On this Thanksgiving Day, my daily devotion centered around giving thanks to God. The passage of the day was the following passage.
“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9: 1-2 (NIV)
I think of all the blessings that God has bestowed on my and my family over the years. I think of the words of Doxology (public domain).
“Praise God from who all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above all heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen!
I pray that you thank God for all your blessings this year, in both good and bad times.
(This is the first installment from our guest storyteller)
Years ago when I was 12, we lived in a small town at house on the end of Main Street. My family went to church every Sunday. I was saved when I was 11, but still was a very active boy, and was in trouble a lot.
One day when I got out of school, I decided to go to the five and dime store down the road. As I walked by the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Ben was sitting in an old wicker rocking chair, just outside the building. He was sharpening what looked like an ‘ole widow Barnes’ carvin’ knife. He said howdy, and asked if I had been keeping out of trouble. I responded, “Sheriff, you know I got saved last year, but it’s hard for me to be good.”
Then Sheriff Ben looked me right in the eye and tenderly spoke, “You know, growing up in a life in Jesus is like sharpening an old, dull knife.”
“How is that Sheriff Ben?”
Then he continued, “As a new Christian, you are dull to the word of God. Jesus takes you with a coarse stone like this here stone, and gets the rust off and starts to make a rough edge on you, like a knife. He knows you are rough at first, but He loves you and wants to lead you down the right path.”
“Were is this path?” I asked.
“You can start by following the path to Sunday School, to learn how Jesus wants you to live.”
“I have been goin’ to Sunday School.”
“But do you listen and take into your heart?”
“Well… not really.”
“Then start listening and learn.”
“I will.”
“Very good,” replied Sheriff Ben, “because you will grow in Jesus and He will continue to hone you into the person that He wants you to be.”
“Yes sir, I will do my best to be sharp.”
Ben responded, “That’s the spirit! Let’s pray together.
Oh, Lord, we praise and worship Your holy name. We thank You for all Your blessings. Please go with us and lead us down the path to grow closer to You. We ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
The creek in our front yard, changes from season to season. I am amazed in God’s Artistry in the the autumn season. Below are some photos of some of God’s artistry in the end of summer and continuing to the autumn.
Close up of a Monarch butterfly creekside. Though not near the creek, Monarch butterfly in one of our rose bushesA tree near the creek.Also near the creek, lichen on an old stumpA blue heron visits our creekwaterfalls another view o the creekthis part of the creek only flows after a lot of rainremnants of an old grist mill on the creekSide view of the mill, the gap is where the waterwheel used to be.
If anyone has a specific prayer request, please post in comments or an email and I will be glad to pray for you.
Romans 8:26 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning that cannot be expressed in words.” (NLT)
Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (NLT)
Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. ” Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.” (NLT)
James 15.6 “Confess your sins to each other and prayer each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (NLT)
We have two rescue dogs. I found Daisy at work. She showed up at work in February. She was less than a year old then. She was afraid of men, but would cautiously approach women. Staff were feeding her scraps when I found out about her. We have had dogs all our married life, and one was in her final stages of life. I called my husband and he came to see Daisy. Even though she was afraid of men, my husband knelt to the ground and called her. She crawled to him, he picked her up and took her home. Somehow she knew that he would not harm her. That was eleven years ago. We still are not sure what her breed is, but we think she is a mix of maybe Husky because she has a double coat and love the cold weather. After all this time, she still is cautious around young children and men.
Our other rescue dog, Tanya, is a Terrier. We found her at a local fall festival where the local animal shelter had some of their dogs for sale. Tanya was on the “sniff list”. She had been in the shelter for six months and if she was not adopted was going to be euthanized. We bough her for $30. She was three years old at the time. Now, she and Daisy are best buddies (most of the time). She is eight years old now.
In Genesis, God instructed Adam to take care of the animals (Genesis 1:26) and in Proverbs 12:10 “For godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.” (NLT) There are many references in the Bible regarding taking care of animals.
The worldly definition of grace is quite different from the biblical definition. The worldly synonyms for grace include courtesy, and elegance. The on-line Merman-Webster dictionary defines grace as “a virtue from God”, and “an unmerited divine assistance”
From the biblical perspective, Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “But God is so rich in mercy, He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)
Ephesians 2:8 states, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” Ephesians 9-10 go on to say, “Salvation is not a a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Jesus Christ, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (NLT)
In my opinions, grace is the unmerited favor that God gives as a free gift for those who believe that we are sinners, Christ died for our sins, and rose again. Walking in God’s grace is best described as following God’s unique path he has for each of us and, as Paul described in Ephesians 2:10, “do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
What is God’s Glory? What does it mean to walk in God’s Glory? According to my Google search, the noun has several notable synonyms: honor, distinction, eminence, magnificence, spendor, beauty. The noun has several definitions: high renown and honor and magnificence or great beauty. The use of glory as a verb means take great pride or pleasure in. Synonyms of the verb is exult in, rejoice in, take pride in.
The biblical definition of God’s Glory is the manifestation of God’s presence, which is truly seen in God’s creation in nature on a daily basis and praise and worship at our church.
What places or instances do you walk in God’s Glory?
Hummingbird Update! We now have about four baby hummers! Yay!
Two babies on the left, mom on the right
Welcome to the Walker Family’s website, devoted to glorifying God and His Grace in everyday life. Today, we want to glorify God for His creation of hummingbirds. On our deck, we have a hummingbird feeder. There are at least two pairs of the Ruby-Throated variety that migrate to our area yearly. Each hummer is very protective of the feeder and wants it all to his or herself. We often see them dive-bombing each other over possession of the feeder. On occasion, we will see two or three of the characters drinking from the feeder, but this is rare. Usually it is only one hummer drinking until one of the other hummers scare him or her off, so they can get a drink.
Hummingbirds are not as afraid of humans as other birds. We can sit out on the deck and the hummers will fly and dash around the feeder, obliviousto us. Sometimes they will curiously hum about us, or we get caught in the crossfire of their dive-bombing each other for a drink at the feeder.
I thank God for our hummingbirds. They bring joy to my life.
“Always be full of joy in the Lord, I say it again, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NLT)
Do you have a hummingbird feeder? We would love to hear about your hummers!
