Thursday, February 28, 2019

Is He Pleased With You?


Gleanings from the Gospel of Mark.

And a voice came from heaven. "You are my Son whim I love; with you, I am well pleased." Mark 1:11 --NIV

Has God ever told you He's pleased with you?


1. He loves you even when He isn't pleased with you.
2. He is pleased when you accept His Son as the Only Way to Him.
3. He is pleased when you worship Him.
4. He is pleased when you speak of Him to others.

Jesus, plus John the Baptist, heard the voice of God speaking to Jesus as God complimented His Son.

Those were beautiful words for Jesus to hear as He started His ministry. He'd pleased His father.


Pixabay
Children love it when they know parents are happy with them and love them. Do you tell your kiddos you are pleased with them? They've made you happy?

God set a good example, didn't He?



Sunday, February 24, 2019

When Bad Becomes Good







But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid, Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accompliah what is not being done, the saving of many lives. --Gen: 50:20  NIV

The story of Joseph is amazing. The narrative tells how the brothers of a 17 year old sold him into Egyptian slavery. But get this. Josepth rose to be the second-in-command in all of Egypt.

Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy food. They may have scrutinized the slave labor in the fields as they passed on their way to Pharough's Manager. Could one of those poor slaves be our brother? They'd had over twenty years to feel guilty and keep secrets. They'd lied to their dad. They'd watched their father, Jacob grieve over Joseph's death. Their sin ate at them daily.

When they arrived, Joseph recognized them, but they didn't recognize him. He looked and spoke Egyptian and had been gone for two decades or so. 

 After several encounters, Joseph told them he was the long-lost brother they'd sold.

Whoa!

Can you imagine how they felt? Terrified is not an adequate word to describe their emotions.

Joseph reassured them all was well and forgiven, and he did so several times. He'd exonerated them. They'd planned the original evil, but God was in charge. He allowed evil to take place for the greater good. God used Satan to bring about His ultimate goal: The Nation of Israel.

Okay, here's the deal. God allows Satan to bring bad stuff to us, but keep the faith...like Joseph did. Time means nothing to God. He knows the past, present and future.  You may have a roller coaster ride, Joseph certainly did, but God goes along with you in the ups and downs.

I hear someone saying, "You mean God can use my sin? No way!"

Yes, He can use anthing! Nothing is too hard for Him. Not even your sin.  The greater your sin, the greater you understand and appreciate His mercy and love.

 Now, that's a good thing. 


I love Genesis 50:20. 
It reminds me of Romans: 8:28.


Friday, February 22, 2019

Shoud You Argue?


The story of Joseph in Egypt is classic. Poor guy had a roller coaster experience. He'd gone from the pit to Potipher, to prison, to Pharough. Somehow on this bumpy ride, he kept his faith. He'd had those dreams where his brothers bowed down to him. Perhaps he bolstered his faith with remembering those early days and believing the events would happen in the future.

You know the story. A famine came, Joseph was in charge of Egypt's food suppy, and the brothers came to buy grain, but they didn't recognize their Joseph.

Joseph tested their attitudes but finally revealed himself to them as the brother they'd sold into slavery.

After Joseph made himself known to these guys who'd wanted him gone, he sent them back to Canaan to get Jacob, the father. Now here's an interesting part of the story.  Joseph said to them before they left, "Don't argue."

As he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving, he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way!" Gen. 45:26.

Isn't that funny? As in laughable funny?

Joseph was a smart man. He knew the men would fuss among themselves as they made their way back to Canaan. Each one would blame the other. 

"If you hadn't...."
"You should have...."
"It's your fault...."
"If I hadn't..."

We do that, don't we? Blame ourselves or others for past sins and mistakes? We argue about who did what and why. We waste time and create additional heartache and havoc by doing that.

Take Joseph's words and apply them. 


Let the past stay in the past. Don't look in the rearview mirror. Onward from this day into the next. We learn from the past, but we don't need to live there.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Natural Ingredients



I've been reading about natural ingredients. 
Do they work?

Cocunut Oil is supposed to be a magical, 
normal, unharmful element.


I decided to try it on my hair this morning,
 so I'm sitting here talking to you 
with a head full of cocunut oil.

It smells good.

It may not do a thing, but it's supposed to make hair healther, thicker, and silkier.

Did I say it smells good?

Here's what it looks like in the jar.


Here's what it looks from the tree.




Here's what it looks like on my hair.
 Sticky. Glued in places


It can be good to eat.
We make candy and cake out of coconut.


Yum. Two of my faves.

We ladies want to make ourselves over. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes not. Some beauty products are expensive. Natural ingredients, like coconut oil, cost less, and if they work, well, hey! Good for us.

Alas! Some naturals work. Some don't. 


When my sister and I were young girls, we asked our dad if we could wash his hair. He agreed.

Big mistake.

We decided powdered, laundry detergent would make a good shampoo.

As soon as we applied it, he began screaming, "Get it off!  Get it off!"

It burned his scalp big time.

He never let us "help" him again.

I'm not sure what coconut oil will do for me, 
but I hope for better results than the 
laundry detergent had on dad's hair and scalp.

Have you read Sarah and the Angelic, Magical Makeover? No, she doesn't use laundry detergent, but she makes mistakes in a haphazard fashion. She's funny, 
but you also might learn a few beauty secrets.

You'll like it.




Sunday, February 17, 2019

Say Hello



Hi friends,

I'm on Pamela S. Thibodeaux's blog.  Please pop over and say hello! Maybe you'll learn my secrets!



Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Censorship?



This is what a reader tried to post on Amazon as a review for Mattie's Choice.  Amazon wouldn't post it. They told the reader it was too personal, so she had to rewrite something more generic.  

I thought you might like to see what the original post was...the one not accepted.

 "Tough subject matter that really made me think. We all have a freind who is so strong in their convictions that they cometimes seem stubborn. Mattie is such a person, strong in her committment to her marriage vows, even when that meant eduring an abusive relationship. The character of Mattie was so well crafted I had to know she would rise above her cirumstances and survive. And she did.Set in the early 1900s, the descriptions were perfect for the time. I found myself thinking of the story and Mattie for quite a while after I finished."




I wonder what Amazon found wrong with this review? Personal? Doesn't seem so to me.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Itsy Bitsy Beautiful



I love churches. Big or small. They hold a special place in my heart.

Jesus once said, "Where two or more or gathered in my name, I'm there also." Matthew 18:20.

This tiny worship house can hold a mere few, but wouldn't it be great to be with those few?

In my books, Sarah, the angel, often goes to church with her charges.


Unseen angels may attend and worship with you today in your church.

Let's hope all the ones in attendance today are holy angels and not the unholy ones. Satan attends too. Of course, he doesn't worship. He disrupts.



PBG Insider: Gay N. Lewis Introduces her "Sarah" series

Sarah at Christmas