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Reviewing Educational Goals Before Making New Ones

School is done. So is the licensing interview.  The move is finished. Now I have time, time, time to devote to new life goals.

Before I decide upon new goals and habits for 2010, I need to see how well I’ve done these past 2 years. Therefore between now and January 1, 2010, I am going back over my 51 Things to Do in 365 Days List I made for my 50th birthday. Click here to read the original idea. Click here to read about my goals and click here for the habits I hoped to meet and acquire during my 50th year of life (2008).

Let’s start by reviewing my Educational Goals.

  1. Complete 1/4th consecration requirements. Before I could work on consecration (ordination for men) requirements, I needed to become licensed with the C&MA first. Getting ready for the licensing interview was bigger than I thought and so I postponed that until I completed all my MA coursework. On November 12, 2009, I had that interview. I had a few bumps, but passed! Now I am working on consecration requirements. I hope to be done with all this in 2012.
  2. Vote intelligently for presidential election. Done
  3. Read 2 books for fun. I read The 21 Balloons by William Pene Dubois. Click here for the review. The second book was The Secret of the Old Clock - the first of the Nancy Drew mystery series. While attending seminary I didn’t have time to read for fun, so these quick-to-read youth books were what I had time for.
  4. Figure out what’s wrong with my camera. Couldn’t figure it out. So it was tossed. But my sista and her family bought me a camera for my graduation (June 2009). I LOVE this camera. And it loves me back by rewarding me with GREAT photos.
  5.  Learn to do one thing on my blog.  My sista introduced me to stockxpert – the leading free stock photo site. So I have been able to include pictures on my posts. It is quick to sign up for a free account. Nice choices. Easy to use. And if I can use it, anyone can.
  6. Finish courses for masters degree from Western Seminary. DONE as of September 1, 2009!!! 

My score is a low B (83%) with 5/6 of my goals accomplished. I am happy with this especially since I decided to wisen up and postpone Goal #1.

 When you look back over the past year or two, what educational goals have you achieved?

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5 Reasons to be Grateful to God

gratitude [ < Latin grâtitûdô < grâtus (pleasing < favorable)] The state of being grateful. Grateful: appreciative of some sort of benefit you receive from someone; esp. to the point of doing something in return to please your benefactor. Gratitude is a frame of mind rooted in grace. In the same word-field: thankful, appreciative. (By Robert Longman Jr. at SpiritHome)

I like this,”Gratitude is a frame of mind rooted in grace.” Gratitude definitely is a choice, although one that is not always easy to make. But the reason I can make this choice is because of what God has given to me.

What are some of these things God has given to me out of His grace and His love for me?

  1. Rescue, Forgiveness, Freedom: “God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son, who forgives our sins and sets us free” (Colossians 1:13-14).
  2. Eternal Life, Eternal Protection: “I [Jesus] give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,  for my Father has given them to me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29)
  3. Unearned & Undeserved Salvation: “You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
  4. Weaving of Bad into Good: We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves Him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose…” (Romans 8:28)
  5. Empowerment & Desire to Follow God: “God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey Him” (Philippians 2:13).

What would you add to this inexhaustible list? What are you grateful to God for today?

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21 Ways to Express Gratitude – REPOST

This post is worth another shot at being front and center. I need the reminder of all the ways I can express my gratitude.

Gratitude is more than listing what I’m grateful for. Sometimes actions are necessary.

Here are some actions you can take that say “Thank you.”

  1. Pray
  2. Write and send thank you notes
  3. Create an expression of your gratitude (a sculpture, a card, a song, a garden, a poem, a place mat)
  4. Donate to a charity/church in the name of someone you are grateful towards
  5. Express your appreciation for an employee and send it to their boss
  6. Look at sonogram and/or baby pictures of someone you love. (It could even be you.) Ponder the miracle of birth.
  7. Drop off food at a food bank
  8. Drop comparisons in the garbage can. Comparisons only feed envy and pride, sure killers of the thankful heart. Draw an actual picture of this. List the comparisons inside the can. When done, throw the list into the actual garbage can.
  9. Make a meal or part of a meal and deliver it to a shut-in or ill person or to someone just because
  10. Pull a name out of your address book; jot down 7 Things I Like About You and mail it to them today.
  11. Forgive someone because you’ve been forgiven much. Also because anger, resentment and bitterness block the flow of gratitude.
  12. Practice contentment. When a brain is filled with the “gimmees,” it is difficult to be appreciative of what you have now.
  13. Volunteer – “There but for the grace of God go I.”
  14. Do a Random Act of Kindness (RAK)
  15. Give away something that you don’t need but know someone else could really use
  16. Take flowers to the grave of a dear one. Thank God for their influence and ask Him to help you pass on the lessons you learned from them. Or give the flowers to someone living, but still do the preceding prayer.)
  17. Memorize a poem or song about gratitude or one that reminds you to be thankful. Recite/sing it daily for a week.
  18. Write a thank you note to yourself. List your many wonderful qualities. Why don’t you put it inside a beautiful card and mail it to yourself?
  19. Donate a magazine subscription to a young mom, an office you visit, or a child
  20. Lavish some special care on your pet(s). Every pet I’ve had has been a wonderful example of giving gratitude on a regular basis. (Well, except for the fish.)
  21. Don’t ask God for anything for a day. Instead spend the time thanking Him and praising Him.

I’m going to do #1: Pray. I’ll take 21 minutes and thank God for the people in my life, asking that He would bless them with spiritual growth, protection, and guidance and that He’d meet their every need.

How many on this list have you done?  I’ve done 10 of them.  I guess I have some actions to do this month. 

What would you add to this list? How are you going to practice gratitude today? Share what happened when you did it.

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6 Questions Google Answered Quite Well

“Lorna and I decided that what the Bible doesn’t cover, Google does.” I recently wrote this as my Twitter/Facebook status. Below are some things I’ve needed to know.

1. Is it okay for my dog to eat raisins? No.  As few as 7 raisins can cause death!

2. What is a Dear Jane Quilt?  It is a Civil War quilt designed, sewed and finished by Jane Stickle in 1863. It has 225 different blocks.

3. How to shorten URLs for Twitter. When I want to link to a blog. fan page, website or news article, I need to shorten the URL in order to fit it and my comment into Twitter’s 140 characters. I am currently using Metamark. 

4. When does advent start in 2009? I am going to decorate the church before Advent and so needed to know when that is. If you want to help, call me. Advent starts Sunday, November 29. BTW – This week I will post an Advent Quiz.

5. Define debauchery. Why do I need/want to know what debauchery means? I’ve been memorizing Ephesians 5:18: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” 

  • It means: too much indulgence in pleasures usually considered immoral, especially sexual activity and excessive drinking.
  • Debauch means: 1. a. To corrupt morally.b. To lead away from excellence or virtue.2. To reduce the value, quality, or excellence of; debase. See Synonyms at corrupt.

6. Potato Soup. Cooler weather means time to eat soup. Only thing is, I usually cannot make a decent home-made soup. But there are a lot of easy and yummy sounding potato soup recipes out there. I am looking for one that is gluten-, dairy- and egg- free. I think I can modify this cream cheese potato soup recipe quite nicely. (Scroll to the bottom of the post.) I even found a cream cheese alternative (at Whole Foods) that is free from gluten, dairy, and egg.  I’ll let you know how it tastes.

What have you Googled lately?

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How to Hear God’s Voice

1008875_girl_with_headphones“Have you ever heard God’s voice? How do you know it’s Him who is answering your questions?” A friend recently asked me this.

How would you answer my friend? Below is my answer.

I’ve never heard an audible voice from God. Nor do I have special headphones to detect His voice. But I do hear from Him in several ways.

1.  Intuition, a hunch, a small quiet feeling - it almost seems like it’s me. I.e. I couldn’t find papers I needed to do my taxes and I looked and looked to no avail. I finally calmed down enough to ask God for His help. Then I had this “intuition, a hunch, a small quiet feeling” and looked in a place I hadn’t looked before. There they were. I could have ignored that “voice,” but I didn’t. I’ve had enough of these kinds of experiences to know that the answer was from God and not me. I didn’t know the answer before I prayed.

 Plus, the Apostle John says that we are God’s sheep and the sheep know their Master’s voice. I think this knowing get’s stronger with practice. In general, if the advice leads to peace, joy, unity, and godliness it is from God.

2.  I ask God a question or for help and then I wait for His response. I get God’s response in one of four ways.

  • Through His Word – general reading. When I’m waiting for an answer I love reading God’s word. It’s like962108_gospel_reading I’m on a treasure hunt. Sometimes the answer will pop right off the pages. Like it was just written for me today! As I keep a regular Bible reading schedule, the more often God will “talk” to me through this. As a minimum I read a psalm and a proverb a day. The proverb I read corresponds to the date.

I.e. I’ve been fretting a little about my future. I read Proverbs 16 and it tells me (in a nutshell) “Stop worrying. God’s got it under control.” Click here to read it for yourself. What did God “say” to you from this Proverb?

  • Through His Word – specific reading. When I need advice/help/guidance I look to see what the Bible has to say about it. A concordance comes in handy here. I also look over the highlighted portions of my Bible. It’s amazing how helpful this has been for me.
  • Through other people. The Bible talks about how wise it is to consult with others (who are wise) when I need direction or help. I talk with the pastors and elders from church. I also talk to a few people who know God and value/follow His priorities for their lives. I look for answers that are uniform from all these people. I look to see if their advice agrees with biblical principles. Finally, I listen to hear  if my own “spirit” agrees. All these need to be consistent with each other.
  • Through circumstances. This is also called the open door or closed door answer. I.e. When I moved to 1161236_padlockCA in June 2002 I knew I needed to go back and finish my BA so that I could get a job that would support me. I prayed and asked God to show me which school. I made phone calls to various schools about counseling. Sac State was not taking any more students. The other 5 or 6 places I called didn’t return my call even though I left several messages. Then my sister said she heard an advert on the radio for William Jessup University and maybe I should call them. I did. The next day I went for a campus tour. By the end of the tour I was signed up and ready to start school in October in a Christian leadership/theology program. They didn’t have a counseling program (then).

God wants to communicate with/to you. As you seek Him, He will make Himself known to you.

  • Psalm 9:10: Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
  • Proverbs 8:17: I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
  • Lamentations 3:25
    The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.

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I Help Because I am a Parent, Auntie & Missionary

Nov 5 & 6 Photo of the Day 055When I participate in Operation Christmas Child, I do so as a parent on behalf of the children in my life: my 2 adult kids and my 5 nieces. I fill a box because I’d hope someone would do the same if one of my children was in the same situation.

Each year I participate in Operation Christmas Child on behalf of a child in my life. Like one year, I donated 2 shoeboxes to a boy and girl the same ages as my children. Another year I made up boxes with my three nieces who attend CNC. As I fill a box, I pray for God’s help in picking the items. I also ask God to bless the child and bring joy and salvation to him or her.

One word that describes the situation of the children who receive these boxes is lack. Because of things like famine, drought, earthquakes and war these innocents lack adequate housing, healthcare, water, food, family support, toys, and school supplies. I can’t do anything about most of these lacks, but I can help by providing toys, school supplies and hygiene products.

So I join with others in Operation Christmas Child because I am a parent.

I also do so because I am a missionary. A missionary is a person who intentionally spreads a faith often accompanied by charitable work, usually in a foreign country. Operation Christmas Child fits that bill. They consider each person who fills a box as a missionary because our work of filling a box provides an opportunity for a child to learn that God is good and that salvation is available to them.

As you fill boxes with your children let them know that they too are missionaries. 

Franklin Graham, founder of Operation Christmas Child, says one of the most important things we (missionaries) can do is to pray as we fill our boxes. Let’s ask God that the child who receives the box and discipleship material that Operation Christmas Child includes will lead the child to know God’s love and salvation.

These boxes go into remote locations and are delivered by dog sled, bicycles, donkeys, and camels. This gift of a shoe box opens the way for the gospel to be shared which leads to hope. These children who experience so much lack desperately need hope. Our boxes provide that hope.

Consider today how blessed you and your families are. I know that for some of us, filling a box is a sacrifice. Maybe some of us can get together to fill a box? But do consider what a huge impact that sacrifice will have in the life of a child who knows lack in so many areas.

Here’s my prayer.

Father, Thank you that Operation Christmas Child  is one way we can bring joy, hope and salvation to children living in hard circumstances. Help us to discern what to put in the box and how much to spend.

Father, we ask that you would bring extra money our way so we can participate generously in this missionary opportunity. Thank you for the many blessings you have given us. Help us to give in response to those blessings. I ask that you would pour your love into our hearts so that they are captured by the fervor of spreading the gospel. Amen.

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November 11 – Photo of the Day = Gratitude

nov 11 photo of the day 003

Sisters. I’m grateful for sisters in the Lord. 

Last night’s meeting with some of my women’s ministry sisters was productive & encouraging. We shared our concerns and gratitudes & ended with prayer.  

I am grateful for their friendship AND prayer support.

To all my sisters, you’ve got a friend in me. I’ll be there winter, spring, summer or fall. Call me.

 Previous Photos

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P.S. Ann Tatum is hosting 30 Days of Thanksgiving. She encourages us to daily share our gratitude. Click here and be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post and click on Mister Linky. Then you’ll be able  to read other participants on this thankful journey.

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Seven Reasons I am Grateful for Music

 Music can . . .

  1. Support my effort to  focus on a positve feeling or a thought.
  2. Help me learn something.
  3. Lift my sour, trapped, or depressed mood into one of peace, truth or even laughter.
  4. Expose me to beauty and creativity
  5. Motivate me to move it, move it.
  6. Reduce my level of  physical pain and increase relaxation.
  7. Provide a medium to worship God. 

I’m very grateful for the above.  Why are you grateful for music?

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November 3 – Photo of the Day = Gratitude

Fall Flowers

These lovely flowers were planted by Shula. 

She diligently keeps this front door flower bed looking cheery for visitors and regular attenders at our church. I am grateful for this bit of beauty. I am also grateful for Shula’s faithfulness.

Day 1 Photo: Christmas Tree with Broken, Tangled Lights

Day 2 Photo: Birthday Boy

 

Related Posts

  • Choosing 2 Express Gratitude During November
  • We Cannot Be Grateful Without Being Thoughtful
  • Feeling Full On Gratitude
  • Gratitude List From a Sickie: 3 Things
  • Gratitude List of 3

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    November 2 – Photo of the Day = Gratitude

    Nov 2 - mark's bd 003Today is my bil’s birthday. Of course we celebrated with the traditional waffle and ice cream breakfast. Happy 50th to a caring, godly, fun man!

    Oh, he loves preparing great fires. Check out the automated equipment. Nov 2 - mark's bd 001 

    I am grateful for the role M plays in the lives of my 2 kiddos. Besides being a great role model, he is consistently interested in their lives.  

    I’m also thankful for the many ways M has helped me:  insightful advice, moving furniture, and a calming influence (to name a few things).

    Day 1 Photo: Christmas Tree with Broken, Tangled Lights

    Related Posts:

  • Choosing 2 Express Gratitude During November
  • We Cannot Be Grateful Without Being Thoughtful
  • Feeling Full On Gratitude
  • 2 Things I’m Grateful 4 in November
  • 2 Things in July For Which I Say Thanks

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