Category: rest

Have they lost hope?

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #friendships, #Handicaps, attitude, discouragement, emptiness, Enemies, faith, Fear, good works, healing, Inspirational, Loss, love, patience, persecution, problems, rest, victory, weaknessLeave a comment

The scripture for today, June 11 (6/11), is Job 6:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

07-Jairus' Daughter-MediumCover“What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects that I should be patient?”

Many people use the expression, “patience of Job.” But he had on-and-off patience, for he was very sick. By descriptions he gave of himself ~ sores, rancid breath, low voice, partial blindness, skin turned hard and black, bloating, nightmares, extreme pain, unrecognized by his closest friends ~ some believe he had a grotesque form of elephantiasis leprosy.

What did he need from his friends? He surely didn’t get it, for they spent their time trying to prove he had sinned, and God was right to be punishing him. His reply? “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?” (Job 16:2f).

So how do you comfort someone who feels utterly hopeless? You certainly do not put the blame on them, nor do you tell them it’s “all in your head’ or to “snap out of it.”  You can share times when we felt hopeless. You can weep with them. You can hold their hand. You can sit with them in silence. You can pray aloud for them. (Some people have never heard their name mentioned in a prayer.)

And you need to let them talk. Sometimes they will say things they don’t mean in the long run, but at that brief moment, they do. Or sometimes, they need to talk through things they are unsure about. They may even say contradictory things.

At one time, Job said, “Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household….God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me” (16:7f). But another time he said, “I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth….I myself will see him with my own eyes ~ I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (19:25f).

Do you have a very sick friend? Do you have a friend who has lost hope?  Let your heart yearn with them.

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07-Jairus' Daughter-ThumbnailCoverA CHILD’S BIBLE KIDS:  JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER.  She was lively Leah and very happy from the time she was born.  But, when she was 12, she got very sick. The doctor came, but could not make her better. Her father was a rabbi and decided to ask Jesus to heal her. He found Jesus and begged him to come heal his little girl. But a surprise happened.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….http://bit.ly/JairusDtr                                                       https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/a-childs-bible-kids-book-7-jairus-daughter/?frame-nonce=dcd871ac5b

You all fill my heart

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #friendships, death, family, Heaven, joy, judging, love, rest, thingsLeave a comment

0-Titus-Cover-MediumThe scripture for today, May 15 (5/15), is Ecclesiastes 5:15 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.”

As most people enter their senior years, they finally understand this verse. In their youth, they struggled to get jobs and status and things. Some accomplished it, and some didn’t. But in the senior years….

when health is gradually declining….

the world is passing them by….

and they are sitting in their chair most of the time

….the main thing people look back on is what difference they made in their world, and how they did or did not help people important to them.

Often in their senior years, when their income goes down, and they are living only on a small pension, and they are unable to keep their big house, and fancy car, and impressive stuff, they realize they are still the same person inside regardless of what they own.

Ask a senior what they want for a birthday present. It is not likely to be things. It is likely to be time spent with a loved one or something special given to someone in need.

What about you?  How much time are you spending on things?

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I wrote this about twenty year ago when I was a young 61.  Yesterday I turned 81.  I went shopping to buy myself a birthday present, but didn’t see anything I wanted.  Instead, I looked through the 340+ birthday greetings I received on my two Facebook pages — friends I hadn’t seen in decades, strangers who loved me, delightful pictures, sweet verses.  You were my birthday gifts.  With you I had all I needed or wanted.  You all fill my heart.

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0-Titus-Cover-Lg ThumbINTREPID MEN OF GOD.  TITUS: THE ARISTOCRAT. Titus is  born of privilege, surrounded by luxury in the family palatio, and a graduate of the university at Pergamum. His father is the supreme judge of Antioch and Flamin of Apollo, while his mother is Flaminica of Apollo’s Muses.  His ambition is to become important like his father and qualify for the purple border on his own white toga. Then he meets the Apostle Paul and becomes a Christian. He gives it all up to travel to church and places where Jesus is yet unknown.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/TitusAristocrat-8 

https://northernlightspublishinghouse.com/books-more-biblical-historical-novels/book-8-titus-the-aristocrat/

Soon will come your morning

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn blessings, discouragement, emptiness, faith, Inspirational, judging, patience, prayer, rest, victoryLeave a comment

0-Come Fly-ChildsCartoonMediumCoverThe scripture for today, May 3 (5/3), is Psalm 5:3 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Morning. The time of new beginnings. Birth is a morning. Graduating from a school is a morning. Marriage, a new job, birth of a child ~ these are obvious mornings.

You can create your own morning of life in a spiritual way too. You can stop depending on yourself and begin following and depending on God. You cannot fix all your problems. Sometimes you get yourself into your own problems and don’t know how to get yourself out. But God knows.

Lay your requests before God. Then wait. Waiting in the shadows can create frustration and even panic. But wait in peace. It is not quite dawn, and God is preparing the answer to rise up in your heart and life.

He loves you as his child and knows when the moment is right for your dawning. Sometimes when you look back, you are most grateful he did not answer a prayer for you; he had something better in mind. And then, it was morning.

God loves to answer prayer. Therefore, while still in the shadows, wait. Do you see it now? The grayness of dawn with silver hopes intertwined?  Wait in peaceful expectation.  Soon will come your morning.

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08-Come Fly-ChildsCartoonThumbnailCoverA CHILD’S LIFE OF CHRIST:  COME FLY WITH ME is a storybook about all the times Jesus appeared to people after he came back to life.  At the end of each of the ten chapters is “Think & Do”.  Can be understood by a 3-year-old. Great for early readers with hyphens between syllables.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this….. https://bit.ly/3t7G4Ne

A Child’s Life of Christ Book 8 ~ Come Fly With Me

You are so good to me

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #friendships, blessings, Daily, faith, Fear, healing, Inspirational, joy, love, prayer, problems, rest, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

OldOldTunes-mediumAh, my Lord, you are my light for the path I walk.  You are my path through the world I travel.  Your holiness soars through the cosmos and settles at last in my heart.  I can never feel alone when you are near. I can never feel rejected when you carry me. I can never feel deserted when you hold my heart in your arms and sing to me with your spirit.

Thank you, God, for the rain today. It was so gentle and brought with it the promise of more flowers and sweet fragrances to tantalize my senses. What a beautiful world you have made. Even on a battlefield, a daffodil, a crocus, and tulip can spring up and remind the world you are still here. You love me so. You hold me in your great arms as long as I need and whenever I need. You are so good to me.

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OldOldTunes-ThumbnailTHE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD TUNES. Forty-four songs for the Old Testament and forty-four songs for the New Testament. This book may be used by teachers or given as gifts to children.  Anyone who knows these common folk tunes will be able to sing the songs immediately. If you do not know any of the tunes, you can find them on the internet.   To BUY NOW click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/2YwJVHI 

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

This earth you made for my pleasure

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn #Handicaps, attitude, blessings, healing, Inspirational, joy, love, praise, prayer, rest, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-MediumMy God, you are so great, but you lean low and take notice of the lowly in life and lift us high. You notice the oppressed and make them feel like princes. You notice orphans whose parents have left them in spirit or death and make them part of your glorious family. You notice the blind and other handicapped and make them feel like kings. Some day you will give everyone that kind of glorious body Jesus had. Then I will be able to praise you in ways I never imagined. You, who made me, are more amazing than words can say. And I worship you.

Ah, my Lord. Thank you for days when I feel your peace despite goings on around me.  When I look at the birds hopping around, looking for things out of which to make their nests, I smile. When I listen to the dove you sent me a few weeks ago, my heart stops racing and slows to an easy pace. When I notice the buds on them, they remind me how quietly they peak out from their branches and slip into my spring day with aromatic sweetness.  Thank you, God, for all that you made for my pleasure.

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Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail365 PEARLS OF WISDOM: GOD’S SOUL TO YOURS.  This second of the trilogy, Touching God, provides a daily short saying from the ancient sheik, Job, from King David’s psalms, and from his son King Solomon’s Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Job lived some thousand years before David and Solomon; yet we see the same wisdom of God shines forth in every millennium of mankind.  The beautiful cover is an original by Betsy Kemp Thompson, famed watercolorist.  She has other originals for sale at https://watercolorsbybetsy.wordpress.com/  To BUY THE BOOK, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/3epvDgU 

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

 

You thought of everything.

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn blessings, Inspirational, joy, love, praise, prayer, rest, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

Oh, Lord, sometimes I am giddy with excitement over you. Sometimes I want to walk with you, talk with you, laugh with you, cry 0-BOOK 4-FOLK HERO-Child'sCartoon-Mediumwith you.  I want to run with you through meadows and lie on the grass and watch the clouds float by. When I am in a breeze, I wonder if you are whispering to me. Sometimes when I hear the flutter of wings overhead, I wonder if you are embracing me. You call me your child, then spoil me with your love. How I rejoice in you. My heart calls out to your heart. Even in the deepest gloom, I feel your presence. All that has been, is, and will be honor and praise you.

Thank you for March. The snow is beginning to melt. There are puddles everywhere and the lawns are soggy. How I rejoice when I see all this because I know it is a prelude to spring. How I love spring. Thank you for spring. Yes, and winter. Winter when the world goes inside and rests. When I have more quiet time, family time, and reflecting time. Winter is good. But now I am ready for Spring. Your seasons. How delightful they are. And always on time. Your promises are like that ~ always on time. Thank you for the unique beauty and benefits of each season. You thought of everything.

04-FOLK HERO-Child'sCartoon-Thumbnail.A CHILD’S LIFE OF CHRIST has the same books in it as the grownup THEY MET JESUS.  Even the chapters are the same.  The only difference is the story has been adjusted for a child’s mind and vocabulary and shortened.  In FOLK HERO, Jesus performs many miracles and people are beginning to catch on that he is more than just a carpenter.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or past this:  https://bit.ly/3803JHN

A Child’s Life of Christ Book 4 ~ Folk Hero

The world is your song

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn attitude, blessings, family, Inspirational, joy, Life of Christ, love, praise, prayer, rest, Scripture, teaching, Thanksgiving, things, worshipLeave a comment

OldOldTunes-mediumI can’t help but praise you, my Lord, each day and all day. You alone are worthy of this. You alone are God and there is no other. You are the life of my body and spirit. You are the love of my heart and soul. Your words are absorbed in my heart and treasured in my soul now and forever.

Lord, I was in someone’s house yesterday and they had the most beautiful rug. I wanted such a rug for my house. I almost envied them. Then I caught myself. What difference does it make how I decorate things? Help me look at the beauty of their souls instead. Help me want what I have and no more. All I need is you.

Thank you, God, for the little birds I see outside my window each morning. There they are, ready to greet me. And the sun. Each morning it rises just to say, “I’m back. Didn’t I promise you I would be?”. The darkness is good because it makes me rest. But how I love the morning and the world waking up with it. And thank you for pouring your heart out to the world in your Bible. Now I can know you and have no doubts. How many in this world are willing to pour out their heart to others as you did? I think the world is your song.

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OldOldTunes-ThumbnailTHE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD TUNES.  All songs are set to folk tunes.  Forty about the Old Testament and forty about the New Testament.  Sing with friends and family on Zoom.  Or with grandchildren when they visit. Or for music lessons of homeschoolers.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/2YwJVHI

THE OLD OLD STORY SET TO OLD OLD TUNES

To Absorb You

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn blessings, faith, Inspirational, joy, love, patience, power, praise, prayer, rest, Thanksgiving, worshipLeave a comment

0-THEY MET JESUS-Medium-front coverI praise you, mighty God ~ mighty in truth, in love, in life. Above all lies and hatred and annihilations. You are the strongest, the highest, the greatest. You are above all, in all and through all. You are brighter than the sun you formed, deeper than the oceans you brought forth, higher than the stars you sprinkled throughout the heavens. You are holy and filled with majestic greatness. My soul soars to you, then bows low to honor you.

Thank you, my Lord, for giving me your Bible so I can understand your stubborn love and mighty truth. For sending a part of you in Jesus’ body so we could see you, then sending a part of yourself in your Spirit of Truth so we could hear and read you. Thank you for the winter snow and icy wind, and time of rest for nature. A calm and serene time for me when nothing much is going on outside in the cold, leaving more time to read of you, meditate about you, pray to you, to absorb you.

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0-THEY MET JESUS-Medium-front coverTHEY MET JESUS is all eight biblical historical novels about the life of Jesus and 100 people who met and struggled with him.  Come alone and meet Jesus all over again.  Only $9.99 for all eight ebooks  in one or $33 for all eight paper books in one (normally $15.50 each).  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this……….https://bit.ly/3pldy8W.

THEY MET JESUS: All 8 Books in 1

Give yourself for Christmas

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn blessings, faith, family, Inspirational, persecution, problems, rest, victory, weakness2 Comments

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

 

Book 1: Star Song ~ Adult Versions

 

You lean my head on your shoulder

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Daily, faith, healing, Inspirational, love, patience, prayer, rest, weaknessLeave a comment

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-MediumNo matter what corner of the world I occupy, you are there.  Though clouds encompass my corner, you look through them and whisk away the shadows.  Though mountains rumble in my corner, you whisper, “Peace!  Be still!” and they obey. Though I am sinking in watery mire in my corner, you reach down and pull me out, wash me, and make my soul as white as snow. I can never escape you, nor do I wish to. You are my God and love me fiercely.

Sometimes, Lord, I face something I cannot face. I feel bewildered and weak. I feel broken. Paralyzed. It is then that you come to my rescue while I rest.  You take care of the problem in your own way. Sometimes I have fears that haunt me and I cannot get rid of them. I dread falling asleep at night because those fears fallow me even there. It is then that you come to me and protect me under your wings. Sometimes I am just so tired, I can hardly move. It is then that you sit beside me, lean my head on your shoulder, and wipe away my listless tears. You are my Friend, my Helper, my Father.

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Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail365 PEARLS OF WISDOM:  GOD SOUL TO YOURS.  A beautiful devotional book with classic papyrus font inside and original art work by famed watercolorist, Betsy Kemp Thompson.  To BUY NOW, click a book cover or paste this:  https://bit.ly/365PearlsOfWisdom

 

365 Pearls of Wisdom: God’s Soul to Yours