One Nation Under God

 Proverbs 14:34 (The Message)

 

God-devotion makes a country strong; God- avoidance leaves people weak.

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.” 

“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

“Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.”

Ronald Reagan

 

If ever a Godly man was chosen to lead our great country, it was the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan. I long for the days the Reagan Administration was in office. It frightens me of what is to come of America and those living in her now. However, centuries before Reagan, another man, King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs, that we MUST stand UNITED and recommit ourselves to being a GOD-DEVOTED NATION in order to remain strong! Perhaps, history is repeating itself. One thing I’m certain of, is that America and her leaders need the prayers of the American people NOW more then ever! Please commit to praying DAILY for our leaders. I urge you to pray that the upright in heart will be established in positions of leadership in this land and the unrepentant wicked will be rooted out of it!

(Proverbs 2:21-22) (I Timothy 2:1-4)

“Man is never so tall as when he kneels before God – never so great as when he humbles himself before God. And the man who kneels to God can stand up to anything.”

***Mr. Sam Clausen, is credited for taking the picture of the Eagle in my WFW for today. This a young man with a God-given talent for seeing and depicting God’s creation in a way many of us only dream of! Please visit his Photography facebook page and commend him on his work.

The home of WFW is at Amy’s 160 Acre Woods

Join our WFW host today:

with Susan @ Forever His

For more of my Word-Filled Wednesday previous posts take a gander here!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Word-Filled Wednesday!

1 Lord, 1 Faith, 1 Baptism

(A day late a dollar short.)

Welcome to Word-Filled Wednesday on Thursday!

1 LORD + 1 FAITH = 1 BAPTISM

This is my youngest son.

A heartfelt joy, witnessing one you've been blessed with, come to know and accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior!

Take a look at more WFW here!

For more WFW please join CRITTY JOY, our host this week!

or

The 160 Acre Woods

Innocence Of A Child

LY

Innocent child and snow-white flower!
Well are ye paired in your opening hour.
Thus should the pure and the lovely meet,
Stainless with stainless, and sweet with sweet.

White as those leaves, just blown apart,
Are the folds of thy own young heart;
Guilty passion and cankering care
Never have left their traces there.

Artless one! though thou gazest now
O’er the white blossom with earnest brow,
Soon will it tire thy childish eye;
Fair as it is, thou wilt throw it by.

Throw it aside in thy weary hour,
 

Throw to the ground the fair white flower;
Yet, as thy tender years depart,
Keep that white and innocent heart.

William Cullen Bryant

For more WFW please visit our host for today, Lori @ All You Have To Give 

or The 160 Acre Woods

I have to brag a little! This is a picture is of one of my GREAT nephews. His mother, my niece, was told by her doctors that the chance of her having children were slim, to none. Then along comes this bundle of joy! A miracle from above, born May 1, 2009! Thank you Jesus for this precious baby boy. He has been a blessing to all those he has touched.

"Ant-Like"

²⁴ There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:

²⁵ Ants—they aren’t strong,
but they store up food all summer.

Proverbs 30:24-25 (NLT)

If I asked you to paint a picture of how an ant spends its day, what would we see? Is it sleeping? Perhaps, taking it easy and relaxing on a blade of grass? Maybe the tiny little creature is even kicked back with an Ice Tea in one leg and the daily newspaper in the other.

Whoooaa! That's not the picture I see. Ants ALWAYS seem to be busy. They always seem to be working. And even though they are tiny, they accomplish much! Though a small, weak, feeble creature, ants will travel over rocks and stones, climb trees, enter into towers, barns, cellars, places high and low, in search of food; never slowing down. And if that isn't enough, the ant not only helps itself, but helps others. No one ant carries it burdens alone!

Did you know?

1. Some worker ants are given the job of taking the rubbish from the nest and putting it outside in a special rubbish dump?  They are a neat and tidy insect.

2. Ants can lift 20x their own body weight!

3. Ants are known to be the smartest species of insects with about 250,000 brain cells!

4. Ants are fast runners! If a human had the legs equal to those of an ant, we would be able to run as fast as a racehorse!

5. When a worker ant finds a source of food, it leaves a trail of scent to attract other ants in the colony to it.

WOW! No wonder the Bible instructs us to learn from these little guys! 

God's message in Proverbs 6:6 is directed at just the opposite type, SLUGGARDS! A sluggard is a lazy person, who wants to do anything BUT work! The sluggard is described in Proverbs 12:27:  'A lazy life is an empty life, but "early to rise" gets the job done!' What's the old saying? "Early to bed, early to rise, will make a man healthy, wealthy and wise." (Benjamin Franklin)

Yet, have you ever needed to get something done, but just didn't want to? Are you one of those people who thinks, "Aw, there's always tomorrow." PROCRASTINATION? Think, "Nike"... God doesn't want us to just talk about it, but DO IT!

Lazy people START things, but they don't follow through and FINISH what they start. How many projects and activities do you start and not finish? Often we get enough energy to start something but we do not FOLLOW THROUGH and FINISH. (I must admit, I'm bad about this.) Does God FOLLOW THROUGH and FINISH what He starts?

⁶ 'And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.' Philippians 1:6

Thank you Jesus!!! Thank you for not tossing me to the side, only to forget about me. Thank you for staying WITH me through ALL things and helping me carry my burdens! Thank you for NEVER giving up on me! Please help me to work hard and to accomplish much for your glory and for the good of others.

Take note: Desires are fine, but we need to put some muscle and sweat and toil and effort into living to make those desires come true! Diligence and hard work are virtues and pleasing to God. God wants us to be "ant-like" as He works in the heart of the believer .

¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.'

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

What are some ways YOU can be more diligent?

More "ANT-LIKE?"

Check out pennyraine.com the hostess of today's WFW for more inspiring verses/pictures!

Wait For The Lord

WELCOME TO WFW!

The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word through photos & verse (no famous quotes or literature). If You’d like to join Word Filled Wednesday, simply click on WFW and follow the instructions.

The home of WFW is at Amy's 160 Acre Woods.

 

I'm an amateur at this, but there are many other participants of WFW that create AH-MAZING depictions of God's word! Please leave me a comment (I love feedback!) then visit the other WFW blogs while you're at it too!

I don't know about you, but "wait" is not a word in my vocabulary! Neither are; pause, rest, delay, stand by, or hold everything!!!!! Are you kidding me? I don't have the TIME or the PATIENCE for any of those things! Yet, the Lord instructs me to WAIT for him.

"Lord, come on. Give me a break! You know I'm not good at this stuff! Why not ask me to "go, go, go" or "move it, move it, move it!" That's what I know! That's what I'm use to! That is my life! Yet, instead, I've hit a ROAD BLOCK and all you can say is, "WAIT for me? UGH!" 

As I studied this verse closer, I found that "wait for" focuses on the sense of expectation one has. When one "waits on the Lord," a person is dependent upon that person or something that the person will do.

"Lord you want me to be dependent upon you? That would mean trusting in you.. completely... I do that already Lord, well.....for the most part. I believe in you too so there has to be more."

And indeed there is. When we "wait for" the Lord, we find ourselves looking to Him for some specific need. We are expecting him to help us out with that special need. We do not have CONTROL over the circumstances. We give him EVERYTHING!

"But...but, Lord? That would mean opening myself up and giving you complete control of my life. That scares me Lord! What if I don't like the outcome or what if I get hurt in the process or what if......." and then the words of the Lord fall upon me like a glistening star falling from the sky...

"I am the Lord your God. I always have your best interest at heart lil' one. Be strong and take heart and wait for me!"

Calmness and peace envelop me as I not only hear but feel the Lord's love for me! Now, I press on, as I "wait for" (isn't that an oxymoron?) God in any and all roadblocks of life! For I know that it is not only biblical, but a necessary part of the Christian life. It is an active display of faith in God during impossible situations!