I am so grateful to the Lord for getting us through this year. I pray a special blessing on my friends and family.
Remember as Corrie ten Boom said, "There is no pit so deep that He (Jesus) is not deeper still."
I'm posting a link to a Corrie quote site, but some of these are just too good not to post myself. I love that woman!
Read and enjoy!
"Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart."
— Corrie ten Boom
"Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him....Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness....And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself." — Corrie ten Boom (The Hiding Place)
"Do you know what hurts so very much? It's love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill that love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies, too. Or we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel."
— Corrie ten Boom (The Hiding Place)
"This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."
— Corrie ten Boom (The Hiding Place)
"Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open." — Corrie ten Boom
"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest." — Corrie ten Boom
"Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings...It's something we make inside ourselves."
— Corrie ten Boom
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/102203.Corrie_ten_Boom
Also I am posting a daily devotional link. It is CBN writers, and I'm hoping one day to be included in their site.
One of my favorite devotion writers on their site is Kathy Thomas; you should check her out:)
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/index.aspx?cpid=EU_SPL_2010_365
Donna Collins Tinsley is a sister among you, a sojourner, who writes a word of hope for mothers who have been affected by the pain of addiction in their loved ones lives. She prays for them also through Somebody's Mother Online Prayer Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/119408188089314/. She lives in Port Orange, FL and has been included in 20 book compilations, several magazines and online. She is a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Linking to great devotionals
I'll be posting these devotions on the main blog until I figure out how to put them on the side as a link. If any of my friends know how to do this and want to give me some pointers, I would appreciate it. Have a great day!http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/index.aspx
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Best Celebration of Christmas this Year
My favorite part of the Holiday Season was helping to feed the needy at Hollyland Park with Jane and DOC. Makes me think of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN7Xl6uh9Ww
"Mercy in Me" by Todd Agnew; awesome! What great lyrics!
"Mercy in Me" by Todd Agnew; awesome! What great lyrics!
Christmas Gladness for the Dysfunctional Family
I’m a little late posting my Christmas message but most people are too busy to get online and read on Christmas anyway:)
At our house, I have a saying, “We’re Not the Cleavers, But That Never Stopped us from Wishing We Were.” The Cleavers, the Walton’s, the Ingall’s, we would be happy to have any resemblance to those families. You might find us listed at “Dysfunctional R Us” or on Facebook with the tags: painful childhood, loss of loved ones, overcoming addictions and trauma, or we might remind you of the old Hee-Haw song, “Gloom despair and agony on me,” If it were’t for bad luck we’d have no luck at all". Did I make you smile yet? This is not my normal Christmas message! But for Jesus, the real reason of the Season and His Word that is ever living in my heart, soul and life we would go under! And perhaps your family would also, as you wonder what has happened to your "normal" life with the economy spiraling downward, sicknesses, and natural disasters abounding?
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
Psalm 90:14-15 (New King James Version)
I love these verses in Psalm 90, I was so astounded that the Lord would actually take the days of pain and affliction that we have gone through and make us happy according to them.
Is it possible that He would give joy as He allowed sorrow? Isn't that the premise of Romans 8:28 when it is said that He will work all things to our good?
What encouraging words and what a wonderful prayer to pray this Christmas season. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. ASV
Oh that the Lord would fill us with love and joy as we seek Him in the morning. It truly would give us a song to sing and a story to tell to our families and friends. How many of us want to proclaim His greatness to our children and grandchildren? Most of us do and we can by reminding them of these precious words from the Psalms.
It is okay to ask the Lord to treat us well and give us success. In my life I have felt afflicted with abuses, hurt and losses but I can prevail by focusing on the good that will come eventually. If I had not endured these things I would not be the person I am today. I was on the road to being a spoiled brat as a young girl and then my world was rocked by pain and I learned to look outside of myself. I learned that others are more important than myself. I learned about self-sacrifice from a mother who worked so many hours a week at forty-five cents an hour for years just to feed her children as my sweet Mama did. I learned that my brothers and sister were overcomers in life as they just did what they could to enjoy what little we had. We all learned that we had a lot more than many others. We learned to share what we had and that it is not material things that count but strength, maturity and kindness that will prevail all the days the Lord gives us. We learned that Christmas doesn’t mean getting gifts but it is about family and friends remembering the birth of an awesome Saviour. One whose life was not perfect, either.
My Christmas message may be different than most people's, but I guess the slant He gives me fits some families. You know: the dysfunctional, but trying ones, the funny, but forgiven ones, and the once hopeless but now Hope-filled ones! To God be the Glory! Affliction to gladness; it's the way of the Cross and the way our own Saviour took. I believe it is the way to hope for this Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas from Donna and family 2010
Thornrose7@aol.com http://thornrose7.blogspot.com/
At our house, I have a saying, “We’re Not the Cleavers, But That Never Stopped us from Wishing We Were.” The Cleavers, the Walton’s, the Ingall’s, we would be happy to have any resemblance to those families. You might find us listed at “Dysfunctional R Us” or on Facebook with the tags: painful childhood, loss of loved ones, overcoming addictions and trauma, or we might remind you of the old Hee-Haw song, “Gloom despair and agony on me,” If it were’t for bad luck we’d have no luck at all". Did I make you smile yet? This is not my normal Christmas message! But for Jesus, the real reason of the Season and His Word that is ever living in my heart, soul and life we would go under! And perhaps your family would also, as you wonder what has happened to your "normal" life with the economy spiraling downward, sicknesses, and natural disasters abounding?
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
Psalm 90:14-15 (New King James Version)
I love these verses in Psalm 90, I was so astounded that the Lord would actually take the days of pain and affliction that we have gone through and make us happy according to them.
Is it possible that He would give joy as He allowed sorrow? Isn't that the premise of Romans 8:28 when it is said that He will work all things to our good?
What encouraging words and what a wonderful prayer to pray this Christmas season. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. ASV
Oh that the Lord would fill us with love and joy as we seek Him in the morning. It truly would give us a song to sing and a story to tell to our families and friends. How many of us want to proclaim His greatness to our children and grandchildren? Most of us do and we can by reminding them of these precious words from the Psalms.
It is okay to ask the Lord to treat us well and give us success. In my life I have felt afflicted with abuses, hurt and losses but I can prevail by focusing on the good that will come eventually. If I had not endured these things I would not be the person I am today. I was on the road to being a spoiled brat as a young girl and then my world was rocked by pain and I learned to look outside of myself. I learned that others are more important than myself. I learned about self-sacrifice from a mother who worked so many hours a week at forty-five cents an hour for years just to feed her children as my sweet Mama did. I learned that my brothers and sister were overcomers in life as they just did what they could to enjoy what little we had. We all learned that we had a lot more than many others. We learned to share what we had and that it is not material things that count but strength, maturity and kindness that will prevail all the days the Lord gives us. We learned that Christmas doesn’t mean getting gifts but it is about family and friends remembering the birth of an awesome Saviour. One whose life was not perfect, either.
My Christmas message may be different than most people's, but I guess the slant He gives me fits some families. You know: the dysfunctional, but trying ones, the funny, but forgiven ones, and the once hopeless but now Hope-filled ones! To God be the Glory! Affliction to gladness; it's the way of the Cross and the way our own Saviour took. I believe it is the way to hope for this Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas from Donna and family 2010
Thornrose7@aol.com http://thornrose7.blogspot.com/
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Cup of the Lord
It's funny how something you wrote several years ago rings true on the very date it is featured in a devotional book:)
Here is an old Christmas devotional for the day:
The Cup of the Lord
“Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?" John 18:11 NLT
With the Christmas holidays approaching many will be serving different brews. There are many new designer teas, hot cinnamon apple cider and more coffees around than Juan Ortiz ever dreamed of when Starbucks opened. My personal favorite is a hot steaming cup of Columbian coffee. With the theme of cups I think of my growing collection of them: my best friend forever brought one to me from Greece, I have a beautiful gold-trimmed teacup my sister-in-law gave me from her own collection, a cup from Cracker Barrel that my husband bought me and assorted collections of china cups. One favorite is a mug that my mother gave me when I gave birth to my second child (twenty-one years after my first child) that said, “I’m a new Mom!” At age thirty-six, I felt pretty old to be new but now that Mama is gone, I treasure it.
What is the cup the Lord has given you this year? Has the brew been warm and sweet as the coffee that is handed to children, filled with milk and sugar and only a hint of the brew inside? Was your year fragrant as peppermint tea? Was it spicy as the hot chili my Mama used to make? Was it bitter as a hot medicine that you knew you must choke down to relieve the symptoms of a sore throat?
I still remember the year we had one of the best Christmas’ ever; it was nearly picture perfect. I thank the Lord for that gift.
But lives are not always picture perfect and the reality of life is that only Jesus satisfies. The cup that He has allowed in my life this year is bittersweet. But I still believe that He can bring our lives full-circle to His will.
“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" Job 2:10 NL
I choose to accept the cup that the Lord offers me as His gift in my life. It may not come in the gift-wrapping that I would choose or fit my picture perfect plans. But the brew He bestows will help me to grow to His image of a child of God. And His touch will stay on my life as I yield to His hand.
Donna Collins Tinsley
This was included in the compilation book:
A Cup of Comfort Book of Christmas Prayer: Prayers and Stories that Bring You Closer to God During the Holiday [Hardcover] Susan B. Townsend (Editor)
http://www.amazon.com/Cup-Comfort-Book-Christmas-Prayer/dp/1440500517/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292760503&sr=1-2
Here is an old Christmas devotional for the day:
The Cup of the Lord
“Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?" John 18:11 NLT
With the Christmas holidays approaching many will be serving different brews. There are many new designer teas, hot cinnamon apple cider and more coffees around than Juan Ortiz ever dreamed of when Starbucks opened. My personal favorite is a hot steaming cup of Columbian coffee. With the theme of cups I think of my growing collection of them: my best friend forever brought one to me from Greece, I have a beautiful gold-trimmed teacup my sister-in-law gave me from her own collection, a cup from Cracker Barrel that my husband bought me and assorted collections of china cups. One favorite is a mug that my mother gave me when I gave birth to my second child (twenty-one years after my first child) that said, “I’m a new Mom!” At age thirty-six, I felt pretty old to be new but now that Mama is gone, I treasure it.
What is the cup the Lord has given you this year? Has the brew been warm and sweet as the coffee that is handed to children, filled with milk and sugar and only a hint of the brew inside? Was your year fragrant as peppermint tea? Was it spicy as the hot chili my Mama used to make? Was it bitter as a hot medicine that you knew you must choke down to relieve the symptoms of a sore throat?
I still remember the year we had one of the best Christmas’ ever; it was nearly picture perfect. I thank the Lord for that gift.
But lives are not always picture perfect and the reality of life is that only Jesus satisfies. The cup that He has allowed in my life this year is bittersweet. But I still believe that He can bring our lives full-circle to His will.
“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" Job 2:10 NL
I choose to accept the cup that the Lord offers me as His gift in my life. It may not come in the gift-wrapping that I would choose or fit my picture perfect plans. But the brew He bestows will help me to grow to His image of a child of God. And His touch will stay on my life as I yield to His hand.
Donna Collins Tinsley
This was included in the compilation book:
A Cup of Comfort Book of Christmas Prayer: Prayers and Stories that Bring You Closer to God During the Holiday [Hardcover] Susan B. Townsend (Editor)
http://www.amazon.com/Cup-Comfort-Book-Christmas-Prayer/dp/1440500517/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292760503&sr=1-2
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Remembering a Young Man's Life
Today I attended a celebration of a wonderful young man's life, Bruce Robb the beloved son of Mark and Christina Robb.
There wasn't a dry eye in the packed church, with standing room only. He was killed by a hit and run driver this week. What a tragedy!
Yet what we saw was a testimony of the light and love that the Lord bestows in a life. Only 19-years-old it was said he was an old soul and loved the young and the elderly. Always smiling and shining a light and love on others. I know his parents are proud of him and the Lord only takes those young whose lives will bring so many others to the grace of God.
A Celebration of Life is what those who know Jesus as Saviour have when they leave this earth.
Please join me in remembering his family in prayer as even though they have assurance he is in Heaven, the grieving process is a very real thing and is a daily process.
I have admired this family and their work for the Kingdom from afar and send much love and blessings.
Lord, we don't understand this but yield the loan of our children to your great Father arms. We know that you work all things to good as your word says in Romans 8:28. We ask that you show us the good that comes from this pain.
And wrap your arms around the Robb family and those who love them, I pray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNXpMylnhcA&feature=related
There wasn't a dry eye in the packed church, with standing room only. He was killed by a hit and run driver this week. What a tragedy!
Yet what we saw was a testimony of the light and love that the Lord bestows in a life. Only 19-years-old it was said he was an old soul and loved the young and the elderly. Always smiling and shining a light and love on others. I know his parents are proud of him and the Lord only takes those young whose lives will bring so many others to the grace of God.
A Celebration of Life is what those who know Jesus as Saviour have when they leave this earth.
Please join me in remembering his family in prayer as even though they have assurance he is in Heaven, the grieving process is a very real thing and is a daily process.
I have admired this family and their work for the Kingdom from afar and send much love and blessings.
Lord, we don't understand this but yield the loan of our children to your great Father arms. We know that you work all things to good as your word says in Romans 8:28. We ask that you show us the good that comes from this pain.
And wrap your arms around the Robb family and those who love them, I pray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNXpMylnhcA&feature=related
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