FOUR LETTER WORDS

"The truth is I need to remember that fear may be a big four letter word, but with is even bigger.

God says, "Fear not, for I am with you (Isa. 41:10 ESV)."







Crystal Stine, (in)courage editor
Craving Connection  p.69
Broadman&Holman  2017


I love the short pithy bits of wisdom that come back, at appropriate times, to either bite us or encourage us. I need both.

In The Arms of My Shepherd,
Lonnie

BUSYNESS NEXT TO GODLINESS

"In our book, busyness is next to godliness. We idolize Thomas Edison, who claimed he could live on fifteen-minute naps. Somehow we forget to mention Albrt Einstein, who averaged eleven hours of sleep a night."



Max Lucado
Traveling Light  p.179
Thomas Nelson   2001


After being sick for two weeks, I hate sleep more than I ever have. But, I'm going to trust that God will use that extra rest.

In The Arms of My Shepherd,
Lonnie

FEAR OF FAILURE

"The cure for the fear of failure isn't success. The cure for the fear of failure is failure in small enough doses that we build up an immunity to it."


Mark Batterson
Chase The Lion  p. 129 Nook

God, help me try one more time; and fail as many times as necessary.
Lonnie

GIVING

"My desire for financial security discourages me from giving. Each dollar I give away is no longer available for my protection. But my sense of freedom always increases when I give because giving is a declaration that my security rests someplace other than the bank. Giving is an act of confidence in God."
 (Emphasis mine)




John Ortberg
When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box  p. 84/ Nook
Zondervan  2007

God, help me Get It!

We quickly accuse the rich of loving money. Yet, when I compare up (don't miss this point), I've never been rich.

I've certainly loved money, though;
Usually someone else's.

Painfully Honest,
Lonnie

HAVING CHOICES EXTENDS LIVES

"In nursing homes, such trivial choices as getting to decide when to see a movie or how to arrange their rooms made senior's health and well-being improve and the death rate drop."



If you are up to Over Fifty Words, here's another:

(Concentration Camps) "The greatest difference between people who give up and people who remain resilient is a sense that they can still control something, according to psychologist Julius Segal."

John Ortberg
When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box   p.78
Zondervan 2007

I wonder, considering that truth, if I might be able to let others, more often, have their way."

In The Shepherd's Arms,
Lonnie

WILLPOWER?

" If true faith is about eating certain foods, abstaining from others, and avoiding certain practices, then willpower must be more important than the Spirit of God."


The Compass Bible/The Voice Version
P. 1401
Thomas Nelson  2012


Wow! I find that both comforting and convicting. How about you?

In The Arms of My Shepherd,
Lonnie

I typically change my signature each year: EverGrowing--Absolutely Dependent, etc. I'm months into the year, but a verse in Isaiah talks of being carried close to His heart. That's where I want to be.

GOD'S CHOICE

My husband, Ray, and John are pain partners. Both endure it and have for years. John's is big time accelerating. I feel helpless. I know John's wife must, too. 

"I" have gotten mad. Mad at pain. Mad at Ray. Mad at God. 

This morning, in prayer for John and his wife, I naturally turn to Good Friday and Easter. I remind myself that God had to watch His son writhe in pain.

"But God," I began to say, "You could do something. You had a choice."

I stopped myself. He did have a choice. It was Jesus or me. 

God endured the awful pain of His Son--for me.

Because He Lives, I Shall Live Also,

Lonnie

CHOOSING THE HIGH ROAD

" . . . when a fist is raised against us, we respond with blessing; when we face violence and persecution, we stay on mission; and when others choose taunts and slander against us, we speak words of encouragement and reconciliation."

1 Corinthians 4: 12b-13a  The Message


God, when I choose the high road let Christ, in me, be seen. For it is only in His strength that I can go against my self-centered nature.

Yours God,
Lonnie

FOR THE CURIOUS

Dad told of one of his and Mom's first apartments. Renters shared a bathroom. Dad felt pretty safe as he wandered down the hall in his underwear--that is, until he returned to the wrong room. Oops.

Fortunately, the neighbors slept soundly and were none the wiser.

Tattletale,
Lonnie

AHHH. THANKS HON

"I walk through the door at the end of the day: my slippers are laid out by the La-Z-Boy, my iced tea is ready, my paper is waiting for me, my dinner is on the stove. What does that mean? It means I have walked into the wrong house."

John Oŕtberg
When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box
Zondervan   2007


My husband would do this for me -- occasionally; except that I don't own slippers. My feet hate anything that resembles shoes.

Happily Married,
Lonnie

IMPOSSIBLE!

"I can no more 

Eradicate my own guilt

Than I can 

Sit on my own lap."



Ruth Harms Calkin
The One Year Book Of Bible Promises   p. April 3


I love wisdom with a smile,
Lonnie