Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... July, August and September, 2018

July 1, 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. : )

[luvie]

....and we are thankful for you! (((hugs)))

[trisham]

Beautiful, left that other site!

[trisham]

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

-Marcel Proust

Have a wonderful thankful Thursday, everyone!

[The Mayor]

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

Lavish Expressions of Love

July 27, 2018

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. 2 Corinthians 9:11

On our wedding anniversary, my husband, Alan, gives me a large bouquet of fresh flowers. When he lost his job during a corporate restructure, I didn’t expect this extravagant display of devotion to continue. But on our nineteenth anniversary, the color-splashed blossoms greeted me from their spot on our dining room table. Because he valued continuing this annual tradition, Alan saved some money each month to ensure he’d have enough for this personal show of affection.

My husband’s careful planning exhibited exuberant generosity, similar to what Paul encouraged when he addressed the Corinthian believers. The apostle complimented the church for their intentional and enthusiastic offerings (2 Corinthians 9:2, 5), reminding them that God delights in generous and cheerful givers (vv. 6–7). After all, no one gives more than our loving Provider, who’s always ready to supply all we need (vv. 8–10).

We can be generous in all kinds of giving, caring for one another because the Lord meets all of our material, emotional, and spiritual needs (v. 11). As we give, we can express our gratitude for all God has given us. We can even motivate others to praise the Lord and give from all God has given them (vv. 12–13). Openhanded giving, a lavish expression of love and gratitude, can demonstrate our confidence in God’s provision for all His people.

Lord, please help us trust Your abundant love and generosity, so we can give to others as You so faithfully give to us.

Generous giving displays courageous confidence in God’s loving and faithful provision.

INSIGHT

Paul reminds us that God provides for us so we can bless others (2 Corinthians 9:6–8). He quotes Psalm 112:9 to encourage generosity: “[The righteous] share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever” (nlt).

In what ways can you practice cheerful, generous giving this week?

[luvie]

Chris DeBurgh~The Lady In Red

[MEG33]

Wearing Red To Support Our Troops

Happy Friday To Amy's Place

I Wish You A Great Weekend

[The Mayor]

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

Bees and Snakes

July 28, 2018

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

Some problems have Daddy’s name written all over them. For instance, my kids recently discovered bees had moved into a crack in our concrete front porch. So, armed with bug spray, I went out to do battle.

I got stung. Five times.

I don’t like being stung by insects. But better me than my kids or wife. Taking care of my family’s well-being is at the top of my job description after all. My children recognized a need, and they asked me to address it. They trusted me to protect them from something they feared.

In Matthew 7, Jesus teaches that we too should bring our needs to God (v. 7), trusting Him with our requests. To illustrate, Jesus gives a case study in character: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (vv. 9–10). For loving parents, the answer is obvious. But Jesus answers anyway, challenging us not to lose faith in our Father’s generous goodness: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (v. 11).

I can’t imagine loving my kids more. But Jesus assures us that even the best earthly father’s love is eclipsed by God’s love for us. 

Father, thank You for loving us so much more than even the best father here ever could. Help us to do as Jesus said with everything that’s on our hearts; to ask, seek, and knock in our relationship with You. 

We can rely on our Father for everything we need.

INSIGHT

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) focuses on the attitudes and actions that are to characterize “citizens” who live under God’s rule. Yet an even more intimate relationship comes into play in the sermon. A common thread that runs through the chapters is a “family focus” or, more specifically, a “Father focus.” In Matthew 5:9 Jesus declared, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (emphasis added). And when followers of Christ display heaven’s light by the way they live, the “Father in heaven” gets the credit (v. 16). Showing love for one’s enemies also demonstrates kinship with our heavenly Father (vv. 43–48).

Those who engage in holy habits (6:4, 6, 18), including prayer, do so with the knowledge that the primary audience is their Father in heaven. The King who rules over all is “our Father” and cares enough to hear our prayers for all our needs. Thus, we can confidently address Him, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (v. 9).

When you pray this week, reflect on the fact that you are praying to the One Scripture calls our heavenly Father.

[trisham]

A Wish

The truth I do not stretch or shove
When I state that the dog is full of love.
I've also found, by actual test,
A wet dog is the lovingest.

Ogden Nash

Happy Caturday, Dogurday and Bunnyday!

[luvie]

Saturday...made for chillin'!
Happy Caturday!

[MEG33]

Happy Caturday***Dogurday To Amy's Place

Have A Great day!

[luvie]

LOL!

Makes me glad I have cats. :) Happy weekend, y’all!

[trisham]

:)

[trisham]

Happy weekend!

[left that other site]

Happy Cat/Dogurday!

Mud? Did somebody say "mud"? :-)

(((HUGS)))

ML/LTOS

[trisham]

LOL! Happy, happy dog!

[luvie]

LOL!

[The Mayor]

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

Hope in Grief

July 29, 2018

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. Luke 24:31

When I was nineteen, one of my close friends was killed in a car accident. In the following weeks and months, I walked each day in a tunnel of grief. The pain of losing someone so young and wonderful clouded my vision, and at times I even felt unaware of what was going on around me. I felt so blinded by pain and grief that I simply could not see God.

In Luke 24, two disciples, confused and brokenhearted after Jesus’s death, didn’t realize they were walking with their resurrected Teacher Himself, even as He explained from Scripture why the promised Savior had to die and rise again. Only when He took bread and broke it was it revealed that this was Jesus (vv. 30–31). Although the followers of Jesus had faced death in all its horror when Jesus died, through His resurrection from the dead God showed them how to hope again.

Like those disciples, we might feel weighed down with confusion or grief. But we can find hope and comfort in the reality that Jesus is alive and at work in the world—and in us. Although we still face heartache and pain, we can welcome Christ to walk with us in our tunnel of grief. As the Light of the world (John 8:12), He can bring rays of hope to brighten our fog.

Lord God, thank You for being the light in the darkness. Bring hope when I’m sad and confused, and help me to see Your glory.

Though we grieve, we have hope in Jesus.

[luvie]

Dallas Christian Sound~My God And I

Aron Wright~Surrender

Festival Choir~When Morning Gilds The Skies

Glen Campbell~The Savior I Sing Of Today

Jim Brickman~How Great Thou Art

Life Church Worship~I Give It All

M Souders~We Gather Together

God Bless You All....

[MEG33]

*Sunday Blessings Amy's Place*

Psalm 139
***
9. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10. even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

~I Wish You A Beautiful Lord's Day~

[PGalt]

Thanks MEG33 and all of the terrific posters at Amy’s Place.

FR’s finest BUMP!