He's Been Faithful To Me!

 

Today's song is He's Been Faithful to Me by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir - please listen to the words and remember all the times He's been faithful to you and Praise HIM!!!

This song always makes me cry. as I remember all the times God has been faithful to me.  I have many of them recorded in my prayer journal.  I write them down because when troubles come along, it's easy to forget all the things He's done over the seventy years of my life.

This is a good thing to do daily - make a list of all the things God has done for you.  A good start is:

He covered me in my mother's womb
He gave me LIFE!!
I can see
I can walk
I can talk
I can hear
I have strength
Food on the table
A roof over my head

You get the idea, right?

It's a good practice to list at least three things you're thankful for every day.  I have a little green notebook by my bed, and I make my list before I go to sleep.  It's good to count your blessings as you lie down, and when you wake during the night, too.  Those things are part of His faithfulness to us.  Everything comes by His loving hand.

I believe the next two weeks are critical to the future of America.  Evil forces are working to steal the election from President Trump.  We who believe in Adonai as the Almighty One Who Works Wonders and Miracles are doing battle with those evil forces through prayer, praise, and doing our duty as citizens of our beloved country.  

As a part of this battle, I'm going to posting updates about this battle along with prayers and praise songs.  The enemy of our souls hates praise.  He has to flee when we resist him with God's Word and words of praise to Adonai and Yeshua. 

Wisdom Wednesdays -He's Been Faithful To Me

In my last Wisdom Wednesday post, I wrote about Psalm 92:1-2:

  “It is a good thing to give thanks to the L-rd, 

and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

 to show forth (declare, tell, proclaim) 

thy lovingkindness in the morning, 

and thy faithfulness every night.”

Last week, I posted about ADONAI's lovingkindness .  Today, I'm meditating on His faithfulness.  I said there was much to tell.  Actually, it would take a book to tell it all -- now there's an idea!  

First, He's been faithful to me in allowing me to be born.  I learned, from my aunt a few years ago, that my mother tried to commit suicide while pregnant with me.  I'm thankful that we both lived.  I never discussed this with her because of her mental state at the time, but I know she must have been suffering greatly to take such a drastic step.  

He's been faithful to me in allowing me to have a G-dly grandmother and aunt who loved me a taught me, through words and by example, to love G-d and His Word.  They took me to church and showed me a different world, full of love and peace.

When I was six or seven years old, my aunt and her family moved to another state and I begged my mother to take me to church.  He was faithful to me in her agreement to go.  She didn't drive, so Daddy drove us.  He wouldn't go inside because he said the roof would fall in.  I'm so thankful to both of them because I loved church.  It was so peaceful there.

ADONAI was faithful to me for the times Mama and/or Daddy couldn't or wouldn't go.  There were kind people who would come by and pick me up and bring me home. I am grateful for their willingness.  When I was twelve or thirteen, Mama stopped going altogether. She said, "I can't live the Christian life and live with your daddy."  Faithful people went out of their way to drive me both ways. 

 

He's been faithful to me in being my friend and companion as I grew up with an alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother.  I suffered emotional, verbal and physical abuse.  I learned early to keep a low profile, be quiet and obedient, and stay in my room most of the time.  It was peaceful there, too.  At night, I'd pray before bed and count my blessings.  I learned that from a song that was popular in the 1950's called "Count Your Blessings".  I'd count a nice house to live in, nice clothes to wear, and books, especially books, because they were my escape from the chaos. 

He was faithful to me in so many other ways.  I believed my church's message about asking Jesus to come into my heart and save me from my sins, and was baptized at nine years old.  My childhood wasn't easy, and living as I did, it could have turned out very differently.  His faithfulness to me carried me through that rough patch, and I'm always thankful as I remember those years. 

Every time I hear this song, He's Been Faithful To Me by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, I cry, because it's my story.  I'll share more another day.  

I'd love to hear how He's been faithful to you, dear Gail-Friends.

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 I sometimes share my posts  with  friends at: 
Charlotte a Spiritual SundaysSpiritual Sundays     Janis with Sunday Stillness       THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY – #GIVE ME GRACE @SEE SPEAK HEAR MAMA Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life     GRAND Social       The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up   

Modest Mom Monday Link-up         Growing Homemakers Link-Up        The Gathering Spot Link-Up 

MOTIVATION MONDAYS – @EMBRACINGHISWILL      SHARING HIS BEAUTY – @THEBEAUTYINHISGRIP

Titus 2 Tuesday     Share Your Stuff Tuesday    TITUS TUESDAYS @CORNERSTONE CONFESSIONS     Wordless Wednesdays    Jennifer Dukes Lee Tell His Story  Teaching What Is Good Link-Up

Classical Homemaking Link-Up    Judith’s Wholehearted Wednesday     Raising Homemakers Wednesday     A Wise Woman Builds       Wake Up Wednesday     A Little R & R Wednesday     Wednesday's Prayer Girls & Link-Up Party Thought Provoking Thursdays at 3D Lessons 4Life     Thursday  Favorite Things 

 Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life 

Friendship Friday 

STILL SATURDAYS @SANDRAHESKAKING     PLAYDATES @LAURABOGGESS  
 My Fresh Brewed Life with Barbie – Weekend Brew

Wisdom Wednesdays - Morning and Evening

Continuing my series on WORDS:

 This week, I've been meditating on Psalm 92: 1-2, which I wrote about in my last Shabbat post.

  “It is a good thing to give thanks to the L-rd, 

and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

 to show forth (declare, tell, proclaim) 

thy lovingkindness in the morning, 

and thy faithfulness every night.”

I love that word, "lovingkindness", don't you?  It calls to mind tenderness and gentleness, and I see ADONAI that way.

My habit over many years has been to do morning devotions that involve reading the Scriptures, meditating on them, praying and journaling. I dearly love to sit on my back porch, weather permitting, and watch the birds, butterflies, and other creatures that stroll through.  I see mostly cats and squirrels, but we sometimes have an armadillo, possum or a raccoon.  I sit there and thank Him for everything I see, and start my day with JOY because I agree with  David's words in Psalm 26:3:

 “Your lovingkindness is before my eyes.”

These are just a few of the ways He shows His lovingkindness:

• by letting me wake up in the morning
• I can see, hear, walk, talk, think, and I have strength
• I have a roof over my head
• food to eat
• water to drink
• my Bible, in my hands, to guide and comfort me
• His precious Holy Spirit that speaks to my heart
• my wonderful husband
• my precious family 
• my friends
• our Ma'gen Da'vid Synagogue family 
• Most of all - His forgiveness and salvation through  the blood of Yeshua, our Messiah

I could go on and on because I am loaded down with the benefits of His lovingkindness.

Over the past year, I have been doing a meditation at night, in bed, that involves listing three things I'm grateful for.  Then I read the Scriptures, and meditate on that passage and my blessings as I go to sleep.  This has been a wonderful ritual that helps me sleep more soundly.  I recommend it to y'all, Gail-Friends.

These two meditation times are important, and a great blessing, but I realized something this week.  I usually do all of this in my mind.  This week, Ive resolved to do as the Psalm says, to speak my praise out loud.  Why? Because spoken words of praise are powerful. The verses says, "It is good".  The words bless me, and they bless those who hear them. 

Growing up, I often heard my grandmother and my Aunt Inez say, "Praise the L-rd!"  I loved hearing them say that, and I wanted to be like them -- to be a G-dly woman who praised the L-rd.   It's such a sweet and blessed memory, and I want to pass that same memory on to my loved ones by being that kind of woman. 

Each Sabbath, we have a praise time where members can thank the L-rd for the good things that have happened over the past week.  It's my favorite part of our worship together.  We're remembering ADONAI'S lovingkindness and His faithfulness to us.


I hope you'll join me in  my new discipline of speaking words of praise to ADONAI in the morning, in the evening, and every time there's a blessing in your life.

Next week, I hope to write on His faithfulness to me.  There is so much to tell!

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 I sometimes share my posts  with  friends at: 
Charlotte a Spiritual SundaysSpiritual Sundays     Janis with Sunday Stillness       THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY – #GIVE ME GRACE @SEE SPEAK HEAR MAMA Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life     GRAND Social       The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up   

Modest Mom Monday Link-up         Growing Homemakers Link-Up        The Gathering Spot Link-Up 

MOTIVATION MONDAYS – @EMBRACINGHISWILL      SHARING HIS BEAUTY – @THEBEAUTYINHISGRIP

Titus 2 Tuesday     Share Your Stuff Tuesday    TITUS TUESDAYS @CORNERSTONE CONFESSIONS     Wordless Wednesdays    Jennifer Dukes Lee Tell His Story  Teaching What Is Good Link-Up

Classical Homemaking Link-Up    Judith’s Wholehearted Wednesday     Raising Homemakers Wednesday     A Wise Woman Builds       Wake Up Wednesday     A Little R & R Wednesday     Wednesday's Prayer Girls & Link-Up Party Thought Provoking Thursdays at 3D Lessons 4Life     Thursday  Favorite Things 

 Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life 

Friendship Friday 

STILL SATURDAYS @SANDRAHESKAKING     PLAYDATES @LAURABOGGESS  
 My Fresh Brewed Life with Barbie – Weekend Brew

8 Gifts of Chanukah - Day 3

This post is a part of the series 8 Gifts of Chanukah.

Tonight, the third candle is lit on the menorah and we continue to remember the story of the Maccabees.

GIFT #3 OF CHANUKAH - FAITHFULNESS

After the armies of the enemy were defeated, the Jews returned to Jerusalem and reclaimed it in the name of ADONAI.  Their holy Temple lay in ruins, with burned walls and waist-high weeds.  The worst part was the idol that bore the face of Antiochus  They mourned, wept, ripped their clothes, and threw dust on their heads when they saw these sights.

That picture of passion for ADONAI'S house touches my heart.  Even though their task was difficult, these people showed their FAITHFULNESS to ADONAI'S Word and His Ways.

Even though their grief was heavy, they immediately set about cleansing and restoring the Temple.  The pagan alter and idol were removed. (1 Maccabees 4:44-46). They were FAITHFUL to ADONAI's instructions in the Torah about how things were to be done.  A new, holy alter was built and preparations were made to rededicate it to the L-rd.

They found one container of oil  in the Temple that was unpolluted.  This was evidenced by the priest's unbroken seal.  Unfortunately, the cruise  held only one day's supply of oil.  They poured the holy oil into the lamp stand, lit the flame, and went about their Temple business.  Imagine their amazement and JOY when the oil did not run out!  The holy oil lasted for eight days until a new supply of oil could be consecrated.   This is why we say about Chanukah, "A great miracle happened here." 

Each year as we read through the Torah, I am struck by the detailed instructions G-d left for us to follow, not only for His Temple, but also for our lives, which is where He lives now.  His laws had been recorded and studied and obeyed by men who were FAITHFUL.  These FAITHFUL ones believed G-d, and they obeyed no matter how time consuming and difficult those instructions were.

The actions  of the Jews who rebuilt and consecrated the Temple are an example to follow.   What ADONAI asks of believers today is minuscule compared to what was required of those who've gone before us.  The New Testament book of Hebrews talks about their FAITHFULNESS, and did you know that Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated Chanukah?  I'll be talking about that in future posts in this series.

I pray that I, my family, and all believers will remember to follow G-d's instructions (not a man's, a religion's, or a denomination's), and that He will commend us for FAITHFULNESS when we stand before Him.

You can learn more about Chanukah in this series from last year:  8 Days of Chanukah
This is how we combine Chanukah with a celebration of Yeshua's birth:  Christmas Unplugged

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I sometimes share my posts  with  friends at: 

Charlotte a Spiritual SundaysSpiritual Sundays     Janis with Sunday Stillness       THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY – #GIVE ME GRACE @SEE SPEAK HEAR MAMA Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life     GRAND Social       The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up   

Modest Mom Monday Link-up         Growing Homemakers Link-Up        The Gathering Spot Link-Up 

MOTIVATION MONDAYS – @EMBRACINGHISWILL      SHARING HIS BEAUTY – @THEBEAUTYINHISGRIP

Titus 2 Tuesday     Share Your Stuff Tuesday    TITUS TUESDAYS @CORNERSTONE CONFESSIONS     

Wordless Wednesdays    Jennifer Dukes Lee Tell His Story  Teaching What Is Good Link-Up      

 A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up    Judith’s Wholehearted Wednesday     Raising Homemakers Wednesday     A Wise Woman Builds       Wake Up Wednesday     A Little R & R Wednesday     Wednesday's Prayer Girls & Link-Up Party

 Thought Provoking Thursdays at 3D Lessons 4Life     Thursday  Favorite Things 

 Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life

Friendship Friday 

STILL SATURDAYS @SANDRAHESKAKING     PLAYDATES @LAURABOGGESS

 
 My Fresh Brewed Life with Barbie – Weekend Brew