Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... October, November and December, 2015

October 1, 2015 | JustAmy; Meg33, The Mayor; Trisham; St.Louie1, Friends, MamaBear

[JustAmy]

Welcome To....


'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets
and those who enjoy poetry.
'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.
Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepers
your thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*.

Enjoy! :)









Never Forget!





Bad Penny



Amy's personal guardian ~
the ever charming, lovable, huggable,
LouieWolf




Many thanks for stopping by. : )

[The Mayor]

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

No Peas!

November 26, 2015

In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

When our kids were young, one of them bluntly said “no” when we passed him some peas for dinner. To which we replied, “No what?” We hoped he would say, “No, thank you.” Instead he said, “No peas!” That led to a discussion about the importance of good manners. In fact, we had similar discussions on numerous occasions. 

Beyond good manners—which are external—our Lord reminds us that we are to have a heart of gratitude. Scripture contains dozens of reminders that expressing gratitude is of primary importance in our relationship with God. Psalm 118 begins and ends with the exhortation to “give thanks to the Lord” (vv. 1, 29). We are to give thanks when we come into His presence (100:4). And the requests we bring to Him are to be wrapped in a spirit of thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6). Such an attitude of gratitude will help us remember our abundant blessings. Even in the midst of trouble and despair, God’s presence and love are our constant companions.

Giving thanks to God helps us to appreciate our blessings.

It’s no wonder, then, that the psalmist reminds us to “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1).

Lord, Your goodness is enough to make me thankful every day. Teach me to live with a thankful heart and remind me to regularly thank You for Your goodness and steadfast love.

It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Insight:

Today’s psalm celebrates the beautiful deliverance of the Lord. These verses provide a wonderful example of how to thank the Lord for His work in our lives. Verses 1-4 show us that praise is not only personal and private but can be expressed by a whole community. Verses 5-14 encourage us to reflect on our times of need and to celebrate how God has worked in us and through us.

[MEG33]

I am thankful for you and Our Daily Bread
~Have A Wonderful Holiday~

[The Mayor]

Thank you Meg.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family

[DollyCali]

happy thanksgiving to all...

working 16 hrs at hotel today (groan). but as I am the only one w/o family locally, it seems the right thing to do

Still mega issues with shingles.. super pain, little sleep.. and I was curious as to how bad it really was (after hearing so many stories)

Love and warm wishes to you all and your families

[MEG33]

So happy to see you, Dolly.
Heaing Prayers And Blessings To You,

[trisham]

A Happy Thanksgiving To All!

[PGalt]

Thanks for the pings. Giving thanks for all of the wonderful FReepers at Amy’s Place and on the Free Republic forum.

Happy Thanksgiving

[luvie]

3rd Force~Coming Home

Nathaniel Ladies Ensemble~Thanks To God

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

[timestax]

bump

[trisham]

Beautiful! You and MEG have outdone yourselves today!

[luvie]

Awww....thank you, Trish!

Hope you are having a lovely day! Are you cooking?

[trisham]

My husband is cooking. Are you cooking?

We’re having a cornbread stuffing for the first time this Thanksgiving! This should be interesting. :)

[TheOldLady]

Bryan did most of the cooking here, too.

I made some low-carb bread, and we made croutons for the stuffing out of it. It’s pretty tasty.

And thank goodness for the food processor. We’ll be living on leftovers for the next month,
at least. It’s a 20-lb. turkey, and the stuffing he made is enough to feed an army!

Bryan cooked up some pearl onions and some yams (NO MARSHMALLOWS!) in addition to
the cranberry sauce.

He’s quite the chef, too.

[Jane Long]

Thanksgiving blessings, to all.

Have truly enjoyed the beautiful Scripture, prayers, graphics and posts. Hope your day has been filled with many wonderful things, that are close to your heart.

[TheConservativeParty]

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Just got home from my family gathering. Very nice as always!

[luvie]

I made homemade biscuits for breakfast.

...which I ate with maple syrup.

We went to Furr's Cafeteria where each of us got what we wanted and I have a nice slice of pecan pie to savor later.

It was a great day!

[The Mayor]

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Help from the Outside

November 27, 2015

God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

1 John 3:20

On a business trip, my husband had just settled into his hotel room when he heard an unusual noise. He stepped into the hall to investigate and heard someone yelling from a nearby room. With the help of a hotel worker, he discovered that a man had become trapped in the bathroom. The lock on the bathroom door had malfunctioned and the man trapped inside started to panic. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and began yelling for help.

Sometimes in life we feel trapped. We are banging on the door, pulling on the handle, but we can’t get free. We need help from the outside, just like the man in the hotel.

To get that outside assistance, we have to admit that we are helpless on our own. Sometimes we look inward for the answers to our problems, yet the Bible says “the heart is deceitful” (Jer. 17:9). In truth, we are often the source of our problems in life.

Thankfully, “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). Because of this, He knows exactly how to help us. Lasting heart-level change and real progress with our problems originate with God. Trusting Him and living to please Him means we can flourish and be truly free.

Heavenly Father, I humble myself before You. I can’t solve my problems on my own. Please help me to seek Your help and perspective.

God helps those who know they are helpless.

Insight:

The Bible describes the heart as the very basis of our character—the center of who we are and the source of our thoughts, feelings, and actions (see Prov. 4:23; 23:7). “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9) is the consistent verdict of Scripture. This deceitfulness has made humanity incapable of knowing how sinful we really are, for only God knows the true condition of our heart (2 Chron. 6:30; Ps. 139:1-4; Jer. 17:10). We will not admit we are sinners apart from divine intervention, revelation, and conviction (John 6:65; Rom. 8:7-11; 2 Cor. 4:4). But God will redeem and give a new heart to all who humbly come to Him and accept His grace and mercy (Ps. 51:10; 2 Cor. 5:17).

[The Mayor]

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

Seeing Ourselves

November 28, 2015

Everyone ought to examine themselves.

1 Corinthians 11:28

Long ago, before the invention of mirrors or polished surfaces, people rarely saw themselves. Puddles of water, streams, and rivers were one of the few ways they could see their own reflection. But mirrors changed that. And the invention of cameras took fascination with our looks to a whole new level. We now have lasting images of ourselves from any given time throughout our entire life. This is good for making scrapbooks and keeping family histories, but it can be detrimental to our spiritual well-being. The fun of seeing ourselves on camera can keep us focused on outward appearance and leave us with little interest in examining our inner selves.

Self-examination is crucial for a healthy spiritual life. God wants us to see ourselves so that we can be spared the consequences of sinful choices. This is so important that Scripture says we are not to participate in the Lord’s Supper without first examining ourselves (1 Cor. 11:28). The point of this self-examination is not only to make things right with God but also to make sure we are right with one another. The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of Christ’s body, and we can’t celebrate it properly if we’re not living in harmony with other believers.

Confessing our sin promotes unity with others & a healthy relationship with God.

Seeing and confessing our sin promotes unity with others and a healthy relationship with God. 

Dear Lord, help me to be more concerned with the reflection of my heart than with my physical reflection. Change me through the power of Your Spirit.

When we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we see ourselves more clearly.

Insight:

Jesus ate the Jewish Passover meal—a celebration to remember God’s rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt—with His disciples the night before He went to the cross. Christ used the elements of this meal to institute the memorial celebration of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion (1 Cor. 11:20), to help us remember how He has rescued us from our sins.

[trisham]

Yum! Wonderful! :)

[trisham]

Snow Storm

The land was white and freezing cold
the snow had come and taken hold.
A blizzard moved in from the north
and told the flurries to go forth.

A howling sound brings with it chills,
frozen words drift through the hills.
The trees wear coats of fluffy snow,
the land's so bright it seems to glow.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky
whipped by the wind in swirls they fly.
A light and freezing screen they form,
the blizzard grows into a storm.

Robert Patinson

Happy Caturday, Dogurday and Bunnyday!