Sometimes I enjoy looking back on some of the things I have read or written. Such is today's from seventeen years ago this month. Five year old Luke is now 22!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did re-reading it.

Today is Friday, October 9th, 2009; Karen's Korner #1670

A couple of weeks ago our five-year-old grandson Luke was here to visit for a few hours after school. One of the things which he wanted to do was 'build roads'. All summer we had a pile of gravel which became a 'kids playground'. With shovels, buckets, hoes, rakes, and a battery-powered dump truck, we built roads.....
 
Among others things this time, the adventure included scooping up gravel-and-grass clods at the side of our country grave; road.
 
"How many of these clods are we going to do?" I asked Luke.
 
"Twenty-five", was his reply.
 
At first, I wanted to chuckle. What kind of a number is 25 to a five-year-old? Does he have any idea how many that is and how long it would take to pick up 25 of them? The sun was beginning to set. And time before he needed to go home was limited.
 
There is a lot that young kids don't know, I thought.
 
Then I thought better, "How often do we do the same things?"
 
I know I sometimes work on lofty goals and thoughts....
 
"I will never again eat....??" And we eat it!
 
"I will pay off my credit cards by next month or end of the year......" In spite of the fact it has taken us years to accumulate the balances.
 
"I will lose thirty pounds (in next to no time)...." What has taken us years to get.
 
"I will faithfully do ???.....;" we promise God. and once again it is an idle pledge.
 
No, we aren't much better than Luke and his 25 piles. We make promises to ourselves and maybe to God that we both know we won't or can't keep.
 
But God wants to help us! We need to tell Him what we would like to have happen and then ask Him to help us! We may not get to our desired destination on our first attempt but we might be closer. And He will be there guarding and guiding....
 
Even though I knew Luke and I weren't going to get to 25; it didn't stop me from helping him run the shovels and carry the buckets. Our job was to begin........together!
 
We did four!
 

Dear Father in Heaven,
thank You that You make all things possible.
Show us what You want us to do
and how You want us to do it.
Thank You for Your interest in each one of us as Your Children
and for wanting to do so many wonderful things
in and through us.
In Jesus Name.
Amen.

Light. Bible Gateway says that ‘light’ is mentioned in the Bible 263 times!

Sometimes this world is clouded by darkness. We need light!

Jesus says in John 8:12,
“I am the Light of the world.
So if you follow Me,
you won’t be stumbling in the darkness,
for living light will flood your path.”

*

 “Thank You, God,

For being Light in the world.
Thank You that I, we, don’t need to be The Light,
But just follow The Light, Your Light!
If we but follow You and Your Light,
We won’t need to stumble in the darkness.
Rather we will help to light up the dark places in the world, our world!
Thank You for Your plans.
For Your care.
That we can be the reflections of You,
Your Light,
Your Love.
Thank You just for today!
In Jesus’ Name we pray.
Amen

I enjoy reading “365 Days of Prayer for Women” by Stephanie Sample.

I don’t read it all the time, but when I do, I like it. This morning I was reading a few days of her writings. This one is for October 1, which is tomorrow.

Hope you like it too; if you want to read it on the ‘right day’, read it again tomorrow!
 

GUARD MY HEART
“Set your minds on things that are above,
Not on things that are on earth.”
~ Colossians 3:2 NKJV

“God, I love your creation! This world is dazzling in its beauty, opportunity, and variety. It’s also a huge distraction, and one I am very susceptible to. Please guard my heart from worldliness, Father! I want to appreciate and respect the work of your hands without it turning to worship. Lift my eyes heavenward when they stray too long on my possessions or my own body, God! Help me to be grateful for my home without turning it into an idol. Help me dedicate myself to my work without allowing it to consume me. Help me respect and care for my body without feeling like it defines me. Only you define me, and I want your love to be all that consumes me.”
 
“Have you set your mind on the things that are above?:

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Our ecumenical Bible study group is studying the Bible book of James. And I am enjoying reading various chapters in it.

Here is one I read this morning:

"Look here, 
you people who say,
'Today or tomorrow we are going
to such and such a town,
stay here a year,
and open a profitable business.'
How do you know what is going
to happen tomorrow?
For the length of your lives
is as uncertain as the morning fog---
now you see it; soon it is gone.
What you ought to say is
'If the Lord wants us to,
we shall live
and do this or that.'
Otherwise you will be bragging
about your own plans,
and such self-confidence
never pleases God."

~ James 4:13 - 16 LAB

*

Bible Commentary:  "It is good to have goals, but goals can disappoint us if we leave God out of them There is no point in making plans as though God does not exist, because the future is in His hands. What would we like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will we react if God steps in and rearranges our plans? Plan ahead, but we are to hang on to our plans lightly. If we put God's desires at the center of our planning, we will not be disappointed.

"Life is short no matter how long we live. We are not to be deceived in to thinking we have lots of remaining time to live for Christ, to enjoy our loved ones, or to do what we know we should. We are to live for God today! Then no matter when our life ends, we will have fulfilled God's plan for each of us."

***

Another milestone - #5700!

This morning I was looking back at some previous Karen's Korners. This one is from about the same time of year, but 14 years ago. Amazingly, the more things change; the more they stay the same!

Today is Friday, September 26th, 2014; Karen's Korner #2910

Many times life is more difficult than we can handle on our own. We need extra POWER; God is the only one who can give us more of what we need.

So many verses in the Bible tell us of His Power, and how He shares that power with us, as His Children.

Here's one:

"Do you not know? Have you not heard?

"The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

"He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases power of the weak.

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint."

~ Isaiah 40:28 - 31

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Bible Commentary:  "Even the strongest people get tired at times, but God's power and strength never diminish. He is never too tired or too busy to help and listen. His strength is our source of strength. When you feel all of life crushing you and you cannot go another step, remember that you can call upon God to renew your strength.

We all need regular times to listen to God. Waiting on the Lord is expecting his promised strength to help us rise above life's distractions and difficulties. Listening to God helps us to be prepared for when he speaks to us, to be patient when he asks us to wait, and to expect him to fulfill the promises found in his Word."

***

A couple of verses from Psalm 139; the chapter is written by David. The theme:  "God is all-seeing, all-knowing, all-holy, all-present. God knows us. God is with us, and His greatest gift is to allow us to know Him."

 If you have the time today or in the next few days, read the whole chapter (23 verses). It has a lot to say about how God views you/us

In case you need a good kick-off to your weekend (who doesn't!):

"How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!

I can't even count the how many times a day your thoughts turn towards m.

And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!"

~ Psalm 139:17, 18 LAB

Bible Commentary: "When someone you love is thinking about you all the time, it comforts you. God is concerned to keep us from failing and to catch us if we fall. If he thinks abut us this much, shouldn't we find time to think about him each day?"

Thank you, God,
for who You are
and how much You think of,
and love, us!

***

For fun!

Side Notes, vertical sayings from the margins in the August/September OUR IOWA magazine.

“A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.”

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“Don’t try to learn the tricks of the trade until you have learned the trade.”

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“When love adorns a home, other decorations are secondary.”

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“Education is a wonderful thing, if you couldn’t sign your name, you’d have to pay cash.”

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“The most truly generous persons are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward.”

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”They say love is the best investment; the more you give, the more you get in return.”

~ Audrey Hepburn

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“When a resort owner insists they are biting, make sure he’s talking about fish, not mosquitoes.”

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One day last week I was on my way to town. Went to the machine shed where my car and pick up are housed.

Pushed the button to open my shed door. Nothing. Pushed again nothing.

What am I going to do? Had someone disconnected the electrical cord?
I looked again.

Good grief. I was pushing the ‘closed’ button!

Pushed the 'open' button. Door opened!

I need to ‘trust God’, with things like this. And everything else!

“Trust the Lord completely;
Don’t ever trust yourself.
In everything you do,
Put God first,
And He will direct your
And crown your efforts with success.”
~ Proverbs 3:5 & 6 LAB

Thank You, God, for taking care of every step I take!!
 
 

This is an exciting day!

I (we in our area) have several people in our lives with medical needs for which we can pray!

Nancy and Alina are having surgeries. Cooper continues to heal after a tragic can accident several weeks ago.

Let’s pray together this morning:

Heavenly Father,

We are so happy to have a Heavenly Father

To Whom we can pray and give all of our cares and worries!

Thank You for loving each one of us so much

And that you care for each of us more than we can care for ourselves!

Thank You for doctors and everyone associated with medical care.

Guide each of their hands as they give the care that each one needs.

We have so many things for which we can be grateful.

Will you wrap Your loving arms around Nancy, Alina, and Cooper right now!

Guide their healing process.

We have no idea how prayer works

But we know that it works!!

And be with each of their families as they sit through each surgery

Plus as they wait the individual outcomes.

Help each one of us to continue to look to You

The Author of Life, Love, and Care.

In the Name of Your Son Jesus

 Who makes all things possible.