Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Happy Wednesday!

The tree and wreath went to recycling today. All the trappings of the Christmas holiday went into boxes and bags and Bruce and Travis placed all of the boxes and containers back in the attic. We have put the outside effects of Christmas to bed for another year. May we all keep the feelings and meaning of Christmas in our hearts long past the time we have put away the decorations.

Update on Mom: I spoke with Mom this morning and she sounded much more like her old self. The gout is painful but is being managed. She got out of bed and sat in a chair for a good while. We count this as good progress. It looks as if the rehab hospital she will go to is going to be much closer to their home than in the original plan. Praise God!

Prayer: “Precious Lord, I praise You for having a plan and a purpose for my life. Your ways are so different than my ways and Your thoughts so above my thoughts. You are my guide, my compass, my GPS, and my traveling companion. Lord, thank You for that today. You will lead me beside still waters and in the right paths I should follow. Use Your Word to give me direction for today’s journey and for decisions about tomorrow. I am so blessed to know that You blaze a trail for me today. Thank You, Lord, Amen.”

Psalm 119: 59 “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies.”

The first sentence of my meditations tonight was “Have you ever been traveling on a journey and realized you may not be going in the right direction? (I laughed out loud at that question!) As many of you who know me personally or by my journal writing, I am seriously directionally challenged! But in my adventures in being lost I realize I have two choices: either turn around and try to correct my directional error or keep going and hope the destination will present itself. (My third option, the one I do most of all is call Bruce.)

In our spiritual lives the psalmist nails us pretty well. The psalmist confesses that he thought about his ways, turned around and began again in God’s Word. This must be a scripture that really hacks Satan off. First, the psalmist confesses that he thought about what he was doing. Satan uses all of his ways to distract us from following the path God has laid out. When we stop and think, we block out the distractions. When we stop to ask God where He is leading us then we are lead to make the necessary correction…in other words, we ask forgiveness and repent. Once our direction has been corrected and we are walking the path God set before us we must consider this decision not on the words of man’s philosophy, but on the “testimonies of God.” We must stand firm and walk on the assurance of God’s unshakable Holy Word.

You know each of us has a little bit of the prodigal son in us. He was a pretty lost young man and yet his father watched each day from the porch waiting for his son to correct his course and come home. The greatest part of this story is that no matter what happens in our life, God knows where we are and loves us even when we stray. We are at the heart of God’s GPS and He never gives up on us in His relentless efforts to restore us back unto Himself. God is so good and loves us so much.

Take joy in the journey trusting in the Savior to lead us in love and joy. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Pray for Mom and Dad. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

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