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Morning Devotional...


I formed thee...I knew thee...I sanctified thee...I ordained thee.
Jeremiah 1:5

Many feel that others don't know them.

Sometimes it seems that we hardly know ourselves.

But there is Someone who does know us perfectly! Before we were born He knew us. We were born because He formed us. He has a plan and a purpose for our lives.

Are we trusting our own understanding, trying to convince God to let us do what we think best, or seeking to live the life that God desires for us?

He knows best.

Ask Him. Trust Him!
                                                                                --Carl Knott

This devotional it is heavy on my heart today Ms Pat.  

Today I do seek to find the life that God will want for me. All the things I SO love in my life are mine only from the hand of God. Today I have all that is my every wish.

It is not at all my wish to go to find that which I do not yet know, when all that I desire is only what I have.  

I will try hard to do what is Gods wish. I know His treasure is not that which I can hold in my hand. It is only that which I hold in my heart.
God is love,
I will give of my heart, with a hope that others can know the happiness I have in my life for these 6 years.

I wish for everyone to be close with God this day and to know His love in every tiny thing.  

Well sis, if ever my thoughts dove-tailed with your devotionals, then it's today!

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Two brothers yet two very different offerings. One is seems taken from the remnants of his harvest and given grudgingly while the other being the best lamb in the flock and given with a cheerful countenance.
The offering of Abel cannot but point us to the Lamb of God and His sacrifice for sin.

The Bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Whose blood are you relying on today? Perhaps you are only willing to give second best to the Lord and therefore like Cain sin lieth at your door.

It is of the utmost urgency that we realise that we cannot and must not make up our own rules and regulations with regard to pleasing God. No matter what we may offer, it will prove to be a futile effort if it does not have the stamp of God's authority upon it.

As Christians many of us tend to hold back from serving the Lord and from giving our all for Him. We are told that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God which is our reasonable service.

How is that reasonable you may ask? Well just think about things for a minute. What do we have that God has not given to us? What can we hope to add to our life that is not held in His hand? You and I cannot even take our next breath without His permission.

It is absolute folly to hold back anything from the God who has given everything to us. It is like the ground trying to hold back from yielding the fruit from the seed that has been sown.

The Lord has showered us with gifts and graces. Our lives may be seen as a garden of spices planted by His hand. Is it not the joy of each and every gardener to view the labour of his harvest? Is there not joy when that which has been sown, perhaps in tears is seen to yield fruit?

Many of us may labour as valiantly as we can each day for the Lord. Perhaps we cannot see the effects of our labours, but this does not negate nor diminish the worth of our offering. His Word shall not return to Him void.

We are to reflect the image of our God in our daily lives. We cannot do this unless we offer ourselves wholly to Him. That allows Him to work in us and through us as He pleases. It is not something we should be fearful of as we are placing our lives into the hands of the Giver and the Sustainer of all life.

We must not do it in a manner that is half hearted and we must not do it grudgingly. When we tithe our weekly offering to God we must do so as heartily unto the Lord and not grudging every penny we put into the plate. A brother explained to me in a prayer meeting years ago that this offering was the beginning (or part) of our worship!

Each day we live is a gift from God.

Some of us are more aware of this than others. We must give the best that we possibly can to our God and that means a certain amount of discipline and self denial. It is not as if we are entering into some strict regime where each moment is vetted.

No, it is rather a willingness to abandon our desires, our hopes and our dreams to God, being fully persuaded that we will then know more of life more abundant.

It is a challenge and it is an adventure. It is something that is to be done with a joyful and willing spirit, not something to be dreaded. God is no man's debtor.
May we present ourselves willing sacrifices unto our God, holding nothing back and remembering the great sacrifice that was made for us on Calvary's cross.

Remember we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Christ the Son of God shed His precious blood in order that we may have life eternal. Being here for a short time before meeting Him in glory should we not therefore return the little time that we have here as a sacrifice unto the One who loved us and gave Himself for us?

Perhaps you may be thinking that you would rather 'enjoy' life to the full before giving what is left to God. Is that thinking like Cain or Abel? Do you truly expect to find joy and happiness while attempting to go your own way?

God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows that he shall also reap.

My friend give God a chance.

You will not be disappointed. He will not let you down and dreams that you have carried with you for long enough may be answered sooner than you expect. I pray that today I would be willing to be spent for Christ as He was spent for me.

LOL

Your brother in Christ

Iain

8.50a.m.

Thank-you Pat for that devotional...

Mieka that that was beautiful....You state His treasure is not what you can hold in your hand.,
It is in your heart....That is the kingdom of Heaven Mieka.

Matthew 13:45
                 
                   The Choicest Pearl

"Again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a Pearl Merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
He discovered a real bargain-a pearl of great value-and sold everything he owned to purchase it"....JESUS TOLD US THIS PARABLE.

I had been talking to the Lord about my failings...how I could have done more for Him in my life, knowing that I have fallen short of His plan for me....I praise Him for His perfect plan of redemption in Christ Our Saviour....

"Worthy O worthy are You Lord.
Worthy to be thanked and praised and worshipped and adored"....

I was going to tell you re the problems of our postal service...letters lost in the post etc.,....Mieka has set me on a different direction...God bless dear.

Love and blessings today everyone.
In Jesus' Name,
Jenny.

9.a.m.

Iain I don't know what happened there whenI read the Devotionals yours wasn't on...after I'd posted it was...but the time doesn't tally...Don't know how..

Just to thankyou and say that as I was posting I thought of words from our Anglican Communion.....It continues your train of thought.

"All that we have comes from you and of Your Own do we give you"......The Lord is Here with us folks!

Jenny.

Good morning  10.40AM
Thank you Pat for your devotional.

First  HAPPY  BIRTHDAY  ETTA SUE i hope that you have a nice day and God bless you love Ria

In Holland it is cold dark and whe have rain today.

Anthony do you have grey hair on your picture you have dark hair.
I have a little bit grey hair but i have a colour in my hair
but i am hoping that i get the colour hair of my
grandfather his hait was white.
Also my aunt in Canada JudyB and also you Pat you
know that she also have white hair. Also my father
but he has no much hair more.
Marilyn yes i wake up this morning at 5 o'clock and then i have take a look on CP. But i have not had a
bad night after when i have take a look on CP then i am going again to my bed and then i wake up at 9
o'clock. But at 5o'clock in the morning in Holland there
are more people on CP then now we must now waiting
on you Now you in Canada and America re sleeping.

I wish you all a very good day
Love and blessings  
Bye for now  RIA

Happy Birthday to Etta Sue

1.20 p.m.



               H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y
                             
                           ETTA SUE


Have a lovely day.  Many blessings are wished for you and a special birthday {{{HUG}}}.

from Me.....Jenny, across the sea.

Happy Birthday Etta Sue

Love to all
Judy

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Etta Sue - do you see that little red mark on my first post this morning?  It says - Happy Birthday in Maroon and is really big.  

Pat:  Thanks for the devotions today!  

Iain:  Thank you for your message also.  

It is very foggy this morning and I am going to delay walking for a bit and enjoy a cup of coffee.  

Jane:  I read the obit on your friend,  Bev.  There is so much more to her story than the newspaper article and I am glad that you have told us about her.  

Mieka:  Blessings to you this day.

Anthony:  I hope that you are doing well.

Carol

Good Morning Everyone...


It's nice and sunny here in Guelph!  I must go and see if there are any more blackberries to pick.  It's so nice to be able to go out and get enough for my breakfast!


It's Avon day for me so I must work on my Avon order as well.  Then I'll start the job of emptying my china cabinet and washing all the dishes.

I'll stop in here for my coffee breaks!

When you use the "Glow" feature on here, do it last.  So type what you want to be "glowed" and then make it bold, then large, then choose your color and then the very last thing, highlight all of it and click your "Glow" icon (5th from the left on the top row.)  Then if you want it to move, highlight everything and do the "Move" icon.

Anyway, fixed the ones above for you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETTA SUE!!  AND MANY MORE!!

Iain, your thoughts brought back a memory of one pastor telling us "The trouble with a living sacrifice is, it is always crawling off the altar!"  And that is so true of myself; I get on the right path, then my own desires and my own thoughts crowd in again, and I find myself veering off just the least bit--but, if you get off just one or two degrees from your chosen course, you will wind up where you never intended to go!  We must constantly check our compass with the plumbline of the Book!

Both devotionals wer great today.

We had a good weekend in Santa Rosa, diving the Blue Hole.  All of our students passed the course, and are now certified Scuba Divers.  They were a really nice group to work with, and I enjoyed them a lot.  I had to rescue one girl who was plummeting toward the bottom like a rock, and I hurt my ears.  They are better today, and for that I am thankful.  The girl's ears were fine, thank God.  It is easy to damage your eardrums if you decend or ascend too quickly!

I have a portrait commission to paint and must get started on that.  I don't want to be too pressured as the deadline approaaches.  It is for a couple's 50th wedding anniversary in November.

Hello to Ria, Jenny, Kathy, Pat, Carol, JudyB and Mieka!  And to all of you who will check in later, too!

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First of all, thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes.  They mean a lot!  

I was reading my Bible this morning and sipping coffee when a car drove into my drive.  A neighbor that I have known for years brought me some flowers and a card.  We are birthday twins and didn't know it until after I moved up here!  I remember when her kids were born and they are in their 40's & 50's.  

Jerry and I are going out to eat Chinese today.  We will see how he does at a buffet.  I am willing to help him....but he may have to wait until I am done eating...  No, I am not that cruel but then, it is MY birthday!!

»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«,¸¸,»ïÏï«
"Just when you think you are winning the rat race, along come faster rats."

It is a beautiful day here on California's Northern Coast after a day of light rain and an night of thick fog. A day that God has created. It is awesome to see all of God's creations and wonders.

Must get ready for work now. TTYL

Ms Etta Sue
Jerry and I are going out to eat Chinese today.  
poor Chinese.

8)HAPPY Happy happY haPPY HappY happy hapPY HAPpy hApPy happy HAPPY HAppY haPpy hAPPY HAPPY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MIEKA~I noticed that, too (Etta Sue and Jerry going out to eat Chinese today)  I knew you would have something to say about that!  

Anyway, no matter what you're eating, I wish you a very

We had a little rain early this morning, but it is now sunny and cool on Oregon's south coast.  I hope to find someone to help me get fire wood in and stacked before we have much more rain.     A couple weeks ago, my pastor Bev, told me I should put a note on the church bulletin board asking for help with home repairs, wood, yard work, etc...  She said "Someone will see it who will be able to help you."  Well, I did that but then the nightly tent meetings began and we weren't having services.  I thought "Now no one will even be here to see it."  Yesterday, as we adjourned to go upstairs at the church for the reception, I noticed a blank spot where I'd put that note!    Does this mean someone has removed it because they want to call me to see how they can help?  I'm trusting God that He knows ... and He also knows my needs.  He supplys all my needs!  

Hello Jane.

God saw that notice of yours.   He is guiding someone to you with "His eye".

You will be opening a Christian door for someone.........a special someone...Wow, God's choice is always the best when we leave it to Him.

Prayerfully,
Jenny.

Happy birthday Etta Sue,
enjoy the noodles.

Jane, you just hang on there ok?

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/r/trstobey.htm

Our regards to all,
"My God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus."

Thank you, JENNY, and CHRIS & MARGIT   ... I am "restfully available" for anything my Father wishes.  That expression comes from one of your countrymen: Major W.Ian Thomas.  

In Holland a man has today receive a letter with
white powder. In the letter was standing this is ANTRAX
we warn America and Holland.
The letter was coming from Iraq.
The man is now in the hospital.
I have pray O God let it not be Antrax help the poor man who now is in the hospital.
I have just hear it on the radio
Bye Ria

Oh, my Ria!   That's awful.  I pray that this wasn't really anthrax.

That am i also hoping Pat. But the man in the hospital
what will he be afraid. Because now they are busy or
it is really Anthrax
Let us hope an pray not
Bye Ria

I just have hear on the radio that the powder is not
Anthrax. Thanks God. But the man must stay in the hospital and the letter was coming from Iraq
Ria

Thanks Ria for letting us know.

Hope your back is a lot better, Ria.

Thank you Pat
I only have now a little bit low in my back but i get
medicines when i have been to the hospital. But i must
wait till 8 octobre.
Now it is 10.00 PM here i go read a book and then we are going to bed. It is still raining in Holland the hole day.
I am also happy that it was not Anthrax. But the letter
was coming from Iraq who is sending such letter
I wish you all a good night
God is with you all
Bye Ria

A big Thank You to Pat for fixing my birthday wish.  I had written a good bit for my morning post, but the telephone rang and I must have sent it into cyberspace.  

I'm glad to hear about the Anthrax scare being false.  We don't need anymore of this type of thing going on ever again.  

We have a cool day today and the beginning of fall is approaching.

Thanks for the devotional, I enjoyed it early this morning.. Also, Iian and Meika's comments.  

Off to check out the other forums

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETTA SUE!!!

Best blessings to you on this day!!