God's Hand Upon Me

 

 Pink Sand Sunset by Dee Kamp

 

God’s Hand Upon Me

 

I reflect upon my days of the year gone by

And what I continuously see

Is God’s hand upon me.

 

Spinning around in my mind are the days past

Good times, and sad ones too, but the vision that lasts

Is God’s hand upon me.

 

I wondered at the times of boundless hope to believe

I know the reason I felt so encouraged and free

Is God’s hand upon me

 

In those times I perceived being loved, strengthened and spry

I happily answered those who asked me how and why

It's God’s hand upon me.

 

Blessed New Year everyone!

 

“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts,

 living within you as you trust in him…” Ephesians 3:17 TLB

Art of Faith

 

Art of Faith

 
Many of us love art and craft fairs.  I go to admire the talent and creations but also go for inspiration to re-create some artful beauty of my own. One I attended this year had a great deal of creative talent in many mediums.

 But what caught my eye and intrigued me was a framed work of art of words written in beautiful calligraphy of the Ten Commandments.

Then it came to mind that so often  what I have read that day in my Bible God will come forth in some way to give me one of  God's  important life lessons.

 

“When the LORD finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai,

 he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant,

 written by the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18

 

Since the day God first delivered His hand-carved edition of the His Ten Commandments, others have placed them as cornerstones on buildings, drawn and painted them into works of art, made them into jewelry, and sewn and woven them skillfully to be enjoyed. 

 My thoughts as I observed the lovely piece of art that day was my lesson from God on how His Word is intended to do more than decorate buildings, walls and hang as jewelry around our necks but recreate our hearts to be in the likeness in the beauty of His love, of His Son.

 The Word of God is not about the beauty we can create, but all about God recreating the spiritual art of great faith and beauty in us.

  “The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” A.W. Tozer

 

“The Art of God’s Word” By Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© December 30, 2013

 

The Survival Kit List

White Water Lilly by Dee Kamp

 

The Survival Kit List

 

“Oh that junk drawer!” I bemoaned on a recent cleaning spree.  My big junk drawer is more like a time capsule. There are things stuffed in there from as far back as when my children were young!

 As I was about to give up sorting for the day I discovered a wrinkled up piece of paper with some typing on it.  My goodness, this was typed on my mother’s old standard typewriter! 

 I smiled as I read the title: List for the Survival Kit Bag. It called for a match, a tea bag, a starburst candy piece, a tooth pick and an erasure. I was quite sure this was not a list from the Red Cross!

The things on the list had a bit of humor and a lot of good merit. I realized that everything on the list for the survival kit could be found in God’s Word! So I re-wrote the list to fill a bag with little goodies and called it ”God’s Little Survival Kit”.

 

God’s Little Survival Kit

A MATCH: For when you feel in the dark to produce some light to remind you:

•  “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.” John 12:46

A TEA BAG: For when you are weary to remind you to rest, and find His rest any time you need it.

• Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you we are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
•  Matthew: 11:28

A STARBURST CANDY: For when you need that burst of strength when yours is gone.

• “The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19

A TOOTHPICK: to pick out the good qualities in others.

• “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:14-15

AN ERASER: To remind you everyone makes mistakes.

• “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”  Luke 6:37

A MINT: To remind you that you are worth a mint, a million even more!

• “What is the price of two sparrows-one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”  Matthew 10:29-30

 

God’s little survival kit is the Bible. It’s never out of date; it’s encouraging, dependable, applicable, and reliable. I’ve handed these little survival bags to friends, families and even strangers.

Feel free to copy the list and then fill up a little bag with these items and include others that come to mind too! We all need from to time a survival kit message.

 

“The Survival Kit List” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© December 27, 2013

The Image of Bethlehem

 

 

 

The Image of Bethlehem

The soloist on the stage at church that Christmas many years ago was singing the beautiful song “Mary Did You Know”. I looked over to my left across the aisle and saw a young mother with a smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks cradling her new born child. The image of Bethlehem came alive right before my eyes.

“…the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger…Luke 2:6-7”

 

Did Mary know her baby had come to save all sons and daughters? That He would give sight to the blind, walk on water and calm a storm with the wave of His hand? Could she even grasp that this small babe she adored was the face of God, the great I AM?

God trusted a peasant girl and a poor carpenter with His greatest gift to the world in a way we are able to understand and relate. Majesty cradled in the arms of a simple, humble woman. Holiness among the filth in a stable. Not wrapped in royal robes but in rags of swaddling clothes.

 God chose the simple and the humble to be the first witnesses to His presence on earth. He sent angels to waken sleepy shepherds in the fields to run and worship the Messiah born in a stable.

We can still see mothers today holding their babies close to them and remember all that God has done for us. And those who seek Him, though humble and poor in spirit, discover they are now the child being cradled in the loving arms of God.

“God walked down the stairs of heaven with a Baby in His arms.” Paul Scherer

“The Image of Bethlehem” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© December 23, 2013

Have A Blessed Christmas



 

 

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS

May God fill your hearts with love and your lives with praise as we celebrate this Christmas.

May you find delight in Christ's birth and the joy of God's love and great blessings the whole year through.

What a joy it is to celebrate with you the miracle of the birth of our Savior, Jesus, who makes our hearts His home.

"I will praise You, O LORD my God,

with all my heart;

 I will glorify Your name forever.

Psalm 86:12 NIV

When Words Fail Us

Photo by : Dee Kamp

 

When Words Fail Us

 

It can happen to anyone, anytime. When our heart flutters, our mind spins, and our lips can’t form a single word in our greatest need to pray to God.  In this struggle of our silence who can help us?

 

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

 We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,

 because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

Romans 8:26-27 NIV

 

We’ve all been there at some point in our life when we rush before God filled with a great need to share our hearts with Him. In our frustration even tears may begin to fall. We have no idea where to begin, how to find the words adequate to express what matters most, no idea of what to say all. That’s when the Holy Spirit intervenes on our behalf and we can be confident in Him.

 

The Holy Spirit knows the trials we face, and those of our loved ones that lay heavy on our heart.

How wonderful is our Lord! His compassions never fail. He hears the language of our soul, the deep desires of our heart―no words are required. Even when words fail us, God never fails to hear us.

 

Though life can make my words a mess

When I pray You always give me rest.

 

Holy Spirit reign supreme in my heart forlorn.

Speak for me when my heart is torn.

 

Holy Spirit, all divine,

Come dwell in this heart of mine.

 

“When Words Fail” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© December 18, 2013

Untraditional and Noncommercial

Dolls in the Window Photo by Dee Kamp

 

Untraditional and Noncommercial

Several years ago I was feeling a bit more down than usual over the strong display of commercialism over the true meaning of Christmas. Then suddenly I found myself witnessing a most untraditional, noncommercial way of someone sharing the real meaning of Christmas.  

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;

 He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."

 Psalm 112:4 NKJ

 

He wasn’t sitting on a throne for children to climb up and onto his lap to have their pictures taken and then rushed away. He didn’t have a bell to ring, a bucket to collect donations.  No, he was simply strolling slowly up and down the main street of this small village town.

Yes, he was dressed as old St Nicholas in a long red robe. It was faux fur trimmed with a pointed hood made by his wife in the design from the “old” country he was from. He had a genuine white beard, neatly trimmed and was slim not one bit fat. His smile was genuine, his laugh sincere and truly jolly.

He had no bag of toys over his shoulder but rather pockets full of little wrapped candies, a ready hug for a delighted child, or the weary shopper who showed they needed one. He had a propensity for sitting down on the town’s bench to listen unhurriedly to child, adult, shopkeeper or street person.  

As I watched unseen from the window above, my heart was delighted by what I saw. I learned later the only promise he gave was the promise of hope God sent to all as a wee little baby born in Bethlehem.  

“The gift of time, the gift of giving another the feeling they are worthy is a gift that is timeless, a gift for all generations, a gift that is the truth of why God sent His Son.” ―Anonymous  

“Unconditional and Nontraditional” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© December 12, 2013