should be sorted out.  People...well they have their own agenda, or they see only our side. They often say what they think we want to hear fueling the fire. God speaks only the truth into our hearts.

This verse will forever make me see that speaking in irritation or anger is wicked and evil... not justified! I will work much harder now at going to God when I feel these things!! 

Thank you dear God for these words...Thank you dear God for helping me see things as they are... for helping me improve my life.  In Jesus name, Amen

Monday, May 21, 2012

5.21.12

Psalms 118: 1-4 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Let all of Israel repeat: "His faithful love endures forever." Let Aron's descendants, the priests, repeat "His faithful love endures forever." Let all who fear the Lord repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."

My Thoughts
Look! It says it four times! "His faithful love endures forever!"  Four times...because it is so important that we don't miss it!  God always, always loves us!!  Always! God is faithful to love us!  God will love us forever!

This is important! We can never do so much wrong that God doesn't love us!!  We can never mess up so bad that God doesn't love us!!  We can never think something too awful that makes God not love us!  God is faithful to love us no matter what! God will love us forever!!

God sent Jesus to die for us...so that when we mess up...we have a way back to Him!!..We sincerely ask for forgiveness and do our best to do better!!  Even when we are far away from God... God always loves us!!  We always have a way back!!! Always!!! 

There is nothing we can do...nothing...no one thing that would make God stop loving us!!  We can tell God anything!!  God has heard it all... God already knows!!!  We just have to say "God this is what I did wrong and I am so sorry!" We can fill God's love wash over us when we say these things and mean them!  God's faithful loves endures forever!!  Always God loves us! Always! 

Don't let one sin...don't let one thing you have done get between you and God... just say "God I am so sorry!!  This is what I did! Please forgive me!! When we do that God is so excited that we are back..that we are at home in his love...and the angels rejoice with Him!! If there is something keeping you from God's love, something that makes you feel like you just can't tell God...you can!!  do it right now!!  Step back into God's arms because He loves you so much and He always will!!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

5.20.12

John 11:40 Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believed?"

My Thoughts
Belief is an amazing thing!!... It can move mountains!  That is why it is so important to be aware of when God does something for us... to be aware that all that we do have is a gift from God.  When we are aware...when we pay attention to answered prayers and gifts from God.  When we give God credit instead of attributing things to "luck," then we are able to draw on all that God had done for us!  It help strengthen our faith and our belief.  When we believe God can do anything... loves to do things for us...then amazing thing will start happening in our lives.  When we believe...when we call on God in that belief so much is possible!!



Saturday, May 19, 2012

5.19.12

John 10:25-27 Jesus replied, " I have already told you (I am the son of God), and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my father's name. But you don't believe be because you aren ot my sheep. My sheep listen to my voide; I know them; and they know me,
My Thoughts
Jesus said that the proof that He was the Son of God was in the work that He did. Would that not also be true of us... that the proof that we are one of Jesus' sheep it would show in our actions? In our good deeds? It should show in our actions, our words, our deeds. When we really know God, He changes our heart..and we can't help but do our best to be better people. When we don't see a change in our actions, our words, our deeds... we need to get busy studying and learning and praying so that we will know God good enough that we can't help but become better people.

Friday, May 18, 2012

5.18.12

Proverbs 15:19 A lazy person's way is blocked with briers, but the pat of the upright is an open highway.

My Thoughts
I have always understand this verse in the physical sense. It was easy to understand that... I mean if you plant a garden and don't weed it...it is much, much harder to get through it to get to the fruit...if it doesn't choke out the fruit!!  This time I read it and understood it spiritually!!  You may be going "well duh!!." But, knowing it in your head and that information dropping down into your heart are two different things...sometimes you just feel it leave your head and drop right down into your heart!

I love reading through the Bible again and again... as I grow God shows me more!!  Each time I read through the Bible I find something that I didn't see before.. God tells us He will do that for us in James 1:5. I love when it happens.

What I know now is that if I don't take time for God's word..it won't become a part of me... it will be there deep but will be hidden and hard to get to... all of that worldly knowledge will get it the way and crowd it out.  Just like we might give up on that beautiful piece of corn that is just beyond our reach if we haven't cut away the briers before they grew so tall....we often can't find God's wisdom in our hearts when we need it most if we don't keep it fresh in our minds.  We can only do this by taking time...even when it seems too hard.. to read God's word. So many things we hear the first time and they sound good... then we hear them the second time and we say "Oh! I remember reading that!".... it takes time after time after time to become a part of what we remember.

I see it kind of like a Rolodex.. one that is so full!!...the first time we read it we put it in our Rolodex... it is there somewhere...but we not sure what we posted it under...so we can't find it in the middle of all those business cards that are not useful and in the way... but as we keep reading it...we keep putting it in new places...then one day it is under all the letter of the alphabet in our Rolodex..and we can't help but stumble over it...we can't forget it because it is always there...even in the middle of all that other stuff...no matter where we are looking there is what we need.

The only way God's word is in every part of our "Rolodex" is if we take the time to hear it, read it, understand it...over and over and over..then one day we have seen it so much it becomes a part of us...it is always there...we dial it without thinking... like a piece of corn in a weeded garden it is easy to get to...so we use it!!  But the only way that can happen is if we do the work it takes to make God's word a part of who we are...that takes time and effort...even when we think we don't have time!!.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

5.17.12

Proverbs 15:15-16 For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.  Better to have little, with the fear of the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.

My Thoughts
To understand this verse at all we must first know that fear of the Lord means reverence, awe and great respect. Not being afraid.

I use to be very depressed... I suffered on and off from depression for years...I could become very despondent... just moving through the motions and not feeling anything but anxiety and dread.  I had asked Jesus into my heart, knew he was the Son of God... I asked often for forgiveness of my sins...but that is all I really understood... for years...even though often we attended Church and Sunday School. I just didn't "get it." 

One time in the middle of great despair at work... a co-worker who was often hateful to many of us had made me cry. A customer came up to me and said "If you knew Jesus you wouldn't be so upset!"  I was highly offended!  I tried hard to be a good person...I tried to be sweet and kind to people. I had asked Jesus into my heart! 

Even though she went about it all wrong...even though she made an assumption that she should not have made...she did know something that I didn't know.  God could make things better. She didn't tell me how...she just assumed that I was not saved because I didn't understand all there was to know about God.  She didn't give me credit for knowing God but not knowing how to grow in God. Instead of helping me...she pushed me one step backwards. 

What I know now is that God can make things better!  People can still make me cry!! Hateful people are still not my favorite people.  But a bad day is no longer a door to a great depression for me.  I can even still have a few days of being depressed...then I pull myself together and do what I need to do...and I find myself getting better.

Here is what I do... I tell myself that God can and will help me!!  God wants to help me!!.. My part is to draw God near.  So often when we are in the middle of depression, anxiety or despair we don't know what to say.  We don't have to know what to say!!!  We just have to start praising God... telling him "God I praise you, I love you, God!" Over and over... we give God our reverence of praise... we became in awe of God's greatness. When we draw God near...those spirits of depression and anxiety have no room.  Sometimes I have to do this all day long... for a couple of days... then I get to the point of being able to think...I calm down enough to feel God around me. Then I can start telling God what I feel... I can find the place were maybe I have sinned and ask forgiveness...I can tell God all that frustrates me...I find that when I tell God my frustrations that God clears those up for me...sometimes He tells me where I am thinking about somebody or something all wrong...sometimes He tells me that He understand why I am frustrated, but if I will forgive I will feel better.  He never treats me like that lady did...like I should not be having a bad day!!  Like my feelings shouldn't be hurt!  He surrounds me with His love and helps me know how to make my life better.

Going out and buying new things so that we have more doesn't make life better.  Getting on the phone and complaining doesn't make things better...often, more often than not...those actions just make things worse.  Going to God, talking to God... praising God...that always works!  Sometimes we just have to learn that we can do that...that we can go to God with anything...with everything...and God will help us work thought any problem we have!!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

5.16.12

Proverbs 15:14 A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.

My Thoughts
Wow!!... I wonder how much we could be learning if we spent more time with God and less time with the TV... I have cut back...but find myself letting it creep back into my day. A little here.. a little more there... that is my daytime TV...I have not attempted to cut back on my night time TV!  So often we don't feel like we have time to read and study our Bible... yet we always squeeze in time to see our favorite TV shows.  While down time is so important...I wonder just how much better we could cope with life if we were putting more God time in our day and less TV.

This year is my third year to read through my Bible...so I am about 1/3 of the way there.. a little more than that.  Each time I find something new...I understand something more... the more I read God's word the more my actions change... the more I know how God would want me to respond.  What if instead of turning on the TV in the afternoon I read another daily reading...and instead of watching that last TV show at night I read one more daily reading?  What if?  Then I could improve my life 3 times as fast it would seem! Maybe I would improve my life faster than that... because not only would I be learning more about God...I would have less trash going in...so then I would have less trash coming out. 

For a while I was good at listening to books on tape about the Bible while I knitted.. lately I have been watching afternoon TV. Some of it good...Like learning about the Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg.  But some of it was just trash...some of it not trash...but not anything to even remember... more mind numbing. Why would I ever choose mind numbing over learning to do life better???

We all want to be smarter!!.. Wiser!! .. Better equipped to handle the world!  ... Right here it tells us how... We need to be hungry for knowledge and quit feeding on trash. I think I have not choice but to choose to do better!!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

5.15.12

1 Samuel 17:45-47 David replied to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's Armies -- the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.  Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.  And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear.  This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us!"

My Thoughts
This day it was David's job to fight the Philistine.  That job for had been there in front of a whole army of men for 40 days...nobody had been about to muster up the courage to do it.  David though gave it to God... David didn't even attempt to do it on his own. He declared that it was God's battle and that God would win. He stepped up to show all the people there..and even us today... that when you gave it to God... no matter how big the problem was...that God could defeat the problem!

How many problems do we face where we sit back with the army...and wait and hope somebody else is strong enough to handle the problem?  How often do we try to just ignore a problem and hope it will go away? I do it a lot!!  What I should do is say... this battle is God's battle!!.. God can handle it...I give you all the glory God for taking care of this for me. I will step in and do my part God and I know that you will take over from there!! 

David knew that God would take over... after all God had been with him in the field with the sheep when he fought lions and bears... David had confidence that God was with him now facing the giant Philistine. When we start giving things to God..even the little things we think we can handle on our own...then we will start to see that God does take over... God does finish if we just ask Him to and we step in and get started. The more we do this..the more times we give something to God... the more our confidence builds in God and the more we are able to let go and let God..the more we are able to give up control...and the more successful we will be...not because we are able...but because we have learned that God is able!  David knew that God was able...David gave the Philistine to God. What do you need to give to God today??  I need to start out with just giving him the little things...so that when the big things come along it is automatic..it is my habit to let go and let God.

Monday, May 14, 2012

5.14.12

1 Samuel 15:22-23 But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubborness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."

My Thoughts
Saul knew what God wanted! He had been told...yet Saul did what he wanted to do...and when he knew he was caught he tried to make it better... he actually tried to lie his way out of what he had done..by saying "Oh, I know I wasn't suppose to keep these thing... I just kept them to give the to God." God knew Saul's heart!!..

God knows our hearts too.. God knows when we mess up but we are trying...and God knows when we are being a bit selfish and not really trying at all.  We can lie to others like Saul lied to Samuel.. and we can even lie to ourselves... that is usually what we are doing when we are trying to justify thing in our head.   But, we can never lie to God and God not know where our heart actually is. Even when we don't want to see the truth.

Saul was trying to bribe God with treasures so that God would forgive him.  Sometimes we try to bribe God by going to Church and tithing...hoping to make our wrongs all better.  What Saul didn't do is say "God I know you told to to get rid of everything...even all the good stuff... but I didn't!  I did wrong and I am so sorry!" We can go to Church...and tithe..and smile and be nice to people...we can sing praises to God... but all that is null and void if we are not sorry for our sins...all that is useless if we don't go to God and say I really messed up and I am sorry!

Saul sinned by not doing what God ask of him... I think Saul separated himself from God by not being honest, by not being remorseful... by not admitting what he did was wrong.  That is what separates him from God.

I think learning to do better is a process...and some of our sins are harder to "give up" than others.  But instead of ignoring them...we have to keep asking for forgiveness...keep being sorry that we have done the same thing wrong again...and eventually we start becoming more and more aware and we get better at recognizing  sin... First we recognize a sin enough to know we have sinned.... then we begin  to ask forgiveness ...then the next step is asking forgiveness immediately after the sin...then we learn to at least stop ourselves in the middle of the sin.... then we catch ourselves just after the thought but before the action. The first step is learning something is a sin...then God gives us His grace to do better, and better and better.  Saul didn't want to admit He sinned..even when it was brought to his attention he denied it.

Saul's stubbornness got in the way!!.. Saul's stubbornness made him loose his kingdom... Saul'stubbornness separated him from God!  The devil loves to talk us into being stubborn...he even tells us we have the right to be that way!  It is important for us to learn to recognize our stubbornness and see if it is separating us form God... and from all that God has to give us!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

5.13.12

1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, "Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening -- before I have full revenge on my enemies." So they ate nothing that day.

My Thoughts
Saul was hasty with his words... his son Jonathan was out of camp and missed what Saul said.  Saul almost had to put Jonathan, his on son to death for speaking in haste. Thankfully the men in camp respected and loved Jonathan and saved him. Saul didn't go to God before he spoke!

How often do our words, spoken in haste, effect our family, our friends, the people around us! Always probably!  We need to be careful of the worlds we speak, we need to seek God in all that we say.  Saul's words almost put Jonathan to death. Our words may not seem that drastict...but often the reverberate for years in some body's life.  Our words can change the course of a life and us not ever know it!! If our words of selfish or unkind... if they are words that tell somebody that can't because they are not good enough...we may just be the person that causes the death of a dream for somebody.  That dream may have been just the thing that would feed that person's family.

On the other hand...if we go to God and ask Him for help with our words... if our words are loving and kind..if they are generous and uplifting...if they are "you can" words.  Then maybe just maybe we can make a dream take root in somebody enough to grow.  Our words can change the course of some body's life for the good.  Our words are important and powerful... therefor they should never, ever be spoken in haste.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

5.12.12

John 7:24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.

My Thoughts
Here Jesus was taking about the leaders seeing Him as "working" on a Sunday when He healed somebody... If they had looked beneath the surface Jesus was "loving" someone by healing them. The leaders wanted to find fault..so that is what they saw.

So often when we get our feelings hurt it is because we immediately want to justify our feelings so we think the worst of somebody.  When actually our mood is so often why our feelings get hurt by some body's action.  If we stop and think...stop and look beyond the surface... at the intention of the other person from a totally loving, objective standpoint we can see that the intention of the other person was only love... or at the very most there was no intention at all...especially not an intention to hurt us. But we can get so caught up in the justification of our own feelings that we loose site of what actually happened.  Then we become the one that is actually causing "a situation."

God's word tells us to believe the best of others (1 Cor. 12:7).  We should always give people the benefit of the doubt.  We should give the the benefit of believing they only had good intentions toward us.  If we do that we can go about being happy. We also don't cause conflict where there was none until we open our mouths.

If we believe the best in others ...if we look beneath the surface to we can judge correctly.. we could save a lot of hurt feeling... usually being our own!!

Just this morning I was talking to Robby about a situation that was really bothering me!!  My feelings were hurt...and as I talked about it I felt more and more hurt.  I was even getting a bit angry.  Then God said to my heart...think about this person's intentions...this persons personality. I did! Once I did that I saw the whole situation so differently!!  And I...me... I felt much better about that person...and about me. 

It was so funny that I would read this verse today.. just after I had had to stop and look beneath the surface!!  I will now make more of an effort to do that in every situation where I feel even a little hurt or put out!!  I am going to save myself so much grief this way!! I am going to save others some of my grief too!!

Friday, May 11, 2012

5.11.12

John 6:44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who set me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

My Thoughts
Oh this verse is just exciting...comforting!!  This verse is telling us that if we ever even thought of seeking after Jesus it is because God wanted us! God sought us out and drew us to Jesus, drawing us to him. If you ever even had a question about Jesus, it is because God loves you...and wants you to love Him back. If you have stopped to read this... God has drawn you in ... because He Love You! When God put my One Year Bible in my hand through my son, He was saying to me..."I love you, Jeannie! I want you to know all about me...I want to give you love, and peace and joy. I want to give you the desires of your heart! I am seeking after you, you seek after my Son!" God chose me!!  God is choosing you!! That thought alone makes me know how much I am loved!! I hope it makes you feel loved too!!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

5.10.12

John 6:27 But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.  For God the Father had given me the seal of his approval."

My Thoughts
If we are not to be concerned about food... the most essential thing in life to keep us alive...then we sure don't need to be concerned about anything else.  God knows all our needs!!  Every single one of them..from what we need to eat... to the fact that we enjoy being entertained...and all the things in between!  If we spend our energy and time seeking God, seeking Jesus... Spending time with God... then everything else will fall right into place!! The minute we start spending time worrying, you know that worry I am talking about...the kind where you can't do anything else...you just pace and worry... that is when we need to pick up our Bible and seek after God... start reading His word out loud to Him... then everything else will fall right into line.  Worry doesn't change a thing!!  Pray does, seeking God in His word does, praise and thanks changes things...but worry, worry is a useless energy zapper.  That first inkling of worry that we feel should be our reminder to pick up God's word and start seeking after him!! Worry...that is spent energy with no return... seeking after the Son of Man that is spent energy with return greater than anything we can even hope to imagine!!

God is constantly telling me "Jeannie, worry is useless!  Just come and find me!" I am getting better little by little!!.. I just have to keep on keeping on!!!  Thank you Dearest God for this message!!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

5.9.12

Psalms 106:21-22 They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt-- such wonderful things in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.

My Thoughts
We get so busy with our lives that we forget, often, to take time for God!  We wake up in warm beds that God gave us, we go off to jobs that God provided for us, we eat until our tummies are way past full... food that God provided us with.  We enjoy entertainment in our homes each night, because God gave somebody the wisdom to create and invent, the ability to get these things in our homes.  We drive to work in cars that God made sure that we have.  We in America, even at our worse, life in such luxury. Then we get so busy, busy, busy using the things that God provided, that we forget about God completely.  We forget to send up praises and thank yous!!  We say we don't have time to read our Bibles so that we know God better, so that we know how better to please God, yet we make sure that we don't miss who got voted off of American Idol... or we don't miss Alabama or Auburn play football.

We hear the stories of how the Israelites were saved from Egypt... and how they witnessed such miracles...and we wonder how they could have ever forgotten God. Yet we see mothers and babies survive every day because God gave man the ability and knowledge to perform a cesarean... we have seen a pilot land a plane in the Hudson because God gave him the peace of mind to hear the Holy Spirit tell him just what to do... we see people survive and thrive because they are walking around with somebody else's organ in their body.  Last April thousands of lives were saved because God choose to give people the technology and wisdom to predict the weather and people got in a safe place.  We see miracles every day!!...Yet just like the Israelites we forgot to notice, we forget to remember. We forget God all together, we go about our busy lives enjoying so much..that we don't even know that we are in the middle of joy.  We grumble and complain. We forget to stop and be thankful... we forget to take time for God. We treat worship and praise and thankfulness like it is a chore instead of something that we are so blessed to be able to do. 

I wonder, sometimes, if God will keep protecting our rights that we don't use. Our rights to love Him, to worship Him. Our rights to read God's word, our rights to talk about how wonderful He is IF we continue to not use those rights, if we continue to treat those rights as a chore instead of a privilege.

We are so blessed with so much in America.  Our most important blessing is the right to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our minds (Luke 10:27). We need to be thankful for those blessings, we need to remember that they are blessing. We need to make sure we put God first, we need to make sure that God knows that we treasure Him. When we do that God will provide us with so much.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

5.8.12

Proverbs 14:30 A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like a cancer in the bones.

My Thoughts
I have noticed, now that I am paying attention... not just letting life happen around me, that when I don't do what I should do, that is when I am most likely to be jealous of others.  That jealousy leads to anxiety... anxiety leads to bad nerves... that leads to bad health!!

One example that I can think of is...when we take care of our money...then we have money when we need it... so we don't have the need to be jealous of somebody else that always has what then need exactly when they need it. Because we have done what we were suppose to do and we too have what we need when we need it.

We can get jealous of some body's success, without stopping to think that if we put forth that much effort we would be that successful too.

So often when jealousy creeps up is when we are worrying about somebody else's business instead of tending to what we need to be doing.

We are at peace when we choose to do what is right... we are at peace when we do what God ask us to. We are at peace when we stay busy fixing our own lives instead of judging the lives of the people around us. We are at peace when we focus on thanking God for all that we have instead of using all our energy to notice what other have that we don't.

When we get busy doing what God lays out for us to do...we don't have time to be jealous... then we avoid so much anxiety, depression, sickness. So much of what we go through can be avoided when we get busy pleasing God. God gives us exactly what we need to be happy, to be content...when we get our minds off of God and on people that is when jealousy creeps in and destroys our happiness. It is up to us..we can choose to be thankful and happy or we can choose to be jealous and end up destroyed. We have to be on guard of jealousy, it attacks just like a cancer... there so quietly you almost don't even notice until it's strength is so strong that it seems impossible to win the battle. That is why it is so important for us to be aware that jealousy and as soon as we notice it we need to make the changes in our lives that it takes ...to ask God for His grace... to start being thankful for all that we have...so that we can be healthy and happy.

Monday, May 7, 2012

5.7.12

Proverbs 14:29 People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.

My Thoughts
On of the virtues listed as Fruit of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  That means that as a child of God we have the ability to have self-control.  God through his grace gives us self-control no matter how angry we may feel.  God gives us the ability to choose our words wisely. To choose words that are not loud or hurtful. To choose actions that are not hurtful... God gives us, through his grace, the ability not to lash out. What we have to do is take a step back... talk to God about our anger and frustration... wait for His peace to settle on us...and ask him to give us the words so that the other person understand where we are coming from.  We need to to ask God to help us see the other person's point of view.  We also need to ask God for an open heart and an open mind. We need to ask God to help us choose the thing that would make Him pleased...not us, and not the other person. 

We always have a choice when it comes to anger because God gives us the Fruit of the Spirit!. When we take care of ourselves by growing our mind in God we are better able to access that fruit.  Prayer, time with God, reading God's word... they are to us like the right  fertilizer is to a fruit tree. It changes how much our fruit grows!!  If we find ourselves unable to control our temper we have probably not fertilized out hearts and minds enough with God and His word. It is a sign that we need to get busy making changes.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

5.6.12

Proverbs 14:27 Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death.

My Thoughts
Fear of the Lord is defined as having reverence, awe and great respect. If we have that than God protects us... Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain..I love that... fountains flow constantly and are never empty... they are refreshing and beautiful ...they are peaceful... God's love is all these things...we get to experience this wonderful love...the constant...full ... washing over you kind of love and peace if we just have reverence, awe and respect for God.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

5.5.12

John 4:14 "But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."

My Thoughts
Oh how I love this verse.  I have had Jesus in my heart for a very long time...but up until the last 2 and 1/2 years I didn't know how to know Jesus better...I didn't understand really how to know God better.  Then I started reading my Bible every day!!  Praying everyday!   The more I know God the more I love this verse!!

Before when I would read this verse..I would see this verse as Jesus coming and dieing for our sins...and if we believe we would have a place in heaven.  Now I see it as so much more.  I see it as hope!!!  I know now that when I feel desperate I first know that Jesus is praying for me all the time..then I know that I can go to God, because of Jesus...and say here is my problem... here is what I am facing ...and I know that God understands! I know even if life is a bit hard that all things work together or the good, for those who love him (Romans 8:28). That spring inside me is hope.. is faith that God is bigger than all my problems.  I feel refreshed as soon as I turn my desperation over to God. Now my desperation fades fast as I feel the love of God bubbling up inside me giving me hope in every situation!!  Every time is happens I am still amazed!!

Friday, May 4, 2012

5.4.12

Psalms 104:31 May the glory of the Lord continue forever! The Lord takes pleasure in all that He has made.

My Thoughts
I love how God tells me one day something I need to improve on..Yesterday. Then the next day He tells me how much he loved me! Today!  The Lord takes pleasure in all that He has made!!


Have you ever made something with you own hands? Then looked at it and thought "Wow!! Look what I did!! This is amazing!" When God made us... you and me... He looked down and took pleasure in us...he still looks down and takes pleasure in us. Even when we mess up! 

I have come to believe that God is disappointed in us when we don't try at all...not when we try and mess up... each time we try we move forward a little bit.  Even if we feel like we have failed...that it itself is a step froward.  Before we knew God and knew that we failed God we never had that thought. That thought in itself is a sign that we are doing better...being aware of where we need to improve is a step forward. When we are trying God looks down with us and He is pleased.

Yesterday God said "Jeannie this is something you need to work on!" Today God said "Jeannie I take pleasure in you!"  The thought makes me smile..it give me peace. It makes me feel loved!!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

5.2.12

Proverbs 14:21 It is a sin to belittle one's neighbor: blessed are those who help the poor.

My Thoughts
Belittle is defined as "to make something or someone feel unimportant" or to consider or speak of (something or someone) as less valuable or important than it really is."

It is a sin to make somebody feel like a nobody, it is a sin to talk about somebody, anybody like they are unimportant. It is a sin to treat anybody like they matter less than we do. It is a sin to talk about somebody like they matter less then we do. 

The thing is we are all created by God for a purpose!  We all matter to God. Some of us may not be as smart as others of us....some us of may not be as sweet as others of us.... some of us may not be as logical... some of us may manage money better than others of us... some of us may be more compassionate.  The thing is God made is all different because we all have a different part to play in this world.  A different purpose.

All Christians are in a different place in our walk with Jesus...learning and growing.  The people that don't yet believe in God ...well they just haven't gotten there yet...they just haven't had the right person in their path that makes them see Jesus in a way that they can understand who He is and how much He loves them.

We have to be really careful, really careful not to treat anybody like they don't matter... and we have to also be really careful no to talk about somebody like they don't matter.  We love believing that we matter to God, that we are important to God... we would want God to be sad with anyone that mistreats us.... what we have to stop and remember is that we ALL belong to God just the same... we are each and every one of us God's creation, God's treasure, God's child. If God would not want somebody to belittle us... he sure doesn't want us belittling anybody else.

Each person we come in contact with in a day, we need to stop and say to ourselves, "This is one of God's children. How would God want me to treat them?" and when we open our mouths and start to say something about somebody we need so think first "This is one of God children that I am about to talk about, what would God want me to say about them?" Wouldn't it be wonderful if everybody that came in contact with you/me, everyone that spoke about you/me, spoke of us like we were one of God's children and he was standing there listening! Then we need to do what Matthew 7:12 tells us to do... we need to treat others as we want to be treated. We need to treat others like they are a treasure to God and God is watching!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

5.2.12

Psalm 103:3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.

My Thoughts
From 1914 to 1977 Small Pox killed 300 to 500 million people... but has been eradicated since then because God gave someone the knowledge to create a vaccine.  Every day countless mothers and babies are saved because God gave somebody the knowledge to perform a cesarean.  Countless men and women go into the hospital one day and come out the next with a stint in their heart that saves theirs lives. People every day have their appendix's removed, or their gallbladders removed their lives are saved from what would have been death just a few decades ago. Now we see these surgeries as "no big deal." That is unless it is happening to us.

So many things that use to kill us are now "no big deal." Yet the first year nobody had small pox, or the first time a mother or child was saved from s cesarean, or the first time somebody had a infected appendix and a surgeon removed that appendix, these things were all considered a miracle!The accomplishment was celebrated!!! These things  were a miracle! They still are a miracle... just because they are "common" miracles does not make them any less a miracle. God is busy every day saving us from things...healing us... making us all better again.  God is busy giving people purpose by giving us  ability and knowledge...by making us a part of His miracles!  Everytime we are cured from a virus, or a disease is put in remission by a pill. God has preformed a miracle!  Yet we put those pills in our mouths and never even think to say "Thank you God!!"

I have complained about the pills I have to take...I have heard so many people complain about pills they are taking. We often don't even finish a bottle of antibiotics because we just don't like taking them. What we need to be doing...what I plan on doing this morning when I go and take my pills is to look up to heaven and say "Thank you God for this miracle you provide for my body today!"  How many times have you taken a round of antibiotics in your life?... Each and every time you did, each and every time I did, God was busy healing our diseases! We need to get busy thanking God.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

5.1.12

Proverbs 14:16 The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fool plunge ahead with reckless confidence.

My Thoughts
This verse tells me as Christians we are to carefully consider every actions we take... We can really mess up if we make a decision with reckless confidence.  I think this is  saying as Christians we often "think" we know what God would want and then we act without going to God first.  This is dangerous. We need to consult God in all that we do.  If we are going into a situation where we have to make a quick decision we should pray for wisdom before we get there.  It is so important to consult God in every situation. We are wise when we are cautious, when we make sure we are avoiding danger. We do this by going to God with all the decisions we make in our lives.