Category: A Door of Hope

A Season of Thanksgiving – Day 1

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope, A Season of Thanksgiving

Leviticus 22:29 "And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will."

 

Sacrifice – To destroy, surrender or suffer to be lost for the sake of obtaining something.

 

To be truly thankful to God for all the He has done in our lives, we must surrender the things that we desire for ourselves.

We cannot hold onto our own plans and try to be thankful for God's plans.  They are not the same.  God thoughts and plans are infinitely higher and greater than we can imagine.

 

My early plan for my life would have included travel, notoriety, and singing in churches all across the country.  

God's plan includes my singing in one church in a tiny town in a poor county in my home state.  Although I have sung at other churches, it has never been a full-time ministry for me.  I now sing only for my local church.

I
am so thankful that God sent my pastor to this town, that my mom
visited to hear the new pastor, and that my dad went in search of that
new pastor so that he could get saved.  All of those things brought
about God's plan for me.  I am so grateful for this plan.

Did
you have to let go of your own wishes, in order to be thankful for what
God allowed?  Have you made a sacrifice in your life that has led to
your own Thanksgiving story?  I'd love to hear about it.  Feel free to
leave a comment and share it with me.


As this season of Thanksgiving arrives, let's prepare our heart to be thankful…


by letting go of all that we want…

…and accepting – with gratitude – all that He has given.

 

Blessings to you on this November 1st,

Alesha

When We Don’t Know What to Say

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

 

"And then, when pressed with burdens and troubles too complicated to put
into words and too mysterious to tell or understand, how sweet it is to
fall back into His blessed arms, and just sob out the sorrow that we
cannot speak!" ~Streams in the Desert

 

Just cry out to God, my friends.  He will hear and understand!

Romans 8:26 "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

 

Isaac’s Funny Little Schedule

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope, Household, How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, Just My Thoughts, What's Happening

Hey y'all.  We've had a good week here at our house.  With the exception of continuing allergy issues, we are all doing well.

Isaac has developed this really odd schedule, and I thought I'd share it with you.  Keep in mind this is a child who has multiple special needs and is not supposed to be aware of things, you know.  Heh!

We put Ike to bed between 8:30-9:00.  He listens to his "Hallelujah" (Gaither video) for about an hour and falls asleep. 

Then somewhere between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. he wakes up.

Then he goes back to sleep around 7 a.m. and sleeps until Noon.

Isn't that peculiar?

So why is he waking up and staying awake???

Because DADDY is home!  Daddy comes to check on him.  Daddy sits in his room for a while.  Daddy changes him if he's wet.  Daddy gives him his juice and meds at 5:30.

And why does he go back to sleep after 7???

Because Daddy comes in and says, "I'm going to work now.  Be a good boy for Mommy and Mrs. Julie today."

And out he goes like a light!

Isn't that something???

This poor, little unaware, handicapped, developementally delayed child that knows nothing, and is incapable of making decisions or understanding the concept of time wakes up to spend time with his Daddy.  And sleeps the sleep of the dead when Daddy is not here.

Julie and I can talk.  The dogs can bark.  Julie can vacuum, clean the bathroom…he snoozes through all of it…because he doesn't want to spend his waking hours with us.  He'd rather spend them with dear ol' Dad!

I love that he loves his Daddy and is so attached to him.  I love that he knows who he wants to spend time with.  I love that he can alter his schedule to suit his own needs and desires.

God has been so good to us, and I am so thankful that He is allowing our boy to grow and mature.

 

Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

 

It also makes me wonder how excited I am to spend time with my Heavenly Father.

Do I wake up early to be in His presence?  Am I willing to give up sleep to talk with Him?  Will I alter my entire schedule just to sit with Him for a while each morning?

Yes, I think there is much to learn from my child in this area.  I think I should probably pay close attention to see what else he can teach me about myself, about life and about God.

I used to think the following verse applied to simple salvation, but maybe there is more to it than that.  I will be meditating on this for a bit, I think.

 

Matthew 18:2-3 "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

 

Praying you have a blessed weekend,

Alesha

Making It Complicated

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

 

Some truths are hard-won, aren't they?  Especially Biblical truths.

It often takes hours and hours of study and reading and prayer to find exactly where God wants you to stand on an issue.

There are times, however, when a Truth is very plain.  We only have to read it…and believe it.

 

Psalm 34:17-19 "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."

 

No debate needed.

No deep study required.

Simply come with childlike faith, read His Word and believe it with all your heart.

And just in case you don't get it the first time, He tells you again:

 

Psalm 147:3 "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."

 

God's Word is ultimate Truth.

Simply read…and believe.

The Hands of a Caregiver

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

 

"If you are a caregiver, be encouraged that God does not forget your hard work.  Even though the person you take care of may not be able to express his or her appreciation, God won't forget." ~ Gigi Murfitt, Caregivers' Devotions to Go
 

 

Hebrews 6:10 – "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which
ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the
saints, and do minister."

 

"A mother's hands shape the heart and soul of those she loves." ~ Gigi Murfitt, Caregivers' Devotions to Go

 

The Secret to Staying Right with God

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

 

Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which
are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do
all the words of this law."
The Secret to Staying Right With God - quote by Steve Currington via Obtaining MercyJoshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt
make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

 

 

What a Treasure!

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope

Deuteronomy 7:6-8 "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that
are upon the face of the earth.
 The LORD did not set his
love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any
people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
 But because
the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had
sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt."

 

These words were written to the children of Israel; but do you think God loves us any less?

 

Galatians 3:28-29 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

 

As saved believers, we are the Lord God's special people.  He has chosen us.  He has set His love on us.  He redeemed us.

We are His treasure.

No matter what the world may tell us, we are precious to the Lord.

May our lives reflect this wonderful truth!