Ten Ways To Love - #1 & 2: Listen and Speak

One could say that February is considered the month of "love".

Smack dab in the middle of the month is Valentine's Day....the day couples celebrate love.

For some, love is a mushy sentiment, which includes sending love letters and poetry, flowers and candy. Some believe that the evidence of love should be butterflies in your stomach, holding hands, cuddling, and kissing. And unfortunately, many believe sex equals love. 

The Bible talks a lot about love. Interestingly enough, none of the above is ever mentioned as defining love. That's because love is much more than the temporary emotions, physical pleasure, or outward appearances. 

1 Corinthians 13 is considered the 'love chapter' of the Bible.

Most Christians are familiar with this chapter and it's definition of love.

But, we can find the subject of love and what characteristics are evidence of "real" love throughout the Bible. 

 Here is a list of just a few ways to 'really' love others:

Today, I am going to discuss the tongue and listening(the first 2 on the list above), instead of speaking. 

You may ask, "What does that have to do with love?"

Well lets check it out.

If you read through all of Proverbs 18, wisdom and unselfishness are achieved only by listening to others.

Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.

 Proverbs 18:2

Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.
Proverbs 18:13

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

We also read in the New Testament that a wise and loving person listens first and speaks second.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 

 James 1:19

Loving others means being willing to listen to them and speaking words of love and kindness, not with accusations and anger. How many times have we ever interrupted others who are talking because we had something more 'important' to say?   I know I'm guilty! I could learn to show love towards others more by listening. 

In my next post, I will cover, yet another characteristic of love from the list of "Ten Ways To Love". So, stop on back. 

I am also continuing to add to my list of  'gifts', as I continue in the Joy Dare.

A song heard, a soft word, a light seen

1,210 - In song: What a beautiful, uplifting song!

1,211 - A soft word: 

 "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." Proverbs 15:1

1,212 - A light seen: "The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." Psalm 19:8

A gift on paper, in a person, in beauty

1,213 - on paper:The anniversary card my hubby gave me.

1,214 - in person: My hubby, taking me out to a fancy restaurant; he's truly a gift from God!!

1,215 - in beauty: flowers from my hubby

3 gifts red: (my 3 favorite shades of red)

1,216 - Maroon: described as half way between bright red and black, Maroon is the only color variant here which is a true shade of pure red; deep and true, not flashy; example: Chocolate Cosmos(the great part, too, is that they smell like chocolate!)

source

1,217 -  Coral-Red: Increasing amounts of blue light are added, and this makes the end tone much more pinkish; a little playful and summery; example: aptly named, it's is the color found in coral reefs.

 

 source

1,218 - Claret: A dark or grayish purplish red to dark purplish pink; because I've always loved the color purple, this deep red color has been a favorite; example: the color of boysenberry jam.

 

 source

Great info. on the color red - (Shades and Tones of Red), (The Power of Red)

3 gifts in writing:

1,219 - Loved this post from Ann Voskamp, written a few years ago.    "How to Really Write a Love Letter"

1,220 - Reading old entries from my journals; good memories, thoughtful reminders of His provision in my life!

1,221 -The written Word...the ultimate gift in writing!!

    

Linking over at these blog parties: 
Multitude on Mondays (A Holy Experience)  

  Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip)

Gratituesday (Heavenly Homemakers)
Winsome Wednesday(My Daily Walk in His Grace) 
UNITE (Rich Faith Rising) 

Don't Lie to yourself, O My Soul!

Lying. 
From early childhood we are taught that it is wrong, that we need to tell the truth to our parents.

Then, as we got older, we were taught that little white lies were okay, so as not to hurt someone's feelings or if it could get you into a bad situation.

“A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.” ― Alfred Tennyson

Lies.
So often we believe our own lies. To ourselves and to others.

“The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We live in denial of what we do, even what we think. We do this because we're afraid. We fear we will not find love, and when we find it we fear we'll lose it. We fear that if we do not have love we will be unhappy.” Richard Bach

Our Common Self-Lies
—God only helps those who help themselves

—God’s love must be earned

—God understands that’s just the way I am. After all, He made me this way.(Living in sin)

—God does not know or see what I’m doing

—God sees things the way I do

—God is appeased by my giving

—God doesn’t believe in me   

 “Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive.” ― Walter Scott

Satan is known as the father of lies.
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44


"As Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel too; the latter being a clever counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parades, multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it." A.W. Pink

 "Any time we open ourselves up to fear, we fall prey to his deceptions and intimidations. Yet, if we submit our hearts to God and stand in faith, we can resist those first fearful thoughts. As we yield to God we can master our reactions to fear and the enemy will soon flee. " Francis Frangipane

I love many songs sung by Audrey Assad. If you haven't ever heard her beautiful Christian music, I encourage you to check her music out on the internet or even buy her CDs. The song below talks about what lies we tell ourselves, how our souls long for Truth! Lyrics are also printed below.

Rivers and stones and the trees of the field, they sing in the night

And a thousand tongues lay deep in your lungs to raise to the sky

Don't lie to yourself, O my soul - love your God.

Don't lie to yourself, O my soul - love your God.

Deep in your heart you feather and tar your folly and fear:

Expose them all for the fools they are, and the world becomes clear.

Don't lie to yourself, O my soul, just love your God.

Don't lie to yourself, O my soul, just love your God.

Love your God.

Your worries will never love you

They'll leave you all alone

But your God will not forsake you

O my soul, my soul.

Don't lie to yourself, O my soul - love your God.

Don't lie to yourself, O my soul

 How can we know a deception or lie from the truth?

Sin will not come to you, saying, "I am sin." It would do little harm if it did. Sin always seems "good, and pleasant, and desirable," at the time of commission.

We need to realize that the Bible says to "test the spirits" and warns very strongly that the Last Days will be a time of "seducing spirits" and great deception.
 Two things we have to do:
1. Seek to know God with all your heart, soul, and might.

2. Study the Word.

  ¹ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ⁶ For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; ⁹ but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

 ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be 

complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.   

2 Timothy 3 (New King James Version)

Here is a detailed article on knowing more about learning to tell the difference between ties and truth.
 

Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free!! (John 8:32)

 

 Counting my gifts with the September Joy Dare:
3 Hard Eucharisteo
946. Unloading boxes, after moving.
947. Preparing for construction to be done on our house.
948. Missing a friend who has moved on in her life.

3 Gifts in His Word
949. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15(NIV)
950. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." John 16:13 (NIV)
951. "...speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:15 (NIV)

3 Gifts scented, scrawled, started
952. My scented wax burner.
953. Boxes with contents scrawled and re-scrawled on them

954. Started - Trying my hand at knitting, I recently learned how.

3 Gifts paired
955. A pair of sweet canine-friends to keep me company during the day.

956. A pair of ducks, feeding out in front of our lakehouse.(A rare occasion)

957. A new pair of boots, I got on sale at T.J. Maxx

3 Gifts shared
958. Time spent with my mother, especially since we have not been as close the last few years.
959. The moments, fishing with my hubby. No stress. No pressures.
960. The love of Christ, shared with others. Experiencing a shared faith with other believers.

 Linking over at these blog parties:

 Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip) 
Multitude on Mondays (A Holy Experience)
 On Your Heart Tuesdays(A Pause in the Path)

Word Filled Wednesday(Internet Cafe') 
Soli Deo Gloria (Finding Heaven)
Gathering at the Grace Cafe'(Reflections of His Grace) 

Spelling Out Friendship

 The Oxford Dictionary defines a friend as : a person who feels mutual affection and regard for another; a helper; a person who is not an enemy.(source)

I have lots of friends, but only a few "good" friends, and only one "best" friend. What's the difference? There are many different kinds of friends. In fact when I Googled "kinds of friends" there were so many different lists and categories, if I listed them all, I'd have to write a short book on that subject alone. So I just cut it down to 3 catagories:

1: Acquaintances, friends of friends, co-workers, etc. The one thing that separates this kind of friend from a good friend is the lack of being totally transparent with each other. We tend to put on a happy face for these kind of friends or at least hold back our true feelings and/or don't share our personal life experiences. We may enjoy doing things with them or just a brief conversation at the store or church events. These friends come and go and we may have many of them at one time. Loss of this kind of friendship causes very little to no disruption in one's life.

2: Good friends. These friends we love spending time with. We may talk to them online or text them, maybe go out to lunch or shopping now and then. Good friends often turn into best friends. The more time we spend with these friends, the more we share personal things in our lives. There is often a time where we test the trust-ability and honesty of this friendship. If this friend appears really interested in you and you in her, the relationship can grow dramatically. Sometimes a good friendship lasts only for a brief time, especially if one friend moves away, changes jobs, starts a family, etc. or anything that may require more of their time This kind of friendship, when lost, can be sometimes upsetting for one or both of the friends. This kind of a friend is missed, especially when there is an abrupt separation from each other. Eventually new "good" friends can be found, but it does take time.

3: Best friends. These kind of friends are rare and usually long-lasting (often life-long). This friendship is not based on distance, situations, or life experiences. She will be by your side, no matter what happens, and if needed, meet in a moment's notice. A best friend is one who understands you better than anyone else.  She may even have a premonition or predict what her friend's thoughts or actions will be. Best friendships do sometimes end, but if they do, it is usually devastating for one or both. Because these friends have been so transparent with each other and for so long, there is a history of many memories and experiences with this friend that no other friends share with each other.

Friends do have such a great influence on our lives. I can truly say that without my girlfriends, life would not be bearable on many days. 

Friends have gotten me through so many hard times. They have encouraged me, made me laugh when I was down, and shared some fun times with me. I have spent some good times with some of my "good" friends recently. It has been good for my heart and my mind and I hope they feel the same. I appreciate these friends SO much, especially lately!

Some of my "good" friends have recently changed status'. One of those friends got a new job and didn't need my friendship any longer, so the time we spent together abruptly came to an end. This was a sad event for me, as I had enjoyed spending time with her. But, I have come to realize that, just as she has moved on, so must I, knowing that because I got to know her, my life was brightened, if only for a time. 

Another "good" friend has recently become more dear to me. We meet just about every week for lunch, shopping, or church events. We have been friends for nearly a year and have grown deeper in  sharing personal life experiences with each other. Because of these experiences and close sharing, I could see this friend turning into a best friend one day. Only time will tell.

Unfortunately, my "best" friend lives a few hours away from me and works full-time, so we don't get to see each other real often. That doesn't affect our friendship, though. We have been friends for almost 30 years! When we get together, it's like time stood still from the last time we met. God has always provided, though. When I can't see my best friend, a good friend almost always is there to encourage and support me! 

I hope I can be as good of a friend to these women in my life as they have been to me!  

That's the great thing about good or best friendships! They're almost always reciprocated!

A wonderful example of friendship in the Bible is that of David and Jonathan. Jonathan's father Saul was David's enemy (although David was not his) but this did not stop Jonathan from being a loyal friend. The Bible says that their souls were knit together and that all that Jonathan had to protect himself he took off and gave to David. He was there for David until the end and David was there for his friend even after Jonathan died. He made certain that Jonathan's children were provided for. (See 1 Samuel Chapter 18)

Another friendship that comes to mind is that of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth was Naomi's daughter-in- law but she was her friend as well. Why else would she say that she would go wherever Naomi would go and that Naomi's God would be her God? Ruth was willing to forsake everything she knew in order to be with her friend. (See The Book of Ruth Chapter 1)

The person who is recorded to be the greatest friend of all time is of course Jesus Christ. He gave His life for His friends and He advised that no greater love hath any man than that he lay down his life for his friends (John Chapter 15 verses 12-14)

(http://northwind.hubpages.com/hub/Friendship-What-Does-It-Mean-To-Be-A-Friend)

 

 Spelling out Friendship:  Copied from "Franspiration"

F:

“F” is for forgiveness. I believe that when you are truly friends with someone, you are free to make the occasional mistake. With mistakes, there is sometimes anger, sadness, hurt and, hopefully, discussion. After the discussion, if the friendship is true, there should be Forgiveness.

R:

“R” is for respect. Friends are really important to me! They Love you for who you are, they trust you with their deepest secrets . Everyone needs somebody to respect and trust.

I:

“I” is for inspiration. My friends always inspire me to do more and to try hard. I hope I do the same for them.

E:

“E” is for encouragement. My friends always encourage me to be a better person. They also encourage me to keep spreading Love and Gratitude! There is a beautiful quote that fully explains this point. This quote says: ”Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow.” - Helen Keller

N:

“N” is for nice. Your friends will treat you with kindness. There is no need for excessive drama or for being mean. Friends should treat each other nicely.

D:

“D” is for Doesn’t give up on me (my friends). When I have a problem or a challenge to take, they are always by my side.They will never give up on me an vice versa.

S:

“S” is for support. For me, this word is one of the keys of any friendship. It has happened to me a lot of times this year, that I needed the support of my friends and they were there for me… Sending me beautiful messages, phone calls, etc.

H:

“H” is for happiness. Happiness is a great gift.  Enjoying happy times through Christian friends is one of the best things God provides for us, as friendship is immeasurable.

I:

“I” is for ingredient. Friends are one of the most important ingredients in this recipe of life.

P:

“P” is for platonic Love. Platonic Love is very much a part of any close friendship. But such a Love does not always stay platonic. In marriage it turns into passionate Love. Crossing that line, between friendship and Love, can be both beautiful and extremely difficult.

Today, I'm so thankful for my friends!

Counting my gifts with the September Joy Dare:
3 Gifts Autumn
928. Mums!! Colorful mums!
929. Warm, breezy days.
930. Cool evenings.

3 Gifts Growing
931. Growing close friendships
932. Life-long memories
933. Continuing to grow in Christ, even when it's not easy

3 Gifts Given
934. A new journal book, given to me by my friend.
935. A beautiful mug, given as a gift for my birthday.

936. The dear friendships I have made throughout my life.

A gift made, masked, marveled:

937. Made - A net window decor, filled with seashells we've collected at different beaches through the years of vacations.

938. Masked - The masks can come down. We don’t have to pretend with Him. He knows everything, and He loves us anyway. How cool is that?(source)

939. Marveled - Psalm 71:17  "Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds."

3 Gifts Framed
940. My hope is built on nothing less
        Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
        I dare not trust the sweetest frame
        But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name
        – Verse 1 of The Solid Rock
941. Family photos!
942. A favorite picture, asking for God's blessing upon our home.

3 Gifts Moving
943. The movement of the water out my window...such beauty in the ripples made on the lake.

944. Leaves on the trees, rising and falling with the wind.
945. The sun, rising in the morning, ushering in a new day!

 Linking over at these blog parties:

 Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip) 
Multitude on Mondays (A Holy Experience)
 On Your Heart Tuesdays(A Pause in the Path)

Word Filled Wednesday(Internet Cafe')
Gathering at the Grace Cafe'(Reflections of His Grace) 

A Beautiful Mess

How is it that I can be living in such beauty, yet feel so lost and alone? How can I look out my window and see a gorgeous sunrise almost every morning, find peace and quiet when sitting on my sun porch, 

and at the same time ache and hurt and feel sad? I walk from our breathtaking views of the lake into a messy living room and my outlook on life turns instantly from joy to downtrodden. 

Emotions can be so confusing sometimes. What I see with my eyes and hear with my ears can be so different from how I am feeling.

Aren't you glad that this isn't how God looks at each of us?....He sees such beauty, in each of us, in spite of the mess of our sinfulness and of the unwise choices we make. He takes all the ugliness we have, that is so evident every day of our lives, and turns it into something so beautiful. He sees the beauty He created in us, even though we know we have sinned and disappointed Him many times over.

I am so glad our Lord doesn't let emotions or circumstances affect how He looks at us! He not only forgives. He forgets our sin and ugliness that we so often can't seem to let go of. He wipes the slate clean!

I could learn a lot from looking at the ugly things in my life through color-tinted glasses. If I could see, instead of a messy room, an actual lakehouse of our own, where everything will find it's place, in time. If. instead of seeing my circumstances as negative and depressing, as I lately have, I could look at those things as opportunities to serve God. Oh, how my life would change! For some reason, that's not how I end up feeling, though. I take my eyes off of God for just a minute, and my mind wonders to the negative side of things. It's a constant battle of not letting our emotions and circumstances rule our outlook on life. 

I had been faithful for almost a year in writing down a gratitude list every week. Once we got busy with moving, I cut out writing things on my list, as well as staying up on my prayer life and I even spent less time in the Word. Of course, that's when things started to go downhill for me, emotionally. Not only did I strip those things out of my daily activities, but I began to get an attitude that I really didn't want to take the time to include them again in my life. I got stubborn and selfish in my thoughts. I wanted to feel good about life, but not put anything spiritually into it. I still struggle at times with trying to not let my stubbornness win over.  I am once again making an effort to make time for God and let Him work in my heart and my life each day. I am starting my gratitude list back up, too.

We really all are a "Beautiful Mess", aren't we? Truly, we're a work in progress. I am so thankful that God is so loving and forgiving!

I'm praying that throughout this week, you may see the beauty, in spite of the mess you may be seeing or experiencing.

Counting my gifts with the September Joy Dare:
3 gifts summer:
916. late evening sunsets
917. Fishing at dawn/sunset.
918. Fresh pan-fried bluegill!

3 gifts cut
919. A freshly cut lawn.
920. Fresh, cut-up vegetables from the garden.
921. Cutting up old cardboard moving boxes and putting things in their places.

3 gifts yellow
922. fresh corn on the cob
923. Yellow mum in full bloom

924. The sun's reflection on the water, as it rises in the sky.

A gift cool, warm, sun-soaked
925. Cool - the air after a rain storm.
926. Warm - the sun, shining through my porch windows.
927. Sun-soaked - early picked vegetables, ripening in the sun.

 Linking over at these blog parties:

 Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip) 
Multitude on Mondays (A Holy Experience) 

Heart Reflected(State of the Heart)
 On Your Heart Tuesdays(A Pause in the Path)

Word Filled Wednesday(Internet Cafe')
Gathering at the Grace Cafe'(Reflections of His Grace) 

Do You Know the Foundations of Your Faith?

This past Sunday, during the church service, which was pretty amazing(we are studying how to know your enemy, the devil, and how to fight off his attacks), we read out loud together something that some churches may read regularly, but I never had, growing up. There's something called the Apostle's Creed. It is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol". It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations. There are several different versions that express the same foundations of beliefs, but here, I am sharing the one we read out loud during our church service.

The Apostles' Creed

Traditional English Version:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.


This was a great reminder to me of what I do believe, when asked. Very simple and to the point. What do you believe? Could you tell someone, if they asked you? Here is an older Rich Mullins song, called "Creed" that puts those beliefs into music.

Counting my gifts with the Joy Dare:

3 gifts of story(my story)
898. How God allowed me to be raised in a committed, loving Christian home.
899. How I was able to attend a wonderful Christian college (Grace College) and grow closer to Him there, more than any other time in my life.
900. How through all my nearly 51 years of life, of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, trials and triumphs, He has walked with me and kept me faithful to Him and to those I love!

3 gifts understated
901. God is good!
902. God is merciful!
903. Jesus loves us!

A gift high, low, far away
904. High ~ The clear blue sky....endless!!!

905. Low ~ Green grass, starting to grow again with some much needed rain!
906. Far away ~ When God is near, the devil flees far away!!! James 4:7, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

3 gifts of sand
907. My homemade "beach in two boxes" tabletop display.

908. To be able to feel warm sand between my toes!

909. Psalm 139:17-18 ~  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.       

A gift on vacation, at home, in relaxation
910. Vacation ~I'm waiting on this gift! I haven't had a vacation in 3 years and need one badly!(A few day trips, but no week-long vacations).
911. At home ~When my family is all together at home for movie and dinner night.
912. Relaxing on my back deck with a cup of tea and my laptop!

3 gifts of endings
913. Bittersweet ending of summer ~ as the heat and dry weather will hopefully turn into cool autumn breezes and rain.
914. The end of waiting to move into our long-awaited lakehouse (It's been over a year.)

915. Looking forward to a day when there will be an end to all pain and sorrow, suffering and sadness...the day of Christ's return!!!

Linking over at these blog parties:

 Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip)
Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday (Graceful)
Multitude on Mondays (A Holy Experience) 
Heart Reflected(State of the Heart)
 On Your Heart Tuesdays(A Pause in the Path)
Word Filled Wednesday(Internet Cafe')
Gathering at the Grace Cafe'(Reflections of His Grace) 

Waiting For God

Oh, my!! I can't believe it's Wednesday, already! Where is this week going?!  It was another rough week for me. Haven't been feeling up to par and lots of struggles to hurdle! This verse has been put on my heart the past few days. I really struggled with being grateful, but prayed for God to help me see the blessings, in spite of the pain.  This is what He persuaded me to write:

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Savior;
    my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

In this verse the Prophet, Micah, shows that the only remedy for the godly in desperate evils, is to flee to God for help.

He resolved to look alone to the Lord, 

and put his trust in Him; 

look up to the Lord in prayer, 

use a humble freedom with Him, 

place a holy confidence in Him, 

expect all good things from Him, 

and wait for them;

Look to Christ in the exercise of faith, which is, in New Testament language, a looking to Jesus;

...and that for all things; 

• when in darkness, for light; 
• when weak, for strength; 
• when sick, for healing; 
• when hungry, for food; 
• when disconsolate, for comfort; 
• in short, for all supplies of grace here,
• and for eternal glory and happiness hereafter; 

and though He is in heaven, and not to be seen with our bodily eyes, yet He is held forth in the word of the Gospel,

I will wait for the God of my salvation;
who is the author both of temporal, and of spiritual, and eternal salvation; 

• for the light of His countenance, when He hides himself; 
• for the performance of promises He has made;
• for answers of prayer put up to Him; 
• for discoveries of pardoning grace, having sinned against Him; 
• for help and assistance in all times of need; 
• for the salvation of the Lord, 
• for an application of it, 
• for the joys and comforts of it; and 
• for Christ the Saviour, His coming in the flesh,

Waiting for God's timing isn't easy. I must remember, God has an ear to hear when His people cry; and sooner or later it appears that He does hear, by giving an answer of peace unto them, which issues in their salvation they have been praying, looking, and waiting for. 

 "My God will receive my prayer.''

Source

Counting my gifts:

3 Gifts Hanging Down

883. A picture that hangs in our living room that says, "God Bless our Home", a reminder of God's providence!

884. God hanging His protection over my son, in spite of his unwise decisions.

885. Hanging out with my son's girlfriend, just us girls! She is such a blessing to me!!

3 Gifts Learned

886. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

887. Learning to trust God, even when I don't understand why or where He's leading me.

888. Learning to love those who abuse, use, and disrespect you!

3 Gifts Musical

889. The music of Casting Crowns...to give me hope.

890. Singing along with the radio in my car.

891. My son's love for music and that he still likes playing acoustic guitar and slower songs.

A Gift in Light, Dark, Shadow

892. The early morning light, telling me it is a new day.

893. To bend in prayer at the foot of my son's bed, before dawn.

894. Peace, through the shadow of trials and hardships in this life.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

3 Gifts in waiting for God

895. To be able to experience answers to prayer.

896. To grow closer to God.
897. To find hope, when there seems to be no hope.

Linking over at these blog parties:

 Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip)
Multitude on Mondays (A Holy Experience) 
Heart Reflected(State of the Heart)
Soli Deo Gloria(Finding Heaven)
 On Your Heart Tuesdays(A Pause in the Path)
Word Filled Wednesday(Internet Cafe')
Gathering at the Grace Cafe'(Reflections of His Grace) 
Graceful Summer (Graceful)