March 18. Eighty-eighth day of winter. Another lovely day, up to about 70º. Pastor Ogle’s message today covered only one verse, 1 Peter 2:17, yet a verse with four profound commands. The theme: “The gospel must impact your relationship with others.” This afternoon after nap, I mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies from a mix and then spent a couple hours going through photos that were filed in the file cabinet and getting rid of some old ones. After doing dishes this evening, we all listened to the early morning sermon together, and I worked on crocheting the shawl for Beth while we were doing that. “18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20 If we but had leaders today who would pay such careful attention to God’s word, how different this land might be.
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March 16. Eighty-sixth day of winter. A beautiful, warm day, sunny half of the day or so and cloudy part of the day. Thank you, Lord. We are trying to concentrate most of our time and effort on packing now. It’s really hard when all the joints and muscles are hurting, but I’m thankful that we can wait upon the Lord so that our strength can be renewed. This afternoon, I reorganized my card-making stuff into two boxes, packed a box with material for projects I am working on, and put some things away to pack for PNG. By then my back had done all it was going to do today, and I was hungry too so got something to eat and sat down to relax. This evening, I started packing a couple more boxes, but they’re not quite full yet. Finished up Ruth’s afghan after our family time this evening so that is now ready to take to her. Thankful for the Lord’s help with that. March 17. Eighty-seventh day of winter. Another nice warm day, mostly cloudy the first part of the morning, but sunny and bright the rest of the day. Today was spent packing, which included sorting through files in one of the file cabinets to see what we needed to keep and pack, what needed to be left for Christy, and what needed to be tossed. “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” Proverbs 28:20 Thank you, Lord, for your abundant blessings. Help me, LORD, to be faithful.
March 14. Eighty-fourth day of winter. Cold with mixture of sunshine and clouds. Woke up a little before 6:00 this morning. Got up and took a shower and washed hair. Had quiet time and a smoothie. Backed up files. Made some oatmeal and enjoyed a bowlful. Copied out information from a few e-mails and then deleted them plus a few others. Swept our bathroom and bedroom. Finished packing a box that Christy had started. Worked on some Bible lessons in Pidgin. Made pizza and cooked spinach for lunch. This afternoon, I worked more on the Bible lessons. Praise the Lord, A+ worked on the van today and had it ready this afternoon. Christy took Daddy over to pick up the van. Great teaching this evening from Exodus 40 with good practical applications. Main theme — “Obedience to God leads to the glory of God in your life.” The construction and setting up of the tabernacle shows that God is a God of order. God had Moses begin with the holy of holies and work his way outward. Does order in your life reflect your God? The consecration of the tabernacle: The special anointing oil was used to anoint every piece of the tabernacle and the priests. Each thing and each priest was set apart for a specific service. We also have been set apart to serve God. The completion of the tabernacle showed that God is concerned with details. He knows every detail of our lives. God’s covenant with His people (verses 34-38) reminded them that they needed to look to God daily for their guidance. See also Numbers 9:15-23. God wants us to look to Him for daily guidance. As the tabernacle was the dwelling place of God, so much more are we now the temple of God, indwelt by God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. March 15. Eighty-fifth day of winter. Down to freezing this morning; and even though the temperature was on its way up when we went out shopping, a cold icy wind made it feel very sub-freezing. We didn’t have much shopping to do today, and it was so nice to get back home around 10:30 or so. Only a few items to get at Aldi and at WalMart each. Then a quick stop at the post office to drop off the box of newsletters that Christy had prepared for mailing. I was very thankful for some sit-down time after we got home and got the food put away. This afternoon, I checked over chapter 21 of Acts and worked on another chapter in The Isles Are Singing. Daddy, Christy, and Connie went out to the real estate office to talk with Denise about the closing of Christy’s home. Since the house needs a new roof, the current owner was willing to come down on the price. Closing is scheduled for a week from today. Praise the Lord for answered prayer! Praise the Lord for the excellent help of our agents too. “21If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” Proverbs 25:21,22 If we show love to our enemies, it will be like heaping coals of fire upon his head (not sure just what the significance of this is), and the LORD has promised to reward us. Our Savior showed His love to us when we were His enemies. Should not we do the same for ours?
March 12. Eighty-second day of winter. Dark, cold, and rainy. Sun peeked out a couple times this afternoon. This morning, I organized last week’s journal notes into a file and sent them to Connie. Also wrote and deleted a few e-mails. Then packed a couple boxes of PNG stuff. This afternoon, I spent quite a bit of time looking for music for more of the songs we have translated into Pidgin. Daddy and I were also at Dr. Cook’s office for about an hour for back adjustments. Did the dishes early this evening and then checked over Acts chapter 19. “26Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28 March 13. Eighty-third day of winter. Very chilly this morning, but the Lord sent us sunshine and warmed up the day so nicely. The day started out somewhat normal. After breakfast, I put a load of clothes in to wash. While they were washing, I translated a couple paragraphs of a missionary story. I hung out the sheets, but left Daddy to do the rest of the clothes because it was still too cold for me. Then around 10:00 we got ready to go out to the thrift stores to look for a few items we were still needing. Went to the hospice thrift store first, They have 50% off all clothing on Tuesdays. Daddy found a belt, but the only thing I found was a couple pieces of pretty lace. From there, we went to Verizon so Daddy could pay the phone bill. Then across the street to Salvation Army. We decided to stop at Big Lots first, however. I wanted to look there for socks anyway. Of course, we had to look around at the food items too, and we bought a half dozen things in that department. They had many pairs of socks, but they were all ankle socks. Not to my liking so no socks today. Afterward, we walked next door to the Salvation Army thrift store. Didn’t see any long-sleeved blouses like I am wanting, but found a skein of soft, bulky yarn and a warm shirt for Connie. Today was senior day at Salvation Army, so we were able to purchase the shirt and yarn at 25% off; and yellow tag items were 50% off. Praise the Lord for the shopping blessings. It was now about 12:00. Time to head home. We were going to make a quick stop at Mighty Dollar for Daddy to run in and see if they had bread. When he turned the key in the ignition, however, there was nothing. Just click, click. The windows and lights still worked so we figured it wasn’t the battery. Daddy called AAA for help. They would send a tow truck, but we would have to wait about an hour. We went back into Big Lots to get some “lunch” (just snacks) and then sat in the car and waited. Called Connie to let her know that it would be a while before we could get home. Tow truck arrived a little after 1:00, from Spindale. The driver loaded the van onto the truck. Didn’t seem to know that we had planned to ride along although Daddy had told the person who was making arrangements for our pickup. The driver had to move his lunch out of the fold down console in the middle and put the console up so there would be two seats. After Daddy and I climbed in, we headed for A+ Automotive. Charlie wasn’t there, but Rick seems to be second in command. He is very nice, but said they are super busy and are backed up already with about a week’s work. He will check the van out as soon as he is able and try to determine the problem—probably either the alternator or the starter. We didn’t know how we were going to get back home, but Rick kindly offered to bring us here. We were very grateful for his offer. It was around 2:00 when we finally arrived home. Had to puree soup, and it was going on 2:30 before I finished eating. I was too tired to make the bed so just threw one blanket over the bed and another on top of us. Slept a little over an hour and a half. Was thankful to have had time to relax this evening and look over another chapter of Acts before doing dishes. Praise the Lord for His watch care over us and His blessings today. “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Deuteronomy 12:32
March 11. Eighty-first day of winter. Chilly and rainy. Lots of visitors at church this morning. Good to see the Moores. Enjoyed a little time to chat with Kathy B. Good message this morning from I Peter 2:11-16 on “Practical Living Before a Lost and Observing World.” “You must live as a representative of Jesus Christ because others are watching. An encouraging e-mail from Barry N this afternoon, sharing a blessing he had received from God’s word this morning-- "Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. -Psalms 135:6 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. -Psalms 115:3 Have you ever just sat and contemplated that phrase? “he does all that he pleases”. And just imagine, part of what “he pleases” is to be our Lord and Savior. He wants to be involved in every detail of our lives.... WOW! Through it all, good and bad, he is always there as long as we don’t shut him out. I’ve seen the Lord answer prayers, provide protection, provision, and personal wants. And to think “he does all that he pleases” and it pleases Him to care for us. WOW!" What a humbling thought........ Thank you Lord for loving and caring for me and my family! This afternoon and evening, I finished going through the rest of the old picture CD’s that had been sitting on my desk for a while. After I did dishes, we listened together to the sermon that Jordan G preached in the early morning service at EBC today. “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” (Psalm 135:6)
March 9. Seventy-ninth day of winter. Temperature in the mid 20’s this morning. Praise the Lord for a nice sunny day, and for Daddy’s volunteering to hang the wash out for me. My hands get much too cold when it’s in the mid 40’s or below. They smell so much fresher when they’ve hung outside. After getting clothes in the washer, I started making a pot of sweet tater soup for this coming week. By the time that was on to cook, I was ready to sit down so worked until lunch time on the music notebook to go with our Pidgin song book. This afternoon, I packed a couple more boxes and did some reorganizing of dishes so we can keep out only a few and pack the ones that we can get along without for the next few weeks. This evening, I worked more on the music notebook and also did some crocheting. Finished crocheting all the rows of the afghan I was making for Ruth. Just need to tuck in the ends and make a border. “12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” Deuteronomy 10:12,13 March 10. Eightieth day of winter. Cloudy but not too chilly, Spent the morning answering letters. I’m excited to have all the letters off the top of my desk and all the e-mail newsletters with updates sent out. Now I have individual e-mails to get caught up on. Joints and muscles were hurting a lot today so I went for an early nap and slept a couple hours, though somewhat restlessly. After we got up, we set the clocks ahead an hour to be ready for daylight savings time. After that, there wasn’t much left to the afternoon. I did get papers filed away that had collected on top of the file cabinet and taped a box up to pack things in, but ended up just packing a trash bag with soft toys. This evening, I looked over another chapter of Acts, making some changes in grammar and sentence structure. “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.” Deuteronomy 10:14 The heavens and the earth and everything in them belong to God. He created them and He is the rightful owner, and He has a right to do with them as He pleases. Compare Genesis 14:19; Psalm 24:1,2; 50:10-12; 115:16; Jeremiah 27:5; I Corinthians 10:26. March 7. Seventy-seventh day of winter. Chilly again today with strong March winds, but sunny. First thing to do this morning was to cut Daddy’s hair. Then I cooked some veggies to have with amaranth for breakfast, printed out more copies of the newsletter, worked on a youth lesson, and made spaghetti for Daddy’s dinner. Daddy had to go to Gaffney this morning to get milk for C&C. Spent more time on the youth lesson this afternoon. Then did dishes so I’d be ready when it was time to leave for church. Picked up Cindie on the way to church. The Ogles were away at the Wilds, and Pastor Bru oversaw the meeting. Jeremiah C did the preaching, an excellent message from Exodus 33:7-11 on “A Healthy Relationship with God,” He talked about anticipation, verse 7—when you seek for something, you anticipate that you will find it. There is an expectation or eagerness that when I meet with God, God has something for me. We must also leave some things behind in order to meet with God—"without, afar off, went out.” He talked about attention, verse 8—I must direct my mind and concentration on listening to God; I must give whole, complete attention when God is talking. My mind must be stayed on Him, Isaiah 26:3. Thirdly there was adoration, verse 10—worship, reverence, humbling myself before God, singing praise. And lastly, affection, verse 11—God wants to speak to me as a man speaks to a friend, as God did with Moses; I need to stay in God’s presence, as Joshua did. There must be communication, warmth, closeness, togetherness when I meet with God. God created man to communicate with Him and to walk with Him. He concluded with Acts 17:24-28, “24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” My relationship with God is my whole life, a life with God, God in me. Also just as I anticipate spending time with God, He anticipates spending time with me. As I give attention to Him, He also gives attention to my prayers. As I adore and worship Him, He loves and adores me. And as I show Him affection, He shows affection to me—He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, a friend of sinners, a friend who walks and talks with me, a friend above all friends. What a wonderful relationship! March 8. Seventy-eighth day of wintrer. Down to 31º this morning. Sun was shining, but icy wind was blowing. As soon as I had had quiet time and a small breakfast (a smoothie), Daddy and I bundled up warm and headed out to shop. We made a full morning of it, going first to Lidl’s to check on their sales on organic produce. Ended up buying quite a few things there, including other organic foods besides the produce, a set of scissors, an alarm clock, and a dual voltage hair trimmer set. Next we went to WalMart for a few groceries and then to Aldi. From Aldi we headed home across the side roads to Lafayette and decided, since we’d be going by the discount meat mart, that we’d stop there to see what they had on sale. Bought quite a few organic snack items for Christy and for ourselves. Around noon, we were done and headed home. Got all the groceries put away, had lunch, and then nap. This afternoon, I cut up a papaya before looking over Acts chapter 17. It was a blessing to look over that chapter and review the verses that were used last night in the conclusion of Jeremiah’s preaching. I was thankful for a second reminder to seek the Lord our Creator because He is very near and desires to have a relationship with the people He created.
March 5. Seventy-fifth day of winter. This morning, I wrote a couple e-mails, got last week’s journal notes set up in the file for Connie, transferred and edited last week’s pictures, and sent journal notes and pictures off to Connie. Then Daddy and I went out for a little stretch. It was good to get out, but we didn’t go too far from the house. An icy wind blew in our faces whenever we walked toward the north so we just walked around the house a bit and then came back inside. It was a delight to see all the violets in bloom. After our walk, I printed out a text only copy of the newsletter so we could proofread it. Got that proofread and made jpg and a pdf copies to send to Christy. Shortly after nap, I returned a call to Ruthie. She had called while I was napping. It’s always nice to chat with sisters. Then I printed envelopes for the dozen updates that need to go out by mail, filled the ink tanks on the printer, and printed out twelve copies of the newsletter to go in the printed envelopes. Also had to go back a couple times and correct mistakes that we had missed when we proofread and resend a pdf copy of the newsletter to Christy for e-mailing. Didn’t need to resend a jpg copy because I will make the printed copies on our printer. Her printer is low on ink, and her ink is more expensive than what ours is. “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” Proverbs 16:31 What a joy it is to have a “crown of glory” if we know that we have walked in the way of righteousness! March 6. Seventy-sixth day of winter. Rainy, damp, and chilly. The morning was full of busy-ness with laundry, acknowledging supporters who receive letters by USPS, going out to a couple thrift stores to look for a few needed items, printing newsletters for Christy to prepare for mailing, packing glass items out of the china cabinet, and working on a John lesson for Mike. Got several more pages of a John lesson written this afternoon and evening. Also printed out more copies of the newsletter and did a little crocheting. “11Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day…. 15Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end…. 18But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God….” Deuteronomy 8:11,15,16, 18a Oh, LORD my God, may I never forget how You have led us through many trials, have protected us, have provided all our needs, have fed us, have humbled us and proved us, so that you might do us good. May I never forget so that I turn from obeying you and turn to walking after the world and after my own lusts. May I always remember the LORD my God to fear Him and walk in all His ways all the days of my life.
March 4. Seventy-fourth day of winter. Chilly again this morning, but up to about 60º this afternoon. Enjoyed then the warmth of the bright sunlight beaming through the back storm doors. Daddy and I overslept this morning. Daddy’s voice suddenly awakened me from a sound sleep around 6:45. Hurried to get going and get ready for church. Praise the Lord for a good message this morning from I Peter 2:4-10, Showing Forth Precious Praises. “You must be the messenger God wants you to be because of all He has done for you.” How can we show forth the praises of God in our daily lives? The afternoon and part of the evening was spent finishing up the quarterly newsletter and getting it perfected. After doing dishes this evening, we listened to a sermon by Pastor Weiss entitled “The Blood Speaks,” based on I John 1:7. The blood speaks first of all to God and satisfies Him so that we may enter boldly into His presence. It speaks secondly to believers who should also be satisfied that their sins are forgiven so that they may enter boldly into His presence. And thirdly it speaks to Satan saying “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.” Romans 8:33 My verse for this evening: “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 One of my favorite verses since I was very young, a verse I needed to repeat over and over again in dealing with a temper problem as a child. Praise God for His word to help us gain victory over sin! March 2. Seventy-second day of winter. Had decided to get the progress report done this morning and then begin working on the quarterly newsletter. My eyes were burning (pollen allergies, we assume) so badly, however, that I couldn’t focus on the computer screen without aggravating them. So we decided we would take a trip up to Polkville and see if there were any food items we could use. Was hoping to find some healthy snacks, but maybe I’ll have to make some as we didn’t find anything there. Bought a few non-food items to take to PNG. After we got home, I made a gallon jug of herb tea and added more tomato sauce, milk, and herbs to the tomato soup I had made yesterday for Daddy’s lunch so he would have enough for today. Now it looks like there’s enough for tomorrow too. This afternoon, my eyes felt a little better, so I was able to get the progress report done and sent off to Pastor Ogle. “33Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. 34Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 35For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.” Proverbs 8:33-36 March 3. Seventy-third day of winter. A bit cooler this morning—around 37º. Didn’t take long for the bright sunshine to warm up the world, however. Worked a while on card-making this morning. Then did some packing, cleaning off the white shelf unit on top of the buffet in the laundry room. This afternoon, I cleaned off my desk and swept the dining room floor; and this evening, I started writing up the quarterly newsletter. “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!” Deuteronomy 5:29 If we would but fear God and obey Him, it would surely be well with us and with our children for ever. As God said through King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” To fear God, and to keep His commandments is the whole duty of man. |
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