Friday Writing by Karen Bennett......6/23/17

Good morning,

Here is good advice from Karen Bennett about how to start  your day. She proposed this in her writing today entitled. "Another Day - Rejoice." Every day God has a mission of some sort to perform for Him, and she asks her readers to accept His job. Karen wrote, "May we respond to His will as He entrusts this time to us to use  wisely and with joy in our hearts. There's so much to be thankful for and so many opportunities to do things for others. Don't allow yourself to be robbed of your joy."

Let's do good works for others in order be obedient to God wishes as He uses you!

Love and God bless

Karen and Corinne

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Today's Devotional 

 "Another Day - Rejoice"

 

 Another day begins, another gift from the Lord. 

"This is the day the Lord has made. 

Let us rejoice and be glad in it." 

Psalm 118:24

    Do we greet each day this way or do we wake and immediately concern ourselves with all that needs to be done that day? Do we thank God for that new day or do we groan and moan at what lies ahead and want to roll over and put our pillow over our head?

    Each day is a gift, a precious gift, and obviously a gift with a purpose. I confess I am guilty of the groan and moan.

      

    God has a purpose for us each day of our lives. It might be something as simple as saying, "God bless you" to someone. There may be more entailed, like sharing an experience from your life that can hold great meaning for a person. It may be to give some time to an organization that helps those in need or maybe to just be there for a friend having a very trying experience. Maybe it's to pray with and/or for someone in dire need of encouragement. Whatever the case my be, God has chosen us as His instruments for them, even though there may be times we don't even know it.

    In thinking on these possibilities as well as myriad others, we can see how our loving Lord uses us to further His Kingdom and care for His own. We can see how important each act may be, no matter how menial it may seem.

    I'm not successful each day. I have groan and moan days, but I've made it an aim to thank Him every morning when I awaken. Since I enjoy writing poetry, things come to me at times in rhyming fashion. One morning some time ago, I wanted to thank God for yet another day, and these words just spilled out before I got up. "Lord, thank You for another day. May I live it to please You in every way. This in Your precious name I pray. Amen." It's become my morning anthem.

   Another thing we must remind ourselves of is to focus on the day at hand, not to push ourselves into tomorrow or beyond, with all the possibilities of what can go wrong. I have difficulty with this as well, but I try not to let my joy of the day at hand disappear. The evil one would love that. Concentrate on today as it goes along. It doesn't mean making plans can't be part of it, but we keep our hearts and minds into today even as we plan.

As it says in Scripture...

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about itself. 

Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:34

   God is with us to help us through each day. May we respond to His will as He entrusts this time to us to use  wisely and with joy in our hearts. There's so much to be thankful for and so many opportunities to do things for others. Don't allow yourself to be robbed of your joy.

Dear Lord, 

Help us to realize the possibilities You place on our paths to help others, to show them Your love, and to tell them about You. Let us greet Your gift of each day with happiness in our hearts for Your presence and the opportunities it can provide. Thank You for letting us be Your instruments and may we follow Your direction each day as You place things upon our hearts. Your will be done and to Your great glory. In Jesus' name. 

Amen.

Written by

Karen Bennett

Chris Tomlin sings 

"Rejoice"

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Here is an uplifting graphic

for you to think about.

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Prayers are lifted up daily for you 

by the Staff Writers of 

Women's Focus Ministry

  Jan Andersen,  Cathy Friberg,  Sandy Billingham, Beverley Napier, Shelly Keith, 

Brother Thomas Ukwute, Jody Ward,  Karen Bennett, 

Carol Steficek, Amie Spruiell, and  Corinne Mustafa

Occasional Contributors
Kathy Bireley,  Lynda Kinnard, Mary M. Wilkins,

Terri Baker, Beverley Napier, Kelly Dobyns

Glenna Williamson, Lisabeth  Lipp, Nandita Bhatnagar.