Spiritually Healthy

Take courage in this devotional from the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon. It was a great encouragement to my soul and I pray it has the same effect on yours. "Behold, he prayeth."Acts 9:11 Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in the lachrymatory of heaven. "Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle," implies that they are caught as they flow. The suppliant, whose fears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye; but "prayer is the falling of a tear." Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah's court, and are numbered with "the

Well hello there. We mustn't keep meeting like this, you know, with months in between each interaction. How are you all doing? I've missed you. As the title says, I thought to update ya'll on what has been going on in my life since I last posted. It's not much, lol, but I've missed writing, so here I am.  Since my post in March, life has been crazy, beautiful, painful, lovely, sorrows and surprises (no, not that kind...at least Lord willing, not yet!).  So, let's catch up... What has been Crazy : With so much going on in the world, and in each of our lives, my goings have been more hectic than I care to admit. I am a person who thrives on routine and structure and when either of those things are challenged, I can get anxious. *cue the crazy* One thing we did do was get a dog. We have livestock and so with the threat of other animals, my parents made the choice to go out and get a puppy. Say hello (picture below) to Maximus Decimus Meridius, or Max for short. H

 35. Another year. Another 365 days to offer thanks for what has been given.  Was it what I expected? Of course not. Were there moments of doubt and fear? Absolutely. Did I trudge through it all, pressing towards the mark (Phil 3:14)? Yes, though often with little strength.  Now as I begin a new year with a new age, what will I do? Well for one, I will "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14 I want to make it my aim (and this is a constant readjusting!) to do the will of God - no matter my circumstances. It is very easy to let the mind slip into thoughts of fear and anxiety, especially when it seems like things never change. But, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Every thought. While that is hard, I make that my aim. When those fears of anxiety threaten to overwhelm me (and this is very easy to do), I must bring them under the obedience of Christ. I must remember

Yesterday my sisters and I worked outside the whole morning. We are in the process of doing a lot of yard work that consists of trimming trees, clearing brush, burning said brush...the works. The weather was beautiful and just right for the tasks that we three sisters set for ourselves.  I have made it my little project to clear a small-ish area for my long awaited flower garden. And as I set about cutting small trees, clearing palm bushes, raking up leaves, loading the wheelbarrow, dumping the wheelbarrow (and repeating that process many times over!), I realized just how easy my thoughts turned to wanting to give up and walk away from what I was doing.  Of course it was hard work. My back hurt, my hands were red and sore from using the trimming/cutting tools, my body warm from the constant walking and bending down - all of these natural things that occur from being a human living in a sinful world. But as I continued to work, and begin digging up the soil to prepare it for the next st

Lord, how has December already come upon us? How is it that I blinked and 2023 is practically over? I actually went and switched the song that was recommended to sing for this month. The song that was suggested wasn't bad or anything, I just prefer older hymns. So, what I am choosing to learn the whole of December is a timeless song, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. O come, O come Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel, shall come to you, O Israel. O come, O come Wisdom from on high, who ordered all things mightily; to show us the path of knowledge show and teach us in its ways to go. O come, O come, great Lord of might, who to your tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times did give the law in cloud and majesty and awe. O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem, unto your own and rescue them! From depths of hell your people save, and them them victory o'er the grace. O come, O Key of David, come and o

It never ceases to amaze me how God works in our lives.  As I begin a new month, a new hymn is in the works to learn and saturate my soul.  I will be honest though, when I saw the title of this hymn, I wasn't very excited about it. My prideful heart said, "I don't need to count my blessings."  Lord, forgive me for this prideful remark. Forgive me where I assume that I do not need to be reminded of what Thou hast done for me.  At the end of October, I had a prayer that I was trying to figure out how to formulate and pray to God. As I read through the blog post that contained the hymn I was to learn for this month, I was humbled reading through the lyrics because they were just what my soul needed. When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hast done. Refrain : Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings,