Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... July, August and September 2016

July 1, 2016 | JustAmy; Meg33, The Mayor; Trisham;

[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. : )

[TheConservativeParty]

Our humidity in summer just wrecks it for me. We’ve had mid-90’s with 74 percent dew points this summer (as usual), and it just feels like a jungle out there. There have been some nice days of course, and then we get smacked with 90’s again. I guess I prefer cold wintertime? LOL.

[luvie]

Happy Warm and Fuzzy and Huggy
Wednesday!!

[trisham]

LOL! That is SO cute!!

And so true!

[The Mayor]

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

No Fear

August 11, 2016

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.” Luke 2:10

Nearly every time an angel appears in the Bible, the first words he says are, “Do not be afraid” (Dan. 10:12, 19; Matt. 28:5; Rev. 1:17). Little wonder. When the supernatural makes contact with planet Earth, it usually leaves the human observers flat on their faces in catatonic fear. But Luke tells of God making an appearance on earth in a form that does not frighten. In Jesus, born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough, God finds at last a mode of approach that we need not fear. What could be less scary than a newborn baby?

Puzzled skeptics stalked Jesus throughout His ministry. How could a baby in Bethlehem, a carpenter’s son, be the Messiah from God? But a group of shepherds in a field had no doubt about who He was, for they heard the message of good news straight from a choir of angels (2:8–14).

In Jesus, God comes close to us.

Why did God take on human form? The Bible gives many reasons, some densely theological and some quite practical; but the scene of Jesus as an adolescent lecturing rabbis in the temple gives one clue (v. 46). For the first time, ordinary people could hold a conversation, a debate, with God in visible form. Jesus could talk to anyone—His parents, a rabbi, a poor widow—without first having to announce, “Don’t be afraid.”

In Jesus, God comes close to us.

I’m humbled, Lord, that You would come near to me. But I’m grateful. Thank You.

For further study read Is Jesus God?

God incarnate is the end of fear. F. B. Meyer

INSIGHT:

While the writers of Matthew, Mark, and John had direct contact with Jesus, Luke was written by a historian after a great amount of research. The others begin simply by diving into the story of Jesus. In the introduction to Luke’s gospel, he begins by giving the reader reason to trust what he or she is about to read. (See Luke 1:1–4.)

[luvie]

Thankful for summer rain
...if only we'd get some! LOL!
Happy Thankful Thursday!!

[The Mayor]

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

Shaping Your Thoughts

August 12, 2016

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

When Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message” in 1964, personal computers were unknown, mobile phones were science fiction, and the Internet didn’t exist. Today we understand what great foresight he had in predicting how our thinking is influenced in this digital age. In Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, he writes, “[The media] supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. Whether I’m online or not, my mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.”

I like J. B. Phillips’s paraphrase of Paul’s message to the Christians in Rome: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity” (Rom. 12:2). How relevant this is today as we find our thoughts and the way our minds process material affected by the world around us.

Let God’s Spirit, not the world, shape your mind.

We cannot stem the tide of information that bombards us, but we can ask God each day to help us focus on Him and to shape our thinking through His presence in our lives.

Father in heaven, still and focus my mind, quiet my heart, and fill me with Your thoughts throughout this day.

Let God’s Spirit, not the world, shape your mind.

INSIGHT:

Tradition has it that the apostle Peter brought the gospel to Rome. This is unlikely as there is no historical evidence that Peter was ever in Rome. The gospel was probably brought into Rome in two ways. First, among the three thousand converted on the day of Pentecost, there were “visitors from Rome” (Acts 2:10). These converted returnees could have brought the gospel back home. Second, because it was the capital city of the Roman Empire, thousands of other believers (visitors, tourists, soldiers, traders, businessmen, and migrants) would have come into Rome. These visiting believers would have brought the gospel with them.

[MEG33]

*GOOD MORNING FRIENDS*

AMY'S PLACE WEARS RED ON FRIDAY TO SUPPORT
*OUR TROOPS*
I Wish You A Lovely Day

Support Free Republic Here

[trisham]

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

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

[left that other site]

Happy Friday!

May You Have a Beautiful Day filled with Blessings!

(((HUGS)))

ML/LTOS

[luvie]

Gregg Karukas~Girl In The Red Dress

God Bless Our Troops!
God Bless America!

[TheConservativeParty]

Happy Friday!

It is pleasantly cloudy here and not too hot today. The humidity is hanging in there though! On the bright side, humidity gives me nice curls. That’s all that’s nice about humidity. Hee Hee.

[TheConservativeParty]

Happy Friday, Meg!
Lovely red petunias!
I had to replace more of my tired petunias with zinnias.
The zinnias were offered again from my sister and they are gorgeous. I re-planted 4 patio pots with them and it looks so bright and cheery by the back door.

Cheers

[The Mayor]

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

When We Don’t Understand

August 13, 2016

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

Although I depend on technology every day to get my job done, I don’t understand much about how it works. I turn my computer on, bring up a Word document, and get to work on my writing. Yet my inability to comprehend how microchips, hard drives, Wi-Fi connections, and full-color displays actually function doesn’t get in the way of my benefiting from technology.

In a sense, this mirrors our relationship with God. Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that God is far beyond us: “ ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ ”

God would not be worthy of our worship if He could be understood by our wisdom.

Even though we don’t understand everything about God, that doesn’t prevent us from trusting Him. He has proven His love for us. The apostle Paul wrote, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Trusting that love, we can walk with Him even when life doesn’t make sense.

Heavenly Father, thank You that although I cannot comprehend You, I can know You. I’m grateful. Remind me that even though You and Your ways might be beyond me, I can always count on Your love for me and Your presence with me.

God would not be worthy of our worship if He could be understood by our wisdom.

INSIGHT:

Isaiah had the unenviable task of proclaiming the sin of Judah and foretelling the impending Babylonian exile. His message, however, is not without hope. Verses eight and nine say quite a bit when seen in light of their context: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” Even though the Israelites are facing exile and are in the throes of judgment, God’s grace still shines through.

[trisham]

I hear you, TCP! :)

[trisham]

The New Dog

Into the gravity of my life,
the serious ceremonies
of polish and paper
and pen, has come

this manic animal
whose innocent disruptions
make nonsense
of my old simplicities--

as if I needed him
to prove again that after
all the careful planning,
anything can happen.

by Linda Pastan

Happy Caturday, Dogurday and Beachday!

[left that other site]

Happy Cat/Dogurday!

May You Have a Beautiful Day filled with Blessings! (Even IF the "Heat Index" is 107!)

(((HUGS)))

ML/LTOS

[TheConservativeParty]

Lovely poem...and I want to get a puppy. LOL.

[trisham]

I hear you. :)

[luvie]

Providence~Lord Feed Your Children

Glad~Before the Throne Of God Above

Cathedrals~Wonderful Grace of Jesus

Glad~Be Ye Glad

Gaither Homecoming~Heaven's Joy Awaits.wma

Ray Walker~Master The Tempest Is Raging

Vocal Majority~Deep River

Have a blessed Sunday
God bless our troops!

[MEG33]

~Welcome To Sunday At Amy's Place~

1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Psalm 9:1,2

~Blessings To All Who Enter Here~