Blessing Celebration Day 2017 (2)

WOW! 
What an amazing Blessing Celebration day! 

This afternoon, I headed out to find a cup of coffee. Gourmet Goodies, YUM! has new coffee, so I decided to stop in there. And I learned that I had enough Belly Rewards for a free cup of coffee! AWESOME! (Yes, I did get some brownies too. They are my weakness.) 

After I got back in The Chariot, I was deciding what to do. I decided to drive around. I ended up stopping at Country Primitives Vintage Market. I walked past one area where they were unloading new products, I walked past and enjoyed seeing the rest of the store. As I was heading back to the entrance, I felt that I should go back and revisit that first area. I found some soups that looked good. But then the HOT sauces caught my attention. YUM! 

I asked a lady ("J") working if she had ever tried any. We got to talking and come to learn her daughter ("K") is having another back surgery. We spoke for a few minutes and I gave her one of my Blessings Celebration Day cards. Love those "God-designed appointments"! (Please pray for "J" and "K".) 

"Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness." 
Psalm 145:6, 7

Love bragging about my awesome God!

PS. My hot sauce is made by a Christian company! Proverbs 3:5-6 is on the label. "Suckle Busters". The Chipotle Pepper Sauce is really good... and hot!

For more on my Blessings Celebration, read this post: http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2017/10/i-will-extol-you-my-god-o-king-and-i.html

Full-body

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his ·Temple [holy place; or holiness];  praise him in his ·mighty heaven [strong firmament]. Psalm 150:1

Praise begins in the presence of God. If I can’t praise God in His presence, how can I praise God when I’m “out and about”. Praising God directly in His presence, is the foundation for praising God elsewhere. 

Praise in prayer. So often, prayers are more of asking or telling God what we want, “making our requests known”. But prayer should be more that just asking. Prayer needs to begin with praise and honor to God. For when I praise God, that changes my perspective from me and my wants to God and His will and goodness. 

This morning, I made a cup of instant coffee. I filled a mug with water, put it in the microwave, and after the water was hot, I started to drink it. It was very weak tasting. I had forgotten to add the coffee! If I pray only asking for things, not only is my prayer life going to weak, but I’ll miss out on the “full-body” flavor of what prayer is all about. 

Praise should be the first and most often ingredient in prayer. Praising God is the essence of prayer and creates a heart in me ready to be molded to God’s plan and purpose. 

To create a positive day, and to make my prayers and life “full-body” I need to be praising God Almighty! 

A Carrot, An Egg and A Cup of Coffee

I did not write the following. However, I really like its message. A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee—we all fall into one of these categories. You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A Carrot, An Egg and A Cup of Coffee
by Unknown

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."  "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects

had faced the same adversity:

boiling water.

Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? 

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.


When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

May we all be COFFEE!