February 18. Sixtieth day of winter. What a lovely day God gave us! Sunny and up into the 60’s. Ethan preached the first message this morning which we were able to listen to later on YouTube. It was a message on David’s sin of not leading His men to war, and how that resulted in idleness and led to a series of sinful acts. The point was that we are to make sure we are always in the place that God has for us doing the work that God has given us to do. Pastor and Mrs. Ogle made it back from their trip to Wisconsin in time to be with us for the second service. While they were up there, Pastor Ogle met Bro. Jeff Shergalis, a missionary out of MBC in Madison. We heard another great message from I Peter, about the Word of God—I Peter 1:22-25. “Since the word of God makes a difference in people’s lives, we must give the word to them.” This afternoon, Daddy and I went out to White Oak Manor to visit James. His roommate was sitting outside when we arrived. He asked us where we were going and told us that was his room. So we followed him way down the hallway to their room. Daddy pushed the roommate part of the way there. James was quite a bit more responsive today than when we last saw him. Still has trouble controlling his speech and his body movements, but he did talk a fair bit. Lewis read Psalm 23 to him, and I sang “He Cares for You.” Christy and Connie have gone out this evening to visit with Kathy M and share a recorded sermon with her. “29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:29-33 God has given us a choice. If we choose to hate knowledge and despise God’s counsel and reproof, the consequence will be destruction. If we choose to fear the LORD, He promises that we will dwell safely and will be quiet from fear of evil.
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February 16. Fifty-eighth day of winter. In the mid-sixties when we got up this morning. A soft, warm breeze blowing. It was so refreshing to get out and hang the clothes outside. By afternoon, we had reached a record high for this day of 81º. This morning, I washed clothes, looked through some free crochet patterns and downloaded some, took some picture of the trees that are budding and the wasps who are rebuilding their home in the birdhouse chimes, started checking over Acts 5, and did a little packing. This afternoon, I finished checking chapter 5 and checked chapter 6, packed a box and a half of books, called Jean and talked with her for a short while. This evening, I looked through some listings of houses for sale, packed a few more books, and did some crocheting. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 To even begin to attain unto knowledge I must fear the LORD. One way to show that I fear the Lord is to pay careful attention to wisdom and instruction, and not be so foolish as to despise those things. February 17. Fifty-ninth day of winter. Cloudy, windy, and very chilly. Most of the morning was spent looking at houses. After a long nap this afternoon, I didn’t do much other than research on the web. “8My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.” Proverbs 1:8,9 The previous verses showed us that to begin to be wise, we must fear the LORD; and those who do fear the LORD will attend to wisdom and instruction. Verses 8 shows us that our parents are one source of instruction whose words we must hear and not forsake. If we value and follow the things we learn from our parents, they then become an ornament of grace or beauty for us. February 14. Fifty-sixth day of winter. A nice warm day—in the upper fifties. Periods of sun and clouds. Trees are already starting to bud. Is spring around the corner? The morning went quickly with the tasks of sending an e-mail to Connie with a couple greeting card ideas for her church project, making sweet tater soup, making an anniversary card, and making pizza. The afternoon is always short on Wednesdays as I have to do dishes early so we can be ready to leave for church by 6:15 or so. So after nap, I put away the soup which was now cooled down enough to go in the fridge, got the shopping list made, talked over some things with Daddy about the MTC lessons, looked over Acts chapter 5 in Pidgin, and did the dishes. This evening, there was a guest speaker at church, Pastor Tom Creighton, from Florida, who pastored many years in Rhode Island. He spoke from Hebrews 12:1,2 on staying in the race, running the race well, and finishing the race well. His three points were fitness (not allowing yourself to become disqualified), focus (looking out for distractions), and freedom (discarding unwanted and weighty things from your life). “1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” Proverbs 1:1-4 February 15. Fifty-seventh day of winter. Like the first day of spring—warm with a gentle breeze. Into the 70’s today. Our time out shopping was long this morning as we had several extra stops to make. We also spent some time at WalMart talking with Becky as this is her last day on the job there. It was about 12:30 before we got home from shopping. Then we had to put food away before having lunch. I was so glad when I finally got to sit down. This afternoon, I looked for the music for the missionary songs I had translated so I can write the Pidgin words into the music. Daddy and the girls went out around 4:30 to look at a house, but it was much too small and not in too good shape. “5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.” Proverbs 1:5,6 *dark sayings – puzzling speech; hard to understand the meaning February 12. Fifty-fourth day of winter. A warm night and already around 62º when we got up this morning. Mostly cloudy today. After breakfast and quiet time, the first thing I did was look again through all the houses for sale in our County, ones that would be in Christy’s price range, and write down all the addresses so she can run them by our agent. Then sister Beth A called, and we talked for about 45 minutes. Afterward, I got last week’s journal notes ready to go to Connie, and transferred and edited pictures from my cameras so I could get those ready to go to Connie. When those were ready, I put them all in an e-mail and sent them to Connie. In the mean time, Daddy went out to Blacksburg to take another look at the KIA. He went the long way around, though (couldn’t remember what route we took last time) and was gone quite a long time. I was done eating and getting ready for my nap by the time he got back. Part of this afternoon’s time was spent proofreading the youth lessons in Proverbs. They’ve been waiting quite a while for me to finish proofreading them. The rest of the afternoon, I drew up a picture (to the best of my memory) of our house in PNG and how it will be after the church section is taken down and how we can put on an A-frame roof and how much roofing iron we’ll need. “19God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 20Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” Numbers 23:19,20 Whatever God has spoken and has determined shall come to pass, it shall come to pass. God cannot lie, and no man can change what God has willed or what He has done or promises to do. What He says He will do. We can always count on Him to keep His word. February 13. Fifty-fifth day of winter. Cloudy, but no rain. Temperature in the 40’s all day and refreshing to get outside. Lots to do this morning. Washed hair and showered. After quiet time and a smoothie, I put a load of clothes in to wash. Then I cooked a pot of cabbage and broccoli and put that on to cook while Daddy and I started checking the last chapter of the gospel of John. When the clothes were done washing, Daddy and I went outside to hang them up. While we were out there, we took advantage of the fresh air and gathered up some sticks that had been blown down during the last wind storm. When we came back in, I heated up some amaranth that I cooked yesterday with some white sauce from a couple days ago and added some of the veggies I had just cooked. Feasted on that while we finished checking John 21. Praise the Lord for His help in completing that. After that, I folded a few clothes left from Friday’s wash, got our bedding out of the dryer, and Daddy and I made up the bed. For my next job I swept the bathroom floor, cleaned the toilet and sink, washed part of the wall where smoke from a candle had turned it black, and scrubbed away at the bathtub, removing a good amount of the red deposit. I wanted to wash the floor too, but had no energy left for that. Took some Primal and white willow and sat down to make corrections in the John file. Then got that last bit of John set up in the print file and also wrote a short introduction for the book of Acts. This afternoon and evening, I looked over Acts chapter 2, starting to prepare Acts for printing and final checking. Had looked over chapter 1 some time ago. Christy and Connie went out to sit ‘n’ sew at the Parkers’ again. I spent a little time searching for some ideas for handmade greeting cards. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” Psalm 150:6 The last two chapters of Psalms were a wonderful reminder this morning that we, along with all of God’s creation, must continually praise the Lord. Mom has finished chapter 15 of her book, The Isles Are Singing. Click on the file below to download. It is in pdf format. The file with chapters 1 through 15 can be found on the sidebar of the blog below Mom and Dad's profile information. It is also in pdf format. God bless!
February 11. Fifty-third day of winter. Somewhat of a rainy day, but no severe weather as predicted, at least not in this immediate area. Pastor Ogle preached a wonderful message this morning on I Peter 1:17-21, talking about “Motivated by the Price.” “We must live like our salvation was of great price, because it was!” We appreciate Pastor Ogle’s diligence in studying the Word and pray that he will allow the Lord to keep him humble and help him to walk according to the things that he teaches. And that we might do the same as these truths are made clear to us. This evening, I got chapters 19 and 20 of John set up in the print file. Hadn’t had a chance to do that before now. We also listened to a message from Madison Baptist in WI, and I crocheted a bit while we were listening. “And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.” Numbers 22:18 We should never allow honor, riches, or anything of this world to lure us into disobedience against God. Serious consequences will be the result if we do.
February 9. Fifty-first day of winter. What a lovely day the Lord gave us—sunshine and temperatures near 60º! I barely slept at all last night. My feet and legs were hurting a lot, and my head felt funny like my blood sugar was low. Was up about every hour, and twice I came out to the office/dining room to get something to eat. Got up around 7:00 this morning feeling very weak, but hungry. Felt somewhat better after eating, but didn’t know if I would have the strength to do anything today. The Lord helped me to do a little packing, however, and I was very thankful for that. By the time I had eaten lunch, I was quite tired and went for an early nap. Only slept about an hour, though I had hoped to sleep longer. But I woke up cold, and by the time I got up and put something warm on and went back to bed, there was a lot of noise across the street, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. Daddy went to WalMart this morning to get toothpaste for Christy and to Dollar Tree to get 4 gallon garbage bags. From there, he went by to see Charlie at A+ to see what Charlie thought would be a good choice of a vehicle. Although Charlie felt that a Honda is best overall, the age and problems with ours wouldn’t make it worth fixing, and we likely wouldn’t get our money back if we sell it later. He said the price asked for the KIA is an excellent price, and he would like to get the KIA himself. Said the newer KIA’s have a better rating than the older ones. Said he would take it for a ride and look it over if Daddy would bring it in. Dad ended up not being able to bring it in. I’m thankful to have gotten a couple more boxes packed this afternoon. Praise the Lord for His strength to see me through the day. “1David's Psalm of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. 4One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 5I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. 6And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. 7They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 8The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 10All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. 11They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; 12To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 13Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. 15The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 17The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. 21My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.” Psalm 145 How refreshing it was to read this Psalm this morning and to be able to praise the Lord even after a sleepless night! February 10. Fifty-second day of winter. Light rain today and warm. Felt more tired today than yesterday so it took a while for my brain to get going this morning. Today was e-mail day. Wrote several personal e-mails this morning and sent out all the February e-mail updates this afternoon. Also looked through books in the living room to see if there were any that belonged to us that we need to pack. Didn’t find anything other than a few song books. Christy went off to Chik-Fil-A in Gaffney this evening to a birthday party for one of the children from work. I did the dishes so she wouldn’t have to do them after she got home. She usually does them on Saturday evening, but she can take my place tomorrow evening. February 7. Forty-ninth day of winter. A very rainy, wet day. This morning, I made cran-apple sauce, brownies, and lamb meat loaf; got the January progress report written, as well as the monthly update and acknowledgment letter for our supporters. Late morning, Daddy went off to Gaffney to get C&C’s monthly supply of raw milk. This afternoon, I made our weekly shopping list, read over and made a couple revisions on the monthly update and printed out a copy to proofread, sent progress report to Pastor Ogle. In church tonight, we sang “Happy Anniversary” to Pastor & Mrs. Ogle. Great teaching tonight from Exodus 32, the theme being “We must respond to sin as God responds to sin— in ourselves and in others.” Pastor Ogle gave twelve principles from this chapter, although Connie wrote down an extra one from his first comments so we have 13. 1. We are prone to make decisions on what we see. 2. We believe we know the best timing and are unwilling to wait. 3. We would rather have something we can see, than something we can’t see. 4. We are willing to sacrifice for what we really want. 5. We like to add a little of God to what we want to do to make what we do look spiritual. 6. God always sees and always knows what is really happening. 7. Godly people will plead for mercy for those who sin. 8. Godly people are more concerned about God’s reputation than their own. 9. We can enjoy our wickedness for a time, the pleasures of sin for a season. 10. There are always consequences for sin. You can choose your sin, but you can’t choose the consequences. 11. We tend to blame others for our sin rather than accept the responsibility for what we have done. 12. We tend to make ridiculous excuses for our sin. 13. God and godly people call sin for what it is. February 8. Fiftieth day of winter. A nice sunny day. Didn’t wake up until 7:00 this morning. Got sneezy and all stuffed up in church last night; and the supplements I took before bed, and especially the one I took during the night to fight it, took me off into a good sound sleep before morning. After showering and having breakfast and quiet time, I printed out monthly updates and envelopes and got them ready for Connie to stuff, seal, stamp, and put out in the mail. In the mean time, Daddy went out to do the weekly shopping. I thought it best not to go into the stores today where the cold air would likely increase the sneezing and stuffiness again. When Daddy got home, we put the food away and talked for a while. Then Daddy went out to Subway to get some lunch, and I pureed some soup for my lunch. After lunch, I got all my computer files backed up. And after nap, I cleaned more stuff off my desk, threw a few things away, organized some on the shelves, and put some in a pile for filing. Around 4:30, we went out to look at a house. This evening, Christy and Connie went to a “sit ‘n’ sew” fellowship at Joan P’s house. After doing dishes, I went through all the school books we had gotten for possibly teaching Bonita and maybe a couple others. Picked out a few lighter weight ones to take in our suitcases and will have to ship the rest. “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” Psalm 143:10 May this be always my prayer, pleading with my God to teach me, not only what His will is, but that God will teach me to do His will, to be obedient. And may I seek Him to lead me into the land of uprightness. I need Him to teach me and lead me, to be my guide, so that I may be sure that my destination is always the land of justice and righteousness. February 5. Forty-seventh day of winter. A lovely, sunny morning, but chilly. We thank the Lord for His help in checking a good portion of John 19 this morning. Then I had kitchen work to do—get a squash into the oven to cook; cook a panful of carrots so I could add some to Daddy’s casserole; make the casserole and get it into the oven; make a large pot of soup for my week’s dinners. Afterward, I sat down for a while and made corrections in the John file for the verses we covered this morning With the Lord’s help, we finished checking John 19 this afternoon. Then we did some rearranging in the dining room, cleaning off one desk completely so we could put it in Connie’s room, and cleaning off the table to make room for the printer as well as both our computers. Today was Connie’s spiritual birthday, and we rejoiced to celebrate that with her. “1O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. 3O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever…. 26O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 136:1-3,26 I am to give thanks unto the Lord because He is good. He is always good. (See Psalm 52:1) Therefore I should give thanks always. We should give God thanks because He is merciful. He is always merciful. His mercy endureth for ever. Therefore I should always give thanks. Throughout the rest of the Psalm (verses 4-25), He tells us of many ways in which He has shown us His goodness and His mercy. February 6. Forty-eighth day of winter. Periods of sunshine alternating with periods of cloud. But there wasn’t any rain, and it was warm enough to hang the clothes out today. While the clothes were washing this morning, Daddy and I checked through the whole of John chapter 20. I think that is the quickest we have done a chapter, and we thank the Lord for guiding us through it. After hanging the clothes out, I spent the rest of the morning starting on organizing things in the office. Went through the basket of envelopes and greeting cards and put all the cards in large envelopes according to occasion. Put all of C&C’s boxes of cards and their basket of cards in the living room bookcase for them to notice and use. This afternoon, I reorganized note paper, copy paper, and card stock that was on my desk. and organized craft paper for card making into a box next to the table. “23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23,24 I’m thankful for the reminder this morning to ask the Lord to search me and know my heart, to try me and know my thoughts, and to see if there be any wicked way in me. Then as God reveals the needs of my heart and they are confessed, I can ask him to lead me in the way that pleases Him. February 4. Forty-sixth day of winter, and a wintry day. Woke up to the sound of rain on this freezing cold morning. Thankful that the rain didn’t make any ice on the ground, although ice formed on the trees making a very beautiful picture. Pastor Ogle preached from I Peter 1:13-16, The Perfect Standard—holiness. “Because of what God has done for us, we must pattern our lives after God and not after the world.” “Would your life be characterized by holiness?” An excellent message. Praise the Lord for the reminders to holy living. After the meeting, there was a teacher training session for which Christy had to stay. Daddy, Connie, and I stood around talking with other people while we were waiting for Christy. Then we came home via Blacksburg where we got gas for Christy’s car. So it was going on 2:00 when we got home, and it was 3:00 before we had nap. So there wasn’t much left to the day after that. This evening we listened to Wednesday night preaching from the book of Romans by Pastor Allison of Madison Baptist Church in Madison, AL. He had started preaching on the introduction to Romans, covering in this message verses 1-7. A very good message. “5For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” Psalm 135:5,6 The LORD is great, and there is none greater. He does whatever He pleases wherever He pleases whenever He pleases. He is accountable to none. He does not need the advice of any man or spirit being. He does not need to tell us why He does what He does. We can know that whatever He does is right and just, and we can trust that He knows best. |
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