Joyful Journey!

1 Samuel 12:24
But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

Today marks my second anniversary of writing a devotional blog.  What a joyful journey this has been!  It has, indeed, been a humbling and life-changing experience to serve the Lord faithfully, and to celebrate here all the great things He has done for me.

And, I am so grateful for you, my loyal and faithful followers, who take the time to read my thoughts and stories, and who leave such encouraging comments.  As I begin year three of Meditations of My Heart, I trust you will be there for me as you have always been.  Know how much I love and treasure each and every one of you!

That being said, I wish to leave you today with some photos I took recently during our trip to the Nantahala Mountains of North Carolina and the Great Smokies in Tennessee.  May they fill you with joy and wonder as you reflect upon the matchless beauty of God's awesome creation.

And, may they bless you as you all have so mightily blessed me these past two years.

Peace, love, and blessings always,

Martha

Choosing to Love

Luke 10:27
He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Last Sunday, Pastor Wallace delivers a sermon entitled, "Priority One - Love."  I am all ears!  As many of you know, I declared this year, 2013, to be the year of "Love."  So, I'm anxious to hear what Wallace has to say, wondering if I've been on the right track, hoping to gain new insight when it comes to truly loving others as ourselves.

Wallace begins with John 3:16 - For God so loved the world . . . Love, he explains, is God's first priority.  And, it should be ours, too.  It's not I'll love if I feel like it, or I'll love this neighbor, but not that one, or I'll love him/her if he/she loves me back.

No!  It's all-out, selfless, unconditional love we are to show our neighbors, friends and enemies alike.  It is what Jesus commands us to do.  Yet, because we have free will, we can choose not to love as Christ loves us.  How we break God's heart when our Priority One is anything but love!

Pastor Wallace beautifully illustrates how giving love top tier in our lives changes everything for the better.  Softens our hearts.  Enlarges our souls.  Draws us closer to the Lord.

A young husband, jaded with his marriage, visits a divorce attorney.

"I want a divorce," he declares angrily, "but, not just any divorce.  I want her to hurt.  Really, really hurt!  I want this to be the most painful thing she'll ever go through."

The lawyer studies the man's face for a few moments before he responds.

"I'll handle your divorce," he says at last, "but, you must first do what I ask of you."

"What's that?"  asks the man.

"I want you to go home to your wife and, for one entire month, you must treat her like a queen.  Put her up on a pedestal.  Show her the love you would like to be shown.  Then, when the month is up, if you still feel the way you do now, come see me and I'll start the proceedings."

The husband is startled by the lawyer's advice, but he agrees to the terms.

It is three months later.  The attorney bumps into his potential client in a coffee shop.

"Why haven't you come to see me?"  he asks the husband.  "Didn't you want a divorce?"

"Divorce?  Are you kidding me?  My wife is a queen!  I'd never dream of divorcing her."

~

Because this young man took the lawyer's advice to heart and chose to love, his life was transformed.  Are you choosing to love your spouse, your children, your friends, your enemies, your family, your God in a way which transforms you?

Will you pray with me?

We can only love one another, Father, because first, You loved us.  While we were yet sinners, You sent Your beloved Son, Christ Jesus, to die for us that we might have life eternal with You.  Let us love one another as Jesus commanded.  Amen.

It Is THE Conversation

Job 11:3
Will your idle talk reduce others to silence?  Will no one rebuke you when you mock?

Several months ago, my husband, Danny, persuades me to join Twitter.  I am reluctant.  I am resistant.  I dig my heels in deeply.

"I'm already on Facebook," I gripe.  "I don't have time for Google+, so why would I want to tweet?"

"Trust me," Danny says, "you can take it or leave it.  It's just another opportunity to spread the word about your blog and your books."

"Really?  Isn't Twitter full of idle talk?  Does it even make an impression when you post?"

"Well, yes, it can be perceived as idle talk, but there are often those gems in there which you would want to see and share.  Gems you can place there which others might like and choose to retweet."

So, reluctantly, resisting the change, and with two heels dragging, I allow Danny to set up my Twitter account.  He helps me find some interesting, newsworthy folks to follow for a start.  Okay, that's good, I guess.  Not too intrusive.  Not too busy.  Maybe, this tweeting stuff will be all right after all.

But, it isn't long before I am plunged into the yawning chasm . . .

"Oh, no!"  I exclaim three weeks into tweeting.  "I've been on the internet for ten minutes, and I have 56 tweets!  How can I possibly look at them all?  What am I supposed to do?"

"Just browse through them quickly," Danny advises.  "If you find something you want to respond to or retweet, it will only take a second.  It's hit or miss."

"But, I don't want to miss!  I want to hit the mark!  What if someone rebukes me if they don't like my comments or re-tweets?"

"That's the chance you take.  It's worth it.  Worth the risk . . ."

Worth the risk?  Really?  I have my doubts.

Then, it comes . . . the ultimate Tweet!  A well-known, beloved talk show host picks up a tweet promoting my books and website.  Unbelievably, he retweets it!  And, I get 200 hits in one night!!!   Wow!

And, Twitter is no longer idle conversation.

It is THE conversation.

I have not reduced others to silence.  There is no rebuke.  There is no mocking.

There is only affirmation.

Just as we know the Father affirms us daily with His never-ending love when we go to Him in prayer.  For even a tweet-sized prayer grabs His attention.

He never misses a word we speak to Him.

He is always listening.

And, every breath of prayer we breathe to God becomes a precious gem in His sight.

It is THE conversation!

~

How is your conversation with the Lord going today?

Will you pray with me?

Thank You, Father, for always being there for us, for loving us, and for listening to our every prayer, no matter how small.  May we never miss the mark in hearing Your answers and heeding Your call.  Amen.

The Lord Has Done Great Things

Psalm 125:2
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.  Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."

Two weeks ago, my husband, Danny, and I baby sit for our granddaughter, Virginia Rose.  We have her all to ourselves!  And, oh, what fun we have!

Virginia loves to be outdoors, and we have a perfect spring day for it.  She checks out the old chair I placed outside so I can sit comfortably while photographing squirrels and birds.

She picks up sticks and hands them to us to chunk into the piles of pine straw and leaf debris along the edges of our yard.

What a fun way to clean up our mossy lawn!

When she seems to grow weary of this activity, Danny has an idea.

"Virginia, let's see what's under these rocks.  Maybe, I can find you a roly-poly."

Of course, she has no idea what a roly-poly is, but the prospect of her Papa lifting up some big rocks intrigues her.  You can read all about her fascination with rocks here.  I try not to show how grossed out I am by the swarms of white, wiggly bugs underneath more than one stone.  I don't want to negatively influence Virginia's perceptions or dampen her curiosity.  

When Danny pries up the fourth rock, success!  He retrieves a roly-poly and places on Virginia's arm.  Her face beams!

"Tickle," she says as the tiny creature explores her skin.

We decide it's time to go back inside so Virginia can have a drink and a snack.  While she's at the table, I get out her drawing pad and crayons.  She knows her colors and loves to scribble as you can see here.

The sunny face I make for Virginia is not without her input.  For every feature, she points to her own mouth, eyes, nose, hair, and ears, telling me how the face should look!

When she's had enough coloring, Virginia slips off the chair and heads for the closet where we keep a few toys for her.  She retrieves the cars Danny has given her, ones his boys played with many years ago, and brings them to the table.  I sit opposite from her, prepared for the volley which will shortly ensue.

Zoom!  Incoming!  I deftly catch the hurtling car, turn it, and send it flying back to Virginia.  She captures it and returns it speedily.  We are laughing at the car's antics and the way we are keeping it from falling off the table.

Then, Virginia changes up the game.  I send a car careening her way.  She lets it fall off the table!

"Oh, no!"  I explain, hands to my face which expresses an exaggerated look of disbelief.  And, I scurry with a humorous gait (think Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks) to rescue it.  That's when the laughter erupts with volcanic intensity!

Virginia is hysterical!  She keeps up this game because she is enjoying every minute of my reactions.  Every moment of laughter which leaves our sides aching and our souls filled.

Then, I hear these sweet words from the sweetest girl in the world:  "Gammie, you funny!"

Indeed, in Virginia, the Lord has done great things for me . . .

~

When is the last time you laughed so hard your sides ached? :)

Will you pray with me?

We thank You, Father, for the gifts of laughter and joy.  How they fill our hearts with song!  How they fill our souls with delight!  May we rejoice in You always and treasure all the gifts You give.  Amen.

I Love You!

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

My husband, Danny, works at home two days a week.  He enjoys this because he can sleep a little later in the mornings and doesn't have to endure a sometimes grueling commute.

But, on those mornings when he is catching the bus to ride downtown, Danny gets up early.  Really early.  Like 4:30 in the morning early.  A time when I'm so deeply asleep, I rarely hear him stirring about.

Danny skips drinking coffee at home on these days.  How he manages this, I'll never know.  Because, as you can read here, morning coffee and I are inseparable.  I have to have it as close to waking up as possible, so I always set up the water and filter the night before.  Then, all I have to do in my somnambulant state is add the coffee.

Danny knows where I go first thing in the morning.

He knows it's been a stressful week for me . . .

I open the lid to put coffee into the filter.  This is what greets me.

I love you . . . Three oh, so simple words which hold the power to change the world.

I love you . . . My eyes swim with tears of joy.  My heart soars.  My day is made!

I love you . . . The sweetest phrase to hear.  The sweetest phrase to say.

Danny, I love you, too!

~

How often do you tell someone you love that you love them?  How often do you say to God, "I love you?"

Will you pray with me?

We thank You, Father, for Your infinite and boundless love for us.  May we love You with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves.  Show us how to love as You love.  Amen.

What Would You Do for Jesus?

Acts 12:1
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.

Not long ago, a friend of mine sends me the photo above on Facebook.  Thoughtfully, he adds this tag:  "That woman over there, Martha . . . I saw her with Him . . . she's one of His disciples . . . yeah, she has a blog about it, too . . ."

Wow . . .

This is truly the greatest honor I could be given - recognized as a disciple of Jesus by others because this blog holds enough evidence to prove it.

But, what really makes me think is the word "arrested" on the marquis.  I am well aware that Christians in many parts of the world are arrested, persecuted, tortured, jailed, and even killed because of their faith.  I can't imagine the agony and fear, anguish and pain . . .

Yet, they refuse to renounce their belief in their Savior, Christ Jesus.

And, I wonder . . .

What if I found myself in such circumstances?  What would my reaction be?  Would I stand courageously for the Lord I espouse to love, or would I, as Peter did at Jesus' trial, deny Him in order to preserve my own life?

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  ~Matthew 16:25

This verse comes immediately to mind.  And, I remember, with sadness and bitterness, how bleak and lonely my life was before I asked Jesus into my heart. Without Him, I am nothing.  I owe everything to Him.  I can never repay the sacrifice He made for me on the cross.

And, I realize in an instant what I would do for this Jesus I love.  Who loves me without measure.

I'd lay down my life . . .

~

What are you willing to do for Jesus?

Will you pray with me?

We pray today, Father, for all Christians in the world today who are being persecuted for their beliefs.  Help them to stay firm in the faith.  Let their witness of devotion to Christ Jesus convict and convert the hearts and minds of others.  Amen.

Baby Steps

1 Corinthians 3:2
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.

Danny is so excited!  His new camera has arrived!!!

I'm so excited!  He's giving me his old one!!!

But, I'm also nervous and worried about using it.  All I've ever had is a point-and-shoot.  I love my tiny Canon Elph.  Though I know this more complex camera will enable me to do so much more, I have doubts about learning to use it with the kind of skill Danny has.

When Danny begins showing me how to use the camera, he forgets how little I understand photography terms.  He tells me too much, too fast.  The words swirl senselessly around in my head - in one ear, out the other.  I can't handle this solid food.  I need milk!

"Honey, you're going to have to slow down," I tell him kindly, because he really is trying to help.  "Just show me one step at a time, enough for me to be able to take some photos and see how they turn out."

"I'm sorry," Danny says.  "I guess it is too much information to remember all at once.  Let's start over.  Just the basics this time, I promise."

And, that's exactly what we do.  Baby steps.  When I know how to focus it, put the photo card in and out, change lenses and caps, I'm ready (I hope) for my first real photographic experience.

I set up a chair in our backyard not far from the bird feeder.  Of course, my initial arrival sees the birds and squirrels heading for the hills.  But, I sit quietly.  Patiently.  Hardly moving a muscle.

And, it isn't long before my feathered and furry friends make their entrance.  The siren call of the bird seed is simply too alluring.  Oh, I am thrilled!  I snap away with abandon, knowing I have to take many photos to get a few passable ones.  I dare not hope for anything great.  Not.  Just.  Yet.

When Danny comes home from work, we look at the images on his computer, deleting any which are out of focus.  Then, the next step - working a new program for raw pictures on Photo Shop.  Another call for milk!  But, Danny shows me the ropes and helps me out until I'm comfortable enough to work on my own.  Here are the results . . .

After viewing these, what do you think?  Am I ready to move on to solid food?

~

Where are you in your Christian walk?  Eating solid food, or still drinking milk?

Will you pray with me?

Father, we thank You for the many gifts and talents You give to each of us.  May we develop and use them to Your honor and glory.  Take us from baby steps to maturity in our Christian faith.  Amen.