Oh happy day Y'all!!!! I sure hope and pray that y'all are doing good this fine day!!! We had a good storm roll thru my neck of the woods last evening and it looks a little rainy this morning. We have had some rainy times this summer. I was at the back door yesterday evening when the storm started rolling in. The wind was blowing pretty hard and it was blowing leaves from the trees at the back of our property and it was so beautiful!!!! It looked like it was snowing leaves. It was just so beautiful!!!! I just stood there watching the leaves float to the ground effortlessly, just enjoying the view until the Lord told me it was time to shut the door with a huge bolt of lightening and the loud crash of thunder. Some things I don't have to be told twice. hahaha Then the rain came and rained hard for quite a long time. It perked up my little deck garden. I have 5 pots of tomatoes, 2 pots of peppers, a hot pepper and a sweet pepper and a pot of onions. Haven't gotten any onions because the birds feast on them daily. I really don't like feeding the birds with my little garden! They ate a lot of my tomatoes, but they seemed to have stopped that, for now anyway. I'm really not much of a gardener. I would love to be, but the outdoors don't like me much, but I have figured out how I can have a few fresh tomatoes and cayenne peppers. Hopefully, I can branch out and have more next year. I just love having fresh tomatoes grown with my own 2 little hands!!!! I will save my pots and soil from this year for next year and add to the soil and maybe even add some more pots. What would really help would be to have some partial shade for my little garden, but if I get an umbrella for the deck, it just becomes a haven for wasps and I sure don't like those!!!! I would like to get one of little 10 foot x 10 foot canopies that you see people sitting up at farmers markets and the like. I could set one of those on my deck and tie it down, but I have 2 different levels of entrance to the house from my deck. One entrance is level with the deck and main back door entrance is one step up and think that step would make it too low for us enter the utility room. Something else I just thought of right now is that it would block 2 of our security cameras and I don't want to do that. Maybe I can figure something out for some shade. I hope so anyway.
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How you see God will determine how you pray to God. Prayer is a general term. How do you pray? Learn to pray specific prayers for the specific needs. They don't have to be long prayers, just specific prayers. The authority in which you pray, will determine the power of your prayer. If you see Father God as a big teddy bear or a grandfather in the sky, your prayers may be shallow. If you see Father God as everything He says He is, then you will have a whole toolbox or arsenal of authority and power at the end of your breath.
This is a short list of some of the names and attributes of God:
Adonai – Lord, Master (Genesis 15:2)
El Elyon – The Most High God (Genesis 14:18-20)
El Olam – The Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28-31)
El Roi – The Strong One Who Sees (Genesis 16:13)
El Shaddai – Lord God Almighty (Genesis 17:1)
Elohim – God of Power and Might (Genesis 1:1)
Jehovah Jireh – The Lord Will Provide (Genesis 22:13:14)
Jehovah Mekoddishkem – The Lord Who Sanctifies You (Exodus 31:13)
Jehovah Nissi – The Lord My Banner/Victory (Exodus 17:15)
Jehovah Raah – The Lord My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Jehovah Rapha – The Lord That Heals (Exodus 15:26)
Jehovah Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 1:24)
Jehovah Shalom – The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah Shammah – The Lord Is There/Present (Ezekiel 48:35)
Jehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
Yahweh – Lord, Jehovah (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Qanna – Jealous God (Exodus 20:5)
This is some of the names and the meanings of those names and the place to find it in the Bible. I think in studying this list, you will find that the God we serve is far greater than a big teddy bear in the sky or even a grandfather type. God is a Holy God and expects to be treated as such. We can go boldly to the Throne of God, only thru the Blood of Jesus Christ. I think we have lost reverence for Father God and we need to get back to revering Him and worshiping Him in a reverent manner instead of the flippant way that we all have been guilty of in the past. Look at those names and meditate on them and search for more descriptive words for God in the Bible, you will see that they all represent an all powerful God!!!
God has proven Himself to be my El Roi!!! And I love that attribute of my Father God. He has seen me all the days of my life. Recognizing that God has seen me thru the worst days of my life and provided many wonderful days in my life as well, has changed my attitude toward Him. I know that God is always there. I know that no matter how bad something is, He sees me. I know that even thru the worst days of my life God has held my hands, and He still does that for me. God proven Himself to be my Elohim, God of power and might!!! He is the One, the only One who can shut door and open doors. He is the only One who can battle the enemy. If anyone truly loves God and has the desire to worship and serve Him on His terms, then God will show Himself to you in a very real way!!!! God has proven Himself to be all these and more in my life. There are more names that represent Him and His characteristics. Search them out and see how He has made Himself known to you in your life.
Remember too, that it doesn't require big and lofty prayers to reach God. A simple one or two sentence prayer is enough. When you are praying for others, just simple prayers are more than adequate to reach the heart of God. Some people may be uncomfortable with a long drawn out prayer, so keep is short and to the point and move on. God knows your heart and He knows what you are asking before you ask it. So, if you are with someone who is a little uncomfortable with prayer in the first place, then do a "hit and run", one or two sentence prayer and let God do the rest and then move on. That person will know you cared enough to pray, but also that you cared enough to not make them uncomfortable and you have also opened a door for you to minister to them again, or for someone else to minister to them. A short prayer can be a great ice breaker. It's also putting action to our words. A lot of times we will say "I'll be praying for you", and that's ok, but maybe saying a short prayer like "Father, please meet the health needs of my friend. Thank You for what we know You will do. Amen", will prove to them what you are willing to do and then you can continue to pray for them in your private prayers.
A simple, quiet prayer can be said anywhere, at work, at school, at the grocery store, at the dr office, wherever there is a need. You don't want to put your job in jeopardy, be smart about it, but where there is a need, God is there and will hear that prayer. Those simple prayers may lead others to start praying too. We need to set the examples wherever we go and be willing to say a short prayer for whatever the situation. We don't want to be obnoxious, we want to be sincere, short and to the point. We have a toolbox full of the names of God that provide more than enough power to meet the needs of the hurting world around us. Let us make the effort to use the tools that God has given us. I hope you will join me in this effort to help the needs right where they are.
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Just wanted to share pics for your viewing pleasure. Hope you enjoy some of the sights and scenery around my neck of the woods.
This is some more lovely texture. I just love old gnarly roots and rotted holes and this one fits the bill. hahaha Hope you enjoyed this little sampling of pictures that I take when we are out and about.
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That's about all I have today. I just wanted to check in for a minute. If you read something here that was a blessing to you, please share it with someone else. I hope you have a blessed rest of the day and remember that God loves you enough to provide a way to be in right relationship with Him thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Remember too, that Christ is the only way to the Father. Others will tell you differently, but Jesus Himself said that He is the only way!!! Do not be led astray, Jesus is the only way to the Father. Thanks for stopping by today, be blessed!!! love and hugs, patty
