This morning I reflected upon the goodness of God. Yesterday was a good day. Not because Tucker came through surgery successfully or because the day was sunny and perfect weather and I spent the entire day outdoors praying with some sweet friends and receiving encouraging texts and calls from other dear friends. It was a good day because in the midst of the storm of not knowing and waiting and hard conversations and many tears and the separation from Tucker, God was truly ever present. Circumstances and emotions should not dictate whether or not I think God is good.  Reality and history show me over and over that no matter how I felt at a given time or what I may have thought during a particular season, God was and is always Good.  


I think the message was clear in both of our heads yesterday because the song Tucker suggested Mr. A and I sing at Bible time last night was an old Vineyard song, "Good to Me". (Lyrics and link below)


Scripture abounds with examples and statements of God's goodness.  Here is just one statement:    


The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. 
Psalm 145:9

~meredith 


I cry out,
For Your hand of mercy to heal me.
I am weak,
I need Your love to free me.
Oh, Lord, my Rock,
My strength in weakness,
Come rescue me, oh Lord.


You are my hope,
Your promise never fails me.
And my desire is to follow You forever.


For You are good,
For You are good,
For You are good to me
For You are good,
For You are good,
For You are good to me​

Today I would like to encourage you with a writer from the past and his writing. You may need to read it slowly a few times for it to sink in, but I believe that Mr. Charles Spurgeon's words are just as applicable to us today as during the time that he lived in. 

~ 

"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Romans 8:33

Most blessed challenge! How unanswerable it is! Every sin of the elect was laid upon the great Champion of our salvation, and by the atonement carried away. There is no sin in God's book against his people: he seeth no sin in Jacob, neither iniquity in Israel; they are justified in Christ forever. When the guilt of sin was taken away, the punishment of sin was removed. For the Christian there is no stroke from God's angry hand—nay, not so much as a single frown of punitive justice. The believer may be chastised by his Father, but God the Judge has nothing to say to the Christian, except "I have absolved thee: thou art acquitted." For the Christian there is no penal death in this world, much less any second death. He is completely freed from all the punishment as well as the guilt of sin, and the power of sin is removed too. It may stand in our way, and agitate us with perpetual warfare; but sin is a conquered foe to every soul in union with Jesus. There is no sin which a Christian cannot overcome if he will only rely upon his God to do it. They who wear the white robe in heaven overcame through the blood of the Lamb, and we may do the same. No lust is too mighty, no besetting sin too strongly entrenched; we can overcome through the power of Christ. Do believe it, Christian, that thy sin is a condemned thing. It may kick and struggle, but it is doomed to die. God has written condemnation across its brow. Christ has crucified it, "nailing it to his cross." Go now and mortify it, and the Lord help you to live to his praise, for sin with all its guilt, shame, and fear, is gone.  
"Here's pardon for transgressions past,
It matters not how black their cast;
And, O my soul, with wonder view,
For sins to come here's pardon too."

C. H. Spurgeon taken from Morning & Evening, evening of July 27th.

~paisley  

Often in the regular routine of life we can forget that we have been put here on earth to bring glory and praise to God. Being reminded of this recently, I wanted to encourage you to praise the Lord no matter what may be happening in your life. May we all continue to praise the Lord, the one who made us and continually cares for us! 


Praise the LORD! 
For it is good to sing praises to our God; 
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. 
The LORD builds up Jerusalem; 
he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 
He heals the brokenhearted 
and binds up their wounds. 
He determines the number of the stars; 
he gives to all of them their names. 
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; 
his understanding is beyond measure. 
The LORD lifts up the humble; 
he casts the wicked to the ground. 
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; 
make melody to our God on the lyre! 
He covers the heavens with clouds; 
he prepares rain for the earth; 
he makes grass grow on the hills. 
He gives to the beasts their food, 
and to the young ravens that cry. 
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, 
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, 
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, 
in those who hope in his steadfast love. 
Psalm 147:1-11 (ESV)

This week we remember the independence and freedom that we enjoy in our country. Reflecting on the struggle at the founding of our country, I am inspired to continue to desire and defend this freedom. While this is something that we should remember, there is an even greater instance of our freedom being secured. Our freedom from sin and death was won through Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection! 


I know that this week may be busy, but I would encourage you to listen to this beautiful song and remember Who it is that we put our trust in. What a great freedom can we have when we are wholly resting in the salvation of our Savior! 


Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! 
O Lord, hear my voice! 
Let your ears be attentive 
to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, 
O Lord, who could stand? 
But with you there is forgiveness, 
that you may be feared. 
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, 
and in his word I hope; 
my soul waits for the Lord 
more than watchmen for the morning, 
more than watchmen for the morning. 
O Israel, hope in the Lord! 
For with the Lord there is steadfast love, 
and with him is plentiful redemption. 
And he will redeem Israel 
from all his iniquities. 
Psalm 130 (ESV) 

~paisley 

Have you ever deeply pondered the existence and purpose of spoons? There are many different aspects of a spoon’s history that we could analyze, more than may appear at one’s first observation. A few areas that we can examine would be their types and kinds, the uses of spoons, and problems arising from spoons. 
    The variety of spoons is vast! Differing in size, spoons may be as large as a serving spoon to as small as measuring spoons, common as a soup spoon or versatile as a teaspoon. Made from plastic, metal, wood or glass, you may be sure to find a spoon to meet your needs. Besides their material and shape being broad, spoons may be found in the kitchen, restaurants, or even possibly in a sandbox. Because of the exotic nature of spoons, you may discover a tea straining spoon or even collector spoons with pictures on them. The best, most useful spoon? The table spoon. Evidently, there are several kinds of spoons. 
    Ranging from normal to abnormal, the uses of spoons are notably diverse. From its humble abode in the kitchen, the spoon may be used for eating, stirring, or even taste testing. Cooks in restaurants and mothers regularly use these indispensable utensils, while children are sure to invent new and peculiar ways to defend themselves. Look out! Food is flying! A catapult was created. Since a spoon may be used from the ordinary task of eating, to the unique game of spoons, a spoon’s life is never dull. 
    Unfortunately, as is the case with many other things, spoons have their own problems. Flimsy spoons may bend, bow, and break, while one may make a dreadful mess if the spoon is shallow or flat. When a spoon becomes lodged in a garbage disposal, the motor can be destroyed and beyond repair. As Murphy’s Law would predict, whenever you desperately need a spoon, there is rarely a clean one in the drawer. Being an object tainted by man’s sin, spoons can have many problems. 
    Since there are many types of spoons, there will naturally be multiple uses for such variable objects. Because of their universal application to our daily lives, problems arise relating to a spoon’s usage or design. A small, staunch spoon is one of the most widely used utensils in the world, causing it to be a thing that is valued by all. Seemingly insignificant, the spoon proves to wield incredible power! 

~paisley 

Our lives can often become busy and focused on what we need to accomplish. Filled with anxiety, we can often lose focus of God's purpose for our life. 


Reading through the Psalms for the past couple of weeks, I have been reminded that even though my life is filled with people to talk to, essays to write, and things to plan for, I can rest in God and be refreshed in Him, knowing that in Him is everything I need. 


I want to share with you a few passages that demonstrate how our Heavenly Father is caring for you each and every day, and it is my prayer that your soul will be refreshed! 


The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
He makes me lie down in green pastures. 
He leads me beside still waters. 
He restores my soul. 
He leads me in paths of righteousness 
for his name's sake. 
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil, 
for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff, 
they comfort me. 
You prepare a table before me 
in the presence of my enemies; 
you anoint my head with oil; 
my cup overflows. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
all the days of my life, 
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD 
forever. 
Psalm 23 


"Be still, and know that I am God. 
I will be exalted among the nations, 
I will be exalted in the earth!" 
The LORD of hosts is with us; 
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 
Psalm 46:10-11 


For God alone my soul waits in silence; 
from him comes my salvation. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation, 
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. 
Psalm 62:1-2 


Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, 
and cry to her 
that her warfare is ended, 
that her iniquity is pardoned, 
that she has received from the LORD's hand 
double for all her sins.... 
Have you not known? Have you not heard? 
The LORD is the everlasting God, 
the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
He does not faint or grow weary; 
his understanding is unsearchable. 
He gives power to the faint, 
and to him who has no might he increases strength. 
Even youths shall faint and be weary, 
and young men shall fall exhausted; 
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; 
they shall mount up with wings like eagles; 
they shall run and not be weary; 
they shall walk and not faint. 
Isaiah 40:1-2, 28-31 

~paisley 
​

(All Scripture quoted from the English Standard Version) 

Do you ever become discouraged in your writing because it isn't perfect? I know that I am that way and can tend to not desire improving because of the energy and time that it requires. 


It is okay to not be perfect on the first time and need to work on something until it is better! Even in the Christian life we will not reach full perfection or maturity here on earth, but that doesn't mean that we should give up on growing in the knowledge of God and in His ways. Paul, during his first imprisonment in Rome wrote in Philippians 3:12-14, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Paul was an Apostle, and yet he was not yet perfect! Was he content in that state? No! He pressed on to know Christ more perfectly and to attain the prize. By the end of Paul's life we read, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8) Paul had been diligent in serving God, even when it was difficult, and by the end he knew that he would receive the prize. 


I encourage you to persevere in all that you do, both the large and the small things, but most importantly in knowing and serving our righteous God! In Him you will find the greatest reward and satisfaction. 


"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 

​~paisley 

(All Scripture quoted from the English Standard Version)