Christmas Wish Lists

Something to think about as you make your Christmas Wish Lists. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Delight: make soft, pliable, live or spend in enjoyment; take exquisite delight

Lord: deity Yahweh

Give: grant a request

Desire: desire, petition, request

Heart: seat of the emotions and passions of joy and gladness

When one is willing to be molded to God's will and takes exquisite delight in the Lord God, then the heart's desire will be in line with God's will and wisdom. 

That should put a new perspective on what you put on your Christmas Wish List. 

Enjoy the Full Toy Box

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 16. Here is what I learned.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage. Psalm 16:6 (AMP)

My home is surrounded in beauty; You have gifted me with abundance and a rich legacy. Psalm 16:6 (VOICE)

·My share in life has been pleasant [The boundary lines fall for me in pleasant places]; my ·part [inheritance] has been beautiful. Psalm 16:6 (EXB)

.....Therein he solaced himself on earth, and delights himself in heaven; and he asks no more "GOODLY HERITAGE" than that his own beloved may be with him where he is and behold his glory. All the saints can use the language of this verse, and the more thoroughly they can enter into its contented, grateful, joyful spirit the better for themselves, and the more glorious to their God. .......Mr. Greenham was bold enough to say, "They never felt God's love, or tasted forgiveness of sin, who are discontented." Some divines think that discontent was the first sin, the rock which wrecked our race in paradise; certainly there can be no paradise where this evil spirit has power, its slime will poison all the flowers of the garden. The Treasury of David

Discontentment robs us of so much. When we are busy wishing for what we don't have, we miss enjoying what we do have. How many times to I act like a 5-year-old? I have a toy box full of toys, but I want that “new toy”. When I get that new toy, I play with it for a few seconds, only to realize it’s not as fun as I thought it would be, so it goes in the toy box with the other toys. And my attention is turned to the next new toy.  Always wanting, never satisfied, and never enjoying the fun the full toy box could provide. 

God blesses me with so much. When I spend time thanking God for what He’s given me, and enjoying the God’s blessings, I’m contented. But when I ignore what God provides and look at what I think I want, or think I need, my discontentment grows, and can often turn to bitterness and envy. 

To create a positive day, I need enjoy the full toy box that God and enjoy the contentment that grows from being thankful to God for His gift of a rich legacy. 

Security

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 28. Here is what I learned.

Save Your people and bless Your heritage; nourish and shepherd them and carry them forever. Psalm 28:9 (AMP)

Save your people, Lord, and bless those who are yours. Be their shepherd, and take care of them forever. Psalm 28:9 (GNT)

The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 (AMP)

The Lord is my shepherd; I ·have everything I need [will lack nothing]. Psalm 23:1 (EXB)

"The Lord is my shepherd." What condescension is this, that the Infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people. David had himself been a keeper of sheep, and understood both the needs of the sheep and the many cares of a shepherd. He compares himself to a creature weak, defenceless, and foolish, and he takes God to be his Provider, Preserver, Director, and, indeed, his everything. No man has a right to consider himself the Lord's sheep unless his nature has been renewed, for the scriptural description of unconverted men does not picture them as sheep, but as wolves or goats. A sheep is an object of property, not a wild animal; its owner sets great store by it, and frequently it is bought with a great price. It is well to know, as certainly as David did, that we belong to the Lord. There is a noble tone of confidence about this sentence. There is no "if" nor "but," nor even "I hope so;" but he says, "The Lord is my shepherd." We must cultivate the spirit of assured dependence upon our heavenly Father. The sweetest word of the whole is that monosyllable, "My." He does not say, "The Lord is the shepherd of the world at large, and leadeth forth the multitude as his flock," but "The Lord is my shepherd;" if he be a Shepherd to no one else, he is a Shepherd to me; he cares for me, watches over me, and preserves me. The words are in the present tense. Whatever be the believer's position, he is even now under the pastoral care of Jehovah. The Treasury of David

The Lord is MY Shepherd. I can rest in the security that God will supply my needs and protect me. The security that God is MY Shepherd, creates a positive and peaceful day.

Update

It has been a while since I wrote on my blog. I thought I'd take time to update you on what has been happening. 

I continue with my Vegan, gluten-free diet. It's challenging at times, but I continue to find new items at various stores to keep menus interesting and nutritious.

My chiropractor found some supplements to help with the muscle spasms and headaches. My pain level remains high, and I continue to discuss options with my doctors. It may be that I'll have to go back on some type of medication to lower the pain.

 

The spinal stimulator is "just an implant" at this point. Due to the battery (IPG) issues and the wiring shorts the stimulator can't be used. My pain management doctor and I have discussed what would need to be done to correct the problems. The only solution is to remove the entire stimulator (paddle, wiring, and IPG) and insert another one. At this point, I'm not ready to go through that surgery. That's not to say, I'll have the surgery in the future. I do miss the stimulator as it did help with the leg pain.

In some of my past posts I mentioned my sister and her battle with cancer. The Lord Jesus Christ called her home to Heaven on April 13, 2011. God gave us almost 4 years with Lori, after her first diagnosis. We all miss Lori very much. However, we know that she is worshiping and praising our Heavenly Father and is now living pain free. 

 

Max, my parakeet, has learned a new word. I have no idea what it means or where he picked it up. But he likes the sound of it, because he says it constantly! His new word is "burpy". He mixes it with "happy", "pretty", "bird" and all his other sounds. It sounds funny...so that makes me laugh. 

God continues to supply my needs

(and some wants) in amazing ways.

Here are a few from the past few weeks. 

It was time to buy a new printer. I use my printer to make digital scrapbook cards and print projects for my friends. My old printer served me well and was OVERUSED! God provided a wonderful printer by way of a sale ($100 less!), a discount for trading in my old printer ($50). The new printer is amazing and allows me to even print larger images which will help with my friends' projects. 

I was having a "high pain" day and needed to run some errands. I figured I'd start out and see what I could accomplish and see what special blessings God had for me. God had some amazing surprises waiting for me! One of my Soldiers (adopted through www.SoldiersAngels.org) requested some gummies candy. I found some large bags on sale! Having some extra time after some errands, before my chiro appt, I stopped for lunch. And they gave a FREE lunch! That was an awesome surprise—and was YUMMMY! My last errand was grocery shopping. Not only did God have some special deals for me, but He supplied some new organic frozen veggies.

One of my Soldiers requested books, magazines, and CDs. I stopped by "Half-Price Books" to see what I could find. And once again God had another surprise for me—they are having an additional 20% off sale!

Even though my pain level

remained high, my PRAISE level was HIGHER! 

It's always fun to find God's special blessing "hiding" for me as I go about my day. Those special blessings are great reminders that God loves me and cares greatly for me. He knows all the details of my life—including the pain level and needs and yes, even the wants.

Just the thought

that God, the Creator of all,

knows all the details of my life

makes each day positive!