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Morning Devotional...


Good Hands




. . . casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Recommended Reading
Luke 22:41-42

Supposedly, the phrase "in good hands" has been used to mean competency, safety, or care since the 1300s. Seven centuries later, we may see the original meaning of skill when a coach says of a star player, "He's got great hands"—meaning, he never drops the ball. A major insurance company today calls itself the "good hands people," suggesting safety and protection. If you are facing major surgery, it's comforting for a nurse to say, "Don't worry, you're in good hands with this doctor."

As good as the hands of highly skilled people are, can they compete with the hands of God in terms of safety, comfort, or skill? God doesn't have hands, of course (John 4:24). But the "hand of God" is mentioned some fifteen times in Scripture, usually as a reference to His power and authority. But wait—isn't that what we hope for when we are in a difficult circumstance? Don't we want someone with power and authority to step in and meet our need? Of course—and that is likely what Peter had in mind when he wrote that we should cast all our cares upon God since God cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

This very day, you are in God's good hands. Cast your cares upon Him and put your faith in Him.

"If the Father has the kingdom ready for us, He will take care of us on the way."
Andrew Bonar


TURNING POINT WITH DR. DAVID JEREMIAH

Hi everyone.  It is going to be another hot and sunny day.  Unlike yesterday, we will be getting out to go to church this morning and having lunch.  There is a new Chinese Buffet that opened a few days ago over by our Walmart and we are going to try it out today after church.  In a few minutes I am going to go get something for breakfast.  We have found when I do that Pat is able to get ready for church without having to rush and being warn out by the time we leave the house. 

Jeanne, I liked the devotional thoughts for this week.  What can be better than having God have us in his hands as he is always there for us if we seek him and let him have his will in our lives. 

Jeanne, sure glad you escaped the major storms in your area.  Those are tense hours when the forecasters are constantly giving us the warnings. 

Janet, I would expect Darrel would not want you to try to drive such a long distance by yourself.  You sure don't need to have another accident.  So sorry about the young lady with the mad cow disease.  I have a dear friend of many years who was diagnosed with mad cow disease but later was re-diagnosed with Lyme Disease at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.  However, that disease has been disabling to him as he can no longer drive, has memory problems and has to have a care giver.  It has been a long and hard battle for him.  Do take care of yourself as that is important to your own healing and then being in a position to help Darrel when he comes home.  Once you get used to keeping your cell phone with you all the time you will probably wonder why you didin't give up the land line earlier.  I have Gord's email address if you would like to have it.

Hello!!

Happy Birthday, Jeanne Lee!!!

Just about to head out to church.... May God give you all a wonderful day!!

Hi all,  - nice to see Ruth V.

We went to early service and next week is a special Sat. night which we will attend - an author and son are visiting and speaking about Heaven.  I'll let you know.  We cannot go to the senior bible study hour as the noise is too much for Don - people don't realize when they are all talking how that affects someone with hearing problems. 

Do you hear the word Awesome much too much?  We believe that there is only one Awesome and that is The Lord.  Nothing else is awesome. 

Carol, I agree about the word "awesome".  And another word is "adorable".  That's so often applied to babies.  Only God is adorable - to be adored.

Larry, you are right, of course.  We DON'T need another accident!  I usually do keep my cell phone with me, but Darrel seldom turns his on, even if he has it with him.  The kids give him a hard time about it and he says, "I turn it on if I want to make a call!"     He is using it now to check the time as his watch was lost in the accident.

They took Becky to all kinds of doctors; to Mayo's first and again last.  They ruled out Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Fever, and several other things, and finally gave the diagnosis of Mad Cow Disease.  It is just so horrible for the family. 

I drove to Hugoton to attend church at My Father's House this morning, stayed and ate with Diane and family, Curtis and family, too.  It really wore me out, and that is half the distance to Garden City.  So I am in no hurry to drive to Garden.  I called and Darrel sounded really good today.

They were all asking me after lunch if we are planning to drive to St. Louis for grandson Mark's wedding.  I told them that was our plan before the big interruption, but now I don't know.  It is to be October 10, surely Darrel will be recovered by then, I hope!

My back is really hurting, see you later.

Hi, friends,

Jeanne, I truly hope your birthday is a good day, and then, as you embark on your new year with the Lord, my prayer is that you have a good year filled with health, hope, and promise of good things to come.

I'm still dealing with recovery, but blood sugars are staying good and recovery seems on track.

Janet, hang in there, and take good care of yourself.  You've been such a wonderful caretaker with Beth and others of your family, so now's time to turn that caregiving skill to yourself.  Being strong for your hubby and family is important for your own happiness.  Also, if you're dealing with unrecognized forms of low blood sugars, one of the symptoms is a bit of difficulty thinking clearly. Just a note of love for you, Janet.

Larry, it's so good you've figured out a way to make life easier on Sunday mornings.

Carol, it's good to hear from y'all and that you're doing what you need for yourself and your hubby. I was at a Golden Agers meeting the leader had to caution participants of the disruption people cause with talking loudly while others are holding the meeting.

Ruth, it's good to see you peeking in the door! Come back more often. We miss you. :

Well, y'all hang on with those birthdays, I'm peddling hard to get there, but looks like you beat me again this year. 

Love to all,
Ruth Ann

Ruth Ann, I love your post!  Humor always helps!  And thanks for the tip; I will have my blood sugar checked.  I really haven't had much appetite since the accident and neither has Darrel.  He is eating so little and they are giving him his usual dosage of glyburide, and keep running his sugar down to the 50s and even the 40s!  Grrr!  Every time he has been hospitalized since becoming diabetic, they have messed his blood sugar levels up really badly.  So continued prayers for him are appreciated.

Beth is missing me, but I can't spread myself any thinner!

Jeanne, Happy Birthday!  You are a dear and precious sister in the Lord, and we appreciate all you do here on CP so much!

  I'm running as fast as I can ... trying to get here while it's still okay to wish Jeanne    Caught you on Facebook, but sometimes that just isn't enough!  Sorry I'm late, but I really do did want to wish you a wonderful day.  Thanks, so much, for the devotional for this week ....

Once, when my grandsons were small, they were arguing over a song selection ... the 3 year old insisted it had to be a song about God.  When asked why he was so adamant, his response was  "because he's got big hands" We toyed with the idea of making T Shirts with the family being held in a pair of hands and the script "God's got big hands"   How often we've heard "Just place it in God's hands" .... or sung "He's got the whole world in His hands" .....

I love it, Jane!  God does, indeed, have big hands!  Big enough to reach down and save our lives from sudden death on the highway, gentle enough to cradle the tiniest baby.

I'm still having a tough fight against the pain and weariness, but God's big hands are able to hold me through these days, too.  I yield myself to His will, I want to learn every lesson he has for me from this, and to know Him more and more.

It is very foggy outside in my little corner of Kansas right now.  The friend who takes me to Garden City isn't leaving today until noon, and I have some errands to do this morning, so that will work out well.  Beth needs more Melatonin and Body Balance, and I'm sure she needs a Mom visit, too! 

May God bless each of you today.

Hi everyone on what is going to be another very hot and dry day.  Yesterday it got up to 96 degrees and is forecast to get to 100 this afternoon.  I am late watering this morning because I forgot to put my sprinkler system on automatic yesterday afternoon so it would start at 5:30 this morning.  Just a couple of hours late in starting it this morning.  I will make a quick trip to the grocery store this morning for a couple of items and have a meeting to attend at noon.  Other than that I plan on staying in where it is cool.  We had 60 people in our Sunday School class yesterday morning and our Associate Pastor gave a fine sermon.  We did enjoy the new Chinese Buffet we went to for lunch.

Yesterday afternoon our son brought our DIL over to stay with us while he worked.  She was so unsteady on her feet that she required someone holding on to her when she moved about.  She spent most of the several hours she was here in bed.  At least she didn't fall while she was here as she is falling almost daily.  On Saturday, she was by herself since our son had gone to work and she fell and couldn't get up.  Fortunately she had her life alert button on and was able to push the button and they immediately got him on the phone and he was able to go on his break and go home and get her up.  She plans on seeing the doctor today.

Hi Ruth V.  Nice to see your name appear in the daily discussion.  Hope all is well for you and your family.

Carol, it is easy to understand how difficult it is for a person with a hearing problem to hear anything in a noisy environment. I have very good hearing but don't like to be in noisy places. 

Janet, maybe if you get cell phones as your only phone Darrel will start keeping his on.  Pat sometimes forgets to turn hers back on after we have been to church.  I basically keep mine on all the time although put it on vibrate when in church or somewhere I don't want it to ring.  That way I am aware of a call without hearing the ringing as well it in a case on my belt.  The wedding in October is quite a ways off so hopefully you both will be back to normal by then.  However, it is a long drive across Missouri to St. Louis.  Could you fly their or maybe have someone go with you to drive you there?  Your not being up to visiting Beth for a few days really isn't much different than when you take your trips. 

Ruth Ann, glad to read your recovery is going well. 

Jane, it looks like you made it here in time to wish Jeanne Happy Birthday before the hour of midnight.  The wisdom of a three year old--loved the story. 

Good morning, all my dear friends!  I thank each and very one of you for your wishes for my birthday. 

It was a wonderful day, especially because of hour long phone conversations with each of my three "youngsters".  I wound up with a tender ear, but it was ever so much worth it.  A mother can't ask for a better gift. 

Yesterday's perfect weather has gone away for a time.  Cool and drizzly for the next two or three days, but 73^o for a high sure is better than 7^o like we had for a while last winter.   

Jane, I'm glad you mentioned Facebook - I never think to check that out.  I'll go see who has said what lately.   

Hello everyone !!!!

How lovely to see your greetings!!  I really get so busy that I forget to come in. We had a lovely morning service. The Young People are participating more and more..... it is wonderful to see their confidence grow!!

My daughter came over, yesterday, with three of the grandchildren and made lunch and supper. It was a real treat!!

Janet.... please know that I will continue to pray for you and Darrell as you recover. Is it not wonderful that God's all powerful hands sustain us!!

Hi, friends,

I'm back from the dentist and thankful for a good staff who has taken care of me. I'll be returning tomorrow for additional work and tweaking.

Y'all have a good rest of the day.

Ruth Ann

Hi everyone on a bright, sunny morning here in South Carolina.  We are headed to 101 degrees this afternoon.  I plan on going to coffee at ten this morning and then stopping at the library to pick up a book I requested.  Then will spend the rest of the day inside.  I woke up early this morning and in a little while heard the sprinklers come on in the back yard.  They are not suppose to be on except on Monday and Thursday and I thought I had them reset yesterday so I could leave it on automatic.  Unfortunately, today is the day for the yard folks to mow and trim the yard (in fact they have already started) and sure didn't want the yard wet when they mowed. 

Jeanne, I agree with you the best gift your kids can give us is a bit of their time.  I don't need anymore things.  I would enjoy some of that 73 degree weather. 

Ruth V, a couple weeks ago the young people did almost all of our church service and did a great job.  How old are your grandchildren?

Ruth Ann, hope the tweaking at the dentist's office will do the trick today.

Another dull and drizzly day but tomorrow is supposed to get better.   

Have you checked out our latest Challenge "Picnic"?  HERE!  Some great entries so far, but we need more!  If you have any photos about a picnic, let's see them.  If you don't know how to post them, send them to me and I'll be ever so glad do it for you.

Hi, friends,

I'm resting a good bit today, but continue to improve. The re-done denture will be available on Thursday. So, everything's going well.

It's so good to hear from y'all. May God richly bless all who come here.

Ruth Ann

Darrel had a really good day yesterday, but was very tired today.  In spite of that, he spent well over three hours in therapy!  He is doing well; and has an appointment in the morning with a Dr. there in Garden City to get his leg Xrayed again and see how the healing is proceeding.  The therapist worked a long time, stroking his leg in upward motions, trying to get the swelling down.  His appointment is at 9:00 and he would like me to be there, so he asked me to drive his new pickup and come.  I am okay with driving, I guess, even though it's still pretty painful, but I don't know my way around Garden City, and don't like getting confused or lost.    Tomorrow was to be my last day riding with Gerty anyway, as she is finishing her chemistry class.  Guess I just gotta get tough. 

I am really, really tired, so am heading to bed, even though it is still light outside.

Hi everyone on another day that promises to get to 100 degrees or more by mid-afternoon.  Pat has a doctor's appointment at 10:15 so we will be gone most of the morning.  Fortunately the medical building has a parking garage so won't have to park the car out in the sun.  I need to stop at the church to return a book I borrowed from the library a couple of weeks ago that is due tomorrow.  Pat may want to eat out for lunch so she doesn't have to cook tonight.  The rest of the day we will try to stay cool. 

Janet, hope your trip to Garden City early this morning hasn't set you back in your recovery.  Glad to hear that Darrel is doing so well.  Do you have any idea of how much longer he will need to be in rehab?

Hi everyone.  It looks like I was the only one to post here yesterday.  Sure is lonely in here when that happens.  We did get to 100 degrees yesterday and the forecast for today is more of the same.  Pat got a wonderful report from her cardiologist yesterday.  The PET scan showed her heart to be in excellent shape.  So she has her clearance for the surgery next month.  We had a wait over an hour after her appointment to get called.  At least it was cool where we were waiting.  It was lunch time when we got away from the doctor's office so we stopped at the Sunrise Grill for a nice lunch and Pat didn't need to cook last evening.  Today I plan on going to coffee downtown after a quick stop at the church to return a book due today and I want to go to Office Depot to look at the Chromebook.  I will stay in where it is cool the rest of the day.

I don't want you to be lonely again today, Larry.  So even though I really have nothing to say...    here I am.   

Gray day with drizzle, scattered showers, slight chance of a thunderstorm and temperatures only in the low 70's.  I'll probably go for food later - or maybe tomorrow.    I'm getting low on milk and bread and a couple of other things, so I will need to go soon. 

We used a Two For One price coupon at Mimi's breakfast today.  There was so much Applewood bacon that I saved enough for BLT sandwiches - hooray. 

Sad news about the people at a bible study in church being shot and killed.  It is so hard to even imagine good and godly people quietly studying the bible  being targeted -

Jeanne:  We have the same cool gray skies here today.  The forecast seems to be wrong every day - glad you came in to support lonesome Larry.

Larry:  That is great news about Pat's checkup.  What will the Chromebook do for you that the iPad doesn't do?  Sorry to hear that your DIL's health is so fragile. 

Janet:  The traffic here has become so fast that if I don't know a new address - I google it and print out the easiest directions besides putting it in the car GPS.  Look first at the entire route - to get an idea of where you want to end up.  Then go for it - the GPS will adjust if google route is different.     --- We are just despising the massive traffic here - everyone and their cousin is moving here . 

Hello again .... I come here every day but, as Jeanne said, usually have nothing to say .. so I don't! 
Today, however, I'd like to share a little of the pride I feel for my granddaughter, Becky.  She graduated from MTI as a legal secretary but was unable to find work  ... things in her past kept surfacing, and she met with refusal after refusal.  Then, the day before the graduation ceremony in April, she got an offer for receptionist in a Law Firm .... Now, barely two months later, she has received her second promotion .... legal assistant to an attorney!   Here is what she posted yesterday on Facebook:

I'm so happy to have found the perfect work family. Now I'm promoting into a great team who I feel meshes perfect with my own personality, skill and style of doing things. I can't believe my dreams are finally coming true. Thank you to everyone that supported me and believed in me while I was going to school. I quit my job to go back to school full time in hopes of getting a career out of it. The whole time I was scared shirtless that I'd have to go beg for my job back at McDonald's. Hell, I finished school in the beginning of December and while I didn't entirely mind sleeping till noon for 4 1/2 months, I was very concerned that I had made a mistake. Now, here I am two months into a new job and I've gone from part-time receptionist to full time salaried receptionist with benefits to now being a member of a great power team. I feel awesome. I feel proud. I feel hope. Thank you Mom and Dad (R.I.P) for giving me the right combination of empathy and smartass to help me succeed.

Jane, you have good reason to be proud of Becky!   

Pass along congratulations, please. 

Hi, friends,

What a very busy day today. I was awakened by a phone call this morning from the very disabled lady that rides to her doctor weekly with me. The doctor had wrapped her ankle areas so tightly with ace bandage that her poor legs were starved for blood and extremely painful. So, she asked me to come take off the ace bandages and help her get socks on.  Off I went, trundling down the hallway to her front door, gloves on my hands. I surely could see why she was miserable.

Then, I was scheduled to take my sister in law to her foot doctor. She has an open wound that has developed on one of her feet. So, off we went. Well, the appointment was at noon, with my own dental appointment for 2:30 - a tight turnaround. Time dragged on until at 10 till 1:00, I stepped to the window and explained the situation. They immediately called her into a room and began work. So, she rode out in a wheelchair to the car. Poor sweet lady, she has maintained such good composure all through trying to get an appointment, and then the painful treatment. I would appreciate prayers for her to heal.

Then, I had 30 minutes to get to my dental appointment. I felt considerable stress, but made it in what seemed like record time. As I was parking, the most beautiful song was playing on the radio with words that emphasized peace be still, and telling of the wonderful attributes of our Lord. I had a quiet moment to sit in the car and soak in that wonderful a capella rendition of a song I had never heard before.

Results of the dental appointment are that I will need to return on Tuesday, if not before, to further tweak the reworked lower partial plate. They feel that the stress points will be apparent by then, thus guiding them to better accommodate my needs with adjustments.

Well, that's a ton about what has been happening in my life. I hope my message hasn't been too long today.

May God lovingly care for each of us today as only He knows our deep held needs.

Love to all,
Ruth Ann

Ruth Ann, what a day you had!     Now you need at least one do-nothing
day - maybe even a couple of them.   

Hi everyone.  Around 5 pm yesterday our temperature dropped to 80 degrees as there was rain somewhere in the area but not here.  Later it went back up to 87.  Today it is only suppose to get to 97 degrees--guess that is better than 100 degrees we have had the last two or three days.  The morning started out great in that I had a delicious South Carolina fresh peach for breakfast and was it ever good and juicy.  A few minutes ago the men arrived with a cement mixer to work further on the foundation of the house being built next to us by putting in the cement blocks.   They just now started up the cement mixer so my quiet time is over.  So it is going to be a bit noisy around here today.  Tomorrow we have 4 friends coming over from where we used to live to spend a few hours with us.  We are really looking forward to it.  However, it means that today we must get the dusting done and floors sweep.  Pat got the kitchen cleaned well yesterday.  She has somewhere she want to go at noon so we will have to get busy soon.  We will take them to our favorite place to eat over here called Cheddar's for a late lunch. 

Jeanne and all of you who posted yesterday thanks for giving me some company here.  Just seeing folks stop and say hello is better than not seeing them and wondering about them.  It sounds like you are having some pretty good weather, at least temperature wise. 

Carol, I sure don't envy you the traffic problems.  One of the real joys of our move has been the lack of heavy traffic, even on the Interstate here and in North Augusta in particular.  This will be the place we spend the rest of our lives.  You asked about the Chromebook.  You are right it will be very much like an Android tablet but basically everything works off the cloud.  I did buy one yesterday morning at Office Depot but when I got home and looked it up I decided to cancel that order for the HP (which I did) and order a Toshiba Chromebook from Amazon.  It saved me over $20 as there is no sales tax and it is a much better rated and more powerful unit.  It only runs Google apps but has basically no reboot time as all the software is on the cloud.  There is also no worry about viruses or malware getting on the unit. It would not do for my wife as she liked to play games that are loaded on the hard drive.  I will be able to tell you more when I get it tomorrow and work with it a bit. 

Jane, wonderful news concerning Becky's achievements and her fine new job.  She is an example of why we should never give up on a person.  You have every right to be very proud of her and I know you have been a big influence in her life and when you helped her when she was going through some really rough spots in her life. 

Ruth Ann, that was really a full day for you.  Hope today will be a little less hectic and less stressful.  I never like to be late but most often find with doctors and dentists that a few minutes late probably wouldn't matter as you usually have to wait. 

I came in here to mention a piece of nice news but first...

Congrats to Jane's g-daughter, Becky.  Good job!

Ruth Ann:  I sent up a prayer for you and you SIL. 

Larry:  Our daughter works in The Cloud for a California corp - she works out of her home mainly & goes to San Fran at times.  I do hope everything is safe in the Cloud from hacking.  Lots of storage space for everything you can think of - yes, you have nicer traffic now.  Super!

My news is that our #2 grandson was teaching swimming lessons at a large pool - and, heard a scream.  He looked over and saw a youngster from another class floating  with head just barely visible.   Because he is an Eagle Scout, he raced over there, turned the boy over & got all the water out of his mouth - it all happened so fast.  Anyway, the other teacher was written up for negligence and the two life guards were not watching carefully enough either.   We'll see all the grandchildren this Sunday. 

I raised 4 children on a lake so I know what just turning your head for a second  mean.   

Carol, your grandson is a real hero!   

Hi, friends,

Well, today has been as quiet as yesterday was hectic.

How much I enjoyed all your messages.

Y'all have a great rest of the day.

Ruth Ann