Of salvation and love glances
"We give You thanks"
May we be truly grateful
For the bounty You have given us.
We thank you for the earth and rain,
The good harvest and the wholesome grain
That went into our daily bread
And kept the stock that kept us fed.
Thank you for the hands that cooked and baked,
And for the water that our thirst slaked.
Please accept our thanks as we honour You
For Your goodness in giving us this food.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
Ordinary and good!
The Queen of List Making
Ordinary but good
It has been humbling.
Faithful in the end days
- I believe we should be in prayer for those people suffering under authorities such as the Taliban and for all those Christians who are in danger.
- We should be praying for those who are still unsaved.
- Keeping the faith can be difficult for some, especially as the world gets darker. We need to pray for ourselves too.
- We should bring our thoughts and minds under the control of the Holy Spirit by focussing on good things that are still here
- We must remember that Christ is in control, no matter how bad a situation becomes.
- We must bring everything we see, hear and read in to the light of the Word and we must remember that all these things, though disturbing, are temporary.
- We must maintain an attitude of gratitude for all things in our life and dwell on God's goodness.
- We simply must be a person of worship and praise.
- We must be in the Word.
We give You thanks
May we be truly grateful
For the bounty You have given us.
We thank you for the earth and rain,
The good harvest and the wholesome grain
That went into our daily bread
And kept the stock that kept us fed.
Thank you for the hands that cooked and baked,
And for the water that our thirst slaked.
Please accept our thanks as we honour You
For Your goodness in giving us this food.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
A discipline worth fighting for.
Next month I will turn 68 and in all honesty, it has been a bumpy ride. All manner of tribulations, trials and hurts have been interspersed with blessings, wonder, tears of joy and love.
Like most people, I realise that time has passed by very quickly. It seemed I blinked from the time of being a young bride to now being the grandmother of the bride!
Birthdays don't phase me, in fact I celebrate each one joyfully, in spite of the fact that my physical life is a painful symphony of noisy ailments that clash in a discordant cacophony that threaten my mental health.
It's so easy to succumb to depression when one has a constant string of painful ailments to vie with each other to be Conductor of the piece. I battle them constantly.
I struggle to have the vicissitudes of life as salubrious as possible: I want to live my life well and not simply endure it. I know now how fast life passes us by and how precious every moment is.
Years ago, I realised I can go either way: try to be grateful and be happier or whine all the time and resent my life and be miserable. I choose to be grateful which is harder- but it has hope in it.
To be honest, sometimes these overlap and I find myself whining just after feeling grateful and I have to bring my thoughts into the captivity of Christ... however, in general, I try to be upbeat and positive. No mean feat with fibromyalgia, heart and spinal problems.
Gratefulness is a discipline worth cultivating in order to live our life well. Gratefulness will enhance our life and help us overcome our health trials.
It takes practice, it takes prayer, it takes self control- but it is a discipline worth the effort in order to have a good life albeit a painful one.
Every moment of every day equates to our life and it is imperative that we try to focus on anything that is positive, good, noble and right. If we don't, we will be miserable as well as in pain.
Gratefulness is difficult to practise, and positivity is sometimes impossible, but in order to look over our life at the end of the day,and acknowledge that it is good, it is a discipline worth fighting for.
I am blessed
After a horrid day with pain from my fibromyalgia and arthritis, I gratefully sank into bed, pulling my soft minkie blankets over me.
As is my custom before sleeping, I prayed and thanked God for the good things of the day. And as I started to pray, the blessings of the day kept on coming.
I was and am thankful and grateful for so many things which truthfully are more abundant than the horrid things that make up my life of chronic illness.
The warmth of my bed and the softness of my blankets, the feather down pillow that allowed me to adjust it to just the right way to support my sore neck and shoulder muscles and the light that shone softly at my bedside all soothed and nurtured me.
The outside light shone through the star shapes in my drapes, and the little stars lit up the room and danced across my bed as my chest moved in breaths and sighs of contentment. My little cat snuggled up beside me. We were both content.
How blessed I am to be able to lay my head down to rest in peace. So many the world over do not have that luxury.
My soft minkie pajamas caressed my skin, soothing it and unlike other clothing, did not make me itch in a way that started an itchy frenzy. Only the Fibromite who suffers from constant itch would be grateful for that.
As I gave thanks for all those things, I remembered the labour saving devices I have been blessed to own, and along with that, I gave thanks for the many convenience foods and products that make my life as a Sacrificial Home Keeper easier. Not for the first time, I thanked God for allowing me to live in a country where these products are available.
I am grateful for the convenience of online banking, shopping and grocery purchases. Many a day finds me with limited spoons and I do not feel inclined to leave my home.
And when I have to get repeat prescriptions made up, I am grateful that I have an app that allows me to order them and pick them up later...
Our little country home nurtures us and gives me many comforts for which I am also grateful. And as the happy relaxed thoughts overtook me, I drifted into sleep, glad and secure that I am the LORD'S and He will be there tomorrow to bless me and console me as I walk the lonely painful path of chronic illness and pain.
There's nothing that can compare to counting one's gifts of love from the LORD. I am blessed. And grateful.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “ In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
Of salvation and love glances!
God plans for our future and hope
Loveliness is all around us
I love this painting as it reminds me of our little country home. We too have a little stream at the back of our house and we like to sit in the yard watching the birds and listening to the water.
If the weather is cold, I find our couch is like the beach- with the afternoon sun coming in and the sliding door open, we can hear the stream bubbling and the birds calling and it feels exactly like being on the beach.
With all that is happening in the world today, I find it is even more important than ever to dwell on things that are good, pretty or helpful. It takes effort to find good things, but it can be done.
I like to play worship music in the background and I love to be grateful for what I do have. I keep in touch with my family via FB or phone and this helps keep my spirits up.
We try not to watch too much news and I have started limiting my time on FaceBook because a lot of the things there are not uplifting.
With fibromyalgia rearing its ugly head again in a massive flare, I find that I have to search harder for beauty and staying upbeat.
Prayer is a very big part of a Christian's life, and I find that by praying about things definitely helps my mental as well as spiritual health.
In spite of ill health and happenings in the world, it is important to train your thoughts into looking for the good in the world and dwelling on them.
All my life, I have loved Philippians 4:8 which speaks of focusing on whatsoever things are good. It is my life verse and over 40 years of loving Christ, it has been a real Godsend.
Take a look around you at all the lovely things: in spite of a troubled world, there is still loveliness around us.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8
Sure dwelling places
Songs of deliverance
I play worship songs, making sure they are uplifting and I try not to watch the news constantly.
I have also limited my FaceBook time as the feeds are totally depressing.
Remembering Psalms and scriptures of God's protection and deliverance also comforts us and lifts morale.
We need to encourage each other of the Blessed Hope, the Rapture of the Church which is imminent, according to all the signs we are told to watch for.
Time is short, we have to tell as many as we can that they must accept Jesus as their Saviour now-and we must encourage brothers and sisters in the LORD to look up.
I am no longer looking for the signs, but listening for the trumpet call- along with songs of deliverance.
True joy in the moment!
God loves womankind
God knows that women are entrusted with an eternal purpose of life: to serve Him, love their husband and nurture their children. And to be keepers of the home. "Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house...' 1 Timothy 5:14c
Forgiveness and grace were shown to the woman caught in adultery: respect and love from God meant her life was spared. (John 8:3-12)
He created Woman to be loved, to be loving, to be nurturing, to be protected and to be respected. To us He gave to us the ability to bear a child and then to raise it for His glory. Any man can father a child, but it takes a loving woman to bear and raise it. No small matter. It takes a woman.
God knows that He can entrust women with eternal treasures, that's why He gave us the protection of marriage and the creating and keeping of a home: godly foundations on which to build a new generation of sons and daughters for Him.
Whilst men go to synagogues in Judaism, whilst men go to work and whilst men go to war, it is the women who carry the home, teach the children and bring them up unto Him. A worthy calling.
It is here that God meets with women in the mundane things of life, for He knows that the mundane is of great value, and so is a woman's service. And from love for womankind, comes a God Who meets us where we live: in our kitchen. In our baby's nursery. In the laundry.
To believe that women are forgotten by God is a gross misrepresentation of His love. It is we who keep the homefires burning and keep it all together when the world falls apart. No wonder God loves womankind.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” Proverbs 31:10
Making memories
LunchChange over the washed clothes and put in dryer- Cook the defrosting chicken for our roast dinner