Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... January - December, 2024

JustAmy[creator], The Mayor, luvie, left that other site

[The Mayor]

August 10

Clinging to God

Bible in a Year :

• Psalms 79-80
• Romans 11:1-18

Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired.

2 Samuel 23:10

When Joni Eareckson Tada speaks of Rika, she highlights her friend’s “deep, time-tested faith in God” and the endurance she’s developed while living with a debilitating chronic condition. For more than fifteen years, Rika has been bedbound, unable even to see the moon from her room’s tiny window. But she hasn’t lost hope; she trusts in God, reads and studies the Bible, and as Joni describes it, she “knows how to stand firm during fierce battles against discouragement.”

Joni likens Rika’s tenacity and persistence to that of Eleazar, a soldier at the time of King David who refused to flee the Philistines. Instead of joining the troops who took off, “Eleazar stood his ground . . . till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword” (2 Samuel 23:10). Through God’s power, “The Lord brought about a great victory that day” (v. 10). As Joni observes, even as Eleazar hung on to the sword with determination, so too does Rika cling to “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). And there, in God, she finds her strength.

Whether in glowing good health or battling discouragement over a chronic condition, we too can look to God to deepen our stores of hope and to help us to endure. In Christ we find our strength.

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Reflect & Pray

What examples of tenacity and endurance have you witnessed? How does God restore and renew you when you feel spent and wrung out?

God of all power, thank You for loving me and helping me to endure. Please help me to focus on You that I might continue to trust and love You.

[luvie]

Peaches & Ginger Call A Truce😻
In Order To Be Near The AC Vent😹
Happy Caturday!

[left that other site]

Happy Saturday!

How D'Ya Like My Pool?

(((HUGS)))

ML/LTOS

[luvie]

Perfect!....if you share with mom!

[left that other site]

Notice: It was MADE IN THE USA (bacwards lettering on the sidewall)

[luvie]

Sure is! I missed that important part! LOL!🇺🇸

[left that other site]

That’s the ONLY kind of Swimming Pool for Tippy!

[luvie]

Casting Crowns~Praise You In The Storm

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir~How Great Thou Art

Daniel O'Donnel~Church In The Wildwood

Statler Brothers~Amazing Grace

Gaither Vocal Band~Heaven's Joy Awaits

St. Olaf Choir~When Peace Like A River

Providence~Sweet Beulah Land

GOD BLESS YOU THIS LORD'S DAY!

[The Mayor]

August 11

Scripture Lovers

Bible in a Year :

• Psalms 81-83
• Romans 11:19-36

How sweet are your words to my taste.

Psalm 119:103

The beautiful bride, gripping her proud father’s arm, was poised to make her way to the altar. But not before the entrance of her thirteen-month-old nephew. Instead of carrying the more common “ring”—he was the “Bible bearer.” In this way, the bride and groom, as committed believers in Jesus, wanted to testify to their love for Scripture. With minimal distraction, the toddler found his way to the front of the church. How illustrative it was that the toddler’s teeth marks were found on the leather cover of the Bible. What a picture of activity that’s fitting for believers in Christ or those who desire to know Him—to taste and take in Scripture.

Psalm 119 celebrates the comprehensive worth of the Scriptures. After declaring the blessedness of those who live by God’s law (v. 1), the author poetically raved about it, including his love for it. “See how I love your precepts” (v. 159); “I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law” (v. 163); “I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly” (v. 167).

What statements do we make about our love for God and His Word through how we live? One way to test our love for Him is by asking, What am I partaking of? Have I been “chewing” on the sweet words of Scripture? And then accept this invitation, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (34:8).

Reflect & Pray

What things bear your “teeth marks”? How can you grow your love for God and Scripture?

Heavenly Father, You know where my appetite needs adjusting. Please give me the courage and strength to make the necessary changes to grow in my love for You.