Thoughts for the Week~Nov. 23

[Pat]

Come and join us this week and share with us your plans and thoughts for the week!  We sing, share and encourage other members here.  We also love to view your photos!

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Some Timely Quotes

The right manner of growth is to grow less in one's own eyes.

—Thomas Watson


Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

—Charles Spurgeon

Morning Devotional...

Psalm 103
By Alan Moak



This psalm isn't for everyone.  It's only for the benefit of people who meet a very stringent qualification - they have to fear the Lord.  The song is full of reminders of the goodness, the righteousness, and the mercy of God – but only toward those who fear Him.  Obviously, then, the first thing we need to have when reading this psalm for ourselves is at least a measure of true fear of the Lord.

But what is that fear?  Well, first and foremost, It's a deep, heartfelt recognition of the godhood of God – of His almightiness and majesty, along with an appropriate response of reverence and obedience, along with a desire to worship Him and please Him just because He's worth it.  It's an attitude that has to be created in us humans by God's own Holy Spirit working within.

David wrote this song for those who experience that kind of holy fear. Those who qualify should very often be aware of the sheer magnitude of God's goodness and of the benefits He showers upon His people. They should often be reminded of His forgiveness of their sins, of His comfort and healing power on every occasion of sickness, of His protection from evil and rescues from death, of His lovingkindnesses and tender mercies, and of His providence of all good things in this life!  They shouldn't mind setting aside special times to praise and thank Him for these things again and again!

They even need to be reminded, of how their gracious God can and does move even the dishonest and uncaring men of this world to deal beneficially with them at times.  The psalmist says, "the Lord executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed." 

He reminds them that God has always been gracious to those who have that kind of godly fear. He reminds them that "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel."  He reminds them that "the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy."  Though He shows His people His anger when they sin, yet He also forgives - "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities." He says, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him."  In fact, he sings, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us!  As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For the Lord knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."

David goes on to remind these reverent people that their days are short on the earth, but that God's mercy is everlasting and that His goodness will remain upon them and their children as long as they keep His covenant, obey His commandments, and fear Him. And it will remain upon them not only in this life but in the next as well.

With such a gracious God in mind, David then sings even to the angels and calls upon them to bless Him as well!  In fact, he calls on all people, all angels, and all creation together - to bless God's Name in all the universe!  Finally, he's reminded that he himself should bless the Lord along with all God's reverent people. He says, "Bless the Lord, O MY soul!"  We too need to remind ourselves with those words!

Do you really fear Him?  I mean – do you have a godly reverence because of His majesty and goodness?  Then this psalm is for you.

[Jeanne Lee]

Pat, thank you for this week's devotional.  Al did such a wonderful job of explaining the Psalms and it is great to see his work revived.

PS:  sorry I forgot to remember to remind you not to forget to remember. 

[JudyB]

Pat any idea of dates for the duct work?

[Marilyn]

Pat thank you for the devotional, Psalm 103 is one of y very favorites

[Pat]

No dates yet, Judy.

Marilyn, it's been one of my favorite Psalms as well.  Our Dad loved it so much, his car licence plate was PSA103!!

And Al Moak certainly has done a great job with his devotional thoughts on it.

[Carol]

Must say that it is so refreshing to meet with you this morning as there is rage and destruction in this country being fed by even our government official.  What a sad day for America. 

Wonderful writing by Al Moak.  He makes the case so articulate in his writing. 

Pat:  I have lost two friends lately and think of them often.  Your losing five friends is just sad beyond.  I know you will hold together with your sister, your good friends, husband and most of all - firm faith.  Love the license plate your dad had on his car. 

Larry:  Good catch by the tech.  We are thankful for that training to help people like you - our good buddy!

Daughter and family are on the road today to drive from Denver to the Dallas area.  They plan it in one day just like we used to do but there is no way Don and I could do that again. Oldest son and our grandson are up in the hills snowmobiling and that is good because they need some time together. 

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone.  It has been a very cloudy morning.  It was a full morning as Pat and I went to Walmart the first thing this morning to get what we needed for the Thanksgiving dinner.  I used the electric cart to pick up the grocery items while she got some items in the pharmacy area and the cleaning supplies and paper product areas.  Shortly after getting home and things unloaded and put away I went to a meeting.  The rest of the day will be spent resting and doing what I want to do.  The long time friend we had hoped would join us for Thanksgiving has declined so it will just be four of us for the day. 

Carol, the burning and vandalism far exceeds peaceful protest.  I have to wonder would all of this happened if a black policeman had been the shooter.  I thought the DA did a good job of explaining the evidence and was wise to release it.  However, there were folks that were going to riot regardless of the outcome.  It seems that our race relations are going backward in the country. 

Pat, thanks for sharing the devotional thoughts from our long time friend, Al.  He wrote so well as did your Jack.  Our son and DIL have no central heating or air conditioning in their house.  He is getting some estimate of the central system, which would require duct work that doesn't exist or using the systems that work off of a heat pump that is basically ductless.  So sad in losing our friends and five in such a short time is beyond reason. 

Marilyn, your plan for your new dog sounds like a very good one.  Cats do love to bat at the Christmas decorations. 

[Ruth Ann Bice]

Hi, friends,

Busy-ness has hijacked my computer time, I fear. I can't even imagine where that time went!

At any rate, it's great to hear from all of you. Pat, thanks for bringing Al's comments on Psalm 103 to our attention.

Marilyn, your dog looks like a sweetie.

Carol, your days certainly seem already lined up for the week.

Larry, here's hoping your little change to the pacemaker is a great change. It's hard to deal with being tired so quickly. I don't have a pacemaker, but have certainly learned how little it takes to tire me out these days.

Judy, how nice to keep up with you and John.

Jeane, thanks for your being steady and here.

And, for all our USA readers, y'all have a happy Thanksgiving. And for all others, please know that I wish you good days, too.

Till later,
Ruth Ann

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone.  It is early morning here in Georgia but they have taken the rain out of the forecast but it is going to be cold on Thanksgiving, into the high 30's or low 40's.  I expect to have a very quiet day today as we prepare for our son and DIL's visit tomorrow.  Pat will be baking pies and then preparing the green bean casserole to be baked tomorrow.  She has chosen a pretty easy to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.  I will go to coffee in a few minutes and will pick up my friend, who generally doesn't go on Wednesday's since he works at the food bank but they are closed today so he will be able to go.  I do need to pick up one item at Kroger's that we forgot yesterday at Walmart.  We did receive the news last night that a very dear friend, who had fallen into the clutches of Alzheimer's had passed away in his sleep.  He had only been in a care facility for two or three weeks. 

Ruth Ann,  priorities with that computer time. 

[Ruth Ann Bice]

Hi, friends,

Larry, thanks for giving me the area forecast. That makes it easier to know what my children in Georgia will be living with this weekend.

I must scurry on to get ready to be gone for a few days.

Y'all have a good rest of the week.

Ruth Ann

[Marilyn]

Hello Buddies, 54 years ago today I gave birth to my twins, one boy and one girl, fraternal. They look nothing alike. I put their photos on Facebook. I was able to wish both of the Happy Birthday on the phone. That made my day because as I have mentioned  before my daughter has not spoken to me in years. the last I had heard  she told my grand daughter she didn't need a mother after all these years. It was a short conversation with her but that's a start.

Anyway my pain level is down today but not entirely gone. that will take a few days for the soreness to go away. I am being very careful with my movements so as not to allow anything to move out of place.

[Jeanne Lee]

Good news from you, Marilyn!  You got to talk to both of your twins and you're not hurting as much!   

Looks like we're about half way through our snow storm and already  it's about 6 inches.  Too dark to tell much for sure but it seems to maybe be slowing down a little.  It will be interesting to see what things look like in the morning.

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this day of gratitude of the many blessings we have.  I am very grateful for the way God has carried us in the palm of his Almighty hand this year and giving me another year of life. 

It is cool this morning but only going to get colder by this time tomorrow morning when it will be in the 20's.  However, the roads here are clear between South Carolina and here so weather shouldn't be a problem for our son and DIL as they travel here this morning.  We expect them to arrive about noon.  Their visit will be short but much appreciated as it has been quite awhile since we last saw them.  Pat got the pies baked yesterday and the green bean casserole ready to put in the oven later this morning.  The guest I had invited emailed me later yesterday saying he would not be able to make it so it will just be the four of us. 

Marilyn, every journey starts with one step and it sounds like your daughter has lowered the barricade she had built.  It is a blessing to be able to speak to our children.  Glad you are feeling better.

Jeanne, you probably have awoken to a winter wonderland of glistening white outside your home.  Glad you don't need to get out into it today. 

[Jeanne Lee]

From under about a foot of snow

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[Carol]

Jeanne:  Snow is beautiful but hard to live with.  We are to be above average today after two plus weeks of way below average temperatures. 

Larry - shopping is such a chore.  Wishing Pat the best as she prepares the meal for today.  It isn't easy. Agreeing with you that rioting is the choice of those who never know the peace that comes from the love of Jesus. 

Our new fridge came last night after 7 PM.  We had piled all our food outdoors on the deck so it was still chilled - seems to be doing well.  It has a water dispenser in the front - yipee, this will be so nice.   The dressing is in the crock pot by 6 AM.  Son is deep frying the turkey and I defrosted it in a container in the bath tub.   Everyone brings food and I have cut back immensely on the number of dishes.  We are blessed in so many ways and very important that most of the family is here.  One grandson is in Maine and he flew out of LaGuardia connection to Dallas to meet with his family - apparently the last flight before the storm. 

It is always sad when friends and family pass near the holiday days. My mother passed on a Thanksgiving and dad was on the Halloween - just 20 some days apart in two different states - because she was in a Minnesota Alzheimer's unit.  It was some season for me - flying to Seattle - then coming home to CO and having to drive to MN through ice roads.  We made it with the power of prayers from everyone.  Always grateful for that safety and peace of mind. 

Have a beautiful day everyone!

[Pat]

[Marilyn]

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[Pat]

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone.  It is really chilly here this morning, down to 27 degrees.  Other than going to coffee in a few minutes I have no reason to leave the house today.  I can't think of one reason I would want to get out in the huge crowds in the stores today.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Our son and DIL were here for about three hours and we had a nice visit and the dinner Pat had prepared was outstanding.  The smoked turkey was delicious and even Pat and Scott, who prefer dark meat, thought the white meat was delicious as well.  I was shocked this morning when I got on the scales and had lost a pound and I ate all that I wanted. 

Jeanne, hope the snow has moved out of your area.

Carol, Pat handled the meal very well as spread out the work and used some items like the Bob Evans mashed potatoes, which were quite good and the smoked turkey.  Everyone had plenty to eat.  Glad you got your new refrigerator.  The ice and water dispensers are nice and we have them in our Whirlpool refrigerator.  Did anyone notice you had cut back on the number of different dishes you had prepared?

Pat, beautiful Thanksgiving graphic and I like that you posted Psalms 100, which is certainly a song of praise. 

Marilyn, I like your beautiful Thanksgiving graphic as well.  Are you still making new graphics?

[Carol]

It was such a nice Thanksgiving - thankful for so many things.  No one noticed a cutback in the meal at all - only two got up for 2nds.  Times are changing.  Warmer weather than usual and we sat and chatted on the deck for hours until a cool breeze drove us indoors. 

Today, I have been starting a leftover turkey and broth soup.  Also on the computer to put together a quilt group brunch in two weeks.  This is going to be a dilly next  week with both of us going to tests and appointments.  I do not like the thought of being put "under" for a throat scan and it has been years since the last one but I don't care to choke too easily either.  No bible study this week - we just have a potluck. 

Thank you for Psalms 100.  There is always something to be thankful for - we just have to remind ourselves at times. 

Larry:  Glad that you had a good visit at Thanksgiving and you didn't wear yourself out entirely. 

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone.  It is a cold 27 degrees here this morning but will warm up into the mid-50's this afternoon.  Yesterday was a big day for us as we made the final decision that we will be leaving Atlanta to move to North Augusta, South Carolina.  This is where our son and DIL live.  There are two primary reasons.  The first is he needs family close by that could check on his wife during the work day if he can't reach her.  The second, equally important is that we need to be where it would be much less stressful for him if we eventually need some help.  We are not getting any younger.  Also, if something happens to me in the next few years then Pat will not be here by herself and have to face the challenges of moving by herself.  We have told them of our decision and they are delighted.  We will meet with our Realtor next Thursday morning.  We have decided to buy a new home rather than try to find a used home.  North Augusta is only a little over 19,000 people and is just across the Savannah river from the much larger Augusta, GA.  So now the work begins in arranging all the details of the upcoming move.  As soon as we can find the home we want, and there are not too many choices, we will likely go ahead an move as soon as possible even if our home isn't sold here.  I will try to keep up with the message boards that I read daily but will likely shorten many of my postings as I spend a lot of time on them. 

Carol,  Pat will be making turkey broth from the carcass of the turkey we had and our meal last evening was the left overs from Thursday.  I don't think I would want to experience a throat scan while being awake.  I bet you will do fine and we sure don't want to chocking. 

[Jeanne Lee]

Larry, I pray the Lord will bless your an Pat's decision.  It does sound like the right thing to do while you are both still able.   It's one I'm considering, too.  My son is four hours away if there should be an emergency and my daughter is about 13 hours.  As of now my major complaint is shortness of breath due to COPD, but I'm 82 and things can change quickly.

For now, I am grateful the Lord led Gene and me to the local Presbyterian church.  I have been so blessed by this congregation, the latest being the snow removal by one of the men.  Right now a decision is being considered whether to split from PCUSA.  It seems that at least come of the officials are fulfilling Paul's prophecy in 2 Timothy 4:3,4.  The General Assembly is coming and that will tell the story.

[Larry Hanna]

Jeanne, we belong to a PCUSA church and this move will provide a way to probably leave the PCUSA.  I am thinking it might be nice to join a Community type church, which can make their own decisions and not be weighed down in bureaucracy. 

Since I posted earlier this morning our meeting with the Realtor has been moved to this morning.  Once decisions are made things begin to work out.   

[buddywoods]

Time to start a new "Thoughts".

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