Compassion Needed

I was going through my reading for today, and these words from Matthew 9 jumped off the page at me.

35And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Jesus walked all over the place in Israel.
Everywhere he went he saw the needs of the people.
He taught them. He healed them. He proclaimed the good news of God.

And he didn't get mad, impatient, frustrated, etc with them. He got angry with their sin, but mostly he was just there, meeting the needs that they had. He was compassionate.

I read that and thought....wow.... that is such a contrast to myself.

Compassion is often not my first response when faced with the needs of others. Particularly if I see the same thing, over and over and over again. I tend to think... STOP IT! Do it differently folks! I do have compassion, don't get me wrong. I have compassion for individuals that I meet who have a need that I can do something about. But for the masses of people that I meet on a daily basis, most of who do not know Christ, I don't have that generic compassion for them.

I think if I did I would be more pressed to introduce them to Christ as every available opportunity. I read these verses and I think ..... I have got to be able to do more. Where is my starting motivation? I read these verses and I think...ah...that's what I need. I need to pray that God increases my compassion for the folks of people I meet every single day of my life. And then that I can build upon that compassion to show Christ to them. HE is the one who can meet their needs best, all I have to do is introduce them.

I"m Somewhat Rare???

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

I got this courtesy of Joel's Thoughts who I was sent to by Baxter. :)

I hope in your words

I have to admit, it's been a struggle this week to find the time to study God's word. Not sure if anyone else has missed it, but I sure have..... and I can tell in how I feel too that I've missed my deliberate God time.

So even though it is late and I"m tired, I am taking the time now to read a bit.

Read tonight the last few verses of Psalm 119. I read these words, and I have to admit, really made me feel my lack in good time with God this week. Check them out:

145With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!
I will keep your statutes.
146I call to you; save me,
that I may observe your testimonies.
147I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I hope in your words.
148My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promise.

I LOVE having my quiet time in the morning. I really do.

I do though, have to admit that sometimes my "life" intervenes.
1. sometimes I sleep later than I aught
2. sometimes an email comes in that I "just have to read right now"
3. sometimes my "distractability" hits hard and I just can't focus for the life of me
4. sometimes I don't know what happens, but devotions ain't it! ARGH is what I say on those days. :(

But then I read verses like those above and I am reminded of what I truly love. Taking the time to stop and think about what is most important. The psalmist hears calls out to God... first thing in the morning. He calls out knowing that God will answer him. His hope is found in the words of God. he is more watchful for what he knows of God, more watchful to God's words than the watchmen are of the night.

Just think about that. Watchmen HAD to be alert. Safety depended on it. So keeping awake and alert and watchful was important. And the psalmist is more alert than that! that's how keen he is for God's word. This is how keen I am to be. As alert and ready as if my very survival depended upon it..... and indeed it does!

Our God is indeed a jealous God. He is holy and just and righteous. he forgives my sin and all he asks from me to be like him as best I can. That means knowing him, loving him and trusting him and THAT requires knowing God's word.

So yes,...... I must long for God's word. It must be the first thing I reach for in the morning.

Ah...Tis good to have this call back. To have this reminder of what is most important. :)

Cheers all, time for bed. Earlier I get down the earlier I can get feeling alert for what God has in store for me tomorrow! :)

Changes made

Seeing as I didn't know that my blog took forever to load up, I thought I would change my template, this at my hubbie's urging.

So I didn't do anything fancy, just picked a simple one from Blogger's available templates. Hopefully this will help. If not, I have no clue what else to do to help out.

I use Firefox if that makes any difference.

Blogger Reflection Award

The reason for the title is because this award should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy... of knowing them and being blessed by them.






Of course, this isn't as easy as one might think. Some of the people I would choose have been chosen before and it's always nice to spread these things out a bit. :) Jen, Kim, Baxter and Carla have been done already so..... here are my days' choices.

1. My hubbie Jim, what can I say, he makes me think.... sometimes even when I don't want to. :) His blog is: Kerussomen Christon Estauromenon (try saying that five times fast!) . I do have to admit, sometimes he just makes me laugh to. Good posts, listen to his preaching sometime, he does a good job of expounding God's word.

2. This man, Even so, over at Voice of Vision, I have learned from. Some of his posts of answered long held thoughts and made me reconsider. I see God in a lot of what he writes. His responses to others seem well-considered as well.

3. Scott over at Random Responses is also one I learn from. Some of his posts make me think, others well... they don't, but that's okay. He's a good preacher, you should give his sermons a listen to. He is an encouraging blogger.

4. Holly at Seeking Faithfulness. Oh...meeting her is something I would love to do some day. Share a bag of Doritos (even though it's not good for me) and just sit and chat about kids, God and what we think about it all. Would be fun.

5. Paul over at Kerux Noemata recently did a series on things he likes about his church. Made me think, just as he often does. Really appreciate his writings, learn from him, sometimes laugh, but all round a good reflective blogger.


Rules of participating, don't feel obligated, but it is nice when you join the fun :) :
1. Copy this post.
2. Replace my bloggers with yours & reflect on five bloggers and write a least a paragraph about each one.
3. Make sure you link this post so others can read it and the rules.
4. Go leave your chosen bloggers a comment and let them know they've been given the award.
5. Put the award icon on your site.

Sparks

Kim at the upward call put out a call for cat lovers to post a pic of their cats.

This is our Sparks. He is a 7 year old tom cat. He started off as my cat. Would listen to me, was relatively trained..... And then... he decided that he would be my husband's cat. The fellow who tolerates cats, but doesn't particularly love them. All training disappeared (other than the go on the table and you're dead) :) That seemed to stick for some reason.

He is a good solid tom cat. Likes to lie around the house. Will catch flies for us. Doesn't have nasty habits unless, like any tom cat I've met, you pet him wrong and he'll let you know that. Doesn't hover for extended petting sessions, but will just lie on my hubbie for hours (as long as hubbie doesn't move). Tolerates the boy child chasing him really well. AND doesn't have Pica which even though he does get the odd hair ball.....I'm not constantly having to pick up after him. :) A good thing that.

Here you see him with a previous cat. Kip was a cat we got from a rescue. He was an interesting cat that we ended up not keeping. He had PICA so would literally eat anything he could get down his throat and then would promptly toss his cookies. I didn't like it, could live with it, but when he decided that using a litter box was not something he was going to do He left our home for someone else's. He was a bug catcher extraordinaire and even caught a bat once. A cat who could hold a grudge. Nice meow. In many ways had an endearing personality, but he would NOT have been a cat for a boy child. But ah....his bug clearing abilities....we still miss those what with living next to a horse farm...we have too many flies...just too many. :)

I've been rated....

I have to admit, my rating surprised me.

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

* death (5x)
* dead (2x)

Ah well.. no more quoting scripture I think! :)

Oh...where did I get this from? Not sure anymore, Kim or Rebecca or ???? not sure where I saw it first.

God's commands, my delight

When I was reading from Psalm 119 this morning I remembered a line from Jim's sermon yesterday. About how when he was in college, people were asked how they deal with hardship or stress in life, and his response was to turn to the bible, and how people were shocked by that answer. I remember that line, because I was surprised that people would be shocked by that answer...about the need to turn to God's word in times of trouble, sorrow and hardship.

Here is what turned my thoughts to Jim's message:

89Forever, O LORD, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91By your appointment they stand this day,
for all things are your servants.
92If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
95The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your testimonies.
96I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

Now I will have to admit, is turning to God's word the first thing that I do when "stuff" happens? No. Idiot that I am. I always turn to family first. But I have noticed over the years that family(this includes good friends and church) isn't enough most of the time. That God's word is what settles my spirit and heart. God's word is what tells me, reminds me of what is most important. And I have learned, like this psalmist, to delight in the commands of God, they cover everything in life. God's word meets anything that life can throw at me. And that's rather cool.

Makes sense I suppose, that God's word can meet everything in life, considering that God is the one who made all, who sustains all and such like. But logic aside, it's still cool. All I have to do is remember what I already know. God's word will meet my needs, and I should turn to it first, instead of to family...not that family isn't important, and God has given them to me for a reason, but HE is more important, and HE is the one who ultimately settles my mind, spirit and heart.

Our Anniversary

So yesterday was Jim and I's 5th anniversary. We got married June 22, 2002.

It was an interesting day. I got up and walked the dogs and was taking care of our outside critters when Jim got up and wished me a happy anniversary before I wished him one. Surprised me that! he's not always so good at keeping track of dates (my job I guess) :)

Anyways, Justin was in a sleepy, whiney mood so we had a quiet relaxed breakfast sitting on the couch eating cereal (yes I know, not the healthiest, but it worked for us).

Then Jim was back off to work on the funeral prep. While Justin and I kept busy in the house. Justin once again thought that helping mommy wash the plastics was the best thing in the world to do. So Mommy had the opportunity to wash the floor AGAIN! Ah well.. The boy had fun, had a chance to "keen, ceen" (clean, clean in case you don't understand toddler), and learned a bit of work ethic too! :)

Eva (Jim's mom) came up at 100 p.m. so she could watch Justin while Jim and I attended the funeral. It was such a sad funeral, for two reasons. First that in the remembrances of this young man, there was no mention of his love for God. Just his love for wrestling and food and family. He was raised in the faith, but no mention of it in his life. The Second reason is that he was still such a young man. Just a young fellow, just starting to think about what to do with his life. Very sad. Please, pray for his folks and siblings, his younger sister really struggles with all of this. After the luncheon Jim and I headed off for a night out.

We, after browsing around town, ended up at the Mandarin, after rejecting Montana's. Mandarin is a Chinese-English buffet. Nice place to eat. And we discovered to my delight that it was also crab night! YEAH!!! all you can eat crab!!!!! :) We had good food and good conversation. A nice way to celebrate five years of marriage. :)

Today Jim is off to a Classis meeting so Justin and I are just relaxing at home. We did run out for a bit this morning to do some garage-saling, not many in town and most of them just "junk" sales, but Justin did find a "winnie the pooh" themed toy that he was just taken with. The lady gave us a good deal so it came home with us. Got our weekend supply of milk and then home to play in the backyard.

Anyways, sounds like the boy child is sleeping so I'm going to cut the lawn! Don't need church folks thinking I'm lax in the my lawn-cutting duties! :)

God's word to be delighted in

I read these lines this morning from Psalm 119 and was convicted in my spirit.

9How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
13With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
14In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

It is so easy to wander away from God. To not put him first. To get distracted by the day to day's of life. It's no small wonder to me that God had his word written down, what better way to remind his people what he wants from them? What better way to remind his people what he has done for them?

The psalmist knows the value to God's word and God's commands. He seeks after God. He wants to know the things of God. He knows to meditate on God's words and his commands. He knows to delight in them. He knows the importance of remembering them. He knows the importance of sharing them with those around him.

I need to make this my prayer as well. I need to think deeply on God's words. I need to treasure his words so much that I have to share them with others. And I need to do this diligently, showing that God is important and that I will not forget his will for me.

God wants us to Remember

I was reading today in Deuteronomy 26 and it struck me at how often God reminds us, or gives us "stuff" to do in order to help us remember what he has done in our lives. It is found throughout the bible. Remember when I saved you out of Egypt, remember when I brought you out of desolation, remember when I answered your prayers, etc... found throughout the Old Testament and carried into the New. The biggest one on the New Testament is the Lord's supper "do this in remembrance of me".

God wants us to remember.

I wonder if God puts so many commands to remember into his words because he knows how easily we forget. If we do stuff, i.e. celebrate the Lord's Supper, we are involving more senses than just our brains. We involve our spirits, our minds, our taste buds, our touch, our sense of community and so forth. All these things help us to keep foremost what God has done for us.

May I find ways to remember all that God has done for me.

Some Browsing

Doing some browsing this morning.

found a couple of sites that I think are interesting and would like to go back to.

This one with videos of people doing freestyle with their dogs. I would love to do this someday, but I see what these folks have done and think, there is NO way I could ever be that good!

The blog Agile Ice is new to me. But I liked the thinking game with treats and would like to go back and finish reading what other training tips he might have.

Scootering is also an activity I would like to do some day. That or carting. :) So this primer on scootering/mushing is helpful. It would be fun to do all this stuff well enough to be able to train other folks in how to do it. Get them working with their dogs!

Why I Love the Lord

I find this psalm so true. Isn't it? We often love God because of what he has done for us. We don't just love God because he's God. We love God because he offers us salvation, help, a place of refuge, he created us... we have a whole myriad of reasons why we love God. But most of the time it because he does stuff for us. He hears us. He deals well with us. The 'stuff' God does gives us reason to praise him. So this psalm speaks well of my love for the Lord God.

Psalm 116

1I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!"

5Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6The LORD preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.

10I believed, even when I spoke,
"I am greatly afflicted";
11I said in my alarm,
"All mankind are liars."

12What shall I render to the LORD
for all his benefits to me?
13I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

15Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
16O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD

!

Give attention

Aren't these words from Isaiah 51 neat?

4"Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

I read them and I see the hand of God at work.
I see God's steadfastness and holiness.

What do you see?

Prayers requested

two prayers, both for deaths in families

a good friend Grace, of mine, her dad died. This was expected. he was an old man who had health issues. Doesn't change the grieving process though.

second, I don't know all the details. But a neighbour lady, Tina, lost her oldest lad. he was just a lad yet. an apparently healthy normal lad. Found him dead in his bed. They have yet to determine the cause of death. Jim will be doing this funeral service.

Please keep the families of Grace and Tina in your prayers.

Thanks so much.

Update:

So.. I found out today that I was incorrect on the age of Tina's boy. He's her second oldest. He was just 20 years old. I had assumed younger than that because I often see a blond hair boy hanging around their place and she often talks about her boy as if he still needs a lot of guidance etc. :) So my apologies on the age thing. But she found him dead on his bed. Such a horrid thing for a momma to find. Autopsy done, no known cause of death. Just a normal healthy young man who just died! So very hard. That service is this Friday afternoon.

Grace's dad's funeral is on Tuesday next week at 1000 a.m. Trying to figure out care for Justin so I can go. :) I'll figure something out though.

Thanks all for prayers said.

Makes my Heart smile

I have to admit, it makes my mother's heart smile when....

My boy has LOTS of things he can say thank you for. :)

We have this routine at night before bed, thank you God for ______. I usually list the different things that we've through the day, complete with sorry for when I was bad when I did ________ (Justin's viewpoint) then we end with God bless different family members.

Tonight when I said Thank you God for, I paused briefly only to hear my boy say, corn (he had just eaten some popcorn). So I said and what else? Missy, cookies, swimming, sand, trucks, mommy, dad!, and a whole host of other things. When I finally asked is there anything else, he shook his head so we did "in Jesus name" and he said his Amen.

I just thought it was too neat! :)

Sunday Hymn

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah, from the heavens praise His Name;
Praise Jehovah in the highest, all His angels, praise proclaim.
All His hosts, together praise Him, sun and moon and stars on high;
Praise Him, O you heav’ns of heavens, and you floods above the sky.

Refrain

Let them praises give Jehovah, for His Name alone is high,
And His glory is exalted, and His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted far above the earth and sky.

Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command;
Them forever He established, His decree shall ever stand,
From the earth, O praise Jehovah, all you seas, you monsters all,
Fire and hail and snow and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call.

Refrain

All you fruitful trees and cedars, all you hills and mountains high,
Creeping things and beasts and cattle, birds that in the heavens fly,
Kings of earth, and all you people, princes great, earth’s judges all;
Praise His Name, young men and maidens, agèd men, and children small.

Refrain

---

To read more about Kitzpatrick, go here. He was a fellow he really liked music. :)

Happy Dad's Day Hun

my hubbie.

Just think, in another 5 days we will have been married for 5 years.

Just think, he's been a dad for almost 2 years.



It's been good. :)

Sisters

even though I disagree that other women "do it all" I did like the reminders in this email of the importance in remembering that God doesn't leave us isolated. He gives us people who can share our joys and sorrows. But in the end... HE is the one who does it all. For all the people out there who have prayed with me, rejoiced with me, who have made me feel welcome. To you I want to say THANK YOU. :)

_________

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Jobs come and go. Love waxes and wanes.. Men don't do what they're supposed to do. Hearts break. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Careers end. BUT - Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you, or come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins and extended family all bless our life. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead, nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

The Wooden Bowl

Note: I have edited this a bit since I got it in an email. I dislike those... pass this along if you are a person of faith or if you don't pass this along you are breaking a change, or risk bad luck type of inclusions to emails.

_______

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.

But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl!

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?'

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.