DANCE AND SING WITH DELIGHT IN THE LORD!

SHINE

Get up and dance!

Do you not hear the glad sound?

Have you not seen the sun?

Is the splendor of this day lost to you?

Place your feet on the floor!

Lift your hands!

As the trumpet sounds

Sail across the floor in harmony with me!

Dance, clap, sing, share!

I am yours!

You are mine!

Is this not cause to celebrate?

SHINE!

By Martha L Shaw ©2015

Monday Quote – Isaiah

If A Tree Fell In The Forest . . .

You all likely know the old saying about “if a tree fell” and it came to my mind just now in relation to some things the Lord has revealed to me just this morning which I’d like to share with you.

Speaking for myself, I’d never doubt that the sound the tree makes when it falls would be the same whether I hear it or not, but then there’s the question of God’s grace . . . and His timing.  In pondering this, I find my thoughts changing on whether or not the tree falling was soundless.

A favorite scripture verse of mine is Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,  and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”

In my life, as with most people, there are a number of “why is the Lord letting this happen” or “when will healing of this situation come” and so forth.  The truth is, we are showered with His grace all the time.  Miracles happen every day.  We often fail to notice.  That’s a huge revelation to me that He made me aware of in the last 24 hours or so.  For, in order for His grace to rise upon me, I have to realize it!

Let me say it another way.  Think of another favorite scripture of mine, the 23rd Psalm.  Now sheep aren’t known to be all that intelligent so perhaps that’s why as they were led beside the still waters, their souls were restored and rest came and so forth.  I have to admit, this blessing might not have gotten to me all at once and it could even have taken a day or two as I thought about the  near miss with the shadow of death and perhaps wondered what might be lurking beneath the surface in those still waters and maybe, just maybe, as I lay in the green comfy grass and became thirsty, I’d perhaps have given thought to how deep the water is and what if I fell in . . .

Think about it.  God’s grace is here.  We own it, if we allow ourselves to trust and receive.  The sheep is every bit as “safe” while he’s worrying about all those things I mentioned, but the peace and grace he’s been given isn’t his because he’s not open to receive it!  The realization of what he’s been given is not upon him as clear as it seems to us reading the verses and I don’t know about you, but I’m not all that different from the sheep sometimes.

Looking at this from another angle, I am recalling Jesus with His disciples in the temple.  You’ll recall He saw a poor widow giving all she had in the temple “collection plate” so to speak.  Jesus noticed and was so pleased.  We know this., yet did He walk over to her and speak love, blessing, and encouragement to her?  No, He spoke of this in encouragement to His disciples.  Why?  It didn’t mean His love for her was diminished, but clearly she didn’t need the encouragement.  She was of strong faith.  The disciples needed the teaching, the encouragement.  He gave them what they needed.

Pretty interesting, don’t you think?  As I pondered these things, I realized some . . . many ways the Lord has given to me and yet I worried still and wondered “where are you, Lord?”  I cried out “help me” and “let me know your peace” and all the while He had His loving, healing hand on me.  As I look back, I can see such time wasted worrying and in retrospect can see that my problems were solved long before I quit stressing over them.  I can see so much lost sleep over things He had all worked out.  I wasn’t like the widow, who was of strong faith and knew all would be well.  I need to be more like her.  Miracles happen every day.  We don’t always notice, or I don’t . . .  so I ask again, if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear, does it make a sound?  You decide.

by Martha L Shaw – words and images Copyright 11-19-2012

Bible Verse For A New Week!

See His Brightness!

Isaiah 60:19

¹⁹ The sun will no more be your light by day,
    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.

I love this quote.  It is restoring and life-giving to me, for I do feel blessed by the brightness of sun and moon and all His creation but during times of challenge, distress, and hurt I can still come to see His brightness where there is no sunshine bright enough to lift me up.  He always can and does!

 

 

FOCUS ON GOD – A Quote For Monday Morning

Whether it’s over the kitchen table having breakfast, at the water bubbler at work, in the grocery store, or at church, it seems we have a long list of complaints about all that’s wrong in life and all that we should be doing to fix it.  Seems the complaints never become fewer . . . I am always side stepping a lot of talk online, on the radio, etc., of what is wrong with the church and this is especially disturbing. 

Ultimately, all we have to do is love . . . the Lord our God, one another, and ourselves.  That’s it.  The other stuff?  He’s got it.  He had a plan long before we saw and heard the problem existed.  We’ve got our duty spelled out.  Let your light shine, be a reflection of His love.  On the list of things we “should” do today, tomorrow, this week, this month . . .  where’s that on the list?  Is it on the top? 

All too often, it doesn’t make the list, not OUR list.  Seems more likely than not it’s absent, but our verbal lists include a whole host of things “somebody” should . . .  and “they” should . . . and there’s even a whole new page for the “why didn’t” things . . . again, why didn’t “she” or “he” or “they” and not why didn’t I . . . MOST disturbing of all is the “why did God” or “why didn’t God.” 

Isaiah 48:21

^\21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.

 

God placed this quote above on my heart yesterday.  I could go on and on about all those few words reveal, but ultimately, they are summing things up well.  God is God, I am not.  He has the big stuff well in hand.  I have my instructions . . . my job, while challenging sometimes, doesn’t come close to the magnitude of His.  Mine is all about the love . . . the things that are impossible for me to even think about much less accomplish or “fix” if you will . . . they were never meant to be mine to deal with until I picked them up and began wrestling with them.  I’m letting go.  The sky is blue and the sun is shining.  I know this because I looked up! 

 

 

Here’s some of that water gushing out of the rock . . . side of a mountain actually. 

 

His Name Is Exalted!!!

“In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” Isaiah 12:4 NIV1984

Perfect Peace!

 

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

As we face Hurricane Irene this weekend, and other great challenges in life, I offer this verse to remind all of us of the source of all strength and peace. 

Reading this verse reminded me of an old favorite praise song.  I found a beautiful version of this which is not the contemporary one I recall, but which is quite lovely and which I share with you here:

 

Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace – Wesley

 

Samuel Sebastian Welsey’s Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace. Sung by Consortium. Score from cpdl.org

http://youtu.be/2ZDPcXOl7Mw

Are You the Dog Poop or the Shoe?

 So, you know how it is when you have a day when you feel like the dog poop and all the world is a shoe?  Okay, you may giggle but I know you know what I’m saying. 

Okay, so I am feeling so much love for the Lord and drawn to serve Him in so many ways, but then there’s the need to pay my bills, keep a roof over my head and my family’s, eat occasionally.  At this point I don’t see how to do the things I’m called for and be paid for them, so as Paul made and sold tents to enable Him to do the work He was called to do, I’ve been somewhat half-heartedly doing some searching for tent making opportunities of my own.  I find that perhaps my attitude needs to change because it took very little time to check the updated job listings and determine the results were bleak.  I would love to say that I smiled and thought “onto something else, and more of that tomorrow” but no, that didn’t happen.  Why?  Well, i was feeling hope slipping away.  I tried quiet time.  I was interrupted by foolish demands, wrong number phone calls and other trivial things.  I can’t count how many times I’ve listened to “come down here and look at this” and so forth.  Finding my mood darkening and the INTERRUPTIONS GROWING CONSTANT and even as I type this, they CONTINUE . . . . so I turned to the Bible. 

An online search for the word “hopeless” in the NIV Bible revealed that there is just one reference to it.  I am wondering if I am the only one in thousands of years who can honestly admit to fighting that feeling?  I know I’m not the only one.  However, I read the verse and if I can just complete a sentence without another “are you going to look at this?” I will share it. 

Isaiah 57:10
You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.

True,  I may feel the emotion robbing me of my proper attitude just now, but as Isaiah states, I will not declare that it is hopeless, for I know where my hope lies.  I just need to feel His hand, the Lord God of my salvation, upon me.  I know He’s here with me and holding tight.  Even when I don’t feel it, I know!  Deep breath . . . in . . . out . . . the rain of last evening has been replaced by sunshine.  Hope is returning.