Category Archives: Quotes

The Wonderful Gift of a Letter

I’m reading Pride and Prejudice right now and I am always struck at how important letters were. A different time when this was the best form of communicating when apart. No phones, no email, no instant messaging. Wouldn’t it be fun to receive a good old fashioned letter in the mail. Signed, sealed, and delivered! Here’s some interesting tips from Emily Post.

Emily Post (1873–1960).  Etiquette.  1922.

THE ART of general letter-writing in the present day is shrinking until the letter threatens to become a telegram, a telephone message, a post-card. Since the events of the day are transmitted in newspapers with far greater accuracy, detail, and dispatch than they could be by the single effort of even Voltaire himself, the circulation of general news, which formed the chief reason for letters of the stage-coach and sailing-vessel days, has no part in the correspondence of to-day.

THE LETTER EVERYONE LOVES TO RECEIVE

  The letter we all love to receive is one that carries so much of the writer’s personality that she seems to be sitting beside us, looking at us directly and talking just as she really would, could she have come on a magic carpet, instead of sending her proxy in ink-made characters on mere paper.

Let us suppose we have received one of those perfect letters from Mary, one of those letters that seem almost to have written themselves, so easily do the words flow, so bubbling and effortless is their spontaneity. There is a great deal in the letter about Mary, not only about what she has been doing, but what she has been thinking, or perhaps, feeling. And there is a lot about us in the letter—nice things, that make us feel rather pleased about something that we have done, or are likely to do, or that some one has said about us. We know that all things of concern to us are of equal concern to Mary, and though there will be nothing of it in actual words, we are made to feel that we are just as secure in our corner of Mary’s heart as ever we were. And we finish the letter with a very vivid remembrance of Mary’s sympathy, and a sense of loss in her absence, and a longing for the time when Mary herself may again be sitting on the sofa beside us and telling us all the details her letter can not but leave out.”

20spring.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/95/28.html

Thankful Thursday ~ I Chronicles 16:8-12

 

 

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, …”

One of the miracles that the Lord has done in my life is leading my Father and Mother out of Iran (Persia back then) to the U.S.A. This was before my Father was a believer but God’s hand was on him in a mighty way leading my Father to himself. My Mother was a believer when she married my Father. I am so thankful to God for His hand of mercy that gave my parents the desire to immigrate to the U.S. In 1963, fifteen years after immigrating to the states, my Father became a believer at the Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles. I am remembering and thanking God for His amazing grace in my Fathers life and the benefits of that grace to me…

Thank you Lord for all you’ve done. I will sing praises to you and rejoice. I will look to you for strength and seek your face always. I will remember the wonderful things you have done. Glory to your holy name. Amen.

To read more Thankful Thursday Posts or to participate head over to Sting My Heart…

We Aren’t Normal

My family is not normal. This is a good thing. Today I had brunch with my sister her 2 daughters and another sister’s daughter. We are friends. We are different from each other. We love each other. We like to get together and be together. We aren’t checking to see if we had our daily devotions today. We are loving on each other, caring for each other, accepting each other, praying for each other and waiting on God to do His sanctifying work in our lives. If we fall, we love each other and help each other get up. If we have an emotional melt down we wait for that to pass and see what God taught us through that. We don’t panic and wonder if we’ve lost our salvation. We’ve seen a lot in my family. There are plenty of people to watch after all. We trust God that He will bring us all through the ups and downs of our lives here on earth. What we do and need to do is to love each other dearly. Above all else, love each other dearly… That’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to encourage you to do.

I Peter 4:8  (ESV) ~

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

(NIV) ~

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

(NASB)

Above all keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins.

The Message ~

Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.

We’re not normal. We are certainly not perfect. But, we love each other and that covers a lot of kasha! (Russian for oatmeal, or messy issues….)

 

In Other Words Tuesday ~

This Tuesday Sting My Heart is  hosting “In Other Words”, a meme that originated on Christian Women Online. A quote is chosen by the host to consider and we are invited to write our “take” on the quote. Here is the quote that was chosen for Tuesday August 14th.

“Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name…”
~ Matt Redman ~

Psalm 34:19 ~
Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Isaiah 43:1-3

But now, this is what the Lord says-
he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel;
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….”

Isaiah 43:18-19~
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

So God promises to bring us through the wilderness. He does not abandon us. We can cling to these next great promises for our future…

Isaiah 35: 9,10 ~
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Romans 15: 4~
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

So I hope these verses encourage you to know that in the midst of our wilderness times, our times in the desert, and times of affliction (which are inevitable here on this earth), our hope, the promise that sustains us and lets us say “blessed be the Lord” is that Jesus has gone before us on this wilderness road and He promises because of his saving grace to bring us through our wilderness to our amazing gift in the future in heaven with Him. We have a future with Him without “sorrow and sighing.”  

Romans 15:13 ~
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessed be His Name!

If you’d like to read more thoughts on this quote go over to Sting my Heart…

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Revelation 19: 6-9 (ESV)

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” –

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Now this is the celebration I’m really looking forward to. I don’t think anything on this earth could rival it…

The Little White Horse ~ Elizabeth Goudge

  “She stood still and looked up at them, and she found herself rejoicing in their beauty. After all, though pink was not her favourite colour, it was a colour and, as Sir Benjamin had said, all colour is of the sun, and good. And pink is the colour of dawn and sunset, the link between day and night. Sun and moon alike ought both to love pink, because when one is rising and the other setting they so often greet each other across an expanse of rosy sky.”

I just finished The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. I first read about this book at Island Sparrow’s blog. I am a big fan of books written for children. I’m including the quote above from the book and this recommendation of the story on the inside cover of the book.

“For imaginative readers…this tale will have a strong appeal. There are richness of detail and a lovely use of color and light-sunshine, moonlight, and shadows, symbolically contrasted-to catch the fancy, and a spiritual quality in this parable of greed and pride vanquished by innocence and goodwill.” ~ The New York Times

ht: photo, Bridget at Sunset, from Bridget’s blog used with permission 🙂 

Thankful Thursday ~ Various Gifts

 

Romans 12: 3-13 (ESV)

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy in proportion to our faith; if service in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

 

I am thankful for these and others whom God has put in my life that have used their gifts at various times and in various ways that have taught me, encouraged me, corrected me, served me, forgiven me, and blessed me. Thank you Lord for the model you have given us on how the Body of Christ can function with each one helping the other serving you to the measure of their faith. Thank you for your great mercy and love toward us…

To read more Thankful posts head on over to Sting My Heart….

WFMW ~ Parenting Tip ~ August 1st

Deuteronomy 6: 5-7 (ESV)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your houses, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise”

Some very simple tips to keep God in your conversation…

~ When your kids get up in the morning thank God out loud for the new day that He has given them.

~ When you sit down to your meal thank God out loud for providing another meal for you.

~ When your kids walk out the door remind them that God goes with them and they should honor Him and shine for Him.

~ When your kids lie down to sleep tell them that you love them and that God loves them.

If you go to Rocks in My Dryer you will see many more parenting tips today!

ht: Photo from Madame Blueberry Learns to be Thankful ~ Cindy Kenney,  Zonderkidz

Philippians 4: 4-9 (ESV)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Here are some notes from the Reformation Study Bible on these verses.

4:4 Rejoice. The theme of joy is prominent in Philippians. The command to rejoice can always be obeyed, even in the midst of conflict, adversity, and deprivation, because joy rests not on favorable circumstances, but “in the Lord.” Paul uses repetition to emphasize this truth.

4:5 reasonableness. The Greek word denotes the generous spirit that rises above offenses, or a forbearing spirit, of which Jesus provides the supreme example (2 Cor. 10:1). Such a person does not insist on his rights (2:1-4). Only such persons learn the secret of joy.

The Lord is at hand. This may be understood temporally, looking to Christ’s coming as a future event (3:20, 21), and taking hope from this. Or Paul may also be speaking of Christ’s abiding presence with those united to Him (1:1).

4:6 do not be anxious about anything. Although the same word is used in 2:20 of a loving concern for others, here it denotes an anxiety that is incompatible with trust in God.

in everything. Paul’s language is deliberately all-inclusive; there are no restrictions on applying it.

prayer and supplication with thanksgiving…requests. The four terms used here make up two couplets. Paul is not defining separate types of prayers. Rather, the cluster of words shows what importance he attaches to the practice of prayer. Presenting requests in prayer provides an outlet for anxiety (I Pet. 5:7). Doing so “with thanksgiving” is itself an antidote to worry.

4:7 peace of God.This is the direct answer to the prayer of anxiety. Things that cannot be fully comprehended can nonetheless be peacefully experienced by those who are “in Christ” (1:1; cf. Eph. 3:18, 19).

4:8 Concluding these exhortations, Paul calls his readers to a life of obedience, the right response to the peace of God. The virtues listed are not exhaustive but representative, and they come to expression in countless ways (note the repeated “whatever”). Thinking on such things is not an end in itself, but preparation for purposeful action (v.9).

Closing Prayer attributed to Patrick (Breastplate of Patrick)

May the Power of God preserve us. May the wisdom of God instruct us and the way of God direct us. May the hand of God protect us and the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.