Then it is dawn again.

OldOldTunes-mediumAh, Lord God, my heart burns within me for you. Burning with the rays of your sun that grace my day. At night it breaks through the darkness from each star firelit with your majesty. Then dawn again. In a blink, your sun is back. But it never really leaves me. For your love keeps my heart warm and bright with the flame of your grace. Someday I will ride one of those sunbeams to you and, in your presence, I shall see your throne ablaze with glory.

I thank you for your love that will not let me go. Though I sometimes wander from you, carelessly, letting Satan have his way, you run after me calling out, “No! Do not go with him. He is dangerous. He will hurt you. His smiles mean nothing but treachery. Let go of Satan and come back to me! Run! Run away from him! Come back!”  When I am blind, you send me your light so I can find my way back to you. Thank you for loving me that much.

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OldOldTunes-ThumbnailTHE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD TUNES.  40 songs on the Old Testament and 40 on the New Testament.  Folk tunes make these songs fun to sing.  You will often laugh with them and sometimes cry.  Great for grandparents to entertain grandchildren on  visits. Also fun for classes and as ice breakers.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/OldStoryOldTunes

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/links-to-some-of-my-fun-bible-stuff/the-old-old-story-set-to-old-old-tunes/

 

Give yourself for Christmas

The scripture for today, December 24 (12/24), is Luke 12:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0000-BK 1-StarSong-Cover-new-Medium“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

In many nations right now, things are financially strained. Luxuries? No. To be able to live until tomorrow? Yes.

Which is more valuable? To impress men or impress God? A life dedicated to things impresses men. A life dedicated to doing good things impresses God.

I know of a group of believers in Jesus recently in an African country who had to flee soldiers who were after Christians. They had to run immediately upon sight of the soldiers. No time to pack anything. Just run.  Escape. Run. Escape. 

To get to true safety, they had to walk a hundred miles. What did they eat?  Grass. Leaves from bushes. Tree roots. But they made it. They made it to safety and the loving, protective arms of other Christians.

Today, instead of a luxury, can you send that money to people in parts of the world who are struggling to stay alive? Struggling to stay safe because they are Christians?

Consider the ravens.


PS ~ Those of you with children, and you cannot get them much for Christmas: Write IOU’s to them and put each one in a box. Wrap each with typing paper if you don’t have Christmas paper. And with a red or green crayon, draw a ribbon on top. What’s on the IOU’s? “One hour of coloring with you.” “One hour of playing ball with you.” “Three hours of hiking with you.” “Two hours of baking cookies with you.” Give yourself for Christmas!

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0000-BK 1-StarSong-Cover-new-ThumbnailSTAR SONG is novel one in the THEY MET JESUS series.  Meet ten people involved in the birth of Jesus. Mary was too young, Elizabeth too old, Joseph too gullible, the shepherds too smelly, Anna too senile, Simeon too idealistic, The wise men should have minded their own business, Zachariah should have accepted he’d never have children. King Herod dared control God, The Bible scholars dared interpret God.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:   https://bit.ly/Star-Song

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-1-star-song-adult-childs-versions/

 

Then stand back and be astounded.

05-Joseph-KindleMediumThe scripture for today, December 23 (12/23), is 1st Samuel 12:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”

It’s actually a sin not to pray for others?

Do your prayers get bogged down in the mire of me and mine? Do you wonder why you can’t pray for more than a couple minutes ~ five on a good day? Satan gets you to do this; he is the enemy of prayer because he knows how powerful it is.

Who is on your prayer list? Pray for people by name. Your neighbors. People you work with. Your government officials ~ both good and bad. People in nursing homes. People in your congregation. People in the military. People being persecuted, imprisoned, and even killed because they are Christians. Missionaries. Children in an orphan home. Salespeople at the store. Local school teachers. People in your newspaper.

Pray for 15 minutes a day. Half an hour each day. An hour every day. It’s oh so easy when you stop praying only for you and yours and pray for others.

Pray for them by name. And tell them that you do. Some people have never been told, “I am praying for you.”  God loves to answer prayer.

Do not sin by praying only for yourself and your family.  Take the time to take others soaring with you when you pray. Then stand back and watch God respond to your prayers with power that will astound you.

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05-Joseph-KindleThumbnailA CHILD’S BIBLE HEROES:  JOSEPH went to Egypt as a boy slave and rose to be the most powerful man along with Pharaoh in all of Egypt.  What a turnaround God made in this boy’s life.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/2KxVtGe

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/a-childs-bible-heroes-book-5-joseph/

The touch of your heart to mine

Love Letters of Jesus & his Bride-mediumMy heavenly Father, my life, thus far, as made turns in directions I had not planned or even dreamed of. Sometimes I ended up in places I did not want to be. That is where you had led me and had wanted me to be.   I do not know what the future will bring. But wherever you lead me, I will follow you, however unknown and frightening it may be to me. If you lead me to joblessness, to famine, to wars, to prison, I will follow where ever you go. Someday while I follow you up unknown paths, you will pause, turn, smile, and say, “We’re here.  Welcome home.”

Lord, I was sick last week.  I was lying there thinking about how miserable I was. I rolled in it. Wallowed in it. Savored in it. Then a new thought occurred to me. If I thought about how blessed I am, it would take my mind off my misery. It worked, Lord! it really worked! I even got up, fetched a piece of paper, and began listing my blessings. Pretty soon I was smiling. You were smiling too. Now I was able to fall asleep. When I awoke, I felt healed.  The touch of your heart to mine had healed me.

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Love Letters of Jesus & his Bride, Eccelsia-THUMBNAILLOVE LETTERS OF JESUS & HIS BRIDE, ECCLESIA is a retelling of the Song of Solomon in more modern vocabulary.  Each chapter is a love letter. It ends with “I am coming soon.”  Over 500 footnotes show the parallel of Jesus love for his church.  A beautiful wedding gift or class book.  Great for Ladies Days. Or put one chapter a week in your bulletin.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:    https://bit.ly/LoveLettersOfJesus  

https://atomic-temporary-67613881.wpcomstaging.com/love-letters-of-jesus-his-bride-ecclesia-2/

And return my crown to him

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Medium-NewAll continents of the earth praise you, God of Glory. Every tongue on earth praises you, Lord of Splendor. Mountains, valleys, swamps and deserts praise you, the great I AM.  The moon, the sun, and stars on high praise you, Divine Maker. All thrones, both great and small, praise you, King of the Cosmos. My mind, soul and body praise you now and forever, most Holy one.

Father, I slandered someone in my public prayer. I asked you to guide someone through a problem no one else knew that person had. I revealed too much and hurt their good name. I am so sorry.  Help me become a better friend to that person and keep my mouth shut.

You saved me from Satan’s clutches, Lord God. Not only that, but you made me your personal priest to offer you the sacrifices of my words and deeds every day. Then you gave me a crown and made me a king among mankind to represent you to the world. Someday I shall walk through your gate into your home, approach your throne, bow at your feet, and give that crown back to you, satisfied to just be in your presence at last.

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0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-NewTHEY MET JESUS:  COME FLY WITH ME is the last novel about 100 people who met and struggled with Jesus.  Jesus prepares his twelve to “go it alone” without him in his last few visits with them.  Then, their last walk ~ their walk past the olive garden of despondency and on to the olive peak of glorious majesty.  They watch the man who seemed so human become glorious and rise to heaven.  Now on their own, they defy the Sanhedrin just as their master had.  Sixty-five years later and the only apostle left, Jesus reappears to John, now old, and escorts him to heaven where he sees the other eleven already on their thrones.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/FLY-WITH-ME

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-8-come-fly-with-me-adults-childs-versions/

Most exhilarating

This morning I woke up to a new day, one more day closer to being with you.  During the morning I shall go to 365 Dat by Date-Front-Thumbnailthe market for food for my family, and I will be a few more hours closer to being with you. All afternoon I will volunteer at a school, and I will be half a day closer to being with you. Tonight, I shall lie down. And perhaps, just perhaps, when I close my eyes in the darkness, it will be my turn to open them to the brightness of your glory. Home at last. Home at last.

Books.  Thank you for books, Lord. At first people wrote them on clay, then reed soaked and flattened out, then animal skins rolled up, then pulp from trees and bound on one side. Finally, they were on screens electrically written. No matter in what form books have come to us, they have always informed and fascinated and brought exciting new knowledge to anticipating minds. Books open up the world. Most exhilarating of all is your Book that opens up your world. Along the way, it reveals our Maker ~ your heart, your knowledge, your emotions, what makes you weep in sadness and laugh in happiness. Thank you for your Book.

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365 Dat by Date-Front-Thumbnail365 LIFE-CHANGING SCRIPTURES DAY BY DATE.  Start the day with advice from your Maker.  He loves you, you know.  Read all about it.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  http://bit.ly/365DayByDate

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/1107-2/life-changing-scriptures-day-by-date-2/?frame-nonce=9f9ac75c8f

My mind, my spirit, my soul

Holy!  Yes, holy!  You are, mighty God, Creator of the universe and my mind, spirit and soul. You are holy!  My Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Mediummind worships you by learning more and more about you, knowing I can never know it all.  My spirit worships you by keeping my soul alive and vibrant in all I do for you.  My soul worships you by absorbing your Holy Spirit into mine and becoming one with you. With all my being, I worship you, for you are holy.

Father, forgive me, please, when I help other people out and expect them to thank me. I must keep my motives in check. You send the sunshine and rain on both the just and unjust with hardly a thank you from anyone. Help me be more like you.

Lord God, you gave me the choice of being a miniature form of you or of Satan.  I do not like that choice. But you made me responsible for what I am. A little child waits to be told what to do, but you want to challenge me, put spiritual muscles on me, strengthen me. How can I become spiritually strong unless I have burdens to bear and battles to fight?  So, when Satan tempts me, help me stand up to him, turn my back on him, and be a miniature you. Thank you for entrusting me to fight  with you.

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Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS provides a daily proverb plus a passage from Job, Psalm, Song of Solomon or Ecclesiastes ~ all parts of the “wisdom literature” of the Bible.  This is book two in the TOUCHING GOD series, all with beautiful, hand-painted originals by famed colorist, Betsy Kemp Thompson. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/365PearlsOfWisdom

 

Holy!  Yes, holy!  You are, mighty God, Creator of the universe and my mind, spirit and soul. You are holy!  My Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Mediummind worships you by learning more and more about you, knowing I can never know it all.  My spirit worships you by keeping my soul alive and vibrant in all I do for you.  My soul worships you by absorbing your Holy Spirit into mine and becoming one with you. With all my being, I worship you, for you are holy.

Father, forgive me, please, when I help other people out and expect them to thank me. I must keep my motives in check. You send the sunshine and rain on both the just and unjust with hardly a thank you from anyone. Help me be more like you.

Lord God, you gave me the choice of being a miniature form of you or of Satan.  I do not like that choice. But you made me responsible for what I am. A little child waits to be told what to do, but you want to challenge me, put spiritual muscles on me, strengthen me. How can I become spiritually strong unless I have burdens to bear and battles to fight?  So, when Satan tempts me, help me stand up to him, turn my back on him, and be a miniature you. Thank you for entrusting me to fight  with you.

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Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS provides a daily proverb plus a passage from Job, Psalm, Song of Solomon or Ecclesiastes ~ all parts of the “wisdom literature” of the Bible.  This is book two in the TOUCHING GOD series, all with beautiful, hand-painted originals by famed colorist, Betsy Kemp Thompson. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/365PearlsOfWisdom

 

Holy!  Yes, holy!  You are, mighty God, Creator of the universe and my mind, spirit and soul. You are holy!  My Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Mediummind worships you by learning more and more about you, knowing I can never know it all.  My spirit worships you by keeping my soul alive and vibrant in all I do for you.  My soul worships you by absorbing your Holy Spirit into mine and becoming one with you. With all my being, I worship you, for you are holy.

Father, forgive me, please, when I help other people out and expect them to thank me. I must keep my motives in check. You send the sunshine and rain on both the just and unjust with hardly a thank you from anyone. Help me be more like you.

Lord God, you gave me the choice of being a miniature form of you or of Satan.  I do not like that choice. But you made me responsible for what I am. A little child waits to be told what to do, but you want to challenge me, put spiritual muscles on me, strengthen me. How can I become spiritually strong unless I have burdens to bear and battles to fight?  So, when Satan tempts me, help me stand up to him, turn my back on him, and be a miniature you. Thank you for entrusting me to fight  with you.

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Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS provides a daily proverb plus a passage from Job, Psalm, Song of Solomon or Ecclesiastes ~ all parts of the “wisdom literature” of the Bible.  This is book two in the TOUCHING GOD series, all with beautiful, hand-painted originals by famed colorist, Betsy Kemp Thompson. To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/365PearlsOfWisdom

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/365-pearls-of-wisdom-gods-soul-to-yours/

 

Most blest

0-BK 4-FolkHero-Cover-Kindle-thumbnail-newJehovah, I praise you, for you are greater than the stars in largeness and more minute than the atoms in intricacy. You are the music of hearing, the honey of taste, the velvet of touch, the rainbow of sight, the spice of scent. But much more. How I love thinking about you, for your Word says you think about me all the time. What could I achieve in a day without you? How could I think and judge and do in a day without you? How could my soul survive without you?

Ah, thank you, my Lord, for showing me how to live your divine Words. Thank you, Spirit divine, for helping me walk as Jesus walked and speak as Jesus spoke. Such a blessing available to all people and to me. Life is not worth living without you. Thank you for being able to have my very own copy of your Word and the time to read it, study it, and understand it. I am most blest.

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0-BK 4-FolkHero-Cover-Kindle-thumbnail-newTHEY MET JESUS:  FOLK HERO.  Everyone was talking about this wood carver.  He was bringing missing arms and legs back, he was making lepers whole again, he was ordering demons around and his words were like a balm to wounded, hurting hearts. He was everyone’s folk hero.  For Awhile.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  http://bit.ly/FolkHero-4

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-4-folk-hero-adults-childs-versions/

 

 

I wonder what you have in store for me in heaven

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-MediumWhy would I want to glorify a cross? It’s a hideous instrument of torture by suffocation, taking days to die, and reserved only for hardened criminals?  Because a part of you, Lord God, willingly died on it in my place. Why would I want to glorify the electric chair or a noose or the executioner’s needle? It’s for the most hardened criminals? If a part of you, my Lord, had died on it in my place, I would glorify any of them. I would carry a miniature gold or silver electric chair or noose or needle on a chain around my neck if that is how you died in my place.  I would glory in the electric chair, the noose, the needle. Why? Because it would symbolize what you did to save me from hell and allow me into the safety of your heavenly home.  All because you took my punishment for me, paid the ransom, and set me free. How I worship you.

Thank you, Lord, for modern forms of communication. I remember only hand-written or typed letters, the smudged newspaper, radios with a lot of static in them, messy mimeograph machines, and telephones that had to be plugged in at home. Everything was so slow and even slower if a message went to the other side of the world. Methods were slow then, but I thought they were fast. I did not comprehend fast, so I appreciated what I had. Now I have instant everything ~ telephones I can carry around with me and the internet. I can communicate all over the world instantly. Thank you. It helps me a  bit to understand how you can hear everyone all over the world at once. But only a little bit. This whole communication thing is mind boggling, Lord. I wonder what you have in store for me in heaven.

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0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailSHADOW OF DEATH is novel 7 in THEY MET JESUS and is about Jesus’ illegal trial, his suffering on the cross, his death and burial, and the hopelessness felt by his followers.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this………. https://bit.ly/ShadowOfDeath-7

 

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/historical-novel-about-jesus/book-7-shadow-of-death-adults-childs-versions/

 

 

You invite me to sing a song with you

My soul takes flight, my God, and soars to your throne. I leap from star to star in wonder. I arrive at your gate of priceless pearl and it is opened for Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnailme. I rush up your street of gold and purity, lined with the tree of life until I see ahead of me ~ ah, I see ahead of me your throne. There, in tears of love and rapture, I bow at your wounded feet. The feet that were impaled in agony in my place. You reach down and place your hand ~ the nail-pierced hand ~ under my chin so I can look at your lovely face. I ask your forgiveness once again as I have so many times in my life for my many sins. You smile and wipe away my tears, then invite me to sing a song with you.  What joy. What unimaginable joy.

I was sad and you became sorrowful with me. I was overjoyed and you celebrated with me. I was tired and you rested with me. I was energetic and you ran with me. I was bereaved and you grieved with me. I was confused and you pondered with me. I was awestricken and you marveled with me. My Lord, you treat me as though I am the only person in the world. You are everywhere at once. You are in my heart, my spirit, my soul. Thank you for being God of the universe.

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Silver Cover-KINDLE-thumbnail365 SILVER-WINGED PRAYERS: MY SPIRIT TO GOD’S is part of a trilogy of daily devotions ~ inspirational scripture, wisdom, and prayer.  A beautiful gift set with papyrus font and original watercolor cover.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….  https://bit.ly/SilverWingedPrayers

https://inspirationsbykatheryn.wordpress.com/365-silver-winged-prayers-your-spirit-to-gods/