Well it really was a beautiful day! Our services at CCE were sweet and I was blessed to teach through Luke 14 on Hinderences to being a Disciple. Hadn't taught in three weeks and nearly lost my voice at the end of the day. Joyce had a pretty good weekend as well - she and Noelle got to look at wedding dresses on Saturday! This evening I drove up to Murietta to see the grandkids before a pre-pastor's conference dinner with a bunch of Calvary pastor's at the Outback Steak House in Temecula - so stuffed.
Prov 3:5-8 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. (NKJ)
Prov 3:25-26 Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.(NKJ)
As a young believer back in 1971, Proverbs 3:5-6 were the first verses of the Bible I memorized. So early in my walk I was learning the importance of trusting God and walking by faith. 36 years later I'm still learning to trust God and walk by faith. It's really a daily choice we all have. I can choose my way or seek to know and walk in His way. When I choose His way over my way I grow - that's a fundemental foundational fact of the christian life.
May the Lord be your health and strength and confidence as you walk with Him this coming week.
Love ya! Pat
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Proverbs 2 - 6-2-07
Proverbs 2 is packed with "how to's"! Verse 20 sums up the result of walking with the Lord and growing in His wisdom and understanding: the good life! Walking in the way of goodness is what I want and need every day! And God doesn't leave me clueless on how to do that.
Read thru this chapter carefully and you will find detailed instruction on how to not only seek the Lord but also on how to avoid wickedness and immorality. The wicked man and the immoral woman are constantantly at work to distract you and I from walking in goodness.
Deliverence from the way of evil comes: When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you; Prov 2:10-11
Prov 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk uprightly;8 He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. (NKJ)
Stay on the good path today! Let God's wisdom fill you that you might not only honor Him but also bless and care for those around you.
In His Arm's, Pat
Read thru this chapter carefully and you will find detailed instruction on how to not only seek the Lord but also on how to avoid wickedness and immorality. The wicked man and the immoral woman are constantantly at work to distract you and I from walking in goodness.
Deliverence from the way of evil comes: When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you; Prov 2:10-11
Prov 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk uprightly;8 He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. (NKJ)
Stay on the good path today! Let God's wisdom fill you that you might not only honor Him but also bless and care for those around you.
In His Arm's, Pat
Friday, June 1, 2007
sorry
Sorry about the extra punctuation marks in my last post. I composed part of my devotion in Proverbs in MS Word and for some reason when I pasted it into my blog it didn't copy correctly.
We're trying to figure out why that happened - and how to prevent it from happening again.
Also, some have commented that the backround graphic overpowers the text after the first couple of paragraphs. I was told that may be a browser problem. It doesn't seem to happen with Internet Explorer as the browser but it's a problem with Firefox. we're going to try and just delete the open Bible graphic - as soon as possible.
Blessings! Pat
We're trying to figure out why that happened - and how to prevent it from happening again.
Also, some have commented that the backround graphic overpowers the text after the first couple of paragraphs. I was told that may be a browser problem. It doesn't seem to happen with Internet Explorer as the browser but it's a problem with Firefox. we're going to try and just delete the open Bible graphic - as soon as possible.
Blessings! Pat
Proverbs 1
Proverbs 1 – Devotional
Throughout the month of June I’ld like to share some truths to think about by going through the Book of Proverbs. We’ll look at one chapter a day and focus on a verse or two to fix our minds and hearts upon.
Today we’ll be in Chapter 1. First a couple of things about Proverbs in general.
One of the values of the education recieved from Proverbs is that it helps you sift out
things worth thinking about. It helps you distinguish between the essential and the
trivial. This, in turn, brings security, not the security that comes from doing what others
do, but the security based solidly on the truth of the Lord, your personal ideals gained
from the ancient wisdom of God.
Much in our world clamors for our attention, effort, and time. Proverbs provides you with
wisdom that will help you navigate thru the difficult and often frustrating twists and turns
of life and give you a set of standards to judge the true value of things in the world. Eims
Dr. Harry Ironside wrote: There are two ways of learning the emptiness of the world and the true character of sin. The most common way is to tread the thorny path oneself and thereby taste fully the bitterness of departure from God. The more desirous way is to accept His Word regarding the character of sin. This enables the obedient disciple to say:
Ps 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away
from the paths of the destroyer.
Once a business executive was asked the key to his tremendous success. He
responded, “Two words, good decisions.” The interviewer then asked, “How do I learn to
make good decisions?” He answered, “One word, experience.” “But how do I gain
experience?” The executive said, “Two words, bad decisions.”
Folks, there are 2 ways to learn in life. From your own experiences, or from the
experiences of other people. The fool has to always make his own mistakes. The wise
man learns from others. Why learn the hard way? Be wise, not otherwise!
The wisdom of Proverbs has been give to us that we might not stumble or fall into a pit
along the road of life.
The word "Proverbs", MASAL in the Hebrew, means "to be like, to be compared with."
And what the writer will do is draw from life's experiences, and write down short, concise
thoughts, that we can learn from and apply to our lives.
The primary purpose for this book is to make us wise. And wisdom does not necessarily
come with age, but it comes as we apply the truths of God's Word to our lives.
Prov 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
The mature Chistian is the one who is able to look at and see the areas in his or her life
that need to fall into that proper relationship with God - and Scripture wants to teach us
about how we relate our daily lives to God in all the experiences we face.
The mature chistian wants to integrate into all areas of his life this Biblical perspective -
that's growing in true wisdom.
A wise man stays teachable and seeks out ( and heeds) wise counsel.
The wise man here is not a wise guy "know-it-all" who has all the answers and is never
wrong. Just the opposite here. The wise man listens to people; he knows he has not
arrived.
Understand this paradox folks: the more we learn, the more we realize there is yet
more to learn. The more you know, the more you will realize how much you don't know!
One more verse to think about today:
Prov. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If the purpose of this book is to make us wise, then the goal of this book is to bring us
into a deeper relationship with the Lord, to fear the Lord, to hate evil. You see, all
Biblical wisdom must begin with a right relationship with God.
Do you have that relationship with the Lord today? Confess your sin today and receive by faith Christ’s forgiveness of your sin, made possible for you by His death on the cross in your place. If you already know Him, yield to His wisdom about life here before heaven.
Tomorrow – Proverbs 2
In His Arm’s, Pat
Throughout the month of June I’ld like to share some truths to think about by going through the Book of Proverbs. We’ll look at one chapter a day and focus on a verse or two to fix our minds and hearts upon.
Today we’ll be in Chapter 1. First a couple of things about Proverbs in general.
One of the values of the education recieved from Proverbs is that it helps you sift out
things worth thinking about. It helps you distinguish between the essential and the
trivial. This, in turn, brings security, not the security that comes from doing what others
do, but the security based solidly on the truth of the Lord, your personal ideals gained
from the ancient wisdom of God.
Much in our world clamors for our attention, effort, and time. Proverbs provides you with
wisdom that will help you navigate thru the difficult and often frustrating twists and turns
of life and give you a set of standards to judge the true value of things in the world. Eims
Dr. Harry Ironside wrote: There are two ways of learning the emptiness of the world and the true character of sin. The most common way is to tread the thorny path oneself and thereby taste fully the bitterness of departure from God. The more desirous way is to accept His Word regarding the character of sin. This enables the obedient disciple to say:
Ps 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away
from the paths of the destroyer.
Once a business executive was asked the key to his tremendous success. He
responded, “Two words, good decisions.” The interviewer then asked, “How do I learn to
make good decisions?” He answered, “One word, experience.” “But how do I gain
experience?” The executive said, “Two words, bad decisions.”
Folks, there are 2 ways to learn in life. From your own experiences, or from the
experiences of other people. The fool has to always make his own mistakes. The wise
man learns from others. Why learn the hard way? Be wise, not otherwise!
The wisdom of Proverbs has been give to us that we might not stumble or fall into a pit
along the road of life.
The word "Proverbs", MASAL in the Hebrew, means "to be like, to be compared with."
And what the writer will do is draw from life's experiences, and write down short, concise
thoughts, that we can learn from and apply to our lives.
The primary purpose for this book is to make us wise. And wisdom does not necessarily
come with age, but it comes as we apply the truths of God's Word to our lives.
Prov 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
The mature Chistian is the one who is able to look at and see the areas in his or her life
that need to fall into that proper relationship with God - and Scripture wants to teach us
about how we relate our daily lives to God in all the experiences we face.
The mature chistian wants to integrate into all areas of his life this Biblical perspective -
that's growing in true wisdom.
A wise man stays teachable and seeks out ( and heeds) wise counsel.
The wise man here is not a wise guy "know-it-all" who has all the answers and is never
wrong. Just the opposite here. The wise man listens to people; he knows he has not
arrived.
Understand this paradox folks: the more we learn, the more we realize there is yet
more to learn. The more you know, the more you will realize how much you don't know!
One more verse to think about today:
Prov. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If the purpose of this book is to make us wise, then the goal of this book is to bring us
into a deeper relationship with the Lord, to fear the Lord, to hate evil. You see, all
Biblical wisdom must begin with a right relationship with God.
Do you have that relationship with the Lord today? Confess your sin today and receive by faith Christ’s forgiveness of your sin, made possible for you by His death on the cross in your place. If you already know Him, yield to His wisdom about life here before heaven.
Tomorrow – Proverbs 2
In His Arm’s, Pat
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Scan Time
Today, Wednesday, Joyce has her CT scan scheduled. It takes a couple of hours. She has to be fasting from the previous evening and then, two hours before the procedure, she has to drink several large containers of a chalky/mint flavored solution and then goes into radiology, lies on a sliding table which slowly moves her into a donut shaped tube. She has to lay still there for about 15 minutes as dozens of images are taken that show whats going on with her insides. We won't know the results until we meet with her oncologist next Wednesday. I think this is the 8th time she's had to do this in the past 3 and a half years.
Tomorrow she has to have a bone scan done. That one takes a couple hours also but is less trying. She gets a quick injection of some kind of dye and then we go have breakfast and shop and two hours later we go back to Nuclear Medicine and the put her an the sliding table again and take lots of xray type pictures that show whats going on in her bones - taht's where the cancer has metasticized the past couple of years.
Finally she has to have a blood draw which in tested for particular chemicals that are dumped into the blood stream by active tumors. It's called a tumor marker test and shows if the activity in increasing or decreasing. All the above tests will help us determine if her current course of chemotherapy is working against her cancer.
Hope I didn't bore you with the details - it just helps me sometimes to articulate what's going on.
Joyce continues to be tolerating the chemo she's been recieving since January pretty well. She get real fatigued at times and has only had a couple of days where the pain has been bad.
So here we go again, the testing and then the waiting and then the meeting with the doc. A pattern we're all too familiar with but never get used to.
Through it all, the Lord is our strength and our strong Tower. He holds us all the time - even though we don't often "feel" held. Feelings must yield to faith...and faith is the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11
More later.....got to take Joyce for her CT scan now.
In His Arm's, Pat
Tomorrow she has to have a bone scan done. That one takes a couple hours also but is less trying. She gets a quick injection of some kind of dye and then we go have breakfast and shop and two hours later we go back to Nuclear Medicine and the put her an the sliding table again and take lots of xray type pictures that show whats going on in her bones - taht's where the cancer has metasticized the past couple of years.
Finally she has to have a blood draw which in tested for particular chemicals that are dumped into the blood stream by active tumors. It's called a tumor marker test and shows if the activity in increasing or decreasing. All the above tests will help us determine if her current course of chemotherapy is working against her cancer.
Hope I didn't bore you with the details - it just helps me sometimes to articulate what's going on.
Joyce continues to be tolerating the chemo she's been recieving since January pretty well. She get real fatigued at times and has only had a couple of days where the pain has been bad.
So here we go again, the testing and then the waiting and then the meeting with the doc. A pattern we're all too familiar with but never get used to.
Through it all, the Lord is our strength and our strong Tower. He holds us all the time - even though we don't often "feel" held. Feelings must yield to faith...and faith is the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11
More later.....got to take Joyce for her CT scan now.
In His Arm's, Pat
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Short Getaway
Hi Friends and Family!
Joyce and I were able to get away for a few days and just got back into town this afternoon. Some friends of ours blessed us with a mini-vacation up in San Clemente. We stayed in a comfortable and quiet condo close to the ocean - we could see and hear the waves breaking on the shore from the patio! Joyce did well and each day we got out and did something together.
God is good!
I didn't have an internet connection there so I couldn't post to the blog.
Next week Joyce has more testing again - tumor marker, bone scan and CT scan.
Our love to all of you! Pat
Joyce and I were able to get away for a few days and just got back into town this afternoon. Some friends of ours blessed us with a mini-vacation up in San Clemente. We stayed in a comfortable and quiet condo close to the ocean - we could see and hear the waves breaking on the shore from the patio! Joyce did well and each day we got out and did something together.
God is good!
I didn't have an internet connection there so I couldn't post to the blog.
Next week Joyce has more testing again - tumor marker, bone scan and CT scan.
Our love to all of you! Pat
Monday, May 21, 2007
Mon. 5-21-07
I'm glad to say that the last 10 days have been probably as close to normal for Joyce and I than in the last 7 months. Her pain dosing has been steady and she has had little discomfort and we have been able to get out a lot together. She was able to come to church the past two Sundays and, again, that hasn't happened in 7 months. My colon problems have also eased up as well and my diet has improved.
We were able to have our 4 year old grand daughter, Kaylee, with us for a few hours on Friday and she always brightens up our day! And our second grand daughter, Brooklynn (8mo.), just got her first tooth - pictures forthcoming :-)
I would also like to share briefly that the Lord has been doing a fresh work in my heart the past couple of weeks. As I've said many times before, it's easy to get distracted and depressed when facing trying circumstances - and the enemy has a field day with us when we get our eyes off the One Who loves us constantly. Thru the Psalms, the May 15, 16 devotions from Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" and a great book by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones - "Spiritual Depression - Its Causes and Cures", I'm being refocused and reminded of how great and good our God is...and am being challenged to manifest Him at all times as He called me to when He saved me 36 years ago.
I pray each of you be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit today - and might you be yielded completely to His control in your daily challenges, trials, and opportunities!
From Psalm 103:8-18
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.9 He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.13 As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.14 For He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.15 As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children,18 To such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. (NKJ)
Blessings!
Pat
We were able to have our 4 year old grand daughter, Kaylee, with us for a few hours on Friday and she always brightens up our day! And our second grand daughter, Brooklynn (8mo.), just got her first tooth - pictures forthcoming :-)
I would also like to share briefly that the Lord has been doing a fresh work in my heart the past couple of weeks. As I've said many times before, it's easy to get distracted and depressed when facing trying circumstances - and the enemy has a field day with us when we get our eyes off the One Who loves us constantly. Thru the Psalms, the May 15, 16 devotions from Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" and a great book by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones - "Spiritual Depression - Its Causes and Cures", I'm being refocused and reminded of how great and good our God is...and am being challenged to manifest Him at all times as He called me to when He saved me 36 years ago.
I pray each of you be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit today - and might you be yielded completely to His control in your daily challenges, trials, and opportunities!
From Psalm 103:8-18
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.9 He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.13 As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.14 For He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.15 As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children,18 To such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. (NKJ)
Blessings!
Pat
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