Grace Notes

Yesterday morning I had a doctor's visit, and during the course of the visit the doctor asked if I had made any new year's resolutions.  I told him no. This morning I was listening to the local Christian radio station and they were talking about new year's resolutions, and one of the things they brought out was -- what were your accomplishments this past year?  Don't just look at what you want to do, but at how far you have come!  Well, I can happily say that I am studying my Bible more and developing a closer, more meaningful relationship with Christ.  I am become more tender to things of God.  And I have started writing again.  So what do I want to accomplish this coming year?  Well, I want to get my priorities straight -- God first, family, friends, etc.  I also know that I need to make a more conscious effort to watch what I say.  Too often I speak before I think, then regret those words.  I need to remember the words of the psalmist, "Let the words of my mou

Nelson's Biblical Cyclopedic Index Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers Copyright 1979, 1995, 2010 Nelson's Biblical Cyclopedic Index is a listing of words and definitions found throughout the Bible.  The first few pages of the books shows a listing of word studies which can be found throughout.  The word studies give depth to the meaning of the word and how it is used and where it can be found in the Bible.  Following is an alphabetical listing of words you might want to reference.  Each word you want to look up gives in some cases a short definition, then if necessary breaks down into categories by definition where you can find each word in the Bible.  Each reference is in order of appearance in the Bible. This book is an excellent research tool for your personal Bible study. You might even find yourself thumbing through and actually reading it! In order to comply with new Federal Trade Commission regulations, please note that this book was provided compliments of

IF THAT ISN'T LOVE He left the splendor of heaven, Knowing His destiny Was the lonely hill of Golgotha, There to lay down His life for me. ~ by Dottie Rambo The song " If That Isn't Love " by Dottie Rambo comes to mind when I think about what Jesus left when He came to earth that Christmas so long ago.  "He left the splendor of heaven!"  How beautiful heaven must be!  And yet He gave that up, already knowing that He was going to die a horrible death on the cross, so that I can one day be in heaven with Him.  As the song says, He came  "to lay down His life for me." In order to understand what Jesus gave up, I believe you have to understand Who Jesus is.  According to the Bible, Jesus is the Word, and He was in the very beginning with God.  Everything was made by Jesus. Nothing was made without Him.  He is also life, and the light of man (John 1:1-5).   If you go back to the very first book of the Bible, the very first chapter, you find that God c

  This is Chief   My dad has several miniature horses.  Most of them stand waist high at their shoulders.  The leader of his herd is a stud (until just recently) named Chief -- he still thinks he's the "chief."  Daddy had Chief for sale in the Bulletin Board, and finally sold him to some people in Destin, Florida .    Sunday afternoon my dad calls out to my mom "Glenda, you are not going to believe what these people are coming in to get Chief!"  When she asked, he told her a MINI VAN!!  They pull up and the couple gets out, the woman dressed in a full length fur coat and fur boots.  They ask daddy to load Chief into the mini van, and could he please make the horse sit!  Daddy couldn't believe it (I wish I could have seen his face!).  Of course, Chief is having none of this!    Daddy asked the couple if they had access to a trailer.  Yes, they did.  The woman's mother lives in Prattville and has lots of horses and has a horse trailer .  When they call

Once again my thoughts are turned to Christmas.  Not the trappings of our modern Christmas, but that first Christmas so long ago. Mary was such a young girl to have made such a strong decision for God!  And what did it cost her?  Her family, neighbors, village, and even Joseph probably considered her a harlot.  At least to begin with.  She was ostracized, an outcast, if not physically, surely by people's words and actions.  Mary was not perfect, she was a sinner just like us, but she made a life changing decision to obey God. Joseph legally could have had Mary stoned for becoming pregnant out of wedlock.  Instead, he obeyed God and accepted her as his wife.  He took care of her and did not have relations with her until after Jesus was born.  Imagine how he must have felt to know that God had chosen him to raise God's own Son?  I am sure there was some fear and trepidation at the thought of that! Although Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, God arranged for them to travel to B

Jungle Warfare A Basic Field Manual for Christians in Sales by Christopher A. Cunningham Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers Copyright 2010 This book is a 22-day Bible study for people in the area of sales.  Although I am not in sales, I found this book applicable to my own daily life.  What makes this book unique is the use of Mr. Cunningham's grandfather's World War II basic field manual for jungle warfare.  I found this interesting and attractive, since my own grandfather served in World War II.  The book is separated into two sections, with the first section including the Bible study and the second section dedicated to questions and answers.  Each day of the Bible study begins with a section from the field manual, which is then followed by Bible passages and a lesson on how to apply both the field guide and the Bible study to your every day life.  The question and answer section brings up topics that concern salesmen such as "What if my customers don't l

Sunday evening my church, East Memorial Baptist Church in Prattville, Alabama, had it's Christmas musical.  The mood was set, the lights were off in the auditorium, and the spots were on the choir and orchestra. Music was offered up giving praise and glory to my God and His Son, Jesus.  I had been studying all afternoon Sunday in preparation for writing yesterday's blog, and was emotionally very tender.  So as I sat listening to the musical, I was not surprised that a song or two gripped me and moved me close to tears.  I told myself I really needed to get a handle on my emotions!  Someone might see my tears!  Suddenly a song came through the air, and it sounded like what you would imagine the choirs of heaven singing!  There was a soloist with choir backup, different parts -- words, melodies -- all hitting at the same time, making such beautiful music.  I certainly can't tell you what the name of the song was, or even what the words were, I can tell you that the tears came

Ever since I was a little kid, my parent's ceramic nativity set (above) has fascinated me!  There are shepherds, wise men, sheep, donkeys, camels, an angel, and of course Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus.  I was fortunate enough to inherit this set from my parents a few years ago.  Now I set it up each year and my sons and I can admire it and remember the true meaning of Christmas.  What makes this set so special is that it was lovingly crafted by my grandmother, Mrs. Dot Coon in 1973.  Turn each piece over and you will find her name and the year she worked on the piece.  Grandma Coon put a lot of love, preparation and time into each piece. If you know anything about ceramics, you know you must first take a raw piece of material and clean and prepare it for painting.  All the seams and rough places have to be removed. You have to apply a base coat. You then layer on the colors, and if you are good like my grandmother was, you also apply shading and highlights for extra depth and

Daddy, Christmas early '80s, Madras, Oregon December is here and thoughts are turning to Christmas!  For kids, it's thoughts of what Santa Claus might bring, have I been good enough to get on his list, and is there time to amend my ways?  For adults, there are thoughts of parties, gifts, budget, stress.  But what is the true meaning of Christmas?   My thoughts have constantly been turning to just this question.  As a Christian I want to, and should, focus on the real meaning of Christmas.  It should be my primary concern.  Sure gifts, parties, and all the trimmings should still be in my thoughts, but I need to look at them from a different perspective.  I should look at them as a result of why I celebrate Christmas.   True Christmas celebration is about the Babe in the manager.  But Who is that Baby, and why should He be worshipped?  Was He a man?  Was He God?  Or was He both?  And if He was God (which I believe to be true), then He STILL IS GOD!   I want to pe

Cooters Pond, Alabama November 19, 2010 The weather and changing colors on the trees have been reminding me lately of death and dying  (maybe it's also that I'm missing my Papa, who died in July).  What do I want the end of my life to be like?  Do I want it to be a beautiful picture of my faith in Christ, or do I want to be ugly, shriveled up and dry?  I thought how the trees and their fall foliage reflect this.  Some trees have such beautiful fall foliage, and others do not.  I want my own personal fall foliage to be bright and shining, like the tree in the center of the above picture.  I want to stand out not for myself, but for Christ!  Wouldn't it be awesome to leave behind such a beautiful picture, a life that reflects Christ? Another thought -- when the leaves on the tree die in the Fall, the tree itself is not dying.  So it is when we die physically. If we are Christians, we are instantly born into life eternal (II Corinthians 5:8).  As the Bible puts it, to be

Here in central Alabama, it takes a while for the colors of the leaves to change.  What's changing right now are the maples and the crepe myrtles.  We really haven't had any cold weather to speak of yet, either, although it did go from the 90s to the 70s in a week's time!  God has blessed this area of the country with the color green.  Lush trees, grass, hills and valleys.  Unfortunately the last few years we have been going through a dry period, even to the point of drought for a few years.  Very unheard of in this area.  Sort of like our seasons of life. Sometimes we are verdant and watered by the word of God, and other times we are dried up and cracking with thirst for want of spiritual rain.  It's really up to us, isn't it? "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." Isaiah 40:8 

Jeffcoat Engineers & Surveyors, LLC, Montgomery, Alabama Ambassador:  A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government to another.  Friday afternoon I was out running errands for my employer. I was driving the company pickup truck and started thinking about my actions in the truck such as: I really shouldn't run any traffic lights, and I really shouldn't exceed the speed limit, and I really need to signal properly.  If I did these things, it would get back to my boss.  After all, I was in the company truck, which has the company logo and phone number on it.  I mean, I couldn't kick the truck down a gear and just step on it, could I?  Not that I would...Driving the truck made me think about being a representative of where I work.  I realized I needed to present myself in a manner that would reflect well on the company.  God used Friday's driving experience as a thinking time.  Thoughts carried

Thanks to all of you who were praying for my son Ben and his surgery. Surgery was Friday morning, and although it took longer than expected, everything went well.  I know that Tina mentioned making sure he followed through on rehab.  That's going to be tough, but I have some friends and family who I am sure will assist. As it is, my son is in a groin to ankle cast hopefully only for a couple of weeks, but he has to be in a cast for six weeks.  Not going to be cool for a 13 year old guy!  :-)  It's wonderful meeting all of you special ladies on here (sorry guys, but they are the ones who posted comments)!  Please let me know when and how I can encourage each of you, too. I Thessalonians 5:18 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ~ Reese

A Year with God Make His Thoughts Your Thoughts Daily Readings and Reflections on God's Own Words by: R.P. Nettelhorst Thomas Nelson Publishers Copyright 2010 Open this book and you will find God speaking to you through His words in the Bible, written out in a daily format and divided into sections such as "Hope and Fear" and "Love and Hate" just to name a few.  Through this book, R.P. Nettelhorst brings God's words into today's daily living.  He asks and answers questions from a Biblical perspective using insight into Biblical times, and causes you to think in a new light about what God is saying to us.  This is a beautifully presented book in a daily reading format.  Each page begins with a thought for the day and is followed with a good sized portion of Scripture, followed by thoughts on the Scripture.  To my surprise and delight, Scripture takes up one-third to one-half of each page!  I personally found this book to be a timely reading so

  Sunset view from my parent's home in central Alabama     "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.  His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it:  and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."   Psalm 19: 1-6 Yesterday morning as I was driving to work, I chose a different route and was so glad I did!  As I crested a hill and looked towards the east, I saw blankets of fog tucked into the valleys below.  Just ribbons of clouds lying close to the ground.  Above you could see beautiful, clear blue skies.  The scene made me s

I felt overwhelmed by the news that my youngest son had fractured his knee.  He had a bicycle accident, the paramedics showed up, it was said that if he were their teen son, they would take him home and ice his leg.  I did that. Over the course of the weekend I petted and coddled, and enjoyed spending one on one time with him.  He learned to use crutches (although not very effectively), and even managed to shower and change by himself.  He enjoyed a visit from his aunt.  He enjoyed several visits from his dad.  He took pain medicine and he slept.  Most of the time he was just bored, because his older brother was spending time with their best friend!  Sunday evening it was decided that he would go stay with his dad and work more on crutches so he would be ready for school.  Monday morning I had a phone call from his dad telling me that my son had fractured his knee!  That he had been taken to the emergency room, and that he was scheduled to see an orthopedic specialist Monday afterno

Does anyone besides me suffer from distorted feelings of self image from time to time?  Physically, that is.  I am not even close to being thin.  I am not beautiful by a long shot.  Most often in my case these feelings crop up when I think about my relationships with others.  Especially when I try to make excuses to myself of why I think people might or might not like me.  I struggle with these feelings, they are not new to me.  Last night I started reading Stand-in Groom (Brides of Bonneterre, Book 1) by Kaye Dacus (Christian romance).  During the first few chapters the main character, a woman in her mid thirties, makes excuses to herself as to why she does not have a date.  She feels that men will not like her for who she is because her physical appearance is not good enough.  She perceives herself as too large and too tall, not the perfect size.  However, the "hero" of the story thinks she is beautiful!  Isn't it interesting that the way we see ourselves is so often

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What is the greatest treasure that I have? Is it physical things like jewelry? I went through a phase of attending and hosting jewelry parties. Of course, if you go to one of these parties, you almost feel obligated to make a purchase for your friend, so she can earn prizes. And if you host one of these parties, more than likely you are going to make a purchase, plus hopefully win a lot of prizes! I ended up with a great deal of jewelry which I hardly wear anymore. So it might have been a treasure at one point, but not so much anymore. What about my home? When I first moved in I was in awe. I finally had a home of my own. I really enjoyed having a house and taking care of it. I planted wonderful flower beds full of roses and perenials, with brick edged borders. There is even an arbor that holds a swing under one of the shade trees, with paving stones as the floor. I spread out family treasures such as the quilt made by my great grandmother. Now the newness has worn off, and even t

About three weeks ago during my personal quiet time I was convicted to trust God. Sure, I trust God, but God was asking me to trust Him more. The song "I Surrender All" had been rolling around through my head -- oh, my...I decided to trust, not knowing what was going to be happening in the upcoming weeks. As it turns out, the very next day I was required to trust. Of course it was in an area that I had been handling "by myself." I was upset and had to tell everyone about it, and I had to lament that I didn't know how "I" was going to handle the situation. By that evening, I realized that "I" was not required to handle the sitation at all, God wanted me to trust him. That realization sort of knocked me flat! Over the next couple of days I received two blessings I know were directly related to my trust. This past week I received a third, HUGE ! Even though I was trusting God previously in this particular area, when God took me out of the equati

I got to thinking the other evening during my personal devotions about what the cross means. I have been guilty of just seeing "the cross" and not what the cross really meant to Jesus, and therefore to all humanity. The Pain of the Cross: Betrayed by one of the inner circle... Denied three times by another in the inner circle... Spit on.... Slapped and mocked... Beard pulled out... Crown of thorns driven into His head... Beaten beyond recognition by a whip (flesh torn out at each lash, yanked across the flesh -- not just the skin)... Ridiculed by participants, taunted to see if He could tell who was doing the taunting... Murderer chosen to be released over Him... Sentenced to death by crucifixion... Made to carry the cross beam of His cross, until exhaustion forced soldiers to make another carry it for Him... Nailed to the cross through His hands and feet... Mocked while on the cross... Took the sins of the world on Himself... Forsaken by God! It is finished! Death...Dark

"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on he fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:35 I pass this cotton field every day on my way to/from work, and since the cotton has been maturing, the Bible verse from John 4:35 keeps playing through my mind. Yesterday afternoon I stopped and went out to the field to take pictures. The cotton was bursting from the pods, but the cotton stalks were brown and dying. There were also weeds growing up through the cotton plants. Some were pretty, and others were tall grasses. That reminds me of Matthew 13:26 and 30, "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also...Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

What is happening in our country today? Crime is rampant, government is out of control, people are living for themselves... How can things change for our country? II Chronicles 7:14 says "If My people, which are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Genesis 18 shows Abraham arguing with the Lord. Beginning in verse 15 the Lord decides to tell Abraham that He is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham's nephew Lot and his family lived there. In verse 22 Abraham stood before the Lord and began asking if there were fifty righteous people in the city, would the Lord destroy it? The Lord said no. Abraham went further and asked if there were forty-five, then if there were twenty, and finally, if there were only ten, and the Lord said, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake." God heard the pleas of Abraham and responded i

This morning on the way to work I was remembering a song I have known all my life, "It is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford (look it up on Wikipedia -- fascinating story on this song!). I remembered how several years ago I was going through my divorce and it was a month before our hearing date. I was depressed and worried about the outcome and what would happen to me and to our two sons. During this time I played the piano for my church, and I needed something special for a Sunday offertory. I found a beautiful arrangement by Marilyn Ham for "It is Well with My Soul." Although the piece was difficult for me, I learned the song. Even though I learned the song specifically for a Sunday special, the song meant a great deal to me during my divorce and I played it quite frequently and with a lot of passion, even if lacking in skill. The song helped me keep my problems in perspective. Over the past several years this has become my favorite piece of music to play, a

What's the penalty for breaking the law? Depends on what law was broken. What if you were caught speeding? What if you stole something? You might have to pay a fine or go to jail if you can't pay that fine. What if someone offered to pay your fine for you? You could choose to refuse that payment, or accept. The laws of man were based on the laws of God. So what are God's laws? Honor God, serve no other god than Him, don't steal, don't commit adultery, don't kill, don't covet (or want) what someone else has, don't take the name of God in vain, keep the sabbath day holy, honor your parents, don't lie. Wait, don't lie? Yep, that's a sin, too. So, what's the penalty for breaking God's laws? DEATH! Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." That's a pretty stiff penalty for LYING ! We all know that we are going to die one day. But the death spoken of he

II Cor. 1:21 & 22 says "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." It's so good to know that as a believer in Christ, my salvation has been sealed by God with the Holy Spirit! He is the earnest money, the down payment, the security of my salvation.