A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Word Prompt

God’s Announcement

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I’ve been puzzling through this word prompt all day.  Announce.  I have ideas, but I’m not sure how to put those ideas into words without it all just sounding wrong.   So let’s get writing and see how it all comes out in the end shall we? I think I found my title!   God’s announcement!

Annoucements rang out throughout Christian history.  Sometimes they weren’t known for what they were until after the fact, but throughout history we knew, someone bigger than we were, was coming.  That someone would be sent from God.  Someone who would bring relief from the bondage we were under. 

God's announcement

God’s Announcement

Adam and Eve
The consequence learned
What happens when one
heeds another than God.
Leading to God’s announcement.

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring] and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

Isaiah, speaking to
the Israelites
bringing God’s word
to ears often in rebellion.

God keeps speaking

But God needs them to see
to look deeper so that
they can see hope, to
see the light coming.

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

The barren elderly,
the young without a mate,
both promised a son.
One to led the way
to the other,
like a voice, calling loudly
in the wilderness
Saying LOOK HERE.
THIS, THIS is the one!
This is bright light spoken of.

 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

The Emmaus Road

God’s announcement,
spoken and written throughout history.
Sometimes we saw it clearly,
and other times we didn’t see it until afterwards.
See how Jesus himself had to explain it
to the men on the way to Emmaus.
From beginning to end.
So they could see God’s annoucements
for themselves in the scriptures they had.

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Expectations

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I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at today’s Five Minute Friday word being expectation.  It’s the word for the first week of Advent.  We should be in a state of expectation.  Miracles happen at Christmas, Christ was born (at least we celebrate his birth at this time of year). God’s promises continually being fulfilled.  I know the thoughts I’ve been having pushed on me this week.  Thoughts about expectations and what they mean.  Perhaps, this poem will somewhat adequately explain them?  

expectations text with christmas tree

Expectations

Sermon preached
We’re in a time of waiting
Waiting for a promise
to be fulfilled.

Just as we eagerly
wait from a bridegroom
to come.
To take up his bride.

We wait.
Our hearts, as we
wait to be filled
with Expectation.

SOMETHING will happen.
We don’t wait
just for the point
of waiting.

We wait knowing
that God, the God of history
will hold to his promises.
We wait to celebrate that.

So the question for me
This year is
what other expectations
do I have?

Can I trust that
God holds me in all things?
Can I trust that he
will guide my son?

Is my trust that
God will sustain my
Husband as he works
a hard, dangerous job?

Do I believe that God
will help me with my job,
my health, my tendency
to eat when tired?

If I believe all that
…. do I expect God to act?
Do I live as though he’s
right there waiting?

Waiting to act as
I pray out that promise?
As I look to scripture
for answers?

That thought
has been pushed at
me all week
and tonight

Tonight as I write
I think, perhaps
God pushes this thought,
so that I can push it too?

And in that pushing
find my expectations
more solidified in my life.
Living my telling.

expectations text with picture of white dog at christmas

What does God say?

2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Philippians 4:9

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:18-21

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

 

God Hides Me

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I was seriously starting to wonder if I would be able to participate in Five Minute Friday this week. I have switched who hosts my blog over to a company called lyrical. There’s still some part that needs adjusting, but at least I can write posts again!!!   🙂   Miss Kate tells us the word this week is hide.  It’s not the first time I’ve pondered, what my poem God Hides me, speaks about, but it was a recurring theme all day today. 

God hides Me

God Hides Me

I ponder a word
Hide
In my head immediately
a song starts
Guide me oh, thou great Jehovah
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand

As I’ve gone through
the day, waiting for
the blog to be transferred
(started Wednesday early)
as this song plays through

I wonder.
What will Christians
Do as Seniors
in nursing homes?

With the popularity
of praise and worship music
that is every changing.
How will our young believers
today have songs of faith
to hold on to?

Songs that can
help them remember
all that God has
done for them over
the years, particularly when
pain increases, or
ability decreases?

Will they be able
to remember well
the God they can hide
themselves in? When memory,
regrets, and longing for
home sets in?

I’m not saying
Praise and worship
music is bad. I just
wonder with how many
new songs there always are
… how will something stick
long enough, to be recalled
when age makes it harder?

Things to ponder eh?
When you are
waiting for a blog to
reboot, in the midst of
other chores.
Recalling, through old hymn
memorized, how God
hides me in the
palm of his hand.

God hides Me

What God Has to Say

Isaiah 49:16  Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Psalm 96:2    Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

 

It happened

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I’m about to head to bed, but before heading up I thought I would check on the word prompt of the week from Miss Kate.  This week the word is prayer. I had to think about it for a little while before It happened came to me.   It didn’t come out quite the way my brain originally played it out, but the general jist is there I think.  🙂 

it happened

It happened

It happened,
just like that.
Prayer requested,
a house to sell,
a home to find,
and bam, done.
God provided swiftly.

It happened,
over time,
a community joining
together.
A child sick,
it took some time.
Health restored.
God provided healing.

It happened,
“God, I want this job!”
And “God, I need this job!!!”
and yet
time and again,
No job came.
yet God provide care
And enough to make do.
Sometimes the answer is NO.

It happened
The sword of the
Spirit, moving swiftly
in a heart.
“Oh God, forgive me”
“I wasn’t thinking”
“It seemed such a small thing”
and God showed mercy
Forgiveness granted.


It happened,
a sustained prayer
over time.
And yet more time
will pass.
What will be the result?
It still open for
an answer to be poured
forth.
and yet. God’s care
does not stop.

it happened

What Does God say?

I John 5:14  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

2 Chronicles 6:21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Psalm 4:1 Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Take the Quiet

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Miss Kate let the five minute Friday word slip out a day or two early this week.  I was grateful for that.  It gave me moments in the busyness of my life to ponder a simple word.  Still.  We’ve pondered this word before which I wrote about as stillness.  As I pondered this word I found myself rejecting the idea of writing about being still, but seeking more after the idea of quietness.  And so I came to this poem Take the Quiet. 

take the quiet, pic with lake scene

Take the quiet

Take the quiet
a moment here and there

Take the quiet
to listen
to ponder a thing anew

If you take the time
Daily to read
To see history
Through the eyes of God

If you grab a moment
to consider the
creator of the world, and
all that he has done
for me and you.

You’ll find yourself
surprised at how
those moments add
life and vitality
to your life and
increase your faith.

Add to those moments
of pondering,
of reading God’s Word,
adding now conversation, to thank,
to praise, to confess,
and before you know it
A living relationship formed.

All it takes
Is to take the quiet
Taking a moment
to reflect, To remember,
to see something greater
than you thought possible.
And you will find yourself
seeing God and,
bringing stillness within.

Take the quiet, text with an orange moth

What Does God Have to Say?

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of he Holy One is insight.”

Psalm 46:10   “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Mark 1:35 “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

There your treasure Is

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In the busyness of my day, I’ve been pondering this word treasure.  What immediately popped into my head was “where your treasure lies, there is your heart also”.  Part of me wants to write on that and yet I find myself hesitating and I’m not sure why.  Perhaps because it is so obvious?  I’d rather not do the blatantly obvious you know? 

So what else can I do with the word treasure?  Perhaps the question should be asked about where your heart lies?  It’s not always an easy thing to discover, but perhaps if you search deep, you’ll find there your treasure is.  

There your treasure is

There your treasure is

Where your heart lies.
Treasure.

So I guess then the question
is… where does your heart lie?

A troubling question this can be
seeing first the heart.

And then after the heart
the treasure.

It’s like in the story book
Find the dragon

And once you find the dragon
you will find the dragon’s hoard.

Tracking it down.
Seeking it under every rock.

So it is like with the heart?
Because deceptive we can be.

We might show whispers
here and there.

But whispers aren’t always
real, or meant to be heard.

One might have to dig deep
within to truly learn

Looking past the obvious of
conversation, toys, and jobs.

Seeking to truly learn
what is in your heart!

What is it that your heart
turns to and holds ever so dear.

It might not be what you think
Or… what you see might be truth.

Where your heart lies.
There your treasure is.

There your treasure is

What does God say?

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Ezekiel 28:4-5

“By your wisdom and understanding
You have acquired riches for yourself
And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
“By your great wisdom, by your trade
You have increased your riches
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches—

Matthew 13:44-46

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 

I Need

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Initially when I started this post I was going to do something around this song I need Thee.  After all, Miss Kate’s word prompt need was perfect don’t you think?   Instead, as I pondered my words, this poem I need popped out of my fingertips.  I find it so odd when words I have pondered all day turn into something completely different.   

Makes me think of when Hubby was preacher, and he’d have worked hard all week preparing a sermon, and then on Sunday morning something other than what he had planned came out of his mouth.  God is so interesting in how he works through the giftings of his people. 

We’ve been reading through the book of Matthew as a family after being inspired by a book review. And the words we read today helped remind me of God’s care for his people.  Our belief, our firm belief matters with the prayers that we bring before our God of glory.   That need is something I left out of the poem below.   Makes me think I should add it!

I need

I Need

I need
Sleep
Sustenance
Shelter

The basics
necessities of life
are things that I need
and that others need as well.

I need
Purpose
People
Plans

Everyone needs
someone or so the
song goes. Purpose hones
and soon plans become reality.

I need
Rabbits
Rules
Reason

Rabbits provide
something needing my
daily care. Reason makes
rules something lived with well.

I need
God
Glory
Goodness

For me
God is seen
in plants and animals
around, showing goodness and glory.

I need

God Speaks to us

Matthew 21:21

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Matthew 6:24-25

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

Question 1, Westminster Catechism

q: what is the chief end of man?

a: Man’s chief end is the glorify God and to enjoy him forever. 

1 Corinthians 10:31

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Romans 11:33-36

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.