New Word for the New Year: “nonversation”

 

click pic for source

“A completely worthless conversation, wherein nothing is illuminated, explained or otherwise elaborated upon. Typically occurs at parties…” (Merriam Webster.)

Although “nonversation” is new word in our Facebooked, Twitterized generation, it describes an old habit. People have been sharing worthless words, “wherein nothing is illuminated” for centuries.

Well, God’s words are anything but.  Maybe we should put down our phones for awhile, shut our computers (after you read this, of course ) and listen to some of His.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my ways.”  Psalm 119:105

“Heaven and earth will disappear, but My Words will remain forever.” Mark 13:31 NLT

If I spent more time conversing with Jesus,

maybe my own words would be worthier of others attention.

“…take not of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry.”  James 1:19

“The more the words the less the meaning, and how does that benefit anyone?”  Ecclesiastes 6:11

 

Stop! Drop! and Pray!

Let’s Pray: Oh, Father, there is fullness of joy in Your presence. (Ps. 16:11).  I want to spend more time with You.  I need to spend more time with you.

I want to be able to say with all my heart, “I give all myself to You”, as the song goes. (Leeland, Follow You)

I don’t have much to offer, just a couple small loaves and a few fish, but you can make me so much bigger.

I want to spend so much time conversing with You, Jesus,  that it shows when I’m talking with other people.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

 

Do you know Jesus personally, not just on a page?  Click the pic below for a quick introduction.  He’s longing to have a completely “worthwhile” and “illuminating” conversation with you!

 

"Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew11:28

Wanted: Jesus Christ. Reward: Very great!

click pic for source

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.“  Genesis 1:1

Clear your throat and sing “my Reward” with Paul Baloche.  Words below the video:

I want to hear You say the words to me “well done’
I want to hear You say “good and faithful servant’
I want to hear You say “I’ve prepared a place for you’
Let all the treasures of this world fade away

Jesus, You are my reward
To hear Your voice on that day is all I’m living for
Jesus, You are my reward
To see Your face on that day is all I’m living for

In the twinkling of an eye, we’ll all be changed
We’ll meet you in the sky
We will meet You face to face **

**lyrics from: http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/paul_baloche/my_reward-lyrics-435678.html

Dieting

Dieting?  Join the club.  Wanna recipe for a yummy, healthy snack that feels like a splurge?

Mush together a whole banana, natural chunky peanut butter (check the ingredients to make sure it’s only peanuts, maybe some salt, but nothing else.), and plain yogurt.

Stir in a goodly handful of rolled oats (uncooked), organic cocoa powder to taste, and a smidge of raw honey.

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.

Here’s a picture of it.

Peanut/Oat/Banana Mush

It came out looking a little bleh, but looks can be deceiving.

Take the Bible for instance –

At first glance, it might look a little bleh, too, especially compared to the latest movie, or the funnest TV show — think Glee, my daughter’s favorite.

But you need to look inside:

Alison's eye/Steve Young, photographer

And not just a quick glance…Sometimes you need to “look intently”.

See what I mean?

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.   For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

my daughter, Liz, in the mirror

for once he has looked at himself and gone away,  he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” ~~ James 1:22-25

Stop, Drop, and Pray!

I wanna be blessed.  Don’t you?  Let’s pray:

Let’s pray:

Oh, Father,  I wanna be blessed like the verse promised above.  Of course, to be blessed, I need to obey, the verse also says.

Did you ever notice “obey” is a 4-letter word?  I’m just sayin’….

And here’s another one — “hard”.  As in, it’s HARD to obey!

But, I know, Father, that the more time I spend with you, the more I want to do what You want me to do.

So, draw me to Your side, to Your table to eat, ’cause I know that’s where the healthy food is.

Thank you for all You do, and for all of Who You are.  Your not bleh, You’re glee!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

Do You know Him?  Click the pic below to be introduced:

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" Galatians 5:22

Happiness is…

As I posted yesterday, I was awarded the Happiness 101 Award by one of my favorite bloggers, JeLisa over at BloggingEverAfter.  Click on the Blog title to read the first post I read of hers.  It’s about being married.  I had a sappy grin on my face the whole time I read it, and wanted to hug my husband as soon as he walked in the door.  A MUST READ!!!

Part of winning the award it to list 10 things that make you happy.  Yesterday I listed 6.  Well, JeLisa’s post I made mention of made me happy so that must be #7.

I’ll introduce #’s 8 and 9 by sharing my Facebook Friend’s status from yesterday.  Hilary posted, “Coffee.  Bacon.  Conversation.” I clicked the like button right away.  I LOVE those three things.  But I’ll have to cheat and combine coffee and bacon under #8, put conversation as my # 9, so I can leave room for my all-time favorite Happiness maker….

A scoop of vanilla icecream drizzled with espresso and caramel at my favorite coffee shop

Bacon, Bacon! Thy name is YUM!

I saved the best for last!  Number 10 is the B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me! (check out Bible study links to the right)

It wasn’t always that way, though.  Used to be, for years, in fact, that I preferred reading books about the Bible to reading the “dry, melba-toasty” Book itself.  But a Bible teacher encouraged me to pray and ask God to change my heart to LOVE His Word.  I did it, and did it again, and again, until the “dry melba toast” magically changed to a juicy steak dinner with chocolate mousse for dessert when I read it most times.

“Bible Time/morning devotions/ quiet time/ time  with the Lord” –whatever you call it, the important thing is that when I do it faithfully, it boosts my faith.  Reading the Bible encourages me to try a little harder to love a little better (a LOT better) to understand a little more, to keep going with hope.  I become a bigger, better, stronger person from the inside out.

I love the Word! I could do without bacon, coffee, even chocolate (which really should be included on the list,by the way) but don’t take away my Bible! Where would I be without it?

And, finally, the Award goes to…

An important part of receiving the award is to pass it on to other bloggers.

So, I’d like to present this Happy 101 Award to an old friend, Angelia, for her blog, A Year of Letters.  Angelia is very organized, which explains how she can manage her goal of writing a letter every day for a year.  Letter-writing is a lost art, and getting one in the mail is sure to make a person  happy.  So, congratulations, Angelia!

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:13

Quirky Turkeys!

A gang of  leaf shufflers caught my eye through the window this morning as I was heading for the kitchen to grab some grub. 

Which is what this “gang” of turkeys was doing, only they were looking for real grubs (and worms and tiny insects)

 As they kicked up the leaves, they filled the woods with their shuffling sounds.  shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.

Now, this “posse” knew (another name for a gang of turkeys) that to find the best food they’d have to dig for it.  The good stuff doesn’t just hang out on the surface.

We could learn a lesson from the turkey (Melegris Gallopavo).  To be properly fed, we need to dig.

How often do we try to fill up on surface stuff?  All we  end up with is an empty soul and skinny faith!

Sometimes we have to go deep, make some shuffling sounds flippin’ through the Bible for wisdom. 

Beth Moore

Beth Moore (Bible Teacher Excellentus) observed that one of her favorite sounds in church is flipping Bible pages.

She said it reminds her of what angels’ wings must sound like.

Well, speaking of flipping Bible pages, there’s another lesson we can learn from the turkey, and that is to hang with a posse. 

It’s not only funner to dig through the Bible with friends, sometimes it’s more effective.  Kicking through the leaves with a gang exposes worms for more than one turkey.  We can feed off each other’s finds.

So join a study group or, if you’d rather, an online group, and start digging deep.  Here’s one of Beth Moore’s online studies you might like:

Click on the picture below to get started filling your soul and fattening your faith!

“Oh the depths of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God.  How unsearchable are his judgements and unfathomable His ways.”  Romans 11:33

Are YOU believing God?  He could use another quirky turkey in His posse. Click on the pic below to learn how to join! 

 

Root Canal!

I had a root canal today.  So, Gloriadelia is going to be much shorter and sweeter than usual.  Well, shorter, anyway…

Let’s just get right to the root of the matter.  We all need to read the Bible every day.  Period.

“If this stuff (the Bible) gets in you, down in your guts, it’s going to shape you in ways beyond your asking or imagining.”  Mark Buchanan

Reading and DOING the Bible will change us down deep where it counts, right at the root.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12 RSV

“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”  Psalm 119:16 

Are you writing these down?!  These are great verses!  And here’s another:

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:16

So, you wanna avoid a lot of pain in your life?  Then “get this stuff.. down in your guts”.  READ it!  MEMORIZE it!  and DO it! (sorry if I sound a little cranky.  I had a root canal, after all…)

Pray with me?   (click on highlighted words/phrases for verse references):

 ” Father, You are and You are a rewarder of them that earnestly seek You.  I’m earnestly seeking You now and asking You to change my heart to LOVE your Word.  Oh, may I delight in Your Word and not neglect it.  May I agree with these words in the Bible:  Thy words were found by me and I ate them and they became for the me a joy and the delight of my heart.

In Jesus’ name, amen!“

Do You know the One who made all the teeth in Your head?  Click on the little chomper below to get aquainted. 

p.s. The lovely picture of the Bible above came from tommyimages.com

Confessions of a Distracted Homemaker/Artist…

On the way to boil some eggs for lunch this morning, I noticed some towels that needed folding in the dryer… Oh, this’ll just take a sec…Then, I noticed the box of Swiffers next to the newly folded towels…I haven’t dusted in ages….On the way back to the kitchen, to boil the eggs, dust-filled swiffer in hand, I noticed my open journal on the counter…Oh, those acorns I’ve been painting could use a few more shades of brown…What’s my homeschooler doing?  He’s supposed to be doing World History….

  aargh..He’s headfirst into Harry Potter!  How do we get so distracted?!  I’m going to whip up some hot chocolate and think about this….

But first, I wanna point out, there’s one thing none of us can afford to get distracted from, and that’s reading our Bibles every day. The Bible isn’t fantasy, like my son’s book.  It’s true and WE NEED IT going through our eyes and into our hearts every day. 

This isn’t just some distracted homemaker/artist from the midwest talkin’ here, either.  An important gentleman from across the ocean in Africa has said pretty much the same thing:

Haile Selassie I (1891-1975)

Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethipia from 1930-1974, had this to say about it, as recorded in my son’s “Bible Doctrines” book:

 ”Today man sees all his hopes and aspirations crumbling before him.   

 He is perplexed and knows not whither he is drifting.

But he must realize that the Bible is his refuge, and the rallying point for all humanity.  It is here man will find the solution of his present difficulties and guidance for his future aciton, and unless he accepts with clear conscience the Bible and its great message, he cannot hope for salvation.  For my part, I glory in the Bible.”

Have you read your Bible today?  Don’t get distracted — READ!!! 

What’s that burning smell???….My hot chocolate!!!!

Friday Favorites!

Back by popular demand, it’s Friday Favorites!  (cheers, confetti, horns)

My sister suggested I share famous people’s favorite verses.  I thought that was a great idea.  We’ll start this week with Mr. Rogers…

Mr. Roger’s was an amazing human being. He was so calming and likeable.  Even gorillas could chat with him!  What was Fred Roger’s  favorite verse or passage?  1 Corinthians 1:20-31 (click to read entire passage)

Here’s some highlights: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?…

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (:25)

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.” (:27-28)

Here’s what Mr. Rogers had to say about it: “Whenever I write a script or a song or walk into the studio for a taping, I pray, ‘Let some word that is heard be thine.’  That’s all that really matters.” **

I like that, “Let some word that is heard be thine.”  That’s what I pray for Gloriadelia.

Any thoughts on Mr. Roger’s favorite verses? What’s your favorite verse or passage?  Don’t be shy. Testify!

**http://www.lubbockonline.com/new/011897/christia.htm

Iron Giant Faith

The Iron Giant is one of my favorite movies.  A metal-eating giant (made of metal-like material from another planet) lands on earth to destroy it and accidentally eats a power station (it makes sense in the movie) which is just about to electrocute him to death, when he’s dramatically saved at the last minute by a little boy who flips the power switch to “off”.

The giant suffers a head injury that, we find out later, changes his personality and allows him to befriend the boy. They have fun adventures together and share some really sweet moments.

Toward the end, though, the boy is injured when the military freaks out and starts blasting the friendly giant.  Watch the dramatic ending below (11 minutes).  At first it’s really cool, then really sweet and illustrates my point later on….

You choose… each day you choose what kind of person you will  be.  Will you be a “gun” that hurts people?  Or a “Superman” or woman?  You choose when you decide to either grab a Bible and read and pray about your day, or hop out of bed and blast through your day “shooting from the hip”

Sometimes it helps to have a plan.  Click on this link for a daily Bible reading plan: http://www.enewhope.org/bible/

“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you may live.”  Deuteronomy 30:19

Do you know the real Superman?  click HERE for a short video introduction.  He’ll help you become a real giant to the ones you love.