Hope, Love, and Joy!

You will show me the path of life;
In your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11

How thankful I am for His Life; His Joy; His Love; His Hope; His Peace!
May your day be filled with all of these, and so much more, as you live in His Presence!

Now - May the God of all PEACE fill you with His JOY!
Blessings on yah!
Ruthie

Easter

A "doodlers" reflection on Easter.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,

that whosoever believeth in him,

shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Thank You, Father!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow"...

It is a beautiful sunny morning...
I am sitting at my computer with coffee in hand! Here is a "mug I "doodled" the other night! :)
My heart is filled with gratitude and love this morning ... for His salvation of me; for His love and for His work in me! Here are some recent additions to my "One Thousand Gifts" list... I hope you have started one of these for yourself!
140. A warm house.
141. the Abundance of my life
142. Peace
143. A puppy that makes me chuckle
144. Little Madison saying "I love you, Grammie".
145. My hard-working hubby
146. Sunshine after the snow
147. Miracles!

Have a blessed day!
Resting in HIM,
Ruthie

A Crown Of Glory

Did you know that there are a number of "crowns" mentioned in the Bible?
The other night I was "doodling" with no idea what the final product would be -
Here is the end result...

Immediately I entitled it "Crown Of Glory" because I could picture it filled with jewels and glitter - like any Prince or Princess' crown should be - right?

1 Peter 5:4
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

The greek word for 'crown' is stephanos -which means a "garland of victory" ... in the times of the Grecian games the winner was given a crown of victory woven from ivy, parsley, myrtle. Of course, over time, these crowns would fade and fall apart. Not so with the crowns that we are given as faithful servants of God! Peter tells us that this Crown of Glory will never fade away! However, dear ones, it is not ours to keep and become prideful over. We will one day lay our crowns before the throne and praise our Lord.

Does that excite you?
Oh, It excites me!
We will sing this to HIm -
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they have their being.
Revelation 4: 10-11

This Crown of Glory will be awarded to those who have been leaders in His Kingdom... preaching, teaching, "feeding" His sheep with His Word. This crown is so much more valuable than any wealth we might have here on earth! The result of the work will be souls in the Heavenly Kigdom! How awesome is that! :)

I hope this encourages you today! As a leader in your church ministry - whatever that might be - please know that you will be rewarded someday with a crown of glory!
For all believers - leaders and non-leaders alike - there is another crown for us when we persevere thru temptation ... "The Crown Of Life" ... see James 1:12

My prayer for each one today is that you will see every opportuniy - be it little or big - as a ministry to our Lord. You may not "feel" rewarded here on earth but God sees; He knows - and He will reward you! Whatever you do - do it as if you are working for HIM! Not for man.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men - Colossians 3:23

Blessings on you today, sweet friends!
"I KNOW whom I have believed!"
Ruthie

"STOP Worrying"

Luke 12: 22-34 and Matthew 6:25-34 record Jesus talking to his disciples regarding worrying. I hope you'll take some time today to read both of these portions of Scripture.

When I think of "worry" I am taken immediately to these Scriptures and the picture of a bird finding food and shelter... he or she doesn't worry about any of that - they know they'll be OK as long as the predators don't get them. If my feeder is empty then the gal up the road will have food for them! [Right, Em?]

Jesus says, "Yet God feeds them. You are worth more than the birds. Can you add an hour to your life by worrying?"
NO!
I cannot add any time to my life by worrying! All worry does is take away from the precious time I have been given today. Worrying says that I'm trusting in my own strength - not in God's!
Whoa!
Worry means I don't have enough faith to stand firm in HIM!
Whoa!

How are you doing in this area? Are you a worrier? Do you go over and over the "What Ifs" til you drive yourself crazy - or do you trust HIM to carry you and see you through?

I love this Scripture found in Matthew 6:34
"So don't ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Dear ones - focus on today with a Heart turned to Him and tuned in to Him! We're told He will carry our burdens for us - let HIM do that!
REST in Him... your Rock and your Strength.

I hope this "doodle" of mine will give you a visual of "not worrying"!

Blessings on you today as you learn to give ALL over to the ONE who knows you inside and out; the ONE who Loves you beyond anything you can imagine! The ONE who was with Daniel in the lion's den; The ONE who was in the furnace with the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego... and the One who is right there along side of you!!!!

In Him
Ruthie

New Years Resolution?

Did you notice the 'question mark' at the end of the title?
What about you? Are you going to make another New Years Resolution that you will not keep? or maybe "can't " keep?

The Lord has been placing something on my heart over these past weeks; on this eve of a new year I find myself pondering its impact on my life and on the lives of those around me!

Here's is a 'doodle' I did a few days ago entitled "Wandering"... the doodle has a beginning and an end - but sometimes our "wandering" appears to be going nowhere! Just meandering around with no end in sight... reminds me of the Israelites who took years to make a short journey. I don't want to live like the Israelites did, do you?
I have decided that for this new year - 2010 - I am going to choose a word to build my life on.

That word is - INTENTION -

There are so many "words" one could choose .... I thought of balance; peace; resolve; and so on... but INTENTION kept coming back to me over and over - so - for me - 2010 will be a year of "intention"!

Webster's defines "intention" as "the act of determining upon some action"..... I like that!

It means I must make choices - and I must act upon those choices! I like that, too!

Whoa!!!!!

My mind just swirls with the possibilities of action related to this! And, of course, at the center of it all is Abba Father! His WORD is full of "intention"... and action! To grow us deeper in our faith and to become more like Him!

Father God,

May I be a blessing to You.

Thank you for the many gifts you have given to me... family, friends, talents... Your salvation and forgiveness. I am a grateful woman today!

This "intention" must begin here -
Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perect will.

Blessings on you at the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010!!!
Here is another "doodle" - it amazes me how a doodle can be "intentional" - but it can!

Thanks so much for your continued support -
Leave a comment telling me what your "word' is for 2010 .... I'd love to hear from you!

In Him,
Ruthie

In The Snow Storm!

Here I sit - in the midst of a snow storm ... hubby is outside, trying to "catch" turkeys cuz slaughtering starts tomorrow! Then he has to do some plowing!
I sit inside - nice and warm and content.

I cannot see the snow coming down as it is today without thinking of my Savior - who washes our sins as white as snow!
Thank you, Lord .... for sending Your Son - as a babe - in a manger - with the whole intent of saving my soul!
Reader - for Saving your soul!
Praise You, Lord!

Here is the continuation of my One Thousand gifts - I'm excited to keep adding to them ... wonder how far I'll get before I meet Him face to face? I won't stop recording them - even once I reach one thousand. I hope you've started compiling your gifts in written form - what a leagcy to leave behind! Make that your New Year's resolution!

John 3:16

Blessings on you today!
Stay warm and cozy - and REST in the knowledge that you are loved and cherished!
Ruthie