Saturday's prayer

 It’s Saturday and the day we focus on those families who’ve lost loved ones, maybe recently, maybe it’s been a while but grief has its own timetable. We pray for strength for the journey, comfort from the Lord and His people and for love to surround you through the numbness of coping with what must be dealt with. Jesus, lover of my soul, bind our wounds and make us whole.

Be more in me today. Show us how to live, one day at a time, giving You glory. Your love never fails, though sometime our faith does. Help us to remember that the same power that raised Jesus from the grave lives in us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InsifiZxVXU

"Sometimes the best remedy for grief is finding some way to touch somebody else's life," says Dr. Larry Crabb.

Quote of the day from YOUR WORDS ARE POWERFUL, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SPEAK by Suzi Yelvington: “Pray over your God-given dream. Life goes by fast not to do what you were called to do.”

“I declare… I will start my day with prayer every day.”

A prayer read at a recent memorial of one of our mother’s:

Afterglow

By Helen Lowrie Marshall

I’d like the memory of me

To be a happy one.

I’d like to leave an afterglow

Of smiles

When life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo whispering

Softly down the ways.

Of happy times and laughing times

And bright sunny days.

I’d like the tears of those who grieve,

To dry before the sun

Of happy memories that I leave

When life is done.

All That We Carried by Erin Bartels will carry you away. My book Review:

 

All That We Carried

by Erin Bartels  (Author)

 

All That We Carried by Erin Bartels is the second book I’ve read by the author. I see growth in the way she weaves the story and I like the characters in the book. Especially Josh. There were many questions and story lines that made you wonder where she was going with the plot. The relationship between sisters can be so complex, even under normal circumstances. The loss of the parents and the way they died made it very intriguing when you add the old friend into the mix.

I also thought the art-work on the cover and the title were very good. I was surprised by the ending circumstances; some may have thought Josh was supposed to be Jesus, but I felt more an angel unaware or a very good Christian in the flesh.

Regardless, of who he was he created a thirst within the sisters for what he had.

Well done, Erin. Although I received this book free of charge from Revell Reads in exchange for my honest review; I’m so very glad to have read it.

Donna Collins Tinsley

https://thornrose7.blogspot.com/

THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD

 

 Today as I think about families, those who are sick and in need of a Healer, those who emotionally want to give up, those who are afraid their children will die of an overdose on the streets, those who are afraid their loved one will just decide to end it all, I pray. I pray because that is really all I can do. I yield, although sometimes I want to try to fix someone, sometimes I may even want to shake someone, I yield because letting go and letting God is the only reasonable thing that I can do. It will keep me sane in an insane world. Some of the post below I posted recently but I thought it might help someone today to focus on the goodness of the Lord.

 

When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:18-19

The Ways of the Lord Towards Us

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:5

His ways are good even when we can't see for the darkness. His ways are good even when they aren’t our ways. His ways are good through the valley of the shadow of death. His ways are good when we are lonely because He will come to us. His ways are good when we are struggling because He can calm the struggle. His ways are good when our children have abandoned or forsaken us (and Him) or gone astray because He is the mighty shepherd who searches for the lost one. His ways are good in pain as He is the healer. His ways are good when the road is long and the journey seems too hard to travel, for He travels with us.

 

His ways are good we will believe for this year. We can’t create, change or cure but His ways are good and He can. Think on your blessings, as that is the only way to overcome the darkness of this world. He is the light and His ways are good!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ak0OoFBw3c

 

 Feel free to join us; we are praying over at Somebody’s Mother: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/119408188089314/

Backtracking to my Christmas blog and a Happy New Year to you!

 This is not the first year that I got so busy with life or as the saying goes, "Life gets in the way of living," that I forgot to post my own Christmas note to my blog. It was a wild year on so many levels and now we are already into 2021. My Mama used to say, "Better late than never," so here it is:

It’s Christmas, Breathe and Pray; it will get you through the Day!

"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 NLT

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein be content.” Helen Keller

Life can leave you breathless or life can knock the breath out of you. Death. Overdose. Family drama. These are the types of things that knock the breath out of you.

We thought we would have more time. Death arrived.

We thought they were working their program. Overdose arrived.

We just want everyone to be happy. Family drama arrived. Just in time for the holidays.

But what are the things that leave us breathless? A baby in the family, whose smile makes life worth living. A toddler makes us laugh.  A beautiful sunrise. The Word of the Lord. A beautiful sunset. A friend’s hug. The tears of a sister or sister-in-law, grieving loss, but those tears are precious in the sight of the Lord. They are kept in a beautiful urn in heaven, where the sound of them trickling down is as a beautiful waterfall. Pause and think about these things.

THIS HAS BEEN A YEAR.  I think we all would agree about that. Perplexing, anxious perhaps, hard to figure out. Isolation has made us feel lonely. We don’t even feel like ourselves, at times, truth be told. Getting out to go to the doctor is the thrill of the day. Being together with others outside is something to look forward to. Exercise is something that is a love/hate relationship, but helpful. Comfort food has replaced friends at times. Then the results of that eating, when we see ourselves on a Zoom meeting, makes us never want to “zoom” again. Or eat. Husbands grow beards because no one notices behind the masks. Or so they think. At least they can pass as Santa Claus to the grandchildren.

Words seem shallow. Words are hard to come by. Have the days of writing, ended, I wondered if the Lord would even give me a Christmas message this year? He has always been faithful. He will be ever faithful, still. Right now, His Word through the Passion Translation is what I offer. These have been my “go to” verses for most of this year.

 

Return to us again, O God!
How much longer will it take until you show us your abundant compassion

Let the sunrise of your love end our dark night.
Break through our clouded dawn again!
Only you can satisfy our hearts,
filling us with songs of joy to the end of our days.

 We’ve been overwhelmed with grief;
come now and overwhelm us with gladness.
Replace our years of trouble with decades of delight.

Let us see your miracles again, and let the rising generation
see the glorious wonders you’re famous for.
O Lord our God, let your sweet beauty rest upon us
and give us favor.
Come work with us, and then our works will endure,
and give us success in all we do. Psalm 90:13-17 The Passion Translation

 

My Prayer

 

Let Your scent be on me

And let me carry it within

Surround me with Your Holy Spirit

Consume my body and existence

With Your burning fire

Blaze through me and

Let others feel the fire

 

Let them see You, Lord

Not me

Infuse me with Your glorious light

Stronger than the sunrise

Clear, pure, shining, purging

Light of God

 

Praising You, I will shine

This light on others

They will recognize Your Spirit

As love will overflow into

The action of doing for others

What You would

Have me do

Treating them as I would

Want to be treated

Loving until it hurts

Loving through the hurt

And then, loving more.

 

Live ready. Love well! Merry Christmas from Donna Collins Tinsley 2020

 

 

Let God be THE TOOL NEEDED for your life

 

I found in an old email a poem that I’d forgotten about that I wrote in response to a sermon by David Fleming about five years ago.
 

The Tools Needed 

 

It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.

Abraham Maslow

More than repair

 

Can You repair a broken heart?

A shattered heart?

A numb heart?

I believe You can,

And on this I'll stand.

 

Be the tool needed, Lord.

 

Far exceeds any damage

 

Life can be damaging

Yes, it can

Many have been hurt

By the hands of man.

 

Emotions are painful

When we feel there is no hope

Can You far exceed the damage,

And help us to cope?

 

Be the tool needed, Lord.

 

 

Immeasurably outweighs

 

Will this repair outweigh the pain?

Can it help restore families again?

More than repair

Means more than I can dream

Or even imagine.

 

Be the tool needed, Lord.

 

More than repair

You can

More than repair

You were always there

But we thought you didn't care

 

We felt like the nail

Under the hammer

But we believe that you can more than repair

This damage called life.

 

Be the tool needed, Lord.

 

Jesus, deliver us from strife

And bring back love again.

More than repair

The hearts
I care about.

Be the tool needed, Lord.

 

Donna Collins Tinsley

 

From an old blog: Jesus More Than Repairs

 

 

I've decided I want to spend the rest of my life writing something concerning these words posted below. David Fleming has been preaching this message for years now and it comes from Romans 5:15. When he grasped the true goodness of God doing this, he has preached the message that "God is so good to me." It blesses everyone who hears it.

 

He more than repairs,

Far exceeds any damage,

and immeasurably outweighs

 

"God is so good to us," says Pastor David Fleming* from Tulsa, OK

 

As Brother David preached some years back at Family Worship Center, I felt that the Lord was saying that many people are living with an "orphan spirit." It affects how they perceive the love of our Lord and the love that is available from other people. They can't even receive that love because they are so bound up in the lies that the enemy of their soul throws at them continually. Lies, such as:

 

You're not good enough.

No one loves you.

You're a bad person (or insert mom, dad, husband, wife, child).

You're never going to have what you want.

No one is ever going to forgive you.

What you have is not enough.

God doesn't treat you fairly.

God will never answer your prayers.

Your family doesn't treat you fairly.

Your life is worthless to others...

 

And on and on and on, the enemy taunts you and there really is no one except the Lord God Almighty that can come in and do the work in your soul and in your broken heart but Him.

 

That's what David Fleming felt like for years when he felt abandoned by God when his father died when he was a teenager. The enemy taunted him for years until some years ago when he began to meditate on the word of the Lord, and the verse Romans 5:15 especially. The joy that this verse has brought him is so evident that it overflows to the audience and makes us all happy.

 

It actually made me want to do "The happy dance." It can make you feel like you have found your happy place, too. Now I will remind myself of this often and go back and research and meditate this verse in different translations.

 

Yes, it is true for all of us that our story isn't finished. vet, Do you have prayers that you’ve prayed for years concerning loved ones? Don’t give up! Press on in prayer. It may be darkest before the dawn of the answer.

 

The free gift immeasurably outweighs what we have gone through when waiting for our breakthrough. More than repairs, more than repairs, more than repairs all the hurts, abuses, damage and loss of relationships that you may have endured here on earth.

 

What Jesus did for you on the cross more than repairs all of these things. Praise His holy name, we have an awesome savior and He is our Father-figure, actually our true Father. We have no excuse to continue in an orphan spirit. We rebuke the enemy who taunts us with this spirit and we say that no more will we listen to lies.

 

Declare over yourself as Pastor David did who God is and He will declare who you are. A child of God. A beloved child of God. He is the tool needed for your life.

 

(20) No Longer Slaves (Official Lyric Video) - Jonathan David and Melissa Helser | We Will Not Be Shaken - YouTube

 

  * flemingministries.org/

 

https://www.covenantlifecc.org/the-life-of-god-david-fleming/

 

http://mystory@flemingministries.

 

The Tools Needed

 

More than repair,

Far exceeds any damage,
Immeasurably outweighs

 

Romans 5:15

God has been so good to me.

Romans 5:15

...the free gift that carries to us through Christ FAR EXCEED ANY DAMAGE done to us by Adam's fall (Lovett)

 

Justification surpasses Adam's transgression in the quantity of its effects. Adam's transgression brought universal death. The free gift of justification in God's grace and Christ's kindness MORE THAN REPAIRS this in blessing (Hudson)

 

God's free gift IMMEASURABLY OUTWEIGHS the transgression...(Weymouth)

Flemingministries.org