I just love today’s edition of Friday Blessings. I have an interesting assortment of blessings to share with you today, so let’s get moving.
{#197} – Conviction – Ok, so I know this is an odd one, but I am thankful that when I sin, the Holy Spirit convicts me and makes me KNOW that I have sinned. Just this week, I was served a heaping helping of conviction by AW Tozer. See if this quote convicts you:
“In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on the throne. Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among gospel believers today. We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of ManSoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.”
Are you shouting ‘OUCH!!’ with me?
{#198} – Author Discussion – On Thursday morning I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion on publishing with some incredible women. My friend, Lisa Shaw, hosted The Women’s Author Hour on her BlogTalk Radio show, The Whole Woman. If you are a writer or want to be a writer, you might want to check out the discussion. I pray it will be a blessing to many who desire to write. Go here to download the podcast and hear the show There will be a second panel discussion on Thursday, July 25th at 11am with an entirely new panel of authors….one of whom is my sweet friend, Elaine Olsen.
{#199} – Mother-in-law – My sweet mother-in-law, Betty Adams, fell three weeks ago and fractured her pelvis. Bless her heart, she has been in a fix, as my grandmother would have said. She can’t put weight on her right leg until the pelvic bones knit back together. Hence, she has been confined to the house. Greg told me that yesterday she got out, went to the hairdresser and to lunch. Big YAY!! That is awesome! I am so thankful she felt like doing that.
Betty’s 80th birthday – 2012
{#200} – Bible study – This week I ordered and received in the mail the workbooks for my Tuesday group’s autumn Bible study. We are stepping out and doing something new for us. A Precept study! We have never done a Precept study, although Cindy and I trained as leaders years ago. Beginning August 13th, we will be doing Precept’s Revelation Part 2. I am super excited about it and praying for the Lord’s leadership.
{#201} – Summer canning – I am a relatively new canner. Greg and I only began canning (or ‘jarring’ as my young nephew called it a few years ago) about 3 years ago. Thus far, I have canned strawberry jam, squash pickles, and squash for frying. My plan is to do some peach jam, canned okra, tomatoes, vegetable soup, and perhaps some other jams. It is such a blessing to pop open a jar in the middle of the winter and have fresh vegetables.
Squash pickles!!
{#202} – Necklace – My awesome sister-in-law, Angie Burns, gave me the prettiest necklace for my birthday. It is by a company called Kameleon. It is sterling silver with my initial (L) in the middle. The middle can be popped out and replaced with an assortment of Jewel Pops. I love it!
{#203} – Family – My mother has 5 brothers and 2 sisters. One of the brothers, Bill Parker, refurbished their mother’s old wringer washing machine. Bill’s wife, Pat, plans to use it as a planter in their yard, but before they did, Bill wanted to take a picture of all three sisters with the washing machine. All the kids remember Grandmother using the machine. I sent my camera along and asked them to get a pic with my camera of the girls with the machine.
Janie, Jean, and Mother with Grandmother’s wringer washer.
{#204} – Vital Signs Class – The Monday night class I am teaching on the seven churches of The Revelation is blessing my socks off. I had the same number of students attend this past Monday as the first, so it appears I didn’t bore anyone to death!! Whooray!!! They are asking great questions (some of which I don’t have the answers to) and seem to be learning a lot. I love teaching. Next week, I will begin posting portions of the Vital Signs study here at the blog, so get ready to learn a few things that you might not have known.
{#205} – Complete Bible – The more I study the Bible, the more grateful I am to have the complete canon available to read and study. When King David was alive, the ‘Bible’ consisted of the books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). In Jesus’ day, the Bible was what we know of as the Old Testament. By the time John wrote The Revelation, the gospels and some of Paul’s writings had been added. Today, you and I have the completed canon; law and grace. We are able to see Jesus throughout the entire Bible. Praise God!!
{#206} – Iron sharpening iron – This is an extension of {#198}. It was such a blessing to me to hear the other panel members speak about their writing journeys. The Lord has worked in their lives in wonderful ways and I was so encouraged to hear about it. Although the goal of the discussion was to encourage those who want to write, I feel like I received more than I gave. Thanks, ladies!!
