Thanksgiving Blessings

As tomorrow is Thanksgiving….I decided to put together a list of things I’m thankful for.  It’s so encouraging to me to hear what other people are thankful for…so I decided to ask some friends.  J  Thank you to everyone who responded!  I hope this post is a blessing and encouragement to readers as they reflect on God’s many blessings! 

 

Here is a small list of things I am thankful for….

 

 

God’s faithfulness…..His absolute knowledge…..and His gift of prayer

    salvation

       godly role models

         His timely encouragement

           the gift of words and writing

             family

               parents

                 friends

                  the military

                    laughter

                      quotes

                        memories

                          God’s perfect timing

                            traveling

                                airplanes

                                  airports

                                    the travel He’s allowed me to do

                                      the beautiful miracles He performs each day

                                        My wonderful nephew

                                          music

                                            Sisters

                                           

                                               

 

And here are some of the wonderful things my friends said…

God’s mercies are new every morning.
He never fails.
His grace is sufficient.
God
Friends
Family
Pets
God’s goodness….
   …His kindness….
   …His mercy…
   …His grace…
  …His justice…
  …His faithfulness…
   …His love…
   …His sovereignty
Gifts and talents God has given that we can use to bless others
Nephews and nieces
Parents
The lessons He teaches us
Trials
Basketball
Being able to know our awesome God!
Spouse
Children
Cold weather
Salvation
Grandchildren
A home

Psalm 100
Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

 

-Bonnie

The Election

When looking at election results this year, it could be easy to get discouraged.  Here are some great blog posts I saw today that really are encouraging and help put our focus back where it belongs….God!

John Piper’s Heart in the 2008 Election

Smile

Tomorrow
Specifically the part starting after the “Vote” picture.

 

May these be an encouragement to you as well as we look to the Lord.

Among the gods there is
none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
For You are great, and do wondrous things;
You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
I will praise You, O Lord my God,
with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
For great is Your mercy toward me,
And You have delivered my soul
from the depths of Sheol.

Psalm 86:8-13

-Bonnie

The Name of Our Lord

 

I am (finally) posting!  For those of you who thought the blog was dying….hopefully it’s not.  I have a few ideas for future posts.  We’ll see when I get around to them.  🙂 

 

I know that this post could get me in trouble with a lot of people.  There are many different standards, ideas and thoughts surrounding this issue.  It’s a very, very serious issue and, I believe, ought to be dealt with. 

 

Over the past few months, I have heard some….very grievous things.  And these grievous things have come out of the mouths of Christians.  People who have claimed the name of Christ as their Savior.  It is very troubling for me to write about, but as I said, this is a very serious issue. 

 

I have heard Christians take the precious name of our Lord in vain.

 

Christians.  Christians have been throwing His sweet name around as if it was just a word.  It’s a very common thing to hear a non-Christian blurt out, “Oh, – – -.”  But…a Christian?

 

A while back I blogged about praising God.  Do we, as Christians, not realize what our God is like?  Friends, He is the One who purchased us.  He redeemed us.  He clothed us in righteousness when we had absolutely nothing to offer.  He sustains us each day.  Each time we take in a breath, it is Him choosing to give us this second to live.  It is He Who surrounds us with protection every time we get in our cars.  It is He Who speaks to us in a still, small voice.  He is always present.  He is astoundingly faithful and merciful.

 

This is the God that people scorn by using His name flippantly.  It grieves me to hear a person who has been bought and washed by His blood mock His name in such a manner.

 

In addition to the blatant misuse of His name, there are many other kinds of more subtle ways in which people (yes, even Christians!) use His name in vain.

 

How many people know the meaning of the word “gosh”?  According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, it’s “[a euphemism for God] – used as a mild oath”.  And it’s not just the old dictionaries that say this.  Check out Merriam Webster online.  It says the same thing.

 

“Gee”?  Webster says “[euphemism for Jesus] – used as an introductory expletive or to express surprise or enthusiasm”  Again, new dictionaries do not discredit this as the original meaning of the word.

 

 

These are words that ought not to be in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ.  His name should be valued as most holy and precious.

-Bonnie

Update

Here is a long overdue update regarding Facebook.  😀

I never heard back from them regarding the original email I sent.  However, thanks to commenter Cherilyn on my last post, I was alerted to potential changes on Facebook.  To make a somewhat long story short, Facebook now has a feature to allow customization as far as ads.  On most ads, there is a small thumbs up and thumbs down on the bottom of it.  If you click the thumbs down, they will ask you why you don’t like the ad and you can choose your reason.  Once you “thumbs down” an ad, it will be removed from your Facebook surfing.  This does not, however, prevent others from viewing that same ad if they are on your page.  Each person and each computer and each Facebook account must customize his or her own ads.

If you have a Facebook, please take the time to “thumbs down” the inappropriate ads.  I assume that the ads are monitored by someone and they will notice if users start consistently rejecting certain ads.

I know only the tip of the iceburg as far as what the Lord did in this Facebook story.  But I do know that He worked mightily. 

So one of my points is this:

We cannot stand idly by.

I believe that far too often we as Christians stand by and sadly shake our heads at “little things” and even big things around us wishing they were different.  But we believe that there is no way the world will listen to us.  There’s no way we could make any difference.

It is precisely that attidue that keeps things from changing. 

A grocery store manager I talked to regarding their inappropriate magazine selection at checkout counters said I was the first person to talk to her. 

If more people stood up for truth, the world will hear.

Obviously, we are not the ones winning this fight.  Nor should we try to.  It is for God and His glory alone that we should do such things.  It is for His truth that we should stand up and fight.  He alone can change hearts and minds.

-Bonnie

Operation Facebook

Facebook!  As a friend said, “Xanga is yesterday.”  Now it’s Facebook.  😀

As we have become more aware of Facebook, I’ve been able to see some friends pages, etc.  Being the social person I am, I think it would be a LOT of fun to have one!  However………

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Facebook puts some interesting ads on people’s pages.  These ads, namely dieting ads, openly show pictures of partially bare bodies.  Because of these ads, I will not be getting a Facebook account.  I believe, however, that it’s not enough to be merely discontent with things of the world, but to take action against it.  Therefore, I sent the following email to Facebook…

Hi, there,

I just wanted to send you an email and let you know why I will not be getting a Facebook account. While I think the idea is very neat and I love the way to keep in touch with friends, there is one major thing holding me back.

On the pages of friends, I have seen some ads that have bothered me. I believe most of them (if not all of them) are dieting ads. They blatantly show the bodies of other people, whether it’s a woman’s midriff or a bare-chested man. While this may not seem like a very big deal to some people, I know that there are many others who do not want to see the bare bodies of other people, much less have them advertised on their personal Facebook. There are still people who believe that a person’s body is private and a special thing not to be on display for hundreds of other people. I have seen a Facebook group that actually is a group of people against these dieting ads.

I do not want to have such pictures on a site I have. For this reason, I will not be getting a Facebook. I ask you to please reconsider your policy and give this issue thought. If you ever change your policy, I will be very glad to get an account with you!

Thank you so much for considering this.

God bless.
-Bonnie

So….why am I posting about this on our wordpress?

I am asking each of you to write to Facebook as well.  I’m not asking you to shut down your account if you have one or to commit to never ever getting one.  I simply ask that you write to Facebook and express your concern.

As Christians, we must take a stand against immodesty….even in seemingly “small” things like these dieting ads.  If we’re going to stand up against the bigger issues in today’s world, we should not merely look the other way on the small issues.  Facebook might read my email….but they’ll be more likely to heed an army of emails.

Some of you may remember a similar post when I shut down my xanga.  For more information as to why this whole Facebook thing is such a big deal, feel free to read my Xanga post.

Thank you so much.  If you do decide to email Facebook, I would love to hear about it.  Email me at DailyWalkwithHim(at)gmail(dot)com.  Prayers are also appreciated…you can email me there to let me know you’re praying.  You don’t have to commit to pray every day at noon or anything (although if you do, that would be great!); even one prayer would be amazing.

God bless.

-Bonnie

Of Children, Staff and Great Experiences

Well.

A lot has happened since our last post.  🙂

For one thing, we had a very busy week last week.  Very busy, and yet very amazing.  Last week was the annual seminars my Dad sets up…and the Children’s Program.  I worked in the CP all week and let me tell you it was one of the best I have ever done (if not the best).  I’m so excited about everything the Lord did!

Several months in advance our family was praying together for these seminars and the CP….praying that God would raise up the people He wanted to attend, the children to come, the staff necessary, open hearts, etc.  I prayed that He would choose the CP staff He wanted and that we would really gel as a team and work together as a unit.  I prayed for the individual teams (leader/assitant) that they would work well together and be prepared to serve together throughout the week. 

The Lord totally answered those prayers!  On the whole, all of us worked well together, with a mindset to come and serve, not just to hang out and have fun.  I didn’t really get a chance to see the other individual teams at work, but I can say that God really worked on my team…the Turquoise Team!  I had a great leader (thanks, Matthew!) who really made the team and the entire week such a great experience.

And the Staff…………….a BIG thank you to Tim, Carrie and Melinda!!!  You all did an excellent job.  Thank you so much for the many hours you put into this, thinking, planning, envisioning and discussing.  Thank you for making the decisions that you believed were best and sticking by them.  You all definitely made this a wonderful CP.

Of course, I must say a note about the Turquoise Team.  🙂  I am so excited about who God placed on our team.  We had five precious children, ranging from age twelve to age five (I think?).  If any of you guys read this, I am so glad you were on my team!!!

In many ways, this CP was quite unique…from washing car windows with our teams (that was a great idea and tons of fun) to a photo scavenger hunt (Turquoise Team, you guys did great!!), it was so much fun! 

Throughout the week, as I was reading my Bible, there seemed to be so many verses that were applicable to the CP.  I thought I would share some of them.  (Can you tell what book I was reading?  🙂 )

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph
in Christ, and through us diffuses
the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being
saved and among those who are persishing.”
2 Corinthians 2:14-15

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present
or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in
the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;
but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your
consciences.”
2 Corinthians 5:9-11

“We give no offense in anything, that our
ministry may not be blamed.”
2 Corinthians 6:3

God really used last week in my life.  I learned so much…about being submissive, about making sure my words always build up my leader (especially in front of the children!) and about being an assistant…and enjoying it!  Perhaps in the future I’ll blog more about these things.  Praise God for all He has been teaching me!

And, of course……….I’m sure you all have been wondering, “Where are the quotes??”  I shall conclude the suspense…..for here they are.  🙂

Me: (when mentioning musical people) The Boohers.
Nathan: *pause*  The whos?

Matthew L: I was told I was going home…by kids.

Tim: Let’s call up Miss Suzette.  Miss Suzette!  Miss Suzette!  And you have to use a French accent.

Me (when teaching): Do you know what suffering is?
David: I know what suffocate is.

Me: Joy sunds more fun than suffering.
David: Suffocation isn’t fun.

Me: Should we ask them to bring stuff for nap time?
Tim: If you want; we just don’t want all these kids carting in all this beddy-bye stuff.

Me: That table looks like it’s bending.
Matthew H: Um…I have the same perception.

Me: What is it?
Matthew H: I don’t know.  Something that won’t come off the floor, but it’s moving.

Me: How old do you think ——— is?
Tim: Fifteen.  Fourteen at the most.

Matthew H: Because there are men around with badges and black uniforms and black and white cars that have a thing-a-ma-jig and a bang bang….and the snap snap.  And I’ll end up in the clink clink.

Me: (singing Making Melodies) Tongue out!
(We sing first part)
Tim: Help!

Me: (when I get two hats in skit) That means I’m extra special.
Matthew L:  No, that means you’re extra poor.

Me: It was written with quill and ink.
Carrie: Pelt and ink.

Matthew L: You have to go in and spy (we start going)…in a minute.

Melissa: (telling story of It Is Well) What do you think he wrote down?
Child: His will.

Michael: Finally, nap time is over and we can run amuck!

Matthew L: (about nap time) If he’s got them all settled down and we just go in there, that will be their cue to get up and start a circus.

Matthew H: Don’t you remember?  I elbowed you.
Matthew L: I was never elbowed.

Tim: Do I look like a Visa holder?

Melinda: I need a car.
Tim: D?

Nathan: So his middle name must be something like Cutie Pie.  What’s yours?
Tim: Mine is not Cutie Pie.  It’s Apple Pie.

Tim: The Obedience Song?  I don’t see that in my songbook.

Tim: *can’t find song in book*  It doesn’t matter, all music is the same.

Tim: We’re not even going to wave at our parents.  The traditional No Wave Ceremony.

Carrie: I’m glad Tim was off the phone with the drain when it happened.
Tim: The James?
Carrie: I said drain, actually.

Carrie: We’ll have to come up with a new surprise for the parents.
Melinda: BOO!

Matthew L: (narrating Paul and Silas skit) I went to my house to, uh, get a bit of shut-eye.

Tim (Paul and Silas skit): The Lord released us…and we wouldn’t just go free…without letting you know.

Matthew H: This is Hannah’s.  (hands name tag to John)
John: I’m…thrilled.

Me: I need….(I stop talking and head to get it)
Matthew H: And I need….(Goes to get it)

Tim: Now this is commonly referred to as a ripped pocket.  And what do we do with a ripped pocket?  Ditch it.

Tim: Now this prop is commonly referred to as the Matthew L prop.  Now, not too many people know what the Matthew L prop is.

Dad: (when looking at picture of team pretending to push car) That explains all the handprints on the front of the car.

 

So there’s a glimpse into our week.  😀

-Bonnie

Prayer Target

Please be in prayer for this family.  Their little baby, Molly was born about a week ago with an unexpected, severe medical condition.  Little Molly was with the family for a week before she passed away.  Please pray for her parents and their family.

Introducing Chopin

No…not the composer. Bonnie’s new dog.

A sweet, lovable 50+ pound dog. Before too long, he became an accepted member of our family…although he can be a bit provoking to Melinda’s dog, Toby. But fortunately they seem to have worked through the first few, difficult days of their new acquaintance and are now friends.

But Chopin does have a few quirks, which make living with him an almost full-time babysitting job. His primary quirk that requires almost constant supervision is his inordinate desire to chew on things. For instance, after drinking water or eating scraps of “human food”, Chopin must be carefully watched because he likes to pick up the water dish or the food container and walk triumphantly around with it in his mouth!

Or for example, Dad was watching a movie. Suddenly the movie stopped. Wondering what was going on, Dad looked around the room and saw….no one! But then in walked the culprit joyfully carrying the DVD remote in his mouth.

In addition, once he tried (multiple times!) to jump up and eat the BBQ chicken off a plate Bonnie was carrying from the grill outside to the table inside. He chewed through Mom’s laptop cord (Radio Shack wanted us to pay $120 to replace it…but Mom found a less expensive place to order a replacement.) He picked an orange off Dad’s lunch plate. One of his favorite “delicacies”, which he is hopefully outgrowing, is the pillow from Toby’s bed. Chopin has had some thrilling moments carrying that pillow around the house. He has dragged towels from the laundry room out to the backyard. He enjoyed playing with the hose in our backyard…such that one of them is in multiple segments!  Not to mention the fact that (on the very first night after we got him), he took a bite of Bonnie’s school textbook.

One more thing…he loves helping with the sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming. As Bonnie vacuums, he barks, growls, and occasionally tries to dive in with a menacing attitude. But he is scared of the vacuum at the same time. If Bonnie moves the vacuum toward him, he practically trips himself jumping away from it!

For proof, we have a picture of Chopin “helping” Bonnie sweep.

 

~Melinda and Bonnie~

Praise the Lord?

Off and on, I’ve been pondering the idea of Christians saying, “Praise the Lord”.  It’s a rare thing for me to hear someone say that.  Actually, it’s a rare thing for me to say that.

Why is this?  Why is that not always the first thought that pops into my head when I hear news?  Why do I hesitate to say it verbally on the occasions I do think it?  Why do I instead wonder what the other person would think of me (even if it’s a brother or sister in Christ)? 

Why is His praise not constantly on my mouth? 

Why are His people not always giving Him glory for His mighty works?

Why are we afraid to say “Praise the Lord”?  Is not He the Author of every good thing?  Is not He the One Who controls the circumstances around us?  Is not He the One who sent His Son to take the penalty for our sin?  Isn’t He consistently generous to us?  Isn’t He always faithful?  Does He ever leave us?  No.  Does He ever lie to us?  No.  That would go against His nature.  Doesn’t He use unusual things to bring glory and honor to His name?  Doesn’t He do miracles in our daily lives?  Isn’t He alone to be feared?  Isn’t He like no other?  Ever?  Isn’t He the Author of miracles?  Isn’t He the living God?

God is worthy of worship.  He is holy.  (The meaning of the word “holy” is astounding.)  He knows the future.  He directs His children.  He gave us the Holy Spirit.  He constantly provides.  He is just.  He is to be obeyed on His terms.  He is light.  He’s the Forgiver.  The Cleanser.  The Advocate.  He’s Righteous.  He’s our Teacher.  He is greater than our hearts.  He is Truth.  He is Glorified.

He is enough.

Does not that make you want to just say, “Praise the Lord”??  Truly there is none like Him.  Surely we, of all people, have much to be in praise about. 

Psalm 40:9-10
“I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know. 
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness
and Your truth From the great assembly.”

Psalm 40:16
“Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!”

Psalm 78:4
“We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.”

Psalm 89:1
“I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 108:3
“I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.”

Psalm 109:30
“I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth;
Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.”

Psalm 111:1
“Praise the LORD!
I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.”

-Bonnie

Books!

There are certain things that can really brighten any day. You know the type…something happens and it keeps you smiling the entire day. Today was one of those days…something happened that just really made this day fun. And that thing was…

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a book today!!!

Books make me smile…or at least good books make me smile. Some books tend to have the opposite effect on me but the one I purchased today is a book I’ve wanted for a while. It is a new release and came out earlier this year…I’ve wanted it ever since it came out but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $16.99 for a new book. Even though I wanted the book, I much prefer buying used copies at less expensive prices.

But as an end of the school year gift, one of my students gave me $25 Visa gift card. As Mom pointed out, I could use the gift card to purchase some books. I was thrilled with the thought!

I thought it would be great fun to pick books to purchase. (I figured I could get 2 books for $25.) So I got on my Amazon wish list went through the approxiamately 350 books that I want to purchase…someday when I’m inexhaustably wealthy. Anyway…I went through the list picking a few choice books and checking to see if our local Borders had the books in stock. Unfortunately, almost every book I really wanted, I would have to order. With $25 in my hand, I didn’t want to have to wait for a book to be ordered, delivered to the store, and then I would have to pick it up. When we’re dealing with books, I’m much too impatient for all that waiting!

Anyway, I knew at least one book I definitely wanted to look for and so we went to Borders to see what they had. I immediately headed toward the religion/theology section and Bonnie pointed out the book that I wanted. I picked up a copy and looked at it. What joy to hold a book! A book that I was actually considering purchasing! Sometimes I just have fun looking at books at Borders…but this time I was actually a buyer.

Anyway…I had one book…and I was almost positive that I wanted to get it. But before I purchased the book however, I have to be absolutely sure that is the book I wanted. So I held on to the book and browsed.

Let me tell you something…the religion/theology section at our Borders has gone severely downhill. The Catholic section seems to have grown while the Christianity section has seriously shrunk!

Anyway…I thought it would be easy to find another book to purchase but as the Christian section was smaller than it used to be, it turned out they did not have another book that I wanted to purchase.

So I was left with the first book I picked out. And here it is…

I’ve already begun reading and I am enjoying it.

So thinking about this book gives me cause to smile today.

~ Melinda ~