Today's Verse : Ephesians 1:17

Since I was without a PC yesterday, I thought this Heartlight thought might speak to some of you, instead of "A walk through the Park."

Thanks to the guys who set me up with another PC!!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: HEARTLIGHT <editor@heartlight.org>
Date: Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 3:00 AM
Subject: Today's Verse : Ephesians 1:17
To: todaysverse@maillists.heartlight.org


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\ / TODAY'S VERSE from HEARTLIGHT -- http://www.heartlight.org/
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June 17, 2009

VERSE:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better.

-- Ephesians 1:17
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Ephesians+1:17+

THOUGHT:
One of the best things we can pray for each other, and for
ourselves, is that we might better know God. The Holy Spirit helps
us better know God (1 Cor. 2), worship God (John 4), and speak to
God (Rom. 8). Let's ask God to use his Spirit to help us know him,
not just know about him. God is not only the Almighty Creator of
all things; he is also our Father who cares about us deeply.

PRAYER:
Holy Father, God of all mystery and glory, please open my mind
and heart to know you better through the presence of your Holy
Spirit within me. Please bless my physical and spiritual family
with insight and illumination about you, your love, and your glory.
We want to know you more fully and reflect your character and grace
more completely. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20090617

Today's Verse is also available in:
PORTUGUESE - http://www.iluminalma.com.br/dph/4/0617.html
SPANISH - http://www.laluzdelalma.com/vdh/4/0617.html

What shape are you in?

Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Wow! Was it hot yesterday and today promises to be the same! We did not leave the house all day because of medications that caution not to get too warm. Thank God for air conditioning!

However, from my part of the world, I can see squirrels playing around the trees and chasing each other, and I walked all around the house noticing that it really needs cleaning outside. Amazing how dirty and full of webs a house can get! Better to stay inside and forget about the outside! :o) But God is good and we are thankful!

From Quiet Moments with God:

The inward man is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV

Clay pots of all shapes and sizes were valuable tools in ancient households. Large jars were used to store water and olive oil; jugs were used to carry water; and small terra-cotta vials held perfume.

The potters who supplied these much needed pots were important to the economic life of ancient villages. A modern potter described her craft like this:

Both my hands shaped this pot. And, the place where it actually forms is a place of tension between the pressure applied from the outside and pressure of the hand on the inside. That's the way my life has been. Sadness and death and misfortune and the love of friends and all the things that happened to me that I didn't even choose. All of that influenced my life. But, there are things I believe in about myself, my faith in God and the love of some friends tht worked on the insides of me. My life, like this pot, is the result of what happened on the outside and what was going on inside of me . Life, like this pot, comes to be in places of tension.

Throughout the day we may be buffeted by stress, pulled apart by responsibilities, and pressed by challenges that come at us from the outside. Without strength of spirit on the inside, those difficulties will cause us to collapse under the external pressure.

During this break, feed your spirit with Scripture. This will keep you strong, renewed, and restored within. You can respond with inner strength and creativity to what could otherwise defeat you.

Remember your inner life gives you the strength you need to become a useful vessel in the household of God.

Renew thyself completely each day.
Do it again and again and forever again.
Confucius

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Integrity

Good morning, dear friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! The sun is shining and the birds are singing and when I stepped outside a big, fat frog was sitting on the porch to greet me. I think he was fat from all the bugs the light was attracting.

Well, I am sure lots of children and their parents are up and getting ready for VBS. We had a good preview yesterday in church and it promises to be a good one. Lots of singing, craft making and fun! We had a good, quiet afternoon, and I was happy to be able to get Louis to church, and a big help from one of our friends who pushed him all the way to his seat, and then out to the car when church was over. More help from the Family of God! God is good!

We drove through the Park, but not many people were there. Winter visitors have gone home, but there are always dog walkers and people who don't mind the heat, taking walks, I saw the ever vigilant great white heron, watching the water for his lunch and the anhingas drying their wings. Also, I was pleased to see the very large gopher tortoise, lumbering his way along in his special place behind the fence. He is very old.

From the little God's Promises Book:

God freely gives to Men

Courage to be men of integrity

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful,
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His Law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water;
That brings forth its fruit in its season.
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous,
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 1:1-6

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Confidence

Good afternoon, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! The Lord has already given us this day and it is extremely warm!! We haven't had any rain in about a week, but the grass is still growing and the toadstools are popping up in the yard. There was a very peculiar one I noticed yesterday in the front yard...very large and orangeish brown on top with a yellow stem. Apparently the squirrels

Find it tasty, because half of it was gone with a squirrel nearby, flicking his tail!

David came to mow the yard this morning, so with one thing and another,I couldn't find time to sit down and type, but wanted to pass this on from the Promise Bible NLT:

Where do we find confidence for every day?

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation-so why should I be afraid? The Lord protects me from danger-so why should I tremble?

Psalm 121:8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Many of the greatest athletes say that their real contest is a mental, not a physical one. It's the same way in our spiritual life. Our confidence comes not from looking around at our physical circumstances, but from looking to God

Continued tomorrow...

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Give me a Dream

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! When I stepped outside this morning, in the very warm air, the full moon I saw yesterday is already waning, and was misty high in the southeast. But, as usual, the birds were already up and singing. No sleepy heads there!

I saw Mama osprey feeding her babe high on a light pole in the Publix parking lot. Already the trash from the nest is scattered all over the area below the nest, but no one seems to mind. Most people do not look up to see the birds, anyway. Busy people going about their own lives! I did not get out until evening after Brian came to stay with his Dad, because it is too hot for me to take Louis out yet, and his back is still very sore. Bur, thank God, no broken bones from his fall! God is good!

Give Me a Dream

Father,
Once I had such big dreams-so much anticipation of the future,
Now no shimmering horizon beckons me; my days are lack-lustre.
I see so little of lasting value in the daily round.
Where is your plan for my life?

You have told us that without vision, we men perish.
So, Father in heaven, knowing that I can ask in confidence
for what is Your expressed will to give me, I ask you
to deposit in my mind and heart that particular dream
the special vision You have for my life.

And along with the dream, will You give me whatever graces,
patience, and stamina it takes to see the dream
through to fruition?

I sense this may involve adventures I have not bargained for.
But I want to trust you
enough to follow even if You lead along new paths.

I admit to liking some of my ruts,
But I know that habit patterns that seem like cozy nests from
the inside,
from your vantage point
may be prison cells.

Lord,If you have to break down
any prisons of mine

before I can see the stars and catch the vision,
then, Lord begin the process now.

In joyous expectation,
Amen
-Catherine Marshall

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Holy Hush

Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! I was really surprised when I stepped outside this morning, and saw the full moon! I had not been able to see the moon for a couple weeks, because of clouds, so this was really pretty. I also saw the fat frog on the porch, who is responsible for leaving his calling card in front of the door the past week. Those bugs flitting around the light must be pretty tasty!

Louis seems to be doing better, except for a very sore muscle in his back which makes it difficult for him to move out of his chair. His wound is healing nicely, but he does not know what happened to make him hurt. Sometimes that is good. It hasn't affected his appetite, though! He still likes to eat! And I do, too. God is good!

From the book Quiet Moments with God:

You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15

All is still as a man sits at his dining room table, allowing the pages of a well-worn Bible to slip slowly through his fingers and basking in the peace of the moment. The pages have a comfortable feel, and the soft plop they make as they fall barely disturbs the quiet. Early morning always brings with it a hush of holiness for him. In his mind's eye he remembers another such morning.

The new dawn air is tangy and sharp as he and his brother turn onto a gravel road bordered by wheat fields. Early in the growing season the wheat is about two feet high and brilliant green. Suddenly the boy catches his breath. From the edge of the wheat field, a ring necked pleasant comes into view just as a bright ray of sunshine creates a natural spotlight. as if showing off for God himself, the pheasant stops and strikes a pose. (this reminds me of the peacocks outside Sawgrass)

Time stands still, sound ceases, and God paints an image on the young boy's mind that will remain for a lifetime. The beautiful hues of the pheasant, with its shining white collar glistening in the sunshine against the vivid green of the wheat remain sharply etched in his memory. Whenever he relives that day, he experiences anew the presence of God and a supernatural sense of contentment. Slowly the memory recedes, but the presence of God remains.

Sir Thomas Brown said, "Nature is the art of God."
All around us are awesome reminders of a big God who created everything in a matter of days. Isn't it great to know the Artist firsthand?

When God makes his presence felt through us, we are like the burning bush. Moses never took any heed what sort of bush it was--He only saw the brightness of the Lord.
George Eliot

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Time

Good morning, Dear friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! When I stepped outside this morning, the air was moist and not much cooler than last night, but all the birds were up and singing, and squirrels waste no time in climbing, running, leaping and digging for acorns and whatever else they eat! I think squirrels are busier than ants!

What a day we had Saturday! It started off okay, with me looking forward to going to a retirement celebration, but God had other plans. As I came home from errands, Louis lost his balance while getting out of the van, and stumbled backward down the driveway, until he fell flat on his back on the driveway, smacking his head on the concrete. Our friend and neighbor, saw it from her window and came rushing over and held a thick towel on his head, while I called 911 and got the paramedics on the way. Louis kept trying to get up, and was talking to the medics while I answered questions. They finally got him ready to go the the ER, while Brian and I got in the van and drove to Bayfront. Our wait was only three and a half hours while they did a CTscan and xrayed his back. No damage there, thank God! He's pretty tough. He now has five blue stitches in the back of his head and a very sore back, but he is able to walk with the walker and pretty much get around with pain. I am so thankful for our neighbor, Cheryl, and for the kind nurses at Bayfront. God is Good!

I did go through the Park, though, and was very disappointed to see how high the weeds and grass have grown, since it was last mown who knows when. It does not look like the same park where I have been walking for over twenty years. Very sad. People still come and enjoy the picnics and the boardwalk and the walking their dogs. It is still free and that is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

How can I best use time?

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 There is a time for everything; a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. a time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. What do people really get for all their hard work? I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do. God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.

Valuing time begins with seeing it from God's perspective. When we do this, we learn that there is always time for accomplishing God's plans for our lives.

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis