Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... January, February and March, 2018

Meg33, The Mayor, Trisham, JustAmy

[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. : )

[left that other site]

Have a Blessed Sunday

And may You Never Lose Your "Sense of Wonder"!

The Greatest Of these is Love

God Bless America!

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[trisham]

Peace Within

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, And pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones And allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila

Happy Sunday at Amy's Place, all!!

[left that other site]

Wow...both your prayer and your graphic really dovetail with the jerusalem Thread today!

[trisham]

Thank you, left that other site. I always look forward to your threads!

[left that other site]

^___^
(0_0)
(==+==)
\_/
U

Prancing Penny Approves!

[MEG33]

******
Thank you so much for coming by today and sharing
your lovely prayers, music, graphics and comments.
~I Wish You A Blessed Sunday Afternoon~

[trisham]

Beautiful, MEG!

[MEG33]

Thank you, (((trish))).

[The Mayor]

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

Listening to His Voice

February 5, 2018

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 nkjv

I’m hard of hearing—“deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other,” as my father used to say. So I wear a set of hearing aids.

Most of the time the devices work well, except in environments where there’s a lot of surrounding noise. In those settings, my hearing aids pick up every voice in the room and I cannot hear the person in front of me.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27

So it is with our culture: a cacophony of sounds can drown out God’s quiet voice. “Where shall the Word be found, where will the Word resound?” poet T.S. Eliot asks. “Not here, there is not enough silence.”

Fortunately, my hearing aids have a setting that cuts out the surrounding sounds and enables me to hear only the voices I want to hear. In the same way, despite the voices around us, if we quiet our souls and listen, we will hear God’s “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11–12 nkjv).

He speaks to us every day, summoning us in our restlessness and our longing. He calls to us in our deepest sorrow and in the incompleteness and dissatisfaction of our greatest joys.

But primarily God speaks to us in His Word (1 Thessalonians 2:13). As you pick up His book and read it, you too will hear His voice. He loves you more than you can ever know, and He wants you to hear what He has to say.

Dear Lord, thank You for giving us Your Word. Help me to listen to Your voice as I spend time alone with You.

God speaks through His Word when we take time to listen.

INSIGHT

Throughout the Scriptures, God used a variety of ways to speak to people. Sometimes, God spoke audibly (Abraham, Moses). Sometimes, He communicated by way of dreams (Joseph, Nebuchadnezzar). At other times, God gave His message through prophets (Samuel, Ezekiel). Occasionally, God even sent His message by way of angels, which means “messengers,” as He did with Mary and Joseph.

No wonder the writer of the letter to the Hebrews said, “God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways” (1:1). However, God’s greatest means of expressing His heart to people was His Son, as verse 2 states: “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” That explains why John opened his gospel by describing Jesus as the Word (the Logos) who “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Jesus—the living Word—is God’s ultimate message of love to us! And He is revealed to us in the Scriptures—the written Word.

For more on Jesus as the living Word, check out the conversations from Discover the Word at discovertheword.org/the-living-word.

[The Mayor]

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

Praising Through Problems

February 5, 2018

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? Job 2:10

“It’s cancer.” I wanted to be strong when Mom said those words to me. But I burst into tears. You never want to hear those words even one time. But this was Mom’s third bout with cancer. After a routine mammogram and biopsy, Mom learned that she had a malignant tumor under her arm.

Though Mom was the one with bad news, she had to comfort me. Her response was eye-opening for me: “I know God is always good to me. He’s always faithful.” Even as she faced a difficult surgery, followed up by radiation treatments, Mom was assured of God’s presence and faithfulness.

God is still present, still good. He will help us through hard times.

How like Job. Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health. But after hearing the news, Job 1:20 tells us “he fell to the ground in worship.” When advised to curse God, he said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:10). What a radical initial response. Though Job later complained, ultimately he accepted that God had never changed. Job knew that God was still with him and that He still cared.

For most of us, praise is not our first response to difficulties. Sometimes the pain of our circumstances is so overwhelming, we lash out in fear or anger. But watching Mom’s response reminded me that God is still present, still good. He will help us through hard times.

Lord, prepare me for the times when praise is most difficult to utter.

Is someone hurting? See this special edition of Our Daily Bread: Hope and Strength in Times of Illness at odb.org/hopeandstrength.

Even at our lowest point, we can lift our eyes to the Lord.

INSIGHT

When we suffer we often ask why? But this might not be the best question. When Job’s friends tried to explain away Job's pain, they angered God (42:7). A better question is Who do we turn to? Job never received an explanation for his pain, but he found that seeing God was answer enough (v. 5).

How has God shown His presence in your pain?

[MEG33]

~Happy GratiTuesday To Amy's Place~

I'm so grateful for a wonderful visit with my beautiful DIL last week. She is a treasure.
.
I am grateful for you, my FRiends.
May You Have A Lovely Grateful Day.

[PGalt]

Great post in a great thread at Amy’s Great Place. Thanks for the ping, MEG33. Thanks to every poster. Grateful.

[MEG33]

I’m grateful for your kind words, PGalt!

[luvie]

Happy GratiTuesday!

[left that other site]

More Snow on the Way!

Penny and I are Grateful For each Other, and for Our Snug Little House.

((((HUGS))))

ML/LTOS

[luvie]

Awwwwwww! She’s got such a sweet face!

Stay warm!

[The Mayor]

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

A Blanket for Everyone

February 7, 2018

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Linus Van Pelt, better known as simply “Linus,” was a mainstay in the Peanuts comic strip. Witty and wise, yet insecure, Linus constantly carried a security blanket. We can identify. We have our fears and insecurities too.

The disciple Peter knew something about fear. When Jesus was arrested, Peter displayed courage by following the Lord into the courtyard of the high priest. But then he began to show his fear by lying to protect his identity (John 18:15–26). He spoke disgraceful words that denied his Lord. But Jesus never stopped loving Peter and ultimately restored him (see John 21:15–19).

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Peter’s emphasis on love in 1 Peter 4:8 came from one who had experienced the deep love of Jesus. And he, in turn, stressed the importance of love in our relationships with the words “above all.” The intensity of the verse continues with the encouragement to “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Have you ever needed that kind of “blanket”? I have! After saying or doing something I later regretted, I have felt the chilly draft of guilt and shame. I have needed to be “covered” in the manner that Jesus covered disgraced, shame-filled people in the Gospels.

To followers of Jesus, love is a blanket to be graciously and courageously given away for the comfort and reclamation of others. As recipients of such great love, let us be givers of the same.

Father, Your love, in and through Jesus, has rescued us time and time again. Help me to be an instrument of Your saving love for others.

God loves you and me—let’s love each other.

INSIGHT

We may wonder how Peter could deny his Lord (John 18:15–27). One reason was that Peter’s security was shaken. He had just seen Jesus beaten, falsely accused, and mocked; and now feared for his own life. He was also spiritually weak. Just hours before, Jesus had warned Peter that he would betray Him (13:31–38). Yet when Jesus led His disciples to the garden and urged them to watch and pray, Peter and the others slept. Despite Peter’s denial, Jesus forgave him and restored him (John 21:15–19).

[MEG33]

HAPPY WARM FUZZY WEDNESDAY
TO AMY;S PLACE

A Great Day Out With Granddad
*******
My granddad is a hardy man who walks in any weather.
I love it when it's snowing out when we can be together.

*Stay Warm And Have A Good Day*

[The Mayor]

Plenty of snow falling here today!
Good Morning Meg!

[MEG33]

Good Morning

Amen
Thank you for starting our day off right every day, Rus.
I appreciate you.