Quiet Moments: WITH GLADNESS!

Friday, January 17, 2020

WITH GLADNESS!

WITH GLADNESS!

I'm not naturally inclined to be an outgoing, happy go lucky kind of person. No - you might rather describe me as an Eeyore walking around with a cloud over my head!

But God has been teaching me something. I woke up this morning and Psalm 100 popped into my heart, and since I had it memorized I quoted it in my mind...

"Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations."

It struck me that this scripture tells us to, "Serve the Lord with GLADNESS." It went in line with the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 which spoke to my heart recently to, "Be joyful always." Both of these passages also speak about being thankful to the Lord. I am curious about these verses as they tell me to do something to which I am not naturally inclined - to CHOOSE joy and gladness! However, after pondering it a little further I understood why. In the following verses it gives these reasons:

KNOW that the Lord, He is GOD.
It is HE who has made us, and NOT WE ourselves.
We are HIS people and the sheep of HIS pasture.
The Lord is GOOD.
His mercy is everlasting.
His truth endures to all generations.

These reasons go hand in hand with the instructions to :

Be joyful
Serve
Be glad
Sing
Be thankful
Praise
Bless

Basically, the Lord is telling me to KNOW Him. To know Him is to LOVE HIM! I need to bring back to mind each and every day when I wake up WHO God is and all He has done......

He is GOOD!
HE made me, not me myself!
I am HIS, one of His sheep!
His mercy lasts forever!
His truth will last forever!

It's like having our own children; Bob and I made our children and that is the very simple reason why we love them; because they are ours and that will never and cannot ever change! They did not make themselves, or of their own will come into this world. They are here because of Bob's and my union, our oneness, our love.

And so also each of us who have been born again were conceived in love, in the heart of God. We cannot experience this new life from God by our own will, we have been birthed by God's Spirit. And our Heavenly Father loves his children so much. Nothing can change His love or stop Him from being there for us every moment of every day. It is His delight to give us all that we need. Even in seasons of darkness, when the light isn't shining as brightly, we can know that His promises are true and remind ourselves that He will never fail or forsake us. He is always and forever there for us and nothing can ever stop him from loving us, EVER!

And so, I encourage you with these words today: "Be joyful, serve the Lord with gladness, sing, be thankful praise, bless His name...for THE LORD IS GOOD!"

Oh yes! He is sooo good!

God bless you,

Eleanor

1 comment:

RJV said...: Amazing insight. I love how you've taken scripture and brought out what was hidden in plain view so beautifully.This is sure to be a blessing to many.It certainly was to me. Thank you. Your #1 fan.; January 17, 2020 at 10:14 AM

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Waste Not, Want Not!

One of my favourite things to do is to make a big pot of homemade soup. It's a tradition from my Dutch heritage. My parents and grandparents always took the time and put their love into their pots of homemade soup. Plus, I get to use some of the leftover foods that might otherwise be tossed into the garbage or compost bin. I begin with the leftover carcass or bones of a roasted turkey, chicken or ham, put it in a pot, cover it with water, add some celery hearts that I stored in the freezer, onions that are getting old, garlic and some savory spices. I bring it to a boil, then turn it down and simmer it all with the lid on for at least 2-4 hours. Then I strain out all of the vegetables and bones/meat, cool down the broth, then make soup out of it the next day....yummmy! :! Pictured here is the turkey soup I made recently. What's better that a bowl of hot soup on a cold winter day?!

Today's Tip

Lemons and Dawn

Try squeezing a lemon by using a strainer. Squeeze the lemon in smaller pieces over a glass measuring cup... it's easier on your hands and the pits won't get in the juice! :) If you've also used a garlic press for your recipe and want to get rid of any lingering garlic odour - throw the leftover lemon rind into a dish with hot water, and soak your garlic press in it for a little while. Last, but not least - you want to get rid of the onion and garlic odour from your cutting board! When you're done soaking the garlic press in the lemon water, rub the cutting board with the lemon rinds, then scrub vigorously with some hot water and Dawn Dish Soap, rinse and whala, you're done! :)