December 2, 2011 Journal Entry and Scriptures

Psalm 20:10-12 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 31:19-20 How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You. In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from the intrigues of men; in Your dwelling You keep them safe from accusing tongues.

Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgive, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

“And in whose spirit is no deceit” – I believe this part of the verse is here because sometimes we know that we are wrong or not doing the right things, but we try to go on as though we are somehow hiding this from God. In the past, I have tried to avoid God in certain areas of my life, or tried to somehow cover up, keep hidden, or pretend that my problem areas weren’t there. Now, I pray over everything openly with God – how can I hide anything from God!? That is ridiculous, really. We are being deceitful in our spirit when we try to act as though we don’t need God’s help in certain areas. We are being deceitful in our spirit when we don’t confess our sins and shine God’s light on them and allow Him to completely change us and renew us for His glory.

Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

We can either try, unsuccessfully, to cover and hide our sin in darkness and continue toward destruction and death – or we can open up with God, share our problems and weaknesses with Him, ask Him for His loving help and forgiveness, and allow Him to cover our sins with the blood of Jesus to the forgiveness of our sins and the regeneration of our hearts, our minds, and our souls. Praise be to God! I choose to open myself completely to You, Lord, to bring all of me to You, to confess all of my sins and needs to You and to allow You to mold me and use me for Your glory!

Psalm 32:6-7 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to You while You may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:8-10 (God says!) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him.

Psalm 62:5-8 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my Rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:11-12 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that You, O God, are strong and that You, O Lord, are loving. Surely You will reward each person according to what he has done.

Psalm 92:12-15 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.”

November 21, 2011 Journal Entry & Scriptures

Psalm 51 – written by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. David confesses and repents – a great prayer when convicted of sin. An example of the correct response of the heart!

Psalm 51:6 Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Psalm 51:9-12 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You.

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 71:20-21 Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.

Psalm 81 – another psalm of Asaph v 1-5 Reminds God’s people to observe the celebrations which honor God and bring to mind His love, deliverance, provision, and mercy. v 6-7 God says “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” v 8-16 God says, “Hear, O my people, and I will warn you – if you would but listen to me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the Lord Your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But My people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If My people would but listen to Me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before Him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the Rock I would satisfy you.”

In Psalm 81, I see that God truly loves us and wants to bless us abundantly. He says to open our mouths wide and He will fill it. He wants to warn us and speak to us – if we would just listen! He has delivered us, restored us, protected us, provided for us, blessed us with His very presence – yet we get busy with everything else and forget Him. He says to us, “I am the Lord your God,” not “the” God, but “OUR GOD.” He desires our love, our worship, our reverence, our attention – so that He can fill us with more, more of Himself. He is the only one who can truly satisfy us – mind, soul, spirit, and body. If we continue ignoring Him, rejecting Him, and choosing our way over His, then He will turn us over to our own stubborn hearts to follow our own devices – O Lord, please, NO! I know there is nothing good in us and apart from God and if we are left only to our own devices, plans, schemes, desires – the only outcome ends up in destruction, devastation, desolation – evil and death. There are more ways to die than just physical death. We can lose our mind, relationships can die, our spirits dwindle and perish when we do not seek God.

November 18, 2011 Scripture and Journal Entry

Psalm 18 is great. There are so many good verses in this psalm – here are just a couple of my favorites: Psalm 18:1-6 & 16-36 & 46-49

Psalm 18:28 You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Psalm 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

Psalm 18:35 You give me Your shield of victory, and Your right hand sustains me; You stoop down to make me great.

Psalm 18:36 You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.

Psalm 18:46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!

Psalm 78 Asaph is saying that we should tell our children all the praiseworthy things God has done – His power and the wonders He has done. He is saying that we should pass on to all generations, the decrees and laws that God set forth, and His great deeds so that our children will not turn away from the Lord, but they will trust Him, remember His deeds and His greatness and will keep His commandments. He says that if we teach our children of God’s laws, deeds, wonders and love, then they will not be like their forefathers – a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to Him. Then, Asaph goes on to give examples of how God’s people turned against Him time after time and how God performed miracles for them and provided for all their needs, and even their wants, out of His love for them. Yet, even though God  proved His love and care for them, they still did not trust or appreciate God. His anger burned against them and He showed His power by striking down the sturdiest of them, the young men. In spite of all this, they continued to sin. In spite of God’s wonders, they did not believe.

Psalm 78:34-39 Whenever God slew them, they would seek Him; they eagerly turned to Him, again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter Him with their mouths, lying to Him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to Him, they were not faithful to His covenant. Yet He was merciful; He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

Then, v40-64 of Psalm 78 goes into more detail of God’s wonders and His people’s rebellion. Finally, v 65-72 tells of the Lord, once again, showing mercy to His people and then choosing a servant, David, from the sheep pens, to shepherd God’s people.

I would like to focus on v34-39 of Psalm 78 for me to remember and constantly check my heart and be sure that I am not just running to God in times of distress or trouble. I’ve got to praise You, Lord, in the good and in the bad times. There is no time when you are not with me! You are ever-present! I never want to find myself, where I once was, like the people described in these verses. Yes, they knew God’s wonders, His laws, and He loved them, showed them mercy, provided for them, delivered them, and disciplined them. But they didn’t truly believe and trust God. They eagerly ran to God when trouble came, when He reminded them that they needed Him. But, as He gave to them even what they wanted, not only what they needed, they became content, satisfied with what they had, and forgot to honor God, to remain loyal, and faithful to Him. They would say the right words, get God’s attention, get what they wanted, and then sit down and go back to the attitude that they were doing okay, and God would be there “if they needed Him.” O Lord, forgive me for being this way in my life. I see now that is one way I kept drifting so far from You, to places in my heart I dared never go – places I didn’t dream existed within me. Lord, I wish to dwell with You forever – to cherish time with You, hearing from You, praising You, and honoring You with all that I am. And praise You, Father – in v38 & 39 – it says that even though Your people continually forgot to honor You, You were merciful! You forgave their sins and You did not destroy them. You remember, Lord, that we are flesh, weak – Psalm 103:14 – You know how we are formed – You remember that we are dust. Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy and forgiveness and understanding and for all the chances and lessons that You have given me – for where You have brought me from and for where You are taking me. I know that I can trust You to complete the good work which You began in me.

November 3, 2011 Scriptures and Joural Entry

Psalm 33:4 For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does.

Psalm 33:12 (Be in prayer for our country!) Blessed in the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.

Psalm 33:15 He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

Psalm 33:20-22 We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.

While reading Psalm 33:20-22 and especially verse 21, it struck me that as we wait upon the Lord, our hearts rejoice in Him. Waiting on God and putting our hope in Him, is not a time of sitting around and doing nothing. Waiting for the Lord to do something on our behalf or open the doors He wants us to walk through, is not just a time of sitting back and doing nothing. During this time we are not only exercising our faith in Him by putting our hope in Him, we are to be rejoicing. “In Him our hearts rejoice.” Because we trust in His holy name, because we know that He is our help and our shield, because we know that He is on our side and wants only what is best for us, we rejoice! As we wait on the Lord, putting our faith to work and resting all of our hopes in Him, we praise Him, we worship Him. “In Him our hearts rejoice.”

Psalm 63:7-8 Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Exciting News for 2fools4Christ

Our Lord has really been making things happen. He is always at work whether we see it or not. We can believe that He is perfecting all there is concerning us and take great peace in knowing that He is all He says He is! (Psalms 138:8 and Philippians 1:6)

We have not given an update in quite a while. There have been a lot of things happening!

We were able to take in my great-nephew almost a year and a half, ago. He just turned 2 years old and is doing very well. His parents are also doing well, both are in long-term, residential recovery programs.

I have been doing a lot of volunteer work with various ministries and individuals with publications and marketing, as well as serving on a team with Kairos Outside of North Alabama. About a year ago, I began helping others to publish their books with KDP, where they could sell them on amazon.com and tons of other distributions as e-books and paperbacks. I self-published my own books, too. I felt led to start a business called PS95 PRESS to be able to help bring income into our house so we can be more of a blessing to others, get out of debt eventually, and get a bigger house. Everything has not come full circle just yet, but I am trusting in God’s timing and His love to lead us onward and upward for His glory.

Jerry has been self-employed for the past couple of years doing landscaping and working as a mobile mechanic. As his faith and confidence in the Lord are growing, he has been working more for himself as a mobile mechanic instead of being contracted as a landscape laborer. He does love to work outside and do landscaping, but he loves to work on cars and help other people more. He finally has been focused on the mobile mechanic business in the past few months and has seen a big increase in repeat and new customers. We both know that it is all because of our Lord and His hand on our lives. We could do nothing without Him but with Him we can do all He has called us to do. He sends customers and business just at the right times and He sends customers who need us as well as those who are a blessing to us. Sometimes Jerry gives people a big break just because he knows they need it. Other times, people pay him above what he asks, and you know that is God’s favor! I am also grateful to see that even though there have been a few that have tried to take advantage, that God reminds us that He rewards us for our labor, and we have been at peace and have been provided for, even when some have not paid. I am thankful to not speak ill of them or seek any revenge, but to have the Lord’s peace in these times and His heart of love is an indescribable joy that cannot be explained. Like I said, most of the time, we are blessed and are able to be a blessing and even when it may not seem like it every once in a while, we can go by what we know and not what we see in that moment.

Most of all, I want to tell you that God is faithful and He has been continually working in us to grow our faith and mold us more into His character. Of course we make mistakes every day, but I thank the Lord that instead of beating us down, He lifts us up by forgiving us, and teaching us. I have learned to seek His face early, every morning, over the past few years. He never fails to encourage me and to remind me of His love. He reminds me to tell the enemy to shut up and be silent because he has no power over me. The Lord gently reminds me to use soft words during the day and trust Him. When I blow it and yell at the kids or get frustrated, He is so sweet to remind me that He does not treat me that way and then He gives me another chance to learn and practice His will. He reminds me that I don’t have to be frustrated because I know that He is going to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He reminds me of all the times that I messed up, but He made it right. He reminds me of the times when I thought all was lost, but He made a way and showed me the way. His faithfulness is on full display in my life. No, I am not always faithful even though I want to be and wish that I was with all that I am. But, His faithfulness can be seen because He is the one who sustains us. We would not be here, still today, married and happy with three beautiful, intelligent, smiling children if it were not for Jesus!

The books I have helped to publish are:

Mary Priddy, My Redeeming Mess

Dr. Louise Leigh, PhD, Heart Bridge

Lloyd Renaud, Renaud’s Kingdom of Reality

Angela Dingler, From Affliction and Refinement to Fulfillment: Inside My Process

and The Lost and Found Merry-Go-Round, Poems

A couple of the websites that I have helped and set up are: dazedandroastedcoffee.org

and projectamericanlife.com

I have also helped the Offender Alumni Organization with fundraising, print and promotional items, as well as social media graphics. Visit them on Facebook @OffenderAlumniAssociation

Always, to God our Father be all the glory through Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord and Savior and in the power of His Holy Spirit and Love!