What Matters?

I love all the spring babies!
 

Are you familiar with the song "These Are The Things That Matter?" It was written by Arthur Smith, country, bluegrass and gospel musician, in 1951. I found it in George Beverly Shea's book, "How Sweet The Sound."

Smith wrote the words when their son was born.

First Verse

"A heart that's concerned for a fellow man,

An ear that will hear and will understand;

An eye that will look for the best in a man;

These are the things that matter.

This somg has prompted me to consider what I believe matters. It will be different for each of us.

For my life the first thing that really matters is that I consistently live for and love God with all my heart. As it says in Mark 12:28: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

The second most important thing that matters is that my family members are saved by God's grace. I will pray for this until the day I go to my heavenly home.

The third thing most important in my life is that I do what God has gifted me to do which is encourage, inspire, exhort others to live for Christ.

The fourth thing is to do my best to share my faith with those I come in contact with.

Third Verse

"To know that this life is for such a short time,
And to know there's a God and to know He's divine;
To know that He walks beside you all the time,
These are the things that matter."  

There truly is nothing else that really matters in my life. If I do these things I will live the life God created me for and everything else will fall into place according to His plan.

What matters most in your life? Focus on the things that are most important in your life and you will find your life being one filled with joy. 

By His Grace . . .

The Incredible Brain

"One of the highest and noblest functions of man's mind is to listen to God's Word, and so to read His mind and think His thoughts after Him."

John R. W. Stott, 1921-2011

Well hello to you!

I've been reading the book: The One Year Book of Amazing Stories: 365 Days of Seeing God's Hand in Unlikely Places by Robert Petterson. And the stories have been quite amazing.

Robert Petterson carries on the time-honored tradition of storytelling, weaving unique, life-changing and inspirational stories into all of his personal interactions with readers and fellow pilgrims. He has been senior pastor at some of America's well-known churches and was on the adjunct faculty of Covenant Theological Seminary.

Last week one of the devotions was titled: The Incredible Brain. I found it fascinating and want to share some of his words.

"Your brain weighs about 3 pounds, making up less than 2 percent of your body weight. Yet it uses 20 percent of your total energy and oxygen--and for good reason! This cerebral sea contains 400 miles of blood vessels bringing nutrients to some 86 billion cells."

A little black beauty.

I read something like that, and I'm just amazed. First, how scientists discovered it, and second, how immensely amazing our God is. He is the master creator of our entire body which works together effortlessly to bring us life. 

"The amount of sights, sounds, smells, and other bits of sensory information that floods into the brain each millisecond is dizzying. In the average lifetime, the number of data bits stored in the brain adds up to the number 1 followed by a line of zeros 6.5 miles long . . . If you think that you control all your thoughts, think again. About 95 percent of your decisions are made in your subconscious mind, often processed by the incalculable bits of forgotten information stored away in your memory.

"Nothing taken into the brain can ever be erased. Everything stored in our subconscious memory lasts a lifetime, even if we can't access it. Recollections pop up at the most inconvenient moments." I'm sure most of us can relate to that. It happens all the time. Out of nowhere a thought comes to mind, 10, 20, 50 even 60 years ago for me. 

"What we need is a new software program to help us to filter past experiences through new perspectives. God offers such a program in the Bible--a new way to look at old data. Energized by the Holy Spirit and equipped with the truths of Scripture, we can reinterpret everything for a healthier way of thinking."

Who's that looking at us?

His book has some incredibly amazing stories. This one brought my thoughts to our amazing God and all He has done for us. It is good for us to stop and consider God's creativity. It is amazing.

By His Grace . . .

Nature's Frequency

 "More and more as we come closer and closer in touch with nature and its teachings are we

able to see the Divine and are therefore fitted to interpret correctly the various languages

spoken by all forms of nature about us."

George Washington Carver

1864-1943

I love this snap because she was just about to go down on the bunch. Five seconds after I took the snap she had them all covered!

The other week I watched a video that featured Sonya Isaacs from The Issacs, gospel and country singing family. She spoke about an early album they recorded titled, Natures Frequency 432, and from their studies at that time they learned some interesting things about nature's frequency..

I looked it up online but can't do justice to the meaning of this. Sonya said: "The natural hum of the earth is at that frequency. God created everything into existence. Everything resounds to His voice. We have little bitty vibrators in our body. Our bodies respond to His voice."

Continuing, "When the birds sing, their voices cause the vegetation to awaken in the morning and cause the pores of the plants to open so they can receive the dew of the morning." I think that's just plain cool!

"God created everything we need in nature and the sounds can bring healing. There is a natural hum to the earth." If your hearing is extremely sensitive, like a blind person's hearing, you can hear the hum.

She said they learned that listening to music with this frequency can be healing to your body. 

"Nothing is without voice; God everywhere can hear

Arising from creation His praise and echo clear."

Angelus Silesius, 1624-1677

On Music Theory: 432 Hz - Separating Fact From Fiction: Ask Audio 432 Hz, it says: "The magic number everybody is talking about. It is said to be the natural frequency of the universe, to have cosmic healing powers and to attract masses of audience to our music . . . Just by tuning our music we are promised direct access to the universe's hidden treasures."

All of this is way above my knowledge level, but I find it very interesting. Our God is a master creator. Just think of our human body. It is amazing how all of our parts have an exact function and can only work as all the other parts do their assigned jobs.

If you want to check out the video you can find it here: 

Sonya Isaacs Emotional Interview // Behind The Mask with Ray Flynn - YouTube'

While attending a ladies retreat, I walked around the grounds and found this family.

A Number

Isn't it strange how good your birth date looks when you turn over the calendar and see it? It is for me. Seeing my birth date brings a "feel good" feeling and makes me smile.

I had that feeling today, March 14th. I turn 74, and I smiled.

Not even the year upsets me. I've never been concerned about my age. Well, when I turned 30, I wasn't too happy. But since then, I joyfully celebrate each birthday!

When I reached the milestone of 50, I said, "Thus begins celebrating an entire week!" From that year forward I have joyfully celebrated my birthday for a week.

My birth date may look especially happy to me because I was saved on the 14th, married on the 14^th, and retired on the 14^th.. None of these occasions were specifically planned for the 14th. They just worked out that way. You can imagine what the day of my death is going to be.

I so often hear people say having birthdays are "better than the alternative." I wonder if they are aware of the heaven I know. Better than that? When my God calls me home, what rejoicing there will be!

As fun as I try and make my birthday celebrations, I'm ready to meet my God for an eternity in heaven. Now that will be a celebration!

Last week . . . 8 years cancer free! Thank you, God! 

On my way to work one morning I was delighted to see this family and stopped and took their picture!

By His Grace . . .

We Can Never Lose His Love

 "God did not choose us because we were worthy, but by choosing us he makes us worthy."

Thomas Watson, 1557-1592

March brings the anticipation of baby animals in the barnyard.

I've been in a few barnyards now and love to see the little ones.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." Ephesians 1:3-5

In the devotion book, Truth for Life, by Alistair Begg, I enjoyed reading his words on the doctrine of election. Election is a hard thing to get a handle on and believe for many. Why me? Why not you?

"Our election in Christ is not some kind of historical afterthought; it goes all the way back into eternity past, before creation. Yes, we do decide to follow Christ--but it is so humbling to recognize that we could never have chosen God if He had not chosen us before the creation of the world. You would not be capable of deciding to follow Him if He had not first decided to make you His child."

"The elect are whosoever will; the non-elect are whosoever won't."

Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887

Lady in waiting.

God has loved you for a long, long time. I especially like these words Begg wrote that bring us comfort and peace:

"The doctrine of election is not a banner under which we march but a bastion for our souls. It makes all the difference to our security and our joy. Once you humbly recognize that your identity in Christ was established the moment He first set His affection upon you, even before the dawn of time, you find freedom and you have confidence. You don't need to seek to come up with some reason in yourself to understand why you have received His amazing grace; you can simply enjoy knowing that He chose you because He loves you. You don't need to live burdened by your sin or crushed because you feel you are making little progress in your Christian life, for His love was never based on your performance or on your promise of doing better. You can walk through the peaks and valleys of this life with the assurance that you are loved by the one who made all things and directs all things--and that because you never had to win His love, you can never lose it."

I could just cuddle them!

Let us be diligent in sharing His love and His story so those who have not accepted His love can hear it and make that decision as we once did. We were all lost until we heard the good news of Jesus Christ and made that decision to follow Him. Now we are safe in His arms.

By His Grace . . .