Tossing at night

Leap of faith

Why do we have issues with sleeping when our mind is too busy?

I was tossing for a short time last night and then started praying. God reminded me of a song my daughter sent to me a few months back by Delirious- Every Little Thing. Listen here Delirious?

This immediately relaxed me and made me grateful that we have a God who cares about all the little details of our lives.

Surrender

Psalm 43: 5

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

Take the leap of faith and remember greater things are still ahead. – Teresa

*photos from Pexels.com

Praise for our deliverer

Whether real or imagined, our fears bring us to the feet of the Father and He hears our praise of Him…there is no ONE like you, Lord!
When you feel alone or abandoned, remember that He will richly give you all things, just be sure to ask!!

Psalm 34:1-10 (ESV)

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Footnotes

Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet

Paraphrase from the author…

This poor woman cried, and the Lord heard her. He delivered her from all her troubles!!!- Teresa

😊 🙏 ☺️

Photo by Edu Carvalho (Pexels)

Faithfully nurturing

Photo by August de Richelieu

When we have a chance to take good care of those entrusted to our spiritual care, God is praised. We may need to provide physically but be certain not to forget the spiritual component. When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?

– Teresa

# Luke 18:8

Matthew 24: 45-51 (ESV) 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,[b] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants[c] and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Passover lamb

Celebrating Passover

When the lamb was slaughtered at twilight, the whole Israelite community dabbed its blood on each door post and the upper lintel of their house. They were assured that this was a salvation sign to the death angel and he would pass over their home. (Amazingly, when the blood dripped down it formed a cross.)

Moses trusted God for His work in convincing Pharaoh to deliver the children of Israel. This last plague was the one that led to immediate action. It resulted in the death of every firstborn male, whether human or animal.

The “gods” of Egypt were challenged and defeated. No longer would a manmade image or person of authority (Pharaoh) be over God’s chosen.

Faith and obedience powered the children of Israel to leave Egypt by the millions. When Moses moved, it was in response to God’s direction. Moses may not have been a “smooth talker” but he most assuredly was an honest worshiper.

When I face the fear of moving foward, I look at Moses’s example. He stayed focused on God (more than the enormous task at hand), he obeyed God’s instruction exactly as stated (no compromise), and he trusted God’s timetable (knowing they were to be boldly prepped and ready to make haste).

Father God, keep me under the blood of the lamb. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29). Help me to obey your Word, the Bible, more than man-made philosophy. Help me to move boldly and not hold back when you make a way for me.

You are the Creator and sustainer, I trust in You. – Teresa

#preciousbloodofChrist

Exodus 12: 1-13 (ESV).

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.[b]

7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

*photo by Pexels

What have you done well?

Reflecting

I was reading a post on Linked In about reversing the winding-down thought process at night, aka reflection. Instead of thinking about everything you still have to do- ponder what you have done well. This is great advice.

After reflecting on “why I could not get through my task list”…I reversed the process to reflect on the “deep work” accomplished not just the “task list of yesterday”.

Wow- when you see what God has done in and through you, you will be astounded. The deep work will sometimes include growing pains that are not comfortable but will also catapult you to a new level of understanding.

In this passage, Joseph encouraged me to stay strong in doing what God has called and gifted me for. The illustration in this passage resulted in a blessing. It was the main purpose for using Joseph’s gifts- his father, brother’s families and futures were all blessed.

Sometimes we focus on trying to give a blessing but God just wants us to be faithful in our own area of influence- even if it means taking a “timeout” to gain clarity. He will pour out the blessing on so many lives you would not have imagined it possible. – Teresa #jobwelldone #butterflyeffect #kaleidoscope

Genesis 47:7-12 (ESV) 7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

*photo by Alex Green on Pexels

He knows the number of hairs on your head

Carly and me

I was getting really frustrated this week and then I stopped to remind myself of this truth. If He cares enough about me to know the number of hairs on my head, then I can relax! Even the most frustrating of situations are easy for God.

As I acknowledge who my Lord is- even before others, I can also rest assured that He is acknowledging me before the Father in heaven. He loves us so much.

What’s in it for Jesus- the Christ and the Savior of mankind? He is in it for the completion of the Father’s will.

He knows that I am a very small and minute creature (in the scope of planets, galaxies and the universe), yet we are made in God’s image.

In fact, we are God’s workmanship created for good works in Christ. (Listen to the song by Kaith Green – link below).

Keith Green (singing Ephesians 2:10)

Today, I’m resting, relaxing and prayerfully considering what it means to truly believe that- Teresa #myrest #mypeace #Heisourpeace #receivethisgift

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works,so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Matthew 10:26-33 (ESV)

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[c] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[d] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.