Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... April, May and June 2016

April 1, 2016 | JustAmy; Meg33, The Mayor; Trisham; St.Louie1, Friends, MamaBear

[Kitty Mittens]

Thank you, Dear Meg! That is the Most Beautiful Graphic.
(((((Many Hugs and Blessings)))))

Thank you to Everyone for the Daily Pings & Posts.
(((((Goodnight, and God Bless)))))

[The Mayor]

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His Plans or Ours?

April 7, 2016

"Who am I, Lord God . . . that you have brought me this far?" 1 Chronicles 17:16

When my husband was 18 years old, he started a car-cleaning business. He rented a garage, hired helpers, and created advertising brochures. The business prospered. His intention was to sell it and use the proceeds to pay for college, so he was thrilled when a buyer expressed interest. After some negotiations, it seemed that the transaction would happen. But at the last minute, the deal collapsed. It wouldn't be until several months later that his plan to sell the business would succeed.

It's normal to be disappointed when God's timing and design for our lives do not match our expectations. When David wanted to build the Lord's temple, he had the right motives, the leadership ability, and the resources. Yet God said he could not undertake the project because he had killed too many people in battle (1 Chron. 22:8).

True satisfaction is found in yielding ourselves to the will of God.

David could have shaken his fist at the sky in anger. He could have pouted or plowed ahead with his own plans. But he humbly said, "Who am I, Lord God . . . that you have brought me this far?" (17:16). David went on to praise God and affirm his devotion to Him. He valued his relationship with God more than his ambition.

What is more important--achieving our hopes and dreams, or our love for God?

Dear heavenly Father, I commit all of my plans to You. Thank You for bringing me this far. You mean more to me than anything in the world.

True satisfaction is found in yielding ourselves to the will of God.

[MEG33]

Happy Thankful Thursday Everyone

Each season has its joys to treasure
To lift our spirits and bring us pleasure...Anon
Thanking God
I Wish You A Joyful, Thankful Day

[MEG33]

Thank you, TCP...Hope that grass doesn’t get covered again!

[MEG33]

(((HUGS)))

[luvie]

I'm thankful for Spring
...and purple irises!
Happy Thankful Thursday!

[trisham]

“Sometimes I go about pitying myself
And all the while
I am being carried across the sky
By beautiful clouds."

Ojibway Indian Expression

Have a wonderful thankful Thursday, everyone!

[MEG33]

Beautiful, Luv...So am I.

[MEG33]

Lovely!

[trisham]

Thank you, MEG!

[The Mayor]

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In Transition

April 8, 2016

We will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

People post obituary notices on billboards and concrete block walls in Ghana regularly. Headlines such as Gone Too Soon, Celebration of Life, and What a Shock! announce the passing away of loved ones and the approaching funerals. One I read--In Transition--points to life beyond the grave.

When a close relative or friend dies, we sorrow as Mary and Martha did for their brother Lazarus (John 11:17-27). We miss the departed so much that our hearts break and we weep, as Jesus wept at the passing of His friend (v. 35).

"Whoever lives by believing in me will never die." John 11:25

Yet, it was at this sorrowful moment Jesus made a delightful statement on life after death: "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die" (v. 25).

On the basis of this we give departed believers only a temporary farewell. For they "will be with the Lord forever," Paul emphasizes (1 Thess. 4:17). Of course, farewells are painful, but we can rest assured that they are in the Lord's safe hands.

In Transition suggests that we are only changing from one situation to another. Though life on earth ends for us, we will continue to live forever and better in the next life where Jesus is. "Therefore encourage one another with these words" (v. 18).

It is because of You, Jesus, that we have hope and are sure of a forever life. We're grateful.

For help in dealing with loss, read Life After Loss at discoveryseries.org/cb131

Because of Jesus, we can live forever.

INSIGHT:

Martha, Lazarus's sister, is one of the most misunderstood characters in the New Testament. We usually think of her in the context of Luke 10:38-42, where Jesus challenges her misdirected priorities. This often leads to the conclusion that she was somehow spiritually inferior to her sister, Mary. However, Martha is the one who expresses her confidence in Christ to do something about the death of her brother (John 11:21-22). And she makes a wonderful statement on the deity of Christ, showing that she, in fact, had great depth of spiritual understanding (v. 27). Bill Crowder

[MEG33]

Amen

[MEG33]

Happy Friday To Amy's Place

Wearing Red To Support Our Troops

I Wish You A Great Weekend

[The Mayor]

Thank you Meg!

[luvie]

RAY WYLIE HUBBARD~RED DRESS

[TheConservativeParty]

Guess what? Snow on the grass again this morning! It’s all melted now. Winter is not letting go this year.

Cheers

[MEG33]

Oh my! Glad it melted!

[trisham]

Red Friday, at Amy's Place
to support our troops!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

*=*=*=*=*=**=*=*=*=*=*

[trisham]

Saturday Morning

Walking to the store
on a Saturday morning
need to buy some milk
and paper towels.
The streets are covered
with a thin coat of ice
the winds are still
an old woman with a push cart
is beating me to the store
she is gliding like a slap shot.
I continue to walk cautiously
don’t want to slip
don’t want to fall
the light turns yellow
I don’t even think of trying.
I wait for it to turn back
Then I walk walk slowly
the old woman is already in the store.
Inside the store I am greeted by
a young store cashier, her voice is full of energy
she smiles and looks like life has not
___ with her yet not yet...
I say good morning and head for
the paper good aisle.
A man who is still a stockboy is stocking
cheap single sheet rolls of toilet paper in aisle 5
I pick up a roll of paper towels
it’s on sale and I save 34 cents.
I get out of the paper aisle
and run into the old woman
she is well dressed and very short.
I look at her, she looks up at me and smiles
I smile back get a gallon of milk
At the cashier, I pay for my stuff
the cashier asks me if want paper or plastic
I choose plastic and then she smiles and
puts the paper towels inside the plastic bag
I decide I will carry the milk.

Charles Lara

Happy Caturday, Dogurday and Bunnyday, everyone!

[The Mayor]

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Take Heart!

April 9, 2016

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

I like to watch birds at play, so years ago I built a small sanctuary in our backyard to attract them. For several months I enjoyed the sight of my feathered friends feeding and flitting about--until a Cooper's Hawk made my bird refuge his private hunting reserve.

Such is life: Just about the time we settle down to take our ease, something or someone comes along to unsettle our nests. Why, we ask, must so much of life be a vale of tears?

Lord, You are powerful, loving, in control, and eternal. We trust You and love You.

I've heard many answers to that old question, but lately I'm satisfied with just one: "All the discipline of the world is to make [us] children, that God may be revealed to [us]" (George MacDonald, Life Essential). When we become like children, we begin trusting, resting solely in the love of our Father in heaven, seeking to know Him and to be like Him.

Cares and sorrow may follow us all the days of our lives, but "we do not lose heart. . . . For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

Can we not rejoice, then, with such an end in view?

Lord, we do rejoice even in our struggles because we are rejoicing in who You are and Your good purposes for us. You are powerful, loving, in control, and eternal. We trust You and love You.

Heaven's delights will far outweigh earth's difficulties.

INSIGHT:

Despite today's text telling the story of Paul's suffering as a follower of Christ, it also carries an implicit message of hope in the phrase "but not" (vv. 8-9). Though Paul suffered in a variety of ways, he was not overwhelmed by his experiences. His hope--and ours--is expressed in verse 17: "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Bill Crowder