Count Your Blessings

Since this is that time of year, let's count our blessings. Even when things look bleak, we do have daily blessings. The Bible tells us in Psalm 68:19, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."

Look at that verse again, o daughter of the king: our Lord, the God of our salvation daily LOADS us with benefits. Not just one...but loads ~ every day!!! Wow! What are some of them in my life?

~ my salvation...the God of gods, the Lord of Glory saved ME!!!!
~ my husband...what a wonderful man the Lord gave me. I consider myself blessed many times over to be married to a man who loves the Lord with all his heart.
~ my son...still growing and learning, but I thank the Lord for my boy (actually young man, now!).
~ my church...thank God that He has seen fit to place us in a church where the Word of God is taught, preached and practiced!
~ my friends...I am so thankful for Christian friends who I know pray for me.
~ my ministry...I am thankful for the opportunity that we have as a family to minister in a nursing home every week. What a blessing those folks are. And then on Sundays I get to work with third graders in Sunday School. Love those kids!
~ my health...I have some health issues that can cause problems, but praise the Lord for the health He has given me!
~ my breath...one of those daily benefits ~ God gives me breath.
~ my warm house...it's not the biggest or fanciest, but it's home; it's a roof over our heads in the winter weather; it keeps out the rain; and my family is there with me.

And on and on the list could go. I praise and thank God for His blessings. What about you? Care to share?

"I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high."

Links didn't work...

The seven links I posted didn't work...here goes a correction.

Neubauers http://www.jamesneubauer.blogspot.com/

Julie http://juliesjewels062694.blogspot.com/

Jennifer http://7moorespaces.spaces.live.com/

Suzi http://mom4boyz.blogspot.com/

Rachel http://joyfuldevotion.blogspot.com/

Jerry http://faithfulmenofgod.blogspot.com/

The Senz Family http://whythesnowbelt.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the inconvenience, and hope this works (I am not too swift on this type of thing!!)

I've Been Tagged...

I've been tagged by Kim at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momofneb

The Rules are simple:

~ Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog

~ Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself

~ Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs

~ Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a message on their blog

So now...

1. In the last 2 years, I have had two cats...and both of them have disappeared!

2. I work in a musuem that is run by a library.

3. My favorite color is green.

4. My favorite flower is rose.

5. I love to cook and have guests over.

6. I don't enjoy baking!

7. We moved so much that I went to a different high school every year.

Now it's my turn to link to 7 blogs. If you don't want to do this, feel free to pass it up.

The Neubauers at God is so good

Julie at Julies Jewels

Suzi at 4 sweet boys...40 loads of laundry

Jennifer at The Moore the Merrier

The Senz Family at what do you mean, plant a church in the snowbelt?

Rachel at Joyful Devotion

Jerry at faithful men of God

My son joined the Indiana National Guard in August of this year, just a few days before he turned 20. He won't be going to Basic until 2008, but is training at the monthly drills. He felt strongly that God would have him do this. I'm proud of my soldier boy.

Holy Club Questions

This was posted on a forum recently. I think these are some good questions to help take inventory of our spiritual lives.


John Wesley's Holy ClubQuestionsThese are 22 questions the members of John Wesley's Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions over 200 years ago.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I relly am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?

Let's take inventory of our spiritual lives...

Are we wise or are we foolish?

Proverbs 14:1 states: Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

As I read that this morning, the question hit me - am I building my house or am I plucking it down? That led me to wonder how we, as women, as daughters of the King, can build or destroy our houses. Let's look at just a few ways...

~ Attitude ~ What is our attitude toward people and circumstances in our lives?

Do we grumble and complain? It is so easy for women to do that, isn't it? But should we be murmurers? Let's look at 1 Cor. 1-10. I will just pull out a few phrases here; it would be good to read the entire thing on your own. "Moreover, brethren, [I think this includes the sisters, here, too! =D] I would not that ye should be ignorant...now these things were our examples...neither murmur ye... God doesn't want us to murmur anymore than He wanted the Children of Israel in the wilderness to murmur. Remember that murmuring is the same as complaining. When we gripe and complain, we are tearing down our house...our spouses suffer, our children suffer. What do we gain out of complaints? Our family wants to avoid us, friends don't want to spend time with us, and no lost person is going to believe a grump who tries to tell them about the joy of salvation!! Net gain: Zero!

~ Action ~ Do our actions glorify God?

Are our actions in line with scripture? The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. All of our actions are to be done to the Lord. Hmmmm....that means when we dust. When we do dishes. When we iron. When we do laundry. When we vacuum. When we change those diapers or wipe those runny noses. When we cook that huge meal. When we do dishes again. When we dust again. When we iron again. When we wash those same clothes AGAIN!!! Yes, sometimes a wife and mother's job can be tedious, repetitive, BORING....But if we are doing it heartily, as to the Lord, our daily tasks will lose that tediousness, that boredom. As you wash dishes today, remind yourself that you are building a home...you are building lives, and helping to build the future homes of your little ones (if your little ones are gone, maybe you have grand little ones...), you are building your house for your spouse, no matter how long you have been married. Is your house being built or is it being plucked down?

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

Daughters of the King, let's be wise women and build our houses...

September 11 Salute

Thank you to all of those who have given their lives or are now putting their lives on the line for our country. God bless America, land that I love.

What if your church wasn't there?

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Psalm 122:1

Last Sunday the question was asked "What if our church weren't here?" There was a direction the speaker was heading, but the Holy Spirit has continually brought that up to me this week. What if my church weren't here? Look around your church and ask yourself that. What would be the impact if your church didn't exist, and had never existed?

How many souls that have been saved through the outreach of your church would be lost and headed for Hell, or maybe there already, instead of on their way to Heaven, or in Heaven already?

Depending on how long your church has been there, how many children that were saved and grew into adults serving the Lord wouldn't be saved and/or serving Him right now? There is a man in our church who has been here just about since the beginning of the church (37 years ago!). He has teenage grandchildren now, who are being trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord by their parents, his children. Would they be if our church had never been started?

How many homes that have been helped would be broken if not for the ministry of your church?

What would the impact on your community be? Yes, most likely the community by and large doesn't like your church, but the people in your church have made an impact for the Lord that wouldn't be there if your church wasn't.

When I was younger, we lived in Washington state. My mom and my stepdad married when I was nine. When I was 10, a bus captain came and visited our neighborhood. I promised I would go to church the next Sunday. Well, I forgot and spent the night with a friend, and missed the bus. But that captain didn't give up. He came back the next week, and I rode the bus. I got my brother to go another week. Then one day, the pastor came to visit. He talked with my dad, and showed him how he could have assurance of his salvation. Next thing you know, the whole family was going to church (IFB, by the way). My parents had been having some marital problems and mom had prayed and asked God to do something. That was the week the bus captain showed up. My parents will celebrate 38 years of marriage this year. But what if Open Door Babtist Church of Lynwood, WA wouldn't have been there? My older brother (while we were still attending Open Door) later led my younger brother to the Lord, because of what was taught at Open Door. He and I had already been saved through a Bible camp we had gone to. But where would my younger brother be? Would my older brother have talked with him about his soul, if Open Door hadn't been there. Don't know ~ but I am so thankful Pastor Blue obeyed God and started Open Door Baptist Church.

If the church where my husband and I had met hadn't been there, when I visited my mother on Mother's Day in 1986, we would have gone elsewhere for church, and I wouldn't be married to the best man in the world!!! =D We wouldn't have our son.

After my husband and I had been married almost 3 years, God called him to Bible college. Hubby felt God was leading him to Fairhaven Baptist College in Chesterton, Indiana. In 1989, we moved, with our almost 2 year old son, to Chesterton and my husband began college. We are still here, eighteen years later. God has worked in our lives through the ministry of the church here, and I am so thankful. But what if the church wasn't here? Scary thought! We have needed the preaching and teaching God has given us through our church, to raise our son and to have a good marriage, and to be the Christians God would have us be. Has everything been perfect? Oh, no ~ but would we still be married if it weren't for our church? Hopefully yes, but there are so many marriages that took place the same year as ours did that have ended in divorce. Praise God for a church where our pastor, Dr. Roger Voegtlin, preaches what the Bible says about the home!

How can we show our thankfulness for our church?

~ Do you pray for your pastor and any staff your church has? How about your fellow members? We need to lift each other up in prayer. Remember what Samuel said: "God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you." 1 Samuel 12:23

~ Do you give:
~ of yourself, your time to help in ways needed in your church?
~ of your money? how will the work continue and grow if money doesn't come in? Can we say: "Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house." 1 Chronicles 29:3

~ Do you attend faithfully? "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25
~ Jesus set the example for us: "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16 This is something He did regularly...do we?

~ Is your testimony before the world right: would they want to come to your church if the way you conducted yourself was the only criteria they had by which to judge your church and your God? "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Maybe we should take extra time to thank God for our church, maybe send a note to our pastor thanking him for being a surrended servant and ministering to us.

What if your church wasn't there?

Why the name?

I chose the name, The King's Daughter, because Psalm 45:13 has long been a favorite verse of mine. One day as I was reading it, it hit me ~ I am the King's daughter!!! Through faith in Jesus Christ, I have become a daughter of the King ~ a princess who is joint heir with the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15-17 says, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.").

How did this happen?

I was once an outcast ~ a slave to sin, headed for an eternity in the Lake of Fire. There was definitely nothing glorious within me! But one day I learned that there was a King who wanted to adopt me.

This adoption process didn't have to wend it's way through the court system. No ~ it was much quicker than that! And, unlike earthly adoptions, no-one can ever take me away from my Father the King, either!

How did I become a daughter of the King? How can you become a daughter of the King and be glorious within?

Each one of us has to realize that we are a sinner.
~ Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
None of us can measure up to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of glory.

Sin entered the world through Adam.
~ Genesis 3 tells us how sin entered the world, through Adam's disobedience.
See http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=3&version=9
~ Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

The judgment of death is the result of sin.
~ Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death..."
~ Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

But God didn't just end things in death!
~ Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God showed His love for us by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. Wow ~ what love!
~ Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Imagine ~ God loved us so much, that, even though we have earned death because of our sins, He is offering us the gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.
~ Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
God has offered us the gift of eternal life...there is nothing we can do to obtain it. It is freely given by God.
~ Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
Our sins are a blot on our souls, sending us to an eternity in the Lake of Fire. But God wants to reason with us. Our sins can be cleansed ~ white as snow and wool!
~ John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
Who is the him? Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You may believe He exists...but have you received Him as your Lord and Saviour?

Once I repented of my sins and turned to Christ to have those sins forgiven, I became the King's daughter, glorious within, sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb. How about you? Are you a child of the King? You can be.

Many little girls dream about being a princess when they grow up. As Christian ladies, we don't have to dream. We are princesses, because we are the King's daughters!

And so it begins...

I have read and enjoyed other blogs, and have contemplated creating my own. Well, contemplation is over and reality has set in. My blog has been created. Now we shall see if anything interesting flows from my keys...