February 8, 2007

Verse of the Day:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

I had a full evening last night and a full day!

One of my DearFriend is celebrating her birthday on the 10th and I couldn't wait to get her birthday present to her. She's going away for the weekend and leaving tomorrow and our "foursome" isn't getting together for a birthday luncheon until next month, and I just couldn't wait a month to get this gift to her. It's a jarful of treats for the soul! I looked up 365 verses, printed them on cardstock, and packed them in a jar; a verse for every day of the year! Since I've been working so hard to find these verses for her before her birthday, I decided I should give this gift to her for her birthday.

Well, I was very diligent about finding verses on a daily basis, but last week my in-laws were with us and so I went 3 days without working on this project. So, last night I had to find 65 verses and it took me almost 3 hours to do that because I had to make sure that none of the verses were repeats. Then, this morning, I had to print out the cards, cut them, and pack them...

Let me say that God is a miracle worker. I had a doctor's appointment at 9am and had planned to take this gift over after my appointment. Well, by 8:15, I was still cutting the cards out. However, the irony of the situation is that I felt a peace in my heart. This morning, I had a choice to do my daily reading in the Word and my prayer or to finish this project. Normally, I would choose the project, but today I chose to do my reading and spend time in prayer. The last thing I asked the Lord was for help for this day as I knew how full it would be. When 8:15 came along and I was still cutting the first few cards, I knew I wasn't going to finish the project before going to the doctor. Well, the miracle of this whole situation is that on my way to the doctor, I was trying to think of an excuse to give my friend as to why I needed to drop off her gift later, but before I had the opportunity to call her, she called me saying that she wouldn't be home around the time I wanted to drop the gift off. She would only be available in the afternoon. Such a relief came over me because I knew that would give me enough time to finish up the project. Well, this DearFriend actually was running errands and so stopped by after running the errands and I didn't even have to leave the house!

She loved the gift!!! DearFriend has 4 children and sometimes cannot find time to read God's Word. She thought this was perfect for her because she would be able to pull out a verse while she's having her cup of coffee and meditate on it. May the Lord use these verses to bring even more light of His glory to her heart!

So, after my doctor's appointment and after finishing up my 365 verse project, I straightened out the house and prepared for Mom's' Coffee Break. 2 DearFriends showed up today.

Today's "topic" was evangelism. At least the praise of one of my DearFriends was the opportunity for her to share the gospel with the young 22 year old she has been providing room and board for. This young 22 year old has been prayed over by me and some others and God is showing himself faithful in her receptiveness of the gospel and in the courage of my friend.

DearDaughter also had fun with my other DearFriend's 12 month old.

I do praise God for He is true to His promises in His Word. He says in Proverbs 8:17, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me." He has given me this earnest desire to serve Him with all my heart and though I still often fail, He is giving me the power and ability to do His will all the more because I want to seek Him and His will and as I am seeking Him, I am finding Him and His help. I could have just gone mad today with all that I needed to do, but because I did seek His help this morning, He provided it to me. Thank you God!

When I began this blog, one of my posts was about knowing your first and greatest priority. It is God and no other!