Days of the Week Theme, Day V: Friday Favorites!

It’s Friday Favorites!!!!!

Today we meet Chris Rice, read his favorite verse, and listen to a silly song he wrote. 🙂

First, the song.  Get ready to join in.  Come on! It’s Friday!!!

He doesn’t look like someone who’d write a silly song like that, does he.  At least not in this picture. 

Here’s another one…

He wrote this beautiful song also.  It’s signed in ASL (American Sign Language) in this video, one of my favorite languages…

And here’s Chris Rice’s favorite verse:

 Psalm 71:17-18 “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.  Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”    That’s a beautiful prayer, I think.

So, let’s pray it together —  The Chris Rice Psalm 71 Cowabunga-luyah Prayer (come on, it’s Friday!):

 Oh, Father, You have performed soooo many marvelous deeds for me, my family, for sooo many people in the world.  Open my mouth to declare your praise!  Scooby-dooby-doo-yah!  In Jesus’ name, amen!”

Tha-that, tha-that, tha-that’s all folks!

Days of the Week Theme, Day IV: Thankful Thursday

It’s Fall!!!! I’m sooooo thankful that the sun coming out this morning so I could appreciate  all the colors.  So, cell phone camera in hand, I shot up the town:

“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known…

His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.”  Habakkuk 3:2-3

“…and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord..” Exodus 16:7

“Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” Exodus 33:18

“Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you– majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  Mark 1:35

“In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus..” Fernando Ortega

  Pray the Thankful Thursday Prayer (you can click on highlighted words/phrases to read Bible verses reflected in prayer):

 “ Oh, Father, Who created all this beauty? You and only You. 

Just as the stars in the heaven shout your glory  so do the fallen leaves on the ground.

 Create in me a clean heart, a heart of thankfulness to my God for all your creation and ALL you do for me.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Do you know the One who paints the trees, who made all these, for you and me?  Click on the picture to get a better “view” of Him.   

Days of the Week Theme, Day III: Wailing Wall Wednesday

Where’s my hair?!  Got it cut today. The smile’s a fake ’cause inside I feel more like this man. 

 He’s at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.***

 And did you notice all my graying hair?  Another reason to join him there.  😦

But, I’ll take comfort in this verse: ” Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  Isaiah 46:4

I’ve heard Jews believe the Wailing Wall is the “shortest route to God’s ear“** 

 I know a shorter one: “Come to me [Jesus], all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Maybe you have more serious things to wail about than old age and gray hairs.  Maybe you have cancer to deal with, or a broken marriage, or you’ve lost someone you love.  Well, go to the wall.  Go to Jesus:

** The Western Wall

***TommyImages.com

Days of the Week Theme, Day II: Tuesday Testimonies

Jacob Deshazer with Mitsuo Fushida

Remember a few weeks ago I posted about Jacob Deshazer, the WWII bombadier who survived almost 4 years of torture and isolation at the hands of  the Japanese?  The best part of the story is how he became a Chrsitian, was able to forgive his captors, and led thousands of Japanese souls to Christ, including the  pilot who led the aerial attack on Pearl Harbor with the infamous words, “Tora! Tora! Tora!”  

You can read more about it by clicking on his name above, but today, for “Tuesday Testimonies”, I’d like to focus on his sweet mother.

You see, she prayed for her son when he couldn’t and wouldn’t pray for himself. So, Mitsuo Fushida, and all the thousands who’s lives were saved and blessed by Jacob  really have his mother to thank.  

 Here’s her story:  I am the Praying Mother of Jacob Deshazer (It gets a 10 out of 10 on the sweet scale 🙂 )

Are you praying for someone?

Days of the Week Theme, Day I: Musical Monday!

It’s raining here in the Midwest, raining and raining and raining.  Well fine, let it rain…

The Lord reigns, too….

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. 

Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 

 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.  His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles.  The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. Psalm 97:1

 

Click on the leaf to meet the One who reigns in the rain and storms of life: 

Grrrr-ammar Lessons: Pronouns!

 

Ready to learn about PRONOUNS, class?   Pay attention!  And NO PAPERWAD THROWING when I turn out the lights!

 

Pronouns are so handy in a sentence, aren’t they?

 

Take this sentence, for instance.  It’s about the Holy Spirit…

“…the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be  in you.”  John 14:7

 

Do you see all those him’s and that he in there?  Those pronouns show that the Holy Spirit is a person, not a thing, or a “force” like in Star Wars.

 “Use the force, Luke!”

 

He is a “He“, not an “It“. Get it?

 Why is that so important?

 

Because He is Someone… 

  

Actually three Someone’s!  God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit.

See?!  Watch the pronouns in this verse:

 

 “Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

John 14:23

 

It’s complicated, the Trinity, but here’s the simple truth — God is Someone who wants to fill your life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, and self-control.  Galatians 5:22

 

Someone who loves you and me.

 

Do you know Him?

Click on the chalkboard to be introduced:

 

 

Grrrr-ammar Lessons: Interjections!

The leaves are falling, which means my “Lady-planter” is beginning to have her annual bad-hair-day.

lady bugs on the screen

And it also means our home is being over-run again by wasps, spiders, wood roaches, lady bugs and even an occasional walking stick all  looking for a warm place to spend the winter.

So, fall is a time to hear a wide variety of interjections at our house.  Like these, when looking out the windows, “Beautiful!  Lovely!”  or these, when looking at the floor and walls inside, “Ick! Ugh! and you’ll see a lot of these: Stomp! Splat!”

Which reminds me of this Schoolhouse Rock video:

Can I interject some handy interjections for today’s busy Christian?  They are — STOP!, DROP! and PRAY!!!

They will keep you from exclaiming, DARN! RATS! or Oh, MAN!! when things get  tough.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:18 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  ”  Philippians 4:6-7

Do you know The Teacher?  If not, click on the chalkboard for a quick introduction.  Hope you’ll soon be saying, “WOW!! 🙂

Grrrr-ammar Lessons: Adjectives

Missed me?  Gloriadelia has been on fall break.  But, I’m back!  And, in honor of my college-age daughter, Liz, who loves all things English, and moved out last week, I’m encouraging you to “Unpack your Adjectives” (was that a run-on, Liz?  sorry…)

Well, on any given day, these are words that can describe me, depending on the amount of restful sleep, nutritious food, or yummy chocolate I’ve had. And they are:  cranky, mean, selfish, angry, out of control.

Now let’s compare my adjectives with God’s.  These are the words that ALWAYS describe Him:  loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, self-controlled. (Galatians 5:22)

I want to pack up my adjectives and exchange them for His.

We can do that, you know, send our adjectives packing.

Here’s how:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28

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

Here’s a song, sung by Fernando Ortega, that I would describe as beautiful, and encouraging…

Maybe it will help you to be cheerful, encouraged, and hopeful.  Listen…

If you have a hard time with it stalling, just push the pause button, and come back to it in a bit.  It should load up and play straight through then.

Grrrrr-ammar Lessons: Verbs

My daughter, Liz, yesterday, when she was little. Today she's 18 and off off to live on her own.

In honor of my daughter, Liz, the English major (whose pet-peeve is bad grammar) I’m composing a week of lessons for the grammatically-challenged, but otherwise lovable, among us. 🙂

Today we learn about ACTION, class!  Behold, the VERB….

A VERB is a word that describes action in a sentence.  As in, “You WILL READ Gloriadelia.” Did you notice the action — “read“, had a little helper word in front of it to make it sound right? –“will“.  That’s called a helping verb.

Aaand, we all need a little help to get into action now and then don’t we? To act the way we should when we should to the people we should?

And what’s the main thing we oughtta (sorry, Liz) be doing as Christians, Christian? LOVE!

“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue [in other words, just talk about loving], but in deed and truth [DO IT!].”  1 John 3:18

And, who are the hardest people to love?!

The pastor? Hardly.

Your friends? popsicle sticks!

Your family? Bingo!!

That’s where the rubber meets the road

and sometimes goes BOING!!

Sooo…

sometimes we need a little help TO BE patient, kind…

tolerant.

And whose our Helper? Our helping verb, so to speak? The one who’ll come alongside and make our life sentence flow more smoothly?  (meant as a grammatical metaphor, not a depressing commentary.  Although, depending on who you live with, it can feel like a life sentence. 🙂 )

The Holy Spirit! He’s the one who will help change out negatives verbs, like anger, grumpiness, and hate, with positive ones, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)  [My daughter informed me that anger, grumpiness, and hate are, in fact, nouns,  NOT verbs.  Picky, picky, picky…)

Here’s a bunch of verses about the Holy Spirit. I hope they leave you in a blessed state of being. 🙂 (It’s grammar!  get it?  state of being?…… google it.)

~~~”You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:8)

~~”Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

~~”…God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:5

~~”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.” Romans 15:13

~~”May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

The Verb Prayer (or, Love is Action):

“Father, You are all about action!  And You are Love, the Bible says (1 John 4:8).  Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit to help me to act the way I should, when I should, to the people I should.  I want to love my family!  Really love them, not just talk about it (1 John 3:18).  Fill me with your Spirit today, please, so I can DO IT!  In Jesus’ name, amen!”

Do you know Him, class?  Click on the chalkboard to meet The Teacher…

Grrrrr-ammar Lessons: Nouns

My baby girl’s moving out today!  She’s an English major and bad Grammar is her pet peeve. (i.e. don’t text “wheruat?” to her.  I’ve learned that the hard way. :))

So, in honor of my Grammatically-correct daughter, Liz, today we review the all-important noun.  Hey! Don’t leave!  It gets interesting!  Keep your seat and watch this!:

 

A noun is “a person, place, or thing”….

Get out your notebooks, class, and write this down ~~ the person’s, places and things with which we associate, affect us.  (effect us?  Did I use the right form of that there word, Liz?!)

Liz, pausing from packing to pose for me. She still has her stage makeup on from the last showing of “Beauty and the Beast”. Off the stage one day and out into the real world the next.

 

We’re just mirrors.  We reflect the world around us.

Who’s in your world, Mirror?

I mean, who and what are the persons, places and things affecting you? (effecting?!)

In the virtual world there could be 1000’s of persons, places and things rubbing off on you.

Read this effective poem on that very topic. (affecti….oh, never mind.)

“Twitter, Facebook, Movies, Wii.

Entertain!  Entertain!  Entertain me!!!

This is our life, our heart’s decree!

How sad!  How mad!  How lost are we…” ~ gloris young

Class, get out your notebooks again and copy down these persons, places and things the Bible says we should be reflecting:

persons

 

 

 “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.”  Proverbs 8:34 (That’s God, and he has lots to say to us if we’d listen…)

 

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. ” Isaiah 26:3  (That’s the place to be, in Perfect Peace)

 

 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  Matthew 6:19-20 (It’s good to have some permanent things in our lives.  The good we do for God and others, those are things that can never be taken away from us, the things we should really treasure.)

 

THE NOUN PRAYER (click on the verse references to read in context):

“Father, you are a Person, not a place or a thing. (Isaiah 48:12)  You are a Person Who loves me. (John 3:16)  You have important things to say to me. (Proverbs 8)  No person, place, or thing I desire compares with You. (Proverbs 8:11) I haven’t taken enough time to listen to You.  Help me set down my things and come away to a quiet place to spend some time with the most important Person in my life.  In Jesus name. Amen.”

Do you know him, class?  Click on the chalkboard to meet the Teacher: