Saturday, January 30, 2010

God can help us

God can help us to overcome every bad thing from our past and give us a good life here and a WONDERFUL life in Heaven!   Geneva

My friend, Geneva responded to a recent message.  I'll repeat it for you.
Gratitude
makes sense of our past
brings peace for today
and creates a vision
for our future
author unknown

For all of us who have had the grace and courage to overcome something bad from our past, we know God was with us. 
Never underestimate the awesomeness of "good".  Whatever our lot in life at this moment, it is better than the lot of others.  Yes, we are living a good life here and now.
Our human minds can't comprehend the magnitude of magnificence awaiting all of us who love the Lord and trust Him with our lives and the lives of those we love.  Yes, we shall experience the WONDERFUL life in Heaven!  All praise and glory to God, our Creator!

Geneva, thank you so much for your inspiring words. 

I wholeheartedly encourage all of you who read my messages of faith, hope, and love to reach out and share your thoughts as Geneva has done.  So many of you are much wiser than I and it means the world to me to hear from you.

Nan's Calendar is for everyone.  It's about God.  It's about me.  It's about you.  It's about all of my brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.  It's about giving and receiving love and encouragement from God and each other. 

I say a special prayer today for all who are sad, sick and suffering that they may experience comfort and healing from God.  He gives us exactly as much strength as we need at exactly the time we need it. 

Approximately six to eight inches of powdery snow have fallen here since yesterday afternoon.  Life has been worse.  Life has been better.  Life is good right now.  Our days on earth are numbered.  Make sure to enjoy each and every day you are given.  This enjoyment begins today.  Make it so.

Love, Nan


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Gratitude

Gratitude
makes sense of our past
brings peace for today
and creates a vision
for our future
author unknown

Monday, January 25, 2010

A Work In Progress

We are all a work in progress.  We didn't get to where we are overnight and we won't get to where we want to be overnight.  Sometimes progress is slow, but it is still to be considered progress.  We are always in a state of becoming.  Yes, we are called human beings, but God wants more for our lives than to simply "be". 
These 25 days of January as I am reading my Psalms and Proverbs, I am becoming more in tune with God.  In reading my five Psalms and one Proverb each day since January first, there have been numerous times God has calmed me in the midst of storms around me.   I refer to these storms in both, the  literal and physical sense.   He has done this through His Holy Word.   
You see, we have to do more than read the words, we have to meditate on them and apply their truths in our daily comings and goings in order for them to be hidden in our hearts.  To meditate is a positive activity.  To ruminate is a negative activity.  How much of your time is spent meditating on a particular truth in the Bible and how much of your time is spent ruminating on things of the past that you wish had happened differently or had not happened at all?
God's gift of time is so precious we dare not waste one precious minute of it wishing things had been different.  We can wish for the soulmate we've never met.  We can wish for more money.  We can wish for a bigger house, bigger car, bigger nest egg and the list can go on and on and on.  OR, we can simply be thankful for all we have and spend our time praising God for what He has given us.  We can ask God to help us.  We can ask God to use us for His purposes. 
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.  Then you have to be ready for what comes next.  When you say "Lord, give me patience"!  Rest assured, you are about to become involved in a very impatient situation.  We develop the Fruit of the Spirit by growing/going through the very opposite situation of the fruit in question. 
None of us, not one, is immune from the trials of life.  As I type this message, I and my family are growing/going  through the process of reconstruction in our home after a water pipe burst in our upper level on January 11th.  Our house was extensively, but not entirely, flooded.  When I came home from work,  I looked in each room to see the progress made today.  Yes, progress has been made.  I had to look closely to see it, though, because the current stage of reconstruction is focused on small details. 
That's the same way it is in our personal spiritual growth sometimes.  God sees our progress, but in our own estimation, the progress is so minimal, we can barely see any change.  God believes in us even when we have trouble believing in ourselves.  Yes, we are all human becomings.
I want to say a personal thank you for all of you who have continued to read calendar messages from the archives while I have concentrated my time and energy reading my Psalms and Proverbs this month.  Your prayers on my behalf have been answered.  Some of you have shared with me that you pray for God to continue using me to reach others.  In fact, praise God, there are those of you from Berlin, Australia, Canada, Germany, Trinidad (I love you dear lady) and states all across my beloved America who have been in the presence of God through my writings.  They are actually messages of God, by God, from God and through me to you.  To each and every one of you, I love you with a love that is pure and real.  It is by the grace of God you are reading this message.  In honor and glory of God, I write.  Praise His Holy Name! 
Thank you so very much for taking the time to visit Nan's Calendar.  Please share it with someone else so that God's Word can continue to travel across the whole wide world!  Not for my fame or glory, but for the glory of God who created us all and loves us with a love that is never ending!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

....and the water flowed

God prepares us when we aren't aware we are being prepared.  You may be wondering how God has been preparing me in recent days, right?  I began the new year by reading my Psalms and Proverbs.  Those eleven days had a great impact on the following days and in the days and weeks to come.
I came home on Monday evening to a flooded house.  The water pipe in the bathroom upstairs burst while we were away from home.  The claim has been filed and the workers worked until 11pm Monday night to begin extracting the water and accessing the damage.
It will be probably six to eight weeks of demolition and repair to get our home in its preflood state.  Monday night I was trying to decide where I was supposed to be while the crew worked.  I sat at our breakfast table and continued my reading of Psalms and Proverbs for that day. 
There was a time in my life when I probably would have been a basket case. Not now.  I can't stress enough the incredible value and importance of keeping focused on God and His Holy Word in the midst of the storms of life.
First the waters came.  Now, the winds blow as the industrial size fans blow dry our carpets.  The walls are coming down around us and we are not afraid.  It's only temporary.  Yes, this, too, shall pass.  We have so much for which to be thankful.  Thank God it wasn't a fire instead of water.  We have absolute faith in the men and women who work for this restoration company.  Anything that has to be replaced will be replaced.  It's only stuff.  It could have been so much worse.
When you leave home this morning, you just really have no clue what will happen when you get home this evening.  Kiss your loved ones before you part company for the day.  Thank God for everything you have and thank Him for everything you don't have that you really don't want.  When you walk through the doors to your home today, thank God the floors are dry and that the walls are intact. 
These unknowns we are facing are opportunities to grow spiritually and to be a good example for our children, our family, friends and coworkers that we truly know God is in control and we have nothing to fear.
Have a wonderful day whatever comes your way.  You can handle it with God given strength and hope.
Love, Nan

Sunday, January 10, 2010

A Psalm For My Son, John

A Psalm for My Son, John

(Soar With The Eagle, My Son)

Oh Lord, most gracious God
You search my mind and my heart.
My innermost desires have always been known to You.
How great the blessings You have bestowed upon me.
My soulmate, my daughter and my son are priceless and cherished.
I praise You for the blessings of family and friends.
Today, I give praise and honor to You, oh God,
for the blessing of my son in my life.
Before he came forth into this world,
You knew his destiny.
As much as I love him, You love him more.
All the days of his life
instruct him in the way he should go.
Impart unto him love, knowledge, wisdom,
compassion, and strength of character.
May his integrity never be breached.
May Your good and Holy Spirit lead him
on level ground all the days of his life.
Though he is human and he will make mistakes,
I trust You, oh God, to fulfill Your purpose for his life.
Through those times when he does the things
he doesn't want to do and doesn't do the things
he wants to do, love him and forgive him when
he fails you.
My son is a heritage from You, Most Precious Lord.
May he always and forever be secure as he daily
puts his faith in You.
He knows his life is in Your hands.
Mold him and shape him into the man
he is becoming.
Your promise preserves his life.
Keep evil far from him.
As he travels through this earthly life
keep a hedge of protection around him.
Lord, my son is a delight to my soul and
he gives me peace.
My heart sings as he wraps me up in a tender
embrace of love.
Lord, give him wings to soar with the eagle.
Direct his steps in the way he should go.
Shine Your light into his inmost being.
Use his life as an example of Your unfailing love.
My soul rejoices for my son is a rare gem
being polished by my Lord and Savior.
As he matures into manhood and becomes husband
and father himself, lead him, guide him, and direct
him in all he says and does so that his words
and his actions are pleasing unto You.
Heavenly Father, in You, I put my hope and my trust.
With absolute faith and with no room for doubt,
I will honor You and praise You all the days
of my life. You are worthy, Lord. You are
worthy.
So let it be.
Amen
written by Nan Forehand
Saturday, January 9, 2010