Thinking about how God designed you especially like He wanted. A poem I wrote about that:)

The Design

An oak tree can’t become a pine

by wishing it were so.

A pine cannot become an oak,

its leafy bowers grow.

But in the wishing dawns a truth

that just amazes me.

Our God has made us all with care

just as He’d  have us be.

We’re beautiful, our Father says,

with purpose and design.

If we become like someone else,

we miss His plan divine.

So if you start to doubt your worth,

remember what is true.

You’re custom-made by God alone,

to be uniquely you.

Much love to all! Enjoy being YOU today and always!

Tina

Do you check the weather report daily so you know what to wear? I do! It makes me feel prepared for the day if I am dressed for what I know may come. Rain, snow, sun and wind require different clothing and being prepared may prevent some problems.

It’s the same way with our spiritual lives, only maybe we don’t check the conditions of our soul as often? Why is that, seeing as our soul weathers all kinds of trials, temptations, storms, hurts and sins?

We know these things will come, but why are we not more prepared?

In my humble opinion, it’s because we cannot control the weather, but we seem to think we can handle most of what life throws at us, on our own, until we can’t.

Then, we (myself included) look to God for help. And, of course, He is always there for us.

Maybe, just maybe, we could prevent the jolt of these surprises by praying for wisdom ahead of time, patience before we encounter a difficult client, and strength, before ours runs out. Maybe the storms would not be so bad that we feel drenched?

Here’s a verse for some inspiration for today!

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Just a thought for today:) With love from the Father to you, have a “prepared by prayer” kind of day!

Tina

It’s a poem day! Sometimes we need a little refreshment, rest and recharge in a busy world, agreed? That’s what this poem is about. Nothing in the world can satisfy like time alone with God!

Freshen Me

Make me fresh with rivers of Your love

And give me rest from all my worldly cares

My soul needs only Your help from above

Release my being from the stress it wears

Show me light that only pure can give

And guide me right to holiness and good

For You alone can teach my soul to live

Deliver healing now where hurt has stood

Take my cup that’s full of shallow thought

And empty it for portions of Your grace

I want to give up all that I have sought

And make my mission just to seek Your face

And…Because the enemy and world will seek us often, daily and forever, we need to seek God often, daily and forever!

With love from the Father to you, have a great and refreshing start to your week!

Tina

Good morning! It’s a poem day! This picture stirred my heart, as Jesus loves us, His little lambs, so very much.

             I Love You, Lamb

I love you, lamb. I’ve got you now.

I’m joyful that you’re home.

Where did you go, my little lamb?

Why did you want to roam?

Did something lead you far away?

What did you hope to find?

Did somewhere else seem better than

The pasture that is mine?

The world out there is scary lamb.

Things aren’t all that they seem. 

Though shiny things will catch your eye

Don’t fall for things that gleam.

Let me be your guide, my lamb.

I truly know what’s best,

For I was once a lamb myself,

My life put to the test.

You’re worth my life, oh precious lamb

So that you live what’s true

At times you’ll have to suffer some

But then I’ll carry you.

I’ll protect you always, lamb

And if you graze with me,

You’ll feed on truth and joy and love

For all eternity.

² Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”Matthew 26:27-29

Resurrection Sunday came and went, but my heart is still celebrating. Yours too? What a wonderful God we serve! It’ll take forever to praise Him enough.

And that’s what He bought for us, our forever with Him!

When Jesus was raised to life…

He raised hope.

He fulfilled prophecies.

He declared our debt paid.

He proved God’s  power.

He exemplified perfect love.

He gave all He could.

It blows my mind all that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit accomplished in three days! Our pastor put his heart and soul into showing us God’s perfect heart and plan.

God’s awesomeness propels my soul to sing, praise and bow to Him and proclaim Easter every day!

Dear Lord and King, One day a year is not enough to praise You fully, because Your goodness never ends.Guide my heart to treat You like the King you are and the servant I am, every day. Thank You for loving us enough and so much! Amen

With love from the Father to you, have an amazing day:)

Tina

It’s a poem day! I was deeply moved by my church’s Good Friday praise service to write this …

Glory In my Soul

At times I cannot see the hope, the glory that’s to come

but my soul’s vision never fails to point my heart toward home

The hope that is invisible dwells ever in my soul

The Lord lives there and guides my voice to make His praises roll

In one accord the church sings on with Hope who lights the way

We soldier on to glory land where vision’s bright as day.

….Thank you, Lord, for hope that’s visible to our souls that makes us praise You. Thank you for Your spirit-led church.

With love from the Father to you, have a memorable Easter and a hopeful soul, for He lives!

Tina

Is your house like mine, in that when you want to add something new to the house, you have to get rid of something to fit it in? My husband and I down-sized to a pretty small house so we would have to keep the clutter to a minimum. It keeps us in check!

It dawns on me this morning, that a small house is kind of like our hearts. Like homes, we collect things we love in our hearts.We may need to de-clutter our hearts though, to give Jesus more room. As for me, I can sure get rid of more ‘self.’ Truth be told, it is often hard to part with old stuff you are used to, like selfishness, pride, even worry.

I think we try to fit more Jesus in our hearts with real intention. But to get more of Him, we have to free up space for Him. We do that by letting go of our love for worldly things and worldly habits and attitudes. Jesus is not of this world. He wants us to not “fit in” or be of this world also.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.

When we desire to give up things that are not in Jesus’s character so that we can become more like Him, He will always help as much as we need, for as long as we need!

Dear Jesus,

Just as our house gets cluttered with things that we treasure, our hearts get cluttered as well. We don’t want to house the world’s values. We value You most of all. Please show us things that we need to get rid of, so we can give You more room to do Your work in us and we can become more like you. We love You so much! Amen

With love from our Father to you, have a great day!

Tina

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

Have you ever tried to define joy? If not, you should! Trying to define joy is such a joyful process! It makes us consider what makes our hearts their happiest. Everyone’s definition will be slightly different, I am sure, but, here is my simple attempt this morning.

Spiritually, joy, to me, is anything that feels or looks like a glimpse of heaven. It is other-worldly and precious and wonderful, sent by the Father. To know Jesus is to know joy and to know joy is to catch a glimpse of what awaits us in heaven.

I feel joy when I hear my granddaughter laugh , when I consider grandchildren on the way, when I have ideas and a quiet time to write, when my adult children talk with me about their spiritual lives, when we gather with our family and I feel the blessing of God’s plan, when my husband and I worship in church together and when we travel to find a view that only God can create.

For me, joy is anything that only God can do. The world offers us plenty of fun and exciting things, but I like the things that no one but God can create. I am not sure that anything in the world can actually give real joy.That’s just me. I wonder what brings YOU joy! What things make you deep-down happy? Maybe think about those things!

Dear Father, Thank You for all that You have done for us and what You have allowed us to enjoy. You are too good to us. Help us to want joy for others as much as we want it for ourselves. Give us opportunity to share our joys and blessings with others so they feel blessed. Thank You for every joy that You give and for helping us to realize where it comes from. We love You! Amen.

I hope the Lord delivers joy today to you. With love from the Father to you, have a great day!

Tina

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.Colossians 3:12

I woke up at 3:30 this morning, craving to write about our precious Father. Yes, I know it’s not normal, that this unending desire to write about Him seems crazy at times. But… it’s just what He has laid on my heart to do for reasons and at times I cannot fully understand but I cannot ignore. I am okay with the “crazy” cravings, because our God is crazy for us!

I am not only okay. I am touched and humbled to the point of tears, at times. It humbles my heart to know I may be useful in the kingdom of God, not with my words, but with the words He gives me. Feeling this way, I jotted down this poem. It’s an acrostic. Each line begins with a letter of the word, “humbly.”

Humbly

He’s so great and I am not. I’ll

Usher up all selfish thought. I’ll

Make my praise to God alone. I’ll

Bow my soul before the throne.

Let me not a blogger be, but for

Yahweh’s grace to me.

Friends, have a lovely day. With love from the Father to you, I’ll “write” you later:)

Tina