PLANNING AHEAD I always plan ahead. I keep track of everything we use and buy more when we get low. I take out my jewelry to match my clothes the evening before, take out of the freezer what I’m going to make the next evening the evening before. Sometimes I’m wrong, like planning to to go the boat and have it rainiing when we wake up. One day we left the house and it was so sunny, I put the shade down to protect the furniture from the sun. We didn’t go far or for long, just errands, but we drove home in a cloudburst. At least it washed the car. The big black clouds seemed to come out of nowhere. Another day we left beneath heavy clouded skies, sure it was going to rain, but got home to bright sun. Still another day we drove through a rain storm coming home and it was raining at our house too. As Ecclesiastes 9:12 says just as we cannot predict the weather at our house, we cannot know our future sources of joy or sorrow. God doesn’t need to plan ahead. He knows the whole future throughout eternity! We must leave all in God’s hands. “Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love. Our God is an awesome God! " “Here’s a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. ‘Don’t worry. Be happy!’ “
NEED TO SPRAY FOR WEEDS EVERY DAY Living in Florida, between the humidity and the rain, we have LOTS of weeds! We use a poison called Roundup when the weeds are too numerous for me to pull. All last week, I needed to spray the weeds EVERY day!! It made me think of our sins. Most of us are unaware of our own sins, but we are of other people's. We are flesh. We sin, we all fall short, as Paul told us in Rom. 3:21-23. Jesus also said, as reported in John 9:36-41, that if we confess our sin, He will forgive us. I pray every day for the Lord to reveal my sin to me so that I can confess it and not do whatever it is again. Our sins are like the weeds. They might begin so tiny. like the ones I overlook when I am pulling weeds, but if not uprooted, they DO grow! You will be surprised if you pray as I do, and He does reveal your sin to you. I am so very thankful that He does, and to know that I am forgiven, paid for by His life. Washed by the blood! “My Jesus, I love Thee. I knowThou art mine. To Thee all the follies of earth I resign. My blessed redeemer, my savior art Thou. If ever I loved you, my Jesus is now."
SHOWING THE SPIRIT One must be blind and deaf not to be aware of the changes in society. It is a truism that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It is heartbreakingly true. The pattern our country is going through is no different than Israel of the Bible. We began with an unshakable faith in God. It is in our Declaration of Independence. Now those were voted into power want to remove all mention of God from all public places. No opening prayers a public meetings, no ten commandments in courthouses. While it breaks our hearts, and we do what we can to vote those out who succumb to the media and public pressure, we MUST remember, Jesus told us this would happen! (Matt: 24:4-12) We have a choice. We can go through the day ringing our hands and fretting, or we can trust that God IS in control and we know the end of the story. Jesus said "By your fruits they will know you." Gal. 5:22 lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit within every believer. When people meet me or you do they see and feel the Spirit’s peace, joy, love, patience kindness, gentleness, goodness, perseverance and self control?
ASKING FOR HELP When I have trouble with something, like dropping my earring, I think, “Lord, You knew I was going to do that”. Or when I have trouble getting the earring in, I think, “Lord, you knew I would have trouble. I have not Your help because I didn’t ask for it. Please help me, Lord.” He always does. If you need help in anything, ask the Lord and ask people to pray for you! He knows what you need before you know you need it and He loves you SO much. He WILL help you!
FAITH Faith is believing what we cannot see. Whether a Christian or not, EVERYONE has faith! For example, I don’t believe there is anyone who doubts there is oxygen in the air. We breathe it. Or that water is made of hydrogen and oxygen. Tell them that is faith and they’ll just laugh. Like the faith in oxygen or water, our fith is based on fact. Every word of our Bibles is true. God did create the world and everything that is in it. He did allow satan to deceive mankind. He knew from before there was time that we would sin, do what is evil in His sight. And He knew tht one day, He would send His only son, born of a womanto live and die and live again that we would know right from wrong and that if we believe Christ’s death paid for all that wrong doing, all that sin, we, too, will have eternal life with Him, not here, but in heaven, where there are no tears, only joy. One day we will really be home! Again a song, “The joy of the Lord will be my strength. I will not waver walking by faith. He will be strong to deliver me safe. The joy of the Lord is m strength!” I keep praying for the salvatiion of ALL of our unsaved loved ones and hope you are too.
WATCHING FOR THE SIGNS Our inlet is dredged so sailboats won’t run aground getting to intracoastal waterway or out to the ocean. Actually, internationally many countries do and the markings for the channels are the same, Red right returning, Green right going. They are large red and green signs. When we were in the Bahamas, one day we too our dinghy around to the town, instead of walking or biking there. We passed a sailboat that had run aground while coming into the channel. Later, I talked to the woman who had been aboard. She said they didn’t see the markers. I thought, “How could she not?” For those of us who are older, we’ve know how our country’s culture and values have changed. Things that were not even heard of and now accepted as normal, homosexuality, Transgenderism, abortion, divorce. Jesus warned us in Luke 23/29 of such changes as a precursor to Jesus’s return and the end of time as we know it. And when He comes those who believe Jesus is God in the lash, that He died to pay for all our wrong doing and our Father raised Him from the dead will be taken to heaven. (John 1:12) Those who do not believe will spend eternity in hell. Many of us have unsaved loved one. PLEASE pray for the salvation of ALL our unsaved loved ones!
NOT USING ABILITIES GOD HAS GIVEN YOU Whether taking our boat along the intracoastal with Palm Beach on one side or going through a channel in the Bahamas, there are homes with large docks and no boat in any of the spaces. I makes me sad to think of all the money they paid for those docks they don’t use. It also made me think of all the things and abilities God has given each of us that we don’t use. For example, our health. My cardiologist was SO happy to hear every day and evening we can we walk either the mile around our development or two miles across the street to look at the ocean and through the development next door. I wonder how many Christians have good health now, but do things to hurt themselves, like drinking alcohol or smoking, or don’t use the abilities God has given them. My Sweetheart was an aeronautical engineer and any problem with our computers, he’s my Cleaver Computer Man. When we met, I was teaching English and business at Palm Beach then Community College, now State College. God has given me the ability to write, and I am grateful He has given me the ministry to write these Smiles. But are YOU using the gifts He’s given you. If you have a beautiful voice, do you sing in a choir? Perhaps your gift is for listening, or encouraging, visiting people who have no one, teaching or any of the manifold gift with which He has blessed us.
ALL PART OF A GREAT WHOLE Crumbling the rest of a loaf of bread we'd bought and throwing it over the side for the fish, made me think if all of us Christians. Each of us is like the crumb of bread. Of ourselves, we are nothing but crumbs. But together we are a large valuable loaf. the crust, our leaders is what hold the read together. It is like the jigsaw puzzles I like to put together. Although the frame defines the size of the puzzle, every piece is essential and taken together, they make a beautiful picture. We Christians are like that loaf of bread and jigsaw puzzle. Every one of us is essential, but none of us alone is precious or even necessary. We all need to as the Gospels encourage us to do, helping and encouraging each other. Doing so as Christians, we will stand out so different from any other group of people.
CRUMBLING BODIES, HEAVEN WAITING Getting older sometime gets depressing, having to slow down, having trouble remembering things that are usually not important anyway, seeing my wrinkled skin and greying hair. I was hard boiling an egg and it occurred to me that our bodies are like that egg shell! When I hard boiled the egg I cracked the shell and peeled the egg and threw away the shell. Our bodies are like that shell. Everyone’s body WILL die and decay. But our souls, the truly precious part of us, who we really are, will never die. For all of us who know that Christ was God, come as a human, died to pay for all we ever do or did wrong, and was raised from death by His and our Father, we have heaven waiting for us. "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!”
OUR FATHER I hope yesterday was a Happy Father’s Day! You were blessed if you had a loving, caring father. Not all do. But we all have the same most wonderful, loving Father in heaven! My book, Building Trust is about Him, our heavenly Father. We all know He loves us so much He sent His own Son to earth to die to pay for all our wrong doing, but that is not all. Like all good parents, He told us what we need to do to grow up to be men and women of God. He told us what would happen if we obey, that He will bless us, and he has, and what will happen when we disobey. When we do, as in getting prideful or taking His name in vain, the Holy Spirit convicts us. How thankful I am to know our Father! Again, often I sing in my head, “Thank you , oh my Father, for sending us your Son and leaving your Spirit ’til the work on earth is done.”
GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE We lived 11.5 years in Tucson, AZ desert country. As a couple of friends from there wrote me last week, the temperature now is in the triple digits. Hard for some to take. But it is dry heat. We ran evaporate coolers. With doors and windows open, the system puts water into the air to be evaporated and cools the air as it does. I loved having the house open and get cooler at the same time. Here in Florida for 12 years, we have humidity! One might complain of all the rain, but the trees, bushes and flowers abound. It is so beautiful out! Depending on our frame of mind, we can look at our present circumstances and complain, or we can focus on our blessings and be happy and thankful. If for nothing else, sing, “Thank you, oh my Father, for sending us your Son and leaving Your Spirit ’til the work on earth is done!” And we are all blessed with work He has for us to do and He enables us to do the work He has called us to do.
RAIN NOURISHING As I wrote last week, rain and more rain! The grass, trees, flowers and bushes love it. They are so green and beautiful. But for us humans, what a pain. Enough is enough. Those who do not believe that the Bible is true, like most of my family, God’s word are like us with all the rain. They don’t want to hear it. With a broken heart I pray for the salvation of all of our unsaved loved ones!! BUT, we who do believe are like the plants getting water when we hear or read the Bible. Happiness fills our souls and songs fill my brain. “My Jesus I love you, I know You are mine. To me all the follies of earth I resign.”
EXTRA POWER TO GET THERE At sea, just going & going. No sense of getting there. Need extra power to get there! Current events get me down, like the news in the paper or on TV. But, like David in the Psalms, when I remember all God had done for us and that He is with me and within me every minute, how He lifted me out of despair into places of peace and great happiness, I fell the joy of The Lord. And, of course, I sing, “The joy of the Lord will be my strength. I will not waver walking by faith. He will be strong to deliver me safe. the joy of the Lord is my strength.”
TURNING AWAY FROM THE TRUTH I learned many lessons about God over the course of the trip. I’ll write about them in the coming weeks. For example, on the balcony on the ship, I was watching people return to the ship. Those people will be welcomed until time to depart. It made me think of the Jews of the Old Testament who turned away. Every time they turned away and returned to God and His commandments, God welcomed them. Unlike the people of the boat, people of today don't know when The Lord will return and it will be too late. If you have turned away, now is the time to humble yourself, return to Him Who died that you too will be welcomed in heaven when you die. and for those of us who know and worship Him, it will, as the song goes, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!”
OUR FATHER WATCHING OVER US While driving from the shooting range, I was looking at the many wires overhead, wires bring folk electricity and telephone wires. I thought of all the people who had worked to put those in, the time it took and the distress of the people if one of the wires was down. We are SO blessed, we don’t need any of that to be in contact with God! He knows every thought, hears every word. Our Father is watching over us. Jesus is beside every believer and the Holy Spirit is within each of us. Ask for help, and He is there to help. Think a quick prayer of thanksgiving and He knows. How thankful we must be.
MOUNTAINS SURROUNDING LIKE GOD ALL AROUND US Las Vegas reminded me very much of Tucson in that it is like being in the bottom of a cereal bowl with mountains on all four sides. It ruly made me think of God with His arms around each of us. hugging, telling each of us believer in Christ how much he loves us and that all will be okay. When you might be sad or down in the dumps remember that God’s arms are around you and that He loves you more than any person ever could.
WORKING FOR THE LORD The development we live in is beautiful! BUT it takes much work to keep it that way, grass to be mowed, bushes and trees to be trimmed. Some people think of reading as work. “I have to read….” But reading our Bibles should be a joy. Being Jewish, I could focus on the many, many times my people were so blessed then turned away from the Lord. When we focus on getting things or doing things instead for how we are blessed and praising Him, it is like the Israelites who turned away from God. In the Bible, I focus on how He blessed and forgave them every time they returned to Him. What a joy to have the Holy Spirit within us. Read your Bible and take joy in YOUR salvation! Peace and joy are two of His fruits! May He bless you with these fruits!
GETTING RID OF STAIN OF SIN When we were painting the privacy wall around our house I got bits of paint on myself. I tried chipping them off with my fingernail and rubbing them off, but neither worked. I needed some turpentine on a cloth.A little turpentine and I easily wiped away al the little dabs of paint. It made me think of our sins. We ALL sin. Even little sins, like feeling proud of myself is a sin and stains my soul. Being ungrateful for all you have instead of always thinking of what you want. When I realize I’ve sinned, I am aghast and SO very thankful I know it was for my sin, and yours, he endured the cross to pay for them. As the song goes, “What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus!” I hope the Holy Spirit makes you aware of your shortcomings too, that you repent of them and that you too are so very grateful to know you are forgiven.
LET THE SON SHINE IN We were in the boat yard about to have lunch when the sun went behind a cloud. WOW! The difference in the temperature, especially with the wind blowing! It suddenly got really cold. The sun brought so much warmth. It made me think of the Son, our savior. When I sing , “Oh let the sun shine in", I”m really thinking, “Oh let the Son shine in”, because with the light of Jesus we can face anything. The next verse is “Face it with a grin.” and ends with “Open up your heart and let the Son shine in!” When you do you will be able to sing, “This little light of mine, I”m going to let it shine very day, every day every day.!”
MULTITASKING Being ambidextrous, I am a natural for multitasking. For example, while I’m pouring water into our coffee pot with my left hand, my right hand is getting a tea bag into my cup and getting out a packet of Splenda. I water our protected potted plants early in the morning. So while the water is running into a pot, I start the water in the coffee pot and get out whatever dishes we’ll need. We all have what a friend from Tucson calls “Puny brains.” No one can really comprehend that God is everywhere, working in believers’ lives at the same time! Our God IS an awesome God!
GOD KNOWS EVERY PERSON We were driving somewhere, stopped at a red light, and were astounded by the number of cars on the road, going in all four directions, easily well over 100 cars altogether. What overwhelmed me was not the number of the cars, but the thought that God knows everything about every person in all those cars. He knows their history, their present, their future, their beginning and ending, their hopes and fears, everything. And not only those people, but every person on the planet now and who ever was and who ever will be! And he loved us enough to come and live among us and die to pay for our shortcomings, rising again alive to show us our future that awaits because of our faith! As my favorite psalm, 139, says in verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high for me to attain it.” How can we not worship Him with every breath?
SHIFTING TIDES We were having lunch at boat on the mooring when tide changed. The shift in tide slowly and gently turned the boat around completely. By the time we'd finished lunch, the boat was facing the opposite direction than when we'd gotten there. The shifting tide made me sadly think of our country and culture. That is, in after about 6 hours, the tide will turn the boat back around to where it was when we ‘ gotten there. The sadness is because with the boat, the shift is natural and always turns the boat. I cannot imagine what it will take to right our media's work to Godly reflection and values. 30-40 years ago, killing babies before they were born was not protected or condoned. The was no such thing as LGBT., much less the push to tell us there is nothing wrong with what God’s word calls an abomination (Lev. 20:13) But for us, we have God’s word to direct us and the Holy Spirit to teach us right from wrong. How thankful we must all be for His opening our eyes to recognize the evil around us.
GETTING DISTRACTED Walking through the beautiful, peaceful development, we are accosted by the loud sound of the leaf blower. I said it sounded and looked like he was following us. My Sweetheart said, “Distraction. Noise of the world.” That really struck home. It is, in fact, easy to get distracted by noise of the world, like the bad news in the local paper or national news. BUT we can not only shut it out, but we can spread sunshine in this dark world. Remember the endless blessings each of us has. Wear a smile instead of a frown or grim look. A smile is contagious. As the saying goes, “Smile and the world smiles with you.” You know me and my songs. The advice to myself and to you is do as this song says. “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!” In doing so we will just being obedient. Jesus told us, “Let your light before men in such a way they will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16) So, let YOUR little light shine and light up the room with your smile.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH This time of year the snow birds are down . More people have moved here too. The number of cars on the road during the day is phenomenal. I've never seen so much traffic when we're out and about. Yet, it all goes away when we turn into our development. Except when the landscape people are working,, our development is so beautiful and peaceful. The difference is like between night and day. I SO looking forward to heaven! The difference of the peace of driving into our development is nothing compared to the joy that awaits us when we are at last with and worshipping Him! As the song goes, " When we all get to Heaven what a day of rejoicing tat will be. When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!”
FEELING DOWN Between the election, having children who never call or text, day after day of cloudy skies without rain and looking for movies to get at the library being 90% R rated, it is SO easy to get discouraged! Whenever I start to feel down, I pray to and receive joy from the Holy Spirit, one of His fruits. (Gal. 5:22). He brings to my mind the words of the song, “The joy of the Lord will be my strength.” Any time you are lacking any of the Fruit’s of the Spirt, just ask. As Jesus promised, “Ask and it shall be given to you.” (Matt. 7:7)
WINDSHIELD WIPERS Our car has windshield wipers that come on automatically when the sensor in the windshield senses water, even a mist. As we were driving, it started to mist. Our windshield got fuzzier and fuzzier until the wipers started and our windshield was clear. The Holy Spirit is both our sensor and automatic windshield wiper to see our sin. First He convicts of of our sin. (Jn. 16:7-8) And how thankful we must all be we have the Holy Spirit to convicts us of our sin, so we know when we are doing wrong. I once had a Bible study student ask if worrying was a sin. I thought about it and said, “Your worry shows you are not trusting God.” the Holy Spirit had convicted her, but she was still uncertain until she heard a reason why it was wrong. Then, if we confess our sin, He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn. 1:9) Again. how thankful we must be!
MEN PRAYING DURING INAUGURATION It was a wonderful surprised to watching the inauguration of President Trump! Three men prayed during the service. Franklin Graham even referring to Christ! I was surprised and delighted because of our society today and the force with which they are trying to keep God out of our country.It reminded me of the day while eating on the boat, we watched a small group of birds fly by, against a very strong wind. (That’s why we didn’t go sailing that day) We were both surprised at the progress they made.for it was very good, despite the force of the wind they faced. A physical picture of the reality we face. But, like the birds, we MUST NOT give up!
VERY LARGE FAMILY The lesson I learned, I”ve written about before. What a joy it is for me that God has given me the ob of encouraging other Christians, for I found Christians from literally all over the world, not only shop keepers in the Bahamas. One waiter from Macedonia with whom I talked for a long while, had been turned off to”religion”. He asked if I was Protestant or Catholic. I answered that it didn’t matter, that we are saved by...then I recited the gospel. I told him it is not a certain prayer or ritual that saves, it is the faith. I wish you could have seen the smile, the joy when he realized he was saved regardless what church or Bible translation, what ritual or say certain things, that we are saved by faith not of works, lest we boast. (Eph. 2:9). Seeing that acceptance in him, you should have see his joy when I said, “If you truly believe Jesus was who He said He was and that all that is written in the Bible is true, you are my little brother in Christ.” We are in a VERY large family.
TIME TO PRAY After telling a young woman I would pray for her if she had any problem, she looked incredulous and asked, “When do you have time to pray? Our lives are too busy.” I was shocked by her question because I pray all the time, as we are exhorted to do in 1Thes. 5:17. When I told her this she queried, what do you pray about? I pray for the salvation of loved ones many times a day, I pray for those in government, for healing of friends and family, for those being persecuted because of their faith, for the believing families with young children, for believing pastors, for missionaries, for our safety when we get in the car, for any other prayer requested people have asked me for, and endless prayers of thanksgiving! She asked when I have time, whenever I am not in conversation with someone. If I am awake, I am praying. If you have anything you’d like me to pray about, let me know.
SOME IN SUNSHINE, SOME IN RAIN In Sailing under semi-cloudy skies, I watched as the clouds shaded one tall condo that stood beside one that was in the sun. The one under the cloud was so dark, dark grey. The one in the sun right beside it was white! It made me think of people, how some people do little else then complain. If it is sunny, it is too sunny. If it is cloudy or raining, they don’t like that either. If traffic is light, they complain when they get to a red light, etc. Those are the people under the cloud. They sure don’t feel the joy of the Lord! Then there are those, hopefully you, who smile nearly all the time. They bring sunshine into a room by just being there, happy to be alive, with whatever health they have and love they get. We who have been washed white by the blood of the Lamb, are blessed beyond measure and should be like that white building, not under a cloud.
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS I was noticing the Christmas decorations everywhere we went, at home, on the street, in stores, in church. Beautiful. Always dark, shiny, bright green leaves and deep dark red flowers. I realized they were all symbols of Christ’s life and death! He came as a baby, grew to an adult and will come again, full of life, dark green. His red blood at the cross was spilled to cleanse you and me from all the guilt and sin. While our eyes may be caught by the beautiful red flowers and our minds focus on His crucifixion that is NOT all there is to the flower! The green leaves are the new life we have and the promise He is coming back1 What a joy to ponder that as we face another year.