Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... July, August and September 2020

7-1-2020 | Meg33; The Mayor, Trisham, JustAmy

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

July 25

Plod On!

Bible in a Year:

• Psalms 37–39
• Acts 26

“Am I not sending you?”

Judges 6:14

God loves to use people the world might overlook. William Carey was raised in a tiny village in the 1700s and had little formal education. He had limited success in his chosen trade and lived in poverty. But God gave him a passion for sharing the good news and called him to be a missionary. Carey learned Greek, Hebrew, and Latin and eventually translated the first New Testament into the Bengali language. Today he is regarded as a “father of modern missions,” but in a letter to his nephew he offered this humble assessment of his abilities: “I can plod. I can persevere.”

When God calls us to a task, He also gives us strength to accomplish it regardless of our limitations. In Judges 6:12 the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” The angel then told him to rescue Israel from the Midianites who were raiding their towns and crops. But Gideon, who hadn’t earned the title of “mighty warrior,” humbly responded, “How can I save Israel? . . . I am the least in my family” (v. 15). Still, God used Gideon to set His people free.

The key to Gideon’s success was in the words, “the Lord is with you” (v. 12). As we humbly walk with our Savior and rely on His strength, He will empower us to accomplish what’s only possible through Him.

By:  James Banks Reflect & Pray

What’s God calling you to do that you can’t do in your own strength? How can you rely on His power today?

Thank You for empowering me, my Savior and my strength! Please help me to follow You closely.

[luvie]

Hey, It's Shadow
Can I come in so we can
celebrate Caturday together?
Happy Caturday!

[TheConservativeParty]

Hope you had a great Caturday!
Was hot here, and of course humid too.
Hoping for rain tomorrow.

cheers!

[luvie]

It was great. Have a blessed Sunday and I hope you don’t have to work!

[TheConservativeParty]

Will do some gardening tomorrow, just a couple hours. Then a nice relaxing afternoon. Gotta work on Monday. Have a good night.

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

July 26

Betrayed

Bible in a Year:

• Psalms 40–42
• Acts 27:1–26

Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.

Psalm 41:9 In 2019, art exhibitions worldwide commemorated the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci. While many of his drawings and scientific discoveries were showcased, there are only five finished paintings universally credited to da Vinci, including The Last Supper.

This intricate mural depicts the final meal Jesus ate with His disciples, as described in the gospel of John. The painting captures the disciples’ confusion at Jesus’ statement, “One of you is going to betray me” (John 13:21). Perplexed, the disciples discussed who the betrayer might be—while Judas quietly slipped out into the night to alert the authorities of the whereabouts of his teacher and friend.

Betrayed. The pain of Judas’ treachery is evident in Jesus’ words, “He who shared my bread has turned against me” (v. 18). A friend close enough to share a meal used that connection to harm Jesus.

Each of us has likely experienced a friend’s betrayal. How can we respond to such pain? Psalm 41:9, which Jesus quoted to indicate His betrayer was present during the shared meal (John 13:18), offers hope. After David poured out his anguish at a close friend’s duplicity, he took solace in God’s love and presence that would uphold and set him in God’s presence forever (Psalm 41:11–12).

When friends disappoint, we can find comfort knowing God’s sustaining love and His empowering presence will be with us to help us endure even the most devastating pain.

By:  Lisa M. Samra Reflect & Pray

How have you experienced the betrayal of a friend? How has the reassurance of God’s love and presence sustained you?

Heavenly Father, I'm thankful that Your love is stronger than any betrayal. When I face rejection, help me find strength in the knowledge that You are always with me.

[luvie]

Casting Crowns~Praise You In The Storm

Waylon Jennings/Jesse Colter~Precious Memories

Daniel O'Donnel~Church In The Wildwood

Passion~In Christ Alone

MercyMe~I Can Only Imagine

St. Olaf Choir~When Peace Like A River

Providence~Amazing Grace

GOD BLESS YOU THIS LORD'S DAY!

[left that other site]

Happy Sunday!

Have a Blessed Day.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America!

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you.

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

July 27

Cultivating God’s World

Bible in a Year:

• Psalms 43–45
• Acts 27:27–44

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Genesis 2:15 “Dad, why do you have to go to work?” The question from my young daughter was motivated by her desire to play with me. I would have preferred to skip work and spend time with her, but there was a growing list of things at work that required my attention. The question, nevertheless, is a good one. Why do we work? Is it simply to provide for ourselves and for the people we love? What about labor that’s unpaid—why do we do that?

Genesis 2 tells us that God placed the first human in the garden to “work it and take care of it” (v. 15). My father-in-law is a farmer, and he often tells me he farms for the sheer love of land and livestock. That’s beautiful, but it leaves lingering questions for those who don’t love their work. Why did God put us in a particular place with a particular assignment?

Genesis 1 gives us the answer. We’re made in God’s image to carefully steward the world He made (v. 26). Pagan stories of the way the world began reveal “gods” making humans to be their slaves. Genesis declares that the one true God made humans to be His representatives—to steward what He’d made on His behalf. May we reflect His wise and loving order into the world. Work is a call to cultivate God’s world for His glory.

By:  Glenn Packiam Reflect & Pray

What’s the work God has given you to do? How could you cultivate this “field” by bringing order into it and bringing good from it, by His grace?

Dear God, thank You for the honor of joining You in Your work in the world. Help me to reflect Your love, wisdom, and order in my life and in the place where I work.

[luvie]

For realz!
Happy Sleepy Monday!

[TheConservativeParty]

Oh boy, I was awake at 3 last week! Not good. Gotta go to work in an hour. Don’t get home until 8. Will be a nice 83 degrees today. Was 93 yesterday.

Have a restful Monday!

[left that other site]

Another HOT One!

Stay Cool, My FRiend.

((((HUGS))))

ML/LTOS

[luvie]

Enjoy your day at work...and then come home and kick your shoes off, put your feet up and have a nice cold beverage. 🥤or 🍺 or 🍷. Your choice. :)

[luvie]

That looks very refreshing! :)

[left that other site]

It does indeed. Wish I had one! :-)

[luvie]

Well, they’re pretty cheap at Wally World I’d think. :)

[left that other site]

I know, but I do not have an outdoor faucet on my mobile home, and therefore, no place to attach a hose!

[luvie]

Well that sux for sure! You and Penny could have such fun!

[left that other site]

Oddly enough, Penny despises going the the water. We have gone to lakes, ponds, oceans, etc, and she will not go in.

Dear Lynn-DAH (RIP) on the other hand, loved swimming. I took her to the beach near the Marconi Monument in Marshfield, and I thought she was going to swim to England!