Morning Glories : My Savior Cares!

"In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God."
Psalm 62:7

I have always loved this verse and love to pass it along to friends or family who are going through a hard time. It is a verse that is filled with comfort. You can see here that God is our solace. He is the harbor in the tempest, the calm in the storm. God is immovable and never changing and that makes Him dependable in all situations.

Sometimes we go through life and we may feel lost, but God is the beacon of light guiding us safely to the harbor. But we have to look for Him. We know in Matthew 6 Jesus tells us that we don’t have to worry about the things of this life if we seek after God first and foremost in our lives. When we are dealing with the pain of loss or suffering, God is our rock of strength and He is our refuge.

The greatest way to seek that refuge is within the Holy Scriptures and to come to God in prayer. Let Him speak to you through the Word, and then speak to Him humbly in prayer.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:7

In your time of trial, God cares for you. Don’t forget that!

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Have a blessed day! If you need prayers, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I would be honored to pray for you.

Morning Glories : The Greatest of These

“And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

This is a well-known verse, I’m sure we all know it. In fact 1 Corinthians 13 is famous itself. I love how the Bible stresses our love for one another, for our neighbors and even enemies, and most importantly God. Love is important. It’s vital. Without love, what are we doing here, as Christians?

There is an exercise that I am sure many people know of, that we picked up while Carl was at preaching school. Take 1 Corinthians 13 verses 4-7, and where it says “charity” or “love”, plug your name in there and see how it reads.

Kristen is longsuffering, and is kind; Kristen envieth not; Kristen vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave herself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Does it fit? sometimes my name doesn’t fit in there right but I sure do try to make sure it does.

Today as you go on your way, try to make your name fit in that verse as well as you can.

Have a beautiful day!

Morning Glories : Renew Your Strength!

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

I have always thought this passage to be such an empowering passage. Don’t you think so? It’s a comforting passage in times of trial because we know that no matter what, when we are waiting upon the Lord, we are going to be renewed and strengthened! When we wait upon the Lord, we can soar to greater heights!

And sometimes this renewing doesn’t happen physically. But we can know that spiritually we can be nourished and enriched and strengthened when we do go to God and lean on Him, and give Him our cares! I have had times in my life where I have felt as though I were in the “depths of despair” (to quote Anne of Green Gables), and I admit that sometimes I would let myself get so far gone before remembering that God is always there for me. Sometimes it is hard to remember this when you’re going through so much! It really hasn’t been long since I have learned this lesson – honestly not even a year ago, when I felt like my world was crashing down all around us and there was nobody for us to turn to.

Until I realized that there was! God is always right where He’s always been, and it is up to us to seek Him!

And when we do seek Him… burdens are lifted; our spirits soar! What a blessing! God is so good to us!

I hope your day is beautiful and blessed!

Morning Glories : Mary Wouldn't Go

Instead of the usual way we do this, I wanted to share this little tidbit that a friend had posted on Facebook. It is just something that parents should always keep in mind. We have a great responsibility. God has given us a little soul for loan... He gave it to us and wants it back some day. 

Mary Wouldn't Go

Mary had a little boy, his soul was white as snow
He never went to Sunday school ‘cause Mary wouldn’t go
He never heard the tales of Christ that thrill a young child’s mind
When other children went to school, this boy was left behind

And as he grew from babe to youth, she saw to her dismay
a soul that once was snowy white become a dingy gray
Realizing he was lost, she tried to win him back 
but the soul that once was white as snow had turned a dirty black

She even started back to church, and read her Bible too
And begged the preacher “isn’t there something you can do?”
The preacher tried and failed and said “we’re just too far behind, 
I tried to tell you years ago but you paid me no mind.” 

And so another soul was lost that once was white as snow
Sunday school just might have helped, 
But Mary wouldn’t go.

Morning Glories : Children of God

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God:” 1 John 3:1a

Besides my God and my husband, the next person who holds the most affection and adoration in my heart is my child. I am sure everyone who knows me knows this. Benjamin is very precious to me and I do what I can to ensure his safety and health, physically but most importantly spiritually. I rejoice when he rejoices and I feel my heart break when he is torn apart for whatever reason. I hate to discipline him although I know it’s necessary. I do it all because I love him dearly.

Think about all of this in light of the fact that the Father has called us His children. Don’t you think that all that applies for how God cares for us? He takes care of us physically and most importantly spiritually, feeding us by way of His word. Don’t you think He feels our joy and our sorrow? And His discipline, isn’t it difficult for Him, but necessary and out of love?

When you go about your day, do you think about how blessed you are to have a Father who bestows such love upon us and calls us His children? Doesn’t it make our life more meaningful?

It is my prayer that we all will go about our day, remembering that God is our Father and we are His children, and act accordingly. I know that as a kid I wouldn’t do certain things not only because I was taught a certain way by my wonderful parents, but because I didn’t want to bring shame to their name. I didn’t want to behave in a manner that would reflect badly upon them. That is how I believe I should act in light of the Heavenly Father claiming me as His child. I need to act in a manner that reflects positively on the claim that He has laid on my life from the moment I obeyed Him in baptism, rising anew a child of God.

I hope you all have a blessed day!

Morning Glories : The Ultimate Valentine

"For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you something that I found on Pinterest. 

Beautiful, right? 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Morning Glories : Peace, Be Still!

“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, 

and said unto the sea, 

‘Peace, be still.’ And the wind ceased, 

and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:39

A few weeks ago I was subbing for a class on Wednesday night and it was just me and this sweet little girl in there learning about the Sea of Galilee. We got to the passage about Jesus calming the storm and as I explained it to the young girl, I too came to a deeper realization about the words of our Master, “Peace, be still.”

There are some times in my life when I feel I have nothing but turmoil around me. I know that whatever I have faced is never the worst thing in the world. There are many other people who have faced much worse, but you all know that when you’re in the thick of it, sometimes you just can’t find any sort of silver lining on any of the clouds. You are just in the biggest storm of your life!

Isn’t it true that all we need in this life to calm our storms is the Master? Whatever it may be, if we lean on Christ, we know that He, the Good Shepherd, will guide us through! How amazing is it when we allow Him to say “Peace, be still.” to the storms of life! If only we would put our trust fully on Him. Jesus Christ alone can calm the storms of life and take away our burdens.

1. I’ve found my Lord and He is mine, 
2. He won me by His love;
   I’ll serve Him all my years of time,
   And dwell with Him above.
   • Refrain:
     His yoke is easy, His burden is light,
     I’ve found it so, I’ve found it so;
     His service is my sweetest delight,
     His blessings ever flow.
3. No other Lord but Christ I know,
   I walk with Him alone;
   His streams of love forever flow,
   Within my heart His throne.
4. He’s dearer to my heart than life,
   He found me lost in sin;
   He calmed the sea of inward strife, And bade me come to Him.
5. I’ve tried the road of sin and found,
   Its prospects all deceive;
   I’ve proved the Lord, and joys abound,
   More than I could believe.

Think on that today, and every day, especially as you face life’s hardships! Have a beautiful day!

Morning Glories : Meditate!

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

Yesterday’s verse had to do with ‘oh how happy’ is the man, and so does today’s! I had a different verse picked out, one that was stuck in my head all day yesterday, but then I got to thinking about these two verses, mainly because of what verse two says about meditating on the law of the Lord. The reason this really stuck out to me was because yesterday I had a different Psalm stuck in my head and I found myself thinking about it all day and I did find that I was pretty much happy all day long.

These two verses say that the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, who doesn’t stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful is a happy man – because his delight is in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it day and night. I found this to be true with me yesterday! As long as I had my thoughts on scripture, on godly thoughts, on things that really uplifted me… I was happy!

So I will share with you the verse that was ‘stuck’ in my head all day long, which I thought about as I went about my way:

“This is the day that the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Keep that in your heart today and think about it every chance you get and see if you don’t feel happy. Doesn’t that verse, just reading it, bring a smile to your face? Each and every day that we wake up to is a blessing from God and we should rejoice and be glad in it! We may be dealing with many trials all at once, we may be sick or have sick loved ones, or maybe we just don’t feel like we got enough sleep… maybe we are dealing with money issues or find ourselves without a job, but just think… God has blessed you with another day on this earth. 

Why not make the best of it while you can? Rejoice. Be glad in it. You are able to choose the mood that you are in, why not choose to be thankful to God? See if you don’t feel blessed if you do.

I hope you all face the new day with a mind to meditate on God’s word! Have a blessed day!

Morning Glories : Be Blessed!

I said I would bring these back, and here we are! For a bit I'm going to repost some old ones as I get back in the habit!

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD,
and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:7

I always enjoy the passages that open up with “Blessed is the man…” because it always brings a smile to my face. I know that whatever is going to follow that phrase is going to be something good. I love that the word “blessed” is literally translated as “oh how happy!”. “Oh how happy is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” How can you read that passage and others like it and not feel happy?

Trusting in God is something that I have had to learn to do ‘the hard way’. I never really knew what it meant to trust in God until I had no other option than to do just that. But as soon as I did, things just … fell into place and I did become happy because I knew that God was taking care of me – I did have hope!

Our God is an awesome God! He cares for me, and He cares for YOU! I pray that today whatever might be weighing our minds down, we might give it up to God and let Him take the burden off of us. Trust in God! Find your hope in Him and let yourself be blessed!

I hope you all have a beautiful day! 

Feels Like Spring

It feels so much like Spring already that I felt like giving my blog a facelift! Hope you enjoy it! I'm going to try to devote more time to blogging and I plan on bringing back the "Morning Glories" as I know there were a lot of folks who enjoyed that and frankly I really need it again! I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

Morning Glories: Rich

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
Isaiah 61:10

Have you ever thought about how rich we are? When you’re not blinded by worldly things that so easily and frequently get in the way, you can see just how rich we are in Christ. We are clothed with the garments of salvation that have been bought at the greatest price. All the riches in the world could not come close to being sufficient to the price that was paid on the cross for our salvation. We have been covered with the robe of righteousness, and all we had to do was become obedient to God’s will.

We are so very, very rich, aren’t we? I don’t know how much more I could say about this verse without being repetitive. I hope you all feel rich today as you remember what our Lord has clothed us with.

Morning Glories: The Winning Team

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Matthew 16:33

Life is difficult sometimes. It is heartbreaking to see the state that the world is in, with the perversions that exist. Sometimes it is overwhelming because we Christians have been commissioned to fight that. We’re to go out and spread the good news in a world of bad news and sometimes it is just so overwhelming, especially when the good news is not the popular thing to be spreading in this day and age.

But Christ has given us this gem of hope. “I have overcome the world.” Because of this, we can be of good cheer and we can have peace. Christ has already won the victory, that much is certain. He has vanquished the final enemy: death.

Christ has already told us that He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). God is on our side!

“What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31

We can fight! God is with us, Christ is with us, and we know then that we are on the winning team. We have hope, while the enemy has none. We can have peace, while the enemy can have none. Be of good cheer.

I hope you all have a beautiful day and think of ways to be courageous! Remember that God is with you!

Morning Glories: Make Joyful Your Default

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:
but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
Proverbs 17:22

My bones were so dry yesterday. I did not have a very good day due to a lot of factors piling up on each other. I tried to be as joyful as I could but I just couldn’t seem to make myself have a good day. I had forgotten, it seems, that it is my choice to make the best of any situation. If only I had seen this verse yesterday!

It is so easy to let yourself have a bad day, isn’t it? I am sure we all have those “off” days when things just don’t go our way and we just feel down in the dumps. It happens, I know, for everyone. But it is easy to let these moods be our default, too. And when we do, we are just drying up our bones!

The medicine is a joyful heart! Here are a few other verses to go along with this and maybe we can see how it is that we can make joyful our default!

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:
but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”
Proverbs 15:13

{remember our post about blessed meaning ‘O, how happy’?}

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
Psalm 32:1

“O taste and see that the LORD is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Psalm 34:8

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalm 1:1-2

“And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.”
Psalm 35:9

I know that there are many other verses in the Bible that show me how I can be joyful. I need to meditate on God’s word and that will help me make joyful my default. I always look up to those people who always seem to be in joyful, thanksgiving, content mode.

So today and the days following, that is what I am going to try to do. Make joyful my default mode and be better able to deal with the “off” days. I hope you all have a beautiful Monday!

Morning Glories: New Every Morning

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end:
They are new every morning!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul;
Therefore I will hope in Him!”
Lamentations 3:22-24

Good morning! I know that it has been a while since I have posted a Morning Glories post, but I figured today would be a good day to start off the day with a  little bit of glory for God.

This verse is another one that I can’t really read without singing the song. I really like this one! And it is so good to read on a Monday morning. I know it is so easy to dread Monday mornings because you’re coming off of the weekend and getting down to business once more, but instead of dreading it, we can look at this verse and be thankful that God is faithful, that His steadfast love never ceases, and that each morning brings new mercies, new blessings, and new opportunities to serve Him.

When you look at it that way, Monday morning doesn’t seem so daunting, right? 

I hope you all embrace this new Morning and continue hoping in God and living for Him! Have a beautiful Monday!

Morning Glories: Be Still

“Be still, and know that I am God:”
Psalm 43:10a

There are some times in our life when we can easily lose our heads and our minds in situations. There are times when you feel lost and alone and feel as if you are in the depths of despair. These words from our Heavenly Father should be words that we use to comfort ourselves. “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Find comfort and calm in knowing that God is always in control. Sometimes things happen in our life that we can’t understand and we can’t control and we can’t keep from happening because that’s just how things are sometimes. But know that God is still God, He is still in control, and we can still lean on Him and draw comfort from Him.

Pass it on! If you know someone who is hurting, in any way, pass the words along to them. I hope you will all have a blessed day!

Morning Glories: Seek to be Restored

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
Psalm 51:10-12

I can’t read these verses without singing the song in my head. Do you know which song I’m talking about? It’s one of my favorites. I love it. I love these verses because the psalmist perfectly portrays our complete reliance on God, especially in our darker times.

Nobody is perfect. Christ Jesus is the only One who lived on this earth and lived it perfectly. He was in always tempted as we are, yet without sin! {Hebrews 4:15}

We do fall, we all do. {Romans 3:23} And when we do, where do we go? We go to God {at least, we should}. Isn’t it comforting to know that even when we mess up {and we will}, we can always go to God for restoration and renewal.

These verses also really shows us that there is joy in salvation, and that means when we are separated from God, there is no joy. At least no true joy, spiritual joy. It is so nice to have that joy in Christ, such a comfort and a blessing to know that when we are within the flock, we can rest assured that we are protected, cleaned, and can live joyfully and contentedly.

May we always seek to be restored if the situation arises that we need to be! I hope your day is beautiful, and if you encounter storms, I hope that you are safe and protected, and your loved ones as well!

Morning Glories: Outstanding and Everlasting

"...and, lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world."
Matthew 28:20

Aren’t the words of our Savior so comforting? It makes everything seem so bearable here on earth, or at least more so than if we thought we were all alone. I find so much comfort in the fact that I am never alone in my trials and problems. There is a hymn that I love to sing that really shows the feeling in our need for Christ:

Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home

When my way grows drear precious lord linger near
When my light is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home

When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home

Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home.

And Jesus has said that He is with us always. How amazing is that?

Comforting. Amazing. Christ's words, His teachings, His love. Outstanding and Everlasting. Christ is with me, and my soul is at peace.

I hope you all have a blessed day and find your soul at peace as Christ is with you!

Morning Glories: Glorifying God

“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16

One of my daily goals should always be to glorify God. I will be the first to admit to you that I am not perfect and that I do not always have my head in the right place. I need verses like this one to remind me that my purpose should be to glorify God in my daily life, and how exactly to do it.

Let your light so shine. We know that Christians are often described as being lights in a dark world. Am I living up to this? I like to think that I am living up to this description with my daily life. The way I dress, the way I talk, the way I handle certain situations. There have been times in my life even recently where I knew that I was struggling to shine my light for others to see and in those situations what do you do? For me, I had to eliminate those situations from my life.

Prioritizing can be so hard sometimes because we are all the time finding new things to do or new places to be. Our schedules are filled to the brim and it’s hard to ‘make time’ for the things that really matter: Bible study, prayer, teaching others, doing good deeds for others.

It is said that it takes 32 days to develop a good habit. Maybe if we do our best to prioritize better for 32 days it will just come naturally for us!

This is just a little reminder to me, and to you, what the goal of a Christian should be. Glorifying the Father with our good works by letting our light shine in this dark world. You can’t be seen if you hide out in your house or if you do everything in secrecy. Let your light shine today and every day and make it your mission to glorify God in everything you do!

I hope your day is filled with blessings! If you have tips or ideas on how to prioritize and keep on track, please do share in the comments!

Morning Glories: Crucified With Christ

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20

This is a verse that was brought up Sunday at the Young Adult devo and it has always been one that I have always enjoyed. As a young kid it was probably one of the first that I learned by heart that stuck with me because of the song we would sing at Bible Camp. I can’t read this verse without singing the song in my head.

This is a verse that is filled with hope. We have been crucified with Christ when we become Christians. And yet we rise again a new creature from the watery grave of baptism, and we live. But we’re not the ones living anymore. We don’t live for ourselves. We should be mere vessels for Christian living.

I just love this verse because it puts to word what a Christian really is. We’ve been buried with Christ and risen again, and now we live a life for him, or at least that is what we should always strive for. We live our lives by faith in Christ, who died for our sins because He loved us so immensely, even as sinners!

I will never be able to repay the price that Christ paid for my sins, but I can live my life for Him since He gave His for me.

I hope that I live each day of my life in a worthy manner reflecting my gratitude for this sacrifice, and I pray you try to do the same as well! Have a blessed day!

Morning Glories : Oh Yes, He Cares

"In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God."
Psalm 62:7

I have always loved this verse and love to pass it along to friends or family who are going through a hard time. It is a verse that is filled with comfort. You can see here that God is our solace. He is the harbor in the tempest, the calm in the storm. God is immovable and never changing and that makes Him dependable in all situations.

Sometimes we go through life and we may feel lost, but God is the beacon of light guiding us safely to the harbor. But we have to look for Him. We know in Matthew 6 Jesus tells us that we don’t have to worry about the things of this life if we seek after God first and foremost in our lives. When we are dealing with the pain of loss or suffering, God is our rock of strength and He is our refuge.

The greatest way to seek that refuge is within the Holy Scriptures and to come to God in prayer. Let Him speak to you through the Word, and then speak to Him humbly in prayer.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:7

In your time of trial, God cares for you. Don’t forget that!

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Have a blessed day! If you need prayers, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I would be honored to pray for you.