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

Water Retention

As we hiked along Pikes Peak (me slowly, my husband, Dave, at a stiffer pace) I stopped and snapped many pictures of all the pretty little daisies, columbines, lillies, and who-knows-whats blooming along the trail.  Eye candy for the slow and appreciative hiker.

You know, many wildflowers have to survive awhile without water.  They do it by clever means of water retention.  One way is by narrowing and closing off cells to keep the water from evaporating.

How’s your water retention?  When you get a drink from the well (the Bible) do you hold onto its wisdom?  There are several clever means of water retention for the Christian.  One is by memorizing what you read, the other is by doing what it says. Both will help you survive a dry spell.

Here’s a few sips you might wanna hang onto:

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:1-11, KJV

 ”Thy word have I hid in mine heart (memorized), that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice (obeys) is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 NIV

Click on the Bible memorization link to the right for a handy list of verses to memorize.  Explore the site for helpful memorizing tips and lots of other inspirational stuff.

Sunflower Faith V

more sunflowers

Right click on song title, open in a new window to hear Give Me Jesus.

Sunflowers will cheerfully grow in any old soil, but they prefer good over bad.

The same, it is,  with truth.  It thrives in good soil (hearts).

Jesus compares our hearts to soil in the “parable of the sower”. Read about it here:  Mark 4:14-20

What makes soil good? 

The experts say two things are key: good drainage , balanced by an ability to retain just the right amount of water.

Following that model, may I present to you a recipe for a good heart, one in which the truth is able to thrive…

1. drainage/prayer: to keep your heart from becoming polluted with lies and compacted with worries, we need to daily (hourly, minute-ly) pour our hearts out to the Lord. “…pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.” Lamentations 2:19

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Take a minute to pour your heart out to the Lord.  What are you worried about?  Tell Him.  Out with the bad, in with the good…

2.water retention/verse memorization: A good heart retains the truth.  Thinking about and memorizing God’s Word is key.

“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 

The more truth we hide in our hearts, the more room we have for more truth.  It doesn’t make sense, but it does!

Memorize a verse  to start preparing your soil, like 1 Peter 5:7 above.  That’s a good one to remember when you’re heart’s full of worries — just cast them out to the Lord!  He’ll replace them with peace – Phil. 4:6-7

“like seed sown on good soil, [they] hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:20