I Will Offer Him a Sacrifice of Praise

 

"O Lord I am your servant...I will offer You a

Sacrifice of thanksgiving (Praise) and call on the

name of the Lord"  Psalms. 116:16-17

 

I read this scripture in my daily time with Papa God

one day this week and after reading it the words

"Sacrifice of Praise" just jumped right out at me.

I wondered aloud, "How is Praising God a Sacrifice?"

When I think of Praising Him I think of extolling His

Holy Name,  His Wonderful Glory and His Marvelous

Deeds...but how am I sacrificing anything to do that?

It comes natural because He is Our Amazing God!

Then The Holy Spirit spoke these words to my heart.

"When life is overwhelming, when circumstances are

difficult, and your world comes crashing down around

your head...it is very hard to Praise God. In fact it is

often the very last thing you wish to do at all. Even

breathing hurts...when your soul is downcast and 

your heart feels broken in two. Let's face it... Life Is

Tough but God is Faithful. So, when life presses in

on you, and your heart feels like a gaping hole that is

profusely bleeding...That is When Praising God is a

Sacrifice! It is hard to do, next to impossible in fact...

but Praise Him anyway! 

And especially when Life is Messy, Harsh, and Just Plain

Gut Wrenching...because prayers of Praise are the Gifts

that continues to give you peace, promise, hope

and courage.

 

God is working through the Hard Things of  Your Life!

Quit trying to make the hard things go away...Accept Them!

Now, Open Your Heart and Give Him Praise and Thanks!

 

Always the Student of His Word,

Peggy

I Will Always Stand For God and Truth

I was reading in the Message Bible 

the last few days and just happened 

to be reading in particular places that 

God was directing me.  He seemed 

to want to encourage my Standing Up 

for My Faith on Face book and other public

forums. Anyway this was Today's reading:  

Matthew 5:11-12

"You are blessed when your commitment to 

God provokes persecution. The persecution

 drives you even deeper into God's Kingdom.

 Not only that - count yourselves blessed 

every time people put you down or throw 

you out or speak lies about you to discredit 

me. What it means is that the truth is too close 

for comfort and they are uncomfortable. 

You can be glad when that happens- 

give a cheer, even! - for though they 

don't like it, I do! And all heaven 

applauds.  And know that you are in 

Good company. My prophets and 

witnesses have always gotten into this 

kind of trouble."
 

(Love that last line...made me laugh!)

I truly believe that we are going to be doing 

a lot more defending of our Faith and Our 

Papa God, His Word and His People from 

here on out.

Loving and Living Deeply In Jesus,

Peggy

"HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK..." PROVERBS 13:5 TLB

 

GOD IS HOPE..WITH OUT GOD..NO HOPE

PeggyAnn Smith Jan 2015

Soul Exhaustion = No Hope

No Hope = No Joy

No Joy = No Trust in God

No Trust in God = Trusting in Self or Others

Hope deferred = A sick Heart and Life

Seek God First = He wants to be your Provider

Soulution:

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God…and all these thing will    

  be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33

“Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your

  own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the

  desires of your heart.” Psalms 37: 4

 

How Do You Determine What Book You Will Purchase?

What is there about a Good Book that draws YOU to it?

For me... there are several criteria that pull me to a certain

book. Being a very visual person a Great Front Cover is

the first thing I look for. The Picture, the Color, and then

the Title.  I must say that over the years I very well may

have over looked some great Reads because the front

cover was just plainly too "blah" for me.

Second thing I look at is the back cover.  I want to

know what the Publisher and other Authors have to

say about this book.  This is a Mini-Review of the

Book in your hand. Also, the price of the book is

often found on the back page...however price is not

always a huge factor...in my purchase decision.

Thirdly...I open the Jacket Cover and

read a more in-depth explanation of what

the story is truly about. You can pick up

the Story Line here and the main characters.

And lastly...I open the insides of the book and thumb

through the pages. Is the type easy to read? What kind

of paper is it printed on?  If there is Photography like

this Gratitude Book has...are they Quality Photos?

Do they pull me into the page? And do the quotes 

go well with the Photography?

These are all things that are important to me as  someone

passionate about reading and books.  Even when I am choosing

a book for one of my Grandchildren...I want to make sure it

has fabulous illustrations that go well with the story. In 

Children's Books Great Illustrations are a Must for small minds

who zero in visually first and foremost. The book has to make them

excited to have Grandmama or mommy and daddy snuggle up and

read to them.

With all of those factors considered in mere minutes at a Book 

Store or On-Line ... then I am ready to decide which book or books

I will purchase that day. 

Today, this book on Gratitude put out by National Geographic, drew

me in on ALL levels. The Cover was visually appealing, the Title

was intriguing and inspiring to me and the daily format of a gorgeous 

photo and a quote by a variety of well known individuals, made it 

just the type of book that called to my soul and my passions for

small spurts of inspiration and visual stimulation.  A Good Book

should whisper your name and make you want to take it home

immediately if not sooner!

Good Books Should Transport You To

Wonderful Places In Time!!!

REST, RENEW, RESTORE...doesn't that sound Heavenly?

Today I was doing a Bible Study on  "RESTING" and it was rather lengthy but I just
wanted to share a thought or two with you...because I know we ALL fall into that pit
called "Overwhelmed" at  times in any given season of our life.

One of the Scriptures that really stuck out to me was Mark 6:31 where Jesus is talking
to his disciples while in the midst of a crowd of "needy" people. They had done all
that they could do but still people kept coming and pressing in on them...and Jesus
said to his disciples, "Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place and get some rest."

The first thing that stuck out at me was that Jesus didn't say, "Hurry, get away by
yourselves while you can..." No,  He said, "Come with ME...".  We can only find
true rest, refreshment, revival, renewal and restoration in Jesus Christ .
We don't find it alone in a coffee shop, at the Beach, in a Book, at a Movie, or on
Vacation...unless Jesus is with us.  Have you ever had one of those crazy Vacations
where you come back and need a Vacation from your Vacation? You are not rested
or relaxed or ready to dive back into the 24/7 Grind because you are exhausted.

The second thing that popped out at me was was "Come with me by yourselves."
That means don't bring anybody with you. Jesus is ALL YOU'LL NEED!

The third thing was they were going  "to a quiet place."  You cannot find rest if
you are in a car traveling 8 hours a day for 3 days to get to your destination...that
is also probably going to be packed full of 24 hrs worth of  Disney Thrills, crowds
of people, heat, hunger, tiredness and pushing and shoving and long lines of people
at every Adventure Ride.  (Sorry Disneyland!) but hey people I think you get the
picture.  Rest and Relaxation is not found in the hustle and bustle of most tourist
attractions.

So going away, by ourselves, with Jesus, to a quiet place is sounding better and better
isn't it?  (+:
And it isn't something we do once a year for two weeks each Summer...no, we can
get this refreshing  and renewal in small doses of time.  In Greek the word, 'Oligos'
means " a while" or "little, small, few."  So, this is a form of rest that we can get
or take in plentiful small doses when ever we need it.  In other words just a bit of time
with Jesus is all you need to walk away refreshed, restored, and re-newed.  And you
will find that it will feel amazing because it is an all over feeling of  Body, Soul and 
Spirit Restoration. And then ALL those things and people that were pressing in on 
you with their 'neediness'  will no longer seem so daunting and overwhelming to 
you. Because In Christ Jesus you will be able to meet those challenges head on...
energized and with new perspective. 

Remember that Old Hymn... "Just a Little Walk With Jesus Makes it Right"?  
I do believe whom-ever penned those words had learned the value of finding
rest in Christ Jesus.

I hope this little  lesson in RESTING in The Lord, leads YOU to more Mini-Vacations 
and less Tourist Traps...along life's way.

Love and Live Deeply In Him,
Peggy