If I have a couple soap boxes, one of them is on journaling. I think it’s so crucial to write down what God is doing in your life. Over and over in Scripture we read about God telling the children of Israel to write for a memorial. Stones were to serve as a memorial to their children about what God had done for them. Why a memorial? Because God knew they would forget.

Without a journal, you and I will forget how God answered prayer. We will forget how He was at work in our lives. We will forget how desperate we were in a time of trial and how He moved in and worked in a mighty way. Oh, we think we’d never forget, but we will without the aid of some kind of memorial.

I am not suggesting you add some labor intensive writing to your busy day. Let me give you a few suggestions that will be simple ways to keep track of blessings and God’s work in your life.

• Get a simple notebook (or use your current prayer journal) and make a page for each day of the week.
• Each day write the date, then using phrases, bullet things you can praise God for – blessings He’s given.

Also add answers to prayer.

• Write short blessings from the Scriptures that you read in your quiet time that day.

I’m not suggesting you keep a diary – but a memorial of what God is doing. I have my journal as a part of my prayer journal. Because it’s a three ring binder, I just keep adding pages to it. I have to tell you, it is such a blessing to me to look back on how God has been at work in my life. It increases my faith to pray about some hard thing in my life when I read about how the Lord answered prayer in some other “impossible” situation! It makes my heart overflow in praise when I read about His provision for the a need we’d been praying about for a long time. This book is a treasure to me! I know I would have forgotten most of what I’ve written and am so thankful to have page after page reminding me of how faithful my God is.

If you’re not journaling yet, can I encourage you to start out in a small way? Just do a little each day. It will encourage your heart. Have you been journaling? What do you see as a benefit in keeping this kind of memorial?

Remembering with thanks,

This has been an extremely busy week with revival, but it’s been a great one! Last night’s message was about the authority of the Word of God. Brother Jerry reminded us of the need to memorize Scripture.

His message reminded me of a comment one of my readers left me one day when I spoke about this. She said, “I read a story not so long ago about a North Korean pastor who risks his life to share the gospel. Here is an excerpt: Pastor Bae has introduced the gospel to many North Koreans to Christ, he has a simple but effective way to smuggle the Bible into the country—by memorization. North Koreans copy the Bible repeatedly in order to memorize. This way they can smuggle the Bible back into the country in the safest place of all, their heart. If a Bible is found in their home they risk imprisonment or even death. Thank God for these people, and his Word that lives forever.”

Is that not powerful? So, how are you doing? Could you smuggle a portion of Scripture somewhere because it’s in your heart? May the Lord help us to love His Word enough and realize the power it holds so that we will take a disciplined approach to memorizing and reviewing it!

What are you working on memorizing? I’m plugging along in the book of Philippians. To God be the glory. For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phil 2:13

Thanking God for the power of the Word,

After I graduated from high school I took a dress making course at a Singer store. I learned to really enjoy sewing, and made many garments for myself during my days of being a poor school teacher! It was great fun. Then when the Lord gave me daughters I also had the delight of making little outfits for them. But in all the sewing I’ve done over the years I had not learned to quilt…until this past week.

I told my parents I wanted them to teach me, so I went to their home with a small stash of material to begin a Nine Patch Quilt. The first thing I was taught was how to cut with a rotary cutter. My dad, the engineer, has it down to an art. He demonstrated…

then gave instructions, and lastly handed the cutter to me. He stayed there giving little tips of things he knew would be helpful. After all, if you start out with lopsided squares, what will the quilt look like? Yep, a lopsided mistake!

With the material I had, and some my mom shared with me we were able to cut just over 900 squares to get me started. I love the way the pieces look stacked together. This is just part of them…

Then began the process of sewing rows of 3, handing them to my “iron er” (dad), then sewing the three rows together to make a block.

Before I left yesterday I had made 22 blocks. Now I only have 302 more to go! I’m not letting it overwhelm me. I figure if I make 32 blocks a week I’ll have it ready to quilt by mid September.
I laid out my blocks on a table and took this shot. Remember, the quilt isn’t sewn together…

A few thoughts while I was sewing…

• Every quilt that’s made is unique with it’s fabric, colors and design. As a Christian, I am different than every other person the Lord has saved, and that is on purpose.
• There are no perfect quilts, but each one is still cozy and warm on a winter night. I’m full of “mismatched corners”, if you will; many imperfections, but God can still use me.
• My dad gave me instructions to help me, not to hurt me. God gives us instructions in His Word, not to be mean, but to help us.
• My parents were right there to teach, watch and help. The Lord promises never to leave me or forsake me! He’s given the Holy Spirit to be my Teacher.
• A quilt takes time, but it’s worth it to get the end result. Growing in my Christian life is one step at a time and it’s more than worth it.
• Everyone wants a quilt, but not many are willing to put the work into making one. Lots of Christians want to be strong believers, but aren’t willing to discipline themselves to accomplish growth.
• There’s no shortcut to making a beautiful quilt. There’s only one way to be what God wants me to be – obedience.
• If I miss a day sewing some blocks together, I’ll get behind in my goal. If I lapse in my study of God’s Word and prayer, the goal of Christ likeness will be pushed farther and farther away.

I’m thankful for the lesson in quilting, and I’m also thankful for the lessons my Heavenly Father is teaching me.

How’s your spiritual quilt coming?

With love,

Without opening up the notebook you take with you when you go to church, can you remember what your pastor’s sermon was on last Sunday? How has the Truth from the Word of God impacted your life so far this week?

In Luke 4, we find that Jesus had come “home” to Nazareth where He’d been brought up and went to the synagogue to preach. The people listened and then were amazed as they listened to His words. Then verse 22 reads, “And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?” They were impressed with the “grace-filled” words which He spoke, yet many of them weren’t letting the Word change them into a follower of Christ. They didn’t heed the Word that was spoken. We read just seven verses later that they thrust him out of the city and cast him down the hill headlong! What happened to their initial response to His preaching? They heard words, but they didn’t allow it to change them!

If we were to translate this to last Sunday at your church, we would see your pastor standing at the church door greeting the congregation after his sermon. As the people passed by they would be saying, “That was a good sermon, Preacher!” “Good talk, Pastor!” Then, heading home to dinner and into the rest of their week, they would totally forget what they had just heard, and the changes they need to make. Continue reading “Gracious Words” →