Came across this while listening to a Bible Study by Dr. David Jeremiah last Nov 2009 around Thanksgiving time. It touched my heart b/c I'm a stay home mom and daily I find myself mummering over all the tasks that I must do each day.  This poem has taught me to be grateful to God b/c He has blessed me with so much.
Enjoy!

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes
We do have good food to eat

Thank you for this pile of dirty laundry
We do have nice clothes to wear

I'd like to thank you for these unmade beds
They sure were comfortable last night


My thanks for this Bathroom, complete with spattered mirrors, soggy towels and grimy laboratories, it's still very convenient


Thank you for this finger smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly, it has served us faithfully for a long time and inside are cool drinks and enough left overs for another meal


Thank you for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today, it has baked us many good things over the years


O' God, our whole Family is Grateful for the tall grass that needs mowing, we all enjoy our private yard


Thank you for the slamming screen door
The Children are healthy and able to run and play


Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says that you have richly blessed this Family, I do them all cheerfully and gratefully


Amen
Author Unknown to me

And You Shall Hear From Him

Featured on BiblicalThought.com
http://biblicalthought.com/blog/and-you-shall-hear-from-him/

Wrote May 2008

The Word of God is essential to our Christian walk.  Daily we need to draw close to Him.  For in doing so we will hear from the Lord.  In James 4:8, it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  What excitement and joy we experience when we sit at the Lords feet.  Upon drawing near to God in the Word, He begins to reveal things to us that pertain to our personal lives.

One day as I read the Word, the Lord began to speak very clearly in regards to the subject of drawing near to Him.  The Lord met me as I drew close to Him.  He had to because that’s what James 4:8 says.  It’s a promise!  I found great wisdom as I looked up James 4:11 in Simon J. Kistemaker’s Commentary on James.  As I began to read the commentary on James 4:11, it convicted me because I realized I had been doing in a small way what it had forbidden.  Whether it was in a small or big way, it was plain, I was slandering.  It is so easy to get caught up in slander or even gossip whether it be big or little.  It’s sin!  Sometimes we don’t even know were doing it until the Lord checks us as we draw close to Him through His Word.  As a body of believers, we need to encourage, admonish, and rebuke one another when we fall into the sin of slander.

Upon reading James 4:11, in which it says, “Do not speak against one another brethren.  He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the Law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.”  Please note in other translations, the word “speak out against” is the same as slander.  1 Peter 2:1 says, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”  Kistemaker says, “In one of his psalms, David links slander to a lack of humility.”  He goes on quote Psalms 101:5, “Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure”(143).  These are some heavy words from God in scripture. 

As Believers, we need to have a healthy fear of who God is and what He can do to us when we are caught up in this sin.  Psalms 119:117 says, “Uphold me that I may be safe, that I may have regard for Your statues continually.”  Psalms 119:20 also says, “My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.”  Just a tiny bit of slander is just as bad compared to a whole spiel of words against a brother.  James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  Slander gives place for the devil to work and we need not be ignorant of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11).   

Kistemaker goes onto say, “Slander issues from the heart of the person who fails to consider others above himself.  The humble Christian, however, opposes slander and says,

                        No wicked thing or slanderous accusation

                        Shall stand before mine eyes with approbation,

                        No hateful doings of apostasy

                        Shall cleave to me

                                                                      - Dewey Westra

The link between verses 7 and 11 lies in the word devil (v.7) and the verb slander.  In the original, the noun diabolos (devil) means “slanderer.”  James, then, is exhorting his readers not to slander one another, for this is the work of the devil.  He is telling them to stop this evil practice to which the have resorted.  If they continue to slander each other in the church, they will eventually destroy the fellowship of the Christian community.

James delves deeper into the subject and tells his readers that slandering a brother involves the Law (Lev. 19:16).  Note the parallel James develops in the next sentence:

                                        Anyone who

                         speaks against – speaks against

                                  his brother – the law

                                            or – and

                                 judges him – judges it

The emphasis in this verse is on the word brother, which denotes the close bond of fellowship believers have in the church.  If you speak evil of your brother behind his back, you are setting aside the royal law, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8; Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14).  And if you set aside the law, you have become a judge of that law.  Then you have placed yourself on the level of the Lawgiver.

In court a judge must be impartial in evaluating the evidence, and be just in applying the law and passing sentence.  The slanderer, by contrast, generally neglects to learn the facts, avoids speaking in the presence of the accused, sets aside the law of love, and as a self-appointed judge hands down the verdict.

James exposes the true nature of the sin of slandering when he instructs the recipients of the epistle in these words: “When you judge the law [as you are doing], you are not keeping it [because you have placed yourself above the law], but sitting in judgment on it [as a judge].”

The slanderer puts aside the law God made and thus places himself on the same level as God.  Only God has the authority to abrogate a law.  Blinded by sin, the backbiter often is unaware of the seriousness of his doings.  The fact remains, however, that slander is a sin against the person who is accused and against God who forbids this sin by divine law (143-144).

What it all boils down to is that we need to stay away from slandering our neighbors because it will only destroy us.  Sometimes we may be blinded from what were doing until the Lord shows us how we are being disobedient to His Word.  May we draw near to the Lord so that we may receive instruction from His Word.

Finally, here are a few verses of encouragement for all of us to put into practice.

Ephesians 4:22-25 “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

 Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

 James 1:21 “Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.”

(here are some to show our depravity)

James 3:8-10 “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

Romans 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,  being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,  without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;  and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

May we all be encouraged and continue to draw close to God.  For in doing so, you shall hear from Him.

Sick and Tired (From November 2008)

For those of us who are Christians, we are called to be different from the world.  2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  The Lord saved us from our sins, how can we ever go back to that Vomit?

As Christians, we are to have a light touch on this passing world.  Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Sadly, there are too many people who call themselves “Christians,” yet their lifestyle portrays one of having one foot in the world and the other foot with Christ.  They should either be for Him or against Him.  One can’t be lukewarm or He will vomit them out of His mouth.  Revelation 3:16 says to the church of Laodicea, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

The reason I write is b/c I’m just tired of seeing people walk away from the faith and start living like the World again.  They go back to their old lifestyles and start to glorify Satan.

God likens His children to Sheep.  Sheep are dumb and sometimes they go astray.  Luke 15:4 -7 says, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?  “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.  “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

To those that have walked away, God will get you back in due time, that is, if you are His.  If He has chosen you from the beginning of time, you were sealed with the Promise of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13).

All that the Father has given Him, He will not lose one.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. (John 6:37-39)”

This world has nothing to offer you if you are a prodigal son or daughter.  Turn back to Christ.  He is the only one who can save you from your sins.  He paid the Price and you are His.  My heart goes out to you.  Please keep running the race that is set out before you.

And if you stay hardened in your sin, you must ask yourself if you were ever His to begin with, if you were ever really saved.  That’s a strong statement but it’s so true.  There needs to be Fruit in your life.  He is the Vine and we are the Branches (John 15).

So, I just started this Blog to post up my thoughts and articles I've written in the past.  Writing is like Medicine to me so that's why I started this Blog even though I've been a member for a while.  I've posted up some articles on other sites but I wanted my articles to have a Home. The articles I've written in the past are mainly about God.  Now that I started my own blog, there will be many other postings based on other things as well.  On What? Well you will just have to find out for yourselves.