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Friday, January 31, 2014

Paint Party Friday: Be Careful Little Eyes What You See!

For today's Paint Party, 
I drew Bathsheba!

 
The story of David and Bathsheba
has always intrigued me.
How can a man "after God's own heart"
go after a woman who is not his wife,
and have her husband killed?!!

 The clue is in the first line of the 2nd Book
of Samuel, Chapter 1: 
"At the turn of the year,
when kings go out on campaign,
....David remained in Jerusalem."

This is when, after a nap,
he strolled on the roof of the palace,
and saw a beautiful woman bathing.
Instead of looking away,
he feasted his eyes on her,
and made inquiries as to who she was.

This child's song comes to mind:
"Be careful, little eyes, what you see!"
David's first mistake was
NOT DOING what he was supposed to do.
He did not go off to fight the Ammonites.
He was lazy, he was idle,
he shirked his responsibilities as the
King, the leader of his army.

When we are lazy, and are searching
for something to fill idle time,
that is when our old enemy strikes
with temptations and deception.
David succumbed.

 "Is a lamp brought in to be placed
under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lamp stand?"
Mark 4:21
We are all little lights 
reflecting the greatness of God's light. 
We have the potential to be saints and heroes, 
lighting up the darkness of a world 
full of corruption, greed, cynicism, depression, 
and all sorts of unimaginable depravity. 
So let us shine in our little corner of the world!

 So let us not be idle or lazy,
let us do what we have to do,
and let us be careful about what we see and hear!



Linking with

Sometimes I put on my best pajamas and
join these wonderful blog parties!!!
So many WONDERFUL blogfriends to discover!

Thank you for dropping by!
You are appreciated!
Patsy
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

WOYWW: Open and Receive!

Good WOYWW morning!
I am at the hospital again, as I take 
my turn to watch my mom
every Tuesday night to WOYWW morning!

 I read from the Gospel of Mark
the story about the sower sowing seed.
If the seed is sown on good soil,
there will be much fruit and blooms,
like these beautiful flowers
that were given to my mom
by my aunt in Australia.

Sometimes the seeds are taken away by the birds
and there is no chance for growth
if the seeds end up on concrete roads
or other hard places.
Jesus used this parable to show
that the Word of God is like seed.
 
If our hearts are open, willing to receive
and obey God's Word,
we will see fruit in our life.
What are the 'birds' that take away the Word?
Busyness, anxiety, the lures and pleasures of this world,
being lukewarm, etc.



Our hearts can be divided.
Many times we desire to follow God,
but we may do things that lead us away from Him,
like keeping company with people
who are worldly, insincere or irreverent.

 

But there is ALWAYS hope.
God is always waiting for us to turn to Him.

I like the story of Saul.
Although he was the enemy 
of the friends of Jesus,
and persecuted them,
God still called him and Saul responded.
His heart was ready, open, willing
to receive the seeds God 
wanted to plant in his heart.

Our hearts are like our homes.
We need to open the door
and welcome God and His Word!





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Friday, January 24, 2014

Paint Party Friday: Mountain Top Experience!

This is what I painted this morning:
"Jesus went up to the mountain
and summoned those He wanted
and they came to Him." Mark 3:13

Jesus liked to preach on a mountain, 
to teach people on a mountain (Matthew 5:1),
to reveal Himself on a mountain (Matthew 17:1),
and to meet with His disciples (Matthew 28:16).
Here in Mark 3:13, he called His followers 
and chose twelve "that they 
might be with him and 
that he might send them out 
to preach and to have 
authority to drive out demons."

What is it about a mountain?
On a mountain, 
you can be away from the crowds,
there is time to pray,
be alone with the Creator and 
the beautiful things He created.
You can look into the distance and 
see far far away.
We are not bound by 4 walls,
not made stressed by traffic,
not confused by the cacophony of the crowds.
We can listen, and learn, and grow.
We can hear God call us.
"Are not my tears stored in your vial?" 
Psalm 56:9 
What does this mean? 
 Perhaps that we should not carry a burden 
we are not meant to carry. 
If there is nothing we can do about it, 
we should leave it in God's hands, 
 leave the tears with God. 
God can turn our trials and suffering 
into wine- giving life and blessing to others. 
But if we keep it, we become bitter and 
it takes our life away. 
When we are in pain, we should strive 
 to understand and ease the pain of others.

That way we will not be like the Dead Sea 
which has no outlet streams. 
If we keep our tears, wallowing in 
self-pity and bitterness, 
God cannot use the tears 
to bless others, to change us and others. 
Trials are always a learning and 
growing experience.
It is a mountain top experience!



Linking with

Sometimes I put on my best pajamas and
join these wonderful blog parties!!!
So many WONDERFUL blogfriends to discover!

Thank you for dropping by!
You are appreciated!
Patsy

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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

WOYWW: The Battle is the Lord's


What's my work desk today?
More like a work lap as I am in the hospital again,
Watching over my mom. 

This is what I am working on this morning.
I read about how David volunteered to fight
the giant Philistine Goliath.
He was still a young man, with no battle experience
Except with the enemies of his sheep!

Like David, we all have our own battles.
The enemy fights dirty, using all the weapons
at his disposal- spreading lies, discouragement,
hopelessness....

 David used a slingshot and 5 smooth stones
to fight Goliath.
He was able to vanquish a big terrifying enemy
using those simple tools. 

If we partner with God, knowing the battle is not ours but His,
We will have victory.
It matters not if we have money, connections,
power- if God allows us to go into battle,
He also gives us the tools, the strength to win!

"Not as man sees does God see,
because He sees the appearance
but The Lord looks into the heart." 1Samuel 16:7
What does God see when He looks into my heart?
Does He see a heart that trusts Him
Even in the midst of a hard battle? 


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