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







Sunday, August 31, 2014

8.31.14

Proverbs 22:13 The lazy person claims, "There's a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!"

My Thoughts
I always saw this verse before as lazy people making excuses. But today I saw it differently.  I saw it as a warning. A warning that if we do not keep busy Satan will have a chance for an open season with our thoughts. When he has such an opportunity he will use that chance to cripple our lives with fear. A fear so big that even the people around us have to use their time and talents to take care of us. If Satan can cripple one person in a family with fear, he can make the whole family less effective in reaching others for God. When we keep our hands and feet busy doing what God ask of us, Satan's opportunities to make his thoughts our own, he has less chance of taking over out lives and making ineffective for God. 

Saturday, August 30, 2014

8.30.14

2 Corinthians 4:7-8 We now have this light shinning in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed.  We are perplexed, but not driven by despair. 

My Thoughts
My immediate visual of these two verses together was a full milk carton. If the carton is full you can't crush it, but if it is empty and you press it on all sides it will collapse. It might give a little when pressed but the liquid inside keeps the carton from collapsing. 

We are like that carton, if our soul is empty of God, stresses of this world can crush us. But if we are full of the Holy Spirit we are able to stand strong. Not because we are strong, but because God is strong and we are filled with His Spirit.  When we feel like we are not strong  enough for the problems facing us, we need to take the lid off and fill ourselves back up with God's word. His word is who He is and it is powerful, it builds us up. 

God even tells us He will fill us overflowing. If you think of this added to the picture of the carton of milk...if the liquid is overflowing over onto the floor around us it will trip evil up before it even gets to is to try and crush us. I just love that thought. 

Friday, August 29, 2014

8.29.14

Proverbs 22:7 Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is a slave to the lender.

My Thoughts
Robby read this verse yesterday, I had to catch up today. He said this verse brought to his mind Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 

Then today I read this verse in my Bible reading and I couldn't help but think how right Robby was to connect the two verses. If we get so caught up in debt we so often feel that we can't do what God has called us to do. Husbands are called to provide for their families, but also to be the head of their families. If we get too in debt then dads, husbands are too busy working to pay the bills to be at home to be the head of the household. If God calls us to the mission field and we are in debt we may feel there is no way we can go. But if we have not put ourselves in debt, and we have equity in our homes there would be no problem in changing our loves and doing what God ask. 

How often do we choose to put something on credit because the would says that we "need" this or that to be "normal?" How often wood we put ourselves in debt so that we can look like the world? How often are we so busy looking like the world that we forget to ask God if He approves of our purchase?  You know I have asked God to please let me have something that I wanted. But I have never asked God, "do I need to buy this?" Shame on me! How different would my personal world look if I had been asking that question all along? 

We have been very blessed to be on the Dave Ramsey plan for the last 17 years, but we have been married 33 years. What would our lives look like now if each time we had just asked ?God first befor we spent money?  If God blesses us when we tithe, and he does..... if God blesses us when we stay out of debt, and He does......how much more would he bless us of we just asked befor we opened our wallets? 

I so love when God's word gives me something to think about, something that will improve my life on a daily basis. What a blessing it is that words written so very long ago can be life so changing today! 

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

8.27.14

2 Corinthians 1:24 But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.

My Thoughts
I love this! When we read God's word, and when we spend time learning and growing at church, we learn what God ask of us. But that plays out in each of our lives and in each of our personalities differently. And different things grow faith in each of us in different ways. Because God made each of us different. So as we help our brothers and sisters in Christ we should help them grow their faith and not expect it to look exactly like ours. After all we all have different strengths and different weaknesses. And we all have a past that changes how each of us see things, at least for a while.

We grow each others faith best by loving others, and by sharing our stories of how God has grown us. We grow best when encouraged. When cheered on as we take new steps toward a stronger faith. We never grow at all under a critical watch. Under a critical watch we can appear to grow, but if we are changing to look like other Christians, not growing because of true faith in what God tells us, then we will fall flat on our faces. Being like other Christians does not get us through the hard times, faith does. So we never need to spend our time figuring how to look like the people around us. We need to spend our time growing in God so that our faith is strong in Him. Then we will stand strong in the face of life's storms. 

This so speaks to us as believers who are helping others and as believers who are growing. When we help we need to be careful to share what we know without expectations of a certain outcome. And as a person growing in faith, we need to be sure we are trusting God to make us who He wants us to be. We need to be careful of trying to be the people around us. We have our own part as part of the body of  Christ and we need to nurture and grow our faith so that God can mold us into who He wants us to be. When we do that we are our strongest and we are more able to be a help to those around us. 

God loves us so much, He made each of us important in His Kingdom. We all have a part. The best way to be string in our part is to trust that God is growing us just like he needs us to be. And when we are what God grow us to be wonderful things happen in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. 

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

8.26.14Psalm 40:5 O Lord my God, you have preformed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. My Thoughts How wonderful it would be as parents to hear our children list just a few if the things we do . It would thrill our soul to know that they noticed. Here David says that God's wonderful deeds are to many to list. How often do we dwell on stressful things in our lives, or things we can even control?! So often! Jus thin if we started listing the things God does for us, or the epwonderful things we know God has done for others, people of the Bible or people we know. It would draw God near to us, just like it would draw us near to our own children if they were praising us as parents. It would get our minds off of our troubles. Every good and perfect thing comes from God, His word tells us so. So what if we started listing the things others have done for us. It would be praising God and lifting up our feelings about the people around us, all at one time. This simple act could clear our mind of stress while it built our faith in God and in our friends and family. It would even build our faith in Strangers around us. Life changing! God's word changes our lives if we only let it.

2 Corinthians 1:10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.

My Thoughts
When we are in mortal danger we are facing death. God rescues us from mortal danger. I wonder how often God does this in our lives and we don't even know it. Often when I am driving I think, "If God moved His had of protection over our country, we would know it right off. Wrecks would start happening on every street in every city all at one time." I think that very thought so often. We have no idea how many times a week God has protected us in our cars, from sickness, from a fall down the stairs. We take life for granted unless something bad is happening. Yet every time we get into our cars going at speeds that would make our founding father's heads spin, and arrive back home again. We have been protected by the mighty hand of God. And God does this for is over and over and over again. Because He loves us so very much. This alone should make us know that we are blessed. 

Monday, August 25, 2014

8.25.14

Psalm 40:5 O Lord my God, you have preformed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

My Thoughts
How wonderful it would be as parents to hear our children list just a few if the things we do . It would thrill our soul to know that they noticed. Here David says that God's wonderful deeds are to many to list.  How often do we dwell on stressful things in our lives, or things we can even control?! So often! Jus thin if we started listing the things God does for us, or the epwonderful things we know God has done for others, people of the Bible or people we know. It would draw God near to us, just like it would draw us near to our own children if they were praising us as parents. It would get our minds off of our troubles. 

Every good and perfect thing comes from God, His word tells us so. So what if we started listing the things others have done for us. It would be praising God and lifting up our feelings about the people around us, all at one time. This simple act could clear our mind of stress while it built our faith in God and in our friends and family. It would even build our faith in Strangers around us. 

Life changing! God's word changes our lives if we only let it. 

Friday, August 22, 2014

8.22.14

Psalm 37:37 Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful  future awaits those who love peace.

My Thoughts
I read this and thought of how wars were started with words. Oh what destruction words can do. The more I thought about this verse, the more I realized that we only truly love peace, only truly understand peace, when we learn to live at peace with the words that go on in our thoughts. How different would our lives be if we ask ourselves when we think something, "Would I say this out loud?" If the answer is "no" then we are not living in peace in our most private thoughts. True growth, or maybe ultimate growth is when we leant to love God's word in our minds. When we are totally honest not only with others but with ourselves. When we love to be at peace with our every thought. Can you imagine how much we can look forward to each new day with our thoughts at total peace? 

If you think about it, the future only exists in our thoughts. Because once tomorrow arrives, it is today, the present. So if we can learn to make our thoughts peaceful thoughts our future will always be wonderful. Complete rest of thought. God tells us not to worry about tomorrow. That tomorrow has enough worries if it's own. So if we can learn to start out our "today's" thinking only on what we can accomplish today, giving our "today" to God, focusing on acting in love just for today.  Taking control of only ourselves in this one day. If we could learn to be peaceful in just today, which is so doable, then we could so look forward to all our tomorrow's!

If we can learn to live in peace, at peace with ourselves, with our days that peace will flow over to our relationship with others.  


Thursday, August 21, 2014

8.21.14

Psalm 37:28-19 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that will last forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times, even in famine they will have more than enough.

My Thoughts
I love this. There was a time I read it and was actually terrified, I am so not innocent! But the more I know God the more I understand how he sees me as innocent when I love him! When I ask for forgiveness and learn and grow and do my best to be better! Now I read these words and think , no matter what comes my way, God will make sure I have food, that my tummy is full. If I live my life loving God the best I can. If I declare that God will take care if me, he will prove Himself by taking care of me.  That comforts me and gives me the determination to do my best! How awesome it is to be loved so much by our all knowing, all powerful God! 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

8.20.14

Psalm 37:7 Be still in the presence of The Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

My Thoughts
How often do we get lost in worry about the evil going on around us?  How often do we forget that God is bigger, stronger, in control? Here it tells us that no matter what is going on around us that we just need to get ourselves in the presence of God and wait patiently. We don't need to do anything else... Just draw god close with prayer His word, songs of praise! We only put off what God has planned when we think we have to take action. We just have to give it to God and be patient while we wait in His presence. God has our back. 

As I typed, "God has our back." I got a perfect picture in my head.... Us on our knees with our face to the ground, only our backs exposed. Isn't this the best way for God to protect our all? 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

8.19.14

1 Corinthians 12:22 In fact, some parts of the body that seam the weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

My Thoughts
This tells me that everything we do for God matters! Everything! And that when we do something so tiny, thinking of God, it may be that very thing that makes the biggest difference in somebody's life. We should never, ever, ever think that anything we do for God is too little to even count.

Recently, as I was being very aware to be thankful to God for the things in my day, I became overwhelmed by the little thing God does for me. I thought about how busy God is, about all that he stakes care of, yet he takes time to do the tiniest things for me. I was overwhelmed at that moment at just how much God loves me. That our awesome, mighty God would care to make sure I got a smile or a hug. That God would care that I got a close park when I was in a bit of a hurry. Yet He does! 

A few years ago when I finally grasp the verse "Every good and perfect gift comes from  God" James 1:17.  It actually took my breath away! I thought of how a smile from a stranger can come at just the right time to change your day, and how that very smile was .god smiling down at me from Heaven through a stranger. We are so blessed when we cover ourselves with a blanket to get warm. That very blanket that keeps us warm and snuggled in, is a gift from God. A soft pillow on which we lay our heads at night is a gift straight from  God. My husband reaching over to hold my hand in the quiet of the night, on his sound sleep is a Gift from God. 

So often we feel we need to do great things for God, and if we can't, we give up and don't try at all. But the truth is it is the little things that can change a life. And how dare us not take the time to do one of those little things. We never know when just a smile or a touch on someone's shoulder makes all the difference. 

My mother has been gone from this earth for three years and four months. There is not one big thing I miss about her, it is the seemingly little things. A phone call, her voice. How her eyes twinkled when she smiled. How her laugh sounded. How her tiny hand felt in mine. There is not one big present I remember her giving me, but I do remember receiving in the mail a picture out of a magazine, or a cartoon clip, with a simple "love, Mother" written on a tine slip of paper attached to the note. 

My children could probably not tell you the big things Santa brought. But I am sure when they see those number puzzles, or a top you spin. When they see one of those small kaleidoscopes ... They will remember Christmas mornings. 

All good things come from God. And when we take the time to thank God for all the good things in our day,  big and small, we can start to notice how the little things mean the most. And the more we are aware of this fact, the more aware we will be to be kind in even the smallest of ways. Because we will know that the smallest things matter the most. 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

8.12.14

Psalm 32:3-4 When I refuse to confess my sins, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

My Thoughts
I wonder how often we are hurting and exhausted because we are choosing to walk in sin? This verse made such sense to me when I thought of times when I have been upset at a situation in my life that it consumed me to the point of exhaustion.  I can look back now at the thoughts I was having over the situation, at my actions, and know that I was waking right in the middle of several sins, and I was not asking for forgiveness at all. Literally exhausted in the justification of my feelings. To the point of bringing on sickness in my body. Please don't judge me, we have all done it. Satan loves to set the wheels in motion in a situation that he knows will get our goat. He pushes out buttons. We, WE choose to live in the thoughts Satan puts in our heads. When our choice can be to confess our sins, actions or thoughts and walk in forgiveness towards others.

These verses tell me that the minute I feel all my energy leave my body to examine myself, my actions, my words, my thoughts and see where I am sinning. To confess those sins and move forward    behaving  like a child of God. Even if the people around us choose to act in a way that feels hurtful, we can choose not to heap more pain on ourselves or others by our actions. And we can choose to act in love by praying for the person or persons that we have been hurt by.  

The absence  of energy in the absence of hard work is our red flag to do better. Wow! This is huge. 

Monday, August 11, 2014

8.11.14

Nehemiah 2:4-5 The king asked, "well how can I help you?" 

With a prayer to the God of Heaven, I replied, "If it pleases the king and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.

My Thoughts
The king told Nehemiah yes. What stood out to me so strong in this passage was that before Nehemiah spoke he sent a prayer up to God. We/I should always do this before we open our mouths. You know it was not a long prayer, the king who had the power to have Nehemiah killed had asked him a question. It was a prayer in his heart as he was preparing to speak. Nehemiah had already prayed over the situation, and over speaking to the king. Now before he opened his mouth to give an answer he prayed to God again. 

How much different would our lives be if we prayed each time before we speak. How often would God give us the valor of others if we just practiced this kne small act? I believe it would be life changing. 

Sunday, August 10, 2014

8.10.14

1 Corinthians 6:3 Don't you realize that we will judge the angels? So you should surly be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this   life.

My Thoughts
Oh my! Can you imagine judging the Angels in Heaven? I can't! Oh I so can't. I can run from a dispute faster that you can imagine. I just hate them. I don't want to face them much less try to resolve them. I am like the Ostrich and love putting my head in the sand. I must learn to face them head on, asking God for His amazing wisdom. Can you imagine judging an angel who has lived all his life in the presence of God? I better learn to size up a situation with complete truth and raw honesty with myself and in great love with others. The thought of it takes my breath away! But it is written and I must learn to make the effort!